How bad do you want it?

How did I miss this?

Bill Clinton does the Limbaugh show

..Bill going on the Rush show the day of the Texas primaries, when Rush was exhorting Republicans to illegally vote as Democrats just to hurt the Democratic party- That's just... ..low. Damn, it's lower than low.

Then there's this- Scaife-Hillary

"I don't know just how this went down. But the idea Sen. Clinton and her staff went into an editorial board meeting with Scaife and his lackey reporters without a clear sense that they were going to get at least one choice Jeremiah Wright question just somehow doesn't ring true to me."

The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is baaaaack... and apparently this time the Clintons are working with it.

Rush Limbaugh!? Richard Scaife?!

I can put up with a LOT from a presidential candidate as long as they are willing to fight for the constitution against the Bushbots. But I'll be damned if I support a candidate who panders to Rush Limbaugh's crowd and then works side by side with the people who worked so hard to attempt to destroy you. Hell, how can she even sit in the same room with that man? Unless...

Unless it's all been a goddamned sham from the get-go.

Any way you slice it, it's NOT what I want from a Democratic leader. And half of Progressive Democrats in America want Hillary to be the next President?

It's times like these that I come close to agreeing with Vlad Kalashnikov on the state of American politics: America is fucked beyond all repair.

I will leave you with Vlad's thoughts on Bear Stearns and the financial symmetry of the Russian collapse with the impending American one...

Everything about Bear Stearns collapse and bailout is a deja vu of collapse of Yeltsin-era banking system. Back then in the 1990s, American advisers created Russia's "market" system, and that ended in a total economic collapse in August of 1998. What is happening today in America is just a repeat. For example, the development this week of the Bear Stearns collapse reminds me so much of the same way Russian banks collapsed under American guidance in the 1990s. In Russia under Yeltsin, when a bank was close to collapse they always assured the public that everything was fine and they blamed "rumors" for causing problems; this week, the CEO of Bear Stearns and all the American journalists on Bear Stearns payroll blamed "rumors" and "irrational psychology" for causing a run on Bear Stearns' money during the week. The purpose of these lies is that it allows the insiders to cash out their money while the rest of the trusting American fools keep their money in, only to lose it later. Then after the insiders cash out, comes the supposed "panic" and "sudden" collapse, best to take place on a Friday of course. The "sudden collapse" and "panic" gives cover for the next even bigger transaction: the connected Bear Stearns banker calls the Central Bank Chief Bernanke, just as Khodorkovsky would call Dubinin or whoever was Central Bank chief then, and naturally Bernanke gives to Bear Stearns as many billions as the CEO asks for, and everyone thinks it's okay because the billions were necessary in this atmosphere of alleged "sudden panic," as if Bear Stearns and Bernanke had not been speaking to each other like phone sex addicts every day 24/7 the entire week. Reports Bloomberg:

The Fed is taking on the credit risk from collateral supplied by Bear Stearns, which approached the central bank for emergency funds, Fed staff officials said today.

The Fed, under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, voted unanimously to lend the funds through JPMorgan because it would be operationally simpler than a direct loan to Bear Stearns, the staff said on condition of anonymity. The regulator invoked a little-used law that allows it to make loans to corporations and private partnerships, which required a Board vote, according to the staffers.

Yes, you read that correctly. In the exact replay of Yeltsin-oligarchs' strategy to steal and steal, the Central Bank bailout money is not directly from the government to Bear Stearns, because that makes it harder to steal those billions. Instead, it is funneled through another well-connected bank, J.P. Morgan, so that those corrupt bankers can also take a nice cut in the deal ("otkat" it's called). Essentially the "bailout" is a massive bribe from corrupt Bush to corrupt J.P. Morgan, and in return JP Morgan will buy the ruins of Bear Stearns with the government money (minus what they steal). Meanwhile plenty of billions make sure that major Bear Stearns principles all cash out well. Here comes the funny part. How does "free speech" America hide this outright corruption and thieving from the population? Let a Russian explain to your naive innocent little American eyes: stop all this bullshit about "transparency" because it is no longer convenient:

The senior [Central Bank] staffers declined to describe how large the loan to Bear Stearns was, and declined to say whether a private- sector bailout was attempted before the Fed extended credit through JPMorgan.

NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY BILLIONS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT JUST GAVE TO BEAR STEARNS, AND HOW MANY MORE BILLIONS WILL FOLLOW. The ghost of Yeltsin lives in the Federal Reserve! We don't know anything, and we didn't know it was even legal, because American government and banks exploited "obscure never used" laws to justify outright corruption and fraud, according to Wall Street Journal:

The arrangement employs a little-used Depression-era provision of the Federal Reserve Act.

