Detroit in trouble

I was going to make a small comment on an Ezra Klein post as I shared it on Reader, but I felt like I might as well write it on COBFTNG since for months it has been cruelly ignored by its own creator and it deserves a little action.

Here is the link. As anyone who knows me realizes, I'm a big fan of Kleins writing on The American Prospect and am quick to share what I feel are interesting and thoughtful posts that he churns out over there.

Here he highlights one take on the automakers bailout/deal. I'm obviously no expert, but why would the auto industry need further incentive to make higher gas mileage standards/ further "green technologies" a priority? I understand why looking for a bailout to try to save millions of jobs is reasonable given the state of our economy, but why haven't these companies innovated and progressed to the point where they don't need the federal government to jump in and save their failing businesses?

I guess it is by and large more of a statement about the condition of the general economy than any one particular industry that these types of "bailouts" are deemed necessary and acceptable. Maybe its an overly simplistic view of the auto industry, but I wonder if its right to feel that these companies are getting what they deserve for not adapting to evolving demand for more fuel efficient vehicles and environmentally responsible transportation options.

Terrible New York

Sometimes I feel I never want to live in New York City ever again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/nyregion/11meals.html?ref=nyregion

2 days later

I am fully aware that this site has been doing nothing but collecting dust for some time now, but at some point I hope to revive it to where it once was (about 3-4 posts a month). Until that time, you will just have to bear with me and my laziness towards churning out blog posts. 

I read something this evening from Ezra Klein's blog at The American Prospect and it really sounded right to me. I know I am as guilty as anyone else for getting so amped up and hopeful just from hearing Obama speak that I forget about the harsh realities facing our country and our political system. I forget about all the very real obstacles in the way and get a glazed-over look in my eye dreaming about a land of milk and honey, brother/sisterhood and hugs, sharing and caring.  Very few things are able to consistently give me chills up my spine, but listening to Dylan's music (specifically "Masters of War") and Barack's inspired speeches make the list.

Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. Here is the passage from Mr. Klein which I thought was an apt way to say that even if things might not be as hopeful as all the celebrating suggested, there is still reason to believe that there is some reason to get excited.  Comments are always welcomed here in this land of free speech.

My basic emotion is relief. The skill of an Obama administration has yet to be proven. The structure of our government will prove a more able opponent than John McCain. But for the first time in years, I have the basic sense that it's going to be okay. Not great, necessarily. And certainly not perfect. But okay. The country will be lead by decent, competent people who fret over the right thing and employ the tools of the state for recognizable ends. They may not fully succeed. But then, maybe they will. At the least, they will try. And if they fail in their most ambitious goals, maybe they will simply make things somewhat better. After the constant anxiety and uncertainty of the last eight years, maybe that's enough.

I ain't your damn friend John

John McCain's Debate Notes

-Address audience as "My friends"
-Mention the words "cronyism and corruption"
-Don't forget about EARMARKS!
-Try to get audience to believe Obama is going to raise taxes for the middle class

I've really had a hard time watching these debates. There is very little said that is more than generalities, vague statements that might come off as popular among the electorate and mentions of contradictions in the other candidate's voting record. The problem that I see with constantly bringing up voting records in the senate is that often times, as far as I understand it, Senators will vote on a plan that might be the lesser of two evils, and thus might be painted as being a die-hard supporter of such a plan when they were merely choosing the best realistic option. This is obviously applicable to both sides.

Like most other people who watch these debates, I can't claim to know the ins and outs of all the issues that are discussed. I try to educate myself as best I can about the topics that I feel are the most important for myself and others going forward (the state of the economy, health care, taxes, alternative energy initiatives, restructuring our approach to foreign policy, transportation issues), but I can't possibly know everything there is to know about them. Therefore, I inevitably feel like I can't always cut to the truth behind statements that are brandied about by both of these politicians, can't always decipher which statements are honest and sincere and which are fraught with mistruths and stray toward disingenuity.

Which is worse, this type of bullshit debate format or the speeches from the conventions where the audience cheers every single word?

Pearly whites and corrosive elements

As a man who loves a good floss and teeth brushing, and also one that enjoys the occasional can of soda, I was taken aback when a coworker looked at me condescendingly at lunch the other day while I was sipping on a free can of pepsi and asked me, "Don't you know how bad that is for your teeth?"

She continued, "Haven't you heard that if you leave a tooth in a cup of soda overnight it will dissolve by the next morning?"

I had never heard of this ridiculous claim and steadfastly refused to accept it as reality, however a few other people had also heard it and believed it to be the honest-to-god truth. One co-worker claimed that leaving a dirty penny in pepsi/coke overnight could completely clean and shine a previously dirty penny. I know how much sugar soda, candy and other shit contains and realize that it isn't the best thing for your dental and physical health, but didn't think they had the ability to destroy body parts as if they were sulfuric acid.

So I went to the interweb and tried to get to the bottom of this. I present you with the results of a thorough scientific study on this topic that gets to the heart of the matter.

Amerocentrism and CHINA in big block letters

One thing that caught my eye while watching the ass-whomping that Team USA just laid on China in men's basketball was the writing on the uniforms. Why is it that the name of the country and player were written in English? Since the games are being held in Beijing, why isn't everything written in Mandarin? Is this done just because NBC has the rights to broadcast the games and somehow has a say in how things should look there?

Viewing NBC's coverage of the Olympic games and not noticing the slanted coverage toward American athletes and American dominated events is like reading Jolly Miserable's blog and finding something interesting, it just can't happen.

Lost in Iraq

I, not unlike many Americans, am not very knowledgeable about what is going on in Iraq. I try to follow the news coming out of there as much as I can but still don't understand a lot of the facts and opinions that surround this situation. From what I can tell, as unpopular as "the surge" was, it was successful in curbing violence in an extremely hostile and turbulent region of the world.

I know next to nothing about military strategy, dealing with an insurgency or rebuilding a country (and an economy) after a war. Obama has been for establishing a timetable for withdrawal of troops but has amended his position somewhat in light of the current state of affairs. Our invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq has been an extremely controversial and heated issue for a bevy of reasons (the cost of American lives, financial burden of the war on the U.S., disruption of Iraqi sovereignty, rising oil prices, being lied to about the reason for invading, etc...)

Tonight I came across this article that further confused me about Iraq and our country's role there. Apparently, Iraq is swimming in money from rising oil profits and racking up a huge surplus while the U.S. government has been adding to is already sizable deficit. While we are pouring money into the reconstruction of Iraq, they are gathering interest on their growing lump of cash. I would like to assume that our government is proceeding in the most rational and responsible manner possible given the circumstances, but when I read articles like this one I start to have my doubts. Really, who is in charge here? It just doesn't seem like a tight ship is being run over there. I realize that the situation on the ground isn't as simplified and generalized as the American public would like to see it, but I am underwhelmed by the sense that things are being handled in the best manner possible over yonder.

When are we going to decide if we really want to be propping up and holding Iraq's hand for the next 50 years? My main problem with coming to terms with Iraq is that I don't see a coherent plan in place that dictates our actions going forward. I am aware of the instability and tensions that exist there, but how are we ever going to move forward (and out!) if we don't have a clear (and shared) vision for the Iraq of the future and our relationship with them. Are we going to continue on this dangerous imperialistic foreign policy path or are we going to settle in to the role of a responsible world superpower?