Drew Westen's The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation helps explain the neuro-cognitive mechanisms involved in rationalizing away inconvenient truths, something we all do regardless of political affiliation. From the Introduction:
The neural circuits charged with regulation of emotional states seemed to recruit beliefs that eliminated the distress and conflict partisans had experienced when they confronted unpleasant realities. And all this seemed to happen with little involvement of the neural circuits normally involved in reasoning.
The results show that when partisans face threatening information, not only are they likely to "reason" to emotionally biased conclusions, but we can trace their neural footprints when they do.
When confronted with potentially troubling political information, a network of neurons become active that produces distress. Whether this distress is conscious, or unconscious, or some combination of the two, we don't know.
The brain registers the conflict between data and desire and begins to search for ways to turn off the spigot of unpleasant emotion.
Nothing earth shattering there. But here's where it gets interesting (italics in the original):
But the political brain did something we didn't predict. Once partisans found a way to reason to false conclusions, not only did neural circuits involved in negative emotions shut off, but circuits involved in positive emotions turned on. The partisan brain didn't seem satisfied in just feeling better. It worked overtime to feel good, activating rewards circuits that give partisans a jolt of positive reinforcement for their biased reasoning. These reward circuits overlap significantly with those activated when drug addicts get their "fix", giving new meaning to the term political junkie.
The Bush push to escalate is the talk of the moment.
Look,
the electorate said the US policy in Iraq is wrong!! The war needs to
be stopped, and it won't stop unless we stop it. If Congress truly is
incensed by this latest Bush craziness, maybe they will exercise their
constitutional responsibility, draw the line in the sand, which Bush
will most definitely cross, and then impeach him.
That will not happen
if we the people do not raise holy hell and insist on it. I do not
want my grandchildren paying for the period of American History known
for its arrogance, imperialism, and war profiteering.
This war will
not end of its own accord. We must be winter soldiers and take on the
difficult struggle against this sunshine patriot.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus offers the Progressive Promise for all. We believe in government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Our fairness plan is rooted in our core principles. It also embodies national priorities that are consistent with the values, needs, and hopes of all our people, not just the powerful and the privileged. We pledge our unwavering commitment to these legislative priorities and we will not rest until they become law.
1. Fighting for Economic Justice and Security in the U.S. and Global Economies
» To uphold the right to universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare for all.
» To preserve guaranteed Social Security benefits for all Americans, protect private pensions, and require corporate accountability.
» To invest in America and create new jobs in the U.S. by building more affordable housing, re-building America’s schools and physical infrastructure, cleaning up our environment, and improving homeland security.
» To export more American products and not more American jobs and demand fair trade.
» To reaffirm freedom of association and enforce the right to organize.
» To ensure working families can live above the poverty line and with dignity by raising and indexing the minimum wage.
2. Protecting and Preserving Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
» To sunset expiring provisions of the Patriot Act and bring remaining provisions into line with the U. S. Constitution.
» To protect the personal privacy of all Americans from unbridled police powers and unchecked government intrusion.
» To extend the Voting Rights Act and reform our electoral processes.
» To fight corporate consolidation of the media and ensure opportunity for all voices to be heard.
» To ensure enforcement of all legal rights in the workplace.
» To eliminate all forms of discrimination based upon color, race, religion, gender, creed, disability, or sexual orientation.
3. Promoting Global Peace and Security
» To honor and help our overburdened international public servants – both military and civilian.
» To bring U. S. troops home from Iraq as soon as possible.
» To re-build U.S. alliances around the world, restore international respect for American power and influence, and reaffirm our nation’s constructive engagement in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.
» To enhance international cooperation to reduce the threats posed by nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.
» To increase efforts to combat hunger and the scourge of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases.
» To encourage debt relief for poor countries and support efforts to reach the UN’s Millennium Goals for Developing Countries.
