Category: government

Tommy Douglas rolls over in grave

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

Tommy Douglas … (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian social-democratic politician and Baptist minister.

… Saskatchewan CCF’s leader and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961. His government was the first democratic socialist government in North America, and it introduced the continent’s first single-payer, universal health care program. …

He’s much celebrated in Canada, in 2004 voted “Greatest Canadian” by viewers in one online vote.

Arriving Saskatoon early on a Sunday morning, I saw this tribute.

Tommy

Nearby was this homeless man.

homeless

Tommy would be displeased. 😦

Saskatoon is a boom town right now. With a very low unemployment rate.

how can we reduce highway deaths?

On By Rick McIn governmentLeave a comment

NOT the way British Colombia does it.

Many highway speed limits are posted too low in BC.

Click PLAY or watch a brilliant video on YouTube.

(via jalopnik)

related – In 2010, the BC Provincial Government not only stiffened penalties against driving at.08, but more importantly, it targeted drivers who fall below that level — to .05.

Though controversial, so far … Drunk Driving Deaths Cut Nearly in Half

if Syria’s Assad was taken out by a drone tomorrow

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, Islam, things getting worseLeave a comment

Would innocent Syrians be safer? Would the region be more stable? Would Syrians thank the USA? Would a Democracy follow?

No. 😦

Andrew J. Bacevich is a retired career officer in the U.S. Army having served in Vietnam and the first Gulf War.

Today he’s Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University and author of Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country.

Bacevich simply looks at the facts.

Since U.S. military interventions began in the Middle East, they’ve made a long series of foolish decisions. That includes supporting bin Laden and the Mujahideen against Russia.

What has been achieved over the past 30 years?

The region is less stable.

Democracy has not flourished.

The standing of the USA is much diminished.

There’s more potential for anti-American terrorism than ever before.

I heard an interview with Bacevich on DeCode DC audiocast. I agree completely.

If your heart goes out to innocent Syrians, send your donations to humanitarian relief. Support the 1.75 million Syrians in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Taking out Assad with a drone — perhaps at dinner — will almost certainly make things worse for Syrians.

John Kerry and wife dining with the Assads 2009
John Kerry and wife dining with the Assads 2009

strike Syria?

On By Rick McIn economics, government, things getting worseLeave a comment

The best summary of the Obama dilemma was posted on Economist.

Fight this war, not the last one

Economist concludes that the USA should give Assad one more chance to admit to using chemical weapons. ” … if he demurs, hit him hard …”

It’s a compelling argument. But I disagree.

Obama

The USA should begin to phase out it’s role as unappreciated Policeman to the World, even if it means innocents in other nations suffer.

The American President should learn not to make threats he’s not willing to make good on. The American taxpayers do not want to pay for yet another expensive, ultimately useless intervention.

Is Obama embarrassed right now?

He’s a proud man. I’m sure he is.

Take it on the chin. And move on.

By the way, I am talking about this War. It would be an entirely different matter if this was a nuclear power like Pakistan, Iran or even North Korea.

Syria for dummies

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, things getting worseLeave a comment

I visited Syria in 1994. Nicest people I’ve ever met are those in Syria and Jordan.

Here is the best article I’ve read on the complex, almost certainly unfixable problems of the nation.

Syria

6. Why hasn’t the United States fixed this yet?

Because it can’t. There are no viable options. Sorry.

The military options are all bad.

… read more on the Washington Post – 9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask

Thanks Tony.

flee to Belize

On By Rick McIn economics, government, things getting worseLeave a comment

I have reasonably wealthy American friends who just bought retirement property in Belize.

Something like this …

reritrement home

Like many wealthy Americans, they are disappointed with Obama’s Presidency. Worried about the future.

They’ve done the right thing, I feel.

Anyone with means in the USA should look to paying their own retirement. Putting together an escape plan.

Things are going to get worse in the States before they get better.

English is the language of Belize. That helps.

gun in home 12 times more likely to shoot family / visitor than intruder

On By Rick McIn ethics, firearms, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

An American study published in the Southern Medical Journal (2010) …

Based on a review of the available scientific data, Dr. Lippmann and co-authors conclude that the dangers of having a gun at home far outweigh the safety benefits.

Research shows that access to guns greatly increases the risk of death and firearm-related violence. A gun in the home is twelve times more likely to result in the death of a household member or visitor than an intruder.

The most common cause of deaths occurring at homes where guns are present, by far, is suicide. Many of these self-inflicted gunshot wounds appear to be impulsive acts by people without previous evidence of mental illness.

Guns in the home are also associated with a fivefold increase in the rate of intimate partner homicide, as well as an increased risk of injuries and death to children. …

details

Whether Oscar Pistorius shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp out of anger, or stupidity, the fact remains that one of his many “defensive” weapons killed a loved one, not an intruder.

oscar-could-wait-y_2489969b

Before the shooting Oscar would have been a Gundamentalist, denying the danger.

Oscar was just indicted on a premeditated murder charge.

The court set March 3, 2014 as the trial date for Pistorius.

The main charge laid by prosecutors carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years in prison if Pistorius is convicted.

I’m guessing Oscar is a suicide risk.

related – Political arguments of gun politics in the United States

who LIED about U.S. government surveillance?

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

Anthony Weiner’s a liar. That’s why he shouldn’t be Mayor of New York. He’s not trustworthy.

GOOD RIDDANCE TO ANTHONY WEINER
DICK PICS ASIDE, THE WANNABE NYC MAYOR IS A PANDERING SCUMBAG

Here are 6 more liars not to trust.

Six blatant lies about spying from the NSA up to Obama

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Obama’s Trayvon Martin speech

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

Pretty good, I feel. Measured.

… Not sure what all the fuss is about.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I still feel he’s been a lousy President. But this was one of his better moments.

George Zimmerman is a weirdo

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

I’ve not followed every nuance of the legal case … despite the efforts of American Cable TV.

My uninformed conclusions are these:

george_zimmerman--300x300• George Zimmerman is a weirdo who’ll be hunted and hopefully haunted by this the rest of his life.

• George Zimmerman should probably have been found innocent, as he was. There was reasonable doubt.

One more point, important to me.

Robin D.G. Kelley:

… In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Senator Rand Paul, Florida State Representative Dennis Baxley (also sponsor of his state’s Stand Your Ground law), along with a host of other (Gundamentalist) Republicans, argued that had the teachers and administrators been armed, those twenty little kids whose lives Adam Lanza stole would be alive today.

Of course, they were parroting the National Rifle Association’s talking points. The NRA and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the conservative lobbying group responsible for drafting and pushing “Stand Your Ground” laws across the country, insist that an armed citizenry is the only effective defense against imminent threats, assailants, and predators.

But when George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, teenage pedestrian returning home one rainy February evening from a neighborhood convenience store, the NRA went mute. Neither NRA officials nor the pro-gun wing of the Republican Party argued that had Trayvon Martin been armed, he would be alive today. …

read more on HuffPo

Gundamentalists piss me off 😦