billw8017's Comments (2270)

“liveinreality shares some actual stories from Gitmo if only to mock them. Respect for HUMAN rights gives those stories their significance. Now, it might be that from time to time and only by accident our country does something right.

Perhaps, these POWs from the War on Terror should be accessible to the press. We would learn just how much they do or don't hate us for our freedoms. National security secrets might be revealed -- such as how they were captured, whether they were treated fairly within the Geneva Conventions, and other things that only American citizens are actually ignorant of.

You try to fix what you love even while you love it anyway. This is why we keep public schools though our children are already perfect in every way.”

“I stand corrected.

Grandmother Palin still looks good. Like Richard Cheney, she has a young heart. Of course, he keeps his in a freezer in case he might ever feel the need for one.”

“Sweet, simple and effective!

Those who fought reform used amendments to delay its passage, complexity increased. Finally, we are resigned to say, this is what a committee made law will look like. At least, the delays were not allowed to kill it.”

“Health care is personally and economically worthy. As such, its provision rates right up there with public highways, public sanitation, Social Security, and Medicare.

The current reform legislation may be complex and may be seriously compromised. Implementation will make or break it, but this is how things work.

The people who do the work shape it far more than formal regulation possibly could. For example, does everybody follow traffic speed laws and is the prosecution of those laws in the courts as straight forward as the letter of the law might provide? A hostile implementation might even refuse to enforce the law and make it a dead letter. Definitions of its terms can totally transform a law as when the Sherman Act against monopolies was enforced only against unions.”

“We still have local representation that talks with the Washington people. Really large legislatures are unwieldy and lose institutional power. Congress seems to be losing power both to the President and to the lobbyists. Still, it's true, many citizens are alienated from the government.”

“This is not a subtle woman. She goes after her sisters former husband. She tries to ban books. She undergoes a purification ceremony against witchcraft. If you actually saw her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, you'd know why the Republicans were blown away: She hits all the cliches and talking points that more serious people regard as light on facts. The credit and blame goes to the hack neo con "intellectuals" who wrote it.

Suffice to say, she was a beauty contest winner and has kept her looks very nicely. So, she's sort of easy on the eyes. Just learn to smile when she talks. God willing, America's destiny will never rest in her hands.”

“If a woman who takes money for any reason, even if the money does not go to her own pocket, is a prostitute, what do you call the man, like say the President of an insurance company, who does things that might trouble his conscience just because he gets paid for for keeping his company in business.

If the company employs women, he must be a pimp as well as being a gigolo. If these words mean only that somebody is gainfully employed, what shall we call those who we used to call prostitutes? I mean, those who call prostitutes -- not you or me.”

“My understanding is that the Democratic vote in Louisiana was based in New Orleans. The shrinkage of that city moves the state more into the Republican column. Landrieu's prospects were not especially good under the best of circumstances.

In a manner of speaking, she faces a term limit, and -- quite aside from political contributions which do not altogether come to her personally -- she has to be thinking of her future business career and when she no longer has the clout of a US Senator. She doesn't have to be completely cynical to think Louisiana deserves and needs a better deal nor is compromise or the exchange of favors bad politics.

Bear in mind, she has come out in favor of the leadership position which many regard as overly compromised.”

“The chimps would meet the neighboring tribe where their territories met, scream and make aggressive gestures. Godell describes the conduct of two young chimps who had switched tribes. They hung back a little at the next confrontations, but fully joined in the spirit of things bye and bye.

Tribal posturing is a profound animal instinct and, as I said, football coaches found it motivated their athletes, too. But, it is still an animal thing.

If we see real problems that affect us all, it must be better to come together, reason out the possible solutions, and act together to make matters better. It's that 'brotherhood of man" thing as in the song in "How to Succeed..." Leaving the issue of "man," or "woman" for that matter, aside, can anybody be said to prosper if everything is just a zero sum game where one can only win by grinding up everyone else?

I think a person should resent having always to deal with those who believe that way. There we are, ever so serious, and there they are and happy in the animal way.”

