Disqus - Latest Comments for Idiosyncrat

Re: Newspapers I: On The Brink of Extinction?

Idiosyncrat — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:18:05 -0000

SD, would you mind me asking where you live? I'm just curious what drives your perspective on urban dynamics. I only see formerly-blighted urban areas coming back to vibrant life, more often than not the point where people are driven to more affordable suburbs where they get brain dead watching bad TV and engorging their tuchases by eating 2200 calorie Bloomin Onions at the Outback (goofy stereotype, intended... chill, people!). Not to say that there aren't major urban problems in many pockets, but all in all things are coming a long way from even a few years ago. But my center reference-point is the warped world of NYC, and despite traveling far and wide most of my anecdotal evidence still operates on the NYC-LA-SF-Miami-Boston axis... What's your reference point?

Shaun, so very nice to read you again on something not Obama/Clinton/Iraq related again!

Re: Why did Wright do it?

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:37:41 -0000

You, and some others here, seem to be making the core assumption that Wright was a reasonable person to begin with who then suddenly had to transform into this spectacle. I disagree with this base assumption. Wright didn't transform into anything. This is who he is.

The continued hand wringing here over trying to defend, justify and understand Jeremiah Wright only goes to undermine the credibility of those who write these things and this site in general.

Re: What of Obama’s Assertion that Wright Was His Pastor, Not His Spiritual Mentor?

Idiosyncrat — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:42:34 -0000

Mark, you make a perfectly valid point, EXCEPT that in this case, Obama seems to have very much had a much deeper relationship with Jeremiah Wright. A few 2004/05 articles demonstrating this courtesy of Eugene Volokh here: http://volokh.com/posts/1209531850.shtml

Re: Rev. Wright squanders goodwill

Idiosyncrat — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:34:45 -0000

"I wonder why Wright is doing this. Why did he chose now."

I'll take 'Egomaniac Crackpots' for $1000, Alex.

Re: Nepal’s Prachanda: “Globalization Is Unavoidable”

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:25:45 -0000

Swaraaj, I don't think you'll be surprised when I tell you that this story is getting virtually zero press here in the USA...

Fascinating development, but not entirely surprising. This was the electoral culmination of a true class class revolution in Nepal... The amount of non-elites who are being elected in this vote tell a good part of the story.

I'm glad to see Prachanda moderating his rhetoric, though, because NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS. Nepal has profound socioeconomic problems that need to be addressed. Some of them are quite intractable... Outside of the Kathmandu Valley, infrastructure and development is minimal. In the hinterlands, it's virtually non-existent save for trekking and mountaineering tourism. There are no roads, let alone industry. Politically and culturally, the divide between the Valley and elsewhere is also strong, and if at the end of the day Prachanda cannot reconcile and work with the urban socio-economic nexus of the country, he toast. And if the Prachanda government turns out to be just more of the same inept corruption with different players, this too will be problematic since the cost of getting into office was a deadly one.

It's going to be a fascinating next few years for Nepal. It'll also be interesting to see if other revolutionary-wannabees around the globe look to Prachanda and say "yes, we too can win with the gun". Seems like Prachanda might actually be able to make the switch from revolutionary to enlightened leader. For the sake of Nepal, I hope so...

Re: Eight Teenage Girls Beat Up Girl And Video It

shoegal — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:16:49 -0000

IN RESPONSE TO REMEMBERNOVEMBER

Wow...attributing this to something of a "coming of age" ritual is obsurd. While you say you "...don't know anything about what really happened..." I would comment and say, this beating goes far and beyond any sort of school yard confrontation. This is equivalant to a gang of sociopathic girls who mericlessly beat (she may lose some vision and hearing) a young girl who WASN"T EVEN FIGHTING BACK. Last time I checked a fight needed two parties...a beating in this case is a better description. I suggest maybe gathering some more facts before dismissing this as a "confrontation."

