Here and There

Oops, wrote this a couple of weeks ago and forgot to publish it:

I never expected to find this, but Muammar Qaddafi has penned an editorial in The New York Times that really resonated with me. I’ve often wondered why this one-state solution was never pursued. I mean, yes, I know why, but that short-sighted thinking, that Jews and Muslims could never live together in so-called harmony, is exactly the mindset that has brought about more than 60 years of non-stop conflict.

And I’m sure there are plenty of logistical problems with Qaddafi’s plan, but he’s at the table, offering up ideas. That’s more than can be said for many supposedly democratic leaders.

Sometimes, reason appears where you least expect it.

And yes, Obama closed Gitmo just a little while ago.

Okay, the swearing in has happened, the balls are commenced. Now comes the sobering moment — there’s work to do, folks.

You see, many of us lost our jobs. I was fortunate to find work quickly. But others are still hurting. We’ve got to get work for them, and we’ve got to buttress our unemployment insurance programs for those who aren’t able to find work in the meantime.

We’ve got wars to end, troops to bring home, foreign alliances to rebuild. There’s an active Middle East conflict in progress, and godammit, we better really try to help bring about a peace this time.

Also, at home, there’s an urgent need to start real programs to try to stop global warming. We’ve got to kick into gear cleaner ways of generating energy, whether by tidal power, solar, wind, geo-thermal, whatever. There’s smarter, more efficient ways of going about our daily lives, like high-speed rail, hybrid vehicles, reusable bags at the grocery and drug stores. The list goes on.

The point I’m trying to make is, let’s recover from our inaugural hangovers and get to work. Lord knows there’s no shortage of work to be done.

I hesitate to use terms like “worst presidency ever.” Sure, we can analyze and rank the 43 who’ve held the office to date, but what we’re all missing is context. Relativism.

All I can do, simple-minded blogger that I am, is reflect on how this presidency affected and impressed (not in the sense of delighted, but had an impression on) me.

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I always thought they were the best way to find out whether Saddam had the weapons Bush & Co. said they did.

Ignoring the economy and my personal stake in it, I’m becoming quite a fan of the United States of America these days.

Okay, that’s the capsulized version. I just really trust that we’re reprioritizing, and doing it right this time. This really does feel like a once-in-a-generation election. Obama has already made some very important decisions, and despite disagreeing with a few, they’ve almost all been good ones.

The young deceased Army soldier Colin Powell referenced today in his full-throated endorsement of Barack Obama.

Thx: Sullivan

Thx: Sullivan

For the record, I don’t think Sarah Palin isn’t smart. In fact, I think she’s very smart. I think she’s manipulative, and an opportunist.

But what scares me is that her ignorance of the bigger issues of the day, especially on the international scene, will be embraced by voters. I fear that her limited, jumbled world view will be applauded and used as justification for people’s admiration of her.

She comes across as a nit-wit in the following clip, frankly. But the whole “well, she knows what I know, and dammit, she stuck to her guns” bit is part of what got the last not-too-worldly person elected president of the United States. We all know how well that’s gone.

Thx: Josh Marshall.

Go get ‘em, Joe:

Thx: Josh Marshall

Reports of U.S. military incursions into Pakistan lead us to wonder: Will they, can they roll out a captured or dead bin Laden in late October?

Bush, 1:03: “Russia has invaded a sovereign, neighboring state, and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.”

McCain, 0:08: “But in the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations.”

Rice, 0:45: “This is not 1968, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital, overthrow a government, and get away with it. Things have changed.”

At least in Bush’s statement, he introduced the caveat of Georgia’s being a “democratic” nation. But insanity on this level makes me wonder if I have lost my head.

Matthew Yglesias » Worst President Ever

I don’t know. Yglesias is really only thinking domestically. Bush has let a major U.S. city disintegrate, overall infrastructure deteriorate, drastically increased the disparity between rich and poor, and plunged the country into massive amounts of debt after years of surplus.

He’s helped the international community slide into chaos, invaded a sovereign nation for virtually no reason at all, snubbed international legal and environmental treaties, and presided over perhaps the most drastic fall of the U.S. dollar in history. He’s allowed (possibly knowingly) the U.S. to torture prisoners, when he wasn’t farming it out. I know I’m forgetting plenty here.

This is no statistical analysis, mind you. Nor am I anywhere near as versed in history as Yglesias. And I agree: Buchanan was abysmal. I just think he’s giving Bush too much credit here, or not holding him as accountable as he should.

Needless to say, count me in that 42 percent that thinks he’s the worst. I think he’s a great candidate for it, anyway.

And it haveth neat shit.

Okay, seriously, folks, can we add one and one?

ExxonMobil reports the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history: $11.68 billion.

Can we build these fucks a fossil-fuel-based vehicle and transport them off our planet now? They win. They’ve proved that no matter what the situation, you can milk a natural resource with finite supplies, all while jacking the price and raping the public’s wallets. Seriously, second to none. Hoorah!