4. Environmental Protection & Energy Independence
» To free ourselves and our economy from dependence upon imported oil and shift to growing reliance upon renewable energy supplies and technologies, thus creating at least three million new jobs, cleansing our environment, and enhancing our nation’s security.
» To promote environmental justice in affirmation that all people have an inherent right to a healthy environment, clean air, and clean water wherever we live, work, and relax.
» To change incentives in federal tax, procurement, and appropriation policies to:
(A) Speed commercialization of solar, biomass, and wind power generation, while encouraging state and local policy innovation to link clean energy and job creation;
(B) Convert domestic assembly lines to manufacture highly efficient vehicles, enhance global competitiveness of U.S. auto industry, and expand consumer choice;
(C) Increase investment in construction of “green buildings” and more energy-efficient homes and workplaces;
(D) Link higher energy efficiency standards in appliances to consumer and manufacturing incentives that increase demand for new durable goods and increase investment in U.S. factories;
» To eliminate environmental threat posed by global warming and ensuring that America does our part to advance an effective global problem-solving approach.
» To expand energy-efficient transportation choices by increasing investment in synthesized networks, including bicycle, local bus and rail transit, regional high-speed rail and magnetic levitation rail projects.
» To preserve prudent public interest regulations that encourage sustainable growth and investment, ensure energy diversity and system reliability, protect workers and the environment, reward consumer conservation, and support an expanding marketplace that rewards the commercialization of energy-efficient technologies.
St. Francis and the Birth of Earth Dayby John McConnell, Earth Day Founder and Iowa Native
This article was submitted to Blog for Iowa
by the founder of Earth Day himself, Iowa native John McConnell.
WHAT WOULD ST. FRANCIS DO NOW?
The
global celebration of Earth Day on March 20, the first day of Spring,
is a matter directly related to St. Francis and the amazing results of
his vision and life. Were he here today, he would undoubtedly
focus all his prayer and effort on achieving Earth Day's original
purpose.
A little about Earth Day history will illustrate this.
Earth
Day is on the March Equinox, which determines the annual date of
Easter. (Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon
following the March equinox.)
Not only
that, the equinox is also the New Year in Iran and other Islam
countries, which makes possible attention for a common purpose - the
sustainable care of Earth, with justice and peace for all.
This will help us show real love for our world neighbors and the web of life that covers our globe.
ST. FRANCIS AND THE BIRTH OF EARTH DAY
The
first Earth Day was inaugurated in San Francisco - The City of St.
Francis. I had long been familiar with the Prayer of St.
Francis: "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where
there is hatred, let me sow love..." In 1969, we obtained backing
of the mayor, city officials, churches, schools, businesses - a really
all-out event with massive coverage in media. While the event was
backed by Franciscans and Catholic churches, participation included
synagogues and many other denominations. The Red Cross delivered
plants to schools for children to take home.
In
succeeding Earth Days at the United Nations, we demonstrated that
people of diverse creeds and cultures can leave room for their
differences and come together for "peace, justice and the care of
Earth."
A factor
in the choice of the date was my own history. In 1957, I obtained
global attention for an editorial in my weekly North Carolina "Toe
Valley View" newspaper. The first Sputnik Satellite had just been
launched on October 4th. None of the media seemed to note that
this was the "Feast Day of St. Francis." And launched by the then
Godless USSR! (The person who chose the date must have been a
secret Christian.)
My
editorial called for a visible "Star of Hope" satellite. It would
be launched as a symbol of hope to further understanding and peace on
our planet. It obtained front page attention around the world.
My own
study and prayer life led to the conviction that we needed a common
purpose that would appeal to people of all creeds and cultures - and a
way to get attention for it. We needed something that would
end history's terrible record of war and injustice.
These thoughts planted the seeds that led to Earth Day.
Another
factor was my efforts in 1963 to get global participation in a
daily "Minute for Peace." I was responsible for the Minute
for Peace on radio world-wide, which followed the period of mourning
for President Kennedy. "Peace begins in the mind." We asked
for a one minute radio spot on all stations that would carry the sound
of a bell and a thought or prayer for peace. We invited all
listeners to join in this special minute - to deepen their
commitment and increase their efforts for world peace.
