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Category: Politics

  • Last night at the Century Plaza Hotel

    Traffic is snarled along Avenue of the Stars in front of the Century Plaza:

    Traffic is snarled along Avenue of the Stars in front of the Century Plaza

    In the Century Plaza lobby after the election is called for Obama:

    In the Century Plaza lobby after the election is called for Obama

    NaBloPoMo 5

  • False dichotomies and specious arguments

    False dichotomy: Pick Obama or McCain. You always have the choice of picking a third party, writing in another name, or not voting for the office.

    Specious argument: There’s no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. There are very real differences and consequences, and they should inform your decision.

    NaBloPoMo 3

  • Open Secrets

    If you’ve never been, check out Open Secrets from the Center for Responsive Politics. They’ve got a donor lookup that lets you find out who’s made political contributions to which candidate or party. Pretty interesting stuff.

    For instance, people who have MySpace or Fox Interactive Media listed as their company have given $12,450 in this election cycle to the Democratic Party and their candidates. The Republicans have received $10,051.

    NewsCorp’s President and COO Peter Chernin gave over $31,000 to different Democratic candidates and committees.

    NewsCorp’s Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch gave over $33,000 to Republican candidates and committees, but also handed Hillary Clinton a $2300 check.

    They put the balance into “Fair and Balanced.”

    There’s some sort of reporting threshold (I think it’s $250), so it’s not comprehensive, but I guess that would allow those of you who value your privacy to slip under the radar by making a bunch of $200 contributions on a monthly basis.

  • How to be successful in politics

    His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.

    Source: OSS.

  • Whom would Jesus kill?

    It’s been a while since I’ve read the Bible, but I remember enough of it to be completely disgusted by public statements by those who profess themselves to be Christians, and yet are some of the most hateful, uncharitable persons to be given their 15 minutes. I suppose that the self-congratulatory smirking and strutting of the Christian Right following the election has been weighing on my mind, since, well, they’re still talking about it. I’ve also been disturbed by the tone taken by talking heads regarding the recent execution in California. Lots of things along the lines of “Why did it take so long?” and “There’s still a big backlog of people to kill.” I don’t oppose the death penalty because I’m a Christian. I oppose it because I distrust the State. But I find it odd that the Christian Right (and Libertarians, for that matter) have allied themselves with a political party that is supposedly “tough on crime.”

    But I digress.

    Here’s today’s Bible passage:

    John 8:1-11

    1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
    2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
    3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
    4 they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
    5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
    6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
    7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
    8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
    9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
    10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
    11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

    This is a simple, funny, and beautiful story.

    The Pharisees are like any dogmatic bureaucrats, and we enjoy the fact that Jesus ignores them completely and keeps writing. It’s like Peter walking right past Lumbergh in Office Space. But more important than giving the Man the bird, Jesus tells us to have compassion and empathy for our fellow man. Even… and I want to make this absolutely clear… even if they do say, “Jehovah.”