Re: Sir Elton John: Racist

Jazz — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:06:56 -0000

Ididsyncrat, in terms of the subconsicence at work as we make our choices and form our opinions over these various campaign "incidents" may I recommend a really good read for you? Barbara Oakley is a clinical psychologist who wrote a book called "Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend." I interviewed her a couple of times on our radio show and she discussed a fascinating theory called "Emote Control." The basic gist of this is that we are hardwired to accept positive news about ideas or people we support, but are naturally wired to filter out or minimize the importance of bad news about those concepts or people. The reverse, of course, is also true. We are inclined to accept negative things about people we oppose while minimizing good things we hear about them. It's interesting stuff and has really led me to double check some of my own thought processes in political matters.

Re: Sir Elton John: Racist

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:59:20 -0000

And by the way, Jazz, although I'm a big fan of his music, who the hell cares what Elton John -- or any entertainer for that matter -- thinks about politics? :-)

Re: Sir Elton John: Racist

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:53:45 -0000

Jazz, interesting... the R word never occurred to me. The N word did, though! I used misogynist because that was your word.... Dispositions towards both race and gender can run the spectrum between overt and covert. There are blatant racists and shielded ones. Frankly, I think the latter is more dangerous. But the whole concept of "liking"/"disliking" is phenomenally complex, and characteristics such as race and gender have more of an impact (even if it's only a partial impact) on creating an overall impression than many people would like to admit -- so yes, I would agree with you that the subconscious is powerfully at work here.

In terms of my personal preference on Hillary or Obama, I have no problem being up front with you -- at this point I have no idea. I used to be very pro-Hillary, then I kinda got sick of some of the stuff I was seeing. No frothing hatred, but just kinda soured. I love the idea of Obama in theory, and as something of a student of leadership am awed by his oratory charisma, but his choice in political and spiritual advisers plus a healthy skepticism of Chicago politicians and people entranced like sheep by the very rhetoric that I admire give me significant pause. So at this point I'd say I'm schizophrenic :-) Like Warren Buffett, a man whose instincts I trust, I'd like to think (or for all you Obamaniacs out there, hope! :-) ) that either of them are perfectly capable of doing the job, but if I had to go into a voting booth tomorrow and pick a primary candidate, I have no idea who I'd choose.

Ask me this afternoon, though, Jazz, and I'm sure I'll have a different answer for you ;-)

Re: Sir Elton John: Racist

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:06:27 -0000

“I never cease to be amazed at the misogynist attitude of some of the people in this country,” he said. “I say to hell with them.”

SOME of the people in this country DO have a misogynist attitude toward Hillary, just as others have underlying resentment toward Obama because he's black. Others choose more deeper issues. But this was a Hillary fundraiser for crying out loud! Play to the home crowd...

That said, while I think you picked a poor example to highlight, I thoroughly agree with what you've written. I've encountered enough situations where someone put on the hot seat for some reason or another claims persecution because they are <insert woman/gay/black/Arab/Jewish etc. here> when in fact it's because of something more universal such as <mean/lazy/incompetent/malignant>.

But you know, liberals are particularly fond of hauling out the gender/race and other PC stuff on a regular basis (sometimes when it's inappropriate), so I'd be lying if I said I didn't have at least touch of Schadenfreude in seeing these characteristics be used make the Democratic Party short circuit a bit :-) Even if I'm bound to vote for one of these candidates.

Re: Eight Teenage Girls Beat Up Girl And Video It

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:54:17 -0000

Interesting commentary. I just see this as nothing more than some girls getting pissed off over something that another girl did and going to teach her a lesson.

You're telling me that such behavior never happened when you guys were kids? You never saw fights in the school yard? Kids never exacted retribution against other kids for things they said about them? You never heard of a confrontation that maybe got a bit too heated and people who got a bit too carried away?

The medium for you to view it may have changed (Youtube), but I assure you that such things have been going on since the beginning of people... Whether you saw it or not on TV or it was reported, there's long been pockets of dysfunction and aggression in our society.

