Re: Sirota - I work in high tech, but Sri Lankans gotta eat too

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Thursday August 05, 2010 · 1:17 PM PDT

2010/08/05 · 13:17

This is a reply to David Sirota's diary decrying foreign aid going to train Sri Lankan workers in technology fields
(due to its length I decided to put it in its own diary)

I've worked as a software engineer for almost 15 years now, and have lived with the constant "threat" of outsourcing for most of that time. Once, I actually did lose my job to outsourcing. I could be angry and afraid at this state of affairs, but I'm not... (more below fold)

lmalave

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Wednesday January 20, 2010 · 9:26 AM PST

2010/01/20 · 09:26

Many have suggested already that the Senate bill should be ping-ponged through the House and then fixed later through Reconciliation. Others have suggested scrapping the Senate bill and passing more progressive HCR measures through reconciliation.

To the "back to the drawing board"/Reconciliation proponents - what advantage is there to starting from stratch instead of using the Senate bill as a starting point? If something that Progressives want (different taxes/funding, public option, etc.) is passable through Reconciliation or a follow-up bill, couldn't the Senate bill be fixed to implement that same exact thing through Reconciliation?

I'll go through the major objections to the Senate bill:

lmalave

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Friday July 24, 2009 · 7:26 AM PDT

2009/07/24 · 07:26

Sorry for the short diary, but I just wanted to raise an issue in a diary rather than comments because I don't believe enough emphasis has been placed on it in the last several days of discussions.

The discussion for people on both Gates' and Crowley's side has of course centered on racial profiling. Those on Gates' side argue that officers were only called to his home because of his skin color, and that the officer's behavior was unreasonable because of his bias. Those on Crowley's side argue that he was just following procedure and that this has nothing to do with race.

But was Crowley really "just following procedure"? Was he really serving the public interest? I don't think Crowley's defense was effectively refuted at all over the past few days, when in my opinion it should have been quickly and clearly refuted pointing out something obvious about Gates' arrest.

More after the fold...

lmalave

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Friday September 19, 2008 · 8:59 AM PDT

2008/09/19 · 08:59

So now we're looking at possibly a TRILLION dollar bank bailout. Why? Because banks took on insane amounts of leverage and risk based on a flimsy base of questionable subprime loans.

So these same Republican corporate masters that railed against Democratic plans to address the housing crisis as rewarding "irresponsible borrowing" by helping individual homeowners avoid foreclosure now come HAT IN HAND begging for a bailout. A bailout for a crisis caused by corporations borrowing irresponsibly on a scale that dwarfs of the value of all of the subprime mortgages in the country put together. (I believe a 30 to 1 leverage ratio was on the low end in this bubble market).

...rant continued below the fold.

Poll

93 votes Show Results

Have you read Atlas Shrugged?

93 votes Vote Now!

Have you read Atlas Shrugged?

Yes, loved it

18 votes

Yes, hated it

33 votes

No, but plan to

9 votes

No, don't plan to

33 votes

Breaking: Obama admits surge worked in Fox interview. Poll: hurts or helps?

lmalave

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Thursday September 04, 2008 · 2:27 PM PDT

2008/09/04 · 14:27

So it appears that Obama has decided to state that the Surge has been very successful:

http://elections.foxnews.com/...

Is this a smart move? Arguments could be made both ways, but Obama has great political instincts and I think this will turn out to be a positive move.

Arguments pro and con below the fold...

Poll

829 votes Show Results

What will be the effect of Barack's statement that the surge worked

829 votes Vote Now!

What will be the effect of Barack's statement that the surge worked

Helps. Takes issue partially off the table.

136 votes

Hurts. Gives McCain more ammunition.

351 votes

No difference. It's the economy stupid

342 votes

Breaking: Nader polling at 6%

lmalave

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Wednesday July 02, 2008 · 5:01 PM PDT

2008/07/02 · 17:01

http://www.cnn.com/...

(courtesy of CNN via Drudge)

WTF??? Haven't you Nader voters learned?

'Cause in 2000 there was no difference between Bush and Gore, right? Just two sides of the same coin, right?

And this time around there's no difference between Obama and McCain, right? Right?

To paraphrase Churchill:

Never in the field of American politics was so much damage done to so many by so few.

(rant continued after fold)

lmalave

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Friday June 27, 2008 · 2:21 PM PDT

2008/06/27 · 14:21

Sigh. I keep waiting for this stupid FISA issue to die down but it just keeps going and going and going and going. So at long last I'll weigh in but I'll keep it short.

Anyone who read DailyKos has probably heard the highlights of Obama's stump speech many times, but as you know his rationale for running NOW instead of "waiting his turn" comes down to three things:

Our nation is at war, our planet is in peril and the dream that so many generations fought for feels like it’s slowly slipping away.

Folks, Obama is running because he thinks this is a uniquely critical time in the history of this country and possibly of humanity itself. If you think that's hyperbole then you haven't been paying attention. Let's recap what's at stake here after the fold.

lmalave

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Wednesday May 07, 2008 · 10:52 AM PDT

2008/05/07 · 10:52

I thought Obama gave one of his best speeches of the primary season yesterday. Obama more clearly defined the case for his campaign, and made the powerful case that his campaign reflects cherished American values more than the Republican platform does.

To longtime Obama followers the themes in the speech were nothing new - he has covered them in his books, in the 2004 convention speech, and in this campaign. But I do see evidence in the speech that his message will become more focused and powerful, and will specifically rebut anticipated Republican lines of attack against him.

(analysis after the fold)

lmalave

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Friday April 25, 2008 · 10:19 AM PDT

2008/04/25 · 10:19

...this is the question that Obama needs to answer to get his campaign and his movement back on track. Yes, Obama can still coast to the Democratic nomination (based on his insurmountable delegate lead) and to a general election victory (based on the realities of the economy and Iraq which would favor any Democrat). But the fact is that the honeymoon seems to be over for Obama. More and more people are seeing him as just another politician. They are seeing his calls for "hope", "change", and "unity" as completely empty campaign sloganeering.

But of course they're not empty words to those that understand where Obama is coming from and the meaning behind those words. Obama has not clearly articulated what he means by those words I think deliberately, with the rationale that he'd rather leave it open-ended so that people could project any meaning that they wanted to onto those words. That strategy has worked for a while but now I think the bubble has burst and if Obama doesn't define himself more clearly than he will let Clinton and McCain define him instead - as the oft-mentioned "empty suit".

(continuation and question after the fold)

lmalave

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Friday April 18, 2008 · 1:27 PM PDT

2008/04/18 · 13:27

As posted on Huffington Post.

The relevant quote from letter:

Barack Obama's foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders. Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister said, "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America."

We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Update [2008-4-18 17:3:52 by lmalave]:I forgot to note that the Huffington Post article lists the following as the subject line for the letter: "Hamas Weighs In On U.S. Presidential Election". So it's not as if this wasn't the main thrust of the letter.

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Re: Sirota - I work in high tech, but Sri Lankans gotta eat too

If Reconciliation can work if starting new from stratch, why can't it work to fix Senate bill?

The real issue: Gates arrested on frivolous charge

I'm sick of Republican economic hypocrisy and Ayn Rand-ian paternalism

Breaking: Obama admits surge worked in Fox interview. Poll: hurts or helps?

Breaking: Nader polling at 6%

FISA insignificant compared to, you know, SAVING THE WORLD

Obama speech yesterday is template for campaign themes in General Election

What the heck does "hope", "change", and "unity" mean anyway?

BREAKING: McCain fundraising letter links Obama to Hamas