Corruption and Recovery

I guess a B2 bomber crashed the other day.



I suppose they'll want to get another one.

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Ralph Nader's running for President again. I do not think it would be remiss to
remind you all that he benefitted from Republican help in 2000 and 2004. I see
no reason why this year would be different. People say it's unwise to rest on your
laurels- Nader's earned some big ones and I see no reason for him not to rest
the fuck on his.

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Romney back in?

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Has the Secret Service been corrupted by the Bush Dynasty too? Given this,
it's not an unnatural question:

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported late Thursday that security details at Barack Obama's rally in Dallas (of all places) on Wednesday "stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

"The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security," reported the paper's Jack Douglas, Jr. More than 10 days remain until the Texas primary and a key vote for president.

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Another Bush appointee heading for court:

WASHINGTON (AP) — He overhauled federal forest policy to cut more trees — and became a lightning rod for environmentalists who say he is intent on logging every tree in his reach.

After nearly seven years in office, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey still has a long to-do list. Near the top: Persuade a federal judge to keep him out of jail.

Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist who has directed U.S. forest policy since 2001, also wants to set up state rules making it easier to build roads in remote national forests and restore overgrown, unhealthy forests by clearing them of small trees and debris that can stoke wildfires. And he wants to streamline cumbersome regulations that can paralyze actions on public lands.

A Montana judge, accusing Rey of deliberately skirting the law so the Forest Service can keep fighting wildfires with a flame retardant that kills fish, has threatened to put him behind bars.

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The rich are different.

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On the other hand...

Enough Minnesota Republicans do the right thing- helping override Minnesota
Governor Pawlenty's veto of the transportation bill:

In a conference call, the governor reacted coolly.

"The DFL majority has done what it does best, which is to raise taxes on Minnesota families," he said. "I'm more than happy to say this is a DFL product and a DFL result with a few Republicans who helped them because I wouldn't want to take any credit for this piece of work."

The House vote came after several hours of debate, and with Republicans facing the wrath of their party for defecting.

Rep. Shelley Madore, DFL-Apple Valley, said before the vote that she couldn't help but think of a man from her district -- Peter Hausmann -- who died in the Minneapolis bridge collapse, leaving four children behind.

"Is his life worth a nickel a gallon? I'm telling you it is," she said.

...

In the House, Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, was among the Republicans voting for an override. He said his vote came down to concern over the safety of the roads.

"We have so many unsafe roads in my area with twists and turns-- on a rainy night I'm scared to drive down the roads," he said before the vote. "The people who die on those roads are teenagers in single-car accidents. If we don't do something we will have some kid's blood on our hands."

...

GOP Minority Leader Marty Seifert said his caucus will review staffing and committee positions held by the six Republicans who broke ranks. He said Rep. Rod Hamilton resigned as lead Republican on the Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Committee before the vote.

The six could also face trouble getting the GOP endorsement in their races for re-election. Abeler said his endorsing convention is coming up in 12 days.

Abeler was philosophical about it: "This actually is evidence of what kind of member I am, that I'm willing to vote for what I believe."

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Earth's greatest lawsuit.

A fun fact.

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Survey says- most MN doctors in favor of the new single-payer idea floated by MN legislators:

A recent survey through the University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College found that 64 percent of Minnesota's physicians support a single-payer system much like the Minnesota Health Plan. Another 25 percent said that health savings accounts were the way to go, and only 12 percent thought that the current system of managed care was adequate.

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Dr. Ann Settgast explained the problems trying to provide care under the current system. "When we are limited by the lack of insurance or underinsurance, it becomes frustrating, and we are not able to do our jobs properly." Settgast provides a typical example of caring for a patient with high blood pressure. "We know that with proper monitoring and follow-up we can control this with ease and prevent devastating complications such as strokes and heart attacks," she said. "However, we take care of patients who cannot come to appointments with us or cannot afford to take the medications we prescribe because their co-pay is too high, and these are patients with insurance," she said.

Because of these barriers people often underuse the system, "as opposed to the overuse that people erroneously cite as a significant problem in the current system," said Settgast. "This underuse leads to unnecessary human suffering and also financial waste because the cost of caring for a patient with a stroke far exceeds the cost of effectively managing someone's high blood pressure."

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On a national level, Frost said that a single-payer system would be ideal. "I support a single-payer system specifically, instead of a universal insurance patchwork like [Sen. Hillary Clinton] and [Sen. Barack Obama], because it makes so much more sense," she said. "The problem with the bureaucracy of the myriad insurance companies is that each differs from each other, and their ultimate goal is to deny claims and save money. There is a reason why my insured patient with post-polio syndrome never got his electric wheel chair even after a year and a half of trying, and it is not related to lack of medical need," she argues. In a single-payer system, "the ultimate goal would be to provide not deny."

