Why I hate Big Union

Ok, to start off with, I'm not against unions in theory. For basic wage earning, workplace safety, and legal representation, I think union representation is a good thing.

But I think that it's an inherently bad thing when unions try to wring every little concession out of their employers; that leads the way towards racketeering, blackmail, and undue political influence. As a political instrument, unions are A Very Bad Thing Indeed.

And now we've got the new "message" from the AFL-CIO on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.They support the memory of the fallen and the heroic efforts of first responders. That's good, but what follows isn't.

"But other doors opened, too—doors to hate, suspicion of “others” and self-centered greed. Our fear was twisted into something much more dangerous.....The extremist small government posse has turned them into public enemy No. 1, as though teachers and firefighters, EMTs and nurses and union construction workers ruined America’s economy....Wealthy CEOs, anti-government extremist front groups and frothing talk show hosts—from the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks to the Koch brothers, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group, Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the American Legislative Exchange Council—also pushed open the door to hate." (emphasis mine)

Turkey's new Islamism

Turkey, under the leadership of Prime Minster Erdogan has made a shift towards populist and Islamist policies, rather than the kind of secular government that Kemal Ataturk envisioned. This is a crap deal for the Middle East, especially when the Arab Spring is pushing countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and Libya towards true republicanism and hopefully, towards a secularist government. The real worrisome factor is that the Turkish-Israeli relationship is virtually in tatters, all thanks to Erdogan's policies, and it's becoming a flashpoint in the Middle East that no one wants, and frankly, should never have happened.

Now we have reports that Turkey is threatening to send their warships out to shield and protect the next "Gaza Flotilla". Nevermind that the UN just admitted that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is legal (even if they tried to whine that the Flotilla were "victims" of Israeli military excess. Bullshit.). This is more of the same kind of faux populism from the Turkish government. They have been saber-rattling for a while, and every time, they've had to back down. I surmise they will do the same here.......unless they really want the Israelis to strike back, and strike back hard.

Turkey doesn't have the military capacity to truly absorb the kind of sea and air campaign that they are threatening Israel with. Israel has long been the dominant air force (and naval power) in the region since the 1970's, and that hasn't changed. Their pilots and seamen are better trained, better equipped (for kinetic strike options and logistical support), and actually understand their civil-defense policies. The Turkish military hasn't fought a serious war since the 1920's, is operating on a peacetime budget (at best), and has a military that seriously doesn't want to engage in hostilities with Israel, which it (still) considers a friend and ally.

The big problem is that the Turks might embolden anti-Israeli activists and officials in Egypt, the West Bank, and Iran. The worst possible outcome is a paranoid Israel that feels it's back is up against a wall (again), and lashes out. Israel would ensure their survival in that endgame scenario- but Turkey would lose, badly. And alot of others would suffer the fallout (I mean that both literally and metaphorically) in the process. Grow up, Turkey. Grow up before someone else forces you to.

9/11 Conspiracy Theorists

Having lived in New York for most of my life (I only moved out of the state in 2005), 9/11 has special meaning for me. Some might say I have "survivor's guilt", in the sense that I had family not far from Ground Zero, but I didn't lose anyone, thankfully. But many did, and hence, why I feel a bit guilty.

Anyways, it always bugs me when conspiracy theorists try to peddle their viewpoints that 9/11 was perpetrated by the U.S. Government. Popular Mechanics does a great job of disassembling their viewpoints, and pointing out the logical fallacies that are inherent in their arguments. I do have a few points I would like to add, though, after the jump.

GOP Debate Postmortem

I saw a bit of the GOP debate at the Reagan Center on MSNBC earlier (and I'm going over transcripts of it). There are a few snap comments I can make on it:

1. Rick Perry is both aggressive and new to the debate rounds. He often came off as assertive and in command, but when he didn't, it showed. He was, to some extent, right about Social Security being a "Ponzi Scheme", but substantially, he didn't really explain why, and how he'd remedy it. He also flubbed a very easy question about Climate Change, falling too easily on his Texas record than he should have.

