Peeve

It really bugs me that when I check for science news in the Tech & Science section of a news site, I have to see stories about video games!

Sarah Palin: Ceiling Shatterer

I remember seeing something in a fellow workers cubicle back in my phone company days.

I paraphrase:

True equality will not exist until an unqualified female shmuck is promoted to a job ahead of a similarly qualified male shmuck.

Update: I heard a female voter interviewed on NPR make this same point. (9/18/08)

EBay Wisdom

In every speech it seems that Sarah Palin burnishes her reformist credentials by hyping the fact that she put a state jet on Ebay. I'm sure your average American is impressed with the homey wisdom of the bespectacled Alaska governor.

Think about that for a minute. Now add the fact that she put it on EBay twice and failed to sell it either time plus the fact that it was ultimately sold via an aircraft broker and you are left with a somewhat different picture. Sure, she sold the damn plane. Good for her. However her judgement starts looking a little suspect. Your average Hockey Mom (tm) might think the best way to unload something is on EBay but among the Experienced (tm), these sorts of deals just don't go down that way. Naivite, perhaps? Yes and forgivable in your average American. Worldly-wise enough to be President? I'm not sure.

I am left wondering what else Sarah Palin doesn't know enough about to know that she doesn't know enough about it. That is Wisdom and it is something that Palin has not yet demonstrated clearly. Similarly, while Barak Obama's manner consistently hints at a level of self-reflection that guards him against rash and unwise action, John McCain, in some ways like George W Bush, shoots from the hip and risks lodging a bullet in everyone's foot.

Some people feel that men or women of action are needed to keep this country strong and safe. I think the last eight years bears me out in believing that action is dangerous when not balanced by curiosity and awareness of the limits on our ability to predict the consequences of our actions.

Obama may prove too circumspect to act when necessary but John McCain (and Sarah Palin?) gives every indication that he will act without understanding the consequences.

WTF?!

Sen. John McCain has claimed that Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than, probably, anyone else in the United States of America."

Go here and play the video at about 4:15 (the counter runs backwards).

Update: And that was in response to a question about foreign policy, followed of course by mention of Alaska's proximity to Russia ...

Free Market Myth?

Something to think about from the The Nation's Deborah Stone:

Maybe this is the ultimate lesson in why the Republican strategy of privatization and deregulation doesn't work. Markets depend on confidence--confidence that somebody stands behind the currency of exchange, confidence that somebody will hold buyers and sellers to their promises and, above all, confidence that if banks and big businesses crash, somebody will step in to help all the little people who might be wiped out with them.

A Sack of Salt

Following up on yesterdays post about military "spin", we have this:

"The US military said that its findings were corroborated by an independent journalist embedded with the US force. He was named as the Fox News correspondent Oliver North, who came to prominence in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair, when he was an army colonel."
[italics added]

Exactly how long does the Pentagon think they can get away with this before their credibility has been completely pissed away. Sure, cover up the important, operational, stuff but don't lie about things that can be easily disproven. It is beginning to appear pathological.

Don't Go to War: Reason #102

In response to claims that an Aug 22 air strike by U.S. killed 90 civilians our military, the good guys, replied thusly, "The U.S. military says militants encouraged the villagers to exaggerate their stories."

This sort of bald faced spin in routine from the armed forces. In essence the true situation "on the ground" is virtually impossible to get at without serious and dedicated digging by outside parties. It becomes so essential that the military keep the public on their side that body counts, exageration and outright lies become necessary.

Here's an idea: Don't start wars unless there is a genuine, existential threat.

Never mind. It would never work...

More on Bush's Detachment

Bush's detachment is highlighted all the more by the fact that he is largely an absentee president - 879th days at his ranch as of May 11 and currently spending a "long weekend" at Camp David. While Pres Bush claims that he works from Camp David, it is 70 miles from the White House and requires extra effort to organize meetings. Impromptu or short-notice meetings would be nearly impossible.

I am not one for conspiracy theories, but there must be some who prefer that the president be inaccessible during his frequent stays away from Washington.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

I just saw Todd Palin and John McCain do a little Man-Hug at the Republican Convention. Is non-hand contact now acceptable between men?

As Bad As I Thought

The Washington Post has a brief overview of Bob Woodward's new book on the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War, The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008. (When did book titles start getting quotes instead of underlines?)

The headline reads: "U.S. spied on Iraqi leaders, new book says" but the real shockers as reported in the article are far less mundane.

In response to a question about how the White House settled on a troop surge of five brigades after the military leadership in Washington had reluctantly said it could provide two, Bush said: "Okay, I don't know this. I'm not in these meetings, you'll be happy to hear, because I got other things to do."

Say what? Happy to hear that you don't attend meetings concerning the commitment of US troops?

And this:

During the interviews with Woodward, the president spoke of the war as part of a recentering of American power in the Middle East. "And it should be," Bush said. "And the reason it should be: It is the place from which a deadly attack emanated. And it is the place where further deadly attacks could emanate."

Excuse me, but no deadly attack emanated from Iraq. Afghanistan, perhaps Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Was our attack on Iraq supposed to scare Saudi extremists like Bin Laden? This is the most daft national security strategy ever. And it has failed to boot. The really scary part of thi sis that Bush has managed to cling to this belief for 7 years.