January 31, 2017

Obama

One about to say is going to sound nasty. Remember in Wisconsin where he did not put on those "comfortable shoes, and let Scott Walker run rampant. You know a lot of those voters in Wisconsin were the ones that Trump was able to seduce. This is a perfect time for you to put on a pair of comfortable shoes. Granted I know the right wing will practically pop champagne at the very idea of you being reduced to being just another black man at the mercy of a bunch of white cops. However, you can do a lot of damage to Trump and he needs to have damage being done, because he is doing permanent damage to this nation.

January 30, 2017

People are sharing Doctor Who's warning about alternative facts from 40 years ago

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-01-23/people-are-sharing-doctor-whos-warning-about-alternative-facts-from-40-years-ago

“You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common,” the Doctor tells his soon-to-be companion, Leela (Louise Jameson).

“They don’t alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views.”

January 28, 2017

Verbatim: Dick Cheney Criticizes Donald Trumps Muslim Policy

https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/07/verbatim-dick-cheney-criticizes-donald-trumps-muslim-policy/?_r=0

Folks, when Dick "darth vader" cheney thinks you have gone too far, you have gone TOO FAR!

January 26, 2017

The real truth about Washington (warning stupidity alert!)

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/samuelson-the-real-truth-about-washington/2310871


This fools thinsk social security is somethign that will need to be gotten rid of, and he think trump is too eager to keep it.

January 22, 2017

The Creepy Religion That Explains All Of Trump's Actions

http://www.cracked.com/blog/trumps-bizarre-religion-weirder-than-scientology/

This explains so very much. However, I disagree with the idea that somehow this is a fringe of American Christianity, but really a more honest statement of it.

January 21, 2017

Dallas Cowboys as a metaphor for Trump voters

I know that many of the people here really do not care about football. That is perfectly fine. However since we do search for metaphors that people do understand in common, allow me to offer you an example of something you might find useful the next time you're trying to speak to someone who is a football fan.

This year, the Dallas Cowboys were a serious contender for the Super Bowl. Indeed their loss to the Green Bay Packers was less than seven points, which means that it was not a touchdown that beat them, but a few field goals. However they were brought to this point not by Tony Romo,, that all American white quarterback. Tony got injured, so they brought in the fellow by the name of Dax Prescott, a rookie quarterback of mixed race heritage. Now true to form the owner, Jerry Jones was unhappy about this, and so were many fans in Dallas who really did not want some mixed race quarterback running their beloved Dallas Cowboys.

A funny thing happened, tthis new quarterback got them to the playoffs,, somewhere where they were not used to being. He defeated many other teams, and the actual victories, all the while Tony Romo was from the sidelines speaking as if he would be ready any minute now restore the old order. Indeed many Dallas cowboy fans, even as they were enjoying the victories this new quarterback and gotten them, kept wanting Tony Romo to come back. It sure didn't that the Dallas Cowboys,, who were known for encouraging a rather reckless culture, and being proud of it did not know what to make of this very soft-spoken, clean-cut, mixed race quarterback.


The ended literally two games from the Super Bowl, the new quarterback scored a lot of points, but again the same problems involving defense that put Tony Romo on the sidelines wound up allowing Green Bay to score points. Now does Jerry Jones blame the fact that he had neglected the defense in favor of trying to turn the Dallas Cowboys into a Tony Romo glory machine? No the think this rookie quarterback, who made history by doing so well as a rookie for putting him within two games of the Super Bowl? No, what he did is that he went on another rant about how Tony Romo was still his choice, and how Tony Romo would have beaten the Green Bay Packers.

Again, no respect for mixed race quarterback who actually gave you better victories than you enjoyed in years. No, Jerry you had to go ahead and talk about Tony Romo.. It was bad enough that you made a personal promise that Tony Romo was going to be in the Super Bowl, regardless of the fact that he was absent most of the blood season, no Mr. Jones you had your vision of your all American white quarterback, and so did many of your same cowboy fans, actual victories be damned! And let's not even talk about the fact that you were able to focus on the less sexy actions like making a defense, your team would've actually gone farther, instead sportscasters were really getting sick of Cowboys fans chanting open quote how about damn cowboys!" Made a point that you looked foolish! They know that billionaires in America never have to admit that there sorry, because America somehow thinks that someone who can make $1 billion is automatically a genius and a hero. Nevermind the years where the Dallas Cowboys word joke because of Jerry Jones trying to go ahead and act like he is a genius.

