Sunday, December 29, 2013

Arguably the 2 Most Important Articles for the West since 9/11

Sun. Dec. 29, 2013:


SYRIA, and DAVID KIRKPATRICK'S NEWLY REVEALED BENGHAZI:
NOTICE THAT JIHADIS DON'T HATE CHINA!


Dear Bitees,

I.
What follows is one of the least persuasive Opinion Pieces in recent memory.
It comes from an academic expert on western foreign policies toward Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/opinion/dont-get-in-bed-with-assad.html?_r=0




II.

What follows is a somewhat long, 5-part article, which will take you about 30 minutes.
IF it is accurate, it will prove to be the most important consideration for the U.S. State Department
since 9/11:

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/benghazi/?hp#/?chapt=0

Today's NYT expose of the real Benghazi attack, by David Kirkpatrick, should cure sensible Americans of any illusions that neo-con Bush Administration dreams about setting up a viable & contagious "democracy" in Iraq would work.
Let's face it, NOTHING the West has done since 9/11 has worked in the Middle East.

China's policy seems best:  Treat the Middle East as a hornet's nest, and don't go anywhere near it, except to let your enemies try stirring it up.



There is NO anti-Chinese sentiment among Islamic jihadis worldwide -- What should this tell us?!?



Monday, November 25, 2013

A "Bites" Reader's Question About Romneycare in the Eyes of Fox News/Tea Party

Mon. Nov. 25, 2013:


"Dear Bites,
What do Fox News, and the Tea Party, and the GOP generally, have to say about the success of Romneycare in Massachusetts?"


Good question, and Bites has an answer:

My guess is, they parrot what Romney himself spun during the 2012 campaign and after:  Massachusetts was a commonwealth where the overwhelming majority of citizens wanted a state-wide array of healthcare guarantees.
And, I suppose, the scale of a smallish state system is much more manageable than a nationwide one -- especially in a climate where vast majorities want it, and where a "bipartisan majority in both chambers of the state legislature" worked together with the governor's office to find workable formulas.

Several valid points in that line.  Still, the one thing that I think crushes those Fox News & Tea Party nitpickings & told-you-so's these days, is that they have absolutely NO long-range alternative to 2 worrisome options:

1.  Keep on following the pre-Obamacare track, which nearly everyone on both sides acknowledges is not sustainable, and will bankrupt the country unless the ever-expanding demographic of Senior Citizens is lined up and shot.
2.  Start a conversation, at least, toward a more modern solution.  Whatever its flaws, Obamacare is at least trying to do that, but I don't see the Georgia folks making any useful contributions to this discussion.

Have they thought upon that?  As professed sturdy patriots of this democratic-republic of a country, which Lincoln called the Last Best Hope of Mankind?   What contribution are these gloating naysayers making to what -- in the long run -- is most important?

SUGGESTION to Fox News & Tea Partiers:  
Compile a list of all your Obamacare gripes, and CONVERT that list into a viable alternative which would help this country become stronger, sooner.  And, with the following values, that we ALL [I think!  or, do Tea Partiers think that only their sufferings matter?] hold dear, intact:  compassion for the powerless little guy in the Georgia pickup truck AND the welfare mom in Watts [oh, wait!  SHE brought on her troubles herself, unlike the Georgia pickup guy?], fairness, free enterprise, a representative republic striving for as much democracy as possible, with as small a central government as possible which can still deliver on countless daily necessities which Georgians & Mass-holes alike take for granted. 

It may take another decade -- or more --  to work out the devils-in-the-details of a truly affordable, sustainable healthcare system that both maintains research- and application- excellence among American doctors AND provides care to as many democratic-republic citizens as humanly possible.  Complaining Tea Partiers could speed this process up, if they stop getting consumed by their nostalgic hatred of all forces ruining their 1950's booming postwar white America, with that communist Eisenhower as president, who got Congress to pass a massive Federal Highway Act.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Devil In The Details: An Expert's Insights on Steps To Be Taken About Chemical Weapons

Fri. Sept. 27, 2013:


Patient Loyal Readers,

It has been nearly 3 weeks since our last blog post.

