Otto von Bismark said "laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." That maxim definitely applies to the excruciating process of watching the American stimulus package wind its way through the Congress. If anyone still wonders why the Democrats need that 60 vote majority in the Senate that they came ever so close to, this was why.
The Republicans took a good run at destroying everything good in Obama's proposed package. They reduced the overall value by $80 billion. They stripped out the limits on pay for employees of companies receiving a government bailouts. They turned something like $100 billion of the spending proposals into tax cut proposals instead. They stripped out the heart of the "buy American" clause (more on this in a bit). And the Democrats capitulated. But I'll give them credit for at least proposing some decent measures.
The Republicans seem set to filibuster everything with which they disagree in the Senate. And the bad news - the Senate Repugs are far more ideological on average than the House Republicans. Essentially, everything comes down to the two Maine Senators, both Republican and both relative moderates. Right now, and until Al Franken gets seated as the Senator for Minnnesota, the Democrats need two votes to break a fillibuster. This means that the two Republicans must be appeased. Even once Franken is seated, and it really is a matter of when not if, they will still need one Republican.
One of the biggest losses was the meat of the "buy American" clauses. It cracked me up to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth coming out of Europe particularly, but also the Canadian centre and right about this. I wanted to smack some of them upside the head. Seriously. The point of a stimulus package in the US isn't to send money to European and Canadian business who employ European and Canadian workers, it is to send money to American workers, put Americans to work and support demand for American products. The people wailing about it are stupid idiots. Now, I know that stupid =/= conservative necessarily, but conservative = stupid a surprising percentage of the time. Why, for gawd's sake, would the American government be sending borrowed money overseas to support foreign economies when the US economy going into the shitter is what caused the current recession, and the US economy getting out of the shitter is the only thing that will make it better? Honestly these people are morons. It shouldn't be a surprise really, that the same people who gave us $100 = daycare think that stimulus money should be flowing out of the country. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And now, just for a change, I won't hold back and I'll tell you how I really feel. Oh. Wait.
To go back to Bismark's bon mot at the beginning, watching laws get made really is like watching sausages gets made (I am making an assumption about the making of sausages, since I have never seen it done). Both will make you nauseated, and eliminate your desire to have anything to do with the end product.
One post I am planning to write in coming days is about the inquiry into the extra-judicial execution of Robert Dziekanski by the RCMP, and how it is exposing a major web of lies. One outrage at a time though.
Showing posts with label American Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Politics. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Last Day
I'm taking a moment to revel in the fact that this is the last full day of George Bush's presidency. The sunset I just watched was the last one of his presidency. Never again will the sun set on a world where George Bush is President. The worst president in American history is just about done.
Good bye George, and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
'Cause Obama doesn't want ass-prints on his new door.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 1
Good bye George, and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
'Cause Obama doesn't want ass-prints on his new door.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 1
Saturday, January 17, 2009
We Get it CBC, There's a Deficit Coming
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting really tired of CBC's constant stories about how the upcoming budget is going to run a deficit. My reaction is generally something along the lines of "no shit, Sherlock." Everyone and her dog knew that a deficit was coming, except for the Conservatives well before the failed fiscal update that triggered a constitutional crisis. CBC seems determined to try to scare people with horrible economy stories. It's very reminiscent of Fox News and it's fear factory approach to reporting.
My message to CBC: give it a rest. We know the economy is bad, and we know a deficit is coming. You need to stop telling us to be afraid, to be very afraid, and start treating the Canadian public like a group of rational adults (no matter that we may not behave like it sometimes).
On a positive note, the window for George Bush to pre-emptively pardon his torture-cronies is closing quickly. He's only got eighty-two hours left as Preident.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 3
My message to CBC: give it a rest. We know the economy is bad, and we know a deficit is coming. You need to stop telling us to be afraid, to be very afraid, and start treating the Canadian public like a group of rational adults (no matter that we may not behave like it sometimes).
On a positive note, the window for George Bush to pre-emptively pardon his torture-cronies is closing quickly. He's only got eighty-two hours left as Preident.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 3
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Momentous Time
As we approach the end of the reign of George Bush II, it becomes evident, to all but the most-close-eyed conservatives the hell to which we've been carried in Bush's hand-basket.
Human disasters are unfolding across the world. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the imperial west is brutally occupying, whether to extract oil or to protect pipeline routes. In Gaza the Palestinians are being slaughtered for political gain, in an appallingly crass, hubristic and hypocritical display. The genocide in Darfur continues to unfold, and American ally states from Lebanon to Pakistan to Georgia have been declaring states of emergency and clamping down on democratic opposition.
The great glory of modern capitalism, our globalized economy, is coming apart at the seams as economies across the world melt down, throwing workers out on the street, and bringing new protestations of Keynesian faith, despite the fact that the supposedly socialistic policy of bailouts simply enriches those already bloated with ill-gotten wealth. Bush and his wild-eyed acolytes of laissez-faire and the unfettered free market have proven to be unspeakable failures at managing the economy, as the ideological bankruptcy of their economic ideologies is proven to be matched only by its moral bankruptcy as in engages in one last orgy of upward redistribution of wealth. Executives get golden parachutes and workers get the soup kitchen line.
