Climate Change: Now Biggest Threat

     According to Elliott Negin Climate Change is the biggest threat to our economy and American way of life. I don't know that I am convinced but the real problem is that he is at Huffpost and not some paper like the Wall Street Journal so he is reaching the wrong audience. Very few deniers at Huffpost and most of them are the message board attack dogs. The real problem is there is no political dialog anymore on this subject. Threat and denial is now the conversation here in America.

 Brian

Missing Half the Solution

      I was reading Charles Murphy's The Great American Divide and I was struck by how he doesn't believe that those in the lower classes can do anything about the problem. Seems to me he is as guilty of being elitist as those he says caused the problems. Maybe he assumes that only upper middle class and rich people read the Wall Street Journal, but it seems to me that part of the problem is that this divide is caused by a lack of communication between the sides and if you propose a solution that only takes in one side then it can't be properly executed as you only are mobilizing one side. Without cooperation nothing but anger can happen. Just my take on things but at least he admits there is a problem.

Brian

Weekend Leftovers

       Didn't post but I did read a few things this weekend. These are the highlights and lowlights.
     Bernie Sanders on the Corporate Takeover of America
     Chris Lehman on the State of Books in America, not lamenting the disappearance of bookstores but the sad state of modern fiction.
     Another article on the forgotten candidate Buddy Roemer
     I have yet to see an unbiased article on the Texas Redistricting plan, this article masquerades as one
     A Huntsman staffer on how they got beat by Romney
     I think he did this one just to scare all the white people who insist they are not prejudiced: Why We Need a Malcolm X Day.

Stat Geek Politics

     I am a born stat geek. I was the kid when told to go out and play would write baseball standings in the dirt for an hour before going off to find a game somewhere. We now have a new version of stat geeks taking over the political columns and I personally love reading them. My two favorites are Nate Silver and Sean Trende. One leans Democrat the other Republican. Both tend to let the stats talk more than their heart. This gives you a better feel for what is really happening than the obvious party hacks that so often fill commentary sites. Today is a good example of both what they right and how even numbers can change quickly this year. Nate on Romney's Prevent Defense and Sean on Rick Perry's Ill-fated Campaign. Both are a different way to look at politics but very compelling.

Brian

SOPA Round 2

      Three more articles on SOPA and PIPA that I found later in the day as RCP finally caught up with the rest of the web. The print media never did and only Countdown with Keith Olbermann did in the visual media. The rest assume we are all to distracted by the other things we do on the web to notice. So for a real breakdown of what these bills are SOPA vs.  PIPA: Anti-Piracy bills, uproar explained is the best breakdown on what the bills do that I have seen. ZDNet with a list of who went black, and Brad Feldman with both an informed and heartfelt take on why he opposes these bills. I once asked a cop if I was in California or Russia and found out that they aren't a lot different, with the passage of these bills the question of whether we are in The United States or China will become a moot point.

Brian

SOPA Blackouts and Lost Freedoms

      The need for Blackouts to protest SOPA is a sad day for anyone who spends more than an hour a day on the internet. For more on SOPA protest see these articles - SOPA Blackout Seeks to Stop Internet Censorship Bill, The Truth About SOPA, Why We Go Black. My friends a Brutish & Short also went black in protest and I just want to take time to say that SOPA is just a logical extension of the rights we have been stripped of since 9/11. To get a better idea of those missing rights see 10 Reasons The U.S. is No Longer the Land of the Free, but suffice it so say that if the government wants to silence you they now have the power to do so in no uncertain terms. Your freedom is dependent upon you staying under the radar. As I like to say, Welcome to the Police State.

Brian

Yesterday's Leftovers

     More bashing of the Republicans for not having quality candidates.
     Middle Class is Moving Forward, not Backward is proof that if you cherry pick your numbers you can prove anything you want.
     My man Nate Silver on the perils of not researching you pollsters.
     And finally Jerry Holbert with the belly laugh of the day.