Repeating the Same Behavior, Expecting New Results

Ted Rall comic

Meet the new Taliban, same as the old Taliban...

A strategy for gay rights activism?

Memo to Iraq By Gary J. Bass

When ordinary people come together across ethnic lines to form unions, political parties, soccer leagues, or movie clubs, their social connections can help prevent civil strife.

The scariest rift in India is between Hindus and Muslims...civic ties, nurtured in good times, can ride out the inevitable shocks that come from bad times.

The article goes on to talk about how the world might use the experience of India to help put together a real nation in Iraq. It seems to me that this is also a good strategy to think about in the continuing struggle for gay rights. Perhaps now that the Supreme Court has said that sodomy laws are unconstitutional, it might be a good idea to spend less time organizing killer Pride Parades (whose message is "WE'RE HERE. WE'RE QUEER. GET USED TO IT) and more time working on the local neighborhood organization, working for political candidates, etc. Time to be out and visible and part of ordinary life -- "Why, yes, Mrs. Smith, I am bisexual. Now, how did you say we needed to fold these brochures for Spring Fest again?"

Brother Love's Toastmasters Contest Speech 3/25/06

The following is the text of a speech I delivered at the Toastmasters Area L-43 International Speech Contest on March 25, 2006 in Austin, Texas. Well, it's the speech I intended to deliver -- I forgot part of the speech, and struggling to remember put me over the 7 1/2 minute limit for contest speeches, disqualifying -- Brother Love

---

A New Yorker decided to spend a long weekend driving through New England. On Saturday afternoon, after enjoying a couple of hours driving along tree-shaded lanes, he stopped in a little store to pick up some lunch fixings. He picked out his items and was waiting to check out when he looked out the window and saw something strange. He saw a man walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. The man was well-dressed and looked to be well-off – but people were avoiding his gaze. As the New Yorker watched, he saw a mother hustle her children across the street to avoid coming near the man. When the New Yorker got his turn at the checkout counter, he pointed and asked, “Say, what’s the story with that fellow there?” The storekeeper looked and said, in a voice filled with loathing, “Him? He Dipped Into His Capital!”

Fellow Americans – fellow patriots – fellow Democrats – fellow liberals:
Back in November 2004, George W. Bush said, “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” He alluded to this notion again in his press conference a few days ago. Fellow Democrats, it may come as a surprise to you, but George W. Bush is CLUELESS…about political capital. As the story of the New Englander shows, capital is NOT something you spend – it’s something you invest. George Bush did NOT earn political capital in the election – no politician does. What George Bush got, what any winning politician gets, is a line of POLITICAL CREDIT, extended to him by his supporters. In President Bush’s case, the interest charges on his line of credit have been piling up, and the payments are becoming due. But I did not come here today to talk about the President. After January 2009, we won’t have George Bush to kick around anymore. George Bush will soon be history – and we need to think about the future.

There IS such a thing as political capital. It’s not something that politicians earn in elections – it’s something all citizens have – you, and you, and you, and you. I’m here to give you some tips on making the most of your political capital.

To be a successful political capitalist, you need to:
· Combine your efforts with other investors,
· Use your enthusiasm to recruit more investors,
· Work hard, and
· Invest for the long term

One reality of political capital is that the more influential you are, the more political capital you have. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Soros, Barbra Streisand – these people can enter the political arena with more capital than you or I have. That’s a fact, Jack. How do we deal with that fact? Well, you’ve already taken the first step – you’ve joined with others to pool your political capital in our political “corporation”, the Democratic Party. And the great thing about this corporation is that you can be a part of it without having to be rich in any kind of capital beforehand.

Another great thing is that the more stockholders we have, the richer we all get. You probably know or work with some independents. Recruit them! As a general strategy, your enthusiasm FOR a Democratic candidate is going to be more persuasive than your righteous anger. You’ve all met successful salespeople – you know the good ones don’t spend a lot of time running down the competition. They talk about how great it will be when you have their product. We are all salespeople for the Democratic Party – it’s fun to run down the competition, but if we’re going to close the sale, we’ve got to talk about the positive things we’re going to do.

