Asymmetric

Blogging buddy Henry Gomez of Babalu blog has something on Pajamas Media today. He'd make a great addition to Pajamas Media. The banners might bother him- Babalu has one of the most functional blog designs out there.

What is the position of the Cuban community towards post-Castro but Communist Cuba? What if things get a little better on the human rights front like in..., well..., no Communist country ever, but Cuba could be the first. Or, it could mix in a dash of capitalism like Vietnam and China. What then? Will productive people immigrate into Cuba like in the first half of the century? I'm pessimistic myself. I think Cuba as the second, third, or fourth best place to live in the Americas is a past it may never reclaim for a variety of reasons which I won't go into now.

My thoughts at the time of the last Castro death "scare."

Democrats are still under the impression that lower taxes are what caused the mild, fully employed slowdown this year. How, exactly, will raising taxes while spending more help the economy? I don't mind being "on my own" if the one I throw my lot with is the federal government. And, I'm not on my own, if you think about it. I have my family, friends. Change means thousands out of your pocket to give to whomever Obama thinks is worthy.

I appreciate the great things you've done. I'm glad I have a mother who took her responsibility seriously and did her best to raise me. I love you.

From here.

The statement below is beyond bizarre. Maybe I fell into some Slider alternate reality.

Sliders - The First and Second Seasons

"Now it is a crisis for every American family," the Michigan senator said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. She called the current energy situation "a crisis that doesn't just affect us at the pump, but also raises the prices of groceries, increases our home heating bills and squeezes small businesses trying to keep their heads above water."

Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday and gasoline prices rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump.

"Republicans want more drilling, more consumption and more tax giveaways for the big oil companies," she said. "Democrats say that those are exactly the policies that got us into this mess to begin with."

She promoted the Democratic proposals for changing energy policy. Those call for:

• Ending billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies.

• Forcing the oil companies to do their part by investing some of their profits in clean and affordable alternative energy.

• Protecting the American people from price gougers and greedy oil traders who manipulate the market.

• Temporarily stopping the diversion of oil to the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is already 97 percent full.

• Standing up to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing nations that are working together to keep oil prices high.

"This fight won't be easy," Stabenow said, urging the public to pressure the GOP. "The President and his oil buddies have gotten used to the spoils of plunder, and they won't give up without a fight."

Quiz: Which of the above Democratic proposals would decrease oil prices?

Answer: Maybe standing up to OPEC. How will they "stand up" (threaten) OPEC? Isn't that the kind of bullying Democrats want to avoid? And, who are the gougers? Names, please. The Democrats complain that the price of oil is too high and then criticize the Republicans for wanting more drilling? Duh!

Question for smart Democrats:

Does it bother you that your party is so shamelessly demagogic? So patronizing? So illogical?

McCain isn't my "lesser of evils." I actually like and respect him; he's a good guy and one with whom I generally agree. But, I don't like being part of a drumbeat so I'm purposefully criticizing McCain:

Generally:

McCain has a sincere speaking style, but sometimes trips over his words, reminding us, to the detriment of McCain's campaign, of the difficulty our current commander and chief has with impromptu speaking. He's reduced his use of "friends" in speaking, but for a while, it was almost a verbal tick. McCain sprinkles his sentences with "breakers" like "I believe" or "if you will." He repeats jokes often.

Specifically:

McCain responded to Obama's "losing his bearings" comment by accusing Obama of slyly bringing up his age. Now, I believe this. Unless it's something that Obama says regularly, somebody gave him a phrase that denotes "meandering" and connotes dementia. However, it's not good for McCain to worry about "intentions" or hidden insults. Doing so makes him sound, frankly, like the seemingly wimpy Obama (Blunted somewhat by the fact that surrogate Salter and not McCain himself leveled the charge.). It reminds me of how Democrats worry about crypto-racism or sexism.

On two recent McCain sayings:

"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East,"

He later explained that he was referring to the first gulf war. People of bad faith said he was admitting that Bush went to war with Iraq for oil.

Is Huffington right that McCain "implied" that the Iraq war was for oil? No, it's ridiculous. When do we start taking Iraq's oil? How much oil could we have bought for the money we spent on the war? Why are foreign companies getting most of the contracts? Since Saddam's oil was already on the market, it had the effect of lowering prices. If they wanted higher prices, then...ahh, like I said, ridiculous. The easiest thing to do would have been to lift sanctions and trade with Iraq like France and Germany did.

I tend to believe people's explanations unless I have reason to doubt them, but I think that McCain really meant that the Middle East is more important than it should be because of oil. That, and he just wanted to mention his energy plan (which should include ANWR).

"The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money," he said. "The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects."

First, it was shameless for Obama to mention it. And, McCain's reply wasn't quite beyond the pale, but still silly- kind of. Obviously, if the government were more adept at finding and prioritizing problems, it would find and prioritize bridges in near-collapse. Earmarks are quite a separate appropriation and it's not clear that the money saved on earmarks would go to increase infrastructure. McCain could propose that, but he probably wants to reduce taxes more.