But this item is rare enough to break the silence.  Please read it, and urge your Congressional Representative to stop repealing Obamacare and start doing something useful that would SAVE lives rather than wrecking lives:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-26/we-re-not-prepared-to-police-chemical-weapons.html







Sunday, September 8, 2013

"A Michele Bachmann to Root For," or, "The Campaign Finance Briar Patch"

Sun. Sept. 8, 2013:


Dear Faithful Readers,



For months, this bitesfromedwin blog has wished for common sense to fashion Campaign Finance Reform.

But here's one of those rare articles that provides an Exhibit A in one short space.


AND, it comes to sympathize with Michele Bachmann, not to bury her.


Read it and Wish, if not Weep:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-06/-if-michele-bachmann-is-a-crook-so-is-barack-obama-.html






Monday, September 2, 2013

A House Divided? Or, a House Devoured? John McCain & Saxby Chambliss as TERMITES on the Sunday Talk Shows

Mon. Sept. 2, 2013:



If you missed it, consider yourself lucky.
Termites like John McCain & Saxby Chambliss are not only
leading the Dividing Brigade, for Lincoln's "House Divided."
They are also EATING the USA's house.


On Bob Schieffer's Face the Nation for Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013, Major Garrett was substituting for Schieffer.  Naturally, the topic was President Obama's recent decisions regarding "alleged" use of
chemical weapons in Syria, presumably by the Assad regime, in which over a thousand innocents
died an agonizing, writhing death at the hands of a nerve gas called Sarin.

It will surprise no one that John McCain was one of the featured guests.
It will surprise a few that his usual clone, Lindsay Graham, was not on the show, but Georgia's
Saxby Chambliss instead.


                                  U.S. Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Saxby Chambliss


The fundamental problem with Sunday talk shows is,
every Republican is under coordinated GOP orders
to criticize President Obama one way or another -- no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the issue, no matter what the president's policy.  Democratic spokespersons, for their part, doubtless operate under reverse instructions.

It does not occur to these Numbskulls, that their credibility among those seeking fair & truthful answers
is Zero.  This by itself divides & eats the USA's house.

But McCain, and Chambliss, took extra bites & mouthfuls.  (Bitesfromedwin knows bites):

1.  McCain claimed that Obama was 2 years too late, in entering the Syrian civil war.
He never acknowledged how U.S. financial or military involvement could blow up in our face -- 2 years ago, now, or 2 years from now.

2.  McCain boasted about his own [gratuitous?  expensive?] visit to Syria, and said he could assure us that the Syrian opposition forces he met were not Al Qaeda or other bad-guy terrorists.

This 2nd statement is infuriatingly misleading:  Any bad-guy terrorists among the opposition would not even pass the security check, for any Advance-people's preparations for McCain's trip!
For McCain to try assuring the American people that the Syrian opposition is pure as the driven snow, on the basis of his V.I.P. hotshot Senator trip to Syria, IS A JOKE.

Did Major Garrett call him on it?  Hardly.
Virginia's Tim Kaine tried to give a counter-view, but it too ignored the specious criticisms coming from McCain.

Either Garrett or Kaine should have asked McCain:

If you were president, would you have committed us to jumping in on the side of the rebels 2 years ago? What form would this have taken?
What risks would be involved?  Would a President McCain intervention have infuriated the whole muslim Middle East?
How reliable is the Opposition coalition?  How do you separate the reliable allies from the terrorists in this
Opposition coalition?
Are chemical weapons a "red line" to a President McCain?   If so, how do you eliminate them, or at least neutralize them, without starting another Quagmire?

So Termite McCain kept nibbling against every President Obama decision, as Termite Chambliss took his own knee-jerk mouthfulls.  Republican puppeteers must be quite satisfied with these 2 guys' delivery of the Sunday Morning talking-points -- without fear of challenge or contradiction,
from Anchor
or Rival Guests.

