Recently in Failed Ideology Category

And I have returned to the scene of my last crime to do so!

A COLOSSAL FAILURE OF REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP

Statement from Minority Leader Thissen as 2011 Legislative Session slouches to end

"I have no idea how the Republican Majority can adjourn this session and go home to their constituents. Their only accomplishment - if you can call it that - was to divide Minnesotans with a constitutional amendment that enshrines discrimination into our constitution.

Worse, had the Republican budget gone into effect, they would have laid waste to the things that Minnesotans care most about, squeezed the middle class, and set Minnesota back dramatically.

Simply stated, this session has seen a colossal failure of Republican leadership.

That failure is based on misplaced Republican priorities.

As opposed to asking the richest 2% to take any responsibility in solving our historic budget deficit, the GOP is cutting special education funding for our children.

Because not a penny more can come from the special interests, Minnesotan's interests - like supporting small business growth - are ignored in the Republican budget.

This Republican majority chose corporate fat cats over Minnesota seniors.

This Republican majority chose the richest 2% and raised property taxes on the 98%.

This Republican majority chose those who have benefited most from the recovery over disabled Minnesotans.

This Republican majority chose to party loyalty at the price of discrimination.

This Republican majority chose their special interests over Minnesota's interests every single time this session.

Leadership is about priorities. Over the last 152 days, the Republican Majority has made choices based on misplaced priorities. They have failed the people of Minnesota.

Hat Tip MNpublius

It is going to happen. Remember, Conservatism does not fail, it is failed. Some time in the future, Gov. Scott Walker will be described by the conservatives and the tea party members as not being a real conservative. Not after all the fall out from his over reach. With the country becoming galvanized against the ultra rich by his actions, he will be labeled a crack pot, an extremist, anything other than a conservative/tea party member.

Okay, now I will put away my crystal ball, pulling it out the next time I feel like making a fool of myself.

(Alternate Brain) By the end of this year, we won't even be able to put a man in space anymore.

You know, the idea of conservatism was to maintain the status quo. I believe the phrase bandied about was "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But if we can no longer put people into space, how can one not help but think something is broke? So, I guess the new concept of conservatism is "If it ain't broke, break it!"

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker obviously did not realize that George W Bush acted dumb. But George was at least smart enough to allow himself to be handled by politically savvy operatives who could steer him away from stupidity. Well, until Katrina. But that was the operatives showing they knew how to win an election, but did not know how to run a country.

Unfortunately Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker really is stupid, does not have the insight to recognize his own stupidity, and obviously failed in hiring people to handle his penchant for stupidity.

The stupid, it burns! So much so that I am roasting S'mores. If I had Jiffy Pop, I would make popcorn.

It is next you know. "Let them eat cake." It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. I mean it. One of these days a Republican is truly going to utter a phrase that is no different then "Let them eat brioche."

These bastards are heartless.

Look, I understand the squeaking wheel gets the oil. But no amount of oil changes the fact that there is something fundamentally wrong with the wheel and it needs to be repaired or replaced.

Sigh.

And I really tire of the modern conservative movement's decent into shrieking obscurity and shrilling stupidity.

Oh, and once again Steve Benen at Washington Monthly proves why he is a Blogging God and I am a lowly blogging peasant.

What's more, it's not just Adams -- Thomas Jefferson also supported the identical 1798 proposal, which, any way you slice it, required private citizens to pay into a public health-care system, and included a "regulation against a form of inactivity."

By any sensible standard, one does not need obscure 18th-century anecdotes to know the individual mandate -- which was a Republican idea, anyway -- passes constitutional muster. But for those on the right who consider this original-intent concept paramount, we can add this to the list of things they've gotten terribly wrong.

At some point the whole damn mess that is the modern conservative movement will collapse and honest, intelligent, and courageous people can move in and do the necessary repairs.

This speaks for itself:

I do not understand. What is it with the Republican conservative movement's inability to work and play well with others? Are they that rigidly locked into a literal, concrete form of thinking that they can not tolerate any deviation from their societal comfort zone? Is their fear of change so overwhelming that they lose all sense of respect and decorum? Are they truly suffering from a belief in their inability to deal with natural change?

In the end, all I see are cowards unable to accept human society as it has always been: an evolving, changing system of concepts, theories, and expectations that are fluid and ephemeral; defying the understanding of the very makers of the systems, leaving them utterly overwhelmed and unable to recognize there is no answer to the question 'Why?"

