Saturday, November 11, 2006
Good
Jesus Camp to close. Hopefully they'll be able to save the minds of the poor children they fucked up.
Veterans Day
[Originally posted 11 November 2004. ~ F.]
Take the time for reflection today. Think about the millions of lives given in defense of this country and the ideals we hold dear. There are many who gave parts of their body and minds and live amongst us, take the time to think about them today too. And think about all of the men and women serving on active duty now, in places all around the world. If you know a vet, take the time to shake his or her hand and say thanks. Vets, past and present, have always been willing to do what most can't or won't, in order to preserve our way of life. Acknowledge that willingness and say a prayer for those who will give their lives in the future.
In Flanders' Fields
Update:
Stolen from AOB in comments because she says it so well:
Take the time for reflection today. Think about the millions of lives given in defense of this country and the ideals we hold dear. There are many who gave parts of their body and minds and live amongst us, take the time to think about them today too. And think about all of the men and women serving on active duty now, in places all around the world. If you know a vet, take the time to shake his or her hand and say thanks. Vets, past and present, have always been willing to do what most can't or won't, in order to preserve our way of life. Acknowledge that willingness and say a prayer for those who will give their lives in the future.
In Flanders' Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Verse and link courtesy of Melanie.
Update:
Stolen from AOB in comments because she says it so well:
...
Dems need to get on the stick and get more money and people working for the VA, for PTSD therapies, head trauma injuries(Randi's caller was also recovering from brain damage)and get these folks some money for mortgages and college. That's the LEAST we should be doing for our veterans. There also needs to be money set aside to get our homeless vets off the street,their numbers are growing and that is NOT acceptable.
Friday, November 10, 2006
The Lighter Side
Got this from Mrs. G via e-mail:
A young boy went up to his father and asked him, Dad, "What is the difference between 'potentially' and 'realistically'?
The father thought for a moment, then answered, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Then ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars, and then, ask your brother if he'd sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you learn from that."
So the boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
The mother replied, "Of course, I would! We could really use that money to fix up the house and send you kids to a great university!"
The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
The girl replied, "Oh, good heavens! I LOVE Brad Pitt and I would sleep with him in a heartbeat. Are you nuts?"
The boy then went to his brother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
"Of course," the brother replied. "Do you know how much a million bucks would buy?"
The boy pondered the answers for a few days and then went back to his dad.
His father asked him, "Did you find out the difference between 'potentially' and 'realistically'?"
The boy replied, "Yes, 'potentially', you and I are sitting on three million dollars, but 'realistically', we're living with two hookers and a future congressman."
Ba-Da-Bing!
A young boy went up to his father and asked him, Dad, "What is the difference between 'potentially' and 'realistically'?
The father thought for a moment, then answered, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Then ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars, and then, ask your brother if he'd sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you learn from that."
So the boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
The mother replied, "Of course, I would! We could really use that money to fix up the house and send you kids to a great university!"
The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
The girl replied, "Oh, good heavens! I LOVE Brad Pitt and I would sleep with him in a heartbeat. Are you nuts?"
The boy then went to his brother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?"
"Of course," the brother replied. "Do you know how much a million bucks would buy?"
The boy pondered the answers for a few days and then went back to his dad.
His father asked him, "Did you find out the difference between 'potentially' and 'realistically'?"
The boy replied, "Yes, 'potentially', you and I are sitting on three million dollars, but 'realistically', we're living with two hookers and a future congressman."
Ba-Da-Bing!
Ja, naturlich ...
The Germans are the first in:
I don't care who metes out justice as long as it's done.
Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
...
I don't care who metes out justice as long as it's done.
Link thanks to Flame.
Election Aftermath, CA-04
Congratulations to Charlie Brown, even though he lost to Doolittle. Just like Dave Mejias in Fixer's district, Col. Brown was the first serious major opposition to this entrenched Repuglican ever. He gave it a helluva shot and damn near did it.
Kudos as well to Espresso, Charlie's overworked volunteer for the eastern Sierra in Placer and Nevada Counties. She worked her be-boops off. Part of an e-mail she sent out:
You did good, kid. It was all them flatlanders from the western slope. We simple hill folk blame everything on them anyway. I live in Nevada County and I'm proud of us.
Just as an aside, Espresso lives about a thousand feet higher in the mountains than I do, and probably considers me a flatlander. Neither one of us trusts anybody below 6000 feet.
After looking at the Secretary of State's election report (courtesy of our long-lost buddy Travis), all our cow counties went for Doolittle, which indicates to me that the farther you live from electricity and indoor plumbing, the more likely you are to vote Republitard. You shit with the goats, you smell like 'em.
It threw a scare into Doolittle, though. From the Sackatomatoes Bee:
That ball and chain and nine-pound hammer you're gonna get in the pen might be a little drag on yer ass too. Happy landings.
That, in and of itself, is a victory. Most of the folks in the foothills, and those downstream who know what's goin' on, don't want that dam on the American River. The ones in favor of it are developers and others who have a vested interest in continued growth of our already over-populated state. That's a whole 'nother story.
Try again next time, Charlie. You did fine.
Kudos as well to Espresso, Charlie's overworked volunteer for the eastern Sierra in Placer and Nevada Counties. She worked her be-boops off. Part of an e-mail she sent out:
As you all most likely know, Charlie did not win, but missed the target by slightly less than 3% District wide. I understand that Nevada County went for Charlie, Placer did not (and as a Placer County resident, let me be the first to say "Why yes, we are inbred idiots! Thanks for asking!")
You did good, kid. It was all them flatlanders from the western slope. We simple hill folk blame everything on them anyway. I live in Nevada County and I'm proud of us.
Just as an aside, Espresso lives about a thousand feet higher in the mountains than I do, and probably considers me a flatlander. Neither one of us trusts anybody below 6000 feet.
After looking at the Secretary of State's election report (courtesy of our long-lost buddy Travis), all our cow counties went for Doolittle, which indicates to me that the farther you live from electricity and indoor plumbing, the more likely you are to vote Republitard. You shit with the goats, you smell like 'em.
It threw a scare into Doolittle, though. From the Sackatomatoes Bee:
Rep. John Doolittle, sounding chastened by a victory Tuesday that was too close for comfort, said Wednesday he will not run for a position in the House Republican leadership next week and will work to remove the legal "cloud" that threatened his re-election.
"The message from the election is that I need to re-evaluate, to be more in touch with my constituents and see how to best meet their needs," he said in an interview with The Bee.
Doolittle also said he will work aggressively to resolve any questions the Justice Department might have about his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
"I'd just like them to know what I know," he said. "That above all else was a real drag on my campaign."
That ball and chain and nine-pound hammer you're gonna get in the pen might be a little drag on yer ass too. Happy landings.
In his concession speech early Wednesday, Brown said his strong showing against Doolittle in the heavily Republican district ushered in a new era of politics.
"No Republican will ever take the 4th District for granted again," he declared.
On other issues, Doolittle said he will lose some effectiveness in promoting construction of an Auburn Dam because he no longer will be among the Republican majority on the House Appropriations Committee.
That, in and of itself, is a victory. Most of the folks in the foothills, and those downstream who know what's goin' on, don't want that dam on the American River. The ones in favor of it are developers and others who have a vested interest in continued growth of our already over-populated state. That's a whole 'nother story.
