How many lives is your Senator worth?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 19, 2009 · 10:07 AM PDT

2009/08/19 · 10:07

Hope is a wonderful thing. It can keep us going when times seem bleak. Hope got us a new president who promised us health care reform. It's a good thing for hope, because right now hope is about all I have left for health care reform.

I hope Senate and House Democrats can get their act together. I hope they realize there's no benefit in paying the slightest attention to the Republican "death panel" noise machine. I hope they learn (quickly, please) that there's no down-side at all to simply ignoring them. I hope, for one single shining moment of history, that they'll listen to the angels of their better natures and act on the deep and certain knowledge that providing my family and yours with quality, affordable health care is in fact more important than letting health insurance lobbyists rig the game to the profit of their clients.

But hope is dangerous, too.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

Are you delaying medical care out of hope?

18 votes Vote Now!

Are you delaying medical care out of hope?

I know I shouldn't, but yeah, I am.

7 votes

Yes, but it's not a choice. I simply can't afford it now.

3 votes

No, but I'm pretty sure I'm in good health today.

2 votes

No, I'm getting care even though my insurer is gonna screw me.

1 vote

No, money's no issue for me.

5 votes

Twenty Years from Tiananmen

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday June 04, 2009 · 4:13 PM PDT

2009/06/04 · 16:13

Not too long ago, I met this woman named Yuki. She came to a meeting of my Toastmasters club, to work on her public speaking skills. She's Chinese, and struggles with the weirdness of the English language, and to be understood through her heavy accent.

She's a nice lady, but I never thought much about her beyond that.

Until today. Today, she gave an amazing presentation on her memories of the events that took place 20 years ago, today, in Tiananmen Square.

When she was done speaking, the room was dead silent. My view of Yuki had radically changed. Would I have born up as well in her shoes? Would I have had the courage to do what she did in that situation? I asked her if she would mind if I shared her story, which you can find after the fold.

Poll

12 votes Show Results

Are you as brave as my friend Yuki?

12 votes Vote Now!

Are you as brave as my friend Yuki?

No way. She's got me beat.

2 votes

Probably not.

2 votes

No idea. I'd have to live through it to find out.

6 votes

Probably.

1 vote

Yup. I've done something similar myself.

1 vote

Mr. President, please, just call it "torture"

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 21, 2009 · 2:23 PM PDT

2009/05/21 · 14:23

I read with great interest the transcript of Obama's national security speech. And for pretty much all of it, I agree with him. But one particular bit kind of set me off. It's a quote that diarist LarsThorwald also called out in his diary today:

[blockquote]I have opposed the creation of such a Commission because I believe that our existing democratic institutions are strong enough to deliver accountability. The Congress can review abuses of our values, and there are ongoing inquiries by the Congress into matters like enhanced interrogation techniques. The Department of Justice and our courts can work through and punish any violations of our laws.[/blockquote]

I agree with the notion that our existing institutions can, when used properly, do the job. But, emphasis mine in that quote, because that's the part that gets me.

Mr. President, can't you just call it Torture?

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday May 18, 2009 · 2:08 PM PDT

2009/05/18 · 14:08

This diary is here because, mostly, the comment thread on the petition diary to unban Tocquedeville is now insanely long.

I do not believe I have ever seen a diary with 2300+ comments on it before, as that one, which certainly attests to the passion this community has about the subject of CTs and banning.

I have some thoughts on the matter that I'd like to share, which are a bit more extensive than I can really treat in a comment over in that diary.

Poll

213 votes Show Results

Forbidden topics on DKos:

213 votes Vote Now!

Forbidden topics on DKos:

A good thing; keeps the crazies out

66 votes

Not my favorite, but, Kos's decision

58 votes

Overall, bad for the community.

75 votes

Like forbidden fruit: sweet as pie.

14 votes

Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters Lame Duck/Joke Edition

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 15, 2009 · 10:05 AM PDT

2009/05/15 · 10:05

For whatever reason, we can't all get up early enough in the morning to get in on TexDem's Mojo Friday diaries. By the time we show up, there's a thousand comments and our browsers go into apoplectic fits trying to cope.

If this describes your Mojo Friday experience, welcome to the Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters Edition diary!

This is like the other Mojo Friday diary, just time-shifted alternative for people who can't, for whatever reason, get in early on the regular Mojo Friday diary. The rules are mostly the same, with some small tweaks (see below). Basically, be nice and do like Wil Wheaton says: "Don't be a dick."

