Prometheus 6   

Manual trackbacks

Terry at The Storm on the Democratic party and young Black folks
Rayne at Rayne Today, partly because she's as much of a walking extension of the United Nations as my daughter is, is looking for common ground.
S-Train at The S-Train Canvass gets honest about his feelings for America, and his feelings about those who doubt them. And you should be glad he talked to his grandmother instead of me.

And here's a track-forward.

I'll be reading some stuff that came up in connection with a post by Henry Farell at Crooked Timber:

This is right in line with what I've been thinking about,and trying to do here.

The really cool thing is Kieran Healy continued the theme on his blog and Crooked Timber.

Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice
Posted by Kieran



And in the comments, one Chirag Kasbekar linked to a tremendous resource on this kind of stuff.

You think I get full of myself over mathematical metaphors? Ha. Prepare to get the shit bored out of you!

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 10:28:40 PM |

Hard work

I've said I would explain why it's so difficult to engage young Black folks in the political process, and I didn't realize when I made that promise how difficult it would be.

What makes it difficult is the fact that I'm aware of how varied the readership is here. I don't have the numbers of a Volokh or Demosthenes or Calpundit, much less a Kos or Atrios. But there's enough of you, and if there's any stupid people among you they've all been silent. This means that all of you will be capable of coming to some understanding of whatever I may write.

Yet all of you fall in your own individual spot on the political compass. And the two axises, as we saw the other day, are only two of a multiplicity of tendencies and traits that will actively shape what I say into what you understand. And the topics I've been most serious about…race and race relations, civil and human rights, the debt owned to and by society…are fractious in the extreme because of the way the topics were created by society. We are all shaped at least in part by these things because our society is shaped by them and we, in turn by the society.

There's no escaping it. As intelligent as you all are, society presents possibilities that must be examined through the lens of race, insubstantial though it be.

At any rate, it's hard, explaining this stuff. You'd think it wouldn't need explaining, as deep in it as we all are.

Sometimes I get full of myself, feeling I can show the roots of what I've seen. I just wiped out a considerable amount of work because it was just too much…how's using analytical geometry to build a metaphor for non-willful ignorance?

It's got to be said simpler than that.

Will you take my word that, because we have a different balance of forces working on us, most Black people don't see politics as applicable to the most important issues in their lives?

How about because humans as social animals need, on a biological level, to belong to an in-group? And that since it's obvious we don't belong to the mainstream in-group, we group among ourselves…and that the mainstream calling this self-segregation not only misses the point but amounts to an attack on our well-being?

Suppose I told you many Black people feel Black Republicans and Black Democrats represent Democrats and Republicans instead of Black folks… that "Black" is an adjective to them both (if you're really down, Black is a noun)? Would that help you understand the problem both parties have?

Would you believe me if I told you that much of what is seen as anger is just the natural energy of growth that has been restrained by circumstances, compressed like a spring until it rebounds irresistibly?

When we read in the news how Black people have this preference and that unfair advantage one day, and how white studies is just an effort to make white people feel guilty and we should just concentrate on what we have in common, can you understand how hypocritical that sounds? And when the DLC says they must concentrate on the needs and desires of white people or all is lost, what impact do you think that has? Because most Black people have the same damn fifth grade reading skills that most white people have, and most of us get the same news white people do. Just sit around a Black barber shop for a day, or play chess in the park with a brother that just got out of jail, you'll see (but that chess game will cost you ten bucks…).

And if a Black person tells you that democracy in this country means accepting that 13 men playing against 65-70 men is a level playing field, how are you going to argue against his point?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 08:35:46 PM |

Rumsfeld's people are just dangerous

I was gathering things to write the post about Democratic problems in inspiring young Black folks to get involved in the political process. I ran across this, which is just…well, read it.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 05:01:48 PM |

No, she did not

bc at thoughts on the eve of the apocalypse pointed out what may be the most shameful statement Ms. Rice, a survivor of the Birmingham church bombing, could have made.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 03:44:06 PM |

Movable Type

MT is a pretty cool toy, as long as you don't have to futz around in the code. Significant customization of appearance can be done if you know CSS. There's some minimal additional functionality I want, and I'm hoping as long as I can follow directions with a text editor I won't have to get too Perl-ish.

I know, but last I looked Perl was like C used to be… people do things is weird-ass ways, showing out to show off, and it's just not necessary. It's the culture around the language, and that has influenced the language itself.

Oh, well. Maybe when I'm done with this I'll peek under the MT hood, see what's kickin'.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 10:25:49 AM |

Some things just cry out for a series of posts

The Political metadimensions and Carrot and stick posts were connected. Later today I'll be writing another connected post, on why young Black folks don't connect with the DNC's efforts to engage them. I'm not talking about the investment banker types, I'm talking about ya boys on da block.

In the meantime, here's a couple few interesting reads on voting. Do NOT expect a bunch of P6 opinion clones (like you ever seen one…).

blunted on reality: Risking a Democratic/Black Dichotomy?
The S-Train Canvass: The Libertarian Left???
Dead Ends: In discussing black passivism

Vision Circle: DLC and the Black Vote
Poll Finds Democrats Lack Crucial Support to Beat Bush
Party Must Strongly Reposition Itself to Regain White Male Voters' Support, DLC Advised

Cobb: Go with the party sometimes
The Volokh Conspiracy: Why I'm a party line voter
The Volokh Conspiracy: A strategic departure from strategic party-line voting

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 10:10:31 AM |

Manual Trackback

Jason of Negro Please writes an open letter (on a blog with a bangin' template).

