Posts tagged "America"

As Robert C. Beckel, the Mondale campaign manager, tells it, his candidate was also ready to top another likely Reagan punch line. In recent campaign speeches, the President has gleefully said that this was the difference between the two political parties: ”Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15.”

If Mr. Reagan had repeated that comparison in the debate, Mr. Mondale was prepared to respond: ”Mr. President, I know some of your supporters take April 15 as a holiday, but a lot of other Americans have to work, even on July 4.”

James F. Clarity & Warren Weaver Jr., “BRIEFING: ‘There You Go Again’,” The New York Times, October 10, 1984

Um… zing?

politics America
Apr 29

“There’s never been a paper bag for drugs.”

Me at That Other Blog:

I was reminded of this scene after Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a set of stringent new restrictions on illegal immigration. The law has set off an outcry here in the States, and it’s not too hard to see why. It requires police to stop people they suspect of being illegal immigrants and demand proof that they are authorised to be in the country. Immigrants must carry around proof of their legal status at all times, and the mere act of being an illegal immigrant in Arizona is now a crime.

The problem is, of course, that it’s hard to have a reasonable suspicion that someone is an illegal immigrant, because, well, in the words of Governor Brewer: “I do not know what an illegal immigrant looks like.” Opponents of the law think it will lead to widespread profiling of Hispanics, since most illegal immigrants are Hispanic. And even though the law forbids this kind of racial profiling, it offers no guidance as to how a police officer is meant to reasonably suspect someone of being an illegal immigrant. Just like police departments that don’t racially profile but nonetheless coincidentally end up harassing large numbers of law-abiding African-Americans, this legislation seems likely to lead to widespread demands of any Hispanic-looking person in Arizona that they show their papers.

In practice, this will make Hispanics more mistrustful of police, and discourage them from reporting crimes and co-operating with investigations. But if this were all it would do, at least Arizona would reach some kind of workable, albeit horrible, compromise. But one of the more absurd aspects of the law is that it permits individual citizens to sue police departments that aren’t doing enough to combat illegal immigration. Not only will police have to try to determine who is an illegal immigrant merely by sight, they will have to demand of these people proof of legal status, and, to avoid costly lawsuits, they will have to do so to the satisfaction of every resident of Arizona.

And the rest is over here…

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USSC America television The Wire politics
Apr 29

A smoggy view looking east on 6th Street from Figueroa, in 1960. The day was, in fact, much clearer than the Air Pollution Control District had predicted. (h/t James Fallows)

A smoggy view looking east on 6th Street from Figueroa, in 1960. The day was, in fact, much clearer than the Air Pollution Control District had predicted.

(h/t James Fallows)

los angeles california America
Apr 30

Miss Susan Morrow, left, and Mrs. Linda Hawkins pause on a downtown street to wipe away tears as a heavy blanket of smog covered the L.A. Basin for six days straight in 1964.

Miss Susan Morrow, left, and Mrs. Linda Hawkins pause on a downtown street to wipe away tears as a heavy blanket of smog covered the L.A. Basin for six days straight in 1964.

los angeles california america
Apr 30

The Urban Dictionary Guide to America: Kentucky

Kentucky

One of the greatest states in the Union, ranking up there easily with Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, and California. The majority of Kentucky’s people are very friendly, religious or with a strong sense of morals and values, and many are also quite diverse. For example there are plenty of Kentucky natives that are composed of two races.

The imbreeding stereotype is also a load of crap, as it only exists in very sparse, few areas deep in Appalachia.

In addition, Kentucky is not entirely as Southern as people claim it is. The Bluegrass State is actually quite different with Northern/Midwestern qualities and heritage that mix with the Southern heritage and characteristics. Not everyone has thick drawls either; many more people actually have Midwest nasal twang, while a few Northern “migrants” actually talk in strong brogues or other different accents.

Bluegrass and Country are not the only forms of music, as there is also Christian, Metal, and Rock bands, as well as a very few rappers even! Countrified “Southern” food is not the only thing to eat either. Almost every known restaurant in the Nation is located somewhere in Kentucky, and some immigrants have even brought their own ethnic cuisine with them and made a business out of it!

Kentucky was also a pivotal battleground border state during the Civil War. Also see Perryville. The state was roughly 75-78% Unionist, with some being anti-slavery, while there where no more than 22-25% supporting the South and the Confederacy. Kentucky was actually quite crucial in winning the Civil War, which depresses me to realize that so many people overlook it entirely and that classes only seem to teach about the Eastern Theatre.

Kentucky is an awesome state with a rich heritage and history, great people, strong family values and morals, and so much more.

