Saje's Eye

The sharp edge of my pen...

2006-06-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sick of listening to the lies. I'm sick of reading the lies. I'm sick of trying to refute the lies.

Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Saddam and OBL hated each other. Saddam was an asshole, but there are a LOT of assholes out there.

Telling the truth is not treasonous. It's telling the truth. Something more politicians should try now and again.

The "liberal" media is anything but liberal. It's beholden to the advertisers, who have their OWN fucking agenda. It's entertainment, and not even GOOD entertainment. It's not remotely connected to the truth anymore. It's all about ratings, and ratings are all about commercials, and commercials are all about corporate advertising. It's a no brainer.

People need the help of their community to succeed. There's no such thing as bootstrap levitation. No man or woman is an island, and without community support, people are lost...or crawl off into the woods to mail letter-bombs.

Everyone deserves decent healthcare, and socialized medicine actually works! The ONLY flaw in the system at that point is if fewer people can afford to become doctors because they go into debt trying to pay their way through medical school on student loans.

What part of "you can't fight an enemy you can't even identify" don't these people get? Not all Iraqis, Arabs, or Muslims are the enemy. The enemy is a mindset--and it's the same goddam mindset our current government seems to embrace. Violence is rarely an answer to anything without sincere attempts at diplomacy and compromise to go along with it.

People who've never been to war should not be allowed to play army with REAL SOLDIERS.

Gay marriage is only a threat to people who don't understand that marriage is a partnership, not a ownership contract.

The PEOPLE own themselves--their bodies and souls do not belong to the State, their employers, their church, or anyone else.

Freedom of speech is sacrosanct. Mess with it at your peril.

We OWN the government. Not the other way around.

You can oppose abortion or effective birth control and sex education. Pick one.

If I want to hear about Jesus, I'll ask.

Higher wages for the lowest classes means more money to spend. More money for the upper classes means LESS money spent. Which do you really think stimulates the economy?

Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses." These days in America, it's probably sports. Religion is more like a hullucinogen.

"Don't do drugs. Except these. And these. And these. And these."

"Alternative energy is a pipe dream." Yeah, kinda like the moon landing.

"America. Love it or leave it." You first.

The Death Penalty is retroactive abortion.

If this administration gave a SHIT about education, they'd fund it. Talk is cheap. Education isn't.

People shouldn't have to go deep in debt just to become more productive members of society.

Minimum wage jobs do not contribute to the tax base.

A stellar teacher is worth a hundred times more than a sports star. It would be nice if they made even a tenth of the salary.

A tiny fraction of the population is getting a free ride on everyone else's labor. And complaining about everyone else while they're getting it. Must be nice.

"Freedom isn't free." As soon as someone explains to me how killing and dying in a dusty place across the ocean contributes to OUR freedom, I might be inclined to agree. Near as I can tell, with illegal wiretapping, illicit surveillance, and 'free speech zones,' we're paying one hell of a high price for increased restrictions on freedom. Tyranny isn't free either, apparently.

What makes some people think big business is more benevolent than 'big government?' Were they repeatedly dropped on their heads when they were little?

Okay, I agree with you. Bush isn't stupid. He's just an asshole. Feel better?

If unscrupulous employers didn't HIRE illegal immigrants, they wouldn't be rushing the borders. Who do you think's really to blame? People who will risk everything to have a better life, or those who already have everything but want cheap labor to exploit so they can have more?

The political divide in this country will never be healed as long as people like Ann Coulter are running around spewing shit. Maybe if she actually ate something once in a while she wouldn't be so damned nasty all the time.

Hey, if the CEO of Pollution Inc. wants to take a crap in the corner of his own living room, that's okay with me. But the minute he tries to crap in my house, I'm going to smack him in the head with a big stick. I don't care WHO his friends are.

I'd rather be friends with a spotted owl than an ignorant logger.

I'm more worried about Grand Theft America than Grand Theft Auto. Call me crazy.

I don't know if this administration had anything to do with 9/11. But I do know they've screwed up just about everything they'd done since. I've never seen any bunch of people more deserving of walking papers in my entire life. And I've worked with some real losers.

If we're depending on the Supreme Court to defend the Constitution, we are in some DEEP shit.

The Sky is NOT falling

2006-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

The sky is NOT falling
I know things are bad. I know things look to be getting worse. We have a quagmire of a pre-emptive illegal war, we have politicians playing "Let's Make a Deal" with the corporate powers-that-be, deliberately and consciously screwing the average American. We have global warming. We have Diebold. We have a complicit press and a complacent public. We've got a looming depression most of the country can't even see coming. We've got a ballooning deficit and rampant corruption in congress.

It's bad. It's getting worse.

How bad will it get? I'm not sure. But I do know that hopelessness and despair are going to get us precisely nowhere. The end of the world is not upon us. I won't even bet that the end of civilization is upon us. Maybe the end of American ascendency is, but hell, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. One of the Earth's oldest empires is about to step into our place, and, if one sets aside their horrendous human rights record, they might actually be a bit wiser with regards to how they handle things. At least China isn't tied down by Bronze Age ideology. A significant number of China's population isn't just phoning it in waiting for the End Times.I grow weary of the hopelessness. I really do. Damn near everything we're seeing has been foretold at one point or another. Maybe nothing really shocks me because I'm a sci-fi fan. I've seen it all, or near enough that the difference is pretty meaningless. The controversy over cloning came as no surprise. Now it's animal hybrids.

Been there, done that.

The most ridiculous thing is that we probably stand on the brink (within twenty years or so) of some pretty incredible scientific breakthroughs...things that could well make the past hundred years or so look remarkably like the dark ages. The survival of the human race, and of many of the Earth's creatures, can be assured if we simply take the steps to make it so. It would require the end of bombing the crap out of one another, more than likely. We can't afford to waste so many of our resources engaging in petty squabbles when our whole existence is on the line.

One of our biggest problems in this country is the absurd level of influence the Rapturians have...people who believe the end of the world is just around the corner and therefore none of this matters. They are, in my opinion, not very different ideologically from the suicide bomber. It's all a matter of scale. A bomber kills X innocent bystanders. The Rapturites are trying to take ALL of us with them.The future is coming whether we like it or not. Hiding from it isn't an option. Denying it even less of one. The future might not be what we'd like it to be, but it could well be a place of wonder anyway. But maybe we should make certain our children and grandchildren learn Mandarin. It will probably be very useful in the future.

I refuse to believe the sky is falling. Sure, it's a little shaky, but it's held up this long...why not a little longer?What more can I say?

When hope's all you got left, it's the one thing worth having.

An uncharacteristic rant

2006-03-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

Condemn me for being part of the "angry left" if you will (the whole 'leftist' smear is so 20th Century anyway--there hasn't been a real relevant "leftist" movement in this country since the 1930s), but I'll be damned if I'll let you accuse me of being angry without a reason.

In the past twelve years the Regressives have attacked our whole system like a pack of rabid rats tearing bloody chunks from the body politick and washing it down with the blood of the patriots who died to give us our freedom in the first place. Would be tyrants, each and every one of them, so caught up in the fever of greed for money and power that the foundation on which this country was built, the ideals that it claimed, are as meaningless to them as the history of the rest of the world they scorn.

Damn right I'm angry. I'm angry every time one of the shrieking pundits accuses me of being a traitor because I believe in the original vision of America as a shining beacon of hope for the world. I'm angry every time I hear a lie come from those we elect to tell us the truth. I'm angry every time another young man or woman falls in a hot, dusty place across the ocean because our 'leaders' have neither the moral courage nor the decency to stand up for them and us alike.

