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03/20/05--22:55: Responding to loaded questions (chan 1437627)

I got an email today on a non political mailing list that enraged me.  I wanted to respond, but not wanting to get mired in a hopeless discussion I deleted it.  After reading this article on Schiavo, I decided I needed to practice responding and reframing.  It may not be pretty, but there's no other way to get good.

With help from the article, comments, links, and Lakoff I composed a decent response to the first question.  That took me more than an hour and a half so I'm toast now.  I know I won't get good feedback from him (I'll probably get flamed for being political while he is ignored), but I thought you might give me some.  Also, if anyone has any advice, I could use some help with answers to the others (those that deserve to be taken seriously anyway).

Questions and my answer below.


03/22/05--20:56: Chatting with Jesus: On Bush (chan 1437627)

My dad sent me this today.  I did a google search and found the site of the fellow who wrote it.  It is brilliantly and brazenly funny and true.  Read it!


04/04/05--10:29: This I Believe: a Proposal (chan 1437627)

NPR launched a series today which imitates a radio phenomenon from 50 years ago called "This I Believe".  The program features short essays on core principles by Americans from all walks of life.  The producers will select writings to be read by their authors from submissions by the general public.  I propose using this as a motivation and a forum for developing, articulating, and propagating progressive and liberal values.


06/20/05--12:15: The girley men have arrived! (chan 1437627)

Eric C. Bauman, the chair of the Los Angeles Democratic Party has written a great humorous and informative essay on the history of the fight against the governator. The girley men have arrived and have him on the run; the real fight has just begun.


06/29/05--16:54: Angelides in Thousand Oaks tonight (chan 1437627)

I am going to an event near Thousand Oaks hosted by the Democratic Club of Conejo Valley.  It starts at 6:30pm at the Los Robles Greens Banquet Facility


06/29/05--21:59: A candidate I can believe in. (chan 1437627)

I believe in family and sacrifice to make the world a better place for each generation.  I believe in integrity and accountability, in succeeding by raising each other up and investing in a better future.  I believe in freedom and brotherly love, in giving people the education, help, and independence to choose their own paths in life, in treating strangers like family and our world like our home.

Tonight I went to see a man speak, and now I believe in Phil Angelides.  This is the man to take on not only Schwarzenegger, but also the philosophy and lies he and Bush represent.


07/07/05--10:20: Do not repeat the mistake of 9-11 (chan 1437627)

After 9-11 liberals and progressives were silent.  Out of respect for those who had died, out of compassion for their survivors, we avoided talking about why it had happened or what should be done.  The right had no qualms about stepping in to fill the void, and by the time we spoke up the event, it's causes, and our eventual reaction had already been framed and decided.

We cannot make the same mistake today.  We must speak up for peace and justice now, before the issue becomes about hate and revenge.  Galloway has it right: this attack is a direct result of a policy of vengeance over justice, of hate over compassion, of imperialism over peace.


07/14/05--01:14: Why Rove's lawer is saying Karl only mentioned Wilson's wife, and not her name... (chan 1437627)

It occurred to me today that this is just the kind of slippery trick he would pull.  He wants to be very sure everyone knows and accepts that Rove never said Plame's name.  There's a good reason for that...


08/02/05--13:24: Electronic Voting: verification over security (chan 1437627)

Electronic voting is actually a very simple problem, complicated only by attempts to obscure methodologies. Companies want to have proprietary systems and monopolize as much of the market as possible. Unethical political operatives want a backdoor mechanism to adjust the outcome. Activists and (honest) election officials want strong security built in to safeguard against these adjustments. But secure (and obscure) proprietary machines and code do little to guarantee that results will not be changed.  Instead they increase, at great expense, the risk of inadequate or compromised systems.  By focusing on verifiability over security we can make it quite difficult for anyone to rig an election at any level with rather less effort.

Though doubt if any of my ideas are actually new, when I laid them out the other day at Maryscott's monthly meetup I was asked to write a diary describing what I have in mind.

(more below; crossposted at My Left Wing)


05/02/06--17:18: Pledge to put that $100 gas rebate to good use (chan 1437627)

The Dark Wraith put out an excellent proposal yesterday on what to do if the Republicans force that gas rebate through:


If the hundred dollar checks are indeed disbursed pursuant to an Act of Congress approved by the President, all who are opposed to the Republicans pledge as follows: Upon receiving the check for the sum of One Hundred dollars ($100.00), I shall immediately sign the back of the draft and send it to the non-Republican political party or candidate of my choice.


I am taking this pledge. Join me.


08/03/06--14:06: If Liberals Tax and Spend, Conservatives Print and Waste (chan 1437627)

Sure, we believe in taxes.

We believe in a government that provides the services and level playing field that makes life safer and more secure. Like healthcare and policing. We believe in a government that creates opportunity for individuals and makes business possible and our institutions reliable. Like schooling and roads and the SEC.

We believe in paying for those services through taxes.  We believe that cost should be equitably distributed to require more from those who have more and from those who make greater use of our country's infrastructure.

We do "Tax and Spend" and, because what we spend comes from taxes we pay, we want to have efficient, effective, and accountable government that makes the best use of those taxes. We are proud of that.

(crossposted from My Left Wing)


08/28/06--15:33: Imposter embarrases HUD with plan to rebuild New Orleans (chan 1437627)



"Everything is going to change about the way we work, and the change is going to start here today in New Orleans"


-"Rene Oswin" (alias; true name unknown)

This article(CNN) describes the exploits of a man who managed to fool officials, including Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin, into believing he was the representative of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and gave an address at a home builders converence detailing a new plan for rejuvinating New Orleans.

The joke, and the point of the hoax, I think, is that what he laid out is what should have been done already if the involved parties were serious about rebuilding New Orleans and taking care of its displaced residents.

(crossposted at My Left Wing)


10/02/06--09:26: Introducing a seductive injustice and the new Afghanistan (chan 1437627)

Dale Carrico points out an article fraught with perilous portents.  There are two important ideas introduced in this article which should be advance warning to us. As Dale suggests, these memes are the tip of a spear pointed square at the heart of our basic rights, our freedom of person and our freedom of speech.