I'm back with more chewy and crunchy bits for your mastication...
Baltimore
What else can there be said that already hasn't been? Who out there is actually surprised that mass demonstrations would take place? This is what happens when you combine economic and social apartheid with police brutality and a court system slanted to favor the (white) elite. When the gap between the rich and everybody else gets wide enough, you start seeing episodes like this.
And this, I fear, may just be the beginning.
Time Magazine's most recent cover depicts a black-and-white photo of a man running away from a phalanx of police officers with a caption of America - 1968, with the 1968 struck out in favor of 2015. The related article, The Roots of Baltimore's Riots, contains a subtitle that says that decades of systemic failure led us to this point. It looks like it's worth a read - I usually stay away from Time as I find them to be too corporate-friendly.
More to come on this later.
Bernie
When one looks at his positions, he seems to be in line with the vast majority of America. When he talks the talk about corporate campaign corruption, he walks the walk by refusing corporate campaign cash. When he talks about what this country needs, he has concrete plans (literally, such as in infrastructure spending). He is no friend to the Banks and Corporate America, exactly the opposite of Hillary Clinton. He's not a millionaire - unlike most of the puppets in Washington. His appeal in Vermont is across party lines - hard-line Republicans voted for him as well as Democrats and Independents. What's not to like, right? He seems almost too good to be true.
Foxy News is already trying to marginalize him. It will be a matter of time before MSNBS gets their fangs into him. Chickenshit Noise Network should be following suit soon, if they haven't already. His only real friends in the media will likely be the non-Corporate outlets: Aljazeera, RT, Real News Network, and the like. The corporate media are owned by the very people that Bernie stands against, and against whose interests he works. Big Media favors the TPP, Bernie is against. Big Media hates Net Neutrality, Bernie supports it. Big Media wants their taxes and regulations squeezed down to bathtub-size, Bernie wants to raise both of them. He is a diametric polar-opposite to Big Media's interests.
His big problem is breaking through the Big Media smokescreen without having to sell out or compromise to do so. If he and his supporters can do this (I may send some $$$ his way, BTW), he might have a shot. The big question here is - IF.
Boehner's BS
Democratic Underground had a post about John Boehner stating that Hillary needed to get behind the TPP and get Dems to go along with it. Once again, this condescending drunk is trying to tell the Dems how to govern (he's done similar with Obama several times before.) His constituents must love him, because in a lot of other places he's coming off as precisely the folksy-talking jerk that he is.
Here's what I find interesting. Where are the Tea Freaks in all of this? Are they actually willing to stand idly by and allow their representatives to give Fast Track approval authority to this president - the man they hate so much (their support for TPP and Fast Track is near-unanimous)? Why are the Repubs pushing this so hard? Does this speak to their ideas about their 2016 prospects, with the motley crew they have (again)? And why is Obama pushing this so hard NOW? Is he calculating that any delay will wrap this further and further into the 2016 campaign, to the point where no action will take place? If this is the strategy - do without delay - then perhaps the strategy to defeat this would be precisely to delay it as long as possible.
Comments are welcome. More to come later.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Quibbles and Bits, There Ought to be Clowns...Don't Bother, They're Here edition
"Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls..."
More chewy bite-sized bits, courtesy of your humble and not-so-obedient 3-ring (around the collar) master...
>> The best thing that could have possibly happened for the Dems, in regards to the 2016 Election Follies, is the "candidacy" of the Senator from Calgary himself, Teddy Boy Cruz. He seems to have spent the last couple of weeks rallying the fundie elements around himself, as attested by the oh-so-enthusiastic response he received at Liberty University. (BTW, that was a captive audience he spoke to in those there parts - those who chose not to listen to the emanations from his facial orifice faced, uh, consequences.)
Let's get the obvious out of the way. Teddy Boy is not, and will not, be occupying the Oval Office in this or any future lifetime. BUT, if he can get substantial fundie support, he could play kingmaker. His reward? Perhaps a cabinet post or some other plum, in the event that the Repubs pull out the election from their asses next November. That's IF he's smart enough to keep his foot out of it - which I highly doubt. It's just a matter of time...
