I've waited a minute to write this post because this one stings. Last week my friend Trent Seibert passed away in his home, he was 47.
I met Trent roughly a decade ago through our mutual friend Kevin Whited, author and publisher of BlogHouston. Trent was a dedicated reporter, vodka tonic drinker, and one of the most driven individuals I've ever met in my life.
There wasn't a piece of government malfeasance that Trent wasn't interested in, and it didn't matter if the offending official was Republican, OR Democrat he went after them with equal zeal.
Because of this, Mr. Seibert was not a favorite of the local party-blogging set. He had a habit of offending local Democratic sacred-cows which would not stand with the local Democratic Blogosphere. He also angered Republicans by going after their local champions. As I said, he was an equal opportunity journalist.
I read the e-mail informing me of Trent's death when I got off the plane from a recent trip to Las Vegas. Standing there, in the terminal of Hobby, I had to sit down for a minute, stunned. Trent was just about my age (he was 47, I'm 45) and he was taken from us way too soon.
When I first met Trent he had just began working on Texas Watchdog, which was a non-profit journalism website whose mission was to root out and shine a light on government corruption. He had an insatiable interest in local politics, something lost on so many reporters today who want to focus too readily on the National scene, and he was always interested in hearing thoughts from pretty much everyone on where a story might lie.
Trent and I shared another love, poker. And we took a couple of poker trips to Lake Charles together with varying degrees of success. This might surprise some, but Trent was a very tight poker player, even tighter than I at the table.
He was a sharp, funny man who treated everyone fairly, had a quick wit and a temper that was triggered when he felt public officials were not being honest.
I'm going to miss Trent dearly.
I'll close by saying this: My life is better because Trent was in it, even for a relatively brief time.
That is the highest praise that I can give anyone.
God speed Mr. Seibert.
-30-
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Thursday, August 09, 2018
Special Edition: Some things that need addressing.
Yes, I shuttered this blog.
No, I am not ramping it back up.
Consider this a one-time special issue, an issue that's being published because I've noticed some things recently that I feel need addressing.
(WARNING: This could take a while)
1. They are ALL trying to erode faith in our electoral process, for different (and the same) reasons.
Republicans want to erode faith in the voter rolls ("illegals voting", "voter fraud" etc.), Democrats want to erode faith in the voting process ("hackers", "Russians" etc.) The Republicans want to do this because their best straight-line to retaining power is smaller voter turnouts. The Democrats want to do this because they use shaky citizen faith in elections to forward their goals.
BOTH parties are doing this because it helps them craft a message that besmirches the other side, and removes legitimacy from their opponents, from the jump, immediately after an election. Questioning the validity of your opponents win, including going so far as to question the structure of the electoral process (i.e. the electoral college) serves a dual purpose of forcing your opponents to battle on multiple fronts and giving you a ready-made excuse to automatically oppose any policy proposal no matter how good it could be. (Hint: usually government policy proposals as not good (see: the ACA) and have more negative unintended consequences than they actually provide benefits. This is because all politicians, regardless of the level of government in which they serve, do not care about the people but about winning re-elections and staying in power.
2. Yes, there is a trough, and yes, you probably don't have access to it.
Why do politicians in Texas, running for the State House of Representatives, spend tens of thousands of dollars for a job that pays around $2000/year? Why do Senators and Congressmen pay Millions, including self-funding, to win jobs that only pay 5 or low 6 digit salaries per year?
Because the wealth of politics is not in the salary but in the generosity and information provided by ones cronies. Politics in America today (nee, the world actually) are never about public service or any of the other clap-trap that professional politicians provide in interviews.
Politics is about power and prestige, about payola and personal wealth.
Even Senator Bernard Sanders, avoid Democratic Socialist (more on that later) is the proud owner of three not inexpensive homes. Think about that for just a minute. The man running on platforms of income inequality and constantly railing against the so-called 1% is himself a member of the.....1%.
Republicans themselves talk about the myth-laden "American dream" as if it's a panacea.
In fact what all of these politicians want is to punish the other parties 1% while bolstering the hopes of their own.
3. It's less about wealth, and more about donations.
When the Democrats gripe about 'the rich', they're really griping about 'the rich' who make political donations to the Republican party. This means that Democrats line-up against natural mineral extraction companies and, increasingly, groups like the NRA.
Republicans line up against trial lawyers, anthrapogenic climate change and union wish-lists both to punish Democratic donors, and to enrich their own special interests. Democrats are not immune to this. Don't believe me? Take a look at the investment profile of one Al Gore and then it becomes very clear why he's such a strong proponent for carbon exchanges and other measures that would do little to actually effect the Earth's Climate, but would provide a gigantic increase to he and his fellow traveler's portfolios.
4. You are nothing more than useful idiots to them.
If you're a true believer for any one party, if you think that the Democrats care for the little guy at the expense of anything else or that the Republicans are morally more pure then you're exactly the mark they're looking for.