So,, the moral of the story is, billionaires, and the he seeds that drove her pennies at the billionaires do not actually care that much about actual results, actual victories, but instead seek that ending were they are the heroes of the story and all their heroes look like the idealized image of the all American white quarterback. Nevermind any mixed-race person who actually can give them results, and not be a tabloid embarrassment, as Tony Romo often was.

Right now, we have a billionaire controlling our "team", and like many billionaires that use professional sports arena as a substitute for competence,, and a way to compensate for their small amount of, let's just call it testosterone, though many ladies out there not only know the type of man, but suffer because of that type of man; these are the sort of men that kept saying "all Trump was doing was "locker room talk." The thing to keep in mind is, these folks believe that they do not have to listen to reason, because frankly, they see the reason is just a tool to get money which is not but a tool to increase for vanity. Part of the problem is in this culture of ours, if you can become a billionaire, or even the sort of millionaire that flatters white people's vanity, (as opposed to being mixed-race and competent) then you can literally do no wrong, reality be damned! After all, we know that next season, Cowboys fans will file into that new stadium that their tax dollars bought for Jerry Jones, and that they will be looking forward to the return of Tony Romo, who will do his best to make the Cowboys great again. Of course, while I fly the sarcasm flag over that last sentence, I am sure that many cowboy fans would not.


By the way here to paint sources in case you are wondering what that heck I am talking about:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2016/12/16/jerry-jones-dak-prescott-dallas-cowboys-tony-romo/95539120/

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/arlington/2010/07/11/20100710-Tax-income-to-pay-Cowboys-Stadium-9172

I think even nonsports fans will see how this is a very fitting metaphor for our country at the moment.

PS: if you happen to be one of those levels in Dallas who is saying "I hate the F**ing cowboys!" I offer sincere apologies. I'm fully aware that there are many in Texas who are liberals of the first order, sons and daughters of Molly Ivins and Khris Khristopherson. as a Florida boy, I can really sympathize with you whenever a bunch of northeasterners demonize anyone not in the Northeast,, despite the fact that California made Reagan, and now New York made Trump.

January 20, 2017

I hate to sound cruel

But we are going to go ahead and overcome the mindset that created Trump, and for that matter Bush, and for that matter blunt and potentials of both Clinton and Obama, we're going to really need to stop talking about this leader of the free world bit.

The ugly truth is, what Americans generally didn't enjoy way certain freedoms that other countries and the rest of the world did not, we have to realize that there never really was much of a "free world" nor did we lead it much. Before Angela Merkel decide to go ahead and get austerity crazy, which did start the ball rolling that destroyed the European Union, most of Europe was a lot more free from want than we were. This is not just about medical care, though it certainly includes it; but many things from a good transportation grid higher education or made much more affordable than they ever were in America. It wasn't as if America could not of had those things, after all part of the reason Europe had those things is because America did something called a Marshall plan where they realized that one of the best ways to actually fight the communist was to actually go ahead and give money and support to people actually build an infrastructure. By the same token, that did not mean that we were leaving anything, because other nations in both Western Europe and Latin America decided that they want to take a direction that was different than the one the United States did.

Now, I've heard some communists say that Cuba and the USSR were in some ways more free because people will more free from want. There's some truth to that but it hides a deadly detail. The fact that unless you actually allow people to freely express opinions and ensure a standard set of human rights which includes both freedom to and freedom from, you are not complete. We need freedom to worship but we also need freedom from being forced to worship. We need freedom to travel, but we also need the freedom that having a stable economy provides, we don't feel that you have to go to the big city in order to make a living. Sadly a lot of the story of the 20th century involves a lot of people fighting over which set of rights is more important than the others with the end result that no rights were really that well protected. In this very election, you had people arguing about whether or not it was more important to safeguard economic rights or social rights, as if you could actually sustain one without the other. Oh yes, shop did when because of bigotry, and he certainly one because of dirty tricks, for which I hope to hear that James Comey either winds up dying in Leavenworth, or squeals enough that those who were helping him do. However, if we know that we are going to have everything but the kitchen sink thrown at us, we cannot allow basic ideas about what being a Democrat is to get undermine from within, and yes both those who supported Bernie and those who supported Hillary wound up overlooking that in the big picture. Not all, but way too many did.

Arrogance will ruin you every time, it is the most banal addiction there is. Part of that arrogance is this whole idea but somehow we are the city upon the hill, the leader of the free world. Now granted, and one of God's cruel jokes (the sort that make atheism easy to accept) we are now being left a world where oddly enough, the alternatives to America don't look that good.

