Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Brooks: Poor People Don't Need Money, Silly That's right.  Poor people don't need money.  That won't help their poverty.  Instead, according to Brooks, poor people lack the "inner resources" to avoid poverty.  He quotes David Shipler's book, "The Working Poor", and says that the poor lack the "emotional dexterity" necessary to avoid being poor. Does money alone break the cycle of poverty?  Well, statistically, it will for a large number of people.  But hey, we all know how little the statistics matter to this Administration, right?  The point is, they'll still act like poor people, what with their illegitimate babies and not graduating from high school and whatnot. No, money alone won't break the cycle.  People do need resources like jobs and training and education and birth control programs.  Brooks chooses to bash Edwards for his populist message of bringing people out of poverty, while conveniently neglecting to mention that it is the Bush Administration which is systematically cutting job training and education funding and birth control programs which are also so necessary to breaking the cycle of poverty. Al Campanis couldn't have written this column any better, David Brooks.  Maybe poor people just lack some of the "necessities" to not be poor?  This is as offensive a column as I've read in a long, long time.  Not only for it's implicit conclusions about why people are poor, but for the audacity to attack Edwards as somehow ignoring the causes of poverty, when the current Administration Brooks shills for has done nothing but entrench the institutional barriers to the remedies Brooks acknowleges can help break the cycle. 2:38:25 PM    Say what?[]

Far Out Mother-and-Child Reunion Check out this story of a mother who saw her 6 year old daughter at a birthday party.  Why is that news?  Because everybody thought the girl had died as an infant in a house fire.  In reality, the baby was kidnapped by another woman, who set fire to the house to cover her tracks. The mother recognized the baby because of a dimple on her face.  Amazing.  And yet, despite what must be overwhelming joy for the mother to be reunited with her child, this is still a tragic story on so many levels.  The girl is 6.  What if her new "mother" was a good mother?  What if her biological one isn't?  Certainly, that doesn't undo a horrible crime, and the mother and daughter should be reunited.  But man, these things are complicated sometimes. 1:23:08 PM    Say what?[]

A Call To Caucus Readers of the Caucus comment thread below will note a post from Friend of Pipeline Kieran R., who has been active in the Edwards campaign in California.  He is urging people to get out to show their support for Edwards, a call which Pipeline seconds. Apparently, Minnesota is expected to be close, and any win for Edwards can help extend this race, which is good for Dems generally, regardless of who they support.  Kieran says that they are doing canvass calls to Minnesota, given the expected close nature of the race here. To find out where you can caucus for the DFL tonight in Minnesota, follow this link.  1:18:02 PM    Say what?[]

What's Happening in Haiti? Maybe someone who has followed the situation closely can help me understand what the situation there is.  I have heard both Aristide and those who oppose him called "terrorists", and there seems to be ample evidence that both factions have been involved in some ugly human rights violations. But what to make of the claims that the U.S. helped overthrow Aristide, if not explicitly, than by refusing to send a small peacekeeping force?  What does the U.S. gain by having Aristide ousted?  Or, was it simply that the U.S. didn't want to send troops because of other situations around the globe?  I don't understand the forces at work.  Aristide was a democratically-elected president.  It seems to me that just letting him twist in the wind in our backyard is inconsistent with some of our other pro-democracy positions, but that I fully admit that is a cursory response without a full understanding of what's happening down there. 11:29:32 AM    Say what?[]

Finally, A Readable Kaus Article On Kerry Any regular reader of Slate knows that supposed Dem writer Mickey Kaus is waging a permanent and personal jihad against John Kerry.  His regular columns are absurd for the vitriol and level of minutae that Kaus will trot out to try to discredit JFK2. But today, it appears the Slate editors may have told Kaus to actually write a coherent column on Kerry's weaknesses instead of an ad hom riff, and Kaus puts it together nicely.  I admit, I'm not altogether sold on Kerry at this point either.  I still think he could beat Bush, but I'm not positive, and I'm not at all sure that Kerry would be a better President than Edwards (and I'm certain that I like Edwards' chances to beat Bush better than Kerry's).  Anyway, check it out, it's a good read. Minnesota Caucuses Tonight I'm planning to attend a caucus meeting tonight for the first time ever.  It's a pain, really.  I'd much rather just go in and vote and be done with it.  I don't really give a darn at this point about party planks or any of that other stuff.  Part of my reticence is the fact that I will have Linus with me.  What fun for the boy!  90 minutes of hot caucus action.  I'll tell him it's an educational opportunity, which will probably have the effect of turning off to both politics and education.  Why don't we have a GameBoy yet? In any event, I plan to caucus for Edwards tonight.  I think it's probably too late, but the dye is not cast yet.  10:36:43 AM    Say what?[]

MVP! Kevin Garnett has just been named the NBA's player of the month for February.  He was also the player of the month for January.  And December.  No player has ever won the award three consecutive months before, and only Shaq O'Neal has won it three times in one season before, in the '99-'00 season.  Memo to Marc Stein: Duncan's injuries this year don't have a damn thing to do with his not winning a third consecutive MVP.  Just check the numbers for Garnett and Duncan, and the records of their respective teams.  The San Antonio press is keen on the idea that Duncan's supporting cast isn't any good, while KG's is.  Hmm...That was an argument KG's supporters used to make, to no avail.  Now his cast is better, but guess what?  KG's numbers continued to improve.  Next, they'll be rooting for San Antonio to lose during Duncan's injury, to prove how valuable he was to his team.  But what to make of that thrashing of Denver the other night without Duncan?  Which just shows another reason why Garnett is the MVP over Duncan: Durability. 10:09:05 AM    Say what?[]

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