Another Must Read.....and bonus! a rant

One of the pages I follow on Facebook posted this earlier and I must say, it blew me away. Remember a while back, when I said that I don't think the Civil War ended? What I didn't do was say it nearly as well as Charles P. Pierce does in this article. 

It really needs to be spread far and wide to every one who really wants to hold us together long enough to repair the damage and the wounds of the last 150 years....hell, from the pilgrims forward truth be told.

With our corporate media rushing to blame Islamic terrorists for the recent horrible events in Norway  when it turns out he is a blond, blue-eyed Nazi-type nationalist, makes me remember all the right wing nationalist attacks on American soil that no one talks about with any semblance of rationality. It's all about who wins and who loses the media day and the ratings and the whining from the very people who encourage and support these same ideas for political gain and power and wealth. Greed basically. All these christo-facists who will reap the rewards by the people too dumb or lazy or apathetic  to really pay attention that the 'religion' they all espouse is nothing but a facade to keep or gain power and money. And here they are ready to plunge the entire fucking world back into the worst depression any of us have ever seen, worse than the Great Depression of my grandparents era, by using peoples faith.
That worldwide depression led to the rise of Hitler, a world war and a cold war. World War II may have brought the United States out of depression, but what did we get for it? A literally divided world between free people and not free people. For 50 years we lived like this. Many innocents suffered in the undeclared wars of the 50's and 60's into the 70's. Korea, Vietnam, Hungary, Germany, Romania, Czechoslavakia, Iran, Iraq (funny, that) and another fun trip back in time in Afghanistan and on and on and on.....
Then the Cold War ended. (I have to say that as a military brat, the youngest of 4 girls, during the 60's and 70's that my sisters had no idea what the Cold War was....I was and still am, astounded by that. For those of you who share my sisters ignorance, go here.)  
So what happened after that? We turned on each other. Funny thing about us humans, we have to have an enemy. I don't know why, but I wish evolution would hurry up, we'll never get to the 24th Century that Gene Roddenberry envisioned and I want. Anywho, the entire era of the Cold War, it was politically advantageous for republicans to win elections by painting the democrats as weak on foreign policy. The reason they could safely have that ground was because they would actually cross the line and do things that democrats wouldn't. But on the other hand, the dems with the Gulf of Tonkin, some dems would and could. Which may be the genesis of the 'both sides do it' meme that is so familiar today. Then Nixon came along and did what he did and got away with it which enabled people like Donald Rumsfeld, Roger Ailes and Dick Cheney to do what brings us to the United States electing a black man for President. Can you imagine? It wasn't supposed to be like that at all....they have to have been so disappointed when that happened. But then, they got together at a Koch Brothers event in Palm Springs or somewhere equally posh and thought up the wonderful world we live in now. Just writing that feels like a conspiracy theory and maybe that's by design? Because there wouldn't be people out there who would deliberately want to destroy the entire nation and economy on purpose....right?
Well, I don't really think so.....I think their motives were, and are, greed and power and money. I don't think they realized the economic situation in the country....and really, how could they? They live in a world that knows no limits, none. They don't live in the world that the rest of us do. Where people like me have to budget the $20.00 co-pay to see the doctor. They don't worry about people out there who have to wonder, should I pay the electric bill or put gas in the car? They didn't know that was there when they started I don't think. Maybe they thought it was like 1992 and all we needed was a little political wrangling to get them more. I don't know. What I think is that they didn't realize the economic situation or, and this is the important part, the level of fear that they had been fomenting for years with faux news and rush and all the others....they had control before, why would this be any different?
So here we are, on the brink of default. Yay for us.

My question then is this, what do they do now? They have made compromise of any sort impossible with their behavior during President Obama's tenure. So what happens? They give? The President gives? I honestly cannot believe they have put him in this position. And it won't matter who will 'win' this battle. The politicians win. The corporate media wins. The losers? Me, you, the entire world that isn't in the top 2%. And the people who have brought us here? Only 27-33% of the Grand Old Party of the United States of America. The people who have been shunned, rightly, by civil society. The people on the fringe. This time though, the corporations had media holdings to bring the people too dumb, lazy or apathetic a story they could accept and make themselves feel better.
That doesn't seem like a fair deal. At all.

That's it. Rant over. But go read Charles P. Pierce's article which brought us all here. :) You can read it here.

What she said.....

This is a must read. I agree completely with Desert Crone. Please go read it here.

Yet, still Olbermann and other critics frequently go to great lengths to give President Obama advice on how to do this or that. The fact that Obama is a pragmatist and a Constitutional scholar with a brilliant mind leads me to believe that his positions on issues are not based on his religious beliefs or political scheming but the most pragmatic, quickest way to do the right thing for people of the United States. Thus, he has used and is using his executive powers to make it easier for unions to organize, to implement parts of the DREAM Act, and to obtain civil rights for LGBT’s. If Congress won’t get the job done, then Obama looks for other avenues.

Bravo Desert Crone! Bravo.

So go read it and share it.

...the world is spinning round and round, out of control.....again.....

One day us humans may figure out how to live with each other, but until then.....more war! not that I don't think Libya needed to be dealt with long before now, I do think it is the Arab League's business. They should be taking the lead, with the US only in a support role.

And since we now have a President who is not a 'cowboy' (god help us, we barely survived), I don't expect anyone in the Obama administration to do this. But just in case, since it seemed to be so well liked by the public the last time. Here is a BBC article telling us who the major players are in Libya. So, before you see the playing cards, you already know who they are....just consider this a little useful knowledge.

State of Disunion?

I really hate that the other 'party' has made me hesitate about watching it. I really hate that. And if anyone, and I mean anyone, disrespects the United States House of Representatives I swear to whatever god there is that I will make it m...y duty to put them out of a job. You can disagree and disrespect the man but you cannot and should not disrespect the institutions that are the foundation that has made our democracy the greatest experiment in the history of the world for humanity. We aren't perfect, and truth be told not very nice to each other, but we have to respect the institutions the founders gave us. Respect the House and the Office of the President. And listen.

Jim Morrison once said people are strange.....

I just think we're stupid. In this age of instant gratification and our Veruca Salt I want it now mentality, we forget that shit takes time to clean up. And Obama, and us, have miles to go before we get the basics back. For those of you who are firebaggers or are just wanting everything to magically be good again, I offer this.

Yesterday morning, the Labor Department released its employment data for December, showing that the U.S. economy ended the year by adding 113,000 private sector jobs, knocking the unemployment rate down sharply from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent — its lowest rate since July 2009. The “surprising drop — which was far better than the modest step-down economists had forecast — was the steepest one-month fall since 1998.” October and November’s jobs numbers were also revised upward by almost 80,000 each.

must read....

Dennis G. over at Balloon-Juice  is a most excellent writer and knows a lot about what the insane party is doing...you should read his stuff.
He has a new post up tonight which you can find here.

I didn't have an intention of being so pro-Obama. I sincerely believe he is the right person for the tasks that we have been kicking down the road since St. Reagan. I think there is a lot of misinformation out there. If you don't know it, our media reports on our politics as entertainment. They have to sell airtime, because the way our government runs and all the other things that we need to know is now for profit. That means that the governing becomes soundbites and when something important comes up, it becomes about winning and losing the news cycle. No one wins when that happens, hence Jon Stewart being one of the best journalists out there.

But I digress. Dennis's post is all about the long game I was talking about before. But his is better than mine...so click here to read his.  
It's about Obama going electric, a la Dylan.

From the moment Obama announced his run for the White House to now he has been following his own process and priorities—strategies and tactics—to meet some pretty ambitious progressive goals. So far, the list of accomplishment is long and I doubt there would be a fraction of these successes if he had stuck with the orthodox and predictable game plans of very knowledgeable pundits, bloggers, activists and thinkers who claim to have all the answers for progressive victory. Hell, if he followed their advice he would have never been elected in the first place. And yet for all their rage about how Obama is not following their game plan it is very hard to think of any victories won by anybody who has ever followed their advice.

Based on the evidence so far I think Obama’s approach to getting shit done is more like Dylan’s. I think he has gone electric and that he is changing what is possible in real time. He has produced real results and I expect that the next two years will produce more.
Time will tell.

the long game

I'm listening to Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Lawrence O'Donnell talk about the recent vote on the President's compromise with the insane party regarding taxes and it hit me.

I can say that I have had faith in this President because he's smarter than me. I can also say that there have been some things that I have been disappointed by. Strangely enough, I learned that I don't conform to what the media tells me is The Left. What the President called The Professional Left. I come from a long line of democrats on my mother's side. My father's side is from Utah, nuff said? Anyway, my grandfather took me to the Register of Deeds on my 18th birthday to register to vote. He told me that I could register with either party. He then told me why he was a democrat. I wish I could remember his exact words but I'm getting old and my once good memory has left me, but I do remember the vibe I got while listening to him. What sums it up is pretty simple: We are Americans, we help each other ...it's who we are.  He said it had been his experience that the party that most aligned with that were the democrats. (This is one of the strongest reasons I support this President. He thinks like my grandpa. :))


This President has had a long game strategy all along. I knew that when I voted for him, but listening to Mr. Kucinich talk about why he voted for the bill, I realized it again. I also watched Dr. Nouriel Roubini on Rachel tonight talk about how things could return to a doomsday scenario. When the President announced this deal he said the next two years are for fighting about taxes. And he's right. Taxes are going to have to go up. There's no way around it. The only thing left to do to fix this mess we haven't bothered to fix or think about for thirty years is raise taxes. They can have their cuts now, but over the next two years....those extravagances for the wealthy are going to have to go away. And if unemployment doesn't get any better under republican leadership in the House, there's not much they can do to help themselves. It is clear to those of us who follow politics in between elections, have known for a while, but the rest of the public will see over the next two years how hollow those arguments are. And with the inner struggles the establishment republicans are going to have with their far right wing televangelist crowd, the media won't be able to keep it from showing up everywhere. I mean, my god they put Michelle Bachmann on the Intelligence Committee!

So there's my thought for the day. It's a long game...we have to figure out how to live in a 24/7-politics-as-reality-show world and remember that.

.....to form a more perfect union.....

My President did this. There are times when I am ashamed to be an American. You may find that offensive, if so, blow me. Then there are other times when I feel like my chest is going to burst open with sheer, pure....something. There aren't any good words that tell you what that feels like. I like to think that every American feels that and knows what I mean. It's the same feeling I get every time I hear The Star Spangled Banner. I honestly can not watch or hear that song without tearing up. 

I never understood what a Goddamn Awesome country we live in until I saw Washington and the Capitol for the first time. I was offered a Pageship when I was sixteen. I had no idea what it was until 2 months before I moved into the Page Dorm. It was offered to me when someone at another high school in the district turned it down because she didn't want to leave her boyfriend. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to her. I don't remember if I even knew her, but I am grateful. She gave me the chance to find out what I wanted to learn, history. I arrived in January for the Spring Semester. Reagan was President. Democrats controlled both Houses and had for thirty some years, if memory serves. I was sixteen living in a dorm two blocks from the Capitol. I was one of sixty six that semester. It continues to be one of the best five months of my life. It gave me an appreciation of what my parents' contribution was to this grand experiment our forefathers began. My father served for almost 30 years in the military. He worked on the Minuteman I think...he was the phone guy is what I remember. What I didn't know until I was in college is that every base we lived was on the first strike list. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I learned that in college after retirement. ( Did I mention I tend to ramble? My niece says I use too many words....) 

Anyway, the Capitol is such a wonderful symbol of who we are as a nation. I look at that building and I feel as one with it. I guess that sounds weird to some but it's a spiritual thing for me. And over the last two years I have realized I would fight and kill and die for what that building represents. When I reflect on the past fifteen or thirty years and I see how there is disrespect for the House of Representatives by Members?! I get so angry and at the same time disappointed. Americans civil rights are being trampled upon for religious ideology by these same people. All the while they are professing this as an American ideal. So when I read last night that the Senate had finally done something that should have been done years ago, I was surprised. When I see that, finally, the United States Congress has fulfilled another piece of this experiment started by those men and women in the 18th century who spoke of all men being created equal and forming a more perfect union, I get that wonderful feeling all over again. 

I continue to enjoy watching this President do almost everything he said he would. I am still waiting on the executive power stuff and Gitmo, but I am amazed and hopeful that I will see this President continue to do what he said he would. I don't know why he wanted the job, but I am glad he did. What President do you remember fulfilling most of his campaign promises? Maybe you didn't like the final result of some things, I know I didn't, but the man has done more in less than two years than any President in my lifetime. And give credit to the 111th Congress, Nancy Pelosi (love her or hate her, the woman did a hell of a job) and Harry Reid (thank god Nevadans didn't send Angle). I'm proud to be an American today.

Here is the statement from President Obama 

Today, President Obama released a statement on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. Today's historic vote would not have happened without the tireless efforts of many, including leaders in Congress, advocates, and the clear leadership provided by the President. As recently as this morning, the President has been reaching out to Senators from both sides of the aisle to help secure votes. It was only 11 months ago that the President called for the repeal in his first State of the Union and then laid out the plan, including the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Review for the Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, that has taken us to where we are today.

Here's the President's full statement:

Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.

I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done. It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly. I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.

update: I have to thank my friend FCTileman for the picture of the President at the top, thanks! 

....the world is spinning round and round, out of control again.....

I started this blog because there are just some things you have to get out of your brain. Since I live in the teabagger south, I don't often get the opportunity to express myself out in the world.....so I started this journey. who knows where it will end or if I will even keep it up....I am a proud slacker after all....but I finally wrote the CJ post and thought, cool I can do this...then the next day read something that pissed me off.....I decided I would only watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to get my news. I can't even listen to NPR anymore.....so anyway, something pissed me off and I just stopped paying attention.....I am sure I will start again, it's who I am. But I need a break. So I will share this thought and write up a little more later....... I was so hopeful that the country listened to Barack Obama when he said it would be hard and it would take a long time, but if we stood together as a nation, not red or blue, liberal or conservative, but as One Nation, we would be fine. I believed all the people I met when I campaigned for him in NC and SC. (where we kicked Hillary to the curb, thank you very much.) I was hopeful that after electing the very first non-white male in our short history that we could overcome the petty squabbles and the entertainment like news divisions across the spectrum....we survived 9/11 and the Bush years, we all inhaled a clean new breath of clean air that cleansed...me anyway, and then the next two years unfolded and here we are.

I'll have more to say on this later, but I'm missing Colbert.......

The post title are lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong...