The Tea Party Caucus - Todd Akin

Todd Akin, the Tea Party Republican representative from Missouri has found himself in the midst of a emotionally charged debate. A member of the US Army named Chazray Clark was wounded passed away in Afghanistan because the medevac chopper that was flying in to rescue him had no armed escort. A blogger named Michael Yon, was embedded with the unit and has spoke out about arming the medevac squad.

Todd Akin has stepped in to give his opinion on the matter, saying, "Any policy commitment that would impede even a single wounded soldier or Marine from receiving medical care in the least amount of time possible is simply unacceptable”.

Medeveac units don't carry weapons because of the complex rules of war set forth by the Geneva Conventions. But, Akin argues that the Taliban and other terrorists do not play by those rules and thus, they do not apply. While it would be wrong to call Akin a means-justifies-the-ends type of guy this is a slippery slope. No soldiers should be placed in the way of undo harm, but if a superpower were to ignore the Geneva Convention simply because the enemy does not, the results could be disastrous.

We here at the Leibnizian Ramblings blog have no satire for this grave post. We merely wish to express our condolences to the family of the soldier whose life was lost. We do however, want to maintain our optimism and hope and pray that a resolution to the Afghanistan problem is in the making currently. America must take the moral high ground and protect its soldiers. We understand the delicate balance that this entails and do not offer and easy solutions. We caution against throwing the rules of engagement out, but likewise do not advocate leaving someone to die unnecessarily. As the conflict in Afghanistan continues to evolve, the United States must maintain its place as the moral center in this war, otherwise all that Chazray Clark fought for will have been in vain.

Crocodile Tears No More

John Boehner has long been known as a crier. It seems that his tears come at politically opportune times though. This has led to a great deal of cynicism surrounding his emotional status. Of course, we are not nearly as famous as he is so when we cry it is not debated on the seven o'clock news. Therefore, we shall suspend our judgment.

However, when Gabrielle Giffords announced her resignation there was a cease-fire of sorts to John Boehner's show of emotions. He, like many other represantatives, was emotional at the scene. Mrs. Giffords, the democratic representative from Arizona, was part of the brutal attack on January 8th of last year. She announced this week that she would resign from office. This moved many to tears. John Boehner can be called an opportunist on many occasions, but this one may have been genuine. If not, then he is truly a cold and calculating politician.

SPLOST Tax and Sebastian Bach with the Cowboy Junkies?

Way back when, in December we were cutting our teeth on how to blog. We blogged about SPLOST Taxes, if you remember SPLOST are special purpose local-option sales tax where the population gets to vote on whether or not to pay a tax for something. We thought it might be time for us to think about what things we would like to vote on whether or not to pay taxes for.

1. The U.S. Government gave some people with a lot of letters behind their names at Columbia University $606,000 to do a study on the effects of online dating. We would like a chance to do a study on the trend moving to dating over the iPhone and whether or not someone who uses an Android is compatible with an iPhone user. For $600K we could even do a follow up on whether or not modern Blackberry users will end up as spinsters with a dozen cats. However, if we are not to be awarded this chunk of change, then we would like to vote no on this spending.

2. The U.S. Government gave $55,660 to Kriemhild Dairy Farms to pay for packaging for their butter. This definitely should have gotten the people's approval. It would have been acceptable for Country Crock, but anything else is Government waste.

3. Ottawa paid $83,000 to promote a Bluegrass festival in New Richmond. Considering that Bluegrass is a southern Appalachian phenomena, Quebec possessing a small bit of the mountain range is no reason to drop that kind of cheddar by the government. The only feasible reason for Ottawa to shell out $83,000 to promote a music festival would be if it featured Sebastian Bach fronting for the Cowboy Junkies. Then it would be justifiable.

The Tea Party Caucus - Mike Pence

Mike Pence has made a recent trip to Middletown, America. Middletown, America is Muncie, Indiana, a sleepy little town in the Midwest in between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne along I-69. Muncie is home to Ball State University and used to be the epicenter for the Ball Jar empire. Middletown, America received a lot of attention from businesses and politicians throughout the years because it was seen as a breeding ground for what the Midwest liked and disliked. Since the Ball brothers left though it has dwindled in size and importance. But for Hoosiers, Muncie still represents the paradigm of Indiana residents. Indiana, though a landlocked state with not much international prominence has still produced its fair share of importance. Just look at the current Republican battle for the presidential nomination and the wishing for My Man Mitch (the governor of Indiana) and you can understand the importance of this small town.

Mike Pence is looking for the nomination to Indiana's governorship and he met with the financial players of Muncie recently. While these businessmen command way less national prominence than the Ball Brothers did in the heyday of the movie Hoosiers (it highlights the little town of Milan, IN upsetting the perennial favorites Muncie Central in the annual hoops tournament), the prominence of Middletown has not diminished. Muncie is still the quintessential little town in America in a swing state.

Mitch Daniels was wished for to be a contender against the Obama Machine in 2012. He decided not to run of the election, which is wise considering the fact that Republicans really don't stand a chance for the White House in 2012. If, as expected, President Obama wins the election this year, it could be that two Hoosiers grace the presidential ticket in 2016. A Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence ticket in four years could upend more than a few folding chairs. It would be more excitement than Indiana has seen since Tippaecanoe and Tyler too!!! Why in the world is this important?

It's not in 2012, but it will be in 2016. If the world doesn't come to a complete halt in December of this year, the election of Mike and Mitch could be a windfall for true conservatism. Mitch and Mike are unabashedly Republican and their election would recenter the balance in Washington. While we don't make endorsements here, we make predictions. Mike Pence's little meeting at Minestrista will have deep implications of national politics four years from now. So you can tell your friends and family that the President in 2024 will be Mike Pence barring some catastrophe. That is the Tea Party's goal, 2024. After the Mayan, Zombie and Hipster apocalypse, the Tea Party can come to power and fix all that ails America. That, subsequently will be the same year that the Shi'ite Muslims elect Sarah Palin as their head. It will truly be a Tea Party year!

