7/12/2006
Got a Problem? The GOP Has a Fake Solution!
by Matt Singer @ 7:33 am.
Two good examples:
Oh well, once we don’t solve the health care crisis and make Indiana the top priority for homeland security measures, we can go back to focusing on more important issues: them queers trying to settle down and the recent flag burning epidemic.
But when will we focus on something that really matters to Americans and investigate whether or not the American Idol elections are rigged? I demand a Congressional hearing.
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7/11/2006
We Can’t Afford Denny Anymore
by V @ 12:47 pm.
I went to a Monica Lindeen fundraiser last night, and I was impressed by her candid estimation of her race and of her opponent. She is truly a top notch candidate and we all need to do what we can to help her with this race. But first…
Denny Rehberg: A LitW Remembrance
Denny is a tool of the oil and gas industry who doesn’t give a beggar’s damn what Montanans think about the place they live in.
Denny is a crook, who takes money from crooked people, and then uses his political clout to try and protect himself.
Denny is a jerk, who would even insult a pregnant woman and defend himself by attacking her political pursuasion.
Denny is good for Denny and for Denny’s friends like Leo Giacometto and bad for everyone else.
Denny is a joke.
Denny is a political, smarmy man who hates science, poor people, and older folks in need.
These are the reasons that Rehberg needs to go, but most folks already knew ‘em. Monica raises two points on top of this. First, ever since Denny has gone to Congress Montanans’ pocket books have been strained. Affording to heat our houses or businesses is now a real concern for folks that struggle to make ends meet in the winter, and in every season filling up a tank of gas has become ridiculous. Where does Denny stand on this timely issue? Denny has taken upwards of $200,000 from gas and oil interests, who are putting this strain on regular Montanans to keep things the same.
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| Comments (12) | Permanent Link | Categories: political, montana, democrats, republicans, corrupt, ideologues, Dennis Rehberg, elections, '06, Front Page |
Rights of Millions to Organize Under Threat
by Matt Singer @ 12:38 pm.
For decades, there has been one reliable path to a better life for people who don’t manage to end up on the senior management gravy train — unions. They didn’t just build America. They built our middle class. They built our forty hour work week. They built the notion that children should be free to attend school rather than working. No matter who you are in this nation, you have benefitted from America’s labor movement.
And now — at a time when more than ever we need a strong union movement — the National Labor Relations Board is just may, with the stroke of a pen, eliminate organizing rights for millions of American workers. The pending decision threatens to cut America’s labor movement by as much as a third, instantly.
That’s good news for the hyper-rich elite that’s already doing extremely well in this economy. For everyone else — for the majority that is living with stagnant wages — this could be an utterly devestating blow.
| Comments (7) | Permanent Link | Categories: economic, Front Page |
Consensus Contention Consensus
by Matt Singer @ 11:34 am.
Ha. John Baden of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment has a new column today. It’s on global warming and deals with consensus:
But when issues have serious implications for the well-being of others, enforced consensus often signals a paucity of critical thinking and a wealth of cowardice. When consequences affect innocent others, it’s ethically and intellectually irresponsible to stifle opposing viewpoints. Under forced consensus, opportunistic pretense trumps honest reflection.
Yes, we must be careful of that forced consensus on global warming. So we must look for an alternate worldview:
This is not an idle exercise; it has substantial implications for billions. Two years ago, a group of the world’s most respected economists, including Nobel Laureate and FREE’s 2003 Summer Scholar Thomas Schelling, were posed with a question: Given significant but finite resources, what are the best investments for improving our world? They chose clean water, public health, primary education (especially of girls), and inexpensive dietary improvements.
Ha ha! He has effectively parried the consensus of the climate scientists with a consensus of economic scientists.
Touche!
Does anyone understand how ridiculous this is? The reason why investing in preventing global warming is considered to be expensive to fix “while producing uncertain rewards in the far distant future.” Of course, the economists believe the rewards are uncertain. Are the climate scientists as unsure? Or are the climate scientists pretty damn sure that warming is human-caused, happening, will have dire implications, and can still be stopped? My understanding is that most climate scientists are positive on these four arguments.
If our criticism of fixing global warming is that we must not simply take consensus for granted, we shouldn’t pretend that economists don’t have their own blinders on, even Nobel laureates who have an affiliation with a think tank as prestigious as FREE.
Trust me on this one, all the bloggers are in agreement.
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He Tips Well and Polls Well!
by Matt Singer @ 8:33 am.
Before winning the primary, Tester was up over Burns 48%-44% in Rasmussen polling. The NRSC just tried to unload a shotgun blast on him, accusing him of being a librul with a cheap haircut. Montana ain’t buying it. In fact, they’re moving into place behind Schweitzer. The latest polling has Tester up 50-43. Schweitzer’s approval is at 73%. Meanwhile, Bush is at 49% approval, but the more interesting story is that while the Preznit rates a 30% strong approve, his strong disapprove is 39%.
