Mitch McConnell Revealed

A while back Mitch McConnell was using Jim DeMint to do his dirty work, threatening a government shutdown. But over time a new meme has placed McConnell in the cross-hairs. He is now identified in media as the man who cared more abut beating Obama than about helping the country. And since that is absolutely the case, he is now hoisted high on his own petard. He is a sign of all that is unhelpful and unpatriotic.

And the other day he couldn't even claim any credit for the House assent to the payroll tax cut. I wonder if he will remain Minority Leader. He has done wonders for the prospects that that is his best shot. He will never lead a Majority after his sorry performance.

  

Why Yesterday's Construction Technology Must Go

It is too expensive

It is not mass-produced at a proper scale

It is not smart

It cannot be easily integrated into a grid that could supply energy and remove waste for a whole community

It is in the hands of developers whose aim is to extract the last dollar with little regard for human needs or human participation in planning

The idea of making each distinct structure a stand-alone eco-plant multiplies costs and hurts efficiency

Concentration on renewing old structures delays the day when new initiatives can create genuinely 21st Century communities where all elements are integrated, where all surfaces are smart, and where life in all respects is within walking distance 

Yesterday's construction was for sprawl, highways and endless separated housing segregated so you have to drive everywhere

Tomorrow's construction will be integral, beyond green and reflect a new economy that integrates grass roots and global

How could life be car free

How could life be car freeBy creating dense enough communitiesBy having all ways walkable and free of carsBy integrating residence, entertainment, shops, restaurants, workplaces, and everything else we now drive toBy minimizing the need for elaborate housing by enhancing public space well beyond our present slovenly approachBy making all elements of such communities modular so a new industry of creating smart surfaces could replace the auto industry and serve the worldIt would be easy for 5-10K persons to live in an area no more than a mile from edge to edgeTransportation would be between such communities not within themTo the extent such communities are well joined by pubic transit the need for cars would diminish
Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Some Day We'll Make The Leap We Need

Fire boat response crews - Yahoo! News Photos: "Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig at the site of the gulf oil spill off Louisiana in this April... Read more »"

The initial shock of the BP oil spill is now a memory but these pictures bring it starkly into focus. These pictures should raise questions for now and the future.

But the world is still hell bent on oil and cars and superhighways and sprawl and all of the things that these pictures tell us are long term lethal, whether we think of the children killed by vehicles, the wars fought for oil dominance or the current rush in China to become another automotive state with sixty mile traffic jams.

We need experiments to get us out of the mess we are in.

We need a new economy based on the remaking of our society using a holistic model where we can walk to everything and everything we need for living is within a walk.

Such experiments should be the province of both governments and entrepreneurs and should let a thousand flowers of imagining bloom. Until we make the leap we need.

Obama's Narrow Way To Salvation

Jesus said the way is narrow that leads us to life
The President must thread a needle with the thinnest eye
On one side a politics that's based on lies and strife
But on the other truth that hurts that time will not deny

The truth that hurts is a world beyond the economy of cars and oil
A world beyond the affording of a military industrial machine
A truth that says society must be rebuilt completely
And that what we really cannot afford is
Poverty
Miseducation
Abuse
Bullying
False imprisonment
Intolerance
Autocracy
Plutocracy
Obfuscation
Greed
and
Rampant Idolatry

The power of example

Example is Not the Main Thing in Influencing Others. It is the Only Thing. Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

Remember this?

Seventh of 33 men rescued from Chilean mine | StarNewsOnline.com: "SAN JOSE MINE, Chile - To hugs, cheers and tears, rescuers using a missile-like escape capsule began pulling 33 men one by one to fresh air and freedom at last early Wednesday, 69 days after they were trapped in a collapsed mine a half-mile underground."

An example for all the world? Sure. Just imagine that every group in peril is buried at twice the depth of the Empire State Building and must be rescued. We have this glowing example from Chile.

We need to envision it in relation to the women and girls buried in East Congo, the nonviolent prisoners languishing in cells serving draconian sentences and soldiers of any nation placed in harm's way because leaders lacked the imagination to see life as a rescue operation not a war.