I'm angry because the media has failed to do its job, leaving it up to people like me to try to reach out to those who will listen. I'm angry because this abandonment has left me faced with people who say "where's your proof?" when it should be as plain on the nose on their face. They swallow lies as if they were wines of the finest vintage, and choke on truth as if it were the bloated, maggot filled corpse of a rat left on the doorstep by the neighbor's cat.

I still debate them on occasion, simply because it behooves us to spread truth whenever possible, whenever the attempt doesn't put your very sanity in danger. Because, make no mistake, the world teeters wildly every time you put forth the truth only to have some oblivious fellow citizen declaim your words as those of a fool or, worse yet, 'partisan hack.'

They say "you offer me opinion with no proof to back it up.""How much goddam proof do you need?" I want to yell. "Why the HELL are we in Iraq? Huh? Because they had WMDs? Because Saddam was an asshole? Because we wanted to give Democracy to people who've never shown they had any real interest in it? Do you even KNOW?"

The regressive agenda is to eliminate all those things that has made America a land of opportunity...slashing wildly at anything that might improve the lot of the less fortunate. For the regressive movement seems to be made up of two kinds of people--those who are already rich, and those who wish fervantly to become the type of person who can grind another human into the dirt just for the shits and giggles of it.

There is NO such thing as bootstrap levitation, you assholes! People find success in life through the support and encouragement of their neighbors. A person who looks out for him or her self first belongs to no community--for those who would call that person brethren would be the type to knife him or her in the back the very moment it becomes more convenient than guarding that same back, and steal even the fillings out of his or her teeth just to make a quick buck in the process.

They who despise their fellow man, and seek only to gain advantage from them, deserve nothing more than scorn. For they steal not only THINGS, but also the very dignity that lies behind the definition of humanity.

The regressive agenda is the very epitome of that which is anti-human. It is like a cancer in our midst, a destructive force that turns our very being against itself. And it feeds on fear and hatred and greed. Fear of the unknown, of the strange, hatred of those who are in some way different, and greed...not only for money, but for power, and fame, and respect that is not earned, but forced from those who cannot afford not to give it.

All I have to say now is GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING COUNTRY. You don't deserve it. You don't even know how to appreciate it. You've turned it into a rapacious villain, a diseased mockery of itself, and act as though you've buffed and shined it into a bright shining beacon. Your coat of day-glo paint isn't fooling anyone but yourselves.

Educate our young. Feed our hungry. Provide shelter for those who are lost. Cure those who are sick.

If you can't, or won't, do these things...get the fuck out of the way so WE CAN.

The Time Traveler's Dilemma

2006-03-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

I was just listening to the audio book of Spider Robinson's classic "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" (which is a collection of short stories put into novel form detailing the lives and experiences of a group of people who gather in a rather unique tavern run by an Irish gentleman of mysterious origins) and I was struck by a realization.

The story itself is that of a man who was imprisoned for 10 years between 1963 and 1973, cut off from all accounts of the outside world. He is a time-traveler of sorts, who has been left adrift in a world he does not quite understand, a world that saw the horror of the Vietnam war, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, the moon landing, and Watergate.

I was left wondering...how WOULD a time-traveler fare going from 1963 to 2006? Would anything be comprehensible to such a person? Nearly half of Americans who have lived through the past several years and decades don't 'get it.' Imagine if you somehow missed everything that had occured in the past four decades. Would you understand ANYTHING of what's going on now, or would it just seem like an alien world?

Future Shock, they call it.

We are a product of our times--not only us, but the Neocons. They act, in part, in retribution to what was "done to" Nixon. An amusing line out of the story talks about how this man, this missionary who'd been jailed, being taken to meet the President after his release and being surprised to find Nixon--especially considering the last HE'D heard of the man, he'd just lost the Governor's race for California and had petulantly told the Press they'd "no longer have Dick Nixon to kick around."

This all brought me to the revelation of how little sense any of what's happened would make to someone who hadn't been brought up in it. Imagine. The Beattles, the sexual revolution, the Civil Rights movement, the "Me" generation, the Reagan Years, the 1st Gulf War, The Clinton Years, The Contract With (On) America, the "Revenge of Bush."

Wow.What a ride these four decades have been.

Take a left!

2006-03-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Don't panic. Yes, I know there's a detour sign up ahead, but it's a fake. It was put there by a band of criminals who are trying to rob the armored car marked "U.S. Treasury." They set up the same detour back in '04, and, when the truck went right instead of left, they were waiting to ambush it and steal everything in the truck.

I know they're telling you there are "Godless Communists" lurking to the left, but they're just scarecrows set up to frighten you. The REAL "Godless Communists" are so ineffectual that they're little more than a running joke anymore.

What's REALLY around the bend if you take a left turn? Well, let's see.

-A way out of an unpopular war. Rather than appointing ideologues that base their decisions on what they'd LIKE to be true, the Democratic Party will listen to people with real world experience in dealing with actual warfare.

-Affordable Healthcare for all. Americans have admitted they'd like to be able to get medical care without going deep in debt in the process.

-A budget that makes sense. Yes, rather than spending billions of dollars we don't have, the Democratic Party will put a cap on spending and return some fiscal sanity to the government by cutting back on corporate welfare and making sure everyone pays their fair share.

-A TRUE coalition of the willing. With the Democratic Party in control, we'll be able to actually make and keep valuable connections to other countries to help track down, capture, and prosecute terrorists.

-Sound environmental policies. Instead of granting big corporations more power to poison us and our children, the Democratic Party will work to ensure that the water we drink and the air we breathe is clean and safe for everyone.

-Clean, renewable energy. The Democratic Party will create a new "Apollo Project" to seek new sources of energy to release us from bondage to the Oil Cartels and the profiteering of the oil companies.

-Self respect. America will finally be able to stand proud and say "we did away with rendition, torture, illegal wars of aggression and held the people responsible accountable."

-Privacy. The Democratic Party believes that the Constitution should be respected, and the 4th Amendment shouldn't be ignored on a whim.If all of this sounds good to you, please ignore the detour signs and take a left in November. If you truly want what's best for America and Americans, it's the best turn you could make.

Our 21st Century Civil War

2006-03-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

Nearly any liberal is perfectly aware of how unreachable some people are. They will support the President and this administration come Hell (Iraq) or high water (Katrina). They question our patriotism because we dare to question their Great Leader's.

Just a few short years ago we watched them tear into a sitting President like a pack of starving hyenas, for nothing more than a human failing. Was what he did wrong? Of course. Was it the worst thing a President could have done? Hardly.

Now we are looking at perhaps some of the worst crimes ever perpetrated against the American People by a sitting President and many--too many--are willing to shrug and overlook them, because they foolishly believe he's keeping us safe. A complacent, complicit media huddles in the corner, only speaking out when it's deemed unavoidable.

I don't feel safer than I did. Quite the opposite. I'm fairly certain that his actions have emboldened those he wishes to subdue, and we are in much danger, if not more danger, from his rabid followers than from foreign terrorists. There are voices on the radio and on TV who are calling us 'traitors' and worse. Again, simply because we dare to point out that, despite the rhetoric, there is no reason to believe we're any safer than we were.

Have not the right wing radio hosts called for our imprisonment? For our deaths? Has not the rabid, emaciated creature known by some as 'Annthrax' called for our extermination? For the alleged crime of having a different viewpoint and having the nerve to speak out about that viewpoint?

We live in dangerous times, my friends. When people who have the ear of a large segment of society are (not so subtly) trying to provoke their listeners into violent actions against another segment of society, we stand on the brink of a whole different kind of conflict.