>> I find it interesting that, JUST NOW, the banks seem to be raising high dudgeon regarding their po' wittow feewings being hurt by that awfow meanie, Senator Elizabeth Warren. Trust me, they've been raising stinks about Warren ever since she took office, and it seems that ONLY NOW, during the election season, are we getting any big press about it. But in the words of Midnight Oil, "When The Generals Talk, You Better Listen To Him" - and by Generals, they weren't talking about only the military. (Pull up the song on Youtube, or better yet, mosey on over to iTunes and fork over the $1.29 or $.99 for the song. You won't regret it, you stay legal, and good karma awaits you. Plus, Peter Garrett is one of the good guys. Google him.)
Stay Strong, Senator. You know there's a substantial number of us who support you and have your back - even if the Democratic Party doesn't.
>> My posts have become more sporadic lately for two very good reasons:
1. In five weeks, I will be walking on a stage in San Francisco to accept my long-awaited Bachelor's Degree;
2. Over the last six weeks, I have been on a quest to halt and reverse the expansion of my midsection. Trips to the health club, more stairs, dietary changes - I've been putting in the effort and beginning to see some results.
Once I finally have degree in hand, I'll be posting to this humble blog a lot more. And, perhaps, begin to promote it.
The clowns will return. Time for the acrobats...
More chewy bite-sized bits, courtesy of your humble and not-so-obedient 3-ring (around the collar) master...
>> The best thing that could have possibly happened for the Dems, in regards to the 2016 Election Follies, is the "candidacy" of the Senator from Calgary himself, Teddy Boy Cruz. He seems to have spent the last couple of weeks rallying the fundie elements around himself, as attested by the oh-so-enthusiastic response he received at Liberty University. (BTW, that was a captive audience he spoke to in those there parts - those who chose not to listen to the emanations from his facial orifice faced, uh, consequences.)
Let's get the obvious out of the way. Teddy Boy is not, and will not, be occupying the Oval Office in this or any future lifetime. BUT, if he can get substantial fundie support, he could play kingmaker. His reward? Perhaps a cabinet post or some other plum, in the event that the Repubs pull out the election from their asses next November. That's IF he's smart enough to keep his foot out of it - which I highly doubt. It's just a matter of time...
>> I find it interesting that, JUST NOW, the banks seem to be raising high dudgeon regarding their po' wittow feewings being hurt by that awfow meanie, Senator Elizabeth Warren. Trust me, they've been raising stinks about Warren ever since she took office, and it seems that ONLY NOW, during the election season, are we getting any big press about it. But in the words of Midnight Oil, "When The Generals Talk, You Better Listen To Him" - and by Generals, they weren't talking about only the military. (Pull up the song on Youtube, or better yet, mosey on over to iTunes and fork over the $1.29 or $.99 for the song. You won't regret it, you stay legal, and good karma awaits you. Plus, Peter Garrett is one of the good guys. Google him.)
Stay Strong, Senator. You know there's a substantial number of us who support you and have your back - even if the Democratic Party doesn't.
>> My posts have become more sporadic lately for two very good reasons:
1. In five weeks, I will be walking on a stage in San Francisco to accept my long-awaited Bachelor's Degree;
2. Over the last six weeks, I have been on a quest to halt and reverse the expansion of my midsection. Trips to the health club, more stairs, dietary changes - I've been putting in the effort and beginning to see some results.
Once I finally have degree in hand, I'll be posting to this humble blog a lot more. And, perhaps, begin to promote it.
The clowns will return. Time for the acrobats...
Friday, February 27, 2015
Breaking a Broken Set...
Tonight was the last original broadcast of Abby Martin's excellent news analysis program on RT America, Breaking The Set. Yet another progressive voice is lost on our media, this one being one of the most uncompromising and passionate. Unlike most other media figures, especially those on the shrinking leftward-lean of the political spectrum who come from broadcasting or journalism backgrounds, Abby's voice was that of an activist. Her show was decidedly NOT "fair and balanced" - she never advertised it as such. She had guests on the show such as Chris Hedges, Mike Ruppert (RIP), and Peter Joseph - people who otherwise would go unheard on the MSM. She went as far as criticizing the government who owns RT - Russia - for their actions in the Ukraine and Crimea. Hers was one of the few shows that openly challenged the corporate-based media worldview - a badly needed breeze of fresh air in a valley full of corporate media smog filth.
