Palin: I’m an idiot, but I won’t admit it

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Michael

Sarah Palin is yet another in the long line of Republicans who isn’t familiar or interested in American history:

Sarah Palin insisted Sunday that history was on her side when she claimed that Paul Revere’s famous ride was intended to warn both British soldiers and his fellow colonists.

“You realize that you messed up about Paul Revere, don’t you?” “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace asked the potential 2012 presidential candidate.

“I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere,” replied Palin, a paid contributor to the network.

She didn’t, did she? Let’s take a peak:

“He who warned the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms by ringing those bells, and makin’ sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.”

Here is the reality of the situation:

The colonists at the time of Revere’s ride were British subjects, with American independence still in the future. But Revere’s own writing and other historical accounts leave little doubt that secrecy was vital to his mission.

The Paul Revere House’s website says that on April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren, a patriot leader in the Boston area, instructed Revere to ride to Lexington, Mass., to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them.

In an undated letter posted by the Massachusetts Historical Society, Revere later wrote of the need to keep his activities secret and his suspicion that a member of his tight circle of planners had become a British informant. According to the letter, believed to have been written around 1798, Revere did provide some details of the plan to the soldiers that night, but after he had notified other colonists and under questioning by the Redcoats.

Intercepted and surrounded by British soldiers on his way from Lexington to Concord, Revere revealed “there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the country all the way up,” he wrote.

Revere was probably bluffing the soldiers about the size of any advancing militia, since he had no way of knowing, according to Joel J. Miller, author of “The Revolutionary Paul Revere.” And while he made bells, Revere would never have rung any on that famous night because the Redcoats were under orders to round up people just like him.

“He was riding off as quickly and as quietly as possible,” Miller said. “Paul Revere did not want the Redcoats to know of his mission at all.”

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Milky Way look-alike

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Michael

This is an old image, but I’ve seen it in the news lately for whatever reason (maybe it was retaken?) It’s a galaxy in the Pavo constellation located about 25 million lightyears away. Known as NGC 6744, it is a look-alike of the Milky Way.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , | 5 Comments »

Stop gerrymandering

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Michael

As I’ve said several times in the past, gerrymandering hurts the nation:

Take Georgia, where jockeying has begun in advance of a state General Assembly session to redraw boundaries for seats in Congress and the state legislature. Some observers expect that U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop — a black Democrat serving a constituency that’s half white — will end up with a heavily black base after black voters are redrawn out of the district won last year by Republican U.S. Rep. Austin Scott. That way, Scott can concentrate on solidifying his support among overwhelmingly white tea partiers.

“In political terms, it’s resegregating the South,” Harpootlian said. “Without those majority-minority districts in the South, Republicans would not have come to the dominance they have come to.”

This article happens to be about racial gerrymandering, but this sort of redistricting is bad in all its forms. Whatever party gets the opportunity to redraw lines will do so in its own favor. This is a big part of the reason we get such polarization in our politics.

It will probably never happen, but there needs to be a constitutional amendment regulating how federal districts are drawn. There ought to be an objective formula that draws lines in box or near-box shapes based upon population. The only deviations should be relatively minor ones, much in the way time zones deviate for practical reasons.

We could get a few wingnuts from both sides of the aisle out of Congress if we were smart about this.

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Dear Bruins,

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Michael

Come on.

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Thought of the day

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Michael

When I want to communicate poorly, I use emoticons.

<:-)

I think that one is a klan member, but I'm not sure.

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Brian Sabean is an ignorant dick

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Michael

Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins has been receiving death threats from Giants fans ever since this:

That is Giants catcher Buster Posey you see getting rolled over and then writhing in pain. The collision caused a broken leg and strained ankle ligaments. Posey will be out for the rest of the season, dealing a significant blow to the Giants.

Notice what Cousins does after the play. He immediately goes to Posey, putting his arm around him in clear dismay over the result. Cousins made a clean and legal baseball play (much like Pete Rose in that one All-Star game – except this game matters), but he obviously didn’t want to cause harm to another player. Unfortunately, Giants General Manager Brian Sabean is too much of an ignorant dick to recognize all that:

He told KNBR:

“If I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn’t play another day in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy.”

“He chose to be a hero, in my mind. If that’s his flash of fame, that’s as good as it’s going to get, pal.”

And, “We’ll have a long memory.”

The play was clean. Cousins was immediately regretful. He has been hugely regretful in the days since. There is zero reason for there to be bad blood between anyone on the Giants and anyone on the Marlins over this. What’s more, the man has been receiving death threats. Sabean was moronic to make the comments he did. Cousins’ teammates recognize that:

Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison came to Cousins’ defense during an interview Friday on Sirius/XM radio, calling Sabean “wildly unprofessional” for calling out his teammate.

“When has he played in the big leagues? When has he played in the minor leagues?” Morrison said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but he’s never been in a situation like that. It’s terrible.

“Why would you wish anything like that on anybody?” Morrison continued. “He’s getting death threats from people. This is his hometown, San Francisco. He’s worried about his family and his friends that are there. And now (Sabean) is going to make comments like that? It’s ignorant, it’s inappropriate and he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”

Sabean has attempted to contact Cousins, but has done nothing to issue a public apology. He needs to do that if he ever wants any player anywhere in the league to ever respect him again.

