By the time you read this, there either will or will not have been a GOP conclave, and the city of New Orleans will or will not still be standing. Current forecasts indicate that Isaac may hit New Orleans on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, providing a terrible reminder of Republican neglect in the midst of their celebration. I never wish anyone any physical harm, but I was fantasizing what might happen if the storm made a glancing blow at Tampa causing the power to fail and stranding 30,000 rich, Republicans in the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Nothing major mind you, just a couple of days without air conditioning and possibly some backed-up bathrooms. Or, perhaps a short circuit in the VIP room, cutting short the Oak Ridge Boys' set. Can you imagine how fast they'd be on the roof howling for government assistance? Party leaders have already cancelled the opening session, which thankfully accounts for a 25 percent decrease in bullshit and forces the Tea Party goons to march in a non-primetime hate parade to rail about Obama and abortion. The GOP line-up of speakers, from John Boehner to Ann Romney, will have to compete with a strengthening hurricane chugging its way up the Gulf, and on the day that Congressman Paul Ryan is to be nominated Vice President, a major storm may once again strike New Orleans, making his small government argument moot. With the billions spent on this single campaign, the anti-government teabaggers should pray that this time, the levees hold.
In a way, the hurricane may help the Republicans. With a shortened convention, Congressman Ryan may not have the sufficient opportunity to explain why he co-sponsored all those restrictive abortion bills with the banned, "he whose name is not to be spoken," Rep. Todd Akin. Ann Romney won't have the time, while praising Mitt as the ideal man, to explain the twenty point gap between her husband and the president among women voters. After Akin's remarks about rape victims being able "to shut all that down," when it comes to conception, I'll bet that there are hordes of Republican women that understand the dangers of the Tea Party zealots gaining real power. They may pull for Romney in public, but they'll pull the lever for Obama in the voting booth. Who could possibly believe in this age of joblessness and despair that the Republicans would be discussing abortion and birth control at their convention? Rick Santorum has been given a prime speaking spot just to hammer the point home. Despite Romney's attempt to focus on the economy, his running mate's extremism may well make this the "Abortion Convention." The party platform makes no exceptions for abortion and would have the government make certain that a pregnancy resulting from rape was carried to term. Sarah Palin once warned of imaginary "death panels." Now the GOP wants to impanel the "gestation police."
The Republicans will allow that "Sure, Obama inherited a tough situation, but his policies have made it worse." Or, "We are in this situation because of Obama's failed policies." This is the Joseph Goebbels' version of "The Big Lie." It has been revealed that the Republican caucus, since their seditious meeting on inauguration day, have used an unprecedented strategy of blocking, filibustering, or otherwise impeding every measure the president has proposed. They have chosen to sacrifice both the economy and the good of the American people in order to bring down Obama. Romney preaches his desire is "to get America back on track," while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell states that his "top political priority is to deny President Obama a second term." In fact, the alleged "failed policies of the president," can only be a GOP-concocted fantasy since they blocked every bill he proposed. The policies of the president were never given the chance to succeed because of Republican obstructionism. Followers of politics may recall that the Republicans blocked the Unemployment Benefit Extensions Act, an Aid to Small Business bill, the Bank Reform Bill, and a Jobs Bill blocked in the Senate. And now they want the American people to reward them for their bad behavior.
I was wondering who schedules a convention in Florida in August even before I realized it was hurricane season. But it's turned out to be the proper setting for this crowd of angry, frustrated white people- heat, storms, high winds, alcohol, sex, and to top it off, Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared it legal to carry firearms into the convention hall. It's almost paradise for the Tea Party mob that has hijacked the Republican Party. It also may be a good thing that Romney put Paul Ryan on the ticket to pacify the pistol packers, or in Rick Scott's Florida, some disgruntled wingnut might wish to take "second amendment remedies," should things not go his way. Republicans are known for putting on orderly conventions, but this mixed bunch of ideologues, anti-abortion zealots, tax refusers, and Obama haters might just buck the trend. And we haven't even discussed what will become of the Ron Paul delegation. Romney has ridden his private sector, businessman acumen to the nomination, but he may be making his acceptance speech amid a natural disaster requiring a massive public sector response. Perhaps he might reconsider his discounting the need for more firemen, police, and first responders if some brave National Guardsman has to pull him from the convention floor in a basket dangling from a helicopter.
