Don Young is a Bigoted Pinhead

Every now and again, a politician lets his mask slip. Then you get a glimpse of what really lives under the carefully presented public image.

Alaska Representative Don Young's latest gaffe included his referring to hispanic migrant workers as "wetbacks."

He assures us that he "meant no disrespect" and explains that this was a term in common use when he was growing up.

It turns out that when I grew up, we referred to racists as "bigoted pinheads." I'm sure that Don will understand that I mean just as little disrespect as he did in his original quote.

The Atlantic Wire posted an interesting history of GOP attempts to reach out to people who weren't "stuffy old white men."

September 11

Since the minute the planes struck, the September 11 attacks have been fodder for conspiracy wackos, hucksters, and assorted activists. Why is it that people with only the most distant connection to the 9/11 attacks insist on using them to push their own private agendas?

Cheney and his cronies used fabricated data and intimidation to push their agenda in favor of an invasion of Iraq. All the blood and all the treasure wasted on this so-called "War on Terror" came about because powerful men decided to create a phony story linking Saddam to 9/11.

"Never Forget!" exclaimed the bumper stickers of their supporters, even as they rapidly forgot the war against al Quaeda in order to push an ill-advised and worse-executed grab of Iraq's oil fields.

Waves of fruitcakes are using the 9/11 attacks to push various conspiracy theories about who was "really" behind the attacks. The CIA or the Mossad or some other shadowy group is supposed to have planted explosives to bring the towers down. No amount of debunking will ever be enough for these nut jobs, though several people have tried:

Screw Loose Change

Debunking 911

Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report

I wish that people could accept the attacks for what they were: An atrocity motivated by the hatred of a few extremists. One of the ironies of the attack is the way it has been used by other extremists to justify actions and attitudes that look an awful lot like those found among the attackers.

9/11: We've Forgotten

This is the first 9/11 I've spent in a state that was not one of the 9/11 states. It seems to me that people in other parts of the country just don't get it. Activities were scheduled at the kids' schools, a lot of people flew their flags at full mast, fundraisers at work for charities other than veterans/survivors, and no moment of silence observed at work. (This is in a company that lost employees on 9/11.)

Maybe I'm sensitive because I lived in an area and worked in an industry that was disproportionately affected by 9/11. Now I live in an area where a lot of people with "Never Forget" bumper stickers have evidently forgotten.

What's wrong with showing a bit of respect?

Palin's Shortcomings

Sarah Palin appears to be kicking off her 2012 presidential campaign early. I have several serious objections to Sarah Palin as a presidential candidate. Contrary to the early victim rhetoric from the Palin camp, none of them have anything to do with the fact that she is a conservative Christian woman.

• Sarah Palin is intellectually dishonest. She ignores opinions different from her own, and even mis-represents expert opinions when she thinks she can get away with it.


• She tries to dictate other peoples' opinions. Her attempts to ban books and to control the activities of her librarian were nothing short of despicable. Her desire to force the teaching of theology in the science classroom is frightening to anyone who cares about the separation of church and state.


• She is ignorant. I don't care where she went to school or for how long. For anyone to grow to adulthood believing that Africa is a country and not a continent requires a level of intellectual incuriosity only matched by W.

--SCC

The Palin Selection

Oil Price Decline

Republicans have been claiming that the drop in the price of oil was a result of increased production thanks to their enlightened drilling policies. This assertion is patently absurd, as demonstrated by figures from the EIA.

These figures show that production has leveled off, and that any price decline has been a result of demand destruction.

The accompanying EIA report is slightly out of date. I also think that it fails to take into account the amount of air that speculators were blowing into the oil futures market.

I also think that they may be over-optimistic in their projections of non-OPEC supply growth. But at the end of the day, they agree with my assessment.

--SCC

Florida 2000

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), produced a report in June 2001 titled "Voting Irregularities in Florida During the 2000 Presidential Election." The report concluded, "Despite the closeness of the election, it was widespread voter disenfranchisement, not the dead-heat contest, that was the extraordinary feature in the Florida election. The disenfranchisement was not isolated or episodic." The USCCR found that African-American voters were at least ten times more likely to have their ballots rejected than other voters and that 83 of the 100 precincts with the most disqualified ballots had black majorities.

There were several reports of black voters being obstructed when trying to vote:

Black politicians want the commission to press Governor Bush and other state officials about the unusually high presence of Florida highway patrolmen in black precincts in election day.

One state senator, Daryll Jones, said there had to have been an order for them to set up road-blocks.

Choicepoint was forced to pay compensation for their actions during the 2000 Florida election, when they created lists of voters to be excluded from voting.

--SCC

Is Obama a Socialist?

McCain doesn't think so. When asked, he waffled and eventually conceded that Obama was not a socialist.

Here's an interesting essay on the subject.

Most kids have no standard for comparison to understand why socialists are scary. By labeling all liberals as socialists, conservatives have robbed the word of its power. An increasing number of young people are self-identifying as Socialists or proclaiming themselves to be in favor of things like "socialized medicine." (Ie, the pollster asks a question like "Are you in favor of 'socialized medicine?'")

I disagree with the premise that there is some sort of Socialist resurgence going on.

After the election, the blue dogs will hold the balance of power in the Congress. If the Ds try to push them, then I'll get my wish for the creation of a third party based on traditional, hard-nosed fiscal discipline.

--SCC