Where "Trickle-Down" Works

I've seen no credible evidence that trickle-down tax policies ever benefitted anyone other than the rich. After all, it's human nature that those who have will tend to try to keep.

But "trickle-down" may in fact work, though in a whole 'nother context -- that of moral behavior.

Per the Inter Press Service, "U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are planning to descend on Washington from Mar. 13-16 [2008] to testify about war crimes they committed or personally witnessed in those countries.

* * *

"Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of U.S. brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by 'a few bad apples,' as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of 'an increasingly bloody occupation.'

"'The problem . . . is that policymakers in leadership have set a precedent of lawlessness where we don't abide by the rule of law, we don't respect international treaties, so when that atmosphere exists it lends itself to criminal activity,' argues former U.S. Army Sergeant Logan Laituri, who served a tour in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 . . . "

After all, it's human nature that if our bosses behave like criminals, we should infer that maybe that's how we need to behave.

Primary Voting 101 -- Pls Share This

It's easy, it's fun; here's what you need to know.

In Texas and some other states, we're having primary elections this Tues., March 4. This year for the first time in decades, the TX primary actually matters for Dems.

If you haven't decided who to vote for, or maybe even if you have, pls see my previous posts, esp. Litmus Test #1.

The drill varies depending on your location, but in TX, any registered voter can vote in the primary.

The following info is for Dallas County, TX. You can find your polling place (your place to vote) here (Dems) or here (Repubs). (Find your precinct number on your voter registration card.)

If you're not already registered, you can get a registration form from any U.S. Post Office, among other places. If you're not already registered, just go ahead and get that done now, even if it's too late for this primary. Like most things in life, better late than never.

If you're not sure whether you're registered or just want to confirm you haven't been kicked off the roles (legally or otherwise), go to canivote.org (this site is maintained by an association of Secs. of various States, so I believe it should work for states other than TX). I wouldn't assume it's foolproof, but it's better than nothing. (Lately, provisional ballots have seemed to have a way of not being counted.) In Dallas County, you can also check here.

In TX, once you vote in one party's primary, your registration card will be stamped to show it, so you won't be able to vote in the other.

Different political parties in different locations have different rules re- primary voting. In the Dem primary in TX, there's a two-step process, and the second step allocates 1/3 - 1/4 (I've seen both numbers) of the delegates; so if you're avid for your candidate, go on and vote in the regular way, and then for the second step, go back to your polling place at 7:15 pm and sign in under your candidate's name. You don't need to stay for the rest of the proceedings unless you want to participate in the selection of the individual delegates to the national convention.

Litmus Test #2: Will You or Will You Not Re-Institute the Draft

We should demand that each candidate answer: Would you, under any conditions, re-institute the draft? If so, under what conditions? And what's your current best guess as to the soonest those conditions might materialize?

(We should also insist on the candidates' detailed positions on election reform and media reform, including real net neutrality.)

Litmus Test #1: Did You or Did You Not Authorize the Invasion of Iraq?

I used to think, ok, Bush lied to Congress as he lied to us all. But it's no longer plausible to me that any D.C. insider could have been so hoodwinked -- esp. not Clinton, with her years of "experience."

As I pointed out in a previous post, the point was NOT whether or not Hussein had WMD's (though it turned out he didn't). The critical issue was, was the threat that he'd use them against us not only so real but also so imminent that we could not even afford to give the U.N. inspectors a few more weeks to complete their work?

There was never any credible evidence that Hussein would have the capability or desire to attack the U.S. with WMD's any time soon.

I saw through the lies: how can I, why should I rely on anyone who, at closer range, failed to do so -- or who chose to hope they wouldn't be held accountable for a bad faith vote on such a crucial matter?

Obama was not my first choice. But Clinton, for whatever reason, got the Iraq war wrong, while Obama got it right. I can't get over that.

Art for Collectors Near Power Lines

The 1,301 florescent bulbs in this installation by Richard Box aren't plugged into anything; they're powered solely by the magnetic fields from the power lines above. More cool photos here.

(Oh yeah, only poor folk live near power lines.)

Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art

At Barbican Art Gallery, London. "Anthropologists from outer space set out on a mission to understand life on Earth. . . . [T]hey begin their mission by examining the curious phenomenon that human beings call ‘contemporary art’." Judging from The Guardian's slideshow, a great show, including 100 artists and accompanied by "Films from Another Planet," naturally including some Cremaster. Through May 18, 2008.

(Photo at right, My Name as Though It Were Written on the Surface of the Moon (1968), Bruce Nauman; Sonnabend Collection, 2008.)

(Thanks, Ben!)

Diebold's Early Release of Next Election Results

Good job; but I'm voting anyway.

"Save the Internet" Bill Is a Sham

If you get an e-mail urging you to support of the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008” (HR 5353), please be aware it's a sell-out.

Per ZDNet, the bill "carries no enforcement provision on network neutrality, and even carries the co-sponsorship of a neutrality opponent, Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi.

"Pickering has said he plans to leave Congress after this term and is expected to become a lobbyist. Defanging the network neutrality bandwagon will doubtless please his potential corporate employers.

"The bill is a fig leaf, offering vague 'principles' which would be 'guide stars' for future policy.

"Violation of the principles carries no penalty. The FCC would merely study the question and then suggest whether rules are necessary later." More at ZDNet.