Authoritarianism is the far right extreme - despotism, if you will. Totalitarianism. On the far left is the polar opposite known as anarchy. Pure individualism, if you will. Democracy is to the left of center, vesting most power in the people. Our Constitutional Republic is slightly to the right of this, but in the same vein. On the far right, you find monarchs, popes and despots.
So why do Republicans keep calling Obama a fascist? Is it to distract us from the very real fascist history and policies of the Bush clan?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The GOP: A Party for Idiots
It’s not that the average Republican is necessarily a bible thumper, but that the bible thumpers have been courted so heavily by the GOP. The statistics bear this out.
“In 2004, white evangelical or born-again Christians made up a quarter of the electorate, and 78 percent of them voted Republican, according to exit polls.”
A little napkin math makes it clear that nearly 40% of Republican voters in 2004 were white evangelicals. So it’s not so crazy to make this association.
The way to dispel this myth is for the GOP to stop pandering to the evangelical voter. So long as the GOP is actively seeking the support of drooling imbeciles (and nominating them for office), this vision of the GOP will be hard to shake.
“In 2004, white evangelical or born-again Christians made up a quarter of the electorate, and 78 percent of them voted Republican, according to exit polls.”
A little napkin math makes it clear that nearly 40% of Republican voters in 2004 were white evangelicals. So it’s not so crazy to make this association.
The way to dispel this myth is for the GOP to stop pandering to the evangelical voter. So long as the GOP is actively seeking the support of drooling imbeciles (and nominating them for office), this vision of the GOP will be hard to shake.
Ignoring the dark side of Capitalism
We are all well aware of the virtues of genuine free markets - it is their vices that are more worrying.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Pretend Rebels of the Right
It’s all well and good to promote freedom and rebellion, but after watching GWB for eight years, why would anybody believe the GOP is serious about these values?
Actions speak louder than words.
Actions speak louder than words.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Reagan: A legacy of lies
RK: The real problem for conservatives today is not their nostalgic admiration of Reagan, but their distance from Reagan’s moral clarity.
DS: I don’t think the nostalgic admiration is helping matters. The distance from Reagan’s moral clarity comes from seeing the true aftermath of his policies.
Until [GWB] side-stepped into the White House, Reagan was the worst American leader since Herbert Hoover.
Six years into Reagan’s presidency… Reaganomics had “accomplished” quite a bit: doubled the national debt, caused the S&L crisis, and nearly wrecked the financial system.
…
Here’s the truth: we’d already won the Cold War before Reagan took office. All Reagan needed to do was continue the tried-and-true containment policies Harry S. Truman began and all subsequent presidents employed. The Soviet Union was Collapsing from within. The CIA actually told this to Reagan as he took office.
…
Reagan hired over 100 crooks to run our government, and broke several laws himself. His policies were almost uniformly self-defeating, wrong-headed, immoral and unfair.
But you can keep working on that moral clarity.
DS: I don’t think the nostalgic admiration is helping matters. The distance from Reagan’s moral clarity comes from seeing the true aftermath of his policies.
Until [GWB] side-stepped into the White House, Reagan was the worst American leader since Herbert Hoover.
Six years into Reagan’s presidency… Reaganomics had “accomplished” quite a bit: doubled the national debt, caused the S&L crisis, and nearly wrecked the financial system.
…
Here’s the truth: we’d already won the Cold War before Reagan took office. All Reagan needed to do was continue the tried-and-true containment policies Harry S. Truman began and all subsequent presidents employed. The Soviet Union was Collapsing from within. The CIA actually told this to Reagan as he took office.
…
Reagan hired over 100 crooks to run our government, and broke several laws himself. His policies were almost uniformly self-defeating, wrong-headed, immoral and unfair.
But you can keep working on that moral clarity.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tom Blumer on GDP, recession, and the NBER
Tom Blumer, posting at PJM, tries to blame the Democratic party for the economic mistakes of the Bush administration.
