Last Gasp of the Republican Party

Requiem for a Maverick by the incomparable Matt Taibbi

EXCERPT
It sounds strange to say, but this election season may have done to the word "Republican" what 1972 did for the word "liberal": turned it into a poisonous sobriquet that no politician with bipartisan aspirations will ever again welcome. The Republicans didn't just break the party — they left it smashed into space dust. They weren't just beaten; the very idea of Republican conservatism was massively rejected in virtually every state where large chunks of the population do not believe in the literal existence of a horned devil, and even in some that do.

They lost in every way imaginable, on every political front. The symbol of their anti-gay crusade, Colorado congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, was beheaded. The party that had made so much hay running against Mexicans saw noted anti-immigration crusader Bill Sali of Idaho ousted along with several other members of the Immigration Reform Caucus. The GOP's grasp on the so-called "moral values" issue likewise went up in roaring flames, with Rep. Vito Fossella of Staten Island the poster child — his morals were once so perfect that he refused to be seen with his gay sister, and now he's a national joke, bounced after being caught drunk driving and having unprotected, babymaking sex with a married Air Force officer.

The ironic thing is that the destruction of the Republican Party was a two-part process. Their president, George W. Bush, did most of the work by making virtually every mistake possible in his two terms, reducing the mightiest economy on Earth to the status of a beggar-debtor nation like Pakistan or Zambia. This was fucking up on a scale known only to a select few groups in history, your Romanovs, your Habsburgs, maybe the Han Dynasty, which pissed away a golden age of Chinese history by letting eunuchs take over the state. But John McCain and Sarah Palin made their own unique contribution to the disaster by running perhaps the most incompetent presidential campaign in modern times. They compounded a millionfold Bush's legacy of incompetence by soiling both possible Republican ideological strategies going forward: They killed off Bush-style neoconservatism as well as the more traditional fiscal conservatism McCain himself was once known for by trying to fuse both approaches into one gorgeously incoherent ticket. It was like trying to follow the recipes for Texas 10-alarm chili and a three-layer Black Forest chocolate cake in the same pan at the same time. The result — well, just take a bite!

I witness the whole pathetic mess summed up a week before the election, on a baseball field in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The campaign has scheduled an outdoor rally, with a joint appearance by McCain and Palin, at this crucial moment in the race. But now there is driving snow and sleet, trees downed on roads all around, and the campaign — with no alternate indoor plan — is forced to cancel the event at the last minute. I watch as locals keep pulling up to the field, looking for the candidate, a lonely, rain-soaked "Country First" banner whipping back and forth above the stage. The whole scene captures the essence of the McCain run perfectly: Instead of a plan, they had an endless succession of dumb ideas scrapped at the 11th hour in favor of even dumber ones.
...

Like millions of Americans, I watched Barack Obama's victory on Election Night in a state of amazement. The only thing that gave me pause was the question of what kind of country this remarkable figure was now inheriting. Some of the luster of Obama's triumph would come off if the American presidency were no longer the Most Powerful Office in the World but simply the top job in a hopelessly broken nation suffering an irreversible decline.

Of all the problems facing this country by the end of the Bush years, the biggest is the absence of a unifying national idea. Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity. We tried being a "world policeman" in Somalia, which didn't work so well. We tried retaining our Cold War outlook by simply replacing communists with terrorists. We created two bubble economies that blew up in our faces, and headed into 2008 a struggling capitalist state with a massive trade deficit and an overtaxed military that suddenly had to ask itself: For the supposed world leader in the community of nations, what exactly is it that we're still good at? Who are we, and what do we represent to the peoples of the Earth here and now — not in 1775 Concord, or 1945 Paris, or 1969, from the surface of the moon?

When Obama took the stage in Grant Park as president-elect, that question was answered. We pulled off an amazing thing here, delivering on our society's most ancient promises, in front of a world that still largely thought of us as the home of Bull Connor's fire hose. This dumbed-down, degraded election process of ours has, in spite of itself and to my own extreme astonishment, brilliantly re-energized the American experiment and restored legitimacy to our status as the world's living symbol of individual freedom. We feel like ourselves again, and the floundering economy and our two stagnating wars now seem like mere logistical problems that will be overcome sooner or later, instead of horrifying symptoms of inevitable empire-decline.

For this to happen, absolutely everything had to break right. And for that we will someday owe sincere thanks to John McCain, and Sarah Palin, and George W. Bush. They not only screwed it up, they screwed it up just right.

Simpler Dreams

The Sucker bait called hope

There's a lot of good stuff in that link. And in a lot of the older posts as well.

...and, following the same thread of "Hope" I bid you goodnight with this prayer to God:

Come, endless darkness- Mother Earth, fold us in your arms, pull us close to your breast-

and choke the poisonous breath from us before we kill everything.

Republican Spam

I receive at least one of those "George Carlin says/Bill Cosby says/David Letterman says/Insert Celebrity name says" emails once a week.

It is always some speak english/worship the flag and the pledge of allegiance/don't take the word "God" off money bullshit. And it's always a lie concerning who wrote the damn thing-

For those of you who get the same standard Republican email spam every day from your lackwit friends and relatives, I've got a canned response that you can customize and respond to all with:
( in order to save you time and effort with the mouthbreathers)

Please forward this to all:

The thing about these email-shortcuts to independent thought is that every single time a "concerned American" sends out these simple-minded screeds- is that they feel they have to say they were written by a celebrity in order to give them some sort of legitimacy. So, they will attribute it to some famous, well-liked celebrity instead of having the guts to put his/her own name on it.

It doesn't take a genius to know David Letterman didn't write this simplistic bit of airy propaganda, with its jingoistic, xenophobic, and not-so subtle racism.

People - please look further than your email box for political insight. I implore you- read a book, preferably a history book- and explore insights that may even seem antithetic to your current world-view.

It REALLY undermines the person's viewpoint in this email, in the simple fact that he had to lie about who really wrote it. If someone really believes what he is saying, why lie about who said it?
My name is Kirk Berryhill and I may not be a celebrity, but I have the guts to stand behind my own words. Please do so yourselves and you will discover that, like the lie concerning who wrote this crap, you will discover more simple lies wrapped in "common sense".

And don't be afraid to piss off Aunt Edna. If unanswered, these morons will never comprehend that there is an alternative other than their circle-of-stupidity-groupthink. Tell them Un-flock themselves.

And hope for the best. The stupid, as bad as it burns, is really contagious.

In Search of the greater good

Kester has an excellent post about leadership and what the Tao Te Ching has to say about it.

He also had a funny post that addresses Blue States vs. Red States, an old joke but a good one. It struck me though, that pitting "us" vs. "them" (as I am guilty of all the time, I know) isn't really smart or good for our future. Nobody's going to pack up and leave the country just because the leader of the "other party" won.

