« Our Candidates on the Economy | Open Thread Main | How Racist is America and How Is This Used and Perpetuated? Open Thread Version »
I Am Here to Kick Ass and Chew Bubble Gum.
I Am Here to Kick Ass and Chew Bubble Gum.
But, before the ass kicking, let us have a moment of reflection as both democrats and just ordinary people. How was your day today?
How many of you went to work today, or the store, or the doctors office, ect., and overheard someone loudly talking about politics? And, let me guess, were they deliberately trying to be overheard repeating lies, distortions, and making untrue historical assertions in a room full of strangers who all sat listening in silence to utter nonsense? Is it just me, or has that also happened to you recently?
Of course you've seen it, we all see it almost every day now as the election swings into its final stretch. People are mad, people are upset, they are talking about it all over. In intense whispers, the beginnings of a true political awakening are stirring. Everywhere we go, suddenly it is hip to be politically engaged. But for some reason, it seems only the assholes that mistakenly believe Iraq hit us on 911, or thinks that our economy is good, are the only ones being heard in the public square on a day to day basis. Why does that keep happening? Where do all these assholes come from?
They are busy making sure everyone in the room knows Clinton is to blame for the Bush economy, and that we should invade Russia because Palin don't like the way they look from her remote island off the coast of Nowhere, and that war is always great and torture is perfectly acceptable and lies are ok as long as we don't have to punish anyone for getting people killed with them.. And they almost always impart all this under the guise of having a 'private' conversation at the top of their vocal range, with some family member or random stranger they put on the spot. And most of them smile at you politely while doing it, daring you to challenge them and never believing you will. You would be instantly judged as 'impolite' to interrupt a 'private' conversation, and no one wants to be seen as rude.
When you heard that asshole sit there and loudly 'discuss' things you knew to be completely untrue, with no intent whatsoever to honestly adhere to historical facts, and insert contrived assertions not even based on reality onto the public around them...What did you do about it?
Did you just sit there, and listen? Did you consider that the people around you might think you rude to interrupt a 'private' conversation, even if it was being conducted in such a way as to make sure the public 'overhears' it ? Did your fists and teeth clench in anger as you sat there, forced into a taboo of silence as lies were being told openly, just feet from you? Did it make you angry? If not, it should have. If it did not, there is something wrong with you.Almost all of us are desperately afraid of speaking up in front of strangers or a crowd. It is a very intimidating experience. Most people will not do it scripted much less ad lib and on the spur of the moment. And we have all been taught to be polite in public, too, so interrupting the private conversations of strangers is generally taboo. The ones spreading these lies among our people, know most are afraid to speak out and they count on the taboo to continue on unchecked. All evil needs to win an argument is for good people to stay silent, and to our everlasting shame, most do.
This must change, and change forever. We must change the way we politic with each other. The sooner it happens, the better off our nation will be. If that persons conversation is dominating a room full of strangers in a public space, then it is no longer considered a 'private' conversation. It has been brought into the public domain of We the People and everyone who is forced to 'overhear' it has just as much right to be heard as the asshole who brought it up in the first place. As terrifying as it is to speak up, you must do it anyway. Not for yourself, but for all of our beloved countrymen who are right beside you also being exposed to these lies with no remission. We must speak up now because our entire nation, our way of life, and our future is under attack from lies within and if unchecked they will destroy us all. Our people are fed lies constantly, and we must speak up and stop them as soon as we hear them spoken.
Let me repeat that, AS SOON AS YOU HEAR THEM SPOKEN THEY MUST BE CONFRONTED.We must speak up because who else will? We have been fed so many lies very few even realize they are lies anymore. We can no longer allow lies to become reality simply because they are forced upon our people unchallenged. It never should have been tolerable or acceptable in the first place.
The next time you hear that asshole excusing John McCains every lie with his POW status while daring anyone to challenge it,... challenge it! Don't wait, just do it! Don't you dare sit there silent and angry anymore while it happens right in front of you.
Speak up, step up, stand up, and refuse to let them pass until they address the false information they are passing along.
We should not allow political liars to openly practice no more than we would let a religious charlatans among us selling our children magic beans to save their souls. Put a piece of gum in your mouth ( so you won't lock your clenched jaw), and kick their ass with a simple 3 step plan.
Speak up, Step Up, Stand Up.
1) Excuse me sir, but you know that is simply not true, right? I'll tell you how it is false.
2) Now that you know it is untrue will you correct your position to adhere to the facts?
3) If you will not correct said position, even after you can demonstrably be proven wrong, I have no choice but to believe you know the truth, and are simply disregarding it to deliberately assert false information into the PUBLIC conversation.
If you reach step 3, there is no longer a need to continue with the conversation.
There is no way to have a good faith debate with someone who is willing to lie. Let that room full of silent strangers silently judge the merits of the argument. Even if they stay silent this time, they will think about such things, and just perhaps, with your example, the next time they will not remain silent either. If the person you challenge reacts badly, let the public see it.
Let them see the true nature of those trying their level best to spread lies among them. Trust in the presence of many to make up their own minds and defend your right to present your argument with every right and protection the asshole was allowed to be heard under. 99% of those strangers around you are good smart people, just trying to get through their day like everyone else.
Their presence, their goodness will be your shield. The truth is your weapon. You have all you need to engage the darkness that has infected our body politic.
Protect the People, and they will protect you in turn. With love even. You do not have to dodge bullets for them or even sacrifice your normal routine, just speak up and protect them when you know they are being lied to. Show them you will not let them be used in such a way, even if they are strangers to you. Expose the charlatans for what they are even as they are in mid-trick.
I can not give any of you the enormous courage and will it takes to do such a brave thing as confronting lies in public. I have no secrets to make it less scary, nor can I even pretend that it will turn out well, because those you will confront are the nastiest type of propagandists there are, ones trying to avoid blame. They usually respond badly to being challenged. But we must not be afraid of doing the right thing simply because liars may get their feelings hurt and be exposed as liars. It is not 'impolite' to expose them, it is your duty to your nation to do so.