I'm not condoning their behavior. Frankly, I don't know anything about what really happened... But I don't see it as a sign of society being any more violent or "the wheels coming off". That community will sort it out, law enforcement and the justice system will do its thing, and like others who have recorded their crimes, the perpetrators will pay an extra price for their malignant vanity.

Re: Pass The Grey Goose

Idiosyncrat — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:34:56 -0000

Well, this American is most definitely amused... :-D

FWIW, Marlowe, as evident by the ill-reception of British comedy on these shores, irony and self-deprecation isn't something that generally plays well here in the States.

Re: Hillary Clinton Told Richardson “‘Barack Obama Can’t Win’

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:37:25 -0000

joe said: "I think the question then becomes how do the clintons KNOW he can't win?"

Duh, Joe, they asked Holly...

Re: A Big Nail In Hillary’s Coffin? Or Not?

Idiosyncrat — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:06:24 -0000

Honestly, Shaun, I think the photo you used is bound to cause more damage...

Re: Hillary Clinton’s Next Job - You Can Help!

Idiosyncrat — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:27:29 -0000

Governor of the State of New York.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129399

Re: Sexism and Homophobia in Scarborough Country

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:31:57 -0000

Stickings, get a grip, man...

Re: Doctors support universal health care

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:27:23 -0000

Marlowe, it is indeed amusing that when you look at Europe, people across the political spectrum agree on some form of universal health care for its citizenry yet here in America it's a left-right wedge issue. I'd like to see us fighting over the "how do we implement it" rather than "why we should" part, but we're just not there yet...

Re: Doctors support universal health care

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:18:19 -0000

SD, just to be sure we're on the same page, i'm talking a system where we have a general system of universal healthcare which offers a to-be-determined basket of healthcare services to all citizens. This basket needs to be rock solid, with efficiency of care and physician reimbursement not far off from any alternative system so that there's less incentive for large amounts of people to buy private insurance and also less incentive for physicians to run for the hills to private insurance. But there should be that private insurance, which offers something "more" -- whether it be premium services, easier access... whatever it is people are willing to pay more for. Yes, this implies rationing, but that's something that a modern society has to confront. With more and more research showing that some of the super expensive newfangled medical technology advances don't necessarily correlate with better outcomes, it's a complicated issue since you don't want to inadvertently stifle innovation.

Is it creating medical apartheid? It could, which is why it has to be carefully implemented. But I'd argue that we have that system now in that many people have access to no care whatsoever, let alone to top physicians. And not all insurance plans are equal. Employers are increasingly raising premiums and co-pays in order to shave costs. And if you happen to be lucky enough to have healthcare benefits but don't like the questionable plan your employer offers, enjoy paying a gazillion dollars for a private policy... Apartheid just the same.

Nevertheless, the devil is in the details. I'm under no illusion that such a new system will be perfect nor easy to implement. I don't trust the government one iota to effectively run such a bureaucracy. But you know, the insurance companies haven't exactly proven to be the model of efficiency either, and at least with the government you can keep down the profits and thus have more money to distribute elsewhere.

Too many smarty pants people in this country for us to not be able to develop and implement a system where there's universal access, limited profits, but incentive for efficiency... It won't be perfect, for sure, but it won't be the shameful mess that we have right now.

Re: Doctors support universal health care

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:15:34 -0000

GreenDreams wrote:

"There is one huge reason we will eventually have "government insurance". It's the 35% overhead and profit of insurance companies. We can't afford it as a nation and no other modern advanced nation submits to it. Cutting that cost by 30% to the "government insurance" overhead cost of 5% allows us to cover everyone, pay for everything, relieve the burden on emergency rooms and finally, finally, take care of the health needs of the entire population of the richest country on earth."

WELL SAID!