Texas and my fellow Texans have never seemed so ... just damn 'back-ards' as they do this week, with almost every Republican Christian I know praying for the Death of Obama (Seriously).. I would like to point out to Eva that the real Socialist elites are the guys who who 700 Billion bucks to bail themselves out... I don't know How much money these people THINK goes to welfare but believe me, it ain't even close to that number, which is just designed to keep the Rich Elite from falling into the ranks of the Underpriveleged (which, to them, is the under 1 million a year crowd).

The statistics were the most interesting thing to me from the joke post. As someone who loves my whole country, red states and blue states alike, I'm not big on gloating at this point. I just want to take back the country from the willfully stupid and their leaders who can feed their supporters lies all day long and pretend their will never be a backlash.

Note to the Redstate Repubs: Now that the Election is over you can let the scales fall from your eyes(please, o please) and note these TRUTHS, which if simply acknowledged may serve to move this country forward.

1. Obama is a Christian, not a muslim. He may not be the Perfect Christian, but then, neither are you, are you?

2. Obama is definitely not even in the top 20 most liberal Democrats currently serving in the Senate. He is extremely centrist, he has always reached across the aisle (despite the way Republicans have scorned Democrats while they were controlling the country) and he will continue to be bipartisan, (despite the future loud protestations of Democrats).

3. Electing a half-black man who believes that the future of this country lies with the lower and middle class and their well-being, NOT the rich, truly "elitist" CEO entitlement crowd is NOT the Death of our nation. The Death of our nation was narrowly averted. The Death of America and its ideals are being a country that tortures, a country that ignores the rule of law and the constitution, a nation that bombs and invades other countries without provocation, and a nation that only gives flag-waving lip service to its true ideals: Equality, Freedom, and Independence.

If the minds of the red-staters can be wrapped around these three simple ideals, then perhaps we can move forward TOGETHER. Hell, if I can put away my guillotine for the moment, surely ya'll can too.

If we continue to embrace red and blue only, and embrace the black and the white only, we are doomed to witness the death of this nation. Extreme views bring only extreme realities.

SUNRISE

Free at last, Free at last... Lord Almighty, we are free at last!

House of Representatives: Check

Senate: Check

Presidency: Check

/

(Told ya so moment: 2005 thoughts on the 2008 elections )

.

Not a moment too soon. It does not speak highly of my fellow Americans that we came close to electing another carbon copy of that madman Bush.

.

Racism, narcissism and ignorance still fuel a large segment of the American population. I am surrounded my those who are voting for McCain here in West Texas. I have yet to find even ONE of these folks who actually believe in McCain. They fear and hate Obama, though. They send text messages in the millions daily - racist jokes and lynching fantasies. I knew most people in this area were racist. This list includes my co-workers, my family, and even some people I considered friends. But the level that this group of people has outed themselves at shocks even this Redneck. I guess all it takes is one uppity nigger-and the very real fear that the White man's thumb on everything is being removed.

.

Change. That's what they fear.

.

They can't stop it. But thank Crom we've stopped them, at least for the moment. Every day more of these McCarthyist dinosaurs breathe their last, cancerous breath and new Americans are born to breathe fresh new life into this country.

/

Change is coming.

..
It's not gloating, it is tears of joy and relief...

In case you've forgotten - some memories of the Republican Reign of Terror:

TraitorGate

Treason for Dummies

Palin-publicans

Media Apologists for Bush

Rummy

Crimelords in Office

Conspiracy to Terrorize

Olbermann: We will not fear George Bush

Bush vetoes bill banning Waterboarding

The Bailout before the Bailout

and for shits and giggles:
Images from the House of the Rising Sons from the past 4 years

Scared of what, exactly?

Socialism like Social Security does not scare me. Communism like Community healthcare does not scare me.

4 more years of corporate cronyism, misguided wars that weaken our country, stealing the freedoms of our citizens and billions in welfare to our nation's richest people does.

Don't blame the poor mexicans that walk miles through a desert to get a job. Blame The Republicans that allow corporations to hire these illegal immigrants with no legal consequence.

Don't be fooled into being a pawn of the Republican elite. Take it from one of their alumni, rich Republicans don't consider you with your sub million dollar a year income as one of them. You are just a convenient tool. Your subservience to their Robber Baron system does not enable you. It just enables them.

What is to fear for an American citizent? THIS

Bloated Hearts and Twisted Minds

Tom Delay on Hardball (from Blue Herald)

My thoughts on Tom Delay:

As I like to point out to the hardest of the hardcore of my Republican friends, a man who actually donated money to Delay-

"This scumbag took your money, days before his re-election- dropped out of the race on the legal deadline that enabled him to keep his campaign contributions- and funnelled that money into his legal defense fund instead of using it to the defeat his opponent."

“You loved this guy BECAUSE he was just such a fucking bastard who fucked over the Democrats in outlandish ways. And when you and his other Texas Republican donors became his new piece of ass, you sat in stunned silence as he packed up and left you without so much as a kiss on the cheek.”

Delay, and the other self-serving crooks like him are EXACTLY the reason why the Republican party is a sinking ship. To have him come on tv and parrot this bullshit may fool the stupidest of the Republican base, but some Republicans, it’s a reminder that that they brought this shame on themselves with transparent bullshit such as Delay spews.

All I want for Christmas....

I just want all you Republican Dicks to watch this fucker like you were watching the Titanic sink and your life savings was in Cruise ship stock.

Own it, Bitches. OWN this motherfucker to the bottom of the motherfucking sea.


Shorter Republican Party:
"Do Not Flee! Wait until we have negotiated!"

Trickle down Idiocy

The Idiots who run America

EXCERPT

Andrew Lahde, the Santa Monica, Calif., hedge fund manager who made an 870 percent gain last year by betting on the subprime mortgage collapse, has abruptly shut down his fund, citing the risk of trading with faltering banks. In his farewell letter to his investors he excoriated the elites who run our investment houses, banks and government.

"The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking," he said of our oligarchic class. "These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America."

"On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal," he went on. "First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have [reined] in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government."

Democracy is not an outgrowth of free markets. Democracy and capitalism are antagonistic entities. Democracy, like individualism, is not based on personal gain but on self-sacrifice. A functioning democracy must defy the economic interests of elites on behalf of citizens. This is not happening. The corporate managers and government officials trying to fix the economic meltdown are pouring money and resources into the financial sector because they only know how to manage and sustain established systems, not change them. Financial systems, however, are not pure scientific and numerical abstractions that exist independently from human beings.

"When the elite begin to think that money is real, the crash is coming," Saul said in a telephone interview. "That is just a given in history. Because what they've done is pull themselves out of the possibility of looking in the mirror and thinking, this is inflation, speculation, this is fluff. They can't do it. And when you say to them, gosh, this is not real. And they say, oh, you don't understand, you're so old-fashioned, you still think this is about manufacturing. And of course, it's basic economics. And that's what happens every single time.

(Chris Hedges)

And check out this post by Driftglass: Junkie Republicans

(Hat tip Physioprof )

zero innocent sighs

Happiness is...