It is sad to see Americans imitating the very worst Russians 10 years late, what incredible fucking losers you are! And meanwhile the American masses have no fucking idea, free press or no free press, they just stand around like retarded jackasses with a sign on their backs that reads "ASS-FUCK ME", because they trust their leaders. Americans don't know anything about Iraq anymore except that they're winning, they don't know hundreds of billions being stolen in front of their fat stupid faces, they don't know anything except where to find a bargain on hamburger buns. I almost cannot blame Bush and the bankers for stealing from American fools, it's just too easy! Let the bloodthirsty corrupt elite steal from the bloodthirsty retarded masses, it will hasten the final collapse of this cruel and shameful empire called "America."

...

No, Americans have no fucking idea what is happening to them. We Russians were not such trusting dumbshits, even against all odds, we did understand when it happened to us in the 1990s. We are not trusting dumbshits Americans. We fought but we were too weak to fight against Yeltsin regime, supported with hundreds of billions of American "loan" money, sophisticated propaganda which we still didn't understand, and guns. Do not forget that the entire Yeltsin economy, including the notorious corrupt banking system, was forced upon us by United States government and the American investment bank advisers who were seated inside the Russian government at all times. That is why today's American banking collapse is so easy to understand for Russians. Russians tried as early as in 1993 to stop the vicious Yeltsin/American "shock therapy" economics that turned a proud nation into desperate paupers. I remember the dark time because even though I was just a student in 1993, my family suffered through this years together. First we lost all savings, and first my grandfather and then two uncles died quickly and brutally. Our democratically elected parliament tried to stop Yeltsin "shock therapy" and throw out American "free market advisers" to save what was left. Americans and Yeltsin decided democracy was not good anymore so Yeltsin, the democrat, ordered tanks to attack the opposition parliament in 1993. He killed several hundred brave Russian patriots, who died fighting against this corrupt ruinous American "shock therapy" economics. We were crushed with tanks, you see. Naturally President Clinton immediately supported Yeltsin, showing who was the real master of that putsch against Russian democracy. It meant something that Clinton immediately gave his support to Yeltsin. It was like a wartime defeat. I can tell you, back then we were in such awe of America, we had no choice but to accept defeat, it was hopeless. We lost the power to stop banks and government from stealing every last part of Russia, until the final collapse in 1998.

It took tanks to keep Russians down while they robbed the country. Tanks, and American money.

What is your excuse today, Americans? There are no tanks, no Russian interference to destroy you and demoralize you. Why do you let your leaders steal everything your country has? Why do you sit passively like slaves who mated with sheep, the sheep-slaves with a big stupid smile on your fat fucking faces? You are not even human beings, you deserve worse than a total collapse of you country, you deserve to be wiped off the face of this planet forever, as if you were just an embarrassing accident and it will never happen again, you sickening pussy sub-human dumbfucks!

Oh fuck, now ruined my good mood. I need to run back to my friends now to celebrate your collapse. There will be time for bitter memories of the 1990s.

And for me, I'm sure, time for bitter memories of the 2008 elections.

Perspective.

Maybe it's being on so many Republican's mass mail lists that allows me to keep the whole Hillary/Obama stuff in perspective... Unity. Get some.

Hillary or Obama would both be fine as President. And if they realize just how much they will owe to the American voter (who will elect the next President on Change and Ending the War) they will make strides to truly serve the American people. Especially if they desire that all-important second term in the White House.

Hillary or Obama is much better than McCain. Continuing to snipe irrationally at both of them for playing politics is a self-defeating endeavor. Slow your role, don't be chumps. Try not to act like a bunch of spastic chicken littles when your candidate of choice looks like they might lose. It's not the end of the world. Obama will not make slaves of all the white people. Hillary will not begin her Presidency by announcing WWIII. Don't fall prey to the Dan Abrams sniping at the Democratic candidates. Focus on the real problems and concentrate on asking YOUR candidate how they plan to address these issues. Don't fall prey to mindless bickering about Obama and Clinton- Rush Limbaugh is popping a viagra and beating off furiously with that big fat fucking smug grin on his dopey face over this shit. Let's not give him the satisfaction, okay?

But, as far as perspective goes- that's ALL Rush has to be happy over- the Dem on Dem violence. Seriously, the right wing is losing it's damn mind right now over its loss of prominence, respect, and power. 75% of the population realize that Republicans are simply full of shit hypocrites. The right wing has been burnt by their leaders. And they finally know it. Even the bushbots who forward all the misogynistic Hillary jokes and the racist Obama jokes are starting to taper off into nothingness. My in-box used to be full of that simple shit. Still the Republicans cling to the desperate notion that as bad as it has been that it would have been worse with a Democrat.

I don't know how.

They've got a President who couldn't protect them from terrorism, couldn't (or didn't want to) catch Osama Bin Ladin, lied them into war, completely screwed the pooch on Hurricane Katrina, who tripled their gas prices, who shot inflation into the sky, helped destroy what little healthcare they had, went on a radical government spending spree that makes me want to bring back Reagan and his $300 hammers and $500 toilet seats, sold out the EPA for corporate interests, helped expand NAFTA and outsource american jobs to other countries, cut benefits to our troops while pretending to support them, and has wiped his feet with our constitution with a system of government cronies that make Nixon's little helpers look like a phalanx of angels. They can't even whine about Global warming any more. Now all they can say about it is a weak splutter and some mumbling about "still haven't proved it's caused by man". Who the hell cares? Now that you admit it's there, dipshit- let's do something about it, mkay?