Any president of the USA should have his/her decisions questioned, but by Loyal Opposition.
McCain's & Chambliss's opposition is mandated by the Republican game plan.
Week after week, the designated GOP voice comes on the Sunday Talk Shows to attack, attack, attack.

It's dangerous enough to play these "democracy" games about domestic issues.
But for matters like a possible Foreign War, our citizens deserve -- NEED -- nonpartisan discussion.

These Termites are not only doing the "dividing" in Lincoln's "House Divided."  
They are eating Our House until it crumbles,
just to bring down its temporary landlord -- one particular president and his political party.  

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Friday, August 2, 2013

And Now, A###oles, Revisited -- No Connection to Previous Post

Fri. August 2, 2013:


Faithful readers, you have long waited for such a Revisit.  Your patience is hereby rewarded.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/asshole-awarded-for-asshole-behavior-by-business-c,33334/


              {TO BE STUDIED CAREFULLY:  A Picture Is Sometimes Worth 1,001 Words}


I know you are wanting to thank me.  But that would be misdirected.
The credit belongs to the connoisseur in such matters, and you guessed it, The Aristotle of Arrowsic!



G.O.P. Credibility = 0: The Sunday Talk Shows

Fri. August 2, 2013:


Last Sunday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers [Republican from Michigan] came on CBS's Face the Nation and did what all GOP leaders do for every interview anywhere -- especially the SUNDAY TALK SHOWS:

Bob Schieffer:  Mr. Chairman, Egypt is a mess.  What's likely to happen?
Rogers:  Yes, and by the way, Bob, it's all because Obama's at fault.

Bob Schieffer:  And Syria's a mess too.  How will that play out?
Rogers:  Yes, and by the way, Bob, it's all because Obama's at fault.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57595852/zero-privacy-violations-in-nsa-programs-rogers-says/














You gotta give 'em credit.  They "message" much more efficiently than their Democratic counterparts
-- although not for lack of trying by the relatively wimpy Dems.





How to Rescue Dodd-Frank & Obamacare from Grasping Big-Guys?

Fri. August 2, 2013:


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-23/can-jack-lew-save-financial-reform-.html




http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-25/will-obamacare-kickstart-health-care-revolution-.html



Monday, July 22, 2013

Constructive Advice from the Center: On Healthcare Reform, On Voting Reform

Sat. July 20, 2013:




http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-18/the-pointless-debate-over-obamacare.html

Both Obama & GOP need to stop bragging, posturing, and repealing -- and to help the country's people by
IMPROVING THE EXISTING LAW!




http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-18/making-voting-easy-efficient-and-fair-part-3-.html

THERE'S SO MANY VOTING REFORMS THAT BOTH DEMS & GOP COULD AGREE UPON AND ACTUALLY DO -- BENEFICIAL TO EACH, AND HELPFUL FOR AUTHENTIC VOTERS.  SO, DO IT, AND STOP ARGUING!



Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Even JERKS Can Have Interesting Ideas: Anthony Weiner & "Single-Payer" for NYC

Tues. July 2, 2013:


Look, let's be clear:  Anthony Weiner is clearly a NARCISSISTIC jerk.



The evidence -- such that can be shared on the Family Blog -- is overwhelming:



STILL!
ONCE IN A WHILE, EVEN JERKS HAVE INTERESTING IDEAS.
Please read Weiner's short pitch -- Single-Payer system of healthcare coverage for New York City


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/nyregion/weiner-wants-city-to-test-single-payer-health-care.html?_r=0






Monday, July 1, 2013

"Doesn't Fit On A Bumper Sticker": Busting Congress's Dysfunction

Mon. July 1, 2013:


Worthy Readers,
The MVP of material during these years of Washington Dysfunction, is stuff like this, from the Bloomberg News columnist Albert Hunt.