One of my oldest and dearest accomplices sent me the trailer to a movie that he is in, that is premiering Oct. 16 (in ATX)...



My "accomplice" is an artist and woodworker. I had the great gift of having him design two bedrooms onto my house almost eight years ago, in preparation for the arrival of my second daughter, Rain. He lives and creates in Austin with a whole host of other artists and is currently involved in more projects that even he could list in just one sitting. The movie looks great. His happiness stems from being able to create and enjoy the creativity of those around him. It is my great happiness to have worked and created with him.

I Link, therefore I am...

Kucinich on the Democrat's Bailout Betrayal ...

The Independent party you can "Believe" In ...

Your Bailout dollars in action... YAY! Cuz we had to do... er ... Something!

Badtux the illuminating Penguin on The McCain strategery and Reaganism hindsight

Polishifter: It's Time For a New Kind of Capitalism

McCains willfully Lie, Republicans dutifully eat it up

I made the following comment (roughly) at Blue Herald :

I just watched Cindy McCain attack Obama for not supporting the troops concerning a vote that Obama made. It was pretty vicious. But what makes it sickening is that her Husband voted the exact same way on the exact same vote. This was NOT a mistake or an oversight on the part of Cindy McCain. This was a LIE. A big, obvious dirty fucking LIE to the Republicans who were watching her speak.

She KNOWS her husband voted no to the funding, exactly like Obama did. McCain, behind her, does too, and he sat idly by while his wife lied to their supporters. He did not correct her. He didn't even have the balls or the grace to look uncomfortable while they lied to their supporters.

They are banking on the fact that their supporters are fools.

And, well, anyone who would support a man who will get up on stage and lie in their faces so blatantly IS a fool. Not to mention that they are a cowards and co-conspirators for letting him lie so many times in so many transparent ways, nodding stupidly all the while.

I finally blew off the last of my friends who is still supporting McCain last night. He actually tried to blame the Sub-prime mess on Obama. ?! I told him that I was sorry but I can’t waste my time being friends with fucking dumbasses anymore, no matter how fun he is to get drunk with. This guy is a nuclear technician but he CHOOSES to remain ignorant. And I really am tired of making excuses for these dumb fucking ass people in my family and around West Texas who just don’t have a clue and don’t plan on ever getting one.

As a side note, I will tell you this, I have seen ONLY ONE McCain sign in a yard and only one McCain sticker on a car, compared to wall to wall plastered vehicles and yards for W four years ago. The republican base - willfully stupid as it may be- is not on the McCain bandwagon that strongly.

Obama is handling this PERFECTLY. I am so glad that Hillary did not win out. She alone could have moved the base together in their hate. This “mystery man”, black or not, is weathering their typical barrage a lot better than the Clintons in the past or Kerry. I am also glad to see Biden coming out strong against the scumbags(Palin and the McCains).

My fellow prisoners, there's only one choice. Anyone, ANYONE, who thinks a vote for Backslider and Nimrodette is good for the future of America is simply a god-damned ignoramus.

A Perfect Epitath

to our glorious, glazed inaction...

TARGA

A nation this dumb...

... can't last forever.

Democrats push through Bailout Bill


172 chickenshit Democrats. 172 Dems voting with Bush. Twice as many Dems bend over for Wall street than Repubs.

“It’s pretty funny to see House Republicans run around claiming to be acting on true conservative principles”

What is decidedly un-funny is seeing kneejerk Democrats falling prey to the status quo once again.

“We must do Something!” Thank you for nothing. There’s not a damn spine among Dems and it’s a crying shame.

And the country wonders why Bush gets away with everything= it’s less because of the psycho republicans and more because of cowardly Democrats.

Fucking hell, this country has really gone to shit.

VOTE

... A Big Thank You to everyone at Blue Herald

Mo Betta Bailouts

Nicole Belle at C&L:

"As much as I didn’t like the bailout bill that lost on Monday, I do recognize that we must do something. For those screaming, “NO! Let them fail!” that’s all well and good for you, but the ramifications are far-reaching. How many of you own small business that rely on lines of credit to pay employees? Or are you employed by a small business owner who uses LOCs? How many of you have children who need a student loan to go to college? How many want to buy your first home or sell the one you have before it’s foreclosed upon? All of these very common scenarios require loans and lending is at a standstill right now."

Bullshit, Bullshit, and Bullshit. Lending is NOT at a standstill right now. The Sky is NOT Falling.

“We must act and we must act now,” Obama said. “We cannot have another day like yesterday.”

Yawn. Double Fucking Yawn. 777 down yesterday, Up 485 today. Investment bankers and banks lost money. And some people who play the market saw their portfolios take yet another big hit. And some smart players made a shitload. How did yesterday affect YOU? If your portfolio took a hit, don't fucking panic and don't jump on the sell-at-the-bottom bandwagon. Or do, if you like- that's your own decision. I took my own little bit of money (that was in double inverse funds) out of the market because I had the good sense to get the hell out of such volatility. I could have made a killing, but then again, that is only if I timed my exit just right.

The world will not end if more of these banks fail. Other banks, smarter banks, that haven’t played too fast and loose will buy up the failed ones. Other corporations will devour those that go ass up. The world will not end tomorrow if Paulson doesn’t get A NON REVIEWABLE wad of cash that he can dole out to his friends and other bush cronies as he sees fit.

This whole premise is ridiculous. I can’t believe that Nicole and others who should know better, don't. In the past twenty years (not just the Bush years), I have seen this same ploy being foisted on the American public, over and over again. "The Free Market must not be tied by all these rules and regulations!" - Followed by "X bank is too big to fail!" when their scorched earth investment policies turn around to burn their own asses.

This mass failure of banks could very well be the catalyst that the nation needs. Let the myth of free market supremacy die a very horrible and very public death. The morons on the right don’t argue that we should eradicate the police, the fire department, and the highway departments in favor of a “free” system that somehow magically corrects itself. Why do we let these small minded nitwits argue that “free market” is some kind of panacea for healthcare, the economy, and the innumerable Gordon Geckos running wild on Wall street?

Burn their golden parachutes. Let them die. It won’t hurt as much as you think. Hell, it won’t even hurt as much as the billions wasted in Iraq and $5 gallon gas is hurting us right now.

NO BAILOUTS.

No Bailout

Time to cut Corporate America's nuts off.



No More Golden Parachutes. Save America. Hang a CEO til he's dead, dead, dead.

Damn the luck. We knew it was coming, and we told em. Too bad all those investors didn't have the balls to hang with those double inverse funds.

Fuck em and feed em fishheads. How's that W sticker working out for ya, Jackass?

"And they never saw the hammer til they hit themselves in the face with it. Twice."

God Bless Wall Street. God Bless Capitalism. God Bless shiny stuff and Blessings from God.

God Save America from Republicans.

But you know what those good ole boys helping themselves to America's wealth say:
GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES.

