THIRTY THIRTY THIRTY FIVE MORE DAYS TO GO - UNTIL THE NEXT ELECTION.

 My apologies for being out of the loop for a while. I meant to come back to the blog sooner but the obligations of Life got in the way. With that in mind, let's talk about the 2024 presidential election.

As I post this we have only 35 days to go until November 5, 2024 - election day in the United States. This has been a journey full of negative campaign ads, primary ups and downs that took candidates by surprise, and even a change at the top of the ticket for one party. But we are here now. On the presidential side it is down to either the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago (a/k/a.: former electoral vote winner Donny) for the repubs and current vice president Kamala Harris for the Democrats. Will probably be going into some of the details later on as we head closer to election day but, for now, I thought it would be a good idea to point out a few things as those readers in the U.S. navigate the final stretch of the election season.

First, while a lot of people may want to take the polls at face value it should be pointed out that former electoral vote winner Donny can still win this damn thing. The polls in the "swing States" where, thanks to the Electoral College, seem to be the only ones that matter in the eyes of the mainstream media, show The Mad Fuhrer and Kamala neck and neck - and those of Harris's lead being within the margin of error. While we are at a point in the race where election polls begin to matter, the most important one and the only one that really matters is the election itself. Because of this the polls should be taken with a grain of salt. A prime example why they should be taken as such is that on Election Day 2016 Donny had a reported approval rating of less than 20% yet still won the electoral vote ( Hillary Clinton still won the popular vote but, because the Electoral College, the popular vote doesn't really matter). Does this mean that Donny's guaranteed another victory? No of course not. I'm just saying we should be more careful and not jump to conclusions this close to election day.

It's at this point that we should probably look at another media framing that popped up briefly in the last few months. There were a couple media sources that compared vice president Harris to the last woman who ran for president, former first lady Hillary Clinton in 2016. Admittedly, the fact both are women is one thing that makes for easy comments among writers of political news think pieces. However, while there seem to be some similarities (such as an apparent lead in the polls leading up to election day) Harris and Clinton differ in enough ways to make this comparison not exactly and not entirely accurate. Both in the circumstances of how they entered the race and how they're approaching it so far. Again, this is a tight race and people are looking for easy comparisons. This one though is flawed at best.

From here let's take a look at the vice presidential candidates. Former electoral vote winner Donny's choice of OH Senator J.D. Vance seemed to be a pic that could be divisive as much as the media perception that it would help Donny. This was at a time when Joe Biden was still running for re-election and it was assumed that vice president Harris would still be Vance's rival. However, biting stepping down from the presidential race on July 21, 2024 changed things. His encouragement for the Democrats to support moving vice president Harris into being his successor created the change of enthusiasm and over time created the sharp turnaround for the Democratic Party's fortunes. Her choice of MN Gov. Tim Walz as a running mate took expectations sideways, especially when he managed to point out the weirdness among much of the Repub Party platform, and in Project 2025. This makes the vice presidential candidate debate tonight one that will pique curiosity for a lot of people. Though some people say the debate performance of these two shouldn't mean that much the fact is it's a possibility that any president could die before their term in office is up. With Donny's age and perceived health issues now on sharper focus after Biden leaving the race it shows there's definitely a chance that Vance could end up president before Donny's term would be up due to issues related to age, health, and a job that is extremely stress related. This adds gravity to the vice presidential debate that might not normally exist in another race or another time.

Then there's the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago's increasingly angry and violent rhetoric during his rallies. Referring to immigrants and migrants as vermin he is stirring up more anger amongst his base to to view those who choose to come to this country (especially those of a different race) as less than human in the process. Add to this is repeated threats to prosecute and lock up his political opponents as well as him still claiming that the 2020 election was stolen and it seems that all the attempts to make Donny look less unhinged or even rational in comparison (a new term, sanewashing, has emerged in political press circles to describe this) are doing a disservice to the American people. Because of this, and the fact that you would almost definitely enact much of project 2025 if he gets in office again, he has proven that that under no circumstances should he get this job a second time.

That choice, however, up to the American people and the Electoral College. The fact that there are still undecided voters at the stage of the game leads one to wonder what exactly is going on but, to some degree, that's the case every election. While I won't tell people who to vote for a clear look between what Harris is proposing and the threats and authoritarian leanings being offered by Donny should make this an obvious choice.

