What's impermissible about hoping the President fails?

Lately there has been lots of anguish and outrage from the left about Rush Limbaugh, de facto leader of the GOP, saying that he hopes President Obama fails.  There have been efforts to see if other GOP leaders, like Bobby Jindal etc.,  will defy the Holy Fat Oxycontin Gasbag or commit the heinous crime of admitting that they, too, want Obama to fail.  And when they agree with Rush, fingers are pointed and outcry ensues.  Republicans want Obama to fail!!  They WANT HIM TO FAILL!!!!!!!!!  GIT THEM!!

I find this very disturbing.

What exactly is wrong with wanting a politician to fail if you disagree with his or her policies?

If you actually believe that what Obama is proposing is bad for America, you should want him to fail.

Just like those of us who opposed Bush/Cheney's policies wanted them to fail.  Get it?  To give just one example, hoping that Bush wouldn't succeed in lying or scheming his way to authority to invade Iraq made me, and many others, patriots.  We wanted Bush to fail because we felt very strongly (and I'd say correctly) that the success of his plan in that case was bad for America.

And when GOP types attacked us, saying you're either 100% behind Bush on every issue, or you hate America and want bin Laden to kill us all, we were properly outraged.  We pointed out that we opposed Bush's policies because we wanted what was best for America.  Remember?

So how about (if you'll kindly permit a sexist metaphor) sacking up a little integrity and playing by those same rules now that we're in charge?

Set aside two issues when thinking about this problem: (1) the obvious hypocrisy of people like Rush and Jindal or Michelle Bachman or any of the right-wing tools who claim, over and over, that a 3% increase in the top tax bracket is Marxism/Socialism/Surrender to al Qaeda/Teh End of America As We Know It; and (2) the fact that even if honestly held, the opinions of rightwingers on things like the economy have proven over and over to be utterly idiotic and worthless.  

Whether or not the GOP is correct about their views of Obama's policies is not the issue.  Nor is the very likely chance that GOP leaders are intentionally using inflammatory rhetoric in declaring their opposition, as long as there is in fact a real basis for it.

What is critical is that we not attack people like Rush or Jindal simply for voicing policy disagreements.  It is not OK to howl in rage and stamp our feet and demand public floggings simply because the opposition party voices opposition.  That is their function, and their right.  That's why we have a "democracy."

We can and should have debates about policy.  We can and should allow Rush, Jindal, or whoever to say that they oppose Obama's policies, and explain why.  This includes allowing them to say that they hope Obama fails, if they think the results of his policies would be bad for America.  

Of course, the media should, and must, do what it never does - inject facts into this debate, to help people decide (e.g. when a GOP gasbag gets on the TV and says "the New Deal caused the Great Depression" or whatever, somebody needs to bring out the charts and facts and say, uh, no, actually, you're completely full of shit.)  And of course, the media, and Administration officials or left-wing commentators, should and must point out hypocrisy - if people like Palin, Jindal, Cantor, McCain et al. don't really walk the walk, and just like talking nonsense, that should be made clear.

But seriously.  If an obese, obscenely wealthy, three-time-divorced champion of "family values" drug addict who takes boy-sex trips to the Caribbean with bags full of Viagra(TM) has a policy disagreement with Obama, and thinks that Obama or any of his programs will hurt America, then this despicable sack of shit gets to say that he hopes Obama or his programs fail.  And while we can and should point out what a moron he is, we don't get to flog his fat ass simply for having a different vision for this country.

That's how a democracy is supposed to work.

Get used to it.

Presidential press conference

For the first time in a long time, I am proud of our President.

Seriously.  I don't care what you think about Obama's politics or policies, this guy is SMART, he can answer questions, he can speak in English with complete sentences, and he can handle obvious political enemies out to get him with grace and dignity.

Just watching people from Politico, the Washington Times, FOX, and so on ask nasty, loaded, partisan, adolescent little questions, with full wingnut attack attitude, and get sincere, direct, honest responses delivered without smirks, arrogance, or half-witted fratboy evasive sneering bullshit, makes me feel really proud.  A very unusual experience, I must say.  Usually over the last 8 years  I had to turn off the TV after a few sentences from our "president," lets I throw something at it or drive myself insane with fury and depression.

Obama is certainly not perfect, and he will succeed on some topics and fall down on others.

But thank whatever powers that be that, for the first time in as long as I can remember, we have somebody worthy of the office in it.

Of course, now the TV "news' gasbags are "analyzing" the press conference, and I'm getting nauseous again.  I hope there is a special room in hell for these people, who have the incredible opportunity to inform and enlighten us, and instead basically just jerk off their stupidity on camera.

The answer for everything

Is more bike paths and more bikes.

Ideally they should be stand-alone bike paths, not just painted lines.  With dividers between the bike traffic and cars.  There are miles and miles of these in Holland, and the benefits are obvious.

OK, maybe not the answer for "everything," but it will help a heckuva lot.  Less noise, less pollution, less money spent on gas (and the reliance on oil-producing countries and/or wars to control them), less obesity, more inclusive communities, safer streets, and so on.  Any city can benefit from this, as can suburbs and smaller towns.  It's only in really remote ares, where you have to drive two hours to a grocery store, where it won't be reaslistic.

I know right now bike paths may not seem like a big priority, but they should be.  They will create construction and planning jobs in the short run and provide all sorts of dividends in the near and long term.

I "went Galt" before anybody!

