politics

Stanford Magazine looks at Philip Zimbardo's famous "prison experiment", forty years later. The Prison Experiment ranks with the Milgram experiment as a classic study of how authority corrodes ethics, demonstrating how otherwise normal and decent human beings can become abusive monsters when handed power.

Here are some choice quotes from participants in the experiment:

"The prison study has given me a new understanding of what 'heroism' means. It's not some egocentric, I'm-going-to-rush-into-that-burning-building thing—it's about seeing something that needs to be addressed and saying, I need to help and do something to make it better." -- Christina Maslach, who stepped in to insist that the experiment be stopped

"When the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, my first reaction was, this is so familiar to me. I knew exactly what was going on. I could picture myself in the middle of that and watching it spin out of control. When you have little or no supervision as to what you're doing, and no one steps in and says, 'Hey, you can't do this'—things just keep escalating. You think, how can we top what we did yesterday? How do we do something even more outrageous? I felt a deep sense of familiarity with that whole situation." -- Dave Eshelman, described as the prison's most abusive guard

"It really was a unique experience to watch human behavior transform in front of your eyes. And I can honestly say that I try never to forget it. I spend a lot of time with real prisoners and real guards, and having seen what I saw then, while a graduate student, gave me respect for the power of institutional environments to transform good people into something else." -- Craig Haney, a graduate student researcher

"One thing that I thought was interesting about the experiment was whether, if you believe society has assigned you a role, do you then assume the characteristics of that role? I teach at an inner city high school in Oakland. These kids don't have to go through experiments to witness horrible things. But what frustrates my colleagues and me is that we are creating great opportunities for these kids, we offer great support for them, why are they not taking advantage of it? Why are they dropping out of school? Why are they coming to school unprepared? I think a big reason is what the prison study shows—they fall into the role their society has made for them." -- Richard Yacco, one of the prisoners

You can read more about the Prison Experiment at Wikipedia and at the Prison Experiment website.

You also ought to check out Zimbardo's "Heroic Imagination" project, which seeks to "provide the knowledge, tools, strategies, and exercises to help individuals overcome the inertia which keeps them from taking positive action at crucial moments in their lives...[to] train individuals to transform their innate desire to do the right thing, into the ability to actually do it."

Mike Huckabee has decided not to run for President in 2012. If the GOP holds true to form, this means that Mitt Romney will most likely be their 2012 Presidental candidate.

There's an interesting pattern to Republican primaries: if there is a serious second-place contender for the nomination, that runner-up is very likely to take the nomination next time there is not a sitting GOP president.

Let's look at the history of the nomination, back to 1960:

Being a civil libertarian often means sticking up for the rights of assholes. People espousing popular opinions don't need protection, and even those expressing unpopular views can sometimes do so without harassment if they've got a bit of charisma. It's the people whose ideas and personalities both nauseate us, who test our commitment to freedom.

Thus it is that, despite the fact that it makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit to find myself taking their side, I have to speak out against the violence, false arrest, and harassment directed at members of the Westboro Baptist Church -- Fred Phelps's gang of "God Hates Fags" idiots -- in Brandon, Mississippi.

According to the linked report, one member of this group was assaulted, and despite a number of witnesses, "no one seemed to remember anything about what had happened." Vehicles with Kansas license plates were barricaded in a hotel parking lot, and the police delayed towing the blocking pickup trucks; and members of the church were detained for several hours for questioning without probable cause.

There is no doubt that Phelps and company are sad excuses for human beings. Their tiny hearts are full of ignorance and fear and hate. But one cannot beat ignorance or fear out of a man. The cowards (and yes, these were cowardly acts) who assaulted the WBC demonstrator, who allowed that assault to happen without consequence, and who used police power to harass them, almost certainly only strengthened the convictions of these asshats. I'll bet you five dollars that, in the days since this incident, at least one of them has quoted the bit from the Bible about "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan supposedly died to protect freedom. (We'll leave aside for now the question of the real cause for which they were sent over, and the actual effects of their presence.) To then deny freedom of speech to Americans is no way to honor their legacy. Yes, Phelps's message is odious, offensive, disgusting, and hateful. But the funerals of agents of the U.S. government who were killed in carrying out that government's foreign policy are occasions calling for the greatest First Amendment protection.

There is no patriotism in assault, censorship, or false arrest, and I ask those of my friends who seem to be delighted with this incident to pause and seriously consider the nature of freedom.

