I Am Livid

I am livid. I am incensed. I could not be more upset by today’s defeat of the already compromised gun bill background check amendment.

First things first. The right to bear arms is not absolute. You can’t buy a tank or mortar or go to the napalm store and stock up. Second Amendment rights are oversold.

I was for background checks before I read this morning’s NY Times. Then I found out about armslist.com.

Yes, there’s an online marketplace for guns. I’m not sure why I was surprised, but I was. There are no background checks nor do you have to register your purchase.

The Times quickly found a felon posting ads to buy. Is this really what we want?

Surveys show the vast majority of Americans want background checks. That majority holds for Republicans, Democrats, gun owners, even NRA members!

A majority of Senators voted in favor of checks today. That’s no longer enough. Majority rule has disappeared.

The NRA wields great power because they aggressively campaign against anyone they see as their enemy. Their money has been effective, and elected officials know it.

The only way to beat the NRA is to prove there’s a downside to today’s vote. Michael Bloomberg and friends will attempt to make that point in November 2014.

I have friends who are sportsmen and hunters. I have no desire to take away their guns.

I want purchases registered. I want trafficking stopped. I want majority rule returned to Congress. I want the NRA cut down to size.

Like I said, I’m livid.

The New Lobbyists

We are the new lobbyists! That’s got to be scary to politicians used to playing by the old rules.

The House and Senate were about to pass hardnosed anti-piracy legislation (SOPA & PIPA) when a funny thing happened. People spoke up. Congress backed down.

A Eureka&#185 moment!

As the Internet transformed shopping and news and just about everything else it is about to transform government and governance. Voices can be amassed in numbers never before seen. “People power” might actually be at hand.

We are the new lobbyists! That’s got to be scary to politicians used to playing by the old rules.

Too bad.

&#185 – From Wikipedia: This exclamation is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes. He reportedly proclaimed “Eureka!” when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose—he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged

Hey Congress, Enough Already!

Pompous asses don’t want to be associated with you. You’re cheapening their brand!

If the graph of my 401-K was actually a roller coaster’s track it would be shut down! Too dangerous. Too many sharp turns. Too scary.

Hey Congress. Enough already. I’m sick of you. What you’re doing in DC is rubbing off on my retirement funds.

Pompous asses don’t want to be associated with you either. You’re cheapening their brand!

We have a totally dysfunctional Congress. At least one party seems to have forgotten the goal is to advance the country, not defeat the opposition!

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said this last fall,

“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president”

Mitch. May I call you Mitch? Mitch, that’s the most anti-American thing I’ve ever heard a politician say! That’s the single most important thing for you to achieve? Idiot.

I blame a lot of this in the fiery vitriol that has overtaken politics in America. Selling a position has become much less important than injuring an opponent. Partisans get so caught up in the rhetoric they become incapable of backing down.

Compromise? Ha!

I had a small fight last night on Facebook. One of my friends published a link to a series of quotes and excerpts from Barack Obama’s books. They made Obama look awful.

Alas, they were taken out-of-context and in a few cases just made up. Obama hadn’t said those things. It didn’t matter.

When the error of her source was pointed out to my friend she refused to withdraw. In fact she doubled down posting another link. She told me she wouldn’t apologize.

She seemed anxious to hurt this president she reviles. If there weren’t facts matching the quotes she linked to it didn’t matter. Surely there were facts somewhere.

That’s what’s going on in Washington. Policies that looked fine when first introduced become poisonous when adopted by the opposition. It’s bad if the other guy thinks it’s good.

I’ve had enough of this stuff. Congress, you’re screwing around with my life and I don’t appreciate it.

I Go To Drudge When I Want To Get Upset

Now I only go to Drudge when I want to get upset… like tonight!

I used to read Matt Drudge’s Drudge Report all the time. By-and-by he’s become more conservative and more a “Hey you kids–off my lawn,” frustrated, angry man!. Now I only go to Drudge when I want to get upset… like tonight!

Here’s his current page (Is Drudge the last of all websites to only have one ‘real’ webpage with updated info?)