An Obligatory post on the State of the Union

At one point in his speech President Obama said, “Most Americans are thinking the same thing right now: Nothing will get done this year.” One thing that certainly shall not come to pass this year is President Obama's sweeping tax reforms.

President Obama kept harping on fairness and greater income equality. This was largely rebuffed by Republicans as wealth redistribution. Regardless of the merits of the arguments or counter arguments it points to the fact that the American government is still deeply divided over taxes. Considering that America was largely founded because of not wanting to pay taxes this should hardly be surprising.

Let's face the facts. Nobody likes to pay taxes. When tax season comes around it is generally a depressing time. More so for those who make the most money because they have to pay the most. We aren't talking about percentages here. 10% of of $25,000 is $2500 and a burden to those who make so little. But 10% of $2,500,000 amounts to people having to write a check for $250,000 dollars and regardless of how much you make that hurts to write. We know. We've seen pictures on Flickr.

Given this revelation that we've just dropped on you, we figure we ought to look at what $250,000 dollars could buy if it weren't wasted in paying taxes to a government that will argue over how to spend it to the point that the money will inevitably end up as salary for some bureaucrat somewhere, probably in China. I learned that from Glenn Beck's monumental work entitled Scare Tactics 101.

$250,000 can buy you the steering wheel and gearshift of a Bugatti Veyron.

$250,000 could buy you an experience in which you give out hundred pound notes to the homeless in Manchester with Mario Balotelli. In other Italian news it could buy you twenty minutes at one of Silvio Berlusconi's parties.

$250,000 could buy you 25 or more houses in Detroit, though the property taxes would be prohibitive.

$250,000 could buy you one thousand shares (give or take) of National Bank of Greece. If Europe can satisfactorily avoid a Greek default this investment could make you a millionaire many times over. If not, you could use the shares as wallpaper for your 25 Detroit houses.

$250,000 could be spent in record time by Terrell Owens. It would make your head spin to see him rifle through the cash.

If you and 19 of your friends got together you could bet against Birdman's $5,000,000 bet on the Patriots to win the Superbowl. My gosh that is a gambling problem....

Or, if you are like me, you could purchase 125,000 copies of the Kindle version of the Monadology by your philosopher of note.

It seems as though we must wear the hair shirt tonight....

Rand Paul gets detained in the airport. The incident becomes a political battle over fast food.

We've already profiled Rand Paul on our Tea Party Caucus tour but he made some headlines today. The senator from Kentucky was flying through Nashville airport and when his knee made the security scanner get all wonky the TSA officers told them he would have to be patted down, the standard procedure. Rand Paul objected and made it into a whole scene. We understand the want to speak out when one has been held up by the TSA. It's frustrating, annoying and realistically Rand Paul probably does not look like someone who is about to cause damage to an aircraft through a terrorist attack.

But, this is the day we live in. It would be wrong only to profile Middle Eastern looking men or Muslims, or Sikhs (who are often mistaken for Muslims by uneducated policemen and security workers). If we do not want to slip into a racist form of McCarthyism in today's world than we need to use technology to our advantage and when that technology triggers something then we go to a manual check, regardless of what the traveler looks like. Besides, plenty of terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by middle aged White men. Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski and Gordon Kahl were all white men that operated in terrorism.

Unfortunately, in another sign of the times this incident became instantly politicized. Republican presidential hopeful and Rand Paul's father, Ron Paul called the TSA a police state. In an interesting and completely unforeseeable twist, the White House has defended the actions of the TSA. In other news the Republicans have declared that it is ok to eat fried chicken on Fridays. The Democrats countered that fried chicken is very unhealthy for you and thus, should only be eaten on Saturdays.

Everything is H2O, Lessons from Thales

So, it comes to pass that we, a philosopher of note are sadly lagging behind in our duty to philosophize. For heaven's sake we have seven posts about zombies and only two posts about philosophy! We are so ashamed!

So to recommence with a renewed sense of vigor we have traveled back to the dawn of Philosophy to the coast of Asia Minor and made contact with Thales. Thales told us that everything was made of water, showed us how to calculate the distance between three points by way of a triangle and said that there would be a total solar eclipse for the citizens of the United States on August 21, 2017. We asked him about the doomsday of 2012 and he said that that was preposterous superstition and swore by the Delphic Apollo that if his predictions were wrong the world would cease to float upon the great waters of the earth.

We didn't know what to do with all of that. We didn't know how we could relate this to today. So we kept digging and we learned some interesting things about Miletus, the Ionian city he was from. At the time of Thales, Miletus was being ravaged by class warfare. The land owning aristocrats and the peasants were battling with one another for power. The peasants, in modern terms we'd call them the 99% got the upper hand and killed many of the aristocrat's wives and children. Not to be outdone, the aristocrats started burning the 99% alive. Thales, a member of the wealthy was ushered away to Egypt to learn in peace.

Upon returning to Miletus he saw that the power of the aristocracy had waned. In their place was the gradual rise of wealthy merchants. The wealthy merchants ruled for a time until through a democratic process a tyrant seized power of the polis. It is in this backdrop that Thales pretty much gave birth simultaneously to philosophy and science.

So what lessons can we learn from this today? Class warfare leads to mass atrocities. When the 1% lose power it will be gradually replaced by wealthy merchants, i.e. modern corporations. Modern corporations will eventually lose power because democracy will elect a tyrant. Is our lesson too late?