As laid out by the late, great, and incomparable Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose in their book Bill of Wrongs, the Bush regime has encouraged an all out assault on the principles of constitutional government in the United States, and this has had knock-on effects across the world. Canada puts in place Gitmo North and imprisons four men for eight years without charge, the opportunity to face their accusers or to know the evidence against them. Great Britain collapses into an agonized security state in which the average citizen of London is recorded on camera three hundred times every day, which would make Big Brother jealous. States in eastern Europe hold and torture men who have been kidnapped by the American government, in a practice called, with a chilling sterility, extraordinary rendition. American puppet regimes in the Middle East torture others, including Maher Arar who was confirmed to have committed no crime.
Bush and his flunkies have radically undermined the emergence of an international legal order, attempting to scuttle the International Criminal Court after securing major concessions. They have sabotaged attempts to save our climate from radical and disastrous change by recanting America's signature on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They have undermined the Geneva Conventions on the Law of War by creating the status of illegal enemy combatant that has no basis in law and is simply an excuse to hold the racialized other forever in a legal black hole.
This is but a brief and incomplete catalogue of the worst excesses, and high crimes, of George Bush, called Dubya. But not all is dark.
In the election on Nov. 4, 2008 Americans spoke resoundingly of a desire for change. While they likely will get only cosmetic change out of Barack Obama, Americans were mobilized and involved in politics in a way not seen since the election of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Americans have been jolted out of political apathy, and it is to be hoped that their awakening will be transmitted to the slumbering populations of the rest of the industrialized world.
In Latin America a radical transformation of both economics and politics is gaining steam. A truly democratic and socialist movement has arisen, and is demanding justice and equality for their people, and an end to the domination of their states by their wealthy paleo-colonialist elites and foreign corporations. The people of Venezuela resisted an American-sponsored coup in 2002 that was eerily reminiscent of the coups in the southern cone during the 1970s. The workers and the indigenous populations have reclaimed control of their countries in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Centre-leftists have been elected by wide margins in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. South America faces a revolutionary moment, and it provides a template that can be followed across the South.
As the economy melts down, that defining revolutionary moment spreads into the industrialized economies. It is a self-evident failure of capitalism. Socialists must be ready with alternatives to present, or we will lose this moment, as we lost the moment of the Great Depression.
The last days of George W. Bush are a time for celebration, as the global tyrant leaves the scene. But we can't stop at celebration. We must push for a true revolutionary moment, to bring democratic socialism to all the people of the world.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 6
Human disasters are unfolding across the world. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the imperial west is brutally occupying, whether to extract oil or to protect pipeline routes. In Gaza the Palestinians are being slaughtered for political gain, in an appallingly crass, hubristic and hypocritical display. The genocide in Darfur continues to unfold, and American ally states from Lebanon to Pakistan to Georgia have been declaring states of emergency and clamping down on democratic opposition.
The great glory of modern capitalism, our globalized economy, is coming apart at the seams as economies across the world melt down, throwing workers out on the street, and bringing new protestations of Keynesian faith, despite the fact that the supposedly socialistic policy of bailouts simply enriches those already bloated with ill-gotten wealth. Bush and his wild-eyed acolytes of laissez-faire and the unfettered free market have proven to be unspeakable failures at managing the economy, as the ideological bankruptcy of their economic ideologies is proven to be matched only by its moral bankruptcy as in engages in one last orgy of upward redistribution of wealth. Executives get golden parachutes and workers get the soup kitchen line.
As laid out by the late, great, and incomparable Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose in their book Bill of Wrongs, the Bush regime has encouraged an all out assault on the principles of constitutional government in the United States, and this has had knock-on effects across the world. Canada puts in place Gitmo North and imprisons four men for eight years without charge, the opportunity to face their accusers or to know the evidence against them. Great Britain collapses into an agonized security state in which the average citizen of London is recorded on camera three hundred times every day, which would make Big Brother jealous. States in eastern Europe hold and torture men who have been kidnapped by the American government, in a practice called, with a chilling sterility, extraordinary rendition. American puppet regimes in the Middle East torture others, including Maher Arar who was confirmed to have committed no crime.
Bush and his flunkies have radically undermined the emergence of an international legal order, attempting to scuttle the International Criminal Court after securing major concessions. They have sabotaged attempts to save our climate from radical and disastrous change by recanting America's signature on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They have undermined the Geneva Conventions on the Law of War by creating the status of illegal enemy combatant that has no basis in law and is simply an excuse to hold the racialized other forever in a legal black hole.
This is but a brief and incomplete catalogue of the worst excesses, and high crimes, of George Bush, called Dubya. But not all is dark.
In the election on Nov. 4, 2008 Americans spoke resoundingly of a desire for change. While they likely will get only cosmetic change out of Barack Obama, Americans were mobilized and involved in politics in a way not seen since the election of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Americans have been jolted out of political apathy, and it is to be hoped that their awakening will be transmitted to the slumbering populations of the rest of the industrialized world.
