If I were Barack Obama...

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Friday November 21, 2014 · 8:53 PM PST

2014/11/21 · 20:53

But then, maybe it's good that I'm not.

Since President Obama was elected in 2008, I've noticed that he's physically changed from a young, energetic firebrand into a graying elder statesman. The weight of the world on your shoulders will do that, I think.

He's fought a lot of political battles, took one too many meetings, and accommodated more than one too many Republicans.

And now, the impeachment drumbeats increase in volume.

Dear Mr. President,
You have two weeks to finish your business, sir, while maintaining your integrity and leading a country that is basically ungovernable at this point. Nothing of note will be accomplished in the next two years.

Cut your personal losses. Make the speech you've wanted to make (if you really did want to actually make that speech). Let Joe deal with the national insurgency until 2016.

You've done the best that anyone could have been expected to do given flaming mountain of bullshit that you were handed (intentionally) by the GOP to deal with in 2008.

I would not blame you for one moment if you stepped to the microphone tomorrow and resigned, citing the need to spend more time with your family.

Personally, I wouldn't -- couldn't -- spend one moment of my life dealing with Bohener and McConnell.

Let Joe handle it from here. You've done what you can. Give Michelle and your daughters the attention they require. Time is fleeting. Neither you nor they deserve the animus that's coming. It's going to be beyond difficult, and I worry for you, sir.

Take the nearest exit ramp. It's not worth it.

From someone who has been there,

Best Regards,

Z.

Despair

Zadatz

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Thursday November 06, 2014 · 7:20 PM PST

2014/11/06 · 19:20

Do Not Dispair

Wut??

Progress toward the 19th century gilded age?

Let's get real.

We're apparently the outliers. Not that, in and of itself, that's a bad thing. Every socio-political-economic system needs its contrarians. I accepted, on Tuesday, that I was no longer in the mainstream. I am a contrarian. And I'm ok with that. It's been an overarching theme in my life's story.

DKos is supposedly a reality based community. The reality is that, having my political ass handed to me on multiple occasions over many years, Tuesday (actually, Wednesday) was truly a reality check for me.

I'm not OK with my progressive / social democratic views of how society and economics should work being completely discounted by a majority of the voting public. But my views were swept to the curb. That means that my views are in the minority - and apparently - a shrinking one at that.

But I'm OK with accepting that. The marker has been set, and now it's my turn to figure out whether / if I fit into the structural makeup of this country. My gut reaction is "NO", but I'll let that cool off for a bit, and not make any hasty decisions.

What I am clear about is that I'm on my own, which is exactly where the GOP wants me to be. Whether I survive or fail to survive in the coming decade or so is of absolutely no concern to the bag men and controllers of either political party. I think that's a very appropriate distinction to make right now. I didn't call out the GOP. I didn't call out the Dems.

We are not winning the war against progress. The New Deal is the dead deal, if not now, within a short time horizon. The Great Society is the turbulent society, if not now, within a short time horizon.

So again, what's clear is that I'm on my own, and can't depend on any person, any ideology, or any political party to represent my interests going forward. Representing my own interest feels like a pro se type of deal. Representing oneself is generally a fools errand. But it's all I feel like I have right now. At my age, there is no good ending to this story. I think I've known that for awhile. November 4, 2014, just kind of confirmed things for me.

The good news is, through the ups and downs of the past 15 - 20 years, I've learned how to survive. There are many who are about to be baptized by fire into day-to-day survival. The biggest lesson I've learned?

Be your brother's keeper, no matter how rough things get. The person you never expected to have your back, will.

Dear America - You Have No Idea What You Bought on Tuesday

Zadatz

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Tuesday November 04, 2014 · 7:24 PM PST

2014/11/04 · 19:24

I promise you this, though - you'll find out soon enough.

There will be three distinct classes of people defined over the next two years:

The "haves"
The "drones"
The "useless eaters"

That's your class distinction between now and 2016. The "drones" will vote for the "haves", because they have no choice unless they want to become "useless eaters".

Forget Latino, women, working class, urban poor, whatever color of the rainbow you care to invoke, or immigration status.

Haves. Drones (who serve the "Haves"). Useless eaters.

Before you flame me, tell me how that doesn't happen? Tell me how Ann Romney doesn't become the next first lady? I'm asking for realism. We progressives got our reality tonight, and we're the outliers.

I got the message, loud and clear. I heard to it. And I'll act accordingly. From today forward, I am on my own, and responsible only for me and my loved ones.

