I need to stop paying the blamed phone bill.
0630, Central Time. A happy dream featuring several celebrated hotties is interrupted while it's still dry by the dulcet tones of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
Profanity. Your Wandering Gentile fumbles about the bunk of his Kenworth sleeper for his spectacles, his telephone, and the little Bluetooth thingie so his caller can be heard. It is understood that one can use the handset, but we have gotten past Lon Cheney, Junior having a pina colada at Trader Vics, and usually this driver, Patchy Ground Fog (not his real handle), does not call at this foul hour unless it's important.
"Professor! I'm lost in Atlanta."
Expressively vocalized profanity. "What are you looking for?"
"Toronto Circle Industrial Park."
"Exit 38D off the Perimeter, turn right between the Quik Trip and the Waffle House."
It should be noted here that in Metro Atlanta, QT and the Waffle House have such aggressive expansion strategies that if one forgets to set the alarm, there will be scattered, smothered and chunked hash browns, nine drunks, a large soda cooler, and an Horchata smoothie fountain downstairs before one feels the need to get up to pee.
"Can you be a bit more specific?" PGF asked.
"There's a decommissioned Kroger that's now a dollar store with day laborers in the parking lot across the street."
"That's no help."
"I gotta go. Mrs. Wandering Gentile is on the other line."
Frantic, exclaimatory Spanish fills my ear. One of the Hijastras has overslept for the third time this week, and it's only Tuesday. "...so I need to go down to the QT and get twenty dollars for a taxi..."
"The QT is a block from the school! The walk won't hurt either one of you!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" At this point, I realize that my comment was not understood to be reflective of the cardio-pulmonary benefits of a brisk walk on a delightful Atlanta fall morning. It was understood as a critique of Mrs. Wandering Gentile's physique, which is also delightful and requires no change whatsoever. There was no way I was getting out of this; I needed a crowbar to get my foot out of my mouth.
"I only meant to say..."
"Who are you with in Texas? Are you with your ex?"
I made a biiiig mistake two years ago, and confessed to once having a girlfriend in Laredo. To be honest, I cannot recall what she looked like, aside from the fact that she bleached her hair, but there are days when it seems that Mrs Wandering Gentile believes that I was pleasuring every female from El Paso to Beaumont. I was near Brownsville, closer to Miami than the most distant parts of the Lone Star State.
"I'm by myself."
"Are you shooo-wah?" The funny thing is that Mrs. Wandering Gentile's long residence in the Garden State has left her with a perfect Marisa Tomei inflection on this particular phrase, despite English being her second language.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm at my receiver. I have to get rid of this trailer. I'll call you in a few minutes."
Boop handset dead. Before I can unbuckle my seatbelt, Springsteen informs me that he was born to run. Mrs. Wandering Gentile's ringtone seemed appropriate for a woman with a deep connection to New Jersey. "Who are you with?"
"Nobody."
"I'm checking." She hangs up. Oh, this is a needy morning.
Warren Zevon is back.
Mr. Zevon beat the Boss by approximately one nanosecond. Seatbelt unbuckled, I explain to Mrs. Wandering Gentile that I am still alone, and I have Patchy Ground Fog on the other line.
"Oh, so your friend is more important than your wife? Have you turned gay on me?"
"He's lost on the Perimeter," I explain, and Mrs. Wandering Gentile comprehends instantly that it is a sin of genocidal proportion to leave anyone lost on the Perimeter.
"We will talk later..."
"PGF, where are you?"
"I think I got off on the wrong exit. None of the signs are in English."
"What language are they in?"
"Tagalog."
"Okay, that's Little Quezon City. Turn right on Georgia 761, follow it to US 37, turn left, and that will put you at the rear entrance to Toronto Circle."
Patchy Ground Fog hesitates. "Landmarks?"
"Three Waffle Houses and a Quik Trip. Oh, and there's a Sunoco between one of the Waffle Houses and the Quik Trip."
"Sunoco?"
"It's the only one inside the Perimeter. It used to be a Quik Trip." We hang up, and I finally deliver the paperwork for the load.
My phone trills. Area code 307. Wyoming. Somehow, I don't think Dick Cheney is calling to thank me for using extra gasoline in the Pornstar Minivan. I am not in a good mood. In fact, I am in a pretty bad mood. "Do I know you?"
Silence.
"Do I know you?"
A cheery voice comes across the line with my given name, which I haven't used since Reagan's first term. The great thing about not using one's given name is that anyone who uses it without a proper introduction has already confessed that he wants money. "This is Brett Cooledge from Nightcrawler Home Warranty! We fixed your air conditioner last summer."
"No, you didn't. It got so bad that Chuchu the Parakeet was sweating and swearing like Roseanne Barr passing a kidney stone. Now what the hell do you want?"
"Why, we would like to give you the opportunity to renew your home warranty!"
"Renew it? The contractor you sent showed up without tools in a rusted out Gremlin, and his kid ate the remote for my television."
"He brought a child with him?"
"No! He brought a small goat! No thanks." Patchy Ground Fog called back and I switched over to him.
"Professor! I got issues like Reader's Digest! 761 was blocked for construction, and I got diverted back onto the expressway. But it wasn't the right expressway. Do you know how to say 'sorry about what happened to your shrubbery' in Urdu?"
I need an unlisted truck.
15 September 2008
01 September 2008
McCain Concedes!
