EU, it buuuuuuuuurns...

As entertaining as the ongoing European meltdown is, I'm just going to let this one hang in the air solo...

The European Union was plunged deeper into crisis on Saturday after its leaders failed to agree on a long-term budget, just two weeks after French and Dutch voters rejected its proposed constitution.

The summit breakdown threatens the enlarged 25-nation bloc with financial paralysis on top of the political uncertainty wrought by the double referendum defeats, unnerving financial markets and weakening the euro, the EU's single currency....

"Europe is in a deep crisis," French President Jacques Chirac told a midnight news conference, blaming "the selfishness of two or three rich countries" for the failure.

*resumes playing GTA: San Andreas*

U.S.A: We put the "F-U" in Funding!

Our House of Representatives dishes out some well-deserved stinginess:

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation by a vote of 221 to 184 proposing wide-ranging reforms of the United Nations. The bill, which was opposed in its current form by the Bush administration, calls for mandatory reductions of up to 50 percent in U.S. contributions to the United Nations....

"So, the time has finally come where we must, in good conscience, say, 'enough,'” said [House International Relations Committee chairman Henry] Hyde. “Enough to allowing odious regimes, such as Cuba, Sudan [and] Zimbabwe, to masquerade as arbiters of human rights; enough to peacekeepers exploiting and abusing the people they were sent to protect; enough to unkept promises and squandering the dreams of generations."

The bill calls for mandatory withholding of up to 50 percent of U.S. dues, if the United Nations does not meet 39 reform benchmarks, in numerous areas involving organization, budget and internal accountability, as well as human rights and peacekeeping. It proposes that contributions to some key U.N. bodies be voluntary, declares countries known to be human rights abusers ineligible for membership on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, and contains steps aimed at addressing anti-Semitism and discrimination against Israel in U.N. bodies.

I could practically do a one-man standing ovation now...

As for Bush's misguided opposition: despite his global reputation as this gung-ho america-firster, those 221 congressmen are simply standing on more solid ground when it comes to U.S. sovereignty & determining what we will and will not do with our tax dollars. If our involvement in "peace-keeping" is as urgent as he portrays it, then this should be a relatively short arguement.

"Maybe if we offer them cookies..."

Spotted the following on Kevin Drum's site, in reference to the Dems' "what's the matter with Kansas" bit:

...exactly what economic interests are they voting against? Forget the Krugmanesque (or Drumesque) arguments about regressive taxes or rising income inequality. They may be true, but they're way too abstract. If you want to convince these guys that their economic interests lie with Democrats, we need to offer them something real: local clinics, free healthcare, tax rebates, something. Right now, I don't think these voters believe that Democrats are actually promising anything that would make a genuine difference in their lives. (emphasis mine)


Translation: "these people are voting Republican because we don't bribe them enough".

Well...in one respect that's correct, they don't see Democrats as "responsive", which more often than not means nothing more than a request to be pandered to. Problem is, people like Drum don't realize that the pandering includes those "cultural issues" they run the other way on: slapping at gays, for example, for the purpose of winning elections, is no different than promising pork.

This is where "liberals" screw up that libertarian types truly "get it". Democrats can't convincingly give an arguement for less strict civil liberties policy by saying "it's none of the government's business" because on economics they scream at the top of their lungs "that IS the gov't's business, and anyone saying otherwise is a heartless puppy-kicking bastard". The two don't add up.

If we can step in, and fill in the blanks w/ that "libertarian values" stance that I mentioned here before -- explaining how a neutral government does not mean anyone has to give up their values, and how cultural issues are better served at a devolved level where liberal folks in liberal towns can follow their liberal norms & conservatives in conservative towns can follow their conservative norms with no problem -- that will be the moment that marks our rebirth as a legit political force.

There's an opening here, we'd better get prepared to take it.

Moderate THIS!

Business as usual in D.C.:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and fellow Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona joined forces Tuesday to portray Democrats as obstructionists to the nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, pressing the urgency of filling the post with the president's pick.

"Now we're at a point where the filibuster against Bolton -- and yes, I'll call it a filibuster until we get an up-or-down vote -- is continuing," Frist said.

The Democrats' actions, he said, "demonstrate that the other side is unreasonably and irresponsibly filibustering this nomination."


I can just hear media talking heads murmuring right now -- "but, but...the Moderates! Deal-making won the day!". They chimed in over the "compromise" on judicial confirmations in a predictable manner, dishing out their "oh we're soooooo polarized" narrative & declaring the deal to be sign of a new power emerging in the Senate.

Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, and Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, have demanded the Bush administration produce 10 National Security Agency communication intercepts that Bolton, the State Department's undersecretary for arms control, had requested since 2001.

The documents contain the names of government officials whose communications were secretly reported. Biden has said they could reveal whether Bolton attempted "to badger or ... to change the views of intelligence officers."....The Bush administration says it has no plans to turn over the documents, citing executive privilege, and calls the request nothing more than a stall tactic.


Whether this blows over or not, one things for sure: nothing's changed.

If anything, we're not polarized enough in some respects. There's entirely too much on the hill that's considered unquestionable, things like this are distractions that deflect the type of questions that really need to be asked.

Earth to Phil Jackson, come in...

Nuts. Simply nuts...

LOS ANGELES -- Phil Jackson is returning to the Los Angeles Lakers following a reconciliation with the team that cut him loose last year after three NBA championships in five seasons. Spokesman John Black said Tuesday the team has rehired Jackson, who was let go by owner Jerry Buss on June 18, 2004....

Now, why would any reasonable human being want to endure more of the biggest spoiled brat in the game today? Stroking that ego would be harder than stroking a hungry tiger's belly, what incentive could possibly outweigh that?

Jackson agreed to a three-year contract. Terms were not announced, but it's believed he'll be earning between $7 million and $10 million per year, which would make him the highest-paid NBA coach ever.

Oh....that.

Waitaminute...."the highest paid NBA coach ever" would only make that much? Complete washouts & lottery busts make more than that! Methinks the pay scale needs to be "adjusted". Think about it: if I recall correctly, Jordan demanded like 35 million per year when he first came back, and this is the guy that coached Jordan to 6 championships, and Shaq 'n' Kobe to 3 more. With that kind of record, 7 million a year is an insult.

Conservatives being conservative for once

The simplest possible definition of Conservatism as a philosophy would be "If it's not visibly broke, don't try to fix it". A conservative, believing that what little in everyday life that works is the result of painstakingly careful moves carried out over generations, looks at the type of person that would proclaim "I'm smart, I know better, get out of my way" as they cast sideways glances at the thought of preserving the old ways and sees a naive, mistaken soul....if not an outright nutjob.

Good to know that some are applying that philosophy to the Constitution:

A closed-door vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee last week to expand law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act is prompting sharp criticism from some conservative leaders who are otherwise among the most vocal allies of President Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress.

The conservative leaders — who have formed a coalition with critics on the left, including the American Civil Liberties Union — vowed to press their concerns in coming days with public statements, rallies and radio advertisements in key congressional districts....The conservatives complained that the Senate panel had moved in secret to expand the act. They are particularly upset about proposed "administrative subpoenas" that would let the FBI obtain a person's medical, financial and other records in terrorism cases without seeking a judge's approval.

Their criticism gathered force as Bush devoted two public events last week to pressing Congress to renew parts of the act due to expire at the end of this year....

This is what I wished "bipartisanship" more often meant. Each side standing up for what is right for their own reasons -- conservatives defending the constitution because they believe it crazy-talk to assume some modern-day schlub knows better than centuries of experience have taught us, and liberals defending civil liberties because they feel the burden of proof is automatically on the elite & not the general public.