![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
And the day after.... 3 November 2010
Nov. 4th, 2010 10:59 amAn election happened. But, the news rolls on. We assure you. Expect a little bit of a cycle on this, though. So, starting up - according to projections, the Republican and Tea Party candidates control the House of Representatives, the Democrats retain control of the Senate. Republicans claim this is a mandate to enact their agenda of repeal, and called for President Obama to stop being a Democrat. The Beltway narrative here is that this is an "historic rebuke to the Obama agenda!" and the Democrats should run with their tail between their legs to the conservative side, having tried to be liberals and failed. While they root for the stomping the voters gave the Democrats, what may happen to those conservative forces that think they're poised to strike hard, instead, is disappointment - for example, remember that Stossel feels that No True Tea Partier could make good on a cut government claim without hacking at Social Security, Medicare, and the military. Perhaps DeMint's call to the newly elected to reject earmarks, Beltway staff, committee assignment pressure, titles in the party, and staying in campaign mode to the detriment of legislating will mollify him somewhat, knowing an elder stateman is there to guide the younglings? That said, while many of those Tea Party candidates will try to make good on their campaign statements and promises, they will find, now that they're inside, that the climate has gotten...frosty to many of the signature items they used to get votes. It'll probably get play in Bachmann's caucus, sure, and might squeak out of committee, but the wider legislative body, whether House or Senate, will probably laugh their bills out of consideration, if the President doesn't cock an eyebrow, his veto shotgun, and spout some sort of action-flick catchphrase.
Gridlock is going to suck, because it means nothing will get done. At the same time, for certain stated issues, gridlock is going to be all right, because nothing will get done.
But beyond that, the Beltway's parroting of the Republican narrative is flat-out wrong. Voters aren't looking to punish the Obama(-Pelosi(-Reid)) agenda - they consistently polled as liking the things that were being done, while expressing concerns that it couldn't all be paid for, that the way things were being done was toxic and damaging, and that some of the compromises in place gave too much power to businesses or might be against Constitutional authority granted to the Congress. Just watch the wobble in the Republican Party - "We're going to engage in across-the-board spending cuts...unless you're Social Security, Medicare, or the military" - "Repeal the health care bill...and replace it with something that has all the bits you like in it." "Tax cuts for everyone...but mostly for rich people and corporations." This is not anti-Obama work - this is Corporatist Republicanism as normal. Obama is just the guy they're going to blame everything on. Have to hand it to them, though - it worked beautifully. They successfully convinced the voters that problems that have been decades in the making should be able to be solved in two years, because there were enough (D) symbols that they should have been able to pass everything. Because if all the (R)s can vote in a block against everything, all the (D)s should be able to vote as a block for, and if they don't, that's Obama's fault, not that many of those (D)s are basically (R)s but for a few issue differences.
Out in the world today, Yemen initated an arrest against Anwar al-Awlaki and charged him in absentia.
The United States called for Iran to stop the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, although those calls are unlikely to change the minds of the leaders responsible for the execution.
Domestically, California's Proposition 19 was defeated because more old people turned out than young people, according to exit polls - six in ten youngesters supported, but seven in ten seniors opposed. Any Reefer Madness jokes you make are your own.
Remember odd candidate Alvin Greene of South Carolina, with no campaign to speak of and no promotion anywhere? Here are some numbers on Senate candidates who received close to or less votes than he did in their campaigns. Which probably doesn't say anything at all, just that some states races had really small turnout.
The previous administrator confirms suspicions that he was a blockhead by saying that things went to an all-time low when Kayne West accused him or not caring about black people. Not the disaster that prompted such a response, the false-premise war that is now being wound down (although not without casualties everywhere), or the terrorist attack that precipitated that war and the other war that isn't going anywhere soon, but being called out for not caring about the people of his country, that was the worst part of his Presidency.
the State of Wisconsin has a law on the books that criminalizes getting a marriage out of state that would be void inside the state, with a potential fine of up to $10,000 and 9 months in jail. So not only will they declare your marriage never happened, they could throw you in jail for having gotten it, should some zealot with an agenda decide it requires enforcement.
Technology and science begins with research indicating that antibodies can still work inside virus-infected cells to defeat the invaders, suggesting a new possible vector for antiviral drugs to work.
Furthermore, the Urbee, a vehicle manufactured through the use of three-dimensional fabrication printers, will be taking to actual streets for testing, after its presence at the Automotive X Prize.
In opinions, Ms. Miller tells all the NaN(o)ites to stop wasting their time producing crap for an oversaturated market and go do something artistic and productive for a change, or perhaps read instead of write for the month, missing the point entirely of the NaNo project.
The followign opinion is staggering, if read the proper way. Under the guise of "fixing" the problems of "Obamacare", Mr. Jenkins, Jr. advocates for a change to the health care system that would negate the entire purpose of insurance, calling for a "federal charter" of insurance that basically allows the private sector to make plans without having to conform to anybody's mandates, be they state or federal, and then offer them as valid alternatives to the plans required by the health care law. By Mr. Jenkins own logic, this lets the private sector rush out high-deductible, catastrophe-only plans that won't cost a whole lot, so that the people who don't want to subsidize the old and the sick can buy them. In other words, Mr. Jenkins proposes creating a low-risk pool that people can jump into, leaving the high risk people stuck with the expensive plans and each other. It subverts the purpose of insurance - the healthy are supposed to pay in to subsidize the care of the sick and the old who need it, so that costs are affordable to everyone. Mr. Jenkins, instead, wishes to let the insurance companies reassert control and give them cover so that they don't get thrashed by regulators, politicans, or the people for doing the things the health care bill was supposed to stop them from doing. He says that this, paired with health-savings accounts, which are great for people that can afford to have a chunk taken out of their paychecks every time and can predict what kind of expenses they'll have in the upcoming year, would be the preferred alternative to ObamaCare, which could then also let off the subsidies, because people won't be needing them to buy their affordable-but-no-coverage plans instead of plans that actually cover them and happen to subsidize the care of others on the plan. I thoroughly expect the Republicans and Tea Partiers to propose this type of plan at least once in the next session.
