— Quote For The Day/Andrew Sullivan (via nickbaumann)
(via motherjones)
Not gonna lie, I got a little excited when I saw this Foreign Policy article in my inbox. But then I started reading it and I realized it was mostly about how China is seriously going to take over the world omgzzz Americans won’t be able to keep up saddd :(
And seriously, why can’t this article be about the things America has actively done to speed up inevitable empire decline? What about our repeated failure to invest in our infrastructure? Or the anti-science and anti-progress people we continue to elect? Or the fact that our political economy is run by a bunch of sociopathic plutocrats with God-money and absolutely no incentive to do anything but increase their profits at the expense of anyone standing in their way? Or perhaps the fact that our legislative system appears to be intractably frozen? Or our burgeoning police state? None of these things merit a mention in an article about American Decline? Ok then. Fine. Whatever. It’s all that stupid China’s fault.
Okay. Okay.
Things like this do not make me thrilled with the Democrats, or Obama, or, you know, America. What. What is the point, exactly? What is the purpose of the Constitution?
Anyway, here’s the follow-up post Greenwald wrote. And Dahlia Lithwick, for good measure.
—
-Matt Yglesias on the discretionary spending freeze
He also links to some interesting articles and posts in there.
What is going on here? What is this world in which I live? I find myself thinking, almost hourly, of Patton Oswalt’s line from a few years ago: “On our planet, Arnold Schwarzenegger runs California, torture is legal, and spinach is poison!” Plus ça change (spinach), plus c’est la même chose (things other than spinach).
Why is everything so turvy-topsy. Why, I ask you.
Let’s celebrate what looks like a pretty bleak election in Massachusetts by reminding ourselves of ways to get shit done, filibuster be damned. Options range from the avoidant (the ever-popular reconciliation route) to the downright Gordian knot-esque. My favorite is in the latter category: “Reid can order the Senate sergeant-at-arms to physically drag Senators to the floor and prevent them from leaving.”
BOLT THE DOORS, MOTHERFUCKERS.
I have a weirdly macho outlook on congressional politics. Don’t know what that’s about.
Would this be a good time to point out that one flaw in the Rahm Emanuel-style “running conservative Democrats for conservative districts” plan is that sometimes they turn out to be Republicans? And then you’ve spent your money electing Republicans?
Just a thought.
In my dreamworld, this would lead to a dramatic slashing of agricultural subsidies. But corn and meat are probably sacrosanct.
Here is some unquestionably Wednesdays Are Good News Days good news from the Senate: Nelson’s equivalent of the Stupak amendment has been TABLED. Goodbye, amendment! I hated you so much!
Now, the more high-profile part of the Senate fight: I know the news has mostly been all “Senate Rejects Public Option,” but honestly I’m not sure how to feel about it yet. The alternative they’ve come up with looks like it will initially be open to fewer people but… be a better thing? The extension of Medicare to people 55-64 sounds pretty good to me. The words “national” and “non-profit” also sound pretty good to me. Admittedly I’m unclear on a bunch of things, like whether or not subsidies will be available for those buying into early Medicare, but, for now, I’m having a hard time being torn up over this.
Also, nothing’s been voted on yet. I have no idea what the final Senate bill will look like. Or what the post-conference bill that eventually gets signed by the President will look like. And I think I’m getting health insurance reform bill burnout. Shit, man. This is taking forever. Let’s pass the fucker and get on to climate change already.
Well look at that, a good policy coming from the Obama administration.
Tracie nails it so I don’t have to.
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