Hot Dish Politics

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann stopped by the state Capitol on Monday to pitch some proposed ground rules for the national debate over health care reform.

 

At a news conference, Bachmann unveiled the "Declaration of Health Care Independence," which will be formally released Wednesday.

 

"We are rejecting politics as usual in Washington D.C. in dealing with this health care issue," said Bachmann, a Republican.

Proposing ground rules at this point in health care reform is like the refs showing up for the game after the clock has run out.

Sometimes there's crazy, which makes sense in a headline grabbing sort of way. Then there is the above move by Bachmann, which is just plain stupid. Dumb ass stupid.

I am posting this at the Snelling Ave Dunn Bros. Coffee shop. Unfortunately, there were no available tables with outlets close by. Actually, every table was taken. So, I am sitting out back, which is great today, considering it is 60 degrees right now, but also lacks outlets. Anyway, work was quick, with only one consult. But it did require an assessment, and a DHS one at that.

DHS is Department of Human Services. In Minnesota, for publicly funded patients, we have to fill out a particular form, which is 18 pages long. Most of the Minnesota care HMOs (there are four of them that manage health care for Minnesota) require it to be completed, even if they are not going to get state funding for treatment.

See, many, many years ago, something called Rule 25 was created to help under-insured people get funding for treatment. These people could be employed, have health insurance, but not have substance abuse benefits, But, as in all things deemed welfare, the financial requirements became so strict, the original target population was restricted from receiving aid, and only the poor got the funding. Get a job, and you lose your funding.

Anyway, the funding was a combination of Federal grants with a certain level of matching state funds. From what I understand, Minnesota was better than most states at getting the money out there for treatment. Wisconsin, at least when I first sobered up in the mid 80s, was not so good at it.

As seems to be the case these days, in an effort to prove government inefficient, a re-write by the state (controlled by republicans, I deem, though can not prove) was done on Rule 25 recently, and they created a bloated assessment tool that goes above and beyond any reasonable effort at assessing for abuse or dependence. In my opinion, it was created with the mind-set that we had to discover a lifetime of issues in 40 to 60 minutes.

A psychiatrist that works for one of the county mental health services complained the assessment was a complete waste of time; that it attempted to be a tool for developing an actual treatment plan - instead of it's original function - which was simply to determine the necessary level of care for a person.

One of the biggest problems with my field is that it is very politicized, especially in the last decade, as Christian organizations attempt to insert their ideology into treatment services. I came across a little flier that was clearly written to coop the original intent of AA, and in direct opposition to one of the traditions, which clearly states attraction rather than promotion. This flier was describing the means to evangelize the 12 step concept.

In all things both conservative and Christian, it is a return to shaming the drunks and drug addicts. Considering Bill W. spent the first 8 months of his sobriety attempting that path, and failing, I suspect we will not really hear of any statistical success from this move. Prior to AA's creation, there really was not documented success at dealing with addiction.

In the end, I have to say I grow tired of my field. It seems more mired in bureaucracy then at any time in my 19 year career. All I want to do is help people find their way out of the hell that is addiction. Instead, it has turned into another battle ground for which ideology is the best.  

Joe Lieberman grandstanding. This is his effort at appearing relevant. He is not. Someday Joe is going to rudely be made aware of just how insignificant he is to the American people. The Democratic Party seems more sorry for him than anything, hence the continued allowance of caucusing with them. The Republican Party probably does not trust him, what with his turncoat actions these last 8 years. Of coures, had he simply switched from Democrat to Republican, he would have more trust, but he would not have the appearance of importance. As an Independent caucusing with the Democrats, he gets to make all sorts of threats in an effort to lay claim to being important.

Yes, he does, in the end, have some power. But the cost to his political future is probably more than he realizes. I suspect his state is not as red as he believes, and that a solid candidate will take him out easily. Indeed, I suspect most independents will probably not come to his defense at the next election. Further, most Republicans, those that are left, will be so rabidly anti everything not WASP that they will not be willing to vote for him.

It really is a shame that his ego is getting in the way of his duty as a Senator to do what is best for the country. Instead, his behavior paints a man who fails to recognizes his best political days are behind him; an also ran who did not quite make the grade. I am not so much angry at his power play as I pity his pathetic, last grasp at relevancy.

Yet, despite my pity, I have no recourse except to announce him as Jack Ass of the Day.