http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ An outside-the-Beltway perspective on current events, politics, media, and the arts. We are proud to be part of the Reality-Based Community. en-us deaconblues@theleftcoaster.com 2009-07-04T11:04:13-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014243.php Reuters image of The Quitter In Pumps abandoning her responsibilities yesterday Three quick hits on this Independence Day. Exit Stage Right The national media is falling all over itself in their coverage of Sarah Palin’s abrupt abandonment of her job, without ever stating the obvious. She’s an unstable less-than-one term nobody, a politician drunk on her own delusions of national stature, with no record of political accomplishment and sagging approval ratings and prospects, and yet she still gets credited by these same national scribes as leaving to get a head start on 2012? Seriously? She’s leaving because she’s about to get taken down, you idiots, and yet you are so starry- eyed over her heels and tight-fitting clothes that you maintain this fiction that she’s a national political presence. No, she’s a quitter in pumps with a book deal, who rose to her level of incompetence on the national stage right before our eyes in real time. And for Pat Buchanan to mention her in the same sentence as Richard Nixon does a great disservice – to Nixon. Stimulus - Told You So Paul Krugman restates what he and many of us have thought from Day One about the Obama “stimulus” plan: it was too little, too timid, and too much a Christmas tree. And now that Obama has shown he can be rolled by Congress in his zeal to get a deal, any deal done, a better and more focused stimulus package is probably beyond his reach at precisely the time one is needed. The original one was utter crap, larded with stuff that had little to do with stimulus, items best placed into appropriate policy bills. Now that we need more infrastructure spending, foreclosure prevention and home financing assistance, aid to the states, and targeted tax incentives to clear inventory, Obama will never get it. Obama Tells Bloggers to STFU on Health Care Lastly, Obama wants progressive bloggers and the center-left media machine to stop trashing centrist Democratic senators for undermining his health care agenda, because it isn’t helpful. Instead, Obama wants these folks and groups to help win the message battle against the right wing “do nothing” crowd on health care. Fair enough Mr. President. But later this summer, your supposed 60-seat caucus in the Senate will reveal itself to be a falsehood, because a small group of corporate whores masquerading as Democrats, with their pockets lined with industry cash, will undermine real health care reform and blow up the public option. At that time, I will be the first person to yell at you and Rahm “you naïve bastards!” Because you and he will be fully accountable for that debacle, not progressive bloggers and the center-left media machine. And on those notes, I hope you and your families have a happy and safe Fourth.... 14243@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ GOP Hypocrisy/Lies 2009-07-04T11:04:13-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014241.php Happy Fourth of July!... 14241@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-07-04T00:00:31-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014240.php Dear Sarah, Can I call you Sarah? I know you like to do the Just Folks thing, so I assume you'll allow me to call you Sarah, right? I mean, it's not like you ever took that whole governor gig all that seriously, anyway. I mean, other than the fun publicity and photo ops and stuff! But the work stuff, not so much. Granted, you didn't fly off to Argentina to hike the Appalachian trail, but other than using positions of power to harass your enemies or reward your family and friends, that daily grind of holding public office was a bit too much of a daily grind, right? Well, at least the daily grind of holding such a lowly public office as governor of Alaska. Which is not yet an independent nation, much to your husband's consternation! But Sarah, I just want you to know that I support you. I know you lust madly to be president. It's hard not to laugh at the idea, and I appreciate your sense of humor, or at least your delusions of sanity, but gee, gosh, if Nancy Reagan could fill a wing of the Smithsonian with her First Lady outfits, imagine the wardrobe you'd get being president! And I support you in your aspirations! Not to mention your hallucinations! I'm a very liberal Democrat, but I'm behind you all the way! I want you to tout that to your stenographers and biographers, and sing it to the wind, as often as you can. Which is a lot more fun than doing something else in the wind. Even though you're very good at that! But this liberal Democrat does hope you'll run for president. Maybe you can even wear your cute running outfit! You can primp and preen and wink and smile and drop your g's, and give extremely pathetic right wing propagandists the vapors. And you even have a few more years to memorize the names of newspapers and magazines, so the next time a cruel and nasty interviewer asks what you read, you can be more plausible in your claim of even knowing how to! And you can win! Your primary primary opponents are dropping like flies in sweltering summer. Dropping like flies in sweltering summer in a rancid, stinking barn, which is pretty much what your party has become. That's the Republican Party, Sarah, not the other one. The one that really stole your husband's heart, but that isn't considered acceptable even among the cognitively challenged base of the only party that is your only hope of winning you the presidency. Winning you the presidency... You... Okay, sorry. It's hard to write that without laughing out loud. I'm really trying, here, Sarah, so please bear with me... Bear... These jokes just write themselves...... 14240@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Education 2009-07-03T13:12:33-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014239.php What you eat impacts not only your own health but the health of the entire planet. It's important to keep that in mind. It's important to keep the science in mind. Then, it's about personal choice. From a January article in Scientific American: Most of us are aware that our cars, our coal-generated electric power and even our cement factories adversely affect the environment. Until recently, however, the foods we eat had gotten a pass in the discussion. Yet according to a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), our diets and, specifically, the meat in them cause more greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, and the like to spew into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry. More specifically: In 1999 Susan Subak, an ecological economist then at the University of East Anglia in England, found that, depending on the production method, cows emit between 2.5 and 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound of beef they produce. Because methane has roughly 23 times the global-warming potential of CO2, those emissions are the equivalent of releasing between 3.6 and 6.8 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere for each pound of beef produced. Raising animals also requires a large amount of feed per unit of body weight. In 2003 Lucas Reijnders of the University of Amsterdam and Sam Soret of Loma Linda University estimated that producing a pound of beef protein for the table requires more than 10 pounds of plant protein with all the emissions of greenhouse gases that grain farming entails. Finally, farms for raising animals produce numerous wastes that give rise to greenhouse gases. In February, Science News added this:... 