If the Republicans' week improves much more, the title of this post may be accurate.
We'll start off with the end of the Democratic convention. Could one imagine the conversation in the West wing of the White House?
Staffer: Can you believe it? 84,000 people in Mile High Stadium! 38 million television viewers.
(Bush overhears.) Bush: What was it?
S: That show Obama put on last night.
B: Who does he play for?
S: (quizzically) The Democratic party.
B: Are they in the AFC or the NFC?
Poor Bush, he has been a gift to political satirists the likes of which has not been seen since Jerry Ford. Sadly, when Bush goes away to reclaim his title in his Texas village, neither McCain nor Obama is lampooned easily. Thankfully, a sense of humor does not have to be limited to politics.
The 38 million quote does not include 4 million watching on PBS, nor C-span viewers. In the interests of those opposed to Senator Obama, only 4 million or so people were watching the speech on Fox News. One in ten taking the spin that trends anti-Democrat is not necessarily a bad sign for Republicans, until one sees that the liberal-inclined MSNBC had an almost identical rating.
For those of us in the real world, the number that really matters is the one that says Obama's speechifyin' beat the finale of American Idol. Forty million people chose to stay tuned for a political speech. This is not 1976, when the conventions ate up all four channels, nor were there any VHS or DVDs available. In 1976, if four channels said you were watching a political convention, your only other option was turning the TV off.
The worthy Conservative opposition, one surmises, is preparing another assault based on William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Lack of Experience, Celebrity, or the Famous Photo of McCain in Vietnam as a POW. One suspects that even McCain is tired of this trite approach, particularly in light of the classy and tasteful salute to his opponent on the last night of the Democratic convention.
How else does one explain Sarah Palin? Was the support of the vital and critical Fairbanks Political Machine going to be the deciding factor in the election? Was the bake sale committee co-chair at Erk Russell Junior High in Waynesboro, Georgia, unavailable? Is the estimable Republican candidate suffering from Alzheimer's?
None of the above is accurate, of course. Rumors abound that McCain wanted to choose his friend and supporter Joe Lieberman as his Vice-Presidential nominee, but the plan was nixed by the party. One suspects that McCain made a decision along the lines of, "if this is how they want it, who is the least able option available?"
McCain did not have Daisy Duck as an option.
Twenty months as Governor of Alaska? Who is kidding whom? It doesn't take a Navy man to know when the commander is scuttling his tub. One suspects that McCain has had enough of the internecine backbiting, and the low tone of the campaign to date. Palin takes experience, judgement, agreement, foreign policy, and overall suitability for the national stage off the table.
Even McCain's friends came up with the same list of half a dozen better-seasoned, more suitable female candidates for Vice President as your Wandering Gentile did in five minutes. Only Dittoheads consider her to be worthy of the position, the Portly Pundit being the original server of Palin's Wasilla Kool-Aid. This is stunt casting. McCain himself does not believe he can win.
Palin is a hard-core Pat Buchanan Republican, a wing of the Republican party that has consistently accused McCain of being a "RINO," Republican in name only. This is the wing of the party that has aligned itself against McCain's attempts to work across the aisle, fought him tooth and nail on Campaign Finance and Immigration Reform, and accused him of being everything but being Ted Kennedy in drag.
As we here at the Wandering Gentile were mulling this over, just before this composition opportunity, the news broke that Governor Palin's seventeen-year-old daughter is, uh, knocked up. One supposes that this is the first pregnancy, and that the earlier report of the special-needs infant belonging to Bristol is inaccurate, although the circumstantial evidence is quite compelling.
So let me see if I got this straight, the family-values, evangelical Conservative beloved by both the Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie, is so compelling and convincing as a leader that her 17-year-old daughter goes out and engages in extramarital sex? Good Lord, this is turning into a telenovela, only lacking better scripts for inclusion on the Univision schedule.
One report had Governor Palin looking for a cheerleader outfit while shopping with Senator McCain. Hey, Sarah, let us know if those come in Maternity sizes!
It would be one thing if the candidate were living to a high standard on the official story, and evidence backed it up, but it's another to pretend that your family is a cold weather version of The Waltons until it turns out that Wasilla, Alaska, is actually located somewhere in the Valley of the Dolls.
One begs the Gentle Reader's pardon, but if I am the parent of a special needs infant, the last thing on my mind is going to be the day-to-day operation of a state and a Vice Presidential campaign. In fact, the commitment and attention necessary, parents working full-time would certainly have an investigation going from the Department of Family and Children's Services. And a busybody Republican of an authoritarian bent would be the first person to drop a dime to call DFACS in Georgia.
Of course, there would also need to be a boatload of independent DNA testing. This is the most uncomfortable feeling that your Wandering Gentile has had in some time, and the fear exists that there is more than meets the eye. Something is just creepy about this situation, covered-up and not accurate at all. When creepy is mentioned here, one is not referring to normal, witness to hypocrisy creepy, but Old Testament, survivalist, Stephen King tripping on acid creepy.
Who, after all, would be in a better position to cover things up than the popular, young, socially conservative governor of a remote state? (Steve! Call me! Have I got a story idea for you! You too, Maury Povich!)
And as if the whole Sarah Palin mess were not enough, a hurricane takes aim on New Orleans, pre-empting the first day of the Republican Convention, and reminding everyone in the country of the Bush admistration's zenith in Profiles in Cowardice. On the bright side, it saved the Republican Party the embarrassment of having to call the first day for lack of interest.