25 comments:
I don't know, and haven't known for a long time, how to deal with liars whose lies are dangerous to innocent people. Obama has gotten nothing done....because of Obama?
A good exercise for Mitch McConnell would be for him to be thrown out of office on the same day that someone kidnaps him and does plastic surgery on his face and fingertips so that he's no longer recognizable. Then, set him up with about 10 consecutive job fairs which finally opens up a job as a greeter at Walmarts...nothing more. "But I'm an intelligent man." Thanks, sir, we can see that that is so true.
Put him in a financial spot such that his Walmart proceeds won't allow him to live anywhere other than in a small apt too far from Walmarts so that he has to either pay the gas money to get there or take the bus that needs two transfers. Then, let's move his grandchildren in with him and, as the only crust winner, he'll be responsible for their well being. Then, let's scare him into believing that maybe he has some potentially bad disease. With no medical insurance and making just a little too much (more than 15k/year) to get CT State Medicaid it'll be such a curious thing for him to feel that horrific fear that so many of my patients feel.
No money for medical care. Have to feed these kids. Have to get to work. Can't miss a day. I know they'll fire me. Can't be sick. Just can't.
------Mitch? Can you hear me? Remember the Jobs Bill? Remember the Public Option?--
Hello, Mitch. This reality really sucks, huh? Any idea as to what is going on with the people who depend on you to stay alive, to keep their children alive, to maintain some sense of self esteem.
No, Mitch?
When you are waiting for the bus, old fella, and you are thinking about little Mitch, III, just dropped off at school, and now you are beginning to believe that maybe that cough is something more, and you have no where, no where, no where to turn.... how are you going to feel about those rich guys in Congress who chose themselves over you?
Well, old fella, then you'll probably feel the same way about them as I do about you. Not so good, huh, Mitch.
If you want to paint a whole party by the comments of one Senatorial candident, then look at the facts. Todd Akin won the nomination with a whopping 36% of the votes. Sen. McCaskill’s Super Pacs spent money and encouraged Democrats to help Akin win the nomination. They felt he would be the easiest candidate to defeat.
Don’t talk about the Democratic Representative who has confessed to having sex in a roadside rest room with a 17 year old boy. Talk about how the Tea Party is a bunch of illiterate racists when the facts don’t back it up. I am semi-retired and have time to watch more Cspan than I should. What I have learned by watching committee hearing is that the Republican Freshman ask the questions aimed at answers and their counter parts ask questions aimed at political points. I looked up the Bio’s of the Republican Freshman and find Businessmen, Doctors, Retired Military and very few Lawyers. They are not professional Politicians.
Why don’t you hold the same standards of stupidity to Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee ( we landed men on mars), Alan Grayson , Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Conyers ( wife sentenced for corruption), Charlie Rangel (house censure ), Maxine Watters ( even Steve Cohen had to lean back so camera would not catch him laughing at her comments), Anthony Weiner ( no explanation needed) and the senile John Dingell.
Alan, you might as well be talking to a post. Sput is the most prejudiced, one-sided, prevaricating political commentator I have ever read. For instance, it is laughable that the Republicans had anything to do with the Katrina disaster. It simply showed the ineptitude of the government that he adores. Most government workers would make inept employees at a yo-yo factory. The people of New Orleans were given ample warning to evacuate, but most wanted to stick around to loot the stores...Democrats no doubt. He speaks of rich Republicans. What a joke. Let's look at Al Gore or Nancy Pelosi's net worth. It is only bad if a Republican is rich. The Republicans are only obstructing Obama and his progressive backers' plan to make America into a Marxist state. Sput is cool with that which is the real reason that he hates the free-market backing Republicans. Everyone who reads this blog knows that he is a socialist. If the Tea Party has highjacked the Republicans, the Marxists, including uber-capitalist George Soros (lots of uber-wealthy capitalists push for socialism for ulterior motives) have highjacked the Democrats. Sput, you will forever only be singing to your choir until you become more honest. It is just my morbid curiosity that keeps me reading this blog. I enjoy being freaked out by dimwit, spin crazed liberal thinking. It is humorous in a macabre kind of way. I say macabre because the liberals are killing America and would do the same to any country in which their ilk are allowed to run amok. Just wait till the bad boys get their hands on you. They will use slabs of liberal flesh for butt wipe. No way that they are going to let liberals screw up their gig. Lenin himself called them useful idiots. he was going to liquidate them if he succeeded. That tells me Communists can't be all bad.
