Misterimpatient

I confess to listening to Air America Radio. Not all the time but sometimes. We need something on the radio that pushes back against the right wing nut jobs (you know who they/you are). Some would claim NPRfills that void but I don’t agree. IMHO, NPR is the closest thing we have to fair and balanced here in the US.

What I was getting on about though, was today’s news item that Air America Radio is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I am disappointment but I have a glimmer of hope as they seek new financing. I rather doubt Walmart will be signing up as a sponsor.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 3:41 pm under Patter, Slightly left of Center
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The curse of certainty

Has anyone else noticed that within at least American politics, it is no longer possible for anyone in an elected position to express uncertainty or perhaps doing so is a third rail of sorts? Public uncertainty has become a sign of weakness.

Let’s take the conflict in Lebanon as an example. Personally, I think the conflict will make the overall situation for Israel and the West, worse. How strongly do I feel that? Oh, about 55/45. I absolutely believe that eliminated an armed Hezbollah (and Hamas)is crucial to long term stability in the region, but I am not convinced that armed struggle is the solution. I think only the Lebanese can eliminate this regional and world threat and that the actions underway this past month make the possibility of that happening remote at best.

Within the political sphere, we mostly hear absolutes. That would be bad enough, but there is evidence that the public absolutes are backed up by private planning without contingency. This suggests to me a narrow view of the world and out role in it. The classic: Our way or the highway.

At a minimum, our leaders should express public confidence while engaging in private planning for the possibility of being wrong.

To quote a favorite current TV theme song: “I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so”.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 9:39 am under Slightly left of Center
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The Supreme Court decision in the Hamdan case is a defeat for the Bush administration, but not a huge one. The court basically said that all our government has to do is play by the rules of war as they exist today. They can’t change the Geneva Convention unilaterally but they can ask Congress to change the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as it applies to these detainees. This goes rather a long way toward getting Bush/Cheney what they want.

If Bush had gone to Congress late in 2001 or early 2002, he would have gotten what he wanted. Instead, he (and more likely Cheney) decided that they would make a stand for presidential power. This was just one case in point. I doubt I need to point out the others.

This entire presidency has been about the accumulation of imperial presidential power. Along the way they’ve worked hard to gut the social systems, such as they are, but ultimately, I think the Bush presidency will be remembered for how it tried and to some extent succeeded in that power grab.

My prayer for today: Good health to the 5 members of the Supreme Court that voted against the administration in the Hamdan case.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 5:28 pm under Justice, sometimes, Slightly left of Center
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I visit the main page of Wikipedia most work days looking for what they have to say about events in history for that day. Yesterday, Friday, June 16th they had an entry on Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

It got me thinking about other people and beings sent to space. The russians launched a dog. Pretty naturally the thought of monkeys in space came next. Sadly, according to Wikipedia, Albert, the first monkey in space on a V2 rocket in 1948, died from suffocation. Similar fates awaited a handful more. It wasn’t a big stretch to think, maybe, just maybe it’s time to return to monkeys in space:

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Filed by misterimpatient at 7:35 am under Patter, Slightly left of Center
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Bob Herbert in the NY Times today writes:

Before you gather up the hot dogs and head out to the barbecue this afternoon, look in a mirror and ask yourself honestly if Iraq is something you would be willing to die for.

There is no shortage of weaselly politicians and misguided commentators ready to tell us that we can’t leave Iraq — we just can’t. Chaos will ensue. Maybe even a civil war. But what they really mean is that we can’t leave as long as the war can continue to be fought by other people’s children, and as long as we can continue to put this George W. Bush-inspired madness on a credit card.

Start sending the children of the well-to-do to Baghdad, and start raising taxes to pay off the many hundreds of billions that the war is costing, and watch how quickly this tragic fiasco is brought to an end.

Amen.

If you voted for George Bush, shame on you.