In Latin America a radical transformation of both economics and politics is gaining steam. A truly democratic and socialist movement has arisen, and is demanding justice and equality for their people, and an end to the domination of their states by their wealthy paleo-colonialist elites and foreign corporations. The people of Venezuela resisted an American-sponsored coup in 2002 that was eerily reminiscent of the coups in the southern cone during the 1970s. The workers and the indigenous populations have reclaimed control of their countries in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Centre-leftists have been elected by wide margins in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. South America faces a revolutionary moment, and it provides a template that can be followed across the South.
As the economy melts down, that defining revolutionary moment spreads into the industrialized economies. It is a self-evident failure of capitalism. Socialists must be ready with alternatives to present, or we will lose this moment, as we lost the moment of the Great Depression.
The last days of George W. Bush are a time for celebration, as the global tyrant leaves the scene. But we can't stop at celebration. We must push for a true revolutionary moment, to bring democratic socialism to all the people of the world.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 6
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Keith Olbermann and Proposition Eight
Keith Olbermann is incredible.
I just stumbled across his Special Comment on Proposition Eight, and thought it was something that merits sharing. Good on ya Keith.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 70
I just stumbled across his Special Comment on Proposition Eight, and thought it was something that merits sharing. Good on ya Keith.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 70
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Homophobia Lives in the United States
I am bitterly disappointed with voters in California, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas today. In all of those states, voters opted to pass ballot initiatives, some of them constitutional amendments, to eliminate certain rights for gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans. In an election in which racism was shown to be on the decline, voters still proved themselves to be bigots. I am especially disappointed in California. They had marriage equality, and they have opted to tell everyone that their state constitution is a vessel for bigotry, by voting in favour of proposition 8. The most flabbergasting part of these results is how strongly black voters supported prop 8. It is incomprehensible to me that members of a group that 45 years ago was suffering the brutality of segregation could turn around today and tell another group of people that separate-but-equal is good enough (especially since "civil unions" are not as good as marriages, for all the reasons put forward in the now-annulled California Supreme Court decision).
Some day, Americans will look back on the plethora of homophobic ballot initiatives over the last eight years as a dark period in American history. Someday the veil of hateful superstition will lift, and the people of America will realize that holding someone to be less of a person and less entitled to equal benefit of law because of some factor about themselves that they have no control over is a fundamentally wrong thing to do. Someday Americans will look back on this period of ignorance and hatred, and be astonished that the people of California thought that this was an acceptable way to behave.
But until that day comes, LGBT Americans will continue to live in a country where denying their basic rights is common practice, and where embedding hatred and bigotry in a constitution is deemed an acceptable practice. The pall of racism has begun to lift, but the dusk of homophobia is settling further across the United States. For shame.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 75
Some day, Americans will look back on the plethora of homophobic ballot initiatives over the last eight years as a dark period in American history. Someday the veil of hateful superstition will lift, and the people of America will realize that holding someone to be less of a person and less entitled to equal benefit of law because of some factor about themselves that they have no control over is a fundamentally wrong thing to do. Someday Americans will look back on this period of ignorance and hatred, and be astonished that the people of California thought that this was an acceptable way to behave.
But until that day comes, LGBT Americans will continue to live in a country where denying their basic rights is common practice, and where embedding hatred and bigotry in a constitution is deemed an acceptable practice. The pall of racism has begun to lift, but the dusk of homophobia is settling further across the United States. For shame.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 75
A Seminal Moment
Tonight, an African American was elected President for the first time in American history. This is a pivotal moment in the history of the United States. This is an opportunity to turn from the old prejudices and hatreds, and to look to a brighter, more equal tomorrow. Congratulations to you, President-Elect Obama, and congratulations to America for having the courage to elect him.
Unfortunately, this wind of change, hope, acceptance and tolerance does not seem to reach to all. Voters in several states have voted to restrict the rights of gay and lesbian people, whether it be a ban on adoption by same-sex couples, or bans on equal marriage in Florida, Arizona and California, they have all succeeded or are leading at the moment. It is a sad statement that America and Americans are willing to try to move past racism, but are unwilling to move past homophobia.
The Democrats have strengthened their hold on both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but will fall short of the sixty-seat super-majority needed in the Senate to block Republican obstructionism, and as a result will face more filibusters and delaying tactics on the part of an embittered and hateful opposition.
There are many races not yet done, and I hope especially to see Al Franken win in Minnesota and to see Prop 8 fail in California. We shall see.
I will try to post a more fulsome analysis later, when I'm not sleepy.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency (Day Until Obama Presidency): 75
Unfortunately, this wind of change, hope, acceptance and tolerance does not seem to reach to all. Voters in several states have voted to restrict the rights of gay and lesbian people, whether it be a ban on adoption by same-sex couples, or bans on equal marriage in Florida, Arizona and California, they have all succeeded or are leading at the moment. It is a sad statement that America and Americans are willing to try to move past racism, but are unwilling to move past homophobia.
