2012 archive
Republican Reassessment, and Other Fanciful Notions 2
In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reg Henry plants his tongue inside his cheek and urges Republicans, “Enough with the soul-searching!”*
A nugget:
That Latinos preferred Mr. Obama in the election by a wide margin is a problem for the party, but not as big as advertised. Apparently, Latinos saw punitive steps being taken against illegal immigrants and feared that they would be confused with them. Who knew people could be so thin-skinned?
The remedy is not to cease saying bad things about illegal immigrants — that has given conservatives too much pleasure — but to make room for approved Latinos in the right-wing information bubble or echo chamber.
Another possible remedy is to diversify the party’s enemies so Latinos don’t have to be singled out so much. As you know, fear and loathing of something is absolutely essential to the conservative worldview.
__________________
*Listen carefully to the calls of the soul-searchers, then take out your Audubon and identify the callers.
Republican politicians are not doing any soul-searching, apart from the occasional “we need to stop sounding crazy” sound bite (emphasis on “sounding”). Any soul-searching is being done by members of the right-wing punditocracy, such as David Brooks and the much lighter-weight Joe Scarborough, trying to figure out why their relentless attempts to paint Republicanism as some sort of moral imperative did not carry the day.
Republican pols will just double-down on the crazy.
It’s what their base wants.
Never let it be said that they won’t pander to their base.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Indulge your greed with courtesy:
Witnesses reportedly told police that Salme had behaved rudely that morning and had provoked the situation before pulling the handgun and pointing it at Alex, though San Antonio Police Sgt. Rob Carey said at the scene of the incident that he had actually pointed it at the ground.
Roger Rivera, who was shopping in the Sears, said Salame was punched then pulled a gun. Everyone scattered, “tumbling over things, dropping boxes,” Rivera said. The man who was trying to cut in line ran and hid behind a refrigerator before he fled the store.
Police concluded that the shopper’s action was justifiably courteous.
Gun Nut Paradise approacheth post haste.
Via TPM.
Red Dawn, Through a Glass Darkly 0
PoliticalProf remarks on the irony:
No, I have no intention of seeing this potboiler. I didn’t watch the first one and want to keep my record unblemished.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy, Empty Moralizing Dept. 0
The Inky has a long story about a survey that reveals that homeowners in financial trouble are more willing to go to foreclosure than ever before. They no longer consider foreclosure an unforgivable financial sin.
The column theorizes several reasons: so many persons are in foreclosure that it has lost much of its stigma; persons have been stuck with houses so far underwater that they cannot sell them to pay off the loan; and so on. A mild undercurrent of oh! the horror runs through the article.
Buried in the middle is what I suspect is a key reason:
Consumers have developed a deep resentment of financial institutions, he says, which they perceive as not dealing in good faith with distressed borrowers. “In this case, the rationale is that it’s okay to default if a lender won’t work with a borrower to right size a loan that’s upside down,” Hars says. They think “it’s the lender’s fault, because of their refusal to write down some of the principal balance, which they’re going to have to do anyway in a foreclosure.”
He left out the part about
-
“Consumers have developed a deep resentment of financial institutions” because, in the quest for sales commissions and mortgages to “securitize,” they pursued and made dodgy loans–ARMs, “liars’ loans,” no down payment loans–to persons in weak financial circumstances for undeserving properties, then turned around and crashed the market, leaving their loan customers holding the bag.
Persons who have been abused, once they realize they have been abused, have no loyalty to the abuser.
Spill Here, Spill Now, Scot-Free Dept. 0
In the Baltimore Sun, Robert Reich points out that fining Buccaneer Petroleum for its wild well misses the point. A nugget:
They’re the ones who should be punished. Failure to punish them simply invites more of the same kind of criminal negligence by executives more interested in lining their pockets than protecting their workers and the environment.
Read the rest for examples of other pillows of industry who got off Scot-free.
Droning On 2
Secret Sheriff surveillance secrecy in San Diego:
They were “as transparent as they can be” except when they weren’t.
Dulcet Tones 0
I have another podcast up at Hacker Public Radio. In this one, I discuss the Move! Bike Computer Android app. If you bike, hike, or run and want to keep track of your route and performance, you might want to check it out.
Two Standards Are Better Than One 0
At the Guardian, Lizz Winstead considers the Republican crusade against Susan Rice:
But these things only apply if your name is Susan Rice.
If your name is Condi Rice, the rules are different. Condi Rice played an actual role in the planning of an unnecessary war, then went on the very same shows and told America and the world that Iraq owned unicorns that shoot mushroom clouds, as a way of scaring people into supporting her war. Condi Rice was considered very qualified to be secretary of state.
The Big Box of Turkey 0
Stuff one, stuffing zero.
“I fixed the turkey earlier, and then after me and my daughter ate, then I came to pick up my son so he could eat with his dad, and then we came and sat in the line,” said Amy Gagliardi, who waited in line at Best Buy in Chesapeake.
Desert-Errata 0
Michael Feldman offers a prayer for Thanksgiving.
Read it to settle your soul for the coming festivities.