It also goes to show that God has made His endorsement, and it appears that He's a Democrat.
We'll start off with the end of the Democratic convention. Could one imagine the conversation in the West wing of the White House?
Staffer: Can you believe it? 84,000 people in Mile High Stadium! 38 million television viewers.
(Bush overhears.) Bush: What was it?
S: That show Obama put on last night.
B: Who does he play for?
S: (quizzically) The Democratic party.
B: Are they in the AFC or the NFC?
Poor Bush, he has been a gift to political satirists the likes of which has not been seen since Jerry Ford. Sadly, when Bush goes away to reclaim his title in his Texas village, neither McCain nor Obama is lampooned easily. Thankfully, a sense of humor does not have to be limited to politics.
The 38 million quote does not include 4 million watching on PBS, nor C-span viewers. In the interests of those opposed to Senator Obama, only 4 million or so people were watching the speech on Fox News. One in ten taking the spin that trends anti-Democrat is not necessarily a bad sign for Republicans, until one sees that the liberal-inclined MSNBC had an almost identical rating.
For those of us in the real world, the number that really matters is the one that says Obama's speechifyin' beat the finale of American Idol. Forty million people chose to stay tuned for a political speech. This is not 1976, when the conventions ate up all four channels, nor were there any VHS or DVDs available. In 1976, if four channels said you were watching a political convention, your only other option was turning the TV off.
The worthy Conservative opposition, one surmises, is preparing another assault based on William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Lack of Experience, Celebrity, or the Famous Photo of McCain in Vietnam as a POW. One suspects that even McCain is tired of this trite approach, particularly in light of the classy and tasteful salute to his opponent on the last night of the Democratic convention.
How else does one explain Sarah Palin? Was the support of the vital and critical Fairbanks Political Machine going to be the deciding factor in the election? Was the bake sale committee co-chair at Erk Russell Junior High in Waynesboro, Georgia, unavailable? Is the estimable Republican candidate suffering from Alzheimer's?
None of the above is accurate, of course. Rumors abound that McCain wanted to choose his friend and supporter Joe Lieberman as his Vice-Presidential nominee, but the plan was nixed by the party. One suspects that McCain made a decision along the lines of, "if this is how they want it, who is the least able option available?"
McCain did not have Daisy Duck as an option.
Twenty months as Governor of Alaska? Who is kidding whom? It doesn't take a Navy man to know when the commander is scuttling his tub. One suspects that McCain has had enough of the internecine backbiting, and the low tone of the campaign to date. Palin takes experience, judgement, agreement, foreign policy, and overall suitability for the national stage off the table.
Even McCain's friends came up with the same list of half a dozen better-seasoned, more suitable female candidates for Vice President as your Wandering Gentile did in five minutes. Only Dittoheads consider her to be worthy of the position, the Portly Pundit being the original server of Palin's Wasilla Kool-Aid. This is stunt casting. McCain himself does not believe he can win.
Palin is a hard-core Pat Buchanan Republican, a wing of the Republican party that has consistently accused McCain of being a "RINO," Republican in name only. This is the wing of the party that has aligned itself against McCain's attempts to work across the aisle, fought him tooth and nail on Campaign Finance and Immigration Reform, and accused him of being everything but being Ted Kennedy in drag.
As we here at the Wandering Gentile were mulling this over, just before this composition opportunity, the news broke that Governor Palin's seventeen-year-old daughter is, uh, knocked up. One supposes that this is the first pregnancy, and that the earlier report of the special-needs infant belonging to Bristol is inaccurate, although the circumstantial evidence is quite compelling.
So let me see if I got this straight, the family-values, evangelical Conservative beloved by both the Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie, is so compelling and convincing as a leader that her 17-year-old daughter goes out and engages in extramarital sex? Good Lord, this is turning into a telenovela, only lacking better scripts for inclusion on the Univision schedule.
One report had Governor Palin looking for a cheerleader outfit while shopping with Senator McCain. Hey, Sarah, let us know if those come in Maternity sizes!
It would be one thing if the candidate were living to a high standard on the official story, and evidence backed it up, but it's another to pretend that your family is a cold weather version of The Waltons until it turns out that Wasilla, Alaska, is actually located somewhere in the Valley of the Dolls.
One begs the Gentle Reader's pardon, but if I am the parent of a special needs infant, the last thing on my mind is going to be the day-to-day operation of a state and a Vice Presidential campaign. In fact, the commitment and attention necessary, parents working full-time would certainly have an investigation going from the Department of Family and Children's Services. And a busybody Republican of an authoritarian bent would be the first person to drop a dime to call DFACS in Georgia.
Of course, there would also need to be a boatload of independent DNA testing. This is the most uncomfortable feeling that your Wandering Gentile has had in some time, and the fear exists that there is more than meets the eye. Something is just creepy about this situation, covered-up and not accurate at all. When creepy is mentioned here, one is not referring to normal, witness to hypocrisy creepy, but Old Testament, survivalist, Stephen King tripping on acid creepy.
Who, after all, would be in a better position to cover things up than the popular, young, socially conservative governor of a remote state? (Steve! Call me! Have I got a story idea for you! You too, Maury Povich!)
