Owner: Outsider's View URL:http://laslo-blog.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 13:29:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Reason based solutions for political problems. Also, opinions and commentaries on current events and news. Site statistics:Click here
Housing Rescue or Highway Robbery 2008-05-12 10:30:15 I have never thought it would come to this, but I actually agree with president Bush. He threatens to veto the new "housing rescue" bill, and I can't hope enough he will actually do it.The House of Representatives must share Hillary Clinton's opinion on economists and other "elite" specialists: "who needs thinking if we can get votes". And what is the easiest way of getting votes if not giving o Read more:Housing
, Rescue
, Highway
, Robbery
Stop Farm Subsidies 2008-05-10 23:26:13 In a few days the Congress is going to vote on the $300 billion Farm Bill. Its passage is pretty much assured, however, there is still hope that president Bush would veto it, as he should.The bill contains a significant number of provisions, all of them either wasteful, harmful or downright scandalous. Yes, scandalous! How else can you call a provision, added by the Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc Read more:Subsidies
Elite Economists 2008-05-06 14:30:29 "I'm not going to put my lot in with economists," Hillary Clinton said when asked which economist thinks her proposal is sane. Then she declared that the "elite opinion" of specialists in their fields is somehow harmful to the "vast majority of Americans." This is scary. A presidential candidate, who dismisses educated advice in favor of wishful thinking is really going to make mess out of our cou Read more:Elite
, Economists
Assassination of D.C. Madam 2008-05-02 07:50:43 I am not much of a conspiracy theory buff. I do not believe in UFO hold at Area 51, and I laugh at people who tell me that the CIA did in JFK. But today a headline caught my eye: "Police: D.C. Madam killed herself..." I have looked more closely: it was an article form AP written by Mitch Stacy. I read it, and I could not believe my eyes.Specifically, the following comment just blew my mind away: " Read more:Assassination
Political Game Site 2008-04-25 20:02:54 I have started to construct a Political Game site. It is - basically - a quiz site, where questions are related to politics, and more often than not are quite not obvious. It is intended as an "edu-tainment" site, where one can find amusement as well as hard facts.The name of this site is "The Game" and the address comments are most welcome!
Carnival of Political Solutions -- April 20, 2008 2008-04-21 13:11:24 Welcome to the April
20, 2008 edition of carnival of political solutions.Apparently we are in a great need for some solution: the number of submissions to this carnival is truly astonishing.Sagar presents a full-of-hope economic forecast for the presidency Barack Obama in 10 Surprising Economic Implications of a Barack Obama Presidency posted at Currency Trading.net.Jeffrey Stingerstein presents h Read more:Carnival
How will McCain fund his tax breaks? 2008-04-15 11:27:53 Today we have heard yet another great idea from a presidential candidate: suspend the federal gasoline tax. No, really, it is a good idea. The high gas price is one of the biggest problems of US economy, as it drives up prices of everything else. It is also almost non-discretionary expense: people have to drive around to get to their workplaces, shops, schools and vacations. And, of course there i Read more:McCain
, breaks
Who Owns Your Fingerprint? 2008-03-31 15:22:26 On a recent trip to the SeaWorld park I was asked to be fingerprinted at the entrance. As a matter of principle I have refused (they checked my ID instead), but a quick look around revealed a steady stream of patrons putting their fingers in a scanner. Not even frowning at this latest addition to our surveillance society. "It helps public perception to have biometrics deployed on a widespread basi
Carnival of Political Solutions -- March 20, 2008 2008-03-19 20:58:52 Welcome to the March
20, 2008 edition of Carnival
of Political Solutions. The submitted articles were outstanding, and will provide a lot of interesting reading!Shaheen Lakhan is calling for easing access to voting for elderly and disabled voters in Elderly Patients Face Tough Barriers When Voting posted at GNIF Brain Blogger.John Phillips submitted 29 articles from The Word On Employment Law. Th
It's Time to End the Executive Privilege 2008-03-18 12:57:40 "Democracy dies behind closed doors." Never in our country these words were as poingnat as now. On every turn the current administration hides all it can, whether important or not, from the public eyes. The number of documents classified by the Bush administration in 2006 was over 20 million - the same as during the whole second term of Clinton. The government increasingly delays and denies reques Read more:Executive
Carnival of Political Solutions 2008-03-12 20:01:31 We all know the problem. You know the solution.If so, this is the place for you. This carnival is intended for posts that offer a political solution to any of the current issues in the United States. The problems we all know: education, budget deficit, healthcare, you name it. If you thought of a solution, send your post here. Any solution. Well, there are some conditions: the solutions must be gr Read more:Carnival
On Lack of Candidates 2008-03-07 16:26:59 Here we are, left with three presidential candidates that have any chance to be elected: Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama. And no one to vote for.The Democratic Party candidates try to appear dissimilar, but in fact they are pretty much the same. Their voting record (as I pointed in "Obama's I didn't do it") is essentially identical, especially with respect to the Iraq war and econo Read more:Candidates
Obama's "I didn't do it". 2008-03-07 11:47:32 I have heard Mr. Barack Obama
claim that "Unlike Hillary Clinton, I did not vote to authorize the Iraq war." Duh. Obviously: when that resolution was introduced, Mr. Obama was not a member of the senate yet. He could not possibly voted for it even if he wanted. What was said may have been "technically true", but in fact is an disingenuous lie intended to deceive the public.I took the trouble to ch
Why be Afraid of Nuclear Iran? 2008-03-05 10:27:22 I can believe that a person can be suicidal. Plenty of those around, in fact. But a nation, as a whole -- that's a different proposition. I do not believe any nation will commit suicide, and Iranians are no exception.Consider. Iran is a long way from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but that not the core of the problem. Making a crude nuclear weapon is rather easy: I remember a schematics of one in my Read more:Nuclear