Pastor problems:

McCain's pastor, the one that people should compare to Wright, is a pretty moderate guy and I'm sure representative of McCain's feelings toward religion.

My friend showed me this clip of David Corn saying some negative things about Islam. I don't actually care about religions fighting amongst each other. As long as people aren't killing each other or forcing conversion, vigorous debate is a good thing. These people say Catholicism is wrong; I say they are- so what? What I don't like is Corn's insinuation that America's armies are at his church's disposal to fight Corn's enemies (something which I'm sure McCain will make clear). If Corn means it in some prophetical, destinational kind of way, O.K., but Corn, if he wants to involve himself in politics, should make clear that he doesn't expect the Republican nominee to use his interpretation of prophesy and national purpose as a foreign policy guide.

Three words: Gas tax Holiday.

Sawyer is one of television's great characters.

The first season of Lost ranks with the best television. The second and third were also good, if not as fresh. Lost's small screen achievement is even more impressive when one considers that Lost could have been a seaside Falcon Crest with jungle love triangles, islandic scandals, and shore "tensions;" a claustrophobic MacGyver action show; or (shudder) a socio-political allegory (How about the islanders standing up to a McCarthy-like leader?). Instead Lost producers reached higher, combining elements of the previously mentioned genres and adding ladles of sci-fi, medium-heavy universal philosophical depth, brilliant use of sophisticated storytelling-fashback sequences, and, now, flash forwards. Their characters have fascinated- from the semi-Survivor-derivative Locke to the compelling and original Sawyer and Hurley.

Sometimes, however, a story collapses under its own ambition (Matrix) and I have the feeling that Lost is swimming towards such a fate. With the time-machine thing, increasingly dizzy flash forwards, triple and quadruple crosses, and gobs of other gunk, Lost has bored me this season. It's a shame that on their way off the island, Lost had to jump a shark.

**Update, the last couple of episondes have been better.

Help support your Cuban brothers and sisters. Babalu Blog has a post on Cuban Solidarity day. Check it out.

Even dumber than Obama saying that Republicans, whose leader didn't want anything to do with legitimate issue, Wright, play dirty politics. Even more of a stretch than Republicans being the "divisive" ("two Americas? tax breaks for the rich?) party is the idea that Democratic policies would lower the price of gasoline. It's like putting Britney Spears in charge of a youth group because the girls are too slutty. Exactly how is "going after" oil companies going to lower the price of gas? How is restricting drilling in Alaska, the gulf, and everyplace else going to lower gas prices? Truly Bizarro.

Prager has a good commentary on the speech.

The fact of the matter is that the Hulk has never been an interesting superhero. The main reason, I think, is that the Hulk is, essentially, a super-strong raging drunk. He doesn't have any control over himself. That means: No clever escapes; no plotting; no electrocuting robots with an overhanging power line- just "smashing." Hence, the pathetic lineage:

The comic book (except for Hulk 451, which was brilliant):

The "hugely" popular cartoon that nobody remembers and looks like it was animated by the Hulk himself:

The awfully repetitive television show:

The first Hulk film: A movie so bad, they had to make it twice:

Finally, the next sure-to-be clunker. Let me guess: A conflicted, anguished scientist; the amoral, military-industrial complex; an "epic" battle between two similarly-matched supers. It's enough to make me wish for a Hawkman movie.

Hawkman, please.

Well, it was fun while it lasted, but the 2008 Democratic primary is now over. Some thoughts:

1. In-fighting did hurt the Democrats- that's what I mean by "party over" for the GOP; it was a once-every-forty-year gift (1968) from the Dems to the Republicans. The fraction of my life that cares about politics is both nervous and slightly down at the Dem primary's resolution. Nervous because we have to really go at it now- with a zeitgeist disadvantage for the GOP. Down because I won't get to read liberals attack other liberals.

2. I think Obama's win had something to do with Democrats wanting the contest to be over. If the primaries started over again and Hillary didn't lie about Bosnia, Hillary would be the favorite.

3. The Democrats have begun their devious, dishonest attacks (It's a Stalinist who suggests that only Republicans have an attack machine [below]). For instance, Obama attacked McCain "for running a sleazy campaign based on 'fake controversies' and 'distractions.'" Infuriating! First, Wright is relevant to Obama's character and "judgement" with which he claims, because of his 2002 Iraq speech, that he is especially endowed (If McCain called Fred Phelps his "mentor," Obama wouldn't care?). Second, Obama admitted that it's a legitimate campaign issue himself. Third, McCain actually condemned the North Carolina Wright ad- Obama should be thanking him. His "beyond politics" appeal shouldn't work this time.

4. It's Democrats who are lying about McCain with their "100 years" ad. Democrats are the less self-aware party by far.

5. McCain has 20 times the moral credibility of wimpish Obama. Hopefully, McCain can do to Obama what he did to Romney after Romney went negative.

Attack machine.