I do believe it's time to Help the Republican party to the exit.

and why is it so fucking hard to accomplish such a necessity to sanity?

This is Why

Hollow pride burns low
America the two faced
Shame and faith combined


Inspiration ala Mauigirl.
Er, and the collapsing American flag, decaying freedom, decomposing liberty and dying independence.

Good night, and Good mother-fucking luck.

Better seen than Heard, at least to the McCain campaign

Some thought that David Letterman went a little too far last night in his excoriation of McCain. I personally think Ol' Dave is completely fed up with the Republican party, even "war hero" McCain and went as far as he possibly could in his show to demonstrate just how incompetent this Republican ticket is.

The Vid is at Crooks and Liars. I'll link it later, got to get the girls to school.

UPDATE: The always excellent SadButTrue has the vid and more

I thought it was brilliant, especially the way he framed it. Dave is a master at dealing with the Mainstream semi-buffoon average American audience.

I didn't think Letterman was being sexist, but I could be wrong. I believe Letterman was playing a subtle double point from a different direction- that it's McCain who is being sexist, by not allowing Palin to stand in for him while he goes off to, uh, save Washington- And by the same token, Palin, is not considered "ready" by McCain himself to even run her own portion of the campaign.

The Republican party itself is delegating Palin to a simple symbolic position- that of a Pretty tough woman, in fact the perfect woman for Republicans. One that is seen more than she is heard.

And dealing with the 90% McCain following here in West Texas, I have to tell you- that's all these people want. They Love their Caribou Barbie. They don't need anything more than that simple image. They don't want to know anything more than that. The more she talks about Policy the less they'll like her, Which, incidentally- is exactly the same story with McCain. They've already made their minds up- Republican party over America. They will put focus on Muslim-Black-High Taxes! and ignore everything else on purpose. America, the stupid, is more apparent now than ever before.

Racism trumps Sexism in this case, I'm afraid, or do you think that the Republican party would have put a black man on their ticket to Combat Hillary if she had beat out Obama?

Sitting in the middle of Racist Republican Redneckistan, I don't think so.

I link, therefore I am

1 in 3 Americans

Buy My Shitpile

Online Timetravel Pharmacy

McCain and the Red Threat

Why 700 Billion?

Thought vs. Instinct

(found at Edge, from Gawker.com)

WHAT WE NEED MORE OF IS SCIENCE

SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS
Every election season, commentators trot out the old statistics about how more education makes people more likely to support Democrats, more studies are published on how liberal Daily Show viewers are so well-informed, and various smart people try to explain why anyone would ever vote for a Republican, against their "self-interest." This month has seen three alarming and remarkable scientific investigations into Americans' inexplicable habit of voting for George Bush and John McCain. Which means: trend! Hooray! Let's take a look at what America's top scienticians say about fucking idiot flyover losers and their stupid voting: ...
...Conservatives Have An Entirely Different Moral Code

This should bring you down, a little bit. Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist, wrote a lengthy anthropological investigation into why people vote for Republicans. It's not the Thomas Frank "they are distracted by bullshit" explanation, though it is related: they have different cultural standards of ethics and morality! Liberals and college students define morality as "how we treat each other," conservatives attach more significance to "supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way." Liberals recognize fairness and care as important moral virtues, conservatives add to that loyalty, respect for authority, and duty. The educated moral relativism worldview is fundamentally incompatible with the way like 50% of America thinks, and stereotypes about out-of-touch elitist coastal democrats are basically correct. Sigh.

So What Have We Learned?

Conservatives respond instinctually, not rationally, to scary images, "facts," and institutions. Whether this is innate and biological or cultural seems still up in the air. Democrats can't win with logical arguments or even appeals to the innate rightness of concepts like "diversity" and "tolerance," because those aren't considered essentially good and important by the voters they're trying to appeal to. This does suggest that an appeal to old New Deal institutional concepts like the Welfare State might actually be effective, if they're wrapped in the flag and a sense of duty. Also scientists still consider the majority of Americans to be like a fascinating exotic backwards tribe and the fucking country is doomed.

Anthrax Scientist Suicide/Death

Anthrax Scientist found dead - standard AP story

The Sun-Sentinel has a comprehensive roundup

So, I guess that's that, eh? He was just a lone scientist who didn't mind killing his fellow Americans in order to help terrorize the nation. The fact that he released the spores directed at Democratic party members on 9-11 and during a large anti-war protest was just a coinky-dink. Nothing to see here folks, just a crazy scientist. Move along...

Oh, you want to look into this a tad bit further than the mainstream media before it returns to stalking Angelina Jolies' adoptive children? Shame on you- well Here you go . (link fixed)

Amazing how many Americans that these die-hard Republicans are willing to sacrifice in the name of their skewed patriotism.

and in related Govt-Asshole-plots: Cheney's ploys to start war with Iran

UPDATE: Crooks and Liars is a little behind the curve, but they got here eventually.

Hey, they don't want to go all 9-11 Truther on us. What?! The government lie? Surely you jest...

UPDATE 2: An Insider speaks out about Ivins

Troops murdered while President does nothing

THIS IS HOW THE BUSH GOVERNMENT TREATS OUR TROOPS-

PFC Lavena Johnson was raped,beaten, set-on-fire and army calls it suicide

American soldiers raped and killed and then their deaths covered up by the Military they are serving.

It makes me sick and ashamed. How many coverups can YOU Stomach?

Private contractors are getting away with murder in Iraq. But it's not just Iraqis getting raped and murdered- its regular American citizens who are working in Iraq and NOW its a U.S. Soldier.

Do you think a U.S. Soldier deserves better than this shit?

Our current Government doesn't.

Whatever you do, whoever you vote for- Don't let your kids join the military while a two-faced Republican is in the office of the President - saying Support the troops on tv, then cutting benefits, stop-lossing troops, and allowing Corporate pirates, mercs, and scumbags kill, rape, and rob anyone they feel like, INCLUDING our troops.

Today, 1 million emails will zip around about Obama not supporting our troops, meanwhile, this shit is going on and everyone turns a blind eye, all under Republican rule.

How much more fucked up will America get before we get these nutball Republicans out of the whitehouse and our government?

Distant Oceans

Go Here

Distant Ocean.

Really good stuff.

Prayer chains

Daughter, crying herself to sleep, again
empty voicemail messages to her missing mother

Andrea's singing plays in the background as they struggle into dreams,
Dreams that I hope will turn out good.

Rage turns to disgust and then to emptiness.

I stroke her hair softly and Lauren holds her hand as her body shudders in tears.

Nothing can replace a parent who disappears without explaining why to their children.

I can see the scars on my daughters heart, forming and reforming. I try to stop them, but I can't.

Someone else might not understand.
I do.
Got my own scarred heart to prove it.

I'd do anything to prevent it happening to my daughters. My wife would too.

Their mom is.... broken.

And everytime she gets close to repairing herself, she throws herself back off a new cliff to shatter herself anew.