Politicians fan outrage by manufacturing tragedy. Almost every action by the other side is the "worst they've ever seen" when in fact, it's really not. Very few things that we see are "beyond the pale" but are instead fairly normal considering the arc of American political history. Trump might be unartful, but is hardly the affront to American politics that others make it seem. Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" or Barack Obama's "those who say" (when no-one was actually saying that) are simply Trump's tweets using more flowery language.
What politicians understand is that their true-believers have very short political memories. This is why Republicans can refuse to discuss Merrick Garland for the SCOTUS but, without a hint or irony, say it's unprecedented for Democrats to try to do the same for Kavenaugh. People eat this up because they have tribal memory patterns, which choose to ignore the sins of their party and enhance the sins of the other.
All during this those same people who rail at each other on TV and in the news shows are meeting at country clubs, having lunches and dinners and are laughing their asses off at just how stupid the American body politic really is.
5. No one (serious) really wants socialism.
What Democrats want is a regulatory state enforcing policy while the ruling class oversees the ruled class. They also want money to be given to government so that that money can be redistributed to their political patrons.
6. No one really wants freedom.
The Republicans want a regulatory state enforcing policy while the ruling class oversees the ruled class. They also want money to be retained by their friends and the burden placed on those who do not make big donations to them.
7. The media IS biased, but not how you think.
The fact is the media could care less if the Democrats win. What they really want is to have access to those in power. They courtiers to the ruling class and will prostrate themselves in order to maintain that access every. single. time.
In a perfect world, journalists would be ciphers, dutifully recording the events of the day, and uncovering malfeasance on the part of the government and industry with equal zeal.
As we know, this is not a perfect world, not even remotely close.
Too many journalists go into the industry with the dream to "change the world" instead of "reporting the facts". The offshoot of this is that most media now operates as an editorial rebuke of things the reporters don't like. Investigative journalists have been replaced by editorial writers who write no news, but who provide opinions (masked as "analysis") designed to forward an agenda and "change the world'.
This is true on both sides, which explains why people don't trust the media.
8. This is going to sound harsh, but the ruling class (and their courtiers) HATE you.
They honestly do. Except for your votes (which they are going to cast as fraudulent) and your campaign donations (which they really don't care about except in PR releases showing that they have "grassroots support" [See: Beto O'Rouke]) every politician at every level of government would be happiest if you would just vote, and then go away.
This is why I no longer vote, because it's useless. You're just picking on horrid person over another. In fact, voting is the laziest way that you can participate in a Democracy. It's easy to go cast a ballot from time to time, it's hard to stay engaged and advocate for good governance, good media, good oversight and fair and honest regulation.
The problem in America now is that few people vote, and even fewer people are willing to do the hard things that it takes to ensure the proper functioning of the Republic.
Even the people that are "activists" are typically just drones for politicians. They have no original thoughts, or the ability to craft them.
IF they come out swinging and making too many hits their lesser ideas are adopted by the parties, their rage is then focused on the "other side" and they're weaponized against whichever target the ruling class feels is appropriate. (See: the Tea Party and Black Lives Matter for evidence of this).
9. This is going to get worse.
As long as we the people continue to fight against each other, give large swaths of the political class passes, then there is going to be no incentive for the ruling class to change. The problem here does not lie with the Democrats, it does not lie with the Republicans, and it is not the fault of the media.
It is the fault of us.
No, I am not ramping it back up.
Consider this a one-time special issue, an issue that's being published because I've noticed some things recently that I feel need addressing.
(WARNING: This could take a while)
1. They are ALL trying to erode faith in our electoral process, for different (and the same) reasons.
Republicans want to erode faith in the voter rolls ("illegals voting", "voter fraud" etc.), Democrats want to erode faith in the voting process ("hackers", "Russians" etc.) The Republicans want to do this because their best straight-line to retaining power is smaller voter turnouts. The Democrats want to do this because they use shaky citizen faith in elections to forward their goals.
BOTH parties are doing this because it helps them craft a message that besmirches the other side, and removes legitimacy from their opponents, from the jump, immediately after an election. Questioning the validity of your opponents win, including going so far as to question the structure of the electoral process (i.e. the electoral college) serves a dual purpose of forcing your opponents to battle on multiple fronts and giving you a ready-made excuse to automatically oppose any policy proposal no matter how good it could be. (Hint: usually government policy proposals as not good (see: the ACA) and have more negative unintended consequences than they actually provide benefits. This is because all politicians, regardless of the level of government in which they serve, do not care about the people but about winning re-elections and staying in power.
2. Yes, there is a trough, and yes, you probably don't have access to it.
Why do politicians in Texas, running for the State House of Representatives, spend tens of thousands of dollars for a job that pays around $2000/year? Why do Senators and Congressmen pay Millions, including self-funding, to win jobs that only pay 5 or low 6 digit salaries per year?