I. Have. No. Choice.

Big Oil Lobby Group: "Lift U.S. Crude Export Ban"

Zadatz

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Saturday October 25, 2014 · 7:31 AM PDT

2014/10/25 · 07:31

A big oil lobbying group wants to lift the crude oil export ban in the U.S.? Say what?? Yes, you read that right:

Oil producers are forming a coalition dedicated to ending the four-decade U.S. ban on crude exports, signaling a more serious turn in their push to sell to overseas customers.
The Producers for American Crude Exports includes ConocoPhillips, along with at least 13 other companies, company spokesman Daren Beaudo said in a statement. Hess Corp. (HES), Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Continental Resources Inc. are also in the group, according to a disclosure statement filed to Congress.

As U.S. oil production increases to its highest point in three decades, advocates for exports say the ban is anachronistic and they point to studies showing positive effects from allowing exports, including more production in the U.S. and cheaper gasoline prices.

I read a similar story a couple of weeks back, but didn't put much thought into it at the time. It seemed to me like the report had to be a covert industry trial balloon to gauge public sentiment. The idea appeared too preposterous for even the oil production industry itself to put forward. The Bloomberg story quoted above has me scratching my head, though.

Even though U.S. consumers (and indeed, a significant portion of U.S. foreign policy) are still basically under the thumb of energy producers in the volatile Middle East, and one of our primary crude oil suppliers is America-hating Venezuela, the oil industry wants to start shipping domestically produced crude offshore? Depending on the source that you believe, the United States imports roughly 40% of the oil we consume.

And, did you catch that bit of puzzling pretzel logic in the Bloomberg story? The industry (and, in fact, the story even cites the GAO) is claiming that allowing U.S. crude oil to be exported to other countries will lower the cost of refined products such as gasoline in the U.S.

Yeah, I did a double take on that one, too, until it struck me that exporting raw material overseas for processing, then re-importing refined / finished product for consumption in the U.S. (because the cost of making the finished product overseas is so much cheaper than doing it domestically) is not exactly a new idea. And regardless of the industry, doing so ends up being a net loss of well paying jobs in the U.S. That would be particularly true with oil.

The previously cited Bloomberg article does get one thing right:

Even so, energy analysts and lobbyists said success for the effort isn’t certain in Washington, where the focus has long been on how to cut ties to overseas oil tyrants.
“Every politician running for dog catcher to president over the last 30 years has told the American people that all of our problems would be solved if we achieved ‘energy independence,’” said Jeff Navin, a former deputy chief of staff at the Energy Department under President Barack Obama. “The politics of this are extremely tough, and you’ve seen free market Republicans in oil patch states hesitant to embrace a full scale policy of exports.”

Remember this? It wasn't that long ago:

We all know, however, that the GOP can change direction with the speed of a Sarah Palin wink. I fully expect them to now embrace their "let the free market work" and "no regulations" philosophy with regards to the proposal to end the crude oil export ban.

I've got an idea - Not a drop of crude oil produced in the U.S. leaves the country until the country is completely weaned off of oil imports, and we are 100% self sufficient in meeting our own needs.

Lifting the crude oil export ban is an incredibly bad idea that progressive activists, economists, and politicians need to squash like a bug before it has a chance to grow legs. When we are not importing a single barrel of oil from a repressive Middle Eastern regime like Saudi Arabia or a sworn enemy of the U.S. such as Venezuela, come talk to me. Until then, no lifting the crude oil export ban.

Crist / Scott - you had to hear it live

Zadatz

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Wednesday October 15, 2014 · 8:22 PM PDT

2014/10/15 · 20:22

I was driving down the road on my way home from work at 6PM CT.

The local public radio station was carrying the Crist / Scott debate live. At 6PM, debate coverage started. Charlie Crist took the stage.

Rick Scott was nowhere in sight. According to the moderator, Scott would not be participating in the debate.

It was a GOP moment to be enshrined in political history for all time. I'm sure that everyone next to my car was wondering what I was laughing about hysterically.

As I said in a previous comment, you had to be there. Live. To truly appreciate the absurdity of the moment. I invite you to consider the abject panic that must have been unfolding behind the scenes in the Scott dressing room. I'm sure that Reinhold Reince Priebus was soiling his drawers and immediately on the phone with Scott's handlers.

This was Scott's "Todd Aikin" moment.

It's easy to get a laugh out of the video, but I can't imagine the shock and horror among any marginally Scott supporters in the auditorium at Broward College. At the risk of being repetitive, you really had to hear this unfold live.

Rick Scott is roasted, toasted political meat. He'll still pull a lot of votes from the red hinterlands of Florida, but this was the end. The chaos in the Scott green room must have been a true sight to behold as the debate started without him.

I've witnessed many political "moments" live in my lifetime. This was one of the best.

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