At Chris' 40th Birthday Party
27 September 2010
12 September 2010
Most Rational Political Analysis of US 2010 Election Yet
Daily Kos isn't necessarily the most even tempered political blog. If you ignore the comments you'll more often than not get a pretty rational view of things. Here's a good excerpt from a post tonight by Chris Bowers.
If Democrats get booted in November, it will not be primarily because of poor tactical execution of their campaign messaging and resources. That is the Tactical Fallacy. Further, if Democrats get booted in November, it will not be primarily because people opposed the details of their public policy in the abstract, or that they were let down by not passing more. That is the Ubiquitous Political Junkie fallacy. Sure, tactics matter and appealing to activist wonks matter, but they are not usually the main cause of electoral victory or defeat. More often than not, if you lose, then you just didn’t enact public policy that helped enough people by the time of the election. This is especially the case in landslide election years, as 2010 shaping up to be.
This is pretty much spot on. Its actually the one saving grace of a democracy or republic. If the bums (Democrats) aren't doing a decent job, throw the bums out! Unfortunately, what it doesn't capture is the obscene fact of American politics that the bums currently out of power (Republicans) will do much worse if and when they get back into power.
If Democrats get booted in November, it will not be primarily because of poor tactical execution of their campaign messaging and resources. That is the Tactical Fallacy. Further, if Democrats get booted in November, it will not be primarily because people opposed the details of their public policy in the abstract, or that they were let down by not passing more. That is the Ubiquitous Political Junkie fallacy. Sure, tactics matter and appealing to activist wonks matter, but they are not usually the main cause of electoral victory or defeat. More often than not, if you lose, then you just didn’t enact public policy that helped enough people by the time of the election. This is especially the case in landslide election years, as 2010 shaping up to be.
This is pretty much spot on. Its actually the one saving grace of a democracy or republic. If the bums (Democrats) aren't doing a decent job, throw the bums out! Unfortunately, what it doesn't capture is the obscene fact of American politics that the bums currently out of power (Republicans) will do much worse if and when they get back into power.
Big Girls, Except When They Are Babies
Part of the reason why the age of two is called "Terrible Twos" is because the kids are trying to work through conflicting feelings of wanting to grow up vs. wanting to remain dependent babies. It leads to lots of times when they'll make a decision and then immediately reverse it, or show boldness only to immediately cower in fear. From a parents point of view it can be demanding and confusing. It definitely requires a lot of time and patience.
Parts of the reversion back to baby behavior can be very nice for me, though. A couple of examples happened with Alisa this week:
- On Thursday evening we were rough housing on the futon playing horsey. Both girls were riding atop me when they decided to pitch forward. I obliged by lowering my head and shoulders. Alisa, in front, knocked her teeth against the back of my head. It cut open her lower lip and lots of blood flowed forth. Of course it was painful for her; but, she really became scared when she noticed the blood. Through a series of responses trying to comfort her we finally got to the point where she was laying on my lap, her head cradled in the crook of my left arm. My right hand applied pressure to her wound with a wet wash cloth. We were sitting in a darkened closet and I was singing the songs I sang to her when she was just a few months old. I had a repertoire of four or five songs that I sang to her whenever she cried at night as a little baby. She wanted me to sing through every one of the songs while laying on my lap. I found it both sweet and sad. By morning her lip was fully healed.
- For many months as a baby we had to separate the girls in order for them to sleep. I often slept in the nursery with Alisa while Hirono slept with Leia in our bedroom. We washed laundry today. When it was time for the girls to take their nap the sheets were still in the dryer. So I offered to take a nap with them in the nursery. The girls were both excited; but, Alisa snapped into a sort of glazed sleepiness. We settled down and tried to sleep. Leia at first was a bit rambunctious, never having napped in the nursery before. Alisa, however, seemed in her element and instantly settled down to sleep. I finally got Leia to stay down and the three of us took a long nap. After waking up, Alisa started pointing at familiar objects and grunting a question - just as she did when a baby. She seemed to be asking the names of all these familiar objects: Princess Bear, Miffy, blanket, pillow, etc. Finally she was satisfied and laid back down. By this time Leia wanted to go out and play; but, Alisa kept saying: "Leia go. Daddy stay night-night." Such a sweetheart! So I told them to run to the bedroom where Hirono was also taking a nap to tickle her. They both leapt up at the chance to tickle Mama.
Parts of the reversion back to baby behavior can be very nice for me, though. A couple of examples happened with Alisa this week:
- On Thursday evening we were rough housing on the futon playing horsey. Both girls were riding atop me when they decided to pitch forward. I obliged by lowering my head and shoulders. Alisa, in front, knocked her teeth against the back of my head. It cut open her lower lip and lots of blood flowed forth. Of course it was painful for her; but, she really became scared when she noticed the blood. Through a series of responses trying to comfort her we finally got to the point where she was laying on my lap, her head cradled in the crook of my left arm. My right hand applied pressure to her wound with a wet wash cloth. We were sitting in a darkened closet and I was singing the songs I sang to her when she was just a few months old. I had a repertoire of four or five songs that I sang to her whenever she cried at night as a little baby. She wanted me to sing through every one of the songs while laying on my lap. I found it both sweet and sad. By morning her lip was fully healed.
- For many months as a baby we had to separate the girls in order for them to sleep. I often slept in the nursery with Alisa while Hirono slept with Leia in our bedroom. We washed laundry today. When it was time for the girls to take their nap the sheets were still in the dryer. So I offered to take a nap with them in the nursery. The girls were both excited; but, Alisa snapped into a sort of glazed sleepiness. We settled down and tried to sleep. Leia at first was a bit rambunctious, never having napped in the nursery before. Alisa, however, seemed in her element and instantly settled down to sleep. I finally got Leia to stay down and the three of us took a long nap. After waking up, Alisa started pointing at familiar objects and grunting a question - just as she did when a baby. She seemed to be asking the names of all these familiar objects: Princess Bear, Miffy, blanket, pillow, etc. Finally she was satisfied and laid back down. By this time Leia wanted to go out and play; but, Alisa kept saying: "Leia go. Daddy stay night-night." Such a sweetheart! So I told them to run to the bedroom where Hirono was also taking a nap to tickle her. They both leapt up at the chance to tickle Mama.
09 September 2010
Attack Poodles
Why is it that Obama seems only able to fire up the rhetoric and speak passionately when campaigning? Jerk.
02 September 2010
Finicky Dresser
The girls now regularly choose their own clothes in the morning. Today Leia couldn't decide what to wear. She tried on a total of four different outfits before she was satisfied. And the Tinkerbell shoes were the only acceptable footwear.
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