My schedule has been pounded by work and family obligations so, I recognize, my blog has fallen into a state of neglect. I honestly don’t know if anything interesting is going on in state level politics. Given the time, I’d wander around the General Assembly’s interim study committee sites and read the minutes to see what they’re up to.
The federal government shut down is the main bit of news that has penetrated my consciousness. I know that Reps. Stutzman and Rokita had very bad days but, due to how their districts are drawn, are at no political risk for their actions and statements with respect to the shutdown. And that probably hints at why our federal government in particular is so dysfunctional – where a lot of politicians have more to fear from primaries than general elections, you won’t get a lot of attempts to govern from the middle; but, rather efforts to appease the more zealous of your constituents.
Yesterday, I had two minor reminders of the shut down – 1) The Southern District of Indiana issued orders staying proceedings in (most) civil cases that involved the United States as parties because the reduced levels of the federal attorneys did not permit effective representation in those cases. Also, I went to look up something from census.gov but that site is down.
Despite my protests about a busy schedule, I did, nonetheless find time to watch some football on Sunday. The Colts appear to have put together a legitimate team. Great game against the Seahawks. The Enver v. Allas (no “D”) game was entertaining as well: 99 combined points!
Also too, Daylight Saving Time should end by this time of year. Extending it into November is silly. I suggest, if we’re going to do it, that DST end at the equinox (September 21 or thereabouts).
On IN-3, there is some very passionate opposition up here. Whether that turns into a real primary challenger or not, I don’t know. I sure as heck don’t expect the Dems to run anyone worth running. IN-3 is treated like a death march by most candidates. So much so that I, a lifelong democrat, are urging my fellow dems to find and vote for a moderate republican instead. Sadly, the “R” next to your name means more than values up here in the NE.
Re: DST – Just drop the damned thing – as in, lets get rid of it entirely, the world over. And let’s also get rid of time zones. Everyone can move to the Swatch Beats system of Internet Time. http://www.swatch.com/zz_en/internettime/
A crazy man ran up to you and roared like a ocelot at the celery bog.
Ah, but that crazy man moved like the wind and had a stride as smooth as an oiled thunderbolt.
The question to me always has been, how do people vote for the likes of Rokita and Stutzman when so much of what they do is clearly against their economic interests? Their districts are full of poor or working class people who would benefit from the ACA, and who certainly don’t benefit from their Club-for-Growth/Koch Brothers-“inspired” positions. So what gives for them, and other, mainly rural, districts full of the Congresspeople who are most adamant behind the strategy that led to this shutdown? Maybe an answer is here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-04/why-republicans-shut-down-the-government.html
“That’s what Greenberg did — putting together separate homogenous groups of white Tea Partiers, white evangelicals and white Republican moderates.
“The moderates are in some respects a breed apart. They share the antipathy Tea Partiers and evangelicals have toward President Barack Obama, but lack the other groups’ default position amid demographic, political and cultural change.”
“That default is essentially abject terror.”
Carlito, in his post, October 6, 2013 at 18:19 +00006, cited a great article with a link to the actual qualitative study you mentioned, which provided further insight into the article you cited. I also suggest an excellent article by Michael Lind, entitled “The Tea Party Radicalism is Misunderstood: Meet the ‘Newest Right'” (http://www.salon.com/2013/10/06/tea_party_radicalism_is_misunderstood_meet_the_newest_right/). The two together were an education for me.
Great piece. Thanks for sharing.
Agreed.
Well maybe they should end day light saving time when the last rec soccer and football game is complete! ;)