To most of the world the lead is that little story on the right: A government shutdown has been averted: “Finally, a deal…”

Too pedestrian for Drudge. He’s got bigger fish to fry: “PELSOI SKIPS TOWN ON SHUTDOWN EVE.”

He’s all about Nancy Pelosi’s speaking engagement and a story which he links to the thinly read Medford Patch. It is the only citation on the web (other than a Politico article which was published prior to her appearance).

Maybe Pelosi is a story, but is it the all caps lead on the night Congress decides the government can stay open-for-business?

Like I said I go to Drudge when I want to get upset. Mission accomplished!

What My Facebook Friend Running For Congress Probably Didn’t Know… Until Now

My problem… and now possibly her problem… is I’m a geek. I looked at her site and immediately looked under-the-hood.

If you ask to be my friend on Facebook and you’re a person and not a business, you’re my friend. It didn’t start out like that, but I’ve learned the error of my ways. That’s how I amassed 1,604 ‘friends’.

One of my ‘friends’ is running for Congress. She posted a link on her wall and like an obedient puppy I followed.

My problem… and now possibly her problem… is I’m a geek. I looked at her site and immediately looked under-the-hood. It’s possible for anyone to see this kind of thing. Your browser is equipped to divulge the code it sees.

The site is run under WordPress. My site too. Obviously I approve.

The site is very stylish so I checked out the theme–“Probama.” Uh oh.

Daria Novak is a Republican candidate for Congress. She’s a former Reagan administration staffer and is pictured with Newt Gingrich on her site.

On the other hand “Probama” is described as:

“A timely WordPress theme for supporters of Senator Barack Obama’s political career and presidential campaign. Built-in control panel options allow easy management of images, video, podcasts and other RSS info.”

My bet is Daria Novak will soon have a new look on her campaign’s website–and again, it’s a really well designed site. I hope I’m wrong, but “Probama?” That’ll be difficult.

It’s possible there’s a real life lesson hidden in here somewhere. A good idea doesn’t become a bad idea just because someone you don’t support or don’t like is associated with it.

Will the theme lose its luster because of its name? Stay tuned.

The story continues with changes made to Candidate Novak’s site after this entry went onlline.

What I Don’t Understand About Filibustering

The Republicans may not be scared of the Democrats, but aren’t they scared of the voters?

Embedded in the tumult over healthcare insurance reform is the promise if Democrats try to bring a bill to the Senate floor without 60 votes Republicans will filibuster!

Ooooh–filibuster. It’s the boogie man of Roberts Rules. Anyway, we’re not exactly seeing an insta-Congress now.

OK–I’m sort of slow on this. I’m sure I’m missing something. The last filibuster I remember seeing was delivered by Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Good scene. He collapsed convincingly.

I assume the modern version would be a tag-team filibuster with individual Republicans and conservative Democrats taking turns yapping.

Again, I’m sort of slow on this, but why not? Seriously. Why wouldn’t the Democrats want the Republicans to do this?

The latest polls show the vast majority of Americans want insurance reform including a public option. The Republicans may not be scared of the Democrats, but aren’t they scared of the voters? Do they really want to throw a monkey wrench in the works while America stares at them?

A filibuster would open them to all sorts of accusations they currently avoid. It would make them seem smarmy in a much more visible way.

Let them filibuster!

Again, I know I’m missing something here… or maybe everyone else is too damned scared for their own good.

We Need Less Credit

Unfortunately, when you buy a meal or DVD or pants and end up paying and paying and paying no one except the bankers benefit.

I’m in a pissy mood tonight, so let me vent about another thorn in my side. Have you read the threats from the credit card industry? That’s what they are–threats. They don’t like the recently passed credit card legislation and are throwing a financial hissy fit.

From The New York Times: “Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.

“It will be a different business,” said Edward L. Yingling, the chief executive of the American Bankers Association, which has been lobbying Congress for more lenient legislation on behalf of the nation’s biggest banks. “Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems.””

Yeah–take that consumers! They threaten to raise fees and cut accounts. Shhh… they are speaking like a monolith and forgetting there is (supposed to be) competition.