We have 36 or so days to go. We'll see what goes down in those days and how it affects the election. Until then, pay attention to the issues attention to issues and be on the lookout for misinformation - there's a shit ton of it out there.

A COUPLE DAYS UNTIL THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS - A THOUGHT OR TWO REGARDING DESPAIR

 With the midterm election just a couple days away I think we'll take this post in a slightly different direction and talk about despair for a moment.

If one is paying attention to the polls it would appear that people are more than willing to sacrifice their rights and personal freedoms under the illusions that letting the GOP retake Congress would improve the economy. Some of the mainstream poles have even suggested that women have calmed down since the dogs ruling from SCOTUS in late June and are more concerned about gas prices and the cost of groceries they are trying to protect bodily autonomy or the right to make decisions what to do with pregnancy.  As a result, a lot of people who lean democratic are freaking out and assuming the election news is all bleak. It's important to realize that the midterms are still not set in stone until every vote is counted but that does little to assuage people who are doom scrolling and in a constant state of worry after witnessing the last six or so years.

Should people despair just yet? I would suggest being cautious but don't assume that it's hopeless just yet. Having said that, I want to briefly look out why people might despair at a time like this.

Imagine you're a person that leans liberal living in a conservative state. Be it because of family emergency, job transfer, or simply can't afford to move. In that scenario it's likely that a person might be in a situation surrounded by people with opposing points of view. If we were still in normal times that might be fine. However, given that a good chunk of the Coupublicans are trying to downplay the coup attempt that happened on January 6th 2021 and many of those are still claiming the stolen from the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago, we are currently in a time where that becomes a lot more stressful. If someone ne lives in a city in said state it may seem a little less bleak because it's a little bit easier to find like-minded people. But what about those people who may be in rural areas or  in the outer suburbs/exhurbs?

For people who have to exist in those areas the despair might be a little more existential. We're talking about areas where bring me up the actual history of this country, especially when it comes to race, is seen seen and attacked us being divisive. The sort of areas where there's a tendency to downplay the events of January 6, 2021 rather than address what really went on and is going on today to some degree. The places where where someone who might not be MAGA risks being silenced parlance by those around them who have drank that particular non-carbonated drink mix. It is in situations like that, where someone who might lean left could feel increasingly isolated - especially in the aftermath of how most people in those areas reacted to the pandemic- and feel they have to suffer in silence or pretend that nothing is wrong while many of the people around them spout out rhetoric that can be easily disproved and seems to have more and more anti-democratic leanings. It is a not scenario where I can see it being easy to fall into despair.

It would be easy to say that these people need just to find organizations are interested in and and volunteer for them (and I'm not necessarily talking about working with the local chapter of the Democrats). This is good advice good advice, but it's easier to follow if you're in a city or even an inner-ring suburb then for people living in rural areas who might have to drive a relatively significant distance to find these organizations. Add to this the fact that even in the age of the internet it's not always easy to find organizations that will think global and act local.

So how should these people react in the face of current poll numbers lovers and the possible fear created by "poll watchers" that are more likely to act on misinformation than actual facts? Should they be scared?

It's okay to be scared, or even feel overwhelmed. However you have to put that in the back of your mind and cash your vote anyway.  As I said before, vpting isn't only thing we need to do to help make this a better place. In fact it's the bare minimum in what we can do. For some people though it might be the only thing they're able to do at the moment because of work schedules, family commitments and the like.

So outside of voting how should we deal with the feelings of despair and being overwhelmed over the next couple days? Breathe and take the polls with a container of salt. Remember that while they might be right (it would be dishonest not to consider that) they have also been wrong in the past and might be wrong this year. If you have friends they're on the fence but might lean against the GOP who haven't voted yet talk with them and let them know what's at stake. If it all just boils down to perceptions on the economy let them know that there is no free enterprise under an authoritarian state.

Well something like this take care of all of the pre-election despair right now? Not all of it, but regardless of what happens the fight will continue. It just might get a hell of a lot more dire and bleak if the group of election deniers and conspiracy theorists controlling much of the GOP manages to win. 

And Down Goes Mr. Forthy Mix....

Yesterday morning Rick Santorum suspended his Presidential campaign hours before the Pennsylvania primary. Citing a need to be with his until recently hospitalized daughter Bella, he also faced a possible defeat in his http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhome state (where he lost the last election he was in by 19 points in 2004)as well as financhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifial concerns. However, he says he plans to keep fighting.