Meanwhile, the Montana Republican Party thinks Butte is part of the East Coast, their policy proposals are being curbstopped by Jag’s master, and the closest thing to a popular leader they can muster is Brad “BJ” Johnson.
It just may be time for me to fold up shop.
| Comments (6) | Permanent Link | Categories: democrats, elections, '06, Front Page |
7/10/2006
Chuck Denowh Attacks a Butte-Girl for Being an East Coaster
by Matt Singer @ 2:19 pm.
Chuck Denowh’s latest “E-Brief” (motto: “The Dumbest Political Newsletter. Evre.”) claims that Howard Dean is taking over Jon Tester’s campaign. Right. And monkeys have taken over MT GOP headquarters (they could be so lucky). The evidence? Stephanie Schriock, who once worked for Dean, is now managing Tester’s campaign.
Quelle Horreur!
Too bad for Denowh that Schriock’s a Butte girl who was actually student president of Butte High. I mean, I know I hate it when Montanans who had to leave the state for economic reasons return.
Anyways, as far as I know, no one refers to the Pit’s shore as the “East Coast” so I’m think Chuck is just, um, wrong, um, again. But you probably already guessed that.
| Comments (19) | Permanent Link | Categories: Front Page |
Little Known Fact
by Matt Singer @ 1:46 pm.
Unlike my fearless compatriot V, I am not a soon-to-be law student. Many of my other friends are also choosing this route, which is apparently only somewhat safer than signing up for a tour of duty at Versailles Verdun in World War I.
Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to be depressed than members of other professions? That’s an incredible statistic. Here I thought dentists were the unhappy ones.
Of course, maybe unhappy people just choose to become lawyers. That would explain V.
Just kidding. (more…)
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WaPo with Some Good Advice
by V @ 11:39 am.
So the task for Americans who support same-sex marriage, as we do, has not changed. It is to convince a majority that couples who love each ought to have the state’s recognition for lifelong relationships — and that such recognition poses no threat to heterosexual marriage. Once that happens, it won’t matter what the New York court thinks. And until that happens, no victory there, or in any state court, will be safe.
This comes at the end of an editorial that talks about the NY Marriage decision as the “Gettysburg for Gay Marriage.” Asymmetry of the metaphor aside , this is good advice for most advocates, and the only counter-argument that I would make is that a government has to make good on its promises. That is, when a government promises equality to all, it cannot create second class citizen groups out of the other side of its mouth. This is the job of the courts in these cases. They are meant to explore whether substantive rights are violated by treating same-sex oriented folks differently and unequally.
| Comments (5) | Permanent Link | Categories: same-sex marriage, law, Front Page |
Righteous in Montana
by V @ 11:13 am.
Over in the bizarro world of WRiM writer James Larson has posted something beyond inane. I will repost much of it for the purpose of poking fun but if you must link there, you’ll have to find your own way. I am sure Googling “right-wing nutters” or “cut and run Montana” will get you there eventually. Anyhow, lots of laughs after the break…
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| Comments (4) | Permanent Link | Categories: montucky, republicans, ideologues, Front Page, religion |
GOP: Burns Acted Inappropriately
by Matt Singer @ 9:46 am.
OK. They don’t quite say this, but they are running ads criticizing the Saginaw Chippewa earmark. Humorously, they’ve defended Conrad Burns in the past saying he was honest in his efforts to secure money for this loaded, out-of-state tribe. Yeah, honest like a lying man.
Pogie is mocking the NRSC. The Gazette is admirably highlighting this story. The NRSC honestly thinks they can get away with this. They think you’re stupid.
As Andy Tweeten is pointing out over at TesterTime, Conrad Burns also thinks you’re stupid. He now claims to be for protecting the front when he used to be for drilling. He claims to be for protecting social security when he wanted to privatize it. He claims he never raised taxes when he actually has. He claims to be for clean government when his office sold out our great republic. He claims to be for lower spending while bragging about the pork he’s carrying. He claims to be all things to all people, but he’s really an ineffective Senator who has been in Washington far too long.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: republicans, corrupt, Conrad Burns, Front Page |
7/9/2006
Respecting the First Amendment
by Matt Singer @ 12:07 pm.
I think David Crisp nails this one. Valedictory speeches are quite common and are awarded on the basis of performance in school. If a valedictorian wants to make a speech about faith, I think that a content restriction is troubling.
Now, obviously, I think it’d be wise for valedictorians to steer their own speeches away from too much political or religious proselytizing, but I also think it’d be smart for schools to avoid indicating that the content of speeches by valedictorians is endorsed by the school district.