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/9/2003 06:32:30 AM |

This is going to take a while

So I get this STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL message:

"COLLEAGUE AND LEARNED FRIEND," forsooth. Ah, what to do...

First, check whois.net to find the abuse coordinator's address for the Reply-To address in the header, [email protected]. Let lawyer.com know they've got a scammer using their address by forwarding the full message, with headers intact. This way they can trace it back via the Message ID fields and take whatever action they deem appropriate. Ignore the From address, which is based in Honk Kong, since that's as good as free text.

However, the SMTP servers assign IP addresses in the header. So though the Received: domain name can be (and is) spoofed, the IP can be trusted. In this case, (per ARIN) the address range has been assigned to the RIPE NCC region. And I hop on over to their whois database and find:


So my COLLEAGUE is in Mclean, VA, using an IP address range belonging to ATT Israel, and (it would seem) specifically assigned to Gilat Satcom:


Even the contact phone numbers are in the range for Gilat Satcom.

Not everyone is so easily played, you little shit.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:03:04 PM |

Carrot and stick

This very interesting article presents a problem that I see little to no discussion of. And it's not the problem you're thinking about.

The disengagement of young Americans in general and young Black folks in particular from the political process gets a lot of airing. The problem I want to discuss is why the Black vote is taken for granted by both parties and what can be done about it.



Yes. Exactly. And you know why? It's because you aren't registering on the activist axis of the political compass.



In other words, Blacks are all carrot and no stick. We're either voting for a candidate we think will benefit us or staying at home because from our perspective there's literally no difference between the two (see yesterday's Political metadimensions on how it can be seen as such). Meanwhile, younger Black party member-types think their threatened lack of participation makes them all stick and no carrot…an assumption that's just flat wrong. Democrats benefit from greater Black participation, yes. And it would seriously make a difference in a tight race. But by not participating you don't benefit their opposition you merely remove the need to consider you at all. If Republicans don't make a play for your vote then Democrats won't either because it simplifies the political calculus. You are neither carrot nor stick.



This is too passive a position to take. You let events determine your power rather than creating it yourself.

The only time Democrats or Republicans "have to come and get you" is when they feel the need, which decision will be based on their viewpoint, not ours. From that perspective, we have all the power of a sledgehammer…others bring great force to bear by wielding us as a tool. We do not own that force if it only comes to bear on another's need.

To understand how to fix that, we must understand what it means to own something. Ownership is not the right to use something, it is the right to deny use of it to others while using it yourself.

Think about that carefully.

We can not use that force haphazardly, either. Those who suggest that voting Republican will gain us leverage are right, but timing is critical. Right now Republican extremists rule and supporting them is foolish because their policies will ultimately damage all Americans. We just catch it in the neck first, is all.

Here's a metaphor for the choice between voting Democrat, Republican, or not at all. Let's say you're in a locked room that's empty save for a sword, and a filthy, excrement-encrusted towel. You know the door will be unlocked sooner or later, at least for a time. And you accidentally cut yourself deeply on the sword. Do you
a - bind the wound with the filthy towel? (vote Democrat)
b - plug the wound with the edge of the sword? - (vote Republican)
c - bleed to death? (don't vote at all)

No brainer.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 02:29:08 PM |

Admitting "the" Latino community doesn't exist

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 11:39:39 AM |

Sad to say, but this is reasonable

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 11:22:08 AM |

That's fair

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 08:48:21 AM |

Editorial run

An Important Human Rights Tool
Despite pressure from the Bush administration, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals must stand by our commitment to worldwide human rights and allow the case involving Myanmar villagers now before it to go forward.

Salt of the Earth
By PAUL KRUGMAN
On environmental issues from ozone to methyl bromide, America's ruling party is pursuing a strategy of denial and deception.

Send In the Marines
By KENNETH L. CAIN
Counting on regional forces to bring peace to Liberia without American participation is a mistake likely to have tragic consequences.
[p6: this one has some seriously ugly stuff in it]

Cartoons
Pat Oliphant on palace intrigues.
Drew Sheneman on uneven development in bodybuilders.
David Horsey on the repercussions of left coast politics.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 07:22:59 AM |

The White Bronco effect

re: a certain basketball player.

If he's guilty, burn him. But GHOD, wait until you know he's guilty, okay?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:57:21 AM |

Fucking spare me

"[D]id not have the time or capability to follow through" means they didn't have the weapons, asshole.

Don't believe anything these shitheads say unless they present proof, okay?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:54:46 AM |

Ohhhhh… It all makes sense now

Heavens, yes!

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:49:18 AM |

Duh!

Ya think?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:45:11 AM |

Every scientist in the country should sign onto this report

Of course if they did they could kiss their federal funding goodbye.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:42:29 AM |

Judicial freedom goes the way of citizen's freedom

This will have several chilling effects. Drug law is stupid because drug abuse is a health problem more than a legal one. Many states are finding the current budget crisis, also brought on by stupid federal policy, is making them look at drug treatment more favorably…it's much cheaper to treat an user than to imprison one. This policy will likely scare most judges into jailing them, thereby keeping those unnecessary expenditures in state budgets.

This whole Ashcroft thing gives me the creeps more and more each day. Someone, I forget who, recently said that we need to keep some perspective about him, because on his worst day he's not the Hitler people are claiming.