A Democrat couldn't have fucked up as bad and as consistently as Dubya, it's impossible. He's staying the course of sticking his head right up his ass . And no one, especially not the American people will tell him how, why or when to pull it out. He's the decider.

To put another Republican in office after the ALL THIS is pure retardation. The only thing worse than Der Shrubenfuhrer would be to continue this madness under McInsain. And even the Republican leadership understands this. They've got a candidate that they basically dislike. He's an idiot and a flip flopper. He has lost the christian coalition wingnuts And he STILL doesn't seem to know the difference between a Shia and Sunni. Not that it matters to the Republican voters in general, they don't know either. McCain doesn't even have a decent running mate who isn't hated just as much as he is. He'll basically have to bring up a second stringer who is an unknown. Face it, the Republicans are fucked.

They are so fucked, that the one Repub email I did receive this morning was a fricking Bob Hope clip. That's it?! Holy smoke, not even John Wayne or maybe a fake story about a soldier who beat up a hippie or shot an ay-rab for jesus? I got a clip of Bob Hope calling Democrats zombies....

wow.

How weak is that? It was entitled "Greatest Movie Line Ever." which shows the Republican talent for blowing miniscule bs completely out of proportion. This is all they can do right now, take their 80 year old asses and look for Bob Hope clips..? Fricking pathetic. Republicans don't believe in Evolution, they think the world is 6,000 years old. They are old dusty racist dinosaurs. They, in short, are the past. Every day another hundred or so of these old dumb bastards die off and America is that much better for it.

Bob Hope clips are the last gasp of the Republican party. It's really all they ever had, soundbite bluster, jingoistic flag-waving, and manly chest thumping bout War, dammit!

It's time to put this segment of uneducated hypocrites to bed for awhile. That means showing a little more tolerance. This means YOU SusanUnPc. This means YOU John Aravosis. This means everyone who has went off the deep end attacking our own side. Ranting about Republicans whose actions have hurt all Americans is fine. Ranting about how bad a Democrat - ANY Democrat at all- would be in the White House is just bullshit.

Obama and Clinton and Republicans, oh my

I am endorsing Barack Obama.

I still don't feel that there is much difference betweeen the two as far as what their actions will be as future President of the United States. But, that said, several of the actions of Hillary Clinton have struck a wrong chord with me, and I feel will lead to a loss in votes for the Democratic candidate in the election, whoever it is.

And keep in mind, I'm not addressing anything her campaign has done, or what her supporters have said, etc. I base my opinion solely on the actions of the candidates.

Action 1: Hillary didn't vote on FISA.
Action 2: Hillary dragging down the discourse. Every time I look up, she seems to be running on negativity. We need to maintain the high ground, Dem to Dem. Hell, we've EARNED it. Positive will win over negative with the undecideds, not mudslinging.
Action 3: Hillary framing the Republican candidate as a better choice than her Democratic rival.

So, admittedly, no huge differences between the two of them.

The repubs don’t have much to talk about. They don’t have anything to talk about when they hate their front runner. But they are talking a lot right now. And it's all aimed at keeping the Obama/Clinton primary bs going as long as they can.

Neither Clinton nor Obama may be exactly what some of us wanted, but either way- Believe it- THEY AREN’T NUTS LIKE ANY REPUBLICAN. M’kay? So, let’s stop saying we won’t vote for the winner of the primary if it isn’t our favorite right now. And the media? The media just knows people are glued to their tvs when its Obama vs. Clinton. When it's just McCain up there, it will be back to crickets chirping and the Dems building a landslide. Stay focused, and let’s try to keep people from getting off track.

My person of choice was Edwards, or Richardson or Kuc or Gravel. Last on my list were Obama and Clinton. But I’ll be damned if I DON’T vote for either of them versus 4 more years of fascist mindfuckery ala McCain. To hell with that noise. And Nader? He's a Fred Thompson candidate. He'll take the money from his Republican donors, and jetset around, saying whatever he feels like and milking it for all it's worth. Nader is a worthless bottomfeeder who sponges off the process.

I didn’t get the candidate that I wanted, so I will have to trust in the will of my fellow Democrats to choose between Obama/Clinton and go with whoever it is. The alternative is more Rove, More Limbaugh, More Coulter, More Bush.

We need to come together behind whichever candidate it is, for the greater good of the country. The Republican party is done, if we can just stand together.

FRIST! VOLPAC!

It's important to stay abreast of what's going on in the Progressive world. I am certain that anyone visiting my site is probably on top of that. But it is also equally important to know how the other side thinks and what they are doing. Zipping through Crooks and Liars twice a day keeps me abreast of the mainstream activity of Der Shrubenfuhrer's SS troopers, but that's just really the scum floating on the surface of the deep black swamp that is the right wing mindset.

I don't mean hanging out at Free Republic or the Drudge Report and losing brain cells though. I get plenty of newsletters from all sorts of sources. One of them is the incomparable VOLPAC newsletter from good ole Bill Frist. Reading through the missives to teh Republican faithful (the bushbot eleet!) lets me know how they are framing the issues they believe are most important, and understand what the leaders of the Republican party consider the hotbuttons of the day.

And it's a lot less nauseating than having to earbleed through hours of Rush "I went to the Dominican Republic and all I got was this lousy std from an underaged sex slave" Limbaugh.

By beating these talking points to the punch and exposing their lies before they even have time to get them to McCain, we win half the battle.

So, what does FRIST! have to say to pep-rally up the sheep and get some money flowing his way? I will refrain from my usual smart-ass comments and just post the majority of it here.

EXCERPT from Volpac Email received today entitled "Democratic Iceberg Approaching"

It happened again.

Votes cast by Democrats in the recent primaries in Maryland, Virginia and Tuesday's Wisconsin primaries have greatly exceeded those cast by Republicans in each state. In fact, if you combine the total of votes cast for Senator McCain and Governor Huckabee in Wisconsin they don't equal the number of votes cast for Senator Obama (and come nowhere close if you add in those cast for Senator Clinton.)

Our Republican Party is going to have to get on it’s “A game” if we expect to curb this Democrat fervor. The good news for us is that this enthusiasm is being fueled by a flowery rhetoric and little substance and it won’t take Americans long to figure that out. That said, we need to start to work today, as the elections in November will be here before we know it. Because, while the enthusiasm Democrat voters are showing for their candidates is a real concern, it is far outweighed by the dangerous national security ideas the Democrat presidential candidates and the Democrat Congress seem committed to:

Before the Surge was even implemented, Senate Democrats declared the war was lost in Iraq. And today, in the face of obvious and overwhelming progress, they remain committed to their “retreat at any cost” position.

Senate Democrats dragged their feet on reauthorizing and the House of Representatives blocked reauthorizing President Bush's terrorist surveillance program. Letting lapse a critical piece of our national security efforts to keep us safe.

Finally the Democrats silence and downplaying of Iran's nuclear ambitions has likely emboldened the radical elements that control Iran, telegraphing a real weakness to our enemies in Iran and around the world.

And these are just a few of the items that should concern us about the Democrats foreign policy. I am certain there is more to this iceberg than what we know today, but the media will do us few if any favors in exposing the Democrats foreign policy agenda.

What can we do together to prevent this and return steady leadership to the Congress?

We can rally around our conservative Senate and House candidates and focus our VOLPAC support on the races where we can win and cut into the Democratic congressional majorities. Remember, it only takes a two seat pickup in the Senate for Republicans to regain control of the Majority.

This was followed by a call for donations to Volpac. So, they are running skeered. And, I do believe they have absolutely NOTHING to slow the S.S. Republican Titanic from sinking to the depths. At least not as far as the voting public is concerned. They have their glorious war in Iraq. They have the terra-rist threat. They have the Iran boogeyman. So, in short, they have their 23%ers. And that's about it.

Same shit, different decade. The tone of this email says to me that even Bill Frist thinks the Presidency is lost and is focusing on Congress. He's got one important point:

Remember, it only takes a two seat pickup in the Senate for Republicans to regain control of the Majority

Beyond the Presidency, we have more ground to gain locally, state by state, and in the halls of Congress. We need a much larger majority than we currently have to truly defeat the Republican traitors. And criminal sentencing aside, I will be satisfied by breaking the back of the Republican party for the next 20 years. Get out and support the candidates who will take a stand FOR the American people and not just to fill their pockets with government dollars.

And don't let the opposition forget just what that iceberg was that sank the Republican party. It wasn't liberals. It wasn't the Democratic party. It wasn't even us.

It was George Bush and the fake conservatives who support torture, war, global interventionism, and Big Business over the American people.

Siegelman story to air Sunday

Siegelman story freed

The Siegelman story will air on 60 minutes this Sunday, after all... Watch it or DVR it if you can.

Scott Horton has been on top of this issue.. .

Part I
Part II
Part III

Siegelman was sentenced in June 2007.
Trial Sentencing article

It appears that Siegelman was guilty, was sentenced and went to jail. I don't have a problem with that. But what has been discovered is that Karl Rove ordered Siegelman's prosecution via Republican agents in order to take the Alabama GOP back from Democrats. And this was all done while ignoring the Republican crookery going on at all levels of George Bush's pyramid of cronies...

So, I can't say I feel sorry for Siegelman, he's a crook. But the way Bush's officials and appointees apply the law to only their political enemies is exactly why the Attorney scandal is so very important. This is why we need to prosecute Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney, and President Bush, along with their army of corrupt political creatures. This is not democracy!

They are picking and choosing which of their political enemies to destroy, while ordering their subordinates to ignore their own criminal actions.

Is there anything these animals won't do to dismantle our country? Is anything at all in America sacred to these powermad thieves and charlatans?

