The Airlines Continue to be Clueless

Yet another in a long series about the Airlines and their death march toward bankruptcy. Today a major U.S Carrier announced that the second bag fee was going to go up to $50 a bag. Yes, yes I know, I'm a frequent flyer and so the fee doesn't technically apply to me.... but it really does. Last week I was on another one of the "fee based" airlines. I had only a relatively small computer bag. I boarded the plane and was informed that since I had a small bag and since others had what appeared to be large trunks, I would have to place my bag under the seat in front of me. Now many of these other travelers seemed somewhat clueless and were clearly "inexperienced" flyers. And they were carrying the large bags with them to avoid the fee. Any guesses what a $50 fee is going to do? Yup, even more steamer trunks being brought along as carry-ons. I guess it is time to start to carry "large" carry-on bags on the plane -- even if they are virtually empty -- and to store my smaller carry-on in the larger carry-on. It may be the only way to avoid losing leg room.

Stupid stupid stupid.

I Can't Make this Stuff Up

The more one learns about Sarah Palin, the more one must question John McCain's judgment. The following is a link to a Washington Post article talking about her time as Mayor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091302596.html

A lot of the things that she did were high handed and foolish (for example, she filled a post that calls for experience as an Engineer with someone who had NO experience as an Engineer, but was married to a major republican donor). Most of these things would, taken alone, be scary. But one point in this article is absolutely terrifying.

The Post said:
Despite the city's flush accounts, the police department under the chief Palin hired to replace Stambaugh required women who said they had been raped to pay for examination kits themselves, a policy Palin now says she rejects. State legislation passed a year later required the town to pay for the kits.

Think about that carefully. We have a victim of one of the most violent and dehumanizing crimes and the Police want the victim to pay to provide proof of the crime. No doubt this is driven by the very small (and very wrong) minority opinion that Rape isn't really a "crime" and that the woman "really wanted it". And that's very clearly the message being sent by this policy. That we don't really believe most claims of Rape and so we are going to add hurdles to prevent the "just boys acting like boys" of our town from being subjected to unfair charges. And we have a Woman Mayor with Girl Children who allows this policy to go forward. Whether or not she eventually "rejected" this policy is really irrelevant. It is such a bad policy that it should have been rejected at the onset. And anyone who thought, in any way, that this was a good policy is demonstrably establishing a lack of good judgment.

As for McCain, the fact that he has decided that this HIGHLY unqualified person should be one heartbeat away from the Presidency (particularly with both his cancer and the risk of re-occurrence and the family history of Heart Attacks (both his Father and Grandfather did suddenly of Heart Attacks at the ages of 70 and 61 respectively) is proof of terrible judgment on the part of McCain. If, god help the Nation, McCain/Palin should win, it is highly likely that, within a year or two, the singularly most unqualified and most dangerous individual ever will be our President.

Frankly, after 8 years of having the currently most unqualified and dangerous individual to ever serve as President, I honestly don't know if the Country will survive.

This isn't an Attack on Patriotism?? Sure.......

On one hand the GOP claims that they aren't attacking the Democrats and on the other hand they announce that they have "rescued" a large number of American Flags thrown out by the Democratic Party after their convention in Denver? Do they really think that it is relevant whether the Democrats may or may not have thrown out a number of American Flags after the convention? (There is some dispute whether they were "thrown out" or simply taken by the GOP before the Democrats had a chance to deal with them). Or is this just yet another cynical attempt to engage in valance issue politics and try to make the Democrats look less patriotic. If the voting's with me, I vote for the latter.

What makes this conduct all the more hypocritical are the attacks on Sen. Obama for failing to consistently wear an American Flag pin while Sen. McCain NEVER wears an American Flag pin. And, of course, the Democrat's can't say anything, even if they wanted to, as, after all, Sen. McCain was a POW and it is unpatriotic to challenge the credentials of a Patriot. (Of course it appears to be okay to challenge the credentials of a highly decorated Veteran (Kerry) and a badly wounded Veteran (Max Cleland) if they happen to be Democrats and happen to be running against Chicken Hawks (Bush and Saxby Chambliss).

