mjh's blog

This Week’s–no! This Month’s WTF?!

OMG. You thought Tenthers are idiots – meet the Thirteenthers! Read the highlighted text twice.

Think Progress » Iowa GOP Supports Amendment To Strip Obama’s Citizenship Because He Won The Nobel Peace Prize

The Iowa GOP is not trying to overturn this amendment to reinstate slavery. Instead, it wants to reintroduce the “original 13th Amendment” first offered by senator Phillip Reed of Maryland in 1810. The amendment states that “if any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honor” from a “foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen” and “shall be incapable of holding any office of trust.” In receiving only 12 out of the 13 votes needed for ratification, the amendment was never adopted.

Traditional supporters of the idea are known as “Thirteenthers,” who seek to prevent those with the title of “esquire,” such as lawyers and bankers, from participating in government. But according to its spokeswoman, Danielle Plogmann, the Iowa GOP supports it as an attack on President Obama’s Nobel Prize win:

There are, of course, other implications of Thirteenthism, such as ensuring that the United States never again suffers the humiliation of having a president win the Nobel Peace Prize. That was just what the Iowa Republicans had in mind, according to Plogmann, who wrote in an e-mail that the plank “was meant to make a statement about the delegates’ opinion about Mr. Obama receiving the prize.” (Presumably they didn’t mind if, in the process, they were also making a statement about any American scientist or writer unlucky enough to win a Nobel.) Unfortunately for them, the Department of Justice looked into whether Obama needed Congressional approval to accept the Nobel under the existing emoluments clause, and based on the meaning of “foreign state” (which would not cover the Nobel Prize Committee) concluded that he did not.

Iowa is currently “the only state where this type of plank has been introduced into the GOP platform.”

Think Progress » Iowa GOP Supports Amendment To Strip Obama’s Citizenship Because He Won The Nobel Peace Prize

the best goal is no goal | zen habits

“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson [from the best goal is no goal | zen habits]

Obama’s Second Act – Charles Krauthammer – National Review Online

Obama’s Second Act – Charles Krauthammer – National Review Online

I have a warning for Republicans: Don’t underestimate Barack Obama. …

The net effect of 18 months of Obamaism will be to undo much of Reaganism. Both presidencies were highly ideological, grandly ambitious, and often underappreciated by their own side. In his early years as president, Reagan was bitterly attacked from his right. (Typical Washington Post headline: “For Reagan and the New Right, the Honeymoon Is Over” — and that was six months into his presidency!) Obama is attacked from his left for insufficient zeal on gay rights, immigration reform, closing Guantanamo — the list is long. The critics don’t understand the big picture. Obama’s transformational agenda is a play in two acts. …

The next burst of ideological energy — massive regulation of the energy economy, federalizing higher education, and “comprehensive” immigration reform (i.e., amnesty) — will require a second mandate, meaning reelection in 2012.

That’s why there’s so much tension between Obama and the congressional Democrats. For Obama, 2010 matters little. If the Democrats lose control of one or both houses, Obama will likely have an easier time in 2012, just as Bill Clinton used Newt Gingrich and the Republicans as his foil for his 1996 reelection campaign.

Obama is down, but it’s very early in the play. Like Reagan, he came here to do things. And he’s done much in his first 500 days. What he has left to do, he knows, must await his next 500 days — those that come after reelection.
So 2012 is the real prize. Obama sees far, farther than even his own partisans. Republicans underestimate him at their peril.

Obama’s Second Act – Charles Krauthammer – National Review Online

Lighting Bonfires in People’s Minds

Kudos to Garret Vreeland aka dangerousmeta!-

Scott Rosenberg’s Wordyard: Party context of that staggering debt chart.

”Whatever their motivations, every Republican politician who rails against the evils of the debt should be shown this chart and asked to explain it.” Exactly. Reagan fans will try to blame a ‘Democratic’ Congress, ignoring the fact that the Senate was Republican until 1987, and that Reagan requested even more spending than Congress approved, while Bush fans will just implode, because in spite of trying to cast back and blame the Clinton years, the Republican Congress knew no bounds to their spending.

The chart is clear about what needs to be done this fall. If you’re upset with Obama, put more Democrats in Congress to shift him left of center. If you want to run up higher deficits and enjoy a repeat of the mid-’90’s “death by a thousand cuts” (endless idiotic investigations and made-up crises), vote Republicans in. Plain and simple. [I feel and hear Democratic outrage rising. Will it be as strong as ‘08?]

dangerousmeta!

Washington Post: Republicans now blaming Democrats for Bush tax cuts.

”It’s not Democrats who are trying to pass the largest tax hike of all time, but Republicans who are calling for the largest increase in the deficit in memory.” Via Hal Rager’s Twitter.

dangerousmeta!

Let’s Go Swimming after Golf–Ignoring the Reality of Here and Now

Oh, gawd, not another one. The Beach failed, finally. Is this an idea that has to be batted down every few years?

Albuquerque developer plans West Side water park

Dan Serrano, who built the water park at the Radisson Hotel at Carlisle and I-40, is planning a new water park on the West Side.  He’s billing it as much easier to access and more affordable.

As far as the probability of the project actually going through, Serrano calls it a 50/50 chance.

“If we can get the financing, it would be an ideal opportunity to go out there and create economic development,” says Serrano.  “It’s going to bring jobs during development, construction, thereafter.” [mjh: Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! That’s all you need to say? What about water, water, water, ya fool.]

The 36,000 square foot water park would be built somewhere west of 98^th, off I-40.  It would be indoors, and have a similar design to Radisson’s water park, but would be 3,000 square feet larger. Admission would be anywhere between $18 to $24 for a day pass.

The cost of the whole project would be around $8 million, about three times less [mjh: is that a third as much?] than the cost of the Radisson Hotel and Water Park. The hotel’s water park project was more expensive because a building had to be demolished, and land costs have changed.

“There are a couple of land owners saying you know what, I’m having a tough time selling this land now, I would be more than happy to come down and deal with you and bring the land as part of my investment,” says Serrano.

People that Eyewitness News 4 interviewed in Albuquerque think it’s a great idea.

“I would love a water park,” says Adrianna Zachary, who moved to Albuquerque four months ago from Maine [mjh: get used to the desert, Adrianna – this isn’t Maine].  “I think it’s so hot here, we need to cool off and there aren’t a lot of places to do that; there’s Tingley Beach, but who wants to swim in Tingley Beach?”

“I think it’s a great idea, I really do,” said Linda Vikdel.  “I think it would be a very healthy, fit way for kids to get some activities in.”

Serrano wants to have the water park built sometime within the next two years.  The design work is about 70 percent complete.  He says the biggest hurdle now is getting the financing. [mjh: because getting the water is no problem at all. Yeah, right.]

KOB.com – Albuquerque developer plans West Side water park

Beastly Behavior

Fireworks are cruel torture

Albuquerque Illegal Fireworks Gave Horse a Coronary
        ON THE FOURTH of July, people in our South Valley neighborhood seemed to think it was OK to buy lots of illegal fireworks, and they put on quite a display. We watched our horses closely that night and noticed our older mare was quite distressed. The next day her coat was covered in salt, but we simply thought it was dried sweat from her nervousness over the fireworks.
        Two days later she collapsed at our feet in a violent seizure, not able to breathe in or out. She was covered in sweat and had tears streaming from her eyes. She was in obvious great pain. It was horrific to watch. She survived that episode but had another episode in the trailer the next day as we attempted to take her to the vet. We never made it out of the driveway. The vet informed us that she had undoubtedly had a cardiac event that led to the secondary pulmonary issues. Her heart simply could not take the strain of her anxiety over the sights and sounds of the "patriotic" fireworks. Although still alive and on medication to ease her breathing, she will not see another Fourth of July.
        For those of you who believe it is OK to drive to another county and buy lots of illegal fireworks because chances are good the sheriff’s office won’t catch you when shooting them off, it’s not. And if you believe that your displays don’t cause any problems, they do.
        ANN HOUSE

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Talk of the Town

Hear! Hear! Gun Nuts Safe but Never Secure

Law Struggles To Keep Up in Arms Race
By Winthrop Quigley
Journal Staff Writer

Even though some gun owners believe Barack Obama or other conspirators are on the verge of dispatching the military to disarm us all, ours really is a nation of laws. The tradition and culture underlying that reality is what makes the United States strong, not its armament. The law of the land, per the Supreme Court, is that Americans who can pass a background check have what appears from the Alito decision to be a virtually unfettered right to own firearms. Civil and military authorities can be relied upon to respect that decision.

        The old arguments probably won’t stop, but the court has rendered them moot. It is now pointless to say that if guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. Guns can’t be outlawed. It is immaterial to say that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. The court has ruled that guns are a constitutionally protected fixture of our society, so if people choose to kill people, guns can be part of their armory.

        This leaves us with yet another technological complication the framers of the Constitution could never have anticipated. The musket that George Washington was familiar with took 10 to 30 seconds to load. It had very limited range, and its accuracy was problematic. The thug’s weapon of choice (because there wasn’t much choice) when I was a kid in Cleveland was the Saturday night special. If the thing didn’t jam or blow up in your hand, the round it fired sometimes didn’t have enough kick to break a car windshield.

        Robert Reza, who killed two people and himself and wounded four at Emcore, was armed with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun capable of firing 13 powerful and accurate rounds in less time than the most skilled minuteman needed to load a musket once. With today’s technology, the most inept gunman firing into a clutch of people will almost inevitably hit someone. Statistics suggest that people aren’t any more inclined to violence than they ever were, but technology has made the few people who are so inclined far more successful at violence than ever before.

        Technological realities inevitably lead to political conundrums.

ABQJOURNAL UPFRONT: Law Struggles To Keep Up in Arms Race

20 26 Years Ago Today

[Originally written 7/20/04. I think I got it right, then.]

It was 20 26 years ago today that I arrived as a new resident of Albuquerque, of New Mexico, of the Southwest, Atzlan, the Four Corners and the Rockies. Praise be.