I tested the waters to see how he would respond to having holes poked in his "bubble". Here's a sample of my response:
Tom,
You really need to do a better job if you want to deflect the blame for our failing economy to Obama. Such a “Big Lie” is going to take a lot more than an easily rebutted opinion piece.
The mislabeled “stimulus” will, if it passes, almost certainly extend the conditions we saw during the last half of 2008. Much more of this, and regardless of what NBER says, we’ll soon be thinking of 2008’s first half as “the good old days.”
I see this same argument repeated over and over by right wing blogs. It’s almost like you didn’t even read the revised employment figures you posted. The first half of 2008 we lost almost 800,000 jobs. A little GDP growth means nothing when the “fundamentals” are dropping through the floor. You note revised figures show that “the NBER claims that the recession started in December 2007, in a month when the economy added 120,000 jobs.” What you fail to take into account is that the revised numbers also show larger job losses before and after the 4Q2007.
Somehow I am inclined to believe the Congressional Budget Office is a more neutral source on how well the stimulus will work:
By CBO’s estimation, in the short run the stimulus legislation would raise GDP
and increase employment by adding to aggregate demand and thereby boosting the
utilization of labor and capital that would otherwise be unused because the economy is
in recession.
…
Taking all of the short- and long-run effects into account, CBO estimates that the
legislation implies an increase in GDP relative to the agency’s baseline forecast of
between 1.4 percent and 3.8 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009, between 1.1 percent
and 3.3 percent by the fourth quarter of 2010, between 0.4 percent and 1.3 percent by
the fourth quarter of 2011
…
Correspondingly, the legislation would increase employment by 0.8 million to 2.3
million by the fourth quarter of 2009, by 1.2 million to 3.6 million by the fourth quarter
of 2010, by 0.6 million to 1.9 million by the fourth quarter of 2011
…
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any further questions, I
would be glad to answer them. The staff contacts for the analysis are Ben Page
and Robert Arnold, who may be reached at (202) 226-2750.
From NBER:
The committee determined that the decline in economic activity in 2008 met the standard for a recession… All evidence other than the ambiguous movements of the quarterly product-side measure of domestic production confirmed that conclusion. Many of these indicators, including monthly data on the largest component of GDP, consumption, have declined sharply in recent months.
…
Real manufacturing and wholesale-retail trade sales reached a well-defined peak in October 2007.
You claim that “Democrats Halted Recovery”, but there was never any recovery to halt. The housing market is in freefall because of the bubble that grew under Bush & Greenspan’s easy money policies, and the credit markets have seized up for much the same reason. The large bulk of the economic damage was due to holding interest rates below historically verified optimums, driving an over-investment in real estate. The period 2003-2005 is where this policy did the most damage. To prove that the economy was derailed in the summer of 2008, you would need to show that it was getting back on track - but there is no evidence here to show that. In fact, the revised figures point to a more severe downturn in employment in mid-2007, and accelerated losses throughout 2008.
Revisionist history is all the rage on the right these days, but trying to revise history less than two years old is asinine.
I tested the waters to see how he would respond to having holes poked in his "bubble". Here's a sample of my response:
Tom,
You really need to do a better job if you want to deflect the blame for our failing economy to Obama. Such a “Big Lie” is going to take a lot more than an easily rebutted opinion piece.
The mislabeled “stimulus” will, if it passes, almost certainly extend the conditions we saw during the last half of 2008. Much more of this, and regardless of what NBER says, we’ll soon be thinking of 2008’s first half as “the good old days.”
I see this same argument repeated over and over by right wing blogs. It’s almost like you didn’t even read the revised employment figures you posted. The first half of 2008 we lost almost 800,000 jobs. A little GDP growth means nothing when the “fundamentals” are dropping through the floor. You note revised figures show that “the NBER claims that the recession started in December 2007, in a month when the economy added 120,000 jobs.” What you fail to take into account is that the revised numbers also show larger job losses before and after the 4Q2007.