Yes China, you build wonderful things, and the magnetic trains are amazing. You managed to pull 70 million people out of poverty, that's the size of an average European nation, like France or Germany. Consider that the full amount of African Americans in the United States equals 45 million, and the scope of your achievement is very clear. However, you have employment standards that are actually worse than the United States, which is absolutely nothing to be proud of. We see you wearing gas masks, and we also know that as nice as your Internet is, it is heavily spied upon, and people watch and even the fact that credit rating based on what they think is a threat. We also know that the reason why cup needs is because, ironically enough, the last communist nation uses low wages and bad safety standards as a selling point.

As far as Russia goes, if you are guilty of half the stuff you were accused of, well played. However, tthat does not change the fact that you are basically not the idealistic Soviets your parents were, but a haven for some of the most vile right-wing thought in the world. Yes the world respects your guns, and you have the ability to hide out in your winter waste, which you've done for time Memorial whenever an invader comes. That does not mean you cannot get beat up by the goons, that does not mean you have a decent economy, especially since yours is based entirely on oil, which means that as my oil runs out you, like many of the Arab states you tend to dislike so much, will be stuck wondering what to do, your fall back is having a bunch of people the people up, but worse, spying each other,, in short all of the old sins of USSR without any of that egalitarian brotherhood crap.

And sadly,, there was a time Western Europe really did seem like the light of the world. You guys traded the European Union for a bunch of small,, nationalistic little fiefdoms. The way I know that the disease has really gotten into your bones will be if Marine Le Pen wins next year. It is one thing for Britain to leave, as there were no small amount of pseudo-intellectuals who wanted to go ahead and wreck tthe European Union because they still want to cling to an empire where the sun never set. France however, used to be the nation that many Americans wished for nation was more like. Time will tell, but it doesn't look good.

So, what was the point of me trashing the other rivals to power after saying we need to get over all this leader of the free world nonsense. The point is that it's not a very free world anymore, anywhere, and that even the nations that are like us, and even the nations but did somethings better than us, or all caught up political quagmire, which is brought on by an economic quagmire, which is brought on by a bunch of elites realizing that their control over everything is slipping and that they need some way to go ahead and pull back the curtain before people see them as the naked little emperors and empresses they are. In short while the idea of a nation and a culture may be of some use to us, we better be prepared to use our flags for blankets in the winter to come. If any nations come out of this, it will be the ones that learn to go ahead and adapt to the new world, or perhaps simply drop illusions about themselves and finally start living the world that always was.

For what it is worth, I am very low to hear way some reporters are angry at Trump because he basically did not talk about things that would make him a leader of the free world. Most of these people who say it are the same people who still don't understand that they got the whole forecast of 2016 completely wrong. I myself am a lot less concerned about is leading a bunch of people that frankly may never of what our leadership by could certainly see myself working as teammates of the rest of world as we deal both at home and globally with the elite that frankly just considers all nations places to own a mansion and jet to on occasion. Hold class consciousness if you wish, but my free world is reading a bunch of things on DU and in the Guardian and on other places why realize that no I'm not the only one who thinks like I do and no I'm not the only one that thinks local class everywhere easy for clueless at best profoundly full of crap at worst.

January 20, 2017

It is very tempting to give in to darkness

after all, we have seen America go down to its lowest point in years. On all fronts, be they Trump voters, but also the people who fought so fervently for the Democratic candidate of choice that they let the election become a squandered bit of soundbites and paid politicos. Please do not engage in the last few seconds of "we lost because people did not shut up and crown of my favorite person" before the 2016 postmortem is closed. It will not help in 2018, and won't help in 2020.

The thing is, as much as we hate the fact, and I can be honest about the fact that many of us do not trust each other at this point, but we do have much more in common with each other than we ever can with the people who put Trump in power. I'm not just saying this because we all know that there are many GOP members secretly hoping that Trump finds his way out of power. We, as Democrats will always have much more in common with each other even if the Republicans were by some miracle to lean leftward. Yes, it is easy to forget that back, especially because a lot of people were paid an awful lot of money to go ahead and make us forget that, because we became very enamored of the political game, and we forgot the purpose of that game was to make things better for the average voter. National politics was the desert, it was not the bread, meat or potatoes. The GOP managed to pull off what it did, because they realized that you had to win local elections before you could talk about national elections, so if you want to go ahead and help reverse what's happening, read your local paper and get into the elections of janitor if that is the lowest rung of your local system.