And I am not challenging the Patriotism of Sen. McCain. I am fully confident that Sen. McCain, Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden are all true Patriots who well defend the Constitution of the United States. (I am not challenging the Patriotism of Gov. Palin, I simply think that it is too early to be fully confident that she is a Patriot and not a Successionist. One cannot be both (well actually one can, but not a Patriot of the Nation from which you are seeking to leave... only a Patriot of the New Nation. -- John Adams was a Patriot to the United States and a Traitor to Great Britain, Robert E. Lee was a Traitor to the United States but would have been a Patriot had the Confederacy survived its ill chosen attempt to leave).) I am not challenging that the Flag can be a powerful symbol. But the Flag is not, itself, a magical totem possessing great power simply because it is a flag. Rather, the symbolism of the flag is what underlies the flag -- the greatness of the nation. And yet the GOP appears to believe that the "sacred" item is the flag -- that the underlying values are meaningless (as demonstrated by the fact that they are willing to trash them at the drop of a hat..>) And they want the rest of us to engage in a similar idolatry -- the worship of the flag much the way that the statues of Baal were worshiped.

I Am Scared for My Daughter

I am scared about the World to which my daughter may be exposed if the Republicans come to power. Several things scare me, and most of them do with the Republican Party substituting its value system for my value system But one issue is particularly scary --

Loss of Control Over The Body
While I profoundly hope that my daughter is never faced with the problem, I resent the fact that the Republican Party appears to be ready to allow Rapists to make decisions about who will bear their children. The Sarah Palin's of the Republican Party (and apparently the Pandering John McCain's) have decided that they are the judges of what is moral and that their views are the only views that have weight. And they have decided that, even in the case of Rape, that Abortions should not be allowed. Stop and think about this for a minute. A woman is violated in one of the most horrible and dehumanizing acts of violence and the Republican Party wants to have this rape last for 9 months as the woman is forced to carry the baby of the rapist. (Now I am NOT advocating that everyone who is raped and becomes Pregnant must get an Abortion. Quite to the contrary, I believe that it is a matter of choice. If the Sarah Palin's of this world believe that Abortion, even under these extreme circumstances, is wrong, and they wish to carry the child to term, that is their choice. )

The American People, it is quite clear, support the right to choose. This has never been an issue. The problem is that most of the people who support the right to choose also do not vote on this single issue. Thus many people who believe in choice will vote for a candidate who does not support choice or is not a strong supporter of choice simply because they agree with the candidate on may other issues. And this is a good thing. With rare exceptions, single issue voting is the sign of a weak mind. However, many of the anti-choice voters are single issue voters. If candidate one is pro-choice and has stands approved by the voter on every other issue, and the other is anti-choice and takes numerous other evil stands (proposes restoration of segregation, believes in mandatory prayer in the schools, insists that creationism be taught as science in the schools, believes that the only reason that we have an oil crises is a refusal to drill), many of the anti-choice voters will vote for the evil candidate.

Its getting close to time to change and for the pro-choice forces to turn into single issue voters for an election or two....

I Am Tired of Questions of My Patriotism

I am sick and tired of the Republicans wrapping themselves in the flag and claiming that they are the only true Patriots. Do the Republicans love their country? Sure. But to claim that the Democrats (and the Independents) don't love their country is both wrong and reprehensible. Comments such as we Republicans put "Country First" unlike the Democrats who put "Country Second" do nothing but divide us. (Mind you, one can make the case that putting a singularly unqualified individual on the ticket such as Gov. Palin of Alaska (with her ties to the Secessionist AIP) is not putting country first, but we don't need to go there to draw the conclusion that Obama is the only choice for thinking people...) McCain, after a series of the most divisive speeches I have ever heard, now claims he's the guy that can reach across the aisle. That he's the one who will work with the other side for the good of the country. Really? Then why is he engaged in a scorched earth campaign of the most malignant sort. Are the American People stupid enough to fall for this again? Why does it sound like the Republicans are running against the status quo? Do they think that the American People are stupid enough not to realize that the President is a Republican and that the Republicans also had control, until 2 years ago, of the house and Senate and the current "democratic" control is tenuous -- particularly in the Senate where it depends upon turncoats like Joe Liebermann (who I might add should be kicked out of the party, stripped of his Committee assignments and rightfully turned into the Pariah that he is...) Do they really think that the American People are going to say "gosh, the last 8 years have brought so much domestic peace, tranquility and prosperity that we need to keep the architects of this policy in place?

