Wednesday Randomness and Open Thread

 

Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young

- I haven't written much at all about the Trayvon Martin case -- I feel like a lot of what has gone on has just added a whole lot of noise and little light to the process -- but I was happy to hear the announcement that his killer George Zimmernan will be prosecuted.   I am not sure that the prosecution can make its case stick, but I am confident that had Trayvon been a white 17-year old that this case would have been handled rather differently from the outset.  I hope now -- however futilely -- that everyone can take a step back and let the facts of the case unfold in the criminal justice process.  I know I have my own strong gut feelings, but these should never be confused with facts, evidence, meeting burdens of proof, etc.  I wanted an arrest and a prosecution because it seems to me the few facts one could ascertain in the media seemed to warrant it.  Having crossed that important threshold, I'd like to see the rest left to the attorneys, the judge and the jury.

- Has anyone else been troubled by the dual role of Al Sharpton in the Trayvon affair and the fact that MSNBC has let him play both advocate and journalist in the process?  I am not a fan of false journalistic neutrality - too often it comes with its own built in biases that obscure rather than highlight truth.  But it seems awfully strange to have a guy both handling a press conference with a rather vehement point of view and then have that press conference broadcast on his daily show.  I have to confess I am not and never have been a big Sharpton fan.  He will always be a bit of a charlatan in my eyes and I think he is a horrible television host in terms of his skills.  It's hard to exaggerate how much of an improvement it would be to have Chris Hayes get a nightly show in his stead.  And if MSNBC would like to have an African-American host -- which I support -- it has a couple of very talented and telegenic women who would do a far better job than Sharpton.  Indeed, I'd like to see Sharpton and Ed Schultz sent to the showers and have Hayes and Melissa Harris Perry or Alex Wagner pick up their slots.   

- Speaking of prosecutions, Nancy pointed out this disturbing case in comments below -- about a poor woman in Idaho who is being threatened with imprisonment for inducing her own abortion with Mifepristone.  I am hoping that some people in the reproductive rights community will come to her defense.  There are some astonishingly good legal minds in the pro-choice legal community -- I've had the pleasure of reading some of their briefs before and they are truly first rate -- and I am sure that they could be of great assistance to this poor, isolated woman. 

- Ezra points out the degree to which the Democrats have been shifted to the right by the Bush tax cuts, such that the strategic electoral tactic of focusing on raising taxes on only the highest earners has now become a policy position.  Personally, I think all of the Bush tax cuts should be phased out in all income levels and that a couple of higher brackets -- a 45% and a 50% bracket -- should be added to kick in when incomes reach $750,000 and $1.5 million.  I would also phase in a 28% tax on capital gains, dividends and interest.  We need substantially more revenue than we currently have to do all of the things that need to be done, including getting the long term fiscal house in order.   

So what do you all think?  And I was encouraged by one frequent commenter to try to lure the lurkers out there to join in the fray.  We would love to have a few more voices join in the mix. 

Comments

[smatthew]

Hey SirCharles. Upon your invitation I'll come out of the dark-have seen you over at Brad's place and have enjoyed what I've read so far.

[Mijnheer]

I quite agree with your comments on Sharpton. And speaking as a furriner, I've always wondered who elected Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to be the spokesmen-in-perpetuity for all African-Americans.

[Sir Charles]

Ah it worked!

Welcome to you both.

smatthew,

I hope you will keep joining us.

Mijnheer,

It seems to me that Obama's election would to some degree bring into question the status of Jackson and/or Sharpton to be spokesmen in perpetuity. One of the few things I've ever liked that Marion Barry said with regard to Jackson (and the possibility that he would run against Barry for mayor of DC) was "the only thing Jesse has ever run is his mouth."

Having said that, I have more respect for Jackson than Sharpton. (I even voted for Jackson in the presidential primary here in 1988 because I wanted to vote for the most left wing candidate -- and Jackson was actually quite good with organized labor during that campaign.)

Sharpton, on the other hand, has always struck me as a pure operator.

[nancy]

bbw -- you should redo the HTML seminar for all who might think they want it. Heh. You taught us all how to link. Remember?

Hi smatthew and Mijnheer.

[oddjob]

I've always wondered who elected Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to be the spokesmen-in-perpetuity for all African-Americans.

I've always assumed the American news media loves having designated go-to people guaranteed to offer a certain sort of opinion on a certain sort of topic. That way they look as though they're responsibly covering the news without actually having to, you know, do their jobs.

It's always struck me as a very lazy, mutually symbiotic relationship. John McCain is another member of the clan.

