Have you got your shit together?

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Saturday August 08, 2009 · 10:12 PM PDT

2009/08/08 · 22:12

OK. So I write a funny diary called "How to Argue and Win Every Time" tonight and, of course, it's both hilarious and somewhat, alright totally, ignored. But what gets me is the accusation that I am plagiarizing Dave Barry who, I admit, is funny in his own way. But let's face it, the guy is no Batfish. And I should point out that I once shot a plagiarist in Reno just to watch him say, "Et tu, Brute". I don't need to steal other people's crap; I make my own crap. And in that general spirit, here is yet another offering that I guarantee did not come from Dave "Fucking" Barry!

Batfish

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Saturday August 08, 2009 · 6:28 PM PDT

2009/08/08 · 18:28

A lot of you are probably wondering, "How come Democrats have the facts on their side almost all the time, and are thoughtful, articulate, logical and caring - but still seem to do poorly in public debates against certifiably insane morons who also smell bad?" I'm glad you asked that question because it gives me, let's face it, an open invitation to inflict on you a short guide on arguing. No Republican goon will ever dominate you again at any kind of social or political event again. WARNING: Please update your liability insurance before putting into practice these handy pointers to achieving argument dominance.

Batfish

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Friday April 10, 2009 · 1:31 PM PDT

2009/04/10 · 13:31

The housing market's collapse has produced a glut of cheap houses on the market and record numbers of empty, foreclosed dwellings all over the country. Rather than just let these buildings sit empty, it could be a good move to get people living in substandard public housing into decent homes at a reasonable cost. Some people have already started doing this on their own. But HUD could make this a program that would help to move families out of projects and into suburban homes. The reduction in risk to children of living in concentrated pockets of poverty has been widely documented. The Federal government could start buying up foreclosed homes to use the current housing collapse as a way to change the nature and effect of public housing. Here's how I see it unfolding in my state.

Batfish

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Thursday October 04, 2007 · 5:44 PM PDT

2007/10/04 · 17:44

Hillary Clinton spoke about science policy to the Carnegie Institution for Science today. She used the 50th Anniversary of the launch of Sputnik in 1957 to lay out what would be her administration's science policy, and to attack the Bush administration's attack on science over the last 7 years. As a professional scientist, I found her words to be very encouraging. It has been a very depressing time for scientists throughout the Bush years. Attacks on the independence of science and an unprecedented contraction in funding for research have made it a tough time. Most welcome were her remarks on stem cell research. The Bush policy has been yet another fiasco (they pretty much own the word now). Below, I wanted to touch on a few of the things Hillary said. But it was a pretty good speech. Scientists can look forward to a much more supportive White House if she becomes the President. Most of us scientists look back fondly on Bill Clinton's administration as the most supportive any of us can remember.

Batfish

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Sunday August 26, 2007 · 2:41 PM PDT

2007/08/26 · 14:41

When a Roman general had won a great victory, the Senate would award him a triumph. He would parade through Rome with emblems of his victory. Captured trophies, vanquished foes, and throngs of adoring, cheering Romans combined to give a feeling of transcendence to the conqueror. However, the Senate harbored a deep distrust of military heroes as well. In order that the feted general not get ideas above his station, a slave stood beside him in his triumphal chariot. The slave held the laurels just above the general’s head and said softly again and again, “Remember: you are only a man”. This story was well-known to the Framers of the US Constitution. They admired the Roman Republic for its distrust of individualized power, and having come from the rule of a despotic English king (in their view), they were determined to incorporate the virtues of the Roman Republic into the unified government of the United States.

Poll

43 votes Show Results

Does the Presidency need radical reform?

43 votes Vote Now!

Does the Presidency need radical reform?

All hail the Emperor!

2 votes

We just need better Presidents

14 votes

Constitutional Convention needed now

22 votes

Get rid of the Presidency

5 votes

Impeach Cheney

Batfish

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Wednesday July 04, 2007 · 9:52 AM PDT

2007/07/04 · 09:52

To the impeachonistas (if that's the right word) on dkos who know me as a persistent critic of fanciful ideas about rushing the ramparts to impeach Bush, I offer some consolation in the form of an encouragement toward impeaching Cheney. There is good reason to believe that Cheney committed conspiracy and obstructed justice in the Valerie Plama case. The natural reluctance of the Congress to start impeachment hearings on Cheney while the Fitzgerald enquiry and the Libby trial was in progress can now be laid aside. It is time to start hearings for Cheney to be removed for the commission of at least 2 felonies: conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Batfish

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Thursday June 28, 2007 · 12:46 PM PDT

2007/06/28 · 12:46

This is a short diary because it's meant to start a discussion. First we had the catfish that had been fed a banned antibiotic. Then we had the melamine in animal food scandal. Then we had the poisoned toothpaste. Are we really so stupid as to allow cooruption and lack of real oversight in China to poison us? Maybe it's time to tell the Chinese to keep their consumable items in their country until they can assure us that they have a food safety program in place that is reasonable.