Try again next time, Charlie. You did fine.
Election Aftermath, CA-11
Congratulations to Jerry McNerney, CA-11's new Congressman-elect. Ya done good against great odds.
From the EssEffChron:
And from Misery Watch:
Heh. That was the nicest thing they said about him. Their post goes into more detail about Pombo's assholarity and crimes.
A major victory for the Grass Roots. For the rest of us as well.
From the EssEffChron:
TO FULLY understand Tuesday's Democratic victory, look no further than California's 11th Congressional District.
It was there that Jerry McNerney, an obscure Democratic candidate with almost no political experience, toppled Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, a powerful member of the Republican majority in Congress.
Pombo suffered from being a protégé of disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who elevated this San Joaquin County rancher with a hatred of many environmental regulations to chairman of the House Resources Committee. He also had received contributions from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Pombo's efforts to weaken environmental regulations inspired the anger of environmentalists who, among many others, flooded his district to promote McNerney's candidacy. Almost the entire volunteer effort was run independently of the Democratic Party (my em).
The GOP selection of Pombo to head a committee charged with guarding the nation's environment was one of the most cynical acts of its now shattered majority. His departure from Congress is long overdue.
And from Misery Watch:
A particularly strong good riddance
The election results were overwhelmingly positive. So many creeps were swept out. But one in particular deserves special notice.
Heh. That was the nicest thing they said about him. Their post goes into more detail about Pombo's assholarity and crimes.
A major victory for the Grass Roots. For the rest of us as well.
Fuck The South? Not so fast there buddy...
Now that the elections are behind us and we have Democratic victory to savor, I'd like to talk about something that's been bugging the hell out of me. I'm seriously not trying to slam anyone in particular here either, I'm just kinda pissed about this "Fuck The South"attitude that persists in more than a few Democratic and liberal political circles. Gee thanks alot there,nice to know it's ok for me to devote my time and energy(and money) to people I can't vote for and when you win,I still can't convince you that not everyone south of the Mason/Dixon is a mouthbreathing redneck dipshit. No,appearently I deserve to be given shit because I live here and it's not your fault. Trust me,if I could afford to move I would,for environmental reasons more than anything else. Republican attitudes towards business and expansion lay the countryside to waste,I hate that. When I bought my home 10 yrs ago I lived in a rural area. Now I live in the suburbs,without having had to move so much as a box. Suburbs are a virus,but I digress. I'd love to live in a blue state that has it's shit together better than Georgia,but I gotta work from where I am,blooming where I'm planted as it were.
Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy is a great plan,it should be fleshed out some more and really firmed up as much as possible. I think once that happens this will become quite a formidable and positive political machine,as long as it does not succomb to big bucks and big egos too much(a little is inevitable,but it can be kept in check). And hopefully at some point,the people with influence in the Party will realize that some political investment in the South does have a payoff,but it will require some patience,some nurturing and some time. There are progressive liberal types here who are starving to help get Dems elected,but we often aren't asked to do anything for our own people,here.
Last summer,at Yearly Kos,there was a panel on the South and it's politics,whether that can shift or not,blah,blah,blah. I never got to see it on C-Span,but I noted that none of the bloggers on the panel lived in the South(If I'm wrong about that I stand corrected,but I don't think I'm wrong). I wonder if any of them have ever visited the South,outside of a blue splotch like the actual city of Atlanta. This is a Problem. If we want to weaken and minimalize Modern Conservativism(hey,they called themselves that first,not me),we're gonna have to convince Southerners that they need to start voting in their own best interests. You ain't gonna do that if you continue to keep southern progressives on the outside looking in. And you certainly won't do it by assuming everyone who lives in the South is an idiot.
I'm not saying there is NO Dem organizing and working going on here,there is,but it's very much a club for"professionals",or so anemic and uninspiring it borders on depressing. It's not too grassrootsy,but it is very "establishment". You don't win hearts and minds with that stuff. Especially of people who have to work for a living.
We had a fairly good Dem running here against an incumbent Repub for the U.S. House,but I never saw one TV commercial,one local TV appearence,a bumpersticker or sign,no literature,flyers or events. Nada. I went to his campaign headquarters to volunteer and no one could make up their minds if they needed my help or not. I hung out there for a few days,did some phone calls,brought in food,etc,but quit,simply becaus I was underwhelmed by the energy being devoted. It was like this was a hobby and a social club or something. It was fucking depressing. And even with all that, he got 30 percent of the vote,investment could have put him over the top by enough of a margin to win. It's not about how much money you spend,it's HOW you spend it that makes for a good campaign. You also have to get people on the ground fired up,excited,and take that to the people,one on one around kitchen tables.
Our Hispanic population is growing by leaps and bounds. With no one reaching out to them who has their best interests at heart, many won't vote,or if they do,they won't go to the polls fully informed. That's a huge untapped amount progressive potential. The Hispanic community also has it's own media,it's own small business community,infrastructures that are perfect for politics and helping to organize.
Women are another part of the population in the South that is virtually ignored by Democrats. We're the ones paying attention to the schools. We do the shopping for our families,we know how much prices effect our bottom lines. Many of us are single mothers (more untapped progressive potential,big time) who have to work more than one job to support our kids. Many of us are white suburban moms who worry about college tuitions that have gone through the roof. Many of us have families in tremendous debt. We wonder if the Occupation of Iraq will take our kids or their friends away from us. We deal with husbands who cheat on us,family crises,aging parents,churches who aren't woman friendly,politics that won't take us seriously.
Red State America is a wierd place to be sure. Megachurches and McMansions co-mingle,there's a Super WalMart every 3 miles and a mall of one kind or another in between. There are multi-million dollar new schools that undereducate and warehouse our kids and no one seems to notice. Shopping is entertainment,SUVs and Big Trucks rule the roads. But alot of people still aren't happy,and they know somethin' ain't right,they just can't put their finger on why or what. I think I have a couple of ideas as to why and what.
First and foremost is a lack of community investment. It's not all that"neighborly" in these parts. Some of that has to do with how developers develop,it's more isolating than communal. Urban sprawl is not all that warm and welcoming. Outside of church,or perhaps kid's sports or the golf course,there's no place to belong. This means there's a huge void that megachurches seized on. Give the people something else that solid,they WILL come.
Second,there's no counter message. No alternative to the southern GOP brand of politics and religion with big bidness all swirled in. What we don't need here is Dems trying to be more like the Repubs,we need a completely different deal. And it can be done without religion taking a front seat. I call it Bread and Butter Politics. Jobs,pensions and retirement,the ability to save and maybe even invest a little,healthcare costs,a fairer and easier to understand tax structure,schools,government corruption,the occupation of Iraq and what that means for the future,better schools,a safe and healthy food supply,you get the idea. These things do matter to families,even suburban ones.
I know lots of families who are struggling and carrying huge debts even with a 6 figure salary. They're one health care crisis or a couple of paychecks away from financial disaster. If you talk to them about economics and the real effects of politics on their own economic future,they'll respond positively.
