Is it over yet?

West Virginia's primary election is tomorrow (Tuesday, May 10). I don't know about you, but I'll be kind of glad when it's over. Maybe. Anyhow, here's a bonus section of The Front Porch with a focus on the state supreme court race.

Also, this column by E.J. Dionne has some interesting things to say about empathy and Appalachia. I think it's worth a look.

And speaking of wanting something to be over (in a good way), I'm dreading next week's special session of the legislature to deal with the budget. It promises to be a true goat rope.

One more for the road

Yesterday's post highlighted one of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's great nuggets. A few people really enjoyed that. Fortunately, there are plenty more where that one came from. Here's one that is sadly all too true all too often:

"How good bad music and bad reasons sound when we are marching into battle against an enemy."

 And speaking of bad reasons and bad things generally, here's a look at what House and Senate Republicans are proposing about the federal budget.

Two from the road

It's been a long afternoon/evening driving through bitter cold so this will be short. I'm pleased to say that my car didn't try to kill me this time. I did manage to find two items worth a look.

FIRST, HOW BOUT THAT FRANCIS? According to this article, he's popular on both sides of the aisle (although I kind of wonder about one of them). At the very least, he is bringing certain topics to public attention. In a good way.

SECOND, WE'RE NOT THAT POLARIZED ABOUT EVERYTHING.  As E.J. Dionne argues here, most Americans agree on basic economic justice issues.

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Having it both ways

The Charleston Daily Mail is a newspaper with Republican editorial leanings. You can frequently find denunciations within its pages of President Obama's alleged "war on coal." Presumably, one reason they are upset about this is because of the potential of miners losing their jobs.

Yet when the US Congress adjourned for the year without extending unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans, the editorial page applauded. It turns out that one of the counties hardest hit by the cut is Logan County, in the heart of West Virginia's coalfields, where 544 people will lose benefits.

One might think that for the sake of consistency, at least a few crocodile tears for jobless miners might be forthcoming, but that isn't the case so far.

Times like these make me wish we had a put up or shut up rule.

SPEAKING OF WV, it looks like the Mountain State will be one of the biggest winners under the Affordable Care Act. Just before Christmas, I heard that at least 83,000 West Virginians had signed up for expanded Medicaid benefits since Oct. 1.

DEFICIT MANIA. Krugman thinks the fever has broken.

OH REALLY? In his latest column, E.J. Dionne Jr. writes that "on a longer view, 2013 could be remembered as the year when the far right began to weaken, the forces of obstruction began to recede and the country began moving toward at least the possibility of constructive government." Reckon wonder if he's right?

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We all could use a mind mess

El Cabrero is something of a literary snob. I mean, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Aeschylus, Melville, Dostoevsky, Austen, Bronte, name it, I'm there. You can find all of the above discussed at length if you search this blog's archives (see upper left).

Still, every so often you gotta blow things out. And for the past few days, I've done this by listening to a Stephen King book. And it stoned me.

Some of you may recall the book or movie The Shining, about a haunted resort in the Colorado Rockies. You may also recall the little kid who said "Redrum" when things went south. King's latest, Doctor Sleep, is about that kid when he grows up.

I listen to books all the time when driving, running or doing mindless tasks. No big deal. But this one crawled up my inner quarters. If your mind needs messed with, give it a try.

OK, SO THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG. Well, for one thing, Stephen King is pretty progressive. For another, here are two great op eds by two of America's greatest columnists. Here's E.J. Dionne on Pope Francis, who is almost making me switch from the Anglican to the Roman team, and here's Paul Krugman on raising the minimum wage, which some of us are going to try to do in WV.

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Short load

West Virginia was the subject of a long and gloomy article in the Washington Post recently. Some other reflections on changes in the state over time can be found in this Gazette editorial.

Meanwhile, here's a good one by E.J. Dionne about why Congress has been trying to fix the wrong problem for the last few years and one more by Krugman about how ideology can sabotage government services.

Short haul

I am running around a lot today but did manage to find enough time to pass on this column by E.J. Dionne Jr. on one of my favorite punching and kicking bags, to wit economic libertarianism. As Dionne points out, one problem with that ideology is that it exists nowhere in the world. And that's a good thing.

ONE MORE ENCOURAGING THIING about WV is the dedication of some professionals to provide and improve child nutrition after the school day and beyond the school year. One example highlighted here is the Summer Food Service Program.

GET YOUR WHALE FIX here.

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An idea whose time has gone

Austerity was all the rage and still is in some circles, especially those that favor government by artificially created crisis, like the fiscal cliff, debt ceiling blackmail and the idiotic sequester.

Here are several looks a why austerity in a weak economy is a bad idea and why more people are walking away from it. Note: some of these are wonky but you'll have that some days.

First, it isn't doing that great in Europe.

Second, groups like the Center for American Progress are walking away from the idea of a "grand bargain"/bad deal, something they had previously supported.

Third, here's why they're calling for a reset to the fiscal debate.

Fourth, it makes more sense these days to be an infrastructure hawk than a deficit hawk.

WILL HE LISTEN? Here's E.J. Dionne's advice to the president.

IT'S NOT ALL BAD. WV's high school graduation rate is improving and has now caught up to the national average.

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Just what we needed

The Gentle Reader has no doubt noticed the family decals on some automobiles that show the proper combination of parents, children and beloved pets. A friend recently sent me an email about the latest development, i.e. zombie family decals, which are definitely worth a look.

According to the website,

In the zombie apocalypse, family means everything. It's not limited to blood relations, either. If you're trusting someone to watch your back and keep the walkers from eating you, they're family. If someone trusts you to double-tap them after they've been bitten, they're family.

Show your pride in your family with these Zombie Family Car Decals. They're black and white and red all over and include the whole gang: Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son, Baby, Dog, Cat, and Fish. We're not sure who is lugging their goldfish tank around during the zombie apocalypse, but who are we to judge? Maybe it's a talking goldfish like Klaus from American Dad.

This is yet another example of the unfettered market's ability to spontaneously meet human needs and desires. Or something.

THE PHANTOM MENACE. Here's Paul Krugman taking on the "deficit scolds."

CHURCH POLITICS. According to E.J. Dionne, some Catholic bishops are questioning the church hierarchy's rightward drift in recent years.
LUNAR LUNACY. Apparently, blaming the full moon doesn't hold up.

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Rats and roaches

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."
— Wendell Berry

FALSE CHOICES. Here's E.J. Dionne on the need to move beyond them in current political debates.

STUFF WE DON'T NEED. We buy a lot of it.

ATLAS YAWNED. Despite astroturf enthusiasm, it doesn't look like the movie version of Atlas Shrugged is setting the woods on fire.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE STRIKERS GONE? Long time passing.

COOL UNDERWATER CRITTERS here.

NEED A ZOMBIE FIX? Click here.

ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PRECEDING ZOMBIE ARTICLE AND THIS ONE IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL, but this article highlights how the Koch brothers tell their workers to vote.

SITTING ALL DAY is bad for your health.

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