The Democrats have strengthened their hold on both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but will fall short of the sixty-seat super-majority needed in the Senate to block Republican obstructionism, and as a result will face more filibusters and delaying tactics on the part of an embittered and hateful opposition.
There are many races not yet done, and I hope especially to see Al Franken win in Minnesota and to see Prop 8 fail in California. We shall see.
I will try to post a more fulsome analysis later, when I'm not sleepy.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency (Day Until Obama Presidency): 75
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Long Lines in Many States and Continuing Irregularities
Another quick update. Long lines are being reported in many states, with continuing strong turnout, including an estimated 80% turnout in Ohio.
In some eastern states, wet weather is causing problems with voters dripping water on optical scan ballots, while there were problems with registration books in a county in Missouri, and voting machines are rejecting some ballots in Florida where voters abstained on certain questions. All of these have been addressed so far with what appear to be satisfactory solutions.
More concerning is text messages reported by voters in Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas telling Democrats to vote on Wednesday. Apparently, someone has also paid for robocalls in Missouri telling voters the same thing, and an e-mail saying the same has been circulating in Arkansas. This is clearly a fairly well financed attempt to distort and alter the vote in these states. The police should be looking into who is responsible, particularly for the Robocalls in Missouri.
I'll try to keep abreast of what is going on and update again before polls close. Though being in class all day is making that tough.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 76
In some eastern states, wet weather is causing problems with voters dripping water on optical scan ballots, while there were problems with registration books in a county in Missouri, and voting machines are rejecting some ballots in Florida where voters abstained on certain questions. All of these have been addressed so far with what appear to be satisfactory solutions.
More concerning is text messages reported by voters in Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas telling Democrats to vote on Wednesday. Apparently, someone has also paid for robocalls in Missouri telling voters the same thing, and an e-mail saying the same has been circulating in Arkansas. This is clearly a fairly well financed attempt to distort and alter the vote in these states. The police should be looking into who is responsible, particularly for the Robocalls in Missouri.
I'll try to keep abreast of what is going on and update again before polls close. Though being in class all day is making that tough.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 76
Substantial Voting Problems Reported in Florida, Ohio
CNN is reporting that significant problems with voting machines are occurring in Florida and Ohio, with sporadic reports of problems elsewhere in the US. So far today, 11,000 calls have been made to CNN's hot line reporting problems, and of those 1,500 are in Florida and 450 are in Ohio. Both of these are states that McCain must win if he is to have any chance of winning the Presidency. These must be closely watched.
I do wonder how long the Americans will continue to accept Diebold voting machines in their elections. The rest of the world seems to manage just fine with paper ballots, and yet American governments seem to have a fascination with electronic voting machines. Hopefully the Americans will force their government to return to paper ballots.
I will try to keep updating during the day, but since I'm in class for most of the day, that may be a bit difficult. Also, I won't be live blogging the election tonight, since I'll be watching the returns at a bar with friends. I will write something later tonight once the outcome is clear.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 76
I do wonder how long the Americans will continue to accept Diebold voting machines in their elections. The rest of the world seems to manage just fine with paper ballots, and yet American governments seem to have a fascination with electronic voting machines. Hopefully the Americans will force their government to return to paper ballots.
I will try to keep updating during the day, but since I'm in class for most of the day, that may be a bit difficult. Also, I won't be live blogging the election tonight, since I'll be watching the returns at a bar with friends. I will write something later tonight once the outcome is clear.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 76
Monday, November 03, 2008
Twenty-four Hours
That's how long we have before the first polls start reporting in the Presidential election. In twenty four hours we'll start seeing exit poll results from Vermont, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia, with real poll results soon afterward. If Obama takes Virginia, Indiana and Georgia, it will be lights out for John McCain and an early call to this presidential election. An important thing to remember is that Democrats voted strongly in early polls where they were availalble. This may well act to skew the results of exit polling in favour of Republicans, so take exit poll numbers with some additional grains of salt. If McCain holds both Indiana and Georgia, then we'll have to wait for the 7:30 EST closing states to assess the election. Those are Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. If Obama has taken Virginia and proceeds to take either Ohio or North Carolina, once again it's lights out for McCain. McCain's path to victory is extremely narrow, and I don't see any realistic way that he wins this election.
The important question to be asked now is just how much change a President Obama will bring. On too much, he is simply a reiteration of the status quo ante in American politics: unqualified support for Israel, opposition to marriage equality, bellicose attitudes toward Cuba and Venezuela and the orthodoxy of capitalism. Not that I expected anything different from him. Let's face facts. Even a left-wing Democrat would be, at best, a centrist Liberal in Canada. Horatio Alger-ism and class misidentification have produced a phenomenally distorted public perception of class in American society. American society is deeply inculcated with a Pavlovian hostility to socialism, despite the fact that socialism would produce better lives and more true freedom for a great majority of the population. The American political spectrum is so skewed to the right that a depressing number of Americans actually believe that Obama is a socialist. To their credit, many do not, but in a country where "liberal" is a slur (despite the country being deeply liberal in the classical sense), it is hardly surprising that so many react with snarling hostility to the cry of "socialism."
