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Gasoline holiday tax
2008-05-02 17:52:00
By VictorM:Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton made similar proposals to suspend the federal gas tax during peak driving months this summer. This holiday tax really is a rotten idea and here's why why:Economists... say the oil companies may end up the biggest beneficiaries, while the aid to families wouldn't be enough to buy a $35 backpack. The trouble with the plan, they say, is that oil prices are rising because of low supplies, and companies will continue to charge the average $3.60 a gallon and just pocket the money that would have gone to federal taxes...Where supplies are fixed -- and oil/gas supplies, for all intents and purposes, are -- it is the demand that determines price. One oil company could cut its gas prices, but it can't sell anymore gas than it already is (because it already sells all the gas it has), so purchasers would have no choice but to get the rest of their gas from someone else. This leaves oil companies with no incentive for lowering prices....
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Bush is lying again
2008-04-29 19:09:00
By VictorM:President Bush is now using a new tactic to justify the drilling at ANWR trying to link the current costs of gasoline with the need for more oil from Alaska. Why is this a blatant lie?In 2004, the EIA released a report saying that if Congress were to allow drilling in ANWR that year, the oil would not actually begin flowing until 2013 and peak production would not be reached until 2025.The truth is even if we went ahead with the drilling, it would not have any impact on oil prices for many years to come. Let's face it: Bush was instrumental in fucking up the economy. No amount of lies is going to fool the American people about that fact.
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Obama on stinking Fox
2008-04-28 20:43:00
By VictorM:As the Democratic primary goes on, I continue to lose faith in both Democratic candidates. In their desire to win, both candidates have engaged in bonehead moves that worry me. The latest move comes from Barack Obama who, after months of avoiding Fox News and even claiming he would take them on, decides to give credibility to that fake organization.I have to do along with Kos:So Obama showed weakness by caving to right-wing bullying taunts (thrilling our political foes), disrespected his base, gave Fox a propaganda victory, exposed his campaign as a bunch of liars who promised something their candidate was clearly incapable of delivering, and defended the Democratic spinelessness that gave us the most ridiculous Supreme Court in generations.At least Hillary's bonehead moves have shown strength; by going on Fox, Obama just behaved like the weakling I worry he might be.
More About: Stinking

A badge of honor, really
2008-04-25 06:00:00
By VictorM:The daddy party really views its politicians differently. By that I mean, they think their politicians are above the law. Take for example, Senator Domenici:Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., created an appearance of impropriety when he called a federal prosecutor in New Mexico to inquire about the timing of corruption indictments, the Senate ethics committee said Thursday. The committee criticized Domenici in a letter to the senator, but it recommended no punishment.In Republican circles, that letter is a badge of honor, and really, will not be seen as a negative. The senator's reaction proves that:...Now that this matter has concluded favorably, I am anxious to focus all of my time and attention on the business of the people of New Mexico."There you go. "Concluded favorably."I bet that when these people see the movie "History of the World Part 1" and Mel Brooks, as the king, delivers the line "It's good to be the king", Republicans don't laugh, they just nod i...
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It's OK if they don't love it
2008-04-23 19:05:00
By VictorM:John Feinstein takes a stroll down memory lane to the days when he was covering the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL), which for a few years in the late 70's seemed to be on the verge of making it in the US.There are many lessons to learn from those days, some of which the current Major League Soccer (MLS) seems keenly aware, but there is one thing in the article that I hope today's soccer fans learn.Remembering Gordon Bradley, who made his name as a coach in the league, and Johan Cryuff, one of the greatest players of all times who finished his career in the USA, we have this:What made Bradley and Cruyff great to deal with is that neither ever acted as if you had to love soccer. They both loved it, had grown up with it -- Gordon in England; Johan in Holland -- but they knew it was going to be an acquired taste in the U.S. That's right! No one has to love the sport and soccer fans secure enough about the game should be able to accept that.For those w...
More About: Love , Love it

