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Your Economic Crisis
Very good to see the market has become merely a tool of day traders.
It now seems lost on no one that having a 74.7 Billion Dollar Deficit and a simultanous huge tax cut is not conservative. Is not fiscally responsible. But it the child of a troubled and underdeveloped mind.
At the same time, the big winner of our war with Iraq is Dick "Really I'm from Wyoming" Cheney's old firm Halliburton. While Cheney is no longer employed by Halliburton, it would not be beyond the realm of reason to say he is on an extended leave of absence. Regardless of the companies extensive resume in this type of work, once again the Bush Administration shows its gift for poor political decision making.
It is not a leap to posit that this is a political favor - whether it is or not. Halliburton received the contract without a bidding process - even though bids were originally sought last month.
What is also telling is that if one goes to Google News and type in a search for Halliburton contract. Today, two days after the event, you still get mostly articles from the foreign press or obvious watchdog anti-war sites. The US Media does not seem interested in this. That scares me.
No one seems to be mentioning that the war costs twice what the Bush Administration's tax cut is. Everyone was surprised at the $74.7 Billion cost, but with the tax cut it's right at $100 Billion (US). The Bush deficit is $300 Billion (US).
One must say "Yeesh!"
The Iraq Regime
Today Fearless Leader addressed the coverted. In his speech, which generally was pretty good, he continually referred to "The Iraq Regime". Now, even if he corrected his grammar and called it "The Iraqi Regime" - it still is just another foolish thing to leave the lips of a man who has no communication skills.
We are fighting the, if anything, Husseini Regime. Saying you want to topple The Iraqi Regime and "free the proud people of Iraq" would be like saying we were going to topple the American goverment to free Americans. We want to topple Saddam and his cronies, not Iraq.
If Bush can't get his concepts straight he should let someone speak who can.
On Eloquence
I am a studious avoider of awards shows. In fact, for the most part, I'm a studious avoider of commercial television in general.
But each year my friend Pete has an Oscar party. I have attended for 10 of the last twelve years. I am a happy veteran.
Last night I witnessed what is likely being discussed far and wide on the net, but I haven't read anything about it yet. That was Michael Moore's acceptance speech. There is just so much to see there.
The first is the initial reaction of the crowd. When he was announced the place erupted. He received nearly the most enthusiastic reaction of the evening from the members of the audience.
Then he approached the stand and started making a rather eloquent statement. He mentioned that he loved non-fiction and declared that we live in fictitious times. He mentioned the fictitious election of George Bush. The war. The news we are getting from the war. Everyone clapped.
He should have known when to shut up.
But he kept going. His eloquence collapsed. He began yelling and the crowd began ... booing. He mounted the stage with, seriously, the accolades of his peers and ended up annoying nearly everyone.
Those of us from Michigan would not take this as a surprise.
Michael crossed (not for the first or last time) the line between an elegant statement and soapboxing. He also crossed a more important line - he put words in other peoples' mouths. In retrospect, what originally seemed as an enthusiastic rush to the stage now seems like a bounding to spout. His good words were lost. His argument was not scalable.
Michael has excelled in poking holes in arguments - usually by showing that things aren't as simplistic as they seem. He should have understood that the members of the audience in the theater and the audience at home, both against and for the war, have a myriad of primary reasons for their stances. No one likes having an unappointed and expected spokesman define their beliefs for the world.
Many others with reservations about the war spoke much more eloquently during the evening. Their messages were not spurned by the audience.
I fear that his delivery will obfuscate his message and the reaction of the crowd will be mistinterpreted. All due to bad delivery.
The Victorians Among Us
(orignally posted on williamgibsonboard.com)
My 84 year old Grandmother has e-mail. In 1994 I met up with her in Nebraska. While we were talking my cell phone rang. It totally freaked her out. She was flabbergasted that the phone knew "where to find me."
Now she has a cell phone and e-mail. Go figure.