Somehow I am inclined to believe the Congressional Budget Office is a more neutral source on how well the stimulus will work:
By CBO’s estimation, in the short run the stimulus legislation would raise GDP
and increase employment by adding to aggregate demand and thereby boosting the
utilization of labor and capital that would otherwise be unused because the economy is
in recession.
…
Taking all of the short- and long-run effects into account, CBO estimates that the
legislation implies an increase in GDP relative to the agency’s baseline forecast of
between 1.4 percent and 3.8 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009, between 1.1 percent
and 3.3 percent by the fourth quarter of 2010, between 0.4 percent and 1.3 percent by
the fourth quarter of 2011
…
Correspondingly, the legislation would increase employment by 0.8 million to 2.3
million by the fourth quarter of 2009, by 1.2 million to 3.6 million by the fourth quarter
of 2010, by 0.6 million to 1.9 million by the fourth quarter of 2011
…
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any further questions, I
would be glad to answer them. The staff contacts for the analysis are Ben Page
and Robert Arnold, who may be reached at (202) 226-2750.
From NBER:
The committee determined that the decline in economic activity in 2008 met the standard for a recession… All evidence other than the ambiguous movements of the quarterly product-side measure of domestic production confirmed that conclusion. Many of these indicators, including monthly data on the largest component of GDP, consumption, have declined sharply in recent months.
…
Real manufacturing and wholesale-retail trade sales reached a well-defined peak in October 2007.
You claim that “Democrats Halted Recovery”, but there was never any recovery to halt. The housing market is in freefall because of the bubble that grew under Bush & Greenspan’s easy money policies, and the credit markets have seized up for much the same reason. The large bulk of the economic damage was due to holding interest rates below historically verified optimums, driving an over-investment in real estate. The period 2003-2005 is where this policy did the most damage. To prove that the economy was derailed in the summer of 2008, you would need to show that it was getting back on track - but there is no evidence here to show that. In fact, the revised figures point to a more severe downturn in employment in mid-2007, and accelerated losses throughout 2008.
Revisionist history is all the rage on the right these days, but trying to revise history less than two years old is asinine.
Monday, February 9, 2009
On Pajamas Media
I've found myself at PajamasMedia lately, sparring with the faithful. In light of all the fun there, I decided to use a blog to record my true commentary of the day's news.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
VDH on Chu
http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/our-brave-new-world/
Victor Davis Hanson is one of the bloggers at Pajamas Media who knows well how to imply what he would be pilloried for saying.
Here's sample with my commentary:
VDH: Is the Secretary convinced that we will run out of water and have no crops (grapes, remember, grow well in the desert if they are irrigated), or does he think hotter weather means things simply don’t grow?
DS: He probably means that ongoing changes in climate will make historical weather patterns change, making most agricultural activities unsustainable. You can’t just move your grape vines next year because the drought hasn’t improved. It takes decades of investment that will be lost in a changing climate. Water usage in California is already causing collateral damage throughout the Southwest.
VDH: So is rendition fascistic or necessary? Is FISA shredding the Constitution or problematic? Is the Patriot Act now necessary, and no longer dictatorial? Is Guantanamo a Gulag that must be shut down, or a complex issue requiring a task force and a year of study? Should we have been out of Iraq by March 2008, or are we to withdraw according to the General Betray US/”suspension of disbelief” Petraeus plan?
DS: Rendition has some legitimate uses - extraordinary rendition does not. Bypassing FISA is shredding the Constitution. The ‘PATRIOT Act’ never was necessary, nor patriotic. Guantanamo is a gulag, and will be shut down, but Obama is wise enough to take his time and do it right. We should never have gone to Iraq, and should get out as soon as we can reasonably do so.
VDH: We were already ‘stimulated’ and running a Keynesian economy, so why is more of what got us into this trouble the solution?