“One of my heroes, Emanuel Lasker, wrote a whole book about "Life is Struggle." Speaking of the national interest, I might suggest one thing -- and, in the most cold hearted way, what I said is at least arguable -- but, so long as you can struggle, you are alive and as good as anybody.

A tip of my hat to the old pol. Never give up.

"It is not necessary to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere." -William the Silent, a leader of the Dutch in their war of independence from Spain.”

“1) Wikipedia has prudent editing standards. You can write whatever you wish -- just like here. And if you don't qualify, you get lost -- just like here.

2) Eugenics was largely adopted by the right wing as a method to prevent inferior types (like Italians and Irish) from polluting our native bloodlines. Still, as WC Fields so nicely observed, "Anybody who hates children can't be all bad."”

“What is needed is an inexpensive and freely available abortifacient drug.

While this should ideally be administered under medical supervision, the need of medical supervision would be obvious after the fact but not the same thing as giving an abortion. There are herbs, vitamins and chemicals that function as abortifacients and medically knowledgeable people can probably prepare them outside of the medical profession.

This may seem distasteful, but women not choosing to carry a baby to term have resorted to desperate expedients. There is a vast mythology over this field, but suicidal procedures have been practiced. It was because such abortions were a veritable plague among American women that the Supreme Court decided Roe as it did. Say, we got serious, and published best methods -- the internet must be worth something -- the whole issue of abortions must pass out of the possibility of legal restriction.

Frankly, in view of this, I don't feel the movement in support of choice is about abortions as such, but it is about dignifying the choice to have an abortion. This is not the same thing as picking a pointless fight, but it is close.”

“Notice comment below.

thrdr is altogether correct. I would actually prefer to see the system strengthened, and I think the weakening discussed earlier is a serious and troubling trend.

Speaking more in the national interest and despite my own age, I would say taking care of kids health and education, and cherishing the working class is more important than the end of life comfort of a few old codgers. I don't see why we can't do it all.

Some triage and rationing might be called for. The money will be spent anyway and rationality is good.”

“Gluten allergies are not Darwinian, they seem grossly unnatural. Rather than avoiding gluten -- and all those other avoidances -- we must research the problem and find a real cure. Temporarily, avoidance must be the only choice, but this can't go on. We don't want a nation that can be killed off by a fried fish. After all, could Jesus have fed the multitude without breading?

The solution might be in the gut. We know the gut works mostly by the action of symbiotic bacteria which sugars tend to kill. What are its exact workings and what can be done about it?”

“Some argue that there are special classes for somewhat autistic kids and parents exaggerate to get the special treatment for their own. If you make it worth their while, a huge number might respond to this kind of thing.

Vaccinations are one of the most efficient methods of fighting disease. Now, not everybody must be vaccinated for the best effect. It should be enough to break the connection of successive infections. This would be a delicate decision and the justice is not clear.

Isjois has to be right that more "transparency" and more information is a good thing. However, when you offer choices, there tends to be a division more around 50%. People may not understand or they may understand but don't realize the choice is not that good. 50% is not clearly enough.”

“In one sense, Social Security is strong: Projections of its bankruptcy are based on the worst case scenario, that the economy will continue to grow at less than 1.9% (it typically grows at above 3%). The Clinton prosperity pushed the projected date of bankruptcy some decades down the line. Presumably, it can still go broke because there would be so many boomers aged over 90.

Once upon a time, long long ago, all the boomers there ever would be were all alive. Our country supported them and built more schools and libraries for them and moms stayed at home to watch over them. As they enter extreme old age, we can't afford them any more?

Ah, well .. They were the ones who elected Reagan and the Bushs. They voted for McCain in the last go around. Everybody thinks they were all hippies, but they made the militia that fired on the students at Kent State. You gotta take care of them; they can't take care of themselves.”

“Social Security neither was nor is all that strong.

It was strengthened by the Johnson administration to cover more people. Then, it was weakened by Reagan when adjustments to the calculation of inflation cut the pay, by degrees, until it is now half of what it would have been. Bush II readjusted SS to follow inflation of prices rather than wages with a calculation this will cut payments in half again within forty years. Otherwise, you must also be older now in order to collect the benefits.