All I can say is that I hope you will at least think of these words the next time you are sitting there clenching your teeth and fists. I hope you will remember that you do not have to stay silent, you do not have to remain afraid, you do not have to listen to lies.
Speak up! Step up! Stand up! And take our country back from these lying assholes!
Touche'!
I am reading foreign papers at lunch from work & came across this pretty good comment from a young American! It could almost be written by someone like my son.
We didn't all fall for that RNC garbage.
I am a woman. I am American. I voted for Gore and Kerry. I was elated by Obama's acceptance speech.Palin gives me nightmares.
I've never had a passport. Not because I don't want one or am afraid I'll be spit on. I would love more then anything to go to Europe but I can't afford it. I owe 50,000 dollars in student loans for a degree that got me nowhere. I make $8.50 an hour and I have no vacation time, health insurance, or savings. A trip to Canada would be a breath of fresh air at this point. I can't even afford that.
We may lack global perspective, but you have no idea what it is like to live here. One of the reasons America has the problems it does is because it was a British colony inhabited by the desperate religious fringe. Those puritan exiles became Sara Palin. Happy?
My family came here during the early 20th century, one side from Ireland and one side from Italy. They were poor, they improved their lot, but what was all their hard work worth? They escaped the poor house, but three generations later here I am, penny-less and stuck in debt.
Sorry for the rant. I just wanted to offer an American point of view you may not be familiar with.
Christy sent in the awesome thread header. I am at work, so I will fix it later. Sorry Christy about the formatting. It messed up when I transfered it.
Let's kick ass.
I will kick the ass of every Korean who supports the Lee Myung-bak regime and its continued support of the American neocon agenda, from taking Iraqi oil to funding McCain/Palin to trying to ban gay marriage in California.
The actions of Lee Myung-bak add up to an act of war.
And McCain/Palin, like W, are traitors, by putting the interests of Lee Myung-bak above the interests of the American people.
BTW, from my apartment, I can see across the Han River, into South Korea's main National Cemetery. It is the final resting place of two dictatorial former Presidents - Syngman Rhee, an autocratic Korean-American and a war criminal who terrorized the nation for 12 years until being overthrown by a popular uprising; and Park Chung-hee, an 18-year unitary executive who took corporatism and belligerence to a new level.
I am tempted to go over there and do some numbers to their graves.
According to Carly Fiorina, none of the candidates running for President (or VP) would be qualified to run a major American corporation.
I guess she subscribes to the Dick Cheney / Donald Rumsfeld school of leadership.
With advocates like Carly, McCain has no need of enemies.
Oh, and MSNBC had a tally of McCain saying 23 times on the campaign trail that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And he doesn't follow up his statement with the quip: "and if you believe that one, I have a bridge I can sell you in Baghdad...
Christy
Good rant but here usually the shoe is on the other foot. There is a small group of Republicans in one district in Seattle who has the motto "You are not alone."
Unfortunately, I remember also when the ENTIRE bus full of people I was on (the Wallingford #43) hated Reagan's guts, yet he won by a landslide even though upwards of 80% here voted against him.
I am so sick of being on an island. I was hoping by now we would have spread our contagion further and created more Sodoms and Gomorrah's to terrorize the right with!!
I scream at the top of my lungs if I ever see a Hummer enter the city limits!! I come home from the north at night from the "Peace is Patriotic" bumper stickers to further south where they fairly abruptly change to "War is Terrorism."
It was a pleasure to deliver Governor Gregoire signs to people north of the city and see Obama signs all over the place out where there are winding roads, mailboxes and lots of trees.
I am so sick of only marginally still being able to stand it in this country! There are states I would be afraid to come to unless I had a nondescript car & friends to look up!
I have been getting emails from long-lost Republican inlaws. Midway through, they say something like "I am not political. Both sides are so dirty that I am not getting involved. At the last minute, I vote for the candidate that best mimics my values." (That is one I actually got. It's interesting that they are making contact.
So I have to say something like "I agree both sides are fighting negatively. There are things I disagree with for all the candidates. I didn't mind McCain so much back in 2000." & then I start to work on the a little. I actually never could stand McCain but I don't say that. I say that I don't agree with his running mate because she brings up guns, gods and gays and I believe in "to each his own." (I know they will swallow that because I know a bit about their own pasts.)
Then I say I have always been a Democrat but that I don't agree with every liberal comment I read and that I also vote along values lines - that I believe that those who cannot defend themselves, such as children, the elderly and the mentally ill - must sometimes have some help from the government - that the churches won't and can't do it all.
So far I am not sure how this is going to work. There is one uncle that I have been in touch with for awhile. I was sure he would vote for McCain (though he is smart, but that is also the reason I now doubt somewhat that he will vote for McCain.) My own mother came round the bend to sanity, but then she married some guy who is "the usual" for her town (either apathetic or redneck) and suddenly we are not discussing politics much.
slugbug
I scream at Toyota Priuses too - or ANY Toyota with a pro-labor bumper sticker. Toyota is the worst enemy of organized labor, in the US and worldwide.
And I certainly NEVER agree with all the liberal glorification of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, or the whole liberal orthodoxy about nonwhites being more open-minded and less homophobic than whites.
Both are blatant lies. Don't believe me? Join me here in Seoul, and you'll know.
I'm sorry I made a mistake above. I referred to "Peace is Patriotic" bumper stickers - they actually says "Pride of Patriotism" or something like that. "Peace is Patriotic" is another urban elitist bumper sticker.
By the way, I am now not only a proud liberal but a proud elitist. I lived in a 10x50 trailer and was on US government commodities. I am a self-made person. I thought people were supposed to work hard and get ahead, get educated in this country. Then when someone does they are "elitist."
McCain has 8 houses and Obama was on food stamps but Obama is "elitist." I've decided "elitist" simply means "smart." I met professors the other day (& have heard from a couple via email) who feel threatened now - they actually sound like those people who were "silenced" in fascist countries or who had to flee!