These men are traitors. We are witnessing the lowest, vilest, most unpatriotic actions by government officials in our lifetimes. President Bush signs signing statement after signing statement that say he does not have to abide by the laws of this land. His criminal toadie, Karl Rove, says that if people don't like it, they can take him to court. Of course, this is a court system that George and Karl have carefully weighted with attorneys, judges, and prosecutors who are merely Republican sycophants. These are men and women who have been bought and sold all the way up to the Supreme Court. The rule of law and our constitution is thrown out the window by these greedy treasonous bastards.

This IS Treason. Our country is going down the drain- It is time to put away ALL the criminals, not just the ones who Karl Rove picks off his enemies list. Time to take a bite out of crime- starting at the top. Crime is crime, but crime against our entire judicial system is no less than a traitorous act by the worst of men.

UPDATE : Winter Patriot has a recap of the Alabama "Blackout" of the 60 minutes Siegelman portion, and how the Republicans who spoke out about Rove were threatened and attacked.

Edwards and Obama

Edwards Meets Obama - From John Nichols at Common Dreams (and The Nation)

EXCERPTS
So Barack Obama jetted out of Wisconsin, where he is battling for a big victory in Tuesday’s primary, for a Sunday meeting in Chapel Hill with John and Elizabeth Edwards. The Illinois senator left reporters behind to make what he hoped would be a secret trip, but a North Carolina television station was tipped off and got footage of Obama leaving the home where he met with the Edwardses.

Obama asked for an endorsement. But he also provided the former senator and his wife with detailed arguments about why he would be a stronger Democratic candidate in November, and an outline of how he would seek to implement progressive economic reforms as president.
A key part of the discussion focused on a priority of John Edwards: writing a Democratic platform that outlines a genuine change agenda.

“The meeting with John, we just wanted to talk about how we can move the party in a direction that focuses on middle-class issues, relieving poverty, reducing the influence of special interests in Washington,” Obama acknowledged Sunday night.
...
Obama has framed his Wisconsin campaign against Clinton as a fight over trade policy, but Obama’s record is not a whole lot better than Clinton’s on this issue. Edwards, who ran for the Democratic nomination this year as an ardent advocate for fair trade policies, has earned credibility with key unions — especially the United Steelworkers and to a lesser extent the United Auto Workers.

If an Edwards endorsement were to help break loose endorsements from those two unions, which remain powerful players in Ohio, it would be a dramatic boost for Obama.

Additionally, Edwards remains a particularly popular figure in rural and southern states. In Oklahoma, for instance, the former senator took more than 10 percent of the vote on February 5, after he had withdrawn from the race.

Parts of Oklahoma are a lot like parts of Texas, and Obama would love to have Edwards take a swing through the Lone Star state before the March 4 primary.

Will it happen?

Thoughts?

I notice my No-Civil-War post hasn't made anyone more civil by the way... More political name-calling by progressives on both sides. Bushbots, and Hillbots, and Obamabots, oh my! From Kos to No Quarter, there is some ugliness out there. I was going to link the specific posts, but I decided not to give the divisiveness any more publicity. Forward, not backward, guys and gals...

Again, progressive posts that viciously attack Obama OR Hillary and insult the people who support them with derogatory terms are just self-defeating. And to use the "Repubs will say this, too" defense is ignorant, as well. Watch where you guys are chucking those stones, after all, we all have to live in this big glass house in the end.

Keep your eye on the prize, people- Hillary AND Obama are both iffy candidates that could mean a close election in what should be a landslide. What makes either of them electable is that the Republicans have destroyed their credibility on the economy and the war (two matters intrinsically tied together, by the way...) and being all attack and no substance, time and again.

Namecalling Obama and Hillary supporters isn’t going to help your chosen candidate, it just demeans the Democratic side as a whole.

This is the only real chance Republicans have to win in 2008: that the Progressives fall into infighting. I hate to see this shit on No Quarter, from people who have seen firsthand just how bad the Repubs are, and what lengths they will go to. I can't say much about Kos, I rarely visit that site...

Hillary isn’t some super liberal, as you well know. Neither is Obama. But both are better than the alternative. The more attack posts there are among progressives, the closer we are to having McCain as a President. Please, PLEASE focus on the positives on the candidates, if you can, and refrain from attacking the Democrats who have thrown their support to 'the other side'.
If the only “support” you can dredge up for your candidate are these attacks - then you will end up helping another piece of shit Republican get elected. Please, take a minute before you go into attack mode. If you are just mudslinging on another Democrat, who you don't like as much as your candidate, - or worse, ridiculing progressives and liberals who support the other Dem, then maybe it's not worth posting.

Friends, Liberals, Countrymen

Followers of both sides of the the Democratic Civil War:

Whether you like Clinton or Obama- (or Kucinich, Edwards, Richardson, Gravel for that matter)

This is a public service reminder -

This IS our REAL (the really real) Enemy: REPUBLICANS

Try to keep this in mind, while you pimp (oops did I say pimp?) your favorite candidate

This is how Republican minds work:



This is their idea of a great leader:





They support these troops:



Not These troops...