2. Mitt Romney came across as in command. He was rarely on the defensive, even when there were attacks on his record as Governor of Massachusetts. He also got some of the best lines in there about the GOP field being united in their dislike of Obama. Good stuff, but he didn't get the knockout blow he wants against Perry.

3. Newt Gingrich had the best line(s) of the night, when he attacked the MSNBC moderators for their conduction of the debate. He effectively showed how they were trying to get the GOP candidates to fight each other, and that their questions and moderation was essentially one giant "Hey everybody! The GOP is nuts! Trust us!" MSNBC totally beclowned themselves here, with alot of obvious liberal "red meat" questions   that were disingenuous at best, and hostile at worst.

More after the jump:.

The State of Polls

Political polling is a necessary evil. It's not an exact science (although it tries to be one!), and a great deal of them play footsy with their polling questions and demographic percentages/breakdowns. But this makes me laugh: NBC concerned about their polls. Specifically, this line has me laughing, from NBC's Chuck Todd on the Nightly News:

"Now this has taken a hit on the president politically...A more important number that our pollsters say is in there is this idea that is this a long-term setback for him or a short-term one? 54-percent said long-term. Our pollsters are concerned. That’s kind of numbers you have when the public starts to give up on a president as a problem solver..." (emphasis mine)

Why am I laughing? Because the pollsters that NBC employs shouldn't be "concerned." It's not their job to care one way or the other. Their job is to figure out what the public does or does not want. By showing "concern," they are actually taking sides in the polling. By showing "concern," they are also leaving readers room to question just how much they are trying to protect the answers that they are concerned about, in their polling system. In this case, they can't hide the fact that America thinks Obama's done a shitty job, so far. That's why they're concerned. Dear NBC: you just beclowned yourself.

And that's the problem with polls, people. Generally they're good, but they can be messed with, especially for political reasons. So the next time you see a poll that shows wildly out of the ordinary percentages- go look at their samplings, and who's commissioning it. And maybe you'll find reasons to laugh as much as I have.

CM Punk/WWE Update

Sorry about the time off between posts. I've been busy moving to a different state, then getting a nice back injury that kept me mostly watching BBC Top Gear, Pro Wrestling, and HGTV shows. Okay, maybe not the latter. But I do have an update about the CM Punk saga.

It's working. CM Punk has managed to convince the WWE heads that he's a breakout star (and should have been one years ago), and that it was internal WWE politics that kept guys like him down. The dialectic (yes, it is that) between Punk, Cena, and Triple H (the "COO" of the WWE) has been well thought out, compelling, and great in-ring action. Punk's managed to win the WWE title, and he's managed to shed light on the failure of the WWE's "status quo ante". It's a good thing, and we've gotten some great wrestling and storylines out of it. Because of Punk, they're pushing Christian, Alberto Del Rio, Evan Bourne, Daniel Bryan, and even Zack Ryder.  It's a refreshing change of pace. And we have CM Punk to thank for it.

The Shallow Hatefulness of People

If there's one thing I hate in this world (ok, I hate many things), it's stupid and shallow people. Now, it's one thing for someone to make a mistake, but I just have a pathological dislike for people who show themselves to be my intellectual socio-cultural inferior or (University of Miami fans). l think some of this comes from my experiences in high school.  I have some fond memories of high school, but I also have memories of shallow and superficial idiots who could not get past their own over inflated egos and bitchy labeling of society. I admit, I'm a geek. But hey, that should be okay. However, some of the high school nonsense extended into my adult years, where dating occasionally was a minefield of girls who couldn't get past their stupid mind games. I'm glad I found a girl who didn't play those games (and herself was kinda geeky), and we're happily married. 

            What brings this up is a nasty internet dustup that I read today.  Alyssa Bereznak,  a writer for Gizmodo went on two dates with a guy (Jon Finkel) she met through OkCupid, and proceeded to write an article about it afterwards. She wrote how not only did she dump him, but it was horrible that she was going out with someone who was a "Magic: The Gathering World Champion".  Yes, seriously. She stopped seeing him because he was......a nerd. And she was upset that he didn't mention that in his OKCupid profile (really? WTF?) Btw, her original (unit-edited) version is actually worse.

(More after the jump)