Posts by Russell Brown

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  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    Yeah, I'm not sure why there's this perception that people who sleep from ten until six are virtuous, but people who sleep from two until ten are lazy degenerates. I'm sure it's not been deduced from observation or anything.

    I've always been a morning person and I'm totally virtuous. Ask anyone.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    free trade

    Yup, I'll grant you that. This is one area where McCain has acted and voted consistently.

    campaign finance reform

    Ya rly. I think this demonstrated McCain's level of integrity on financing in this campaign.

    McCain actually abandoned a major campaign finance reform bill this year (another Republican had to take over as co-sponsor). And Russ Feingold, the other original sponsor, has endorsed Obama.

    As have the major campaign finance pressure groups:

    Craig Holman, campaign-finance lobbyist for Public Citizen, agrees with Donnelly’s upbeat assessment. "Obama has really taken the lead when it’s come to campaign finance and lobbying and ethics reform," Holman said, noting that Obama, with Feingold, got through a more stringent lobbying and ethics reform law than one originally proposed by McCain.

    So, saying McCain is the stronger candidate on reform is, like, crazy.

    the surge,

    Sure, if you believe McCain's absurd claim that "the surge" started the "Anbar awakening" and all. But even if he's right on that one, it seems a little odd to ignore all the times he's been wrong about Iraq. Or, for that matter, hasn't been able to find the sodding place on a map.

    This Boston Globe column rounds up some 2008 McCain bloopers:

    But, if foreign policy experience is Senator McCain's strong point, let's hope he chooses Senator Joe Lieberman to be his running mate.

    It was only a few months ago, in Jordan, when Lieberman had to whisper in McCain's ear to correct McCain's statement that it is common knowledge that the Iranians are training Al Qaeda fighters and sending them back into Iraq. After Lieberman "reminded" McCain that Iran is Shia and Al Qaeda is Sunni, McCain retracted his emphatic statement.

    Other McCain foreign policy errors indicate either ignorance or forgetfulness.

    McCain recently referred to the Iraq-Pakistan border although there is no such border, and referred to Czechoslovakia, which has been out of existence for 15 years. Lieberman might have whispered corrections in McCain's ear if he'd been there.

    Clearly, McCain has his finger on the pulse. Do you really want a President who would stand up and make stupid errors like that?

    strength in deomcracy, not "peace in our time " appeasement.

    Yeah, because the US so sent troops into Georgia, didn't it?

    compare that with a tech policy written by his campaign fundraisers. big deal for barry

    The guy is a past president of the Harverd Law Review. He consulted personally with Lawrence Lessig. You know what? I think he probably has a better handle on this stuff than the guy who can't use email.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    It's going to be a thing of Lyndon Johnsonesque proportions. You mark my words.

    I'll grant you that's possible. I'll go so far as so say that a recent, small swing in some polls (most of which Obama still leads) is hardly the end of the world.

    McCain has enjoyed success in depicting Obama as an out-of-touch elitist (rich, from the man who can't remember how many houses he has), and as Pew notes, McCain has the edge on perceptions regarding judgement and character (doubly rich, given much of what McCain has actually said and done).

    But given the way Obama's team took him from nobody to nominee in 18 months, you'd have to expect they'll make a reasonable job of addressing this.

    The swift-boating campaign trying to link Obama with the former Weatherman Bill Ayers is astonishingly cynical and dishonest. TPM has an interesting article about the Obama campaign's strategy of dealing with this sort of flith at the local level, rather than make it a national talking point for the commentary goons that fill the news channels. We'll see.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    Yeah dont fuck up. Vote for the candidate with integrity and a long history of non partisan legislation rather than the charismatic preacher.

    Sigh ... keep trying. I'm fairly well aware of the respective nominees' policy platforms, from healthcare and reproductive rights to foreign affairs (where, as I've explained, the people advising McCain are flat-out scary).

    I'm also aware that while Obama isn't perfect, his platform on internet and copyright issues -- geek politics -- is intelligent and informed to a degree that may well be unprecedented in such a senior political figure anywhere.

    Now tell me what you love about McCain's policies.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    It's not so great for the rest of the family either. The only person capable of remembering where they're supposed to be and when turns into someone with all the even temperament and approachability of a cat wearing dolls' clothes.

    Wow. Arresting image of the week.

    Did that spring from sleep deprivation? If so, it's clearly not all bad.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    Ted Kennedy's speech was pretty good too:

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: Being Worked,

    I beg to disagree. Veitch appeared in court on the 18th where the charges were laid and he was remanded on bail. So there will be a court file, and it will include at the very least the charge sheet, and possibly a summary of facts, but I wouldn't not for sure as IANAL.

    It does seem odd that no one would have pointed out that the summary was available from the court after the police said only two parties, them and the defence, had it. I've had a couple of senior journalists comment to me privately on it, and they didn't raise the issue either.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Hard News: National Exuberance,

    That's what I'm told by people I know who work inside Parliament but I can't claim personal experience LB. My reading of his contributions, in various forms, suggests he was however an empiricist (at least in his work in justice related issues).

    That's my impression too. While he might not have had the stomach for some of the "work" of politics, Nandor stood out in his willingness to apply himself intellectually to important issues. He was only an observer on the Commerce select committee, but I got the impression he had a better grasp on the Copyright Amendment Bill than most of his peers.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Southerly: The Joys of Unclehood,

    What a wonderful post with which to round off my day. Thanks, David.

    And on McDonald's: it's infant food. It was a popular family treat for a while, but our guys seemed to outgrow it. The older one now much prefers a nice butter chicken and the younger one doesn't really eat in public. Ah, the joys of aspie kids ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Stories: The Internet,

    Without the internet we’d have remained blithely ignorant—conceding all power and authority to the doctor, just like the good old days.

    Thanks for that, Paul. I know doctors probably hate it, and with some reason, but patient-empowerment via the internet can change lives, as your story shows.

    My last Listener column was about the transformative experience of being able to reach out to other autism-spectrum families. And I'm bloody sure that helped us face down poorly-informed "experts" in the education system.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

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