4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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Andrew Sullivan notes that Kerry’s speech was in many ways, a very liberal speech:
This was also, it seems to me, a very liberal speech. Domestically, there was no problem the government couldn’t help solve. There was support for protectionism, and for penalizing the drug companies. Government-funded research into stem cells was described as revolutionary. But private drug research that has cured millions and saved my own life must be throttled to placate constituencies like the AARP. There was no mention of welfare reform in his past; no mention of education reform; and no firm commitment to seeing the war through in Afghanistan and Iraq.
That’s what I kept hearing, too - every minute that ticked by, my wallet felt a little lighter. Andrew apparently accepts this explanation provided the night before by Little John:
And everybody listening here and at home is thinking one thing right now: OK, how are you going to pay for it? Right? Well, let me tell you how we’re going to pay for it. And I want to be very clear about this. We are going to keep and protect the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans — 98 percent. We’re going to roll back — we’re going to roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. And we’re going to close corporate loopholes.
I’m not as sanguine about this as Andrew Sullivan is. First of all, I sincerely doubt that rolling back the tax cuts for the “wealthiest” Americans will cut it, especially considering Kerry’s $900 billion proposal for HillaryCare Part Deux. It seems to me that you’re going to need tax increases. And even if you buy into the soak the rich Two Americas theme, you’re not talking about the filthy rich. In 2002 (the last year statistics were available, the IRS reported that those with AGI of $200,000 or more amounted to 1.86% of tax returns filed. Soaking the top 2% of Americans means getting some making in the $100,000 to $200,000 category (tax returns with AGIs above $100,000 were 8.34% of the total). And while $150,000 or so in income may seem like a lot to some, it’s not, especially in areas with high costs of living. So I’m not comforted by anything I heard from either Big John or Little John.
Bush of course is pretty bad on spending, and one is tempted to agree with Andrew Sullivan again:
I’d rather cut spending. But I’m not a Democrat. And the Democrats can now claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility that the GOP, under Bush and Hastert and Frist, has abandoned. It will be hard for Bush to defend the tax cuts for the very rich in a debate, especially one framed this way by the Democrats.
We are not talking only about the “very rich,” although we are including them. I’ll wait to see what the Republicans have to say about taxes and spending. In the end, Sullivan leans toward Kerry because he doesn’t believe Kerry would be worse on the war or the economy, and because
Bush’s hard-knuckled politics, his inability to reconcile with the Democrats, or with recalcitrant allies, or to reach out to those who disagree with him, have led to a deepening divide. Some of this is not his fault. Some of it was fostered by the left. But the Democrats have at least had the good sense to see this as a weakness and to promote themselves in a positive fashion as a unifying force. And it remains true that no president who truly took the responsibility of wartime seriously would be approving semi-legal gerry-mandering in Texas, or brutal campaigning in the mid-terms, or a constituional amendment to marginalize an entire minority.
Ultimately, I guess, it comes down to whether you buy Big John and Little John’s rhetoric on taxes and whether you agree with one of Sullivan’s readers:
To believe that the Dems have suddenly adopted a strong defense and foreign policy posture is beyond absurd. Nothing could matter less than what Kerry has to say tonight in his infomercial, er, speech regarding the War on Terror. His own history, recent and ancient, belies his own sudden conversion, and his own party would become ungovernable should he have to actually lead us in War. This is still the party of McGovern, Carter, and Dean…the adults, Lieberman and Gephardt (who might have warranted presidential consideration), were emphatically rejected in the primaries.
or with Andrew’s reply to this reader:
It’s a legitimate position, but it essentially means that, whatever the Democrats say, they can never get the benefit of the doubt in this war. I think that’s blinkered. 9/11 changed a lot. It didn’t change the far left, who saw it as another reason to hate America. But it changed America, and the Democrats seem to me to be absorbing this fact.
Kerry frankly hasn’t done enough to change my assessment of him on the appropriate response to terrorism; many of the positions for which he’s now criticized from the right were taken after 9/11, so his sea change seems more sudden than not. On security issues, it’s at best a push, if not advantage Bush. On fiscal and economic policy, Kerry’s health care plan provides ample proof that he’s no fiscal hawk. I tend to agree with Sullivan’s view on some of the social issues, so this is your scorecard:
| Issue |
Advantage |
| Defense/Security |
Bush (slight) |
| Economy |
Bush |
| Social Issues |
Kerry |
They’re both underwhelming, but if I have to choose, the balance still points to W as the lesser of two evils.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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Everyone should read Day By Day (by Chris Muir - see the interviews with the artist by Dean Esmay and Ipse Dixit). It’s the anti-Doonesbury.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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More public transit follies, as the DC Metro Police Handcuff and Jail a passenger for chewing a PayDay bar in a Metro station. After receiving a warning on the escalator to finish her candy bar before entering the station, Stephanie Willett put the last piece in her mouth and threw the wrapper in the trash by the station kiosk. She was later arrested because she chewed after passing through the station gate.
“We’ve been doing our best to crack down on people who are consuming food and beverages in our stations because we get so many complaints about it,” said Lisa Farbstein, a Metro spokeswoman. “In this instance, the woman was given a warning, which she ignored, and she jammed the rest of the candy bar into her mouth and continued to chew.” … “I understand the intent of them not wanting people to eat in the Metro,” Willett said. “If anything, I was chewing in the Metro.” Farbstein said Willett violated the rules. “Chewing is eating,” she said.
