Fish Fear Me

The United States of Washington D.C.

While I scoff at the notion of the US as an empire in the world, there really is one being built right under our noses, and its imperial capital is Washington D.C. President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget, combined with the stimulus and the sweeping changes being proposed to health care, energy, education, and taxes, means more money and power being concentrated in Washington D.C. and less sovereignty at the personal and state and local levels. And apparently that is what we the people want.

I think some of us really do believe that money grows on trees and that Washington D.C. is loaded with them. "Hey, it's not our money, the feds are giving it to us". I think others like the "cake and eat it too" lifestyle that can be had by pawning off debts to future generations, something that is difficult to impossible at the state and local levels. And for some it is a way to impose their politics and lifestyle on the rest of the country while avoiding the consequences. The more that local and state spending derives from taxes at the federal level the better for those folks. Where are you going to move yourself or your business to in that circumstance? Canada?

The end result is that we are sending more and more money to Washington D.C. just to have the privilege of begging the imperial capital to send it back to us so we can fund our schools or build our roads. With the money also come policy mandates and the continued erosion of state and local control and flexibility.

Weighing against the argument for empire is the fact that we send our own representatives to Washington. True enough, but the trend has been more and more nationalization of what should be local and state issues, and the latest push by Obama may represent a tipping point this year. State and local governments will continue to increasingly become auxiliary branches of the federal government, in fact I see it accelerating if the Democratic plans go forward. We may send locals to D.C., but what we are going to get back are national solutions for state and local issues that come from one party or the other. And I do mean one party or the other. I don't buy for one minute that the GOP at the national level is any more capable of restraint right now than Democrats.

Most depressing to me is that I think this whole mess is what Americans want anyway, that's why we are getting it. Not all of us of course. Enough to make it happen though. Right now, we are getting exactly the government that we deserve, and it's starting to look like our days as a republic are numbered.

More: Darleen Click notes that Intel earlier this month chose to invest $7 billion in manufacturing facilities in the US, none of which is in their headquarters state of California. Why might that be? Perhaps they saw the handwriting on the wall*:

California air regulators on Thursday broadened their reach into Silicon Valley, implementing rules intended to cut greenhouse gas emissions from semiconductor plants. The state Air Resources Board voted unanimously to regulate some of the most potent gases produced by the semiconductor industry, which makes chips for cell phones, computers and cars.

Well, no problem, right? If California wants to do that stuff then...let them. As Darleen also notes, because:

Productive people can leave California to states friendlier to business, but where are the rest of you going to go if Obama’s economic-fascist budget passes intact?

Exactly. The answer of course, is that there will be nowhere better to go in the US. It will all be Californiacated anyway.

*I need to check into this at that link: "...trapping heat at a rate 23,000 times higher than carbon dioxide." Anybody know if the science is solid on that? It sounds like bullshit to me, if not technically, at least in practice.

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today II

Thirty years ago today was the last total solar eclipse visible in North America until August 21, 2017. I had the privilege of viewing that eclipse with three high school buddies in a little town west of Winnipeg, Manitoba named Portage la Prairie. It was one of the most amazing displays of nature I have ever seen. Having seen one, I'm not surprised that more primitive civilizations were completely freaked out when these events occurred. Heck, I was kind of freaked out and I knew what the hell was happening.

The path of the eclipse is shown below. The pink marker is where we were:

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today...

...That an amazing, though short, road trip commenced.

Reaganesque, eh?

Hmmm:

President Barack Obama won’t speak until prime-time, but his aides fanned out to the morning shows Tuesday morning to talk up his first speech before a joint session of Congress. And the word they used to preview it: “Reaganesque.”

I will give President Obama a fair hearing tonight. I might be a little intoxicated, but I'll be fair. The cynical part of me suspects that I will indeed be reminded of Reagan, as in this:

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

I've had a little trouble thinking up a drinking game. There are just too many obvious ones like "stimulus/stimulate", "relief", "deficit" etc. That would not be a drinking game, it would be a test of endurance. Here are a few I'll try for tonight:

• If someone attempts to high-five Obama on his way down the aisle, take a drink.
• If he actually says Reagan's name, take a drink.
• Personal anecdotes-Whenever Obama cites a regular Joe/Jane to illustrate a point, take a drink.
• If Obama uses his children to illustrate a point, take a drink.
• If Joe Biden nods off, that's a double, take two drinks.
• If Republicans stand up and cheer while Democrats stay seated, take a drink.
• Each time the camera does a close-up of Hillary Clinton, take a drink. If you can actually see the burning hatred, make it a double.
• If they do a close-up of Nancy Pelosi and she appears to not be surprised, take a drink.
• If by the thirty minute mark, Mitch McConnell's head has not exploded or he hasn't collapsed in a fit of apoplexy, take a drink.

