It's amazing how stupid some adults think kids are.
No, we're not talking about Charlie Sheen. For all the "news" he's made lately, he seems to be a surprisingly good father in some ways. At least when he put his kids in their car seats he didn't lie to them, and tell them he'd see them tomorrow.
Political hacks attacking workers and unions, however, don't seem to be as bright, or have as high an ethical standard as Charlie Sheen.
While continuing to lie to Wisconsinites and other Americans about what his real goal is in Wisconsin, Gov. Walker this week released his state budget for 2012 which contained $834 million worth of cuts to his state's public schools. Walker continues to claim that he's doing what both Wisconsinites and Americans want. However, the overwhelming facts - including the latest poll from the Wall Street Journal - say Americans strongly oppose attacks on unionized workers, meaning Walker's words are just more lies.
His state's GOP-led Senate also quite obviously doesn't seem to care about the desire of the people to find an effective compromise. A GOP-ONLY group of Senate Republicans passed a resolution in the Wisconsin state senate Wednesday that will now fine the senate Democratic lawmakers $100 for every day they miss in the legislature after the first two absences.
Ohio's GOP-led state Senate didn't do much better, passing a bill Wednesday that would gut the collective bargaining rights of public workers, and attempts to strip away their right to strike - a right we've already noted in previous commentaries that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in other states.
It isn't that we lack concern for the budget problems of the states or that we have no empathy for states, legislators, and governors who face massive budget deficits created during the last decade. We simply have no patience for those arrogant imbeciles who seem to think that if they wield a bigger ideological hammer, they can still force a square peg into a round hole of a smaller size.
We've quoted Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes on this issue previously: "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." And so they are.
Nowhere, in any legally binding document in this country, does it say that businesses and the wealthy are exempted from paying taxes which would keep roving bands of homeless people from killing said business owners. On the contrary, taxes are levied, as Justice Holmes noted, to keep things running that maintain a civil society.
There are those that believe the wealthy should pay more in taxes - including us. We have also said, however, that before more taxes are imposed, states - like Wisconsin - should be FAR more responsible in collecting the taxes they say they already impose, but really don't.
We're not against the idea of budget cutting, and we've made that clear in the past. We've also made it crystal clear that we think ideas that unions and workers have continued to support - like being willing to contribute more to their pension funds - aren't necessarily bad.
The idea that is truly bad is the one that insane conservatives are continuing to chase - that the budget problems of America's states and cities can be solved exclusively by cutting spending far beyond the point of sensibility, while continuing to drive tax levels below what they were 20, 30, 40 or more years ago.
They are robbing from the futures of our children and lying about it the whole time. From our perspective, they are doing so unwisely. Some day those children will be adults and vote - and will be taking care of the parents and grandparents who robbed them blind, and then lied and cried about it.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
It's Time For Muammar To Go Write His Book
Even as the attack on workers continues in the U.S., there are places in the world where the conflict has gone beyond words and now includes guns, bullets, and people dying in the streets.
The nation of Libya now definitely qualifies as one of those places.
Most Americans haven't given Libya a second thought over the last 15 years. If they did, it was likely a thought that invoked a comment like, "Isn't that the country run by that crazy dictator dude that was such a thorn in the side of the Reagan administration?"
While that thought may technically be considered correct, it's not exactly a winning Jeopardy answer. In fact, we're confident in saying that description of Mr. Gadhafi is significantly lacking in the specifics regarding the man who is currently losing control of the country of Libya.
There was a time not that long ago, where Muammar Gadhafi was considered by many in the Western World to have been mostly reformed, especially after his actions during most of the last decade.
The Libyan people, however, have been unhappy with him for quite a long time. An unusually long time, in fact.
Gadhafi is one of the longest serving dictators in history, and according to Renard Sexton of FiveThirtyEight.com, Gadhafi's overall despotic track record recently earned him the mocking title of "Best (or Worst) Dictator In History." To say he's been less than kind to his own people would be the understatement of the century.
Because of that track record, with the recent political upheavals throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, those familiar with the region and the country aren't entirely surprised at Gadhafi's fall and likely ouster (which could happen at any time, now.)
With the suspension of Libya's membership in some UN committees, a public plea by the United Nations to evacuate Libya, and suspension of diplomatic ties with most other countries, we tend to agree - it's only a brief matter of time before Gadhafi will likely be relieved of the title "Brother Leader and Guide of the [Libyan] Revolution." Whether his people will stop at removing his title, or will continue on to removing his head is something only they know, for sure.
We just wonder why people like Muammar Gadhafi think abusing their own people to gain personal fortune for themselves and their buddies, while cramming their own ideological dogma down the throats of everyone else, at the same time they are violating their own laws to keep their people out of the halls of power, is considered acceptable behavior.
After all, it's not like Gadhafi's the governor of Wisconsin, or anything.
The nation of Libya now definitely qualifies as one of those places.
Most Americans haven't given Libya a second thought over the last 15 years. If they did, it was likely a thought that invoked a comment like, "Isn't that the country run by that crazy dictator dude that was such a thorn in the side of the Reagan administration?"
While that thought may technically be considered correct, it's not exactly a winning Jeopardy answer. In fact, we're confident in saying that description of Mr. Gadhafi is significantly lacking in the specifics regarding the man who is currently losing control of the country of Libya.
There was a time not that long ago, where Muammar Gadhafi was considered by many in the Western World to have been mostly reformed, especially after his actions during most of the last decade.
The Libyan people, however, have been unhappy with him for quite a long time. An unusually long time, in fact.
Gadhafi is one of the longest serving dictators in history, and according to Renard Sexton of FiveThirtyEight.com, Gadhafi's overall despotic track record recently earned him the mocking title of "Best (or Worst) Dictator In History." To say he's been less than kind to his own people would be the understatement of the century.