And as if the whole Sarah Palin mess were not enough, a hurricane takes aim on New Orleans, pre-empting the first day of the Republican Convention, and reminding everyone in the country of the Bush admistration's zenith in Profiles in Cowardice. On the bright side, it saved the Republican Party the embarrassment of having to call the first day for lack of interest.
It also goes to show that God has made His endorsement, and it appears that He's a Democrat.
To Disagree Agreeably
Apparently, the last post chapped someone's behind. There was a private e-mail from a Gentle Reader in my inbox, expressing a vehement disdain for Senator Obama, and bringing a few ideas to mind.
While the Gentle Reader is more than welcome to his opinion, we would appreciate the moment to respond to a couple of the descriptions.
We were bothered by some graphic characterizations of Senator Obama's intelligence, and the intelligence of others who subscribe to a liberal or progressive political philosophy. All discussions are welcome here, but please extend the courtesy that you would expect for yourself and your beliefs to those with whom you disagree.
With regard to your concerns about the Defense of Marriage Act, we reserve the right to disagree with you. It is not so much an issue of gay rights as it is an issue of religious freedom. If Government can define Marriage, then Government can define Baptism, (or Communion/Holy Supper, Confirmation/Bar Mitzvah, Last Rites/Anointing, Gifts of the Spirit, etc.)
Government occupying itself with concerns which are more the province of a faith community hogs up debate time which can be devoted to concerns which are enumerated under the Constitution, as well as pressing issues of importance to the economy. The time dedicated to denying legal sanction would be better spent addressing issues of security and energy.
If my marriage is threatened by a relationship between consenting adults becoming recognized by government, my marriage has a lot more problems than that. The right of inheritance and survivorship is something that should not be denied to any citizen on the basis of sexual orientation. Likewise, no faith community should be compelled to recognize a union which runs counter to its holy text.
These are two separate interests, which have at most a peripherical relationship. A government which cannot extend equal rights for all of its citizens may condemn itself to being unable to extend rights for any citizen.
With regard to energy policy, which the Gentle Reader also mentioned, The McCain policy which only talks to offshore-and specifically not ANWR-drilling is at best inadequate, and at worst myopic. The Obama plan is deeply concentrated on renewable energy, a point which is reflected in discourse by Conservative oilman T. Boone Pickens. It also accounts for the continued need for fossil fuels, which contrasts profoundly with the near silence from the McCain campaign regarding renewable, save for nuclear.
Frankly, the most cogent discussion of energy this political season came from Paris Hilton: We need all of it. Every idea, all American ingenuity must be brought to the table. The one who comes closest to the idea is Obama with the explicit goal of eliminating US dependence on imported oil within ten years.
In our representative form of government, the voices in the minority will be heard, even if they are overridden. There is no one who likes the idea of expensive energy, nor is expensive energy viable for any politician in the long term. Watch for moderate and conservative voices to send the ultra-environmentalists packing in congress, Pelosi be damned.
Finally, the Gentle Reader offered a reference to Obama and William Ayres. While some aspects of the relationship are of concern, it seems that the only sources which have informed the Gentle Reader are found on AM radio talk shows. If one investigates further, one finds that Ayers' contemporaries suggest that Ayres' assertions are either factually inaccurate or self-aggrandizing.
When compounded with evidence which was found by a congressional committee (the 1975 Church Committee, bipartisan) to have been obtained extraconstitutionally, there was no possibility of ever charging Ayres. Whether or not one agrees with Ayres' tactics, the fact remains that if charged, he would be innocent until proven guilty. If the ability to charge a suspect has been undermined by overzealous enforcement tactics, then those who have been let down are the citizens who have paid the enforcers to uphold the constitution.
We agree that Ayres' deserved prosecution in order to answer for his actions in the late sixties and early seventies. At best we have the statements of a man who may or may not have an accurate memory, and a body of evidence which is questionable for its completeness or veracity.
The disagreement that exists, as one may understand, is whether a civil relationship between two individuals, twenty years after the fact, justifies holding the innocent party accountable for acts committed without the innocent party's consent or knowledge. Reason and decency must compel one to say that Obama has zero accountability. Whatever expressions of disagreement or reclaim for Ayres' actions by Obama, have appropriately remained private, as our constitution mandates.
To the Gentle Reader who disagrees with me, your dissenting opinion is welcome, and necessary. Without a challenge, your Wandering Gentile is unable to provide as accurate and thorough rebuttal as the issues deserve. We can disagree all day, but as long as we can agree to be agreeable, it can only improve our discourse.
While the Gentle Reader is more than welcome to his opinion, we would appreciate the moment to respond to a couple of the descriptions.
We were bothered by some graphic characterizations of Senator Obama's intelligence, and the intelligence of others who subscribe to a liberal or progressive political philosophy. All discussions are welcome here, but please extend the courtesy that you would expect for yourself and your beliefs to those with whom you disagree.
With regard to your concerns about the Defense of Marriage Act, we reserve the right to disagree with you. It is not so much an issue of gay rights as it is an issue of religious freedom. If Government can define Marriage, then Government can define Baptism, (or Communion/Holy Supper, Confirmation/Bar Mitzvah, Last Rites/Anointing, Gifts of the Spirit, etc.)
Government occupying itself with concerns which are more the province of a faith community hogs up debate time which can be devoted to concerns which are enumerated under the Constitution, as well as pressing issues of importance to the economy. The time dedicated to denying legal sanction would be better spent addressing issues of security and energy.
