There is the super New Yorker cover cartoon of Obama walking on water. Link below.
The reports are that he liked it enough to hang it in the WH where the bust of Winston Churchill used to be. Obama returned the Churchill bust to London.
Obama was elected because he promised hope and change;and he was a rock star type persona.
Now,like Palin tweeks, how is that hopey and changing thing going?
Well, there are limits to power,even with the POTUS.
He came in with very deep,deep problems.
We have avoided a depression,a bank,financial failure. But our $14 trillion GNP economy is moving slowly. Perhaps Reserve Chair Bernancke should be fired.
We have passed a semi-universal health reform bill. It took 60 years to do it; and if it didn't happen in March, it would take another 60 years to even come close. It is not a perfect reform;it is a work in progress.
There are other significant reforms that Obama and the Dems. have achieved in the last 18 months.
Not the change and hope is done.
Pronosticators,the pollsters,the rightwingers, are saying the GOP will flip both Houses in Nov.
Pelosi will have to hand the Speaker's gavel back to Boehner. What a sad day that will be.
Politico has a good read on how, if the good GOP rightwingers take Congress, the next two years will be filled with investigations of the WH;with repealing and defunding health,financial and energy reform. (Link below)
What a sad two years that will be.
The POTUS's change and hope is done. It was unrealistic to begin with. Washington's institutions don't change.
Obama should spend the next two years on two major issues: climate change and energy independence; and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The earth is burning,and flooding.
Military nukes are useless,and should be eliminated by everyone.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d...
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/081...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
"The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. "
That is a quote from George Bush's 2nd Inaugural Address.
Links below have the address and video of same.
The address is the strongest outline of the neo-conservative belief in the unlimited US power..unlimited to promote "democracy",engage in long military wars if necessary,and to engage in a world wide,long, and unending struggle.
It was a speech to justify the preemptive invasion of Iraq.
None of the pr justifications for the invasion were valid (i.e Saddam's possession of wmd's). But the Bush/Cheney neo-cons could justify it through the "democracy" crusade.
POTUS Obama will speak to us on Tuesday,describing the "drawdown" of our engagement troops in Iraq.
I would like him to outline a conservative,realistic policy of limited engagement in the world.
I would like him to describe how converting a billion Muslims to Western style "democracy" is an unending call for perpetual military wars in many different places.
I would like him to describe how the US,faced with deficits,debt,overextended military,and domestic crises, will adopt a containment,limited,police action against a small criminal gang of al queda.
That is what I would like to him to say, but,somehow, I don't think that is the direction he will go.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...
http://www.hulu.com/watch/52747/inaugura...
Links below have the address and video of same.
The address is the strongest outline of the neo-conservative belief in the unlimited US power..unlimited to promote "democracy",engage in long military wars if necessary,and to engage in a world wide,long, and unending struggle.
It was a speech to justify the preemptive invasion of Iraq.
None of the pr justifications for the invasion were valid (i.e Saddam's possession of wmd's). But the Bush/Cheney neo-cons could justify it through the "democracy" crusade.
POTUS Obama will speak to us on Tuesday,describing the "drawdown" of our engagement troops in Iraq.
I would like him to outline a conservative,realistic policy of limited engagement in the world.
I would like him to describe how converting a billion Muslims to Western style "democracy" is an unending call for perpetual military wars in many different places.
I would like him to describe how the US,faced with deficits,debt,overextended military,and domestic crises, will adopt a containment,limited,police action against a small criminal gang of al queda.
That is what I would like to him to say, but,somehow, I don't think that is the direction he will go.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...
http://www.hulu.com/watch/52747/inaugura...
Friday, August 27, 2010
Glenn Beck and Sara Palin would not want MLK Jr. speaking at their rally tomorrow. How sad! How tragic!
Beck's brigades will gather at the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow,calling for the "restoration of America."
It is deliberately being held on the anniversity of the March on Washington and the MLK Jr. "dream" speech of 1963.
The irony is that Beck would not allow King to speak at the rally tomorrow. King preached social justice and inter-racial harmony.
