Comments Posted By michael reynolds
Displaying 121 To 130 Of 839 Comments
Dave:
That is an admirable summation.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 1.12.2009 @ 17:01
I really should let you do my thinking for me.
Well, that's true for most people.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 1.12.2009 @ 12:02
What you don't like is that he's brave enough to make the break you know in your mind and heart you should be making.
I really should let you do my thinking for me. You're so much better at it than I am plus, having you take over my mind would be a real blessing. It would be a relief to lose my crowded, confused brain and substitute yours which has all that extra room in it.
ed.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 1.12.2009 @ 10:51
WALKBACK COMPLETE: US RECOGNIZES WINNER IN HONDURAN ELECTION
Jondough:
Wow, I have a whole twisted universe? Neat.
Incidentally as to my writing? I earn a fair bit more than the POTUS and I work quite a bit less. Although my benefits aren't nearly as good.
Thanks for the recognition!
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 30.11.2009 @ 21:49
Thanks, Rick, but there are so many demands on my writing skills that I'm afraid I wouldn't enjoy a government salaried position.
Let me try to briefly restate my earlier position: It's Honduras, who gives a sh*t?
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 30.11.2009 @ 14:48
Yay! A new manufactured outrage!
It was a minor kerfuffle, not terribly well-handled by the O administration. But it's Honduras. Not exactly high on the list of countries we need to care about. By the way, what was the smart play here? Endorsing the idea of military coups in Central America? With our history in the region?
As for us walking back clearly stated positions, how about "We do not negotiate with terrorists," followed in short order by, "But we sure do bribe them if it'll get us out of Iraq." The US government makes cash payments to clan leaders who used to earn their pay from slaughtering Marines.
You'd do so well as a spinmaster for the White House. You've got to be tired of writing books. Why not give them a shot? You can use me as a reference. I would be glad to tell them that you are the biggest lackey they have and that they would be smart to use you.
ed.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 30.11.2009 @ 14:05
THE GRAHAM-DeMINT AXIS OF THE GOP
It's not about issues with people like Palin and DeMint and the tea partiers. It's never been about issues. They are enraged and hysterical because they are afraid and fear breeds rage.
Fear of what, exactly? Fear of a public option health plan? Please. It's ludicrous on its face.
Fear of taxes? I'm willing to bet the average tea partier doesn't pay 5% of his income in federal income taxes and won't be paying any more any time soon.
Fear of 34,000 troops to Afghanistan instead of 40,000? What?
Fear of a poorly-executed bow?
Fear of what exactly?
Fear of a Harvard-educated black man in the highest office in the land. That's what. Fear of the change that he embodies and symbolizes. Fear that the southern white male is at last losing his privileged position and more importantly his inflated sense of his own special importance.
This is tribal, it's got nothing whatsoever to do with issues. This is the same population that 150 years ago sent their fathers and sons to die for rich slave owners. The same people who wave Confederate flags today. It's partly just raw racism, but it has morphed into a broader sense of victimization. The forever aggrieved southern and rural white male.
Look at the people they admit to despising: urban, educated, secular. As you have rightly observed, they have now a will-to-stupidity, a deliberate embrace of ignorance, a wild rejection of even those ideas and individuals who might advance their agenda.
These are the losers of a long-running socio-economic and ethnic revolution. They are enraged because they sense -- quite accurately -- that there is no place of privilege for them in the modern world.
In this they are psychologically identical to the Taliban: defensive primitives clinging to the old and the dead for fear of the new. They want to retreat to the small farms and the sleepy southern villages with their resentments, their simplistic religion and their guns. They are political nihilists because they actually get it, they know, they are right that their core identity is being lost. They are right, and that's why they don't listen to people like you.
So, as always, Rick: why exactly are you in the same party? These are not your people. They will never be your people.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 29.11.2009 @ 14:03
IT'S STILL A GOOD IDEA TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS
I do worry about Plankton. I don't see why Mr. Krabs can't just let him have one Krabby Patty. I think it's time for SpongeBob to take a stand.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 28.11.2009 @ 14:42
ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE SCIENCE ISN'T 'SETTLED?'
I am always skeptical of modeling future events for which there are even a few variables, let alone hundreds. It's why I take economic forecasts with a grain of salt.
I think the obvious thing to do is to continue the research and take only those actions which make sense in and of themselves, either because they are inherently good or profitable, or because they might be of some use and are cheap and harmless.
It's certainly a good idea to continue researching alternative energy, certainly a good idea to improve gas mileage, probably with hybrids and electric vehicles, and where possible without Draconian measures cut smokestack emissions. Those all are seen as improving the global warming picture and even if they don't then they're good ideas all by themselves.
If we can push the emerging economies to put at least some thought into environmental consequences, that's a good thing regardless of global warming. Even without climate change it's not a great idea to throw billions of pounds of crap into the air and water.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 26.11.2009 @ 13:00
THE ABSOLUTE MORAL AUTHORITY TO ACT LIKE AN ASS
I have no end of admiration for the soldiers who do manage to obey the rules. The level of discipline and training is incredible. We can barely get the LAPD to behave with restraint after chasing down some car thief. Or for that matter pulling over a mouthy speeder.
It must take enormous self-discipline to control yourself -- especially when the guy you've grabbed may be the guy who just shot your buddy. I'm pretty sure that under similar stress I'd just pull out my pistol and shoot the guy in the head.
But then I'm a civilian -- and the world is the better for it.
The rules are set by the chain of command. Soldiers follow orders. Even difficult orders. Especially difficult orders. This isn't about a fat lip, it's about a breach of discipline. Discipline and training are what keep those guys alive.
Comment Posted By michael reynolds On 25.11.2009 @ 12:38