I, and so many other Democrats, will be sorely tempted, if this hypocritical scorched earth tactics works, to answer in kind. We keep taking the high road and we keep getting mugged. Is it better for America to have the wounds not healed but at least have the guys who know something about how to heal in control? I don't know. And I hope I don't have to find out.

Right Wing Trap

The recent nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin is a brilliant right wing trap in which they hope to force down the throats of the American People the singularly most unqualified individual to run from Major Political Office in the United States since Adm. James Stockdale. The trap is that, in addition to being unqualified, she also brings with her a good deal of "baggage" which is easier (and some find) more fun to attack. And that's the trap. If the attack is on the baggage and not the substance, then the Right Wing can stand up in its holier than thou approach and suggest that the Democrats are being unfair and hide the fact that the substance is also not there. And that's what's happening.

The press is focusing on the children of the candidate and whether or not she has been a good mother and whether or not she is "abandoning" them by campaigning for the job. Is this a fair question, perhaps. Is this a question which she is receiving solely because she is a woman? No. Think back to the announcement that Ms. Edwards had a re-occurrence of what is likely terminal cancer. Did questions get asked as to whether or not Sen. Edwards should drop out to be a good husband and father to his dying wife? Yes, they did. In the case of Gov. Palin, these questions are perhaps a bit stronger simply because she is from the wing of the Republican party which is constantly focusing on this issue... ah but here we go again.... I'm falling into the trap and spending time focusing on the relatively irrelevant issue.

Substance: The Republican's have tried to make this a "race of experience" seemingly suggesting that any other qualification is wholly irrelevant. And yet they pick someone with virtually no experience with any big Government. (Alaska has a population of about 640,000. That's a bit smaller than the City of Charlotte and a bit bigger than the City of Baltimore). And yet, even as Governor of that Small State (and before that as Mayor of a Town with 9,000 residents -- or 1/3rd the size of Melrose Park, Illinois) she has shown a lack of skill in governing. Her style appears to be one of no compromise. For example, take the case of the Matanuska Maid Dairy scandal. The Mat Maid dairy was losing money and was not going to be able to survive. The State Creamery Board refused it a major Cash infusion of $600,000 and decided to let it go out of business. Gov. Palin fired the entire State Creamery Board and appointed a number of Dairy related folk from around her home town to the Board. The new board gave the money to Mat Maid. Several months later, Mat Maid had spent the $600,000 and reported a record loss of $300,000. And folded. Like the original board had thought it would. And the assets of the Dairy fell into the hands of a major supporter of hers. And her other management decisions have been made in a similar fashion. In sum, she hasn't shown the "experience" needed to make the right decisions.

Education: She has a BA in Journalism from the University of Idaho. No advance degree, no degree in economics or sociology or engineering or even political science. While certainly no disrespect is intended to either the University of Idaho or Journalists, this is not a "highly qualified" academic credential (although it arguably is better than graduating from a Service Academy in the bottom 5% of your class...) She doesn't possess the education to offset some of the lack of experience.

Judgment: She has shown in other decisions a lack of judgment. Two leap to mind. Her participation in the Alaskan Independence Party -- a party dedicated to the succession of Alaska from the Union and her views on Creationism. No one who believes the children's bed time story that the earth is only 700 years old should even be considered for any position in government. The failure to understand something as simple as the concept of evolution means that more complex issues, such as Stem Cell Research, Global Warming, and the like would be far beyond her grasp.

Its time to elect someone smart to office.