Rape is a pre-existing condition.
Yeah, these are EXACTLY the kind of people I want in charge of my healthcare.
Instant Spirituality
Melvin Martin (Oglala Sioux) gives the best discussion I’ve heard yet about the New Age “sweat lodge” deaths in Arizona and how they fit into a larger context of cultural theft and materialism. Very profound.
The so-called “dominant culture” is greatly conflicted vis ‘a vis the American Indian so much so that they occupy a brutally nightmarish, cultural dead zone; they either hate us (with the worst of that hatred to be found in Rapid City, Bemidji and Farmington as previously noted) or they patronize us (‘a la legions of New Age devotees), with a pathetic absence of any sort of humane middle ground. A certain distance and even greater disconnect characterizes the contemporary status quo between white and tribal America that has manifested all sorts of social dysfunction, the Sedona incident being perhaps the latest and best example.
Obama & the Pentagon
I have to say, I’m very skeptical of Sy Hersh’s claim of widespread racism against the president in the upper ranks of the military. Are there racists in the uniformed services? Of course there are, but no more so than in the general population; probably less, I would think. And given how quickly your military career can come to a screeching halt if you are even suspected of racist attitudes, I have a hard time imagining some kind of bigoted cabal of generals and admirals at the Pentagon. Having said that, it’s clear that there is a battle of wills going on, at least between Obama and Gen. McChrystal, over the future of America’s military commitment in Afghanistan, and it’s escalated to the point where McChrystal may have even leaked classified information. My personal view is that we cannot abandon Afghanistan, if for no other reason than that of brutal self-interest; if Afghanistan collapses into warlord anarchy or a new Taliban dictatorship, it will once more be a breeding ground for the likes of Osama bin Laden, not to mention a destabilizing influence on Pakistan, with its brittle democracy, paranoid military, compromised intelligence service and nuclear weapons.
The Tea Party Turns Ugly
If the Teabaggers were ever just manipulated tools of the Republican Establishment, that strategy has backfired spectacularly as the movement turns against the GOP all across the country.
Shorter Right-Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus:
Stock market down = OBAMA FAIL!!11!!!! The Street hate u!!! Socialist!!!!
Stock market hits 10,000, up 25% since Obama took office = eh, whatever.
The Mega-Banks Are Lying…
…in other news, the sky remains blue, puppies & kittens are still cute, and Rick Perry is still an asshole.
UPDATE: And they suck. (H/T Eschaton)
A Good Point
Cong. Anthony Weiner points out that the health insurance industry’s dubious cost study actually offers yet another argument in favor of the public option.
Conservative Hypocrisy Watch
Shorter John Boehner: “Ramming through major legislation on less than 24 hours’ notice was just the way things were done way back in the Olden 1990’s.”
Shorter Jim Inhofe: ”The president has powers like unto a pharoah…providing he’s a Republican, of course.”
The Local Crank