The GOP machine in Georgia took a blow when Ralph Reed was laughed out of the primaries. It would have been a perfect opening for a solid Dem to come in and make inroads. Instead we got Mark Taylor,who had nothing to offer voters to challenge incumbent governor Sonny Purdue. Taylor got his ass handed to him. I've had more pleasant and exciting root canals than Taylor's campaign. Whoever ran that mess should be run out of poltics and into an exciting career at McDonald's working the deep fryer.
Georgia,for all it's red state pain in the ass-ness, has some stuff going for it that could help create Progressive inroads,such as:
A fairly healthy organic and industrial farm industry. There are food co-ops and other venues in place that fit in with a Democratic platform perfectly. Support the family farmer,you'll find a friend there.
Our schools simply need better curriculums,we are woefully behind in many ways. Bring people some sane changes to NCLB and religious wingnut nonsense and people will respond,happily.
Urban Sprawl has surpassed infrastructure capacity,and it's taking it's toll. Traffic is a mess,public transportation is limited,utilities are on tenuous ground. Sane city planning is needed desperately.
Women and minorites,as I said above,huge untapped voter base. Stop treating us like we're stupid and second class. The things we care about are good for everyone.
Small businesses here are taking hits from the WalMarts of the world,support them,you'll find a loyal voting bloc. Combine them with small scale farmers and you'd have an even bigger voting pool.
Atlanta's GLBT community is huge and has outreach outside the city limits. There are allies there with organizing experience.
Also,the Southern suburbs are full of white people who aren't FROM the South and don't have "southern traditions"as baggage.Like me. Hell,I can go for days without actually meeting someone who was actually born here. You think all those people are conservatives? No way. We didn't come here for the politics,most of us came here when jobs up north dried up or companies transferred us to the region.
Yeah,the wingnuts are moneyed and loony,but they are not invincible. They're very comfortable here,which means there are weaknesses that are obvious if you look for them. By writing off the South you're proving that the Southern Strategy works and you're engaging in the same divisive politics that let the GOP claim the South as it's own. Stop It.
Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy is a great plan,it should be fleshed out some more and really firmed up as much as possible. I think once that happens this will become quite a formidable and positive political machine,as long as it does not succomb to big bucks and big egos too much(a little is inevitable,but it can be kept in check). And hopefully at some point,the people with influence in the Party will realize that some political investment in the South does have a payoff,but it will require some patience,some nurturing and some time. There are progressive liberal types here who are starving to help get Dems elected,but we often aren't asked to do anything for our own people,here.
Last summer,at Yearly Kos,there was a panel on the South and it's politics,whether that can shift or not,blah,blah,blah. I never got to see it on C-Span,but I noted that none of the bloggers on the panel lived in the South(If I'm wrong about that I stand corrected,but I don't think I'm wrong). I wonder if any of them have ever visited the South,outside of a blue splotch like the actual city of Atlanta. This is a Problem. If we want to weaken and minimalize Modern Conservativism(hey,they called themselves that first,not me),we're gonna have to convince Southerners that they need to start voting in their own best interests. You ain't gonna do that if you continue to keep southern progressives on the outside looking in. And you certainly won't do it by assuming everyone who lives in the South is an idiot.
I'm not saying there is NO Dem organizing and working going on here,there is,but it's very much a club for"professionals",or so anemic and uninspiring it borders on depressing. It's not too grassrootsy,but it is very "establishment". You don't win hearts and minds with that stuff. Especially of people who have to work for a living.
We had a fairly good Dem running here against an incumbent Repub for the U.S. House,but I never saw one TV commercial,one local TV appearence,a bumpersticker or sign,no literature,flyers or events. Nada. I went to his campaign headquarters to volunteer and no one could make up their minds if they needed my help or not. I hung out there for a few days,did some phone calls,brought in food,etc,but quit,simply becaus I was underwhelmed by the energy being devoted. It was like this was a hobby and a social club or something. It was fucking depressing. And even with all that, he got 30 percent of the vote,investment could have put him over the top by enough of a margin to win. It's not about how much money you spend,it's HOW you spend it that makes for a good campaign. You also have to get people on the ground fired up,excited,and take that to the people,one on one around kitchen tables.
Our Hispanic population is growing by leaps and bounds. With no one reaching out to them who has their best interests at heart, many won't vote,or if they do,they won't go to the polls fully informed. That's a huge untapped amount progressive potential. The Hispanic community also has it's own media,it's own small business community,infrastructures that are perfect for politics and helping to organize.
Women are another part of the population in the South that is virtually ignored by Democrats. We're the ones paying attention to the schools. We do the shopping for our families,we know how much prices effect our bottom lines. Many of us are single mothers (more untapped progressive potential,big time) who have to work more than one job to support our kids. Many of us are white suburban moms who worry about college tuitions that have gone through the roof. Many of us have families in tremendous debt. We wonder if the Occupation of Iraq will take our kids or their friends away from us. We deal with husbands who cheat on us,family crises,aging parents,churches who aren't woman friendly,politics that won't take us seriously.
Red State America is a wierd place to be sure. Megachurches and McMansions co-mingle,there's a Super WalMart every 3 miles and a mall of one kind or another in between. There are multi-million dollar new schools that undereducate and warehouse our kids and no one seems to notice. Shopping is entertainment,SUVs and Big Trucks rule the roads. But alot of people still aren't happy,and they know somethin' ain't right,they just can't put their finger on why or what. I think I have a couple of ideas as to why and what.
First and foremost is a lack of community investment. It's not all that"neighborly" in these parts. Some of that has to do with how developers develop,it's more isolating than communal. Urban sprawl is not all that warm and welcoming. Outside of church,or perhaps kid's sports or the golf course,there's no place to belong. This means there's a huge void that megachurches seized on. Give the people something else that solid,they WILL come.
Second,there's no counter message. No alternative to the southern GOP brand of politics and religion with big bidness all swirled in. What we don't need here is Dems trying to be more like the Repubs,we need a completely different deal. And it can be done without religion taking a front seat. I call it Bread and Butter Politics. Jobs,pensions and retirement,the ability to save and maybe even invest a little,healthcare costs,a fairer and easier to understand tax structure,schools,government corruption,the occupation of Iraq and what that means for the future,better schools,a safe and healthy food supply,you get the idea. These things do matter to families,even suburban ones.
I know lots of families who are struggling and carrying huge debts even with a 6 figure salary. They're one health care crisis or a couple of paychecks away from financial disaster. If you talk to them about economics and the real effects of politics on their own economic future,they'll respond positively.
The GOP machine in Georgia took a blow when Ralph Reed was laughed out of the primaries. It would have been a perfect opening for a solid Dem to come in and make inroads. Instead we got Mark Taylor,who had nothing to offer voters to challenge incumbent governor Sonny Purdue. Taylor got his ass handed to him. I've had more pleasant and exciting root canals than Taylor's campaign. Whoever ran that mess should be run out of poltics and into an exciting career at McDonald's working the deep fryer.
Georgia,for all it's red state pain in the ass-ness, has some stuff going for it that could help create Progressive inroads,such as:
A fairly healthy organic and industrial farm industry. There are food co-ops and other venues in place that fit in with a Democratic platform perfectly. Support the family farmer,you'll find a friend there.
Our schools simply need better curriculums,we are woefully behind in many ways. Bring people some sane changes to NCLB and religious wingnut nonsense and people will respond,happily.
Urban Sprawl has surpassed infrastructure capacity,and it's taking it's toll. Traffic is a mess,public transportation is limited,utilities are on tenuous ground. Sane city planning is needed desperately.
Women and minorites,as I said above,huge untapped voter base. Stop treating us like we're stupid and second class. The things we care about are good for everyone.
Small businesses here are taking hits from the WalMarts of the world,support them,you'll find a loyal voting bloc. Combine them with small scale farmers and you'd have an even bigger voting pool.
Atlanta's GLBT community is huge and has outreach outside the city limits. There are allies there with organizing experience.
Also,the Southern suburbs are full of white people who aren't FROM the South and don't have "southern traditions"as baggage.Like me. Hell,I can go for days without actually meeting someone who was actually born here. You think all those people are conservatives? No way. We didn't come here for the politics,most of us came here when jobs up north dried up or companies transferred us to the region.
Yeah,the wingnuts are moneyed and loony,but they are not invincible. They're very comfortable here,which means there are weaknesses that are obvious if you look for them. By writing off the South you're proving that the Southern Strategy works and you're engaging in the same divisive politics that let the GOP claim the South as it's own. Stop It.
Happy Birthday
Today is the 231st Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. I thought this year I'd bring you the history of the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.
[The history of the Marine Corps emblem is a story related to the history of the Corps itself. The emblem of today traces its roots to the designs and ornaments of early Continental Marines as well as British Royal Marines. The emblem took its present form in 1868. Before that time many devices, ornaments, and distinguishing marks followed one another as official marks of the Corps.
In 1776, the device consisted of a "foul anchor" of silver or pewter. The foul anchor still forms a part of the emblem today. (A foul anchor is an anchor which has one or more turns of the chain around it). Changes were made in 1798, 1821, and 1824. In 1834 it was prescribed that a brass eagle be worn on the hat, the eagle to measure 3 1/2 inches from wingtip to wingtip.
During the early years numerous distinguishing marks were prescribed, including "black cockades, "scarlet plumes," and "yellow bands and tassels." In 1859 the origin of the present color scheme for the officer's dress uniform ornaments appeared on an elaborate device of solid white metal and yellow metal. The design included a United States shield, half wreath, a bugle, and the letter "M."
In 1868, Brigadier General Commandant Jacob Zeilin appointed a board "to decide and report upon the various devices of cap ornaments for the Marine Corps." On 13 November 1868, the board turned in its report. It was approved by the Commandant four days later, and on 19 November 1868 was signed by the Secretary of the Navy.
The emblem recommended by this board has survived with minor changes to this day. It consists of a globe (showing the Western Hemisphere) intersected by a foul anchor, and surmounted by a spread eagle. On the emblem itself, the device is topped by a ribbon inscribed with the Latin motto "Semper Fidelis" (Always Faithful). The uniform ornaments omit the motto ribbon.
The general design of the emblem was probably derived from the British Royal Marines' "Globe and Laurel." The globe on the U.S. Marine emblem signifies service in any part of the world. The eagle also indirectly signifies service worldwide, although this may not have been the intention of the designers in 1868. The eagle they selected for the Marine emblem is a crested eagle, a type found all over the world. On the other hand, the eagle pictured on the great seal and the currency of the United States is the bald eagle, strictly an American variety. The anchor, whose origin dates back to the founding of the Marine Corps in 1775, indicates the amphibious nature of Marines' duties.]
If you ask a Marine, he (or 'she' - PC, you know) may tell you that the 'foul anchor' actually symbolizes the often turbulent relationship between the Marine Corps and
I am a little miffed that I never got to wear "black cockades", "scarlet plumes", and "yellow bands and tassels". Well, not on duty anyway...
I chose the emblem above just to get this in:
"You Marines are just part of the Department of the Navy."
"Yeah, the men's department." (rimshot)
Today, brothers Lurch, Moderate Man, and Deuddersun also wish the Corps a Happy Birthday. Check 'em out. Also, please read my posts for 2004 and 2005 if you like. The '05 one in particular comes as close as I'll probably ever get to timeless prose.
Happy Birthday, Marine Corps, and as always, Semper Fi.
Awwww
Can you hear the violins playing?
You know the old saying, 'lay down with dogs ...' These are the people who kept the Rethug Machine going. I hope they all end up living under a bridge in a refrigerator box.
The hundreds of Republican staffers - not to mention more than a few Members - who will lose their jobs in the next few weeks are going to face a hostile marketplace on K Street as unemployed Republicans flood the market.
Tuesday's election results sent at least 20 incumbents in the House and Senate packing and flipped control of the House to Democrats. It also flipped a decade-long trend of Republicans as the darlings of the lobbying sector. While GOP aides are flooding the town with their resumes, it's now plugged-in Democratic aides whom companies and firms really have an eye for.
...
You know the old saying, 'lay down with dogs ...' These are the people who kept the Rethug Machine going. I hope they all end up living under a bridge in a refrigerator box.
Link thanks to Skippy.
The new SECDEF
His Highness has some good background on Rummy's replacement. I can't wait until all these Cold War relics die off.
Do-it-yourself Impeachment
This came to us as a comment on a previous post. Go see and read Impeach for Peace.org. Do it now.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
A Come-to-Daddy Moment
Maureen Dowd
Not the way you do 'em, asshole.
It appears as if an intervention to impose some 'adult leadership' has been in the works for a while. Say what you will about 41, his gang can't, as in 'not possible', do worse than the idiot spawn.
Especially with the Congressional oversight which we have been promised.
Poppy Bush and James Baker gave Sonny the presidency to play with and he broke it. So now they're taking it back.
They are dragging W. away from those reckless older guys who have been such a bad influence and getting him some new minders who are a lot more practical.
In a scene that might be called "Murder on the Oval Express," Rummy turned up dead with so many knives in him that it's impossible to say who actually finished off the man billed as Washington's most skilled infighter. (Poppy? Scowcroft? Baker? Laura? Condi? The Silver Fox? Retired generals? Serving generals? Future generals? Troops returning to Iraq for the umpteenth time without a decent strategy? Democrats? Republicans? Joe Lieberman?)
The defense chief got hung out to dry before Saddam got hung. The president and Karl Rove, underestimating the public's hunger for change or overestimating the loyalty of a fed-up base, did not ice Rummy in time to save the Senate from teetering Democratic. But once Sonny managed to heedlessly dynamite the Republican majority - as well as the Middle East, the Atlantic alliance and the U.S. Army - then Bush Inc., the family firm that snatched the presidency for W. in 2000, had to step in. Two trusted members of the Bush 41 war council, Mr. Baker and Robert Gates, have been dispatched to discipline the delinquent juvenile and extricate him from the mother of all messes.
While Vice went off to a corner to lick his wounds, W. was forced to do his best imitation of his dad yesterday, talking about "bipartisan outreach", "people have spoken", blah-blah-blah - after he'd been out on the trail saying that electing Democrats would mean that "the terrorists win and America loses."
He was asked if his surprise at the election results showed he was out of touch with Americans. "I thought when it was all said and done," he replied, "the American people would understand the importance of taxes and the importance of security."
Not the way you do 'em, asshole.
So it was just that the American people were too dumb to understand? W. also managed to bash Vietnam vets, saying that this war isn't similar because there's a volunteer army, so "the troops understand the consequences of Iraq in the global war on terror." Is that why W. stayed out of Vietnam? Because he understood it?
An ashen Rummy was also condescending during his uncomfortable tableau with W. and Bob Gates in the Oval Office, implying that he was dumped because Americans just didn’t "comprehend" what was going on in Iraq. Actually, Rummy, we get it. You don't get it.
"Baker's no fool," a Bush 41 official said. "He wasn't going to go out there with a plan for Iraq and have Rummy shoot it down. He wanted a receptive audience. Everyone had to be on the same page before the plan is unveiled."
It appears as if an intervention to impose some 'adult leadership' has been in the works for a while. Say what you will about 41, his gang can't, as in 'not possible', do worse than the idiot spawn.
Especially with the Congressional oversight which we have been promised.
More of your base are belong to us
I served as part of the superb Deval Patrick/Tim Murray ground team. Volunteers from all over Massachusetts were able to participate in a Get Out Our Vote effort that gave Democrats in Massachusetts a real mandate for change. Team Patrick had field organizers who worked with their own communities, with volunteers from union members to students to moms to veterans to little old ladies doing whatever they had time to do and more. On Election Day I stayed until the polls closed, making phone calls and then I went out and knocked on doors, ready to give a ride to the polls then and there if necessary, and I wasn't the only one. I believe grassroots efforts like this played a significant role in the Big Blue Force that pulled our country back from a fascist precipice and I feel safer already.
And thank you Dean for the 50-State Strategy. We didn't win them all but if you face your enemy at every point you're not going to win every single battle. However, all of us, our nation, and the whole planet are winners and we owe plenty to those who didn't triumph this time. Connecticut didn't make Lamont its junior Senator, but Lamont ran a principled, issue-driven campaign that won him great admiration in CT and New England. Like many Democratic candidates who lost, including Dave Mejias and Charlie Brown, Lamont has gained 'name-brand' recognition and put important issues to voters. (I guess we can never underestimate the power of incumbency and Republican gerrymandering.) An example is Jerry McNerney, who beat Pombo in CA-11 in 2006, but remember, he lost decisively in 2004 and stuck with it. We have a bunch of high-quality candidates out there who I have high hopes for in 2008. Ohio barely sent mean Jean back to the House but we are also sending Fighting Dem, Netroots candidate Jim Webb to the Senate. I first heard of him via blogs. Not on national or local news and not in the national or local papers but right here on the internet. Blogs helped set the stage and the voters of VA brought it home. (I guess Allen must be thinking in that allenesque way, what a difference a macaca makes.) I contributed to Webb's campaign through ActBlue. I also contributed to Tester, Brown, Mejias, Paccione, Lamont... (And considering that I was laid off a bit over a week ago I have to say that I am kinda glad the midterms are over. Now I can take my finger off the button before my wallet explodes and concentrate on getting a job.) In short this was a great win for the Dems, particularly in the face of the lies, distortions, and attacks of the GOP, not to mention an alternate brainless media that has not been doing its job. Who would have thought, two years ago, that we would see the fall of the Republican majority come so soon? (Alternate Brain, Jo Fish and Main and Central kept me from utter despair.) The Dems have taken back Congress and I think this shows that a solid majority of rational people can prevent a fundamentalist minority from hijacking American politics, and that is something to celebrate. As Gordon noted yesterday, Ya done good, Americans. You beat the biggest criminal political machine in history by a knockout.
Aye, I
First, my 'quote of the day':
Then go read this, by David Swanson.
Whether we get an impeachment or not, we should push for it just so our congresscritters get the message.
Start printing up subpoenas! - Fixer
Then go read this, by David Swanson.
Chairman John Conyers Jr., Chairman Henry Waxman. Those titles will prove to be the most important outcome of yesterday's elections, even if the Dems get the Senate too. It's investigation and impeachment time. Vice President Cheney has already announced his plans to "probably" refuse to obey a subpoena from Congress. Democrats need to be preparing for that crisis now. And I don't mean just elected Democrats. I mean you and everyone you know who has the sanity to no longer call themselves Republicans. I mean you, Harold Meyerson, who published an op-ed in the Washington Post advocating a bait and switch: run on health care and education and then take up impeachment after the election. It is now after the election. I mean you, Arianna Huffington, who argued that impeachment would distract from the election and could be addressed later. It's later now. And before you start whimpering about the 2008 elections looming, consider this ...
A democracy that limits itself to elections will die. A democracy that appears like Brigadoon for a day every two years and then becomes a dictatorship for 729 days is dead. Citizen activism begins today, November 8th. We have a moral duty to impeach and distant elections be damned. But, even so, consider this.
In each of the nine cases in the past when one party has raised impeachment, that party has benefitted in the next elections. In other cases when a party has failed to press for impeachment when the grounds for it were widely known, that party has suffered. (Remember Iran Contra?) And look at what just happened yesterday.
Exit polls reported that voters by a margin of 62-33 percent voted on national, not local, issues. They voted for four, closely-bunched national reasons: corruption, terrorism, the economy, and Iraq. By 57-41 percent they disapproved of Bush's handling of Iraq. They didn't give a damn about taxes or "values" or local pork.
Democrats yesterday gained majorities in at least six new state legislatures: New Hampshire, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin. This creates six new bodies that citizens can ask to send impeachment charges to the US House of Representatives. Bills that would do that have already been introduced in three state legislatures: Vermont, Illinois, California. New Jersey activists are hard at work, intent on being the state that comes through.
Whether we get an impeachment or not, we should push for it just so our congresscritters get the message.
Ed Bradley has died
Ed Bradley, the sort of reporter that Kieth Olbermann might admire, has died. I didn't even know he was ill, but he died of leukemia in NYC today. RIP, Mr Bradley.
"Well, we ran a little over the estimate..."
William Rivers Pitt offers up some good thoughts, as he always does, to contemplate during our national post-election 'breathing space'.
Caution: automotive analogy ahead. This should have been two posts. Fuck it, I'm rollin'!
A good part of any job, as any mechanic will tell you, is the diagnosis, which the customer sees for the first time in the written estimate. The other part of the job is thoughtful application of theory, experience, knuckles and know-how, applied in such a manner so as to make the customer happy and not lose yer ass doin' it.
There's a third part, after the job is complete. This is the 'creative writing' phase, in which the mechanic prepares the final statement of cost for the customer. This is where the customer's expectation of final cost is revised to justify additional problems encountered during the repair process. He knows generally what's coming. He may bitch mightily, but, if the job is done correctly and he has no further problems, he'll be satisfied.
If it's OK to do a job well, it's OK to be paid well for doing it.
Most of the time you get what you pay for. Sometimes you don't. Our nation is in one of those times you don't.
If Bush were a mechanic, and speaking as a mechanic, thank God he's not, he'd be in jail right now, cleaning customer-applied tar and feathers out of his ass along with some buckshot. If he had pulled this shit on some of the adult motorcyclists I've dealt with over the years, he'd be dead.
