I've never seen a phenomenon quite like Mitt Romney.
I've watched politics closely since 1964, when, I admit, I supported Barry Goldwater and handed out leaflets for the Republican candidates for state-wide office in Massachusetts; John Volpe, Elliott Richardson and Ed Brooke (Governor, Lt Governor and Attorney General, respectively). In 1967 I went away to college at BYU, and meeting Utah Republicans convinced me that I was not a Republican. I cast my first presidential ballot in 1972, the first year I was eligible, and I voted for George McGovern. I even split my ballot and voted for Ed Brooke, this time for US Senator. McGovern, of course, lost badly, but he did carry Massachusetts, and I proudly sported a bumper sticker that said "Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts", when Nixon was impeached and forced to resign for being the crook he was.
With that in mind, I have to say that Mitt Romney is an amazing liar by any standard. Comparing Mitt Romney to garden-variety political liars is a bit like comparing Miguel Cabrera to a beer-league softball player.
More amazing is the pathetic media response to his lying. Instead of pointing out that he lied often and repeatedly (his lies will not be detailed here, if you care you can find lists of them at other places, try http://www.politifact.com/). My favorite was when he said there were no tax advantages for moving a business overseas. Mittens said that if there were such advantages, he needed a new accountant. Well, Mitt, you need a new accountant, there are many tax advantages to such a move.
He goes on and gives his foreign policy speech the other day, and says that President Obama has signed zero free-trade agreements during his presidency, while, in fact, he has signed three; with South Korea, Panama, and Columbia. I'm not a big fan of so-called "free trade" but a fact is a fact, he's signed such agreements.
In his interview the other day at a newspaper in Des Moines, IA he said that there was no legislation pending he knew of, regarding abortion, that would be "part of his agenda." His running mate has out forth 30-some such bills. Maybe not a lie, maybe just being disingenuous.
The man lies so glibly and so often, you have to believe he has experience. Being a businessman in the cutthroat world of vulture capitalism is certainly nothing that rewards truth telling.
In any event, when he tells the truth, or what I think is the truth about his positions as they may be...we'll never know unless he's elected...his policies will represent a return to the failed policies of the GW Bush administration, on steroids. Lowering tax rates to increase revenues has never worked and won't work now. Lowering tax rates on the top tiers will only exaggerate the inequalities in the tax code already. Continuing to favor investment income over wages will not only hurt the budget, it won't help the overall economy and is just not fair or right. There is no moral or ethical justification for favoring the capital end of economic activity over the labor end of the equation. Both are necessary for our economy to flourish. We need to keep a free economy in which business investment, if successful, is rewarded, but we don't need to make rewarding that one element of our society the be-all and end-all of our policies. There is more to life than the accumulation of wealth (sorry, Mitt, but it's true).
In sum, and no surprise to anyone, I plan to vote for Barack Obama for President. I am not 100% happy with him so far, but I am not 100% unhappy. I suspect that in 4 years of a Romney presidency I would be about 0% happy with his decisions.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Street Food
To eat, or not to eat, street food, that is the question.
I'm familiar with the advice to avoid street food in third world countries, but I don't follow it. Instead, I have my own guidelines.
1. Don't be stupid: Look at the stall, the vendor, the food. Does it look right? Is the stall clean? Is the vendor presentable? Is the food hot/cold like it should be? Is there an unpleasant aroma? Just because you're considering street food doesn't mean you should volunteer to be a victim. If the food doesn't pass any one of these tests, give it a pass. There are more, I guarantee you, there are more. I think food hot off the grill is usually pretty safe, as long as things look reasonably clean.
2. Look outside places locals congregate: For example, just outside the local market near me here in Manila there are a wide array of vendors selling both fresh fruit and vegetables and prepared items. I'm leery of the fresh fruit, but sometimes Mexica buys some and it's better than in the stores, mangoes for example are generally more fresh and tasty at the street vendors, and cheaper.
3. What do the locals eat? They'll guide you, even if you're alone. Some stalls are more popular than others, and look closely at the more popular ones.