They believe that Sept.11 is an accessory, not an atrocity



Their idea of "fair and balanced" is waaaayyyy off




Even their women don't want women to be able to vote



And here's the Republican platform. They support a whole lot of this:
Racism
Sexism
Hate
Torture
Republican fascism
Never Ending War
Xenophobia
Class War
Ancient Fundamentalist Dogma
Hypocritical Sex criminals
Ignorance

So whoever you vote for in 2008, just make sure it's not THIS Guy:


And things will be okay. Or at least you won't be entertaining hopes for the Rapture or fears of the Apocalypse on a daily basis...

Remember, back in 2000, some liberals were saying that Gore was as bad as Bush. I think, well I certainly HOPE, that we have learned our lesson. They may not be Progressive messiahs, but Obama or Clinton are light years ahead of the competition.

UPDATE: Dcup gave me some link love at American Street - Give the site a visit-
UPDATE2: Hi to all my friends visiting from C&L and Mike's Blog Round up!

The Right Candidate for the Right Reasons

The Left will eat itself

Jim Booth considers why Edwards, who has stood far above and beyond Obama and Clinton, is out and they are still in. I have struggled to put these same feelings into words, but he nails exactly how I (and I suspect, many others) feel about this subject.

EXCERPT

What Edwards is really doing is paying the price for being a white guy at the time of historic (and mostly just) back lash against the “aristocracy of white guys” that has been the target of the concerted efforts of “liberals” who aren’t liberal at all. What these “liberals” (too often media pundits) are are ideologues who proclaim that someone would make a better (read “more media interest worthy”) Presidential candidate simply because that person is a) a woman or b) an African-American. Justice is one thing - ideology is another - this is ideology at its most reeking…. Yes, I hear your scornful retorts: “These are the times that try [white] men’s souls…” yadda, yadda….
.
I don’t say this to discredit Hillary or Obama, both of whom have real merit. I say this because the drive to push forward a woman or black candidate is (I fear) a media creation that allows the media then to control the narrative of the Democratic campaign - and the election. And the Democratic Party, which plays the sucker to every narrative the media creates for it, is playing the sucker again.
.
John Edwards has addressed overtly and directly real issues plaguing our country at this historical moment - the shift toward a class system that the “Repugnacans” have engineered - and their systematic removal of any realistic opportunity for those in the rapidly developing underclass to better themselves. Edwards, like me, Sam Smith, and many others across this country, has been able to work hard, gain success, and rise to a position of both (in a relative sense) wealth and power because of the past social and economic policies of the Democratic Party. I don’t begrudge him any of his success the way the entitled scions of the Right do - to do so would be to repudiate my own life. What I find most repellent in The Left’s rejection of JE is its own smug self-righteousness that it is doing so for the “correct” reasons.
.
Not so. The Left is rejecting Edwards because he reminds too many of us in the Left® of what WE came from - how we scrambled and worked and took advantage of opportunities made available by FDR, HST, JFK, and LBJ. It’s easier to glom onto the myth of Hillary as a deserving member of her gender or Obama as a deserving member of his race (despicably patronizing behavior masquerading as visionary open-mindedness) than to stand up and say “offering opportunities for people to better themselves has been and should always be a basic tenet of the Democratic Party.” That would mean supporting Edwards - who espouses these positions - and rejecting the more fashionable idea of supporting Hillary or Obama because they represent a “historic opportunity.”

Another poster at Scholars and Rogues, Martin Bosworth, had this say of Edwards:

Yet, through all that, his message perservered.
But his campaign did not. I honestly think it was because he focused so much on the dark, broken side of American life that people were frightened away. As I said to a friend of mine yesterday, the difference between Edwards and Obama is that the former inspires you to fight, while the latter inspires you to hope. And people would much rather hope than fight.

I would rather have a fighter than a hoper. And I would rather have the right fighter, not Hillary Clinton. Can we get Edwards back? Before it's too late?

Moving on...

Doc Biobrain takes notes on the sexist side of the sexist/racist feeding frenzy taking place with Hillary and Obama supporters....

Democratic Cannibalism

NOTE to Everyone:

The racists and the sexists are on the other side. They aren't at Obama rallies, or Clinton rallies or even John Edwards rallies (he's a white male! Egad!).

They are at Republican rallies. I might not know much, but I do know racism and sexism, and, as a partially white male, I've spread both from time to time. Mainly out of ignorance, but hey, I admit it, and I'm working on it. But I know how to recognize 'em and believe you me- they ain't Liberals. m'kay?

So chill the fuck out, people, just because the Democrats are currently winning doesn't mean they can't lose- especially now that 'the people' have spoken, and having spoken, have removed the strongest candidates who were speaking out against the real racists and sexists out there.
Well, we still have Gravel, right Old Hack?!

The Republican party has a fixed agenda: It goes something like this: Fuck minorities. Fuck Women. Fuck the poor. It's three things they ALL pretty much agree on. Liberals can pretty much agree that those three groups need to be treated equally, uplifted and supported where disparities rear their heads. But the minute we make some real gains against the truly bad people out there, I see us cannibalizing each other.