Well, Hitler wasn't Hitler his first year or so in office.

Every Bush appointee, including Bush himself (yes, he's a Bush appointee too), claimed centrist intent and demonstrated more and more extremist behavior as time passed. I have no reason to expect Ashcroft to check his own movement in the same direction.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 06:38:47 AM |

Update

My father's problem has been identified. He developed an infection where the shunt they connect him to the dialysis unit was inserted. The shunt has been removed (it was apparently overdue anyway), infection is being treated, his temperature is normal. He'll still be hospitalized a few more days, but it looks like the crisis has passed.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 05:21:55 AM |

You heard it here first

Al Gore will continue his punditry. None of the nine candidates will secure enough support to win the Democratic nomination. Al Gore will be drafted, and Gen. Clark will be drafted as his running mate. Most of the nine will say they only ran because Gore didn't and the rest will endorse him heartily.

If they win they'll offer Powell the Secretary of State position again. Or maybe Rummy's spot since by they the two departments will have functionally merged.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 01:35:08 AM |

Why should I believe him THIS time?

"No need to test." We hae proof there was no need to invade Iraq.

I remember when Bush kept declaring he had no invasion plans on his desk. It was techincally true…they were in his top desk drawer.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 01:10:24 AM |

Meet my friend devorah major

She's the second one listed. Although she doesn't capitalize her name.

I gave her those really cool earrings, btw.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/8/2003 12:48:08 AM |

From Johannesburg or Brooklyn?

It is noble but foolish to expect race to fade in significance only ten years after the official end of apartheid in South Africa. It's as thoroughly entwined in the culture, as fundamental a cornerstone of the economy, as it ever was in the USofA. We're still struggling with it almost 40 years after the official end of Jim Crow.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 09:07:41 PM |

The issue isn't settled yet

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 08:44:19 PM |

Okay, THIS is news

I honestly don't remember this EVER having been done for refugees from an African nation.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 08:39:26 PM |

First steps, at last

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 08:37:00 PM |

Expanding the coalition of the billingwilling

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 08:32:29 PM |

Exactly what has been put on hold

Up until this point P6 has been a series of experiments. By now I think I've gotten the rhythm of what I want to do. I started out with the intention of clearly representing a Black partisan position. In order to do this I've found I must deal in both civil rights and human rights. I have to touch on a lot of things that are important to Black Americans but only indirectly affect our situation in the USofA…raising consciousness of issues native to Africa is a prime example of this. I need to promote a progressive political viewpoint, making it rational as possible even to those who don't agree with it. And I have to try to bring attention to those aspects of the neocon agenda that I can.

There's been a pattern to my posts by which I try to accomplish these goals. I do news clippings, making an honest attempt to honor fair use rules and still give an honest representation of the content of any article. I've decided not to link to the stories that EVERYone will be presenting unless

1. It's so large that it CAN'T be ignored
2. My perspective is significantly different from the prevailing perspective

I scan a significant portion of my blogroll daily and pass along links to

1. Major stories I personally skip
2. Major stories I would have missed entirely
3. Opinion pieces that impress me

I try to get in at least one fairly major original piece of my own per day. This is my content inclusion pattern; the content style is just Earl…I think surprises like Black English Month make folks curious enough to come back. Plus I need to have some fun with this once in a while.

Up until now my marketing efforts have been experimental too. Considering how little effort I've put into it I've been fairly successful, I think.

It appears my next move will be to Moveable Type. My current setup has limitations due to fate and time's conspiracy to make me, for the second time in my life, a Broke-Ass-Negro. John Constantine has offered to hold that conspiracy in abeyance until I can cancel its effects entirely. So I'll be fooling around, learning what can be done in short order, and in the near future Prometheus 6 will be moving to Moveable Type and a new address. I'll gain an RSS feed and trackbacks, probably categories and a couple of random coolnesses like blogroll categories and recent comments added to the sidebar.

Perl. ugh

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 08:10:55 PM |

My father has just been hospitalized. I knew my hands would be full today.

Everything is on hold.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/7/2003 11:44:12 AM |

Last entry of the night

Demosthenes has a vision that I think is dead on:

I think he's right because we've already seen calls for Democrats to stop pretending the Conservative extremists are ever going to engage in honorable tactics. I know, because when I see them I link to them and cheer them on.

But you know, Demosthenes having laid it out like that makes me think. It does NOT give me pause. But it makes me think about the aftermath of all this. It could be so ugly that the fact that we are justified in reacting as though it's a knife fight may not be much consolation.

Progressives must stand for progressive principles. Progressives can no longer simply accept the lies and distortions. But progressives must focus their anger on those that invoked it. We can't be ripping up Republicans in general, the citizens on the ground. We can go after their leaders and operatives. But somewhere an honest discussion about just what we need and want the government to provide, what it costs and how it can be paid for must be had, and that's the last thing these extremists want. A narrative must be created that shows the interests of the average human that votes Republican is not being well served by the Republican party. And that narrative, which will simply be the truth, must get play somehow, be it in big media or a whisper campaign initiated on the net.