South Carolina Primary Results and what it means

South Carolina has spoken and they have said that they want the family values guy Newt Gingrich rather than the Moderate fiscal conservative Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich was followed by Mitt Romney, then Rick Santorum and then Ron Paul. We're not too huge on percentages, but if that's your thing you can find them here, and only here. They exist nowhere else on the Internet.

So what has South Carolina's victory for Newt Gingrich told us? This is the part of the post where we move from a peculiar particular to a sweeping generalization, otherwise known as inductive reasoning. As the conclusion is not explicitly contained within the premises there will be a margin of error for the conclusion that we draw here. We believe that margin of error to be so very small we shan't produce a number. But you could say that the prediction we are about to present is about as likely Jim Harbaugh benching Alex Smith after they fall behind by 20 in the game against the Giants because he realized suddenly that he can still be the comeback kid. Miraculously, he will have success; but, in shades of the nightmare in Indianapolis, the hail mary to win the game will be called an incomplete pass. In other words our prediction is inevitable.

So what does the Gingrich victory in South Carolina mean? First and foremost, it means that the person at Moveon.org that paid Marianne Gingrich to drop her bomb shell at the opportune time wasted his money. When John Blades and Wes Boyd realize their coffers had been pilfered for this ineffective strategy they fire the individual responsible. He or she ends up going to work for Julian Assange, together they release a whole bunch of private documents that brings down the Sarkozy government in France, paving the way for one of our 2012 Sensational Shapers to take power.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Rick Santorum will leave the race and back Newt Gingrich. Gingrich will invite Santorum to become part of his incredibly efficient campaign. This move will backfire and Santorum will become so disillusioned with Gingrich's standard of family values that Santorum will head home to Pennsylvania and set up a consulting firm. Everyone will despair and call his innocent little project an evil lobbying firm. In further despair he will turn to iron working as a hobby. He will go on to weld the crack in the liberty bell.

Mitt will magnanimously soldier on to trade blows with Gingrich state by state. The race will go down to the wire and as the delegates come to the GOP convention contentious and rowdy rallies will cause riots all over Tampa. Ron Paul will finally voice that he is fed up and announce that he will run as an independent. This will cause everyone to come to their senses and sit down to sing kumbaya. Out of this little pow-wow a chant will arise. The groanings will be come louder and more discernible. "We want Huckabee, We want Huckabee, We want Huckabee". Dumbfounded, Mitt will leave the conference by private jet to fly out to his mansion in Côte d'Azur. Newt Gingrich will go to the nearest Tiffany's, buy it out and pass out jewelry to young and attractive females in a totally unselfish way not expecting any type of return. Mike Huckabee will have been elected by adoration.

In the general election Mike Huckabee will be close to defeating President Obama, but Ron Paul will prove to be the reincarnation of Ross Perot. He'll pop on the TV with a powerpoint and drive a wedge in the conservative vote, handing the election to President Obama on a silver platter.

So there you have it. The Gingrich victory in South Carolina means that France will elect Marine le Pen, Rick Santorum will fix the crack in the liberty bell, Mike Huckabee will become the Republican Nominee and Ron Paul will grow larger ears and lampoon Huckabee's chances.

The Difference Between Canada and the United States

You may have noticed on the Leibnizian Ramblings that there are a number of geographical distinctions in our labels. We have an African, American, Asian, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Oceanic label. There is no Canadian label. We have decided to lump America and Canada together and call it the American label rather than the North American label simply for simplicity's sake. We however do recognize the differences between Canada and the USA, but the similarity in cultures is so deep that we have decided to lump the two together.

But as we continue, we will highlight the differences. We promise to never refer to Canada as America's hat, metaphorically or geographically.

America is Football crazy. Canada loves hockey.

America is 24% fatter than Canada.

America has a significantly higher GDP.

Canada has a lower unemployment rate.

America spends a lot more on defense than Canada.

America has more railway exposure than Canada, but the trains move faster and more efficiently up north.

Big Macs are more expensive in Canada than in the United States, making Epic Meal Time generally more expensive to do in Canada.

Canadians love poutine. Americans love fried snickers. Both are unhealthy.

Canadians say eh, Americans say um.

There are a number of differences we did not highlight here, but suffice it to say, until we really set forth a Canadian agenda, the Canadians will have to be OK with our lumping of the two North American nations together. If that rubs anyone the wrong way then I apoloize. I however don't feel the the need to differentiate between the two on the blog. Correct me however if I am totally off base....

President Obama invites the huddled masses to tourist attractions

President Obama has garnered the applause of the travel industry today because of a speech he made at Disneyworld. He has launched an initiative in coordination with Brand USA that will focus on creating new jobs at national parks, monuments, historic sites, wildlife preserves and cultural sites all over the United States. Las Vegas was especially happy with the president's speech as the city has faced increasing competition, and dwindling visitors (thus dwindling revenue) from cities like Hong Kong and Macau.

The initiative will focus on Brazilian and Chinese travelers. President Obama made his speech in conjunction with Mulan, the Disney Chinese princess. It was quite verbose and sing-songy in delivery, though not as a excellent of work as President Obama gave in redoing Lady Gaga's "born this way". This boon will hopefully help places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC, perennial hotspots for international travelers. But people in Hammond, Indiana at the John Dillinger Museum, Dillon, South Carolina at the South of The Border place, and folks in Great Falls, Montana are hoping that the international travelers will look to them to see a slice of Americana. Realistically though, not much will come of this other than some grandstanding from Las Vegas convention centers. Maybe the Star Trek and Star Wars geeks will get some international flavor at Comic Con 2012.

The Tea Party Caucus - Sandy Adams

Sandy Adams, a member of the Tea Party Caucus has decided to back Mitt Romney. According to CNN she has decided to back Mr. Romney because he represents the Republican chance at defeating President Obama in the general elections in November. This marks a stark difference between her and many of the Tea Party Loyalists. She is displaying a pragmatism that is often lacking in the young Tea Party candidates, representatives and grass roots organizers. What does this say about Sandy Adams?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sandy Adams, she is a freshman congresswoman who came to office with many of the other Tea Party members in 2010. Most of her colleagues are too idealistic to throw their support to a moderate like Romney. Maybe though this has to do with the fact that Romney's political committee Free and Strong America PAC donated $2500 to Sandy Adams' campaign back in 2010. But, maybe we're being too cynical here.

Sandy Adams' voting record shows that she has gone against Tea Party hardliners in the past. She voted for a short-term spending plan that was eschewed by many Tea Party members in early 2011. In spite of going against the Tea Party she has not lost the support of many conservatives. Maybe her pragmatism can push the Tea Party to be a more effective batch of legislators rather than a strong opposition force for politicians to have to deal with. That is some delightful optimism. We have now profiled five Tea Party Caucus members now, only some sixty odd more ones to go. That's stolen a bit of my optimistic thunder...

Last thoughts on SOPA PIPA & Piracy for at least nine hours

We've touched on SOPA PIPA a number of times today. First, we commented on how SOPA PIPA may hurdle us into a renewal of the Dark Ages. Second, we talked about the trouble that modern day Pirates. Lastly, we briefly discussed it in our continuing John Boehner posts. As your resident philosopher of note fights the sand in his eyes we shall give you one last tid-bit concerning SOPA PIPA. If you're wondering why SOPA PIPA has been mentioned four times in caps like this SOPA PIPA in the preceding paragraph it is because SOPA PIPA is a hot trend right now and we are shamelessly trying to use that to our Search Engine Optimization strategy that we are cavalierly using from an undocumented source. Take that SOPA PIPA...

SOPA PIPA SOPA PIPA SOPA PIPA

Ok, now that we have become sell outs let us give that last comment on the SOPA PIPA news for today. In our final SOPA PIPA post we'll talk about Marco Rubio decision to jump ship from SOPA PIPA before he is forced to walk the SOPA PIPA plank. Seriously, I'm done. Sorry.

Marco Rubio (R-Fla) was one of the first people to sign on to the PIPA part of SOPA PIPA. (I can't help myself). Anyway, because of the backlash that he faced today because of that which shall not be named from here on out. This wouldn't be all that interesting had he not been so frank in his reasons why. The Huffington Post reports that Mr. Rubio has admitted to signing on to the Voldemort Bill without fully understand the full ramifications and potential problems that would come if the bill were to become law. It is becoming obvious that many of the bill's supporters are finding themselves in the same ship, surrounded by pirates (another name for lobbyists). By the way, we understand Mr. Rubio's befuddlement at Heraclitus' forceful wringing of his hands.

We give Mr. Rubio all the credit for owning up to not fully understanding all of the possible contingencies of such a complex bill facing a complex and consistently evolving issue. Basically intellectual property and laws applying to it have been in what Heraclitus would have dubbed the perpetual flux. Heraclitus may have not been prescient enough to foresee that his doctrine could be applied to Intellectual Property laws 2,487 years after his passing. But that shouldn't be a problem to discredit him. You, who have presumably read another one of my posts. Were you prescient enough to see this coming? We weren't even that prescient and we are writing it. But, what can you do? You certainly can't step into the same river twice.

Basically this points to a really powerful and difficult issue that modern policy making faces. The digital age has exposed policy making to a break-neck speed that it simply can't cope with. This isn't any political side's fault. The policy may eventually catch up to the technology. But by the time it does, the technology will have changed. This is the exact thing that Heraclitus was telling us about all those years ago! The only thing real is the change itself. In addition to the demands that technological advances are placing on the law the political atmosphere in which this modern policy making must take place has further put time constraints on our politicians. Loud and persistent shouts on both ends on the bell curve of politics force politicians to act quickly to silence the constant ringing in their ears. Unfortunately while it makes one side silent for a moment, the silence is overcome by compensation by the other sides' haranguing. We don't want to bash Mr. Rubio. On the contrary we thank him for his honesty. Good night everyone...

SOPA PIPA

A long awaited post on John Boehner

It has been the goal since the inception of Leibnizian Ramblings way back in December of 2011 to highlight the movers and shakers of this world. As America remains a prominent player in that milieu we have focused a lot of time and energy on her. Two of the main players we've focused on have been House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama. However, we have been wrapped up in hipster quarrels and the much more serious Urban Outfitters v. IKEA struggle for the control of the world and have been neglecting a calling we feel from you the reader. We apologize that so we come to you with a bevy of Boehner and an omnibus of Obama in this post.

John Boehner has chimed in on the popular SOPA and PIPA debate that we highlighted early. We are certain that we were the only ones covering the Wikipedia blackout so trust only us and what we write. Everyone else is pirating our investigative journalism and opinion spinning. In a logical and wise move Mr. Boehner has decided that there will be no vote on the piracy acts in the near future given today's push back by the public. This measured approach towards building a consensus seems to show that Mr. Boehner is learning a bit. What has he learned from? Well, how about the sloshing that his and other house Republicans' reputations took when they pushed the fight over payroll taxes? In true political fashion Mr. Boehner apologized without apologizing for that whole fiasco. He said that he and his fellow Republicans had picked the "wrong timing" for the mess. Given a second chance I'm sure he would have done it in sunnier times. People would have been paying less attention as there isn't a whole lot going on towards of the end of December...