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7/8/2006
Well, What Do Ya Know?
by V @ 2:18 pm.
Dave Budge responded to my post about DeLay with a post about justice for the fine folks in Texas-22. Turns out, this might just be a political win-win(-win, for those unwilling to commit to one side or the other), thanks to Mr. DeLay. TPM reports the muck:
Looks like we might have Tom DeLay to kick around some more.
Republicans still await the result of an appeal to Thursday’s decision, but if they lose again, and DeLay is forced to remain on the ballot, it looks like he’d reenter rather than let the Democrats easily claim the seat.
So how exactly is this a win-win? Its quite simple, really. Should the appeal affirm the lower decision, DeLay will be on the ballot for real and not just for show. This means three things that I can count: the nutters in Texas that still want the hammer (enough to put him on the ballot in the first place) will get to vote for the real deal and not some honky second fiddle, DeLay reaps no awards for being a crook except those that he won honestly or at least by the rules, and all the rest of the voters in Texas-22 get an opportunity to vote against, arguably, the most corrupt man in the world. Hard to beat an opportunity like that, even in this land rich with it.
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7/7/2006
Elites Want Elite Third Party. Yawn.
by Matt Singer @ 5:53 pm.
Ross Douthat is hanging out with a bunch of powerful mushy moderate elitists who feel that they lack power. I wrote about this phenomenon a while ago. The truth is everyone gets frustrated by politics. It’s called a messy system whereby we attempt to distill the opinions of nearly 300 million people into public policy on an amazingly broad range of issues by decision-makers at multiple levels ranging from school boards and planning commissions to the U.S. Congress. The odds of having your will carried out by the system even 90% of the time are tiny.
But the really sad thing about this situation is that these high-minded (typically coastal) elites who want to run Tom Friedman for President on the Prosperous Ecosecurity Tolerance Party consider themselves so damn brilliant, but they apparently can’t even figure out how to use their combined media clout and financial connections to build a real third party and/or independent apparatus, much less make a serious try.
Honestly, you want a courageous leader to run and tackle the big problems facing America? There are probably people out there with the stones to do it. Their solutions may not always be yours, that’s inevitable. But part of your job is to go out and find these people, assemble a team to advise the candidate, and win. If you can’t do that, stop whining.
| Comments (15) | Permanent Link | Categories: Front Page |
GOP Corruption Definitely Goes All The Way to the Top
by Matt Singer @ 4:44 pm.
This is about a week old, so my apologies for being tardy. But it seems clear that the Chair of the RNC, Ken “Stumped for Conrad in Billings” Mehlman was a fixer for Abramoff at the White House. What water did he carry for Abramoff? Well, it appears to have been mostly related to events in the Northern “Home of Forced Abortions, Sexual Slavery, and Sweatshops” Marianas.
Thankfully, corrupt Mr. Mehlman gives us his word that corrupt Mr. Burns has our best interests in mind. Honestly, nothing makes me feel better than when the arsonist vouches for the carjacker.
Equally interesting, the Senate Majority Project today reports that one of the defendants in the New Hampshire phone jamming case is preparing to turn on the White House and the RNC, saying that the phone jamming plan was orchestrated from the top. Ken Mehlman was the key political operator at the White House during that time, so add election rigging to the list of crimes where he gets an assist. And who was running the RNC at that time? It’s so hard to remember.
Oh yeah, Marc Racicot. Oh well, you know what they say — anything to distract him from turning his back on Libby.
Literally, I don’t know if we could find more torrid tales of corruption. Oh wait. Yeah, we can.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: republicans, corrupt, Front Page |
This is All Just an Experiment
by Matt Singer @ 3:32 pm.
The Poor Man Institute for Freedom and Democracy and A Pony been conducting an experiment for the past several years to determine the true political beliefs of libertarians. Here are the conditions:
* In order to reduce the number of independent variables, I will make sure that the entire United States government is in the hand of one political party - say, oh, I dunno, the Republicans - and I will make sure that this party governs in such a way that the influence the other party can exert on conditions is essentially nil;* This party will then increase the size of the federal government’s budget by a record amount, and continue to increase it every year, with record waste on pork;
* The president will claim authority not seen since the reign of Louis the XIV, a claim which will go unchallenged by the Congress. He will be bound by no law or “quaint” treaty, will be subject to no oversight or review, and will publically assert the right to crush the testicles of his enemy’s children, in the name of an open-ended war against an emotion;
* Also, in aid of this vaguely-conceived “war”, the state security apparatus will be greatly increased in size and in power. All communications will be subject to government interception and review, any opposition political gathering will be monitored and/or infiltrated, and they can be arrested without charges, shipped to an undisclosed location, and tortured;
* This party’s base will demand that the party go further, for example by executing journalists who take pictures of government officials driveways with permission;
* Small “w” white liberals will be annoyed.