David Plouffe is still my hero

David Plouffe is still my hero

Obama's right hand

Without him things have gone wrong some

With him just as planned

David channels RFK

He knows just what to say

To fire up a majority

And help change come our way

Cut rate solar energy

Can The Cost of Solar Energy Be Cut in Half? Sure. That is the assumption of the gentleman to whom this post happily points. What you will find is a somewhat technical look at his inventive solar process.

Shooting for the Sun - Magazine - The Atlantic: ""There's a lot of debate in Washington about carbon emissions and energy," Paul Werbos says—"about coal, nuclear power, and oil, what I call the three horsemen of the apocalypse. If we can cut the cost of solar energy in half, it becomes possible to escape from the three horsemen. The importance of this is just unbelievable.""

If Lonnie's goal were achieved, Al Gore might smile and Sarah Palin might be a little less beholden to the billionaires behind drill, drill drill.

Bored? Read Manhattan Bully Wars (1947)

Manhattan Bully Wars (1947):

"Tonight he would take his radio to bed with no fear that listening would be terminated by a parental sweep. Tomorrow he would wander to and fro and then enjoy the company of his very best friend in all the world.

He came up from the subway by the hot dog place on Lexington at 86th and ran to his apartment building between York and East End. He waved a quick hello to the doorman Eddie. Karl took him up in the elevator.

The front entrance to the Panflick's apartment was unlocked as usual. What was not usual were screams coming from the back."

'via Blog this'

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Still out of the Market because it's a bubble

Below my account of getting out of the market. I have little doubt that Cantor and Company did manage to stall the market for the intervening months. Now as it creeps up, I am still cautious because I believe it is a bubble and that the greed wolves are at it as harmfully as ever. We are not at the bottom yet and will not be until we drill down to the problems of our society which are not the subject of today's political discourse.

Eric Cantor: S&P Rating Hit A "Wake Up Call" For Debt Ceiling Vote | TPMDC: "Update: Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) released a joint demand from 114 House Democrats that the House hold a 'clean' debt limit vote and claimed the S&P rating bolstered their argument.

'America pays its bills,' Welch said in a statement. 'I hope Majority Leader Cantor and those in Congress seizing upon debt ceiling pressure as a 'leverage opportunity' are listening to the markets today and thinking twice about their risky strategy."

I must confess that so certain was I that Cantor and Company would cause the market to flutter

That I took protective action with my trifling investment

And now it appears that Cantor has risen to the bait and sealed his claim on Idiot of the Day before anyone else had a chance to apply.

A gallery of Democrat and Republican tax cheats

Below you will come to a gallery of Democrat and Republican tax cheats.

This says to me that beyond honesty we need reform but that we will not get it until one or the other party cleans house.

Logic suggests we are barking up a wrong tree.

So when asked to explain our government to our children we shall say, Our government is bipartisan corrupt. And we know it. But none of the people who can correct it can afford to run and once they get there they could well change their stripes.

No wonder people are for less government. Sick. Sad. Possibly terminal.

The Gallery:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2801/1/

See the Republicans all in a row.

See the Republicans all in a row. 

Hemming and hawing boxed in as can be.

Show time is over. It's serious now. 

Just how Obama will do we shall see.

My guess would be that reason prevails. 

Most of the bluster has faded away.

How funny it is it to reflect on this. 

The President waiting to spring as he did.

The stage is set now. The lights are going up. 

Out of the battle will come what is right.

Right is a nation that does not move back. 

Right is a nation on a progress track.

The future is me and my audience

The future is me and my audience

The royalties I earn will grow

We'll all end up creators and craftsfolk

By sharing what we come to know 

If You Want An Object Lesson - HT @GalleyCat

Barry Eisler Walks Away From $500,000 Deal to Self-Pub' - eBookNewser "Publishers have naturally conflated the specifics of their business model with the generalities of the industry they're in. As you say, they're not in the business of delivering books by paper-they're in the business of delivering books. And if someone can do the latter faster and cheaper than they can, they're in trouble." 

via' Barry Eisler Walks Away From $500,000 Deal to Self-Pub' - eBookNewser.