The Chinese approach seems to be to pick a culprit, shoot him, and then go back to business as usual. We should be holding them to a higher standard. After all, we are paying for it.

Global warming and global trade

Batfish

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Saturday April 21, 2007 · 2:54 PM PDT

2007/04/21 · 14:54

Ten years ago, I went to Costa Rica on an ecotour. On a hike through the rainforest, our guide would point out different plants by name, and would always have some interesting comment about one or other. The plant that makes Vincristin, the anti-cancer drug, for example. Or berries that birds would eat because the capsaicin in them would help expel parasites. The names of these plants have long escaped my memory, but one thing stayed with me. Frequently, he would point out trees and shrubs that originated from India or Africa, recent arrivals brought to central America both intentionally and accidentally. The vast increase in global shipping has now made the homogenization of climatic zones rapidly apparent.

Batfish

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Thursday February 22, 2007 · 10:37 AM PST

2007/02/22 · 10:37

When the United States of America was founded, those colonies that entered the federation were decidedly not of the opinion that the contract they had signed was irreversible. The civil war decidedly disabused the states of that notion. Since that time, the power of the central government has taken upward leaps in the extent and power of its dominion. The New Deal was followed by the Second World War, each event bringing new power and wealth to Washington. I do not mean to cast aspersions on anyone involved in either bringing the New Deal into existence or in fighting the war. I simply recite as a matter of fact that the Federal Government now reaches more pervasively into the lives of Americans and people around the world than could ever be conceived by our forebears. Those who voice concern at the overweening power of this government are often Libertarians or small government Republicans, but I wonder if it is not time to consider whether Democrats should ask themselves whether the very size and power of the Federal Government has itself become a threat to peace and liberty.

More...

Batfish

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Wednesday November 29, 2006 · 12:57 PM PST

2006/11/29 · 12:57

As some of you are aware, I have been strongly opposed to attempted impeachment of the President because I think it would have no chance of success in the Senate. I am perfectly aware that the man deserves it, but I think it would not help either the country or the Democrats to move forward with an obviously doomed prosecution. It would make Democrats look like they had very poor judgment, and that opinion seems to be very broadly held by the Congressional leadership in the House and Senate, and outside the Congress.

So, is there any way I would change my mind on this question? (Paul Gaskin, you're going to love this!)

Batfish

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Wednesday November 22, 2006 · 1:46 PM PST

2006/11/22 · 13:46

The news from Iraq is not only not good, it steadily gets worse. And just when it gets as bad as one could imagine, it then proceeds to get worse. I have read a lot of military history; it's something of a hobby. And there have been wars, big and small, that were fought with an objective, with some kind of end in view. Even the Vietnam War had at least some kind of goal at some point. But this - I hesitate to say what it is - this debacle can only be compared to such vainglorious exercises as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Victor Hugo wrote The Debacle about it. It has much of the flavor of the Iraq debacle, or as I call it, The Iraqle.

So we get the following CNN report today:

Batfish

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Friday September 08, 2006 · 9:10 PM PDT

2006/09/08 · 21:10

This story is a little like checking into a nice hotel, pulling back the comforter on your bed, and seeing millions of cockroaches scurrying for cover. The other day, my young neighbors from across the street came over and wanted to talk. The story they told me is one that I thought wouldn't happen in "liberal" San Francisco. It just shows that crooks, standover merchants and extortionists are everywhere, and especially where there is money.

Have you got your shit together?

How to argue and win every time.

A real housing bailout

Hillary Clinton's Science Policy

The Toxicity of the Presidency

Impeach Cheney

China: Too toxic?

Global warming and global trade

Regionalism: A New Look at Federalism

Revisiting the dread word

Are we at civil war yet?

Extortion in San Francisco