Beck rejects social justice, and favors instead "social equality".
Beck calls on his brigades to walk out of any church where a pastor calls for "social justice".
If MLK were to speak at Beck's rally,even for a short moment, he would revise his dream. His dream would call for racial harmony,the end of poverty,and the end of unnecessary wars.
Beck would ask MLK to leave the stage quickly, and Palin would run up and say "I refudiate that."
Beck should take his chalkboard and go back to the Fox studios.
and Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. attacks Beck's pretentions:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/25/17...
Another good blog re Beck's gathering tomorrow:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-s
It is deliberately being held on the anniversity of the March on Washington and the MLK Jr. "dream" speech of 1963.
The irony is that Beck would not allow King to speak at the rally tomorrow. King preached social justice and inter-racial harmony.
Beck rejects social justice, and favors instead "social equality".
Beck calls on his brigades to walk out of any church where a pastor calls for "social justice".
If MLK were to speak at Beck's rally,even for a short moment, he would revise his dream. His dream would call for racial harmony,the end of poverty,and the end of unnecessary wars.
Beck would ask MLK to leave the stage quickly, and Palin would run up and say "I refudiate that."
Beck should take his chalkboard and go back to the Fox studios.
and Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. attacks Beck's pretentions:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/25/17...
Another good blog re Beck's gathering tomorrow:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-s
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Dr. Laura:Don't retreat....reload!
Dr.Laura:don't retreat...reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence"isn't America
*****
The heading is from a tweet from Sara Palin to Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
As the whole world knows, Dr. Laura used the n word 11 times during a recent call in from a black American woman.
11 times!!! Perhaps once or twice within a dialogue,to stress liberal compassion, would have been sufficient. Dr. Laura reminds me of the castrating therapist on 2 and 1/2 Men.
Palin believes Laura's 1st Amendment rights are being violated. Sara believes the good doc. had the right to use public airwaves to yell racist gibberish.
Sara is part of the problem,and not a part of the solution.
We are in a dangerous divisive period in our country. Civil war is building. And Sara's call to "re-load" feeds the most rancid,racist rightwing ramblings (how's that for alliteration?).
By,by dr. laura.
and hopefully, the same to Sara soon.
In Cheryl Crow's new cd, 100 miles from Memphis, she has her own tune,Say What You Want, she takes on good ole' re-loadem Sara:
"I saw you ranting on TV today
I heard you tell me to reload
You got a lot of nerve to talk that way
Someone unplug the microphone
I'm tired of all the fighting
Cynicism and back biting
Can't even hear myself think
You pour the Kool-Aid and then we drink."
*****
The heading is from a tweet from Sara Palin to Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
As the whole world knows, Dr. Laura used the n word 11 times during a recent call in from a black American woman.
11 times!!! Perhaps once or twice within a dialogue,to stress liberal compassion, would have been sufficient. Dr. Laura reminds me of the castrating therapist on 2 and 1/2 Men.
Palin believes Laura's 1st Amendment rights are being violated. Sara believes the good doc. had the right to use public airwaves to yell racist gibberish.
Sara is part of the problem,and not a part of the solution.
We are in a dangerous divisive period in our country. Civil war is building. And Sara's call to "re-load" feeds the most rancid,racist rightwing ramblings (how's that for alliteration?).
By,by dr. laura.
and hopefully, the same to Sara soon.
In Cheryl Crow's new cd, 100 miles from Memphis, she has her own tune,Say What You Want, she takes on good ole' re-loadem Sara:
"I saw you ranting on TV today
I heard you tell me to reload
You got a lot of nerve to talk that way
Someone unplug the microphone
I'm tired of all the fighting
Cynicism and back biting
Can't even hear myself think
You pour the Kool-Aid and then we drink."
Sunday, August 15, 2010
If WWE matron Linda McMahon wins the Senate seat in Connecticut, will she crotch kick Franken and Sanders on the Senate floor?
If WWE matron Linda McMahon wins the Senate seat in Connecticut, will she crotch kick Franken and Sanders on the Senate floor?
*****
These billionaires are climbing off their yachts; walking out of their gated community mansions;stepping from their limos.; and running for office.They have mucho dough to finance their own campaigns.
In my great state of NY, a Buffalo multi-millionaire Carl Paladino is pouring big bucks to win the gov.'s GOP primary in Sept.,and then to take on Andrew Cuomo in the Fall.
He calls the Albany politicos "rodents", and says he will take a baseball bat to them . He has several little ducks standing around areas of NY, with a sign "Cuomo ducks Obamacare". Get it?
a duck accusing Cuomo of ducking.
In the great state of Cal.,two rich ladies are running for the Senate and Gov., and may win.
In Connecticut, the WWE madam Linda McMahon won the GOP Senate primary, and will take on Richard Blumenthau in Nov. She spent $20
million of her money on the primary, and promises to spend another $30 million to dispatch Blumie.
She wants to repeal Obamacare, and may borrow Paladino's ducks for her campaign. She expresses concern about the many uninsured,but wants no mandate for insurance. Her WWE wrestlers are contract employees, who must pay for their own health insurance. Is that what she wants for all of us?
If she wins, will Franken and Sanders wear protective armor on the Senate floor?
A good read on McMahon is in today's NY Post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/ope...
*****
These billionaires are climbing off their yachts; walking out of their gated community mansions;stepping from their limos.; and running for office.They have mucho dough to finance their own campaigns.
In my great state of NY, a Buffalo multi-millionaire Carl Paladino is pouring big bucks to win the gov.'s GOP primary in Sept.,and then to take on Andrew Cuomo in the Fall.
He calls the Albany politicos "rodents", and says he will take a baseball bat to them . He has several little ducks standing around areas of NY, with a sign "Cuomo ducks Obamacare". Get it?
a duck accusing Cuomo of ducking.
In the great state of Cal.,two rich ladies are running for the Senate and Gov., and may win.
In Connecticut, the WWE madam Linda McMahon won the GOP Senate primary, and will take on Richard Blumenthau in Nov. She spent $20
million of her money on the primary, and promises to spend another $30 million to dispatch Blumie.
She wants to repeal Obamacare, and may borrow Paladino's ducks for her campaign. She expresses concern about the many uninsured,but wants no mandate for insurance. Her WWE wrestlers are contract employees, who must pay for their own health insurance. Is that what she wants for all of us?
If she wins, will Franken and Sanders wear protective armor on the Senate floor?
A good read on McMahon is in today's NY Post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/ope...
As I make my way back from Woodstock, I say vote "YES" on California Prop. 19
As I make my way back from Woodstock, I say vote "YES" on California Prop. 19
I'm still making my way back from Woodstock (that's hyperbole, and a metaphor).
When my sister enmeshed herself in the born again Christian zeitziest, she gave me her vinal Joan Baez albums. I've always liked Joanie.
I don't smoke pot. I may have once,in a previous life, but I didn't inhale.
But if I was in California, I woud vote "YES" in Nov. on Prop. 19, legalizing pot.
The drug war is an expensive failure. It has cost us billions, w/o making a dent in drug use. Even Bill Buckley, the non-libertarian conservative, long supported legalizing drugs.
So what would Prop. 19 do, if passed?
It, very likely, would:
1.provide Cal. with $2 billion in revenue and savings..$1 b. in taxes and $1b in court/prison cost savings;
2.regulate the use of pot;
3.promote hemp, which can be used in many eco-friendly ways..ie, it can save cutting trees for paper;
4.and would de-regulate low level use of pot, rather than the current prohibition which encourages escalating "up" on more powerful drugs.
This is, as I understand it, because speed,coke and herion remain in a person's blood for 72 hours, while pot can remain for 30 days. If someone has to take a drug test on a Monday, and wants to party on Fri., than the incentive is to escalate drug choice upward.
Judge Joe Grey,Orange Cty., is a leading advocate for ending the existing drug war. He says we have 5% of the world's population,and 25% of its' prisoners (largely because of the drug war). And the war is highly racist.