This kind of thing as it continues will trivialize Social Security until it passes away.

And, that's too bad.

Social Security is an ideal anti recession measure. While leaving your folks in housing of their own instead of having to move in with you as so many did before 1968, it pumps money into the economy; more as the economy slips since people are more likely to retire and sooner, less as the economy booms as employers keep their older workers and make it worth their while to keep working.

The payments go directly into purchases as the Social Security checks tend to be spent right away and have an efficiency ratio of over 1.6%. Tax cuts are an economic wash -- the government can spend money as fast as any private person. Trickle down may actually have a reverse effect since the money may go straight into investments and savings while coming from the pockets of spenders.”

“What makes any system work is that the people within the system are determined to making it work. The California energy bill of 2000 was designed to create competitive sources of sustainable energy. Coming out of legislature under term limits, it was written by lobbyists for Pacific Energy after the more experienced legislators were evicted. It, then, was gamed by Enron who passed around eMails like "chill, granny, chill" and raised hundred dollars charges to a thousand dollars. California had its rainy day fund, and this was a rainy rainy day. The state went broke relieving the victims.

In this instance, significant players made a well intentioned system work for them despite the words of the law.

Implementation is the everything.

This is how we have first amendment rights to say what we please and get charged with libel or slander after we have spoken. The founders and authors of the Constitution didn't have any illusions about what they were doing: They meant it to work that way and enforced it with the Alien and Sedition Laws.”

“Ultimately, the US dollar must be devalued until American products are competitive in their home market. It cannot sustain its value unless it can be used to buy real things, real things that are manufactured in the pursuit of the American dollar. There must come a point when investments in funny paper will stop drawing money from abroad. Already, stocks sell for extreme P/Es, and derivatives -- the products of salesmanship -- are the quick route to heavy losses, bankrupting San Diego and Baring Bros before taking down our biggest banks.

Given full employment, the thing all those people who line up by the hundreds when one or two jobs come open are questing after, American wealth will be more equitably distributed AND the rich will be richer.

This is not just the vision of pie in the sky. Rather, just as water shrinks as it gets colder and colder, then suddenly expands while turning into ice, it is simple chaos theory that these impossible conditions must come to a catastrophe and become altogether a new thing.”

“I think you are referring to the early refund in an previous recession. Bush opposed it though the administration claimed the credit in the covering letter. Bush could be fiscally responsible so long as it didn't matter to the elite, his "base."”

“I read some years ago that Europe's richest man, some nabob of Luxembourg, got millions of dollars in farm subsidies for not raising crops on his Texas ranch. There ought to be some maximum payout and no payout for people doing perfectly well without it.

Farming is dirty dangerous work, more deadly than construction, and far worse than what policemen face. The government should, in the best interests of the nation, provide some essential services to the small or family farm. What we have is bad for our country and bad for foreign countries where farmers compete with our subsidized crops.”

“By "Democratic" I mean Truman and MacArthur. MacArthur was a Republican, of course, but he was even more military and non partisan if you weren't the one to fire him.”

“This is tribal posturing. There is nothing any Democrat can do that won't provoke it.

Jane Godell describes it among her chimpanzees. Football coaches found it a great motivator until it caused too many pregame riots among the players. "Why can't we all get along," asked the Angelino -- This is not a winning battle cry! Too bad, you sort of resent having to deal with the animals.”

“I understand, Australia's public system was not so easy. Created by a progressive government, it was repealed by the next government and had to be done all over again. Canadians voted Timmy Douglas, the "greatest Canadian" for his work in creating Canada's system but they never made him Prime Minister. Germany and Japan owe their systems at least partially to Democratic administrations that ruled there immediately after WWII.

As the poet said, we have miles to go before we sleep.

(Good night Tanz.)”

“Nader earned our respect and formed a considerable team.

Then, he screwed up and ran as an independent when, as Joe Lieberman has demonstrated, the people of Connecticut like mavericks.

Nader could have been a voice of integrity within the Democratic party. Instead, he does campaigns of "education," and the lesson is "Don't vote for Nader!" You elect Republicans by doing so and wake up with a conservative Supreme Court to make sure you never win.”