Cibbuano
charlesMaking America Stupid!
:
It's not my title, but the title of this opinion piece from the NY Times by Thomas Friedman.
Friedman thinks it's ridiculous that the Republican Party is enthusiastically supporting the idea of drilling for more oil, a search for energy independence that delights Americans with the slogan of 'Drill Baby Drill!'.
It's a catch phrase meant to take on Obama's "Yes We Can", a slogan that's looking weaker and weaker as the rabid support of the McCain-Palin campaign grows. Obama suggests that rational thinking and contemplation are the hallmarks of a good president, and that America needs to re-orient itself to good education, better healthcare and advances in science and technology. His solution to energy crisis is a simple, do-it-yourself fix - fill your tires properly, saving yourself money, and reducing the usage of fuel.
"Drill Baby Drill!" is a mantra that advocates punching holes in the earth to feed gas-guzzling cars, and put more ludicrous cash in the hands of oil companies.
Of course, Friedman says something about that:
Amen - America became the most powerful country on Earth by being at the forefront of invention, praising the hard work of people that were willing to find new ways to do things. A willingness to do science, and support for research, which attracted the best and brightest from around the world.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin, if elected, still needs to find out what the Vice-President does:
Palin tries to speak with confidence and intelligence, but I've found her to be incredibly vapid in her interviews, showing her inexperience with the way she handles questions. The Huffington Post doesn't like how she handled the interview with Charlie Gibson on ABC.
McCain, on the other hand, seems to have nothing to say about the economy, the war on Iraq or the energy crisis, instead preferring to talk about lipstick and pigs:
Friedman finishes with a gloomy outlook on the near future, unless the inner framework of American society is addressed:
Drill Baby Drill! T-shirt for the Palin-McCain ticket. Note: this is a shirt that is actually for the Republican nominees, not an ironic shirt, though it certainly could be worn in irony.
Or, as the NYT calls it, the 'Palin-Whashisname ticket'.
Edit: Shee - I'm watching the full interview with Sarah Palin on ABC right now. Charlie Gibson is a terrific interviewer - a quality that the top American journalists seem to excel at, coming across as poilte and comfortable, while asking evocative, dissecting questions.
Palin looks ridiculous trying to come up with answers, though. She wants to be the Vice-President and Gibson asks a simple question:
"Gibson: Did you ever travel outside of the country prior to your recent trip to Kuwait and Germany last year?
Palin: Canada, Mexico...and then, yeah, that trip, it was a trip of a lifetime."
My sweet Buddha... please Americans, I think it would be unwise to elect a person to office who has never traveled to another country other than Canada (next to Alaska!), Mexico (next to Texas!) and visiting troops in Germany and Kuwait.
What can she say about her understanding of foreign culture?
The media rightfully points out that Palin struggled to answer the tenants of the Bush doctrine, a central part of the Bush administration's view on foreign relations. Pro-Palin media shrugs, as if it is of no importance. After all, most Americans don't know what it is!
It's huge deal to me - politics is not just about having a nice smile and shaking hands. There has been a set of knowledge associated with politics and diplomacy and it's insulting to think that the Vice President could sit in office without understanding the theory behind the role.
As Jason Linkins writes in HuffPo:
Linkins' point is valid: just because we don't know what a 'tie rod end' is doesn't mean we shouldn't expect our mechanics to know exactly what it is.
Friedman thinks it's ridiculous that the Republican Party is enthusiastically supporting the idea of drilling for more oil, a search for energy independence that delights Americans with the slogan of 'Drill Baby Drill!'.
It's a catch phrase meant to take on Obama's "Yes We Can", a slogan that's looking weaker and weaker as the rabid support of the McCain-Palin campaign grows. Obama suggests that rational thinking and contemplation are the hallmarks of a good president, and that America needs to re-orient itself to good education, better healthcare and advances in science and technology. His solution to energy crisis is a simple, do-it-yourself fix - fill your tires properly, saving yourself money, and reducing the usage of fuel.