It is now in vogue in many quarters of this country to BRAG about how untravelled and uneducated you are. I wasn't able to travel for a long time and can't really now - but was never rich. I decided to try it, at a very low level - spending much less to go to Thailand or Europe (when the dollar was still worth something) than most people do at Vegas, Disneyland or Hawaii.
The whole issue is so damn ridiculous. Now that Obama has to have fund raisers he is called a "celebrity" again for being in Hollywood with Streisand when there is a hurricane going on or something. Tough.
Also amazing to read that McCain invented the Blackberry! I hadn't realized that! It's amazing! I think he invented WIFI too - pretty amazing for someone who can't email. His running mate is obviously selected by neocons - she made a hit during a cruise last year with one of the conservative think tanks.
Certainly a Governor should have been beyond Mexico and Canada. I am shocked.
How can they make fun of Obama's fundraiser? McCain's running mate was at a high-end fundraiser in Tampa today. He is supposed to be on public funding but they no doubt have some way to get around it.
slugbug
Al Gore invented the Internet - but that's far more believable than McCain and Blackberry.
slugbug wrote
Excellent point - but the liberal educated elites need to make more sense than all the gibberish crap about how great Chavez is, or how enlightened and inclusive nonwhite cultures are.
To the average nonwhite, those white liberal comments make as much sense, as all the Korean Confucian deference to the US Republicans does to the average American. In other words, nonsense.
""I am not political. Both sides are so dirty that I am not getting involved. At the last minute, I vote for the candidate that best mimics my values." ....So I have to say something like "I agree both sides are fighting negatively."
For one, tell them patriots ARE political, so pick a side and get on it. Apathy kills.
And the other thing I would like to point out is the thing about how 'both sides are fighting dirty'... I hear that everywhere and I just do not get it.
It is truthiness, not truth. But everyone believes it.
I do not see Obama fighting 'dirty'. I simply do NOT see it, and I have been watching closely. I must have missed something because from this perspective I think he has ran one of the most honorable and honest campaigns I probably have ever seen in my life. Effective too. If he wanted to fight dirty, there is more than enough ammo just laying there that he could have already blasted him with.
See, I have been thinking about this exact thing for a few days, I think this is EXACTLY what they are trying to do to Obama. I think I understand thier strategy.
These lies are like nothing else we have ever seen, so many of them, so openly, what could they possibly gain? We all keep scratching our heads at the flurry of lies and we think 'They must be desperate and just throwing crap hoping it will stick' But that is not what they are doing.
I think they are DELIBERATELY lying boldly and repeatedly to desensitize us to it and go ahead and draw it into the open. Because once we all say 'Hey, you are lying!' They will say 'But it is OK, because we ALLLLL DO IT!'
And we will all go, 'Oh, ok, well, that is true, I guess. Both sides are dirty, they must be.'.
The mcPOWs are not trying to pull Obama down into the gutter, they are trying to expand the gutter to boil up and taint him.
What I am about to say is not personal, nor is it meant to rehash old sh*t, I am just using it as an example because we all saw this exact argument in motion not too long ago.
Ok, the fight/discussion on here about Hillarys lies during the primaries. It was a perfect example of what they are doing now.
Once it was obvious she was lying, the only way to defend her was say 'But it is ok because we are all liars at some point, and they BOTH do it'.
Only problem is, only one of them can be proven innocent. But, how can they be innocent at all if 'they all do it'...?
And who cares about proof when we all KNOW 'both sides are dirty'. They can not make themselves look as honest as Obama, so all they can do is taint him as a liar simply because THEY are liars.
You watch, I bet you ten tacos that will be exactly the next round of argument. And if we are not careful it will work too because most people do believe in the truthiness of it.
That is one lie with ironic consequences.
100 years from now someone will say 'Ok children. Who invented the internet?' And as one, in a singsong voice they will all reply 'Al Gore!'.
And in trying to smear him, republicans instead began a reality that credits only Al Gore with one of the singular greatest inventions in all of the history of mankind. He will live forever in immortality because of it.
I love irony.
V called - she is safely on her way. We had a great Mexican dinner last night. Hope to get an update soon.
OT, but I just had the pleasure of helping John Kerry win in the MA primary - the first time he's had a democratic challenger in 24 years.
Go, Johnny, Go!
Good on you,Carol !!!
Word has it that McCain's female running mate will be, instead, accompanying him to the United Nations in New York City - to meet with foreign leaders. She has never met one, so this "crash course" will constitute her foreign policy experience prior to debating the venerable Senator Joseph Biden.
(photo courtesy of LENSCRAFTERS)
Want to hear your Palin baby name?
http://politsk.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah_13.html
I am incredibly sad and shocked. This morning there was a truck accident on the highway that diverted traffic all day.
Three truckers were involved. One fell asleep at approx. 1:00am and crossed the meridian and hit the oncoming truck which sideswpied the third truck.
Two of the drivers died.
My own bro was not involved in the accident ( tg!) and was north in Lansing at about the time of the accident. So I'm greatly relieved about that!
However, look at the skeletons of the trucks.
Maybe I'm wrong, but a part of me believes these high diesel prices for truckers are to blame. They need to drive the maximum amount of hours in order to pay for their trucks! Or if they work for others, they need to crank it up to keep a job!
I can't help wondering if truckers are facing two things:
1. probable bankruptcy
2. probable death
And those two reasons exist for the same reason. They can't afford to pay for their careers if they're not hauling a$$ as much as humanly possible.
You tell me...Is my theory correct?
The families are in my prayers. My husband is a truck driver . ++He avoided an accident in Canada in April . He lost his trailer and tanker. He was hurt . The dog and him walked away. The truck drivers are working extra hard due to the gas being over $1.50 per gallon higher than a year ago. Truck drivers get a bad wrap. I used to ride with my husband .Until people know what they go through to bring you everything from food, gas, cleaning products, veggies./ do not judge. There are good and bad drivers just like car drivers. There are a lot of deer in that area. A lot of drivers are losing their rigs or just shutting down due to fuel costs.