If my marriage is threatened by a relationship between consenting adults becoming recognized by government, my marriage has a lot more problems than that. The right of inheritance and survivorship is something that should not be denied to any citizen on the basis of sexual orientation. Likewise, no faith community should be compelled to recognize a union which runs counter to its holy text.
These are two separate interests, which have at most a peripherical relationship. A government which cannot extend equal rights for all of its citizens may condemn itself to being unable to extend rights for any citizen.
With regard to energy policy, which the Gentle Reader also mentioned, The McCain policy which only talks to offshore-and specifically not ANWR-drilling is at best inadequate, and at worst myopic. The Obama plan is deeply concentrated on renewable energy, a point which is reflected in discourse by Conservative oilman T. Boone Pickens. It also accounts for the continued need for fossil fuels, which contrasts profoundly with the near silence from the McCain campaign regarding renewable, save for nuclear.
Frankly, the most cogent discussion of energy this political season came from Paris Hilton: We need all of it. Every idea, all American ingenuity must be brought to the table. The one who comes closest to the idea is Obama with the explicit goal of eliminating US dependence on imported oil within ten years.
In our representative form of government, the voices in the minority will be heard, even if they are overridden. There is no one who likes the idea of expensive energy, nor is expensive energy viable for any politician in the long term. Watch for moderate and conservative voices to send the ultra-environmentalists packing in congress, Pelosi be damned.
Finally, the Gentle Reader offered a reference to Obama and William Ayres. While some aspects of the relationship are of concern, it seems that the only sources which have informed the Gentle Reader are found on AM radio talk shows. If one investigates further, one finds that Ayers' contemporaries suggest that Ayres' assertions are either factually inaccurate or self-aggrandizing.
When compounded with evidence which was found by a congressional committee (the 1975 Church Committee, bipartisan) to have been obtained extraconstitutionally, there was no possibility of ever charging Ayres. Whether or not one agrees with Ayres' tactics, the fact remains that if charged, he would be innocent until proven guilty. If the ability to charge a suspect has been undermined by overzealous enforcement tactics, then those who have been let down are the citizens who have paid the enforcers to uphold the constitution.
We agree that Ayres' deserved prosecution in order to answer for his actions in the late sixties and early seventies. At best we have the statements of a man who may or may not have an accurate memory, and a body of evidence which is questionable for its completeness or veracity.
The disagreement that exists, as one may understand, is whether a civil relationship between two individuals, twenty years after the fact, justifies holding the innocent party accountable for acts committed without the innocent party's consent or knowledge. Reason and decency must compel one to say that Obama has zero accountability. Whatever expressions of disagreement or reclaim for Ayres' actions by Obama, have appropriately remained private, as our constitution mandates.
To the Gentle Reader who disagrees with me, your dissenting opinion is welcome, and necessary. Without a challenge, your Wandering Gentile is unable to provide as accurate and thorough rebuttal as the issues deserve. We can disagree all day, but as long as we can agree to be agreeable, it can only improve our discourse.
24 August 2008
What's So Funny About Celebrity?
Finally! News! Obama picks Biden!
The question is what Obama gets for his ticket, and the answer is that he found a way to get Hillary Clinton's advantages, without the baggage charges on Midway, or the extra seat cost for Bill Clinton's burger-enhanced butt. Catholic, moderately liberal Biden adds overlap from Delaware, in the Philadelphia market, into southern New Jersey, where most of his fight would be in the Garden State.
Biden's blue-collar credibility is a plus in central Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. As the Latino communities in the southwest have been quick to embrace the Obama candidacy, Governor Richardson became redundant. One suspects that Richardson may find himself in the role of Secretary of State in an Obama administration, a task for which he is thoroughly qualified, and likely better equipped than Ms. Rice.
How credible is Senator Biden as blue collar? The man's net worth is lower than that of your Wandering Gentile, a humble trucker from Georgia. He commuted on Amtrak between Wilmington and Washington. For those in the Republican party who feel that it is the role of Government to dictate behavior to citizens, one who leads by example speaks more to the idea of behavior modification.
Taking the train to work like an ordinary guy speaks volumes about the man. Primarily, it says that he was in a position to work on Senate-related tasks as opposed to adding to the horrendous traffic on I-95, a sacrifice that many commercial drivers should appreciate. For those who have spent eternities at the toll plazas lining I-95 between Baltimore and Wilmington, as well as in the fright show of Washington traffic, profound gratitude is expressed.
Biden is the anti-celebrity, politically wedded to a figure deemed as the "...biggest celebrity in the world." Excuse me?
Yeah, there is a presidential precedent. What exactly would one call the President of the Screen Actor's Guild, and a top box-office draw? Oh, that's right, a CELEBRITY. The news flash for the GOP is this, when Ronald Reagan was an actor and broadcast personality before he was in politics, there is not a whole lot of room to talk about someone being a celebrity.
This is an example of the Rovian divisiveness that has consumed the Republican party over the last fifteen years. No characterizations will be offered here; they are gratuitous. Rove's tactics worked effectively with the rather uncompelling offerings that the Democrats presented in Gore and Kerry.
Four years ago, the Yankees were ahead of Tampa Bay, too. Add a few years of setbacks and change the cast of characters, and now Tampa Bay is on top of the American League East, which if not proof of Hell freezing over, is proof that there were low temperatures in the mid-thirties.
