Those who stick to their party's platform, regardless of whether individual components in said platform benefit their personal needs or seek to strip them of their rights, will be the death of this Republic. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are bottom-dwelling scum suckers. But what's worse than the politicians, are the people who follow blindly.
Two examples from both sides of the aisle
The Left Wing
Gun control. It doesn't work. The media perpetuates lies and misinformation. Chicago and DC have such strict gun control that it was determined to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and yet they also have terribly high rates of gun homicides. Why? Well, when you disarm the law-abiding citizens, the criminals and psychos still get guns because they don't care about laws, and they run around unopposed terrorizing a disarmed populace in their homes and on the streets.
They say we should look to other countries, such as European ones, for how we should do things here. Germany has had multiple school shootings, despite their strict gun control. Norway had one of the worst mass shootings in history, and they have strict gun control as well. These countries are also not democracies. In Germany you can go to prison for displaying Nazi iconography or even speaking about it. That's not freedom of expression. That's freedom of expression within the confines of what the government deems acceptable. And this is what they want here for us.
Some common lies perpetuated by the media is that no one needs a semi-automatic gun and that they are not used for hunting. The people who say that typically don't even know what a semi-automatic is. First of all, they are used for hog hunting, feral hogs being extremely dangerous, one does not want to be fiddling with a bolt while being charged by a boar. Secondly, the Second Amendment gave the people the right to resist tyranny, foreign or domestic. If you think that defending our homes and lives with guns is a lost cause, then how in the hell did some illiterate farmers defeat the most powerful empire on earth. Extreme left wing liberals trust their government and police more than they trust their fellow citizens. I think that's sad. I'm all for training of people who wants to keep and carry guns (in fact, I think every law-abiding American of sound-mind should be trained in the safety and use of guns). If I'm able to vote as a citizen, I have the right to own any damned gun I want.
The press also perpetuates the myth that sane, law-abiding citizens might "snap" suddenly, and if they have a gun then they'll go shoot up a place. First of all, sane people rarely snap. Sure it does happen that some might, but most people who "snap" were already unstable to begin with. And if they don't have a gun, and want to kill a bunch of people, then they'll find some other way to do it, and chances are, it will be way more deadly than if they had an AR-15. Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a Uhaul, some fertilizer and common household chemicals. Are we going to outlaw rental trucks because we are afraid someone else might do that? Of course not, that's absurd. So is outlawing guns.
Another lie perpetuated is that if a gunman walks into a classroom and the teachers are armed, that it will be a bloodbath. Hello?! There's a gunman, and a bunch of unarmed people. What do you think that is already? Do you think the gunman is there to play ring-around-the-rosie with the kiddos? If a gunman walks into a classroom and the teacher is armed, your child has a better chance of walking out of there, rather than the alternative.
The Right Wing
Minimum wage: The Republicans will have you believe that we don't need a minimum wage. There are Republican party members that barely make wages above the poverty line that will fight tooth and nail to ensure that rich Corporations don't pay any taxes, despite the fact that they have no health care and their paycheck doesn't make ends meet. Why is this? Well, for one thing, they're afraid that the Democrats want a nanny state and are going to take away their Second Amendment rights. So they have to make a choice, and they choose to sacrifice what might be in their economic best interest for something that is more important to them.
The lesser of two evils, is still evil and right now, the only viable parties for election are both evil.
Disagree with any of these hard-core left or right wing people, and you will get yelled at, called names, and if you're on facebook probably unfriended. They don't want to hear that they are wrong, that there might be better alternatives to what they are proposing. That they have bought into lies. You can present evidence to the contrary, and they re-iterate what you've just proven is false. They think you are mad at them because you disagree with them, because they certainly are mad at you. What happened to rational discourse? What happened to not surrounding ourselves with people who think 100% in lock-step with us and ditching anyone who dares step out of the box of our belief system?
If we breed ideas based on the people with whom we associate, then associating only with people we already agree with will lead to ideas that are born of incest. Nature has proven that that leads to no good end.
You have the right to your own opinion, but you do not have the right to make up your own facts. I blame the mainstream media and the politicians for this one. They do that all the time, and so it has rubbed off on everyone who has weak critical thinking skills. They think that because they agree with something, or if it sounds like it might be good or plausible, then it must be valid. Lies and mis-truths are never valid.
I suggest that everyone reassess why they believe what they do on a daily basis. Get to know your neighbors, you're more likely to have interaction with them than some jackal that gets sent to DC to represent you. If you can't trust your fellow citizens, because you have this idea in your head, perpetuated by the twenty-four hour news cycle that everyone else is stupid/crazy/incompetent, then I ask you to tell me exactly what is democracy? Democracy is rule by the People. But the media and the politicians have turned the People into an entity that can't be trusted to make their own decisions, or to keep themselves safe by using common sense. Look at your appliances! You can't even open your top loading washing machine when it's on now, because you might hurt yourself. So much for dying anything! That's just one instance of this usurpation of our rights in the name of "safety" and most people have unthinkingly gone along with it.