4. Do you recognize the food? If you recognize it, go back to step one, does it look right, smell right?
5. Easy does it: Don't feel like you have to buy the whole cart. Buy their smallest offering and give it a try. The great things about street food include a reasonable price, which usually means small servings, so you can afford (financially and physically) to just give it a try. Even if the food ends up seeming unpleasant to you, you haven't really lost much.
6. If you have a local guide, take their advice and let them do the purchase. Of course, this only makes sense as far as getting the right food, but you also protect yourself from being overcharged, There are no price signs on most of the carts here, so you have to know the price, and I don't.
Examples from the Philippines of street food I have really enjoyed include roasted peanuts (a real favorite), grilled bananas, grilled sweet potatoes, shawarma (the Arabian version of a gyro), and various grilled meat--chicken and pork skewers. I've avoided the grilled chicken intestines and the balut (fertilized duck egg, boiled and eaten in the shell). I've never been sick after eating street food (knock on wood).
I'm familiar with the advice to avoid street food in third world countries, but I don't follow it. Instead, I have my own guidelines.
1. Don't be stupid: Look at the stall, the vendor, the food. Does it look right? Is the stall clean? Is the vendor presentable? Is the food hot/cold like it should be? Is there an unpleasant aroma? Just because you're considering street food doesn't mean you should volunteer to be a victim. If the food doesn't pass any one of these tests, give it a pass. There are more, I guarantee you, there are more. I think food hot off the grill is usually pretty safe, as long as things look reasonably clean.
2. Look outside places locals congregate: For example, just outside the local market near me here in Manila there are a wide array of vendors selling both fresh fruit and vegetables and prepared items. I'm leery of the fresh fruit, but sometimes Mexica buys some and it's better than in the stores, mangoes for example are generally more fresh and tasty at the street vendors, and cheaper.
3. What do the locals eat? They'll guide you, even if you're alone. Some stalls are more popular than others, and look closely at the more popular ones.
4. Do you recognize the food? If you recognize it, go back to step one, does it look right, smell right?
5. Easy does it: Don't feel like you have to buy the whole cart. Buy their smallest offering and give it a try. The great things about street food include a reasonable price, which usually means small servings, so you can afford (financially and physically) to just give it a try. Even if the food ends up seeming unpleasant to you, you haven't really lost much.
6. If you have a local guide, take their advice and let them do the purchase. Of course, this only makes sense as far as getting the right food, but you also protect yourself from being overcharged, There are no price signs on most of the carts here, so you have to know the price, and I don't.
Examples from the Philippines of street food I have really enjoyed include roasted peanuts (a real favorite), grilled bananas, grilled sweet potatoes, shawarma (the Arabian version of a gyro), and various grilled meat--chicken and pork skewers. I've avoided the grilled chicken intestines and the balut (fertilized duck egg, boiled and eaten in the shell). I've never been sick after eating street food (knock on wood).
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Thai Vacation, Part V-Buddha
Not much to write in this entry, just an assortment of pictures of statues of the Buddha from some of the different temples in and around Chiang Mai. Fascinating in their variety and often very beautiful. My favorite is the green one. The material is glass, but our guide said it was a copy of a statue in Bangkok, and the original is made of emerald. I'd love to see that.
You see a number of monks and worshipers. We happened to be at this wat on a Full Moon Day, which is a day when a lot of people come to pray and be blessed by the monks.
The tiny specks of gold you see on the statue above are bits of gold leaf. Worshipers buy pieces of gold leaf and attach them to the statue at a place where they are experiencing pain in their own body, praying for healing.
The reclining Buddha, this is the Tuesday image. This one is quite long and is in a wat in the old city of Chiang Mai.
The prosperous, or "Happy Buddha." At one of the wats we visited a man came up to me and rubbed my belly for luck, and said "Happy Buddha". Since he was also blessed with a large belly, I rubbed his belly and said the same thing.
In front of the large bronze Buddha you can see a smaller green statue, that one is made of jade.
This one is made of green glass and is a copy of a statue in Bangkok. That one is made of emerald.
Saturday's image of the Buddha. The Buddha Seated under a Naga (Seven Headed Serpent), in Meditation. This pose depicts the meditation Buddha being protected from falling rain by the spread out hood of the Naga. I was born on a Saturday. The Naga appears threatening but is really a protector of the Buddha. I think there's a message there.