The creeps are coming, the creeps are coming
2008-04-23 00:32:00
By VictorM:With the Republicans in danger of losing the White House and further losses in the House and Senate, the fighting will get nastier than ever as the Republican party has sold it's soul (a term I use loosely) to the devil. So this bit of news about a plan to attack Barack Obama comes as no surprise:Starting Tuesday, a group of conservative activists led by Floyd Brown, author of the famous Willie Horton ad used so effectively against Michael Dukakis in 1988, will begin a campaign to tar Obama as weak on crime and terrorism, a strategy that aims to upend Obama's relatively strong reputation among Republican voters.I saw their first video against Obama and must say that they have to do much better if they plan to tar the Senator from Illinois, but I have no doubt that they will continue to try.
More About: The Creeps

When few words are enough
2008-04-22 18:40:00
By VictorM:There's no need to use lots of words to explain why any decent American should vote for a Democrat and not John McCain. Howard Dean delivered those few words in an email:Unemployment is up. Gas and food prices are up. Inflation is on the rise. The housing market is in a slump. The pundits are saying we're in the worst economic mess in decades. But John McCain keeps defending his friend George Bush, saying everything is just fine. Providing tax cuts for the wealthy, allowing oil and gas companies to make huge windfall profits and turning a blind eye to the problems in the home lending market -- these are John McCain's solutions. American families can't afford four more years of failed Bush economic policies.Seriously, you have to be a rotten creep, a bitter jackass, or a right wing conservative to think of voting for John McCain.
More About: Words

My fear of Obama as a candidate
2008-04-21 22:01:00
By VictorM:I'm nervous of a Barack Obama campaign against John McCain because Obama is bound to repeat these types of verbal mistakes:“You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain – and all three of us would be better than George Bush,” Mr. Obama said. “But what you have to ask yourself is, who has the chance to actually, really change things in a fundamental way?”McCain better than Bush? After the Democratic party has gone to great extents to paint McCain as George Bus's third term?Obama later said: “We can’t afford to have four more years of George Bush policies under the guise of John McCain.” Clearly he was trying to back paddle from his earlier mistake.Can Obama just give prepared speeches? Because when he's allowed to improvise the results haven't been all that good.My main worry still is that Obama doesn't have the killer instinct for national politics and his "let's get along" tendency is going to let him...
More About: Fear , Candidate

Stupid people
2008-04-19 02:33:00
By VictorM:Some people are saying Barack Obama was giving Hillary Clinton the finger when he was scratching his face. I wish we could shoot such stupid people. See it for yourself:
More About: People , Stupid , Stupid people

Maybe I was wrong
2008-04-15 23:32:00
By VictorM:Was I wrong? I said for months that the Democrats have two excellent presidential candidates and I'd be happy with either one as the nominee.Maybe I was wrong, but I'm not bitter and I'm not making any 3 AM calls. I'll just vote against the idiot who wants to stay in Iraq the longest.
More About: Wrong

Darn, people like him
2008-04-14 20:55:00
By VictorM:Al Franken is running for a US Senate seat in Minnesota. Unlike Barack Obama, Franken has drawn sharp contrasts with Republicans and is not afraid to take them on. Unlike Barack Obama, he's gotten some of my money.A Navy officer and Iraq veteran named Tim Wellman Jr. has this to say about his support for Al Franken:He brings a clear vision of right and wrong... He's been very strong about confronting Republicans on their own issues, like strength and war.But my main reason for supporting Al Franken was best expressed by Kevin Drum:Personally, I'd vote for anyone who wrote Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, so I don't need a lot of convincing.
More About: People

Confession, Christopher, Confession
2008-04-12 15:05:00
By VictorM:The very annoying "journalist" Christopher Hitchens would like to ask the Pope something:We already know that the Pope is a Roman Catholic. What we need to hear is his reason for giving sinecure and asylum to the man [Cardinal Bernard Law] who organized and excused the rape and torture of tens of thousands of American children. Christopher, you charlatan, Cardinal Law probably just confessed to his sins. He then was ordered to pray for oh... I don't know, maybe 15 minutes, and presto! His sins are gone. He's as good as new.It's good to be Catholic.
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It's Petraeus's war now
2008-04-10 23:39:00
By VictorM:Bush has been transferring the war in Iraq from something that he owns to one the military owns now:President Bush today accepted the recommendation of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus to indefinitely suspend a drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq to consolidate recent security gains and said he told his top commander in the country that "he'll have all the time he needs. And then we have this:But Bush also said U.S. troops increasingly would assume a supporting role in Iraq, and he moved to reduce the strain on the military by announcing a reduction of Army combat tours from 15 months to 12 months.Doesn't this sound like 2004? Or 2005? Or 2006? Or 2007?