OK, here’s the deal. When folks pay a significant portion of their weekly income in interest and fees as opposed to using it for things they might actually need, we’re all getting screwed.

Some credit for durable goods purchases makes sense. Car loans and mortgages seem like reasonable uses. Unfortunately, when you buy a meal or DVD or pants and end up paying and paying and paying no one except the bankers benefit.

Though it will be a temporary inconvenience, we need less easy access to expensive credit, not more. We need more money spent going toward paying for things, not paying for fees and interest.

Addendum: Ron Lieber writing in Wednesday’s Times agrees with me competition will keep banks from raising fees

All The Dirt That’s Fit To Print Or Broadcast Or Browse

If Obama cured cancer, Drudge would find a downside.

As I write this a Chris Shays for Congress ad is on during the Emmys. Even Republicans are running against the Republican Party. Shays is. Everyone’s a rebel.

I’ve read a lot about this presidential race being the meanest, dirtiest ever–and then I’ve read it’s not. Who knows? There’s no shortage of bullshit available on both sides.

This is probably our most partisan election as far as media goes.

There’s Fox–strongly Republican, though publicly in denial. Rupert Murdoch was on Fox last week saying what awful would happen if Obama is elected.

MSNBC has turned sharply Democratic and otherwise left-of-center with Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. It’s a little less comfortable for MSNBC. Unlike Fox, there is an affiliation with a non-partisan news organization (NBC) and no Roger Ailes. They’d do better with a Roger Ailes to run interference.

I am most intrigued with politically slanted coverage on the net. I’ve been a big Drudge reader for years. He is heavily out in support of McCain/Palin. Tonight on Drudge:

OBAMAPELOSI DEMAND ‘OVERSIGHT’ ON BAILOUT…

PALIN DRAWS CROWD OF 60,000 IN FLORIDA

If Obama cured cancer, Drudge would find a downside.

Drudge is now balanced by Huffington Post. Wasn’t Arianna Huffington once a conservative? On Huffington McCain can do no right.

Obama: Bailout Plan Must Address “The Crisis On Main Street And Around Kitchen Tables Across America”

Here’s the problem with all this vitriol. Once the election is over there’s going to be a huge segment of our population unhappy and ready to hatchet whomever wins. No matter what the result, this promises to be the most divisive (and derisive) election I can remember.

Modern Day Spying Revisited

How many ways can I say, “No,” please don’t let this happen.

In December I wrote:

“Congress is considering legislation to indemnify phone companies that allow the government access to their equipment for the purpose of spying without warrants. How many ways can I say, “No,” please don’t let this happen.

Our country should be able to spy on our enemies. In fact, our government has an obligation to protect us using methods like spying. However, the hurdles the government must leap before starting to spy have to be high and those doing the spying must be answerable.”

I feel that way now just as much as I did then. I am disappointed the House has passed a FISA ‘reform’ bill which does everything I dreaded. It still has to go to the Senate, and I hope it dies there, but I’m not particularly upbeat about the prospects.

There are few political issues I take sides on publicly. I can’t avoid it here. This is much too important.

If The Democrats No Longer Need Lieberman

So, what happens if the Democrats sweep the House, Senate and elect a president? It’s certainly not out of the question. I think the loser is Lieberman and by proxy, Connecticut.

I suspect we’re about to face an interesting political dilemma in Connecticut.

Right now, the Democrats control both branches of Congress. The majority in the Senate is razor thin. Democrats control by two, but only if you include Senate independents, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Though he ran against, and beat, the endorsed Democratic candidate in the last election, Lieberman enjoys the benefits of the Democratic majority. From his own website:

In 2006, Senator Lieberman was elected to a fourth term as an Independent, because of the strength of his record and his accomplishments for the state. He won the general election by more than 100,000 votes. He remains committed to caucusing with Senate Democrats, but will be identified as an Independent Democrat (ID-CT).

That last sentence was written before Senator Lieberman endorsed Republican Senator John McCain’s Republican bid for president. That followed two years where Lieberman sided with the president (and against the Democrats) on many issues, including Iraq and National intelligence.

