Obama Invests in Janus Mutual Funds
2 Comments Published by Billy Joe Mills on Friday, June 20 at 7:52 PM.
David Brooks has done it again. As I have mentioned, he consistently writes eloquently about ideas that only swirl the unrefined periphery of my mind.
Brooks claims that Obama is a brilliant politician. I thought going into this election that the national mood was ripe for a genuine reformer, a pistoling maverick. Obama sensed that too. The problem is that Obama isn't a genuine reformer, he's only incredibly good at acting the part. Brooks will show you why.
Suppose we admit that Obama is shady underneath his stage makeup. Does it matter? In some sense, as Brooks says, we need a sly and ruthless President to combat fellow Machiavellian world leaders. The point Brooks doesn't make is that there will (hopefully) be enormous pressure from his legion of drooling drone followers (followers, not supporters), such that the people will compel him to do what he currently does not intend to do: make genuine reforms. Perhaps a candidate's followers mold the candidate's accomplishments more than the candidate himself.
I do not have a peculiarly high level of innate intelligence, but I am confident in my innate ability to divine who a person really is. I have a bad visceral feeling about Obama. That feeling is gradually reinforced by the rational observations that have been streaming in about him over the past few months. I expect that we will hear more about this mysterious man in the coming months and I expect for my buddy David and I to be correct.
Brooks claims that Obama is a brilliant politician. I thought going into this election that the national mood was ripe for a genuine reformer, a pistoling maverick. Obama sensed that too. The problem is that Obama isn't a genuine reformer, he's only incredibly good at acting the part. Brooks will show you why.
Suppose we admit that Obama is shady underneath his stage makeup. Does it matter? In some sense, as Brooks says, we need a sly and ruthless President to combat fellow Machiavellian world leaders. The point Brooks doesn't make is that there will (hopefully) be enormous pressure from his legion of drooling drone followers (followers, not supporters), such that the people will compel him to do what he currently does not intend to do: make genuine reforms. Perhaps a candidate's followers mold the candidate's accomplishments more than the candidate himself.
I do not have a peculiarly high level of innate intelligence, but I am confident in my innate ability to divine who a person really is. I have a bad visceral feeling about Obama. That feeling is gradually reinforced by the rational observations that have been streaming in about him over the past few months. I expect that we will hear more about this mysterious man in the coming months and I expect for my buddy David and I to be correct.
Labels: Barack Obama, Billy Joe Mills, David Brooks
Check out this blog entry at the Huffington Post. It is by Joshua Roman, a friend of Urbanagora.
With Hillary gaining in both nationwide and head to head polling, and with the campaigns becoming dirtier and dirtier, there is a good chance the Clinton campaign will again hint at the formation of a joint ticket. This post discusses: the implications of a dream ticket, how Obama's campaign should respond if a joint ticket is suggested again, why people assume Hillary would head the ticket, who needs who as a VP, and the impact Hillary Clinton would have down ticket if she were Obama's VP.
In other news:
(1) My least favorite Democratic Rep. John Murtha has hit the trail in PA for Clinton. Prediction: within the next two weeks he will say something so stupid it will dominate the news cycle.
(2) More proof that Obama is a rock star. People bother watching videos of him just relaxing and talking on the phone.
(3) Senator Bird is still going strong.
(4) New Obama Girl hotness.
(5) As expected, very few will actually spend their rebate checks, but this isn't about economic policy, it's all about politics.
(6) Dr. Kevorkian to run for Congress! This will reinvigorate the assisted suicide debate. I remember talking to Dr. David Gill when he was running against Tim Johnson about this issue. Doctor Gill rejected my suggestions that he lose this element of his platform. In part because unlike Tim Johnson (arguably the single biggest disgrace to the U.S. Congress), Doctor Gill has integrity. Gill was convinced most of America was ready to support this. I'm not sure we are there yet, at least not in the Midwest, but it will be interesting to see this infused into the national debate.
(7) Interesting things are happening with Puerto Rico. They are moving up their primary. It didn't make much news, though it should have, but recently Puerto Rico changed its primary system from a caucus to a primary, and from being winner take all, to a hybrid proportional system. This move was evidently done to favor Obama. Obama is doing surprisingly well in Puerto Rico, due in part to a campaign blunder by the Clinton campaign. As I heard it, the Clinton campaign cancelled a meeting with the Governor of Puerto Rico, and Obama's camp heard about it and swooped in the next day. This agility appears to be paying dividends. It is curious that no other states have tried to increase their clout exponentially by making their Dem primary winner take all. Probably for fear of push back from the DNC.
(8) Hillary Clinton totally lied about Bosnia.
(9) My favorite GOP operative Roger Stone pwn3d Spitzer. Check it out. For more on Stone, you should seriously check out this amazing write up. I love his comic approach, his showmanship, and his rules to live by. Also, anyone who gets a tattoo of Nixon's face on his back is someone you don't want to mess with.
(10) David Brooks on Clinton's odds.