The Iraq War will forever be a failure
2008-04-10 01:17:00
By VictorM:General Petraeus comes to Congress with his many charts trying to explain that the surge is working. Frankly, the whole thing makes me want to puke.Look, that whole mess was and will always be a failure. Anyone claiming "victory" or "progress" from that mess is in denial.Watching the Iraq war and all the spinning by the Bush administration is like watching a suicide happening before your own eyes. All we're doing now is trying to come up with justification for it, and standing around wondering what to do with the body.The stench reeks from anyone defending that disaster.
More About: Iraq War , Failure , Forever

Keep the sodas and candy away
2008-04-07 16:37:00
By VictorM:There really is no surprise with the results of the experiment shown below in terms of the consequences of this diet program:Five Philadelphia elementary schools replaced sodas with fruit juice. They scaled back snacks and banished candy. They handed out raffle tickets for wise food choices. They spent hours teaching kids, their parents and teachers about good nutrition... The number of kids who got fat during the two-year experiment was half the number of kids who got fat in schools that didn't make those efforts...The bad news: There were still plenty of new overweight kids in the five schools _ over 7 percent of them became overweight compared to the 15 percent in the schools that didn't make changes. The question is: will our political leaders have the wisdom and the will to push for such changes across the nation? Doubtful, of course, as the soda and candy companies will be out lobbying in force, but the benefits we'd get as a nation would be enormous, parti...
More About: Candy , Sodas

1650 words
2008-04-07 16:00:00
By VictorM:Meteor Blades is one of the front page writers at Daily Kos. He just wrote a 1650 word piece to basically say what he could have said with four words: "Hillary, be a quitter."What's with the rush to allow the Democratic party nomination to follow its process? If they need to change the party primary rules, so be it, but until then, allow any candidate to fight for the nomination. John McCain isn't going to get any better or erase his lousy record between now and a Democratic nominee is chosen. His stupid policies and war-mongering views will be alive and well for the Democratic candidate, whomever he or she is, to kick his butt.
More About: Words

Woman versus African-American
2008-04-06 18:58:00
By VictorM:Is the USA ready for either a woman or an African -American to be president? I am of two minds about the question itself. On one hand it's sad that the question is even asked, but given where we have been, it is good that question is being asked seriously because for the first time ever we have a candidate from each group with a realistic shot of winning (even if Hillary's chances are now fading).So, how do Americans feel about this race and gender issue?A poll by CNN and Essence magazine released Thursday found that Americans believe the country is more ready to elect an African-American president than a woman...The good news is that the vast majority of voters think the country is ready for either a woman or an African-American. But I was sad to see lower support for a woman -- though after this campaign, I wasn't surprised. I think it's clear that Hillary Clinton has suffered more sexist abuse than Barack Obama has experienced overt racism this year: men yelli...
More About: Woman , African American , Versus

Numbers will solve the problem
2008-04-05 18:46:00
By VictorM:Sports Illustrated has improved its covered of soccer, with writers who know the sport well. Clearly a positive trend that I wish continues. But they are not above the usual, ignorant, remark about the sport. The latest comes in the form of an editorial:American sports fans adore stats, the more the better. We revel in points per game and games per home run and home runs per home stand. Stats provide context; they empower us. You tell me Kobe is better than LeBron? I tell you 30.4, 8.0 and 7.3. Which leads me to the problem with soccer, or at least with pro soccer in the U.S.: not enough numbers.Are we suppose to believe that the American sports fans who think that soccer is a communist sport, for sissies, too low scoring, with unAmerican ties, and is boring and plain stupid is all of sudden going to be taking the whole family to the nearest soccer game if only the sport had more stats? And what numbers are we talking about? How many times David Beckham scratches his...
More About: Numbers , Problem