Ah, Gregg, your liberal tolerance and love and compassion for all seem to fail whenever you speak about a conservative. But to you, all liberals are such wonderful people just because they are liberal. Liberals do everything right and conservatives are wrong about everything...and you were intelligent enough to become a doctor? That is frightening. Your words convey all of the beauty, wisdom, and appeal of a flatulating gorilla that is able to contort his anus to form words. Keep the flatulence up, it is a hoot.
You totally don't understand Randy. I know him very well and he is not a socialist or Marxist. He is just a liberal who won't give the other side a fair hearing. Randy became obsessed against Republicans during Watergate and has not grown past it. We were raised in the South during segregation and a few people still are prejudice against Blacks. This translates to Randy as most people and therefore the racial riff is mainstream. My question to Randy is who are the real bigots, those few who have not grown past segregation or the liberals who think blacks have to be taken care of and told what to think and do.
Seriously Gregg, if you ascribe the poverty issue to Mitch McConnell and the Republicans, you are guilty of one of three things. You are either ignorant/misinformed, an ideologue, or lacking in integrity. Which is it?
Yeah, Sput, the Tea Partiers are all,every last one of them, virulent racists and homophobes. Where is your journalistic integrity? You stereotype worst than any racist I have known. In fact, you are a virulent racist yourself, only you are an inverted racist. You are crazed over the isuue of skin color. Whatever happened to Martin Luther King's much vaunted principle of the content of a man's character? You need to get over being a racist. And, what's with your fascination over sucking the brains out of tiny humans or otherwise mutilating them? Are you like Obama and think that there is nothing wrong with the murder of full-term infants? I guess that you do know that less than one percent of all abortions are related to actual health issues of the mother. Muffy, and most women, gets an abortion because the child that she is carrying interferes with her tennis game at the club or with her sex life. I need to amend my comment. You are a virulent racsist and and an avid fan of baby murder. But that's OK. I won't be the one that judges you on your last day. Good luck after you close your eyes for the last time and that shouldn't be many years hence.
Alan, I just read your last comment after I unloaded on Sput. You have to separate the hyperbole from the things that I really mean to say. It is my writing style. But, you know Sput and I respect your opinion. What you said makes things clear and I see that I have gone overboard. I stand corrected. At least now I have a clearer understanding of what motivates Sput to say what he says. Not knowing him I have to read between the lines and that lends itself to error. Maybe therapy would help him to let go of the past and see things in a truer light. Apparently he sees everything through the faulty filter formed when he was a youth. Another possibliity could be that his collectivist world view hinders his understanding that it is individuals who make mistakes and that everyone is not guilty of what one or a few may say or do. Maybe that could explain his maniacal statements about Todd Akin. No matter how much the Republicans distance themselves from him, Sput's collectivist mindset sees all Republicans as being guilty and nothing will ever change his mind. That is a shame. I would like to hear a psychiatrist expalain the dynamic that is going on in his mind. Could it have to do with trauma from childhood? Was he blackballed by some fraternity and then hated all of the members because of the actions of a single individual? Just speculating, but I will accept your explanation. I have not once found you to be in error.
Eureka! Alan, it dawned on me that we are talking about a form of arrested development. Sput's rational processes have been distorted, probably by some sort of trauma when he was young and vulnerable. This caused a critical part of his rational functioning to atrophy. That is why he demonizes a whole huge class of people (conservatives) as being all alike as in being racist, stingy, and homophobic. The mystery that remains is why he sees another huge segment of the population, liberals, as all being saints and saviors, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. Another thought that I had is that it could all be attributed to an LSD overdose back in the day. Some of the imprinting that you can get from an intense acid trip can stay with you for a very long while. However, I guess that all of that doesn't really matter. He is too old to change. Thanks again for the insight. I shall amend my responses accordingly.
