Archive - 1970

I had a great time in Pennsylvania - back in Allentown and Bethlehem - plus ample time at the Fairview bar in Catasaqua. The trip was a blur, but a tremendously fun blur.

Got up at 3:30 am on Jan 1 to catch a flight to Detroit to catch a flight to Allentown (after playing correct-gate scavenger hunt). Terrific flight attendant on the flight from Detroit to the Lehigh Valley - the plane was built to carry 50 passengers or so and I think we piled 10 or 12 in. Chatted with the flight attendant who kept asking if I was annoying the women - Kimmi and Michelle. I tried to convince her it was the opposite but no luck there.

Flew in, Kimmi rented a car and we headed to Mom Mom's place (ignoring the directions spit out by my new Garmin GPS device - which is sweet). After some chit chat and planning, we headed over to Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Jabbour's for an early dinner and some football - watched Penn State put another nail in the coffin of the Big Ten Conference as a powerhouse. Kim surprised Mom, Aunt Cheryl, and Jabbour when she walked in - they had no idea she came with us (despite us slipping up many times and saying something about Kim being in PA).

On Friday, we had a fun breakfast, though in my case, the company was the highlight as my French Toast and sausages were sub-par. Headed over to Mom mom's for some poker and pizza. I started hot, cooled off, and finished with two large pots to save the day. From there, Klink, Klinkette, James, and Autumn joined most of us at the Fairview for Cheesesteaks - Fairview style. Less greasy than the pure Philly style, but my favorite - and the pierogies. Love the pierogies.

Stopped at Friendly's on the way back to Cheryl and Jabbour's for a Jim Dandy - and to see how much food I can stuff down my throat. Always a little more. Spent the rest of the night laughing, telling college stories, and generally being abused by friends and family. I only wish Russelly and Rebecca could have been there.

Saturday we headed out to Macungie to visit and old neighbor from where I grew up before moving to Macungie (because apparently Macungie draws lots of folks from South Hall Street. Things have changed out there. But there are still some fields, so I guess that is something. Amazing to see the new 222 bypass and other major roads that have been moved.

Watched some football and had a great time playing white-board pictionary with family friends but it was really disappointing that Michelle developed a migraine and had to bow out for the evening (she still had it this morning but it seems to be gone now). The game was lots of fun - especially as I weaseled my way onto the "Winners" team (other choice was "Losers") which turned out to be prophetic. I got lots of fun photos but none are ready for posting just now.

Flew home on Sunday - Michelle was still ill but some motion-sickness pills helped and knocked her out during the flight, so that helped. Our plane arrived late in Minneapolis, but we got home in time to catch up on the TiVo'd Eagles - Vikes game. The game was far closer than I thought it would be but "dem Birds" put it away (despite a total inability to put up a 6 when taking snaps in the redzone).

Good food, good times, and good family/friends. Thanks to all in PA - it was great seeing you, I'm just sorry we couldn't spend more time.

Another great holiday season!

I spent wonderful time with both my family and Michelle's. Took a number of photos - and even edited a bunch of them already! However, I do not anticipate doing much with them or posting again before the New Year. I have a number of deadlines that must be met before I head to Pennsylvania with Michelle.

I have wanted to write something like this for a long time. But this Cenk guy beat me to it - Kudos to him and his great column, "Not Another Word on Gay Marriage Until They Execute an Adulterer"

They are completely and utterly disingenuous. They don't mean a word of it. They don't give a damn what the Bible says. They just want to use it as an instrument of hate.

The Bible says eating shellfish is an abomination. Yet there are no Red Lobster Amendments. The Bible says you shall not wear two different types of cloths at the same time. Yet there are no Propositions against cotton and wool combos.

Ironic title eh? Some man-on-man action!

I greatly enjoyed David Corn's comments on why Rick Warren sucks as Obama Convocation speaker.

As a follow-up to my Big 3 Bailout post, my boss published this op-ed in the Pioneer Press, which rightly defends the unions which are getting savaged in the debate over the automakers.

One of the points he does not make is that some have calculated all the tax incentives used to lure the foreign car manufacturers to these southern states, and they are quite significant. Let's not leave that out of the equation of whether tax dollars should support automakers - because they certainly do in the case of the Nissan, Honda, and Toyota plants down south.