Bush is like the worst sort of incompetent shade-tree shyster mechanic you could imagine, the kind that gives the rest of us a bad name, and has caused reams of legislation to protect the customer and make honest mechanics' lives miserable.
First, he completely bungled his diagnosis of what went wrong, and of what was required after 9/11. He had always wanted to dismantle the engine of Iraq, when all that was really needed was some work on the alternator of Afghanistan. He lied, and insisted the crankshaft needed replaced, knowing it didn't but desperately, pathologically, wanting to. Congress, as inept a customer as Bush was a mechanic, and whom we entrusted to get the problem fixed and keep our nation runnin' good, OK'ed the deal on an open-ended estimate. Kinda like lettin' the tow truck driver negotiate for you when he's in cahoots with the garage. Big mistake.
Then, this man who should never have been allowed anywhere near so valuable a toolbox, turned to. He took Afghanistan apart and then lost interest and left it on the bench in pieces Then, even though it ran a little rough and coulda used minor work, he took Iraq apart with hammers instead of wrenches.
He couldn't fix what he had fucked up, but he kept asking us for more and more money, which he split with his buddies to go buy beer and crank so they could do the unnecessary in ever more of a frenzy of destruction and incompetence.
When we started to complain about all the bungling, the unnecessary work and expense, he blamed us for getting in the way of fulfilling his long-standing fantasy of being a great mechanic who thought he could fix anything. He took the great vehicle of our Constitution further and further apart, trying to fix what wasn't broken, and in the process he fucked it up big time, all the while insisting that his was the only way to do it and we should go fuck ourselves.
That's where our country stands now: strewn in pieces all over a backyard, some parts turning rusty, some lost in the weeds, with a bunch of incompetent, cranked-up power-drunk wrench jockeys damn near breakin' their arms pointin' blame at anyone who isn't them.
Somewhere along the line, some sooner, some later, we realized we needed a new, competent mechanic, one who would tackle the job of re-assembling our nation from parts in unlabelled boxes and cans, under workbenches, fallen through holes in the floor. Bush and his evil little elves fought this tooth and nail.
So we took a vote.
What we've got now, just after the election, ain't perfect, but for the first time in years there's hope. Bush is still there, but we're on the verge of wresting the most destructive of his tools out of his grubby little mitts. We've banished some of his henchmen who contributed to the mess, and replaced them with folks who need to be given a chance to roll their sleeves up and see what they can do with the mess Bush has left.
Cooler heads have already been called in. Bush 41's practical mechanics are rushing to get Junior's ass out of the crack he's gotten us into. Again. The first time was in Florida in 2000, and they may be regretting it. Baker and Gates are heavyweights, and Baker owes the nation big time for getting the Chimp installed as president, waaay over his head, in the first place. Gates, for all the Iran-Contra bullshit, knows the Middle East pretty well, unlike that senile old war criminal and despoiler of the military, Rumsfeld. We will see how well reality-based adults handle the mess caused by Bush's juvenile, delusional, ideological wet dream.
Things are lookin' up. Perhaps we can yet turn the United States from a badly used Fiat (carefully chosen word) back into a smooth runnin' Cadillac.
And the third part? The final bill? It will be the biggest shock anyone has ever had, but we will have to pay it. It always costs a lot more to have a good mechanic straighten out the mess caused by a bad one.
Don't choose a mechanic based on what he tells you about his abilities, 'cuz he's lyin'. Talk to his customers and look at some of his work. Peer into his toolbox, see what he's got to work with. If the majority of us had done that earlier, we wouldn't be in the jam we're in now. Maybe we've learned that lesson. Then again...
Let us be absolutely clear on what has taken place. This was not simply a midterm election, not just a historic running of the table, not just a scathing repudiation of virtually everything the Bush administration has stood for since they swaggered into Washington six long years ago.
It was so very much more than this.
The back of the "Neo-conservative Revolution" has been broken, perhaps not for all time - simply because nothing truly evil ever really dies - but for a good long while. The ideology foisted upon an unwilling public by the likes of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Ledeen and the rest, the ideology that has given us slaughter in Iraq and a ravaged reputation abroad, has been exposed and eviscerated. The Project for the New American Century, and all that was spawned from it, has been relegated, for now, to the dustbin of history.
As unutterably massive as this is, it still does not capture the entirety of the event.
All we have to tie together this amazing and confusing experiment are a few old pieces of paper. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the only truths that each and every citizen of this country have completely in common. They are our unifying theme, our organizing principle, and we share this together because the basic idea was, and remains, that these belong to us and defend us and set us, now and forever, free.
Before the sun came up on Wednesday, that shared heritage had been under a savage, unrelenting attack by men and women who have no respect for the idea and the dream which makes us all that we are as a people. The right to a trial has been shattered, the right to stand before your accuser has been removed, the right to be secure in home and person from governmental intrusion has been swept by the boards, and all by a president who once referred to the Constitution as "just a God damned piece of paper."
These cancers have not been cut out simply because of an election, of course. But the first, vital step towards repairing our shared heritage was taken on Tuesday night, simply because we have at long last returned to the basic Constitutional requirement of checks and balances within this government. No longer will the best interests of the people be slapped aside by people who have no patience for the process that was laid out by wiser and better men. Some logs have been thrown in the road, and for now, a real chance for healing has been gifted to us by the very democratic institutions these people would shun and shatter. The power of the vote, so often maligned and disdained, has been restored.
Much remains to be done. The departure of Donald Rumsfeld from the Pentagon will not heal Iraq, nor will it bring back to life the soldiers and civilians who have died thanks to the hubris of others. The cornering of Dick Cheney has not sapped him of his power. George W. Bush remains an incurious front man whose very existence in that seat of power will stand as a constant threat to the safety and security of this nation and the world entire.
"U.S. envoy tells Iraqis election won't change policy," reads the Associated Press headline from Wednesday. That, in and of itself, says all we need to know about what remains to be done. For the first time in far too long, however, an opportunity has arrived to do more than scream into the thunderstorm and damn the rain.
The real work begins now.
Caution: automotive analogy ahead. This should have been two posts. Fuck it, I'm rollin'!
A good part of any job, as any mechanic will tell you, is the diagnosis, which the customer sees for the first time in the written estimate. The other part of the job is thoughtful application of theory, experience, knuckles and know-how, applied in such a manner so as to make the customer happy and not lose yer ass doin' it.
There's a third part, after the job is complete. This is the 'creative writing' phase, in which the mechanic prepares the final statement of cost for the customer. This is where the customer's expectation of final cost is revised to justify additional problems encountered during the repair process. He knows generally what's coming. He may bitch mightily, but, if the job is done correctly and he has no further problems, he'll be satisfied.
If it's OK to do a job well, it's OK to be paid well for doing it.
Most of the time you get what you pay for. Sometimes you don't. Our nation is in one of those times you don't.
If Bush were a mechanic, and speaking as a mechanic, thank God he's not, he'd be in jail right now, cleaning customer-applied tar and feathers out of his ass along with some buckshot. If he had pulled this shit on some of the adult motorcyclists I've dealt with over the years, he'd be dead.
Bush is like the worst sort of incompetent shade-tree shyster mechanic you could imagine, the kind that gives the rest of us a bad name, and has caused reams of legislation to protect the customer and make honest mechanics' lives miserable.