Well, I have news for you. One day soon, you're going to wake up and realize that you live in a tyrannical police state. You're not going to know exactly when it started, because rights are never taken all at once. They are eroded away on a slow scale, so slow that most people don't even notice. And quite a few won't even notice when they are completely gone, because they are content to live with a jackboot on their neck in exchange for an illusion of safety.
"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air – however slight – lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness." --Associate Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
SOPA/PIPA can bite me
This blog will be offline in protest of the fascist bastards who want to pass SOPA/PIPA. Write your senator. Write your congressmen. I don't care if you think it won't do any good. Do it anyway.
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." --Sergei Bondarchuk
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." --Sergei Bondarchuk
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The War on Contraception and the Rise of Serfdom in America
Since Rick Santorum, or as they call him Mr. Frothy in much of the left-leaning blogosphere, was quoted as saying that the states should have the right to outlaw contraception (a clever way of saying that it ought to be outlawed without coming out and saying it directly), I've been thinking a lot about the general state of affairs in these United States. It's the 21st century to be sure, but the neoCons seem intent on taking us back to the dark ages, not only by outlawing contraception, and ostensibly abortion, but by having a population of serfs utterly dependent upon the Corporatocracy for every little morsel of their genetically engineered food.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that poverty and children are intertwined on the same thread. In fact, as we speak more children are slipping into poverty because our economy is in the toilet.
Who is hardest hit by this poverty? Minorities of course.
So what does the religious right do to try to alleviate this poverty? Do they push family planning and the use of contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy and therefore abortion? No, they plan to protest abortion at the Democratic National Convention in Charolotte. They insist that abortion is causing a "black genocide".
I read that and thought, 'What a bunch of bullshit.' Isn't that just what the poor need? More mouths to feed? In fact, the African American population in this country has grown over the last ten years and is projected to grow further over the next forty years according to the US census bureau. I know, I know, since when do I expect religious fundamentalists with an agenda to actually tell the truth. Genocide is a loaded word. It's very definition means the utter destruction of a population based on a trait. Well, as you can see from the census data, that ain't happening.
In fact, this sort of thing pisses me off, a lot. It implies that black women aren't fit to make their own decisions regarding their own bodies and their own lives. They need someone to tell them what to do, in this case religious conservatives and a (Caucasian and male dominated) big brother government. Because minorities, especially female minorities, can't be trusted to make decisions.
Women who have abortions for non-medical reasons do so for one of three reasons. Either (1) they already have too many children to care for and can't afford another one, or (2) they aren't ready to have a child because they are still in school but would like children later, or (3) they don't ever want children. Why do these religious fascists think they have a right to tell women that they must carry a pregnancy to term no matter their current state of affairs, no matter if they just simply don't want children? Where do they get off? Let's turn this back on them. I don't ever want children and I don't think anyone should have children either so therefore I'm going to legislate no more children ever! Ridiculous right? Yeah, about as ridiculous as their reasoning, or rather lack thereof.
The argument against abortion breaks down into two camps. The religious wingnuts who think that if they allow others (not themselves mind you because these laws don't apply to them) to have abortions then some imaginary sky god will be angry at them. And the other camp? The Corporatocracy of course. I imagine it hasn't escaped their notice that outlawing abortion, and especially contraception, would increase poverty in this country. And an increase in poverty is good for the rich and good for big business. Outlawing contraception and abortion would essentially assure that most women, and by extension their children, would live in poverty and never be able to get themselves out of it. If you think this is bullshit, read this study. I for one didn't need to read that study. I've seen the vicious cycle of poverty with my own eyes.
What better way for the Corporatocracy to have a steady stream of poor workers than to outlaw contraception? Workers who would be willing to work for minimum wage, if the minimum wage even lasts that long. Poverty is a trap, and one incredibly difficult to get out of. We speak of choices. Those born into poverty had no choice in the matter and the Corporate-christo-fascists don't want them to have one either, as it serves the Corporate jackals to have a serf class at their beck and call.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that poverty and children are intertwined on the same thread. In fact, as we speak more children are slipping into poverty because our economy is in the toilet.
Who is hardest hit by this poverty? Minorities of course.
"Minorities were hit hardest. Blacks experienced the highest poverty rate, at 27 percent, up from 25 percent in 2009, and Hispanics rose to 26 percent from 25 percent. For whites, 9.9 percent lived in poverty, up from 9.4 percent in 2009."
So what does the religious right do to try to alleviate this poverty? Do they push family planning and the use of contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy and therefore abortion? No, they plan to protest abortion at the Democratic National Convention in Charolotte. They insist that abortion is causing a "black genocide".
I read that and thought, 'What a bunch of bullshit.' Isn't that just what the poor need? More mouths to feed? In fact, the African American population in this country has grown over the last ten years and is projected to grow further over the next forty years according to the US census bureau. I know, I know, since when do I expect religious fundamentalists with an agenda to actually tell the truth. Genocide is a loaded word. It's very definition means the utter destruction of a population based on a trait. Well, as you can see from the census data, that ain't happening.