Returning to message, Rove tactics are not a match for a compelling candidate with talent and a motivated body of supporters. (Big Transparency Revelation, your Wandering Gentile has contributed to the Obama campaign.)
Stated simply, any voter who is likely to believe some of the more egregious exaggerations about Senator Obama, such as those concerning his religion, his patriotism, his experience, or his citizenship, was unlikely to vote Democratic in the first place. Even the reasonable Republicans who do not agree with Senator Obama on matters of accomplishing governance will admit that the Democrats are smart enough to make sure that their candidate is a United States Citizen, as prescribed in the Constitution.
The number of those who are apprehensive about Obama's non-traditional condition are overwhelmingly concentrated in a demographic that includes rural whites between fifty and dead. Of those, having Biden on the ticket is a comfort for many.
Obama is going to get a big share of people who buy Swedish cars, but he's not going to do well with Buick and Mercury owners. The fight is going to be among those who had Japanese pickups in the seventies, bought Caravans in the eighties, moved up to a Grand Cherokee in the nineties, and found themselves nostalgic for the Datsun's economy when gas hit four bucks a gallon.
In other words, the fight will go to people who might be open to an introduction from a Joe Biden. This is not a population which is intolerant or hateful, but they are quiet and thoughtful, and extremely reserved when it comes to matters of political expression. This is the group of what one guesses to be about fifteen or twenty percent of all voters.
Until now, they have been waiting for a good reason to embrace the candidate that their children have spoken highly of. The voter Biden can speak to knew of John Kennedy in his time, embraced Reagan's enthusiasm and optimism, and accepted that while Bill Clinton was less than ethical or forthcoming in his personal matters, he was an effective and competent President.
As Rove's playbook has been employed with the usual appeal to fear of the unknown, something has happened that has not happened before: the opponent has fought back. As much as many progressives like Gore and Kerry, they were products of an environment that discouraged competitive behavior and dissuaded retaliation or retribution.
The old joke is about a liberal being someone who would not take his own side in a conflict. The Obama/Biden campaign is different. There is a huge difference in acting in one's own interest, while behaving in an appropriate fashion, and being a blamed doormat. Senator Obama is no doormat, and Senator Biden is a nice aluminum baseball bat beside the bed waiting for someone who chooses to bring an uninvited conflict into a place of privacy and sanctuary.
For those who would dismiss Obama on grounds of inexperience, a hearty so what? is offered. The last that one noticed, eight years of experience have not improved the performance of President Bush, and may have made him less capable. While one may disagree appropriately with Obama's emphasis upon social activism within his Christian faith, one must not be persuaded that the Senator is anything but a Christian.
As far as challenging Obama's patriotism, the person who is most aware that his unique circumstances and diverse background would have been a greater obstacle in any country besides the United States is Obama himself. The man's gratitude is apparent, and devotion to his country is beyond question.
A message of optimism is refreshing. Change, particularly with regard to the atmosphere of paranoia and xenophobia in Washington at the moment, is not only necessary but demanded by all persons of decency and good will.
Welcome, Senator Biden. A few of us got that articulate and clean are compliments in the first place.
The question is what Obama gets for his ticket, and the answer is that he found a way to get Hillary Clinton's advantages, without the baggage charges on Midway, or the extra seat cost for Bill Clinton's burger-enhanced butt. Catholic, moderately liberal Biden adds overlap from Delaware, in the Philadelphia market, into southern New Jersey, where most of his fight would be in the Garden State.
Biden's blue-collar credibility is a plus in central Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. As the Latino communities in the southwest have been quick to embrace the Obama candidacy, Governor Richardson became redundant. One suspects that Richardson may find himself in the role of Secretary of State in an Obama administration, a task for which he is thoroughly qualified, and likely better equipped than Ms. Rice.
How credible is Senator Biden as blue collar? The man's net worth is lower than that of your Wandering Gentile, a humble trucker from Georgia. He commuted on Amtrak between Wilmington and Washington. For those in the Republican party who feel that it is the role of Government to dictate behavior to citizens, one who leads by example speaks more to the idea of behavior modification.
Taking the train to work like an ordinary guy speaks volumes about the man. Primarily, it says that he was in a position to work on Senate-related tasks as opposed to adding to the horrendous traffic on I-95, a sacrifice that many commercial drivers should appreciate. For those who have spent eternities at the toll plazas lining I-95 between Baltimore and Wilmington, as well as in the fright show of Washington traffic, profound gratitude is expressed.
Biden is the anti-celebrity, politically wedded to a figure deemed as the "...biggest celebrity in the world." Excuse me?
Yeah, there is a presidential precedent. What exactly would one call the President of the Screen Actor's Guild, and a top box-office draw? Oh, that's right, a CELEBRITY. The news flash for the GOP is this, when Ronald Reagan was an actor and broadcast personality before he was in politics, there is not a whole lot of room to talk about someone being a celebrity.
This is an example of the Rovian divisiveness that has consumed the Republican party over the last fifteen years. No characterizations will be offered here; they are gratuitous. Rove's tactics worked effectively with the rather uncompelling offerings that the Democrats presented in Gore and Kerry.
Four years ago, the Yankees were ahead of Tampa Bay, too. Add a few years of setbacks and change the cast of characters, and now Tampa Bay is on top of the American League East, which if not proof of Hell freezing over, is proof that there were low temperatures in the mid-thirties.
