patrick stephens at psjs.net

Philosophically, I’m a radical.  Politically, I’m an independent and have been for as long as I could vote.  I do homework before election day (sometimes more, sometimes less) and am diligent about my civic responsibility to stay informed and educated on the policy debates of the day. In a typical election I flip the switch as often for Democrats as I do for Republicans.

Not anymore.

I’ll be pulling the lever for the GOP until the current leadership gets the boot. That goes for local elections as well.

Politics health care, heath care reform

The Supreme Court today reversed decades of campaign finance laws and held that corporations and unions, as voluntary associations of individulas, have all the first amendment rights that individuals have.

First, I don’t think that’s a wild interpretation. It seems far more bizarre to argue that an individual loses his constituional rights when he associates with other individuals. That, it seems to me, goes to the very heart and soul of the first amendment.

However, I do understand–and even to some extent sympathize with–the instinctual revulsion at the idea that elections might be bought and candidates sold to the highest bidder. But that’s politics as usual. Indeed, that’s politics as the parties and politicians have  designed it.

Second, laws limiting the abilities of corporations or unions from spening money on elections are pure mummery. When billions are at stake, the loopholes in the law will be found and they will be stretched wide. McCain-Feingold did nothing to slow or stop corproate influence in American electoral politics. All campaign finance laws serve to do is drive donations through opaque, circumlocuitous routes; transparency suffers and the electorate is denied information.

But really, if you want money out of politics, get politics out of money.

The President had this to say,

[The ruling] is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.

Big Oil (like Saudi Arabia? Where 14 year old girls are flogged and homosexuals crucified?) , big banks and big insurers marshal their power in Washington because Washington gives them hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money. This Administration and Congress have literally handed hundreds of billions of dollars in payouts to connected bankers and friendly corporate lobbyists.

Don’t want politicians being bought? Elect better politicians.

Politics free speech

From the Financial Times:

The timetable to reach a global deal to tackle climate change lay in tatters on Wednesday after the United Nations waived the first deadline of the process laid out at last month’s fractious Copenhagen summit….

The next scheduled meeting is not until late May, in Germany, with another in late November, in Mexico but many officials say more will be needed.

India, China, Brazil and South Africa, which meet this weekend, are likely to insist on deep cuts from developed nations but offer few concessions of their own.

I think I said something like this last month.

Even a blind pig and a stopped watch and all that…

Politics copenhagen, global warming

“What a wad of flavor…”

The point of the Copenhagen talks is to craft an agreement between nations that will allow government to inhibit industrial growth, while not harming their international competitveness. It has nothing–nothing–to do with environmental mitigation and everything to do with international gamesmanship. If the point were to reduce our “carbon footprint” or redice emissions, then each country could enact its own regulations and move forward. But knowing that whatever curbs they enact will simply cause industry (and jobs, and wealth) to flee to countries that haven’t enacted the crippling regulation, everyone is in Copenhagen (”You can see it in my smile”) to make sure that the penalties are imposed everywhere.

And, if possible, to make sure that the penalties are worse in other countries.

The point of the whole thing is–in the grand tradition of European Diplomacy–to screw your neighbor.  Everyone knows this.

Which is why whatever comes out of Copenhagen will be useless, fruitless, pointless, and counter-productive. Even by its own standards.

Whatever countries actually end up getting the shaft, will simply renounce the promise and forego the agreement. Which, I’m pretty sure, will mean that everyone else gets to opt-out too.

We simply shouldn’t waste time, money, or resources on such farces.

Bjorn Lomborg in the WSJ.

Politics bjorn lomborg, copenhagen, global warming

I’ve been pretty critical of President Obama’s foreign policy, so I think it only fair that I comment publicly and say that I applaud him for making sort of the right decision in Afghanistan.

Obama has responded with much of what McChrystal requested. Good for him for listening to good advice.

I’m not particularly troubled by the obviously election-driven timetable that Obama set for troop draw-down. That was to be expected. Obama is bucking his base on this issue and he had to give them something. What happens in 2011 will be governed by political considerations that we can’t accurately forecast–and by the situation in Afghanistan. If things are going well, Obama will be able to begin a troop draw-down and claim (and justly so) massive credit for the accomplishment. I’ll give him credit for that victory–just as he honestly gives the previous administration credit… oh… wait… well, I’ll still give credit where credit is due.

If the situation in Afghanistan worsens, however… then Obama will likely be even harder pressed than he is now. If he begins a troop draw-down amid mounting losses and the American public perceives that as retreat, he’ll be pulverized for sacrificing national security on the altar of political expediency. If things are bad and he commits additional troops, he’ll be pulverized for sacrificing the interests of his political base. So, let’s hope things go well!

I do have to comment on the most appalling piece of political… ooze… in his speech. That’s where he speaks about costs and deficits,

All told, by the time I took office the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan approached a trillion dollars.  Going forward, I am committed to addressing these costs openly and honestly.  Our new approach in Afghanistan is likely to cost us roughly $30 billion for the military this year, and I’ll work closely with Congress to address these costs as we work to bring down our deficit.

His response? To add an additional $1 trillion in deficit spending. In six months he exceeded the cumulative cost both wars by pushing stimulus programs rife with graft, waste, and moral hazard. He’ll work with Congress to bring down our deficit? Bullshit. He’s pressing hard for a health-care bill which will increase the Federal deficit by yet another $1 trillion dollars.

His own words,

I make this decision [to send additional troops to Afghanistan] because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  This is the epicenter of violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda.  It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak.  This is no idle danger; no hypothetical threat.  In the last few months alone, we have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror. And this danger will only grow if the region slides backwards, and al Qaeda can operate with impunity.  We must keep the pressure on al Qaeda, and to do that, we must increase the stability and capacity of our partners in the region.

And then he dithers about $30 billion? That’s less than half of what he spent propping up GM and Chrysler for less than a year.

So, yes, I applaud his decision to send the troops. But I deplore the rediculous pretension that he is even the least bit interested in fiscal responsibility.  I am also deeply worried that he will use his own profligate spending as an excuse for why he cannot fully support the troops he has committed.

Politics Afghanistan, war