Am I worried? You bet. Not necessarily for myself, however. I fear for my fellow liberals who live in the hinterlands among those who would hate them, not in the city as I do, surrounded by people who either feel similarly, or who do not believe I'm an enemy because of my political views.

Be vigilant, friends. For I fear that the first shot of the 2nd American Civil War will not even be recognized for what it is. And that scares me more than I can say.

Be vigilant.

Get Up Stand Up

2006-03-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

I hear it all the time. “All politicians are the same. They don’t represent me.” Or, better yet, “I don’t do politics.”

“That’s okay,” I tell them. “Politics will do you.” Then I might add. “Got lube?”

There’s a strong swelling sentiment in this country that the politicians don’t represent the people, a sentiment reflected in the increasingly low voter turnout on Election Day. We can debate the reason for this for days on end, but the truth of it is unmistakable.

We can blame them, rail against them, condemn them for their attitude, but none of these things are likely to do any good. Some want to make voting mandatory, like Australia. Personally I think that’s a stupid idea. Forcing people to participate in something they don’t give a rusty rat’s ass about? Not a good idea. I can’t see how anything positive can come out of it.

I could be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time.

So how can we reach these people? How can we get people to actually vote? A radio caller once mentioned an idea that we have a voter lottery. A chance to win money for casting your votes. Well, on the surface it sounds pretty good, but…well…I’m sure we’d rather find a way to encourage informed voting. I’m not sure this would be the best way to do that.

So what is?

Well, first we have to determine which demographic is least likely to vote. Maybe we should sponsor a survey, try to figure out why they don’t vote. Get a consensus rolling. Where are we failing? We’ve got “Rock the Vote” “Rap the Vote” and who knows what else, trying to get the youth out there involved in the system. These things have seen a measure of success, but there is a great untapped resource of voters out there that just don’t connect with the system.

I think part of the problem is that we’ve allowed the whole electoral process to devolve into a mass of soundbytes, where the politicos aren’t so much talking TO the people as talking AT them. A lot of it is obviously manipulative, and, I’ll bet if you did do a survey, you’d find that most people dislike being manipulated by either side of the political spectrum. They don’t need slogans, they need solutions.

The media isn’t helping, of course. The mass communication medium that has sprang up over the past sixty years has done nothing to improve the connection between people and their “representatives.” Only in the last ten, with the advent and expansion of the internet, have we seen a way to reach the people as individuals actually arise. But only a few politicians and campaign people have tapped into this.

The RW has tapped its base, and I’m willing to bet that nearly all of the voters out there who don’t vote now are more attuned to the Democratic message, if it could only reach them effectively. Clearly. And attached to people they can believe will try to make a difference.

They say that “all politics is local.” Howard Dean is building a grassroots financing campaign for the DNC and doing a remarkable job of it. But it’s only half the battle. Getting the money from those who are already interested isn’t the hard part. Getting the votes from the people who aren’t is.

We need strong, charismatic leaders on the ground, in all our communities. Not just talking at the media, but walking around, shaking hands, and being real people. Listening to other people. Because we know that liberalism is about real people…their hopes, their fears, and those things they’d like to see to make their lives better.

It takes real people to connect to real people. So who’ll stand up and be that real person the voters can get to know?

Is it you? Or is it someone you know? Someone who’s willing to go out there and glad-hand, not politicking for any particular candidate, but for our Cause in general. Because that’s a part of what we need.

We already know that the majority of folks support Roe v. Wade and don’t want to see it overturned. We already know that the majority question the Iraq War. We already know that the majority of people want serious healthcare reform.

We need to let it be known that we want the same things they do, and we’re willing to work hard to give it to them.

Democrats. Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what it’s about.

Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into, Dubya.

2006-03-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are criticizing the Democrats for not have a coherent message about Iraq. Should we stay or should we go? Either way there's rough seas ahead. Or would that be rough sand? Anyway... The question shouldn't be, at this moment, whether the Dems should advocate staying or leaving, but whether the Dems should be pointing out HOW we got there in the first place.

"Iraq was never a threat...and they damn well knew it. Now we're there and don't have the faintest idea how to extricate ourselves. The President says "stay the course," but doesn't tell us what "stay the course" means."

"What the heck are we doing there in the first place? Because they were a threat? We know that wasn't true. We REALLY need to figure out why we were led into war against them.

"At first it was because Saddam was a threat, he was trying to get WMDs. Maybe he already HAD WMDs. Then it was just because he was a crazy lunatic jerk and we needed to get rid of him. Then it was to bring Democracy to the Middle East.

"Why are we there? Well, frankly, because our President and his advisors decided we needed to be. And that decision has killed over 2300 hundred American men and women so far, with who knows how many more to come. And what has it gained us? A ballooning deficit, the disdain of most of the rest of the world, and a lot of pissed-off Arabs.

"This wasn't OUR idea, though we were arm-twisted and 'misled' into it. Sure, we've got egg on our faces now. We were neo-conned.

"Do we need to get out of Iraq? We sure do. And as soon as we figure out how to do it without creating a bigger mess in the process, without causing even more innocent people to suffer for our arrogance, we'll be leaving.

"Just remember. We may look as though we went along with the plan, but we didn't write the plan and we didn't really know what the plan was. We still don't. But we know what the plan wasn't. It wasn't smart and it wasn't rational.

"So are we to blame? Partially. And we'll accept that. But we'll also accept that we have a responsibility to try to fix our mistake. To fix a mistake, you have to first acknowledge you made one. That's one thing you're not hearing from the President or the Republicans in general. They want to pretend that there wasn't a mistake. It's a Pee-Wee Herman moment for them. They're looking at the whole mess and saying, "we meant to do that."

"If they did, we've got even bigger problems than we realized."

I Aim to Misbehave

2006-03-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

The America in which I grew up believing is supposed to include everyone. Yes, I realize that the America I grew up believing in never really existed, that it was an ideal that we never quite managed to achieve.

But in many ways the America That Never Was became a shining beacon of hope for the whole world. Behind the commercialism of Coca-Cola, Levi's jeans, and so many other American products that people across the world clamored for and fought to get, lies a belief in the dream that America used to represent.

America was the world's big sister, represented in iconic fashion by the lonely statue standing in New York Harbor, arm upraised. The big sister that didn't spy on its neighbors, but held the torch that lit the way to freedom and equality for all of mankind.

We've lost sight of that thanks to this administration and its flunkies. We turned a cynical eye on the rest of the world, the world that grew up looking at America and saying "we want to be like THEM when we grow up," and collectively spat in the faces of those who said out loud "that's not what America is supposed to be about."

On 9/11 we were struck a devastating blow and, as we reeled in shock, the rest of the world stood up and said "hey, you can't do that to our America!" People all over the world, even in those countries labeled by this administration as part of the "Axis of Evil," marched in protest at what was done to us.

When we went into Afghanistan after Osama Bin Laden, the will of the world went with us. "Catch that murdering bastard," they said. "Put him on trial and let us all show evil what we think of those who would do such a thing to our big sister."

They were our allies, our friends, and our little brothers and sisters.

But when we turned our attention from Bin Laden and went after Saddam and Iraq, the rest of the world paused a moment and looked at us, wondering what we were thinking. They knew that Saddam, though hateful himself, had not attacked us, was not the person who they wanted caught and punished.

In our arrogance, we turned our fury on our allies and friends, and said "if you're not with us, you're against us."

Though that was never true.

We slapped them down and turned our ponderous might against a tiny nation that never had the power to resist us.

Now the same meme echoes within the United States, pressed with ever increasing volume and force upon those who would question this administration and its policies.

We are told that we are traitors, and that only by supporting everything that they're doing can we hope to win the "War on Terror."

I disagree. You cannot fight against an idea, against a concept, with the power of military might. You can only fight an idea with another idea. The idea of the America That Never Was, the idea that was abandoned by this administration, is the best weapon we could have leveled against the threat we faced. That America believes in Truth, and Justice, and Hope for the world.

I stand by this assertion, and if people think it's wrong, if they think that by somehow not supporting this administration's wrong-headed policies of death, destruction, secrecy, and cynicism means that I do not support the soldiers that have been callously thrown in harm's way, I cannot change their minds.

But if you ask me to support this fiasco, this abandoning of America's ideals in the name of fear, hatred, and rage, I can only say with a resounding voice "NO!"I will not turn against the America I believe in. I will not accept an America in which only the powerful have a voice, and in an America that thinks that might makes right. I will not abandon America in its hour of need just because they think I must.

If they think that being a good American means going meekly along with the plan, I have news for them.

I aim to misbehave.

Everybody Matters

2006-03-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

From the tiny child laying in its crib, burbling in happiness, or wailing with hunger, to the arthritic fellow making his way to his mailbox to look for a letter from his grandchildren--from the young woman on the bus taking her from her childhood home to a dream of greatness in the city to the old woman sitting on her porch, cat in her lap, calling cheerfully to the neighbors tending their garden. From the homeless child sleeping on the school steps to the woman walking down the university steps, diploma in her hand.

From the guy standing in the unemployment line, trying to find another job after his was eliminated or outsourced, to the CEO who gave the order. From the long haired, bearded busker playing guitar at the market, voice raised in a song of hope or despair, to the slick haired concert promoter hob-knobbing with the stars.

Everybody matters.We are all participants in what was once considered a grand experiment, a society in which we, the people, were all considered equal before the law, that insisted that each of our voices could be heard by those we elected to represent us.

It wasn't always true, of course, but it was a work in progress. One by one, the barriers were torn down and each segment of society became yet another to join their voices in the song of freedom. We believed that by working hard we could make a better world and a better life for our children.

When we stood and opposed the robber barons, fighting for the right to workplace safety, and the right to see our children to go to school rather than being forced to work alongside us, we did it for everyone. We did it for our children, and the children of our neighbors, and the children that would be born to them as well.

When we went off to fight the tyrant who tried to consume Europe, we did it for those who were dying, and those who were not yet born, because the hope of the future deserved it.

When we stood up against the war in southeast Asia, it wasn't just for ourselves, but for the children of all Americans, and the people there who also deserved to live in peace, to try to determine their own fate. We didn't do it because we don't believe in America, and what it's supposed to represent, but because we do.

When we protested the dumping of toxic wastes into the earth, the rivers, and the sea, it wasn't just to protect ourselves, or our own children, but to protect ALL of us, and all our children. When we fought for clean air, it wasn't to ensure our own breaths, but to ensure that all of us could continue to breathe air that didn't make us sick. When we stood up against the decimation of forest land, it was so all our children could enjoy the wonders of nature as we had. As our ancestors had.

America is more than a land mass, more than a nation of people. America is an idea. The idea that everybody matters, from the lowest to the highest, that everyone has a right to a decent life, and has a right to watch their children grow up in a world better yet than the one that they themselves remember.

Isn't that what everyone wants? That their children inherit a world in which more things are possible, in which they have every chance to succeed no matter where they were born and into which walk of life?

That's the one thing we liberals have been trying to say all along. That the farmer's daughter in Ohio, or Kentucky, is just as deserving of a chance to succeed in life as the CEO's son in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. That's why we stand and fight against those practices and policies that make it that much harder for them. Because if we didn't, who would?

We believe everybody matters.

Don't you?

NSA tracks secret liberal lab

2006-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

(Satire)

Odd Squad News

February 24, 2006

Unconfirmed sources have alleged that the National Security Agency is investigating a report that liberal American scientists have established a secret time travel laboratory somewhere in the Pacific Northwest and are planning to use the device to bring back certain American historical figures to counter the claims of the Bush Administration.

"The theory," said one anonymous source, "is that if they bring back such luminaries as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, they'll be able to put this administration on the run."

The NSA has so far refused to comment on the case, though an agency spokesperson responded with a rueful laugh and a shake of his head when asked about it.

"What they have to worry about," said one Presidential historian, "is keeping Thomas Jefferson away from weapons--he's likely to march right out and launch a second American revolution on the spot.

"That's assuming, of course, that time travel isn't just yet another liberal daydream. These poor people are DYING for leadership."

I don't know what to say.

2005-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Strange title for a post, isn't it?

I've been busier than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest lately, but I've been following the news on Katrina closely. Not on the TV news...I wouldn't do that to myself. The images are horrific. I already know that.

What a disaster.

How could this administration have been so unprepared?

Oh, wait a minute. I already know the answer to that question. It's corrupt, incompetent, and terminally preoccupied with making itself look good.

How good does it look now?

So, what about the looting? I'm not talking about TVs or expensive electronics these people can't even use right now. I'm talking about people who are stealing food, water, clothing, footwear, diapers, and other necessities as they watch people around them dying from their lack.

To paraphrase Scott Mclellan, the WH spokesman..."Rescue operations are on their way. But, in the meantime, we want everyone who's going to starve or die of dehydration, exposure, or disease just sit tight and let it happen. Please understand we empathize with you as you listen to your baby scream."

Hey...Snotty Scottie! Shut the fuck up! Eat shit and live, you puke. How crap like that can fall out of your mouth without making you want to throw yourself off the nearest tall building absolutely escapes me.

Go directly to hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect social security.

Liberal Agenda

2005-08-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Average Republican,

There is NO "liberal agenda" but the shared interest of liberals who want to see things get better for everyone. You, your parents, and the guy who bags groceries down at the corner market. Liberals want to see you with enough money to buy groceries, pay off your house, and put at least one fuel-efficient vehicle in your garage.

It's not an agenda. It's people hoping for the best for other people.

It's about hoping that your Uncle John, who's been farming the same plot of land for the last 40 years, doesn't lose his farm because he falls off his tractor and breaks his leg and can't pay his doctor bill. It's about hoping that you have some options when your town's biggest employer goes belly-up because it can't compete with that textile factory in China.

It's about making sure you get paid enough that you don't have to take two or three jobs just to make ends meet. So you can spend more time with your family...so you can play catch with your kids, or take them fishing on weekends, or take them to the local swimming hole or municipal pool to teach them how to swim.

It's not an agenda to want the best for people. It's just humanity. It's about being a good neighbor, even if that neighbor lives half a country away.

Ask a liberal what empathy is...it's about understanding where someone else is coming from. And most of us try very hard, even if we don't agree.

Being a liberal isn't about making fun of God, or your beliefs about him. Most liberals take the Sermon on the Mount to heart. They try to live the teachings of Jesus, even if some aren't sure he's really the Son of God. Thomas Jefferson called him the World's Greatest Moral Philosopher. You'll find very few liberals who'd disagree with that.

It's because of liberals that your ten year olds get to go to school rather than being forced to work in factories for spare change. It's because of liberals that you can trust your workplace to be safe and free of unexpected dangers. It is because of liberals that, should you be injured at work, you can expect fair medical treatment and compensation for your lost work, and have money coming in if you’re laid off. It’s also because of liberals that you have reasonably clean water to drink and bathe in, and that the local swimming hole isn’t completely polluted.

That's what we do. We try to look out for everybody. Even the people who hate us. We don't have an agenda. We don't take marching orders from anyone. We do what we do because we believe in people. We believe in you.

All we ask is that you begin to believe in us..

