.
One of the clearest voices on what's really at risk in this Great [shhh, don't call it Dep]Recession is Elizabeth Warren.
You'd think the idiots with their screamfests and crossfirization of inane talking points and moguls pushing their in-house hatemongers would realize that survival of the middle class is in their best interest, too.
That survival must include jobs. Education. And health care.
Oh, and Ben Nelson and Stupak and their ilk keeping their noses out of women's vaginas. Maybe this is their way of overcompensating for their own Inner Ensigns?
.
Showing posts with label Politics of Distraction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics of Distraction. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Prairie Recommends: wesgpc on Jefferson's reality
.
Here's what the muttonheads, teabaggers, rightwing hate radio screeders, shallow stenoing big media parrots, and big money corporate monopolists don't want you to think about...ever, ever...ever.
A reality check on what Jefferson said...and the full context of his words...about the tree of liberty. And our responsibility.
kudos to wesgpc for this must read.
.
Here's what the muttonheads, teabaggers, rightwing hate radio screeders, shallow stenoing big media parrots, and big money corporate monopolists don't want you to think about...ever, ever...ever.
A reality check on what Jefferson said...and the full context of his words...about the tree of liberty. And our responsibility.
kudos to wesgpc for this must read.
.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Babble-on
.
Lehman Brothers in Bankruptcy...a company that survived the Civil War of the 19th Century and the Great Depression of the 20th Century cannot survive Bush-McCain Republican governing in the 21st Century.
Meanwhile, John McCain, surrounded by his lobbyist cronies like Phil Gramm and Charlie Black and his merchants of sleaze, tells us the fundamentals are strong.
But then when your wife flies you around in her corporate jet and wears $300,000 outfits to your Republican coronation and you have--what is it this week? 7? 9? 12? homes--and you get to put up your $500-shoe-clad feet at the end of a day of campaign lies and racist fearmongering and pandering for taxcuts for Cindy, I guess your economy is strong.
The rest of U.S., not so much.
.
We took a first step in 2006. Vote as if your country and your family depended on it.
.
Lehman Brothers in Bankruptcy...a company that survived the Civil War of the 19th Century and the Great Depression of the 20th Century cannot survive Bush-McCain Republican governing in the 21st Century.
Meanwhile, John McCain, surrounded by his lobbyist cronies like Phil Gramm and Charlie Black and his merchants of sleaze, tells us the fundamentals are strong.
But then when your wife flies you around in her corporate jet and wears $300,000 outfits to your Republican coronation and you have--what is it this week? 7? 9? 12? homes--and you get to put up your $500-shoe-clad feet at the end of a day of campaign lies and racist fearmongering and pandering for taxcuts for Cindy, I guess your economy is strong.
The rest of U.S., not so much.
.
We took a first step in 2006. Vote as if your country and your family depended on it.
.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Propping Up McCain
.
What does it say about the man who would be the next President of the United States that he cannot stand on his own two feet? Much less answer tough questions.
Hiding out from the media except for soft-n-fuzzy feel good interviews.
And the woman whom he chose to be a heartbeat away? Guess her priorities are going back to Alaska and trying to cover-up her scandals. Right after she wraps up these couple of days appearing before true believers of the right wing who are thrilled with her...what? Scandals? Sins? Ah, but there are none so blind as they who will not see because Dobson told them to cover their eyes.
What does it say about John McCain that he must be propped up on the road show...by Palin...and by Lieberman and Graham before her? By knowing the questions and Obama's answers to Rick Davis because he cheated about being sequestered?
What does it say? And why isn't the media asking?
.
Oh, but we must talk about lipstick instead. On the pitbull? Or the pig?
.
What does it say about the man who would be the next President of the United States that he cannot stand on his own two feet? Much less answer tough questions.
Hiding out from the media except for soft-n-fuzzy feel good interviews.
And the woman whom he chose to be a heartbeat away? Guess her priorities are going back to Alaska and trying to cover-up her scandals. Right after she wraps up these couple of days appearing before true believers of the right wing who are thrilled with her...what? Scandals? Sins? Ah, but there are none so blind as they who will not see because Dobson told them to cover their eyes.
What does it say about John McCain that he must be propped up on the road show...by Palin...and by Lieberman and Graham before her? By knowing the questions and Obama's answers to Rick Davis because he cheated about being sequestered?
