"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I heard a disturbing interview on the BBC with the author of the book The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq about epidemic of sexual assault against female soldiers in the US armed forces.
The author cited the Pentagon's own statistics: 30 percent of ALL female soldiers in the American military (not just those in Iraq) have been raped by male soldiers supposedly on their own side.
An astonishingly high percentage like this suggests not the deviancy of a few individuals but an institutional culture that, at bests, enables widespread sexual assault both by and against those venerated as Our Heroes.
In the interview, the author told the story of a woman she interviewed. The soldier explained how she was stalked and then raped by a colleague. She said that when she went to the authorities to report the incident, she was strongly discouraged from doing so and warned that she would be "court martialed for leaving her weapon unattended in a war zone."
If these women truly are Fighting For Our Freedoms So We Don't Have To, then isn't dealing with snipers and IUDs enough to ask of them? Should they also have to worry that their own "comrades" might brutally rape them? Call me a bleeding heart liberal, but when they signed up to be in harm's way, wasn't the understanding that the harm might come from the Enemy, not from their colleagues?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
The legitimacy and incoherence of the mass teabagging parties
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The anti-tax tea parties have received quite a bit of press attention this week. There has been some criticism that teabaggers (snicker) are closely linked to various right wing groups. I've refrained from commenting on the teabagging parties in general. I don't think you have to be a Republican or a libertarian -- two groups that were at loggerheads for most of the reign of the big government George W. Bush -- to question how the government is spending tax money.
I can deal with taxes, when they are used in some way to benefit the public good. I wouldn't object to my taxes going for a more sensible and cost efficient health care system like single payer.
However, I DO object to my taxes going to subsidize a fourth mansion for a Wall St. CEO. I DO object to my taxes being used as corporate welfare for the stockholders of Boeing, Blackwater and other "defense" contractors.
Anti-tax sentiment is associated with the right wing. But probably the most famous tax protester in American history was the pacifist Henry David Thoreau.
I admit to being wary of any movement that has been co-opted by people like former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey. And I am wary of getting too close to any movement that seems so attractive to anti-immigrant bigots, theocrats and to the small-minded who believe the lie (and, worse, are offended by this "fact") that Pres. Obama is a Muslim.
Some of these people were all gung ho about government spending when its focus was subsidizing "defense" contractor greed (who are more financially sympathetic to the GOP). Now they object to it when it focuses more on subsidizing Wall St. greed (who are increasingly more sympathetic to Democrats). I can't take seriously Dick Armey's ramblings on smaller government, given his record as majority leader. Some tarred any criticism of President Bush as unpatriotic treachery that was tantamount to handing a nuclear bomb to bin Laden but now lustily call Obama a fascist/communist/socialist or whatever the epithet of the day is with as much venom as they can muster.
But the truth is that there are many libertarians out there that were just as vocal about spending and taxation during Bush as during Obama. It's just no one was listening at the time. Back then, they were dismissed as loons both by establishment Republicans and mostly ignored by Democrats and the media. Now that the Republicans have been completely swept from power and they are now completely devoid of any ideas, they are suddenly glomming on to the only idea they've had in the last 30 years that hasn't been completely discredited.
The GOP elite used treated Ron Paul and his followers like escaped mental patients. Now, the establishment has stolen their ideas and claimed them as their own.
So while some of the teabaggers aren't exactly the kind of people I'd want to get in bed with politically, it doesn't mean there aren't issues to discuss. It doesn't mean we shouldn't debate how our money is spent.
That said, some of this nonsense isn't something easily glossed over.
Take an excerpt from this piece in The Post-Standard about Syracuse (NY) teabagger Joanne Wilder.
She said she retired on disability from M&T Bank three years ago after undergoing knee replacement and back surgeries. She lives on her Social Security and disability benefits. Last year, she petitioned the bankruptcy court for protection from creditors.
She said she did not have to pay federal income taxes last year because her income was too low.
"I don't want to see this country turn into a welfare, nanny state, where we stand in line for groceries, and we're in welfare lines, and in socialized medicine lines," Wilder said.
So maybe the best spokesperson for personal responsibility is not someone who reneged on her debts.
Maybe the best spokesperson for lower federal income taxes is not someone who doesn't even pay any.
Maybe the best spokesperson against the welfare state is not someone who is entirely dependent on that oldest of welfare state programs Social Security.
And in a nutshell, this embodies the hypocrisy shown by a great many people who claim to be in favor of small government or against the welfare state. I live in one of the most conservative, anti-big government regions of New York State. But the region is also poorly and heavily dependent on PUBLIC sector jobs as teachers and prisons guards.
