Chaos Inc.

Random blogging, part 763




NOTE TO DISGRUNTLED BLOGGER-AMERKANS:

I think we've all felt this way sometime or other during the past year:

"that this election is really going to make one godamn bit of difference and that this is still a functioning democracy....ha-ha! Now, that's funny!"
The Culture Ghost

I think the biggest way to cure apathy is to get pissed off again. So, to all of you who feel like CG right now, and I'm sure its a growing group out there: Get Pissed Off Again.

To all of you who feel like this election is all a useless endeavor- Remember this- The Republicans WILL be voting. Even though they don't like their candidate, they seem to understand what many of us don't - Their vote counts, and it's worth the effort to put it in for your candidate, because, even though that candidate may not be everything you want, it's the small differences that WILL COUNT in the 4 years of the immediate future. They know it. They know McCain will keep pushing Republican bullshit that will aid them in little ways, if nothing else, he will keep the ni**ers, the fa*s, the wetbacks, the fucking poor, the unions, the non-christians, the non-racists, the peaceniks and the socialists DOWN where the Republicans think they all belong. And they will hustle their sorry asses down to vote for that one point only, if it all boiled down to it.

And if You STILL don't think it matters in the end- well fucking shut the hell up and DO Something MORE for your country.

For those of you who feel that working within the parameters of the system isn't going to effect any change- you have plenty of alternatives outside the box. If you are convinced that Democracy is dead, and I am certainly not- are you going to put up or shut up?

Because I'd love to see something either way. I've been right here with you myself before, feeling defeated and dismayed at the whole bullshit system. But selling the idea that everything is useless is ... well, useless. Be a patriot. Shake things up. Get back in the game. Fight for what you believe is right. Too many people sitting on the sidelines is what makes this country weak.

"We are about to become refugees. Was Moses an independent?" Mandt (commenting at The Culture Ghost)

Fuck being a refugee. That shit's for the birds. FIGHT. Note: You may have to turn off your computer and go outside.



Best Matthews description Evar :

"Yet for as basic as he has become to the political and media furniture, Matthews is anything but secure. He is of the moment, but, at 62, also something of a throwback -- to an era of politics set in the ethnic Democratic wards of the '60s and the O'Neill-Reagan battles of the '80s. And he is a product of an aging era of cable news, the late-'90s, when "Hardball" started and Matthews made his name as a battering critic of Bill Clinton during the Monica saga.Cable political coverage has changed, however, and so has the sensibility that viewers -- particularly young ones -- expect from it. Mat-thews's bombast is radically at odds with the wry, antipolitical style fashioned by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert or the cutting and finely tuned cynicism of Matthews's MSNBC co-worker Keith Olbermann. These hosts betray none of the reverence for politics or the rituals of Washington that Matthews does. On the contrary, they appeal to the eye-rolling tendencies of a cooler, highly educated urban cohort of the electorate that mostly dismisses an exuberant political animal like Matthews as annoyingly antiquated, like the ranting uncle at the Thanksgiving table whom the kids have learned to tune out."

News sources

Current TV

What's your preferred source of news? Since I am addicted to politics and news, period, I use as many sources as I can find on the net. The television in my office is dialed into CNBC and has to stay there during the day and I don't watch tv at home so the net is where I get all my news.

Crooks and Liars is usually my first morning stop, check out what's getting the most attention, have a brief laugh over whichever politician has gotten busted being a hypocrite that day, and to put in my two cents worth in the comments.

Then I hit Blue Herald, see what Question Girl and the gang have dug up. I have three monitors on my desk so I am absorbing several inputs at the same time. I usually have my stock news sites up on one monitor: Dedicated trader, Bloomberg, Yahoo finance, MSNBC finance. I am running spreadsheets and streaming stock charts on another. And surfing the blogs on the third.

I hit my favorites list after BH- Think Progress, Americablog, Media Matters, Informed Comment, Truthdig and Common dreams. After that I just randomly go down my blogroll, hitting up my favorite bloggers to see what they have going on.

If I have time I might check out Democracy Now!'s latest vid-news or hit Alternet and the Nation. The commenters at the Nation's website are the biggest group of neocon hitmen/trolls I've ever seen. I bet Cheney, Ari Fleischer and Rush Limbaugh are in there plastering people with their bullshit.

So how do you get your news of the day?

Red State Radio

While channel surfing on the way to work this morning, I tuned in to the John Boy and Billy show on the local classic rock channel. Since for some ungodly reason the powers-that-be in radio have determined by mass market research that people just don't want to hear MUSIC in the mornings, its either John Boy and Billy or Bob and Tom or about three different channels of local yokels talking to the type of people that call into radio stations to chit-chat. And there's only so many times I can hear some old fart dj mangling somebody's name or the sidekick's fake laugh and exclaimations of "Isn't that funny? That's too funny" .... yeah, I'll listen to elevator music before that shit...

Anyway, sometimes John Boy and Billy are funny, mainly when they are making fun of themselves, but I clicked in just as professional curmudgeon Robert D. Raiford was going into his little speechifying... If you don't know who he is, a simple description is a redneck Andy Rooney, minus the whine and plus a couple of shots of whiskey. He's the old coot who's bitching about why the good ole days were so much better than today. He has some interesting takes, some I don't agree with, but when he hits on something that you DO agree with, he kind of takes you to that "Hell yes!" place with him. Today, he was answering a letter from a conservative fan of the "big show" who was upset about comments Raiford had made about global warming.

Oh hell, here we go, I thought. Here comes the "L" word... And I'll be damned. Ole Raiford tore that poor conservative a new one. Now, Raiford ain't a "liberal", ain't no way- But he sure took the argument that "Mark from Knoxville" was making about politics being behind global warming and shot it out of the sky, skinned it, stuffed it, and hung it on the wall like an extinct exhibit from yesteryear.

It's nothing that most of us Liberals didn't already know: Global warming and climate change IS occurring and most of the people who are telling us this aren't liberals or left-wingers but Scientists and about 95% of them at that. It's just that the smart people out there actually give some credence to the scientists who are telling us about potential problems and actively respond with calls to action.

The only people who are putting politics before facts are the people who decry evidence of climate change- simply because they don't want to hear it. And Raiford stated this very succintly. I wish I could find a link to a transcript- if anyone can let me know.

The amazing thing was- this was on the Big Show - A bunch of Nascar rednecks whose humor mainly consists of denigrating the triumvirate of Red-State Enemies: Women in sports, Gays, and immigrants.

So, I was floored that global warming is now even being accepted by the modern day equivalent of a red-state philosopher- A talk show radio celebrity. And he even slammed a listener to do it. Sumbitch!

Hope for America blossomed anew for a moment- and the one good thing about the Big Show- it actually interrupts its own blather to play some classic rock every 10 minutes. So Raiford ended, the Doobie brothers came on with "Listen to the music". And everything was right in the world.

Well, until the song ended, at least, then - back to reality.

"John-boy" or Billy or some other podunk asshole came on with a sports critic guest. First they set up the critic's credentials. Then they talked of a colleague who had been "Imus-ed" for his disparaging remarks about lesbians in the LPGA. After that "innocuous" preface, they then jumped into making fun of women in sports and how they can't compete with the men. After attacking 15 year old Michelle Wie, they turned to Anna Kournikova and what a "baby doll" she was, I turned the radio completely off.

Sigh. Well, at least we won global warming, for today.

Infected America

In the What-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-these-people department, here's a story of one blogger taking on Big Media and the hate radio they sponsor...
Kos story

It's good to see individual Americans making a difference against Big Media. America has been infected by an rising number of bloodthirsty, dishonorable, sick bastards. For me to point this out DOES NOT Mean that I am weak. It means that I am strong enough to stand up against the sick people among us.

It DOES NOT mean that I haven't got the balls to "do what needs to be done". Killing first, blundering mindlessly into foreign countries with our guns blazing, is not an act of testicular fortitude. It is cowardly and ignorant. And looking around the middle east and the U.S. today, it is fairly obvious that this attitude has become a complete failure in dealing with Iraq. Did having Hitler make Germany more powerful? Did having Stalin make Russia invincible? For the briefest of moments, Hitler's kill everyone-but-us mentality brought them glory. For a little bit longer, Stalin's brand of fascist overlord rule gave them the appearance of strength.

But it was all an illusion, wasn't it? Hated, reviled, discredited... History now relegates these men, once loved by large groups of their countrymen, to the pile labeled monsters and madmen. To these men, the end justified the means. Surely this could not be further from the truth. Because the "end" that they foresaw was corrupted by the means itself.

The MEANS is all. It is not only how other countries see the United States of America, but it is also how we see ourselves. When I look and see, listen and hear American men and women on radio and television endorsing the worst kind of inhumanity, I see a weakened country. I see a sickness infecting our country, a disease that must be treated lest it spread. And it is not the righteous tone that is taken by these sick bastards that bothers me. It is the utter glee with which they speak when they fantasize graphically of stomping other Americans to death for their opinions, or hanging journalists they disagree with.

Fantasizing about killing people in the most painful ways imaginable is NOT healthy. It is the sign of a sick mind. It is a sign of psychotic imbalance. Someone whose mind, unhinged, races along these bloody roads cannot be reasoned with. They have lost their humanity, even if only momentarily. They have lost their ability to logically assess situations and make sane decisions.

This is Weakness. This is fallibility. This is a mental disorder that is keeping many Americans from being able to connect the dots- to put the facts together. They have lost their ability to comprehend what is going on. And so, I watch, horrified- as the men who are in control blindly and stupidly make mistake after mistake. Unable to grasp the reality of what he has done, President Bush continues to make the wrong decisions. Emotionally locked into his paranoid world view- he keeps lashing out. And his robotic followers, the acolytes of his cult of confusion, increasingly want to kill not only the enemy but also their own countrymen who are trying to wipe the fog from their minds.