~~~
Maybe you should ride along with a driver that delivers and p/u at the Wal-marts of the world. When a shipper/reciever forces a driver to hand unload or to pay to unload the product. Grocery warehouses , big box stores, and the trucking companys all share the blame. Very little home time, poor living conditions. low wages.
I think about all that when I even see those trucks.
Christy, I love your advice and I'm just glad that Australians are either disinterested or don't bother spreading lies. Having said that, I do run the risk of being shot as I walk around town pushing my geriatric trolley with it's "Save Tasmania from the Pulp Mill" stickers emblazoned all over it. However, it is excellent advice and I hope that more and more people will challenge the idiots.
I just read this paragraph and laughed so hard that I thought you'd all enjoy it too. Of course I'm not thinking on to the unthinkable.
From Catherine Deveney's opinion piece in today's Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/welcome-to-this-years-blockbuster-20080916-4hui.html
Christy I didn't mean that Australia doesn't have its share of liars. We just don't bother spreading politicians lies most of the time. Even when Howard lied his pants off to get elected the last time, he was punished the next time and even lost his own seat, not just the prime-ministership. Most of the time our elections aren't as important as yours. We only get really agitated when we follow the US into war which we seem to do whenever the situation arises. And I hope like hell we won't be following Palin anywhere.
sparrow. I think often about truckers. We are such a huge and empty country that truckers have to drive outrageous distances just to make a meagre living. We are totally dependent on them because most of our small country rail outposts have been closed for many years.
And when there's an accident, it is horrible. A trucker here last year ran into a country train at a crossing. He cried and cried and cried for a very long time. His life is over because several people died and it was his fault. The tragedy is as much about him and his family as it is about those who died and their families.
Slugbug said:
Word has it that McCain's female running mate will be, instead, accompanying him to the United Nations in New York City - to meet with foreign leaders.
---Gee - I wonder if she's feeling in over her head yet. They're probably all polite enough to hold their guffaws until she walks away. Or maybe they'll just pat JM on the back for bringing his mistress along. (language barrier, you know).
I think they take her threat seriously and don't guffaw. You're talking about the group of people who had to deal with Bolton (who wasn't confirmed) and who know how far extreme those folks go.
She will not be a pretty sight to them. No matter how pretty she looks in person. They already see her soul, they see her aura, and they know that she carries bad intentions with her. (They know this because they are more willing to read and understand the facts in her bio than some people who just would ignore the bad she's already committed in office.)
Paul Begolia on kos
Excellent diary. But two great things in in.
First this quote:
With a dozen gifted researchers and writers, I spent six months examining the McCain record. The result is a new book called Third Term: Why George W. Bush Loves John McCain. And while his sycophantic supporters in corporate media extol his maverick status, the real record is very different. We went through property records to uncover that McCain actually owns nine homes, not the seven you’ve heard about. We plowed through voting records to document that McCain votes with Bush 91 percent of the time. 91 percent. As Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) said, when a senator votes with the president 91 percent of the time, he’s not a maverick, he’s a sidekick.
But all that research – reflected in the 800+ footnotes in our book – didn’t tell the story as dramatically as I wanted. So I asked Ari Rabin-Havt, resident genius, to tell the McCain-Bush story more effectively. He rummaged through old movie posters and reinterpreted them to reflect the Bush-McCain relationship.
And second...
Whoever posted this link (or if it was from someone's blog) thank you!
I love the 'take' on some of the posts over there.The Monkey Cage
(Monkey is this your blog?)
Looky Looky!
"Circa midnight Tuesday the 16th of September (EST) activists loosely affiliated with the group 'anonymous' gained access to U.S. Republican Party Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account gov.palin@yahoo.com and passed information to Wikileaks. Governor Palin has come under criticism for using private email accounts to conduct government business and in the process avoid transparency laws. The zip archive made available by Wikileaks contains screen shots of Palin's inbox, two example emails, address book and a couple of family photos. The list of correspondence, together with the account name, appears to re-enforce the criticism. Wikileaks may release additional emails should they be of political substance.
http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin_Yahoo_inbox_2008
Best advise from a freeper at Free Republic
DCP'rs is anyone here going to the Netroots Nation next year? (Email me if you are.)
Is it only American registered voters who are allowed to donate to your political parties? Would it smell really bad if someone who didn't get financial donations from around the world were to discover them in the coffers of the competition. Even if they amounted to a total of $50 US?
What's the legality?
Put simply can I donate a few dollars to one of the candidates running in your presidential election?
Woz,
No. I don't think you are allowed to donate to a candidate; however, you might be able to donate to an organization such as a 501c3.
Someone else might have to answer that.
Woz
You can donate to 527 organizations such as Move-On.org and the like. They are non-partisan oranizations. Or you can send some Vegimite and I'll put something in the till (jk).
Ok, Matthews was right here. HOWEVER, he still didn't say it. "THE REPUBLICANS HAVE STOPPED CONGRESS BY FILIBUSTERING 94 BILLS! SO STOP BLAMING THE DEMOCRATS WHEN YOUR PARTY HAS WASTED THE TAXPAYERS TIME AND MONEY AND THEY ARE SUFFERING!"
Maybe we should shower the media and the blogs with that ONE CLEAR MESSAGE!
Worst crisis since the 1930s
The financial crisis that began 13 months ago has entered a new, more serious phase. »What needs fixing
* WaMu for sale?
* Morgan Stanley?
* Where Uncle Sam gets bailout money
woz
ABQ John is mostly correct.
Of course, pro-Repuke foreign governments have their fronts in the US to channel their money to the Republicans directly and indirectly.
South Korea has the Unification Church, for example.
Another news here from Seoul: the Ministry of Defence has asked the textbook publishers to throw out the "leftist bias" in the nation's textbooks, and beautify the "accomplishments" of the previous fascist dictatorships. The 1980 massacre of hundreds/thousands of pro-democracy activists is to be re-written as a valiant struggle against a Communist insurrection.
Might as well throw out the democratic Constitution of 1987, and apply for US statehood with the Repukes.
abqJohn. Sounds like a great deal to me. I will need to check whether I am still able to send a food product that looks like axle grease to the US, and if so - let me know where and I'll send you some! My sister always liked Milo and jaffas in her parcels too. You interested?
