Michael Chertoff, environmentalist

I know I’m not the first to spot this, but when I read it in the Palm Beach Post this morning, I nearly choked on my cereal:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Monday defended the construction of a fence along the southwest border, saying it’s actually better for the environment than what happens when people illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico line.

“Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I’ve seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas,” Chertoff said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment.”

Are you fucking kidding me? The border fence is a good thing because it helps the environment?

Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket. Just when I thought I’d read the stupidest thing ever uttered by a member of the Bush crime syndicate, another one of those asshats comes along and tops it. Seriously, the absurdity of that statement is something even The Onion couldn’t dream up. And yet, somewhere, Duncan Hunter is standing and applauding.

Cherty, you’re doing a heckuva job.

Good riddance

I’m so glad outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, who hates gays, can have such a good time with Drunky McStagger during yesterday’s farewell tribute.

With all due respect, General — which is none — fuck you.

UPDATE (5:46 pm 10/2/07): I’d just like to take a moment to elaborate on my oh-so-eloquent “fuck you” to General Pace.

Yesterday, he “warned” us that the issue of the war in Iraq was imbued with “personal venom” and that we cannot “vote our way out” of it.

As antiwar protesters demonstrated at the gate of Fort Myer, where the change-of-command ceremony took place, Pace said that democracy is strengthened by divergent views discussed “in a civil manner.”

But, he said, “what worries me is that in some instances right now we have individuals who are more interested in making somebody else look bad than they are in finding the right solution. They are more interested in letting their personal venom come forward instead of talking about how do we get from where we are to where we need to be.”

Excuse me, General, but do you not see the irony of your statement? Who is it that has been focused on making people look bad ever since the 2000 election? Hell, ever since 1994? How about ever since 1974?

You’re a joke, General Pace. Exit stage right, and don’t soil the uniform or disgrace our country anymore.

The Paulistas have invaded America’s Glans™

This time, I’m not referring to Paulistas as residents of São Paulo, Brazil …

If you’ve driven I-95 lately in Palm Beach County, you’ve probably seen a sudden proliferation of Ron Paul banners strung up on the highway signs. Proclaiming the “RON PAUL RUTION” and touting his presidential campaign, the signs almost supernaturally seem to resist the stresses of nearby traffic and the recent wind and rain … I mean, I’ll give the Paulistas credit for pushing their message, but it seems to have resonated surprisingly well with college students particularly, and for no apparent reason whatsoever.

What exactly is up with this RON PAUL RUTION stuff anyway? What exactly do Paul’s positions have to do with “love” or “revolution” at all? He touts himself or, more accurately, his supporters portray him as basically a “true libertarian,” one who evidently wants to minimize or eliminate the federal government and give nearly all powers, save perhaps for national defense, currency, and such, to the states.

From Wikipedia:

Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas, has been described as a constitutionalist, libertarian, classic liberal, and a classic conservative. He opposes presidential autonomy and judicial activism, and rejects a welfare state or nanny state role for the federal government. Paul says that the Republican Party has lost its commitment to limited government and has instead become the party of big government. He regularly votes against almost all proposals for new government spending, initiatives, or taxes. His unwillingness to vote for proposals not expressly authorized by the Constitution, along with his medical degree, have earned him the nickname “Dr. No.”

Paul supports free trade, states’ rights, tighter border security, gun ownership, unofficial and voluntary school prayer, changing the military “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to only discipline heterosexual or homosexual behavior if it is disruptive, and expanding the free market in health care. He favors allowing workers to opt out of Social Security. He is also an advocate of private property rights for pollution prevention, habeas corpus for political detainees, greater ballot access, and jury nullification rights. Paul supports elimination of most federal government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, the IRS, and the Department of Education.

Paul opposes the Iraq war, the income tax, socialized health care, the federal War on Drugs, federal regulation of marriage, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization, and foreign interventionism, advocating withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations. Paul describes himself as an “unshakable foe of abortion”, but states that its regulation should be handled at the state level and not by the federal government. He has voted against federal funding of joint adoption by unmarried couples, including same-sex adoption.