Teabaggers are pretty vocal around here. So when New York's governor proposed closing two big prisons in the North Country now underutilized because of (gasp!) falling crime (at least the petty kind), you'd think he'd be widely praised in this small government-loving area. In actuality, many of the people who participated in the tea parties were also lobbying to keep the prisons open. The sad part is that many of them don't even realize their incoherence.
There's a serious argument to be made about how our tax money is being spent, but many of the teabaggers have far to little credibility to be the ones making it.
Update: Surprisingly, it turns out the teabagger Ms. Wilder is only the second . Don't let the door hit you on the way out. #1 goes to the folks chanting in favor of Texan secession while waving American flags.
The anti-tax tea parties have received quite a bit of press attention this week. There has been some criticism that teabaggers (snicker) are closely linked to various right wing groups. I've refrained from commenting on the teabagging parties in general. I don't think you have to be a Republican or a libertarian -- two groups that were at loggerheads for most of the reign of the big government George W. Bush -- to question how the government is spending tax money.
I can deal with taxes, when they are used in some way to benefit the public good. I wouldn't object to my taxes going for a more sensible and cost efficient health care system like single payer.
However, I DO object to my taxes going to subsidize a fourth mansion for a Wall St. CEO. I DO object to my taxes being used as corporate welfare for the stockholders of Boeing, Blackwater and other "defense" contractors.
Anti-tax sentiment is associated with the right wing. But probably the most famous tax protester in American history was the pacifist Henry David Thoreau.
I admit to being wary of any movement that has been co-opted by people like former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey. And I am wary of getting too close to any movement that seems so attractive to anti-immigrant bigots, theocrats and to the small-minded who believe the lie (and, worse, are offended by this "fact") that Pres. Obama is a Muslim.
Some of these people were all gung ho about government spending when its focus was subsidizing "defense" contractor greed (who are more financially sympathetic to the GOP). Now they object to it when it focuses more on subsidizing Wall St. greed (who are increasingly more sympathetic to Democrats). I can't take seriously Dick Armey's ramblings on smaller government, given his record as majority leader. Some tarred any criticism of President Bush as unpatriotic treachery that was tantamount to handing a nuclear bomb to bin Laden but now lustily call Obama a fascist/communist/socialist or whatever the epithet of the day is with as much venom as they can muster.
But the truth is that there are many libertarians out there that were just as vocal about spending and taxation during Bush as during Obama. It's just no one was listening at the time. Back then, they were dismissed as loons both by establishment Republicans and mostly ignored by Democrats and the media. Now that the Republicans have been completely swept from power and they are now completely devoid of any ideas, they are suddenly glomming on to the only idea they've had in the last 30 years that hasn't been completely discredited.
The GOP elite used treated Ron Paul and his followers like escaped mental patients. Now, the establishment has stolen their ideas and claimed them as their own.
So while some of the teabaggers aren't exactly the kind of people I'd want to get in bed with politically, it doesn't mean there aren't issues to discuss. It doesn't mean we shouldn't debate how our money is spent.
That said, some of this nonsense isn't something easily glossed over.
Take an excerpt from this piece in The Post-Standard about Syracuse (NY) teabagger Joanne Wilder.
She said she retired on disability from M&T Bank three years ago after undergoing knee replacement and back surgeries. She lives on her Social Security and disability benefits. Last year, she petitioned the bankruptcy court for protection from creditors.
She said she did not have to pay federal income taxes last year because her income was too low.
"I don't want to see this country turn into a welfare, nanny state, where we stand in line for groceries, and we're in welfare lines, and in socialized medicine lines," Wilder said.
So maybe the best spokesperson for personal responsibility is not someone who reneged on her debts.
Maybe the best spokesperson for lower federal income taxes is not someone who doesn't even pay any.
Maybe the best spokesperson against the welfare state is not someone who is entirely dependent on that oldest of welfare state programs Social Security.
And in a nutshell, this embodies the hypocrisy shown by a great many people who claim to be in favor of small government or against the welfare state. I live in one of the most conservative, anti-big government regions of New York State. But the region is also poorly and heavily dependent on PUBLIC sector jobs as teachers and prisons guards.
Teabaggers are pretty vocal around here. So when New York's governor proposed closing two big prisons in the North Country now underutilized because of (gasp!) falling crime (at least the petty kind), you'd think he'd be widely praised in this small government-loving area. In actuality, many of the people who participated in the tea parties were also lobbying to keep the prisons open. The sad part is that many of them don't even realize their incoherence.
There's a serious argument to be made about how our tax money is being spent, but many of the teabaggers have far to little credibility to be the ones making it.
