Motley Moose – Archive

Even after decades of self-inspection, I can still be surprised by a sudden insight. I would venture that I’m not alone in this. Bear with me as I re-enact the twisted path I took to my latest discovery.

This most recent breakthrough came about in the usual, very roundabout way. It started with an article in the Atlantic that posited the behavior of man’s best friend is entirely driven by genetics. I found little in that article to make me rethink my knowledge of canine behavior, but it provoked further thought.

The article really pushed the idea that humans mistake a dog’s instinctive behavior as a form of love between dogs and humans. What the article didn’t mention is that science is beginning to show that many, perhaps all, forms of love are driven by brain chemistry. One study found a chemical basis for the love demonstrated by elephant mothers towards their young and another study showed a real bond between human couples that share the sex act.

Here, on the Moose, we  have had several discussions about sexism. Most of these discussions have centered around the American media and its role in the recent elections.  Although the discussions could get quite heated at times, they proved to be interesting and enlightening.

The discourse, as happens frequently on the Moose, was often wide-ranging. For example, someone would raise an anthropological point about matriarchal societies and another would veer off into the role of the father in modern society. Usually, I followed these side discussions with interest, but once in awhile there would be a comment that I thought was irrelevant. Someone would throw in a comment about an atrocity that had happened in a foreign country and I would fail to see how that had anything to do with sexism in the media. A Nicholas Kristof column in today’s NY Times finally opened my eyes.

Kristof, filing his column from Islamabad, Pakistan, stated wrote, “Here in Pakistan, I’ve been investigating such acid attacks, which are commonly used to terrorize and subjugate women and girls in a swath of Asia from Afghanistan through Cambodia (men are almost never attacked with acid). Because women usually don’t matter in this part of the world, their attackers are rarely prosecuted and acid sales are usually not controlled. It’s a kind of terrorism that becomes accepted as part of the background noise in the region.”

He went on to write –  

We haven’t gotten around to starting a discussion about health care, yet.  As usual, the rest of us are a step behind Obama – http://change.gov/page/content…

I’ve had a little too much exposure to the health care business. I’ve been a caregiver to two people who went through lengthy terminal illnesses. My mother passed away 22 months after being diagnosed with ALS. I ended up moving in with her for much of that time. I was it – 24/7, except for a few short breaks of a few hours duration. Luckily, she had good insurance as part of my father’s retirement benefits.

The second experience was just as, if not more, difficult.  

According to a New York Times report, Hillary Clinton has apparently accepted the position of Secretary of State.

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation’s capital.

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation.

Mr. Obama’s office told reporters on Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but this is the first word from the Clinton camp that she has decided.

This is great news, as far as I’m concerned.

As a life-long car guy, the plight of the auto industry is painful to watch. I worked for General Motors for 20 years before leaving to try my luck elsewhere. My father and both of my brothers spent their entire working lives at General Motors. The economy in my area is still highly dependent on good  paying jobs at area factories. The demise of GM would completely devastate this region of the country.

Many people have spoken out about the current crisis in the auto industry, including Mitt Romney. In an editorial in the New York Times, Romney argued for letting the Big 3 go through bankruptcy. That editorial will kill any chance he has of carrying Michigan in a future presidential bid. He angered those who know the industry best by not only placing blame in the wrong place, he got much of his argument wrong.

Romney argued that one important change the industry needs is to bring in top executives from outside the auto industry. Apparently, the presence of Alan Mulally at Ford and Robert Nardelli at Chrysler escaped his notice. Mulally came from Boeing and Nardelli from Home Depot. Those aren’t exactly car companies, Mr. Romney.

The hottest news out of the transition game is the possibility of Hillary Clinton receiving the nod as Secretary of State. It is so hot that it has overshadowed the appointment of Eric Holder as Attorney General. The SoS is considered the most prestigious and influential post on any Presidential cabinet. The appointment would surely please most Clinton backers. She could play a much more active and influential role as SoS than she could as VP.

Is the rumor of the appointment overblown, as the rumor of her being picked as VP turned out to be, or is this the real deal? From everything I read, I think the offer has been made contingent on the results of the vetting process.

Marc Ambinder reports today, that the vetting has been, “ongoing, delicate, sensitive and private.” He also reports that Bill Clinton has gone out of his way to help the process. This is great news for those who think she would make an outstanding SoS.

One political belief I’ve run across for years is that the reason the Democrats have trouble holding onto power is that they are continually fighting amongst themselves. I usually dismissed this claim as one more exaggeration promulgated by the MSM and Republicans. The events of the last year have caused me to rethink the whole issue.

There is no doubt that the primary wars were bitter and divisive. It wasn’t surprising, given how competitive the battle was right up until the end. Surprisingly enough, the party managed to pull together by election day, except for a few splinter groups. This was a big disappointment to the news media and an even bigger disappointment to the Republicans.

As an outsider, I’m an independent voter, the quick recovery of the Democratic coalition after the primaries convinced me that infighting among the Dems was an over-hyped myth. Boy, was I ever wrong.

One political belief I’ve run across for years is that the reason the Democrats have trouble holding onto power is that they are continually fighting amongst themselves. I usually dismissed this claim as one more exaggeration promulgated by the MSM and Republicans. The events of the last year have caused me to rethink the whole issue.

There is no doubt that the primary wars were bitter and divisive. It wasn’t surprising, given how competitive the battle was right up until the end. Surprisingly enough, the party managed to pull together by election day, except for a few splinter groups. This was a big disappointment to the news media and an even bigger disappointment to the Republicans.

As an outsider, I’m an independent voter, the quick recovery of the Democratic coalition after the primaries convinced me that infighting among the Dems was an over-hyped myth. Boy, was I ever wrong.

It’s hard to turn the channel to a cable news station these days without hearing some conservative pundit making the claim that America is a center-right country. They have been making this claim for a long time. It is one of the core beliefs of the conservative movement stated with the same assurance given to the belief in supply-side economics. Unfortunately, for them, neither claim is valid.



One thing that I’ve come to recognize about the modern conservative movement is that the more forcefully conservatives claim something is true without offering any substantiating proof the more likely it is to be false. That’s the case with the center-right claim.

This country hasn’t been center-right for a long time. Oh sure, there are some issues that pull the electorate to the right, mainly Gays, God, and guns. However, the majority in this country favor moderate to liberal stances on almost all of the major issues. The conservatives are obviously in the denial stage of grief after losing power.

Getting older has quite a few drawbacks, namely the aches and pains that come from an abused body, but it also has some benefits. One of those benefits is a lifetime of experience and memories. That bank of memories tends to keep older people from getting too excited about the newest fad. If anyone is entitled to co-opt the phrase, “Been there, done that”, it’s older people with lots of life experiences. Perhaps that’s why the only age group that failed to go overwhelmingly for Obama was the older age group.

Because I am a member of that older age group, my political experience goes back quite a bit. The Presidential election of 1964 was my first direct involvement with politics. I was 17 years old that year. Like most young people at the time, I was devastated by JFK’s assassination. Because of that desolation, it was easy to back his party in the ’64 election. It didn’t hurt that LBJ’s opponent seemed like a scary whacko. Politics was in my blood.

We were successful in 1964. Although I was too young to vote in that election, I had great hopes for the future. Today, I can only shake my head at such naivety. Unfortunately, in the 10 elections that were held from 1968 to 2004 I’ve only voted for the winner once – Bill Clinton in 1996. None of the choices I had over the years were what I would call inspiring. In fact, I haven’t felt inspired by a politician since the death of Bobby Kennedy.