Because the wealth of politics is not in the salary but in the generosity and information provided by ones cronies. Politics in America today (nee, the world actually) are never about public service or any of the other clap-trap that professional politicians provide in interviews.
Politics is about power and prestige, about payola and personal wealth.
Even Senator Bernard Sanders, avoid Democratic Socialist (more on that later) is the proud owner of three not inexpensive homes. Think about that for just a minute. The man running on platforms of income inequality and constantly railing against the so-called 1% is himself a member of the.....1%.
Republicans themselves talk about the myth-laden "American dream" as if it's a panacea.
In fact what all of these politicians want is to punish the other parties 1% while bolstering the hopes of their own.
3. It's less about wealth, and more about donations.
When the Democrats gripe about 'the rich', they're really griping about 'the rich' who make political donations to the Republican party. This means that Democrats line-up against natural mineral extraction companies and, increasingly, groups like the NRA.
Republicans line up against trial lawyers, anthrapogenic climate change and union wish-lists both to punish Democratic donors, and to enrich their own special interests. Democrats are not immune to this. Don't believe me? Take a look at the investment profile of one Al Gore and then it becomes very clear why he's such a strong proponent for carbon exchanges and other measures that would do little to actually effect the Earth's Climate, but would provide a gigantic increase to he and his fellow traveler's portfolios.
4. You are nothing more than useful idiots to them.
If you're a true believer for any one party, if you think that the Democrats care for the little guy at the expense of anything else or that the Republicans are morally more pure then you're exactly the mark they're looking for.
Politicians fan outrage by manufacturing tragedy. Almost every action by the other side is the "worst they've ever seen" when in fact, it's really not. Very few things that we see are "beyond the pale" but are instead fairly normal considering the arc of American political history. Trump might be unartful, but is hardly the affront to American politics that others make it seem. Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" or Barack Obama's "those who say" (when no-one was actually saying that) are simply Trump's tweets using more flowery language.
What politicians understand is that their true-believers have very short political memories. This is why Republicans can refuse to discuss Merrick Garland for the SCOTUS but, without a hint or irony, say it's unprecedented for Democrats to try to do the same for Kavenaugh. People eat this up because they have tribal memory patterns, which choose to ignore the sins of their party and enhance the sins of the other.
All during this those same people who rail at each other on TV and in the news shows are meeting at country clubs, having lunches and dinners and are laughing their asses off at just how stupid the American body politic really is.
5. No one (serious) really wants socialism.
What Democrats want is a regulatory state enforcing policy while the ruling class oversees the ruled class. They also want money to be given to government so that that money can be redistributed to their political patrons.
6. No one really wants freedom.
The Republicans want a regulatory state enforcing policy while the ruling class oversees the ruled class. They also want money to be retained by their friends and the burden placed on those who do not make big donations to them.
7. The media IS biased, but not how you think.
The fact is the media could care less if the Democrats win. What they really want is to have access to those in power. They courtiers to the ruling class and will prostrate themselves in order to maintain that access every. single. time.
In a perfect world, journalists would be ciphers, dutifully recording the events of the day, and uncovering malfeasance on the part of the government and industry with equal zeal.
As we know, this is not a perfect world, not even remotely close.
Too many journalists go into the industry with the dream to "change the world" instead of "reporting the facts". The offshoot of this is that most media now operates as an editorial rebuke of things the reporters don't like. Investigative journalists have been replaced by editorial writers who write no news, but who provide opinions (masked as "analysis") designed to forward an agenda and "change the world'.
This is true on both sides, which explains why people don't trust the media.
8. This is going to sound harsh, but the ruling class (and their courtiers) HATE you.
They honestly do. Except for your votes (which they are going to cast as fraudulent) and your campaign donations (which they really don't care about except in PR releases showing that they have "grassroots support" [See: Beto O'Rouke]) every politician at every level of government would be happiest if you would just vote, and then go away.
This is why I no longer vote, because it's useless. You're just picking on horrid person over another. In fact, voting is the laziest way that you can participate in a Democracy. It's easy to go cast a ballot from time to time, it's hard to stay engaged and advocate for good governance, good media, good oversight and fair and honest regulation.
The problem in America now is that few people vote, and even fewer people are willing to do the hard things that it takes to ensure the proper functioning of the Republic.
Even the people that are "activists" are typically just drones for politicians. They have no original thoughts, or the ability to craft them.
IF they come out swinging and making too many hits their lesser ideas are adopted by the parties, their rage is then focused on the "other side" and they're weaponized against whichever target the ruling class feels is appropriate. (See: the Tea Party and Black Lives Matter for evidence of this).
9. This is going to get worse.
As long as we the people continue to fight against each other, give large swaths of the political class passes, then there is going to be no incentive for the ruling class to change. The problem here does not lie with the Democrats, it does not lie with the Republicans, and it is not the fault of the media.
It is the fault of us.
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