If you’ve been keeping up with the US Democratic primary, you’ve probably heard what a piss-poor job ABC did conducting the Pennsylvania debate. It sometimes floors me that Jon Stewart et al. often give more credible news and commentary than the major news outlets. One of the more bothersome bits to come out of the debate was ABC handpicking Nash McCabe for a voter question. It wasn’t so much her obvious bias that bothered me; another voter could always be interviewed to provide a counterpoint (not that ABC did). What bothered me was that her vote comes down to whether or not a candidate is willing to wear a lapel pin of the American flag. Some may think big deal, until you realize that she’s probably not alone in how she makes political decisions. That somehow one’s appearance is a reflection of one’s performance. That one’s patriotism is measured by how often you’re willing to display the flag. That somehow symbols are greater than words and actions. (A Digg commenter aptly referenced the scene from Office Space where Joanna quits because her manager hounds her about wearing flair despite being a productive employee.) It’s really depressing to think that people do make important decisions based on such trivial criteria. Just another example of why the US education system needs improvement.

(more…)

The cost of the Iraq War and Reconstruction to the US is going to surpass $350,000,000,000. That’s $350 billion dollars. A far cry from the original estimate of $50 billion. This same administration in 2000 decided not to sign the Kyoto Protocol citing that its flawed (which I agree—the biggest flaw being the exemption of both China and India) and that it’s too expensive. Expensive because the administration estimated the total cost would have been $325 billion over decades and would’ve hurt the US economy. This administration, by starting a war and trying to clean up after itself, has spent well in excess of that in just 3 years! I doubt any numbers from Bush’s administration can really be trusted. (Remember this is the most secretive administration in US history.) So I’m sure the original cost estimate of becoming a more environmentally friendly country is grossly over-estimated. Besides, never doubt the capability of companies to innovate, reduce costs, and find loopholes, even when faced with new regulations. The Kyoto Protocol will detrimentally affect the US economy? I doubt that. Not as drastically as this particular war has by diverting money better spent elsewhere.

(more…)

November is rolling around once again for midterm elections. 6 years of Republican “leadership” has really grated on my nerves. Is it too early to say, “I told you so?”

If there’s anything the last two presidential elections have shown me, is that there’s a need for election reform because the current system does not result in a government representative of the voting public. Critics of alternative electoral systems have stated that they’re too complicated to understand. They must really think people are stupid. Granted that may well be but not so much that they can’t understand other electoral systems. So let me shed a little light.

(more…)