Archive for April, 2009
Specter Spectacular
You may remember when I wrote about Arlen Spector a few months ago and said I’d most likely never thank him again. Well I was wrong, cause I am certainly thanking him right now.
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters as they try to advance the Obama administration’s new agenda.
In a statement issued about noon as the Capitol was digesting the stunning turn of events, Mr. Specter said he had concluded that his party had moved too far to the right, a fact demonstrated by the migration of 200,000 Pennsylvania Republicans to the Democratic Party.
“I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” Mr. Specter said, acknowledging that his decision was certain to disappoint colleagues and supporters.
Now I know there’s Swine Flu, and earthquakes, and 9/11 re-enactments in New York, but this news is tremendous — spectacularly huge, as far as political news goes. Not only does it change the numbers in the Senate in an acutely important way, but it sends such a message of Change, which is what this administration is supposed to be all about.
I’ve been waiting so long for someone in the GOP to do the right thing, which is mainly, prove to its members that its OK to evolve: an entity that fears progress so much will never survive, the world is in a constant state of movement and chaos; whether we like it or not it is not now and will never be simple and still. And I’m in no way calling for every Republican to switch parties; instead I think this is a healthy reminder that politics is supposed to be fluid, not fixed. So many members of the GOP have been clinging to heavy issues that are, inevitably, sinking the ship. They need to stop focusing on religious and social topics, and start to actually talk about the money, which is the one thing you’ve got on your side right now. I think it was actually Megan McCain who said it best:
I consider myself a progressive Republican. I am liberal on social issues. And I think that the party is at a place where social issues shouldn’t be the issues that define the party. And I have taken heat, but in fairness to me, I am a different generation than the people that are giving me heat….We have a very big generation gap between me and my father….I was raised in an open-minded home. I was raised a Christian, but I was raised open-minded Christian — one to accept people, love people, not pass judgment.
People give Megan McCain a lot of sh*t because, I dunno, she’s young and she’s a female and she obviously looks in the mirror before she leaves the house. Well f**k them, in all honesty, I think she’s smart. She and Specter, not afraid of change. Nice kafiah Megan; I’m loving it. 
Hypocricy In Action
Posted by zoboxrox in international, malfunction, not news, politics on April 27th, 2009
Lots of talk over this picture, God forbid Americans smile when we greet someone.
How dare Obama try to smooth things over with someone who really hasn’t done anything to us except talk a little smack (most of it, in all reality, was true). Aren’t we tougher than that? Sticks and stones people, sticks and stones!
As for meeting with someone who commits crimes against humanity or jails political opponents, well there’s a long history of that. You may not be surprised that this is actually not the first time an American President has played nice with “the enemy.” Lets look back a little.
- Nixon and Mao
- Nixon and Castro
- Reagan and Gorbachev
- Reagan and Bush and Gorbachev
- Personal Favorite: Donald Rumsfeld and Sadam Hussein
Listen Dick Cheney, I get that you’re mad and you want to complain about something. Just pick battles that don’t completely blow up in your face.
Happy Earth Day
Posted by zoboxrox in environment, health, politics, science on April 22nd, 2009
Even though we should be aware of the environment everyday, considering, you know, its all around us, we still choose but one day a the year to come together and celebrate it. So every Earth Day thousands of first graders go out and plant a tree or set a butterfly loose. This year Barack Obama did a little bit more.
President Obama marked Earth Day Wednesday by announcing a new initiative to lease federal waters for the purpose of generating electricity from wind and ocean currents.
The president announced the initiative, to be administered by the Interior Department, while reiterating his pledge to push for a comprehensive energy plan that encourages the development of alternative fuel sources, cuts dependence on foreign oil, addresses climate change, and creates new jobs.
Wind power can generate 20 percent of the country’s electricity by 2030 and support 250,000 jobs…
Now, while it annoys me that we judge whether or not to pursue a more environmental road by how costly or job creative it is (in the end, none of that will matter), I suppose it needs to be stressed considering this rather shocking study by Rasmussen.
Just one-out-of-three voters (34%) now believe global warming is caused by human activity, the lowest finding yet in Rasmussen Reports national surveying.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of all Americans believe global warming is at least a somewhat serious problem, with 33% who say it’s Very Serious. Thirty-five percent (35%) say it’s a not a serious problem.
Half (49%) of Americans think the president believes climate change is caused primarily by human activity. This is the first time that belief has fallen below 50% since the president took office. 19% say Obama attributes global warming to long-term planetary trends.
Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina 1928 & 2004. Photo: Greenpeace
That shirt that reads “mankind” should probably just read “Americans.” Our inability to take blame, or even responsibility, for anything is remarkable. As is our tendency to ignore and forget. So as a result, our president must take the steps for us, even if the majority of us don’t believe there’s a problem. And he must lead by example. And he, unlike so many of us, must be willing admit that he is wrong. 