I will confess to being a bit disappointed that she disavowed herself from the belief that 9-11 was an "inside job". To me, to take this stand means that you would have to debunk Mike Ruppert's exhaustively researched book Crossing The Rubicon (where he names Dick Cheney as the prime mover of the 9-11 affair), and the photographic and testimonial evidence provided in films such as Zeitgeist and Loose Change. I won't "put her on the couch", and speculate as to a possible reason or motive. I'll only say, at this point, that it's probably the only real point of disagreement I have with her.
That being said, she's still has a full career ahead of her, whether it be in print or electronic media, or the arts. I'd keep an eye on her to see what she's going to do next, because as she said, she's not going away. You can catch her on her official website, her Twitter feed, and her Facebook page.
We can use a few more Abby Martins.
I will confess to being a bit disappointed that she disavowed herself from the belief that 9-11 was an "inside job". To me, to take this stand means that you would have to debunk Mike Ruppert's exhaustively researched book Crossing The Rubicon (where he names Dick Cheney as the prime mover of the 9-11 affair), and the photographic and testimonial evidence provided in films such as Zeitgeist and Loose Change. I won't "put her on the couch", and speculate as to a possible reason or motive. I'll only say, at this point, that it's probably the only real point of disagreement I have with her.
That being said, she's still has a full career ahead of her, whether it be in print or electronic media, or the arts. I'd keep an eye on her to see what she's going to do next, because as she said, she's not going away. You can catch her on her official website, her Twitter feed, and her Facebook page.
We can use a few more Abby Martins.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Loaded for Bear...
This man talks the talk, but he also walks the walk, having been arrested several times for protesting and having been booed off the stage at a college commencement for having the temerity (read: courage) to speak out against the Iraq war.
Check it out.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Redux, and Redux (and Wash, Rinse, and Repeat, Again and Again)...
Of all of the overly premature 2016 campaign rumblings going on in the MSM, one that has piqued my interest is that the MittWit is considering a run for the presidency again. You've got to admire this guy, if nothing else for his tenacity, hubris, and possibly, his unshaken faith in the prophecy that a Mormon president will save the country.
Need a few reminders of just what a clueless oligarch this guy is? Here are a few memes published on Democratic Underground, featuring the "47 percent" comment that famously hoisted him on his petard in 2012.
If you think Obama had fun with him in the second and third debates in 2012, imagine what HRC will do to him (and as you may know, I'm no fan of Hill OR Bill).
Please proceed, Mitt.
Need a few reminders of just what a clueless oligarch this guy is? Here are a few memes published on Democratic Underground, featuring the "47 percent" comment that famously hoisted him on his petard in 2012.
If you think Obama had fun with him in the second and third debates in 2012, imagine what HRC will do to him (and as you may know, I'm no fan of Hill OR Bill).
Please proceed, Mitt.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Outrage
This has been making me absolutely ill lately.
More than half of all school-age children are now living in low-income households.
It's not like we weren't warned this was happening. We've seen the trends. We've seen the results of the economic policies of Reagan and afterward.
We've heard the countless exhortations by those "of means" for those "without" to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and stop being so "lazy". They're getting brazen now, too - to wit, Warren Buffet said something to this effect not too long ago, and you can turn on Foxy News or Foxy Business anytime to hear variants of this theme.
And there are precious few media outlets out there that will provide adequate pushback to this nonsense. Think Mess-NBC is going to provide that pushback? They're feeble, at best. And the other outlets, RT (with its Putin smear), Pacifica Radio (with its Hippie smear), and most of the remaining liberal talk show hosts (who have been driven to near-online-exclusivity), have been driven to the sidelines.
We're supposedly the richest country on earth. What more proof do we need regarding how unequal the wealth is being redistributed? This is just the latest in an arms-length list of indictments of American economic superiority.