When asked if he'd endorse Mitt Romney (who looks more and more likely to get the GOP nomination, even though a lot of Republicans aren't thrilled with that), he said he'd take a few days to think about it.

At this point some say that he may continue to have the power he had in pushing the primary to the right to keep a role in the GOP. Others think he will recede quickly, thus allowing ROmney time to do the etch a sketch on what he just said. While the latter might have made sense in a normal election cycle, the past couple of years have been far from normal on the election front (Hell, a lot of people [including myself] expected Santorum to drop out last fall and never saw him making frontrunner status).

What we do know is this. The tea party and social conservatives have pushed Romney further and further rightward, to the point of lying about past positions, in order to stay in the Republican race. Because the aforementioned groups are the main parts of the GOP base, pressure will be on for Romney to continue his current rhetoric. In addition, while many in the media says Santorum's dropping out all but clinches the nomination for Willard Mitt, he still has to deal with Newt Gingrich (who has managed to crawl back from the abyss twice so far) and Ron Paul. While Gingrich and Paul are unlikely to get the candidacy from the powers that be, they can help Mitt get delegates in a pinch if he needs them near August.

So how does this affect Santorum? Well, despite Santorum's conformist streak in social conservative/GOP politics, he still has a number of delegates to offer as well as the conservative christian cred that Romney needs. So, even if he does endorse Mitt Romney, I have a feeling there will be a cost that comes with that. Maybe as running mate (though many say that won't happen)? Maybe a cabinet post is elected? Who knows. What is certain is that there will be a tradeoff of sorts if Mr. Frothy Mix flip flops to endorse the man he's called "the worst candidate among Republicans to go against Barack Obama."

Stay tuned as the twisted story unfolds.

Debt Ceiling Thoughts II: It’s Crunch Time

As I type this the Republican House has passed speaker of the house John Boehner’s proposal on the deficit by a 218-210 margin about an hour or so ago with no Democrats voting for it and a number of Republicans opposing it. While plans for a vote yesterday on a deal were halted due to lack of support from the tea party newcomers, Boehner had to offer a number of compromises to appease the “tea party” wing and get their votes, including a balanced budget amendment and other tea party favored positions in order to get it passed by the minimum of votes.

The plan, which only extends the debt ceiling for six months ended up being yet another form of political theater. The Senate quickly shot it down by a 59-41 vote (thus guaranteeing it wouldn’t reach President Obama). As the standoff continues, a reported refusal of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell to negotiate at this point means the current polarization will continue as the August 2nd deadline gets closer (at this point: Tuesday)

As I said in the previous post, I think odds are the debt ceiling will get raised. It’s been passed 90 times since 1940 and in the past it used to be considered a must pass bill (thus, usually done at the last minute). However, while there may be a last minute situation, things are in scary mode. The Republicans are quickly learning that their new enemy might not be the Dems or any liberal boogeyman but the newbies that got elected in 2010. As recently as the end of last year Boehner referred to the debt ceiling vote as “the first really big adult moment for the new Republican majority.” However, the mainstream in the GOP are currently learning that the danger of using a possible bully pulpit to force people to cave can backfire if they decide you’re not worth listening to.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

So what will happen now? Who knows. There’s a chance that the debt ceiling will get a last minute vote and tragedy may or may not happen. There’s also an equally good chance that the far right in the GOP will let the country fall, hoping in some form of twisted glee that everyone will blame Obama for it. As for the possibility of invoking the 14th amendment and having Obama do it that way, the White House said they wouldn’t do that but at this rate there’s a chance he might have no other choice).

Why do I have a feeling that the tea party faction might end up having at least one weekend meeting similar to a pivotal scene from the movie Network? In the fight leading up to now, GOP attempts to have financial experts explain to the tea party types hasn't worked, but both parties are beholden to Wall Street in a lot of ways. And I have a feeling the party leaders may realize that if everything defaults the financial types will throw more cash to Obama and company.

However, at this point, everything seems to be conjecture. Previously it was a matter of course that the debt ceiling would be raised at the last minute but when you have people who are hell bent on making sure the President fails by any means necessary, under guidance from non elected power brokers (seriously, I don’t recall anyone electing either Karl Rove or Grover Norquist), it’s hard to say what will happen. At this point it’s a 55-45 chance that the debt ceiling will get raised but how we get there, and more importantly what gets sacrificed along the way, could lead us down the path for a far crueler future than anybody would’ve thought possible a year ago.

Debt Ceiling Thoughts

As I type this President Obama and House Republicans are playing yet another round of the will they or won’t they make a deal talks in hopes of getting an agreement on raising the debt ceiling by the August 2nd deadline. In the past this has been one of those occasions where it passed without comment and most Americans had no clue whatsoever what a debt ceiling was. However, with the threat of both the tea party wing of the Republicans in the House to let the country default as well as credit rating firms like Fitch and Moody’s threatening to lower the U.S.A.’s AAA rating, the debate has become more known than anyone would want to admit.

Personally, I think it will have to be raised when all is said and done. Wall Street and the financial industry, as vicious as they are towards anyone not in the top one percent, realize that if the US defaults they may take a big hit and investors will lose money. In addition, these people have their tentacles in both sides of our one party state that pretends to be a two party state (not to say there aren’t differences between the GOP and the Democrats, especially these days – but that they often have the same backers). The party leaders get this, as well as the possibility that if they let this happen they bulk of the cash flow may head towards the Democrats (this hasn’t been covered at all but let’s get real, anyone who figures out how American politics works can likely se this writing on the wall).

As for Obama’s talks of cuts on the big three (Medicare, Social Security), this is either dangerous politics or delicious irony. The dangerous politics lies in possibly aiming for independent voters by possibly further throwing the base under the bus and starting from compromised positions. The ironic part may be that Obama finally gets that no matter how much he tries to offer the GOP what they want, they still refuse it. This refusal to support something they once advocated the moment Obama picks it up has been probably one of the more humorous (in a sick way) traits of the Republicans since he took office over two and a half years ago.

On the GOP’s end people like Boehner and McConnell are having to handle what happens when decades of appealing to the far right that has currently become their base mixes with the idea of permanent campaigning. While the tea party faction of the Republicans in Congress seem more and more hell bent on making sure nothing gets accomplished than on actually doing their jobs. Part of this is the differences between Democrats and Republicans in attitudes towards their base in that the Dems usually have a barely concealed hatred for their base that they almost blatantly show any time other than when they want money or votes while the GOP has grown to fear a base that has managed to increasingly drive moderate voices from the room. While the media push of the tea party types must’ve seemed like good politics to them up until the 2010 midterm elections, their increasingly bully pulpit is getting in the way.

So what’s up ahead? Some say the “gang of six” proposal is gaining steam and might be a good compromise. However, so far the House Republicans are worshipping a trinity of Reagan (while overlooking his tax increases), Grover Norquist (of Americans for Tax Reform) and the latest pundit of the moment. The idea that no taxes can be raised whatsoever is becoming a problem that could hinder us much more than anyone expects. Even with this proposal offering a three to one ratio in terms of cuts versus revenues isn’t making friends. Add to it the fact it might not be doable before August 2nd and its future seems uncertain.

But what about the latest GOP proposal of “Cut, cap, and balance” you may ask? It passed the House. However, the supermajority required in the Senate these days makes it unlikely to pass even before Obama vetoes it. It’s more of a middle finger to the President than anything else.

So what will happen here is anyone’s guess? I do think the debt ceiling will likely be raised (even if Obama has to go for broke and do some sort of executive order to do it). Since that is the worst case scenario, I have a feeling that somehow the GOP will have it explained to them what will go down if they don’t vote for it, since even the top one percent will feel some heat if the U.S. defaults). I wish I knew if it would be a clean vote (most of the time the damn bill is one sentence, for crying out loud) but at this point it’s hard to say what form it will take (though sacrificing Medicare and Social Security is the political equivalent of Russian Roulette in this country).

As for the reasons for why the GOP has been acting like some kid on a playground who always threatens to hold his breath until he turns blue unless he gets everything he wants, several posts can be written regarding that.

I watching reading Feministing today and I came across this video of Naomi Klein at the TEDWomen conference discussing the BP oil disaster one year later. After watchign the first couple minutes, I had to share it.



Hope you enjoy it.

It's Not About LIttle Barricuda.

Like most people I've been trying to process the shootings that happened last weekend in Tucson, AZ that killed six and injured 14 including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. An event like this brings a number of emotions to light. Maybe it's the shock over something so extreme happening. Maybe it's that tragedies like this make one realize that things can change without warning. Regardless, there's something about things like this that shake us out of our usual routine and making us realize that some of the things we get so hung up about aren't all that important in the big picture.

Then there's the video that former Gov. of Alaska turned former vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin posted two days ago. Posted in response to criticism over a pre 2010 midterm election map from SarahPAC that posted gun targets on several Congressional districts (including the one Giffords represents) her response came hours before the Memorial to the victims in Tucson, AZ last night. Coming after days of silence and debate over how heated our political discourse had become it was posted without warning just in time for the morning news cycle.

While many from Keith Olbermann to Newscorp (parent company of Fox News) CEO Rupert Murdoch have urged for a toning down of the rhetoric, Palin took an opportunity to voice sorrow and get people to focus on what went down last weekend and instead cried victim, making it all about her.

IN this speech, Palin tried to play both sides. Claiming responsibility for the shooter was solely on the shooter, Plain said we should never let an event like this deter us from the right to "peacefully dissent" against the government. However, she also implies that those in the media who criticized the rhetoric used by Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the like were the ones that were provoking violence. This tactic of projecting her tactics onto those that disagree with her did little to examine how such a tragedy could go down and much to continue the path the American right has continued to find themselves on over the past couple of decades.

Palin has gained a justifiable amount of criticism for claiming those that disagreed with her were manufacturing a "blood libel" against her. It's hard to know whether she knew what a "blood libel" actually entailed. She did intend to paint herself as a victim of persecution.

I agree with Palin that such a tragedy shouldn't interfere with our right to peaceful dissent in our society. This is also a stance taken by Matthew Rothschild at the Progressive. In fact, many people who wish the right wing media would "tone it down a notch" actually don't want a law to censor anyone's speech. However, such nuance clashes with the cultural dissonance people like Palin, Beck, Limbaugh and the like have helped to ratchet up since Obama was inaugurated (and have been slowly pushing under the radar since the rise of the Christian right in the late 70s/early 80s).

So why the speech now? Mainly Palin is playing to her base; trying to keep her name in the media outside of her e-mail/text missives to Glenn Beck during the past few days before her video. However, the video also takes a horrific tragedy that shook up most people in this country and, instead of focusing on the big picture, painted herself as the real victim. It is this that is truly sickening about the whole incident.

As for her point about "Peaceful dissent," it becomes laughable given that her facebook page routinely deletes comments critical of Palin though leaving up a hateful comment regarding the killing of 9 year old Chritina-Taylor Green. In addition, her insinuation that those requesting that the rhetoric be toned down actually are cuasing violence is a cheap attempt to have it both ways, stating she can say whatever she and her allies want but those who oppose them shouldn't. So much for "peaceful dissent" in that context.

At this point in time we still don't truly have a whole picture of what led Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner to do what he did. However, at a time like this, the worst thing to do is take something like this and make it about yourself. Yes, Sarah Palin has the right to say whatever she wants about any issue she pleases. Making this about herself rather than honoring those who died or were injured in the shooting is extremely distasteful at best.

In other words the best response to this is this: Little Barricuda, it's not about you.

It's sad that she's the last person to realize this simple fact.

A NOTE ON READER COMMENTS: After careful deliberation, I've decided to allow comments on this post for the time being. However, they will be moderated and anything that I don't feel is constructive will be deleted. Given that many on the right routinely delete comments from those they disagree with or don't allow comments at all, I think this is fair.

SOTU Address in Context...

Via Democracy Now.

We've all seen President Obama's State of the Union address and know basically what it says. This clip puts things into context.

And They Wonder Why People Think Both Parties Are the Same

In the WTF category, reportedly the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is urging Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan (yes, the guy behind the insidious anti choice amendment in the health care reform bill) to run for re-election out of fear a republican could win his seat.

You know the Democrats have always been kinda wishy washy over the past few decades (thanks a lot for that, Democratic Leadership Council), but at least they used to know where to stand on the reproductive freedom issue. Now, it seems my concern that they'd gladly throw that right under the bus and sell women out for a few extra votes was more right than I ever thought. Sickening on way too damn many levels.

via Feministing.

Scary Times Are Never Dull - 2010 Edition

Came across this scary article from Democracy Now covering a documentary on the rise of the white power movement these days. Scary times.



I wish I could say that these fucking idiots surprise me, but they don't - sadly. Wish these assholes would get a clue and realize the real enemies in terms of class and economic reasons share their skin pigmentation. Sickening!!!

So This Is Health Care Reform?