Hillary ain't a racist. Obama ain't a sexist. At least they're not any worse than anyone else out there on our side. We all have our issues to deal with. I would love to see the first woman President. I would love to see the first black President. Would it matter to NOW if that woman-elect was Ann Coulter? These achievements would be great to prove that America, as a country, is moving forward. But to vote for any woman or any minority, just to make the achievement and without regards to how this person would perform as a President is purely ignorant.

Now we are left with a black man and a white woman as our front runners, and honestly, beyond proving to the racists and sexists out there that it can be done, I don't give a damn what color our new president is or whether he/she pees standing up or sitting down. I want a liberal, progressive Democrat in office to help wipe out what remains of the crooked Republican Congress and the incumbent enabler Democrats who have allowed them to run our country into the ground.

And if we don't pull our heads out of each others asses while searching for racism and sexism - we will surely allow the REAL Racists and sexists to continue fucking over the country.

Hope is all that's left, unfortunately

Polishifter - on another 5 dead soldiers in Iraq

More kids die
More Women die
More Iraqis die
More of everyone dying

"Hillary is a fighter"
"Obama has a voice I can relate to"

Neither matters if they settle into office with all the faux tsunamic force of a Pelosi.

Damn it! Why in the flying fuck do today's progressives choose style, sex and race over a candidate who is promising to get our troops out of there?? Do you people believe that Edwards is a liar? Because Hillary and Obama aren't even TALKING about getting us out of Iraq.

Hillary with all of her AIPAC ties, and Obama "Everything's on the table" with starting NEW wars in Iran. What part of "WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Do you not understand?

Fucking Hell! I just can't understand it. Wake the Fuck up.
Please.

A vote for Hillary, a vote for Obama- is a vote for MORE DEATH in Iraq. There will 5000 dead troops and god knows how many civilians before Bush steps down from office. And after another 4 years of Hillary or Obama there will be 5,000 more.

Goddamnit, wake up.

UPDATE: MSNBC says Edwards is dropping out of the race...
My heart sinks-

Listening to NPR this morning, they had two soundbites of average joes talking about Obama. These voters in Florida explained their support for Obama as being tied to his ability to bring the country together. Well, pardon me, but the country is together, except for the insane 23% of the racist, sexist, Republican base who thinks that George Bush is the greatest person in the world.

They are wrong. And they have been wrong from the get-go. Most of those who supported Bush in the beginning now have seen the error of their way and have come to the light. This has been a dark time in American history and we have yet to see the full ramifications of the Bush presidency. The recession is just beginning and our foreign policy is in shambles. And guess what? I have NO Desire to move to the middle at this point!

We, the far left, have been right over and over. People want change from the ridiculousness of the present system. We were on the cusp of great change. Returning to the middle only serves the ignorance of the Republican base, who are completely happy with the system as is. As radical as real change might be, it is desperately needed. We don't need to shake the hand of our dumb ass Uncle the racist over dinner and say "Agree to disagree." We need to get in his face and say "You stupid fuck- how many soldiers died because you couldn't open your damn eyes? How much will OUR Family suffer because of this recession? How many times have you called ME a traitor as you worshipped at the altar of corporate oil?"

These stupid fuckers don't deserve to have us move closer to their ignorant mindset. Each and every one of them needs to be held down, choking, as we force feed them the truth, no matter how much they don't want to take their medicine. The Right has NO accountability. They are a full blown minority at this point, EXCEPT in the halls of Congress. But that is changing. And Republicans will become less and less powerful in the coming years as a direct result of how wrong they have been on EVERYTHING.

I HOPE Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton do not back down as so many other Democrats have done in recent days. I HOPE that they understand that this country is in dire straits and needs to implement some real change. I HOPE that they will reverse their mealy mouthed stance on Iraq as soon as they are elected and get our troops out of there, post-haste.

The thing is, I didn't HAVE to HOPE that Edwards understood these matters and would take action to correct them. I knew. It am glad he was able to move Hillary and Obama closer to the left on all these issues. I can only hope they ditch their pollsters and their popularity contests and show some real spine and perseverence. Hope, unfortunately, is what the American people are counting on. And now, with the best candidate out of the race, it's all I have as well.

Games Parties Play

Drinking Liberally - Superdelegates

From JobsAnger
"The Texas Democratic Party says Dennis Kucinich will not be on the party's primary ballot in March. Kucinich did file the necessary paperwork, but would not sign a loyalty oath to support the party's nominee in November."

Careful where you point that thing, from MCCS

Throwing support, away from Morning Martini
Kucinich backs Obama in Iowa...

No Quarter shoots, dissects, and mounts the head of Obama's campaign on the wall of the den
Larry Johnson explains about Obama's lobbyist ties and his ability to say anything that will get him on the road to , eventually, not being elected.