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Bell's Hopslam Double India Pale Ale pours two creamy
fingers of foam over a cloudy peach colored brew. The
nose is big juicy grapefruit. The flavor is big fruity malts
up against those citrusy hops. It finishes smooth but a
grapefruit rind aftertaste lingers. Mouthfeel is round-ish and
crisp due to those hop additions, and all that malt and hop
action completely covers up the 10% alcohol by volume-
which only makes itself known as a warming sensation. If
you like Bell' s Two-Hearted, you really need to try the
Hopslam- it's bigger, and more West Coast. Tasty!

Tier 1

Winter 2008 Brainerd Pirate Pub Crawl

Movers and Shakers

Yeah, that's him:



Obama as the athlete in the zone.

Continuing with the sports metaphor, DailyKos says his
ground game in Texas is pretty good. If Obama takes Texas,
it may be over. Then the real work of getting all those party
volunteers from the campaigns working together for the big
push begins.

Stuff like this isn't gonna help either:

"Give me a break! I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius- driving,
Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies crowding in to hear him speak!
This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack machine.
He's a poet, not a fighter."

It's getting to be panic time.

You know, that's another thing I like about Obama- there's no need to
go negative until we're up against the Republicans, but for now he's
running a pretty positive campaign.


Keep an eye on those superdelegates here.

How Clinton may still be able to win- at a price.

McCain, literally in bed with a lobbyist? Did he score his
Viagra© from Dole?

Bill O'Reilly's talking about lynching Mrs. Obama.

The fringe of the Right Wing are talking about lynching Mr. Obama.

Lest you forget that lynching is more than a word:



Ever since the Republicans adopted their Southern Strategy, racism and fear of
The Other have been at the core of their philosophy. Up till now dogwhistle rhetoric
is all they've needed to hang onto the Confederate wing of the party. It could
be that as the desperation builds, evoking welfare queens, reverse discrimination,
and personal responsibility won't be enough, and what they say in private will
come out in public.

Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for the rest of us, the demographics are
turning against them. While they've been waving the Stars and Bars- the rest of
the the country, unnoticed, has grown up.

Don't forget how close that fringe is to the main party.

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Mendocino's Blue Heron Pale Ale pours a stiff white head
over a slightly cloudy straw colored brew. Carbonation is
steady, and the nose is pale malt and a bit of lemony hop.
The flavor is mild light malt up against sharp hop- it finishes
long and grassy with a bit of citrus rind as well. Mouthfeel is
a little thin for an ale, but crisp. There's something about the
way Mendocino does things that just does not agree with me.
There's always something off- and this one is no exception.
The long harsh grassy finish just beats down the malt end of
things. It's not bad enough to pour down the drain, but it's not
that great either.

Tier 3



Thanks to Jed and The Big Lebowski, I'm now in a torrid
relationship with vodka. Purported to be a neutral grain
spirit, there do seem to be qualitive differences between
the stuff you mix with flavorings and the stuff in the fancy
bottles. I thought I would start with Shaker's Vodka- made
as a sideline at an ethanol plant in Benson, MN, out of
grain grown right in the state too.


Shakers Rye Vodka pour a clear liquid, with a
soft, slightly spicy nose. There's the tiniest alcohol
sharpness, but not that full on examination room
alcohol smell I've noticed in other spirits. There's no
mistaking the spiritous nature of this product once
you taste it, however, there really isn't that sharp bite
to the tongue you might expect. There's an almost
velvety mouthfeel to it, with a clean finish, and a subtle
fruitiness in the aftertaste. I can believe you can make
a martini just with this. Very smooth with just a splash
of quinine water.

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Mariachi's for Obama:



Translation here. The interesting thing about this one, just like the
The Yes We Can video (and the parodies), was that they are all
the spontaneous work of interested people.

For free. Because they wanted to. There's nothing even close to
this kind of sincere support coming out of the other side.

But that's why they call it grassroots politics. The top-down style
political campaign really isn't that different from a big advertising
campaign to sell soap, or cars, or pizza. Messages are deployed,
and the consumers consume. Or don't.

It's only from the bottom up that movements are built- one person
at a time. That's a little more lasting than brand loyalty.

Bad cop, worse cop

Bad cop.
">

Worse cop. On a side note, just in time for the RNC convention, the St Paul PD will
be getting 230 brand new Tasers.



Now, viewing the two above examples, there is a group of people who would be shocked
and disgusted that the people we trust to enforce our laws would act that way. Then
there is a smaller group who love that stuff. They'll say that those people had it coming,
and they love that authority put some people in their place- and they really love the
arbitrary use of force- for them it denotes "toughness".