The Senate has passed its health care bill today. To say it's disappointing is being mild to say the least. This clip says it more than I could.

Just Checking In - NOW UPDATED

Hey! I know it's been a while but things have been a bit crazy around here. Between getting the 17th anniversary issue done, trying to survive, looking for work, and other obligations I sometimes forget to get my head straight. Add to that coming down with a cold the week of Halloween and you have an idea why I've been a little distracted lately.

On a more serious note, the House passed its health care reform bill. Unfortunately it contains the anti choice Stupak Amendment, which not only keeps abortion care out of the "public option" but could keep it out of private insurance plans as well. While I have strong feelings on this misstep, this article at Pandagon states the case far better than I could. So does this post from Shark Fu.

I'll be trying to post more regularly in the future.

Watch This ......

With the G 20 going on in Pittsburgh and the economy still in its current state of somewhere between shitstorm and clusterfuck, it seems hard to take in all the issues around us (especially when most people are simply trying to survive). When I came across this interview with Ralph Nader, I had to turn you onto it as it cuts to the quick on a lot of relevant issues these days.



Whether you like Nader or hate him, we need people like him to put things in perspective and keep people in check. We all need to do more things like this - now more than ever.

Some Things Never Seem to Change

Tomorrow marks the latest round of globalization talks with beginning of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA (a location reportedly chosen by President Obama to minimize protests). As world leaders discuss issues regarding world trade that seems to benefit business over the needs of its citizens, protests are already underway.

As there are protests, there are also reports of police harrassment as activists report being detained and illegal seizures. Though a Federal judge has dismisseed one case claiming no "irrepairable harm" has been done, Seeds of Peace still report police harrassment. This, even though a judge ruled six group can protest the G 20.

While this is a small trickle from an iceberg, I have a feeling that in the next few weeks we're going to be hearing more reports of police harrassment and brutality towards environmental and anti globalization activists in Pittsburgh. If something emerges that Pittsburgh made the G20 pay insurance to the city in case of damages, then we'll know something may be up.

I know some will say this is just an exception or that with added police presence mistakes will be made. However, having seen how things have unfolded in hyperdrive over the past decade in this society, I have a feeling the plans might be made to bust some heads. I really really really REALLY hope that I'm wrong on this, but I have a strange feeling I'm right.

Some of you reading this may disagree with me and that's your right. Now go argue amongst yourselves, I have things to do.

This Should Scare Us - School Textbook Edition

It's interesting (and very scary) how the culture war continues in this country. I was taking a break from looking for work today and came across something that should scare everyone. Apparently, the Texas State Board of Education is planning for new history text books that have a definite right wing bias but remove any mentions of those deemed liberal.

Under their plans, the text books would include mentions of Newt Gingrich (former Speaker of the House leader of the so-called "republican revolution" of the mid 1990s), and Phyllis Schlafly (Eagle Forum founder) among others. Who do they want to remove from the textbooks? Several reviewers have mentioned removing United Farm Workers organizer Cesar Chavez.

The question is who else will be swept from history books?

At first glance, one would assume this is a localized example and that those of us who don't live in Texas shouldn't be concerned with it. However, one thing I didn't know until today is guess which state plays a large role in setting national standards for school textbooks?

Now I have a bit of disillusionment towards how things are taught in America's prison, I mean school, system. I do believe the late Frank Zappa's view on schools having a search and destroy program aimed at wiping out any hint o creative thinking amongst kids. However, this takes things to a level even my skepticism couldn't imagine.

Does this need to be fought? Hell yes. Hopefully this won't make it out of the Texas legislature and the rest of us won't have to worry about it. However, it does remain one more instance of how regardless of Obama and his allies' push for bipartisanship and moving forward, the conservatives still have every intention of making sure the "culture war" continues.

Oustsourcing for Assassinations? WTGDMF?

It's amazing how the further we get settled into the Obama age that more of how his predecessor (and dictator wannabe) got us further into a damn quagmire comes out.

A short while ago, we learned that Dick Cheney had organized CIA assassination squads to kill people in the name of our supposed "national interests" in the months after 9/11. Scary enough if you know history (Chile in 73 anyone?), but just when you think it couldn't get worse - it does. Turns out they outsourced some of this job to guess who?



WHile it should surprise no one with a knowledge of history that Blackwater (or Xe or whatever they're calling themselves this week) is involved in this. It's still scary just how willing to emulate a dictatorship this country was willing to become.