What the Right just doesn't get about Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

When I hear some Repub standing in the RW echo chamber saying things like "Cindy Sheehan is a tool of the radical left" I am as disgusted as most other progressives.

You know what the problem is, right? The pundits and conservative bloggers are, in effect, little more than puppets of the regime, and can't really understand someone acting independent of outside controls. To them it's far more reasonable she's doing Michael Moore's bidding than coming up with this on her own...it has to be a part of an agenda because they can't live outside THEIR agenda...there are no personal choices--it's like the Communist Party in China or the former Soviet Union. The Party comes first. Loyalty to the Party and State above all.

Cindy is about, for, and from the people--all the people who stand in opposition to the war, and all those who actually feel something for those who have fallen. People like Michael Moore are following her, not the other way around. She's in the vanguard now, with the "professional" activists rushing to catch up.I can understand their confusion. To them for whom authority is to be admired and emulated rather than questioned, the idea of someone stepping outside some form of authority and acting on their own is unthinkable.

See, people like Cindy prefer to think for themselves. Following a party line is for those who want to be told what to think.

Like Republicans.

Stacking the Court

2005-07-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

There's a big hullabaloo about Bush's nomination of Roberts for the Supreme Court, and whether he rushed the nomination in order to take attention off Rove and Scooter Libby. Some people laugh at the notion, but they weren't laughing when Clinton was accused of ordering bombing to take the heat off the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

This is a big deal, sure. But, compared to the Plame affair, it's small potatoes. The fact that this treasonous act came from the White House puts in question (at least to me) whether a President complicit in the betrayal of a secret agent and the exposure of hundreds of contacts specifically engaged in the search for WMDs can be trusted to choose a Supreme Court justice.

Whatever may be said about Clinton (and plenty is) it's hard to argue that he would put the needs of his party or himself above the needs of the American people. Some would, but some would also argue the Earth is flat.

People are terrified that Roe vs. Wade will be overturned, and thus turn back the clock to the days before legal abortion. Added to the issue of pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions and you have a strong indication that women are to be considered second-class citizens, their rights and privileges curtailed except in instances where a male authority figure agrees with them. In this respect it seems fundamentalist Christianity isn't all that different than fundamentalist Islam. Two sides of the same coin.

If the electronic voting machines didn't hand the election to Bush (and there's considerable controversy over this very possibility) a small majority of Americans chose to slide a knife into the backs of their fellow Americans by voting this man into office again. Most deeply betrayed, I think, are the women in this country.

Very sad. They deserve better.

It may take years to repair the damage these knuckleheads have done. I just pray (figure of speech) that we have the time to do so before we run out of oil or China calls in its markers.

Dare I call it treason?

2005-07-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yes.

It's treason to reveal the identity of a secret operative dedicated to hunting down WMDs. It's treason to attempt to attempt to obfuscate the truth of the matter behind partisan politics.

It is treason to continually lie to the American public, to manufacture or use someone else's manufactured evidence in order to wage war against an already crippled nation.

It is treason to attempt to subvert the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States.

It is treason to put the welfare of a select few oligarchs before the welfare of the citizens of the United States

It is treason to deprive ordinary citizens of their voting rights in order to secure a certain election result.

It is treason to put the welfare of a specific political party before the welfare of the United States as a nation.

It is treason to work on behalf of a corrupt government in order to help it subvert the Constitution of the United States, to abandon journalistic ethics in order to further the campaign of disinformation that is the lifeblood of this current administration.

In my view the whole of the Republican Party, and its supporters, are guilty of treason, of the deliberate destruction of the Bill of Rights and other Contitutional protections.

I speak now of the Patriot Act, the "Real ID" act, and the actions of the FBI when, under the direction of this administration, spends taxpayer monies to monitor the activities of a group as generally innocuous as the ACLU. This administration has deliberately violated the Oath of Office taken by the President and Vice President to uphold the Constitution and, in so doing, has rendered all policy decisions and bills signed into law nothing more than fruit from a poisonous tree.

And, thus, null and void.

Burn THIS book, please

2005-07-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Okay--I think I've figured out the key to success as an author. I have to annoy some book-burning wingnut just enough to throw a nice public tantrum.

Hear that, wingnut?

I personally think book-burners are a perfect example of the worst segment of the population--people driven by ignorance and fear of knowledge.

Yeah, there's magic in my books. And vampires and lycanthropes as heroes! And book-burning type wingnuts as villains! Or, rather, deluded superstitious assholes being manipulated by a race of carnivorous aliens intent on destroying the civilizations of Earth in order to feed their voracious appetite for technology and human flesh.

You all catch that? You book-burning wingnuts are being USED by a bunch of evil aliens.

So, please, feel free to buy and burn as many copies of my book as you want, you poor deluded bastards.

Rending the myths about Liberals

2005-07-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

1. They're for abortion.

No. Personally I'm against abortion. But what I'm for is giving ALL humans capable of making decisions the RIGHT to make decisions about their own bodies. It's between them, their healthcare provider, and their God. It has nothing to do with the rest of us.

2. They're for gun control.

If, by this, you mean, they're for people controlling their guns, yeah. I believe in safe, responsible gun ownership. AND the ability to hit one's target.

3. They're for rampant taxation.

Personally I prefer Intelligent Taxation. I want to see our money spent wisely, with all due consideration. I want to see schools built to code, with all the newest technology, but without the huge marble edifices (contractor boondoggle) that some people seem to think are necessary. A school needs to do what it's built to do--it doesn't have to look particularly pretty.

When I pass a road crew working, I want to see five people working and (at the most) ONE person watching...not the other way around.

Don't YOU?

4. They're for unlimited social programs.

I want to see social programs that MAKE SENSE. I want to see a safety net capable of catching someone who needs help, getting them back on their feet, and making them MORE productive members of society than they would have been without that assistance. I want to see welfare recipients go out and get a job that pays more into the system than it takes out.

I want to streamline programs, eliminate bureaucratic waste, and make them more easily reformed when necessary to deal with new developments and new technologies.

5. They're pacifists and appeasers.

Come say that to my face. ;) Seriously--I believe in restricting conflict to when it's absolutely necessary. War against an overt aggressor is one thing...war against a 'notion' or 'idea' is something else. Terrorists are criminals, not soldiers. One hunts them down, arrests them, indicts them, and puts them on trial. One does not attack a country allegedly hoping that all the terrorists flock there and die in glorious battle.

6. They're anti-business.

I'm anti-corruption. When the needs of businesses outweigh the needs of the people who SUPPORT those businesses--as employees or customers--I've got an issue with it. When legislation comes along that inflates profit at the expense of the taxpayers who keep businesses running, I'm against it.

7. They don't have any constructive ideas.

We have plenty of ideas. Ours just aren't delivered in bombastic fashion by a complicit media that prefers sensationalism to substance.

What debt?

2005-07-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

All ideological differences aside, and all discussions about the morality of the war in Iraq put in the closet for the time being, it's time we started talking about the economic repercussions of this war.

It's bankrupting us. Between it and tax cuts, we're watching the national debt slide into a monolithic sinkhole that our Chinese creditors are probably chuckling over RIGHT NOW.

From the beginning I said this war was a mistake--not only because I didn't believe Saddam had WMDs, but because I knew the cost of a lengthy occupation would be terrible to bear, not only in terms of human suffering but also economically.

The Republicans USED to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but now it seems they're having fun throwing a big party for their corporate friends, with war profiteering the greatest giveway to the wealthy this country has ever seen. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and China is buying up our debt like a broken-nosed bookie trying to get his hooks into a mayoral candidate with a gambling problem.