Ah, hypocrisy, the sport of politicians. Back in February, Robert Watson, GOP minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, said that his state's legislature's priorities were only correct "if you're a gay man from Guatemala who gambles and smokes pot."

While the perfect irony would have been if he was then caught in a love nest smoking weed and shooting craps with a Guatemalan gay lover, one out of four ain't bad: on Friday, Watson was stopped at a checkpoint when cops smelled alcohol and marijuana. He failed a field sobriety test and cops found a bag of "suspected marijuana" and a bowl in his pocket.

His court date is May 11. Bet he wishes his colleagues in Connecticut had made drug law reform a higher priority...

There have been many articles about William Donald Schaefer in the past few days, but I found this piece by Ray Jenkins particularly interesting. This is because Jenkins, a distinguished journalist who was a special assistant for press affairs to President Jimmy Carter and the editorial page editor of The Evening Sun during Schaefer's tenure as mayor, lays out a general theory of what it takes to make a leader:

...[T]he elements of political leadership are not really all that complicated. Three things are required: vision, courage, and tenacity — the capacity to see solutions to the problems that afflict mankind everywhere; the courage to stand before one's fellow citizens and say, "Let me lead you"; and an unflinching determination to see the job through. Once elected, a politician's constituents do not expect perfection, but they do expect two additional qualities: competence and honesty — sound judgment in performance, and a reasonable confidence that the leader always acts in the public interest and not out of some secret private gain.

This is a model I'm going to try to keep in mind as my on-the-job training in small-scale political leadership continues.

By the end of his tenure as Comptroller of Maryland, William Donald Schaefer had overstayed his time in politics; and some people may remember him just as that cranky old man, and for his sexist, homophobic, and anti-immigrant remarks. But as Mayor of Baltimore, Schaefer helped birth the first Baltimore Renaissance; and as governor of Maryland, he supported public schools, the University of Maryland system, and the Chesapeake Bay. Rest in peace, Willy Don.

Sometimes real-life ironies make a better comment on a subject than any artist could hope to make. Such is the case with the new postage stamp that was planned to feature the Statue of Liberty.

Now, despite the fact that in all my trips to NYC I've never visited her, I'm a fan of the iconic Lady. As a Pagan I appreciate her as a modern rendering of a Roman goddess, as a descendant of immigrants I like her role as national greeter (even if my ancestors didn't come in through Ellis Island), as a fan of international cooperation I like that she was a gift from France, a nation with which we share deep historical ties, and as a fan of crowdsourcing I like that funds for her construction were raised in small amounts from ordinary people. Lady Liberty is the real deal.

Thus, it is all too appropriate in today's fake America, that it's not really her appearing on the new stamp. Instead it's an ersatz Liberty built for a Vegas casino. The Postal Service selected the image from a stock photo provider, and ended up picking a photo of the Statue of Liberty replica at the New York-New York casino.

As I've said before, I miss having a sane Republican party. I'm an independent voter, not a member of any party, and I've voted for Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and Libertarians. But it's becoming more and more clear that the GOP has just gone nuts, Charlie Sheen-style.

Over the past month or so, the evidence has become overwhelming that it's time for an intervention -- voters need to sit the Republican leadership down and tell them, no more votes for you until you straighten your party out.

Let's look at the political wreckage over the past month or so:

• Ninety-one year old New Hampshire Republican Martin Harty says the "defective people, the drug addicts, mentally ill, the retarded -- all of them" should be sent off to die. He also admits that he has no idea what he's doing in the state legislature: "We're all sort of bluffing it out. The few votes I've made so far I really didn't know what I was voting for or against. Just looked at the people around me and went along with them."
• During a debate on a Florida bill for a dress code for students, Republican Representative Kathleen Passidomo blamed the alleged gangrape of an 11-year-old on the way the girl was dressed. "There was an article about an 11 year old girl who was gang raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute," Passidomo claimed.
• While talking about gang rape and blaming the victim is apparently okay in the Florida House, don't use the U-word. Democrat Rep. Scott Randolph was chastised by the GOP leadership of the House for using the word "uterus" on the House floor. During debate on an anti-union bill, Randolph pointed out that Republicans claim to be against regulations, and then turn around and put all kinds of regulations on citizens. So he suggested that perhaps his wife should "incorporate her uterus" to benefit from the GOP's anti-regulatory ideology and get around their push for measures that would restrict abortions. (He got the line from his wife.) "The point was that Republicans are always talking about deregulation and big government," Randolph said. "And I always say their philosophy is small government for the big guy and big government for the little guy. And so, if my wife's uterus was incorporated or my friend's bedroom was incorporated, maybe they would be talking about deregulating."