But alas, he was not all conciliatory and consensus minded this week. He and the House Republicans have decided to take a vote to deny the debt ceiling to be raised. This however, is political theater because the bill that will undoubtedly pass the House will never be debated in the Senate. With all of the theatrics going on in Washington we are beginning to wonder if they are taking an idea out of Disney's playbook. Remake and redo the same things and create sequel upon sequel based on seven minute rides. It's the same thing over and over again. I'm beginning to understand the depths of the perplexed 1955 Doc when Marty came running back to him at the end of Part II and the Beginning of Part III. Great Scott! You just keep coming back with the same thing!

Lastly, President Obama has, through the State Department, blocked the Keystone XL pipeline. There's a whole lot of spin going on around this issue. The biggest ones coming from Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner. Mr. Boehner used scare tactics like the Bogeyman China and the President is vetoing jobs. Nancy Pelosi said that the Republicans were to blame for the project being axed because they gave the President only 60 days to decide the matter (never mind that this project has been talked about for years and that the 60 days were set to expire February 21). I'm not going to offer opinion about who is wrong and who is right. Besides, my opinion will not sway yours, you've made up your mind already based on previous political positioning. I'm sorry, that was condescending and assumptive of me. You could be Canadian and just annoyed with both sides in making shipping your dirty oil another way.

We here at the Leibnizian Ramblings strive for optimism. When that proves to be impossible we try to serve out the harsh criticism equally. In this case there is plenty of scorn to go around.

Debilitating Divisiveness, Unwarranted Anger, Vitriolic Rhetoric, the usually Wednesday in Wisconsin

Hanover Line I - XVIII

Last time on the Hanover line we concluded our riveting three part series on the Mysterious Colleen without actually revealing who she was. We promise not to pull that ruse again in the near future because it was rather dull. We however did mention the Monad. The Monad is very dear to our hearts. Our Monadology though has fallen out of fashion because people dislike the name, unless you happen to be a middle-school boy, in which case it makes you snicker. But the idea that the world is made up entirely of an infinite number of substances in and how they operate and work with in relation to God has only fallen out of fashion because of the days in which we live in. The individualism that was spawned out of the Enlightenment and the devolution to the egoism of Protagoras is symptomatic of a morally bankrupt age and not a good renunciation of our incredible theory. However, readjustments to the Monadology are under work as we speak. Check back for more posts as we retool our principles to match modern day techniques in physics, mathematics, cosmology, political theory and cosmetological concerns. I can hear the baited breath from here.

But, we shan't toot our own horn as the egoist do. Rather we shall take the high road, from which we can look down upon our inferiors. It is at this moment I'd like to draw our attention to the state of Wisconsin. The Democrats there have begun to parade their signature list of over a million people to recall governor Scott Walker. I will offer a bit of full disclosure here, I think the notion of a recall in a well-functioning Democracy is overkill. There is a separate judiciary so if the guy has done something illegal a la Rod Blagojevich the prosecutors can step in a the judges can find him guilty and they can take the position away that way. Also, governors can only hold on for four years. There is enough checks and balances to the system already. Initiating a recall in a digital age is too easy because everyone is peeved at everybody and gathering enough signatures is too easy. So, I'm stating flat out that this whole idea of a recall for someone that hasn't done anything illegal is impatience at its worst. So in this case the Democrats are to blame. But in California not too long ago the Republicans pulled the same shenanigans to oust Gray Davis to put into power Arnold Schwarzenegger who did not have the strength to save California from terminating their own economy and political processes through endless referendums and ballot initiatives. Back to Wisconsin though...

The signatures are had but their is question over who would run against the humbled Governor Walker. According to this editorial there is little consensus over who will take on the Democratic Banner and ride to victory. While Governor Walker may be the object of scorn and divisiveness at which the recall is aimed, the most angry and rhetorically irresponsible party in this process is a guy by the name of Marty Beil (pictured). This guy has a propensity to use colorful language to deride those he perceives to have wronged him. Beil is the president of the AFSCME Council 24, a union for state workers. Beil described a democrat that went to work for Governor walker as a "purveyor of the world's oldest profession". He called a Democratic state senator a "whore, W-H-O-R-E, not a prostitute" when he wouldn't push through union contracts during a lame duck session. Now that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is looking as a possible candidate (he lost the initial race to Gov. Walker), Beil is balking. He states that Mayor Barrett is a "non-starter" because he had the gall to not play partisan politics and worked with Republicans from time to time to get things that were needed to be done. So there you have it folks. Politics and brinkmanship at its finest. The issues here don't really matter, just the admission of Beil and his way of thinking is enough to show the state of Wisconsin's politics. I'd like to offer some optimism, especially when you have been so recently humbled by the New York Giants, but frankly I cannot. The only course of action in Wisconsin is to put on some old Liberace albums and watch it burn from Eau Claire to Kenosha. Godspeed and good luck.

Wikipedia Down, Dawn of the Second Dark Ages Imminent

Wikipedia is down! This however is not the work of Anonymous or Julian Assange or some other E-Terrorist organization like Zynga (they use hypnosis devices like Farmville - that is the only possible explanation for its popularity). It is because of Wikipedia's political stance on the SOPA and PIPA bills in the legislative process right now. So what are SOPA and PIPA? They are not, as I hitherto had figured, a Spanish version of Prince William's sister-in-law in soup fashion. Maybe it was a Warhol inspired painting? Maybe it was Tesco trying to cash in further on the Royal Mania by selling semi-endorsed Royal stews? But alas, it is neither of these things and I feel rather sheepish for thinking them, let alone suggesting them here.

SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act aimed at giving enforcers more powers in upholding copyright holders rights. That's a lot of 'hold' and 'right' in that previous sentence. The bill, if made into law would hold websites accountable for enabling copyright infringement. This, detractors say would cause major implications in the dissemination of information and unfairly prosecute websites for the acts of the true pirates. Who by the way, now practice their religion in Sweden.