Eternal optimists or idiots?
2008-04-04 17:33:00
By VictorM:Time and time again we've heard that once Iraqi troops are properly trained, US troops can start a withdrawal. So many people have been buying that line, even when it's obvious that the statement is based on a premise that never seems to materialize:How many times did the White House tell us that it was only a matter of months before the Iraqi security forces would be able to stand up for themselves, so we could stand down? Yeah, I lost count too but judging from their performance during the Basra offensive, it appears the real answer is never. At least 1,000 to 1,500 deserted during the battle, including dozens of officers, and at least two senior field commanders in the battle.Yes, yes... mission accomplished is just around the corner... blah blah blah... and yet some fools buy this nonsense.
More About: Idiots , Eternal

The torture little step
2008-04-02 18:45:00
By VictorM:Commenting on the Yoo memo "asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes," this TPM poster has this to say:My parents were Hungarian holocaust survivors. The question most asked them about that era was, "how could it happen? What could have been done? My mother's reply was that tyranny takes little steps. People get upset, and then accept it. Then another little step. A few more little steps and you have death camps. Yoo's defense of torture is one more little step moving us away from civilization and closer to madness. Where is the outcry? Indeed, little steps have been taken since Bush has been president and the Republicans controlled Congress. Today, we are further along the path of little steps than we should. We have been down this road before -- Joe McCarthy being one ...
More About: Torture , Step

How the times have changed
2008-04-01 18:32:00
By VictorM:Not that long ago, the USA seemed headed to a single political party dominated by the Republican party. Not so anymore:Their party brand has been destroyed by one of the most unpopular administrations in American history and one of the most despised wars ever. The American economy is as weak and precarious as it has been in decades. And their nominee is inextricably tied to all of the policies that have eroded our national strength on every level and made Americans dislike and distrust their government more than ever before. Even McCain supporter David Brooks recently acknowledged: The Republican Party is more unpopular than at any point in the past 40 years. Democrats have a 50 to 36 party identification advantage, the widest in a generation. The general public prefers Democratic approaches on health care, corruption, the economy, and Iraq by double-digit margins. Still, we shouldn't think that the 2008 presidential election will provide the country with a win ...
More About: Times , The Times

Elizabeth knows
2008-03-31 21:47:00
By VictorM:Trying to understand the nuances of each candidate's health care plan is not easy. And even with the best of intentions, any proposed plan will be have go through serious compromises to become law, if ever. Which makes this observation by Elizabeth Edwards so important because if John McCain is entering the health care debate offering so little to begin with, how much will be left once the health care lobbyists and their allies in Congress are done with it?Elizabeth Edwards said this weekend that she and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who have both been treated for cancer, have one thing in common: “Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy.” Under McCain’s plan, insurance companies “wouldn’t have to cover preexisting conditions like melanoma and breast cancer,” she said, since cancer survivors are routinely denied insurance when they try to purchase it as individuals.

One third are stupid
2008-03-28 18:49:00
By VictorM:That's right, roughly one third of all Americans are plain and helplessly stupid. How do I know? Here:the impression that Obama is Muslim crosses party lines: 14% of Republicans, 10% of Democrats and 8% of independents think he is Muslim.Do the math.
More About: Stupid

Idiot of the day: The Sundries Sack
2008-03-27 18:18:00
By VictorM:Right wingers are obsessed with labels. Really, when they have no interest in discussions of substance (when do they ever?) they resort to labels. This idiot is worried about the term "civil war" to describe what's going on in Iraq:Apparently, Iraq is about to slide into a new civil war because the Iraqi government is taking out after the Madhi Army. So, it’s civil war when Sunni and Shia fight. Now, it’s also civil war when Shia and Shia fight...Because the MSM has a narrative and darned if the real world is going to get in the way of that.According to Merriam-Webster, here's a definition of civil war: : "a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country." Really, it's that simple. That Iraq is in the midsts of a civil war is a fact. And that the USA is involved fighting a civil war in a foreign country is another fact! Idiot .
More About: Sack