Randy is well liked by all sorts of people including me. A lot of what is written is based in humor or attempt there of. Take my word for it, he is a little teddy bear and makes a lot of people laugh. In the early 70's he was the MC for a video concert my studio was presenting and his standup was great. One of these days I will dig it out and show to him.
If the blacks ever awaken en mass to what the liberals have done to them, they will probably revolt from the Democrat Party. There is currently a phenomenon similar to the old underground railroad, except that it has to do with blacks escaping the liberals' welfare plantation. That may never happen on a grand scale, though, because so many are enured to handouts...sort of like the animals who become dependent on dumpsters and lose their survival skills. Most of them can't see that dependency is a form of slavery, only without the chains and bullwhips. They are subdued by handouts...soft slavery. The Democrats are only interested in their votes. When enough people become dependent on them, they will have a perpetual rulership and complete the job of bringing traditional America down and replacing it with a socialist state. They have been at this since the early 60's and it is working like a charm. Few can resist freebies, so we will be undone in the end by human nature. Frances Fox and her Marxist husband, Richard Cloward, figured this out a long time ago and it became the Cloward-Piven Stategy. It is a plan to bring America down by multiplying and overloading entitlements, thereby imploding the economy without firing a bullet. It was a stroke of genius. So Alan, I side with those who say that the real bigots are those liberals who think that blacks have to be taken care of and told what to think and do. Just look at the liberals' wrath that is stirred when a black becomes a conservative and tries to leave the planatation. They bring out all of their artillery to destroy that black individual because he/she poses a threat to their power scam. Their love for blacks only includes the dependent ones.
Here is some irony for you. I live in an ultra-conservative part of the country and I seldom hear any talk of racial issues. Most of the issues discussed have to do with jobs, the economy, the dangers of an ever growing central government, etc. They know that it is not the upper and middle class minorities that cause problems. The problems come from the so-called underclass. They also know that the culture of the underclass will never change because the problems cannot be fixed by throwing money at them. The underclass will always be with us because the liberals refuse to allow the individuals in the underclass to become disciplined, self-reliant people. The liberals will forever keep them dependent and on the government farm, so nothing changes. Here is the irony. Most race related bilge that I hear comes from this race-crazed blog. Sput sees racism everywhere and of course to him all racism is a phenomenon of conservatism. Liberals are never, ever guilty of racism. They just send their children to private schools and live in gated communities so that they will be safe from the depredations of minorities, but they would never breath a word to that effect because they are world class hypocrites. Hey, Sput, if you have the courage of your convictions why don't you move to a minority underclass neighborhood like the Tillman area and quit hiding out in east Memphis engaging in self-righteous talk about racism? I know of a conservative, Christian family who moved to the Tillman area to work with the people there for the betterment of their lives. I know that you are going to sputter and stamp your foot and insist that they have to be racists because their skin is white and they are conservatives. They would probably love to have your help. Why not find out who they are and arrange to move to the Tillman area to help them in their work. Or, would you rather hunker down in your safe, lily white neighborhood and accuse everyone else of being racist? If you become less hypocritical you may be able to think more clearly and become more politically honest. You may well be guilty of projection...the racists aren't 'out there'. The racist dwells primarily in your own psyche and you project that on others.
Tillman...
Is that in "Memfrica", Jerry?
Alex, are you not aware that blacks take great pride in their motherland? Have you not seen signs held by blacks at protests that say, 'Africa In America?' You seem to imply that the term Memfrica is a pejorative. Are you a closet racist who has finally and inadvertantly shown his hand? If so, I am proud of you for coming out. The first step in overcoming racism is to admit to oneself that he/she is in fact a racist...much to their dismay, because it deprives them of a favorite bit of self-righteousness. Remember the seeds of racism often lie deep within the psyche. Sometimes it take a slip of the tongue to reveal it. Now, deal with it. Remember, we are always guilty of what we condemn in others. This is the root of self-righteousness.
Let me take you for a stroll down memory lane...
Also Sprach Gerrythustra...
Anonymous said...
