Month: November 2010

by russell

No cites on this post, these are just my own thoughts.

As I'm sure I've mentioned, I write software for a living.  I also free-lance as a drummer, but I'll stick to the software for the moment.

I want to talk about capital.

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by Doctor Science

Rupert Murdoch, that is, not Beelzebub. Well, not literally Beelzebub.

It’s clear from our discussion that Sarah Palin’s charisma is highly polarizing, but this is also true for other very charismatic politicians, such as Bill Clinton.

What would make a Palin campaign truly different is Fox News.

Jonathan Bernstein at The New Republic tries to reassure those of us fearful about a Palin candidacy:

Presidential nominations are … I need a word not quite as strong as “controlled,” but much stronger than “influenced” … by political party leaders. […] If Republican leaders don’t want Palin, you’ll start hearing negative stories about her on Fox News, and from leading conservative talk shows and blogs, and enthusiastic conservatives will turn elsewhere.

I just want to pinch his cheeks, he’s so cutely naive. Bernstein thinks Republican leaders tell Fox News what to do! That’s so last century — or at least last decade.

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by Doctor Science

I am thankful for the usual: family, friends (both RL and e-), reasonable health, a cat who loves me, and PIE.

This year, I’m thankful for: managing to sell our old house, staying in the school district yet moving to a place we can afford, a walkable community, enough money to give people presents this year, and this blog. And good grief, a LOT of pie.

Today in special surprise thankfulness, U.S. to Drop Color-Coded Terror Alerts.

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by Doctor Science

This will be your mandatory Sarah Palin post. Every political blog has to have one, it’s the law (like gravity). And, like gravity, it’s pretty hard to get away from hearing about Sarah Palin.

This week, the big question being kicked around the blogosphere is, Will Sarah Run? (for President in 2012, that is.) And if she does, can she win the Republican Nomination? And if she’s nominated, can she beat Barack Obama?

Frank Rich says: You Betcha

Daniel Larison says: are you kidding? it would be a slow-motion car wreck

Frum reports on an important trend: the Republican establishment’s increasingly frantic search for ways to stop the Palin for President campaign.

Nate Silver says: she dominates the news.

I say: what none of these horse-race analyses take into consideration is Sarah Palin’s superpower. She has charisma, the genuine article (not available in stores, much less online). In our household, we call it “charisma buckets” — where the person is so charismatic that it overflows, so they have to carry figurative buckets everywhere to hold the excess. If US electoral politics were a role-playing game (and are you going to argue that it’s not?), her Charisma would be +4: a perfect 18 out of 18.

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by russell

No, not those Producers.  Not even these guys. 

I'm talking about the producers-not-moochers.  The most productive members of society.  The folks who, through their own efforts, generate wealth and create jobs for others.

At the end of this year, the Bush tax cuts are going to expire.  Between now and then, Congress will do one of three things:

1. Extend the tax cuts for everyone.
2. Extend the tax cuts for only folks making less than $250K a year.
3. Nothing, in which case everyone's tax cuts will expire.

The second position is the "Obama plan", aka the Democratic position.  The first is the Republican position.

Extending cuts for everyone will cost us a lot of money.  The argument in favor of it claims that levying a 3 to 5% higher marginal tax rate on folks making north of $250K will punish the folks who actually create jobs, and so will be counter-productive.

So, I wanted to know who these people are. 

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