Minute
for Peace became the centerpiece of Earth Day. When we ring the
UN Peace Bell we invite people world wide to join in two minutes of
heartfelt prayer that we will overcome "doubt with faith" and strive to
be a responsible Trustee of Earth.
Pray
that every year St. Francis Day and Earth Day will bring a new sense of
identity with the whole human family and a commitment to see peace
through understanding and love. And may we put feet to our
prayers with action to help make it happen.
Today, the Iowa Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Iowa Ethics Board against Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle.
After careful review of both his January state and federal campaign
filings, it appears that Congressman Nussle has made expenditures from
his federal account that clearly benefit his gubernatorial race, and he
has failed to report these expenditures as in-kind contributions.
The specific complaints (taken from the letter submitted by Mike Milligan, Executive Director of the Iowa Democratic Party, to the Ethics Board):
1) Mr.
Nussle’s state finance report fails to show any in-kind donations from
the federal “Nussle for Congress Committee,” while six individuals were
simultaneously paid out of both accounts. Since there is
no campaign for Congress, the staff and consulting paid by the federal
committee was supplementing the salary and consulting fees paid by the
gubernatorial campaign.
2) The development costs of Nussle’s gubernatorial campaign website may have been paid for by the congressional campaign account, with no record of an in- kind donation to the gubernatorial campaign account.
3)Three
congressional campaign expenditures, totaling $33,839.69 for
media-production, were made to McCarthy Marcus Hennings in 2005.
Particularly of interest is the $26,500.00 expenditure made on 4/4/05,
less than one and half months before the congressman officially
announced that he was running for governor. The official
announcement tour of his bid for Governor was accompanied by a video,
which can be found on his website. However, in the gubernatorial
campaign state report there is no report of video or media production
expenses to McCarthy Marcus Hennings until two months after his
announcement. It seems clear that the congressional campaign paid for
the initial video on 4/4/05, which was then used by the gubernatorial
campaign with no acknowledgement of the contribution in the state
report.
Nussle is not running for Congress and had not been running for re-election to Congress throughout 2005.
I would like to extend my hand and invite you to join us, the mainstream
American majority. We, the people - that's the majority of the people - share
these majority opinions:
1. Going to war was a mistake - a big mistake. (link)
2. You and your administration misled us into this war. (link)
3. We want the war ended and our troops brought home. (link)
Now, I know this is a bitter pill to swallow. Iraq was going to be your great
legacy. Now, it's just your legacy. It didn't have to end up this way.
This week, when Republicans and conservative Democrats started jumping ship,
you lashed out at them. You thought the most damning thing you could say to them
was that they were "endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the
extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party." I mean, is that the best you can
do to persuade them to stick with you -- compare them to me? You gotta come up
with a better villain. For heaven's sakes, you had a hundred-plus million other
Americans who think the same way I do -- and you could have picked on any one of
them!
But hey, why not cut out the name-calling and the smearing and just do the
obvious thing: Come join the majority! Be one of us, your fellow Americans! Is
it really that hard? Is there really any other choice? George, take a walk on
the wild side!
Is Iowa Making Any Headway in Regaining Voters' Right To Vote? by Tom Poe, Charles City, Iowa
As everyone knows by now, voters across the country and here in Iowa have literally lost their right to vote.
Today, with proprietary electronic voting systems ruling the way voters
express their voices in elections, their voices are lost in the whir of
computers that record those votes using a secret vote count.
There are some who think North Carolina has the strictest election laws in the country
[1]. That's not really saying much, since their requirement that
electronic voting systems vendors place their source code in escrow
with the state is meaningless, if that step is supposed to provide
reassurance that a secret vote count has not taken place. The full
impact of just how fruitless such a requirement is will be felt the day
the courts inevitably rule that proprietary vendors of electronic
voting systems do not have to reveal their source code to satisfactory
"public scrutiny." That's assuming anyone, anywhere could get
such an issue before the court in the first place.
