The Atlantic's Hanna Rosin examines the connection between the prosperity gospel and the Subprime Mortgage Market. Did you know that inner-city pastors were targeted by subprime lenders as gateways into subprime markets? (That story's on page 2...)
I've never been to catholicanarchy.org before, but they have an interesting take on Thanksgiving. Not sure what I think about it, but it's worth reading if it provokes some thought about Christian citizenship. Of course, I know exactly what I think about a wholesale slaughter of turkeys...mmmmmm....
Time Magazine once more reassures me over my choice of cancelling my subscription this year. "The 00's: Goodbye At Last To The Decade From Hell." I disagreed with the first sentence, violently, and continued to disagree until I stopped reading, two pages later. Some points:
a) we fought two major international wars, and are still fighting them.
b) they inflicted virtually no hardship on anyone in the States except those poor forgotten souls fighting them, those in the Twin Towers when they fell, and those directly related to the above. The rest of us were numb, happy, bickering consumers who replaced our old iPods with newer, shinier, more connected ones.
c) near death economic experience? see above, iPods. We still have 'em, we're still buying them, and now there's a droid. The poor have cable TV and the rich still have last year's luxury items. No one has starved, there have yet to be any mass migrations, and tenant farming only exists among immigrants.
d) Hurricane Katrina was the largest natural disaster in our nations history...claiming only 1500 lives. Meanwhile in Asia, 200,000 die in a tsunami. We have no knowledge of hardship in America. None. We are fat and too dumb to be happy. "Are you better off now than ten years ago?" Absolutely. I'm not dead, I have no major diseases, I secured health insurance and a steady, menial job, and I have an iPod. From the perspectives of both the rest of the world, and the rest of history, I'm still wayyyyy above average. Life is good.
e) additionally, I'm living in a time of unprecedented local growth and productivity. Indie music has made creativity mainstream and accessible, and urban gardens, community groups and co-ops are flourishing. The internet is revolutionizing the way we interact and create. People are turning away from bigger and glitzier and towards better and more interactive. And cheaper.
That's about where I stopped. Maybe I'll finish reading later. Self-pity and whining--the mark of the spoiled. Grrrrrrrrrrrr....
28 November 2009
27 November 2009
Turkey-Leftover Reading:
Interesting approval ratings: Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama. (LA Times). Of course, it's much easier to be popular when all you have to do is talk.
Wild Boar Population Exploding in Germany. I wonder if Boar Bacon is as amazing as it sounds? Organic, free-range meat that raises itself...is there anything better?Boar hunting is a pretty intense experience, I hear. This guy died hunting boar recently. Too bad he didn't have access to modern semiautomatic high capacity hunting rifles, maybe he would have survived...but that's European Gun Control for ya.
Speaking of Pork, Can Islamic Militant Groups Be Compared To The Protestant Reformation?
Also in Pork, Another look at Health Care reform, from an incremental perspective, by a dude with a really sweet name. And, conservatives are crying foul over "hidden" doulbe digit deficit predictions (as a percentage of GDP).
Finally, Today I am thankful for Civil Liberties. "The Russian authorities retaliated with a $17.4m tax case against Hermitage and arrested Mr Magnitsky, who had uncovered evidence of fraud and implicated the policemen who arrested him. In jail he developed a severe medical condition but was left without treatment, a fact that he meticulously documented in his diary. Investigators seem to have denied him help in an effort to extract a confession. On November 16th he died of an abdominal rupture...Mr Magnitsky’s death was shocking, but hardly unusual: many people die in pre-trial detention across Russia, and even more in prison."
Wild Boar Population Exploding in Germany. I wonder if Boar Bacon is as amazing as it sounds? Organic, free-range meat that raises itself...is there anything better?Boar hunting is a pretty intense experience, I hear. This guy died hunting boar recently. Too bad he didn't have access to modern semiautomatic high capacity hunting rifles, maybe he would have survived...but that's European Gun Control for ya.
Speaking of Pork, Can Islamic Militant Groups Be Compared To The Protestant Reformation?
Also in Pork, Another look at Health Care reform, from an incremental perspective, by a dude with a really sweet name. And, conservatives are crying foul over "hidden" doulbe digit deficit predictions (as a percentage of GDP).
Finally, Today I am thankful for Civil Liberties. "The Russian authorities retaliated with a $17.4m tax case against Hermitage and arrested Mr Magnitsky, who had uncovered evidence of fraud and implicated the policemen who arrested him. In jail he developed a severe medical condition but was left without treatment, a fact that he meticulously documented in his diary. Investigators seem to have denied him help in an effort to extract a confession. On November 16th he died of an abdominal rupture...Mr Magnitsky’s death was shocking, but hardly unusual: many people die in pre-trial detention across Russia, and even more in prison."
20 November 2009
Stuff to Read
Maersk Alabama attacked again by pirates. This time, however, they didn't tie up the Navy in an unneccesarily costly and hazardous rescue attempt. Somebody had enough brains to bring real self-defense weaponry to troubled waters.
In other news, the USA PATRIOT act is up for renewal and being debated in the Senate. "In a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department said the administration might consider “modifications” to the act in order to protect civil liberties. 'The administration is willing to consider such ideas, provided that they do not undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities,' Ronald Weich, assistant attorney general." Now that's the hope and change we were looking forward to...
Sen. Wyden of Oregon (D) believes the USA PATRIOT renewal is being rushed.
In other news, the USA PATRIOT act is up for renewal and being debated in the Senate. "In a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department said the administration might consider “modifications” to the act in order to protect civil liberties. 'The administration is willing to consider such ideas, provided that they do not undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities,' Ronald Weich, assistant attorney general." Now that's the hope and change we were looking forward to...