So, what happens if the Democrats sweep the House, Senate and elect a president? It’s certainly not out of the question. I think the loser is Lieberman and by proxy, Connecticut.

Why would the Democrats keep Lieberman in a position of power while their own loyal members wait? I don’t think they will.

  • Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Member of the Armed Services Committee
  • Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee
  • Member of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee

This is really all academic. Whatever happens will play out behind closed doors and without consulting the people of Connecticut. We’ll only feel its effect in Lieberman’s reduced power… though it’s tough to quantify that power right now.

This is one of those unintended consequences no one anticipates.

NFL Network Sacked For A Loss

So, it looks like the Patriot – Giants game will be on ‘free’ over-the-air TV (seen mainly on ‘paid’ cable or satellite). Originally it was scheduled to be on the NFL Network alone.

This is a complex story, but it seems the NFL is the real short term loser here.

Basically, the NFL created its own sports network and seeded it with a handful of games. In years gone by, these would have been shown on free TV and, in fact, they were still going to be shown on free TV in the teams’ home markets.

The idea was to force cable companies to carry the network year round. That would be the only way to have access to these individual games. The NFL wanted it to be included on cable as a basic service, like CNN or ESPN and not a pay add-on, like HBO or Showtime.

It was a lot to swallow for a few out-of-market games and lots (and lots) of filler.

Unfortunately for the NFL, the cable companies balked and few fans cared. Did you really miss the Broncos – Texans game on December 13 (or the other random match-ups&#185)?

This would have all passed quietly, except for this weekend and the Patriots going for an undefeated season. Now the NFL had leverage. Fortunately, it blew up in their faces.

Under enormous pressure from Congress on down, the NFL relented. Now, this marquee game will be seen on the NFL Network, NBC and CBS! In Boston and New York City it will be on a fourth station as well! ABC might as well run the “All-Star Salute to Cheese.”

In trying to force the cable companies to carry their network, the NFL didn’t have a leg to stand on because of one other move they’d made: NFL Sunday Ticket.

NFL Sunday Ticket is the NFL’s package, offering every game live. As much as the cable companies and Dish Network want that (and I’d probably buy it), it is only offered on DirectTV.

This is a guess on my part, but I’ll bet Sunday Ticket is the most powerful selling point DirectTV has.

The cable ops (and I) wondered, how the could NFL cry about their fans inability to watch these NFL Network games when it wouldn’t provide all the other games to those same poor fans? This is the definition of chutzpah!

There’s an old story about a guy who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan. That’s the NFL!

I don’t know how this will all come out. At some point the NFL will have to accept defeat and decide if this in-house network is really a viable concept.

Is it just me, or is there a cosmic thread which runs through America where we root for the evil, greedy corporation to get its comeuppance. At the moment, I couldn’t be happier.

In the Fox house, we will continue to root against the Giants. The Pats achievement is less important.

&#185 – NFL Network 2007 Game Schedule

Week 12: Thursday, November 22 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Indianapolis Colts at Atlanta Falcons (Thanksgiving)

Week 13: Thursday, November 29 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys

Week 14: Thursday, December 6 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins

Week 15: Thursday, December 13 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Denver Broncos at Houston Texans

Week 15: Saturday, December 15 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Cincinnati Bengals at San Francisco 49ers

Week 16: Thursday, December 20 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Pittsburgh Steelers at St. Louis Rams

Week 16: Saturday, December 22 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers

Week 17: Saturday, December 29 at 8:00 PM ET (Live)

New England Patriots at New York Giants

Modern Day Spying

Congress is considering legislation to indemnify phone companies that allow the government access to their equipment for the purpose of spying without warrants. How many ways can I say, “No,” please don’t let this happen.

Our country should be able to spy on our enemies. In fact, our government has an obligation to protect us using methods like spying. However, the hurdles the government must leap before starting to spy have to be high and those doing the spying must be answerable.

What I don’t want is unfettered access without oversight. That seems to be what we’ve got now, and what this legislation will retroactively legitimize.