                                                     
                                                     Albert Hunt, Bloomberg News



Notice how THIS book review says, important political truths don't fit on bumber stickers.

READ IT AND WEEP [AND HOPE]:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-30/dodd-frank-shows-how-congress-can-overcome-deadlock.html


                                 Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Christopher Dodd



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Republican Obstructionism's BIG HURT on Our Country, 2009-2013

Tues. June 25, 2013:


Dear Readers, there are SO MANY WAYS that Republican obsructionism is wrecking our country.

Here are just a few:


I.

In 2007, President Bush could openly support immigration reform in Congress, although it ended up not passing.  In 2013, woe be unto ANY immigration bill -- even a bipartisan or Republican bill -- if Obama favors it!  THIS IS THE ABSURDITY THAT WE HAVE REACHED IN CONGRESS!




To quote, from an article by Michael D. Shear:

Six years ago President George W. Bush publicly sent cabinet secretaries to roam the Capitol building daily to try to woo Republican senators for a similar immigration bill.  But this time, high-profile help from the White House is anathema to many Republicans who do not want to be seen by constituents as carrying out the will of Mr. Obama.

So while lawmakers from both parties are privately relying on the White House and its agencies to provide technical information to draft scores of amendments to the immigration bill, few Republicans are willing to admit it.  Some are so eager to prove that the White House is not pulling the strings that their aides say the administration is not playing any role at all.


II.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/a-modest-nuclear-agenda.html?src=recg

The most pertinent part:

. . . a disappointing example of what happens when soaring vision collides with the reality of obstructive Republican senators, a recalcitrant Russia and a convergence of regional crises.



Obama had to scale way back his proposed major nuclear weapons reduction treaty with the Russians -- which would make the whole planet safer without affecting deterrence one iota.
Not only because of Putin's usual "recalcitrance."
Even more, because of, you guessed it, Republican obstructionism.



III.

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-20/obamacare-is-for-republicans-too.html


    Against their own interest, G.O.P. governors are trying to sabotage the Affordable Care Act
    -- which, after all, even the conservative Supreme Court has upheld as the Law of the Land.


IV.

Did Republican pressure even wear down Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke?
Paul Krugman, of course, thinks so:



. . . Fed officials are, consciously or not, responding to political pressure.  After all, ever since the Fed began its policy of aggressive monetary stimulus, it has faced angry accusations from the right that it is "debasing" the dollar and setting the stage for high inflation -- accusations that haven't been retracted even though the dollar has remained strong and inflation has remained low.  It's hard to avoid the suspicion that Fed officials, worn down by the constant attacks, have been looking for a reason to slacken their efforts, and have seized on slightly better economic news as an excuse.












Sunday, June 23, 2013

Still, Krugman [and also Eduardo Porter]: "What's The Hurry?" About Deficits, Debt, Inflation

Sun. June 23, 2013:



Last post, Paul O'Neill made Paul Krugman look wrong-headed.

But Krugman keeps on tickin':

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/opinion/krugman-fight-the-future.html


And, so does columnist Eduardo Porter, in his "Economic Scene":


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/business/making-the-case-for-a-little-more-inflation.html?pagewanted=all










An Anti-Krugman: Paul O'Neill Criticizes Profligacy in All Presidents -- even Reagan

Sat. June 22, 2013:


Worthy Readers, a few of you have asked for a voice to oppose Paul Krugman's incessant Keynesian call for more public spending until the economy is fully recovered.

Well, here is Paul O'Neill -- and we ain't talkin' 'bout the Yankee Stadium hero of recent yore.
This is former Secretary of the Treasury [under George W. Bush] Paul O'Neill.



This Paul O'Neill has served up economic advice to several presidents.
He deserves our attention, no matter when this was written, or when he is writing about -- both of which are unclear here:


https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13f5303b3cdf9bef&mt=application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D72ff0cfc9d%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13f5303b3cdf9bef%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQFW-cRsYdjHB5AcUuVY4RIrurNKw

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Bob Dole & Lowell Weicker: 2 GOP Guys Trying to Save Us From Ourselves

Sat. June 16, 2013:


Dear Worthies, it's been 2 weeks since the last post.  Excuse:  Trip to the beautiful Midwest -- Carroll County, in northwest Illinois, near Ronald Reagan's upbringing in Dixon.