The nation needs a big dose of reality, and then it needs to set some priorities. It may be too late to get it all in before the next Presidential election. But maybe we can get in enough to make people realize we need to finish the discussion. And if we do, the current regime is doomed.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 10:45:57 PM |

Political metadimensions

I actually think about the discussions I have here and at other sites. Recently I've had some particularly rich food for thought. I'll have a discussion with Zenpundit, a libertarian, which will be short because we tend to converge on some point that allows us to see each other's position as rational. I've mentioned that as a Black partisan I'll sometimes find myself coincidentally in common cause with anti-white forces…except of course it's not entirely coincidental because similar forces shaped each of our opinions. It's just that we give things different weights so that one of us sees it necessary to drive white people away from Black folks, another will see the need to drive Black folks away from white people, a third will see the need to draw Black folks together in common cause without regard to the movement of the surrounding culture while one more person is content within herself with the knowledge and identity she's accrued. There's the conservative Cobb, who on certain levels is far more revolutionary than I choose to be yet posts a list of Old School core values that I agreed with so strongly (yet not without exception!) I immediately elevated it to a post.

I find it oddly appropriate that, as I write this, it's raining yet because the cloud cover isn't total the sun outside my window is also strong and direct.

Some of you may be aware of The Political Compass, an online test that helps sort out political persuasions with a bit more subtlety than the simple left/right dichotomy we're accustomed to applying. Briefly, it adds an authoritarian/libertarian dimension to the single left/right dimension. It would be useful for you to take the test. Actually, it would also be useful for you to be familiar with Flatland but you pretty much have all that's needed to follow me just by understanding there's more than one measure of one's activist leanings.

The fact is, one's activism is a measure one would lay (stand?) at a right angle to the economic/social axis defined by The Political Compass. A person who absolutely resists changes to the status quo may rate as highly on the activist axis as the most Marxist revolutionary. There's probably not too many people who would agree with me about this, but consider this.

This image was lifted from the Political Compass site and modified a bit for size. It represents where various public figures would fall on their two dimensional mapping based on their public speech.

What I'd like you to do is eliminate the left/right axis in your mind. Just slide all the little dots left or right until they're directly on top of the vertical authoritarian/libertarian axis.

Isn't it interesting that Yassir Arifat and Ariel Sharon have something in common now? Someone to whom authoritarianism is the single important issue…and those people exist…would find both men near equally appealing or repellant. However, both are distinct from, say, Nelson Mandella. However, collapse the authoritarian/libertarian axis instead and Arafat and Sharon remain totally distinct. However Arafat now shares a position with The Dalai Lama.

Remember this. When you disregard or are unaware of one or another axis, men as disparate in position as Ariel Sharon and Yassir Arafat appear the same. When you switch or expand your reference, people who appeared to share a position become distinct.

I think among Black folks there's an axis that represents identification with the/a Black community/communities. The multiple slashes in that last sentance indicate I see an axis…well, a polarity actually…that represents the perception of whether there is a single or multiple communities of Black folks. This means there's a political mapping in the Black communities that is every bit as complex as the [authoritarian/libertarian]/[left/right] mapping we've previously discussed…a mapping that can appear as a single point to those who are unaware of or disregard it. And it's a framework that explains how a Cobb and I can declare ourselves to be on opposing ends of an economic spectrum yet be in such close agreement on so many issues. It's because when I go to his blog I'm not analyzing [authoritarian/libertarian]/[left/right] positioning. I'm analyzing [identity/non-identity]/[single community/multiple community] mappings in addition to other axises (which is why familiarity with Flatland is useful…we rapidly exceed the number of dimensions that are directly perceivable and hence visualizable) on which we generally agree.

Relativity of perception being what it is, the [authoritarian/libertarian]/[left/right] mapping can appear as a single point to some in the Black communities as well.

Understanding this is of major assistance in relating my positions to that of others. It also helps in negotiations. Seeing where, why and to what degree we agree or disagree helps me understand how to compromise if that is what is being sought…and how to respond if it isn't.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 06:40:15 PM |

Line 'em up

This deserved a title.

Atrios, Paul Musgrave and Orcinus comment on a post at The Corner that feels we should keep the lynching of Black folks post-Civil War in perspective.

Since my great-grandfather was lynched and my grandfather had to watch so he could cut him down from the tree afterward, you'll understand my opinion of the position espoused by The Corner.

Thak you to the three bloggers who responded so well. Reading your posts prevented me from filling my blog with obscene and blasphemous invective.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 03:08:57 PM |

Tomorrow's schedule

There's pretty much no point in looking for updates here tomorrow. My mom's going for cataract surgery and I'm traveling with her, and it's dialysis day for my father. Hands are likely to be pretty full.

Then again, there have been other times I've said I wasn't posting much. Just don't get mad at me if it's for real this time.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 12:53:26 PM |

Dog of Flanders and I have gone off on a tangent in the comments to Chords I. I had originally thought to copy and comment on his last statement in that thread, but that was because I am familiar with the whole of it. Looking at it through fresh eyes, I've decided it would be useful to raise the whole comment thread from the original point where it departed from the subject of the post it is attached to.

This isn't a post per se. It's more an extension of the comment thread, and an invitation for others to join in.

Dog of Flanders (DoF)

Prometheus 6 (P6)


DoF


P6


DoF


I'm going to quickly dismiss a couple of point because we're at the point where a single conversation becomes several overlapping conversations that will each obscure the others.

I haven't classed overall tax reduction as Corporate welfare. I've juxtaposed it against the social programs you've said are inefficient.

The discrepancy you mention doesn't exist either, or rather it is only apparent when you look at things overly specifically. The theme is, why reward inefficient corporations or punish efficient ones? Increased taxes are applied across the board, yes. But why should society reward corporations that don't provide pretty much the only benefit corporations can provide society?