What does it say? And why isn't the media asking?
.
Oh, but we must talk about lipstick instead. On the pitbull? Or the pig?
.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
John McCain = Cynical
.
In a press conference this a.m. in Florida, Barack Obama responded to a reporter's question by saying he doesn't think the McCain campaign's attacks on him this week were racial. He thinks they are cynical.
Hmmm, take the max in contributions from a wealthy contributor like Paris Hilton's father and then make a mockery of her in an ad. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Mock and make fun of people who are supporting a candidate who offers policies and plans that will make their lives better. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Whisper in the ears of your BBQ media buddies to change the subject from the reality that all you have to offer is another four years of BushCo America. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Tell a reporter it's all just good clean fun...yeah. I'd call that cynical, too.
Then go and take the weekend off at one of your eight homes and put up your $520 Ferragamo-shod feet while the people of America are facing job cuts and downsizing and loss of job benefits and shorter pay hours and rising food costs, and higher fuel costs, and worry about how to heat their homes this winter, and loss of health insurance and weaker schools and roads and bridges...
Yeah. I'd call that cynical, too.
.
In a press conference this a.m. in Florida, Barack Obama responded to a reporter's question by saying he doesn't think the McCain campaign's attacks on him this week were racial. He thinks they are cynical.
Hmmm, take the max in contributions from a wealthy contributor like Paris Hilton's father and then make a mockery of her in an ad. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Mock and make fun of people who are supporting a candidate who offers policies and plans that will make their lives better. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Whisper in the ears of your BBQ media buddies to change the subject from the reality that all you have to offer is another four years of BushCo America. Yeah, I'd call that cynical.
Tell a reporter it's all just good clean fun...yeah. I'd call that cynical, too.
Then go and take the weekend off at one of your eight homes and put up your $520 Ferragamo-shod feet while the people of America are facing job cuts and downsizing and loss of job benefits and shorter pay hours and rising food costs, and higher fuel costs, and worry about how to heat their homes this winter, and loss of health insurance and weaker schools and roads and bridges...
Yeah. I'd call that cynical, too.
.
Friday, July 11, 2008
"Cool" Aid
.
A while back, Karl Rove was pushing a storyline that Barack Obama was the cool guy over by the wall of the country club. That one failed, but never one to let a nasty tactic be put to bed, looks like Karl's back with a new take, eagerly expounded by the Morning Joe gang.
Yep, they heard it anecdotally, so it must be so...Obama's "too cool."
What planet are these people living on?
I guess when Rove thinks Americans are so stoopid they'll buy the same crapola he's dished out in past elections, why not keep serving it up. And since media people like Scarborough and Barnicle play it forward, who is he to pass up an opportunity to keep up the whispers. Of course these are the same media people who were quick to assure us the tongue-tied, ear-piece-enabled Bush won the debates in 2000.
When's one of 'em going to ask John McCain how he can make a man who broke his Bangla-daughter's heart a key part of his campaign?
The cool guy or the hothead?
That's what it's coming down to in this election. I for one prefer a guy who thinks with his brain and his heart. I've had enough of the guy who thinks with his sword.
.
A while back, Karl Rove was pushing a storyline that Barack Obama was the cool guy over by the wall of the country club. That one failed, but never one to let a nasty tactic be put to bed, looks like Karl's back with a new take, eagerly expounded by the Morning Joe gang.
Yep, they heard it anecdotally, so it must be so...Obama's "too cool."
What planet are these people living on?
I guess when Rove thinks Americans are so stoopid they'll buy the same crapola he's dished out in past elections, why not keep serving it up. And since media people like Scarborough and Barnicle play it forward, who is he to pass up an opportunity to keep up the whispers. Of course these are the same media people who were quick to assure us the tongue-tied, ear-piece-enabled Bush won the debates in 2000.
When's one of 'em going to ask John McCain how he can make a man who broke his Bangla-daughter's heart a key part of his campaign?
The cool guy or the hothead?
That's what it's coming down to in this election. I for one prefer a guy who thinks with his brain and his heart. I've had enough of the guy who thinks with his sword.
.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Minnage àTrois
.
Now I ask you, who in bloggerville could possibly resist the opportunity to use that snarky headline? So when I heard on a Fargo talk radio station this morning that Jesse "The Body" Ventura was running for Senate, according to NPR, the ol' wheels started spinning.
Of course, by the time I got back home, the story, which was spreading faster than the Big Sur fire, was already on ABC's Political Punch and being knocked back down by Jesse, who said not even his wife will know before Tuesday's deadline whether he's jumping into the fray against Norm Coleman and Al Franken.
So what is it? The media are flip-floppers? Or Jesse is?
Jesse's got issues with the two candidates in the fray. Al Franken, says he, is a carpetbagger and a political opportunist... hmmm, wonder if he said that from his casa de Mexico where he pretty much decamped away from Minnesota after his single term as governor. And how much credit does the tax-slashing, surplus-draining former governor want to take for the condition of the highways and byways—and bridges—of Minnesota these days?
Speakin' of highways, apparently Franken hasn't yet discovered there are gosh-darned voters and media north of Hwys. 10 and 200.
Jesse doesn't mince words about Coleman either. Points out that Nahmie has never held a job out in the real world since he signed on to government as an assistant attorney. Always lived off the public, says Jesse. And Nahmie voted for the Iraq war, right in lockstep with you-know-who.
So, if that's your criteria, Jesse, why aren't you running against McCain? The mediocre-student, crash-five-planes flyboy who cracks up himself with jokes about bomb-bomb-bombin' and death-by-tobacco has always lived off the government dole. Well, except for Cindy's gazillions, of course.
No wonder McCain doesn't understand basic economics. Like how Social Security works. Or what the price is at the pump.
At first I was dismayed by the prospect of Jesse in the Senate. But a younger Sunshine pointed out to me he couldn't do any more harm than who's there now.
And at least when the Senate and Congress take on all the trappings of pro wrestling—sturm und drang, kabuki, theatre of the absurd [FISA eff-up, anyone?]—there'd be one authentic pro wrestler in the mix. And who knows, maybe he could bring their poll ratings up out of single digits.
.
Now I ask you, who in bloggerville could possibly resist the opportunity to use that snarky headline? So when I heard on a Fargo talk radio station this morning that Jesse "The Body" Ventura was running for Senate, according to NPR, the ol' wheels started spinning.
Of course, by the time I got back home, the story, which was spreading faster than the Big Sur fire, was already on ABC's Political Punch and being knocked back down by Jesse, who said not even his wife will know before Tuesday's deadline whether he's jumping into the fray against Norm Coleman and Al Franken.
So what is it? The media are flip-floppers? Or Jesse is?
Jesse's got issues with the two candidates in the fray. Al Franken, says he, is a carpetbagger and a political opportunist... hmmm, wonder if he said that from his casa de Mexico where he pretty much decamped away from Minnesota after his single term as governor. And how much credit does the tax-slashing, surplus-draining former governor want to take for the condition of the highways and byways—and bridges—of Minnesota these days?
Speakin' of highways, apparently Franken hasn't yet discovered there are gosh-darned voters and media north of Hwys. 10 and 200.
Jesse doesn't mince words about Coleman either. Points out that Nahmie has never held a job out in the real world since he signed on to government as an assistant attorney. Always lived off the public, says Jesse. And Nahmie voted for the Iraq war, right in lockstep with you-know-who.
So, if that's your criteria, Jesse, why aren't you running against McCain? The mediocre-student, crash-five-planes flyboy who cracks up himself with jokes about bomb-bomb-bombin' and death-by-tobacco has always lived off the government dole. Well, except for Cindy's gazillions, of course.
No wonder McCain doesn't understand basic economics. Like how Social Security works. Or what the price is at the pump.
At first I was dismayed by the prospect of Jesse in the Senate. But a younger Sunshine pointed out to me he couldn't do any more harm than who's there now.
And at least when the Senate and Congress take on all the trappings of pro wrestling—sturm und drang, kabuki, theatre of the absurd [FISA eff-up, anyone?]—there'd be one authentic pro wrestler in the mix. And who knows, maybe he could bring their poll ratings up out of single digits.
.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Confront the Crapola
.
It happened again.
Yesterday, Joe Lieberman spun merrily on his way with his pro-McCain self-facts and his Obama mud spatters on Snuffalufagous' show. Link here to the C&L site where I commented briefly already [#27].
This one just keeps gnawing at me: when are Democratic spokesmen going to confront directly in real time the Republicans who still continue to ride roughshod ... over facts, reality, truth ... and their Democratic opponents. They come to these programs prepared with their talking points. But those talking points get lost in the heat of Rethugs' ranting.