[oddjob]

(..."mutually beneficial"....

"mutually symbiotic" is a bit of a non-sequitur.)

[oddjob]

nancy, re: HTML, this link is where I learned all I know and what I know is enough for me.

The Dark Wraith is an excellent teacher.

[oddjob]

I wanted an arrest and a prosecution because it seems to me the few facts one could ascertain in the media seemed to warrant it.

Ta-Nehisi Coates more or less offered the same opinion yesterday afternoon. He wasn't so much interested in Zimmerman receiving a conviction as he was that Zimmerman be charged and tried, because at first it appeared as though the local authorities were going out of their way to look the other way.

[low-tech cyclist]

Let's see if I can sneak a quickie HTML tutorial into a comment box.

Italics, bolding, and strikethrough - these:

I know <i>where</i> to get the answer.
I know <b>where</b> to get the answer.
I know <s>where</s> to get the answer.

Get you these:

I know where to get the answer.
I know where to get the answer.
I know where to get the answer.

Hyperlinks are slightly trickier. The explanation is probably more confusing than just showing you, like so:

If I want to link to this site:

http://www.gruffalo.com/

So that you read:

This way to the Gruffalo!

What it looks like when I type it is:

This way to the <a href="http://www.gruffalo.com">Gruffalo</a>!

The underlying format is:

<a href="[URL goes here]">[text goes here]</a>

Note that the URL goes between the quotes of the <a href=""> .

[kathy a.]

how'd you do that, LTC? it must be advanced HTML to demonstrate the instructions w/o making the change or link show up. plus, i just learned strikethrough!

yes, good zimmerman was charged. glad he turned himself in. i hope the circus can go back to its tent and let things take their course for a while. that press conference his former lawyers held the other day was about the weirdest damned thing i've ever seen.

[janinsanfran]

Since I know how to link, I want to share news of this case, in which, if the information presented is true, somebody ought to be arrested and charged. Vigilante killings?

Re Jesse Jackson: I managed the guy's last rally in San Francisco (which gave him a plurality) in the 1988 primary campaign. It was in the Castro in the pouring rain -- several thousands of people waited for hours to get a glimpse of him. When he finally turned up, he jumped the barriers the Secret Service had put out and plunged into the mostly white, mostly gay crowd, hugging and shaking hands. It is hard to remember now, but at that time, he was still one of the most outspoken national figures expressing compassion and urgency about AIDS.

[oddjob]

When you insert the term blockquote between the brackets (no need to bold the script; I just did that to clearly indicate what letters needed to be placed in the brackets) in that same way LTC demonstrates the words typed in between the two bracket pairs get set in the middle of a field unto themselves:

like this. It makes for a convenient way to set off a paragraph-sized quote.

[low-tech cyclist]

kathy - my secret is simple: I borrowed the code that the fellow at oddjob's link used. I did this by going to that page in IE, then clicking View --> Source to get the underlying HTML for what he was doing. (You can get there in Firefox or any other browser, but the IE explanation of where to go is simplest.)

The key trick I copied from him was that typing certain character combinations between an ampersand and a semicolon produce the appearance of certain special characters.

Particularly, sandwiching lt or gt between an ampersand or a semicolon makes a left or right angle bracket appear on the page once you've posted. And since you haven't typed an angle bracket, the HTML editor doesn't try to do the things it does when you type an angle bracket.

In general, if you want to see how some bit of HTML is done, View --> Source will let you see for yourself. From there, it's just a matter of copying and modifying to suit your needs.

[kathy a.]

oh, jan -- that story is horrible. there is this whole vigilante culture among some in the southwest, and it is reprehensible. i worry about crackpot militia types in the northwest, too. between the wide availability of guns and the fearmongering on the right -- there is reason to worry. (i blame oklahoma city in part on that fearmongering, which appeals to the worst in the most unstable. did we not learn from that?)

i remember jesse being a stand-up guy, too. of carrying a message of reaching out, and of non-violence.

[nancy]

Jan -- I can imagine that the drug cartel violence taking place about across the border is fraying nerves and heightening paranoia, but this does not bode well at all:

The attack comes as the Arizona legislature is considering a bill that would create a volunteer, state-sponsored and fully armed militia to aid the Border Patrol along the United States-Mexico border. Militia members would be able to pursue, arrest and detain individuals. The 300-person militia would cost taxpayers $1.4 million annually and would be under the control of the governor.