All of that aside, Obama is still a better choice for President. While he will not likely move significantly to the left on either foreign or domestic policy (if he does I will happily eat crow), John McCain would continue the move to the radical right, appointing judges to strike down a woman's right to choose, continuing the abusive excesses of executive power perpetrated by the Bush government, further reducing tax rates on those with the most, cutting services for those with the least, bloating the military further, running up ever more ruinous debt loads, pursuing ever more violent foreign policies and seeking to destroy the United Nations to replace it with some NATO-type proxy.
No, Obama is not what I would want, or even want to settle for, but he is still better than McCain, who is, quite simply, scary. I hope that Americans vote for Senator Obama tomorrow, and I hope that he proves me wrong and becomes the transformational, progressive, President that there is an opening for him to be.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 77
The important question to be asked now is just how much change a President Obama will bring. On too much, he is simply a reiteration of the status quo ante in American politics: unqualified support for Israel, opposition to marriage equality, bellicose attitudes toward Cuba and Venezuela and the orthodoxy of capitalism. Not that I expected anything different from him. Let's face facts. Even a left-wing Democrat would be, at best, a centrist Liberal in Canada. Horatio Alger-ism and class misidentification have produced a phenomenally distorted public perception of class in American society. American society is deeply inculcated with a Pavlovian hostility to socialism, despite the fact that socialism would produce better lives and more true freedom for a great majority of the population. The American political spectrum is so skewed to the right that a depressing number of Americans actually believe that Obama is a socialist. To their credit, many do not, but in a country where "liberal" is a slur (despite the country being deeply liberal in the classical sense), it is hardly surprising that so many react with snarling hostility to the cry of "socialism."
All of that aside, Obama is still a better choice for President. While he will not likely move significantly to the left on either foreign or domestic policy (if he does I will happily eat crow), John McCain would continue the move to the radical right, appointing judges to strike down a woman's right to choose, continuing the abusive excesses of executive power perpetrated by the Bush government, further reducing tax rates on those with the most, cutting services for those with the least, bloating the military further, running up ever more ruinous debt loads, pursuing ever more violent foreign policies and seeking to destroy the United Nations to replace it with some NATO-type proxy.
No, Obama is not what I would want, or even want to settle for, but he is still better than McCain, who is, quite simply, scary. I hope that Americans vote for Senator Obama tomorrow, and I hope that he proves me wrong and becomes the transformational, progressive, President that there is an opening for him to be.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 77
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Coming Down to the Wire
The American presidential election is finally drawing to a close. At the moment, it is looking like the earth would have to move in order for Barack Obama to lose this election. There are only two states where his lead over John McCain is very thin: North Carolina and Florida. Obama can win without either of those state. John McCain cannot win if he does not get both. But even getting both of those would not be enough to put John McCain in the White House. He would need to take more states away from Obama, states where Obama has a much more solid lead - states like Pennsylvania and Virginia. I think this is unlikely, especially given the number of early voters.
More interesting, at this point, is the race for control of Congress. The Democrats will control both houses when the show is over, but the question is whether they will have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. At this point, it's looking unlikely, though Minnesota is a true toss-up, and both Georgia and Texas (astonishingly) are in play as potential Democrat gains. Watch those three states on election night. If the Dems take North Carolina, those three states will tell the tale, since if all three go Democrat, they can have their filibuster proof majority without counting on Joe "Turncoat" Lieberman or moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe of Maine. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem likely, since Georgia has been trending GOP over the last couple days.
It should be interesting, and I may live blog it happens, depending on if I'm watching at home.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 78
More interesting, at this point, is the race for control of Congress. The Democrats will control both houses when the show is over, but the question is whether they will have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. At this point, it's looking unlikely, though Minnesota is a true toss-up, and both Georgia and Texas (astonishingly) are in play as potential Democrat gains. Watch those three states on election night. If the Dems take North Carolina, those three states will tell the tale, since if all three go Democrat, they can have their filibuster proof majority without counting on Joe "Turncoat" Lieberman or moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe of Maine. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem likely, since Georgia has been trending GOP over the last couple days.
It should be interesting, and I may live blog it happens, depending on if I'm watching at home.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 78
Monday, September 29, 2008
$700 Billion Bailout Fails to Pass Congress
What do you know. The unprecedented, mind-bogglingly big, handout to the corrupt financial sector in the United States has failed to pass through the House of Representatives. It failed by a margin of about 20 votes. This has caused a major drop on American stock markets, but remarkably an even larger drop in Canada. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the New York Stock Exchange fell 6.98%, the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 7.9%.
As we see stocks in Canada being more adversely affected by this crisis than American stocks, and the trading partner on whom the Canadian economy is dependant circling the drain, we have the out of touch ramblings of our Prime Minister for cold comfort. Two weeks ago, Stephen Harper said “My own belief is that if we were going to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now.” Yeah, right Steve. Tell that to all of the people who have seen their retirement savings wiped out over the last three weeks as the TSX has been tanking.
