Competing With Low Cost Competition

The current war budget show down brought this to mind: when big corporations compete with smaller competitors with lower fixed and lower variable costs... they'll lose (Or at least they need huge subsidies and protections like the old integrated steel mills... and then lose).

So consider this paragraph:

The bill approved by the House would provide $42.8 billion total, with about $30 billion directed to the war effort for the next two months. It requires the president to report by July 13 on how the Iraqi government is performing in building its military and moving toward achieving political unity. Congress would then vote a second time on whether to give the administration the remainder of the money — about $50 billion — to maintain operations in Iraq through Sept. 30 or to restrict that money to deployment.

$30 + 50 equals $80 billion for war operations through September. What are the insurgents spending for their share of the conflict?

Waiting for Buffalo and Other Musical Notes

I got a pleasant suprise last Wednesday. My good friend, and NYC welcome party (back in '98), Bennett called to say that Pyramid was going on tour and would come to NY for two shows. Thursday night they're playing at Arlene's Grocery and Saturday they'll be at Scenic. I plan to be at both. Waiting for Buffalo is one my favorite songs from the album The First American (also available on iTunes!) By the way, I really like their splash screen, it has an effect of blowing a frosted glass clear.

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Last Saturday, my friend Peter celebrated his 50th in style. He threw at party at Sin-é and had his favorite band Antibalas play. It was great political Malian music with requisit shout outs Fela.

Peter actually spent his birthday getting arrested at the White House on Monday, along with Cindy Sheehan. The coup de gras was when women activists in Turkey referenced the arrests when she went to talk about the treatment of women in Iraq. Way to give Karen Hughes hell Peter! His son Rob did the excellent card.

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Lastly Ratzlow and Jean have launched a music blog, This is Cool, Check it Out. Jean was the one that got me turned on to them as a way of discovering new music last January. So far I really like Au Revoir Simone and Bettye LaVette (which looks to be a gem comperable to Solomon Burke's Don't Give Up On Me).

Judicial photo ops are still phoney

Who didn't wake up Sunday and think "you've got to be sh*tting me!"? I had resigned myself to accepting that John Roberts would ace his confirmation hearing. He's got real credentials, but no really offensive, Borkian track record. Let's face it, more conservative than Sandra Day O'Conner, he's no Scalia.

But Chief Justice? No, I'm sorry, Bush does not have the political capital to push that one through. The answer that he does not have much of a federal track record is fine for confirmation, but you better be damned if you think that's good for the highest judicial position in the country. And keep in mind that he could hold that position for 40-some years.

It is imperative that Bush's stamp on the Chief Justice is only 5-10 years of a John Paul Stevens service... since Scalia and Thomas won't make it through... or better not.

So what could dampen my opposition the most? Well how about seeing John Robert mourn Rehnquist's death by serving as a pall bearer. Nothing says you're qualified to replace them, than to bury them. No...stop... you're really pulling at my heartstrings....clearly Roberts is the heir...he must be so devestated... in fact, he is doing us a favor... puh-leaze.

Amazing how the Spin Machine can whip this one up in a few hours.... if only they could devote some of that energy towards something useful, like FEMA, or alternative energy. What other parlor tricks does the lap dog do?

A Final Word on Schiavo

The news is full of the Schiavo autopsy, and how her brain had atrophied to half its normal size, that she was blind, and that should could not swallow on it is own. Democrats feel like it's vindication, and Frist makes no apologies, though unconvincingly denies he made diagnosis from a video tape.

My friend Sully asks the good question "Why is this front page news?" Besides it being as much of a bookend as possible to a circus story, he has a very good point for two reasons I can think of.

First off, that this became a national issue, and thus news, in the first case is rediculous, and I imagine only served to make advocates for intervention all the more bold. Secondly, no autopsy result changes how inappropriate federal intervention was.

But few republicans are going to talk those points up. Tom Delay warned that these judges will pay and now has little to say. There Bush's hypocritical line about choosing life... with blissful disregard to the lives he ended as Texas governor.

But one GOP politician has thought about this more: Mel Martinez, a major advocate for intervention is quoted "I really probably come to the view this has to be more resolved at the state level, seems like the kind of issue the state courts deal with." Indeed, I thought that was the usual GOP take all along.

But I don't see this changing anything. We have had an adminstation and congress that insists that lies are true dispite overwhelming evidence time and time again, the economy, weapons of mass destruction, the environment, campaign finance, judicial nominees. What opposition is there? Well, Democrats don't take it to the brink, they don't push back hard enough, lose elections, and compromise on extreme judges.

I guess this is news since it's another bit of crow to serve, too bad there's so much other folly to feed their egos that they'll hardly blink at this.

Fiction from Fact

It sounds political, but it's not... well not explicitly.

I started reading Jose Saramago's The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. I first read Saramago's Blindness in the FoFBC, the quarterly book swap I participate in and loved it so I wanted to read more of his work, but hadn't really had time between school, love, and The Moor's Last Sigh.