PIPA, (Preventing Real Online Threats To Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property) act is similar in scope. Before we go on though, one has to ask why it is PIPA and not PROTTECATOIP? It looks like some transliterated Greek protest movement and way more forceful than a nod to a dainty British party planner. Also, if we look at the words "Economic Creativity" it should scare all of us, wasn't it Economic Creativity that enabled the 1% to enslave the 99% to a lifestyle that is better than 99.8% of the rest of the world? We should occupy PIPA! Sorry, that was a crass joke, albeit unintentionally. But, my leaving it in the post cannot be called unintentional; hence, the apology.

But as Wikipedia has turned out the lights for 24 hours we must ask ourselves if we are on the verge of a new dark ages. Are the Gauls of the Movie Industry standing at the gates, licking their lips preparing to exclaim whoa to the vanquished? Is Doug Morris (head of Sony's music division and a clear winner from SOPA PIPA) a modern day Alaric I? Who shall be the Augustine of our day and write the treatise that sustains us through the long black night that shall come when internet knowledge is no longer free? On a side note look for my new book entitled Democrats and Republicans Constitute the Modern Day Vandals at the Siege of Hippo - The Fall of the Modern Age of Glorious Internet Freedom. Using the genius logic of the politicians I can shorten it arbitrarily as the acronym DRACVI, you're thinking of Dracula now. Ah the power of acronyms when used to prove a point...

Eirik's Saga, some boob action, zombies and a short treatise on time. What more could you ask for?

This is our second literature post and we've decided to stick to Viking sagas. Why? Well because The Vinland Sagas/The Norse Discovery of America has two tellings. The first is the Grœnlendinga Saga, which we already summed up and gave some thoughts on. The second is Eirik's Saga, which is what we're about to deliberate on. Eirik's Saga and the Grœnlendinga Saga are pretty similar in content and relate basically the same story. But, there are some contextual differences and some clear differences in what is emphasized. Both are probably idealized histories to be taken with a grain of salt, but shouldn't be dismissed out of hand either. We'll eventually get around to posting about some of the real life characters and historicity of the sagas, but don't set a calendar out for this post's arrival. It may be decades before we get to it. One thing I miss about existing upstairs is the absence of time. Bad Religion once commented, "eternity, my friend is a long f*ing time". But they were wrong. It is not a long time, it is beyond time.

On to the saga. Eirik's Saga begins with the story of Aud the Deep-Minded, one of the best monikers around. She is married in Dublin but events force her on to the Hebrides and eventually to Orkney. Then the story of Eirik the Red begins in a way that is slightly more detailed than the Grœnlendinga Saga, but eventually sees him in Greenland. It then goes on a tangent to tell of Gudrid, a lovely woman who has many pursuers. Gudrid is pursued by a low birth, wealth merchant. When it is suggested to her father that Gudrid marry the low born man named Einar, Gudrid's father up and leaves Iceland for Greenland. On his voyage from Iceland to Greenland a lot of the explorers and would-be settlers die of disease. But, some of the party eventually make it to Greenland.

On Greenland a terrible famine is breaking out so the people call out a pagan prophetess to see when the hard times will end. The prophetess asks everyone if they know some songs to enhance the spell. Only Gudrid knows the songs but she is unwilling to sing them as she is a Christian. However, she is pressured into singing the songs and it works. The prophetess then prophesies for a number of people, including Gudrid.

About this time Eirik the Red has a couple of sons growing up to be promising young dudes, Thorstein Eiriksson and Leif Eiriksson. Thorstein stays in Greenland with his pops and Leif travels to Norway to live with King Olaf Tryggvason. On his way though he's blown off course and has a child to a woman named Thorgunna in the Hebrides. When Leif makes it to Norway, King Olaf persuades him to go back to Greenland to preach Christianity, which he does. But on his way back he discovers Vinland by accident.

Meanwhile Thorstein Eiriksson ends up marrying the pagan song-singing Christian Gudrid. Gudrid and Thorstein end up moving about the country and settling nearby Eirik the Red. Then the strange stuff begins to happen. Disease breaks out and a bunch of people die. Sigrid, the wife of Eirik dies. Sigrid is important to the Christian world because she built the first church in Greenland; it was found in 1962 during excavation, proving a lot of Eirik's Saga that was once thought to be propaganda. But, Sigrid's corpse decides to come back to life and goes for Thorstein. It continues in this zombie fashion until Eirik buries an axe in his wife's corpse. Thorstein ends up dying and his corpse comes back to prophesy to Gudrid, his widow.

Then a pretty wealth dude named Thorfinn Karlsefni comes onto the scene in Greenland and stays with Eirik. Karlsefni ends up marrying Gudrid. When the winter ends Karlsefni takes 160 men and goes to Vinland where they try to explore and settle. During this experience a brute of a man named Thorall the Hunter prays to Thor and proclaims Thor's superiority to Christ. Thorall ends up splitting from the group to a brutal death in Ireland. Karlsefni goes on to greatness because of his commitment to Christ.

But, the road isn't easy for Karlsefni. When famine strikes in Vinland the settlers pray to God, "then they prayed to God to send them something to eat, but the response was not as prompt as they would have liked". Karlsefni goes on to make contact with the Native Americans in Vinland and does battle with them, prompting Karlsefni to leave. Karlsefni then does battle with a Uniped before returning home to Greenland to produce no less than three important Bishops in his progeny.

In some way's Eirik's Saga is more compelling than the Grœnlendinga Saga because of the mystical and magical properties. In other ways it seems more outlandish. But, if you liked the Grœnlendinga Saga you will like Eirik's Saga. If you didn't like the Grœnlendinga Saga then you won't like Eirik's Saga. As always, I prefer Penguin Classics because of their in depth background checks and minimalistic yet classy covers.