Another reality of political capital is that the more you invest, the more you get. It would be great if all we had to do was show up at the polls and vote, but as many of you already know, there’s a lot of work involved to get to that point. Those phone calls don’t make themselves, right? You know what I’m talking about. My parents are in their seventies. They live on a little farm with a huge garden in northern Michigan, but they found time and energy to work for the Democratic Party, and in January 2003 they were thrilled to get an invitation to Governor Granholm’s inaugural. That’s political capital, friends.

Another secret of growing your political capital is, invest for the long term. If the candidate you sweated blood for is defeated in the primary, you’re not going to want to work for his opponent in the general election. That’s a natural reaction, but don’t go overboard with it. Take a couple of days off, then get back to work. Has your candidate endorsed his opponent? Work for the opponent – but make sure her staff knows where you’re coming from. If your candidate hasn’t endorsed someone else, find someone you can support. If you’re having trouble deciding who to work for, you might email your candidate and ask his advice – you’ll be remembered, and that’s political capital.

· Combine your political capital with others,
· Use your enthusiasm to bring in more investors,
· Work hard, and
· Invest for the long term

…THAT’s how you build your political capital. And being a fat-cat Democratic political capitalist is not just about winning elections and getting invited to the inaugural ball. It’s about having a government that protects us from harm AND respects our rights. It’s about having a government that is a RESPECTED world leader, one able to help in a disaster or bring PEACE to a war-torn country. When we have that, we’ll be able to say to ourselves, “I was part of that. I helped bring that about.” THAT’s political capital. That’s something to look forward to.

President Holds Press Conference

The "political capital" speech by President Bush

aide memoire...

KWTX | DNA To Be Retested In Case Of Death Row Inmate

KWTX | DNA To Be Retested In Case Of Death Row Inmate

OK, this is creeping me out more than somewhat. Louis Castro Perez was convicted of the 1998 murders of Frances Michelle Fulwiller, Cinda Rae Barz, and Barz's 9-year-old daughter Staci Mitchell. Frances Fulwiller is the daughter of Francelle Bettinger, a friend of mine who I'd lost touch with after getting married in 1992. I don't follow local news much, so I didn't pay much attention to the news of the murder or the trial until they interviewed Francelle after the verdict and sentence -- that televised interview was the first time I'd seen Francelle in years.

It's creepy to have some sort of connection to an infamous crime like this one. I have connections to two other famed murder cases in Austin. My bicycle commute home from my evening job took me past the site of the Yogurt Shop Murders on December 6, 1991 -- but I didn't see anything out of the way that night. Several years later (1993? 1994?), my wife called me at work to tell me that there had been a murder next door to our house. This latter victim had been a teenage boy stalked by an older man, a former family acquaintance, who followed the boy and his grandmother to her home next to ours (the boy was with his grandmother in hopes of keeping him away from the stalker). The murderer hanged himself in jail a year or so later.

I guess it just shows what a small town Austin is (or at any rate used to be), but it's still a bit creepy.

Daily Kos: My first troll-rating!

Daily Kos: Could somebody explain to me the rational behind withdrawing our troops immediately?:
I feel that I am being unfairly prejudged, for being honest and seeking sincere discussion.

Au contraire. I've read through 1/3 of this thread already. If I'd prejudged you, I wouldn't have read past your diary.

I hope my posts can speak for themselves as honest, respectul discussions.

Your posts DO speak for themselves.

I think if you review my posts, you'll find the true content of my character and find that trolling is the last thing I'm trying to do.

My review is complete. I find that trolling is EXACTLY what you're trying to do here. You've taken a contrary position to the prevailing viewpoint here on DailyKos, then wasted our time by squabbling over every picayune point of disagreement. You are the very model of the modern political troll. And shame on tlh lib for feeding you.

I do hope that you scrutinize my posts and seek any disrespect or rude comments.

A polite troll is still a troll.

I don't feed trolls, so don't bother replying. I'm out, y'all.