Everyone's got a hobby. Hers is seeing just how close to self-destruction she can get without ever going over the edge completely. Of course, meanwhile, this involves lots of drugs, angst, and self-absorbtion.

I'd kill the bitch myself if I thought it would help.

It wouldn't.

But it would sure be nice to visit some form of retribution on the person who causes my children- HER CHILDREN- a constant stream of pain.

Times like this brings a man to prayer-
I have lots of prayers. Some humble, some hopeful.
Never vain, never selfish. I've got NO belief in a god that aids the shallow.

And I've not much more faith in any prayer of hope.

I've got a prayer of wrath, though.
Only a fool would desire it.

But when you hurt someone's children, the deep, torturous way that she has, it does something awful to a person's soul.

So, my one prayer, the one I don't believe in but desperately desire -is this-

I pray for hell.

I pray for a hell to exist-

a Hell that WILL give some Old testament justice to the parents who abandon their children.

If hell exists, believe me, I'll burn as well, I'm sure - for a thousand simple travesties and a million outright sins. I'd take my eternal damnation in a minute, though- just to know Andrea would be there too- burning for what she did to our kids.

I have lots of prayers.

Some humble, some hopeful.

But seeing those tears in Amy's eyes when she cries for her mother- there's only one prayer in my bible.

All she has to do is make one call to a little girl. But, as with most of the world's miserable bastards, even the simplest gesture is too much.. .

Fan Club Blues

SHIT TALKING CUNTS NEVER DIE, Unfortunately.

Mega-Cock-Sucker

MegaBrad can kiss my megafucking ass with his stupid twitchy fake-ass patriotism and his piss yellow Flag underwear while he lectures me on what the fuck it means to be American while he pimps his racist, homophobic, little dick, self-esteem issue ass bullshit. Come to Texas you twinkle toed little bullshit artist. Come to West Fucking Texas.

This "Hippie/Commie/whatthefuck ever else your little peabrain wants to call me will take you out into the oilfields with a 30 pack and a shovel and plant your worthless fucking ass head first in a bed of fireants and shoot beer bottles off your tiny nutsack while Lee Greenwood sings God Bless America from a ipod shoved up your ass. You stupid piece of shit fake fucking Amerkan hero, you.

Get offa mah land, muthafucker.

Does Science make God Obsolete

Several essays on the subject, both yes and no...

http://www.templeton.org/belief/

Hat tip- Michael Shermer, from Skeptic magazine.

Ashamed ...

MSNBC's Jim Makalakkahi-mekkahineyho-kewzewski whines that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed isn't behaving like a beaten down marionette...

Deep Background

So, what are you saying, that the waterboarding didn't work?

Does anyone REALLY expect these guys to accept the shitty legal counsel they have been provided after 5 years without a trial?

This is a ridiculous article. Should KSM be cowering in his cell, and begging America for more of this "justice"? 5 years in solitary, torture, and no real evidence against ANY of these guys...

Hell, If you can't stand up to a kangaroo court like Gitmo, you deserve to be put to death and shuffled off this mortal coil.

Once upon a time, America WAS BETTER than the KSMs of the world- now these enemies of the state look like Rambo, stumbling stoically out of the russian shock-spring mattress-room, bloodied but yet unbowed, and still able to say "Fuck you" to his oppressors, cowardly cunts embodied by journalists like Miklaszewski, who can't seem to understand what it's like to own a pair of nuts. "How dare Khalid Sheik Mohammed still fight back?! Should we have tortured him MORE?' seems to be his underlying refrain, one shared by every dipshit, sack-less neocon Pre-emptive strike supporter in this country.

If we had any real evidence against these people, they'd be dead already. Who is the real terrorist in this equation? Fucking chickenshit, that's what this Gitmo fake trial travesty is. Another smear on America, brought to you by weaklings that would fold after three days in a holding cell themselves, but still manly enough to kill as many of the "enemy" and their children as it takes. The terrorists of the world would love to kill ALL of the "enemy", including the women and children. I look at both sides of the coin and see the same hate-filled hearts on both sides, the same futile aggression and murder in their eyes.

How low we have fallen, as the "home of the brave".

Our government is now on an even keel with 70's era-Commie U.S.S.R.

Are YOU ashamed? How can you not be?

Trust your instincts motherfucker

What is financial independence?

It’s making more money than you can spend.

I’m working on it.

Questions occurring late at night drinking…

GREG: Why are YOU so emotionally detached? Hell, I know why I am- why the hell are you? Life;s been good. No women have systematically destroyed you, like they have me.

Bubba: Why in the hell do I NOT want revenge this time? I used to be such a vengeful bastard. I ALWAYS had to win in the end. Why don’t I care this time? Cuz I know he’s already lost in the long run? Because – in this instance, pretending to lose AND still care makes me the psychological winner? My mind has such subtle turns any more, I do things before I know I am doing them. The only time I fuck things up IS WHEN MY Conscious actions get in the way of my subconscious ones.

Scary,. Eh?

Trust your instincts, motherfucker. Your level of experience in life far surpasses your ability to react. Quit kneejerking and let your inner self take over. Its far less conflicted than your outerself, that’s for fucking sure.

Wow. I have reached a new plateau of existence. Relegating my conscious thought to a subordinate role. Hmmm: Outer self says to “Inner” Self, reaching for another beer- Hope that works out for you. I’ll be here. Getting fucked up as usual.

Damn. I feel like a red-stater, just dedicating my life to God and Dubya Dubya 3. It’s a helluva release, letting someone else do the thinking. Ah, sweet Dependence, enfold me in your parental embrace. Let me latch on to that nipple and suck myself into oblivion.

It occurs to me that I am unable to get … that… drunk.
Although I can try.
What kind of complete fucking loser even WANTS to relinquish control? Well, apparently to my control freak ass, its incomprehensible, even deep into a whiskey drunk, softened by a Budweiser chaser. I must not have broken through to the “other side” yet. I am not misspelling words, yet.

Come sweet Jesus of Oblivion, Saint of Serenity, O peaceful bliss through alcohol saturated brain cells. Numb and Number. Numb and Number
Numbest.

“The distinctive flavor of this rare sippin’ whiskey results from a special “charcoal mellowing process” perfected by Jack Daniel and still in use today.”

Two thoughts come to mind… “Rare” what’s rare about mass produced whiskey? There’s a hundred bottles of this shit in every fucking city in America right NOW.
The other contemplation is “Charcoal mellowing”. Fuck. Not only Am I drinking shit that’s been filtered through … CHARCOAL… the Tennesee jackass whose poisoning me is not ONLY bragging about doing it, he’s using it as a fucking selling point!

Woooeee. And Copenhagen uses the choicest fiberglass particles with which to shred your lip lining in order to speed the flavor into your bloodstream.

BRAVO. Balls. Gotta respect the sheer Audacity, if nothing else. And here at Bushco, we only use the finest cancer causing agents to limit your suffering. Tips are Accepted.