If you serve(d) your country in uniform, thank you.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 9:24 pm under Slightly left of Center
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I just checked. I paid up my ACLU dues last July. Why is this important besides deserving the support of every patriotic American? Well, just as I don’t waste time listening to the opinions expressed about our government by people who fail to vote, I wouldn’t expect anyone to read further had my dues not been up to date:

“Where an individual director disagrees with a board position on matters of civil liberties policy, the director should refrain from publicly highlighting the fact of such disagreement,” the committee that compiled the standards wrote in its proposals.

“Directors should remember that there is always a material prospect that public airing of the disagreement will affect the A.C.L.U. adversely in terms of public support and fund-raising,” the proposals state.

Given the organization’s longtime commitment to defending free speech, some former board members were shocked by the proposals.

Yes my friends, the ACLU is suppressing public dissent among it’s directors. I can see the motive and it’s not a bad one but still. The American Civil Liberties Union? Come on!

In truth, it’s more nuanced then I’ve made it out to be. The New York Times has an article on this.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 10:06 pm under Slightly left of Center
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I admit it, even before they ripped GW a new one, I was a Dixie Chicks fan. That little incident where Natalie Maines, lead singer, remarked in London “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.” captured a sentiment which wasn’t particularly in line with the thinking of red-state America but it sure captured my heart (and head).

To be frank, even if I wasn’t a fan I would have bought their new CD just to get back at country music fans everywhere, but never mind. The CD is #1 on Amazon. There’s a video interview on Amazon as well though it’s disappointing in it doesn’t address the point of so many of the songs on the CD. On the other hand, featured on the video is “The Long Way Around” which is about not following the crowd. But the song that really pokes their critics in the gut is “Not Ready to Make Nice”. In short it says: I’ve thought about it and you know what? I was right and you were wrong. Get over it. Don’t feel like getting over it? So what.

I’d like to claim to understand the video but it seems like I don’t really, unless it’s simply an expression of rebellion against the orthodoxy. For the curious, the video of “Not Ready to Make Nice” is here. Actually, you’ll need to click on the “Watch the Video…” bar above the audio playback controls. Don’t ask me why. Probably to save bandwidth. For the less curious, here are the lyrics:

“Not Ready To Make Nice”

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

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Filed by misterimpatient at 8:26 pm under Slightly left of Center
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I have a personalized Google home page and one of the items presented each day is a Quote of the Day. Today’s oldie but goodie made me smile because it reminded me of one of my favorite musicals. Anyway, without further delay here is the quote:

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.
- John Adams

There really is nothing I can add to that, except that I decided to look to see what other quotes were listed for today and I found this gem:

At least two-thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity: idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religous or political ideas.
- Aldous Huxley

Funny how these two observations fit so seamlessly together.

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Filed by misterimpatient at 5:26 am under Slightly left of Center
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So today the NY Times decides we have to know that Condi, after a grueling day of exercise and Sunday talk shows, returns to her digs at the Watergate for a session of chamber music with 4 of her closest friends. I’m glad she has a hobby. Honest. I just wish she’d take the level of dedication that clearly informed her music and applied it to settling things in Iraq and the broader middle east.

Pretty please?

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Filed by misterimpatient at 7:24 pm under Slightly left of Center
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The dollar signs are not euphemistic. The planned resignation of Tom Delay from his seat in Congress looks, on the surface, like a good thing. It may well be, but I see a darker side to this. Along with his resignation, Tom will be relocating to Virginia. I suspect it’s not the weather bringing him north and east. It’s money and power.

Tom is not used to being out of the power seat and, if he manages to avoid jail, which is possible and perhaps even likely, he’ll be a very big gun in the lobbying industry. I expect he has a rather detailed record of every favor owed and he’s unlikely to be reluctant about calling these in. Am I suggesting we’d be better off with him in Congress? Perhaps. At least, to a certain extent, we’d be able to keep an eye on him. Don’t get me wrong, prison would be better then Congress but I hear the gym in prison is just about as good. DeLater…

Filed by misterimpatient at 11:51 am under Slightly left of Center
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