  But according to House GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta, the using the U-word just went too far: "...[T]he Speaker believes it is important for all Members to be mindful of and respectful to visitors and guests, particularly the young pages and messengers who are seated in the chamber during debates. In the past, if the debate is going to contain language that would be considered inappropriate for children and other guests, the Speaker will make an announcement in advance, asking children and others who may be uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the floor and gallery."

• Republican governor Rick Scott is pushing to push to privatize Medicaid in Florida -- and a business he started, and handed over to his wife when he took office, could benefit enormously if the plan goes through.

  Scott started Solantic, a chain of walk-in urgent-care clinics, in 2001, just a few years after he resigned as the CEO of hospital giant Columbia/HCA amid a massive Medicare fraud scandal. He transferred his $62 million stake in Solantic to his wife when he took office, but this doesn't eliminate the conflict of interest.

  Solantic also offers drug testing services. And Scott recently signed an executive order requiring random drug testing of many state employees and applicants for state jobs -- and is pushing a bill to make poor people pay $35 for a drug test before they can collect welfare. On the other hand, he's opposed to a database that would help stop doctors from over-prescribing addictive prescription drugs, more likely to be abused by white middle- and upper-class people. That would be too much government intrusion into people's lives.

  Three months into his term, Scott's approval rating has fallen to 33 percent.

• But why should Florida have all the fun? The lunacy continues in Wisconsin where Republican Governor Scott Walker is using state funds to fund a sinecure for the son of a major campaign donor. With almost no management experience, 26-year-old college dropout (and two-time convicted drunk driver) Brian Deschane now manages dozens of employees and oversees state environmental and regulatory issues, making more than $81,500 a year. After only two months on the job, Deschane has already received a 26 percent pay raise and a promotion.

  Deschane’s father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders Association, which contributed $121,652 to Walker's campaign.

• Among the 50,000 emails sent to Walker during the fight over his union busting bill was one from Carlos F. Lam suggesting a "false flag" operation where an operative pretending to be on the union side would attack Walker. Lam is not just a random wacko, but a deputy prosecutor in Johnson County, Indiana. Or rather, he was: he resigned when the story came to light. Lam is the second Indiana prosecutor to lose his job over controversial statements about the Wisconsin protests: Jeff Cox, an Indiana deputy attorney general, was forced out after tweeting that Wisconsin police should use "live ammunition" to clear protesters from the state Capitol.
• Speaking of people from Wisconsin who draw a public salary, take a moment to shed a tear for Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, and his meager $174,000 salary. At a Polk County town hall meeting earlier this year, he complained that he's having trouble making ends meet on a taxpayer-funded salary three times the median income in Wisconsin.

  The GOP has been trying, unsuccessfully, to squash the video of Duffy's comments.

In a recent op-ed, Paul Krugman cuts through the budget fog and points out, "The whole budget debate, then, is a sham. House Republicans, in particular, are literally stealing food from the mouths of babes — nutritional aid to pregnant women and very young children is one of the items on their cutting block — so they can pose, falsely, as deficit hawks."

That the current budget debate is fraudulent is obvious to anyone who's paying attention. As I've mentioned, Wisconsin is a shining example -- Governor Scott Walker gave away over $100 million in tax breaks to the usual members of the investment class before declaring that the state's fiscal situation was so desperate that state employees would just have to bend over and take one for the team.

Says Krugman, "What would a serious approach to our fiscal problems involve? I can summarize it in seven words: health care, health care, health care, revenue."

It is health care -- not the broad category of "entitlements", but specifically health care -- that is set to rise sharply without action, both as the population ages and as our ridiculous system diverts a greater percentage of money away from doctors and nurses and into the pockets of private insurers like UnitedHealth, a company whose annual profits are greater than the entire budget of several states, and also into the coffers of Big Pharma companies, many of which are even bigger than UnitedHealth.

While Obama's health care reform plan is a weak effort, it's the most serious effort out there to address long term deficits.

Krugman continues, "This brings me to the seventh word of my summary of the real fiscal issues: if you’re serious about the deficit, you should be willing to consider closing at least part of this gap with higher taxes. True, higher taxes aren’t popular, but neither are cuts in government programs. So we should add to the roster of fundamentally unserious people anyone who talks about the deficit — as most of our prominent deficit scolds do — as if it were purely a spending issue."