All the cool rightwing kids who don't understand how the income tax system works (among many other things) have been hollering that in response to Obama letting Bush's tax cuts for the over $250,000 income crowd lapse, they are going to "go Galt," i.e. remove their amazingly productive and necessary selves from the market and watch from their private island as all the remaining useless peons collapse in despair and poverty without their contributions (and tax dollars).  It's like the Rapture for Free Market Selfishness Zealots who never outgrew 9th grade and still think Ayn Rand is totally cool.

It's easy enough to mock these idiots - as in, "what necessary and productive contributions have you been making to society that we will miss, exactly?"  Or, in the case of professional lying sack of crap pundits like Malkin, Coulter, LImbaugh, O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, etc., "yes, please do actually stop and go away instead of just saying you will, and good riddance."  Or, to get into "facts," which they never would, "you morons don't understand that all the money you make up to the 250,000th taxable dollar will be taxed at the exact same rate it is now, and each dollar above that line will only be taxed like 3% more, so cutting back your work to make less than $250,000 to avoid the slight increase to that top marginal bracket is like shooting yourself in the head to rid of your hay fever."

Others have made these points, and that's great.  Me, I have another thing to say to these tools:  I DID IT FIRST!!!!!  NAH NAH NEE BOO BOO!!!!!

Just about a year ago, I quit a high-paying legal job - one that had me in the sights of Obama's "Socialist" 3% marginal top bracket increase - moved to an island (technically, Amsterdam is many islands) and now work much less.  The IRS will get much less from me now, if anything, and the United States of Worthless Parasites Desperately in Need of My Unique Contributions To Business can wail in horror and anguish all they want, to no avail.  My awesome services are no longer supporting your Socialist parasite lives!  I'm through helping you people!  Countdown to total economic collapse has already started!

Of course, I think someone took over my job about three minutes after I hauled my box of crap and tastefully framed diplomas out of the building, but never mind:

I was there first!  And unlike the yammering wingnut hordes, I actually went through with it.

Suck on that, Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin.

Spring is arriving...

The grey and rainy is as usual, but things are getting a softer/fuzzier feeling to them.

Christian Salt

By now you've probably seen this story.

Seems this guy, a retiree who apparently watches lots of Food Network shows, heard about as much as he could take about this here "Kosher salt" business, and decided (finally!) to put out salt for his fellow believers in Christ.  After all, if there's this special salt for Jews, why not for his people, right?  So he got an Episcopal priest to bless some salt, which he (the retiree, not the priest) is now selling with fancy packaging.  Or trying to sell, I guess.

The reaction to this seems pretty generally: the guy's a dummy, haw haw, aren't redneck Christians funny?  Because as anyone with a smattering of salt knowledge (or a connection to teh interwebs, or a "dictionary," plus a passing interest in lernin') can tell you, "Kosher salt" is not, you know, "kosher" as in blessed by a rabbi, as in OK for practicing Jews to eat.  Salt is kosher pretty much no matter what (unless it's been scraped off a curing Parma ham, probably).  The name comes from the fact that this type of salt, which has larger, more solid crystals than the kind you shake on your fries, is often used for preserving meat (the salt draws out moisture, including blood, allowing the meat to resist spoiling).  Drawing out blood from  butchered meat is required by Jewish dietary law, hence this kind of salt is used for "koshering."  It's grains are bigger and stick to the meat better than table salt.  But it's not like some special salt made only for Jews that well-adjusted Christians should feel neglected about.

So, OK, it's obviously dumb to think that "Kosher salt" is a special treat for Jews that warrants a Christian version.

But I wonder what else we can learn from this.

Perhaps the lesson is that retirees from western Maryland can be ignorant.   Or rather, perhaps it's that we snarkers should be selling stuff to Christians who have more Bibles handy than dictionaries.  You know those little vibrating metal doodads they call "Jew's harps?"  The things you put in your mouth and twang to make hillbilly-comedy movie noises?  Maybe there's a market for "Blessed Christians' Harps."  Maybe that's the one great idea some of us have been looking for to retire off of - like Navin Johnson's eyeglass wipers.  Or maybe Streit's Maztos could make money repackaging their wafers as "Blessed Christian Wandering In The Desert Crackers?"  (Guys: if you do, I want a cut.)

This doesn't have to take the form of suckering the rubes and laughing at them as we take their ignorance money.  Maybe Blessed Christian Salt signals the yellow brick road out of the current economic gloom - clever identity marketing of necessary goods.

Any Wharton grads who once fantasized about writing for The Simpsons feel free to give me a holler.

cross-cultural recipe comparison

Consider:

1. Panang  curry paste:

Garlic

Shallot

Kah (aka galangal aka laos, a variety of mustardy-tasting ginger)

Cumin seed and/or fennel seed

Coriander seed

Clove

Coriander root

Thai shrimp paste

Keffir lime zest

Fresh Thai chilies

Mash everything up with mortar and pestle until it's a smooth, fragrant paste.

2. Basil Pesto:

Fresh basil

Garlic

Pine nuts

Walnuts

Parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

Mash everything up with mortar and pestle until it's a smooth, fragrant paste...then blend in some virgin olive oil.

I suppose the comparison would have been better with green curry, but I like Panang curry more.

This is as good a place to start as any: startled pigeons, Tompkins Square Park, NYC, early 2008.

Spring has arrived in Noord-Holland; there is a noticeable improvement in the public's mood.  And a massive influx of Spanish tourists.  Why do tourists seem to arrive in waves-of-national-origin?

Testing

Is this thing on?