With Hillary gaining in both nationwide and head to head polling, and with the campaigns becoming dirtier and dirtier, there is a good chance the Clinton campaign will again hint at the formation of a joint ticket. This post discusses: the implications of a dream ticket, how Obama's campaign should respond if a joint ticket is suggested again, why people assume Hillary would head the ticket, who needs who as a VP, and the impact Hillary Clinton would have down ticket if she were Obama's VP.
In other news:
(1) My least favorite Democratic Rep. John Murtha has hit the trail in PA for Clinton. Prediction: within the next two weeks he will say something so stupid it will dominate the news cycle.
(2) More proof that Obama is a rock star. People bother watching videos of him just relaxing and talking on the phone.
(3) Senator Bird is still going strong.
(4) New Obama Girl hotness.
(5) As expected, very few will actually spend their rebate checks, but this isn't about economic policy, it's all about politics.
(6) Dr. Kevorkian to run for Congress! This will reinvigorate the assisted suicide debate. I remember talking to Dr. David Gill when he was running against Tim Johnson about this issue. Doctor Gill rejected my suggestions that he lose this element of his platform. In part because unlike Tim Johnson (arguably the single biggest disgrace to the U.S. Congress), Doctor Gill has integrity. Gill was convinced most of America was ready to support this. I'm not sure we are there yet, at least not in the Midwest, but it will be interesting to see this infused into the national debate.
(7) Interesting things are happening with Puerto Rico. They are moving up their primary. It didn't make much news, though it should have, but recently Puerto Rico changed its primary system from a caucus to a primary, and from being winner take all, to a hybrid proportional system. This move was evidently done to favor Obama. Obama is doing surprisingly well in Puerto Rico, due in part to a campaign blunder by the Clinton campaign. As I heard it, the Clinton campaign cancelled a meeting with the Governor of Puerto Rico, and Obama's camp heard about it and swooped in the next day. This agility appears to be paying dividends. It is curious that no other states have tried to increase their clout exponentially by making their Dem primary winner take all. Probably for fear of push back from the DNC.
(8) Hillary Clinton totally lied about Bosnia.
(9) My favorite GOP operative Roger Stone pwn3d Spitzer. Check it out. For more on Stone, you should seriously check out this amazing write up. I love his comic approach, his showmanship, and his rules to live by. Also, anyone who gets a tattoo of Nixon's face on his back is someone you don't want to mess with.
(10) David Brooks on Clinton's odds.
Labels: 2008, Augur, Barack Obama, David Brooks, heroes, Hillary Clinton, Joshua Roman, politics, pretty girls, Roger Stone
Rove: Brooks, Blago, and Gays
16 Comments Published by Billy Joe Mills on Tuesday, February 26 at 4:26 PM.
From David Brooks today, who was quoted by Greg Mankiw (Mankiw should be required reading for liberals and conservatives who pretend to understand economic policies):
agreed with his arguments, and I also find legitimate logical support for gay marriage in libertarian thinking and in a progressive moral route.
An interesting NYT article that corresponds with my feeling, that many people are rejecting organized religion, even if they are not rejecting God, "The rise of the unaffiliated does not mean that Americans are becoming less religious, however. Contrary to assumptions that most of the unaffiliated are atheists or agnostics, most described their religion “as nothing in particular.” Pew researchers said that later projects would delve more deeply into the beliefs and practices of the unaffiliated and would try to determine if they remain so as they age." Furthermore, there appears to be a trend toward convergence between Protestants and Catholics.
Finally, here is some good analysis on the not too surprising revelation of Blago as Public Official A.
In 2000, McCain ran for president and reiterated his longstanding opposition to ethanol subsidies. Though it crippled his chances in Iowa, he argued that ethanol was a wasteful giveaway. A recent study in the journal Science has shown that when you take all impacts into consideration, ethanol consumption increases greenhouse gas emissions compared with regular gasoline. Unlike, say, Barack Obama, McCain still opposes ethanol subsidies.Also, Volokh has something to say about our recent gun debates, a topic I personally have little interest in, considering the weight of poverty and disease and lack of education that simply overwhelms significant devotion to gun rights. I had the good fortune of having lunch yesterday with Volokh Conspiracy contributor Dale Carpenter, who presented an excellent case at the law school for why Burkean conservatives should actually favor gay marriage rights. I personally
agreed with his arguments, and I also find legitimate logical support for gay marriage in libertarian thinking and in a progressive moral route.An interesting NYT article that corresponds with my feeling, that many people are rejecting organized religion, even if they are not rejecting God, "The rise of the unaffiliated does not mean that Americans are becoming less religious, however. Contrary to assumptions that most of the unaffiliated are atheists or agnostics, most described their religion “as nothing in particular.” Pew researchers said that later projects would delve more deeply into the beliefs and practices of the unaffiliated and would try to determine if they remain so as they age." Furthermore, there appears to be a trend toward convergence between Protestants and Catholics.
Finally, here is some good analysis on the not too surprising revelation of Blago as Public Official A.
Labels: Billy Joe Mills, Blagojevich, David Brooks, gay marriage, McCain, obama