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US warns Tanzania over impact of Serengeti road

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Michael

Continuing the conversation on the proposed road through the Serengeti, the US has cautioned Tanzania over its plan:

The Obama administration said Wednesday it has raised concerns with Tanzania’s government about the impact of its plan to build a road through the Serengeti wildlife reserve, which environmentalists say could affect the famed wildebeest migration and threaten endangered species.

The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, said he brought the matter up in meetings with top Tanzanian officials in late April and that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton could revisit the topic when she visits the country this month. Clinton is expected in Tanzania next week as part of a three-nation African tour focused on trade and development that will also include Zambia and Ethiopia.

“We are fully aware of the concerns that have been raised in this country and in other countries about the environmental impact that the trans-Serengeti road will have on the very large, spectacular and almost unique migration of animals from the Serengeti up to the game parks in Kenya,” said Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

I’ve never been one to disagree with Johnnie Carson.

When I first heard about this highway, I was under the impression that it would be a paved road through the Serengeti. It turns out it will be dirt, but that is only a small relief. The road still appears unnecessary. For instance, they say it it to connect the west of the country with the economic activity of the Kilimanjaro region, but take a look at this map. It’s actually a relatively small area that will be connected – an area that largely depends upon the fishing on Lake Victoria anyway.

Of course, I’m not expert in the economic layout of Tanzania. But I do know that nothing is worth losing the Serengeti.

Update: A study published in February shows the huge impact this road can have.

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

Jack Kevorkian is dead

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Michael

It’s the end of a tremendously ethical man:

Jack Kevorkian built his suicide machine using parts gathered from flea markets and stashed it in a rusty Volkswagen van.

But it was Kevorkian’s audacious attitude that set him apart in the debate over whether gravely ill people could seek help ending their lives. The retired pathologist who said he oversaw the deaths of 130 people burned state orders against him, showed up at court in costume and dared authorities to stop him or make his actions legal. He didn’t give up until he was sent to prison.

Kevorkian, who died Friday at a Michigan hospital at 83, insisted suicide with the help of a medical professional was a civil right.

The justifications for assisted suicide hold up – and they’re consistent. The justification for harvesting the organs of the brain dead, or for allowing those in comas to die with dignity, or even for administering morphine, is fundamentally the same across the board. It is not quantity of life that matters, but rather quality. Kevorkian recognized that where so many were so stubbornly blind and ignorant. He will be missed.

“You’ll hear people say, `Well, [physician assisted suicide] in the news again, it’s time for discussing this further.’ No, it isn’t. It’s been discussed to death,” he told The Associated Press. “There’s nothing new to say about it. It’s a legitimate, ethical medical practice as it was in ancient Rome and Greece.”

Filed under: News, Philosophy, Politics and Social | Tagged: | 15 Comments »

Romney fact check

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Michael

It’s sad that this is probably the best the Republicans can actually do:

ROMNEY: “Instead of encouraging entrepreneurs and employers, [Obama] raises their taxes, piles on record-breaking mounds of regulation and bureaucracy and gives more power to union bosses.”

THE FACTS: Romney ignores ambitious tax-cutting pushed by Obama. The stimulus plan early in his presidency cut taxes broadly for the middle class and business. He more recently won a one-year tax cut for 2011 that reduced most workers’ Social Security payroll taxes by nearly a third. He also campaigned in support of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all except the wealthy, whose taxes he wanted to raise. In office, he accepted a deal from Republicans extending the tax cuts for all. As for tax increases, Obama won congressional approval to raise them on tobacco and tanning salons. The penalty for those who don’t buy health insurance, once coverage is mandatory, is a form of taxation. Several large tax increases in the health care law have not yet taken effect.

Romney, of all people, ought to recognize that the only form of tax anyone has seen from President Obama is in the form of health insurance penalties in the years to come. And that’s even going to save money across the board. The fact is, taxes under President Obama are lower than they ever were under that average president Ronald Reagan. I know this upsets Republicans, but the facts are the facts.

ROMNEY: “The expectation was that we’d have to raise taxes but I refused. I ordered a review of all state spending, made tough choices and balanced the budget without raising taxes.”

THE FACTS: Romney largely held the line on tax increases when he was Massachusetts governor but that’s only part of the revenue story. The state raised business taxes by $140 million in one year with measures branded “loophole closings,” the vast majority recommended by Romney. Moreover, the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers raised hundreds of millions of dollars from higher fees and fines, taxation by another name. Romney himself proposed creating 33 new fees and increasing 57 others — enough to raise $59 million. Anti-tax groups were split on his performance. The Club for Growth called the fee increases and business taxes troubling. Citizens for Limited Taxation praised him for being steadfast in supporting an income tax rollback.

I know Romney will never get the Republican nomination if he sticks by his record, but he would be more likely to get my vote.

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Thought of the day

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Michael

The great corporations which we have grown to speak of rather loosely as trusts are the creatures of the State, and the State not only has the right to control them wherever need of such control is shown but it is in duty bound to control them.

~Teddy Roosevelt

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