ICE is not nice

ACLU Files Lawsuits After Government Wrongfully Deports U.S. Citizen With Mental Disabilities | American Civil Liberties Union: "Although ICE knew of Lyttle's long and documented history of mental illness and noted he did not comprehend the investigation of his status, he was not offered legal assistance and was deported to Mexico."

This disgusts me. I see our immigration service as one of the most suspect reasons for paying taxes. If I could pick and choose, I would not support ICE.

FOX and Friends are a bad dream

FOX and Friends are foes of truth

They lie with laughs and smiles

FOX and Friends are a bad dream

A source of endless trials

Here's another (HT @mass_writer)

Fox & Friends Continues To Misinform On WI Anti-Union Law | Media Matters for America Fox & Friends hosted Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch to discuss a recent court ruling finding that GOP lawmakers may have violated Wisconsin's open meetings law when they pushed through a bill ending most public union collective bargaining rights. During the segment, the co-hosts repeatedly failed to challenge Kleefish's claims about the legality of the proceedings surrounding the bill.

via Fox & Friends Continues To Misinform On WI Anti-Union Law | Media Matters for America.

Smiling Mike Huckabee wants to kill Bradley Manning

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in an interview while on his book tour in California that the person responsible for the leaked diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks should be executed. 

via Mike Huckabee: Execute WikiLeaks Cable Source.

Smiling Mike Huckabee wants to kill Bradley Manning

While hatred of President Obama he fans

Helping dumb down a country in pain

Oblivious to his spreading of stain

Bradley Manning should be set free

He should walk a hero's way

And if someone needs to take his place

How about Mike Huckabee

Excitement comes with disaster's fell swoop

Excitement comes with disaster's fell swoop

But then we are hit with the brute reality

We're being to led to death by billionaires

Our silence is their gold and few can see

Read The Full Article Referenced Below if You Want To Get Involved in A War With the Chamber and the Koch Brothers

Those of us who work on climate change have spent years trying to figure out why Congress pays no attention to what's clearly the most dangerous issue facing the planet. For years we thought we simply needed to explain the crisis more skillfully. But over the last year, the truth has become more clear: Hidden in the shadows are the guys with money who pull the strings. We need to illuminate those shadows, with the Kochs and even more with the U.S. Chamber.

via Why doesn't Congress give a damn about climate? Hint: it's not the messaging | Grist.

Jesus is betrayed by all of us each day

Jesus is betrayed by all of us each day

And we should not judge for fear of being judged

But sometimes we're left with nothing more to say

Than how can Christians behave in such a way

Crucifixion in the name of family values?

From California to Minnesota, organizations like Focus on the Family have ramped up their efforts to stop schools from implementing anti-bullying policies that protect LGBT students, who studies show face widespread harassment in schools. 

via Bullying | Right Wing Watch.

Beyond green there's no oil no cars

Beyond green there's no oil no cars
Beyond green we have thought our way ahead
Beyond green we have moved to God's free gifts
And built our future around them instead

China and the rest of us are building death into our so-called solutions. This is global triage.

China was still producing more "traditional pollutants" than it could bear, but new industries were also creating torrents of dangerous chemicals and mountains of electronic waste, said Zhang Lijun, vice minister of environmental protection.

via China says environment still suffering growth pains - Laws & Regulations - Ecoseed Information Network.