If my friend's Ray study (which I quote in "Bubble in Time") is accurate, and it's looking quite persuasive at this moment, the bottom for this market should be around 2010 or so. A bear market typically sees a loss of 80-90% of value. That means that the downside for the DOW should be around 3,000 - perhaps higher if the FED chooses to allow inflation to run rampant. We're at 10,500 now.
I read somewhere over the past couple of weeks that 9% of the American people are currently behind on their mortgage payments. What that tells me is that we're looking at the tip-of-the-iceberg when it comes to foreclosure losses.
The only solution that I can think of is jobs - jobs that allow Americans to keep paying off their mortgages and credit cards. This is exactly the scenario that I've been warning about (if only people outside of DCP read me) since 2003.
Unless somebody does something very quickly to spur job creation in this country - and I don't mean "round-up the usual suspects individual tax cuts", we're headed for a mudslide that will take down what remains of the financial services industry, and leave many Americans in dire straights.
We desperately need a national industrial strategy that revives American manufacturing, by introducing a tax code that rewards business that create jobs, and the people who actually work, rather than passive investment - while still requiring the people who make the most in this country to pay their fair share (think Clinton-era rates at a starting point).
We've collectively set up this house of cards to collapse, and unless someone is prepared to deal from outside the deck, this house will indeed collapse. And that will be a very bad thing for Americans.
http://www.hpleft.com/040303.html
http://www.hpleft.com/070403.html
Then .. he assumed he was a Latin American leader .. the type he wouldn't want to meet with more at TPM like Chavez? or maybe confused history - confusing Zapatero with Zapatista?
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) – Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.
“We’re going to do a few new things also,” she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”
There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.
In 2006 and 2007, Obama teamed up with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn to pass the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, also known as “Google for Government.” The act created a free, searchable web site – USASpending.gov — that discloses to the public all federal grants, contracts, loans and insurance payments.
more...
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/18/palins-transparency-proposal-already-exists-in-dc/
Monkey see...
Palin Doo Doo...
Yes...she is SO in-touch with the issues and prepared to lead...
NOT!!!
Is McCain going to now take credit for inventing the Internet(s)?!?!?
Maybe her diet is off since she has been on the raod...you know...all those small town BBQs eating carmelized meat and lots of beans.
Smokin' Crack.
Silly BaterGate, McCain invented the DingleBerry
Crackin' smoke.
Woz
My son, abqjr, has been to your great country and loved it! I want to go someday just to see it.
I'll check with him to see what Milos and Jaffes are. I'll try almost anything especially if he knows about it.
And let me know what till you're interested in:I'll take care of it for you.
abq
Joe and Hillary on women's issues. This is long, but good to listen to. The last three minutes are the best!
People we got a serious problem in Texas.
First pics from the disaster area. And we have to get them from the UK.
There has to be thousands dead. There is no way our death/missing tolls are anywhere near correct.
Go look
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1055660/After-storm-Floating-coffins-prowling-alligators-amid-Hurricane-Ikes-7bn-trail-destruction.html
abq - email suz with your email address to pass on to me please and I'll email you.
Oh what can I say, Christy. After reading that - and it's the middle of the day here - I just want to go curl up in bed and pretend that I didn't read it and see all of those photos.
I feel close to tears. Nothing I can say or do to help anyone touched by that monstrosity of a natural calamity.
Comforting at last:
Palin effect losing its momentum
Robin Toner and Adam Nagourney, Washington
September 19, 2008
DESPITE trying to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, John McCain is seen by voters as less likely to bring change to Washington than Barack Obama.
Senator McCain is widely viewed as a "typical Republican" who would continue, or expand, President George Bush's policies, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. Polls taken after the Republican national convention suggested Senator McCain had enjoyed a surge of support - particularly among white women after his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate - but the latest poll indicates "the Palin effect" was, at least so far, of limited duration.
continued: http://www.theage.com.au/world/palin-effect-losing-its-momentum-20080918-4je1.html?page=1
Bush decided Tuesday to have FEMA pick up 100 percent of the costs for debris removal and emergency measures that Texas governments incurred when Hurricane Ike blasted ashore at Galveston last week.
When Jindal saw that, he decided to renew his call for eliminating the 25 percent share Louisiana must pay for the public costs from both Ike and Hurricane Gustav, which hit the state 12 days earlier.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/bush-favors-texas-over-lo_b_127629.html
So of course, with Obama gaining major traction as the economy melts down, you know the only thing that can swing things back to McNutty is a good old fashion terror alert, right?
Stay tuned for a well timed national security threat.
I hope they try a terror alert. I hope they try several of them.
See... Funy thing...That only works when most people believe the threat is REAL.
And all of them, all of the cabal, they are too damn arrogant and condescending to realize NO ONE believes anything they say at all anymore. No one.
Let them try a terror alert it will backfire instantly for two reasons.
1) No one believes them anymore. Most certainly not now at the height of an election.
And...
2) Even if the threat IS real or is truthy, the ones in charge will take direct responsibility for not keeping us safe. What have they been doing then?
Terror Alert? Bring it on! There is nothing like backlash taking instant effect.
Let bush try to cancel our elections because of some 'grave threat'. LET HIM TRY IT!
As a matter of a fact it would simplify everything if he did just go on and try it. The Revolution would no longer be in doubt, it would be in play.
Go on you limp noodle republicans, JUST TRY IT. I DARE YOU. I TRIPLE DOG DARE.
With whip cream and cherries on top.
McCain and the POW Cover-up
Snip...
Does this hint at explanations for McCain's efforts to bury information about prisoners or other disturbing pieces of the Vietnam War? Does he suppress POW information because its surfacing rekindles his feelings of shame? On this subject, all I have are questions. But even without answers to what may be hidden in the recesses of someone's mind, one thing about the POW story is clear: if American prisoners were dishonored by being written off and left to die, that's something the American public ought to know about.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081006/schanberg/
Vermont AG candidate says she would prosecute Bush for murder
A local candidate in Vermont has promised to charge and prosecute President Bush for murder if elected as that state's attorney general.