More than half of all school-age children are now living in low-income households.
It's not like we weren't warned this was happening. We've seen the trends. We've seen the results of the economic policies of Reagan and afterward.
We've heard the countless exhortations by those "of means" for those "without" to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and stop being so "lazy". They're getting brazen now, too - to wit, Warren Buffet said something to this effect not too long ago, and you can turn on Foxy News or Foxy Business anytime to hear variants of this theme.
And there are precious few media outlets out there that will provide adequate pushback to this nonsense. Think Mess-NBC is going to provide that pushback? They're feeble, at best. And the other outlets, RT (with its Putin smear), Pacifica Radio (with its Hippie smear), and most of the remaining liberal talk show hosts (who have been driven to near-online-exclusivity), have been driven to the sidelines.
We're supposedly the richest country on earth. What more proof do we need regarding how unequal the wealth is being redistributed? This is just the latest in an arms-length list of indictments of American economic superiority.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Freudian Slip, Much?
We knew it was only a matter of time before somebody lets the truth slip out.
What do we do about this? Comments are welcome...
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
A Wish for 2015 (and beyond)...
My biggest wish for next year (and beyond) is summed up quite nicely in this post in Democratic Underground.
I would extend it a bit, though. We need Dems who can say "BULLSHIT" to the right people, namely, Corporate America, the Big Banks, and Big Media. The current Third-Way bumper crop is only too willing to call "Bullshit" on progressives and others not of a corporate-friendly ilk.
Hope you all have a safe and happy NYE 2014, and see you next year...
I would extend it a bit, though. We need Dems who can say "BULLSHIT" to the right people, namely, Corporate America, the Big Banks, and Big Media. The current Third-Way bumper crop is only too willing to call "Bullshit" on progressives and others not of a corporate-friendly ilk.
Hope you all have a safe and happy NYE 2014, and see you next year...
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Divide, Placate, and Subdue
To those who are veterans of the Anti-War movements of the '60s and '70s, as well as from the Occupy movement, its a puzzlement as to why more young people don't take up those causes. With everything going straight to hell - economy, international conflicts and war, etc. etc. etc. - why aren't there more protests? Where is the direct action we thought was synonymous with youth?
This article attempts to explain why the lack of involvement. Crushing student loan debt, the restructuring of our education system to meet corporate, rather than educational goals, the growing surveillance state, and other factors are cited. While I agree with the article, I think it left out a couple of things:
1. The brutality our militarized police uses to crack down on mostly peaceful protesters (I'll never forget the article from I-forget-where, where a converted military tank was profiled with a heading to the effect of "Occupy Protestors, Meet This...").
2. The ineffectiveness of traditional protest methods, and the mockery they engender from those more monied (remember during Occupy Chicago, how those at the Chicago Board of Trade would stare down from their multi-stories-up offices to take pictures, mock, and otherwise thumb their noses at the protesters - some even dropping applications to fast-food joints.)
3. The Weapons of Mass Distraction: the hundreds of entertainment options we now have, which serve as a sort of "soma" for the masses, as Aldous Huxley described the drug in his book Brave New World.
Where to now? I welcome your comments...
This article attempts to explain why the lack of involvement. Crushing student loan debt, the restructuring of our education system to meet corporate, rather than educational goals, the growing surveillance state, and other factors are cited. While I agree with the article, I think it left out a couple of things:
1. The brutality our militarized police uses to crack down on mostly peaceful protesters (I'll never forget the article from I-forget-where, where a converted military tank was profiled with a heading to the effect of "Occupy Protestors, Meet This...").
2. The ineffectiveness of traditional protest methods, and the mockery they engender from those more monied (remember during Occupy Chicago, how those at the Chicago Board of Trade would stare down from their multi-stories-up offices to take pictures, mock, and otherwise thumb their noses at the protesters - some even dropping applications to fast-food joints.)
3. The Weapons of Mass Distraction: the hundreds of entertainment options we now have, which serve as a sort of "soma" for the masses, as Aldous Huxley described the drug in his book Brave New World.
