JustThinking.us

The great conceit amongst the great unwashed (that would be us) is as follows, “If we can just get our guys elected, then everything will be Ok.” 

Among the great things about the Internet is the fact that there is a site out there for everyone regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

Being a retired person enables me to spend many of my days skulking the Internet from the way farthest reaches of the left to the way farthest reaches of the right and everything in between, reading the partisan nonsense that passes for thought.

I have come to the unhappy conclusion that the political parties that supposedly represent the interests of both the left and the right are rotten at their very core and neither can be trusted with the people’s business.

Further, there is no party that represents the majority of the American people, those that reside in the middle. 

Liberal/Progressive Democrat types are always whining about a lack of “bipartisanship” within our elected governmental bodies. What bipartisanship of course means to your garden variety liberal/progressive type is that the right needs to agree completely with every thought they might have because they are good people and as good people they only want what is good for other people.  And by extrapolation anyone who disagrees with any tenet that a liberal/progressive person might hold to must be a bad person because all liberal/progressives are good people who only want what is good for other people.

Those people who identify themselves, as Conservative Republican’s really don’t care that much about bipartisanship as they are fully convinced that the left is populated by delusional whack jobs lacking even the tiniest clue about what really works.

Each side has been able to maintain at the very least a modicum of political power and maintain their rancorous debate for the better part of a generation.

The result of course has been a decade or more of gridlock on practically any issue you can think of, with one notable exception.

The National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) passed the Republican controlled House of Representatives by a vote of 283 to 136 having passed in the Democrat held Senate by a vote of 86-13 and was subsequently signed into law by Democrat President Barack Obama.

This bill includes a provision that enables the United States Military to arrest and hold without trial for an indefinite period of time any person the government deems to be a terrorist.

Now what you need to appreciate here is that opposition to this provision extends from the furthest reaches of the American left to the furthest reaches of the American right, from the ACLU to the Tea Party Patriots and beyond.

Test this out for yourself.

Ask anyone you know if they think it’s a good idea for the military to be able to arrest and hold indefinitely without trial an American citizen suspected of being a terrorist.

I’ve asked a raft of people, they mostly look at me like I’m an idiot to even suggest such a thing.

Yet Congress which exists to represent the will of the American people passes this bill with way majorities, and the President who ran on a promise of change signed it immediately.

In all my reading and what I find to be most interesting is that I can find no evidence that the American people's interest/concern about terror and terrorists even begins to approach that of our elected representatives.

With the exception of certain elements within the “Christian Right” who are pretty damn sure Islam is out to get 'em and in all fairness do have some evidence to support that notion, most Americans view “Terror” as an issue that pales in comparison to many other issues including jobs, healthcare, entitlements, deficits ..... you name it.

Yet both political parties remain terrorized and continue to sell “Terror” every time they seek to ...

And that is the very question you need to be asking yourself,  "Just what exactly is it, that they are seeking to do?"

From Rolling Stone Magazine and Matt Taibbi where/whom the photo and excerpt below were taken and The Wall Street Journal, here's a prime example of the rotted stench that is our government and the people we employ at the top.

The photo below is that of Walter Lukken, who having done such a masterful job regulating the commodities futures trading industry as acting Chairman of the CFTC (The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commision) has been made head of the Futures Trading Association, that industry's government Lobby.

Click the gears above for the two stories.

As you would expect, being a magazine piece, Taibbi's is the better read as it offers more background including the now legendary Billy Tauzin example of this practice, although one need always be mindful of Rolling Stones Magazine's propensity for confusing reporting with editorializing.

Recommended anyway.

Revolving Door: From Top Futures Regulator to Top Futures Lobbyist

While America focused on New Hampshire, a classic example of revolving-door politics took place in Washington, going almost completely unnoticed.

In this case, the hire involves Walter Lukken, who toward the end of the Bush years was the acting head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. As the chief regulator of the commodities markets, it was Lukken’s job to spot and combat speculative abuses and manipulations that might have led to artificial price hikes and other disruptions.

In 2008, the last full year of his tenure, Lukken presided over some of the worst chaos in the commodities markets in recent history, with major disruptions in the markets for food products like wheat, cotton, soybeans, and rice, and energy commodities like oil.

The best line in The Wall Street Journal piece reads as follows.

When Mr. Lukken headed the CFTC, he backed a more flexible, "principles-based" approach to regulation, different from what was seen as the prescriptive and "rule-based" methods employed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which polices stock markets.

Way high on my list of all time favorite albums is Absolute Torch and Twang by k.d. lang and the Reclines.

Featuring long time Canadian sideman and producer of Absolute Torch and Twang, Ben Mink playing lead guitar, famed steel and slide guitarist Greg Leiz along with a way tight and accomplished group of musicians none of whom I've been able to identify, this is the band lang took out on the road in the early 90's to promote that record.

Everytime I play it, I regret having missed this group.

It's pretty nice to have video.

One of the great voices in the history of popular music, this is k.d. lang and the Reclines.

Big Boned Gal.

And because I couldn't choose between them.

Didn't I.

Sorry about the hiss.

Anybody else ever noticed that you never see k.d.lang and Wayne Newton together?

The following are photographs of water drops taken by Markus Reugels with his high speed camera.

I'm pretty sure I'd be buying some of this stuff if I had an empty wall somewhere.

Click any of the photos below to link up to more of Markus' beautiful work along with a photo essay on how he does it.

You don't have to worry, we'll probably be pulling out the soapbox soon enough.

Enjoy.