The Fort Hood Massacre
Has American gotten past anti-Muslimism? A few thoughts on Fort Hood. Nevertheless, maybe this is the best opportunity to separate the moderate Muslims from the extremists. “The real linkage is that there is a strong security imperative to prevent the consolidation of a narrative in which America is engaged in a clash of civilizations with Islam, and instead to nurture a narrative in which al-Qaeda and its affiliates represent a marginal fringe to be jointly combatted.” Anti-Muslim sentiment in America
Election ‘09
Malcolm Gladwell claims that what made him more successful than other blacks is that his mother was a Jamaican immigrant. Collin Powell’s parents were also Jamaican immigrants. Obama’s father was a Kenyan foreign student. So while people say that African-Americans have made it, it’s really just a small subset of blacks who are succeeding. And just as not all black people are the same, so too, not all Asians are the same. New York has had four Asian-American elected officials and will have two more come January. Not only are they all Chinese-American, but none of them are from mainland China (three from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong). Denny Chin, the 2nd Circuit’s only Asian-American judge, is from Hong Kong. Immigrants from mainland China are still lagging.
Pre-election polls showed Bloomberg up by 18 points. He ended up winning by 5 points. What happened? It looks like Bloomberg was so far ahead that his supporters didn’t bother voting. Bloomberg’s disappointing victory
Asian-Americans heavily favored Bloomberg. Asians also went Republican in Flushing. In Bayside, 99% of Asians voted for Kevin Kim, who lost anyway. First Asian American Wins Citywide Office and Two Asian Americans Join City Council in Historic NYC Election
Politics
Republicans ousted Dede Scozzafava from their party for her pro-choice pro-gay-marriage views. Democrats ousted Joe Lieberman from the party primarily for his support for the Iraq War but on social issues, it looks like the Democratic Party really are a big tent party. A profile of conservative Democratic NY State Senator Ruben Diaz. Foe of Gay Marriage in New York Says It’s Nothing Personal. Apparently the party isn’t to strict on economic issues either. 39 Democrats voted against the health care bill.
The “Party of No” can’t help itself. Democrats have no problem with raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for social programs. That’s why Obama can boast that ObamaCare will not increase the deficit. On the other hand, Republican refusal to raise taxes means that they can’t propose any alternative program without increasing the deficit. They only way Republicans can look fiscally responsible without raising taxes is to oppose Democratic ideas without offering alternatives.
Economy
CIT enters bankruptcy. World doesn’t end. I’m with those who say, “CIT’s reasonably orderly filing shows that bankruptcy works, even for financial firms.” The bust that worked
Health Care
The lone Republican who voted for the health care bill was former Jesuit seminarian and member of the USCCB National Advisory Council, Joseph Cao. He is paying the price. Donors are asking for their money back and fund raising events have been canceled. Cao’s district is overwhelmingly Democrat but as the first and only Vietnamese-American congressman, he may well direct the future of that ethnic group. The GOP should be careful not to lose the Vietnamese.
I can’t think of a greater political victory in the US for the USCCB. For Abortion Foes, a Victory in Health Care Vote. And that pisses some people off. Lynn Woolsey: IRS should scrutinize bishops
Pro-choice lobbyists are hard at work. While they voted for it this time around, liberal Democrats vow not to vote for any final bill that still contains the Stupak Amendment. Liberals to Pelosi: Get Rid of Stupak Language or We Won’t Back Health Reform
Judging from Facebook and MSNBC, pro-choicers are outraged. Not at the Stupak Amendment, but what they mistakenly think it means. Most pro-choicers who weigh in seem to think that this bans abortion coverage entirely.
ObamaCare will offer subsidies for some who are already insured. The Public Option will be available to some who are already insured. The Stupak Amendment bans subsidized plans and the Public Option from covering abortion. That means, some who currently have insurance that covers abortion will no longer have abortion covered under ObamaCare. That means, fewer abortions. Insurers may even decide to drop abortion coverage from all their plans rather than maintain two different sets of plans. Future legislation may expand ObamaCare, resulting in even less abortion coverage. Whatever its faults, ObamaCare is very likely to reduce the number of abortions. Will ObamaCare Reduce Abortion?
Religion
The New York Times has a liberal bias. Even many liberals will admit that. Now, I have never criticized a bishop before but Archbishop Dolan of NY sounded like a crybaby when he alleged that the paper was anti-Catholic. Anti-Catholicism. One of his targets, Laurie Goodstein, responded in the comments section (search for “Posted By: Laurie Goodstein”) and IMO she made the better case.
Miscellaneous
Jon Stewart does a dead-on Glenn Beck impression. The 11/3 Project
What opponents of gay marriage mean by “marriage” and what the Catholic Church means by “marriage” are not the same. You keep using that word… I do not think it means what you think it means.
The article mentions why cabbie tips are up in NYC. The touchscreen used for credit card payments doesn’t let me give a small tip! So wrong. New York’s Cabbies Like Credit Cards? Go Figure