Sen. Wyden of Oregon (D) believes the USA PATRIOT renewal is being rushed.
12 November 2009
"Bipartisanship"
"Mr. Speaker, this rule is an affront to the democratic process...At 1 a.m. this morning, with absolutely no meaningful opportunity to review the almost 700-page prescription drug legislation, the Committee on Rules met to consider the resolution now before us. By now I should be used to it, but we cannot tolerate these continual attacks on democracy. When you refuse to allow half this House to speak and to give their amendments, you are cutting out half the population of the United States from any participation in the legislation that goes on here. It defies reason and it defies common sense that political expediency and newspaper headlines could force this monumental legislation, probably the most monumental that any of us will do in our tenure in the Congress of the United States, to force it through the Chamber with little more than cursory consideration."
--Louise Slaughter, Democrat Representative from New York, protesting the use of "special rules" for consideration of the Prescription Drug/Medicare Benefits Bill of 2003.
Today, you can hear this exact same quote, almost word-for-word, from House Republicans who have been ignored and marginalized during the debate over Healthcare Reform in the House.
Under Special Rules, the majority party of the House (in 2003, the Republicans) can restrict debate and amending privileges on a bill after is passes committee. In this case, Representatives were given several hours to debate, and no amendments were allowed. The bill was formed in Republican committees and amended post-committee without any Democrats being invited to the table. The bill passed the House 216-215, after the Republican Speaker held the 15-minute voting period open for a full hour in order to give his party whips time to persuade two Representatives to change their votes, in return for promises to amend the legislation later, in conference between the House and Senate.
As long as committee processes and House rules are subject to simple-majority control, there will be no bipartisanship, cooperation, or moderation in policy proceeding from the House. Unless Representatives are institutionally encouraged to think for themselves and their constituents--and a 2/3 majority vote of the entire House is required for amending the House rules--the majority party in the House will simply be able to ignore and walk roughshod over the minority party. In 2003, it was the Republicans steamrolling Medicare reform, and in 2009 it is the Democrats steamrolling healthcare reform in general.
Allowing a majority to trample the rights of a minority is wrong no matter what policy you are pursuing. It's not American, it's does not serve the long-term interest of the republic, it destroys the public trust and deepens the divide between citizens, and it's just plain not right.
--Louise Slaughter, Democrat Representative from New York, protesting the use of "special rules" for consideration of the Prescription Drug/Medicare Benefits Bill of 2003.
Today, you can hear this exact same quote, almost word-for-word, from House Republicans who have been ignored and marginalized during the debate over Healthcare Reform in the House.
Under Special Rules, the majority party of the House (in 2003, the Republicans) can restrict debate and amending privileges on a bill after is passes committee. In this case, Representatives were given several hours to debate, and no amendments were allowed. The bill was formed in Republican committees and amended post-committee without any Democrats being invited to the table. The bill passed the House 216-215, after the Republican Speaker held the 15-minute voting period open for a full hour in order to give his party whips time to persuade two Representatives to change their votes, in return for promises to amend the legislation later, in conference between the House and Senate.
As long as committee processes and House rules are subject to simple-majority control, there will be no bipartisanship, cooperation, or moderation in policy proceeding from the House. Unless Representatives are institutionally encouraged to think for themselves and their constituents--and a 2/3 majority vote of the entire House is required for amending the House rules--the majority party in the House will simply be able to ignore and walk roughshod over the minority party. In 2003, it was the Republicans steamrolling Medicare reform, and in 2009 it is the Democrats steamrolling healthcare reform in general.
Allowing a majority to trample the rights of a minority is wrong no matter what policy you are pursuing. It's not American, it's does not serve the long-term interest of the republic, it destroys the public trust and deepens the divide between citizens, and it's just plain not right.
The Daily Read
Health Care--With a 69% Capital Gains Hike
...And Encouragement for More Medical Lawsuits
Long Island Recreational Fishermen Fight For Local Sovreignty On the Basis of a 331-year-old Colonial Charter.
And finally, Sometimes Being Grumpy Is Good
Oh, and in the vein of "You Can Buy It But You Don't Own It," Microsoft Bans Users Who Have Modified Their XBox360s From Playing Online. Corporate Orwellianism?
Dual Interest: Traditional Islamic Social Charity At Work Is A Good Thing...but 40,000 People A Day Getting Free Food in Karachi? Those Numbers Cannot Be A Good Thing For Political Stability.
Oh, Why Not: Tea Party Protestors Made Look Like Peaceful Hippies Compared To Iranian Street Demonstrators. "They seem to be chanting an old revolutionary poem. It says: 'You killed the youth of my country, God is great, Death to you'." Ahhh, gotta love the Iranians, they know how to phrase a protest.
...And Encouragement for More Medical Lawsuits
Long Island Recreational Fishermen Fight For Local Sovreignty On the Basis of a 331-year-old Colonial Charter.
And finally, Sometimes Being Grumpy Is Good
Oh, and in the vein of "You Can Buy It But You Don't Own It," Microsoft Bans Users Who Have Modified Their XBox360s From Playing Online. Corporate Orwellianism?
Dual Interest: Traditional Islamic Social Charity At Work Is A Good Thing...but 40,000 People A Day Getting Free Food in Karachi? Those Numbers Cannot Be A Good Thing For Political Stability.
Oh, Why Not: Tea Party Protestors Made Look Like Peaceful Hippies Compared To Iranian Street Demonstrators. "They seem to be chanting an old revolutionary poem. It says: 'You killed the youth of my country, God is great, Death to you'." Ahhh, gotta love the Iranians, they know how to phrase a protest.
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