Returning to message, Rove tactics are not a match for a compelling candidate with talent and a motivated body of supporters. (Big Transparency Revelation, your Wandering Gentile has contributed to the Obama campaign.)
Stated simply, any voter who is likely to believe some of the more egregious exaggerations about Senator Obama, such as those concerning his religion, his patriotism, his experience, or his citizenship, was unlikely to vote Democratic in the first place. Even the reasonable Republicans who do not agree with Senator Obama on matters of accomplishing governance will admit that the Democrats are smart enough to make sure that their candidate is a United States Citizen, as prescribed in the Constitution.
The number of those who are apprehensive about Obama's non-traditional condition are overwhelmingly concentrated in a demographic that includes rural whites between fifty and dead. Of those, having Biden on the ticket is a comfort for many.
Obama is going to get a big share of people who buy Swedish cars, but he's not going to do well with Buick and Mercury owners. The fight is going to be among those who had Japanese pickups in the seventies, bought Caravans in the eighties, moved up to a Grand Cherokee in the nineties, and found themselves nostalgic for the Datsun's economy when gas hit four bucks a gallon.
In other words, the fight will go to people who might be open to an introduction from a Joe Biden. This is not a population which is intolerant or hateful, but they are quiet and thoughtful, and extremely reserved when it comes to matters of political expression. This is the group of what one guesses to be about fifteen or twenty percent of all voters.
Until now, they have been waiting for a good reason to embrace the candidate that their children have spoken highly of. The voter Biden can speak to knew of John Kennedy in his time, embraced Reagan's enthusiasm and optimism, and accepted that while Bill Clinton was less than ethical or forthcoming in his personal matters, he was an effective and competent President.
As Rove's playbook has been employed with the usual appeal to fear of the unknown, something has happened that has not happened before: the opponent has fought back. As much as many progressives like Gore and Kerry, they were products of an environment that discouraged competitive behavior and dissuaded retaliation or retribution.
The old joke is about a liberal being someone who would not take his own side in a conflict. The Obama/Biden campaign is different. There is a huge difference in acting in one's own interest, while behaving in an appropriate fashion, and being a blamed doormat. Senator Obama is no doormat, and Senator Biden is a nice aluminum baseball bat beside the bed waiting for someone who chooses to bring an uninvited conflict into a place of privacy and sanctuary.
For those who would dismiss Obama on grounds of inexperience, a hearty so what? is offered. The last that one noticed, eight years of experience have not improved the performance of President Bush, and may have made him less capable. While one may disagree appropriately with Obama's emphasis upon social activism within his Christian faith, one must not be persuaded that the Senator is anything but a Christian.
As far as challenging Obama's patriotism, the person who is most aware that his unique circumstances and diverse background would have been a greater obstacle in any country besides the United States is Obama himself. The man's gratitude is apparent, and devotion to his country is beyond question.
A message of optimism is refreshing. Change, particularly with regard to the atmosphere of paranoia and xenophobia in Washington at the moment, is not only necessary but demanded by all persons of decency and good will.
Welcome, Senator Biden. A few of us got that articulate and clean are compliments in the first place.
15 August 2008
Two Trillion Dollar Boondoggle
In a recent commentary, seen on Wednesday, August 13 in the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, Ruben Navarrette stated the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as their manpower and the number of undocumented aliens deported.
To recap, that would be five billion dollars (US), 16,000 employees, and 30,000 deportations.
Now, if your Wandering Gentile were of a bigoted bent, he would consider this to be tantamount to one of those little round ones in the Band-Aid box (A/K/A the ones nobody has ever found a use for) on a spurting jugular vein. When one considers that there are twelve million undocumented aliens in the United States, it equates to one neighborhood out of metropolitan Los Angeles.
That's US$166,667 for every alien deported. Putting it in perspective, that is equivalent to a perfectly acceptable home in the Atlanta suburbs, and a brand-new car in the driveway.
Now, does anyone actually think that the cost would go down with volume? Nuh-uh. Nope. That happens in a market situation. If it costs ICE US$166,667 to deport an undocumented convict, it would cost more to deport somebody they had to go and look for. However, it should be considered that US$166,667 is the ante per undocumented alien for deportation.
Please understand, if someone has committed a crime of violence, or deprived someone of liberty or property through fraud, force, or duress, they need to be gone. Yesterday was not soon enough. But the vast majority of the undocumented have committed no crime besides jumping the border. Committing resources to adjudicating the harmless is a waste when there are real dangerous people out there.
In a very animated conversation, a cheerful bigot informed me that 20,000 people per year are murdered by undocumented aliens every year. That's pretty impressive considering that in 2005 the total number of murders in the United States was under 16,700, and this was the highest number of total murders since the 1970s. It sounds like one of those good true statistics that our Good Buddy Lou Dobbs likes to throw out on his nightly propaganda broadcast without vetting.
Now, going back to the twelve million, multiplying it by US$166,667, one comes up with a cool two trillion dollars. That is two trillion dollars that would have to be borrowed, probably from China. That is two trillion dollars, as in a trillion more than our little escapade in Iraq. That is two trillion dollars more on our federal deficit because bigots who claim to be "conservative" cannot admit that they have enacted a law which overreached.
That's US$6,667 for every man,, woman and child in the United States, and it's just the ante. What would be the market for goods and services from the United States when images of mass deportations hit Reuters? (Answer: Vice President Cheney's first name!) With no market for goods, if the gentle reader thinks that things aren't going well for the middle class, wait till they try hyperinflation. (Ask Zimbabwe.)