Good god,. We ARE as completely fucking ignorant as I always expected. Even the slavers, because in the end, their fate is the same as the slaves.

Hmm. Hope that works out for you.

Damned to Repetition

Ah, the glory of the "I told you so". Except its not so damn glorious telling these idiots "I told you so" over and over when you are up to your armpits in the blood of people who really, REALLY didn't have to be killed.

Our knowledge is impotent. Our Logic is useless. Our Morals are trumped by their blind obedience to themselves. Knowing what is going to happen while those in power chug along in oblivious, or perhaps not-so-oblivious fashion, makes it all so much more unbearable.

Do they know they are wrong? Do they know their rhetoric is a failure? I think so, and for us to point out the obvious doesn't seem to hurt them at all. Bush and Cheney just unload another wheelbarrel full of bullshit on the public and chuckle to themselves when no ones watching.

I think another thing that those of us in-the-know Realize is that these men are callous criminals who would sell out our country in a heartbeat for their own bottom line. Some men become twisted for glory. Some men become twisted for misguided nationalism. These men are twisted for the simplest and shallowest of reasons: simple greed. Simple selfish greed. And our country will continue to suffer until enough of us stop trying to REASON with them and remove them from positions of power.

the rule of fear, the fear of rule

I WANT to hate because it is an alternative to breaking down and crying. Violent thoughts banish all the FEAR, as if being able to destroy could reaffirm my position in this-life and refute my failings...

night comes and so do i.
spewing forth, containing the day, invoking the mystery once again,

No one without the other DOOM and SALVATION
fear and bravado life and death, yet no beginning and no end.
A PARADOX with an answer, most assuredly. BUT who owns the textbook to this one?

NO END no answer/s the big funny all over again. And then it is GONE. Are you laughing? I'm not... maybe i should be. And the greatest god is DOUBT. as ever it will be.

and late as i ponder i realize that the existence of any god at all is moot.
the only thing that matters is--YOUR decision.
so go with it. or dont. Just DONT do what they tell you to.

Salvation

Salvation (hat tip Hill)


during his first 100 days in office, says

'I would call my attorney general in and review every single executive order issued by George Bush and overturn those laws or executive decisions that I feel violate the constitution'

It's a start...

Dispatches from America's class war

The age of working class art is over

EXCERPTS
"Also, I never would have had the money to spend a couple of months in Europe backpacking and using my Eurorail pass like many kids from wealthier families. So while these tours involved playing a show every night and were definitely "work", they are the only way a working class redneck punk such as myself would have had a shot to see the world. And what I saw blew my freaking mind.

My band had done some tours in the states, in typical budget-rock circumstances. Sleeping on people's floors and such. We did the same thing in Europe, but what blew my mind was that the quality of the floors was vastly improved. The difference in the quality of life of the average "socialist" western European compared to the average working class American was not only obvious, but also contrary to everything I had been brainwashed to believe while growing up in the greatest country in the world. I know these sorts of observations are neither original nor surprising to most educated and rational folks, but coming from where I was I could hardly be classified as either. Also, being from Missouri, I guess ya really do have to "show me" before I'll believe it. Quite frankly, it took a few years of cognitive dissonance to even come to terms with the idea. But, I had seen it myself. Explaining it to others, well, forget about it. They don't want to hear it. Rural America doesn't really even believe that Europe exists, except as maybe where a rich cousin went on vacation."

...

"As for the small town world I left? If anything, things have gotten worse. The European Union has raised the fortunes of much of western Europe, while the decline in small town America has been even more pronounced. Of all the places I've traveled that reminded me of my home the most, I'd have to say it was -- Serbia! Hell, a small village there isn't that different in feel from a little one in Missouri or Arkansas, and they had a damn WAR there. But try to tell that to the average liberal, in Europe or the states, and they won't believe you.

I can sometimes get pretty irritated at my European friends. It gets old constantly hearing how dumb Bush is, even if you happen to agree. And I guess it's my inner redneck coming out, but my orneriness is sometimes aroused when I hear bitching about rich, fat, and stupid Americans. Most Europeans, though they would be loathe to admit it, have their consciousness shaped and molded by the media just as much as their US counterparts. From the constant portrayal in the media, they seem to have bought the line that all Americans are loaded. I've had a hard time understanding this, it's not like I think all Mexicans are rich just because the characters on Univision soaps have nice houses. But that's what seems to have sunk in over there. If they come over to the states for a holiday, they never make it to the rural backwaters where I grew up. They don't understand being one medical problem away from bankrupt. They don't understand the reality of no social safety net whatsoever. If you look at the list of the worlds wealthiest nations, the USA ranks above Switzerland. But only a dumb redneck who couldn't find Switzerland on a map (or a liberal, Euro or American, who's never been to Niangua, Missouri) could possibly believe that the average American was better off than the average Swiss citizen.

Unlike you, I have no plans on ever going back to a small town, my hometown or anywhere else. The rampant racism, bible-thumping, and ignorance are too much for me to handle. But just as the Europeans can rankle me, I can also see where the typical American liberal rubs common folks the wrong way. To illustrate I'll go back to music, which got me started on this rant in the first place. At any American university worth its corduroy blazers and suede elbow patches you will find an ethnomusicology department. You will find intense study devoted to Javanese Gamalen or the music of the Baka Pygmies. But you will have to look very hard to find anyone who considers American indigenous music worthy of academic study. Grad students can travel to a remote village anywhere in the world to study a musical style, but you will never find one venturing out to East Bumfuck in America to see what the "natives" here listen to. Though you wouldn't know it from looking at the academic world, America has a rich musical tradition of poor folks who created interesting music. Poor white folks have actually made cultural contributions to this country, really! But throw a rock at a university music school in the states and you'll hit a dozen people writing papers on Fela Kuti before you'll find somebody who even knows who Merle Travis is. The simple fact is that the music of poor white trash isn't sexy enough to merit study, just like the poverty of poor white trash isn't a cause for hand wringing in the liberal world. Rednecks can tell that none of these rich liberal types gives two shits about them, not even as a cultural curiosity, and they vote accordingly."

...

"Working class now means you only have time enough for working. Creativity? Forget it. We've got cable. Easier to consume than it is to create, especially when you get home from a twelve hour shift. Don't even get me started on music education in this country, it's as bad as art education. Take away the time to do something creative, the space to do it in, and the education to even know such things are possible, and you get what we've got now. What passes for American culture."

A point for Conscience

Scotty McClellan finds his soul... about 6 years too late.

MSNBC

EXCERPT
McClellan admits to letting himself be deceived about the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, which resulted in his relentless pounding by the White House press corps over the activities of Rove and of Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the matter.

"I could feel something fall out of me into the abyss as each reporter took a turn whacking me," he writes of the withering criticism he received as the story played out. "It was my reputation crumbling away, bit by bit."

The truth will reveal itself, more and more, as Bush's last days in office expire. These cunts can't lie for this dirty son of a bitch forever, and they WON'T.