It happens that this kind of authoritarian personality defect, as outlined by the
ubiquitous Sara Robinson (just assume that when I use that name it's required
reading and leave it at that), has certain characteristics for leaders and
followers.

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Leaders are:

•Typically men
•Intimidating and bullying
•Faintly hedonistic
•Vengeful
•Pitiless
•Exploitative
•Manipulative
•Dishonest
•Cheat to win
•Highly prejudiced (racist, sexist, homophobic)
•Mean-spirited
•Militant
•Nationalistic
•Tells others what they want to hear
•Takes advantage of "suckers"
•Specializes in creating false images to sell self
•May or may not be religious
•Usually politically and economically conservative/Republican

Dean notes: "Although these collations of characteristics…are not attractive portraits,
they are nonetheless traits that authoritarians themselves acknowledge." In other words,
these guys know what they are, and are often quite unabashedly proud of it.

Followers are:

•Both men and women
•Highly religious
•Moderate to little education
•Trust untrustworthy authorities
•Prejudiced (particularly against homosexuals, women, and
followers of religions other than their own)
•Mean-spirited
•Narrow-minded
•Intolerant
•Bullying
•Zealous
•Dogmatic
•Uncritical toward chosen authority
•Hypocritical
•Inconsistent and contradictory
•Prone to panic easily
•Highly self-righteous
•Moralistic
•Strict disciplinarian
•Severely punitive
•Demands loyalty and returns it
•Little self-awareness
•Usually politically conservative/Republican

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Sound like anybody you know? To be honest- a lot of that sounds like me before I
had to get help. In cleaning out my apartment, I came across what was running
through my mind- back in the 80's:


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Bad porn

I'm sorry it's not a nicer time of year. I never thought I would say it, but there
are books that need to be burned- and these would look especially nice slowly tumbling
into a bonfire. My experience makes me wonder that what we call modern Movement
Conservatism might be akin to some kind of low grade mental illness- and if you followed
the link, that figure of 26% isn't that far from the percentage of Americans who approve
of Bush's performance in office.

So the upshot is, though it didn't do my brain or my social life any good, I certainly
do know the folkways, movement history, and the way this filth thinks. Woo hoo, crazy is
as crazy does!


This is why the whole Obama thing is so alarming- if you're one of the above people.
Imagine what a threat a compelling appeal to our better selves would be, exhausted
after 20+years of poisonous exhortations to our fear and hate. It's not so easy to
stand by the sidelines cheering when it's your own neighbors coming back from the war-
fucked up or in boxes, all the while knowing with a certainty that they were thrown into
that situation for nothing but a mad dream.

It's a paranoid style that has served these people well, and when the party's over,
there's going to be some nasty tantrums. Check out what happened the last time:

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At dawn on April 19, as he drove toward the Murrah Federal building, McVeigh carried with
him an envelope whose contents included pages from The Turner Diaries, a fictional account
of modern-day revolutionary activists who rise up against the government and create a full
scale race war. He wore a printed T-shirt with the slogan Sic semper tyrannis ("Thus ever
to tyrants", the phrase shouted by John Wilkes Booth immediately after the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln) and "The tree of liberty must be refreshed time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants" (from Thomas Jefferson). As the truck approached the building, at 8:57
a.m. CST, McVeigh lit the five-minute fuse. Three minutes later, still a block away, he lit
the two-minute fuse. He parked the Ryder truck in a drop-off zone situated under the building's
day care center, locked the vehicle, and headed to his getaway vehicle.

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Sara Robinson (again) cites a study by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. It's about
how cults go from odd to dangerous- it's relevant here because the same dynamic works in any
group of like-minded people, like for instance, right wing "patriotic" movements.

Step 1 is self identification and the beginning of withdrawl from society.

Step 2 is isolation followed by confrontation with authority, intimidation in and
out of the group, and the beginnings of lawlessness.

Step 3 is out of control paranoia, violence, and terrorism, triggered when the leader
begins to feel a loss of control.

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Meantime...

Republicans go after another veteran.

Obama- no Packers fan.

A benefit CD for the victims of the bridge collapse.

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Good Porn

All Obama all the Time

Mmm. I'm trying a small bottle of Shakers Rose flavored vodka-
it's quite delightful straight up or with some Quinine Water.

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These parodies are getting better all the time:



This one is from Billionaires for Bush.

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As the Obama candidacy moves on, we're starting to
see a few memes forming- a big one is Obama as the
center of a cult, and Obama as Hitler. But that is the fun
of this campaign- it throws everyone off balance, even
the haters. Imagine building this huge agitprop machine
because you're expecting to run against another Clinton,
when whoops, something unexpected happens.

