More on Joe Lieberman

A recent post on Glenn Greenwald's blog (which I love) shows the type of characters Joe has been hanging out with. JL was the guest of honor at a recent event for Christians United for Israel, a group headed by hard-core evangenical Minister John Hagee. Aside from promoting a hawkish Middle East foreign policy, Rev. Hagee holds some, shall we say, disturbing views. Here is a quote from him from a late 2006 interview:

All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that.

The newspaper carried the story in our local area, that was not carried nationally, that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it would was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades.

So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the Day of Judgment, and I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.

Nice guy, I see why Sen. Lieberman was so pleased to be honored by his organization.

Stop the "Joe-mentum"

I can't stand Joe Lieberman. Yeah, maybe one time he was what you would call a "Conservative Democrat," but even then he was a prudish, socially conservative type instead of a libertarian type. He was the kind of person who would implore you to drink your milk and eat your vegetables, someone who looked like he had never had any real fun in his entire life. Now he has gone completely over to the neoconservative Dark Side. I find it so ironic that someone committed to promoting freedom and liberty around the world finds these ideals so abhorrent here in the USA (as his crusades against Hollywood and "mature" video games reveal).

Now, one blogger suggests he is getting more serious about switching parties. If it was not for the one-vote majority, I would say that the GOP was welcome to him. Even they would get sick of his self-righteous moralizing after a short time. For the time being, though, the Dems need to live with him. Too bad the people of Connecticut did not have the good sense to dump him in favor of Ned Lamont.

Joe Lieberman Still Standing on the Ledge, Threatening to Jump

"Terrorist" replaces "Nazi" as overwrought pejorative of choice for politicians

Say what you will about the California state budget fight between Democrats and Republicans, but I hardly think pushing for additional spending cuts is equivalent to suicide bombing a shopping mall. Politicians have never been too careful in their metaphors, though. While the Republicans are not blameless in this showdown - the tax cut package desired by the Assembly Republicans was a terrible idea - I think Don Perata can tone down his rhetoric a little and act like a professional legislator.

Dishonorable mention goes to Sheila Kuehl for this quote: "It's egregious when 15 white men with money hold up the budget for 37 million people." Like Democrats don't have any rich white men in our party? And they wouldn't use the same tactics if the party membership numbers of the legislature were reversed?

Politics - Perata accuses GOP of 'fiscal terrorism' - sacbee.com

A (temporary) victory for sane punishments

The California Supreme Court ruled today that cities can't seize cars used by people arrested for buying drugs or soliciting prostitutes. Leaving aside the issue of "victimless crimes" and the money wasted in enforcing laws against them, such seizures are grossly disproportionate to the offense and very susceptible to incredible abuse by law enforcement (budget cuts looming? Time for more vice raids!).

Unfortunately, this victory is likely to be short lived. The Court did not state that the seizures themselves were problematic, but instead stated that the state legislature had exclusive authority over assigning punishments to drug and solicitation offenses. You can bet that some grandstanding member of the Assembly will introduce a bill authorizing the seizures again, and it will pass easily (there is not much of a lobby for johns and drug users).

AP State News - State Supreme Court: Cities can't seize cars - sacbee.com

A different perspective on Iraq

A very intriquing article is posted on the American Conservative website about salvaging the Iraq situation. The American Conservative is, generally speaking, against the war (it represents the traditional conservative perspective on foreign policy, and is bitterly opposed to the neocon perspective). The writer, William Lind, parses out what is possible to achieve in Iraq and what is not, and then describes a (non-military) strategy for achieving what is attainable. I don't agree with all of it, but it is fascinating reading.


How to Win in Iraq

Review of "...And His Lovely Wife"

I just finished reading a new book by Connie Schultz, "...And His Lovely Wife." Connie is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who also happens to be married to Sherrod Brown, the new U.S. Senator from Ohio. The book is her account of Brown's 2006 Senate race against Mike DeWine, written from the perspective of the candidate's wife (hence the title, a reference to how she was always introduced at campaign events - to her annoyance).

The book is a very fast read, and starts strong. The hook is compelling: Connie had only been married to Brown for two years before having her marriage dropped into one of the most hotly contested Senate races of that election cycle, and she had to wrestle with the effects the race had on her career and her sense of identity. She went from being at the top of her profession as a journalist to having to take a leave of absence to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. More importantly, she faced being just an accessory to her husband rather than her own person (which is another explanation for the title of the book).

Still, the book was ultimately disappointing, despite the strong start. There were no deep insights, only surface-level observations (yes, I understand that politicians are people, too). Moreover, the conversations she reported having with Sherrod strained credibility - do real people angst over "living up" to the "enormous responsibility" of voters' "hopes and dreams"? The book is also filled with cloying anecdotes of meeting people who have fallen on hard times, told with the usual self-righteous liberal tone. I get it already, Connie, outsourcing costs some people their jobs - I understood the previous twenty times you mentioned it! There is no substance to these stories other than "gee, isn't that terrible, look what the Republicans did, we oughta do something about that!"

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Sherrod Brown is in the Senate instead of Mike DeWine. I'm glad to have another vote against the Iraq war, for universal health care, for choice and women's rights and for civil liberties. But while reading this book, it's easy to see what annoys so many people about liberals. When it comes to being "holier than thou", people on the left and people on the right have a lot in common.

Unless you have a crush on Sherrod Brown (or his lovely wife), you can safely skip this book.

Circumcision urged in curbing AIDS spread - Yahoo! News

Circumcision urged in curbing AIDS spread - Yahoo! News

So, to prevent the spread of HIV, you can either (i) lop off part of your penis and use a condom, or (ii) use a condom. Hmm, which does the WHO support? Option (i), of course.

If one practices safe sex, there is no need to take an axe to anyone's genitalia. Penn and Teller had a great episode of their show on this topic, really eye-opening.

Reason Magazine - The Real Bill Richardson

Reason Magazine - The Real Bill Richardson

Interesting article from Reason on Bill Richardson. He's the most "libertarian" of the major Democratic candidates for President, although that may not be saying much. I am probably closest to him on policy positions (with Joe Biden being a close second), but something about him just doesn't click with me. I've read other articles on Richardson that show his lack of intellectual depth and his tendency to make gaffes in speeches. At this point, I'm probably going to vote for Biden (also gaffe-prone, but much smarter), but that's not set in stone.

The Hillary Clinton coronation seems inevitable at this point...

I'm back!

Well, I'm back for more political fun after an extended hiatus. Maybe now I will post on a regular basis, and develop a following. If nothing else, I'll be entertained.