Ah, West Hartford, wellspring of my soul: how I look upon thee and rejoice!
The fantasy that the construction of this mega-mansion is somehow "a personal choice" that has no effect on anyone else simply isn't true. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century liberals -- who used to be called, in our lifetimes, "conservatives," before that word lost all meaning -- were for unfettered freedom -- unless such freedom infringed unfairly upon others'. See John Stuart Mill, for example.
Well, guess what? That's now the case with this house, and with most houses, and with much of Americans' so-called "way of life" so constantly threatened by the dusky hordes, whether from the Middle East or Mexico. The overuse of resources in a rapidly crumbing global ecosystem, to say nothing of nuclear-hair-trigger global political "system" (for lack of a better word -- "mafia war" is more like it), is simply dirty pool. This includes overbreeding. Sorry, folks, we just can't afford it as a species anymore. Yes, I know it's unfair, but if you're over the 2.1 replacement rate, well, tough shit. There will no summer arctic ice, by only the most recent prediction, by 2030. This among other already occurring feedback loops closing around our species' neck.
These and other unpopular, if wholly rational, policies -- such as, oh, I don't know, listening to the IAEA and following up on our non-proliferation-treaty obligations, which are, under the Constitution (supremacy clause), the supreme law of the land, and getting rid of nukes while placing all fissile material creation under international hands ("fissban treaty") -- are, well, necessary (if not sufficient) for human survival.
Chance of it occurring? Zero. Only country, to my knowledge, that has backed international control of fissile material? You'll never guess what -- Iran! Look it up. Go figure, huh? Must be some incredibly devious bazaar-like ruse by those swarthy heathen, no doubt. Oh, wait, they're not Arabs. Same difference; they're evil. Michael Ledeen just told me so, and he's at the AEI and a one-time admirer of Italian neofascism, so I know he's an unbiased source.
I see literally no one but Kucinich on the political horizon -- and he hasn't a snowball's chance in hell -- ready to deal with any of these issues. Any of them: the politerati cackle back and forth over whether Petraeus is either courageous and brilliant or just brilliant and courageous while the henhouse is on fire. Somehow the owners of the country (and their opposite numbers around the world) have yet to figure out that you can't bribe radioactive fallout, nor can you pay a poor person to die of radiation sickness for you. With a major shooting war potentially about to break out (I mean, more so) from Turkey to Syria to Lebanon (for the nth time) to Israel and the OTs, to Iraq (more so) to Iran to Afghanistan (more so) to nuclear-armed, potentially truly scary-Islamist Pakistan and nuclear-armed India -- to say nothing of Russia and China -- well, you know, sticking one's head in the sand won't work too well when that sand is turned to glass. Hard to get the head back out.
But no Democrat, other than Kucinich and handful of others, seems to care; no one's doing anything about it. Couldn't even swear in Petraeus. It's a complete joke: the past two days were political theater. The die was cast long ago, and neither Obama nor (don't make me laugh) Hillary will do a damn thing differently -- especially re: Iran.
But the really important stories are how some early adopters of the iPhone got fucked over and some English kid's been lost for a few months, presumed dead. My heart bleeds for them.
The fantasy that the construction of this mega-mansion is somehow "a personal choice" that has no effect on anyone else simply isn't true. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century liberals -- who used to be called, in our lifetimes, "conservatives," before that word lost all meaning -- were for unfettered freedom -- unless such freedom infringed unfairly upon others'. See John Stuart Mill, for example.
Well, guess what? That's now the case with this house, and with most houses, and with much of Americans' so-called "way of life" so constantly threatened by the dusky hordes, whether from the Middle East or Mexico. The overuse of resources in a rapidly crumbing global ecosystem, to say nothing of nuclear-hair-trigger global political "system" (for lack of a better word -- "mafia war" is more like it), is simply dirty pool. This includes overbreeding. Sorry, folks, we just can't afford it as a species anymore. Yes, I know it's unfair, but if you're over the 2.1 replacement rate, well, tough shit. There will no summer arctic ice, by only the most recent prediction, by 2030. This among other already occurring feedback loops closing around our species' neck.
These and other unpopular, if wholly rational, policies -- such as, oh, I don't know, listening to the IAEA and following up on our non-proliferation-treaty obligations, which are, under the Constitution (supremacy clause), the supreme law of the land, and getting rid of nukes while placing all fissile material creation under international hands ("fissban treaty") -- are, well, necessary (if not sufficient) for human survival.
Chance of it occurring? Zero. Only country, to my knowledge, that has backed international control of fissile material? You'll never guess what -- Iran! Look it up. Go figure, huh? Must be some incredibly devious bazaar-like ruse by those swarthy heathen, no doubt. Oh, wait, they're not Arabs. Same difference; they're evil. Michael Ledeen just told me so, and he's at the AEI and a one-time admirer of Italian neofascism, so I know he's an unbiased source.
I see literally no one but Kucinich on the political horizon -- and he hasn't a snowball's chance in hell -- ready to deal with any of these issues. Any of them: the politerati cackle back and forth over whether Petraeus is either courageous and brilliant or just brilliant and courageous while the henhouse is on fire. Somehow the owners of the country (and their opposite numbers around the world) have yet to figure out that you can't bribe radioactive fallout, nor can you pay a poor person to die of radiation sickness for you. With a major shooting war potentially about to break out (I mean, more so) from Turkey to Syria to Lebanon (for the nth time) to Israel and the OTs, to Iraq (more so) to Iran to Afghanistan (more so) to nuclear-armed, potentially truly scary-Islamist Pakistan and nuclear-armed India -- to say nothing of Russia and China -- well, you know, sticking one's head in the sand won't work too well when that sand is turned to glass. Hard to get the head back out.
But no Democrat, other than Kucinich and handful of others, seems to care; no one's doing anything about it. Couldn't even swear in Petraeus. It's a complete joke: the past two days were political theater. The die was cast long ago, and neither Obama nor (don't make me laugh) Hillary will do a damn thing differently -- especially re: Iran.
But the really important stories are how some early adopters of the iPhone got fucked over and some English kid's been lost for a few months, presumed dead. My heart bleeds for them.