Texas, Taxes, and Teabagging
Posted by zoboxrox in corporate america, economy, malfunction, politics on April 20th, 2009
Hasn’t anyone else noticed that the words “Texas” and “Taxes” are practically identical? It’s as if they were made for each other. And yet the Lone Star State has always had a strained relationship with the federal government over the levies imposed upon them. In fact, Texas is so opposed to taxes they are one of only six states that have completely eliminated the state income tax. So if you live and work in Texas you are already forking over 5-15% less of your income than the average American. This fact has made the state a haven for businesses and corporations, most notably Fortune 500 companies, of which Texas is base for 58, and the 33 billionaires who make their home there. If Texas were an independent nation, it would rank as the fifteenth largest economy in the world. In other words, when it comes to the economy, Texans ain’t doin so bad.
Or so they would like us to believe. In actuality, Texas is suffering, and has been for a long time. Of the top ten counties in the US with people living below the poverty line, Texas is home to three of them (Starr County, TX for instance has a rate of 47.4%). The dark red areas of the map below mark counties in which 15.6% - 47.4% of the population lives below the poverty line. 
The geographical inequalities on the map are so noticeable its embarrassing. And yet, despite their already small tax burden, and the obvious need for state-wide services, not to mention the past eight years when we’ve spent our way into a deficit thanks to a native son, Texans went out in the dozens on April 15th to protest something, I’m not sure what. What ensued was a major blunder by the Texas Governor, Rick Perry, (apparently being a moron is a job requirement), during which he openly discussed seceding from the Union: “We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.” Idiot.
I think David Axelrod said it best:
“The thing that bewilders me is that this president just cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people”
While they may like to think it, most Texans are not in the top 5 percent.
Pirates of the Arabian
Posted by zoboxrox in crime, environment, human rights, international, malfunction, military, politics on April 15th, 2009
Sorry I’ve been MIA the past week, I was captured by pirates. Bad joke, too soon? Not really, unless you are one of those pirates. In what could be considered Obama’s first…what were the exact words?…”International Crisis” (thank you Biden) he has proven himself a respectable Commander in Chief, and seems to have pleased both ends of the spectrum with his recent action in regards to the hostage situation off the coast of Somalia. And while everyone is pretty content with the result of the simple yet resounding military action (Navy SEALS are pretty badasss) and Obama himself has promised to “halt the rise of piracy“, there seems to be a general lack of interest in WHY this occurred in the first place. So cheers to the State Department, welcome home Captain Phillips, and good shooting Navy Snipers, but there is an ugly truth about piracy in the Indian Ocean, and though we love our Action Adventures here in the US, this story is not as simple as good guys versus bad ones, and no one looks like Johnny Depp.
Here is Africa. On the easternmost coast, The Horn of Africa, jutting up into the Arabian Sea, is Somalia, one of the poorest countries in the world. Notice its proximity to the Middle East, and most especially its access to the trade routes to and from Saudi Arabia. What, might you ask, is all the fighting about? Did you guess oil? If so, you’re actually wrong.
To understand the current climate in Somalia, a little history is required, and while it dates back over 2000 years, for our purposes we can begin in 1990, when the ongoing civil war first broke out in the East African nation. After the complete collapse of central government and a disruption in agriculture and food distribution, Somalia saw a prolonged period of widespread famine. First, and perhaps most memorably in 1992, when UNISOM I was established by the UN and UNITAF by the US, but then again in 1996, and 1999, and 2001, and 2006, and 2008.
The proximity of Somalia to the ocean is a major factor in its economic development, and a modern fishing industry helped fuel the country’s economy through previous periods of drought. With the dissolution of the central government, however, the waters off Somalia became ungoverned, quite obviously. This allowed for two very serious problems to occur simultaneously in the waters off the coast.
Following the massive tsunami of December 2004, there have emerged allegations that after the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in the late 1980s, Somalia’s long, remote shoreline was used as a dump site for the disposal of toxic waste. The huge waves which battered northern Somalia after the tsunami brought with them tons of nuclear and toxic waste that was dumped in Somali waters, by several European firms. The European Green Party followed up these allegations by presenting before the press and the European Parliament in Strasbourg copies of contracts signed by two European companies — the Italian Swiss firm, Achair Partners, and an Italian waste broker, Progresso — and representatives of the warlords then in power, to accept 10 million tons of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million (then about £60 million)….there are far higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominal hemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areas around the northeastern towns– diseases consistent with radiation sickness….