Update: Surprisingly, it turns out the teabagger Ms. Wilder is only the second . Don't let the door hit you on the way out. #1 goes to the folks chanting in favor of Texan secession while waving American flags.
See the Adirondack Park while you can
USA Today had a piece listing "10 great places on Earth you don't want to miss." They were chosen by Holly Hughes, author of Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear.
The third place listed:
Adirondack State Park
Upper New York state
Established in 1892, this 6 million-acre park encompasses more than 3,000 lakes and ponds connected by 1,500 miles of waterways. "The effects of acid rain, encroaching development and harmful invasive species are taking a toll here," Hughes says. "But much of the park's heart has been kept inaccessible to vehicles, preserving a slice of wilderness. The best way to appreciate it is to canoe through its quiet rivers and forested lakes. You'll see white-tailed deer, beaver, and, if you're lucky, you may spy a red fox or even a moose." 518-846-8016; adirondacks.org
The third place listed:
Adirondack State Park
Upper New York state
Established in 1892, this 6 million-acre park encompasses more than 3,000 lakes and ponds connected by 1,500 miles of waterways. "The effects of acid rain, encroaching development and harmful invasive species are taking a toll here," Hughes says. "But much of the park's heart has been kept inaccessible to vehicles, preserving a slice of wilderness. The best way to appreciate it is to canoe through its quiet rivers and forested lakes. You'll see white-tailed deer, beaver, and, if you're lucky, you may spy a red fox or even a moose." 518-846-8016; adirondacks.org
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Re-elect Congressman Hawkeye in '10!
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I have a message to all bloggers commenting on the 20th Congressional District special election. NO ONE CARES WHO YOU PREDICT WILL WIN!
The election is already over.
The votes are already cast.
The spinmeisters can't affect anything.
So whether you're spinning for Tedisco, relentlessly spinning for Murphy or journalistically neutral, PLEASE STOP.
(And if my appeals have any influence, I also beg 'news' outlets to stop doing almost daily stories about polls showing how unpopular Gov. Paterson is. Overreliance on polls and predictions is for the lazy.)
I have no problem with people commenting on the process of the voting counting. But these insufferable predictions are empty and pointless.
But if they can make a difference, here's my informed prediction: the race will end in a dead heat. A new election will be ordered. And Hawkeye, the old Glens Falls pro hockey mascot, will stun pundits by winning a write-in campaign.
So please keep your predictions to yourself until all the votes be counted, at least the ones not challenged by the two campaigns.
The reason these predictions are not just annoying and self-serving but potentially dangerous is this: the last thing we need are the partisans pushing for one of the candidates to bow out with a very narrow deficit and thousands of votes left to be counted.
Republicans tried that tactic in 2000 and Democrats spend the following eight years paralyzed with bitterness about it. It wasn't healthy for anyone.
I have a message to all bloggers commenting on the 20th Congressional District special election. NO ONE CARES WHO YOU PREDICT WILL WIN!
The election is already over.
The votes are already cast.
The spinmeisters can't affect anything.
So whether you're spinning for Tedisco, relentlessly spinning for Murphy or journalistically neutral, PLEASE STOP.
(And if my appeals have any influence, I also beg 'news' outlets to stop doing almost daily stories about polls showing how unpopular Gov. Paterson is. Overreliance on polls and predictions is for the lazy.)
I have no problem with people commenting on the process of the voting counting. But these insufferable predictions are empty and pointless.
But if they can make a difference, here's my informed prediction: the race will end in a dead heat. A new election will be ordered. And Hawkeye, the old Glens Falls pro hockey mascot, will stun pundits by winning a write-in campaign.
So please keep your predictions to yourself until all the votes be counted, at least the ones not challenged by the two campaigns.
The reason these predictions are not just annoying and self-serving but potentially dangerous is this: the last thing we need are the partisans pushing for one of the candidates to bow out with a very narrow deficit and thousands of votes left to be counted.
Republicans tried that tactic in 2000 and Democrats spend the following eight years paralyzed with bitterness about it. It wasn't healthy for anyone.
A note about ads and about comments
This blog subscribes to the Google AdSense program. The theory being that maybe after a decade, I might be able to make a few dollars as a result of the 7 people who generously spend their time reading this blog.
One anonymous commenter* asked why s/he saw an ad that read: "Support Joe Bruno. Voice your support for Joe Bruno! Read the Truth."
Joe Bruno, of course, is the former longtime leader of the New York Senate's Republican majority who was recently indicted on public corruption charges.