Mexica was born on Wednesday, and this is the Buddha for that day, collecting alms in his rice bowl. Remember the Buddha was a prince and he visited his father, who was upset to see his son begging for food. I see this as a symbol of humility.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thai Vacation, Part IV-Chiang Mai Zoo
Chiang Mai is really an interesting city. In addition to many temples, they have a very nice zoo and picturesque ruins of the wall that originally surrounded the city.
My favorite part of the zoo was being able to get really close to giraffes. You could buy a handful of veggies for 10 Baht and feed the animals. They have long, snake-like tongues. There was a young boy there at the same time we were, and the giraffe just freaked him out! They are one of the few zoos outside China to have Pandas, and they had a juvenile Panda there, just 2 years old. Pandas may look cuddly to some people, but to me they look big and bad tempered. I would not want to meet a Panda in the wild. They had a pygmy hippo and I thought that was just cool. The zoo was laid out on hillsides, with a lot of open green space. The enclosures could have been better, but overall it was not a bad zoo.
The city was founded during an era of frequent warfare and was originally surrounded by wall. Not much remains of those now, but there are a few sections that survive. The city has outgrown the walls and the area inside the walls seems small, but many of the really great wats are inside the old walls. Here's a wall segment. Mexica got these pictures by getting out of the taxi and braving several lanes of traffic!
The city was founded during an era of frequent warfare and was originally surrounded by wall. Not much remains of those now, but there are a few sections that survive. The city has outgrown the walls and the area inside the walls seems small, but many of the really great wats are inside the old walls. Here's a wall segment. Mexica got these pictures by getting out of the taxi and braving several lanes of traffic!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Thailand Vacation, Part III-Wats
The city of Chiang Mai and the entire area around it hold many beautiful Buddhist temples. Some are small and simple, but many are large and very ornate. We visited several of them.
This first one was the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep. This is the largest and most famous temple in the area. It's very old and very large and it's the destination for many pilgrimages from all around Thailand. The day we were there was very sunny, and the sun shining on the polished bronze of the pagoda was nearly blinding. There were many people there, pilgrims and tourists, about 50/50. If you look closely at my picture on top, you'll see I'm barefoot. You had to take off your shoes to visit the inside of the temple complex. This temple is set high on a hill above the city and there is a great view from the temple grounds. This temple is about 20 km outside of the city proper, and the area is quite rural with jungle forest until you get to the temple area itself.
There were so many things to see in this temple. Luckily, our guide was very good. He was a devout Buddhist and very knowledgeable both about the temples and local history, and he was a very proud resident of Chiang Mai. For example, in the picture of the large Buddha statue, there are several smaller statues. One is made of pure jade, not very large but very beautiful.
In the city itself we saw several temples. My favorite was a very old temple, now partly destroyed by an earthquake many years ago. The central government has allocated a fund to restore the building, and that work is underway. The temple itself stands--or stood when it was whole--90 meters tall. When built it was the tallest building around and could be seen from far away, especially when whitewashed and gleaming in the sun. Each king tried to build a temple bigger than the kings that preceded him, and this particular one set a high standard. The temple appears to be carried on the backs of many elephants and many of the elephants survive. There is a bronze Buddha about halfway up the side of building. I tried to imagine how it looked hundreds of years ago--it was built in the 14th Century--it must have been very impressive indeed.
The temples are generally guarded at the entry by some kind of mythical animal. Most of these were guarded by dragons. The style of the dragons changed over time, becoming more and more ornate. The more recent temples have very highly decorated dragons and that is the Bangkok style. That last set of dragons flank a staircase of 300 steps that lead up to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep. We took a tram to the top, but we walked back down.
This first one was the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep. This is the largest and most famous temple in the area. It's very old and very large and it's the destination for many pilgrimages from all around Thailand. The day we were there was very sunny, and the sun shining on the polished bronze of the pagoda was nearly blinding. There were many people there, pilgrims and tourists, about 50/50. If you look closely at my picture on top, you'll see I'm barefoot. You had to take off your shoes to visit the inside of the temple complex. This temple is set high on a hill above the city and there is a great view from the temple grounds. This temple is about 20 km outside of the city proper, and the area is quite rural with jungle forest until you get to the temple area itself.