Heh.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: Front Page |
Links…
by Gerik @ 2:51 pm.
To borrow a title from our neighbors at 4&20 blackbirds.
Matthew Yglesias brings us a stunning assessment of the cost of war. It is appalling how easily he can suggest a host of better and cheaper policy solutions in place of our misguided war.
The man who would test pesticides on Americans. Any guesses who this is?
If you are looking for a telling tale of the SNAFU that is No Child Left Educated…look no further than the administration’s threat to withold millions of dollars in aid from one of the programs designed to support poverty sticken school districts.
Just in case you missed it, go read 4&20’s The Death of the Middle Class. This personal account of a mother’s rationale for joining the army deserves a wide audience, as does Jay’s commentary.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: foreign, environment, education |
State Mottos Open Thread
by V @ 2:41 pm.
I thought I would provide an outlet for some Burns bashing since this site is generally considered the Tester Tool (snark added for your pleasure, feel free to disregard). I ran upon this gem while I was searching for other ways to hurt Montana’s Junior Senator’s feelings. Back in Burns’ old stomping grounds they have this timely little motto: Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto or “Let the good of the people be supreme law.” Burns has, of course forgone valuing the good of the people in favor of personal enrichment and a strangle hold on his meal ticket. As for our own state motto, I have always chosen to translate it that the land is the gold and silver as well as harboring it for exploration, but I guess, it could be translated as a land obsessed with gold and silver, at least for some. I think that perhaps this misreading may be Burns’ whole problem. What do you think?
| Comments (3) | Permanent Link | Categories: republicans, corrupt, Conrad Burns, elections, '06, Front Page |
The Kennedy Court
by V @ 11:15 am.
The NYT has an editorial today, which describes this term of the Supreme Court as controlled by Justice Kennedy hopscotching from bloc to bloc. On whole, this article is worth a read. The percentages are disturbing, but not unforseen.
The two new justices, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, produced little of the term’s excitement since both men quickly fell into predictably conservative voting patterns. Justice Alito voted with Clarence Thomas 84 percent of the time in non-unanimous decisions, and with John Paul Stevens, a leader of the court’s liberal wing, just 13 percent. Chief Justice Roberts agreed with Antonin Scalia fully 88 percent of the time, and least often with Justice Stevens.
The editorial also foreshadows the coming conflict over the court, calling its “current centrism fragile.” If Democrats take back the Senate, as I hope that they do, then they have to be willing to fight on this issue. The Senate has a particularly important role in scrutinizing Justices put forth by the President, precisely because they are the final check of the people on the judicial branch.
The most important thing about the law for the people is that it remains relatively predictable, and ultimately reasonable. Everybody knows the quip that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Generally, this is a good rule, but it can only be a rule if the law is relatively constant. Mostly, this is where all of the bother about judicial restraint comes from. Bearing strictly in mind that restraint is not a value in itself nor a justification per se, it is valuable in many if not most circumstances. On the other hand, a lot of precedent is bad–either formed and followed based on the outcome of an awkward case or based on circumstances that just don’t exist anymore–and it is the job of the judiciary to purge its own bad rules.
All in all, this term has been a predictable one. The new conservatives fell right in line with Scalia and Thomas, and Kennedy carried the court towards an independent centrism. Let’s hope the next few years bring the same predictability, with only few addenda, to the American people.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: law, Front Page |
Knowing When to Hold ‘Em, When to Fold ‘Em, When to Walk Away, and When to Not Run
by Matt Singer @ 11:05 am.
The Montana Republicans keep digging. Faced with Brian Schweitzer’s Square Deal, they are now countering with their “Stampede to Victory” (highlighted on their lovely website). The second part of that phrase is misleading. Stampede’s don’t have goals. They are, in fact, according to the Dictionary, “A sudden frenzied rush of panic-stricken animals.” That aptly describes the Montana GOP these days.
Honestly, mere weeks after having a press conference to roll out an across-the-board 8% cut in property taxes, the Republicans are now sending Corey Stapleton out (or perhaps he’s stampeding on his own) to declare that the plan is no longer operative and the new plan, which has yet to be formulated, will be amazing.
| Comments (7) | Permanent Link | Categories: political, policy, taxes, economic, Front Page |
7/6/2006
Hazah!
by V @ 1:07 pm.
It looks like you cannot break all of the rules, all of the time and then try to make up new rules when you get caught breaking the old ones.
The Texas Republican Party must keep Tom DeLay’s name on the November ballot, even though the former congressman has dropped his re-election bid, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
I am going to go ahead and chalk this one up as a victory for justice.
| Comments (17) | Permanent Link | Categories: republicans, corrupt, law, elections, '06, Front Page |
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