Things I am Tired Of - Obama Won't Nominate Progressives

With the apparent death of any hope for Elizabeth Warren being nominated to run the CFRB I am again hearing how Obama is a terrible president and is selling out the left and so forth.

What I am not hearing is how there is any practical way to get Elizabeth Warren (or any serious Progressive) actually confirmed in this political climate. When you need 60 votes in the Senate to get confirmed and less than 60 solid Dem votes it seems to me that this just becomes a fools errand.

Getting Elizabeth Warren elected to the Senate to replace Scott Brown would be a good start but threatening to stay home and not vote next fall is not exactly a useful strategy in that direction.

Why Modern Theology Is Incomprehensible To Sane People

Where Can I Find the Really Good Theology? Part Two : EvolutionBlog:

"It will help to know that within process theology events (or occasions) are considered the fundamental units of reality (as opposed to physical objects), and they are said to have free will no less than human things."

Things I am Tired of - Just Be Positive

People that are constantly "looking on the bright side" are not, in my experience, rational people. That isn't to say that there isn't a kernel of something good in their approach but if you spend all of your time looking for the silver lining in clouds you are going to get hit by lightning and that really is not fun.

I don't think that folks have to all be cynical crankpots (although it works for me most days) but a bit of skepticism is healthy and being eternally sunny and optimistic shows that you are just not in touch with reality.

IMHO, YMMV

On Eating At Chain Restaurants

Recently had the occasion to take a road trip to Nashville, TN to fight about have a meeting discussing infrastructure support plans. On the way back my compatriots and I grew a bit peckish and ended up at Ruby Tuesday's in Elizabethtown, KY.

I was amazed to find Spaghetti Squash Marinara as a food choice and was even more amazed to find it quite tasty.  Nice job.

Verizon asks for givebacks

We Party Patriots » Blog Archive » IBEW, CWA Protest As Verizon Demands Concessions From 45,000 Workers:

"As T-Mobile workers push to form a union and await the fate of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, their peers at rival Verizon face the prospect of making huge concessions to keep their jobs. 45,000 workers are being asked to tie pay to performance and to require union employees to pay a portion of their health plan premiums."

It should be noted that Verizon had net income of $3.3 Billion in the first quarter of 2011(pdf). That would be an INCREASE of 40% over the same period last year. I guess this is what Share The Pain means.

From my Friend Bevboy - A Challenge

Bevboy's Blog: Post 1687 - A Challenge From Mel Sampson Herself!:

"I like a challenge. I offered an entry, which Mel liked enough to classify as the epitome of manly romantic on a budget.

It got me to thinking. Why not do a blog post about manly romantic things I have done, or wish I had done, on a budget?

So... here goes!"

I am a terribly unromantic soul. I never have just the right thing to say or just the right thing to do. Go read Bev's stuff.

Should Bashar al-Assad Be Watching For Drones?

Hillary Clinton: Bashar al-Assad has 'lost legitimacy' - Reid J. Epstein - POLITICO.com:

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted Syria’s government in the strongest language to date, saying President Bashar al-Assad has “lost legitimacy” and is “not indispensible” in the wake of attacks on the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus."

Is Lori Klein The DUmbest Politician In America?

Arizona lawmaker points loaded gun at reporter’s chest | The Raw Story:

"A freshman Arizona state Senator may be in need of some gun safety lessons.

Richard Ruelas, a reporter for The Arizona Republic, found himself staring down the barrel of Republican state Sen. Lori Klein's raspberry-pink firearm during a recent interview at the Capitol.

'Oh, it's so cute,' Klein said of the .380 Ruger that she carries in purse at all times.

While the loaded pistol had no safety and the laser pointer was centered on the reporter's chest, Klein explained that there was no need to worry.

'I just didn't have my hand on the trigger,' she said."

Maybe Rebekah Brooks Will Need To Use Those Pics After All

Rising Hegemon: Up the Chain of Command:

"Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News International, faces being questioned under police caution over her role in the phone hacking scandal which brought down the News of the World."

A Journalist Quits The Business

Why I quit my job: « Kai Nagata:

"What I need is to better myself spiritually, physically, and intellectually, so I can effect meaningful change in the world around me. I don’t know yet where this impulse will take me, but I know I can’t go back to working parallel to the real problems, hiding my opinions and yet somehow hoping that one viewer every night might piece together what I wanted to say. I thought if I paid my dues and worked my way up through the ranks, I could maybe reach a position of enough influence and credibility that I could say what I truly feel. I’ve realized there’s no time to wait."

Where do we go from here

Bill Daley to Business: Quit Whining and Step UP | Crooks and Liars:

1. Democrats are not using Social Security as a deficit reduction tool
2. Social Security and Medicare do need shoring up, but not at the expense of beneficiaries.
3. Jobs are tied to uncertainty about the economy, which is why it's important to do something more than apply a bandaid.
4. If corporate America wants certainty, they can step up and put some pressure on the DC lunatics to get this done.

Good to see someone has this straight

How To Tell You Are Defending A Racist Argument

• If you use the term Christian Zionists to describe a list of supposed Israeli-American dual citizens
• If said list has people on it that while they ARE jewish are not actually dual citizens
• If when someone tells you these things you go off on a rant saying that obviously they area Zionist apologist that is trying to shut down debate.

OK, you might not actually be making a racist argument ... you just might be a believer that Jews rule the world. Oh, wait ... that would be the same thing wouldn't it.

Yes You can be too tall to play pro ball

The Plight Of The Super-Tall Basketball Player | ThinkProgress:

"Players who are 7-3 or taller just aren’t destined to have nice, orderly 15-year careers. Despite the size advantage that these players possess, not one of them has managed to have a 1,000-game NBA career. Eaton, at 875, came the closest."

Or at least you can be too tall to have a long career .

On Conservatives and Science

Science is by nature a conservative pursuit. The process is based on tried and true methods and the slow accumulation of evidence over time. New ideas are incorporated as they do a better job of explaining reality than old ideas. This is the very definition of a conservative process because it has a bias towards keeping things the same over time. From time to time a revolution may come along and be embraced but it happens because the ideas simply work better.

Science is not however a Conservative pursuit. Big-C conservatism as known in the US today is not based on evidence. It is based on fear and ignorance and maintaining a power structure.

Discuss

The Federal Budget is not the same as a family budget

What if the U.S. Federal Budget Was Spending $200k a Year, Not $2.2T? | InvestorPlace:

"Does Your Family Spend 50% More Than It Earns?
America is a rich household that takes home $216,200 a year (estimated 2010 federal tax receipts). We are also a spendthrift household, throwing way $345,600 a year (estimated 2010 federal spending).

Those numbers alone should tell the tale pretty clearly. After all, how long could your family spend nearly 60% more than it earns before going bankrupt?

But let’s break it down further to show just how out of control things are, and see if we can find some ways to improve the family finances. Monthly, we take in about $18,016 for the bills. But our expenses break down along these lines."

This kind of post pisses me off so much because it is not only an analogy failure, which is bad enough, but is fundamentally dishonest.