First, he completely bungled his diagnosis of what went wrong, and of what was required after 9/11. He had always wanted to dismantle the engine of Iraq, when all that was really needed was some work on the alternator of Afghanistan. He lied, and insisted the crankshaft needed replaced, knowing it didn't but desperately, pathologically, wanting to. Congress, as inept a customer as Bush was a mechanic, and whom we entrusted to get the problem fixed and keep our nation runnin' good, OK'ed the deal on an open-ended estimate. Kinda like lettin' the tow truck driver negotiate for you when he's in cahoots with the garage. Big mistake.
Then, this man who should never have been allowed anywhere near so valuable a toolbox, turned to. He took Afghanistan apart and then lost interest and left it on the bench in pieces Then, even though it ran a little rough and coulda used minor work, he took Iraq apart with hammers instead of wrenches.
He couldn't fix what he had fucked up, but he kept asking us for more and more money, which he split with his buddies to go buy beer and crank so they could do the unnecessary in ever more of a frenzy of destruction and incompetence.
When we started to complain about all the bungling, the unnecessary work and expense, he blamed us for getting in the way of fulfilling his long-standing fantasy of being a great mechanic who thought he could fix anything. He took the great vehicle of our Constitution further and further apart, trying to fix what wasn't broken, and in the process he fucked it up big time, all the while insisting that his was the only way to do it and we should go fuck ourselves.
That's where our country stands now: strewn in pieces all over a backyard, some parts turning rusty, some lost in the weeds, with a bunch of incompetent, cranked-up power-drunk wrench jockeys damn near breakin' their arms pointin' blame at anyone who isn't them.
Somewhere along the line, some sooner, some later, we realized we needed a new, competent mechanic, one who would tackle the job of re-assembling our nation from parts in unlabelled boxes and cans, under workbenches, fallen through holes in the floor. Bush and his evil little elves fought this tooth and nail.
So we took a vote.
What we've got now, just after the election, ain't perfect, but for the first time in years there's hope. Bush is still there, but we're on the verge of wresting the most destructive of his tools out of his grubby little mitts. We've banished some of his henchmen who contributed to the mess, and replaced them with folks who need to be given a chance to roll their sleeves up and see what they can do with the mess Bush has left.
Cooler heads have already been called in. Bush 41's practical mechanics are rushing to get Junior's ass out of the crack he's gotten us into. Again. The first time was in Florida in 2000, and they may be regretting it. Baker and Gates are heavyweights, and Baker owes the nation big time for getting the Chimp installed as president, waaay over his head, in the first place. Gates, for all the Iran-Contra bullshit, knows the Middle East pretty well, unlike that senile old war criminal and despoiler of the military, Rumsfeld. We will see how well reality-based adults handle the mess caused by Bush's juvenile, delusional, ideological wet dream.
Things are lookin' up. Perhaps we can yet turn the United States from a badly used Fiat (carefully chosen word) back into a smooth runnin' Cadillac.
And the third part? The final bill? It will be the biggest shock anyone has ever had, but we will have to pay it. It always costs a lot more to have a good mechanic straighten out the mess caused by a bad one.
Don't choose a mechanic based on what he tells you about his abilities, 'cuz he's lyin'. Talk to his customers and look at some of his work. Peer into his toolbox, see what he's got to work with. If the majority of us had done that earlier, we wouldn't be in the jam we're in now. Maybe we've learned that lesson. Then again...
I know this analogy is looser'n a goose, but you folks are smart. You'll get it.
Boo Freakin' Hoo
America can lay claim to a plethora of bullies of all kinds. Most Americans, at one point or another, have either been a bully or have been bullied in large and small ways. The bullies have been in charge for much longer than BushCo has been in power,it always been that way. To a certain degree, the nation lionizes and admires bullies,hell,watch "reality TV"for awhile,the biggest asshole usually wins. Work in The Corporation for awhile,it's obvious who gets ahead,the biggest asshole,almost without fail. The prickier the better. And when they get pricked back,they immediately reveal how old they are mentally.
The problem with this of course is that there are always jackasses who like to smack other people around,either literally,or emotionally,or both. Small,shallow,spoiled,cruel spawn of some horrific and demented,souless meeting of the Damned. So what could be solid tenaciousness and a firmly grounded work ethic and sense of responsibility is perverted to a mindless need to destroy something or someone every single day. And to do that with a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Which is my long winded way of saying that striving for "success" is twisted into a lack of emotional maturity and a breakdown in having any empathy at all,for anything or anyone. Sprinkle in a sense of selfish entitlement and exceptionalism and you have what truly are the very worst qualities human beings are capable of. Abusive,greedy self entitlement can only end badly,nothing good comes from it,ever.
This sort of madness sucks the energy and life force out of anything good,or beautiful,or unspoiled,or free,or joyous,or life affirming. It's exhausting and even deadly sometimes for those on the recieving end. Which is exactly why we are where we are as a Nation at the moment. It's like an abusive relationship in striking ways. The upside is, it's possible to escape and heal, to fight back and win. But it's not easy or bloodless,you gotta reach deep,be smart,fight smart and mostly,feel the fear and move ahead BECAUSE of the Fear,not in spite of it. I think,in part at least,this is why America just turned out to vote as we did. We're starting to wake up and see that the fear is being inflicted on us,it's made up shit mostly. Made up by soft pasty rich guys and all their enablers. Soft pasty rich guys who go around stirring up shit wherever they go because they operate on the notion of chaos making it easier to rape and pillage and steal and become obscenely wealthy. If you can turn people on each other,neighbor against neighbor, parent against child(or vice versa),friend against friend,race against race,religion against religion,gender against gender, hetero vs homo,well,that's how you really fuck up a country. The system lets you get rich doing it,it's the ultimate human weakness,greed.
America is way too strong to be destroyed from outside. The people in power know this,they've used our fears and prejudices on us from the beginning of time to keep a ruling class in place. And we lose in that deal,they don't. As we see....
Now,I don't expect what I've just said here to be common wisdom for quite some time. I think,to put it simply, that most of us are sick and tired of being kicked around and picked the (much)lesser of two evils with a bit of "wtf,it couldn't be alot worse"from the people who defected away from the GOP this time around. We're not"there"yet,seeing en masse that alot of the shit we fight amongst ourselves about is foisted upon us by the UnAmericans in our midst and the ones in charge of things. IMO,part of the whole Progressive "thing"should be to point that out to people,firmly,but gently with alarming regularity. United We Stand,Divided We Fall and all that stuff. This is not to say we don't have some really amazing Dems who just got elected(or re-elected),but others will need watching and kept on track,progressively speaking. We can do that,if the work that we put into this election is any indication.
Fortunately for Us,we had a pretty decent Democratic Republic thingy happening before the current facist hoardes and their flying monkeys got the keys to Everything. We have a much softer place to land,than say, people in South America who have to rise up from totally destroyed countries and fight their own brands of corruption and powerful,rich people who fuck things up for everyone else. We'd be wise,I think, to use that soft landing place to our advantage.