He wants a "YES" victory on Prop. 19, but feels the industrial-prison complex, and the prison guard lobby, will likely defeat it.
You can see some speeches by Grey on C-span and YouTube.
His book on this topic is:
http://www.judgejimgray.com/whyourdrugla...
I'm still making my way back from Woodstock (that's hyperbole, and a metaphor).
When my sister enmeshed herself in the born again Christian zeitziest, she gave me her vinal Joan Baez albums. I've always liked Joanie.
I don't smoke pot. I may have once,in a previous life, but I didn't inhale.
But if I was in California, I woud vote "YES" in Nov. on Prop. 19, legalizing pot.
The drug war is an expensive failure. It has cost us billions, w/o making a dent in drug use. Even Bill Buckley, the non-libertarian conservative, long supported legalizing drugs.
So what would Prop. 19 do, if passed?
It, very likely, would:
1.provide Cal. with $2 billion in revenue and savings..$1 b. in taxes and $1b in court/prison cost savings;
2.regulate the use of pot;
3.promote hemp, which can be used in many eco-friendly ways..ie, it can save cutting trees for paper;
4.and would de-regulate low level use of pot, rather than the current prohibition which encourages escalating "up" on more powerful drugs.
This is, as I understand it, because speed,coke and herion remain in a person's blood for 72 hours, while pot can remain for 30 days. If someone has to take a drug test on a Monday, and wants to party on Fri., than the incentive is to escalate drug choice upward.
Judge Joe Grey,Orange Cty., is a leading advocate for ending the existing drug war. He says we have 5% of the world's population,and 25% of its' prisoners (largely because of the drug war). And the war is highly racist.
He wants a "YES" victory on Prop. 19, but feels the industrial-prison complex, and the prison guard lobby, will likely defeat it.
You can see some speeches by Grey on C-span and YouTube.
His book on this topic is:
http://www.judgejimgray.com/whyourdrugla...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
"“They come here to drop a child. It’s called drop and leave” So let's amend the 14th Amendment
The GOP/Tea Party "no nothings" are stirring the anti-immigrant pot.
There are rumblings in Congress and the states to amend the 14th Amendment,the post-Civil War amendment. The original Amendment was to twart the Dred Scott decision. It was to counter the Southern white move to dismantle Reconstruction and make Lincoln's Emancipation Proclaimation moot.
The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The calls for repealing,or amending,the 14th Amendment are political fear mongering at its' worse.
The proponents suggest illegal pregnant women swim across the Rio Grande. park in the shopping mall parking lots,wait to dilate,and then head to the ER's. The new baby would be a US citizen,and would be qualified to receive all the welfare benefits of a citizen.
All of these outrageous claims are not true.
What do the mothers do after delivery? Swim back across the Rio Grande,and leave the baby here? And then the mother waits 10 years to try to reunite with the child as she moves her way,slowly,to adult citizenship?
It's all horse pucky! It's all fuddle duddle!!
A good article in the current Nation refutes all these righwing nativist claims.
http://www.thenation.com/article/38035/b...
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/081...
There are rumblings in Congress and the states to amend the 14th Amendment,the post-Civil War amendment. The original Amendment was to twart the Dred Scott decision. It was to counter the Southern white move to dismantle Reconstruction and make Lincoln's Emancipation Proclaimation moot.
The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The calls for repealing,or amending,the 14th Amendment are political fear mongering at its' worse.
The proponents suggest illegal pregnant women swim across the Rio Grande. park in the shopping mall parking lots,wait to dilate,and then head to the ER's. The new baby would be a US citizen,and would be qualified to receive all the welfare benefits of a citizen.
All of these outrageous claims are not true.
What do the mothers do after delivery? Swim back across the Rio Grande,and leave the baby here? And then the mother waits 10 years to try to reunite with the child as she moves her way,slowly,to adult citizenship?
It's all horse pucky! It's all fuddle duddle!!
A good article in the current Nation refutes all these righwing nativist claims.
http://www.thenation.com/article/38035/b...
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/081...
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