The Associated Press reports that Charlotte Dennett, who's running on the Progressive Party ticket to be Vermont's Attorney General, promised to appoint a special prosecutor to bring charges holding Bush accountable for the deaths of more than 4,000 troops in Iraq.
Dennet, speaking at a press conference in Burlington this week, said she would appoint Vincent Bugliosi as a special prosecutor in the case. A former Los Angeles County district attorney who was in charge of Charles Manson's murder case, Bugliosi has outlined his strategy against the president in his recent book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.
Conts.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Vermont_AG_candidate_says_she_would_0919.html
Vote in the PBS poll re: is Palin qualified:
This is a chance for you to tell PBS (on-line poll) whether you consider Sarah Palin qualified to be vice president of our country.
Pass it on!
http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html
Paulson says credit rescue package needs to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars; will ask Congress to take action on legislation next week 10:17am EDT
HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!!
Sounds like something out of Austin Powers, eh?
Can you spell that smell kiddies?!?!
C O R P O R A T I S M = Economic Fascism
How many of us would like to have our mortgage or credit card debt paid by everyone else in the nation? (Rhetorical question)
And in typically criminal Neocon behavior...
Palin's husband refuses to testify in Alaska probe.
Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:58am EDT
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The husband of Gov. Sarah Palin will ignore a subpoena from Alaska lawmakers investigating whether the Republican vice presidential nominee's firing of a state commissioner constituted an abuse of power, officials from her campaign said on Thursday.
Todd Palin was among 13 people, including several Palin administration staffers, subpoenaed by a legislative committee to testify in private or at a hearing scheduled for Friday.
The governor's husband, however, refuses to answer questions to a panel that he believes is politically motivated, according to campaign officials for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Palin.
"The objections boil down to the fact that the legislative council investigation is no longer a legitimate investigation because it has been subjected to complete partisanship," campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said.
Todd Palin could be found in contempt of the legislature for failing to comply, but the whole body would have to be in session to do so, and it is not scheduled to reconvene until January.
O'Callaghan, a former federal prosecutor who has traveled to Alaska to advise the Palins and others implicated in the probe, argue that supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are controlling the investigation.
The abuse-of-power investigation is seeking to determine whether Gov. Palin dismissed former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he declined to fire a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce from the governor's sister.
"Nobody is above the law," said State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat. "Just because you're the husband of someone who is running for vice president doesn't mean you can flout the law."
Continued...
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1834757920080919
Palin's crime?
"The abuse-of-power investigation is seeking to determine whether Gov. Palin dismissed former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he declined to fire a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce from the governor's sister."
We all have had crazy in-laws, family members, friends and/or neighbors but as GOVERNOR she tried to be as vindictive as to destroy a State Trooper's life and when the person with the power to do so refused...PALIN CUT OFF HIS BALLS by firing him!!!
Is this leadership or the ever present sense of entitlement of the Neocons...the eternal immaturity and inability to show leadership and self-control?
You decide. As the good Senator from Alaska says,"Nobody is above the law," said State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat. "Just because you're the husband of someone who is running for vice president doesn't mean you can flout the law."
I say impeach the biatch and send her packing out of the elections and into oblivion!!!
Got Rant?
McCain...
Palin' in comparison to REAL leadership!
Obama/Biden 2008
It's only the future of America as we have known it!!!
Amazing. The bailout of the Financial Markets is likely to cost half a trillion dollars to the taxpayer.
Meanwhile, the GOP is still refusing to do anything to help the unemployed.
Correction Matthew...
The trillions of dollars for the war in Iraq, the bailout of American corporations for absolute mismanagement, fraud and greed and the tax-cuts for the wealthiest of Americans is not coming from the taxpayer...at least not you and me...
Generations will be paying off that debt to the Chinese.
Got Mandarin?
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE!!!
For Sale: America
Choose your area of the country you would like to own! CHEAP! CHEAP! CHEAP!!! Bank Repos, Defaulted Loans, No Financing needed (or available)
CASH ONLY!!!
(Precious Metals Preferred - NO US CURRENCY ACCEPTED!)
Own your own piece of the former United States!!!
Foreign Investors WELCOME!!!
Sad...but oh so true...
Hey wait a bloody minute!
Since we all now own AIG that should be the perfect conditions/layout needed to give everyone MEDICAL INSURANCE... right?
If we can socialize Wall Street then we can use them to socialize our medical system, as well.
I think most Americans would consider that fair. It is the least they can do with trillions of dollars of OUR money.
Once it said this in rhetorical jest, but today that jest has turned into fact.
Dubya: Doing for America what he did for Harken and Arbusto.
This is tonight but I am possibly too depressed to go to it.
PUBLIC FORUM
AND BOOK SIGNING
ELECTION FRAUD IN OHIO 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips will present findings from his new book “Witness to a Crime: A Citizens’ Audit of an American Election.” The book comes with a CD containing 1200 photographs of actual forensic evidence: ballots, poll books, voter signature books, and other election records from Ohio
“Richard Hayes Phillips worked day and night for three years compiling irrefutable evidence of how the Republicans stole the 2004 presidential race in Ohio. This landmark investigation is a testament to what private citizens can accomplish when government officials fail to protect our right to vote and to count those votes as cast. Every American – Republican and Democrat – should read this book, and join the fight for democracy’s most fundamental right.”
Christy
Completely agreed!
In an Editorial, the Seattle Times has endorsed Barack Obama.
The endorsement opens with a reference to current economic crisis.
The conservative-reputationed Times at one point unmasks McCain's inability to be effective in dealing with the nation's economy:The endorsement then goes on to highlight Obama's positions on the economy, energy, the Iraq war and education. This section is "meaty" enough that I will reprint it in full.
DailyKos also has an article on this, which is where I got my original pleasant "head's up" before heading off to bed before a long day. I then wrote the above article for NW Progressive Institute and BarackLikeMe.
also at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com TOP STORY - made my day!