Steve would very much like for us not to connect the currently unfolding crisis in the States with the kind of massive, neo-liberal, deregulation that he wants to foist on us up here. Deregulation is responsible for this crisis, because when greed (i.e. capitalism) is allowed to run rampant and unchecked, it results in shady dealings and outrageous short-term planning. It leads to the kind of exploitation that sees the CEO of Lehman Brothers take home a pay package of US$37 million this year, the same year he steered that bank into the ground. Capitalism, but especially deregulated capitalism, is what allows the kind of insane, idiotic lending that led to this whole crisis in the first place. Neo-liberal deregulation of the economy is what led to Washington Mutual having on a tiny percentage of its debts in available cash, and being by far and away the biggest bank failure in the history of the world. Out of control capitalism is what led to the Great Depression, and it is what will lead to the depression that is coming. And the level of integration in the modern economy could lead to this depression spreading world-wide and making the Great Depression look like nothing.
Now is the time for the people to reassert democratic control over the economy. Now is the time to take control of the financial system away from greedy, exploitative and uncaring capitalists in their bank towers, and restore it to the people who actually make the economy go, the working class. Building institutions to allow for horizontal, popular, control over the economy will make sure that wealth is shared, and that no small cabal of piggish capitalists can drive the economy into the ground for their own personal gain.
It is exactly this connection that Steve and his pack of lying, bigoted and reactionary Conservatives would like for us all not to notice. Steve doesn't want us to realize that he is leading us down the garden path to financial ruin. He can spout all of the "strong on the economy" bullshit that he wants, but his policies essentially represent a massive wealth transfer from the labouring class to the capitalist class. The class that has stolen untold billions that they did not toil to earn. He wants to bleed Canadians dry to fatten the capitalist class. Canadians have to show him that we know what he is up to, and that he doesn't fool us.
But don't take this information and go vote Liberal. The Liberals have endorsed Harper's fiscal policies. They are simply a nice, smiley face to go with the same hyper-capitalist fiscal policies, and in fact they want to deepen the corporate tax giveaways and enrich corporate welfare while at the same time stripping resources from the poorest of the poor through a regressive carbon tax.
The NDP, while not perfect, is a party that can be counted on to stop this outrageous rush to the bottom of regulation, to put a stop to the insane transfers of wealth to the already obscenely wealthy, and to put money back into the social safety net. That's why I'm voting NDP. I hope you'll consider it too.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 112
As we see stocks in Canada being more adversely affected by this crisis than American stocks, and the trading partner on whom the Canadian economy is dependant circling the drain, we have the out of touch ramblings of our Prime Minister for cold comfort. Two weeks ago, Stephen Harper said “My own belief is that if we were going to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now.” Yeah, right Steve. Tell that to all of the people who have seen their retirement savings wiped out over the last three weeks as the TSX has been tanking.
Steve would very much like for us not to connect the currently unfolding crisis in the States with the kind of massive, neo-liberal, deregulation that he wants to foist on us up here. Deregulation is responsible for this crisis, because when greed (i.e. capitalism) is allowed to run rampant and unchecked, it results in shady dealings and outrageous short-term planning. It leads to the kind of exploitation that sees the CEO of Lehman Brothers take home a pay package of US$37 million this year, the same year he steered that bank into the ground. Capitalism, but especially deregulated capitalism, is what allows the kind of insane, idiotic lending that led to this whole crisis in the first place. Neo-liberal deregulation of the economy is what led to Washington Mutual having on a tiny percentage of its debts in available cash, and being by far and away the biggest bank failure in the history of the world. Out of control capitalism is what led to the Great Depression, and it is what will lead to the depression that is coming. And the level of integration in the modern economy could lead to this depression spreading world-wide and making the Great Depression look like nothing.
Now is the time for the people to reassert democratic control over the economy. Now is the time to take control of the financial system away from greedy, exploitative and uncaring capitalists in their bank towers, and restore it to the people who actually make the economy go, the working class. Building institutions to allow for horizontal, popular, control over the economy will make sure that wealth is shared, and that no small cabal of piggish capitalists can drive the economy into the ground for their own personal gain.
It is exactly this connection that Steve and his pack of lying, bigoted and reactionary Conservatives would like for us all not to notice. Steve doesn't want us to realize that he is leading us down the garden path to financial ruin. He can spout all of the "strong on the economy" bullshit that he wants, but his policies essentially represent a massive wealth transfer from the labouring class to the capitalist class. The class that has stolen untold billions that they did not toil to earn. He wants to bleed Canadians dry to fatten the capitalist class. Canadians have to show him that we know what he is up to, and that he doesn't fool us.
But don't take this information and go vote Liberal. The Liberals have endorsed Harper's fiscal policies. They are simply a nice, smiley face to go with the same hyper-capitalist fiscal policies, and in fact they want to deepen the corporate tax giveaways and enrich corporate welfare while at the same time stripping resources from the poorest of the poor through a regressive carbon tax.