In fact, this sort of thing pisses me off, a lot. It implies that black women aren't fit to make their own decisions regarding their own bodies and their own lives. They need someone to tell them what to do, in this case religious conservatives and a (Caucasian and male dominated) big brother government. Because minorities, especially female minorities, can't be trusted to make decisions.
Black anti-abortion activists depict this phenomenon in dire terms — “genocide” and “holocaust,” for example. But often the women getting the abortions say they act in the interests of children they already have.
“It wasn’t a hard decision for me to make, because I knew where I wanted to go in my life — I’ve never regretted it,” said Kimberly Mathias, 28, an African-American single mother from Missouri.
She had an abortion at 19, when she already raising a 2-year-old son.
“It wasn’t hard to realize I didn’t want another child at that time,” Mathias said. “I was trying to take care of the one I had, and going to college and working at the same time.”
She was able to graduate, now has an insurance job, and — still a single mother — has a 3-year-old son as well as her first-born, now 11.
Women who have abortions for non-medical reasons do so for one of three reasons. Either (1) they already have too many children to care for and can't afford another one, or (2) they aren't ready to have a child because they are still in school but would like children later, or (3) they don't ever want children. Why do these religious fascists think they have a right to tell women that they must carry a pregnancy to term no matter their current state of affairs, no matter if they just simply don't want children? Where do they get off? Let's turn this back on them. I don't ever want children and I don't think anyone should have children either so therefore I'm going to legislate no more children ever! Ridiculous right? Yeah, about as ridiculous as their reasoning, or rather lack thereof.
The argument against abortion breaks down into two camps. The religious wingnuts who think that if they allow others (not themselves mind you because these laws don't apply to them) to have abortions then some imaginary sky god will be angry at them. And the other camp? The Corporatocracy of course. I imagine it hasn't escaped their notice that outlawing abortion, and especially contraception, would increase poverty in this country. And an increase in poverty is good for the rich and good for big business. Outlawing contraception and abortion would essentially assure that most women, and by extension their children, would live in poverty and never be able to get themselves out of it. If you think this is bullshit, read this study. I for one didn't need to read that study. I've seen the vicious cycle of poverty with my own eyes.
What better way for the Corporatocracy to have a steady stream of poor workers than to outlaw contraception? Workers who would be willing to work for minimum wage, if the minimum wage even lasts that long. Poverty is a trap, and one incredibly difficult to get out of. We speak of choices. Those born into poverty had no choice in the matter and the Corporate-christo-fascists don't want them to have one either, as it serves the Corporate jackals to have a serf class at their beck and call.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Opa, Zeigen sie mir ihre papiere
The title says it all. You know, things can be so absurd that people won't believe they are happening. I suppose that could have something to do with what happened in Germany in 1933. Most people just simply couldn't fathom what was going on. They couldn't fathom that their elected leaders would throw away a Democratic Republic.
Why does the DHS need to show up at a Social Security Office in Leesburg, FL where elderly citizens go to get their checks? (note to Glen Beck and the rest of his teabagging rabble, they're not "entitlements" but rather getting back the hard earned money you invested into the government for forty plus years) Just so you know, it is not legal for an officer of the law, be it federal or state or local to ask you for your "papers" unless they have probable cause to believe you have committed a crime. Well, except I guess in Arizona, except that even there it's unconstitutional. It's a violation of the fourth amendment. But you know, politicians are so used to wiping their asses with it by now, I suppose a bit of it was flushed down the proverbial toilet. Someone should send fiddles to all the members of congress and the President. They can then fiddle while America and everything she used to stand for, burns.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." --Sinclair Lewis
Why does the DHS need to show up at a Social Security Office in Leesburg, FL where elderly citizens go to get their checks? (note to Glen Beck and the rest of his teabagging rabble, they're not "entitlements" but rather getting back the hard earned money you invested into the government for forty plus years) Just so you know, it is not legal for an officer of the law, be it federal or state or local to ask you for your "papers" unless they have probable cause to believe you have committed a crime. Well, except I guess in Arizona, except that even there it's unconstitutional. It's a violation of the fourth amendment. But you know, politicians are so used to wiping their asses with it by now, I suppose a bit of it was flushed down the proverbial toilet. Someone should send fiddles to all the members of congress and the President. They can then fiddle while America and everything she used to stand for, burns.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." --Sinclair Lewis
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Chris Hedges: The Election March of the Trolls
I saw Chris Hedges this morning on Book TV and when he was asked if he was following the election coverage in Iowa, he said no. He said he didn't want to fill his head with such bullshit, well not in so many words but that's the gist of it. He called it "The Election March of the Trolls." An apt name for it methinks.
This is pretty much the conclusion that I came to a while ago. It's all bullshit, every friggin' bit of it. I think that's a reason why so many people whose blogs I used to read have stopped blogging. It's why I barely bother to write about any of this crap any more. It's all nonsense. Nothing important is said, and when something important is said, it's obfuscated by a bunch of other bullshit.
Hey kids, make sure you strap yourselves in, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. The road to tyranny is a bit bumpy. Let's hope someone decides on a detour before it's too late. I don't like that particular vacation destination. I prefer the French Pyrenees by far.