President Obama's reelection campaign is out in full force

As the election season continues on with Republican primaries (here is our assessment of the winnowing in Iowa and of the shocking outcome in New Hampshire), their opponent and incumbent President, Mr Obama is beginning to get the engine going. President Obama proved himself an incredible campaigner in 2008 and there is absolutely no reason why he won't be able to capture that same campaign magic again this time around. However, conditions may or may not be the same as in 2008, so whether or not his campaign can prove to be so insurmountable has no bearing on his skill on running a campaign and excelling at it.

According to CBS Chicago a few days ago, President Obama touched down in Chicago, visited with his election campaign staff and went on to a number of fundraisers. The first was a little get-together on the campus of University of Illinois-Chicago where President Obama spoke to 800 upbeat supporters after making his way through a few dozen detractors from the Occupy Chicago movement. At this point I do think it is worth noting that CBS Chicago might gave President Obama a little bit of a pass with their coverage of the protesters. CBS Chicago stated that, "there were also a few dozen unfriendly faces outside the UIC Forum, as Occupy Chicago protesters voiced their displeasure with Obama and the Washington, D.C., status quo." Maybe the protesters are upset with the status quo of Washington, but they were protesting a President Obama rally. They were protesting President Obama and his policies at that moment, not some vague anti-status quo. But, then again, many of the Occupy protesters are made at je ne sais quoi and this might only be something that FOX news or Michele Bachmann would point out.

After his short little speech at UIC, President Obama went to where the big money was at, a dinner on the North Side of town at the house of media mogul, Fred Eychaner. The cost of the dinner was a whopping $35,800 per couple. Obviously, the 99% were not invited. It is unknown whether Occupy Chicago was outside of Mr. Eychaner's house eating their $2.09 Portillo's beef hot dogs. After the dinner President Obama had a soiree at Bear Stearns executive Stuart Taylor's home that was significantly less expensive, ranging from $7500 per person to $20,000 per couple. This invitation was extended to the 1.3%, leaving the remaining 98.7% of us out. You see how arbitrary numbers can be!

Beyond the glitzy dinners and galas at Universities though Mr. Obama has had some celebrity help in promoting his 2012 reelection campaign. MTV reports that Beyoncé has designed a tee shirt to sell for the campaign. That's it right there in the corner. Priced at $45 a pop the 99% can certainly afford it. Other people who have designed tee shirts for President Obama's campaign include Diddy, Russell Simmons, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs and others. Among the others is Rag and Bone, and if their tee shirt sells for only $45 it might be time for fashonistas of all political stripes and creeds to pick one up. Neiman Marcus sells Rag & Bone plain white tee shirts for $80.

In addition to the President having a bevy of designers and celebrities who think they are designers putting together collections for him, President Obama is out their hobnobbing it up with some A-List supercouples like Brad and Angelina. While this visit was meant to highlight Angelina Jolie's work as a humanitarian, it can't hurt his popularity amongst voters.

Throw the full weight behind it Mr President!

In a speech recently President Obama has called for American businesses to bring home jobs from overseas to aid the American public. He has called, not for an end of outsourcing, but rather an end to the tax breaks that companies get for outsourcing jobs. This is a type of protectionism that should not be done. Make the tax code simpler. But, targeting multinationals for being multinational will hurt American business in general and by proxy, the American workers that President Obama is looking to help. However, the Obama administration has pushed through some good ideas on the revitalization of the American job market that the government should continue forward with, regardless of who is at the helm come January 2013.

For years many countries around the world have had national agendas to bring jobs to their countries. It has worked tremendously. For all the talk about ideas whose time has come that the 99% and Occupy movements keep chanting about the idea of Globalization has come and is entrenched now to the point that there is no real utility in arguing against it. But, as other countries have created effective national plans to draw companies to them, the US government has deferred this power to the State level. Monster economies like California, Texas and New York probably have the firepower to compete with emerging markets like Brazil, India and some of the African growth nations. But how does Delaware fare in a battle against Russia for an information software company? If the Russian government can offer its whole commitment to a company, the company would be foolish to take the scant resources that Delaware might be able to offer it. By no means however is this to be skewed as some sort of besmirchment of The Small Wonder, only a realization that the playing field is not level. But, when a federal American government is able to push forth a bid against Russia (and the bids are not judged by Sepp Blatter and his cronies) the fight is fairer.

One thing I would say about this modus operandi. The American federal government must actively pursue the interests of the American people as a whole. Pushing for one state is not the best way forward. The American government should pursue the multinational corporations in a way that makes the most sense. If a company were to need a large place with access to fresh water the American government should not be offering major tax incentives to the company to open a plant in the Mojave Desert. It should work with states to get them the best fit of companies. Then people can move to where the jobs that best suits their talents exist. One of the things that has made America the great nation that it is, is the mobility of its people. Today people look to live in areas where they get the most amenities or entertainment that suits them, rather than searching for the jobs that best suit their talents. Of course this mobility has been made more difficult by the astronomical cost of owning a home, but that is an entirely different topic.

March, onward to New Hampshire where there shan't be much a surprise

In a shock victory, Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire Republican Primary. Unlike the close race in Iowa, Mr. Romney dwarfed his competitors. In another surprise, the Christian conservative candidate Rick Santorum did terribly in one of the Nation's states that makes up the "Unchurched Belt". As if these surprises were not riveting enough, in a state where the license plate reads "Live Free or Die", a large number of the Republican primary voters picked the Libertarian Ron Paul. So there you have it. New Hampshire was a shocking conclusion in this year's primary. It favored a popular New Englander. A state that prides itself on civil liberties also showed that it preferred someone who rails against the government the moment it tries to function. And last but not least, one of the most avowedly atheistic (or at least agnostic) states in America did not take kindly to a Christian presidential candidate.