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Here's a real surprise- an advisor high in the McCain campaign
says that if Obama is selected to be the candidate for the Democrats,
he'll drop out rather than campaign against Obama.

I've never seen such devotion in a Republican before...

More unsurprising- a record number of Republicans in
the House will not stand for re-election. If the Democrats
can elect a President- he or she will have a good working
majority to get things done with.

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Minnesota Monitor, as always, has some good political
stuff. The big story is an analysis of the campaign. Unless
there is a crushing defeat on one side or another, both Obama
and Clinton may not have enough delegates to win. DNC
chairman Howard Dean will not allow the Florida or Michigan
delegations to be seated at the convention, and he will also
want to avoid a floor fight at the convention. This may all be
decided quietly by the Super Delegates prior to the convention.
Interesting stuff- read it carefully.

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Clinton may still take it- but her campaign has been stumbling
badly lately- this Atlantic article takes an inside look as to why-
interesting stuff.

Or, to put it more Rudely, this year's Kerry...

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Not Obama related at all- a few Minnesota State Legislators
float the idea of a statewide single-payer health plan.
*Sigh- if only*. It could happen if Gov. Timmy is out
of state campaigning as McCain's VP. That's the only
real reason for his footdragging, on everything.
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She's Hafdis Huld, by the way. She sings!

Young Mr Obama

Valentines Day- it's one of those useless holidays- if only because it was clearly designed to drum up some business in the middle of the slowest month of the year. Still, it's hard to hate it. Really, how sappy, kissy-faced, and lovey-dovey can you get when you know the second you step outside reality will smack you around with it's arctic hand of death?

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A light post for today. It's really late- I've been reading this rather long article on the online edition of Vanity Fair about Barak Obama's early career. Turns out he's a lot tougher and ambitious, and yes, calculating than that inspiring guy we've been seeing. And that's not a bad thing, either. It's your read of the day.



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Bell's Sparkling Ale pours a stiff finger of white foam over a slightly cloudy tea colored brew. There is a certain amount of suspended particulate matter but this is a Belgian styled beer, after all. Carbonation is steady, and the nose is fruity and spicy- also quite typical of the style. The flavor is bright light malts backing up against crisp herbal hops, with, again, notes of fruit, clove, and grain. Mouthfeel is light, crisp, and a bit dry. I went to the Bell's website, and entering this beer's batch number (8204) discovered that it was bottled on November 15, 2007, and the alcohol by volume (not listed on the bottle), was a delightful 9%. For all it's lightness of body and flavor, Bell's did a fine job controlling that alcohol burn- it only makes itself felt as a warming effect. This is why Bell's is one of my favorite brewers. Get it if you can- but be careful- it really sneaks up on you!

Tier 2

A smoking performance

Like hope, but not:

McCain adviser: Bush is ‘a political asset.’

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Signs from the recently concluded Conservative Political Action Conference. Go check
'em out- apparently, to be a Republican means you must live in some insane alternate
universe.

Meantime the GOP wants you to send their own special kind of Valentines Day Obamagram.

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The inevitable question comes up- "sure, Obama's all inspiring and shit, but what's
the man done?" Luckily, there are people online who have done the legwork, and it
turns out that the answer is, quite a bit. Go check that out too.

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Sara Robinson writes for several blogs- Orcinus, The Group News Blog, and the Big
Con. As an expat American living in Canada, she has a unique perspective as to how
we organize health care in the two countries. In part one of a series for The Big Con, she
looks at how the system runs. In part two she shows how not having to worry about being
ruined by the cost of catastrophic illness has been such a boon to Canadian citizens and
businesspeople. Republicans like to make Candian health care into some kind of a boogie
monster- tuns out the fact of the matter is what gives them nightmares.

Get informed- start pushing back.


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This video shows exactly why attacking Iran is not only incredibly stupid,
but incredibly cruel- and ironic considering what may have been:



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John Courage Amber pours a finger of creamy foam over a slightly
cloudy deep amber brew. Carbonation is very active, and the nose
is bready and toasty malt. The flavor has a slight fruitiness and toasty
malt balanced by a crisp herbal hop. Mouthfeel is light, crisp, and a
little dry too, with a bit of grain in the aftertaste. It finishes very clean.
It's pretty good the way it is, it occurs to me to wonder what it might be
like perfectly fresh. Give it a try.

Tier 2


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Remember this? Well, the inevitable has happened. At Barnacles on the
North shore of Lake Mille Lacs- a smoking performance:



From the Mille Lacs Messenger