Further, I would note that the wages and benefits are better in those non-unionized plants because the owners are fearful of their workers organizing. So they offer better wages and benefits as an incentive to prevent union activity.

Finally, one of the more important things we should do to bail out all companies and make them more competitive internationally, is to develop a good health care system that does not lash you to whatever health care plan your employer has. Health insurance tied to your employer? What a dumb idea.

Our favorite local theatre, Riverview, had a showing of Marley and Me last night - for dogs!

Bail out the Big Three, already. Though, perhaps it is poetic justice that so many in the Midwest support Republicans while Republicans will cavalierly bail out Wall Street while ignoring an industry employing more people, but located in the Midwest.

Whatever we might do in "normal" times, these are not those. This is a time when we have to decide whether we will pursue a Hoover or FDR path. Many Republicans are opting for Hoover, having not learned anything - but what would you expect from people who don't believe in evolution? Perhaps evolution does not believe in them either.

This is a terrible time to let the Big 3 "American" automakers fail. Continuing yesterday's theme of pimping the December 3, 2008 issue of The New Republic, I will defend this position by referencing Jonathan Cohn's "Panic in Detroit."

Cohn argues that Detroit is much closer to solving its own problems than most realize. Both management and unions have worked together to become more competitive and embrace "collborative quality management" to be competitive with the foreign competition. And it is succeeding.

According to the most recent Harbour Report, the benchmark guide for manufacturing prowess, Chrysler's factories now match Toyota's for the most productive, while both Ford's and GM's are improving. (A Toledo Jeep factory was actually named the nation's most efficient.) Consumer Reports now says Ford's reliability is approaching that of perennial leaders Honda and Toyota, whose ratings actually slipped last year.

As for those who argue that they should go bankrupt anyway, and the market will be able to help resurrect them, Cohn offers some strong evidence that bankruptcy would be a disaster - and not for the reasons that so many suggest (people supposedly won't buy cars from bankrupt auto companies).

Cohn considers the different types of bankrupcty, explaining which is more likely, and why the results of this option could be even worse than the status quo -

If anything, Chapter 11 might reinforce some of Detroit's worst habits--starting with its tendency to seek the lowest prices from parts suppliers, even if that means switching companies frequently and paying relatively little attention to part quality. Toyota is famous for taking the opposite approach: It eschews easy savings in order to maintain long-term relationships with suppliers; these relationships, in turn, allow Toyota and its suppliers to collaborate on design and quality. It's precisely the sort of production technique that the Big Three should be adopting. But, in a Chapter 11 filing, under pressure to improve the bottom line as fast as possible, they'd be unlikely to do that.

If you have questions on the bailout - read this article.

And for those who argue that they should be held accountable for their ineptitude ... well, we don't hold anyone else accountable for their actions so maybe we should just give them the Congressional Medal of Honor or Presidential Medal of Rewarding Stupidity, right, Thomas Friedman who should be arguing that the automakers only need 6 months to turn the corner - as he did for years during the War in Iraq.

A tribute to the old man on the porch. Looks like a good flick.

Fun headline - I'm combining two great articles from the December 3, 2008 issue of The New Republic.

Let's start with the interesting history of Barney Frank in "Bailout: The redemption of Barney Frank" by Michelle Cottle. I've been really impressed with Frank over the past year but I did not know much about the openly gay Representative.

This piece provides a lot of interesting background - and reinforces my impression of him as someone that you would not want to disagree with unless you really knew what you were talking about. I've loved him on the Diane Rehm show interviews throughout the fall, where he is very feisty. I think we are lucky to have him as House Financial Services Committee chair during these difficult times.

From the article, discussing a high level White House meeting on the failing economy before the first debate:

In the presence of such august company, a less confident man might have been intimidated into silence or at least decorous deference. Not Frank. He kept jumping in, quizzing Bush officials and pressing Republican legislators on their objections to the proposal. When John McCain rambled vaguely about the need to alter the package, Frank cut in to demand: "Like what?" As the senator finished, Frank huffed, "I still don't know what your proposals are."