Social Security and illegal immigrants
2008-03-26 05:20:00
By VictorM:The 2008 report of the Social Security Trustees released today the "actuarial balance" of the system is better than it's been since 1993.Wow, how about that? Want to know why? It appears that instead of making up numbers to address illegal immigrants based on the make-up of the general population, they actually built a model that better represents that group.And guess what? Illegal immigrants tend to skew young. This benefits the system. Young people have more children than older people. This benefits the system. Some illegal immigrants pay taxes for a few years and then leave. This benefits the system. Bottom line: "This year's report results in ... a substantial increase in the number of working-age individuals contributing payroll taxes, but a relatively smaller increase in the number of retirement-age individuals receiving benefits in the latter half of the long-range period." Give or take a bit, it turns out that this shores up the Social Security system...
More About: Illegal Immigrants

"I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly"
2008-03-26 01:32:00
By VictorM:When it comes to global warming, get used to statements like the one on the title of this post. I know we've reduced global warming skeptics to the size and importance of flat-earth idiots, but we have been too slow to react and the reality of global warming will be harder to deal with than outdated computer models:A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming’s impact on Earth's southernmost continent.Scientists are shocked by the rapid change of events.Glaciologist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado was monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and spotted a huge iceberg measuring 25 miles by 1.5 miles that appeared to have broken away from the shelf.Scambos alerted colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) that it looked like the entire ice shelf — about 6,180 square miles (about the size of Northern Ireland)— was at risk of coll...
More About: Expect , Things

1,000 best
2008-03-25 15:54:00
By VictorM:The New York Times has a list of the 1,000 best movies ever made. I know, these lists are highly subjective, but still fun to look at. So I was curious to see if some of my favorite movies of all time made the list. I clicked on "P"... P... R...I... nope. No Princess Bride. Then I went to "F"... F... I... E... nope, no Field of Dreams. I tried one more. I clicked on "O"... O...n...c... nope, no Once Upon A Time in the West.I have to admit that the list looks pretty good, but if it doesn't have room for those three movies, something is wrong with the list maker.

Maybe this is what Bush meant by "the surge"
2008-03-24 22:32:00
By VictorM:To me, sending more troops to Iraq just seemed all along as a way of providing more targets in that country. Unfortunately, that fear seems to be the one becoming reality rather than the misguided and naive notion that the extra troops would be a catalyst for peace:American forces have just experienced the most violent two-week period in Iraq since September 2007. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this fact will be lost in the media coverage over the number 4,000 during the next several days.... Between March 10 and March 23, 25 American soldiers were killed in Iraq. The last two-week period in which U.S. forces sustained similar losses was between September 14 and September 27, when 26 were killed--a period that capped off the bloodiest summer of the war.I know, I know... So? They're only volunteers.
More About: Bush , Surge

So much traffic
2008-02-29 02:07:00
By VictorM:I can't pass up another opportunity to show how perception in America is changing about soccer. Here's another example.There has been much debate about building a soccer stadium in Washington, DC for DC United. Lots of pros and cons, for a variety of reasons. This article contains several letters from readers containing Pro and Con views. One of the people against building the stadium lists this as one of the reasons:I know people think visitors are going to be using the Metro, but the stadium’s still going to bring so much traffic."So much traffic"?Remember when the objection to investing in soccer was because no one would come? There wasn't enough support? Not enough fans? No one in America cares about soccer?Those days are gone!
More About: Traffic

Vallejo, CA: A sign of times to come?
2008-02-28 18:48:00
By VictorM:While the Bush administration and fellow accomplices continue to try and disguise the serious problems they've institutionalized during their years in power, the realities of the consequences are rearing their ugly heads. Here's an example:Vallejo , a city of 135,000 outside of San Francisco, moved closer to bankruptcy after negotiations with its labor unions collapsed... Vallejo faces ballooning labor costs and declining housing-related sales-tax revenue, leaving budget officials projecting that money will run out within weeks.Municipalities throughout California are grappling with billions of dollars in labor and pension cost increases incurred during the late 1990s. The crisis comes as the worst housing slump in the U.S. in 26 years saps tax revenue. The state's own $16 billion deficit led Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last month to declare a fiscal emergency. That's not a small town near bankruptcy. And unlike New York City years ago, this is not just mism...
More About: Sign , Times