Unless things have changed dramatically since I left DC, you’d think WMATA would have better things to do, like increasing the number of cars per train to decrease crowding, or monitoring parking decks (like the one at my old station) to prevent theft, or having an adequate number of SmarTrip cards on hand before restricting payment for parking to SmarTrip cards and eliminating cash. If they wanted to improve the quality of life for Metro riders, I bet most patrons would prefer a crackdown on Standing on the Left on escalators than one on Riding While Chewing (at least the stations have trashcans again, unlike right after 9/11).
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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Two guys is Tarzana, California want to make a low-budget Spiderman 3 before Marvel and Columbia get around to it, one that is true to the comic (i.e. why does Spidey shoot webs organically, etc., etc.).
Many people will likely look at us as hopeless comic geeks or fools wasting their time.
Well, yes, actually. The trailer is scarier than the one for The Village.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock [Quicktime required] via Legos. Some people are too creative and have too much time on their hands.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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Tom Galvin riffs on Sandy Berger with this lost and found posting “seen” at the Georgetown Starbucks:
LOST: Really important papers, Really important
Hey, I was here several months ago with a few papers. Perhaps some of you saw me walk in here with them stuffed in my pants and socks. There were only a few pages, about 40 to 50, that I had with me that day. If you have a hard time remembering, I was the sloppy looking guy in the corner writing feverishly. I had lots of erasers, white-out, and black markers, too. Anyway, I went through a lot of grief to get these papers for my old boss. They sort of make him look really bad for not paying attention to some important stuff (long story). My former boss asked me to do a favor for him and hold on to these papers but I think I accidentally discarded them here, at this Starbucks. I’ve been auditioning for a job with another guy who my boss’s wife really hates. Needless to say, I lost any chance of the new job because I can’t find these papers. So, these papers are like really important. Everyone’s mad at me. My old boss’s wife said she knew I’d screw up sometime but didn’t think I would be this sloppy about it. Man, she scares me. Anyway, if anyone finds these papers please call 1-866-272-6272. That’s not my number because these papers are not even mine! So, as you can see, I’m in serious trouble. Actually, on second thought, you should call 1-866-272-6272. That’s not my number because these papers are not even mine! So, as you can see, I’m in serious trouble. Actually, on second thought, you should call me. There is a reward. Whoever finds these papers will get tix to a really cool show. I promise, it’ll be hilarious. By the way, if it’s any help, the papers have coffee stains on them. Thanks.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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MSNBC has some give-and-take with readers on ads we love and hate. My take? I really like the four Six Flags ads with the dancing Mr. Six (the catchy music, by the way, is “We Like to Party” by Vengaboys). I both love and hate the Jumbone ad, due to the catchiness of the jingle (your big dog doesn’t want a small bone any more than he wants to play the trombone…). The worst ads are generally for prescription medications, which are nicely parodied in this flash animation.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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As everyone knows by now, the 9/11 Commission issued its report today. Download a copy (7.4 MB PDF file) from the Commission website. If the server’s overloaded, I posted a copy of the Report here as well. I may have thoughts after I’ve read parts of it (I have no plans to read all 575 pages), but there are some analyses already - like this AP story and this from CNN. There has been a lot of commentary on National Review Online’s The Corner.
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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According to the Guardian, these are the Top 20 ways to lose value on your home (as of 7/22/04, £1,000 = $1845.07):
1 Not dealing with a structural disaster (£100,000)
2 Bad extensions (£20,000)
3 Smell of tobacco smoke (£16,000)
4 Outdoor swimming pool (£15,000)
5 Additions such as “humorous” gnomes and stone cladding (£15,000)
6 Textured finish to ceilings (£14,000)
7 uPVC windows (£12,500)
8 Smell of pets (£10,000)
9 Poor DIY (£10,000)
10 Avocado bathroom suite (£8,000)
11 Nightmare neighbours (£7,500)
12 Toilet in the wrong space (£6,000)
13 Pine furniture (£5,000)
14 Large sofas in small rooms (£4,000)
15 Overgrown gardens (£3,500)
16 Installation of fake period features (£3,000)
17 Floral or flock-patterned furnishings (£2,500)
18 Laminate flooring (£2,000)
19 Themed rooms (£1,500)
20 Carpet in the bathroom (£1,000)
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4 years, 4 months ago,,
by Fred (,
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NPR’s spin on events preceding the release of today’s 9/11 report is making me dizzy. Yesterday it was Pam Fessler spouting the claim that the news regarding Sandy Berger was leaked when it was in order to deflect attention from the 9/11 report. Then this morning we hear Larry Abramson with the theory that the President hadn’t commented on the report because it was critical of the White House and the President didn’t want to draw attention to it. Never mind that the White House only had a briefing about some of the 575-page report’s findings, that the President said he was looking forward to reading it when he receives it shortly before the Commission’s 11:30 press conference and that all accounts indicate that the 9/11 Commission blames “institutional failings” and not Presidents Bush or Clinton. When there is news, it’s because the President wants to deflect attention. When there isn’t news, it’s because the President doesn’t want to draw attention. Which is it?
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