quick thoughts

[hubidajubidaba]

On Science Friday this morning, Ira had Lester Brown talking about environmental policy and such(link). He supports the idea of a carbon tax (as opposed to cap-and-trade), saying that we (the US) could reduce income tax and replace that revenue with carbon tax. But say that actually works, and carbon output goes way down. Then the carbon tax

Comments

[ksop]

I don't know what my commute would be like without my weekly dose of Wait Wait. That dig on Huckabee was great. And polishing Romney's hair? Priceless. I prefer to get my science in the 60-second intervals though.

Religious extremists really scare me. The fact that someone who says what Huckabee said can get enough support to win a state primary scares me even more. I'm really good at being open-minded and trying to recognize others' belief systems (hell, it's part of my job), but I get SOOOOOOO fired up about super-Christians trying to put restricted civil liberties into stone AND Christian-ize everyone. It honestly makes my stomach get all squirmy to think about the strength of the extremist force in this country. That being said, I know there's always going to be a debate about that sort of thing, as we'll always have people interpreting the constitution solely by what's written and others basing it on the spirit of the document. But come on!

Have I mentioned "GAH!!!!"? Sorry for the rant :)

[hubidajubidaba]

Ranting is good! Half the reason i am trying to write more about politics, etc. is to get some discussion with friends, the other half being to force myself to stay informed and think things over.

Yeah, the fact that Huckabee is doing relatively well scares and irritates me.

[ksop]

Yeah, you have to be careful with me sometimes. I venture into the slightly-dangerous-quasi-informed voter realm on occasion. But kudos to you for inspiring some dialogue!

[redrocketwestie]

The reality of carbon emissions is that it's a cultural byproduct. And it takes a lot of time and energy to change a culture. So if you instituted a carbon tax, people changed their habits, and eventually, down the line, you had to re-raise income taxes, I'd say that's a success. The government gets the same income (i.e. the taxpayer doesn't have a marked change in cost/standard of living) and yet emissions are reduced. It's borderline con artistry, but in terms of manipulating the populace for the greater good, it sounds like a nice idea

[hubidajubidaba]

politics is the devil indeed.

i suppose you're right about the carbon tax, even better is if maybe we could reduce spending (relatively speaking) to compensate for the eventual (hopeful) loss of revenue through carbon taxing.

i'm not sure how a third party can really be that bad, at the very least it's another voice. the Christian Conservative movement is arguably one of the most brilliant and devious groups out there. very powerful too if they get mobilized like 2000.

[hubidajubidaba]

spot on.

[superflyy]

I knew Huckabee was a religious conservative, but wow. That's really scary. I wonder how many of the people that have caucused/voted for him so far are aware of this type of thing. On the one hand I know he's been trying to get the evangelical vote, so many of them would probably be okay with it. But as Red mentioned, I bet there's an element of pretend moderation--probably bolstered by him seeming like such an affable, charming guy--that's gotten people to support him who would be aghast at that statement. It makes me think a bit of Ron Paul, too, in the whole "abolish the IRS and have a big sales tax" thing (I'm not sure what your thoughts on that are, but it seems pretty out there to me)--though, admittedly, I think that part of his platform has gotten more press coverage than Huckabee's religiosity. Also, thanks for posting all this political stuff recently. I try to follow the news, but you've had all sorts of things I haven't encountered.

[hubidajubidaba]

i guess if his supporters didn't realize before, they know it now. although it does seem like the quote hasn't been publicized as much as it probably should be. and yeah, most of his supporters are probably right behind it anyway.

i'm not really a fan of Ron Paul in general, but his tax idea is interesting if not really novel. i don't really buy it though, it has so much potential to disproportionately affect lower income people depending on how it's structured...not that the current system is totally fair. economics is possibly my weakest area of understanding though. i think i got like a C+ from Evans in macro, hah.

Thanks though, posting has helped me a lot in terms of digesting what's going on. I'm considering moving these posts to a different venue i.e. not just public entries on my normally friends-only LJ, but who knows who would actually read it if it didn't just show up on their friends page :)

[muddbstrd]

Luckily, the President has zero power when it comes to making amendments to the Constitution. Therefore, all of what he's saying is a bag of hot air. Part of me wonders if that's deliberate. He's said something that he has no power to actually do, so it gets him the following of the religious right (which until Huckabee came along had no real candidate to rally behind). Chances are that, at least within the Republican primary, the people that would be scared off by such a comment wouldn't have been behind a minister as a candidate to begin with

[hubidajubidaba]

Unfortunately i wouldn't say zero power...constitutionally speaking sure, but we have certainly learned the hard way how presidents can gain undue influence. Even shit like Supreme Court appointments that every prez salivates over, the rulings may not be constitutional amendments but they can still go a long way. And i totally agree that he can't honestly believe he can change the constitution like that- just because several states are banning gay marriage doesn't mean you can get away with that bullshit nationwide. Plus things like Roe v. Wade, which is huge right now with the (terrible but very clever) attempt to get fertilized eggs defined as people- worrisome since the Supreme Court has been far more amenable to "chipping away" at Roe v. Wade rather than outright overturn such a huge precedent case. I feel like that was kind of a non-sequitur...i've been doing cell culture pretty much non stop for the last 4.5 hours and i'm fried.

[bloodyaussie]

When does a fertilised egg become a person, according to Roe v. Wade and/or Evan? (Just curious.)

[hubidajubidaba]

i'm trying to take my time answering this question. sorry for taking so much :)