When will it stop? Most of America understands that a temporary troop surge of 20,000 men just means 20,000 more targets in Iraq. Most of America understands that another 1500 American soldiers will die this year as Bush tries to hold onto the oil fields of Iraq. Most of America sees the dollar falling, the Euro rising, and even Bush's steadfast arab allies (Saudi Arabia) abandoning him, moving their investments from U.S. treasuries to European ones.

But as we are churning in quicksand, struggling to get ourselves out of the mire we are held down by the few sick bastards that are standing on our shoulders.

We will only rise when we can pull back the curtain on this illness and reveal to our fellow Americans that these hate-mongers are cancerous tumors on our society. We have to stop feeding the cancer. IT WILL take all of us working together to reach out to our neighbors and families and make them understand. It will take boycotts and expose's of the sick media talk show hosts and their murderous insanity.

We can make a difference. We already have, by the historical Democrat victory made in November, even though a majority of Americans are not in line with the actual Democratic party right now. Voting was and is important, but there is so much more to be done. Help prop up the spines of your representatives- Make sure they understand that they WILL lose their jobs (apparently the only thing most of them care about) if they do NOT help "wipe the fog" from Bush's mind. Impeachment or not- It is time to re-deploy out of a failed endeavor in Iraq. It will take the strongest Americans to defeat the corporations, the incumbents, the military-industrial complex and the neocon movement.

Find your strength. Find your honor. Find your red-blooded American sense of duty. It is time for the will of the people to be heard.

Came back from lunch to see this MSNBC update...

Ah Thank God the Media has our priorities lined up for us.

First - TERROR ALERT! DEFCON 4!

But don't worry, folks! The price of gas is okay!

Okay, America. You can go back to sleep now.

(unless this is part of the NeoCon plot to begin the Invasion of Iran...?)

Hillary's enemies?

Anna Quindlen of Newsweek waxes ridiculous in this week's edition. She describes liberal Democrats as Hillary's worst enemies. I must admit, I don't support Hillary for President at all, even though I have heard she has done some really good things for New York. I don't believe she deserves the support of liberals as far as being the next President-elect. But for Quindlen to label progressives like me as Hillary's "enemies" is just more media chaff ejected to distract the American public.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15362334/site/newsweek/

Here is my reply to Ms.Quindlen:

RE: Hillary's biggest enemies.

Anna, Anna, Anna,

Where to start? Why don't you mention "Hillary Clinton" to the next 10 random people you run into. After you hear the outlandish vitriol from the Republicans who despise her from head to toe, then you can use the word "enemy" in its proper context. As it is, your article is just so much more tripe. Hillary is unelectable for two reasons. Number 1 is because, from my dear old Fox-news imbedded Grandmother to young Republicans everywhere, she is despised and blamed for everything from "Fake" Global warming to coddling terrorists. None of this has any basis in fact, but neither does listening to Dubya tell millions of Americans that we are winning in Iraq.... It is utter manure.

That said, Reason No.2 is that Hillary Clinton is like Republican Lite- She's a pure politician who, until she stood up against Rumsfeld recently, (after she sensed the political wind shifting) has not stood strong with the Democrat party enough. She had the power to stand up a LONG time ago and speak out openly against this Administration, against torture, against wiretaps, against renditions, against Bush's failure to take accountability for 9-11 AND the Katrina fiasco. Time and time again, she has not.

In short, she's failed every Democrat, and especially every liberal Democrat out there by failing to do so. Explore the blogosphere- few Progressives OR Liberals OR Democrats desire to see Hillary on a ticket or TALK INCESSANTLY about it, like you folks in the media. She's insincere. She's just another politician, and thats EXACTLY what we don't need.

Here's some things that Liberals know that it takes the Mainstream media 3 years to figure out, and will probably take Bush supporters another 3 years after that to figure out:

1. The Iraq war is a massive Mistake.
A. No WMD existed at the time we invaded, as we screamed and protested at the time.
B. It Increased Terror and Terrorist activities
C. It has resulted in a monumental loss of life for no, absolutely NO Measurable Benefit to the average American.
D. It has bankrupted our country.

2. Hillary Clinton WILL NEVER Be the Candidate in 2008.

3. Iran is NOT a threat, but if Bush has his way, he will begin Iraq Part Deux ASAP to distract voters. (Note the wargames going on?)

4. Impeachment and immediate THOROUGH investigations on Foleygate, Traitorgate, and the 9-11 commission are the Absolute Best Way to end Political Corruption and the Pork of the Century element of the Abramoff Republican Era.

Don't believe me? Well then, by all means- please, continue writing such inanity as Hillary's enemies being Democrats.