The government (not just this administration, though it is the poster child) is notoriously poor at acknowledging its own mistakes. Mistakes that are made ‘in the dark,’ sadly, may be ‘forgotten.’ These errors affect real people.

Telcos, which depend on the government for business and favorable legislation, shouldn’t be put in the position of deciding whether to help based on whether their collective backs will later be scratched. You can be sure that’s why they violated the law in the past by allowing the government access to their networks for warrantless spying.

Government works best when it operates with oversight. That’s why our founding fathers decided three branches of government were better than one.

Faith And Politics

I am Jewish. No surprise there. I have mentioned it enough times on the blog.

I’m not a particularly observant Jew. As with many other Jews, I look at my “Jewishness” as much an ethnicity as a religion.

I don’t think Jews have found a shortcut to heaven. In fact, Jews don’t believe in heaven. We are not the only nor necessarily the best religion.

I respect my friends who have religious beliefs different than mine.

God knows (he really does), I’ve been in enough churches during my 23 years in Connecticut! I’ve spoken to church groups and church schools. I was honored to eulogize my friend Kevin at a Mormon ceremony.

With all this having been established, I am troubled by things I read which suggests some people running for the White House feel it’s a job for a Christian.

Oh, it has to be the right kind of Christian too… maybe not the Mitt Romney kind. Maybe not the Rudy Guiliani kind either. Is Mike Huckabee OK? Depends who you ask.

We are a secular nation. Unlike England, for instance, there is no state church here. We are a nation of laws, not doctrine. Our leaders are elected by the people, not anointed by God.

In essence, I’m hoping the first amendment covers me when it says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

It is right for Christians, or any other group, to act in concert to advance their agenda. It is wrong to do that to the exclusion of others.

My Jewishness should never cause me to be uncomfortable in our society. At the moment, it does.

Reframing An Argument

Stef called tonight. It’s Sunday night, but there was schoolwork to be done. We spent a little time discussing an assignment from one of her courses.

The professor mentioned George Lakoff and the concept of reframing an argument.

It’s actually a pretty effective tactic. Can’t win an argument? Reframe it by making the overlying concept something no one could disagree with.

No sooner did I hang up the phone than I read an example.

By PAMELA HESS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) – As Congress debates new rules for government eavesdropping, a top intelligence official says it is time that people in the United States changed their definition of privacy.

Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information.

If I’m reading this correctly, Kerr says get used to having anything you say or do connected directly to you.

Right now, where you are, or what you say and do, is your business alone. This blog is out in the open, but if I send you email, it is private. At least it is now.

I’m not sure how this privacy will disappear, but I’m guessing it’s a combination of eavesdropping, spying, snooping and database aggregation.

Who would go for that? Not too many, especially if you use words like eavesdropping and spying. Kerr didn’t, though he works in intelligence, also known as spying.

Kerr reframed the argument. Here’s the operative phrase:

… government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information.

Of course, safeguard! Who could be opposed to that?

You seldom get to put an abstract concept from a university course into practical terms so quickly. I’m afraid that’s not a good thing this time.

Manipulating Mother Nature

I was just sent a tear sheet from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper. It’s a real letter to the editor from last week.

There’s not much I can say except, read it. You might need to read it again.

You may have noticed that March of this year was particularly hot. As a matter of fact, I understand that it was the hottest March since the beginning of the last century. All of the trees were fully leafed out and legions of bugs and snakes were crawling around during a time in Arkansas when, on a normal year, we might see a snowflake or two.

This should come as no surprise to any reasonable person. As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they?

Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects.

Connie M. Meskimen

Hot Springs

Wow!

Blogger’s addendum: Jim, in Truckee, CA pointed out something I didn’t realize. The letter to the editor is probably heavily tongue in cheek by an attorney known for this sort of thing.

Since some of you don’t read the comments, and what Jim said is important to understanding (better than I obviously did) the story, I’ll include it here:

There’s even more to this ‘true’ story. Snopes.com (Urban Legends, etc.) says this guys is known for writing sarcastic and humorous letters to the editor.

See: Snopes.com