The NDP, while not perfect, is a party that can be counted on to stop this outrageous rush to the bottom of regulation, to put a stop to the insane transfers of wealth to the already obscenely wealthy, and to put money back into the social safety net. That's why I'm voting NDP. I hope you'll consider it too.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 112
Saturday, September 20, 2008
US Debt to Increase by almost 10% to Bail Out Bankrupt Capitalists
Over the last couple days, as the drama on North American financial markets has unfolded, the US government decided that it needed to do something. And now that something has emerged as a US$700 billion plan to buy bad debt from banks and investment houses.
Brilliant. This plan will take the US debt from US$9.668 trillion (I can't even properly conceptualize that much money) to about US$10.3 billion. This plan will increase the US national debt by 150% the amount of the entire Canadian national debt (currently about C$500 billion or about US$477 billion). And for all this debt, Americans don't even have a national healthcare system. Lets, just for the shock value, look at these values expressed as numbers.
US National Debt: US$10 368 000 000 000
CAN National Debt: US$500 000 000 000
That's obscene. What is even more obscene is that this bail out won't do a single thing to help the ordinary people of the United States. The working class won't see a penny of this money. Bush is going to transfer $350 billion per year to the capitalist class. These are the same people who scream about welfare recipients getting a grand or two a month, so that they can buy food and pay rent (and often can't afford even that). And yet some on the right are screaming about this being "socialism." Trust me when I say, as a socialist, that this is not socialism. This is kleptocracy. The capitalists made ridiculously bad business decisions, endangered the fundamentals of the American economy, got filthy rich in the process, and now their mistakes are being covered by the taxes paid by working class Americans. It's obscene.
Americans are going to be stuck paying for this bailout for decades to come, if not centuries. The stupid, greedy piggish capitalists have gotten bailed out of their stupidity, and once again it comes on the backs of the people most oppressed by the capitalist system. But so long as the American media gushes about this bailout, most people won't ever know the difference. And of course, the supposed "left wing alternative" in the US, the Democratic Party, is cheer-leading this bullshit and will uncritically pass it through Congress.
This is bullshit. Americans need to be up in arms about this. Their future is being mortgaged (pun not intended, but now I like it) to bail out irresponsible pig-dog capitalists. But there is no outrage. It is beyond frustrating.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 121
Brilliant. This plan will take the US debt from US$9.668 trillion (I can't even properly conceptualize that much money) to about US$10.3 billion. This plan will increase the US national debt by 150% the amount of the entire Canadian national debt (currently about C$500 billion or about US$477 billion). And for all this debt, Americans don't even have a national healthcare system. Lets, just for the shock value, look at these values expressed as numbers.
US National Debt: US$10 368 000 000 000
CAN National Debt: US$500 000 000 000
That's obscene. What is even more obscene is that this bail out won't do a single thing to help the ordinary people of the United States. The working class won't see a penny of this money. Bush is going to transfer $350 billion per year to the capitalist class. These are the same people who scream about welfare recipients getting a grand or two a month, so that they can buy food and pay rent (and often can't afford even that). And yet some on the right are screaming about this being "socialism." Trust me when I say, as a socialist, that this is not socialism. This is kleptocracy. The capitalists made ridiculously bad business decisions, endangered the fundamentals of the American economy, got filthy rich in the process, and now their mistakes are being covered by the taxes paid by working class Americans. It's obscene.
Americans are going to be stuck paying for this bailout for decades to come, if not centuries. The stupid, greedy piggish capitalists have gotten bailed out of their stupidity, and once again it comes on the backs of the people most oppressed by the capitalist system. But so long as the American media gushes about this bailout, most people won't ever know the difference. And of course, the supposed "left wing alternative" in the US, the Democratic Party, is cheer-leading this bullshit and will uncritically pass it through Congress.
This is bullshit. Americans need to be up in arms about this. Their future is being mortgaged (pun not intended, but now I like it) to bail out irresponsible pig-dog capitalists. But there is no outrage. It is beyond frustrating.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 121
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Obama Secures Democratic Party Nomination
Today Barack Obama secured the nomination of the Democratic Party for the Presidency of the United States. This is a historic moment, with the first black person to secure the nomination of one of the two major parties in the United States of America. Obama has broken barriers and brought hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new voters into the process.
Obama also gave a phenomenal speech tonight. There is only one orator like him in any given generation, and he may be able to mobilize the country, if the Republicans aren't able to drag him down into the mud. His call to seize the moment was hair-raising, and driving.
Hilary Clinton was deeply ungracious tonight. The race is over. She needs to admit that, endorse Barack Obama, and work on unifying the Democratic Party. What is most important at this stage is that John McCain not be the next President of the United States. The world cannot stand another American President who will recklessly spread war around the world. The world cannot stand a trigger happy President who wants to bomb Iran. Obama doesn't have the best policy in the world, but at least Obama believes in diplomacy, and the world needs diplomacy.
Now, the run-up to November begins.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 231
Obama also gave a phenomenal speech tonight. There is only one orator like him in any given generation, and he may be able to mobilize the country, if the Republicans aren't able to drag him down into the mud. His call to seize the moment was hair-raising, and driving.