Huh. Not my best work, but I have four years to perfect it.

More: Heh...for the non-drinkers there's O-Bingo!

Ouch

I got this from ricki:

The Brutally Honest Personality Test

I've done the Myers-Briggs assessment a couple of times over the years. I love that this one dispenses with the touchy-feely rhetoric and just lays it out there:

Your result for The Brutally Honest Personality Test...

Crackpot - INTJ

27% Extraversion, 53% Intuition, 60% Thinking, 67% Judging

People hate you.

Paris Hilton hates Nicole Richie. Lex Luther hates Superman. Garfield hates Mondays.But none these even rates against the insurmountable hate, people have for you.

I mean, you're pretty damn clever and you know it. You love to flaunt your potential. Heard the word "arrogant" lately? How about "jerk?" Or perhaps they only say that behind your back.

That's right. I know I can say this cause you're not going to cry. You're not exactly the most emotional person. You'd rather spend time with your theoretical questions and abstract theories than with other people.

Ever been kissed? Ever even been on a date? Trust me, your inflated ego is a complete turnoff with the opposite sex and I am telling you, you're not that great with relationships as it is. You're never going to be a dude or chick magnet, purely because you're more concerned with yourself than others. Meh. They all hate you already anyway.

How about this- "stubborn?" Hrm? Heard that lately? All those facts which don't fit your theories must just be wrong, right? I mean, really, the vast amounts of time you spend with your head in the clouds...you're just plain strange.

*****************

Hahahahaha! Though I feel like I own the touchy-feely interpretation more, I have to laugh at this because it does strike a little close to home. I am a problem solver, a troubleshooter. I love puzzles and games where you have to build something. I'm damned good at examining systems/processes and getting to the core problem or flaw, and fixing it. That has not always endeared me to my fellow employees, or even a couple of bosses over the years. I am nearly always pleasant and patient, but I admit that on rare occasions I've been a ginormous asshole when my patience has run out. I like to give people who work for me their tasks/missions and then leave them alone, because that's the way I like to work too.

When it comes to relationships, I suppose I'm a little under the norm in terms of numbers. I don't give my heart easily, but if I say I love someone I mean it. I commit to it. That has only happened twice in my adult life and both times it ended up breaking my heart. I still love those two women though, even though I know it's over with both of them. I actually tried to make myself hate the first, but all it did was make me more miserable so I quit that crap. So yeah, I'm not a chick magnet, but I'm also not the inflated ego described above.

The touchy-feely description linked above is not 100% of what I'm like, but it's pretty darn close.

The Twins Crede

Joe Crede joined the Minnesota Twins over the weekend and the first thing I'll say is that I love it. I especially love that Crede and his agent stepped back from their earlier demand for $7 million guaranteed and went with a $2.5 million base salary and incentives to get him up to the $7 million range. After two years of back trouble for Crede, that kind of protection for the club was important. If he stays healthy and the Twins get 120+ solid performance games out of him, this may be the deal that we all look back on and say "That's why they won the World Series this year". I'm not kidding.

Last year I wrote this:

Defense: They need to figure out the left side of the infield and stick with it so they develop some chemistry. Across the board though, they need to improve their fielding. They will not win squat as an average fielding team and that's all they are this year. They have shown brilliance at times this year and then turned around and done the lamest errors in the field. Errors happen, but (the Twins) have to be better than average to go anywhere.

Bam! Mission accomplished, in theory at least. How it will actually play out remains to be seen, of course. The Twins ended last season as simply an average team as far as fielding percentage goes. That didn't cut it for them last year and it won't this year either. The Twins gave up the least number of walks in the majors last year(406) and that was no accident, their pitchers throw strikes. Those pitchers need more than just an average defense behind them and the Crede signing just made that more likely. I'll second Ozzie Guillen here:

"He will make their pitching staff better because their defense will be a lot better," Guillen said, "He will create double plays. He knows how to play the game."

Exactly. I'm not worried about Morneau at first or Casilla at second. Punto has the talent at shortstop, but he needs to be more consistent. If he can do that and if Crede stays healthy and returns to form, the Twins could very well have one of the best infields in baseball. With the style of pitching that is demanded of them, all five returning starters in the rotation are going to love that.

Minnesota Twins-2009

There is about as little drama as is possible for the Minnesota Twins going into spring training this year. Barring injuries and/or a major falloff in performance with this group of young players, the roster appears to be mostly set:

There are five outfielders in Cuddyer, Delmon Young, Jason Kubel, Carlos Gomez and Denard Span. There are two catchers in Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond.

There's an infield of first baseman Justin Morneau, second Alexi Casilla, shortstop Nick Punto and a platoon at third of Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris. Add utility player Matt Tolbert and that makes 13 position players.

The starting rotation of righthanders Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn and lefthanders Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins is a lock.