At the same time, illegal trawlers began fishing Somalia’s seas with an estimated $300 million of tuna, shrimp, and lobster being taken each year depleting stocks previously available to local fishermen. Through interception with speedboats, Somali fishermen tried to either dissuade the dumpers and trawlers or levy a “tax” on them as compensation. In an interview, Sugule Ali, one of the pirate leaders explained “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits (to be) those who illegally fish and dump in our seas.” Peter Lehr, a Somalia piracy expert at the University of St. Andrews says “It’s almost like a resource swap, Somalis collect up to $100 million a year from pirate ransoms off their coasts and the Europeans and Asians poach around $300 million a year in fish from Somali waters.“
So while the people of Somalia were literally starving to death, a multitude of European and Asian countries saw the opportunity to fish illegally and dump toxic waste off the Horn of Africa. NOT VERY NICE! Democracy Now has a really good interview about this very subject that I suggest to anyone who is interested in the whole truth, and not just the sliver we’re fed.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Control
Once again, reading the news this morning and I found myself in a state of complete shock. Either the New York Times has been hijacked by Charlie Kaufman or the end is nearing.
Brain Researchers Open Door to Editing Memory
Suppose scientists could erase certain memories by tinkering with a single substance in the brain. Could make you forget a chronic fear, a traumatic loss, even a bad habit.
Researchers in Brooklyn have recently accomplished comparable feats, with a single dose of an experimental drug delivered to areas of the brain critical for holding specific types of memory, like emotional associations, spatial knowledge or motor skills.
Even though that rat is tres cool (hip little black and white rat), it doesn’t make me feel any better about the fact that the scientist behind it has been injecting experimental “memory molecules” into its brain. Haven’t these people seen the goddamn movie? And never mind the ethical implications of erasing someone’s memory, who is funding this big brother project?
Now neuroscience, a field that barely existed a generation ago, is racing ahead, attracting billions of dollars in new financing and throngs of researchers. The National Institutes of Health last year spent $5.2 billion, nearly 20 percent of its total budget, on brain-related projects, according to the Society for Neuroscience.
As an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is funded, in fact, by you, and me, and the rest of the taxpayers. And while I’m all for the alleviation of pain, whether physical or emotional, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States right now, and I would bet that there are some nutritionists/vegetable farmers/school cafeterias/victory gardeners out there who would happily take some of that $5.2 billion. Only problem is, you can’t control someone with their heart (not their actual literal heart that is).
Things may get confusing.
Iowa!
Posted by zoboxrox in human rights, miracle, politics on April 3rd, 2009
If it hadn’t been on more than one news station, I probably wouldn’t have believed it, but it appears that Iowa has legalized Gay Marriage — or, more precisely, il-legalized the ban on it. This makes Iowa one of a very small handful of states, and the only non-coastal one, that legally permits any two adult people to get married, no matter what the sexuality of the couple.
The Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday in a unanimous and emphatic decision that makes Iowa the third state — and the first in the nation’s heartland — to allow same-sex couples to wed.
In its decision, the high court upheld a lower court’s ruling that found a state law restricting marriage to between a man and woman violated Iowa’s constitution.
“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective,” the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.”
Ok, so whats going on here? California bans gay marriage and Iowa legalizes it?
Gay rights supporter and former state lawmaker Ed Fallon told NPR that the ruling is consistent with Iowa’s history.
“Iowa has always been on the cutting edge of civil rights,” Fallon said. “Whether it’s regarding desegregation of schools or the rights of African Americans to be full citizens.”
“This is huge. And I think it’s a testament to the fairness and sense of decency that Iowans have,” he said.
To be honest, this isn’t the first time Iowa has surprised me. In fact, its neither the second NOR third time either! The first was in college and is related to a home-grown corn-fed lad, but the second and third I think you all may remember as well:
Meet Jane Brody
Posted by zoboxrox in health, powerful women on April 2nd, 2009
If you are ever going to die, Jane Brody is someone about whom you should know. And while no one likes to talk about dying, especially when it comes to one’s own inevitable, yet sometimes unimaginable death, Mrs. Brody has gotten as good as it gets. So good, in fact, that she wrote an entire book, Jane Brody’s Guide to the Great Beyond dedicated to the subject in order to try to help out the rest of us.
This past Wednesday evening, March 25th, Jansen Hospice and Palliative Care, The O Silas Foundat
ion, and Westchester Jewish Community Services came together to sponsor “An Evening with Jane Brody” at the Heimbold Auditorium at Sarah Lawrence College. The event was organized by Westchester End-of-Life Coalition with Sarah Lawrence College Graduate Program in Health Advocacy to promote her newest book, which Brody refers to as: A Practical Primer to Help You and Your Loved Ones Prepare Medically, Legally, and Emotionally for the End of Life. Local doctor Joseph Sacco, who’s specialty is Palliative Care, was there as a discussant.
As peculiar as it may seem, with impending death as the topic of discussion, the evening was delightful and Brody and Sacco proved to be a compatible and comedic pair. Mixed in with personal anecdotes, both hilarious and tragic, Brody outlined some of the advice she offers the book: insisting her audience ensure they have a medical proxy, suggesting hospice care as opposed to intrusive and often painful life-prolonging medical procedures, and, perhaps most importantly, reminding us that it is ok to talk about death and dying, even when its an uncomfortable thing to do.
“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best,” she told us. Pretty sound advice, and applicable to many areas of life, not just its final stage.
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