14239@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Environment 2009-07-03T08:48:15-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014238.php I’m on the road in a few hours for a family wedding and the national holiday, so I will be even more scarce than usual for the next week. Please have a wonderful Fourth of July, everyone. I’ll check in when I can.... 14238@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-07-03T06:30:40-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014237.php Sarah Palin continues to know she is destined to save America. Even after the recent stories show that the McCain team realized how profoundly bad she was as a VP candidate, she still knows that God has picked her for higher office. Here's her recent comments to Runner's World about her aspirations. "Alaska would be hard to give up because it is such a part of who I am. So much of my life revolves around the great outdoors that that would be kind of tough," Palin said. "But on the other hand, I think of being in D.C. and in a position to promote physical fitness and the benefits of making good decisions health-wise and being an example to others, and I know that could do some good for our country." It's hard to argue with that, right? Shocking Update: Sarah Palin to resign as Alaskan governor.... 14237@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-07-03T00:00:29-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014236.php Liberals have noted with a fair degree of distress since January that the election results have yielded very few liberal policy implementations—the continuing wars abroad and on drugs, high defense spending, tax cuts, finance, environmental and national security stances, none of these are remotely liberal. Why not? An answer from the most excellent Mahablog is not an inability of the Executive to perform, but the inherent intended structure of Congress allowing a minority to obstruct. A better answer from the excellent O’Brien is not the current Republican ability to obstruct real progress, but that Congress itself is busted.... 14236@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Political Theory 2009-07-02T07:22:14-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014235.php Evidently God said "Thanks, but no thanks" to Joe the Plumber in regards to running for public office. But that's okay. He will continue to preach the sanctity of tea parties. After all, he does have a mission to fill.... 14235@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-07-02T00:00:16-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014234.php 14234@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Democratic Congress 2009-07-01T12:57:39-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014233.php Scrolling idly through my Facebook feed this morning word came in from Pam Spaulding that the odious Pentagon policy toward gays in the military—DADT—will stay completely in place, despite Obama promises from the campaign to the contrary. The news itself was bad enough in many elements with the predictably atrocious journalism from the Washington Post, but most of all I grieved for Pam and hope she’s all right (her blog still hums along this morning). I don’t know her personally, of course, but this issue is obviously extremely personal to her and the knife of betrayal hurts for her in a way I can’t understand, and it will take a long time to heal.... 14233@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Obama Disappointments 2009-07-01T07:06:46-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014232.php One of the natural phenomenon that scientists think could be tied to disruptive climate change (once known as global warming) is the increased acidification of the oceans demonstrated by the increased jellyfish blooms that are more commonly found throughout the world's oceans these days. As this National Science Foundation report shows, jellyfish swarms can be quite disruptive. In fact, in 1999 a jellyfish swarm shut down a nuclear power plant in the Philippines by clogging the intake pipes. You can track jellyfish blooms in the United States by using a data feed provided by the US government.... 14232@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-07-01T00:00:50-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014231.php The only thing surprising about today's Minnesota Supreme Court decision was the amount of time it took them to reach a verdict. In a 5-0 ruling, they found that Al Franken won the Minnesota U.S. Senate race. The ruling is basically 32 pages of rejecting all of Coleman's arguments. The conclusion is: For all the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. Stat. 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from Minnesota. The ruling does not appear to specifically order the governor to sign the election certificate, but hopefully there won't be any more drama. Congratulations, Senator Franken! UPDATE: Coleman will hold a press conference at 3:00 Central, Franken will have one at 4:15. UPDATE 2: Coleman concedes!... 14231@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ 2008 Election 2009-06-30T11:19:55-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014230.php Whenever I needed a light moment in last year’s interminable campaign it was to contemplate the “new” politics of a possible President Obama going forward by a “new” Democrat, disdainful of ugly boomer cultural fights and political spats. Political science has been studied well for hundreds of years with some luminous names like Burke, Hobbes and Machiavelli in the mix, and if this Harvard Law Review freshman Senator really thought his young American hands could mold something truly new with names like McConnell, Cheney and Ensign around the attempt was going to be very interesting to watch. My amused disdain was never in the sincere attempt at something “new” by Obama, it was in the ancient political knowledge that opposition parties will…not…let…you pull it off, it seals their fate to oblivion. When Obama proclaims a new way forward free of all the old rancor of the past he’s telling the Republicans: come with me, brothers, as I build one of the greatest Presidency’s of all time that buries you politically for two generations.... 14230@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Obama Administration 2009-06-30T06:38:05-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014229.php A Matt Taibbi title for the ages: Suck on our Yachts. Matt is not happy with Goldman Sachs and their plan to bilk the world. (h/t Susie Madrak)... 14229@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Miscellaneous 2009-06-30T00:00:32-08:00 http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/014228.php 14228@http://www.theleftcoaster.com/ Law/Courts 2009-06-29T17:45:18-08:00