Flip on over for this week's theme, Lame Duck, Lame Jokes

Poll

26 votes Show Results

Who should host the next 4 time-shifter diaries?

26 votes Vote Now!

Who should host the next 4 time-shifter diaries?

Jules Beaujolais -- "I am not worthy."

1 vote

Beccaf22 -- "I rarely get moving before 10AM."

5 votes

StateOfGrace -- "I am hard-working, punctual, and extremely good looking."

8 votes

MKinTN -- "I posted in the nomination thread, so..."

4 votes

Laurie Gator -- "I enjoy cooking trolls."

8 votes

Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters (Formerly: West Coast) Edition

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 08, 2009 · 10:08 AM PDT

2009/05/08 · 10:08

By now, I think you're all getting the hang of why we have a second Mojo Friday diary. For those who haven't been around the past couple of Fridays, the idea is this:

Tired of the Mojo Friday page being so huge and bloated by the time you see it that it brings your browser to its knees, thus preventing you from joining the fun?

You are? Welcome to the Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters Edition diary!

This is like the other Mojo Friday diary, but provides a time-shifted alternative for people who can't, for whatever reason, get in early on the regular Mojo Friday diary. Mostly this is west coast Kossacks, which is why this was originally labeled the "West Coast Edition", but it turns out there are plenty Kossacks elsewhere who can't manage to get in on TexDem's regular Mojo Diaries either. The way I see it, there's no reason they shouldn't be welcome too.

I've also decided to tweak the rules a bit, so see below. Otherwise, the same rules apply as with TexDem's regular mojo-thons. So, please be nice and do like Wil Wheaton says: "Don't be a dick."

Flip on over for this week's theme, Term Limits

Poll

22 votes Show Results

Term limits...

22 votes Vote Now!

Term limits...

suck. Let the people decide!

8 votes

are unnecessary. Everybody dies, eventually...

6 votes

aren't draconian enough. One term only!

8 votes

Mojo Friday -- West Coast Orthographic Oddities Edition

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 01, 2009 · 9:52 AM PDT

2009/05/01 · 09:52

Tired of logging on first thing Friday morning only to see that the Mojo Friday diary already has 1000+ comments?

Tired of people in more easterly time-zones having all the fun, and hogging all the mojo?

Tired of the Mojo Friday page being so huge and bloated by the time you see it that it brings your browser to its knees, thus preventing you from joining the fun?

You are? Welcome to the Mojo Friday -- West Coast Edition diary! This is no different than the other Mojo Friday diary, but provides a time-shifted alternative for left-coasters who can't be bothered to drag our sorry butts out of bed early enough to get in early on the regular Mojo Friday diary.

This is our second go at a West Coast edition. Last week's inagural effort turned out pretty well, here's hoping this one does better. Same rules, more or less, apply as with TexDem's regular mojo-thons.

Flip on over for this week's theme, What the F*** is up with English orthography, anyway?

Poll

193 votes Show Results

Most Useless Letter of the English Alphabet:

193 votes Vote Now!

Most Useless Letter of the English Alphabet:

C -- are you a [k] or a [s]? Make up your mind!

23 votes

K -- it's less common than C, so it should get the axe.

13 votes

W -- tainted, tainted, forever tainted.

85 votes

X -- ridiculous holdover from throat-raspy Greek alphabet.

72 votes

Widowed from our Food Chain

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday April 29, 2009 · 11:42 AM PDT

2009/04/29 · 11:42

Swine Flu. Smithfield Farms. CAFOs. H1N1. Senator Collins.

This is the vocabulary of this week's latest international calamity, which you can hardly have escaped hearing about if you've been awake any time in the past three days. Yet another macabre mashup between corporate environmental vandalism and our food supply, with the cost measured in bodies.

Today it's pork. Last time it was peanut butter. Before that, tomatoes, except not really because that one turned out to be tainted jalapenos and too bad for the poor tomato farmers who suddenly couldn't sell their highly perishable crops. Before that it was the fresh-bagged spinach. Remember that? I wonder what it will be tomorrow?

Last night I was reading Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, when I came across this terribly, terribly apt passage. Flip, for a nice piece of writing that is all too timely...

Poll

44 votes Show Results

I grow...

44 votes Vote Now!

I grow...

not a damn thing.

9 votes

a negligible, but measureable, amount of my own food.

26 votes

enough that I can afford the rest of my groceries.

4 votes

more than half of what my family eats.

4 votes

nearly everything I eat. C'mon, who can grow their own chocolate?

1 vote

Mojo Friday -- West Coast Edition

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday April 24, 2009 · 9:11 AM PDT

2009/04/24 · 09:11

Tired of logging on first thing Friday morning only to see that the Mojo Friday diary already has 1000+ comments?

Tired of people in more easterly time-zones having all the fun, and hogging all the mojo?

Tired of the Mojo Friday page being so huge and bloated by the time you see it that it brings your browser to its knees, thus preventing you from joining the fun?

Well, I am! So, I christen this the Inagural Edition Mojo Friday -- West Coast Edition diary!

Poll

26 votes Show Results

My GMT offset is:

26 votes Vote Now!

My GMT offset is:

-8:00 (PST) I belong here!

12 votes

-7:00 (MST) Howdy, neighbor!

1 vote

-6:00 (CST) In the middle, may as well do both!

6 votes

-5:00 (EST) Hey, mojo is mojo...

6 votes

Somewhere in the Atlantic. Iceland, maybe.

0 votes

Somewhere in the Pacific. Alaska or Hawaii.

0 votes

I shouldn't even be awake now.

1 vote

Stopping Monsanto for good

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 16, 2009 · 10:49 AM PDT

2009/04/16 · 10:49

Tuesday, NPR's Marketplace program reported that Germany has moved to ban Monsanto's "MON-810" strain of genetically modified corn.

This--if it holds up--is a significant win for the sustainable agriculture movement, and a significant loss for one of the most environmentally reprehensible companies on the planet, Monsanto.

But today, Inky99 points us at a new story showing (surprise!) that Monsanto is trying to sue their way into Germany anyway.

Inky ends by saying that somehow, the world has to stand up to Monsanto. I say WE have to stand up to Monsanto, and I've got an idea for how to do it, over the flip.

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 25, 2009 · 10:45 AM PDT

2009/03/25 · 10:45

I get it. We're all infuriated about the AIG bonuses. Our moral indignation has never been higher. But here's a memo for everyone, left, right, and center: you're getting played.

Back in the Roman Empire, the emperors knew that all they really needed to do to keep the people happy--and thus, to keep themselves well supplied with peeled grapes and concubines--was to make sure the people had food and amusement: Bread and circuses. If the people weren't overly hungry, and had something to distract them, the emperors knew they could get away with really anything they wanted for as long as they wanted.

For instance, they could get their veni, vidi, vici on across all the way up to Hadrian's Wall, regardless of whether there was any real need or point to doing so. And if such shenanigans had any unintended consequences, such as overextending Rome's power to the point of bringing down the entire empire, well, the next fellow would have to clean up the mess.

If that sounds familiar, it should. It's every Republican administration since, let's see, at least Nixon.

Flip, for what this has to do with AIG.

Poll

15 votes Show Results

The only good circus is...

15 votes Vote Now!

The only good circus is...

...a dead circus.

2 votes

Barnum & Bailey

1 vote

Circque du Soleil

6 votes

The U.S. Congress

3 votes

No! Clowns frighten me.

3 votes

An Alternate Solution to the Credit Crisis.

jasonbl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 11, 2009 · 12:34 PM PDT

2009/03/11 · 12:34

As thereisnospoon explained for us on Monday, the credit crisis is poised to seriously bite the economy in the ass if something isn't done soon. It was a great diary, and I won't re-hash here the mechanism by which this could happen. Suffice it to say that it's a problem that threatens the 99.7% of employers in America who are small businesses.

The problem is that banks aren't giving credit. The solution everyone's talking about is nationalizing the banks. But I think there's another option. It's one I haven't heard floated here or in the traditional media (not that I watch those guys anymore, but still). Follow me over the flip...

Poll

24 votes Show Results

This is a:

24 votes Vote Now!

This is a:

Great idea, do it now!

10 votes

Good idea.

5 votes

I don't know

7 votes

Bad idea.

2 votes

Worst solution ever.

0 votes

Could be a good idea, if you do it like I explain down in the comments.

0 votes

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RSS

How many lives is your Senator worth?

Twenty Years from Tiananmen

Mr. President, please, just call it "torture"

Some Thoughts on the Tocquedeville Hornets' Nest

Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters Lame Duck/Joke Edition

Mojo Friday -- Time Shifters (Formerly: West Coast) Edition

Mojo Friday -- West Coast Orthographic Oddities Edition

Widowed from our Food Chain

Mojo Friday -- West Coast Edition

Stopping Monsanto for good

Bread and Circuses

An Alternate Solution to the Credit Crisis.