The Urban Dictionary Guide to America America
Apr 30

(via andrewtsks, molls, Calvin’s Canadian Cave of Coolness: I Will Take The Truth Anywhere I Can Find It, etc.) Well, this would be true, except, as the New York Times/CBS poll shows, the Tea Partiers aren’t a bunch of working-class folks mad about losing jobs. They’re a bunch of middle-upper class right-wing activists mad because Obama’s the President and taxes go to schools, hospitals, police, roads, and everything else America doesn’t deny to poor people. For instance, 23 per cent of Americans think the most important problem facing the country is the economy. So do 23 per cent of Tea Party supporters. But another 27 per cent of Americans think the biggest problem is a lack of jobs. Only 22 per cent of Tea Partiers say jobs. Tea Partiers are more likely than average to call a problem “Politicians/Government” (13 per cent as compared to four per cent), and the deficit (11 per cent as compared to five). The emphases are different here. Americans don’t like a bad economy that leads to them being unemployed. Tea Partiers don’t like government and the deficit, which they blame for a lack of jobs. Further, 54 per cent of Americans blame the Bush administration or Wall Street for the state of the economy (32 and 22 per cent respectively). Only five per cent of Tea Party supporters blame the Bush administration. This is the Bush Administration that ran the economy for eight years before the economy went to shit. And one tea partier in twenty blames Bush. A plurality of Tea Partiers (28 per cent) blame Congress for the state of the economy. A further 10 per cent blame the Obama administration, and only 15 per cent blame Wall Street. A majority of Americans think the government should spend money to create jobs. A majority of Tea Party supporters would prefer the government to reduce the deficit. A plurality of Americans (39 per cent) think the deficit is the fault of the Bush administration, you know, the administration that pitched Medicare Part D, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the upper-class tax cuts, all of which were unfunded. Tea Party supporters are most likely to blame Congress (37 per cent, as opposed to 19 per cent of the American public), followed by Obama (24 per cent, as opposed to a mere eight per cent of the American public). If there’s a problem, Tea Partiers blame it on the Democrats. 38 per cent of Americans have a favorable view of Republicans. 54 per cent of Tea Partiers have a favorable view of the GOP. 56 per cent of the Tea Party supporters think Obama’s policies favor the poor, as compared to just 27 per cent of the general population. Tea Partiers are most likely to think Obama has increased taxes; Americans are most likely to think Obama  has kept taxes the same (both are wrong). Tea Party supporters are less concerned than the average American that they will be out of work in the next twelve months. Tea Party supporters are more likely than the average American to rate their household’s financial situation as “good” or “very good.” Tea Party supporters are more likely to call themselves middle class and less likely to call themselves working class. Tea Party supporters, on average, make more money than other Americans. Larry Flynt and an awful lot of other people have misread the Tea Party. Supporters of this movement are more likely to be wealthy, educated and Republican. They are not working class people who are frustrated that they are out of work. They are reasonably well-off Republicans who dislike the Government spending money on poor people. Americans dislike Wall Street, Tea Party supporters dislike Democrats. This is a right wing movement, and speaking to it in social justice terms will not work. Larry Flynt, you are wrong.

(via andrewtsks, molls, Calvin’s Canadian Cave of Coolness: I Will Take The Truth Anywhere I Can Find It, etc.)

Well, this would be true, except, as the New York Times/CBS poll shows, the Tea Partiers aren’t a bunch of working-class folks mad about losing jobs. They’re a bunch of middle-upper class right-wing activists mad because Obama’s the President and taxes go to schools, hospitals, police, roads, and everything else America doesn’t deny to poor people.

For instance, 23 per cent of Americans think the most important problem facing the country is the economy. So do 23 per cent of Tea Party supporters. But another 27 per cent of Americans think the biggest problem is a lack of jobs. Only 22 per cent of Tea Partiers say jobs. Tea Partiers are more likely than average to call a problem “Politicians/Government” (13 per cent as compared to four per cent), and the deficit (11 per cent as compared to five). The emphases are different here. Americans don’t like a bad economy that leads to them being unemployed. Tea Partiers don’t like government and the deficit, which they blame for a lack of jobs.

Further, 54 per cent of Americans blame the Bush administration or Wall Street for the state of the economy (32 and 22 per cent respectively). Only five per cent of Tea Party supporters blame the Bush administration. This is the Bush Administration that ran the economy for eight years before the economy went to shit. And one tea partier in twenty blames Bush. A plurality of Tea Partiers (28 per cent) blame Congress for the state of the economy. A further 10 per cent blame the Obama administration, and only 15 per cent blame Wall Street.

A majority of Americans think the government should spend money to create jobs. A majority of Tea Party supporters would prefer the government to reduce the deficit. A plurality of Americans (39 per cent) think the deficit is the fault of the Bush administration, you know, the administration that pitched Medicare Part D, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the upper-class tax cuts, all of which were unfunded. Tea Party supporters are most likely to blame Congress (37 per cent, as opposed to 19 per cent of the American public), followed by Obama (24 per cent, as opposed to a mere eight per cent of the American public). If there’s a problem, Tea Partiers blame it on the Democrats. 38 per cent of Americans have a favorable view of Republicans. 54 per cent of Tea Partiers have a favorable view of the GOP.