PENTAGON SHIPS TROOPS TO THE US TO PREPARE FOR CIVIL UNREST
http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2008/09/18/pentagon-ships-troops-to-the-us-to-prepare-for-civil-unrest/
“There is no question that the Government of the United States is operating in panic mode right now due to the ever-escalating bad news in our financial markets, and they are doing whatever they believe is necessary to soften the economic fall taking place no matter what the Constitution allows. That alone should tell you how desperate things really are right now.
“Public officials of all stripes are facing a public backlash when the inevitable crash occurs, and I’m not talking about people showing up in town meetings and venting their frustrations. No, I’m talking about the consequences public officials face when all forms of Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and general welfare dry up. When that happens, and I am quite certain it will, there will be a level of violence that erupts all over this nation, from attacks on all forms of government to ransacked commercial firms by armed gangs to in-home invasions by desperate people who cannot feed their children.”
I could cry for what they've done to this country and this world.
I am so angry--and angrier every time I see a McCain sign or speak to a McCain supporter. I want to ask them, "WTF are you thinking?"
Look, I think for many of us, we're going through stages of grief and withdrawal. The question is barely "how can we survive until the next election?" but instead it's "Holy crap, wtf else will they do to destroy us before they get the Hell out of DC?"
This country is in shambles! This world is in shambles.
I want to say, "I told you so." Or I want to turn and point the finger at them and blame them.
I find it unthinkable that these media jerks who DESTROYED US with their complicity now talk about historic disasters!
Also, I have to say that those who are pro-life actually anti-abortions not pro-life have just destroyed the living. There will be TRILLIONS of dollars in bailouts that will prevent Universal Healthcare. It will prevent social programs, education, jobs, social security, medicare, medicaid, etc...
So their anti-abortion votes have just caused those of us LIVING in the world here and now to effing LIVE A LONG AND PAINFUL miseralbe life. Probably starving, homeless on the streets. Freezing. Dying of terrible illnesses.
There is NO WAY in my opinion that we will be able to recover from this disaster to be able to give REAL LIFE HELP to the living.
Right now, I'm unspeakably depressed and angry at those people who put wombs with a view before ROOMS with a view.
TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF A GOVERNMENT BAILOUT BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE COLLUDED TO DESTROY OUR RIGHTS AND TO ALLOW CORPS UNLIMITED DEREGULATION. TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO FAILED CORPS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY PREVENT REAL POLICIES FOR THE LIVING.
Come Monday morning, it is all going to fall through, isn't it?
This 'bail out' is not really a bailout at all is it? It is one last enduring heist.
A looting spree in broad daylight.
September 20, 2008
Talking Business
A Hail Mary Pass, but No Receiver in the End Zone
By JOE NOCERA
It was the end of the worst week for financial markets since 1929, and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. looked sleep-deprived.
He had begun the week agreeing to let Lehman Brothers go bankrupt, arguing that the government had to stop putting taxpayers’ money at risk. Then, midweek, he brokered a deal to rescue the American International Group with an $85 billion loan from taxpayers — arguing that the risk to the financial system was too high to allow the world’s biggest insurer to fail.
Neither move had done anything to stop the financial tsunami. So on Friday morning, just as the markets were opening, Mr. Paulson unveiled the government’s latest attempt to stop the bleeding. Maybe it was because he was so tired, but there was none of the glass-half-full blather that is de rigueur for a cabinet secretary. Instead, his flat, just-the-facts-ma’am voice and weary body language conveyed an unusual sense of urgency.
The core issue, he said — the mistake that had led to all the other mistakes — was that “lax lending practices earlier this decade led to irresponsible lending and irresponsible borrowing.” True. As for Wall Street, toxic mortgage-backed securities had become “frozen on the balance sheet of banks and financial institutions.” He added, “The inability to determine their worth has fostered uncertainty about mortgage assets and even about the financial condition of the institutions that own them.” True again.
And that really is the crux of the matter — the financial system has seized up. But so far, the government’s actions haven’t helped. Letting Lehman go bust may have sounded good at the time, but it has had disastrous consequences.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/20nocera.html
Well, I know this is useless, but here goes. Yes, Obama's campaign has lied. And so has McCain's. Both campaigns have tried to distance themselves from their own parties -- Obama's by trashing the Clintons as racist liars, and McCain's by distancing themselves from Bush (gutted regularoty agencies). In the primaries, Obama's campaign lied about NAFTA, and in the generals it reversed its position on public funding for campaign finance. It also misrepresented McCain's remark on 100 years and Iraq. McCain's campaign misrepresented Obama's position on sex education and something else too which I can't remember right now. That is on the minus side. On the plus side, both seem to support a program of energy independence that includes a "Manhattan Project" for alternative energy. Either would be a big step forward from Bush Jr. If McCain is POTUS, he'll have to deal with a Democrat controlled Legislative, which should keep some balance. Neither is addressing electoral reform, which was one of the founding issues of the DCP. As a Democrat, I'd be happy with an Obama presidency (despite his lack of experience and the fact that many of his most vocal supporters hate Clinton Democrats like me) and that's how I will vote in Texas, but McCain wouldn't be the end of the world either.
Chuck, fed up with US politics, in Jakarta
PS: The electricity came back on on our street yesterday
Why I'm a Democrat:
1. National health insurance to take care of people and to make US business more comptetitive
2. Progressive taxation so that those that benefit the most from citizenship in our great country help take care of those left behind
3. Using the federal government to promote the general welfare by undertaking infrastucture projects such as the interstate highway system, the internet, and, I hope, energy independence
Chuck in Jakarta
Chuck,
I disagree with you about whose campaign lied abour rascism in the primaries. Sorry. But I'm not inclined to give hillary or obama or bill a pass on anything that happened in the campaign. But it was the Clintons who decided to implement a scortched earth campaign and that campaign is now being used by McCain. AND furthermore, if Hillary had campaigned in the manner that she spoke at her concension and at the DNC, she would have probably won the primary. Sorry. But it's true. She played it wrong and then her side tried to blame Obama for something that Bill Clinton began.
