quaoar's blog

Crossposted at DKos

We interrupt this primary day to bring you one of those fun ethical puzzles.

A researcher at MIT conducted some experiments to see gauge situational ethics -- basically to see under what conditions people might steal something or cheat.

Where to begin?

Let's see. How about Tom Shales at the Washington Post, who said Gibson and Stephanopoulos turned in "shoddy, despicable performances."

And first prize is an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world.

Where would you go?

I'd go to the Plain of Jars in the Xieng Khouang plain in the Laotian Highlands of Laos.

It's a place where thousands of giant stone jars are scattered throughout the landscape and no one knows for sure why.

Where would you go?

Promoted by Brendan

Brandt Ayers has an interesting column in the Anniston Star in which he compares today's allegations of racial politics to those of 20, 30 and 40 years ago. His conclusion is that if you think the Clinton vs. Obama campaign has gotten in the gutter on race issues you need to crack some history books.

Ayers is the publisher of the Star, which is a rare voice of progressivism in Alabama and has been for many years. He has seen it all on the political front in Alabama for many. many years. He knows racism when he sees it.

In his most recent column he takes aim at the NYT's Maureen Dowd and her hysterical rants against the Clintons.

Crossposted at DKos

Roy Moore as the Constitution Party's candidate.

The right is already badly split with John McCain as their presumptive nominee. But if the right-wing Constitution Party can finally attract a presidential candidate with some name recognition it would open that split so wide you could drive a truck through it.

I see three possibilities for significant third-party/independent campaigns that might have an effect on the 08 election.

1. Michael Bloomberg. He has the money and significant name recognition. He also owns a news service, which doesn't hurt.

Here's a topic for discussion:

Does a company have the right to tell its employees how to live their lives outside of the workplace?

Can a company prohibit its workers from engaging in unhealthy practices such as smoking or drinking or gaining a lot of weight?

Can that company penalize employees who smoke or become overweight by making them pay substantially higher healthcare premiums than other employees?

Promoted by Brendan

The National Rural Assembly recently convened in Washington to discuss issues of importance to rural America. About 400 delegates from 43 states participated.

The conference invited presidential candidates from both parties to speak. None did. Except for Hillary Clinton, who spoke via teleconference. The most interesting thing she said was in response to a question:

The first question from the crowd (read by Kellogg officer Ali Webb) asked if Clinton would consider changing “the name and the mission” of the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Rural Affairs. The Senator seemed genuinely startled and intrigued by the notion. “That’s a great idea,” Clinton answered, her eyes bugging. “I really like that idea...I wish I had thought of that...Lets talk about that, it’s a terrific idea.”

Neocons like to strut around and talk about great countries throughout time that have been willing to do what it takes militarily to achieve their goals. They hold up Israel as the modern example of a nation willing to strike out at its enemies without caring what the rest of the world thinks.

Iraq -- and then Syria and Iran -- were supposed to demonstrate similar American prowess and determination to "do what it takes" to reshape the world -- except our military might is so immense and overpowering that we would not need to resort to the brutality of conquerors throughout history. We would have no need to lay waste to an entire city because we have missiles we can guide through a specific window in a building.

Promoted by Brendan -- good topic for discussion

The French and the Japanese have really kicked our butts for a long time when it comes to train travel.

A French TGV train set a new world speed record as it hurtled down a newly built track at 574.8 kilometres (357 miles) per hour in the country's Champagne region on Tuesday.

The train, called V150, is an enhanced version of the passenger vehicle that will run on the Paris-to-Strasbourg line from June 2007. It has been preparing for the record run for weeks and carried journalists and other guests for the official attempt.

Promoted by Brendan

Crossposted from DKos

Is it possible? After six years, two wars, hundreds of billions of wasted dollars, untold damage to the environment, dozens of extremist judges, one outed CIA agent, 3,000 dead soldiers, God only knows how many dead Iraqis, billions in giveaways to oil and pharmaceutical companies, and more lies than a super computer could keep track of?

Is it just possible that someone with a record like that might have actually slipped up and suggested something positive? Something downright progressive?

I find myself reading Andrew Sullivan's blog more and more. Once he discovered the war was FUBAR it was a lot easier to explore how much sense he made on other issues as well.

Today he has posted an entry quoting Nick Cohen of The Guardian:

Why is it that apologies for a militant Islam which stands for everything the liberal left is against come from the liberal left? Why will students hear a leftish postmodern theorist defend the exploitation of women in traditional cultures but not a crusty conservative don? After the American and British wars in Bosnia and Kosovo against Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansers, why were men and women of the left denying the existence of Serb concentration camps? As important, why did a European Union that daily announces its commitment to the liberal principles of human rights and international law do nothing as crimes against humanity took place just over its borders?

I posted the following at Dkos :

Two days after Christmas my father had a massive heart attack. He has never regained consciousness. Today he took a turn for the worst and he is unlikely to live more than a day or two. I'm flying down to be with my mother in the morning.

My dad was an arch-Republican. When my parents lived in Louisiana, he voted for David Duke for governor. Whenever he came to visit, he insisted on watching Fox News instead of CNN -- the "Clinton News Network."

As you may suspect, this was always a source of conflict in our relationship. But despite my dad's political leanings, I always respected his extraordinary work ethic and his inherent fairness.

Crossposted from DKos

Those old enough to remember the 1972 presidential campaign will recall how mercilessly Nixon ridiculed George McGovern for his proposal to give every person in America $1,000 as a way of providing everyone a minimum income.

It became an icon for nutty-headed liberalism -- the welfare state run amok. They even had $1,000 bills printed up with McGovern's face on it.

Well, guess what? Giving everyone a thousand bucks is back -- but this time it's being pushed by none other than Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, junior senator but senior right-winger from the great state of Alabama.

Crossposted at DKos

If Laura Bush had married George Wallace instaed of George Bush, she would have complained that the media wasn't reporting on the positive aspects of segregation -- you know, about how those marchers in Birmingham who got hosed down the street didn't have to take baths that night.

Positive stuff like that. Positive stuff like building Iraqi schools and such. That's what she said she wanted to see more of.

It is not encouraging coverage for sure. There’s no doubt about it. But I do know that there are a lot of good things that are happening that aren’t covered. And I think that the drum beat in the country from the media, from the only way people know what is happening unless they happened to have a loved one deployed there, is discouraging.

Crossposted at DKos

Micro-targeting, my ass!

You can draw up statistical voter models to your heart's content, give them a fancy name like "72 Hours to Victory" and then sell the package to the media as an unstoppable juggernaut that turns out rubber-stamp Republican voters like American flags coming off a Chinese production line.

But you cannot put lipstick on a pig and call it an eagle. And you can't run a phone bank without committed volunteers living on nothing but pizza if you treat them like Wal-Mart part-timers with pre-existing medical conditions.

So, what is the most important news in the world today? Is it the upcoming meeting between Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki?

Heavens no.

Is it Nicole Richie being named Worst Dressed Celebrity by PETA?

Perish the thought!

Is it Pope Benny's "Kiss-and-Make-Up-With-the-Muslims" Tour of Turkey?

Don't be absurd! Who cares about that?