The RWers can throw all the "partisan" shrieks out they want to, but the fact of the matter remains, their hero, G.W. is so fiscally irresponsible that the only way out of this for us will be to turn the country back over to the Democrats and hope to whatever God you believe in that the sort of fiscal sensibilities that marked the Clinton years become the dominant mindset for the next few decades.

Or else we are seriously screwed as a nation.

It's official...the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

2005-07-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Representative Peter King (I'm sure he'd like a THE stuck between the two names) had this to say the other day.

"And Joe Wilson has no right to complain. And I think people like Tim Russert and the others, who gave this guy such a free ride and all the media, they're the ones to be shot, not Karl Rove."

Let me get this straight. This guy, this elected representative, is advocating the shooting of reporters because they give air time to someone he disagrees with?

I don't know about you, but I've got a problem with that.

Why are they working so hard to discredit Joe Wilson? This is a guy who--until he had the temerity to contradict this administration--was considered one of the best in his field...an able ambassador who served this country faithfully not only in Iraq, but in several other Mid-Eastern and African nations. We're supposed to believe that, because of one statement (one that just happened to be true) he's become just another liberal America-hater.

The Republican attack dogs are vicious, and are spinning this story so hard they're going to end up counteracting the Earth's rotation. What is WRONG with these people?

Oh, yeah. I already know the answer to that. Power attracted the corruptible and the people stopped paying attention. The media stopped doing its job and gave THEM a free ride for nearly five years.

I'm watching these developing stories with a great deal of interest. Is it possible that this administration's web of lies is beginning to unravel?

Perhaps.

Time will tell.

Daily smartass-isms

2005-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

“John Bolton--Desperado Diplomat."

"Chickenhawk--walk the walk or squawk the squawk."

"You can't oppose abortion AND effective birth control. Pick One!"

"Plame on!" (for the Fantastic 4 buffs out there).

Kansas—the land that evolution forgot.

(Insert picture of Rove here)

"Treason--not just for spies anymore."

An example of "fixing the intelligence around the policy."

2005-07-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

The RW pundits and RW wacko politicians are pounding us with a set of talking points about the Rove/Plame/Wilson affair, obviously written by someone with some skill at spin (hmmm...Karl Rove, perhaps?)...and all the Democrats can do is sputter feebly at the WH about how he should be fired?

Where's the goddam MESSAGE? Why is it that the Republicans can stay on subject and fire bullet after bullet while the Dems stand back and insist on fighting the war like a bunch of snipers rather than any kind of real coalition?

How has 'outing an intelligent agent' good for National Security? Who else in the WH knew he'd done it? How far UP does this go? Cheney? Hey, there's someone who's been out of the spotlight lately. How's Dick doing, anyway?

Every single Dem with a set of vocal cords should be shouting from the rooftops by now. Warning! Warning! National Security comes second to Republican partisan wrangling! Republican Party Script mandatory for ALL foreign agents of the U.S. government--whether CIA or Diplomatic corps. Forget about the truth! If you're an American, you're a REPUBLICAN.

They told you what to say!

Remember "You're either WITH US or AGAINST US!" Translation: "If you step out of line, we'll throw you to the wolves.

"The sheer unmitigated GALL of these corrupt assholes sinks into my skull until I think it's going to explode from the pressure.

And I hear recent polls don't show the Democrats gaining much ground. Why is that? Oh, yeah...because there's no UNITY among Dems. We don't need our reps parroting one another, but we sure as hell need them to start using the same DAMN LANGUAGE.

It's easy, guys. "Looks like Rove's a traitor." "What do you call someone who abets a traitor?--a collaborator. A fellow conspirator. Accessory before, during, AND/OR after the fact." "How many of our agents did this leak kill?" "Is that how this administration rewards those who serve America? By putting their lives on the line every day?"

Not a crime? Okay, let's assume this to be the case, though I have SERIOUS doubts about this one...Who the fuck told Rove it wasn't a crime BEFORE he did it? Did he know it wasn't a crime? Did he care?Who's next? That's what the CIA ops are asking themselves. If they bring back intelligence this nitwit regime doesn't want to hear, will THEY be tossed in the lion den next time?

This administration has a lot to answer for. See, one thing the mainstream press is trying to forget...this whole mess PROVES the Downing Street Memos.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? Why hasn't ONE of our guys stood up and said, calmly, "Well, I guess we no longer have to wonder about the Downing Street Memos, wouldn't you say?"

Red Rover, Red Rover, send the traitor on over.

2005-07-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

If Karl Rove leaked Valerie Plame's identity to reporters, knowing it endangered her life, the life of agents under her, and compromised the search for WMDs, in Iraq and elsewhere, he deserves more than to be fired...he deserves to be prosecuted as a traitor. As does anyone who shields him.

I find it highly suggestive that both Plame and her husband, the former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, were outspoken in their opposition to this administration's claims of WMDs in Iraq, and such a move as 'outing' Plame was apparently calculated to effectively silence them. Plame’s branch of the CIA was telling the administration that there weren’t any WMDs in Iraq. Tracking such information WAS her job, after all. And we have every reason to believe she was good at it.

The fact that we haven't found WMDs in Iraq wasn't because of an intelligence failure. It was, rather, due to deliberate sabotage of CIA operations in the area guilty of uncovering information the Bush administration didn’t want to hear.

So it appears the ‘outing’ had two purposes. To get back at Joe Wilson for not going along with the script regarding the alleged fissionable materials purchased from Niger, and for Valerie Plame herself daring to contradict the administration’s stance on Iraq and WMDs.

I, personally, find it not only deplorable, but deeply disturbing.

Hate America?

2005-07-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Where do these idiots get this idea? They fling it off the cuff as if it means something. "Liberals hate America."

Uh...no.

We hate some of the shortsighted, wrongheaded, callous strategies the Right (Wrong) Wing espouses, the ones that leave thousands of American soldiers dead or maimed, tens of thousands of innnocent people dead or wounded, and returning vets without proper care because their benefits have been sliced to ribbons.

We hate the policies that pretend to consider education important, while underfunding any program that actually promotes educational opportunities.

We hate the policies that refuse to allow a living wage to American workers, yet subsidize what amounts to slave labor in other parts of the world.

We hate the fact that the media goes along with all the lies and disinformation this administration spews like vomit after sixteen straight shots of rotgut whiskey.

We hate that, despite having some of the best medical technology in the world, many Americans are one critical injury or illness away from abject poverty...or a lifetime of debt.

We hate the fact that some people use a religion that was originally meant to be all-encompassing (remember the compassion of Jesus Christ and compare it to the lack of compassion in those who claim to follow Him) to slander and spit upon people who don't see things the same way.

We hate that some people think it's better to be polluters than the kind of people who want to STOP pollution. We hate the fact that some people think it's better to be the folks throwing mercury into the water, or noxious filth into the air, than the kind of "treehuggers" who want to stop this sort of stuff.

No, we don't hate America. We just hate the sort of Americans that make us regret sharing a country with them, who do things in OUR name that we're not proud of, and say things that make us want to scream in absolute disdain "WE DIDN'T AGREE TO THIS!"

We LOVE what America could have been--the ideal that evil, selfish people have stolen away...we love the REAL America, not this changeling child those people have tried to put in its place.

Talk about the ultimate bait and switch.

A eulogy of sorts

2005-07-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

A man died yesterday...a crusader...someone who saw a broken system and fought hard to see it fixed. I did not know him personally, nor did I even exchange posts with him more than (possibly) once. I wasn't around DU long enough, I'm afraid.

He died, partially, because of another broken system. Despite the help of hundreds of others, who gathered the money together to pay for the expensive medical treatment that gave him the only chance of survival, he failed to withstand the onset of pancreatic cancer that brought him down. It cost him 50,000 dollars to even attempt to save his life.