There were so many things to see in this temple. Luckily, our guide was very good. He was a devout Buddhist and very knowledgeable both about the temples and local history, and he was a very proud resident of Chiang Mai. For example, in the picture of the large Buddha statue, there are several smaller statues. One is made of pure jade, not very large but very beautiful.
In the city itself we saw several temples. My favorite was a very old temple, now partly destroyed by an earthquake many years ago. The central government has allocated a fund to restore the building, and that work is underway. The temple itself stands--or stood when it was whole--90 meters tall. When built it was the tallest building around and could be seen from far away, especially when whitewashed and gleaming in the sun. Each king tried to build a temple bigger than the kings that preceded him, and this particular one set a high standard. The temple appears to be carried on the backs of many elephants and many of the elephants survive. There is a bronze Buddha about halfway up the side of building. I tried to imagine how it looked hundreds of years ago--it was built in the 14th Century--it must have been very impressive indeed.
The temples are generally guarded at the entry by some kind of mythical animal. Most of these were guarded by dragons. The style of the dragons changed over time, becoming more and more ornate. The more recent temples have very highly decorated dragons and that is the Bangkok style. That last set of dragons flank a staircase of 300 steps that lead up to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep. We took a tram to the top, but we walked back down.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Voter Suppression and the Return of Jim Crow
I don't know how to get people more engaged and more outraged about this. Many states around the country have enacted "Voter ID" laws that are really nothing more than an attempt to suppress voting by aged individuals and racial minorities, in other words, the return of Jim Crow.
While no one, or at least no one but Michelle Bachman, is willing to make direct appeals to racism anymore, the use of code words is rife, and "voter fraud" is one of those codes. It means "people who vote Democrat." Because the percentage of minorities and aged individuals who don't have valid state issued ID is higher than that of white males in middle age, Republicans gain from these laws.
The situation in Pennsylvania is instructive. Republican office holders there have boosted their Voter ID law as ensuring that the state's electoral votes will go to Mitt Romney. When this law was being enacted, the stated rationale was the prevention of voter fraud, which was described as widespread and a threat to honest elections. Now, in defending the law against a lawsuit, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has stipulated in a legal statement that there is NO documented history of voter fraud in Pennsylvania and that there is no evidence that fraud would occur in the absence of this law. In the absence of proven fraud and with the concession that there is no likelihood of fraud, what rationale remains?
Similar things have happened all around the country. Republicans put a lot of effort into electing the Secretary of State in many states and it's really paid off for them. These officials have made a lot of noise about voter fraud, but in laboring mightily, they have brought forth little.In New Mexico, for example the Republican candidate was electing promising to find "thousands" of fraudulent votes, and finally found 104 illegal registrations and 19 actual votes cast by those not entitled to vote. Is that a crime? Yes. Should the perpetrators be punished? Yes. Do we need to purge voter lists and enact Draconian legislation? I would say no. http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/gop_new_mexico_sec_of_state_finds_tiny_fraction_of_the_voter_fraud_she_alleged.php.
Meanwhile, the states which have enacted these laws that require state-issued ID have also, apparently systematically, closed or restricted hours for the offices that issue that kind of ID. For example, in Wisconsin there is one office that is open on the 5th Wednesday of each month, so it's open 4 days a year. In Alabama, a cluster of mostly black counties are served by one office that more than 100 miles from some of the people it supposedly serves. These are mostly poor people with no driver's license, remember. All the states have "free" ID--they have to because of a court order--but all require birth certificates, which are not free. Many states also have a policy of offering no help whatever to anyone who does not present with the correct documents.
All this is reminiscent of the various laws used in the "old" south to suppress voting by African-Americans, such as so-called literacy tests. The tests were administered by county officials in person and anyone with dark skin failed, literate or not.
Documented voter fraud is extremely rare. In 2004 in Washington, when the Governor's race was microscopically close, a detailed investigation by a Republican Secretary of State found 0.0009% of votes were case illegally. Even in that election, not enough to change the outcome.