Then, a graveyard in Rockford, north-central Illinois:



Then, amazing hospitality from a large family in Chicago's 1873 "Park Ridge" early "streetcar suburb."  The whole Park Ridge residential block was vintage 1940's/1950's midwestern neighborliness, with canopies of huge trees shading the streets, and neighbors helping each other with yardwork & jokes.  A PERIOD PIECE, from a simpler time.



FOLKS, WE NEED TO SAVE OUR NATION FROM GOING DOWN THE TUBES.
Bob Dole and Lowell Weicker -- 2 oldtime Republicans -- are trying.

PLEASE LISTEN:


1.  Driving around after the Midwest, my radio served up an interview with 1970's former Connecticut Republican Senator Lowell Weicker -- of Watergate era fame.
He was saying that the biggest threat to our country right now -- bar none -- is today's Congressional dysfunction.
               Senators Ted Kennedy, Orrin Hatch, and Lowell Weicker -- A Dem. & 2 G.O.P. 


"In my day [1970's ff.], Dem. & GOP members of both Houses used to play tennis together and then go have dinner together.    Then, we'd have sufficient common respect & understanding to get the people's business done.  Today, the 2 sides won't even talk to each other -- let alone play tennis or have lunch together.  It better change, and fast, or we're doomed."



2.  "The Wisdom of Bob Dole":

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/opinion/bob-dole-misses-his-republican-party.html



                                               "Bob Dole Misses His Republican Party"




Sunday, June 2, 2013

"That's Not My Department," said Wehrner von Braun

Sun. June 2, 2013:


Dear Worthy Readers,
Today, you need a vacation from links to other articles.  So, here is just a list of things that are wrong
with a world where Republicans & Democrats screw things up.


To set the tone:


                                                   Can You Recognize This Picture?



1.  The latest New Republic has a cover story claiming that "The NRA Is Going Down."
Alas, the piece is way too optimistic.  Instead, what we have is closer to this newspaper headline:
"Gun Manufacturers Saw Nor Role in Curbing Improper Sales."
Reminiscent of humorist Tom Lehrer's line -- My rockets go up!  "Who cares where they come down?
That's not my department," said Wehrner von Braun.  

Gun manufacturers' current attitude, perfectly captured.


2.  My conservative friends keep telling me what an abomination Obamacare will be.
Well, if it turns out that way, Republicans in Congress, and G.O.P. governors, should shoulder most of the blame.  Their obstructionism has been downright unpatriotic.  Don't take my word for it:
"Partisan Gridlock Thwarts Effort to Revise Health Care Law."


3.  Republicans are still salivating over the 3 recent "Obama scandals" -- Benghazi "coverup,"  I.R.S. targeting of Tea Party & other right-wing requests for tax exemption, and the Justice Department's seizing of A.P. reporters' phone records and a Fox News reporter's phone records in attempts to trace dangerous leaks.
"Behind their loud condemnations, Republicans continue to damage the economy & society."


4.  The right-wing Heritage Foundation used to make responsible conservative points.
But its recent Immigration Report, claiming that upcoming immigration reform would cost the nation
$6,300,000,000,000 [6.3 trillion] over the next 50 years, was patently bogus.  Turned out the author's dissertation at Harvard argued that Latino immigrants were less intelligent than other groups.

"The foundation now seems to suffer from blinders as limiting as the ones that conservatives once perceived in liberal faculty lounges.  The demands of partisanship in the age of Obama seem to have reduced Heritage . . . to little more than sloganeers . . . beating the drums of talk-radio resentment."