Let me say again:
But c'mon, folks, it's been eight years. Isn't it about time we figured out how to shut this strategy down?
I was so rooting for Laura Flanders to turn to the Rethuglican over-talker this morning on CNN's American Morning and say, if you don't shut up while I'm talking, I'm going to smack you...
.
Ralphie Parker had a solution for dealing with bully tactics. Ya gotta confront the bullies and toadies directly...and call bullshit.
.
It happened again.
Yesterday, Joe Lieberman spun merrily on his way with his pro-McCain self-facts and his Obama mud spatters on Snuffalufagous' show. Link here to the C&L site where I commented briefly already [#27].
Let me say again:
Jon Stewart didn’t kill Crossfire…it’s morphed into the modus operandi of the media today. We must deal with it…with tactics that work. It’s not going away.Yeah, we've all heard the speculation that there are special super-secret training schools for rightwing pundits to teach them how to lie with impunity, and we see firsthand the tactics of talk louder, talk over....
But c'mon, folks, it's been eight years. Isn't it about time we figured out how to shut this strategy down?
I was so rooting for Laura Flanders to turn to the Rethuglican over-talker this morning on CNN's American Morning and say, if you don't shut up while I'm talking, I'm going to smack you...
.
Ralphie Parker had a solution for dealing with bully tactics. Ya gotta confront the bullies and toadies directly...and call bullshit.
.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
What's Right with America
.
Fed up with the gasbag shows, the punditocracy, the focus on what's Wright instead of...?...welll, pretty much everything takes a backseat if you rely on Russet or Snuffy or the rest of the Sunday morning "elites."
So instead, I'm going to recommend some better viewing for you: The Astronaut Farmer, starring Billy Bob Thornton and the rest of, the best of, America.
Values worth lauding--perseverence, faith in family and self, gettin' back up when life knocks you down.
Leave the Wright stuff to the gasbags, gimme The Right Stuff any day.
Fed up with the gasbag shows, the punditocracy, the focus on what's Wright instead of...?...welll, pretty much everything takes a backseat if you rely on Russet or Snuffy or the rest of the Sunday morning "elites."
So instead, I'm going to recommend some better viewing for you: The Astronaut Farmer, starring Billy Bob Thornton and the rest of, the best of, America.
Values worth lauding--perseverence, faith in family and self, gettin' back up when life knocks you down.
Leave the Wright stuff to the gasbags, gimme The Right Stuff any day.
Friday, May 2, 2008
On the Street Where They Live....
.
Much is made these campaign days of the candidates and their surrogates meeting the public in venues grand and small.
Tonight NBC's Chris Jansing reported on a place none of the candidates have gotten to, yet.
The back of the van that Scott and Kay Bishop live in these days.
In the hyperventilating pace of the campaigns and, if it's possible, the even more hyperbolic realm of the punditocracy which is pushin' pastor and horserace and polls and....
it all really comes down to folks like Scott and Kay Bishop. Who had a modest home, and now don't even have that anymore.
This country is so far in the ditch too many don't even recognize the depth to which we've fallen. Too many are vulnerable and too many are more than happy to prey upon that vulnerability.
Big Oil, Big Pharma, the banking and credit card industries and their wholly owned subsidiaries in Washington on K Street and in the Beltway Bubble media and in the Congress and most notably in the White House. Their greed and avarice is second nature so entrenched they don't even see it.
Permanent tax cuts, anyone? Grandpa Charlie? George Bush? John McCain? Bueller?
Some people call you the rich and powerful, I call you my base....
Not so funny to folks like Scott and Kay Bishop. Not so funny to anyone with an ounce of integrity.
In the hurly-burly of the campaign season, as candidates stage gas tax events by hopping out of their SUV caravans. As an ex-president whose ego seemingly can't stand a younger man of color upstaging him so he's doing "outreach" to rural communities. As the Republican talks gas tax holiday with no clue of the hundreds of thousands of people who'll be frozen out of their jobs on infrastructure... there's been too little time for what's real amid the posturing.
So consider the back of Scott and Kay Bishop's van. And ask yourself, how far away am I from that fate? And then, vote as if your country depended on it. Or, at the least, the very least, as if your neighbor depended on it.
