Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Archive for November 2011

Lounge: America The Victim of a Drive By Shooting

MOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!

I woke up this morning in the way back machine.  As much as I try and stay out of time machines (trying to focus on the right now!) Although I wrote this piece during the last Presidential election it feels like it could use some discussion again.

I like to pay close attention to the comparisons a politician uses for insight as to what they are thinking and more importantly how they think.  Today on Meet the Press John McCain was asked if the current 700 billion dollar package that included government ownership positions in banks, and his own proposal for the government to purchase mortgages at market prices was in effect asking those who pay taxes to subsidize the mistakes of others, and taken together was that not socialism.

Part of his response really got me to thinking and not for the regular reason-that he completely failed to address the original question and instead devolved into normal McCain talking points, but in how he characterized the people who have been hurt in the financial crisis.  He stated that they were the victims of a drive by shooting.


…In times of crisis, we go in and we try and help the people, especially in this situation where they’re the, the victim of a drive-by shooting by excess, greed and corruption in Washington and Wall Street.  And again, I and others said we have to have legislation to rein it in.  Senator Obama didn’t lift a finger.  Meet the Press Transcript

It’s not the first time I’ve heard him refer to the crisis as a drive by shooting, so it really got me to reflect on the nature of drive by shootings, and how although I doubt he meant it in the same way the description is apt.

For Shame! For Shame!

The barbaric treatment of students engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience on the campus of the University of California at Davis has produced a pair of dramatic images.

The ones that appear above might become fixed in the minds of the public as iconic of the protest movement, like this one did forty years ago:

One Factor Behind America's Poor K-12 Education System

By: inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

During my high school years, I had the acquaintance of a fellow student – a person who still holds a strong presence in my memory. This person was one of the most ambitious, most determined individuals in the school; today she goes to one of America’s top universities. She may very well be the next president of the United States – and this is a serious statement.

One day this student asked me an interesting question: “What do you see me doing when I’m fifty years old?”

I teased, “I see you as a high school English teacher.”

She laughed, “I would kill myself if that happened.”

More below.

Three Science Stories Making Me Say Holy Crap!

MOOOOOOOSE!

So as I peruse my reader this morning I’ve been presented with stories one after the other that are just tickling me to death!

There are seismic shifts going on in the realm of science and in a sense I feel like Salieri looking at Mozart, except I don’t think I’m fully appreciating what’s going on, but I know it’s tremendous.

So here we go.

Dear #OWS

May I suggest a change in tactic?  I understand people are considering this new movement an analogue and continuation of the civil rights movement, and so be it.  However if you’re going to do that at least take a lesson from the movement.  Engage your enemy and provoke an ugly response from them that the vast moral universe of the American middle will empathize with and support.

Camping in the park is not it.  Fighting police over the right to camp in the park under the guise of “free speech” is not it.  

Unless the cities and municipalities who have to expend extra funds in extremely tight times are the enemy and I thought the bankers were this tactic is going to earn you the enmity not the support of that middle I was talking about.

So here’s what you do.  Occupy foreclosed homes.  Occupy them in the neighborhoods of the 1% and make the banks evict you through the legal process.  Now wouldn’t that be grand?  You would have the benefit of costing the actual entities of #OWS anger the banks money and time.  You wouldn’t have to meet the business end of night sticks defending a park, and here comes the sweet part:  The banks would have to prove they own the place in order to evict you!  Remember all those strange loan documents all the people who got their homes taken away through robo-signing?  All those documents would get fresh judicial review and as I understand it lots of #OWS folks have legal training that would make that an interesting adventure.  Why this tactic has the added benefit of almost being like the lottery you just might be able to stay in the house you occupy because the banks can’t prove they own it.

Conversations with Ted

Over the past year or so, I have had email conversations with a fellow whom I will call Ted.  We are both baby boomers.  Ted has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and runs a small consulting firm that his father had founded.  Ted and I have occasionally had clients in common.

Ted is registered as a Democrat.  I guess he could best be termed a Reagan Democrat.  He is very right-wing.

Our conversations have wandered into politics because Ted put me on his email distribution list.  He gets email messages from other people with a right-wing slant, and passes them on.  These messages are typically about the outrage du jour as hyped by Fox News, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the like.

Yes I'm Gloating !!!!

Let me get this out the way. By sharing this I am gloating! I ain’t going to apologize for it either! 🙂

To say I felt like a giddy 12 year old when this arrived in the mail yesterday would be an understatement! In fact I still do!

"Avenue Jew"

That is what some vandal or vandals changed a sign at the Avenue J train station in the Midwood neighborhood in Brooklyn to read.  As of now, the sign has been removed and police are investigating this as a bias incident.  This is the second incident in Midwood in less than a week.  Last Friday, antisemitic vandals firebombed several cars and spray painted swastikas and “KKK” on other cars and benches less than a mile away (also see fizziks’ diary about the incident and the neighborhood).

I Got Nothin'

This is more painful than Gov. Perry’s inability to remember the third federal agency he’d like to cut.

Another 39 miles for the 99%, and down but not out at #OccupyYoungstown

My last Occupy-related bike adventure was an awesome experience, my 39-mile ride from Ravenna to Cleveland. This time I packed up, got on my bike and headed east to Youngstown. Occupy Youngstown had been raided Friday morning, and their tent and much of their belongings were taken. I wanted to do another long ride to show my support. The weather was decent this weekend, and this being November, I might not have another chance. There were no bike trails that lead to Youngstown, this time it was all bumpy country roads and city streets.

More below the squiggly. Don’t hurt your eyes too much with the blurry picture, my cellphone camera is stone age.