DS: Actually, a Keynesian would only run deficits when stimulus was needed, and would spend the money on improving the economy. Running a massive deficit for most of the past three decades has done more to get us into trouble than any economic ’stimulus’. Tax cuts by themselves are useless as a stimulus, and generally counter productive, as has been demonstrated conclusively by GWB.
VDH: Can’t we pause a month or three to see the effects of thousands of dollars in cheaper heating and transportation costs for the American household?
DS: Sure, we could wait, but we’ve been losing jobs for more than a year, and losses are accelerating. People without jobs don’t really care about the price of energy, they care more about finding gainful employment - something that has been more and more difficult as the crisis has deepened.
VDH: What sort of system subsidizes an unemployed single mother to have fertility treatments to deliver 8 more children to ensure a family of 14, after receiving tens of thousands of dollars in past state entitlements? Was the Dr. involved desirous of the assured business from a subsidized patient, were the parents oblivious to the ill-equipped daughter living in their home, would the mother have delivered the children had she not been assured of free medical services?
DS: Probably the same system that subsidizes an under-taxed oil industry to pursue record profits, at the expense of the American people. Really, pointing to one isolated incident says a lot about your priorities. Look at the big picture.
Victor Davis Hanson is one of the bloggers at Pajamas Media who knows well how to imply what he would be pilloried for saying.
Here's sample with my commentary:
VDH: Is the Secretary convinced that we will run out of water and have no crops (grapes, remember, grow well in the desert if they are irrigated), or does he think hotter weather means things simply don’t grow?
DS: He probably means that ongoing changes in climate will make historical weather patterns change, making most agricultural activities unsustainable. You can’t just move your grape vines next year because the drought hasn’t improved. It takes decades of investment that will be lost in a changing climate. Water usage in California is already causing collateral damage throughout the Southwest.
VDH: So is rendition fascistic or necessary? Is FISA shredding the Constitution or problematic? Is the Patriot Act now necessary, and no longer dictatorial? Is Guantanamo a Gulag that must be shut down, or a complex issue requiring a task force and a year of study? Should we have been out of Iraq by March 2008, or are we to withdraw according to the General Betray US/”suspension of disbelief” Petraeus plan?
DS: Rendition has some legitimate uses - extraordinary rendition does not. Bypassing FISA is shredding the Constitution. The ‘PATRIOT Act’ never was necessary, nor patriotic. Guantanamo is a gulag, and will be shut down, but Obama is wise enough to take his time and do it right. We should never have gone to Iraq, and should get out as soon as we can reasonably do so.
VDH: We were already ‘stimulated’ and running a Keynesian economy, so why is more of what got us into this trouble the solution?
DS: Actually, a Keynesian would only run deficits when stimulus was needed, and would spend the money on improving the economy. Running a massive deficit for most of the past three decades has done more to get us into trouble than any economic ’stimulus’. Tax cuts by themselves are useless as a stimulus, and generally counter productive, as has been demonstrated conclusively by GWB.
VDH: Can’t we pause a month or three to see the effects of thousands of dollars in cheaper heating and transportation costs for the American household?
DS: Sure, we could wait, but we’ve been losing jobs for more than a year, and losses are accelerating. People without jobs don’t really care about the price of energy, they care more about finding gainful employment - something that has been more and more difficult as the crisis has deepened.
VDH: What sort of system subsidizes an unemployed single mother to have fertility treatments to deliver 8 more children to ensure a family of 14, after receiving tens of thousands of dollars in past state entitlements? Was the Dr. involved desirous of the assured business from a subsidized patient, were the parents oblivious to the ill-equipped daughter living in their home, would the mother have delivered the children had she not been assured of free medical services?
DS: Probably the same system that subsidizes an under-taxed oil industry to pursue record profits, at the expense of the American people. Really, pointing to one isolated incident says a lot about your priorities. Look at the big picture.
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