Joe Nathan is the closer. Righthanders Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Boof Bonser and lefthander Craig Breslow are considered sure things, with rookie lefthander Jose Mijares a probable thing.

That's 24 of 25 spots. Phil Humber, who is out of minor league options, and Luis Ayala are considered the main contenders for the final bullpen spot -- there's a battle.

It's still possible that the Twins will make a deal with free agent 3rd baseman Joe Crede, but he is reportedly asking for a raise after two injury plagued seasons and the Twins seem pretty firm about saying no to that. What drama there is appears to be in setting the bullpen and who will win the starting spots in the outfield. And one quibble with the above excerpt: Bonser showed up to camp with a sore shoulder and will have an MRI done next week. What the heck? That doesn't sound like sure thing material to me.

I like this team. A lot. They will likely be dismissed as predictions start to come out, but I think they have a chance to win it all this year. That may seem a little crazy, just bear with me as I make the case over the next few weeks.

Prepare to Bend Over

If you think the bailouts and the so-called stimulus bill are fiascos, and I know I do, then I'm afraid we haven't seen anything yet. Fresh from delivering a good screwing to future generations, the Obama administration and Congress are getting ready to deliver the same to those of us in the present:

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.

The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power. It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States’ negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.

Profound impact is an understatement. If they go ahead and do this, and I don't see them holding off now on at least deciding to regulate carbon dioxide, it will open the door for all kinds of congressional schemes, all of which will share the same end result: sending billions of dollars to Washington D.C. so that Congress can be wined and dined and have their campaign coffers filled by lobbyists while they haggle over who gets the spoils and what people and behaviors are subsidized or not. They may hold off for a little while with the economy in a recession, but the temptation is going to be too much for them to wait long. 

It will all be splendid fun for our political class and the nannies out there who are determined to force us into their vision of a correct lifestyle(one they will somehow escape). The rest of us: not so much. Don't worry though, you'll have the privilige of begging the government for help in paying the artificially inflated costs of just about everything that they created in the first place. So that should keep you busy.

Line of the Day

Heh:

Americans fall into two distinct categories today: those who remember how devastating the policies of Jimmy Carter were, and those who are about to find out.

Oh c'mon, it's funny in a gallows humor sort of way.

You Take Integrity Where You Can Find It These Days

Yesterday, via Memeorandum, I read a piece by Dahr Jamail about the current situation in Fallujah and the head of the local Awakening Council there. It is an overwhelmingly negative look at what is happening and so it's pretty unremarkable in that sense. What is remarkable is a companion rebuttal piece by a freelance journalist named S.D. Liddick, who is also in Anbar right now. Liddick is no fan of the Iraq War and someone I most certainly don't agree with on most political issues since he calls himself a Marxist and writes that "The U.S. is an empire and the Iraq debacle is evidence of 21st century imperialism". I give him credit for at least having the integrity to look at the situation objectively and actually listen to the Americans and Iraqis who are trying to rebuild Anbar. Liddick has some strong words for Jamail:

I just read your piece about Sheik Aifan Sadun, the "Teflon Don" of Fallujah. I've researched similar figures, in Haditha, Bagdadi, Hit and Al Qaim, and I saw many of the same things you did. But I've come to very different conclusions. That, I believe, is because you had a pre-existing agenda you were determined to conform evidence to (i.e., war is bad, the U.S. is waging a war, so whatever it's doing in Anbar is bad); and because you're a coward.

Read the whole thing to get Liddick's argument for his case. What I think is remarkable here is that Liddick, a lefty anti-war journalist, forcefully rejects two tactics used constantly by mainstream journalists in Iraq the last few years: make the perfect the enemy of the good(or at least better) and hide from your readers any facts or context that do not fit ones narrative. Even more gratifying is that he sees Iraqis and the Americans helping them as real people and not just pawns in some geopolitical game:

I'm phobically allergic to the conservative Republican types the military is rife with, but I've only been in country four months and already I hate liberals. There's plenty of ugliness to report in Iraq (as there are thousands of stories of hope and headway)--and the U.S. military certainly isn't beyond reproach. Nobody's telling you to report on one side or the other. But manipulating the truth because of your own personal biases is wretched and works in the face of progress. The other end of the political spectrum disregards you, Dahr, and now I know why. I thought it was because you're a liar--but you aren't. You don't have enough backbone to be a liar. You're a craven obfuscationist, intent on promoting your agenda at the cost of a menagerie of much braver men and women.

Amen. In fact I would say the above applies to just about all of the mainstream reporting on Iraq the last few years. It has been one of the most disgusting displays of hysteria and utter disregard for humanity in the history of American politics and journalism as far as I'm concerned. Mr. Liddick might not agree with me on that, among other things, but I'm guessing he would have the integrity to be a worthwhile opponent to debate.