Modern Tribalism 2008-03-03 15:40:42 "My tribe is better than your tribe." Unfortunately, such infantile statement lies at the foundation of the current state of affairs in the US. People are convinced that their particular tribe is the best, that it is the only one that matters, and the good of their tribe is their foremost objective.The tribe they feel so strongly about can be almost anything nowadays: a particular religious group Read more:Modern
Re: Electoral College in Republic 2008-03-03 09:20:54 In a small piece entitled: "The US is a republic not a democracy" Brady Cuthbert argues the virtues of the Electoral College
in the US. I would agree with him 100%, except one small detail: the Electoral College does not work as envisioned by our Founding Fathers any more. I would be more than happy to elect someone I trust, who can spend time and energy studying and investigating the presidential Read more:Republic
Insane Sentences 2008-02-28 20:38:43 According to the news released today, United States keeps 1 out of every 100 adult citizens in prison. 2.3 million inmates in the country of 300 million. This is crazy. Even such regimes like China (1.5 million inmates among 1400 million citizens), Iran, or Russia does not treat their people like this.The direct causes of this situation are many: longer sentences, mandatory sentencing laws, crimin
Live or Die: it is your choice 2008-02-28 12:43:58 It is well understood that the US health care system is full of administrative inefficiencies, inflated prices, improper care, waste and fraud. Pretty much everyone agrees on that. Unfortunately, one important - maybe even the most important - element is usually left out of the current debate on healthcare costs. And that is personal responsibility.Every discussion tacitly assumes that Mr. Joe Bl
Torture Straw Man 2008-02-27 19:20:41 The public debate about torture often involves a question similar to the following: "If an acknowledged terrorist knows about impending horrifying attack on our people, would you torture that man or not?" That is known as the "ticking bomb" question. Many presidential candidates were asked this question, most answered affirmatively. Also, if you listen to "conservative" media, this question is oft Read more:Torture
, Straw
Border Fence or Immigration Enforcement 2008-02-26 19:51:56 According to congressional estimates (as reported by globalsecurity.org and elsewhere) the proposed fence along US-Mexico border would cost between $1,000,000 and $3,000,000 per mile. And, according to security experts, it would be as effective as posting signs "Please do not cross the border" every few miles... Remember the Berlin Wall? That was a real wall, made of 12 ft high and 4 ft wide concr Read more:Border
Price of Death 2008-02-21 11:31:05 Death penalty may, or may not be an effective crime deterrent. Different people will give different answers to such question, depending on their point of view (usually more "pro-life" and "pro-family-values" individuals are more "pro-death-penalty").However, the monetary price of the death penalty system in US can be figured out pretty much objectively. To illustrate my points I will use only two
Life Above All 2008-02-19 11:30:52 Various things were written on the flags of nations: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité". "God, Honor, Country". "For Our Liberty and Yours". Many people died defending these ideals. But it seems that the motto on our standard nowadays turns slowly into "My life, my safety, my money". It seems as though people are running scared witless, screaming "Yes, take our liberties, our pride, our rights, bu
Matrix Politics 2008-02-15 14:06:29 Originally, I thought of writing how our politicians live in some kind of alternative universe, having only occasional contact with reality -- just like in the movie. But everyone know that already... Instead, I'd like to propose using more descriptive labels for political orientation than "Democrat" and "Republican" (or, "liberal" and "American" as some would have it).The political orientation is Read more:Matrix
Case for not drilling in ANWR yet. 2008-02-13 10:00:21 Consider the parable: You have three loafs of bread. And your neighbor, Mr. John, also has three loafs of bread. And both of you have slim (but not zero) chances for more food in the future. You learn that Mr. John is willing to sell you his bread. And so you buy his bread (even if it is somewhat overpriced) and eat it first, then use your own (hey, you will have to be able to defend it from the h Read more:drilling
Please, no "Economic Stimulus" rebate 2008-02-12 15:56:47 The United States is deep in debt. 9.5 TRILLION dollar and counting. Debts do not come cheap: if you ever had a balance on your credit card, you know that already. Now, to provide the "economic stimulus" our Congress voted 165 billion dollars to be send as tax rebates. Which would be perfectly fine, except that our illustrious leaders did not provide any means of funding it! There will be no corre Read more:Please
, Economic
Carnival of Political Solutions -- May 20, 2008 2008-05-21 23:56:40 Welcome to the May 20, 2008 edition of carnival of political solutions. This edition brought once again a lot of excellent posts, many from our regular contributors. Unfortunately, many were off-topic, and as such, not included in this carnival.Lets start with 30 years old, but still relevant article on American Spirit entitled Have we Forgotten of Clyde W. Kirkman posted at Fred Black's Fred Blac Read more:Carnival
Carnival of Political Solutions -- June 20, 2008 2008-06-22 21:22:18 Welcome to the June 21, 2008 edition of carnival of political solutions. The submissions are, as always, excellent, however, we still have a number of off-topic articles (either not solutions, or not political). I have not included those, even though they were very nice postings.Edmund Ross presents So what are you going to do when gas hits $12/gallon? posted at Political Bull.Kurt Yordy presents Read more:Carnival
Communist corporations 2008-06-29 21:04:51 Have you ever wondered why communist countries failed, or, at least, have had serious trouble making ends meet (with an exception of China1)? Some will say it's due to the brilliant policies of the Saint Reagan, others will expound the inner evilness of totalitarian regimes. But the truth is much more prosaic: in communism there is no direct incentive to care. To care about anything, but most of a Read more:Communist
, corporations
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