"Drill Baby Drill!" is a mantra that advocates punching holes in the earth to feed gas-guzzling cars, and put more ludicrous cash in the hands of oil companies.
Of course, Friedman says something about that:
"Of course, weÂre going to need oil for many years, but instead of exalting that  with Âdrill, baby, dril  why not throw all our energy into innovating a whole new industry of clean power with the mantra Âinvent, baby, invent? That is what a party committed to Âchange would really be doing. As they say in Texas: ÂIf all you ever do is all youÂve ever done, then all youÂll ever get is all you ever got.Â"
Amen - America became the most powerful country on Earth by being at the forefront of invention, praising the hard work of people that were willing to find new ways to do things. A willingness to do science, and support for research, which attracted the best and brightest from around the world.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin, if elected, still needs to find out what the Vice-President does:
Palin tries to speak with confidence and intelligence, but I've found her to be incredibly vapid in her interviews, showing her inexperience with the way she handles questions. The Huffington Post doesn't like how she handled the interview with Charlie Gibson on ABC.
McCain, on the other hand, seems to have nothing to say about the economy, the war on Iraq or the energy crisis, instead preferring to talk about lipstick and pigs:
"A Washington Post editorial on Thursday put it well: ÂOn a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the governmentÂs rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Senator John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Senator Barack Obama for using the phrase Âlipstick on a pig and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read.Â"
Friedman finishes with a gloomy outlook on the near future, unless the inner framework of American society is addressed:
"Sorry, but there is no sustainable political/military power without economic power, and talking about one without the other is nonsense. Unless we make America the country most able to innovate, compete and win in the age of globalization, our leverage in the world will continue to slowly erode. Those are the issues this election needs to be about, because that is what the next four years need to be about."
Drill Baby Drill! T-shirt for the Palin-McCain ticket. Note: this is a shirt that is actually for the Republican nominees, not an ironic shirt, though it certainly could be worn in irony.
Or, as the NYT calls it, the 'Palin-Whashisname ticket'.
Edit: Shee - I'm watching the full interview with Sarah Palin on ABC right now. Charlie Gibson is a terrific interviewer - a quality that the top American journalists seem to excel at, coming across as poilte and comfortable, while asking evocative, dissecting questions.
Palin looks ridiculous trying to come up with answers, though. She wants to be the Vice-President and Gibson asks a simple question:
"Gibson: Did you ever travel outside of the country prior to your recent trip to Kuwait and Germany last year?
Palin: Canada, Mexico...and then, yeah, that trip, it was a trip of a lifetime."
My sweet Buddha... please Americans, I think it would be unwise to elect a person to office who has never traveled to another country other than Canada (next to Alaska!), Mexico (next to Texas!) and visiting troops in Germany and Kuwait.
What can she say about her understanding of foreign culture?
The media rightfully points out that Palin struggled to answer the tenants of the Bush doctrine, a central part of the Bush administration's view on foreign relations. Pro-Palin media shrugs, as if it is of no importance. After all, most Americans don't know what it is!
It's huge deal to me - politics is not just about having a nice smile and shaking hands. There has been a set of knowledge associated with politics and diplomacy and it's insulting to think that the Vice President could sit in office without understanding the theory behind the role.
As Jason Linkins writes in HuffPo:
"In other news, I took my car to get inspected Friday and was told I needed some sort of "tie rod end" replaced. Like most Americans, I didn't know what a "tie rod end" was..."
Linkins' point is valid: just because we don't know what a 'tie rod end' is doesn't mean we shouldn't expect our mechanics to know exactly what it is.
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Slogans and chats aren't going to cut it either. Going back to the Carter days isn't change we can believe in it's a disaster. Making sure our tires are properly inflated isn't the answer either.
Drill baby drill will get us more oil, and less dependent on foreign oil. Quotes like this by Barack Obama is Making America Stupid
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Orble Post of the Day
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Time Magazine:
and, really, it's the stance of the solution that I like. Also from Time:
His solution is one that I advocate: that small, nearly insignificant changes to your lifestyle can have massive effects to the country as a whole.