Where to now? I welcome your comments...
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Quibbles and Bits - No Surprises Here edition
More to chew on...
>> The election results don't surprise me a bit. This is the effect of a combination of two things: massive amounts of cash being spent by massively wealthy individuals, and voter apathy on the part of those who probably vote only in the Presidential contests.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> Obama's presidency is now over. And the Fat Lady is warming up her voice for the out-of-key aria that will accompany the upcoming impeachment proceedings, endless hearings, and continued gridlock.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> Now, those of us on the left will actually be ROOTING for gridlock. The Repubs are likely going to try to pull out the Paul Ryan budget, as well as take every God-forsaken hack at Obamacare that they can. The more Obama vetoes, the better.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> If you think the $4 Billion price tag was big, just wait until 2016. The Kochs and their cohorts just bought themselves majorities in both houses, and you better believe they are licking their chops. How does $8 Billion sound for a presidential election? Or $10 Billion? The sky is the limit now...
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> The election results don't surprise me a bit. This is the effect of a combination of two things: massive amounts of cash being spent by massively wealthy individuals, and voter apathy on the part of those who probably vote only in the Presidential contests.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> Obama's presidency is now over. And the Fat Lady is warming up her voice for the out-of-key aria that will accompany the upcoming impeachment proceedings, endless hearings, and continued gridlock.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> Now, those of us on the left will actually be ROOTING for gridlock. The Repubs are likely going to try to pull out the Paul Ryan budget, as well as take every God-forsaken hack at Obamacare that they can. The more Obama vetoes, the better.
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
>> If you think the $4 Billion price tag was big, just wait until 2016. The Kochs and their cohorts just bought themselves majorities in both houses, and you better believe they are licking their chops. How does $8 Billion sound for a presidential election? Or $10 Billion? The sky is the limit now...
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Quibbles and Bits, Show Me and Tell Me about The Police State Edition
More to chew on...
>>This video has my blood boiling:
They won't tell the "accused" (the woman filming this) about where the call originated that led them to come to her house (I guess she's a "suspect" or a "person of interest" by virtue of exercising her first amendment rights.) They want to know what might happen after the protest.
This is the Police State - Live and in Blushing Color.
UPDATE (12/14): I find it interesting that the account which housed this particular video was apparently terminated. I'll leave the observation at that, and the speculation with you. But I'm leaving the link up anyway.
>>Here's a story of a 10-year old getting Tazed as a lesson from a cop about what happens when somebody disobeys said cop and any of his cohorts. Amazing - all of the negative press coverage about the police - from OJ, to Rodney King, to Ferguson, and now this - doesn't seem to affect their behavior one iota.
Note the commonality of the two stories above? The brazenness. The absolute lack-of-giving-a-damn-about-what-we-the-taxpayers-who-pay-their-salaries think. Not even the slightest attempt at repair of their relationships to the citizenry after the above mentioned bad press.
Free society? Gimme a break....
(Actually, Officer Taze-A-Kid probably would.)
>>This video has my blood boiling:
They won't tell the "accused" (the woman filming this) about where the call originated that led them to come to her house (I guess she's a "suspect" or a "person of interest" by virtue of exercising her first amendment rights.) They want to know what might happen after the protest.
This is the Police State - Live and in Blushing Color.
UPDATE (12/14): I find it interesting that the account which housed this particular video was apparently terminated. I'll leave the observation at that, and the speculation with you. But I'm leaving the link up anyway.
>>Here's a story of a 10-year old getting Tazed as a lesson from a cop about what happens when somebody disobeys said cop and any of his cohorts. Amazing - all of the negative press coverage about the police - from OJ, to Rodney King, to Ferguson, and now this - doesn't seem to affect their behavior one iota.
Note the commonality of the two stories above? The brazenness. The absolute lack-of-giving-a-damn-about-what-we-the-taxpayers-who-pay-their-salaries think. Not even the slightest attempt at repair of their relationships to the citizenry after the above mentioned bad press.
Free society? Gimme a break....
(Actually, Officer Taze-A-Kid probably would.)
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