Much is made these campaign days of the candidates and their surrogates meeting the public in venues grand and small.
Tonight NBC's Chris Jansing reported on a place none of the candidates have gotten to, yet.
The back of the van that Scott and Kay Bishop live in these days.
In the hyperventilating pace of the campaigns and, if it's possible, the even more hyperbolic realm of the punditocracy which is pushin' pastor and horserace and polls and....
it all really comes down to folks like Scott and Kay Bishop. Who had a modest home, and now don't even have that anymore.
This country is so far in the ditch too many don't even recognize the depth to which we've fallen. Too many are vulnerable and too many are more than happy to prey upon that vulnerability.
Big Oil, Big Pharma, the banking and credit card industries and their wholly owned subsidiaries in Washington on K Street and in the Beltway Bubble media and in the Congress and most notably in the White House. Their greed and avarice is second nature so entrenched they don't even see it.
Permanent tax cuts, anyone? Grandpa Charlie? George Bush? John McCain? Bueller?
Some people call you the rich and powerful, I call you my base....
Not so funny to folks like Scott and Kay Bishop. Not so funny to anyone with an ounce of integrity.
In the hurly-burly of the campaign season, as candidates stage gas tax events by hopping out of their SUV caravans. As an ex-president whose ego seemingly can't stand a younger man of color upstaging him so he's doing "outreach" to rural communities. As the Republican talks gas tax holiday with no clue of the hundreds of thousands of people who'll be frozen out of their jobs on infrastructure... there's been too little time for what's real amid the posturing.
So consider the back of Scott and Kay Bishop's van. And ask yourself, how far away am I from that fate? And then, vote as if your country depended on it. Or, at the least, the very least, as if your neighbor depended on it.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Moratorium on Infrastructure
.
Just what is a tax, anyway? The way I look at it, it's an investment in civilized society, the common good. Oh, and in some cases, it's:
a) a political gimmick
b) a road repaired or a bridge replaced
c) either/or...or all of the above? [just two, you say? Well, isn't that enough?]
Though I will allow that John McCain actually does see a tax as a couple more things:
1) political opportunity to posture over and spin and distort and twist and divert
2) something to flip-flop over.
3) both of the above, and more...
Take McCain's recent proposal for a temporary freeze on collecting taxes at the gas pump.
Big whup.
Let's say that tax amounts to 5 or 10% of your gas bill. Pretty small potatoes when compared to the two, three, four times per gallon as much as gas cost back in the good ol' days, also known as before the Bush Dark Ages.
Nope, McCain doesn't want to talk about the grotesque profiteering Big Oil's taking these days, coupled with the rampant speculation of Wall Street's hedge fund types who are driving gas prices right through the roof.
Get a handle on those guys? Not our John. His phony concern for the poor at the pump is belied by his diversion from the real issue: the greedy gas gougers who want four more years of Bush-whacking everyday Americans.
So this summer, as the dials spin higher and higher on gas prices, thank a Bush and a McCain as you hit those potholes and drive over the shaky bridges. Infrastructure brought to you by Republican politics.
Just what is a tax, anyway? The way I look at it, it's an investment in civilized society, the common good. Oh, and in some cases, it's:
a) a political gimmick
b) a road repaired or a bridge replaced
c) either/or...or all of the above? [just two, you say? Well, isn't that enough?]
Though I will allow that John McCain actually does see a tax as a couple more things:
1) political opportunity to posture over and spin and distort and twist and divert
2) something to flip-flop over.
3) both of the above, and more...
Take McCain's recent proposal for a temporary freeze on collecting taxes at the gas pump.
Big whup.
Let's say that tax amounts to 5 or 10% of your gas bill. Pretty small potatoes when compared to the two, three, four times per gallon as much as gas cost back in the good ol' days, also known as before the Bush Dark Ages.
Nope, McCain doesn't want to talk about the grotesque profiteering Big Oil's taking these days, coupled with the rampant speculation of Wall Street's hedge fund types who are driving gas prices right through the roof.
Get a handle on those guys? Not our John. His phony concern for the poor at the pump is belied by his diversion from the real issue: the greedy gas gougers who want four more years of Bush-whacking everyday Americans.
So this summer, as the dials spin higher and higher on gas prices, thank a Bush and a McCain as you hit those potholes and drive over the shaky bridges. Infrastructure brought to you by Republican politics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
