Category Archives: Electoral Politics

How Bad Can It Get?

9/15/2011 – 1:50 pm

It’s a question I’ve stopped asking myself, because I have too often thought, “It can’t get any worse,” and then it does, usually within a week.  “It” could apply to the weather, the climate (not the same thing), the food, the culture or all of the above, collectively.  Today, however, I mean political discourse.
Witness, if [...]

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Orwell was an Optimist

9/8/2011 – 4:18 pm

Quick quiz, two questions: 1 – What percentage of scientists think global warming is occurring?  2 – What percentage of scientists think global warming is caused by human activities?  Read those again carefully; it’s not the same question twice.
The answers (I won’t make you wait) are 100 and 98.  No statistically significant number of scientists [...]

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Crazy Like a Fox

6/2/2011 – 8:22 am

I admit having a morbid fascination with electoral politics, the way some people feel about slasher movies. Even so, the Sarah Palin bus tour is too gruesome and I must avert my eyes.
Democrats are said to be happy with the antics of the former half-term governor of Alaska. The hype around Ms. Palin [...]

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Stop Making Sense

4/28/2011 – 10:55 am

Yesterdays’ Wall Street Journal carried an op-ed attacking Barack Obama for a draft executive order which would require businesses contracting with the federal government to disclose their owners’ political contributions over $5,000.
One of the authors is John Yoo, who famously wrote memos authorizing torture for the Bush administration. So, on one hand, Mr. Yoo [...]

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Too Late Smart

3/10/2011 – 5:41 pm

The envelope arrived Tuesday. The dreaded envelope, the one I knew was coming and containing the invitation to join AARP. It hasn’t happened yet but yes, I will soon turn 50.
Like KFC, AARP is now just a set of initials. The initials used to stand for American Association of Retired Persons, but [...]

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Do It (For) Yourself

12/17/2010 – 2:54 pm

The Bush tax cuts for the rich are now the Obama tax cuts for the rich. As we wait for the Great Recession’s double dip, as the smart economists (Hello, Paul Krugman!) tell us we need more government spending to offset the consumer spending that just ain’t there, Congress today sends a bill to [...]

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The Lunatic Fringe

10/28/2010 – 12:23 pm

Do you remember the incident, two years ago, as the presidential election campaign was winding down, an old lady at John McCain rally got a hold of the microphone and said she didn’t trust Barack Obama because “he’s an Arab.”
Senator McCain pulled the mike away from her and said, “No, ma’am, he’s a decent [...]

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