SD, it's an embarrassing shame that every citizen of the United States doesn't have access to at least a basic basket of healthcare services. Not only am I okay with supplemental insurance for those who can afford it, I see it as a good thing. You protect the well-being of the weakest among us while offering those can afford it greater choice. Will some of the better doctors opt out of the system and only see private patients? Yes. But that's already the case with many specialists who are prominent enough to only accept direct pay and let their patients deal with getting reimbursement after the fact. And supply and demand will dictate that there are just so many physicians who will be able to afford to be private insurance only, thus ensuring there will be plenty of good physicians to go around for the plebes.

Re: Discombobulated Democrats

Idiosyncrat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:28:49 -0000

Okay, the Democratic Party is an organization. By and large, if you're voting now to pick the Presidential candidate for this party, it's because it's an organization that you have joined/

Living in FL or MI and feeling disenfranchised? Fair enough. But direct your anger appropriately, please... Freak out against the state and national leadership of your political party -- the organization that you have voluntarily joined. Freak out against your local organization leaders who decided to go against national party rules despite knowing the penalty would be local disenfranchisement. Change the system -- your own organization's system -- that allowed this to happen to you. Think the caucus system is idiotic? Well it's been going on that way for ever and a day. Thanks for waking up and noticing... Now you can complain and do something about it. But that's for the next round...

But please, don't cry to me about being deprived of your democratic rights, because you have no such rights beyond those set forth by the political party you have agreed to join. The DNC can choose a candidate by a national beer pong round robin competition if it wants to -- and is allowed to by you, the members of the organization.

Because of the intense media coverage this may feel bigger than it is, but all that's going on is one political organization is picking its candidate for President. I understand the passion and I think it's wonderful that people are finally engaged enough to actually get upset about stuff.

But it's just an internal organizational game right now, campers. The big fight is yet to come and either Obama or Clinton are going to need all the help they can get to campaign against and defeat John McCain. When the dust settles, just remember that.

Re: Dith Pran (1942-2008)

Idiosyncrat — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:50:56 -0000

RIP.

Spent some time in Cambodia a few years ago... Incredible people trying to piece back together their lives after truly extraordinary circumstances. Visiting Tuol Sleng S-21 is truly shocking. Seeing the crushed skulls of infants who were murdered by being swung into tree trunks was for me one of the most visceral realizations of the absolute evil that we humans are capable of... Even on the ground traveling around and meeting people old and young, the actual horrible events -- by all accounts, recent history, mind you -- were hard to fathom. Hunkering down in the hostel the to escape the searing Phnom Penh afternoon sun, a bunch of us watched a VCD of The Killing Fields... Not a dry eye in that room. Really put it all in context.

Re: Wright’s Comments Show That the Stain of Antisemitism Remains

Idiosyncrat — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:22:13 -0000

Jeremiah Wright... The gift that keeps on giving!

Re: Hillary Clinton: And So It’s Come To This

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:49:43 -0000

"I still find it hard to believe that she would try to destroy Obama in order to save her candidacy."

40 years of covering the bloodsport of politics, in Philadelphia of all places, and a politician playing for keeps surprises you? Now, now, Shaun... Reaaaaaaaaaally... :-)

Re: Lib Dem Blogger Says Clinton Should Withdraw

Idiosyncrat — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:04:41 -0000

Whocares, given the current emotional ferment going on right now in the primary battle, I wouldn't put too much weight on the recent polls.

As Mark Blumenthal explains at pollster.com (http://www.pollster.com/blogs/some_context_on_t...) there's precedent for this and the "party faithful" for the most part chill out come the general.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the young people who were ripped from apathy and inspired by Obama to participate in the process stay home once they discovered that politics is indeed a brutal sport, but it would be interesting to see how many actually cross over (not sure we'll have that opportunity to find out tho).

Re: NBC BREAKING NEWS: Two Fired Due to Obama Passport File Breach (UPDATED)

Idiosyncrat — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:18:02 -0000

"BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The passport files of the three major presidential candidates have all been breached, officials said Friday."