20 February 2010: link dump edition

Ok, I’ve been wanting to talk about many of these topics but haven’t gotten to yet:

As far as my opinion of this president: this blog author is on my wavelength. I like the conclusion:

We now have a bona fide intellectual in the Oval Office – such things are rare. This is a man of understanding and insight, but his power to achieve change for good is not greater than the dedication of his supporters. Obama has to rally his supporters through a visible commitment to action, and his supporters must be willing to stand tall beside him.

I still wish that he was more partisan but he has more political skill in his pinkie finger than I have in my body. Sure he is human and will screw up from time to time. Also, I don’t agree with him on everything; for example I tend to side a bit more with Paul Krugman and Robert Reich on economic issues. But I have little doubt that he examines the issues completely prior to making a decision, and that is NOT the type of confidence that I had in our previous president (though I did have it with the first President Bush).

How does the 2010 mid-term elections look? Nate Silver argues that while the situations might be vastly different, the results (in terms of Democrats losing seats) might look more or less the same. In all honestly, things have gotten done, but there is a lot of attention on the big-ticket items. I honestly think that passing health care reform can only help the Democrats; remember that much of the opposition to the Senate Bill comes from the left (e. g., it doesn’t go far enough).

Also, there have been successes in Afghanistan:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Two senior Taliban leaders have been arrested in recent days inside Pakistan, officials said Thursday, as American and Pakistani intelligence agents continued to press their offensive against the group’s leadership after the capture of the insurgency’s military commander last month.
[...]

The arrests come on the heels of the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s military commander and the deputy to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the movement’s founder. Mullah Baradar was arrested in a joint operation by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s military intelligence agency.

Together, the arrests represent a significant blow to the Taliban’s leadership in the American-backed war that began in 2001. They also demonstrate the extent to which the Taliban’s senior leaders have been able to use Pakistan as a sanctuary to plan and mount attacks in Afghanistan

Yes, that is one of the things that the voters will look at. Of course, the success is due to the military and to the long term strategy, some of which began under the previous administration. This is an American success, not a political party one. But this is the type of news that can help an incumbent.

Political and Social Issues: Facebook as been an interesting experience. I have friends from many different walks of life; I have wealthy ones, MD’s, Ph. D’s, lawyers, truck drivers, the chronically homeless (who check in from public libraries), engineers and former (and current) military types.

Some live in rural areas; others live in big cities. Some are African American, others have my skin tone and many (most?) are white.

What I’ve come away with is that my day to day life is very different from the day to day life of others. Unfortunately, not everyone knows this. I had someone say this:

Statement from the guy who flew the plane into the Austin TX IRS building today. I think this is more central to American concerns, rather than race

To this individual, “race” isn’t a central American concern. Well, what do you mean by “American concerns“?

“Do you think blacks have achieved racial equality, will soon achieve racial equality, will not achieve racial equality in your lifetime, or will never achieve racial equality?”

Some numbers from this question:
Answering “have achieved”: 11 percent of Blacks, 40 percent of Whites. Answering “will soon”: 38 percent Blacks, 31 percent Whites. Answering “not in this lifetime” or “never”: 49 percent Blacks, 26 percent Whites.

How can race not be central to American concerns?

Science Snark fail: I like making fun of southern states as much as anyone. But be sure that your snarky cartoon doesn’t have elementary errors in it, ok?

Now remind me: why does being religious make one a better parent?:

It’s another case of religious parents killing their kids, but this time, it’s not because they denied them medical care.

No, in this case, Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz just whipped their 7-year-old child Lydia to death.

Police found a 15″ length of rubber tubing in the Schatz’s home which the children say was used to discipline them; sometimes for “hours” at a time. According to the district attorney, Lydia and Zariah sustained deep bruising and multiple “whip-like” marks on their back, buttocks and legs. This, Ramsey said, is believed to have resulted in significant muscle tissue breakdown that impaired their kidneys and possibly other vital organs.

What horrible thing did Lydia do that invoked this tragedy?

[County District Attorney Mike] Ramsey said the evidence suggests the girl who died was being disciplined “for hours” last Friday in the parent’s bedroom for mispronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson.

Advertisement