"Those who would sacrifice liberty for a little bit of temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin
This is pretty much the conclusion that I came to a while ago. It's all bullshit, every friggin' bit of it. I think that's a reason why so many people whose blogs I used to read have stopped blogging. It's why I barely bother to write about any of this crap any more. It's all nonsense. Nothing important is said, and when something important is said, it's obfuscated by a bunch of other bullshit.
Hey kids, make sure you strap yourselves in, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. The road to tyranny is a bit bumpy. Let's hope someone decides on a detour before it's too late. I don't like that particular vacation destination. I prefer the French Pyrenees by far.
"Those who would sacrifice liberty for a little bit of temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Scott Olsen shot @ POINT BLANK range by Oakland PD
If this don't piss you off, nothing ever will. What the hell is wrong with the Oakland PD that they not only fire a tear gas canister at POINT BLANK range at someone's head, but that they follow that up by firing flash grenades into the crowd as they try to help the person who the police have injured.
I'll be honest, when I first heard that Scott Olsen, (for those of you who haven't heard, was a veteran to two tours of duty in Iraq and a Marine), had been wounded by the police I thought one of two things, one was that he probably got in the middle of a crowd that was violent or that the police had fired randomly into the air and the canister had come down on his head. You see, I couldn't imagine that the police would *really* be jackbooted thugs. Not here. Well, watch the video and you'll see. The Oakland Police Department are indeed a bunch of jackbooted thugs.
The videos show it all. The protesters were peaceful. Nothing was being thrown until the police fired tear gas and someone in the crowd threw one back. The crowd did not become violent at all, not even after they were attacked by the police.
And "unlawful assembly"? It is our constitutional right to assemble anywhere on public property that we god damned well please. Requiring a permit even is a violation of this right, and most cities are in violation of the Constitution of the United States.
By the way, the fascist thugs should know that this ain't 1933. You can't make up lies any more because the cameras, they don't lie.
I'll be honest, when I first heard that Scott Olsen, (for those of you who haven't heard, was a veteran to two tours of duty in Iraq and a Marine), had been wounded by the police I thought one of two things, one was that he probably got in the middle of a crowd that was violent or that the police had fired randomly into the air and the canister had come down on his head. You see, I couldn't imagine that the police would *really* be jackbooted thugs. Not here. Well, watch the video and you'll see. The Oakland Police Department are indeed a bunch of jackbooted thugs.
The videos show it all. The protesters were peaceful. Nothing was being thrown until the police fired tear gas and someone in the crowd threw one back. The crowd did not become violent at all, not even after they were attacked by the police.
And "unlawful assembly"? It is our constitutional right to assemble anywhere on public property that we god damned well please. Requiring a permit even is a violation of this right, and most cities are in violation of the Constitution of the United States.
By the way, the fascist thugs should know that this ain't 1933. You can't make up lies any more because the cameras, they don't lie.
Footage of Scott Olsen being shot by Police at Occupy Oakland from Raleigh Latham on Vimeo.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
And it begins...
It's only a matter of time until they declare martial law and start shooting people. Teargas fired at Oakland protesters? Because the People are pissed and occupying a public space? What is this? A third world dictatorship? It's certainly beginning to seem like it. (Actually, it's seemed like it for a while now, we're all just in denial.)
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Erin Burnett mocks #Occupy: No surprise because...
...she's worth 12 million dollars. To top that off, she makes two million dollars a year. And I thought congressional members made an absurd amount of money. That totally pales in comparison to the $174k a year that they make, even with the 26 weeks of vacation. Ridiculous.
These media jackals keep saying that they don't know what these people are protesting. Yeah, they can't say because it would take more than the two second sound byte to do so. The list is fuck-off long as to just how jacked up this system of ours is. I believe it can be fixed though. There was a ton of greed and avarice in the 1920s and our grandparents paid for it with the Great Depression, and it took a while, but things turned around and were even better than before. I just hope that Obama grows a pair and rivals FDR when historians look back on this era.
These media jackals keep saying that they don't know what these people are protesting. Yeah, they can't say because it would take more than the two second sound byte to do so. The list is fuck-off long as to just how jacked up this system of ours is. I believe it can be fixed though. There was a ton of greed and avarice in the 1920s and our grandparents paid for it with the Great Depression, and it took a while, but things turned around and were even better than before. I just hope that Obama grows a pair and rivals FDR when historians look back on this era.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Herman Cain: Don't blame the Corporatocracy, Blame yourself
Herman Cain is an (un)American idiot. If you recall back in July he was clamoring for religious tests before people can serve in government here. Any sixth grader who's taken government studies could tell you that that is unconstitutional, a violation of Article Six of our Constitution. Now he tells ordinary, average Americans that it's all their fault.
Really? I wonder when Herman Cain last visited a ghetto. Maybe he should take a stroll through public housing. While he's there he'd do well to look at all the children living there. Children brought into this world, born into poverty, through NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, who do not stand a chance with people like Herman Cain running things.