Because of that track record, with the recent political upheavals throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, those familiar with the region and the country aren't entirely surprised at Gadhafi's fall and likely ouster (which could happen at any time, now.)
With the suspension of Libya's membership in some UN committees, a public plea by the United Nations to evacuate Libya, and suspension of diplomatic ties with most other countries, we tend to agree - it's only a brief matter of time before Gadhafi will likely be relieved of the title "Brother Leader and Guide of the [Libyan] Revolution." Whether his people will stop at removing his title, or will continue on to removing his head is something only they know, for sure.
We just wonder why people like Muammar Gadhafi think abusing their own people to gain personal fortune for themselves and their buddies, while cramming their own ideological dogma down the throats of everyone else, at the same time they are violating their own laws to keep their people out of the halls of power, is considered acceptable behavior.
After all, it's not like Gadhafi's the governor of Wisconsin, or anything.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
No Magic. No Tricks. Just Common Sense.
The levels of both vitriol and stupidity in politics these days all across the United States continue to amaze us.
The events in Wisconsin, Indiana, and elsewhere have begun to go far beyond farce, and squarely into the realm of "What the hell are they doing?", and "Who the hell do they think they are?"
For example, in order to further discourage the remaining protestors inside the Wisconsin statehouse from staying any longer, the Wisconsin governor had the ground-floor windows to the capitol welded shut on Monday - so that food and other supplies couldn't be brought in to the protestors. The governor also had the Wisconsin State Patrol block access to the statehouse building, both of which are unconstitutional actions by the governor according to his own state's laws.
We don't see what's so complex about understanding the task at hand at virtually all levels of government in order to properly fulfill both the needs and the wants of the people and the fiscal responsibilities of the government.
In a word, it's called "compromise."
Indiana's GOP legislative leaders, while still being slightly less arrogant than their Wisconsin counterparts, are doing something some Republicans across the country still refuse to do these days: talking with their counterparts in the other party. While their legislature is not yet officialy negotiating, the lines of communication are open between the two sides - and that's a starting point.
New York City Mayor Bloomberg, long known to be fiscally conservative, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Monday that - while not saying what all of us would like to hear - proves he's willing to negotiate with the unions in his city.
President Obama continues to display his leadership on compromise. He spoke at a bipartisan meeting of governors yesterday and announced that his administration is now supporting the Wyden-Brown waiver program for states on health insurance reform - something that truly tackles issues Republicans have said are a concern to them.
Back in Wisconsin, the governor is still giving ultimatums that in the end, he can't enforce.
We're aware that some politicians have dug themselves an ideological bunker, one they insist they're going to stay in until they die or completely get their way. For those partisans who support that kind of political zealotry, any officeholder who deviates from the proscribed dogma is blasted and trashed in the blogosphere, in public - and in the next primary election.
For voters who haven't yet lost their sanity, the actions of Wisconsin's Republican governor continue to turn them off. In the latest polling done in Wisconsin, even Republicans are turning away from their out-of-control chief executive.
We think it's important to note that we think everyone has some redeeming value, even if that value is small. No one is completely worthless. We also think every American has an incredibly valuable role of being a well-informed, well-educated citizen.
That being said, if you or the politician you support can't seem to remember that compromise is the soul of good government, then - as an American citizen - you really aren't worth a hill of beans.
The events in Wisconsin, Indiana, and elsewhere have begun to go far beyond farce, and squarely into the realm of "What the hell are they doing?", and "Who the hell do they think they are?"
For example, in order to further discourage the remaining protestors inside the Wisconsin statehouse from staying any longer, the Wisconsin governor had the ground-floor windows to the capitol welded shut on Monday - so that food and other supplies couldn't be brought in to the protestors. The governor also had the Wisconsin State Patrol block access to the statehouse building, both of which are unconstitutional actions by the governor according to his own state's laws.
We don't see what's so complex about understanding the task at hand at virtually all levels of government in order to properly fulfill both the needs and the wants of the people and the fiscal responsibilities of the government.
In a word, it's called "compromise."
Indiana's GOP legislative leaders, while still being slightly less arrogant than their Wisconsin counterparts, are doing something some Republicans across the country still refuse to do these days: talking with their counterparts in the other party. While their legislature is not yet officialy negotiating, the lines of communication are open between the two sides - and that's a starting point.
New York City Mayor Bloomberg, long known to be fiscally conservative, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Monday that - while not saying what all of us would like to hear - proves he's willing to negotiate with the unions in his city.
President Obama continues to display his leadership on compromise. He spoke at a bipartisan meeting of governors yesterday and announced that his administration is now supporting the Wyden-Brown waiver program for states on health insurance reform - something that truly tackles issues Republicans have said are a concern to them.
Back in Wisconsin, the governor is still giving ultimatums that in the end, he can't enforce.
We're aware that some politicians have dug themselves an ideological bunker, one they insist they're going to stay in until they die or completely get their way. For those partisans who support that kind of political zealotry, any officeholder who deviates from the proscribed dogma is blasted and trashed in the blogosphere, in public - and in the next primary election.
For voters who haven't yet lost their sanity, the actions of Wisconsin's Republican governor continue to turn them off. In the latest polling done in Wisconsin, even Republicans are turning away from their out-of-control chief executive.
We think it's important to note that we think everyone has some redeeming value, even if that value is small. No one is completely worthless. We also think every American has an incredibly valuable role of being a well-informed, well-educated citizen.
That being said, if you or the politician you support can't seem to remember that compromise is the soul of good government, then - as an American citizen - you really aren't worth a hill of beans.
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