Day Three in Key West

The weather has been hot, muggy and threatening to storm each afternoon, but no relief.

This town is pretty awesome. Imagine Greenwich Village without the smug sophistication of enduring winters. Now add back in the inherent danger of running into the local rednecks while you're strolling around with your Noo Yawk walk and talk and political views.

I've felt more comfortable, at times, in the middle of Kingston, Jamaica, is what I'm saying. There are few places in the world where I've felt less local and more of an outsider. There's a hungry desperation in people's eyes, too. Concerns about the economy, no doubt, and to be sure there aren't as many people wandering Duval as I would have expected. The oil slick, the general economic malaise, and just people tired of being scared.

You wonder why Americans get so paranoid, and yet we do. This is still America, still a great nation. We can still come back and fashion a future.

I've managed to stay out of bar fights, and even tho soccer gets laughed at regularly when it's on the TeeVee, moments like the last American game prove a point: we simply don't know as much about the world as we would lie to. Underneath it all, underneath the braggadocio and bluster, America is still the baby brother who's trying to fit in with big brother's buddies.

One more full day to walk around. I promised ThumbPer I'd go to Hemingway House and visit his cousins, so that's on today's agenda. Plus, I need a dose of inspiration to get my books back on track.

Another Question

To the American naysayers who see soccer as a sport unworthy of the attention of our most exceptional nation:

DO YOU GET IT NOW???????????

A Question

So, who else is counting down the seconds until the wingnuts come out in full-throated defense of McChrystal?

I'm sure many of them are heaving a sigh of relief after this, because they now know what view is the exact opposite of Obama's and can scream accordingly.

UPDATE: Despite my familiarity with the inner workings of the wingnut mind, I did not anticipate speculations that Obama replaced McChrystal with Petraeus in order to ensure that Petraeus doesn't run against him in 2012. Bless their little hearts.

Margaritaville

I'm heading to Key West to attend to some business over the next few days. I'll be back on Saturday.

And yes, the Duvall Crawl is part of my plan!

See...I got bad news this morning...

Douchebags In The News

Well, let's just say there's a lot of anger out there today, and leave it at that as way of introduction:

 

1) Gen'l Stanley McChrystal -- Apparently, his major complaint against Obama specifically was that he seemed inadequate to the task at hand in Afghanistan the first time he and the general met. Now, that's a bit off-putting, to say the least. A President has been fully briefed by the outgoing adminstration on all hot topics, he's met with the Joint Chiefs by then as well, I'm sure. You'd think he'd have a handle on things, unless you believe that there's some sort of conspiracy among the more strident radicals in the outgoing administration to prevent him from being fully informed. He did bring Gates back on board, so this is an unlikely scenario. Which leaves only one possible answer.

 

The magnitude of the situation was inconceivable to anyone, and I mean anyone. General Eisenhower could have walked into that meeting and walked out looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

Given the tenor and nature of McChrystal's remarks, he should be and likely will be fired. He should consider himself lucky to be allowed to retire without disgrace beyond what has been revealed. It's gross insubordination of the highest order, and gives aid and comfort to an enemy in a time of war.

 

2) Steven Newman -- The definition of chutzpah must now be updated. In the dictionary, a man who kills both his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court for being orphaned has always been the gold standard in chutzpah. But now, here we have one of the men most directly responsible for the Gulf oil spill whining about Obama's temporary moratorium on new drilling in the Gulf! (see also the cartel in London)

 

3) Miley Cyrus -- Normally, I could give a rat's ass about celebs, but here's a case where someone who's start in show business came about ONLY because her dad had a novelty country and western hit, suddenly believing they have talent and have earned their place in the pantheon of celebrity.

 

Good luck, Miley, it was nice knowing you. We expect naked photos and rehab by the end of the year.

 

4) Curren D. Price, California state senator -- Advertising on license plates. 'Nuff said.

 

5) Steve Jobs -- I love Apple. I love Apple computers, I love my iPhone, I love the new iPhone OS, I love my iPad. I hate the totalitarianism that Jobs sometimes inflicts on his customer base. That said, I wouldn't trade any of my Apple stuff for anything PC or Googled. 

 

6) Chimpanzees -- All we are saying, is give peace a chance. I fully expect the right wing to start confirming evolution with this revelation.

 

7) Megan Fox -- Noble concept. Let someone else do it. You can't act.

 

8) Portugal -- 7-0? Unnecessary.

Half-Gassed Solution

Are they ever going to stop kowtowing to Droopy Dog?

The Obama administration and a key player in Senate climate negotiations would consider a bill that caps greenhouse gas emissions from just the electric utility sector, which may face better political odds than an effort to cap emissions across the economy.

Naturally, that "key player" is Senator Joe Lieberman (I- Douchebag).

Yes, utilities are responsible for a large share of carbon emissions in America, primarily the coal and oil based plants. In practice, a form of carbon caps are in place on utilities already, since they can buy and sell power around the nation. More efficient plants, therefore, benefit from selling excess capacity to less efficient plants. This allows more efficient plants, which usually are less wasteful in carbon emissions too, to run at full capacity while encouraging less efficient and more polluting plants to lower their production.

This only happens at peak load times, tho, when it's cheaper for a utility to go buy power on the market rather than try to coax more power from its plants or worse, invest in a new plant that will lie idle much of the time. For normal capacity, this model does not exist.

It'll make a dent, but won't even begin to take effect until 2012, and won't be fully in place until 2018.

We. Don't. Have. That. Much. Time.

The UN IPCC has made it clear that, to avoid most of the major climate castastrophes associated with global warming, the world must see a 50-85%% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2050.

That gives us less than forty years to design, implement, enact, and enforce carbon emissions rules. In a nation where it took 100 years to put in place even the pitiful program we laughingly called "healthcare reform" AND given that much of that century was spent in fairly benign political climates, what are the odds that in 2018, the morons on the radically idiotic right will cave and accept even the mildest carbon emissions caps?

Slim, and none. And Slim's out burning firewood.

Smack this asshole down, Mr President. Let's get this thing done.