O rly? Well, I suppose this could be factually accurate since there's not much of a middle class left here in the United States and what is left is on it's way out. I guess it's easy to be more in touch than your opponent with something that doesn't exist.
This is of course a lie. Only the rich can run for office in this country. I suppose an exception might be made if someone of lesser means sold out and was funded by a Corporate backer *cough* tea party candidates *cough*
Actually, Herman Cain's net worth is reported to be $18,000,000. How many years would you have to work to earn that much money? If I went by my last full-time job, which happened to pay ABOVE the median wage for an individual in the United States, I would have to work over four hundred years to earn what Herman Cain is worth. At the rate I'm going now, since I'm underemployed, it would probably take me closer to a few thousand years to earn that much. There's something wrong with that. But then again, Herman Cain is in the top 1% of people in this country. Besides the non-existant middle class, I'm sure he's in touch with his profit margin.
Judging from his self-serving demeanor, I dare say that Herman Cain would not want to raise taxes on the rich, unlike Obama, since Herman Cain acts like an entitlement whore, in that he's entitled and the rest of us are just SOL.* Herman Cain doesn't care about this country. He doesn't care about our Constitution either, and he doesn't care about you. Unless 'you' happen to be Herman Cain that is, or one of his cronies. And if Herman Cain reads this, since he claims to be Christian, maybe he ought to ponder the second half of the nineteenth chapter of the book of Matthew.
"You know, where it ends, usually depends on where you start." --Everlast, What it's Like
*Hint:Obama is rich too, but still raised taxes on himself.
"Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks," he continued. "If you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself!
Really? I wonder when Herman Cain last visited a ghetto. Maybe he should take a stroll through public housing. While he's there he'd do well to look at all the children living there. Children brought into this world, born into poverty, through NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, who do not stand a chance with people like Herman Cain running things.
"While Cain dismissed the protests, he stressed in his interview with the Wall Street Journal that he's more in touch with the middle class than the GOP frontrunner, Mitt Romney."
O rly? Well, I suppose this could be factually accurate since there's not much of a middle class left here in the United States and what is left is on it's way out. I guess it's easy to be more in touch than your opponent with something that doesn't exist.
"And while Cain has been successful in business, he told the Wall Street Journal's Alan Murray, "Don't spread this perception I'm a kajillionaire.""
This is of course a lie. Only the rich can run for office in this country. I suppose an exception might be made if someone of lesser means sold out and was funded by a Corporate backer *cough* tea party candidates *cough*
Actually, Herman Cain's net worth is reported to be $18,000,000. How many years would you have to work to earn that much money? If I went by my last full-time job, which happened to pay ABOVE the median wage for an individual in the United States, I would have to work over four hundred years to earn what Herman Cain is worth. At the rate I'm going now, since I'm underemployed, it would probably take me closer to a few thousand years to earn that much. There's something wrong with that. But then again, Herman Cain is in the top 1% of people in this country. Besides the non-existant middle class, I'm sure he's in touch with his profit margin.
Judging from his self-serving demeanor, I dare say that Herman Cain would not want to raise taxes on the rich, unlike Obama, since Herman Cain acts like an entitlement whore, in that he's entitled and the rest of us are just SOL.* Herman Cain doesn't care about this country. He doesn't care about our Constitution either, and he doesn't care about you. Unless 'you' happen to be Herman Cain that is, or one of his cronies. And if Herman Cain reads this, since he claims to be Christian, maybe he ought to ponder the second half of the nineteenth chapter of the book of Matthew.
"You know, where it ends, usually depends on where you start." --Everlast, What it's Like
*Hint:Obama is rich too, but still raised taxes on himself.
Monday, October 3, 2011
An answer to the right-wing pundits and tea-baggers:
Since reading the news about the Occupy Wall Street protests I noticed a few common themes in the comments from tea-bagger types. I'd like to take this time to refute the corporate shills' tea-baggers' ideas (which are absolute nonsense).
Teabagger: Aren't these protesters just a bunch of whiney rich kids with nothing better to do?
Me: Um, no. If they were rich they'd be on a yacht off the coast of Monaco thinking about all the ways they can get out of paying any taxes on their capital gains.
Teabagger: The government would have an easier time of it if they just didn't have to pay everyone their "entitlements" like Social Security.
Me: Last time I checked, Social Security is not an entitlement. The government has been taking money out of my check since I was sixteen years old. When I retire, they give it back plus interest. Maybe the teabaggers should take a simple course in economics before they decide to lecture about it.
Teabagger: These kids took student loans out of their own choice and therefore it's their problem.
Me: No, it's really society's problem. When millions of Americans desire an education and cannot afford it and therefore must go into debt to get it, something is terribly wrong with the system. Australians and Europeans get free higher education if they do well in school, and are not saddled with debt the second they get out. We have twenty-something year olds in debt before they even get started in a career path, and then add to that the massive unemployment and the fact that possibly 50% of recent college graduates are either unemployed or working in jobs that do not require a degree, and we (yes we!) have a huge problem on our hands.