Hilary Clinton was deeply ungracious tonight. The race is over. She needs to admit that, endorse Barack Obama, and work on unifying the Democratic Party. What is most important at this stage is that John McCain not be the next President of the United States. The world cannot stand another American President who will recklessly spread war around the world. The world cannot stand a trigger happy President who wants to bomb Iran. Obama doesn't have the best policy in the world, but at least Obama believes in diplomacy, and the world needs diplomacy.
Now, the run-up to November begins.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 231
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Equal Marriage in California
California has, today, become the second American state to allow equal marriage for all people, regardless of sexual orientation. In a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court overturned the statute defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The reasons of the Majority, written by Chief Justice George, contain several clear explanations of why LGBT folks are entitled to equal rights, and why "separate but equal" civil unions/domestic partnerships just don't cut it. First the Chief Justice had this to say:
The forces of acceptance have won the battle, but the forces of bigotry and hatred haven't yet given up the war. They have one last play: an attempt to change the constitution of California to return to unequal marriage. This attempt will likely be on the ballot in California in November. If that battle is won, then it will truly be a time to celebrate.
That is not, of course, to play down the incredible victory that today's ruling represents. Thousands, if not millions, of Californians will be able to marry the person they love now, and that is certainly a cause for joy.
I salute the judges of the California Supreme Court for coming to the right decision, and I hope that the people of California will see fit to reject the ballot initiative to entrench bigotry in California's constitution. For anyone interested in reading the decision, the following link will take you to the PDF version of the ruling.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 251
Furthermore, in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.He added this:
Second, retaining the traditional definition of marriage and affording same-sex couples only a separate and differently named family relationship will, as a realistic matter, impose appreciable harm on same-sex couples and their children, because denying such couples access to the familiar and highly favored designation of marriage is likely to cast doubt on whether the official family relationship of same-sex couples enjoys dignity equal to that of opposite-sex couples. Third, because of the widespread disparagement that gay individuals historically have faced, it is all the more probable that excluding same-sex couples from the legal institution of marriage is likely to be viewed as reflecting an official view that their committed relationships are of lesser stature than the comparable relationships of opposite-sex couples. Finally, retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise — now emphatically rejected by this state — that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects “second-class citizens” who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples.Those two excerpts from the decision eloquently make the case for equal marriage.
The forces of acceptance have won the battle, but the forces of bigotry and hatred haven't yet given up the war. They have one last play: an attempt to change the constitution of California to return to unequal marriage. This attempt will likely be on the ballot in California in November. If that battle is won, then it will truly be a time to celebrate.
That is not, of course, to play down the incredible victory that today's ruling represents. Thousands, if not millions, of Californians will be able to marry the person they love now, and that is certainly a cause for joy.
I salute the judges of the California Supreme Court for coming to the right decision, and I hope that the people of California will see fit to reject the ballot initiative to entrench bigotry in California's constitution. For anyone interested in reading the decision, the following link will take you to the PDF version of the ruling.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 251
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Democrats Win the Congress and Rummy Resigns
Oh, it is a good day. The Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives and they have won control of the Senate (all be it with the slimmest of margins). On top of that good news, Rummy has "resigned." Ding dong the witch is dead. It is going to be a glorious two years, watching the investigations into the shenanigans that the Emperor and his team got up to. I am upset that Nancy Pelosi has promised not to impeach the Emperor, but it is only a minor tarnish on the glory of this day.
Hopefully the Emperor will take a message from this election that it is time for the United States to withdraw it's occupation forces from Iraq. Iraqis don't want them there, and Americans clearly don't want them there. You would think that the Emperor could take a hint.
Also good, the Emperor will not have an easy time appointing new justices to the federal bench in the States, and this is only just in time. Many justices are reaching the age when they could die any time, and if the Emperor got to appoint even one more justice, then the Supreme Court would have been skewed for years.
Hopefully, Canada can take a lesson and kick our own corrupt neo-cons to the curb as the Americans have done. I live in hope.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 813
Hopefully the Emperor will take a message from this election that it is time for the United States to withdraw it's occupation forces from Iraq. Iraqis don't want them there, and Americans clearly don't want them there. You would think that the Emperor could take a hint.
Also good, the Emperor will not have an easy time appointing new justices to the federal bench in the States, and this is only just in time. Many justices are reaching the age when they could die any time, and if the Emperor got to appoint even one more justice, then the Supreme Court would have been skewed for years.
Hopefully, Canada can take a lesson and kick our own corrupt neo-cons to the curb as the Americans have done. I live in hope.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 813
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Lamont Wins Connecticut Primary
This just in: Senator Joseph Lieberman has just conceded defeat in the Connecticut primary for the U.S. Senate. Ned Lamonte has won the primary and will be the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat. Lieberman however, has announced that he will run in the election as an independent. This defeat, however, is a stunning fall from grace for a man who was the running-mate in the 2000 Presidential election. Lieberman has disgraced the voters of Connecticut. Hopefully they will see the truth in time for the election. Best of luck to Mr. Lamonte.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 896
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 896
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