That's simply amazing.

Andy Stephenson's personal crusade was against electronic ballots without a verifiable paper receipt. I applaud him for this, and hope that others take up his battle with as much passion as he had.

Goodbye Andy. You live on in the hearts and minds of many fellow travelers.

Hell on Earth

2005-07-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

I spent the first part of the day in something of a daze. The attacks in London were among my first bits of information this morning when I got up.

Truly horrible. I hate that people anywhere think that this is the way to get their point across. Whatever that point happens to be.

I just want to offer my condolences to the families of those lost, and my best wishes to those who were injured in the blasts. I'd offer up a prayer, but, as anyone who's read through the blog would know, that would be a bit disingenuous of me. My best wishes and hopes are the best I can extend.

May the future hold more happiness than sorrow for all of us.

Open letter to the Press

2005-07-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

To whom it may concern:

Yes, I realize that you feel as though you've been attacked now that one of your own is looking at jail time for refusing to give up her source.Yes, this is a development that disturbs those of us who truly support the First Amendment.

We understand that confidential sources can be as important to the Press as they can be to the police.

On the other hand...your remarkable silence in the face of almost overwhelming corruption on the part of the Republicans currently in power made such a move on the part of true justice seekers nearly inevitable.

You stopped doing your job. It has been left up to bloggers and on-line discussion groups to disseminate the news you haven't seen fit to cover.When you, the press, become complacent and complicit in crimes against America, you lose your privileges. When your anchors and reporters become just another part of the Republican spin machine, you cease to be members of the free press and become just another voice in the wind.

The reporters in question become accomplices in the commission of a High Crime against the American people, an act that jeopardized our security and placed thousands of our young men and women in harm's way in furtherance of a lie.

I would say "shame on you," but it's become clear ever since the Iraq war began that you have no shame.

So shame on us, the American people, for allowing you to fool us for so long.

Never again.

Democratic Oath of Good Government

2005-07-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sometime back someone mentioned the need to come up with our OWN "Contract with America," though it was pointed out that "Contract with" was easily replaced with "Contract on" which, while true in the Republican case, wouldn't work so well for us.

So. I've been pondering all day at work, and this is what I've come up with so far. I'm thinking of this as an oath a prospective Democratic Candidate might take as part of their campaign...their signature on a written oath, whatever...

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. I will not vote to raise my own salary until I can guarantee that each of you has adequate healthcare and is at least moving toward a living wage

2. I will provide transparency of government, excepting where national security is TRULY at stake.

3. I will never vote for war without irrefutable evidence that it is necessary, and, should a war become necessary, promise not to vote for any military action without clearly defined goals and an exit strategy.

4. I will never take money from veterans or our retired citizens to provide funding for other government programs.

5. I will never make medical decisions for you, leaving that between you and your doctor.

6. I will never spend your money unwisely, nor silently stand by while others do so.

7. I vow to take your voice as seriously as I take the voice of any other citizen, individual or corporate.

In addition, these have been suggested by other Democratic Underground members...

8. I will fight to make higher education and job-training programs available to all, to provide anybody willing to work to better themselves access to a quality, well-paying job.

(Rephrased as) I will fight to make higher education and job training accessible to all.

9. I will fight for a clean environment because we all have to live here.

10. I will not vote for any legislation I have not read.

11. I will vote to fund innovations in renewable energy and strive to free America from our dependence on foreign oil.

12. I will strive to see that ALL Americans receive equal treatment under the law.

Changing the dialogue

2005-07-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

Progressive counter-talking-points from myself and other Democratic Underground Posters.

Tax-relief vs. Intelligent Taxation: “Use our taxes to help our neighbors, not hurt them.”

War on Terror vs. Criminal Prosecution: “Target terrorists, not innocent people.”

War on Drugs vs. Harm Reduction: “Save our police and prisons for killers, rapists, and thugs.”

Pro-Choice vs. Personal Liberty: “REAL Americans don’t surrender their bodies to their government.”

Liberal Media vs. Corporate Media: “A press that supports Corporate America over Citizen America is NOT a liberal media.”

Patriotism vs. Nationalism: "Nationalism argues that America can do no wrong. Patriotism is pointing out where it IS doing wrong."

Gun control vs. Firearm Safety: "Ensure safe and responsible gun ownership."

Outsourcing vs. Slave Labor. “Stealing jobs from Americans to exploit foreign workers is NOT a moral value.”

News from the War

2005-06-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

"Battle Lines are blurred in Iraq,"
says CNN. I was just watching a story on CNN about the three women who died today from a suicide bombing attack on a convoy, and that there's no way to protect women from death in combat in Iraq.

They actually used the phrase "the lines are blurred."Blurred? Really? How about freakin' non-existent? As one female soldier said in an interview--"you see someone standing down the street and you don't know if he's an enemy or not."

Basically, they're suffering the same problem they suffered in Vietnam. They can't identify the enemy until they're under attack.

The pentagon says it can't do without the vital roles women play in Iraq...they need them at checkpoints to search the women "in respect for muslim tradition."

Over a hundred women have died in Iraq so far, the vast majority from combat-related causes. There are over 10,000 female troops there, and they are as much at risk as the men.

This realization, put across so clearly on CNN, can only turn more of the public against the war.It's quite likely possible that this war will prove to be the wooden stake shoved into the Republican Party's (alleged) heart.

They're running out of justifications, excuses, and time. And they know it. With three female soldiers slain in one fell swoop, it drives home an inescapable truth...it's not just our "boys" dying over there, but our "girls" too.

And I don't think the American Public is going to take that very well.

Warning

2005-06-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

this is satire.

Rush Limbaugh: "We are losing this war for the hearts and minds of America," remarked the portly pundit. "We give the libs too much ammunition to use against us. They call us 'chickenhawks' and accuse us of not wanting to make the sacrifices to fight a war we support.

Well, I want all good Conservative Americans out there to look inside themselves and decide, right then and there, if they've got what it takes to stand up for this war. Then, if you're not too old or infirm, I want you to march down to the nearest recruiter and sign up to serve your country. If you're unable to do this, strongly recommend to your children they step forward and do their duty."

A few hours later, Bill O'Reilly announced that he was going to spend the next 9 months in Iraq, getting up close and personal with the troops. He wants "to show America what it's really like over here--how the left wing exaggerates the danger in order to undermine the war effort."

After all," he added, "it's not nearly as dangerous as Houston."

Satire brought to you by the fevered imagination of Science-Fantasy author Saje Williams.

A burning question

2005-06-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

What if 1000 people stood down the street from the capitol building and burned 1000 flag posters made out of paper?

What if a performance artist smashed a TV with a flag on the screen?

What if we created little burning-flag animated signatures?

What if we created a book filled with photos of the flag and burned THAT?

What if we sold flag toilet paper? To France?

Missing person report

2005-06-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

"911."
"Yes, I'd like to report an abduction."
"Who was abducted, sir (or ma'am)?"
"My sister."
"What is her name, sir?"
"Liberty."
"Her name is Liberty? Liberty what?"
"American Liberty."
"I see. Liberty is her LAST name. When was she abducted?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I noticed she was missing on Nov 2nd, 2000."
"I see, sir. And why has it taken you so long to call us about this?"
"Well, the bastards that took her told me it was for her own good, and that they'd bring her back when she was safe."
"And now?"
"And now I'm afraid they'll NEVER bring her back."
"Well, we'll send someone around to take a report, but I must admit I'm not very optimistic. It's been a long time and, usually, when someone has been missing this long, it's rare that we find them alive and well."
"Thank you." (sobbing)

The foundation of democracy

2005-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Trust the mainstream media? Hah. I trust it about as far as I can throw the average news-van. Certain people who will remain nameless (but you can hear them on the radio or see them on TV every day of the week) claim liberal media bias, but I think this contention is getting more or and more ridiculous as time goes on.