To add to that, we waste human capital (not that that matters to the Corporate elite, although it should). Just because you're born into poverty doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a chance at things. Isn't that what the so-called American Dream was all about? If someone is intelligent, they should be given an education free of charge. The teabaggers are a cabal left over from feudalism, wishing to see us return to a time when (corporate) lords protected people (serfs) from the ravishes of the world in exchange for absolute bondage to them. They stand for something that is the very anti-thesis of a free and democratic society.
What is wrong with these teabaggers and those who share such ideology? I'd start with the fact that besides the psychological problems and ignorance they obviously have (signs held up at their "parties" about government staying out of Medicare say it all), they also have no empathy. Why else would you boo a veteran of our armed forces? Or cheer because someone without insurance dies? Or absolve yourself of all interest in your fellow Americans.
Obama was quoted as saying that's not who "we" are. I want to know who these asshats are. Is it just ignorance? Is it that they can't think for themselves so they just parrot whatever they've been spoon-fed by Faux News? Whatever it is, it's refreshing to see that there are still intelligent people left in this country.
"Because if this is gonna be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we've got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition -- and then admit that we just don't want to do it." --Stephen Colbert
Teabagger: Aren't these protesters just a bunch of whiney rich kids with nothing better to do?
Me: Um, no. If they were rich they'd be on a yacht off the coast of Monaco thinking about all the ways they can get out of paying any taxes on their capital gains.
Teabagger: The government would have an easier time of it if they just didn't have to pay everyone their "entitlements" like Social Security.
Me: Last time I checked, Social Security is not an entitlement. The government has been taking money out of my check since I was sixteen years old. When I retire, they give it back plus interest. Maybe the teabaggers should take a simple course in economics before they decide to lecture about it.
Teabagger: These kids took student loans out of their own choice and therefore it's their problem.
Me: No, it's really society's problem. When millions of Americans desire an education and cannot afford it and therefore must go into debt to get it, something is terribly wrong with the system. Australians and Europeans get free higher education if they do well in school, and are not saddled with debt the second they get out. We have twenty-something year olds in debt before they even get started in a career path, and then add to that the massive unemployment and the fact that possibly 50% of recent college graduates are either unemployed or working in jobs that do not require a degree, and we (yes we!) have a huge problem on our hands.
To add to that, we waste human capital (not that that matters to the Corporate elite, although it should). Just because you're born into poverty doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a chance at things. Isn't that what the so-called American Dream was all about? If someone is intelligent, they should be given an education free of charge. The teabaggers are a cabal left over from feudalism, wishing to see us return to a time when (corporate) lords protected people (serfs) from the ravishes of the world in exchange for absolute bondage to them. They stand for something that is the very anti-thesis of a free and democratic society.
What is wrong with these teabaggers and those who share such ideology? I'd start with the fact that besides the psychological problems and ignorance they obviously have (signs held up at their "parties" about government staying out of Medicare say it all), they also have no empathy. Why else would you boo a veteran of our armed forces? Or cheer because someone without insurance dies? Or absolve yourself of all interest in your fellow Americans.
Obama was quoted as saying that's not who "we" are. I want to know who these asshats are. Is it just ignorance? Is it that they can't think for themselves so they just parrot whatever they've been spoon-fed by Faux News? Whatever it is, it's refreshing to see that there are still intelligent people left in this country.
"Because if this is gonna be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we've got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition -- and then admit that we just don't want to do it." --Stephen Colbert
Sunday, October 2, 2011
American Autumn
A single snow flake can start an avalanche.
A single drop of rain can precede a flood.
One person can change the entire world.
I know what you're thinking. The first two are true and the third is bullshit. But it's not. Think about it for a minute. I'm sure you can come up with a handful of people who, if they had never lived, the world would not be the same place. Maybe more than a handful. They may have had help, they may not have done it alone, but without them, things would not be the way they are now.
The corporate media is determined to undermine the Occupy protests. They're dismissing it as a bunch of hipsters who don't want to work.Corporate shills Trolls online are calling them communists, as if they even comprehend the meaning of that word. Communist, liberal, socialist, fascist, conservative etc. have all lost their meaning because of the misapplying of these terms to things/people/movements that do not fit into their definition. The mainstream media are owned by powers that wish to see us made into serfs. If you think this is also bullshit, I suggest you turn off Faux News and take a look around. Corporate profits are up 22% since 2007. Why are so many people out of work? Because they're pocketing the money on the backs of their workers. But that's just the tip of the iceberg and only one of the many problems that are facing us today.
Why are CEOs making more than ever when the average American's salary has fallen? More importantly, why are so many Americans hoodwinked into thinking that if there is regulation of a system it won't benefit them? Why do these same people think that regulation equals communism? Or that providing for the poor equals communism? (Jesus was apparently a communist in that case.) Public education in this country is the first thing cut, and when you think about it, from an almost conspiracy-theory-esque sense, that's been a boon to the Corporatocracy. What better way to control the masses, to make them believe your propaganda newscasts than to give them a lackluster education and discourage critical thinking skills. I'd like to believe that it's a serendipitous by-product of unintended consequences, but after a while discounting the multiple "coincidences" tends to make one question their sanity anyway.