Now the new question should be why does Obama continue to give them money and pay them to work in the middle East.

For a transcript of the video in this post, go here.

And The Fear Just Keeps On Coming.....

As we move further into the Obama era, we find ourselves as a culture facing both the possible chasm between promises and reality as well as the fallout from the Dubya years that we thought wouldn't surprise us. It turns out the betrayal of trust from Shrub, Dick the Dick and company flirted even further with dictatorship than we thought.

First up is Dick Cheney wanting to use U.S. troops to arrest terror suspects on U.S. soil. Cheney claimed the President had the power to use troops to arrest people in the U.S. (a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act). Ironically Bush decided to use the FBI to arrest the Lockawanna Six, but this is yet another reminder of how reckless the previous administration wanted to trash the Constitution and create a possible police state.

However, it may appear that the military has already violated Posse Comitatus Act when activists in Olympia, WA filed a Freedom of Information Act request and discovered a military operative was spying on them. The guy claimed to be a civilian employee at Ft Lewis but was actually a member of Ft. Lewis' Force Protection Service. While activists try to figure out what happened, the damage is done.

Some in Congress want hearings into U.S. intelligence activities and their possible abuses. If they happen, we should also ask how much of this occured under Obama's watch as much as from the known war criminals of the previous administration.

What happens next is too early to tell. However, as the title of this post suggests, teh fear just keeps on coming. So much for transparency.

Preventative Detention? WTF?

Many of you have at least probably read about President Obama's speech last week regarding a plan to shut down Gitmo. While he said a lot of good things, there was one chilling thing that deserved to be criticized. Part of his plan calls for "prolonged detention," which allows the government to detain someone without charges possibly indefinitely.

Scary shit, right? I think this deserves criticism regardless of who proposes it. Obama says it would only be used on those small minority of people held at Gitmo we can't try, but what's to keep the government from expanding it to everyday people (remember Dubya said they were only wiretapping suspected terrorists, but actually monitored all of us).

ONe of the better responses towards Obama's stance on reviving the military commissions and prolonged detentions came from WI Sen. Russell Feingold, who's letter to Obama is a must read.

I'll likely say more on this later, but this article should be a good starting point to get food for thought. Click on the link and read it.

A Little LIght Humor

I know it's been a while since I last posted. Being as there's a lot of heavy info coming at us from all over I thought it would be nice for a little humor to balance things out. Thus a clip from last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann interviewing Janeane Garofalo on the "left wing smear machine" recently ranted on Fux Snews by Bernard Goldberg and Bill-O. There's a serious turn on this near the end, but it's time we knew the truth - ha ah!!!!

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The big question on Bill-O and crew: since Garofalo is know on 24, does that mean they're gonna boycott said show? Just wondering

Much Worse Than We Thought

Okay, we're about a week into the Obama administration and so far it seems he has his hands full just trying to undo the various crisis' Shrub and company left. This is far from news - a welcome change of pace, but far from news. However, a few days back we learned something that definitely should shock the hell out of people regardless of their belief systems. It now appears that the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program may have targeted journalists as a group.

Former NSA Whilstleblower Russel Tice said on Countdown with Keith Olbermann that he was told they were paying attention to journalists just to take them out of the loop but it was going on all the time. He also mentioned that they possibly had the correspondence of all of us. Watch part one of the two part interview and hear things for yourself.

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Does anyone else find this awfully scary as fuck? Yeah, I admit I'm getting old but I remember being a kid in school and being taught that this was the sort of thing those "evil Soviets" did and that a free country like the U.S. would never do. Of course, as we all know, the schools do tend to lie to us in the best of situations. However, even someone as skeptical of the system as me didn't think it was this bad. If we're to be the beacon of democracy then adopting the worst aspects of the former Soviet empire isn't the path we should be taking if we're to move forward.

Granted there are a lot of questions. Did the Bush era NSA use this to go after those who questioned the wisdom of Shrub, Dick the Dick, Turdblossom and friends? Was this used to create a database? For political purposes? These are the questions that need to be asked if we ever need to know what the fuck is going on here. I knew Dubya couldn't be trusted, but this shit is ridiculous even for him.


We're at a crossroads here. Thus we have to do what we can legally to make sure this sort of shit isn't allowed to continue. The story is still unfolding, but I guarantee this will get scary before it gets better.