Seems to me all Paul does is take the “drown the government in the bathtub” attitude of neo-conservative freaks like Grover Norquist and take it to its logical extreme, consequences be damned.

Indeed, I guess Paul does seem pretty revolutionary to the college student who sees only his advocacy for more lenient drug laws and his opposition to the war in Iraq. However, you have to drill down farther to uncover his more batshit crazy positions, including but not limited to:

• permitting all weapons, including assault weapons, for self-defense;
• a return to the gold standard;
• elimination of all taxes, save for a national sales tax if absolutely necessary;
• being a self-described “unshakeable foe of abortion;”
• opposition to affirmative action, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
• repeal of the 17th Amendment, which would return the election of U.S. senators to the state legislatures.

I know Paul has no chance of earning the GOP presidential nomination, let alone winning the White House; indeed, I hope he mounts an independent run once he’s eliminated from the nomination competition. But I think it’s a shame that so many people have been deluded by Paul’s positions on one or two highly visible issues while his true agenda remains largely hidden by rhetoric and flights of ideological fancy.

WSJ: "Is Florida Over?"

Interesting front-pager in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend. If you missed it, the Journal asks rhetorically whether Florida is “over” as a retirement and migration destination … with the reason given being the economic crisis chronicled here previously and created by the Republican leadership in the Legislature.

The Journal quotes snowbirds and transplants who gradually have been driven out of America’s Wang™ by higher property taxes, ridiculous housing costs, spates of hurricanes, and the state’s chronic failure to keep pace with the enormous growth of the last several decades. (See graphic; click for larger version.) Indeed, many of these people are finding it attractive to relocate to southern states other than Florida, which are capitalizing on the trend by offering economic and cultural incentives like retirement tax breaks.

But for Americans on the move, Florida has become a less-appealing destination. Moving company Atlas Van Lines brought 6,700 families into Florida last year and took 8,000 out, the first time it has moved more out than in. The number of people from other states who switch to a Florida driver’s license is down more than 8% from last year. And the state’s crowded schools actually lost students last year, prompting many counties to cut back on their construction schedule and, in some cases, look to close schools. While foreigners continue to arrive at a rate of about 100,000 year, migration from inside the country is slowing.

Florida’s pull has been weakened mostly by rising costs. Though real-estate prices are now falling, the median price for an existing single family home, at $231,900 remains 64% more than five years ago. That kind of price appreciation has increased property taxes, especially for newcomers and for snowbirds, whose primary residence is out of state. Florida is also recovering from a spate of hurricanes that have pushed up already high property-insurance rates. A two-tier tax system hits newcomers and part-time residents harder than long time homeowners.

Florida is also dealing with new competition. Looking to tap the economic boost seniors can give, many of the South’s less-expensive, relatively warm states have been reaching out to seniors and fiddling with their tax laws in the hope of grabbing more retirees. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is pushing to exempt all retirement income from taxation as a way to attract and retain retirees.

“Instead of everyone making the assumption that they’re going to move to Florida, now it’s more of an open playing field,” says Dave Schreiner, national vice president at Pulte Homes’ Del Webb communities.

These trends continue to be ignored by our Republican overlords in Tallahassee, just as I described in my last post. More and more, Florida is becoming an unreasonably expensive and inconvenient option for people of all ages and walks of life when considering migration. As the Republicans continue to decimate our schools, our tax structure, and our overall economy, the state increasingly is at risk of becoming a “poor sister” in comparison with our more progressive-thinking neighbors. Indeed, I shudder a bit when I realize that I’m forced to call Georgia under its neo-Confederate governor Sonny Perdue (R-19th Century) more “progressive-thinking” than Florida … which should show you how far we’ve fallen.

And yet, we keep electing these morons to office. One can only hope that the worm turns in 2008.