We shall stay glued to the campaign trail from this point on, lest we miss some more upsets and unforeseen events such as these.

Thoughts on Grœnlendinga Saga

You would think that since I have been granted a second lease on life that I would want to read things that were produced since after I had been buried and mourned, in quite a stately fashion I might add. However, the ease of which the people of today can purchase literature astounds me. You have more access to great works than at any other period in history! It is truly a blessing! If only I could be pulled away from Playstation 3 long enough I would be lost in so many books. But as it is, I can only be pulled away long enough to read that which I fancy the most at the moment, and at this moment I fancy Viking Sagas. So, for my first post on literature I have chosen the short saga entitled, "Grœnlendinga Saga".

The Grœnlendinga Saga was written down sometime in the 13th century but retells stories from the late 10th and early 11th centuries. It is a fascinating look at Viking culture and important for anyone that enjoys American history. Why? Because it retells the story of how America was discovered by Europeans nearly 500 years before Columbus. Considering that only within the last 20 years have we celebrated the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage that more than doubles the time of Europe's involvement in the Americas. Fascinating stuff.

The Grœnlendinga Saga tells about Eirik the Red and his descendants. The first bit deals with Eirik the Red and his discovery of Greenland. One of my favorite parts of the Grœnlendinga Saga is how it opens. "He and Eirik left their home in Jaerderen, in Norway, because of some killings". It is such a succinct opening and tells, so matter of fact the brutal world in which Eirik the Red operates. Eirik has to leave his home three times because of his violent nature and discovers Greenland. He then decides to play marketing guru and decides to call the place he discovered "Greenland, for he said that people would be more tempted to go there if it had an attractive name".

The saga continues with a guy named Bjarni who moves to be with his father in Greenland. Bjarni however is blown off course and spies some islands and land that is not Greenland. However, Bjarni has no interest in exploring the lands and finally is able to reunite with his pops in Greenland. Later Bjarni goes to Norway where he is ridiculed for his lack of curiosity. But, the Viking spirit for exploration is not diminished.

Leif Eiriksson, the son of Eirik the Red learns of Bjarni's voyage and decides he wants the glory and accolades that comes with exploration of new lands. Lief explores and names some areas of North America, probably Baffin Island, Labrador and somewhere in between the vast region of the gulf of St. Lawrence to the north and New Jersey to the south. After a winter or two in North America, Leif returns to Greenland to see Eirik the Red before he dies. When Eirik dies, Leif becomes the de facto ruler of Greenland and the mantle of exploration passes to his brother Thorvald.

Thorvald goes to North America, which Leif had named Vinland on account of the wild grapes that were discovered there and announces that this is a good land to live. Thorvald is the first European to have contact with Native Americans, likely the Micmac or some derivation of the Beothuk Red Indian Tribes. Thorvald gets into a little skirmish with the Indians and is fatally wounded. In a a noble way he dies and tells his men, "I seem to have hit on the truth when I said that I would settle there for awhile" and asks to be buried at the place he announced was good for settling.

The thirst for adventure does not die with Thorvald and the third son of Eirik the Red decides to take up the family business. Thorstein Eiriksson decides that he wants to retrieve Thorvald's remains and sets sail for Vinland but weather keeps him locked on to Greenland where he meets Thorskin the Black. The initial exchange between Thorstein and Thorskin is both comical and telling of the growing influence of Christianity on Viking culture. I love learning about how religions, especially Christianity appropriates former pagan culture and weaves it into its own fabric. Thorskin states that Thorstein and his wife are welcome to hospitality but, "you will find life dull, for there are only two of us there, my wife and myself and I am very unsociable". That's funny stuff. How many of us have felt this tension? We know we should be hospitable but don't really want to open our houses to guests. Thorskin is the uberman in the sense that he does what he should but tells his guests that he'd rather not. In early Christian propaganda the author relates that Thorskin tacks on to his unwelcoming welcome, "I am also a different faith from yours, although I consider yours to be better than mine".

Thorstein Eiriksson ends up dying of a disease that ravages the Western settlements of Greenland that winter. But the corpse of Thorstein ends up prophesying the future of his wife, which is basically the conclusion of the saga. His widow ends up marrying a rich guy from Norway named Karlsefni. Karlsefni tries to permanently settle Vinland. In that task he fails, but not before becoming wealthy through trading with the natives and then having the first war with them. After the war though the settlers with Karlsefni decide they want no part of Vinland and would rather return home to Greenland. Karlsefni is blessed and has some pretty famous and powerful progeny.

All three of Eirik the Red's sons had tried their hand to some extent in Vinland and it was time that his daugher, Freydis went to Vinland. Freydis goes with the biggest excursion yet to Vinland. Freydis' group though has a falling out with some brothers from Iceland at Vinland. It ends with Freydis nagging her husband into killing all of the brothers' group. Freydis' husband and his men however refuse to kill the women who traveled with the Icelanders. Freydis takes care of this herself. All the friction though made everyone want to go back home to Greenland. Back at Greenland Leif Eiriksson the ruler of Greenland learns how his sister had mistreated and slaughtered men in Vinland and is grieved. His familial ties prevent him from exacting justice on her, but he prophesies that her family won't do so well in the future. After that, everyone in Greenland hates her.

The Grœnlendinga Saga is a quick read. I recommend it to anyone that likes short reads, Viking stories or has an affinity for history. My recommendation is to pick up the Penguin Classics "The Vinland Sagas and the Norse Discovery of America". Stay tuned for the next chapter in our Literature section when we dissect "Eirik's Saga".