You may also think that everyone is just too lazy or too comfortable to do anything about it. After all when we can sit around and poke at facebook or lose ourselves in online games, why would we want to put ourselves in danger of being arrested, pepper-sprayed by police or worse? But always, always throughout history, there comes a tipping point. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that, "all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." What happens when everyone has had enough? What happens when a military you have equipped and trained (and that qualifies for food stamps with what they are paid) have themselves had enough?
The congressmen and women in Washington are no longer working for We the People. They have been bought by the Corporations. They have turned their backs on the Constitution of the United States in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Except the thirty pieces of silver wasn't enough for them, and the billions weren't enough for their Corporate masters. It's never enough; they must have more. And that "more" comes at the expense of the middle class. At the expense of US. And that is why things have gone they way they have. People may have been willing to forget about it if it hadn't gone so far, if they were able to have a decent life, send their kids to college and have a nest egg for retirement. Instead they have seen their wealth vanish and the price of their home plummet. They give up 40% of their income in taxes, and their children graduate from college tens of thousands of dollars in debt and are not able to find a job. They have seen their hopes and dreams evaporate. And meanwhile, the super rich are getting richer and pay no or few taxes by taking advantage of loopholes in the tax code.
Every single politician in Washington ought to be recalled and sent home. And every single lobbyist should be standing in the unemployment line. Free elections should be called with NO CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP AND NO CORPORATE MONEY. We the People want our country back. We want our Constitutional rights restored to Individuals and stripped from Corporations. We want our jobs back. Those are our demands. We may not be able to Occupy Wall Street because of distance, but we can Occupy our towns. And when we can't do that, we can Occupy the Internet. We are here and we aren't going away. We aren't shutting up. We aren't going to accept serfdom so that 1% can accumulate more and more. We're fed up and we've had it.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
PS. As an aside, if you had asked me in 1995 what the greatest threat to this country was, I'd have told you it was religious fundamentalists. And maybe it still is to some degree because they are the ones who have been hoodwinked by these Corporate bastards. They are the teabaggers and their hangers-on, funded by Corporations. I however would never have thought that business would become so corrupt, and our politicians so enamored by their money, that our very democracy could hang in the balance over money. Ideology yes. But money? It seems so ridiculous. As they say, truth is stranger than any fiction.
A single drop of rain can precede a flood.
One person can change the entire world.
I know what you're thinking. The first two are true and the third is bullshit. But it's not. Think about it for a minute. I'm sure you can come up with a handful of people who, if they had never lived, the world would not be the same place. Maybe more than a handful. They may have had help, they may not have done it alone, but without them, things would not be the way they are now.
The corporate media is determined to undermine the Occupy protests. They're dismissing it as a bunch of hipsters who don't want to work.
Why are CEOs making more than ever when the average American's salary has fallen? More importantly, why are so many Americans hoodwinked into thinking that if there is regulation of a system it won't benefit them? Why do these same people think that regulation equals communism? Or that providing for the poor equals communism? (Jesus was apparently a communist in that case.) Public education in this country is the first thing cut, and when you think about it, from an almost conspiracy-theory-esque sense, that's been a boon to the Corporatocracy. What better way to control the masses, to make them believe your propaganda newscasts than to give them a lackluster education and discourage critical thinking skills. I'd like to believe that it's a serendipitous by-product of unintended consequences, but after a while discounting the multiple "coincidences" tends to make one question their sanity anyway.
You may also think that everyone is just too lazy or too comfortable to do anything about it. After all when we can sit around and poke at facebook or lose ourselves in online games, why would we want to put ourselves in danger of being arrested, pepper-sprayed by police or worse? But always, always throughout history, there comes a tipping point. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that, "all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." What happens when everyone has had enough? What happens when a military you have equipped and trained (and that qualifies for food stamps with what they are paid) have themselves had enough?
The congressmen and women in Washington are no longer working for We the People. They have been bought by the Corporations. They have turned their backs on the Constitution of the United States in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Except the thirty pieces of silver wasn't enough for them, and the billions weren't enough for their Corporate masters. It's never enough; they must have more. And that "more" comes at the expense of the middle class. At the expense of US. And that is why things have gone they way they have. People may have been willing to forget about it if it hadn't gone so far, if they were able to have a decent life, send their kids to college and have a nest egg for retirement. Instead they have seen their wealth vanish and the price of their home plummet. They give up 40% of their income in taxes, and their children graduate from college tens of thousands of dollars in debt and are not able to find a job. They have seen their hopes and dreams evaporate. And meanwhile, the super rich are getting richer and pay no or few taxes by taking advantage of loopholes in the tax code.