We have much to clean up before we get back on track though,the work is going to be exhausting and tireless. We simply must band together and not allow little,petty,and idiotic things to keep us divided. The Task at Hand will be much easier if we have each other's backs. That's how we really win this thing in the end. At the end of the day,most of us want the same stuff. A healthy place to live and work,good schools for the kiddies, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work,health care that doesn't make us go broke,safe streets, a place to call home, food on the table and maybe,the shot at a better life for ourselves and our families than those before us had.
The list of people we're supposed to be hating has become so large that people are finally seeing that hit home. Like all of the sudden they're supposed to hate the same neighbor you've lived next to for years and really become fond of (wingnuts don't have those experiences,they can't relate). Your kids play together, you hang out sometimes or are at least cordial,hating on your brown neighbor,or your liberal neighbor,or your gay neighbor fucks up the neighborhood,who would want to make life tough when it's going ok? Most people wouldn't. When you've already seen someone as a human pretty much like you that inflicted hate doesn't make any sense. And this is part of why today's conservatives are quickly finding themselves on the outside looking in. AND IT"S DRIVING THEM NUTS. Which,while really amusing,also makes them dangerous. This shit ain't over by a long shot.
Everytime we put differences aside and work together,a wingnut's head explodes while they cry. And to that,we should turn together and say loudly and proudly:
Boo Freakin' Hoo. We Got Better Things To Do. Than Listen To You. Boo Hoo. Boo Hoo. Boo Freakin' Hoo.
Get with the program,grow the fuck up,contribute something good and constructive,or move the FUCK out of the way and go be an asshole on your own time,in your room. You can come out when you can behave like an adult,if you're lucky.
The problem with this of course is that there are always jackasses who like to smack other people around,either literally,or emotionally,or both. Small,shallow,spoiled,cruel spawn of some horrific and demented,souless meeting of the Damned. So what could be solid tenaciousness and a firmly grounded work ethic and sense of responsibility is perverted to a mindless need to destroy something or someone every single day. And to do that with a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Which is my long winded way of saying that striving for "success" is twisted into a lack of emotional maturity and a breakdown in having any empathy at all,for anything or anyone. Sprinkle in a sense of selfish entitlement and exceptionalism and you have what truly are the very worst qualities human beings are capable of. Abusive,greedy self entitlement can only end badly,nothing good comes from it,ever.
This sort of madness sucks the energy and life force out of anything good,or beautiful,or unspoiled,or free,or joyous,or life affirming. It's exhausting and even deadly sometimes for those on the recieving end. Which is exactly why we are where we are as a Nation at the moment. It's like an abusive relationship in striking ways. The upside is, it's possible to escape and heal, to fight back and win. But it's not easy or bloodless,you gotta reach deep,be smart,fight smart and mostly,feel the fear and move ahead BECAUSE of the Fear,not in spite of it. I think,in part at least,this is why America just turned out to vote as we did. We're starting to wake up and see that the fear is being inflicted on us,it's made up shit mostly. Made up by soft pasty rich guys and all their enablers. Soft pasty rich guys who go around stirring up shit wherever they go because they operate on the notion of chaos making it easier to rape and pillage and steal and become obscenely wealthy. If you can turn people on each other,neighbor against neighbor, parent against child(or vice versa),friend against friend,race against race,religion against religion,gender against gender, hetero vs homo,well,that's how you really fuck up a country. The system lets you get rich doing it,it's the ultimate human weakness,greed.
America is way too strong to be destroyed from outside. The people in power know this,they've used our fears and prejudices on us from the beginning of time to keep a ruling class in place. And we lose in that deal,they don't. As we see....
Now,I don't expect what I've just said here to be common wisdom for quite some time. I think,to put it simply, that most of us are sick and tired of being kicked around and picked the (much)lesser of two evils with a bit of "wtf,it couldn't be alot worse"from the people who defected away from the GOP this time around. We're not"there"yet,seeing en masse that alot of the shit we fight amongst ourselves about is foisted upon us by the UnAmericans in our midst and the ones in charge of things. IMO,part of the whole Progressive "thing"should be to point that out to people,firmly,but gently with alarming regularity. United We Stand,Divided We Fall and all that stuff. This is not to say we don't have some really amazing Dems who just got elected(or re-elected),but others will need watching and kept on track,progressively speaking. We can do that,if the work that we put into this election is any indication.
Fortunately for Us,we had a pretty decent Democratic Republic thingy happening before the current facist hoardes and their flying monkeys got the keys to Everything. We have a much softer place to land,than say, people in South America who have to rise up from totally destroyed countries and fight their own brands of corruption and powerful,rich people who fuck things up for everyone else. We'd be wise,I think, to use that soft landing place to our advantage.
We have much to clean up before we get back on track though,the work is going to be exhausting and tireless. We simply must band together and not allow little,petty,and idiotic things to keep us divided. The Task at Hand will be much easier if we have each other's backs. That's how we really win this thing in the end. At the end of the day,most of us want the same stuff. A healthy place to live and work,good schools for the kiddies, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work,health care that doesn't make us go broke,safe streets, a place to call home, food on the table and maybe,the shot at a better life for ourselves and our families than those before us had.
The list of people we're supposed to be hating has become so large that people are finally seeing that hit home. Like all of the sudden they're supposed to hate the same neighbor you've lived next to for years and really become fond of (wingnuts don't have those experiences,they can't relate). Your kids play together, you hang out sometimes or are at least cordial,hating on your brown neighbor,or your liberal neighbor,or your gay neighbor fucks up the neighborhood,who would want to make life tough when it's going ok? Most people wouldn't. When you've already seen someone as a human pretty much like you that inflicted hate doesn't make any sense. And this is part of why today's conservatives are quickly finding themselves on the outside looking in. AND IT"S DRIVING THEM NUTS. Which,while really amusing,also makes them dangerous. This shit ain't over by a long shot.
Everytime we put differences aside and work together,a wingnut's head explodes while they cry. And to that,we should turn together and say loudly and proudly:
Boo Freakin' Hoo. We Got Better Things To Do. Than Listen To You. Boo Hoo. Boo Hoo. Boo Freakin' Hoo.
Get with the program,grow the fuck up,contribute something good and constructive,or move the FUCK out of the way and go be an asshole on your own time,in your room. You can come out when you can behave like an adult,if you're lucky.
Location, location, location ...
I've been thinking (since we clinched the Senate last night) of an appropriate place to build the gallows. You know, for a time when the trials are over. I came up with a few places.
The National Mall, Washington, DC - Nation's capitol and all the shit that goes with it.
Mount Vernon - George Washington's home as a sacrifice for tarnishing the reputation of the great nation he helped build.
Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home for the same reasons.
Braintree, MA - The home of John Adams, for he hated tyrants more than any of the other Founders.
Arlington National Cemetary - So the last thing they see are the markers for the sons and daughters they sent here.
Your thoughts?
The National Mall, Washington, DC - Nation's capitol and all the shit that goes with it.
Mount Vernon - George Washington's home as a sacrifice for tarnishing the reputation of the great nation he helped build.
Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home for the same reasons.
Braintree, MA - The home of John Adams, for he hated tyrants more than any of the other Founders.
Arlington National Cemetary - So the last thing they see are the markers for the sons and daughters they sent here.
Your thoughts?
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