It's a little fucking late, but better late than never for the millions of dumbass Americans who have been hanging on every one of Bush's lies.

They've been played for fools, and our country is suffering for it.

Damn every one of the stupid bastards who have supported this vile piece of shit for the past eight years.

Damn them all to hell.

Viruses of Thought

I think that humans are far more susceptible to ‘viruses of thought’ than may be realized.

The more that people compartmentalize their ‘allies’ and ‘enemies’, the easier it seems for the collective consciousness to breed hate and loathing for those who “are not on my side”. The less empathy that we allow ourselves as individuals, the more the virus grows in us all. The cure for the collective madness is to cultivate independent thought and care and concern for ALL of our fellow mankind. As hippy-dippy as that may sound- it makes a lot of sense on a psychological level.

How to combat this affliction? By open conversation, understanding and less going off the handle about our own beliefs. The path of peace- IS PEACE. Gandhi’s way is a lot harder than Patton’s. But in the end, it is the only way that will allow humans to evolve past the savagery and the simplistic animal butchery that has been our way of life for too long.

We are the enlightened.

Humans DO build more than we destroy, in the grand scheme. But those who make excuses for their own callous treachery to mankind bring us low daily. We have to stand tall in the face of their shallow reasonings; the petty justifications of their support for evil acts against their fellow man.

Ours IS a better way. Our only enemies are those who believe that there can never be peace because they are not at peace with themselves.

Losing Gracefully

"I Will Fuck You All in Half!"

Discipline, Lack Of

Rise and Shine

Bidding ya'll the Fare-thee-Well-

I have no idea if I can actually stay away this time- but I am going to move on to more important matters than trying to sway my friends, family, (and eventually everyone else who became my blogging family) to my way of thinking. To everyone who has enjoyed my Redneck Liberal ranting, raving, and waxing poetic-like, thanks for the friendship and support!

When I started blogging three years ago, the tubes were a far different place. Believe it or not, the discourse HAS advanced. What used to be the liberal opinions of a small minority has grown to be the pervading mentality of the blogosphere in general. That is a very good thing. The only purpose I had at first was to learn more about what was going on, then to link every important story I found for dissemination to my Texas acquaintances.

I, of course, started adding my distinctive flair ;)

My only real goal was to convert a few of them from the ranks of the bushbots into thinking individuals who took an active interest in the news, the media, and politics. And this is all from the wilds of West Texas- so you can just guess how impossible this task was.

In the end, I succeeded with my friends, made inroads with my dumb-as-dirt relatives, and found a couple thousand other voices who taught me far more than I ever managed to teach... Blogging has been a most rewarding outlet for my frustrations. More than once you people have kept me sane just by allowing me to understand that there were others like me out there- And not just out there- but All OVER America- Stretched from one end of the country to the next. And I hope I let ya'll know that all is not lost, even in a Podunk town that once hoped to be the home of the Bush Library (THANK GOD THAT DIDNT HAPPEN!). This place is bad enough.

Other than a few bad jokes, some creative mixed metaphors, and a few pitiful attempts at graphic artwork- I don't feel like I've got much more to offer as a "Voice" at this moment. I've said my piece.

And gratefully, I look around the 'tubes and realize that there's a LOT more of you out there, some just now voicing your own piece- I welcome you to the patch of internet I used to take up- enjoy yourselves and BE YOURSELVES.

I thank every single person who ever bothered to make their opinion known on this blog- from Progressive Chicano, the first commenter I ever had (back on the Old House of the Rising Sons ) to Targa (who was my first commenter here, back in Nov. 2006) to Fred, to Swan, to Caveman, to Hill to the fans of Ioz's blog who are chewing my ass out as we speak on my Ioz post-

Thank you all.

IT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT MAKES US BETTER.

I'm gonna shut the fuck up now.

(And put my efforts outside the tubes where my mouth has been.)

Ya'll Have a good one.

Slow Death

How is starving in Gaza different from starving in Auschwitz?

Joe Bageant - on the Audacity of Depression

POLISHIFTER: Gluttony is a Sin, ya fat Bastard!

Sorry that this post is slow going, lotsa stuff going on in the world of the Non-Tubes , most notably- leaving the life of money massaging for Lubbock fatcats and the ex wife is on a bender.

And I may actually post more of my pathetic attempts at "video". Compared to Culture Ghost , Fred, and Agi, my attempts at internet Art was like a stick figure scribble compared to ze Mona Lisa, but I haven't let lack of talent stop me thus far...

Let Mickey's Malt Liquor be my Muse ! (What? I'm broke for four more days)

UPDATE : Check out The Poetry Man's Obama in 30 sec video here. Then sign in and vote for a few videos there...

Our Government is a bad sitcom

Come and listen to a story about a man named Dub

A poor oil man’s son, barely a silver spoon scrub,

Then one day he was shootin up some coke,

And up through his brain came a bubblin' hoax.

War that is,

black gold, all for me

Well the first thing you know

ol' dub's a dictator,

Neocons said all you lefties are just haters

Said Guantanamo is the place you ought to be

So they loaded up the truck and killed what was free.

our laws, that is.

signing statements, wiretaps.

The Corporate Pharisees!

Well now its time to say good-bye to Dub and his bloody crown.

And he would like to thank you folks fer kindly bowing down.

You’re all invited back again to this locality

To have a heapin helpin of his hospitality

War profiteering that is.

dying for your country’s rich.

Empty your pockets.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

The Grand Masturbation of the Non-Reformists

"Nothing you do matters! It's all for naught! I am above you because I quit trying! So there! Phbbbt!"

Of course, they throw around their defeatist logic in much more erudite terms, but that's basically the gist of it. I've got no other way to put it but this :

Fucking Cowards.

Sorry. That's you. That's those of you who whine that it doesn't matter. And THEN when we tell you to get off your fucking asses and help do something- you oh-so-smugly "educate" us that it's all some worthless endeavor. "There is nothing you can do to change anything, goddamnit, cuz we-are-Powerless! Don't you see?!" you scream as you pull your asshairs out in clumps-

"Don't you See ?!?!?"

.

All I see is a crowd of losers who give up once everything doesn't go exactly their way. The worst of the worst of this ilk- is the Grand Masturbator himself, Ioz. The pseudo-intellectual poobah whom the disenfranchised flock to like a golden Nader idol. "We won't vote- We'll show you!"

.