There is no denial that more efficient corporations can do as you say. There is an observation that they have never done so, because the purpose of a corporation is to maximize the return on investments. It is counter to the entire purpose of corporate existance to do as you suggest. The purpose of the American government, on the other hand is to serve its citizens…health, welfare and the pursuit of happiness and all that.

I'm seriously not even going to address your impression of a "raising taxes good, lowering taxes bad" attitude.

What I want to do is ask if you feel it's more important for the government to serve people or corporations? This is a serious question. I get the sense that you'd like to see more corporate support under the assumption that American citizens across the board will ultimately benefit enough to make it worthwhile. If this is your position I take strong exception to it; the track record so far simply doesn't support it.

It's a good theory, but it has been applied in abstract…continually seeking to help corporations become more profitable without checking to see what the impact of those efforts have been on human beings. I'd like to see a little more context applied. No, a lot more.

LATER: Dog of Flanders expands on his position in his house.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 11:58:04 AM |

The sound of silence

You don't really need my witty headlines, do you?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:54:12 AM |

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:52:43 AM |

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:51:53 AM |

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:49:11 AM |

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:44:28 AM |

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:36:16 AM |

Racism and the heartland reparations drive

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:34:47 AM |

Hispanics in U.S. Report Optimism

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:24:30 AM |

Blacks Counsel Caution on Liberia

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/6/2003 09:21:50 AM |

Prometheii

Down at the bottom of the page, where it doesn't interfere with the clean page design, is the little BlogMatrix buttone which indicates I've let them do the scut work of providing an RSS feed for this site. Hey, if it's good enough for Crooked Timber, it's good enough for the kid.

Now, the thing is, I'm not using Blogger Pro so I'm not sure if I get to use the title field in the latest version of Blogger. So at this point the title is the whole entry which kinda defeats the purpose, I'd think. I need to look into this. Meanwhile, you get to see how many entries I've posted anyway.

Interestingly enough, in the process of setting it up they tell you to enter part of your blog's name and I entered "prometheus" and came up with three Prometheii, from parallel universes I guess. Two, including the already blogrolled PrometheusSpeaks are progressive political bloggers, though Prometheus Unleashed does movies and digital video stuff too. The third, a LiveJournal blog named Within This Shell, is the personal blog of a young man who's deeply into science fiction, Power Rangers, anime and such. He also runs The Prometheus Realm Portal which, because I am also into science fiction and anime (skip Power Rangers but you can get hurt trying to stand between me and the TV when Yu-gi-oh! is on) actually looks to have a cool selection of stuff to play with.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 10:54:08 PM |

A singular problem

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 10:58:15 AM |

Man, I love my commenters, part 2

Dog of Flanders and I are having a bit of a tiff in the comments to Chords I, which is about to scroll into the bit bucket. I don't think either of us are done, though. So I'm leaving it alone for today and elevating the discussion to the front page tomorrow so we have another three days to have at it. Check the comments today because I'm only going to elevate his last comment rather than the whole thread.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 08:51:44 AM |

Man, I love my commenters

Man, I love my commenters, part 1

Cobb commented on my distinction between Black Conservatives© and conservative Black people by bringing his own definition. I just jazzed it up typographically.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 08:42:26 AM |

Editorial Run

White Collar Blues
Government and the rich win and educated workers lose when jobs go offshore
By David Friedman, David Friedman, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

News that major U.S. technology companies, among them IBM, plan to export thousands of high-skill jobs overseas indicates that worrisome trends in the U.S. economy will probably strengthen. Optimists contend that such "workforce flexibility" guarantees that something new — the Internet, biotechnology — will turn up to create similar high-paying jobs and carry the economy forward. But rather than triggering real economic development, moving white-collar jobs offshore underscores how reliant the U.S. economy has become on inflating high-end wealth and paper assets to compensate for large-scale job losses. If this pattern holds, the next boom may quickly mutate into another unsustainable bubble, further limiting America's industrial options.

America's habit of revenge
(By James Carroll)

''ALTHOUGH THE WAR did not make any immediate demands on me physically, while it lasted it put a complete stop to my artistic activity because it forced me into an agonizing reappraisal of my fundamental assumptions.'' These words were spoken by Thomas Mann in his Nobel laureate speech in 1929, a reflection of the broad psychological rupture inflicted on the European mind by World War I. But just as war can lead to the ''reappraisal of fundamental assumptions,'' it can do the opposite, reinforcing assumptions to the point of shutting down debate. That seems a more American story.

Everything Is Political
By PAUL KRUGMAN
The erosion of the Treasury's intellectual integrity is exemplified by its denial and deception on the subject of tax cuts.

Cartoons


Tom Toles (you know, I'm getting sick of him being on point every day) on critical research by Big Pharma.
Steve Sack on the engine that drives the US Economy.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 08:24:23 AM |

"The total ass-ness of wiki"

I will never get over that line.

Anyway, seems the renaming of TheAPIThatWouldHaveBeenFormerlyKnownAsEcho has hit a snag, and it's related to…well, see the title.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 08:02:08 AM |

I'll believe it when I see it

And even then Ill probably wake up and snap out of it.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 07:46:35 AM |

At last, at last, at last!

