<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Saturday, April 03, 2004

The Rise And Fall Of The Republican Party 

I just spent some times listening to the Laura Flanders show on Air America. The guest, a woman named Reno, made the statement that Republicans are deserting Bush left and right. I also caught a post at NTodd's about the decline of the Republicans. Funny, I came across these after I wrote the following post......

Anyway, it's pretty much a forgone conclusion, no matter what happens with weapons of mass destruction, the economy, or any number of other issues, BushCo™ has already hurt themselves beyond repair. They are going to lose a fair election on November 2nd, 2004.

TV or Not TV 

There's a story in the New York Times about TV shows such as Law & Order, Whoopi, and Curb Your Enthusiasm taking sides in the political debate in this election year. Of course the conservatives are all worked up because they see this as yet another example of Hollywood's "liberal bias." They are probably going to try to get a Congressional committee to look into it.

Feh.

Read the rest at Bark Bark Woof Woof.


Friday, April 02, 2004

Wacky Gas Tax? 

Can you guess who wrote this wacky gas tax theory?
Many members of Congress have been pushing for a cut in income taxes, but they've been unsure how to pay for it. Fortunately, I've figured out an answer: with a tax increase. Let's cut income taxes by 10% and finance it with a 50-cent-per-gallon hike in the gasoline tax.
...
If you have ever been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, you have probably wished there were fewer cars on the road. A gasoline tax would help to accomplish this by encouraging people to car-pool, take public transportation, or live closer to work.
Another benefit of a rise in the gas tax would be a reduction in the size of vehicles. Whenever a person buys a large car or a sport-utility vehicle, he makes himself safer, but he puts his neighbors at risk. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a person driving a typical car is five times more likely to die if hit by a sport-utility vehicle than if hit by another car. A gas tax is an indirect way of making people pay when their massive vehicles impose risk on others, which in turn makes them take account of this risk when choosing whether to buy some monster urban-assault vehicle or go with a sensible compact.

Environmentalists should also favor a higher gasoline tax. The burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline is widely believed to be the cause of global warming. Experts disagree about how dangerous this threat really is, and most economists who have studied the subject believe global warming would not be nearly the economic catastrophe that some environmentalists claim. But there is no doubt that a tax on gasoline, or on fossil fuels more generally, would help cut such emissions.
...
Cutting income taxes while increasing gasoline taxes would lead to more rapid economic growth, less traffic congestion, safer roads, and reduced risk of global warming--all without jeopardizing long-term fiscal solvency. This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer.
John Kerry? Nope

Ralph Nader? No way.

Al Gore? Wrong again.

It was Greg Mankiw. And who is he? The chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. Call me crazy but I don't remember hearing Greg's name in Bush's latest attack ad.

It's Craptastic!

Thursday, April 01, 2004

All Things Fall and are Built Again 

...and those that build them again are gay. (Yeats)

John Derbyshire at the National Review is upset that the "Homosexualists" have ruined one of his favorite Yeats poems. Particularly, the poem Lapis Lazuli and particularly this line: "Their eyes mid many wrinkles, their eyes, / Their ancient, glittering eyes, are gay."

Derbyshire is all worked up in the way that I always assumed only closeted, repressed "homosexualists" can be. He says, I swear to God, "The problem is, of course, that you can't read this poem as it was meant to be read, because that key word has been trashed." Of course!

That word totally ruins everything. I mean, now I'm totally screwed up about West Side Story, for Christ's sakes. "I feel pretty, Oh so pretty! I feel pretty, and witty, and gay! And I pity any girl who isn't me today!"

But you know, isn't this just one more piece of the puzzle of conservative psychology? It seems to me that he may as well just write: "Some people are Gay, and now I am all hot and bothered about it, so when I encounter the word Gay in its alternate meaning, I myself cannot put the gays out of my head whilst reading my precious Yeats. Thus, the gays are the ones who have ruined Yeats and Marriage for me, and not, in fact, my incessant obsession with homosexuality. At all."

Seems like a stretch for the "personal responsibility" party, doesn't it?

-And Then...

jewglebomb 

apparently if you google the word "jew" you get a bunch of nasty sites.

help fix it:

jew



Practicing Random Acts of Bush-ness 

Just in time for April Fools, you too can emulate the actions of our great leader and his party, performing random acts of Bush-ness. Here are a few ideas:

* Go on Ebay and sell your comic book collection. After the bidding ends, inform the winning bidder that they are the winning bidder, but on further analysis it was determined that your item would cost an additional 35%.

Read more at Chris "Lefty" Brown's Corner

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

We're on the Air and Everywhere 

Looks like Air America will be off to a great start tomorrow as far as progressive bloggers are concerned. Scheduled to appear on the Majority Report are Atrios (tomorrow), Kos, the editor of Liberal Oasis, and sooner or later Julia, who did a show run-through yesterday with hosts Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder.

I'm Back 

I've returned from my 11 day journey through Canada and the Great Lakes States to find my blog traffic down by almost 50%. So here's some shuckstering. I'm back! Tell your friends!

There's an early review of the film, "The Corporation", which interviews Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Michael Moore, amongst others, on the issue of Corporate Domination.

And here, a look at my own opinion on why half of the country doesn't want to believe Richard Clarke is telling the truth about the Bush Admin's handling of the terrorist situation, and how it relates to Ben Franklin's dislike for the Bald Eagle (and preference for the Turkey) as our National Bird.

-And Then...

Sunday, March 28, 2004

The Hypocrisy Continues... 

SoonerThought on Frist's accusation of profiteering against Richard Clarke.