Every single politician in Washington ought to be recalled and sent home. And every single lobbyist should be standing in the unemployment line. Free elections should be called with NO CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP AND NO CORPORATE MONEY. We the People want our country back. We want our Constitutional rights restored to Individuals and stripped from Corporations. We want our jobs back. Those are our demands. We may not be able to Occupy Wall Street because of distance, but we can Occupy our towns. And when we can't do that, we can Occupy the Internet. We are here and we aren't going away. We aren't shutting up. We aren't going to accept serfdom so that 1% can accumulate more and more. We're fed up and we've had it.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
PS. As an aside, if you had asked me in 1995 what the greatest threat to this country was, I'd have told you it was religious fundamentalists. And maybe it still is to some degree because they are the ones who have been hoodwinked by these Corporate bastards. They are the teabaggers and their hangers-on, funded by Corporations. I however would never have thought that business would become so corrupt, and our politicians so enamored by their money, that our very democracy could hang in the balance over money. Ideology yes. But money? It seems so ridiculous. As they say, truth is stranger than any fiction.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Inadequacy of Lesser Equality
A presidential candidate that I admit I've never heard of (probably because until recently I have avoided reading the news like the plague) has openly trampled all over the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States. I'm sure he's prime oval office material. I mean after all, Gee Dubya wiped his ass on the Constitution, so why not have Herman Cain wipe his feet on the amendments.
Herman doesn't seem to think that Muslims deserve to be able to build a mosque in which to worship. Would he think the same if it were a church that was being built? Of course not. The state of Tennessee is one of the most backward-racist-homophobic-stupid-bastard states in the country. I wonder if it escapes Herman's menial thought process that forty years ago he would have been sprayed with water hoses if he'd have dared try to run for the office of dog catcher, much less the office of President of the United States.
Of course he's also apparently itching to wipe his ass with Article Six too. I hope he doesn't mind that Gee Dubya already used it for toilet paper.
Too bad Herman Cain doesn't put the Constitution of the United States first.
Herman doesn't seem to think that Muslims deserve to be able to build a mosque in which to worship. Would he think the same if it were a church that was being built? Of course not. The state of Tennessee is one of the most backward-racist-homophobic-stupid-bastard states in the country. I wonder if it escapes Herman's menial thought process that forty years ago he would have been sprayed with water hoses if he'd have dared try to run for the office of dog catcher, much less the office of President of the United States.
Of course he's also apparently itching to wipe his ass with Article Six too. I hope he doesn't mind that Gee Dubya already used it for toilet paper.
"On the Glenn Beck Show today, the host asked the Georgia Republican about his refusal to appoint Muslims. Cain told Beck that he would be willing to appoint a Muslim only “if they can prove to me that they’re putting the Constitution of the United States first.”"
Too bad Herman Cain doesn't put the Constitution of the United States first.
"...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Black Children were better off under Slavery
Yes, you read that correctly. Or at least the right-wing wackos in Iowa think so. Maybe it's really just a tempest in a teacup, but I have to rant for a moment, so keep your arms and legs inside the car and hold onto your ass.
Where do these people get off? Who in the hell do they think they are? What do they think gives them the right to upend our democracy and impose on us a western style Sharia (aka theocracy)? WHAT THE FUCK?!
Okay, I feel better now. I'm sure it won't last. Between the mess with the economy and these fucktards running around begging to flush their freedom down the toilet, I don't hold out much hope for humanity or this country.
And the right-wing bloggers are complaining that the "liberal media" took it out of context. I'm sorry, but there's nothing to take out of context. I know that their reading comprehension skills rival a first grader's but really.
What do you think that says? Hmm? I think it implies that a child was better off under slavery solely because they had two parents. And the kicker, it's not even fucking true. Children were often sold away from their birth families. Parents were often sold away from their children.
I have a suggestion for these "pro-family" (and I use that term loosely) asshats, and that is, if the corporations that are backing them would pay people a fair wage, one parent could stay home with their children. But right now, that's usually not possible. The behavioral problems with children stem from having to rely on daycare. Daycare teaches children that the peer group is in charge because one adult to twenty plus children is bullshit. And that has nothing to do with marriage or divorce, but rather with economics, like everything else that has had to do with economics, from slavery and the Civil War right down to the war in Iraq. It's all about money. And you can take that to the bank.
Where do these people get off? Who in the hell do they think they are? What do they think gives them the right to upend our democracy and impose on us a western style Sharia (aka theocracy)? WHAT THE FUCK?!
Okay, I feel better now. I'm sure it won't last. Between the mess with the economy and these fucktards running around begging to flush their freedom down the toilet, I don't hold out much hope for humanity or this country.
And the right-wing bloggers are complaining that the "liberal media" took it out of context. I'm sorry, but there's nothing to take out of context. I know that their reading comprehension skills rival a first grader's but really.
"Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President."
What do you think that says? Hmm? I think it implies that a child was better off under slavery solely because they had two parents. And the kicker, it's not even fucking true. Children were often sold away from their birth families. Parents were often sold away from their children.
I have a suggestion for these "pro-family" (and I use that term loosely) asshats, and that is, if the corporations that are backing them would pay people a fair wage, one parent could stay home with their children. But right now, that's usually not possible. The behavioral problems with children stem from having to rely on daycare. Daycare teaches children that the peer group is in charge because one adult to twenty plus children is bullshit. And that has nothing to do with marriage or divorce, but rather with economics, like everything else that has had to do with economics, from slavery and the Civil War right down to the war in Iraq. It's all about money. And you can take that to the bank.
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