And precisely how much resolve for deportation does someone expect when the first picture of a child crying for her photogenic, deported mommy hits the news?
Ask around Postville, Iowa, for the answer to how well this would affect the United States. The city has been all but closed. The business that employed the undocumented aliens has seen no sanction, and resorted to recruiting homeless people from Texas. The crime rate in Postville has spiraled, mostly from vandalism and alcohol-related violations.
The people who are committing crimes in a peaceful little town which had been living with undocumented families are young, single men who have no connection to the community, no interest in the future, and possible substance or mental health issues. Apparently, their work papers make them better for the community...whaaat?
Some type of immigration reform would have been more productive for Postville. When considering the number who are productive members of their communities, and the economic devastation concerned with draconian laws, amnesty is much more feasible. It would be much less costly to the United States in the long term.
What brought this on was a message from Bob Quasius, a friend of the blog, whose research indicates that ALIPAC, an anti-immigrant political action group based in North Carolina, did not withhold taxes until the second quarter of this year.
The Gentle Reader is encouraged to visit Bob's site for well-vetted information which refutes the propaganda on Lou Dobbs' show. The link is the Boycott Lou Dobbs site on the upper right of the post.
One wishes to ask where Dobbs is when it comes to this Ethnocentric Special Interest Group, not paying their taxes, while advocating a message whose cost will explode the national debt, hampering and shifting the burden to the endangered middle class. We can certainly expect to see coverage on his show, right?
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Two trillion dollars. Get cracking, ALIPAC.
To recap, that would be five billion dollars (US), 16,000 employees, and 30,000 deportations.
Now, if your Wandering Gentile were of a bigoted bent, he would consider this to be tantamount to one of those little round ones in the Band-Aid box (A/K/A the ones nobody has ever found a use for) on a spurting jugular vein. When one considers that there are twelve million undocumented aliens in the United States, it equates to one neighborhood out of metropolitan Los Angeles.
That's US$166,667 for every alien deported. Putting it in perspective, that is equivalent to a perfectly acceptable home in the Atlanta suburbs, and a brand-new car in the driveway.
Now, does anyone actually think that the cost would go down with volume? Nuh-uh. Nope. That happens in a market situation. If it costs ICE US$166,667 to deport an undocumented convict, it would cost more to deport somebody they had to go and look for. However, it should be considered that US$166,667 is the ante per undocumented alien for deportation.
Please understand, if someone has committed a crime of violence, or deprived someone of liberty or property through fraud, force, or duress, they need to be gone. Yesterday was not soon enough. But the vast majority of the undocumented have committed no crime besides jumping the border. Committing resources to adjudicating the harmless is a waste when there are real dangerous people out there.
In a very animated conversation, a cheerful bigot informed me that 20,000 people per year are murdered by undocumented aliens every year. That's pretty impressive considering that in 2005 the total number of murders in the United States was under 16,700, and this was the highest number of total murders since the 1970s. It sounds like one of those good true statistics that our Good Buddy Lou Dobbs likes to throw out on his nightly propaganda broadcast without vetting.
Now, going back to the twelve million, multiplying it by US$166,667, one comes up with a cool two trillion dollars. That is two trillion dollars that would have to be borrowed, probably from China. That is two trillion dollars, as in a trillion more than our little escapade in Iraq. That is two trillion dollars more on our federal deficit because bigots who claim to be "conservative" cannot admit that they have enacted a law which overreached.
That's US$6,667 for every man,, woman and child in the United States, and it's just the ante. What would be the market for goods and services from the United States when images of mass deportations hit Reuters? (Answer: Vice President Cheney's first name!) With no market for goods, if the gentle reader thinks that things aren't going well for the middle class, wait till they try hyperinflation. (Ask Zimbabwe.)
And precisely how much resolve for deportation does someone expect when the first picture of a child crying for her photogenic, deported mommy hits the news?
Ask around Postville, Iowa, for the answer to how well this would affect the United States. The city has been all but closed. The business that employed the undocumented aliens has seen no sanction, and resorted to recruiting homeless people from Texas. The crime rate in Postville has spiraled, mostly from vandalism and alcohol-related violations.
The people who are committing crimes in a peaceful little town which had been living with undocumented families are young, single men who have no connection to the community, no interest in the future, and possible substance or mental health issues. Apparently, their work papers make them better for the community...whaaat?
Some type of immigration reform would have been more productive for Postville. When considering the number who are productive members of their communities, and the economic devastation concerned with draconian laws, amnesty is much more feasible. It would be much less costly to the United States in the long term.
What brought this on was a message from Bob Quasius, a friend of the blog, whose research indicates that ALIPAC, an anti-immigrant political action group based in North Carolina, did not withhold taxes until the second quarter of this year.
The Gentle Reader is encouraged to visit Bob's site for well-vetted information which refutes the propaganda on Lou Dobbs' show. The link is the Boycott Lou Dobbs site on the upper right of the post.
One wishes to ask where Dobbs is when it comes to this Ethnocentric Special Interest Group, not paying their taxes, while advocating a message whose cost will explode the national debt, hampering and shifting the burden to the endangered middle class. We can certainly expect to see coverage on his show, right?
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Two trillion dollars. Get cracking, ALIPAC.
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