And I strongly disagree about "both campaigns lying." If you're referring to Obama and McCain. Obama hasn't lied about McCain's actions or votes. McCain has lied, lied, and lied about serious things and even crossed into the land of SWIFTBOAT LYING which is even worse.
But frankly, it doesn't matter.
Because the fact is that Mccain IS different from both Hillary and Obama. And should McCain get into office, he will continue the raping and louting of the poor. And he will continue to create a serfdom here in the US.
I appreciate that you're a blue dog dem, Chuck. But make no mistake. McCain is never ever going to create legislation that helps this country.
Chuck said:
Why I'm a Democrat:
1. National health insurance to take care of people and to make US business more comptetitive
2. Progressive taxation so that those that benefit the most from citizenship in our great country help take care of those left behind
3. Using the federal government to promote the general welfare by undertaking infrastucture projects such as the interstate highway system, the internet, and, I hope, energy independence
Chuck in Jakarta
~~~
Why McCain is the end of the world:
he's not:
Chuck said:
Why I'm a Democrat:
1. National health insurance to take care of people and to make US business more comptetitive
2. Progressive taxation so that those that benefit the most from citizenship in our great country help take care of those left behind
3. Using the federal government to promote the general welfare by undertaking infrastucture projects such as the interstate highway system, the internet, and, I hope, energy independence
4. he's procorporation.
5. Bomb, bomb, bomb...bomb bomb Iran...
and more...
Sparrow:
It does matter, but it is not of any moment. I also don't give Obama a pass the same way you don't give the Clintons a pass. I intensely dislike the way he ran his primary campaign (I don't see that my side ever scorched any earth). I have to swallow that though. I really disliked the Obama campaign, and I do not think he is a good candidate as a person, but I have to rise above that and vote party rather than person. Like I said, I will pull the lever Democrat. If he looses, though, I am not without hope. I do not think that McCain is an unreasonable person. Confronted with a Democratic legistlative and given his proven record of working accross the aisle, maybe we could get a bi-partisan consensus on the three issues I mentioned and make it happen as a country. Either way I guess I will live with it.
Chuck in Jakarta
I don't believe the Clintons are racist but some of their supporters were/are (see front page article just up on racism in America) but so are a shockingly large portion of Democrats and Independents. The study doesn't give a breakdown that I saw for region or age but I would predict that opinions are more overt in the south but still covertly held in the north. I never did believe this but I do now. Unless our businesses and neighborhoods are more integrated, I do believe the racism exists country wide. If any group is changing, it is our young people, and they have proven it with their support for Obama, which is why I came to support him. (I supported Clinton initially, when most people I knew supported Edwards.) I think if anything, the Clintons were very aware of the racism in America, and how some in places such as where they have lived (Arkansas) view the world but I think calling them racist is barking up the wrong tree. I do think they had an advantage over Obama, being white. I think America is very racist and even moreso after reading the study. I had held on to the other two items, not knowing what to do with them, and then when I read the study I knew.
If Obama doesn't win the election, I plan to continue working for sort of a Civil Rights movement. I may harbor some kinds of unconscious prejudices myself, as everyone probably does, but I have been working all my life to overcome them. The study made me literally sick to my stomach.
Sparrow:
By the way, I am pro-corporation too. I think Obama is too (or at least I certainly hope so!). I work for corporations. Corporations define our economy, and have for some, I don't know, 150 or 200 years. I am also not a big fan of the government of Iran.
Chuck in Jakarta working for Oil Corporations
Slug Bug:
Racism is an evil aspect of human behavior that manifests itself in different places and different times in different ways. I know you know we agree on that and I love Alice Miller on that, as we have discussed. It is evil. Bill Clinton in particular did a lot to fight that evil in a particular place in a particular time and we should acknowledge and honor that. And he didn't fight it in some cocktail lounge where there was no price to pay for fighting that fight, if you know what I mean (and I think you do). My mom, from Faquier County Virginia, was the same way.
Chuck in Jakarta
Guys -- I know you think I am just an old reprobate on this stuff (whatever that means -- I'll have to google it soon). But, without considering me as a person, please be advised that a lot of people in America have these thoughts and feelings. And, to win POTUS, you all may want to consider that you do have fellow citizens that: (1) may not be zombies or racists, (2) do not love Barack Obama, and (3) do not hate John McCain (or Sarah Palin). And whatever happens after the elections, we will all be fellow citizens still.
Love, and GOTV 2008 for Obama!
Chuck in Jakarta
great op-ed in the NYT:
Blocking Care for Women
By HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON and CECILE RICHARDS
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/19clinton.html?_r%201%20th%20emc%20th&oref=slogin#6252373605723
Here's a good article from Sean Penn at HuffPo. Sometimes he shoots from the hip, but he's a no BS person and I've heard him rail at hypocrites.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-penn/country-first-or-how-the_b_126965.html
Joe Biden is good - Look! Even on FOX ..
http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=7456633&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
Sparrow:
I'm actually a yellow dog Democrat (not blue -- not sure what a blue dog is in that respect). And as such I will vote for Obama. However, if McCain wins, even though he may not be 100% behind my three main issues, he may be the person to push them through, which in itself is not a bad thing -- sometimes in politics it is good to have the opposition party push through some key legislation, as it protects your flank, as it were. That's the essence of bi-partisanship, I think. So all I am saying is Give Peace a Chance.
Chuck in Jakarta
And old Pipsqeaks standby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM&feature=related
Concrete Jungle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cT9sJ-lrJY&feature=related
I can see clearly now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzGV9Bl6CGg&feature=related
As sure as the sun will shine, the harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjtXfkHCEkY&feature=related
Here is a YouTube video I made myself! (Miss Kittin)
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=nfAY9ritGWI
It could be the '80s again! I actually had to go out on a work night (very unusual, very punishing)
SB:
That is not fair! I have nothing of my own that still exists in that respect! Would that it were that you were there of a night at