What I particularly like about Saramago's style is how he uses... or expresses some statement of fact or logic which then drives the way the narrative unfolds. In Blindness, it was often some idea of human nature, which led to a simultaneously horrifying and inspiring story.

The Gospel is what it sounds like, a retelling of the Gospels set more as a historical novel. What comes out is an intriguing portrayal of what Joseph and Mary’s lives were like, with gender roles, with Roman occupation, with geographical background. A far cry from the nativity scenes and iconography we’ve grown accustom.

There are departures from the scriptures yes, but scripture departs from its context.The novel is powerful reminder that as much as people believe the Bible is God’s word, it was written by men, and translated by lesser men. It also reminds the reader that though there is familiarity with the Gospel story, there isn’t familiarity with the story’s setting, which can be powerful for anyone who begins to the study the bible not as scripture, but as literature. Therein lies the political.

Lastly, it occurred to me that as I and my friends succeed and flounder in this mortal coil, we are the age at which Jesus began his preaching. Let’s not forget the power a young thirtysomething can have on this world. Again, the political.

The future is now

917Press has admittedly become blogged down in political anxiety, so I thought it'd be good to report on the powers of good.

Earlier today I attended the NYU Presidential Service Awards, where SNEAC, student network exploring arts and culture were accepting an award for programing after their first year in existence. SNEAC was founded by friends Whitney, Sarah, Jude, David and Carol. Among other fun stuff, they hosted a screening of Chisholm '72, and send out a bi-weekly "Sneac recommends" listing.

Of interesting note, relative to the issue's treatment in mainstream news, students doing work with LGBT issues were strongly represented, perhaps this trend will carry out it and illuminate the troglodites that run public opinion now.

Lastly, Whitney brought home the Russian Futurists' "Our Thickness." I found the Russian Futurists (aka Matthew Adam Hart) on a couple blogs (see 4/6/05), as I did with Andrew Bird. The music is catchy, the lyrics subversively dark, good stuff all around.

A great reminder of the peculiarities of the Senate

Back when we were all counting electoral votes, I got very interested the topic of how the Senate a) skews the electoral college to favor small states; and b) skew business in that chamber to further benefit small states as cleverly laid out in Harper's by Richard Rosenfeld. There is a well timed reminder in today's NYTimes letters section by William Kenney.

Here is an interesting tid bit from the Richard Rosenfeld piece:

A majority of the people in our country are represented by just 18 senators, or 18% of the body . . . while the 52 Senators from the 26 least populous states represent just 18% of the U.S. population.Big surprise, he notes, that “the less populous states have extracted benefits from the nation out of proportion to their populations.”

So, to Joseph Pisano of Strong Island who wrote: "We the people elected George W. Bush president. The Democratic Party lost and now wants to rule and change laws through activist judges and liberal nominees. This is not what the majority of the people want, as reflected in the presidential race."

George W got the most votes, and yes, more than half of the votes cast in 04, (though appointed by activist judges in 2000) but that does not mean we should dismantle decades of jurisprudence in a matter of months to much of the country does not interpret Nov 04 as a mandate, only as close election in a sharply divided country. I though most of us want to live under a constitution that provides the longevity and continuity of the Judicial branch, though checked and balanced out by Legistlative and Executive branches. Furthermore, look no further than Antonin Scalia if you're looking for an activist judge.

Anti-Christians for Filibusters?

This weekend was Bill Frist's prime time show to celebrate with Christians everywhere their religious opposition to the judicial filibuster. I don't know why it's such a big news item; everyone knows that Christians hate judicial filibusters.

I believe the first such celebration was 1133 when Cardinal Bertucci Prego gathered his bishops to declare the importance of ramming through ideologues as judges to inflict great miseries against the godless masses who refuse to accept the blessing of God's grace.

Later in the new world, Cotton Mather is said to successfully eliminate filibusters in Salem to help expedited the trial and executions of the huge backlog of witches, who were annoying everyone and lower property values by their independence from men and keeping of cats.

And of course, there was all the talk in the 90's to eliminate judicial filibusters during Clinton's presidency, so much so Senate republicans choose other procedural tactics to block 19% of nominees. And while GWBush has had 95% of his nominees approved, Senate Republicans, with a mandate from God, tirelessly work to abolish this parliamentary evil. I think Deuteronomy 18:20 says it best:

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

This is why we are on missions in Iraq and Afganistan to limit extreme religious influence on their new democratic governments. Extreme religious influence: good; Wrong religion: bad.

Judges 1, Tyrants 0

Last Saturday I was musing on power play between Ecuador's Judicial and Executive branches. Well yesterday, Lucio Gutiérrez was ousted from the Presidency, the third since 1996. He's been given amnesty in Brazil. I hope this is a lesson about shamelessly trying to stack the court. That goes for the Senate Judiciary Committee as they again try to fit a square Pricilla Owen into a round Federal Circuit seat.

Doonesbury is illustrating the Tom DeLay political death watch... I hope DeLay follows Gutiérrez, then Frist can have his turn. Hey, Bill why didn't you diagnose Gutierrez' political life from video tape... because it was obviously dead.