Gives a whole new meaning to 'armed and dangerous'.

kathy -- As for the crackpot militia types in the Northwest, I have the sense that they are taming down somewhat. I know they like to go play survivalist-in-the-woods-with-guns a lot, but they also like their other toys as well: snowmobiles, dirt bikes, off-road-vehicles, etc. Scary uniforms are optional, so I gather some of them also like to play dress-up. I don't mean to make light of the mentality, but there's a lot of what in adolescents we call 'acting out' at work here. No doubt the quick sentencing of would-be MLK Day parade bomber, Kevin Harpham, got their attention as well.

[nancy]

My head is going to explode. Why do Democrats do this?

It's Hillary and the goddam chocolate-chip cookies all over again.

Be sure to needlessly offend in order to make a point that didn't need making. Ugh.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Why do Democrats -- or our supposedly Democratic President -- do this.

If he had been consistent, it still would be too much deference to the legislature, but 'we can't wait' -- unless the 'we' is gay, then 'wait for Congress to act.'

It's things like this -- and like the revelation that Obama actually wanted his $4 Trillion ransom payment to be accpeted, that it wasn't just the ploy we heard it was -- that renders me speechless with anger. Because he is so much better than the Republicans -- but every time I read something like this, my own words 'At last I have a candidate I can support, not just cast a vote against Republicans by voting for.' sting me.

And, more important than my pride, the sting is my fear that I can't count on him to fight for Congressional Democrats, or for Democratic princuiples that he shows he understands less and less.

And yet there's Romney. And the 'both parties are equally bad' wind up supporting madmen like Paul or Bader.

Anybody got any realistic suggestions for 2016? I'll take someone less than fiercely progressive iof I see an hionesty and a core that holds on to the things we became Democrats for.

[oddjob]

Prup, I've seen Cuomo's name mentioned before. I'm in no position to opine there. What's your take on him?

(Yes, I realize a New York governor has a very remote chance, at best, of ever being elected president in this present political climate, but lets assume for the sake of the assessment that Cuomo actually stood a chance of winning if he were to run.)

[oddjob]

The saddest thing about Hilary Rosen's gaffe is that Ann actually is nearly as clueless about her class status as Mitt is. When he was running for governor or senator they had to keep her out of the limelight because at least once she made an egregious public statement that betrayed how unaware she was of how privileged she was.

(IIRC it was something about how her father-in-law George had given them a wedding present of "not much" stock in American Motors as a wedding present/nest egg. The "not much" was something like $70K-worth, back in 1960's dollars.)

[kathy a.]

oh, prup. the administration ended DADT, and is refusing to defend DOMA. a proposed executive order -- that is not something he needs to do just this minute. an executive order supposedly comes from the president himself. he has the option to decide on timing of something to come out under his name only, doesn't he?

rosen would have been fine saying that ann romney has not needed to work outside the home to support her family, so perhaps she does not have the insight of the many women who HAVE needed to work outside the home, so they could feed and house their families.

it is interesting that ann romney framed this as her choice -- which is perfectly fine, in feminist terms. and she was lucky to have that choice, if it is what she wanted. it's just a contrast to women who need to work so they can eat and stuff, and to women who need to work because they have things to do (besides or in addition to raising babies).

[Sir Charles]

Rosen framed it poorly, but in fact she is completely correct. Ann Romney doesn't have a clue about how people live their lives -- nor does her husband.

[nancy]

Sir C -- Yes. And it's the bad framing that forever causes our side trouble. Rosen might be surprised that outside the Beltway, in places where power jobs as lobbyists are scarce and the housing market did not hyperinflate -- making it possible to live on a smaller income or indeed one income -- perfectly normal women, like me, have been stay-at-home moms at some point, by choice.

I can't tell you how pissy the kind of statement Rosen made makes us and I don't care who the target is. Yeah -- Ann Romney is wealthy. That needed saying? Had anyone not been up to speed on that yet?

[KN]

the stupid captch javascript ate my comment and I did't copy it. I suppose this one will get posted making me seem petty and trite.

[nancy]

Oh flip. Time to listen to Neil 'Rockin' in the Free World'. Can't lose. :-)

Hope my HTML hints/directions/suggestion didn't send anyone back to silence. I'd hoped it might be encouraging. Argh.

Just write y'all. That's good.

[low-tech cyclist]

And commenting on Hilary Rosen, Catholics Against Jesus leader Bill Donohue tweeted:

Lesbian Dem Hilary Rosen tells Ann Romney she never worked a day in her life. Unlike Rosen, who had to adopt kids, Ann raised 5 of her own.

As an adoptive parent, I find Donohue too ridiculous to get angry at. I'm not sure if, when you adopt a child, you're not really raising it, or whether s/he isn't one 'of your own.' But either way, my reaction is more "what a total bozo" than "what an asshole," even though he's certainly that too.