Last for tonight, Mr. McCartney asks the mean represented by a symbol to help out his school.
Gridlock is going to suck, because it means nothing will get done. At the same time, for certain stated issues, gridlock is going to be all right, because nothing will get done.
But beyond that, the Beltway's parroting of the Republican narrative is flat-out wrong. Voters aren't looking to punish the Obama(-Pelosi(-Reid)) agenda - they consistently polled as liking the things that were being done, while expressing concerns that it couldn't all be paid for, that the way things were being done was toxic and damaging, and that some of the compromises in place gave too much power to businesses or might be against Constitutional authority granted to the Congress. Just watch the wobble in the Republican Party - "We're going to engage in across-the-board spending cuts...unless you're Social Security, Medicare, or the military" - "Repeal the health care bill...and replace it with something that has all the bits you like in it." "Tax cuts for everyone...but mostly for rich people and corporations." This is not anti-Obama work - this is Corporatist Republicanism as normal. Obama is just the guy they're going to blame everything on. Have to hand it to them, though - it worked beautifully. They successfully convinced the voters that problems that have been decades in the making should be able to be solved in two years, because there were enough (D) symbols that they should have been able to pass everything. Because if all the (R)s can vote in a block against everything, all the (D)s should be able to vote as a block for, and if they don't, that's Obama's fault, not that many of those (D)s are basically (R)s but for a few issue differences.
Out in the world today, Yemen initated an arrest against Anwar al-Awlaki and charged him in absentia.
The United States called for Iran to stop the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, although those calls are unlikely to change the minds of the leaders responsible for the execution.
Domestically, California's Proposition 19 was defeated because more old people turned out than young people, according to exit polls - six in ten youngesters supported, but seven in ten seniors opposed. Any Reefer Madness jokes you make are your own.
Remember odd candidate Alvin Greene of South Carolina, with no campaign to speak of and no promotion anywhere? Here are some numbers on Senate candidates who received close to or less votes than he did in their campaigns. Which probably doesn't say anything at all, just that some states races had really small turnout.
The previous administrator confirms suspicions that he was a blockhead by saying that things went to an all-time low when Kayne West accused him or not caring about black people. Not the disaster that prompted such a response, the false-premise war that is now being wound down (although not without casualties everywhere), or the terrorist attack that precipitated that war and the other war that isn't going anywhere soon, but being called out for not caring about the people of his country, that was the worst part of his Presidency.
the State of Wisconsin has a law on the books that criminalizes getting a marriage out of state that would be void inside the state, with a potential fine of up to $10,000 and 9 months in jail. So not only will they declare your marriage never happened, they could throw you in jail for having gotten it, should some zealot with an agenda decide it requires enforcement.
Technology and science begins with research indicating that antibodies can still work inside virus-infected cells to defeat the invaders, suggesting a new possible vector for antiviral drugs to work.
Furthermore, the Urbee, a vehicle manufactured through the use of three-dimensional fabrication printers, will be taking to actual streets for testing, after its presence at the Automotive X Prize.
In opinions, Ms. Miller tells all the NaN(o)ites to stop wasting their time producing crap for an oversaturated market and go do something artistic and productive for a change, or perhaps read instead of write for the month, missing the point entirely of the NaNo project.
The followign opinion is staggering, if read the proper way. Under the guise of "fixing" the problems of "Obamacare", Mr. Jenkins, Jr. advocates for a change to the health care system that would negate the entire purpose of insurance, calling for a "federal charter" of insurance that basically allows the private sector to make plans without having to conform to anybody's mandates, be they state or federal, and then offer them as valid alternatives to the plans required by the health care law. By Mr. Jenkins own logic, this lets the private sector rush out high-deductible, catastrophe-only plans that won't cost a whole lot, so that the people who don't want to subsidize the old and the sick can buy them. In other words, Mr. Jenkins proposes creating a low-risk pool that people can jump into, leaving the high risk people stuck with the expensive plans and each other. It subverts the purpose of insurance - the healthy are supposed to pay in to subsidize the care of the sick and the old who need it, so that costs are affordable to everyone. Mr. Jenkins, instead, wishes to let the insurance companies reassert control and give them cover so that they don't get thrashed by regulators, politicans, or the people for doing the things the health care bill was supposed to stop them from doing. He says that this, paired with health-savings accounts, which are great for people that can afford to have a chunk taken out of their paychecks every time and can predict what kind of expenses they'll have in the upcoming year, would be the preferred alternative to ObamaCare, which could then also let off the subsidies, because people won't be needing them to buy their affordable-but-no-coverage plans instead of plans that actually cover them and happen to subsidize the care of others on the plan. I thoroughly expect the Republicans and Tea Partiers to propose this type of plan at least once in the next session.
Last for tonight, Mr. McCartney asks the mean represented by a symbol to help out his school.