Housing values will continue to fall

Housing values will continue to fall 

No one wants it in its present sprawled form

It is no longer a growth investment

Costs are outrageous and sprawl's out of hand

You buy a house you need a car for each aduolt

Your job does not pay enough for all that

There's a solution 

Build new cities

Using new technologies

New zoning

New economies

New vision

Cyber-communities

Compact and car free 

Redeeming the land

This time not one voice raised to stop the flood

This time not one voice raised to stop the flood

This spells the doom of every dictator on earth

Yes there will be a cost in tears and blood

Democracy thus ever proves its worth

 

If we are in a values era

Democracy is an ontological value

Comprising equity, equality, universal human rights, 

responsibility and nonviolent negotiation

Our efforts

Make all the difference

Even if it is merely signing a petition

Or contributing a few dollars

Drones all over us - waiting for the first mega-accident

Drones With an Eye on the Public Cleared to Fly - NYTimes.com: "But while businesses, and drone manufacturers especially, are celebrating the opening of the skies to these unmanned aerial vehicles, the law raises new worries about how much detail the drones will capture about lives down below — and what will be done with that information. Safety concerns like midair collisions and property damage on the ground are also an issue.

American courts have generally permitted surveillance of private property from public airspace. But scholars of privacy law expect that the likely proliferation of drones will force Americans to re-examine how much surveillance they are comfortable with."

'via Blog this'

I can't wait to watch the GOP wrestle with this one. Private enterprise. Invasion of privacy. Mega safety concerns. Ironical if the drone photographed Issa on his own turf. This is an invitation to mayhem you won't believe. I can just see the video - Revenge Drone!!!!

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

The Greed Wolves Are Back at It

Prices of Mortgage-Backed Securities Prove Irresistible - NYTimes.com: "Having reaped big gains during both of those turns, Greg Lippmann, a former star trader at Deutsche Bank, is now catching the next upswing: buying the same securities built from mortgages that he bet against before the financial crisis erupted.

Mr. Lippmann is joined by other big-money investors — mutual funds like Fidelity as well as hedge funds — in riding a wave of interest in the same complex loan pools that nearly washed away the financial system.

The attraction is the price. Some mortgage bonds are so cheap that even in the worst forecasts, with home prices falling as much as 10 percent and foreclosures rising, investors say they can still make money."

'via Blog this'

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

You Can't Be Too Careful

A.J. Burnett to Pirates deal near fruition | yankees.com: News: "In July 2010, the Pirates suspended Moreno for disciplinary reasons that were not made public at the time. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Friday that Moreno had been kissing a fan in the Altoona bullpen during a game, prompting continuing questions about his maturity. He was not protected in December's Rule 5 Draft."

'via Blog this'

I would have given him a medal.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Will Michelle Obama Ever Be President

I suspect if Barack Obama wins in 2012 and actually succeeds in doing what he intends to do that the Michelle option will be on the table.

She will have acquired many if not all the creds that Hillary had when she declared. It is not likely that the President's shadow would seem as onerous  as Bill's shadow did to those who were worried abut ex-Presidential meddling..

She is familiar with the aims and in agreement with the style of the President and could probably be as convincing an advocate. She was in fact the President's first boss-mentor. She is his equal in every way and that is quite a statement.

I also think there are few options as attractive among the existing Democrats and that anyone we don't know would need more time to gain traction for 2016.

Finally, by my lights, Barack Obama was too early. I always thought the post-1960s change would not come until 2020. We will need an Obama White House until 2024.    

                            

Cremation, Burial, Any Other Way?

Resting Places - Going Ashes or Dust? - NYTimes.com: "I hadn’t really thought about it. Over the years, there has been occasional banter around the dinner table about “ashes” vs. “dust” — cremation or burial. But it wasn’t urgent. We’re not actually that old, and expect to be above ground for a while yet. Like cleaning out the closets or “putting our papers in order,” it was a chore that could be postponed indefinitely. Also, neither option seemed great."

'via Blog this'

I keep wondering if there is some other way. I read in Herodotus that the Libyans of old put their dead in crystal encasing which stood vertically, offering the ultimate in transparency. I have this image from a movie of being laid out in the wilderness to enable consumption by birds and such. All told there is no satisfactory method that I can think of. So finally I prefer not to think at all. The idea that one could actually recommend an optimal way of dealing with a completely terminal event is fatuous to say the least. One thing is clear though. If we survive it is not dependent on any method of disposing of us. If it was we would all opt for Method A.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes