Category: Issues of the Day

Core Value II

Continuing in response to Ephraim’s question, “What is the basic principle behind your ‘liberalness’.”

Liberal is defined as “favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.”

That being the definition, I’ve never quite understood how the L-word came to be an epithet. After all, the opposite of liberal then is “opposed to proposals for reform, closed to new ideas for progress, and intolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; narrow-minded.” Given that choice, call me liberal every time.

Core Value I

In a comment Ephraim asked, “What is the basic principle behind your ‘liberalness’.”

As best I can say it, that principle is, “We’re all in this life together.” Or, as others have put it:

“[T]thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19-18

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7-12

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” Luke 6-31

“Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.” Muhammad, The Farewell Sermon

“One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires.” Brihaspati, Mahabharata

“Tse-kung asked, ‘Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?’ Confucius replied, ‘It is the word ‘shu’ — reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'” Analects XV.24

“Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien

“The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.” Shinto

“Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” Baha’u’llah

“All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.” Black Elk

“The inherent worth and dignity of every person. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.” Unitarian Universalist Principles

Whom Would Jesus Torture?

“A variety of policy positions are generally associated with evangelical Christians. Abortion, for example, is a moral wrong. So is gay marriage. Pre-marital sex, pornography, and adultery are also all morally offensive, inconsistent with their spiritual values.

“Torture, however, is fine.”

Steve Benen commenting on a Pew survey which shows that those who attend church most often are most prone to say torture is justified.

Most historically correct line of the day

“Anyhow, the real reason for the electoral college wasn’t all that high-minded guff about voter information, or even some noble desire to protect small states. It was to enhance the power of slaveowners.”

Hendrik Hertzberg in a discussion of the National Popular Vote plan. Until today I believed we should leave the electoral college alone. Hertzberg’s little essay convinced me differently.

Constitutional scholars (and brothers) Akhil Reed Amar and Vikram David Amar have made all the arguments. You can find links to their work (via Hertzberg) at FindLaw’s Writ | Akhil Amar and Vikram Amar. Scroll about half way down.

But read Hertzberg first.

Welfare for the Rich

“I was just at a White House conference listening to a lot of people talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits for retirees. How can the same government that hands tens of billions of dollars to Citi’s shareholders and top executives cut key benefits for the retirees? Why aren’t the news reports calling attention to this massive give away to some of the nation’s richest people?”

Dean Baker

38 assholes

The Senate is approving the stimulus bill this evening (the House approved it earlier). Currently there are 59 votes for and 38 against (97 total). (The measure requires 60 votes for passage because it is deficit spending — some Senate rule.)

We still don’t have a second senator from Minnesota and Senator Kennedy cannot be there to vote because of his brain cancer. So, only 98 votes total will be cast.

The 98th vote is Senator Sherrod Brown, who is in Ohio attending his mother’s wake. The funeral is tomorrow. He is flying back to Washington to cast the necessary 60th yea. His affirmative is a given; the bill will pass.

Any one of 38 Republican Senators could have cast their vote in favor of the bill and made a statement that they were opposed, but wanted to make it possible for Senator Brown to miss the vote and stay with his family at his mother’s wake.

None did. What a bunch of shits.

(There are 41 Republican senators in all. Republicans Specter, Snowe and Collins voted in favor of the bill.)

How Much Your School District Stands to Lose in Stimulus Bill Construction Funds

“The House stimulus bill had $14 billion for school construction, but the Senate cut all school construction money from its version. See how much construction money your school district stands to lose if funding is not restored in the final bill.”

ProPublica has the data.

Nearly $28 million for Albuquerque Public Schools cut in the name of bipartisanship, or $291 per student.

What the Debate Is Really About

The two parties are pretending to argue about the efficacy of the stimulus bill. They’re really arguing about the role of government in our society and economy, in the middle of a crisis and after decades of neglect. They’re arguing about whether health care, education, energy, and infrastructure are necessary areas for substantial federal spending and oversight. That’s why the stakes in this argument are higher than the final price tag on the stimulus package.

George Packer, The New Yorker

Breaking: American public more progressive than Congress

[Republican pollster Frank] Luntz found that Americans are prepared to pay (cue scary music) higher taxes for more infrastructure investment. Luntz was further shocked to find that three out of four Republicans would accept such a trade off.

Better yet, Luntz found that Americans “understand that infrastructure is not just roads, bridges and rails. In fact, they rated fixing energy facilities as their highest priority. Roads and highways scored second, and clean-water treatment facilities third.”

The Washington Monthly

Best story of the week, so far

Kiss My Big Blue Butt is the home of Susan DuQuesnay Bankston who wrote the website formerly known as The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc.

As she says, “I live in Richmond, Texas, in heart of Tom DeLay’s old district. It’s crazy here. No, seriously, it’s triple z crazzzy.”

Click to read about her neighborhood and her husband’s yard sign. Three posts — January 18, 19 and 20. Or click the 18th and scroll up.

LOL I promise.

Details on the Do-Over

From the press pool report via Talking Points Memo:

At 735 pm, Roberts administred the oath of office again to obama in the map room. Robert gibbs said the wh counsel, greg craig, believes the oath was fine Tuesday, but one word was out of sequence so they did this out of a “an abundance of caution.”

“We decided it was so much fun…” Obama joked while sitting on a couch.

Obama stood and walked over to make small talk with pool as roberts donned his black robe.

“Are you ready to take the oath?” Roberts asked.

“I am, and we’re going to do it very slowly,” obama replied.

Oath took 25 seconds.

After a flawless recitation, roberts smiled and said, “congratulations, again.”

Obama said, “thank you, sir.”

Smattering of applause.

“All right.” Obama said. “The bad news for the pool is there’s 12 more balls.”

Good lines

An excerpt from New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones’s take on the Neighborhood Ball:

[R]ight before Denzel Washington introduced the biggest rock stars of the night, who strolled out as if they only had maybe one or two other balls to hit. Mr. Obama was in black tie, Mrs. Obama, Jason Wu. Quite reasonably, President Obama asked the crowd, “How good-looking is my wife?” Nations melted, seas calmed, hostilities paused. More to the point, every other First Couple understood that notice had been served. Even you, Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy, will have a tough time outshining an Obama.

The Obamas danced to Beyoncé’s version of Etta James staple, “At Last.” I didn’t expect this to be my weepy moment, but it was. These two gorgeous people were doing something so specifically American, sweet, mudane, and unprecedented. It was America’s first real prom, the dream of soda pop and radio for everyone. That said—this is still the music business, and performing an Etta James song is still cross-promotion when you’ve still got your Etta James picture in the theatres. Good going, B.

Odd

It appears that my next door neighbor, who has flown the U.S. flag in front of his house virtually every day since 9-11, stopped flying it this week.

I haven’t had a chance to ask him what’s up. I’m not sure whether it will bother me more to find out he’s a racist, or just that he doesn’t acknowledge that voters have a choice and it’s still his country whatever the result. Disturbing.