By the way, I am not on your mailing list. I heard about your blog through the vast right wing conspiracy some time ago. I live a long way from the crime-ridden ghetto that you inhabit. Of course, crime and poverty are two of the fruits of liberalism. Evidently, liberalism has won the battle for the hearts and minds of Memfricans judging by all the bad press you get in terms of crime, squalor, and degradation. It sounds like you live in a liberal mecca...congratulations. May you descend further and further into the liberal nightmare. At this point, it is inevitable. Memfrica's future is about as bright as that of the motherland, Africa. Good luck on the way down to chaos.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:11:00 AM CDT
Who's projecting? Hang it up, Gerry. You're not fooling anyone.
Yeah, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Memfrica is not a good place live and to raise a family. It's sort of an, 'Is the glass half empty, or half full' thing, right? I mean it all depends on the way that you look at it.
The comment at 11:19 a.m. was my attempt at inspired silliness. However, though acrid in delivery, the previous statement contains some things that I firmly believe. Namely, that liberalism is a pernicious beleif system that in time destroys all that it touches. I also believe that most large American cities are not safe to live in. That is one man's opinion.
Actually, I do believe what I posted on May 5, 2009. It could have been stated more gracefully, I suppose, but that is what I believe about liberalism and the effect it has had on most American cities. The comment I made to Alex on Aug. 31 was tongue in cheek, though. You have to separate my bloviating and bullshitting from what I really mean to say. Primarily, that is that liberalism is the touch of death to civilization.
--a political orientation that favors social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolution.
--a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity
--a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties; specifically : such a philosophy that considers government as a crucial instrument for amelioration of social inequities (as those involving race, gender, or class)
--aka “the touch of death to civilization”
Performs...hide and watch. There is a big difference between liberalism as it is defined in textbooks and the way that it is played out in the real world. We really don't need to bicker over the issue. It is to the point where we can watch the situation unfold in real life and on a daily basis. As a concession I should have said unbrideled liberalism destroys whatever it touches. Some liberalism is a good thing, just as some conservativism is a good thing. Problems develop when the situation gets out of balance. If there were no liberals, the conservatives would change practically nothing. If there were no conservatives, the liberals would turn the country into an unstable, chaotic zoo. We are near the unstable, chaotic zoo paradigm. The biggest issue is that capitalism, which socialists are eager to eliminate, insures individual freedom and private property. Socialism diminishes both. And the diminishing won't stop until all freedom and private property have been eliminated. Past the tipping point, socialism has no brakes. I don't want to live under the thumb of a tyrannical central government. I am not naive enough to believe that that is a good thing. History says something quite different. You have said that individual freedom and private property are ther root of all evil. You don't know anything about the nature and scope of human evil. Liberals believe in the limitless perfectibility of man. They are dead wrong on that issue and that is a very big issue. Especially when you trust human governments to be fair, kind, equable, etc. Give too much leeway to a central government and you may wake up one day with no civil rights. If the government decides that things will be better off without you, it is bye-bye performs. Foolish people who lend too much trust in government have always ended up in a bad way. America was an experiment in giving people freedom, but that only works when the people are moral, hard working, and generally make constructive choices. That being the case, America is doomed. So, like I have said before, you guys have won the battle. Human nature has ensured defeat.
Some time ago, Sean Hannity was going to televise a blockbuster revelation in regard to Obama on Fox on a Sunday night. It was never televised and no explanation was ever given as to why it was cancelled at the last minute. As it turns out, Obama leaned on the higher ups at Fox and got them nto refrain from showing it. A portion of the program survived and is on the clip below. Bear in mind how Obama showed utter disrespect for the Prime Minister of Israel when he came to the White House and that Obama has not once visited Israel since he has been President. On the other hand, he lavishes Muslims with respect and honor. He doesn't show the same respect and high regard for Israel. Every Jew in the world should see this clip. Here it is...
http://youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28
If the Jews vote for Obama in November, it will be the manifestation of a death wish.
Anon, I mostly was with you in your 10:34 post through "...Socialism diminishes both." After that what you offered had no basis in reality. It was vague, confused, and made no sense to me. When I get enough time I will comment.