The ads are not chosen by me. They are automatically generated by Google based on keywords of the content of the blog. Since I've used the word 'Republican' quite a bit in regards to Congressional candidate Jim Tedisco, I presume this is how this ad was linked to my blog.
*-Reminder: Although this blog's commenting policy bans unsigned comments for reasons I will not re-hash yet again, it does NOT ban anonymous ones. Nor does it require you to be a member of Blogger to comment. If you wish to leave a comment signing only a first name or nickname or pseudonym of your choice, you can do so by clicking on Post A Comment and then under Choose an Identity, click Name/URL. The URL part is optional. If you do it this way, I only ask that you use the same nickname/pseudonym each time you post for the sake of continuity.
One anonymous commenter* asked why s/he saw an ad that read: "Support Joe Bruno. Voice your support for Joe Bruno! Read the Truth."
Joe Bruno, of course, is the former longtime leader of the New York Senate's Republican majority who was recently indicted on public corruption charges.
The ads are not chosen by me. They are automatically generated by Google based on keywords of the content of the blog. Since I've used the word 'Republican' quite a bit in regards to Congressional candidate Jim Tedisco, I presume this is how this ad was linked to my blog.
*-Reminder: Although this blog's commenting policy bans unsigned comments for reasons I will not re-hash yet again, it does NOT ban anonymous ones. Nor does it require you to be a member of Blogger to comment. If you wish to leave a comment signing only a first name or nickname or pseudonym of your choice, you can do so by clicking on Post A Comment and then under Choose an Identity, click Name/URL. The URL part is optional. If you do it this way, I only ask that you use the same nickname/pseudonym each time you post for the sake of continuity.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
New citizen blogs
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the great things about the website of The Albany Times-Union, timesunion.com, is its blogs' section which now contains a new sub-section devoted to Capital Region Voices.
Glens Falls' (and Saratoga's too, depending on where you pick it up) "Hometown Daily" limits its blogs to people who already have columns or articles in the paper. Basically, it gives more space to people who already have space.
What's nice about timesunion.com is that, while it does have some blogs for editors and staff members, it also offers a platform for ordinary people whose voices aren't already represented in the print edition. It presents readers with new, alternative voices, something badly lacking in mainstream journalistic enterprises.
One of the excellent new blogs is written by the widely respected and admired Albany social justice advocate Dr. Alice Green.
Another new one is authored by local political activist, baker and friend of this blog Matt Funiciello.
One of the great things about the website of The Albany Times-Union, timesunion.com, is its blogs' section which now contains a new sub-section devoted to Capital Region Voices.
Glens Falls' (and Saratoga's too, depending on where you pick it up) "Hometown Daily" limits its blogs to people who already have columns or articles in the paper. Basically, it gives more space to people who already have space.
What's nice about timesunion.com is that, while it does have some blogs for editors and staff members, it also offers a platform for ordinary people whose voices aren't already represented in the print edition. It presents readers with new, alternative voices, something badly lacking in mainstream journalistic enterprises.
One of the excellent new blogs is written by the widely respected and admired Albany social justice advocate Dr. Alice Green.
Another new one is authored by local political activist, baker and friend of this blog Matt Funiciello.
Firing blanks
Perhaps the best argument in favor of expanded gun ownership is that maybe ordinary people need firearms to protect themselves from the gun fanatics.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Happy birthday Adirondack Almanack
Friends over at Adirondack Almanack are marking the fourth anniversary of their site. The Almanack is one of the few independent blogs I read regularly as it offers the best online concentration of news and features about the Adirondack Park.
The blog was created by Chestertown writer and historian John Warren. But Saranac Lake residents Mary Thill and Mark Wilson (a regular commenter on this blog) joined The Almanack team earlier this year to offer a different perspective.
Wilson authored the quirky and much followed Adirondack Bracket, a local spoof of college basketball's March Madness. Stewart's defeated the Northville/Placid Trail in a controversial final.
The Almanack has indicated that they will be adding "contributors in departments more closely focused on outdoor sports, environmental policy, history and culture, entertainment and events, and politics in the Adirondack region."
The Almanack definitely worth following if you don't already.
The blog was created by Chestertown writer and historian John Warren. But Saranac Lake residents Mary Thill and Mark Wilson (a regular commenter on this blog) joined The Almanack team earlier this year to offer a different perspective.
Wilson authored the quirky and much followed Adirondack Bracket, a local spoof of college basketball's March Madness. Stewart's defeated the Northville/Placid Trail in a controversial final.
The Almanack has indicated that they will be adding "contributors in departments more closely focused on outdoor sports, environmental policy, history and culture, entertainment and events, and politics in the Adirondack region."
The Almanack definitely worth following if you don't already.
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