Recently we've been discussing fiction. She is a great fan of the Victorian Novel. She recently proclaimed that she didn't like current fiction (like later than 1920) because it didn't have the same values as her Victorian novels.
I mentioned to her that the victorian novel was usually the discovery of self over society. Individualism vs the collective. I said that current novels are based on the same ethic for the most part. It's just that the society over which the modern person needs to exert themselves is different. Now we get to add the media, entertainment, and multilateral political spin to our societal matrix.
So, not only are you trying to find yourself as opposed to family or religion, now you also have to differentiate yourself from the Simpsons, Starbucks, and Bon Jovi.
As a kid who spent years fighting to differentiate myself from KISS, I can tell you it can be a challenge.
Here I address J LeRoy's web log. Unfortunately not a very auspicious day, what with the bombs falling at all.
I retreat into the world of music.
Got three passports, couple of visas, don't even know my real name.
It is strange how, during the last gulf war, there was less protests ... or so it seems. In the last Gulf War, we used US troops to restore power to the repressive, but friendly, Kuwaiti royalty. This war, we are using US troops to quell, right or wrong, a nutty despot.
I do not support this military action. But I am interested that the anti-war protests are as vehement as they are. Some see this as a war for oil. This doesn't make much sense as gas prices have been their lowest, adjusted for inflation, in history during the Iraqi lockdown. In addition, President GWB and his friends have been very very profitable. It does not follow that any type of temporary control of Iraq would gain them anything in either the short or the long run. There are too many unknown variables to make it a valid business decision.
I have said during this whole thing that Saddam is a nut that should be removed from power. I have no problem with using military force to remove him from power. I do have a big problem with bucking the U.N.. The US does not like to follow orders from others, and it becomes very hard for us to stomache that someone would the us what to do when action seems so immediate and necessary.
However, regardless of whatever condescending, patriarchal feelings we might have towards the rest of the world, if the US is to lead it should lead by example. In this case, our example should be that working within the system is preferrable to working outside it. We cannot credibly be morally superior to Saddam Hussein when we, ourselves, act unilaterally and aggressively.
There is no question in anyone's minds that the war will be over fairly soon. But the end of the war will not bring victory. After Mr. Bush pushes through his massive deficit budget (complete with tax cut), indeed after he leaves office, we will be saddled with a massive on-going bill to maintain activities in Iraq. As that time progresses, we will be seen more as an occupying force and less as (as if we are even now) a liberating one.
The other option, equally likely, is that we leave quickly and let everything fall into chaos.
Historically, we will find someone, make them leader, and they will become the next Noriega, Hussein, Quadafi, Taliban, Pinochet, etc. etc.
Regardless, our current focus on the fighting, is short sighted and playing into the Bush Administration's need to distract our attention.
The rest of the world was not stupid, they just weren't focused on the war - they were focused on what the post-war results would be.
We are three days into the war.
I am reading Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins. All about evolution.
It's hard to say what is least evolved about this whole thing. People's adherence to religious dictates that prescribe violence, the world's ability to allow dictators to stay in power at all, the use of force when there is no support for it, the drive to hurt each other, humankind's inability to create a global government based on making the world a good place to live, people's addiction to driving ....
So, to celebrate this, I just got a contract to make a system that will tell drivers all the details about their current freeway operations. More driving!
Oi.
Well, I thought you all were going to see this, but it appears that Blogger is having some tech difficulties and cannot publish some sites - mine included.
So ... I will wait on the blogging.
Today we begin the world of bloggering.
I did have a blog previously on the ourfounder site. But that was a while back. I haven't been much up for blogging, but I have noticed that my postings to various mailing lists has shot way up. So, why not collect those and make them a blog? What have I got to lose? Except, perhaps, future incrimination. But, given that the Bush administration is already arresting people for crimes they have yet to commit, if I was going to do something bad in the future they would have likely arrested me already.
So I have no fear in posting my words to the timeless depths of space.
J.
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