The
voters of Iowa (that includes me) need to become aware of the fact that
we have lost our right to vote. I sent an email to Iowa's
Secretary of State/Registrar of Voters recently. The Registrar
asked the Deputy to respond, and I received a courteous reply, as well
as a follow-up phone call. I have included the email exchange
below [2]. There is a solution, and that solution can be demonstrated
by visiting the Australian web site that explains how they conduct their elections with electronic voting systems [3].
My original email:
Mr. Culver:
If you haven't already, please have your secretary request a copy of
the Government Accounting Office report on electronic voting, and,
after making the appropriate adjustments here in Iowa, publish a
statement to reassure all voters in Iowa, that they will have their
right to vote reinstated, immediately. I
suspect it will be a trivial matter to sue the companies that you have
chosen (unwisely) to do business with, in order to recompense the
taxpayers of Iowa. I
also recommend you arm yourself with knowledge about the electronic
voting systems used in Australia. The systems are available
freely by downloading from the Internet, modifying to suit our needs,
and guaranteeing us all the right to vote by securing public scrutiny.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume you knew nothing
about the Australian option prior to this email. However, as of
this date, you no longer will be accorded such discretion. Among the recommendations/findings of the GAO:
"Expeditiously establish documented policies, criteria, and procedures
for certifying voting systems that will be in effect until the national
laboratory accreditation program for voting systems becomes fully
operational, and define tasks and time frames for achieving the full
operational capability of the national voting system certification
program." http://www.eastbaymedia.com/tgdc-march/ Technical Guidelines Development Committee Meeting of March, 2005.
All Iowans will be looking forward to your published statement within
the next thirty days. Having suffered the loss of Iowan Voters'
right to vote since at least the 2000 elections, thirty days is a very
generous timeframe. Please respect the office you hold, and
mitigate the harm you've caused. Respectfully, Tom Poe Charles City, Iowa 50616
[2] John D. Hedgecoth Deputy Secretary of State for Operations Office of the Secretary of State First Floor, Lucas Building 321 E. 12th St. Des Moines, IA 50319 515-242-5071 (voice) 515-242-5953 (fax) jhedgecoth@sos.state.ia.us
[3] http://www.elections.act.gov.au/Elecvote.html
The response:
-----Original Message----- From: Hedgecoth, John [SOS] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:19 PM To: 'tompoe@studioforrecording.com' Subject: Re: electronic voting machines Tom: I wish to respond to your inquiry with our office of Nov. 7, which is set out below.
As you doubtless are aware, our office is in the latter stages of
implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires
upgrades in voting systems. You also are aware that county
auditors are in the process of selecting new voting equipment. In
some cases, auditors have selected touch-screen systems. Our office
maintains compliance with HAVA when it comes to the certification
process for new voting equipment and has produced guidelines similar to
those referenced in the GAO report you reference. We have
consistently advocated for a voter verified paper trail in Iowa and do
not intend to change that position. The people of Iowa need to be
certain their votes count.
You raise an issue surrounding independent verification of votes, which
apparently involves some type of open-source software. We have
made use of the vendors who have completed both the federal and state
certification process. We have no other legal option, now or in
the future. I would appreciate any further information you have
to share on this issue. I find your deadline for some sort of public statement confusing. The office is in compliance with HAVA. John D. Hedgecoth Deputy Secretary of State for Operations Office of the Secretary of State First Floor, Lucas Building 321 E. 12th St. Des Moines, IA 50319 515-242-5071 (voice) 515-242-5953 (fax) jhedgecoth@sos.state.ia.us This article was written for Blog for Iowa by Tom Poe of Charles City.
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
St. Francis and the Birth of Earth Day
Iowa Democrats File Ethics Complaint Against Nussle
Michael Moore: Give It Up, George!
Is Iowa Making Any Headway in Regaining Voters' Right To Vote?