In honor of the American Constitution Society, I won't call Joe Lieberman an emergency Republican for a week.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 07:41:03 AM |

Adding water to the soap of the housing bubble

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 07:31:15 AM |

First step toward The Matrix

I do not make this stuff up.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 07:28:32 AM |

Liberal Media coverage of pending Medicaid drug benefit bill

The Investor's Business Daily shows its liberal bias.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 06:50:41 AM |

Lies, damned lies and statistics

A couple of guys that work for The Heritage Foundation wrote this for the Washington Post:

I'm prepared to agree with this as far as thsi quote goes. Real jobs are always better than welfare. Most welfare recipients would prefer it. The question is, where are these real jobs coming from? We just had a highly touted drop in the unemployment rate. Less highly touted is the fact that the number of jobs fell during the period under discussion. This rather counter-intuitive result means that the labor pool shrunk faster than the job pool.

I think if the mortality rate increased enough to account for this we'd have heard about it. Having heard no such thing, it's safe to assume the people represented by the difference between the current and previous numbers are still around and still not working.

Of course that reduction in the size of the job pool is an artifact of statistics. We know this so well we may not think about it, but this administraton…in fact, every administration…should be held accountable for the real numbers because people don't stop being hungry or needing to pay bills because they've been unemployed so long the bean counters don't want to count them anymore.

I, of course, am merely ranting. MB at Wampum does better than that. She hoists them with their own petard.



Don't forget to scroll up a post and look at the graph detailing what she calls "real" unemployment: official unemployed, part-timers, and those "not in labor force". Nationally, that worked out to 12.3%. And given that unemployment in the Black communities runs at a fairly consistent twice the mainstream rate (which rate actually includes Black folks so it gets a little twisted thinking it through) a fair estimate would put roughly one in four Black folks in this condition.


Real Jobs

Our Heritage Foundation friends continue:



Now, if the effort to employ welfare recipients was less than perfect back when there was a far greater number of jobs available, reason suggests that the economy needs more real jobs to maintain the improved state, much less extend it to others. This thought is supported by the very study referenced in this Washington Post editorial.



Take a good look at the items I've emphasized. Income supplements to bring the participants up above the poverty level. Health care and child care. Community service jobs for 30 percent of the participants…jobs that served the community, creating these jobs would not be a selfless gesture.

Look at the benefits they gained. Not a major increase in creature comforts but better knowledge of the programs that enabled them to make ends meet…being above the poverty level does not mean you can afford to meet your needs without assistance—the very kinds of assistance that are at risk at the hands of the current administration and its congressional allies. They made greater use of supervised after school care, which resulted in better social behavior among their children and increased educational skills. And the reduced stress these changes brought about improved the parents health. All major benefits. None of which the families could bring about by their own agency. All the results of utilizing programs the support of which are simply not on the Compassionate Conservative© agenda. Which means it is incredibly hypocritical for the Heritage Foundation to spin this report in support of its agenda…



…and that is why it's no surprise they would continue with this disingenuous accusation.

Truth and Consequences

If real jobs were available, almost everyone would prefer them. But with jobs becoming the chief American export, with people being moved from work to unemployment to subemployment it almost seems like this administration and its allies are trying to drive everyone earning less than $30,000 per year into extinction.

Rather than accept the Heritage Foundation's characterization of its political opposition's motives, I suggest visiting The Coalition on Human Needs. And equally important is to get a look at the reality of welfare, both socially and monetarily. The American Psychological Association tells us in its report Making 'Welfare to Work' Really Work:



So what, exactly, is the problem? Why exactly is the administration and its allies so focused on a "problem" that barely impacts the size and budget expenditure of federal government?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/5/2003 03:36:47 AM |

But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better if race were not a factor.
But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better for Neanderthals to learn to respect women as fellow humans.
But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better if businesses became such good citizens that regulation became unnecessary.
But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better if everyone who wants to work has a job.
But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better to make all schools safe for embattled gay children.
But what do you do in the meantime?

Yes, it would be better to judge only on merit.
But what do you do in the meantime?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 05:46:13 PM |

Ain't this some shyt?

From karmalised

I think we should be clear the "embarrassing stories" didn't come out of Niger. They came out of London and Washington, D.C.

And I repeat, Niger is totally justified in seeking a retraction when the USofA has

1. Claimed the right to overthrow any government that it feels supports terrorists
2. Accused Iraq of being a source of terrorism and nuclear threat
3. Claimed Iraq was seeking nuclear material from Niger
4. Been forced to release documents that showed Iraq's resources were targeted for redistribution long before 9/11
5. Will need nuclear material, which Niger has, to pursue its own restarted nuclear weapons development programs
6. Has declared the next time they overthrow a government it will go much smoother

Niger has to be nervous as hell. I know I would be.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 05:32:49 PM |

RUN! RUN!

The editor at Blah3.com has gotten engaged.

And immediately below that announcement (yes, you must see him brag before getting to the point of this post) is a story about The American Action Market, which is much like the Terrorism Market Poindexter tried to set up, but focusing on a much surer thing than a terrorist attack—American military action.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 04:12:18 PM |

Ongoing detail

Anyone with a specific interest in the Corporate Influence on Government ought to be reading Arms and The Man. It provides ongoing commentary on exactly which corporations are making money from the war in Iraq and its aftermath.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 04:04:56 PM |

Sometimes you have to link to the big dogs

Well, I could lie… anyway, Daily Kos gave up this interesting tidbit:

If this happened, then Rumsfeld will finally have achieved the merger of the Department of AttackDefense and the State Department he's been working for all this time. Just think of how our allies will react to that.

