The Republican War on the American People: Stastical Evidence

Michael Tomasky brings us this important statistical point. Add up all of the votes made by each Democrat in the House and Senate during the George W. Bush years, and all of the votes made by each Republican during the Barack Obama years, and something important jumps out at you:

Average Democratic Senate support for Bush	45.5 percent.
Average Democratic House support for Bush	36.8 percent.
Average combined Democratic support for Bush	41.1 percent.
Average Republican Senate support for Obama	8.8 percent.
Average Republican House support for Obama	2.7 percent.
Average combined Republican support for Obama	5.75 percent.

For the eight years that George W. Bush was president, the Democrats were a loyal opposition: some disagreed, some agreed, but all of them voted their conscience and were usually working in the best interests of their constituency and the American People.

On the other hand, the Republicans have shown no interest in being a loyal opposition, only a destructive one. They have not voted in the best interests of their constituency and the American People.

Brad Delong highlights that the stastics averages are incorrect; they should be weighted to account for the numbers of Senators vs. House members. By that number, Democratic support for Bush's initiatives was 39%; Republican support for Obama's, only 4%. Commenter "Cawley" points out that both Obama and Bush have put forward proposals that were far more slanted toward Republican goals than Democratic goals.

Only if "The Republican Party Constituency" is "The wealthy 1%" can we say the Republican Party is doing great. As long as nothing is done, as long as no regulatory agencies can get the funding and authority necessary to limit the creeping oligarchism, their servicing their constituency.

"Blue Staters are not Americans."

Yesterday, during his segment on FOX News, economist Stuart Varney said the following: "The people who protested the G7 Summit here in the United States during the Bush years, remember, around 2002 and 2004? And the ones who were protesting the Iraq war. They were mostly Europeans..."

During a question and answer period with Steven Pinker on his book, evolutionary psychologist John Tooby also said, "Even in the U.S., blue-staters are European. If you look at who goes into the army ...it's middle class, rural people who are slightly better educated than average and who are religious. Those people are getting fewer in the liberal cosmopolitan revolution."

Once is accident, twice is coincidince. I'm still waiting to see proof of enemy action, at least above the kooky crazy level (you know, the people who can be coaxed into admitting they believe Loving v. Virginia was ruled incorrectly^*), but I think I'm starting to see a trend.

Blue staters openly admit that there are better models for how the world works than the United States. You know, all those crazy countries with less crime, healthier citizenries, vibrant economies, and greater scholastic achievement. The epithet for that is "European," and now it's basically becoming a label for "un-American."

This goes beyond mere parochialism and epistemic closure. This is an autarky of mind.

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^* I picked Loving v. Virginia because discussing Griswold v. Pennsylvania has become a fad among right-wing talking points. It has become acceptable once again among right-wingers to openly discuss restricting access to contraception. This is the power of the Right Wing Noise Machine: to make discussing what was once unacceptable not only acceptable, but make it seem like a moral imperative.

Kouryou-chan cooks Enchiladas

Last night, Kouryou-chan and I cooked an enchilada casserole. It was three cups of grated cheese (a combination of cheddar and flagship), a half-pound of beef (not in the recipe, but we had some in the 'fridge that needed to be used up), sour cream, shallots (we were out of onions, so we grabbed the nearest equivalent), and various herbs, oregano, parsley, all mixed together. Then, we simmered tomato sauce, water, minced garlic and minced green peppers, chili powder and cumin until it was thick.

We wrapped the filling in tortillas, arranged them in a casserole dish, poured the sauce on top and sprinkled some more cheese.

She actually did most of the work. Only the grating of the cheese intimidated her; our cuisinart broke, so we had to grate the cheese by hand and she has tiny hands. She complained about getting her hands dirty while we rolled the tortillas, she simmered the sauce down to thicken it, she put it in the oven.

They were the most ridiculously filling things we've had in a long time. Absolutely delicious, down to the very end. And now she has another favorite recipe.

Do I just read too much High Fantasy?

In an article on the front page of the New York Times, a reporter included a quote from a French nobleman that he and his peers "must carry the values of nobility, set an example, and prove [to be] irreproachable."

What's with the "[to be]" inserted in there? Did the editor feel that the readers of the Times wouldn't know what "to prove irreproachable" meant? The meaning of "prove" here is synonymous with "exemplify"; is that use so archaic that people need translation?

Yeaaahhhh. I'll work for you. When I have low, low self-respect.

I got a phone call today from an in-house recruiter. She had read my LinkedIn profile and my professional website, and she was completely sure that I was a perfect fit for her company. Really. She sent me an email telling me that I should leave Spiral (!) and come work for, and I quote, "an exciting new social networking technology company dedicated to the fusion of retail, social, and mobile! The brightest technologists and businesspeople in the industy! You'll have limitless opportunities with us!"

You know who she was shilling for?

WalMart.

Yeah.

Hmm. Keep working for a company that will actually break the processing time barrier for genetic sequencing... or work for a company that depends upon American's willingness to be cheap and China's willingness to resemble one vast Triangle Shirtwaist factory?

I'll keep my self-respect, thank you.