Hirsh: Natsios Criticizes Iraq Contracts - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com

Hirsh: Natsios Criticizes Iraq Contracts - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com:
"Andrew Natsios has taken a lot of flak over his role in Iraq. The longtime director of America's foreign-aid program has been pilloried for his April 2003 remark, in an ABC News interview, that the U.S. government would spend no more than $1.7 billion to rebuild Iraq."

No comment.

Daily Kos: Hit Her Baby, One More Time

Daily Kos: Naked birth-giving Britney as Pro-Life Monument (w/poll):
"I think we all regret things we did and said when we were 20.

But it's not like she (Britney Spears) has shown a lot of improvement in judgement since then, is it? One 55-hour marriage at 22 or 23, about which she said, 'Honestly, I really wanted to see what it was like to be married'. Really, honey? So would gay people. Where's your public statement on behalf of their rights? You like to pretend to be a lesbian on stage? Time to give something back, sweetheart.

And don't get me started on her using her baby as a backup to her steering-wheel airbag. If I were dictator, she'd have pulled a couple hundred hours of community service at the very least for that incredibly stupid stunt. You're being chased by the paparazzi? It's not like that's never happened to you before, is it? Lock the doors, roll up the windows, and STRAP THE BRAT DOWN before you take off."

Daily Kos: personal milestone

Daily Kos: Ad Nags (hearts) Rove, and so does Lizzie:
"I DID say 'Good Godwin'...
...doesn't that get me off the hook?

I wouldn't have Recommended otherwise. It's people who seem to be serious about comparing Bush and Hitler that get my goat. As Bill Maher says, it's not a fair comparison -- Hitler was a decorated frontline veteran.

I just refreshed and holy crap -- I seem to be a TU, able to Trollrate! I REALLY need to put up some diaries of my own now -- after all, with Great Power comes Great Responsibility.

'Brother Love, Brother Love
Rhetorical fist in a velvet glove...'
(sung to the Spiderman theme)

Hmm. Needs a bit of work."

Daily Kos: Take the Red Pill

Daily Kos: Ad Nags (hearts) Rove, and so does Lizzie:
"If Karl Rove is the Architect,

Who is the Oracle?

And is Feingold The One?

Whoa..."

Daily Kos: Courage!

Daily Kos: Worst President Ever? Why Armando has it wrong!:
"Bush could be Custer reincarnated, but without the courage,

Well, we don't actually know that he chickened out of VietNam -- possibly he just objected to the crimp it would put into his lifestyle. His willingness to visit Iraq at Thanksgiving couple of years ago or Afghanistan and Pakistan a couple of months ago looks a bit like courage if you squint. That latter is probably a failure of imagination though, a sort of 'Who could anticipate insurgents attacking Air Force One with surface-to-air missiles?' thing.

Actually, if I were GW Bush, I would stay out of countries like Pakistan or Iraq for the rest of my presidency. His backers may decide that a dead 'hero' 'martyred by terrorists' could be more useful in electing their next patsy (cough*cough*McCain*cough*cough) than an unpopular live lame duck.

/Do you think this tinfoil goes with my coloring?"

Daily Kos: Worst Leader Ever?

Daily Kos: Worst President Ever? Why Armando has it wrong!:
"he's going to be compared against the worst heads of state in world history, against Nero, Caligula, Hitler, Pol Pot, etc.

Nero? Hitler? The fact that we're holding this conversation at all shows he's not even as bad as Somoza, let alone monsters like Hitler or Leopold II.

When Michael Moore or Russ Feingold are 'disappeared' for a little extraordinary rendition and torture, we can start to talk about 'Worst Head of State EVAH!!!' Until then, though, I for one am going to stick with 'Not-very-bright salesman for a package of neoconservative snake oil.'"

Daily Kos: It's Got That New Term Smell!!!

Daily Kos: Fred Barnes: Deckchairs on the Titanic:
'Achieving the aura and feel of a new presidential term is not farfetched.'

DAY-YUMM! He just got a new term a year ago, but he needs a new one already? This is a meltdown of extraordinary magnitude, forged in the tradition of his ancestors!"