Precipitation

Rain today. Finally. The ground in my back yard was so parched that it had to rain a few hours before puddles began to form.

Still legislating morality ?

Conservative columnist Star Parker seems to be off to a good start with her assessment of what needs to occur when the Republican renaissance begins, then she runs off the road when she claims the economic conservatives and the evangelical conservatives need to merge into one mighty river (presumably washing away everything in its path). Obviously, the GOP needs the Christian conservatives --- without them, the party vanishes like a wisp of smoke in a stiff breeze. Unfortunately, they're too often allowed to dictate the conservative political agenda. Since much of my own political philosophy is shaped around separation of church and state, the evangelical influence on the GOP agenda is a deal killer for me.

Maybe someday the GOP will come up with a plan to win elections without pandering to the evangelical community by allowing them to write most of the rules. If that day ever comes, I'll be glad to give 'em a look.

Added 11:04 pm: Changing the subject a little, this from Huffington Post on the health care bill passed in the House. Because the current Congress is totally dysfunctional, I'm afraid my worst fears are coming true --- a really ugly mess of a bill has been passed, and anything that ultimately makes it into law will probably be even worse. In the long run, Democrats would have been better off simply cutting their losses and tossing the whole thing in the trash when it became clear there was no party unity on the issue. No bill is much better than a bad bill, which seems like what we're destined to end up with --- and when the smoke clears and the screaming dies down, we'll have something nobody will be happy with, and both parties will share the blame. I say the Republicans should kill this thing dead in its tracks, and let the political chips fall where they may.

Added 7:48 am, Tuesday, 10 November: An interesting column by Paul Krugman on the teabaggers and why they need to be taken seriously.

Breaking up is hard to do

The topic of secession continues to pop up. From where I'm sitting, it seems like a lot of people are pissed off and have lost their ability to think things through.

Rather than secession, my preference would be an exile system. We need to figure out a way to isolate the people who support the teabag and/or birther movements, who think the GOP is too liberal, or who voted for W in 2000 and 2004 and wished he was running in 2008. If we could get at least 90 percent of that bunch consolidated in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, we could declare them to be in exile. A lot of the target population live there already, which simplifies the process.

Those three states would become the modern equivalent of leper colonies. With luck, the ten percent who remained behind would STFU and be absorbed into the civilized population. In any event, their numbers would be insignificant and they could no longer expect the media to publicize their griping and complaining as if it was somehow important news. Any time they started whining about their problems, they'd be reminded that residents of the colonies were exempt from taxes and unfair regulation by the federal government, and that they might be happier living among their own kind. This would hopefully encourage migration.

Brain cancer as a solution ?

Interesting video, featuring a preacher unlike any I've ever personally encountered. With leaders like this guy, is it any wonder the followers are the way they are ?

Fortunately, there are still a few voices of sanity if you take time to search for them.

A huge disappointment

I regret having to say this, but Barack Obama has been a huge disappointment.

When he was inaugurated in January, I was positive that all the conservative lunatics would respond to the travesty of a black man in the White House by diving headfirst off bridges or tall buildings, or throwing themselves under subway trains, or driving their cars at top speed into huge immovable objects. Anything they could think of to relieve their suffering by ending it all.

But noooooo.... none of that has happened. If anything, it seems like a whole new army of fuckwads has crawled out of the woodwork and there are more of them now than there were when W. was in town. Damn, it's not only sickening, but it's discouraging. I'm sorry, Obama, but so far this has been one great big letdown.

Big plans in my imaginary world

I was chasing links and came across an interesting item at Goddard's Political Wire blog. It refers to a recent Gallup poll that found there are only five remaining states with statistically significant Republican majorities: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, and Nebraska. In one of my occasional political fantasies, I'm the supreme ruler of the United States, with absolute authority to do whatever I think will make the country a better place. One of my initiatives would be large-scale confinement of conservatives in massive rural detention facilities, and now I've confirmed the sites for the centers. Utah and Idaho would get three each, with two in Wyoming. Alaska is too cold, and Nebraska has produced a few decent Repubs like Chuck Hagel, so I'd build there only as a last resort.

Until construction was complete and the logistics of transporting thousands of rightwing morons to the centers were worked out, my system of confiscatory taxation would be in place. After Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter and all the others were wards of the state, they'd have no income to tax. The loss of revenue would be offset by an overall reduction in the cultural pollution they generate. Anyway, that's the outline of my plan.

Exercising raw power

Limbaugh, the stain in America's underwear, recently signed a contract worth 400 million, and now cheap imitation Sean Hannity has been given a contract worth 100 mil. If I'm ever in charge of the country, my first official act will be to establish new laws under which all conservatives working in the radio, television, and print media are required to pay steep confiscatory income tax rates. In Limbaugh's case, the rate will be everything he makes exceeding nine dollars per month. Someone who's only semi-disgusting like George Will will get to keep 39 dollars per week, but assholes like Kristol and Krauthammer will be limited to 14 dollars a week. Hannjob, who's repulsive but not quite as sickening as Limbaugh, would keep twenty dollars per month. In Ann Coulter's case, the rate would be 100 percent just on general principles; I'll take every last dime. As a rule of thumb, the more often you appear on Fox News the larger your tax bill. An exception for Limbaugh, who seldom does television but still pays dearly.

The numerous benefits of my new tax laws should be obvious.