The dialog has shifted so far to the right that anything near the center is perceived by some folks as being "leftist." Controlling the tone of the discourse is actually one of the right's greatest victories...allowing it to influence the perceptions of millions of Americans who were never taught critical thinking skills.

Lenin got it right with this one. "A lie told often enough becomes truth." Say it often enough, and loud enough, and shout down anyone who might disagree with you, and people start to believe it. It's worked before, and it's working now.

Information is the foundation of democracy. If our information is suspect, if the voters themselves aren't able to critically examine the assumptions they're handed by the media, democracy falters. Welcome to the age of Orwellian double-speak. I'm certainly not the first one to mention this...it's not the substance of a thing, but the way it's presented...the language used to describe it.

George W's spinmeisters have changed the language America uses to describe these things they want to promote...or oppose. Rather than examining the true nature of something that's proposed, too many people (including the mass media, for the most part) simply define it by its title. Its deliberately misleading title.

"Healthy Forest Initiative?" Puh-leeze. It's amazing that those damned wooded areas survived so long without our stewardship. Thank God for loggers and republicans, lest the great forests die off completely.

This is just one example.

Recently the republicans wanted to change the wording of their now-infamous "nuclear option" regarding a way to eliminate the filibuster in regards to judicial nominations. Analyzing citizen responses to the terminology made them realize that people didn't like the term, so they tried to change the title to "constitutional option."

Too late. Word has it that they wanted to force so-called "liberal media" outlets to change the phrase used to the latter, using the accusation of "media bias" as a stick to force those who would have continued using the former to switch.

Hasn't worked.

Nice try, oh little Gods of spin. Thanks for playing.

Ever hear of e-books?

2005-01-29T15:42:00.000-08:00

Imagine a whole book that fits in the palm of your hand. No, imagine fifteen books that fit in the palm of your hand.

With an e-book reader or a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) you can carry several books around wherever you go. Fits easily in a purse, jacket pocket, or even the back pocket of your jeans. I read mine in line at the grocery store, at the post office, or wherever I find myself waiting for something. For portable entertainment, you can't beat an e-book.

Storage and purchasing of e-books is also much simpler than going to the bookstore. No traffic, waiting in line, dealing with crowds at the mall. And your PC becomes your own personal library. Read and re-read books at your leisure.

And for until very recently, the Big Publishers in New York, London, and elsewhere, have decided what books get published. What's 'good' enough to be published. They, not you, have decided what books made it to market. Why let them continue feeding you only what they decide you're going to read?

Buy E-books and tell the Big Pubs that you’ll decide.

E-book authors know their fans. They participate in e-mail lists and generally answer their own personal e-mail. They host contests for their readers and do giveaways on a regular basis. We e-book writers are a friendly crowd.

All you have to do to get to know them is join one or more of the yahoo groups.

A good place to start looking for e-books is fictionwise.

Once you get an e-book reader for your PC installed, you can either buy a book through fictionwise straight off, or you can get your feet wet by looking for free books first. If you're into science fiction or fantasy, I recommend you check out Baen Books. They have a free library there of many popular mainstream science fiction and fantasy titles, including novels by David Weber, Mercedes Lackey, and many others.

Listen to Alternative?
So read alternative.
E-books—an alternative to the big name publishers.

Like “Outlaw Country?"
Read like an outlaw.
Support the “Outlaw Press."

Like Independent Film?
Support the Indie Press.
Buy an E-book.

One of the other great things about e-books is that no trees are harmed for the publication of (most) e-books, though thousands of electrons are greatly inconvienced.

Corporate Personhood?

2005-01-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

WorkingForChange-BuzzFlash interview: Thom Hartmann

This is a subject I've actually considered in some depth over the last few years. It came up in conversation with a friend over Tabacco companies using the "Free Speech" argument for advertising purposes.

His contention--one I've certainly come to agree with--is that advertising is NOT free speech, at least not the free speech the Founders envisioned when they wrote the Constitution. This interview specifically addresses this point, as well as many others.

People need to follow the links included in this article and work against the corporate takeover of America. We can't allow Big Business to turn us all into good little button-pushing monkeys without a fight.

Representation by Lottery

2005-01-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

I received an e-mail recently from a fellow civil liberties advocate that actually brought to the forefront of my mind a discussion my wife and I have had from time to time. One, oddly enough, that we happen to agree upon despite our somewhat different political views. She's a bit more conservative than I am in some ways, closer to a big "L" Libertarian than a progressive like myself.

Anyway, our discussion goes like this. The United States is coming under the sway of a pseudo-aristocracy made up of--can you guess?--lawyers. Almost all of our elected officials in all three branches of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, are lawyers.

The vast majority of them come from families with political or monetary influence. And this is becoming more prevalent as time passes. It's hard to avoid. Deals are made, campaigns are financed, and people are recognized more from where they come from than for what they personally represent.

So here's a proposal to change all that. It would never happen, of course, since the Powers That Be (hereafter referred to as the PTB) would never allow it to happen, but it's certainly amusing to consider.

What if members of the House of Representatives weren't chosen by election, but, instead, were chosen by lottery? Only active voters of legitimate age would be eligible, but they might come from any walk of life. They might be white, black, hispanic, asian, wealthy, poor, straight, gay, Christian, Pagan, agnostic, atheist, or whatever. There would be no campaigning and no deceit on their part to gain the seat. They'd be truly representative of the American People.

Sure, you might end up with a couple dummies, or crooks, but, hell, we get those already. Anyone who's actually paying attention would know that. The lottery would occur ever so many years and be staggered slightly, so there'd wouldn't be a complete turnover each time. Say 1/3 of the body would be replaced every four years. They'd receive the compensation due them based upon the position as it stands now. Think of how many lives it could change for the better.

I don't have the exact details of how it might work, but I'm sure something could be figured out.

I'd love to hear a critique of the idea, either positive or negative.

Call me a kook if you want to, but I'm hard pressed to see a downside.

The biggest hoax?

2005-01-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Quote of the day (thank you Alternet.org)

From Senator James Inhofe, a (surprise-surprise) Republican from Oklahoma.

"Global warming is 'the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state."

This yahoo is actually the Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

It's funny. At work today I was actually thinking something remarkably similar. Except my version went something like this. "Revealed religion is the biggest con perpetrated against the human race, with Marxism coming in a close second."

I like my quote better.

Confirm this!

2005-01-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

I notice that Condi Rice got hauled across the fire pit in the confirmation hearings. They straight out called her a liar. Just in not so many words. Didn't stop the nomination, of course. I'm pretty sure nothing short of a mob with torches and pitchforks would've done so.

Oh...wait...that would never work. Ummm. Maybe nothing could have stopped the nomination. Score one for the Pod People. You know the ones I mean--the very people who'd be shrieking like their privates were on fire if a Democratic administration had pulled a fraction of the crap that this Republican administration has pulled.

You know what I'm saying. Of course, the counter argument to this is whether the Democrats would be howling like mad if a Democratic administration had done the same thing. I wish I knew. But this is why I'm a Centrist. I think anyone's who's loyal to party politics over their own consciences should be tarred and feathered and rode out of the country on a rail. To great fanfare. Then again, those who don't seem to have a conscience could be forgiven, I suppose. Where would the world be without sociopaths?

Don't answer that.