tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428352009-11-04T09:05:30.034-08:00<a href="http://hawk.fab2.albany.edu/sidebar/sidebar.htm">Ancient Chinese curse</a>: may you live in interesting times. This web site is my attempt to document, from my perspective, these "interesting times".Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.comBlogger3589125This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-17999783674975844072009-11-04T09:05:00.001-08:002009-11-04T09:05:30.047-08:00

Maine's gay marriage law was repealed last night.It is little consolation I know but at times like this I try to keep a historical perspective. The fact that almost 50% of Mainers would support marriage equality is something to be proud of. Ignorance is a powerful force. It is a mountain that appears insurmountable. But all mountains eventually are worn down by the water. Be the water.

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/11/be-water.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-24874240344674610432009-10-29T17:26:00.000-07:002009-10-29T17:27:15.374-07:00

(I'm going to tempt fate by doing some speculating about what will happen once Obama signs the HCR bill into law. May the gods forgive me.)While there are still details to be worked out, the final form of Health Care Reform has come into focus. The public option is almost certainly going to be an opt-out, trigger-free, negotiated rates system that will be available realistically only to those who

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/will-we-be-health-care-reform-unwitting.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-68253170328274217312009-10-29T10:24:00.000-07:002009-10-29T10:25:01.741-07:00

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-miss-carl-sagan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-78927754031391617912009-10-28T11:03:00.001-07:002009-10-28T11:03:49.300-07:00

I try to keep two things in mind: (1) Political attention is a precious resource, when you get it, use it wisely. That means you should ask yourself, before saying anything or taking any action, "What am I trying to accomplish by doing this and is it worth the trouble to accomplish it?" Venting feels good, but does it actually help? If not, then do the venting with your close friends and family,

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/self-awareness.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-34246344292660326862009-10-20T09:54:00.001-07:002009-10-20T09:54:36.644-07:00

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/fortune-cookie-patriotism.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-36686588043597451362009-10-20T08:55:00.000-07:002009-10-20T08:56:05.502-07:00

What people often forget when discussing the "failings" of caucus leaders is that caucus leaders do not represent the interests of the wider movement that elects that caucus. Their constituents are not the Democratic voters. Their constituents are the other members of the caucus.That's why Nancy Pelosi, a liberal Democrat from a liberal district, had to be more moderate in her approaches to

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/defeating-reid-is-pointless.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-37364985387829795452009-10-16T14:10:00.000-07:002009-10-16T14:15:03.286-07:00

Has Right-Wing News Doomed the Republican Party? Such is the way of all reactionary movements. Once they defeat the enemy on the outside, the eventually turn on themselves. Eventually, only the purist of the pure, the true believers are left. And then they lose. And that's when they get really scary

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/10/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-27100830895875702002009-09-17T14:35:00.001-07:002009-09-17T14:35:40.259-07:00

I haven't seen this anywhere else...In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of corporate law.During arguments in a campaign-finance case, the court's majority conservatives seemed persuaded that corporations have broad First Amendment rights and that recent precedents upholding limits on corporate political

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/justice-sotomayer-questions-foundation.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-31790835259972921992009-09-03T15:34:00.001-07:002009-09-03T15:34:15.179-07:00

No one should die because they cannot afford healthcare. No one should go broke because they get sick, and no one should be tied to a job because of pre-existing condition. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com1http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/important.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-68425604951880801762009-09-02T09:30:00.001-07:002009-09-02T09:30:42.125-07:00

Don't tell anyone.

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/psst-obama-stimulus-package-is-working.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-54241431149162267252009-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:002009-08-26T16:43:04.634-07:00

"And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals." - Vince Lombardi (as channeled by Al Pacino)

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/winning-by-inches.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-11904160295794856872009-08-26T10:49:00.000-07:002009-08-26T10:50:13.906-07:00

John Cole has a great idea.What a jackass:Yesterday CNN’s Rick Sanchez aired a segment from a health care town hall where a weeping constituent explained to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that her husband’s health insurer refuses to cover his treatment for a traumatic brain injury. As the woman continued to cry, Coburn told her that his office would try to assist her individually.So why is MoveOn.Org and

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/tom-coburn-office-of-medical-assistance.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-35710399700966784312009-08-26T10:36:00.001-07:002009-08-26T10:39:09.205-07:00

It is so easy to get depressed when you follow politics closely. No wonder most people don't even bother. It's the optimists that make it worth while. People like Kennedy make you feel that all the shit you have to go through will actually result in something worthwhile.Who are the optimists in politics today?This thought inspired by the following tribute to Ted Kennedy by Joe Biden:

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/optimism-and-ted-kennedy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-21956028115480755942009-08-20T17:45:00.001-07:002009-08-20T17:45:38.691-07:00

I was talking with a friend the other day. He is generally supportive of Obama and his plans for health care. But he didn't understand why Obama decided to call them "Death Panels". Yes, he actually thought it was Obama who came up with that terminology.Be warned folks, when you use the other side's rhetoric you are acting as a carrier. This is true even if you are doing so only in order to

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com1http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/practice-safe-rhetoric.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-73254634425963571952009-08-17T12:17:00.001-07:002009-08-17T12:17:28.832-07:00

Good advice from DougJ:We live in a culturally pre-Enlightenment country (hence the teabaggers) that is mostly ruled by corporations (hence the fact that a good portion of the Senate has been bought off). That’s reality. Politics is the art of the possible and a health care plan that brings insurance to 40 million Americans has to be counted as a big success for Obama.Still, I think liberals

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com1http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/politics-should-be-uncomfortable.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-81181168280551583182009-08-17T11:38:00.000-07:002009-08-17T11:39:00.469-07:00

At times like this I like to consult Ezra Klein. He makes the point that the latest kerfluffle is the umpteenth time we've heard reports that the public option was going to be abandoned. He also makes the point that Obama has never (with one unclear exception) said that the public option was essential.As much as I get annoyed at right-wing talking points, that annoyance is small compared to the

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-ezra-said.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-53758700528597206682009-08-17T10:16:00.001-07:002009-08-17T10:16:40.645-07:00

And I don't just mean Obama.Yes, I think Obama would be making a mistake if he backs off on the public option. But I also think a lot of liberal/progressive activists would be making a severe mistake if they take any such backing as confirmation of their cynicism about a broken system.The goal here has always been and will always be health care that is affordable, effective and universal. Obama

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com2http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/making-severe-mistake.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-59939020403767028262009-08-14T11:04:00.001-07:002009-08-14T11:04:43.500-07:00

Ezra Klein offers it. Howard Dean, the "liberal" candidate in 2004, offered a health plan that was considerably less liberal than the current proposal being discussed in Congress.Liberals, God bless them, always want more than what they can get. And some see any failure to get that as evidence of a betrayal of liberal principles. If single payer were a serious proposal in the current plan, some

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/perspective.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-5200778791072698182009-08-14T09:47:00.001-07:002009-08-14T09:54:12.052-07:00

I was curious about the providence of the phrase "Death Panel". Not the idea of it, just the phrase itself. It sounds just like the kind of focus-group tested marketing phrase we have come to know and love from the GOP and their fellow travelers. And it just sounded to good to have been wholely an invention of Sarah Palin. So I went searching for the first use of it on Google News. Prior to

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/origins-of-panel.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-17813693522212262492009-08-14T09:25:00.001-07:002009-08-14T09:25:07.997-07:00

The NY Times offers a pretty good run down of the history of the "Death Panel" lie. Unfortunately, it never calls it a lie. It simply says it is "false".I suppose that is an improvement over "exaggeration" or "prevarication". But it still misses the fundamental point that the lie is being pushed deliberately by those who know it is a lie and they will continue to do so as long as it has traction.

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/history-of-lie.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-18825453022297140742009-08-14T09:01:00.001-07:002009-08-14T09:01:39.531-07:00

Why aren't more Democrats simply calling this what it is?A lie.Why aren't more commentators simply calling this what it is?A lie.Not a prevarication.Not an exaggeration.A lie.A bald-face, 100% to its core, flat-out lie.That's what it is.A lie.A lie designed specifically to scare the bejesus out of old people so that a provision that is specifically designed to give them MORE freedom will get them

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/panels.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-33487710066718623792009-08-13T17:16:00.001-07:002009-08-13T17:16:48.450-07:00

How does attacking the protesters of health care reform boost the approval of health care reform?Chris Bower's has the answer: it doesn't.The forum of public opinion is just like any other forum. Attacking your opponent has limited utility. At best, it only makes their ideas look worse. It does nothing to make your ideas look better. So, when someone tries to make you look bad by attacking, the

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com1http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/eyes-on-prize.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-33931695533696358372009-08-13T08:27:00.001-07:002009-08-13T08:27:26.748-07:00

Has Obama "lost control of the message"? Steve Benen addresses the issue here.I think, on its surface, it's easy to conclude that he has. If Obama has to spend time debunking nonsense like "death panels" then that is less time than he has to push a positive message about his plans.However...Any long-term observer of American politics has to be aware of the following: in any public policy debate

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/losing-message-and-nailing-landing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-62164161787789118082009-08-12T15:01:00.001-07:002009-08-12T15:01:10.252-07:00

In the current health care debate, there have been lots of comparisons between how we handle health care and how we handle other social services: police, firefighters, etc. All of these comparisons have marginal utility in explaining how government can help.Ezra Klein comes up with another comparison that might beat them all: food.Food is more like health care than it is like cable television. We

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/healthy-food.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542835.post-75478384853302736292009-08-12T09:43:00.001-07:002009-08-12T09:43:03.554-07:00

I'd like to cherry pick this excellent post by Hunter at dKos to make a point. Specifically, I'd like to riff on this:They don't want government to supposedly decide who's too expensive to keep alive, with visions of "death panels" and the like -- but insurance companies are doing that now, all the time, and there's nary a peep about that.The "they" in this sentence refers to the protesters at

Chris Andersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com0http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/roots-of-fear.html