Maybe we should split the difference and say, "what an assclown."

[jeanne marie]

Yeah, it looks like I can comment again. For the last week or so, the "post" and "preview" buttons have been gray. Tried from Firefox, IE, and Bing to no avail.

Of course, by now I can't remember what I was going to say.

Just sharing that I wasn't "lurking on purpose"

[Paula B]

>>petty and trite

KN, you're never petty or trite.

l-tc, if assclown is not in the dictionary, it should be.

Wasn't it only a few hours ago that women were mocked for 1/staying home to take care of children, or 2/not staying home. Now, we're going to one-up over how many children a woman has, or if she ever gave birth or ever raised children, or, or, or... Wow, you would think children were the most valuable things on earth, maybe even important enough to educate, keep healthy and protect with a safe environment. Oh no, you're on your own, there. I forgot.

During the Ann Romney Twitter War of April 13, 2012, I answered her now-famous Tweet thusly:
Dear Ann Romney: I did not choose to stay home to raise my son. Starvation/homelessness were not good choices. Single mom by chance/not choice.

I wasn't trying to be mean to her, just point out that, more often than not, circumstances determine the life paths we follow, not choices. Very few people have real choices in any important aspect of life, unless someone else covers all the bases for them. In my situation, the word choice was not part of my vocabulary. And so it is for many women and many men.

[oddjob]

The leading donor to Mitt Romney’s super PAC is not a hedge-fund manager or Bain Capital executive. It is Bob Perry, a Houston home-building magnate who was also the top donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against John F. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, in 2004....

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

On the attack on Rosen Forbes has an interesting take. It starts:

Are conservatives trying to lose their death grip on the hearts and minds of women and the men who love them?

and goes on from there. It's short enough I'm tempted to quote the whole thing, but will refrain.

What has happened to Forbes', btw? Throughout the campaign I keep seeing it running solid conservative/idiot Rpublican bashing stories and columns -- almost as if the ghost of the founder has risen and kicked his stupid son off the site. (When I think of sane, business-oriented but sensible and reasonable Republicans -- the ones that are on the endangered species list -- Malcolm Forbes was always a first-rate example.) I'm sure there have been counter-examples too, but there's some interesting stuff in those pages.

[Paula B]

I just got a robocall from the president of the NRA. It began with a number I could call if I did not want to receive their calls---can you believe that? I hung up before the message began, but can hardly see straight. My BP must be in the stratosphere.

They must be really scared about losing their grip on this !#$@*% Stand Your Ground shit or they wouldn't be sending out global messages.

Meanwhile, Common Cause and other groups are starting boycotts of MacDonald's and other corps that donate to ALEC, which funds shills who initiate legislation for garbage like SYG. Thank you SCOTUS! Maybe the only thing an individual can do these days is boycott some of these megacorps until some CEO feels the pinch in the bonus package.

[kathy a.]

prup, that's an interesting link!

geez, paula -- i hate robocalls so much. takes some hubris to require the unwilling recipient to call back if they don't want calls. but honest, the NRA? ha.

it is really interesting that there is pressure on contributors to ALEC. i glanced at something suggesting some corps are pulling out, but no idea where i saw that.

[nancy]

Jim -- Wow. Forbes. No, that's not 'your father's Oldsmobile'. Going out, but back tomorrow to elaborate.

The weekend beckons and the magnolia in the front yard, captured every year on camera by local passersby, is ready to unfold. Along with the pink dogwood and a white one named after Barbara Bush, if you can believe it. :-)

Paula -- You are on the Do Not Call list are you not? Report their ass.

[nancy]

Oh. Just in case anyone missed this. Mustn't. The tango must really have knocked people over when it swept across cultures in the 20's. Just gorgeous, not to mention...gorgeous.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Paula: please be careful with your facts. McDonalds was one of the first companies to pull out of ALEC -- with PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Intuit. The companies that seem to be remaining publicly loyal are RJReynolds, Pfizer, and P&G. (And, of course, Georgia Pacific of the Koch Brothers.)

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

In fact, Kenneth Quinnell has an update from C&L. McDonalds, Wendy's, the Gates Foundation (! that it was a supporter), Intuit, and now Mars Candy Corp.

And I think that a lot of these people are telling the truth that they were just interested in one type of legislatio and didn't know or pay attention to the other things ALEC was doing -- in secret, perhaps from its own contrbutors.

[paula b]

Prup-–re:facts. So noted. Blame the NRA for my temporary insanity.