Of the three articles I want to discuss, the most fun one is called Gosh Darn Sons of Guns" by Jeffrey Rosen.

It covers the idiocy of current FCC regulations regarding cussin'. Which reminds me - if you haven't listened to or read the lyrics to Steve Earle's "F the CC," now would be a good time.

Are Americans becoming more tolerant to cussin'? Fuck yes we are. And it is about damn time. We are talking about sounds. Oh dear, my delicate sensibilities... wah wah wah. Grow up. We have real problems in this world without wasting time on this bullshit.

Nonetheless,

Under the new policy, the FCC reserves the right to evaluate each fleeting expletive in context, giving five unelected commissioners the power to decide whether a particular expletive was "essential to the nature of an artistic or educational work or essential to informing viewers on a matter of public importance."

This, of course, is the policy promoted by the same people who keep claiming they want "less government." And the result is unsurprisingly lame:

ABC wasn't fined for broadcasting Saving Private Ryan, because the FCC decided that expletives were central to the message of the film, but an educational station was fined for broadcasting the PBS documentary "The Blues" because the expletives uttered by music producers weren't deemed necessary.

The FCC has apparently wrestled with whether the F-Bomb (which is a nice way of saying Fuck and no one is fooled), always has a sexual connotation and decided it does. So when I ask, "What the fuck?" I could just as well say, "What the missionary position?"

Meanwhile, people like Don Imus actually offend people and others use words to intentionally harm people - especially across racial, class, sexual, and gender lines, but are not investigated by the FCC because they ain't cussin'. Ain't that a pile of shit?

The article asks whether all this is necessary since we have the V-Chip and the option of just turning off the TV. People horrified by the base popular culture can buy DVDs of Disney movies or whatever floats their boat. This is a solution that actually maximizes everyones freedom, not just a bunch of puritans who write tens of thousands of letters to the FCC about how they are afraid of going to hell if their TV swears at them.

The New Republic changed my entire perspective and thoughts on the new Obama Administration. Following election day, I first thought it best if Obama took a slow, gradual, approach to change and did not push too hard for progressive reforms. I had bought the bullshit that this is a conservative country.

We aren't. Or that is to say, asking whether the country is liberal or conservative may be like inquiring into the shape of water. The answer should be: it depends.

There entire issue is well worth reading, but I'll start with an article in the 19 November, 2008 New Republic - by John B. Judis - "America the Liberal."

He notes that both Clinton and Carter misjudged the readiness of the country for liberal reforms - something I cannot attest to being too young at the time (or not born yet in the case o' Carter) to really pay attention.

He also talks about why North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and Colorado are more and more progressive (aside from fundamentalist conservatives basically ruining the country) - they are increasingly attracting professional and moving to a post-industrial employment base. These workers are less likely to buy into social smokescreens raised by Republicans to distract voters from important issues like regulations to make sure companies aren't poisoning us or engaging in risky practices that will destroy the economy.

He provides some interesting statistics though I would remind readers that 76% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

In March 1981, two months into the Reagan administration, a Los Angeles Times poll found that 54 percent of Americans thought there was "too much regulation of business and industry" and only 18 percent thought there was "too little." By October 2008, 27 percent thought there was "too much" and 45 percent thought there was "too little." In a Pew poll released in March 2007, 83 percent backed "stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment," and 66 percent supported "government guaranteeing health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes."

Attitudes on social issues have also changed dramatically. The Pew poll from March 2007 found that the percentage of Americans who believe that school boards should have the right to fire gay teachers fell from 51 percent in 1987 to 28 percent. Those who want to make it "more difficult" for women to obtain abortions dropped from 47 to 35 percent. Those who think that "it's all right for blacks and whites to date each other" rose from 48 to 83 percent. The poll also found that 62 percent of the general population--and 83 percent of college graduates-- disagreed with the notion that "science is going too far and hurting society."

So there is some good news after the setback of Prop Hate in California.

In that same issue, Sam Tanenhaus dissects "The Imperial Vice Presidency," reviewing Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency by Barton Gellman. I'll be looking for that book - just put it on my wish list.