I have never seen such a smug apathy-selling blogger. Wallowing in his own shit, he passes down his judgement on all who would dare attempt to make a difference. Here, again, he restates what passes for his principles:

The Occasional Restatement of Principles

You know, most Americans are imperialists. One of the reasons--the reason--that it so amuses me to find the occasional commenter here ask me why I offer no practical solutions to "our" problems, why the closest I ever come to advocating for direct action is to propose minor acts of cultural vandalism. Being an anti-imperialist in America is like being a Zionist in the Third Reich. I am a fringe radical. If you agree with even a tenth of what you read on this site, you too are a fringe radical. Your beliefs and opinions are not reflective of those of your countrymen. The question, "How do we stop being imperialists?" bears as much practical import as, "How do we live without breathing?" We don't. The United States of America is an empire. Maybe you think it's on the downhill slide? I certainly hope so. But it is what it is, nevertheless. The notions that within the body of empire lurks the heart of an egalitarian, constitutional republic, or a libertarian minarchy, or a parliamentary social democracy are the purest forms of political self-flattery. The subjects here may be largely political, but the program is purely perceptual. I am not a reformist.

He'th Amuthed. Well, shit on me.

Look, you pawn shop Socrates- you can sell fiddles until Rome burns if you like, but don't try to pawn your bullshit on me that you are some kind of radical. "The closest I ever come to adovocating.." Jaysus fucking Christ. Spare me your master plan of breaking windows to stop Imperialism, mkay? "like a Zionist in the Third Reich" ... good fucking grief. While pissants like you were telling your neighbors you can't fight the Third Reich, this Imperialist power did indeed help the Jews win in the end. The Third Reich didn't last, for all the help nihilists like you are. The Neoconservative movement won't last either. Unless a lot of good people stand aside and let them run roughshod because they feel apathetic towards it all. .
.
Within the body of THIS Empire, there ARE people like me- and there is the heart of a constitutional republic. We are NOT a minority in this country, although I do surely hope that if you are right about one thing it is that people with your mindset are a tiny, flaccid minority. Everything evolves. And if you haven't noticed, this Empire has actually steadily improved on all fronts- UNTIL the advent of the neoconservative radicals. So don't piss on my head and tell me it's a torrential downpour. There's work to be done. And our actions, and yes, even our votes can be used to shift the direction of this empire.

It's times like this that I actually miss certain things about being part of the Republican sheeple- as stupid as that may sound- I never ran into anyone crying in a corner saying they were ready to give up fighting. We need to rally around the Democratic candidate, whoever that might be- because that's the important battle before us. It isn't proving that some half ass huckster like Nader can make a few votes and pocket some change every four years. It isn't about showing the Dems that they you won't vote because they didn't cater as much to the left as you wanted.

It is about slowing down the Radical neo-conservative ultra Imperalists in our current government. And that battle is won by defeating the Republican party.

It is about winning the class war in America by defeating the Republican party.

It is about defanging the racist, sexist, corrupt Republican party and bringing our soldiers home. PERIOD

I just have ONE Question for you: Of all the legislation that Bush threatened to veto and came out swinging against the Dem party in speech after speech - How much would have passed if there would have been a Democrat, ANY Democrat in the oval office? That, I believe, is a valid question.

So, Ioz, spare some of us who are actually out here trying to improve the country, not help continue the Imperial Corporatocracy- Why don't you focus on something important like this
.
And, I'll leave you with one more Warhol quote, useless bastard that he was:
.
"I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say "figment." "
.
The Iozs of the world might as well have blank epitaths, because no one remembers the crybabies on the sidelines who champion the Imperialists by default. Nothing WILL change, while the country is populated with these impotent self-important folks who think they are above it all.
.
They aren't. And by the time these people are forced into activity from their comfort zones- it will be too late. Don't be just another couch potato. Just because Ioz is intelligent, doesn't mean the sum of his inactions make him anything more than just another Homer Simpson, albeit one with a blog.

I shall conclude with a bit from The Sermon To The Hypocrite by Zos, who may be a spiritual ancestor to Ioz:

O, ye whose future is in other hands! This familiarity is permitted not of thy-but of my impotence. Know me as Zos the Goatherd, saviour of myself and of those things I have not yet regretted. Unbidden ye listen'd to my soliloquy. Endure then my Anathema.

Foul feeders! Slipped, are ye, on your own excrement?
Parasites! Having made the world lousy, imagine ye are of significance to Heaven?

Desiring to learn-think ye to escape hurt in the rape of your ignorance? For of what I put in, far more than innocence shall come out! Labouring not the harvest of my weakness, shall I your moral-fed desires satisfy?

I, who enjoy my body with unweary tread, would rather pack with wolves than enter your pest-houses.

Sensation . . Nutrition . . . Mastication . . . . Procreation . . . ! This
is your blind-worm cycle. Ye have made a curiously bloody world for love in desire. Shall nothing change except through your accusing diet?

IN THAT YE ARE CANNIBALS, what meat should I offer?
Having eaten of your dead selves savoured with every filth, ye now raven to glutton of my mind's motion?

In your conflict ye have obtained . . . ? Ye who believe your procreation is ultimate are the sweepings of creation manifest, returning again to early simplicity to hunger, to become, and realise-ye are not yet. Ye have muddled time and ego.

Think ye to curb the semen SENTIMENTALLY? Ye deny sexuality with tinsel ethics, live by slaughter, pray to greater idiots-that all things may be possible to ye WHO ARE IMPOSSIBLE.

For ye desire saviours useless to pleasure.

Verily, far easier for madmen to enter Heaven than moral Lepers. Of what difference is Life or Death? Of what difference is dream or reality? Know ye nothing further than you own stench? Know ye what ye think ye know for certain? Fain would I be silent. Yet too tolerant is this Sun that comethup to behold me, and my weakness comes of my dissatisfaction of you solicit. . . . but be ye damned before obtaining fresh excuses of me!
...
Cursed are the Reformists! Cursed I say!.

UPDATE: Those defending the idea of that nothing Americans can do matters are working pretty hard to convince me. Not exactly the action I was hoping for, but at least they seem to be doing something to change others, even if they don't believe in it...

A final note (from the comments):

Party affiliation isn't the end-all, be-all. It's important to get in the individuals who will support the issues that you want. Yes, it seems hopeless. But what the Deconstructionists don't seem to realize is that you can get mired in your own complexity. I have no doubt that Ioz (and the rest of you guys, for that matter) are more intelligent than those who support the status quo.

HOWEVER, their continuance of power relies upon your "deconstruction". The less you do, the easier it is FOR THEM to maintain control. They may not be brainiacs, but they realize this simple strategy. The subtleties of the political spectrum are NOT Lost on me, I choose to step over them in order to implement a strategy that sets back the status quo elite. Yes, Hillary and Obama are not the candidate I want- but Change is not some Overnight sensation as some of you seem to feel- it is a gradual evolution.

You have to win small battles and get the most progressive choices you have into office over the worst of the worst. Unfortunately, if the "Ioz crowd" decides to sit this one out, in the name of apathy, or Deconstruction, or what have you- it's a win for the worst. There is a reason they (the status quo pimps) are winning. And it's because there are more people willing to sit out Democracy than participate- And whether you claim it's for some Deconstructionist purpose, or whether you are simply one of those people to lazy to vote, the end result is the same.

Defeat.

It's the Status Quo folks that PUT us down, but its the Ioz's who KEEP us down.