2ndhandskeptic

Cap and Trade to Lower Taxes

2ndhandskeptic — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:49:03 +0000

Matthew Yglesias schools me on some economics and brings up a good point: Republicans (and conservatives in general) are virulently anti-tax, so why couldn’t they use the revenue raised from a cap-and-trade bill to lower some other tax which could spur economic growth more than the cap-and-trade tax would inhibit it? Instead, they’ve talked themselves into the corner where global climate change is a myth and any tax is evil, really EVIIILLL!!!

Just as abusive

2ndhandskeptic — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:50:02 +0000

Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars has been keeping track of the abuses of the State Secrets Privilege by the Obama administration (and the Bush administration before that), and he’s got a post up that gives a quick summary of how Obama is just as ready (if not more so) than Bush was to prevent due process in the name of national security.

There really needs to be more uproar about this, but there won’t be because the Democrats are fine with it now that they’re in power, and the Republicans are reluctant to object because they were for the same policies back when Bush was running things. And in a two party system, that just leaves us small independents.

It seems to get this fixed (as with any of the gradual increases in governmental and specifically presidential power) we either need such a grotesque abuse that people will notice and force their politicians to act, a president who is actually principled on this issue enough to give up power, or a judicial act cutting the State Secrets Privilege back down to size. How likely do you think the first to options are? And the third? Oh, sorry, the court has to throw the case out to protect national security.

Dispatches from Maddow

2ndhandskeptic — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:43:09 +0000

Dispatches from the Culture Wars pointed me at a video of the Rachel Maddow show pointing out the inconsistencies between what Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Rush Limbaugh are saying now about “end of life counseling” and what they’ve said in the past. This is why I love the Daily Show and anywhere else that points out hypocrisy! The Rachel Maddow show is quickly pushing its way up my list of top political shows to watch.

Justification

2ndhandskeptic — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:56:44 +0000

I know I’m old because I feel like I need to justify why I’m starting this blog. These days, blogging isn’t something you need a reason for, it’s just something you do! I’ve been reading Corey Doctorow’s Little Brother and it’s made me mad, that’s why.

Little Brother is a really good book. By which, I mean the fact that it’s got me riled up. It’s also got a Mary Sue protagonist and totally geeks out describing all the technology (which is the central character in the story) and how it can be used to subvert the surveillance state. Since I write software for a living, myself, the descriptions of encryption and ad hoc networking read a little didactic, but it is targeted at young adults, so I can’t blame Corey too much for going there.

This isn’t supposed to be a full book review, though. The thing that makes me mad is the whole plot parallels 9/11 (only more so) and this teenager goes out and does something about it. He rebels against the fear mongering, strikes back against the “security theater” attempts to protect against terrorism, recognizes the negligence of the mainstream media in reporting on controversy instead of reality. I saw these things myself, told myself I was passionate about restoring the civil liberties stolen in the name of fear, but I didn’t do anything about it. I read blogs that agreed with me. I voted. But did I volunteer for electing sane government representatives, or give money to the EFF or ACLU? No. I didn’t even speak out beyond my circle of friends. I was full of empty passion, if you can even call it passion at all. Pitiful.

Hence this blog. At least now there’s a chance someone outside my circle of friends will hear this and perhaps feel a comeraderie (I have no expectations of convincing anyone of anything, I lack the rhetorical chops for that). Let’s hope the madness lasts longer than one post.