5.  Gail Collins nails Michelle Bachmann, and she may not need to do it ever again.

"If Michelle Bachmann leaves Congress, does that mean the end of the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act?"

Her announcement [that she would leave Congress at the end of this term, 2014] had a strange, perky quality that drew instant comparisons to airline safety videos. 


6.  Americans and Their Military Are Drifting Apart.
We need to reconsider a draft.  Pay for wars up front.  Rein in presidential power. 

Sam Adams, 1776:  "A standing Army, however necessary it may be at some times, is always dangerous to the Liberties of the People.  Soldiers are apt to consider themselves as a Body distinct from the rest of the Citizens."


7.  Tom Keane, in a recent Boston Globe, asks:  "Is the auto franchise system a lemon?"
Boy, is it!  Keane's best 2 paragraphs, in paraphrase:

If you want to buy a TV, there are a number of approaches you might take -- retail store, shop online, go direct to the manufacturer.  But if you want to buy, say, a new $14,000 Ford Fiesta, your options are limited.  You can't get it from the manufacturer, nor can you purchase it online.  Conventional retail stores can't carry it either.  You have only one choice:  an automobile dealer.

"Buying a car is the bane of every consumer's existence.  There's that cringe-inducing moment as you walk into the showroom and a salesman (and it's almost always a man) sidles up, suddenly your best friend, offering you a seat and coffee, eager to hear your life story.  There's the opaque pricing and the false negotiation -- "Let me check with my manager" -- and relentless push for more options, extended warranties, dealer add-ons, and dealer-provided financing."







Friday, May 24, 2013

A Postscript on "Maybe a LITTLE Bit of Government is Okay"

Fri. May 24, 2013:


And speaking of a Corrective, for Texans' & Oklahomans' costly skepticism about "Gummint" -- in light of the Fertilizer Explosion without government safely re-zoning hospitals & schools, and the Tornado without government-mandated Safe Rooms:

Do we really want to throw out the Baby ["ALL government"] with the Bathwater [services do need rendering]:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/opinion/governments-vital-role.html








Yes, the federal government plays an outsize role in our daily lives. But it’s not in a negative or sinister way.
So let’s count some of the ways that the federal government influences our daily lives. We eat safer food, take tested medications, breathe cleaner air and drink purer water all because of the government our tax dollars support. We also fly on more secure planes, drive on a network of Interstate highways, and benefit from federally funded medical and scientific research.
Government trade missions help us gain more markets for our goods, government inspectors keep our power plants safe, and government laws protect us against fraud, discrimination and unsafe workplaces. And I could go on and on.



Thursday, May 23, 2013

3 Quotes of the Day -- And, More Grist for Climate-Change Deniers

Fri. May 24, 2013:



I.  Here are the 3 best quotes of the day:

A.  Jimmy Kimmel, on the latest new TV shows previewed by the Networks: 
 "One of the shows previewed today was written by a 3rd-grade class.  Your challenge tonight is to figure out which one it was." 




B.  Another observer at the same event [called the "Upfronts" for the networks' new seasonal offerings]:
"Rod Serling had more originality on a sick day than all the networks' high-priced talent combined."
AND
"Serling once complained that TV drama 'must walk tiptoe and in agony lest it offend some cereal buyer from a given state below the Mason-Dixon.' "



                                         Rod Serling and His TV Classic "The Twilight Zone"

C.  And, the latest on Immigration Bill's "progress" from the funny columnist Gail Collins whom you recently read: 
"Any further progress would require cooperation from the House of Representatives, the circle of hell where the damned are condemned to spend eternity voting to repeal the health care reform law."





II.  Another Blow for Climate-Change Deniers:



So Totally Our Fault
In a glove tossed down to climate change deniers, a paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters looked at about 4,000 scientific articles about global warming and found that 97.1 percent of them concluded that rising temperatures were “anthropogenic,” or caused by humans. “Our findings prove that there is a strong scientific agreement about the cause of climate change, despite public perceptions to the contrary,” said John Cook, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland, according to an article in The Guardian. Dr. Cook is a physicist, not a climate scientist, but he collects peer-reviewed papers on climate change the way some people do “Star Trek” memorabilia; he also maintains SkepticalScience.com, which includes a list of the “most used climate myths and what the science really says.” Myth No. 1: “Climate’s Changed Before.” No. 2: “It’s the Sun.” No. 3: “It’s Not Bad.”