Though Kos says



I'm more in agreement with the best comment I've read on the subject:

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 01:04:31 PM |

Good luck, dawg

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 10:38:49 AM |

Aw, HELL naw

I have no definitive source for this. But I believe it

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 10:35:11 AM |

I forgot to note the blog I stole this from. I'll identify it later though.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 10:31:09 AM |

Please?

Can I skip the news this morning? Not like there's anything even more perverse than normal; I actually don't know, having not read it yet. I just got other stuff working I'd rather deal with at the moment.

UPDATE: Yes, there is something more perverse than normal.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 10:23:59 AM |

Absolute Idealists

Kieran at Crooked Timber gives another example of how Conservatives© fit the definition below by taking a shot at what has become the easiest target in all BlogNet.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 10:22:11 AM |

BTW

I'll not be posting anything like "Omniscience, Omnipotence and Free Will" on P6. Just in case it worried you.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 09:36:44 AM |

Not trying to start nothing, but…

I'm wondering how many progressives blogroll the likes of Instapundit and Andrew Sullivan, and why.

Hm. Time to get back to the news, looks like.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 09:00:07 AM |

The critical question this raises

What the hell is John Ashcroft to be ruling anything out OR in? He's the goddam Attorney General. He should be enforcing laws. Period. He shouldn't even have an opinion of note.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 03:42:56 AM |

Another day

"Chord I" and "Been a busy weekend" have stirred up a little curiosity about my definitions.

Terry from The Storm asked in the comments:

I'm talking about the difference between an adjective and a noun. Actually an adjective and a brand name. A "Black Conservative", always fully capitalized, is a sub-species of "Conservatives", who curiously enough can be seen by observing those in power not to conserve a damn thing. The "Conservative" brand came into its final form around the time of Gingrich and his "Conservative Revolution."

A "Conservative" holds a specific and well-known set of political, economic and cultural positions. They also tend to deny the impact that events have on the expression of a given theory…they think reality must yield to the purest expression of their theories possible. A "Conservative" is, on a fundamental level, an absolute idealist. "Libertarians" are like "Conservatives" in this regard. It's probably the result of becoming a brand name.

A "Black Conservative" is a "Conservative" who "happens to be black." To a "Black Conservative," Black is an adjective, Conservative is a noun.

A conservative Black person is a Black person who holds the political, economic and cultural positions traditionally held in the Black community. Education is primary, extended family is supported, acceptance of hard work as the means to achieve whatever is achievable (which last has unfortunate side effects if one believes nothing more can be achieved for whatever reason).

To a conservative Black person, conservative is an adjective, Black person is a noun phrase.

---

In that discussion with Cobb I said:


to which he just responded:



Oh, we'll have issues, but I usually do with folks who think. That's fine, though. Let me know what you think of the above.

I think in a sane world I'd be a centrist at "best". In discussion I have to work with words as commonly understood and the neocons have shifted the center to the degree that the far right has fallen off the edge of the world and the right lives where "there be monsters."

As things stand, I'm progressive as hell by common definition. That's fine... it lets me know who to approach and how to begin dealing rather than having any impact at all on what I choose to say.

---

And Mark, the Zenpundit, again in the comments:



My reply:

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/4/2003 03:34:58 AM |

Been a busy weekend

After a brief discussion with Cobb over the way he's shamed me into organizing my sidebar a little better, I now have a Libertarian section and a Conservative section. Guess where Cobb goes (no peeking).

Yup. Conservative.

The only reason this doesn't horrify me is there's a significant difference between a conservative Black person and a Black Conservative©. Another discussion for another day.

And you need to check out nightcrawler, a kind of last-but-not-least addition to the blogroll. Donald's blog is just starting up, and I have to admit to being surprised by some of what I've read:

Plus he does they sketchy cartoon things, and you KNOW how I get about cartoons. Scroll to the bottom and if you don't see Pat Robertson talks to God who appears in the form of Issac Hayes, come back here to the link tto his archive.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 11:16:32 PM |

Chords II

When source as varied as Silt…

And Cowboy Kahlil…



And The Black Commentator…



…find it necessary to reflect on the part Southern Culture's clinging to a romanticized notion of a racialized past plays in the harshness and divisiveness of the current social and political debate, it may be time for us all to look at it.

In fact, it's past time.

How much further along the path to full reconciliation would we be if the South hadn't fought against it tooth and nail? Even if they just took the "equal" part of "seperate but equal" seriously. After all, every ethnic group that has come to these shores started on the road to integration, not by forcing their way into mainstream America but by establishing enclaves where they lived and supported each other until they became an economic force to be reckoned with. Until they could use the only tool truly accepted in the USofA to advance themselves…money. Black people in the USofA had their efforts along these lines specifically disrupted as a matter or routine. Suppose the South had just not done that…suppose the schools were fully funded, social services provided on the same level as any other citizen received?

Suppose white Southerners had accepted Black Americans as humans, and not defined themselves in terms of their position relative to the local Black populace?