56 per cent of the Tea Party supporters think Obama’s policies favor the poor, as compared to just 27 per cent of the general population. Tea Partiers are most likely to think Obama has increased taxes; Americans are most likely to think Obama  has kept taxes the same (both are wrong).

Tea Party supporters are less concerned than the average American that they will be out of work in the next twelve months. Tea Party supporters are more likely than the average American to rate their household’s financial situation as “good” or “very good.” Tea Party supporters are more likely to call themselves middle class and less likely to call themselves working class. Tea Party supporters, on average, make more money than other Americans.

Larry Flynt and an awful lot of other people have misread the Tea Party. Supporters of this movement are more likely to be wealthy, educated and Republican. They are not working class people who are frustrated that they are out of work. They are reasonably well-off Republicans who dislike the Government spending money on poor people. Americans dislike Wall Street, Tea Party supporters dislike Democrats. This is a right wing movement, and speaking to it in social justice terms will not work. Larry Flynt, you are wrong.

172
America politics
May 01

This week at the USSC.

My other blog has been doing things, as usual:

USSC America politics books
May 01

I'm not sure I can treat him the same after this.

Douglas Martin:

There are a few things— like the legislative fuckery going on in Arizona— that make me question what it means to be American. I’m all about people having pride in their heritage, but I have a lot of pride in my nationality. Excluding a lot of the people who are chosen to represent us, I’m extremely proud to be an American.

That being said, there’s something that doesn’t sit well with me when I’m called an “African-American”; there an implied sentiment that people of a different skin tone have to have labels put on them.

Sometimes, this gets the better of me when around well-intentioned people. When referred to as an “African-American”, I’ve been known to sharply reply, “No. I was born in El Paso. I’m an American.” 

Fuck being black… Martin Douglas is Texan???

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Texas America race
May 04

Tuesdays used to matter.

Wale, “The Perfect Plan,” The Mixtape About Nothing (2008) 

In the five years I’d been away from the States, Tuesdays ceased to matter, or they did for me, anyway. Tuesdays never mattered in Australia because albums came out on Mondays, except labels would ship them to the store the previous Friday, or sometimes even earlier. These early shipments would often be embargoed, usually until the Saturday, meaning stores could officially sell the albums two days before the publicized release date. But sometimes, of course, the album won’t be embargoed, or it will be and the record store doesn’t notice or care, or you could sweet-talk one of the employees into letting you buy a copy early. And then sometimes it went the other way, or it did in the small city where I went to high school: the label would simply not send the stock to the store in time, and you’d have to wait another few days for the new release you’d been anticipating for months.

The result was that the official release date became a guide rather than an event, and if there was a weekend with a few high profile releases coming out, you’d often drop in on Friday to pick one up, Saturday for the next, then get another on the Monday.

When I was in the States back in ‘04 and ‘05, however, CDs always came out on Tuesday. Perhaps there were exceptions I was unaware of because I hadn’t been buying records there for long enough, but in my experience, the Tuesday release was an ironclad law of music retailing. It became a ritual for me, certainly: finishing my Tuesday classes for the day at Western Washington University, then getting on the bus to go to the Cellophane Square store downtown to check out the new releases. Back then, also, album leaks were less commonplace. Yes, they happened, but it was more likely that a few tracks would make their way online rather than the blogs being flooded with full-album Rapidshare links weeks before the record was in stores. Tuesdays were great.

Yesterday, looking at the New York Times reviews published the day before, I discovered that the new Hold Steady record was out. I guess I’m going to walk up to Easy Street Records in Queen Anne to buy it, even though it leaked a few weeks ago and I know it’s not very good, because I’m a sucker like that with some bands. But that I didn’t know it was coming out, I wasn’t in the store the day it was released, that I don’t really care because I’ll get around to giving Craig Finn and bandmates cash for something that isn’t their best effort at some point? Man, Tuesdays used to matter.

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music America
May 05

Dino Rossi: #51?

Nate Silver reports a SurveyUSA poll that shows Washington Senator Patty Murray 10 points behind Dino Rossi, who has not announced an intention to run. Silver is unsure as to whether this poll can be trusted, because WA is a relatively blue state, and Murray isn’t unpopular. Further, other polls show her doing much better against a proposed Rossi run.

I don’t get the thing where Rossi is meant to be the Great White Hope of Washington Republicans. The Tea Partiers I spoke to at the Tax Day protests were hopeful of a Rossi run, and I felt like saying to them, “Really? I watched the guy lose to Christine Gregoire in 2004, then y’all watched him lose again to Gregoire in 2008. Now he’s back for a third time to try to take Patty Murray’s Senate seat?” How many times do Washington State voters have to tell this guy they’re not interested? Or is there some local politics I’m unfamiliar with that means this guy will somehow suddenly become a viable candidate?

1
America Washington politics
May 06


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