“The biggest issue is that capitalism, which socialists are eager to eliminate, insures individual freedom and private property. Socialism diminishes both. And the diminishing won't stop until all freedom and private property have been eliminated.”
This statement is a fear-based assumption that lacks reason or veracity.
“Past the tipping point, socialism has no brakes.”
Just because this is obviously true with capitalism in its current incarnation it does not mean that it needs to be the same with a movement toward socialism.
“I don't want to live under the thumb of a tyrannical central government.”
What type of central government, if any, would you wish to “live under?” What roles should it carry out?
“You have said that individual freedom and private property are the root of all evil.”
I would not say it that way. I would say that struggling to procure one’s own individual freedoms and amassing absurd amounts of personal property and power leads naturally to evil, ignorant, and immoral thinking and behavior.
“You don't know anything about the nature and scope of human evil. Liberals believe in the limitless perfectibility of man. They are dead wrong on that issue and that is a very big issue. Especially when you trust human governments to be fair, kind, equable, etc. Give too much leeway to a central government and you may wake up one day with no civil rights. If the government decides that things will be better off without you, it is bye-bye performs. Foolish people who lend too much trust in government have always ended up in a bad way.”
Interesting, today I read a great essay about trust that I highly recommend:
http://baynvc.blogspot.com/ In the mean time, my guess is that your trust is with capitalism’s idol, the so-called free market.
“America was an experiment in giving people freedom, but that only works when the people are moral, hard working, and generally make constructive choices. That being the case, America is doomed. So, like I have said before, you guys have won the battle. Human nature has ensured defeat.”
Creating a system where the many moral, hard working citizens democratically participate in making decisions for the common good is the answer. The few lunatics and addicts in the power positions now are destroying the world and poisoning our precious relationships with their ignorance, arrogance and greed. Cutthroat, crony capitalism is their favorite tool.
I said nothing that hasn't been said countless times by others. Maybe I was too brief to make my case. Socialism hasn't worked as it was hoped primarily because it can't work as it should till it consumes the Earth. Its goal is global conquest. Then we will see what kind of a system it really is. It is no secret that socialism diminishes individual freedom. When socialism reaches full fruition, everyone will be required to submerge their personal interests and ambitions to the state. This includes both religion and the nuclear family. Socialism will broach no competitors for allegiance. Similarly, socialism ultimately is designed for the state to own everything...no more private property. The state will own all the wealth and then re-distribute it to everyone. Socialist governments who have not reached this stage are simply not through developing. When the process is compelte, there will be a one-world Marxist government. In the end, the people will all be serfs on the global government's plantation. Others could say this better, but that is what you can expect once socialism is fully developed. Read history. Hundreds of millions have been slaughtered by Marxist dictators. That is the way that they solve supply/demand problems for one thing. Only enough food for 2/3 of the population? No problem...we'll just kill the excess demand. You disagree with government policy? See you in either the gulags or the firing squad. This is not made up bullshit. Read about the French Revolution, particularly the Great Terror, or about Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, et al. Nobody needs to be reminded of Hitler. He used mass murder to cleanse the gene pool to make way for his Supermen. And so it goes. Turning from free market capitalism to socialism is a risky business. We would do better fixing the problems associated with capitalism and keeping our freedom and private property. You aren't one of the 'beat me whip me, make me write bad checks' crowd are you? Ignorance or masochism is the only reason that I can see for anyone to be a socialist. Well, there is another set of folks who push for socaialism and these are the super-capitalists who finance socialist movements throughout the world. One day we (or our progeny) will all be working for those bastards and they will be mighty thankful for the useful idiots who helped put them at the apex of the money/power pyramid. One thing that you can bank on, they will be awesomely cruel. Do you really think that the Bill of Rights will survive under Marxism? The little people are just so many expendable bugs to them. Hell, they profit off of both sides during any given war. They are consciousless psycopaths. Ah! I can hear the strains of Keith Richards' guitar right now...'Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...'. And, what is worse is that nothing is going to stop them...till later and after much bloodshed. Of course, all of this is a fast forward. It may take another 20 years or so for all of this to reach fruition.
Your story or vision is of feudalism,which had its day prior to capitalism. My vision is a socialism of, by and for the people, decentralized and non-mechanized.
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