Follow the cause and effect. Be honest. How much of the root of our social ills can be traced back to an insistance that the South Must Rise Again?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 10:23:04 PM |

Chords I

Brad Delong in responding to a bit of nonsense from Arnold Kline's The Bottom Line, echoed and amplified by John Constantine at Hellblazer clearly state the fundamental error of Libertarianism. As John says:

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 09:55:53 PM |

Can't say I blame them

We do NOT want accusations of supporting terrorism floating about when the USofA has stated they intend to restart its own nuclear weapons program and we are a known source of recources they will need to do so, now do we?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 09:27:47 PM |

Omniscience, Omnipotence and Free Will

Heavy title. And it was going to be a heavy essay, but I decided short and sweet is better.

The reason people think there is a conflict between the concepts on either side of the "and" is

• We've had a far less complete understanding of physical reality than we have now
• Common sense and common knowledge lags behind physics by at least a century

A theory is useful to the degree that it has predictive power and the most useful physical theory to date is quantum mechanics. Yet quantum mechanics does not make exact predictions. Instead it makes statements of probability. Our experience, however, is only of specific states and therefore our common sense speaks only to specific states.

Our common sense leads us to assume the nature of omniscience (which we do not, and likely will not ever, experience directly) is to have definitive knowledge of the singular, specific, past present and future state of all things. This, of course, conflicts with our experience of free will, which agrees with quantum mechanics in its assumption of the indeterminate nature of the future. Our direct experience is that the state of the future is determined by decisions made now. So it seems the choice is to give up the concept of omniscience, free will or take one or both as a matter of faith.

But suppose omniscience isn't the definitive knowledge of the singular, specific, past present and future state of all things. Suppose omniscience is perfect knowledge of all possibilities and the odds of, and means required for, the manifestation of each possibility. Suppose omniscience is the possession of all existing knowledge, all possible knowledge, rather than some state of knowledge that we, in our ignorance may imagine.

This allows the coexistence of omniscience and free will and doesn't actually change the definition of either term. It merely changes our understanding of them in light of the knowledge of physics we now possess. This level of knowledge would allow absolute control of all physical events through the application of extraordinarily little force. Omnipotence of a sort would be almost a side effect of omniscience.

But the total definition of omnipotence is usually denied by such empty challenges as "can God make a stone so heavy He cannot lift it," not realizing the definition of omnipotence does not require its possessor (assuming there is one) to do anything more than possess all the power that exists, to be unsurpassable. The challenge, again, is one extrapolated from the ignorance known as "common knowledge."

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 09:22:38 PM |

I'm already impressed

Scroll down a ways and you'll see me ranting about how great this rant at MYKERU.COM is. There's a comment by Cobb attached to that post which I don't actually believe is a useful suggestion. It is my general practice to visit the web sites of commenters when they leave an address, though, so I dropped by his blog.

I have to say I find the blog very thought provoking.

We have several similarities, Cobb and I. We're both working our blogs under a brand name but are very free with our real identity; we're not anonymous bloggers by any stretch. We both blog about pretty much everything, neither of us have a very stereotypical viewpoint but there's no question about whether either of us is Black. We both have static pages with some of our best analyses; right now I'm at the beginning of Black Identity in Cyberspace, and I see he, like I, found his voice most effective working in interactive mode. Things like this make me suspect he's been at it at least as long as I, as well as showing his distinctly different style.

If you find P6 interesting, I think you'll find Cobb equally so.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 01:40:41 PM |

From the President of the African National Congress

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 01:10:46 PM |

Here's someone who is not Russell Simmons' friend

For my part, I say we should watch what Mr. Simmons does and promotes as a political agenda and back or reject each as individual gestures. But that's no different than I would treat any political creature. In any event, yes, it should be tabled for discussion.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 11:34:01 AM |

Notice anyone missing?

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 11:27:39 AM |

Okay, that was funny

Billmon examines some pictures of what Saddam Hussein might look like today, and finds evidence that he's been right here in the USofA all along.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 11:24:50 AM |

Possibly the best idea I ever had

I am sooooo glad I put my library and Best Of links in a different web space than the main blog. They seem to be pretty popular, especially since the Reparations and Racism series were posted. Having just sweated running out of bandwidth last month I am not inclined to having to worry about that again.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 09:36:33 AM |

The Black Commentator

The Black Commentator

The latest issue of The Black Commentator is up, and as harsh, direct and progressive as ever.

From "The Debate on Zimbabwe Will Not Be Throttled" (emphasis added):

There are some initiatives that start in the more extreme areas of the Black communities that I won't even tell you about. I have seen some of the condemnations of those who signed that open letter, and knowing who signed it, it made my jaw drop. There are people who are so angry and anti-white that legitimate Black interests can become collateral damage in their campaigns. Being pro-Black I sometimes find myself in common cause with anti-white forces, but I'm careful to make it clear those times are coincidence.

There is much in this article that I agree with, much that I'd quote here except that to take it out of it's context reduced its power. One thing I will take out of context though, because it is as applicable here, in the USofA, as in Zimbabwe, is a single sentance:



There is much in the issue that demands attention. The Black Comentator shares my opinion of the DLC.


This isn't the kind of language that will comfort those that are voting against their own interest, but The Black Commentator targets Black progressives and those frankly rare non-Blacks that can hear this without panicking just a little.

If this is sounding like an advertisement for The Black Commentator, good. The nature of weblogs is such that you can cover one thing deeply or many things broadly, and I've chosen the broad approach, obviously. The Black Commentator, like the best of the group blogs (which may or may not be the most popular) has a broad range of deep coverage, targeting an audience that is, shall we say, underserved by political editorialists in general.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 8/3/2003 06:54:46 AM |