Needing A Goldilocks "Just-Right" on Too Much / Too Little "Government"

Thu. May 23, 2013:


Dear Faithfuls & Loyals,

Didja notice that one reason the town of West, Texas had so many casualties when its fertilizer factory blew up?  No governmental zoning, to prevent Nursing Homes, or Middle Schools, or High Schools, from locating cheek-to-jowl with a potentially explosive nitrogen source like a fertilizer plant.




Didja notice that one reason Moore, Oklahoma had so many casualties duirng this week's massive tornado?
No governmental requirement for Safe Rooms -- AT LEAST in Elementary Schools! -- even in the notorious Tornado Alley.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/shelter-requirements-resisted-in-tornado-alley.html?pagewanted=all


                                  Moore, Oklahoma Elementary School, After Killer Tornado

Y'know, the 3 recent "scandals" [Benghazi, IRS targeting Tea Party applicants for Tax Exemptions, and Justice Department fighting dangerous leaks by sneaking into reporters' private email & phone records]
just prove again what we've all known for years -- of Department of Motor Vehicle queues & Post Office bunglings -- Republicans are CORRECT when they say that Too Much Government Is Bad.
IT IS!  But, good people of Texas & Oklahoma, we do need SOME government, to protect us from Ourselves, and from things beyond our control. 


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

"Wing-Nuts" & How to Reduce USA's Polarization

Tues. May 21, 2013:


Worthy Readers,

Tip of the hat to Bloomberg News's Cass Sunstein.
His is the 1st persuasive suggestion on how to soften, if not win over, Wing-Nuts on the opposite sides of
every political issue.

Read, and enjoy:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-20/how-to-humble-a-wing-nut.html

Monday, May 20, 2013

Greatest Hits from Last Week, in Bloomberg News & NYT

Mon. May 20, 2013:


I.  

Bloomberg News's Albert Hunt -- a columnist generally on the conservative side -- sums up
Obama's "Trilogy of Scandals" well here.  But is it right to say Attorney-General Eric Holder must go?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-19/how-obama-can-rescue-his-presidency-from-faux-scandals.html


                                                         Attorney-General Eric Holder 
___________________________________________________________________

II.


Just for fun, Looksie at what Bill Veeck's son [a junior P.T. Barnum himself] is up to:



And here's the week's best, on economics/politics.


There are still Male Chauvinists around, who insist that Females are incapable of great humor.  But . . .

______________________________________________________________________________________


1.  Moderate conservative David Brooks:

2.  BEST ARTICLE OF THE WEEK, describing the evolution -- especially 1954-2013 -- of our crazy campaign finance laws -- too much for overwhelmed IRS functionaries:
NOTICE:  A well-intentioned "reform" of 2001 winds up backfiring.  Especially because of 2010 Citizens United ruling.

3.  BOTH Dem & GOP Senates, of the past & present, have scandalously blocked Cabinet appointments.
It has turned the Constitution's "advise & consent" role for the Senate into complete dysfunction -- as Robert Gates was warning last Sunday:

4.   Interesting "political memo" pointing out that GOP anti-Obama obstructionism may accidentally hurt themselves for 2017 and beyond [if they do win Congress & Presidency in 2016] by refusing, NOW, to accept an Obama Grand Bargain with tax increases, under HIS watch, so that HE takes the inevitable blame for Austerity:

5.  For "climate deniers," Insurance Companies should make them rethink their denials:

6.  Here's the best summary of whether Japan's inflation policy, or Europe's austerity policy, is the best way for the USA to end the lingering Recession right now: