Points I Wish Biden Had Hit

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Friday October 12, 2012 · 9:31 AM PDT

2012/10/12 · 09:31

It's clear Joe Biden won last night's debate. I'm not here to tear down his performance because it was, on balance, effective and successful in drawing the kinds of contrasts that will put undecideds in the Dem column on election day. However I do think Biden missed a couple of opportunities to draw those constrasts more boldly and by doing so, make the road easier for Democrats up and down the ticket.

BeerNotWar

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Wednesday November 17, 2010 · 9:03 AM PST

2010/11/17 · 09:03

Maybe this should be titled "Fighting the Intellectual War over Economics" because it's not clear liberals have been waging one since the 1950's. During this time the left has seen innovative thought in identity politics and environmentalism, but have stood by while neoliberal economics and Randian Objectivism ran roughshod over us in the realm of ideas about the economy. If Chris Hedges is right, this may stem from the House Unamerican Activities Committee witch hunts that succeeded in purging economic leftists from university faculties. It's as good an explanation as any as to why it feels as though we've been on defense all these years.

It's time to turn things around. We need a vibrant new defense of progressive approaches to the most fundamental economic problems. We can't rely on the constructs of the past because the right has had a half-century to absorb, develop resistance to and eject them intellectually. There is, I believe, a vibrant counterpunch to be dealt which utilizes the language of individualism, of industriousness and ingenuity which the right has successfully made part of our culture for the forseeable future.

BeerNotWar

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Sunday March 29, 2009 · 8:56 AM PDT

2009/03/29 · 08:56

Although it turns out that the Chinese character for Crisis is not actually composed of the characters for danger and opportunity the inherent wisdom of this meme may explain its tenacity. I would bet that many Democrats sense both danger and opportunity in the crisis now facing GOP leadership. They are in a tight spot. Their moneyed establishment seems to feel pretty much the way the rest of us do about the Palinites and Limbaughlites of the party: they fear and despise them. However, the GOP establishment knows it can't actually win elections without the votes and volunteer energy of its "grassroots" base, composed largly of those same feared and despised loonies.

What to do?

BeerNotWar

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Monday August 25, 2008 · 12:33 PM PDT

2008/08/25 · 12:33

I would really love to see John Kerry stand up at the convention and give a speech like this:

"Four years ago I was attacked for marrying a rich woman to further my political career. Do you hear those same Republicans coming after John McCain for marrying a rich heiress? And for dating her before he left his first wife, no less? This all before John won his first seat in Congress! And by the way, nobody gets arrested for driving after using too much of the product that Theresa's family sells!

(more below...)

BeerNotWar

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Sunday October 21, 2007 · 9:17 PM PDT

2007/10/21 · 21:17

Someone is setting nets in Puget Sound that are killing baby seals, inadvertently it seems...but the seals are still dead. More needs to be learned about this, but I just wanted to raise awareness on this subject. You can get some murky details from the West Seattle Blog link above. Why is my part of the country becoming the the least aquatic-mammal-friendly part of the US?

BeerNotWar

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Saturday September 29, 2007 · 10:40 AM PDT

2007/09/29 · 10:40

My Senator did not vote on the Cornyn ammendment to censure MoveOn.org for it's "Betray Us" ad. I thought she should make it up to me, so I wrote her this letter (below the fold):

BeerNotWar

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Tuesday September 04, 2007 · 8:33 AM PDT

2007/09/04 · 08:33

Here is what you'll be seeing all over the news for the next couple of weeks instead of any serious news about Congress' deliberations on the war in Iraq. That's right...it's the latest "missing white girl" story. Just in time for Magical Semptember™.

BeerNotWar

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Thursday July 12, 2007 · 8:41 AM PDT

2007/07/12 · 08:41

I’ve been a huge fan of Biodiesel as an alternative fuel since I first learned about it in 2002. When the war in Iraq began I could no longer stomach running my car on petroleum-based fuel, so even though I had a brand new Saturn that I loved I sold it and bought a Jetta TDI turbo-diesel and have been running it on Biodiesel ever since. 55k miles later the only thing my mechanic says about it is: "Wow, your engine is totally clean...not like most of these I see."

But this diary isn’t a testimonial about the wonders of Biodiesel. This diary is about problems now being created by increasing production of biodiesel and some very exciting developments suggesting that a shift in direction could make biodiesel a realistic alternative for every vehicle in the country.

If we don't change direction on biofuels we will do more harm to the environment and world economies than to oil companies' profits

BeerNotWar

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Tuesday October 10, 2006 · 10:37 AM PDT

2006/10/10 · 10:37

This space will hopefully be filled by a regular exercise in critical thinking and humor that I, a home-brewing Philosophy major, am uniquely qualified to perform. My plan is to spend a little time every few days summarizing the arguments of a syndicated editorialist appearing in my local newspaper's opinion pages, along with any letters or pieces by local opinion-writers that catch my fancy. Since I was inspired to take on this task by Presidential speechwriter / Presidential speech critic (of same speech) / Sourpuss for Freedom Charles Krauthammer's editorial in yesterday's paper, I will make it the subject of today's diary. Welcome, to Why They're Wrong. Read More

The Message Dems Need to Win

BeerNotWar

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Saturday September 30, 2006 · 10:02 PM PDT

2006/09/30 · 22:02

I expect this will get buried in all the hubbub over the Foley / Hastert scandal...but it needs to be said. There is a message that Democrats need to begin pumping now in order to drive fence-sitters firmly into their camp. It's simple and clear, and has the virtue of being true: If Republicans win, they will attack Iran. More below... Read More

"Dereliction of Duty" = source for "Path to 9/11?"

BeerNotWar

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Tuesday September 12, 2006 · 12:10 PM PDT

2006/09/12 · 12:10

The man behind the mini-series "Path to 9/11" admits he used Robert Patterson's "Dereliction of Duty" as a source. What validity does Patterson's book have? I'm not familiar with it and I can't find any (recent) posts about it on Kos. This is an important angle to take as a quick search of in the internet shows this book to underpin a lot of right wing Clinton-blaming (and, consequently, Bush-trusting) about 9/11. Are there any sources that directly contradict Patterson's accounts?

Raytheon: For Shame!

BeerNotWar

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Tuesday September 05, 2006 · 10:21 PM PDT

2006/09/05 · 22:21

I was having a perfectly good post-homebrewing drinking session when I caught wind of this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

The Army is rejecting a system designed to protect vehicles from RPG's. Is it because the system is too expensive? Not by Army standards it isn't. Is it ineffective? Nope. The Pentagon's own testing demonstrated a 96-100% success rate at defeating RPG's. Can't be deployed due to some practical limitations? Nope. The Pentagon is ready to begin battlefield trials...i.e. as far as they can tell it's ready to deploy.

The problem with this Israeli system is that it didn't come from Raytheon who has a contract to come up with just such a system. Problem is they are years away from a solution and our guys are getting nailed by RPG's every day. If this makes you as mad as me, write your Congressperson and shame Raytheon into telling the Army to deploy this system NOW. More info, ranting and general disorderliness beyond... Read More

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Points I Wish Biden Had Hit

Winning the Intellectual War over Economics

GOP Divide: Danger and Opportunity

The Revenge of John Kerry

Don't Kill Baby Seals

My Letter to Senator Maria Cantwell

We interrupt your Magical September™

Biodiesel at a crossroads. Where to next?

Why They're Wrong, 10-10-06

The Message Dems Need to Win

"Dereliction of Duty" = source for "Path to 9/11?"

Raytheon: For Shame!