2007 Dems Vs. Contract with America

Think Progress has my comments banned, has had for awhile- not sure exactly why. I go there almost every day regardless of their distaste for my perspective (heh), they have a lot of good stuff...

Today they had this graph - which shows how much more effective the Democratic Congress has been than Newt's "firebrands" of 1995, even considering the record-breaking filibustering of the Republican defeatists.



It's a little slow today, waiting on the traditional "Christmas Surge" of the stock market at the end of options expiration. Looks like it may not materialize. Et, tu , Santa?

But anyway, give me some cool links to waste time if you run across anything. Email em or leave them in the comments...

Why Edwards is better than Hillary or Obama, part 256

(okay, maybe one more Edwards post...)

Why Edwards is the Best

As Atrios puts it:

Shorter Candidates:
Obama: The system sucks, but I'm so awesome that it'll melt away before me.

Edwards: The system sucks, and we're gonna have to fight like hell to destroy it.

Clinton: The system sucks, and I know how to work within it more than anyone.

.

It's just a no-brainer to someone who still believes we CAN Fight the Republicans ON OUR OWN GROUND and Win...

.

And Win BIG.

.

Obama and Clinton as President just remind me of Pelosi and Reid.

A thousand failures.

The news of American government is often bleak and full of incompetence. Failures abound all around us, even as our corporate sponsored media puts happy faces on corpses.

American Government in ... "action".

It's a story of U.S. government officials letting people die, and refusing to lift a finger as the situation spirals downward because they are too worried about their own asses. It's a familiar tale these days.

This story is yet another microcosm of how inept our government has become. Anyone who is in charge is frozen in fear for themselves. Time and time again, they fail to perform their duties which rolls downhill in a domino effect of disaster. Our entire country is wallowing in selfish, cover-your-own-ass thinking that destroys Everything that America is supposed to be based on.
Everywhere you look there is failure after failure in this government's policies. The men who SHOULD be most outspoken about these failures are the men who have failed. And when they fail to acknowledge their failures - they fail to acknowledge a need to correct the many mistakes they have made. Nothing can be learned in their constant mental state of denial.

Katrina. Iraq. Global Warming. Terrorism. The major mistakes that are common knowledge to Americans, but yet still those who NEED to be held accountable have not been. Still they pass the buck and blame everyone but themselves.

Then there are: Work related Hazards. Immigration/Border control issues. Crime. Healthcare, housing, and pyschological care for our veterans. Living wages and healthcare for our poverty stricken citizenry, whose numbers increase every day. These "small" issues that affect the very heart of our nation in thousands of ways.

It starts with every last one of us- We are the stewards of our own future. How our country's destiny may wax and wane is in our own hands. Are the people of America up to the task?

This is not just some politician's job. It's not "out of my hands". No- it definitely IS NOT! When you surrender your rights like that you not only surrender yourselves- but your weaken all of your countrymen and women.

Pull up your sleeves and work for the common good and the betterment of America. That is Exactly how we can save our country from threats both without and within.

Again, I ask - I beseech you all to dig deep and ask YOURSELF:
"Am I going to sit here and do nothing or am I going to make a difference?"

Our Future is a shared one. Do your part.

Victory, part one

Now, our job STARTS.

What!? As you spew coffee all over your keyboard... I know, you thought we HAD been working, fighting, clawing and exposing the Republican party over and over again until we could finally declare "Victory". Well we have. And we've done a good job - getting the word out to America about the dirty little truth about the Republican party.

But, I WAS a Republican Conservative back in the Contract with America days. And I saw our party destroyed by greed and political gamesmanship. I sweated bullets during Bush/Gore 2000. I couldn't believe it- What were they trying to pull on George Bush. I couldn't sleep as I watched the elections. It all seemed kind of weird. Why Can't they just recount all the votes. What the hell WAS Going on in Florida? But still I was happy that Bush was finally "declared the President" even though it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Something wasn't right. Things never did quite add up after that. Then 9-11. Then Afghanistan. And then the workup to Iraq. At that point, I realized that "Conservative" notions had been thrown out the fucking window by the Republican party.

And so, here I am again- this time on the Democratic side. But I am not a blind cheerleader for a party this time. There are goals we have to meet. We have to stay on top of not ONLY the Republicans but also the men and women of the Democratic party. We need to make sure they do not become complacent in their victory. We need to make sure they don't set Americans by the wayside as the Contract with America crowd so quickly did. We need to follow their every action, their every vote and make sure they keep Americans at the heart of their interests.

The most disheartening thing that I saw on the news today was CNBC interviewing Lobbyists, Under the heading of "Lobbyists Suck up To Democrats". One thing about the Greedy Bastards on CNBC. They call it like they see it- Even as they PROMOTE the fucking lobbyists for the corrupt Corporate mentality...

That is JOB ONE- Making sure that Our Public Servants SERVE The Public and not the Corporations- Not the 10% of the super rich, but the 90% of Americans.

I won't play partisan politics any longer- The goal of getting the Corrupt Republicans OUT of control has been met. Now it is time to see them on equal footing- and for us all to make sure they do their JOBS.