Blogging via Rant

Well, it's been a while. And I've been asked a few times what I've been doing, and it's been a number of things, but not this. So, in Larry King style, I'm taking baby steps to get back into blogging. So, at least once a week, you'll be able to see the ramblings of a rehabilitating blogger on the road to a full return. Eventually, I'll get back to the research end of things, but for now here we go:

It's tough to stomach the fact that an estimated 71.2 million to 139 million gallons of oil have gone into the Gulf thanks to BP and the all around mess up down there. If the average gallon of milk is a foot tall, on the high end of that estimate we could already stack milk cartons past the moon.

Our Representative Scott Garrett took to the floor on Wednesday with a speech aimed at scaring people out of their support for financial reform, invoking among other things, Big Brother (2:20 mark). It's always interesting to me to see how one of the poster children for the Club for Growth, works also to appeal to the Tea Party members. At some point, their marriage of convenience will come crashing down. Steve Bell said it very well:

Indeed, the battle within the GOP won’t be among so-called moderates, social conservatives, and populists. The real battle will be between the pro-Ayn Rand Club for Growth (which supports the right of any banker in New York City to make any amount of money he or she can) and the populist Tea Party gang (which wants to hang every banker in New York City).

I've pointed out before, the Club for Growth doesn't care about deficits, which happens to be the main issue for the Tea Party. Garrett walking the tightrope should be interesting should the day ever come.

A milestone for transparency, the DISCLOSE Act, passed. The bill says that people spending massive amounts on campaigns have to give the "I'm Joe Smith, and I approve this message" line on their commercials. It also prevents foreign companies like BP or foreign governments like China from buying elections here. Almost all Republicans (including Garrett) voted against it. I read their arguments that it impinges on free speech, but in the real world it doesn't. You still can say/spend what you want. What it does do is make you accountable for what you're saying, and if people don't like it and stop buying your product, well that's the free market at work.

Garrett does have a challenger this fall: Tod Theise won the Democratic primary. A former Republican from the western part of the Fifth, it should be interesting to see how much of the vote gap he can close in Sussex and Warren.

Good luck, Tod.