As much as Trump is hateful, we know darn well that the national politicians, the Paul Ryan's, the Mitch McConnell's already working on ways to make him forget even the nicest political promises like leaving Social Security alone. The fact is whatever guy gets laid in for four or eight years is only going to be able to pick from a set bit of options that were presented by Congress and the people who paid for them, and that is very much true regardless of Democrat or Republican,, as we have seen both donkeys and elephants back stabbers hard! All the same, if you're not thinking about 2018, which is when many of you will be able to pick a senator, House member, governor or even Mayor, then you are not making preparations for 2020. We need to become a unified front back and organize locally as well as nationally and yes even globally or we will be destroyed in our own separate worlds.

Yes, it is very easy to give into darkness, because I've seen people who I respected go low, and I've seen people who I never respected dig so low that Satan is complaining about politicos digging around in his basement. I will not lie: one of my favorite sayings of Bill Clinton was that "there is nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what is right with America." I no longer have faith in that, indeed I seriously think that our price to survival might be the hard realization that the America we knew cannot survive anymore. That does not mean we cannot make a new America, one that actually does reflect its higher ideals.

Now don't get this twisted, because I see many people who call for new America who really want to go ahead and fashion it in their image, he had some libertarian paradise, some anarchist collective, some low-tech glorified commune, some sort of technological startup, or 10,000 visions that do not reflect what America wants to be a mochas they never get around to be introspection or America has to decide what it wants to be.,, And a lot of these new revolutionaries will keep on glorifying the various Saints be the Che Guevara about, Chomsky, or (insert idol here.) work that is be done does not need Saints, and frankly even the use of faith is questionable.

The work that will be done will be done by people who realize that they really only have a few decent choices, and frankly, not much to lose. It will be done by groups quietly working together at times, and yes doing the occasional protest, but one worthy learn from mistakes of occupy Wall Street and make sure to plan for all the contingencies that may happen, be it legal help, or how to deal with that guy that comes in that wants to hurt women. yes we will need to laugh at times, cry at times, and oh God yes, rage at times. But we have to realize that all that passion has to be attached to a program of consistent action, even if, especially if they are small actions on the local level, because like raindrops, tiny as they are, they will become a flood. We don't need to pray for storm to wash away the crap, we just need to go ahead and make sure we collect all the raindrops. Our big obstacle for that work will be that many different sides will want to make it about them, and not us.

A fellow by the name of Eric Hoffer once made a quote I do believe applies to the situation: "where there is the skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that can move mountains." What I'm saying here is this: we do not need to tell ourselves a bunch of sweet lies. Yes, long after the 2016 postmortem is over, Hillary partisans and Sanders partisans will hate each other. long after the inauguration, there will be a distrust between people who identify themselves as "urban professional" and "rural working class." However, there are some good news to be had from this very sad state of affairs,, the fact that we will work together not because we want to, but because we know we have to. We do not need idealism anymore to work against the Republicans. We do not need to sell some sort of idea that when people try to wear it, winds up being a size too big or small. We do not even need hope, all we need is to act together, focus on the big picture, and place ourselves in the right position when, not if when the GOP implodes, as it always has, as it always will, especially when it is seized up by a bunch of people who really do not have self-control, or the wisdom to realize that if they did go ahead and throw the proletariat not a few dog bones, they would be a lot safer in the long run.

January 19, 2017

trump team prepares dramatic cuts

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-team-prepares-dramatic-cuts/ar-AAm1b5Y?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

No one should be surprised by stuff like this:
The changes they propose are dramatic.
The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.
Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump's team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years.

but some of this stuff is even worse than many thought:
At the Department of Justice, the blueprint calls for eliminating the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Violence Against Women Grants and the Legal Services Corporation and for reducing funding for its Civil Rights and its Environment and Natural Resources divisions.
At the Department of Energy, it would roll back funding for nuclear physics and advanced scientific computing research to 2008 levels, eliminate the Office of Electricity, eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and scrap the Office of Fossil Energy, which focuses on technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

So in other words, anything that seeks to reduce the damage out children will have to clean up, protect people from executives who act like frat boys, or even give us faster computers than our rivals, is done.

But the folks in red country get their jaizzuz , all dey got to du is wait for the coal jobs ta come back..

January 18, 2017

This Millennial Rant Deserves A Trophy For Being Most Wrong

http://www.cracked.com/blog/that-anti-millennial-rant-bs-cracked-destroys-meme/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-weekly-20170118


this reflects an attitude I see a lot of nowadays . Just imagine if half the predictions about the "pepsi" generation turned out to be true.