I'm appalled and I'm outraged. I remember the voter marches of the 1960's with Bull Connor and the dogs of the Alabama police forces, the bombs of Mississippi, the violence and hate. Seeing the gains people worked so hard and suffered so much to attain stolen by the "Party of Lincoln" (makes me gag to write that about the modern Republicans) just makes me ill.If the Republicans can't win honestly, maybe they should just accept their loses--or (better yet) change their policies so they're not just servants of the very rich and powerful.
While no one, or at least no one but Michelle Bachman, is willing to make direct appeals to racism anymore, the use of code words is rife, and "voter fraud" is one of those codes. It means "people who vote Democrat." Because the percentage of minorities and aged individuals who don't have valid state issued ID is higher than that of white males in middle age, Republicans gain from these laws.
The situation in Pennsylvania is instructive. Republican office holders there have boosted their Voter ID law as ensuring that the state's electoral votes will go to Mitt Romney. When this law was being enacted, the stated rationale was the prevention of voter fraud, which was described as widespread and a threat to honest elections. Now, in defending the law against a lawsuit, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has stipulated in a legal statement that there is NO documented history of voter fraud in Pennsylvania and that there is no evidence that fraud would occur in the absence of this law. In the absence of proven fraud and with the concession that there is no likelihood of fraud, what rationale remains?
Similar things have happened all around the country. Republicans put a lot of effort into electing the Secretary of State in many states and it's really paid off for them. These officials have made a lot of noise about voter fraud, but in laboring mightily, they have brought forth little.In New Mexico, for example the Republican candidate was electing promising to find "thousands" of fraudulent votes, and finally found 104 illegal registrations and 19 actual votes cast by those not entitled to vote. Is that a crime? Yes. Should the perpetrators be punished? Yes. Do we need to purge voter lists and enact Draconian legislation? I would say no. http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/gop_new_mexico_sec_of_state_finds_tiny_fraction_of_the_voter_fraud_she_alleged.php.
Meanwhile, the states which have enacted these laws that require state-issued ID have also, apparently systematically, closed or restricted hours for the offices that issue that kind of ID. For example, in Wisconsin there is one office that is open on the 5th Wednesday of each month, so it's open 4 days a year. In Alabama, a cluster of mostly black counties are served by one office that more than 100 miles from some of the people it supposedly serves. These are mostly poor people with no driver's license, remember. All the states have "free" ID--they have to because of a court order--but all require birth certificates, which are not free. Many states also have a policy of offering no help whatever to anyone who does not present with the correct documents.
All this is reminiscent of the various laws used in the "old" south to suppress voting by African-Americans, such as so-called literacy tests. The tests were administered by county officials in person and anyone with dark skin failed, literate or not.
Documented voter fraud is extremely rare. In 2004 in Washington, when the Governor's race was microscopically close, a detailed investigation by a Republican Secretary of State found 0.0009% of votes were case illegally. Even in that election, not enough to change the outcome.
I'm appalled and I'm outraged. I remember the voter marches of the 1960's with Bull Connor and the dogs of the Alabama police forces, the bombs of Mississippi, the violence and hate. Seeing the gains people worked so hard and suffered so much to attain stolen by the "Party of Lincoln" (makes me gag to write that about the modern Republicans) just makes me ill.If the Republicans can't win honestly, maybe they should just accept their loses--or (better yet) change their policies so they're not just servants of the very rich and powerful.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Thailand Vacation, Part II--Tigers
The larger tigers were almost comatose, but it was fun to be able to touch such beautiful animals. I am troubled by the ethical issues--would the tigers be better off in the wild? Probably, that is, if they wouldn't be dead. In Southeast Asia there are fewer people worried about such issues, as the Tiger Kingdom was very busy. The elephant camp gave me no such qualms, as the elephants were animals they had rescued when the logging operations they were working on changed from animal power to machines. The elephants would be dead if they weren't in the camp, and they looked pretty healthy. I didn't see any neurotic action like pacing and the handlers appeared kind. Right or wrong, it was an exciting day, and in one day, we rode elephants and petted tigers, firsts for both of us. A highlight day of our Thai vacation.
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