I sometimes think of this as my second life, although it may be my third or more. Strictly speaking, my first life was from birth to six in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Hawai’i. I have few accessible memories from those days (I look forward to old age dredging up more), but I can’t help but feel that living in a mellow multi-cultural paradise had to be a good start. Let’s call that my gestation.

In which case my first life took place in the area of Washington, DC — in and around Alexandria in Northern Virginia, to be more precise (accent on the northern, eliding the whole Virginia-thing — we considered ourselves in a separate state from Dixie).

Those 23 years were a great life with great friends. I can’t begin to do them justice here. And, unlike Death, moving to New Mexico didn’t end the things that matter. I hope it made my heart a little bigger that it might reach across the miles.

This life is … well, I don’t want to jinx it. I’m not really superstitions, but I am a devout Ironist. I know trouble is inevitable, I just don’t want to look back at this blog entry as the turning point. So, let me just say I’m grateful to the Universe for leading me here (and its agent, Merri Rudd).

I live in a state where people step outside when it rains; where we talk about that last rain and the next. Where people stop to watch the sunset, or a hawk or roadrunner. Where you can look at mountains 100 miles away or next door. A state where the calendar is set by the smell of roasting chiles, a thousand hot air balloons, a million luminarias/farolitos. Where the wind may drive you mad, but the weather changes hourly. Where people who have been here for 10,000 years were gracious to people who arrived here 500 years ago, who, in turn, were gracious to people who arrived here 150 years ago, 20 years ago, today. That generosity permeates everything. Thank you, New Mexico. May you walk in beauty forever. mjh

PS: It is also the 35th 41st anniversary of the first step on the moon. Ah-Ooo!

Halfway there

mjh just turned in the 2nd quarter of the book revisions.

Hot times

mjh played volleyball with the temp well over 100 degrees. Great games, or did I hallucinate that? Now thin clouds flash with lightning and a neighbor asks, “is it just teasing us again?”

The Company They Keep

Regarding yesterday’s mjh’s blog — The Asshat of History: Ugh. This guy is as bad as you would imagine.

Be sure to read EJ Dione regarding what the NAACP is really saying about the Madhatters.

E.J. Dionne Jr. – What the NAACP is really asking on racism within the Tea Party

Here’s what Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, asked of the Tea Party during a speech at the civil rights group’s convention in Kansas City, Mo.: "Expel the bigots and racists in your ranks or take the responsibility for them and their actions. We will no longer allow you to hide like cowards."

The NAACP is doing what conservatives have done for decades in demanding that liberals and progressives separate themselves from left-wing extremists who trashed America, burned flags and praised foreign dictators. The racists are the Tea Party’s flag-burners. It’s fair to ask the democratic left to condemn extremism. It’s fair to ask the same of the democratic right. (Note the small "d.")

When I reached Jealous by telephone, he went out of his way to emphasize that his group is not making a blanket charge of racism. "We have never called the Tea Party racist," he said. "We know there are black Tea Party members, and we want black people to feel comfortable taking leadership positions in all parties in this country."

But speaking of Tea Party leaders, he added: "We’ve seen the signs, we’ve heard the slurs, and all we’re asking is for you to act responsibly and say there’s no space for bigots in the Tea Party."

E.J. Dionne Jr. – What the NAACP is really asking on racism within the Tea Party

And, Yes, there is racism in the Tea Party movement.

ThinkProgress has produced a short video demonstrating the vile racism that has been exhibited at some Tea Party events:

DENNIS: The Tea Party does not focus on the pigment of people’s skin. [...]

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST1: He’s too black to be President.

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST2: I’m a proud racist, I’m white.

TEA PARTY ACTIVIST3: Afro-Leninism! Coming to you on a silver platter, Barack Hussein Obama!

What do we want? Silence. When do we want it? Now.

mjh hears the angry back-and-forth chanting of a mob on the street and has no interest in their protest.

The Asshat of History

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool – or racist – than to speak and remove all doubt. The following quote shows how callous and ignorant the speaker is.

NAACP, Tea Party Volley Over Racism Claims : NPR

"You’re dealing with people who are professional race-baiters, who make a very good living off this kind of thing. They make more money off of race than any slave trader ever. It’s time groups like the NAACP went to the trash heap of history where they belong with all the other vile racist groups that emerged in our history," Mark Williams, a national spokesman for the Tea Party Express, said.

NAACP, Tea Party Volley Over Racism Claims : NPR

Oh, Puhlease: This Week’s WTF?!

Is there anyone more fearful or naïve than the Madhatters? Hasn’t the Republican Party used fear forever? Gotta go puke now.

A new billboard in downtown Mason City features a photo of President Obama, flanked by pictures of German dictator Adolph Hitler and Communist leader Vladimir Lenin.

The billboard features phrases like “Live Free or Die” and “Radical leaders prey on the fearful and naive.”

It’s the same spot where a billboard last fall featured the phrase “Obama-Nation, Live Free or Die” with the Communist symbol of a hammer and sickle. The billboards were paid for by the North Iowa Tea Party.

Think Progress » North Iowa Tea Party displays billboard comparing Obama to Hitler.