Hallelujah, all is not lost

Every now and again, a columnist publishes a piece that makes you glad you spend all that time you spend studying politics. Not sure I've yet read a piece that captures the Tea Party, its origin, and its effect (though Leonard Pitts has come close) as well as this piece by Frank Rich. It's fear and ignorance, hatred and arrogance. Hardly the route to a more perfect union....

Peace,
emaycee

Just wonderin'...

A recent poll from Quinnipiac shows that 16% of Tea Party members describe themselves as Democrats or Independent leaning Democrat. I just have one simple question: what fucking alternate universe Democratic party do these fucking people belong to? For fuck's sake, there is absolutely nothing the Tea Partiers subscribe to that even comes close to what those of us in the Democratic party believe. Apparently there are some people out there who really don't pay much attention to political platforms.... Peace, emaycee

Pure bullshit

Sometimes...even the word "bullshit" is not powerful enough to describe how far off the mark a pundit can be. This is one of those times.... This past Sunday, The Detroit News pundit Nolan Finley may have outdone himself. The only points he managed to make in his column is that a) Conservative pundits either can't or don't bother to read polls when making their bullshit up, and b) Conservative pundits suck at basic math. "Democrats stubbornly refused to listen to the tremendous public outcry against their health care package." As Media Matters so astutely points out, this is right up there with "liberal media" in the distortion of reality the right so prefers. The Kaiser Foundation poll shows American favoring the plan 46% to 42%. The Economist has it at 53-47. CNN shows 39% in favor and 13% claiming the bill wasn't liberal enough (for the dense Republicans among you, that would be 52% in favor of healthcare). I am typing this next part very s-l-o-w-l-y for Conservidiots: 46 is more than 42, therefore not a majority; 53 is more than 47, therefore not a majority; and 52 is more than 43, therefore not a majority. The "tremendous" public outcry is little more than the vulgar and ignorant vitriol of pinheads which have been given far too much credibility by the mainstream media. Finley--again, sucks at math--also goes on to state: "Now they're learning that the majority isn't silent." You fucking idiot, there is no silent majority, and if there is, they're disgusted with you and your cronies, not us. There's also this: "That's why people are angry. They feel betrayed. And they don't get a sense that their feelings matter in Washington." First, the only angry people are the fringe right wing--my guess is most who oppose would prefer it hadn't passed but aren't about to throw a brick through their congressman/woman's window. Second--as he mentions--elections do have consequences. Don't want this type of legislation to pass? Then don't run the country into the fucking ground and then bury your head in the sand and pretend that your policies didn't cause it. Finally--funny, but I don't remember getting the sense that my feelings mattered from 2002-2006 when the Republicans ran the show. I also don't remember thinking that this entitled me to call my congressman and tell him that I wished he'd get cancer and die. What all this proves in the end, I think, is that for all their whining about entitlements for the poor and every other group they hate, there is no political group in this country who feels more entitled to special treatment and rules than Republicans. That and the fact that they take losing poorly to henceforth unseen heights. Peace, emaycee

You can't handle the truth...

While I was watching Eric Cantor give his little speech today (and this comes from years of watching Republicans speak--trust me, if you wake up in the morning and a Republican tells you the sun is shining, you'd better grab your umbrella: guaranteed it's raining) the first thought that came to mind after he said his office window had been shot at was...this doesn't pass the stink test. Guess what? It probably didn't--looks like it was bullshit. Just a bit of difference between a brick thrown in anger and an idiot shooting a bullet into the air.... Republicans are also claiming that all these current terrorist acts are the fault of the...Democrats. For fuck's sake, do these people have no shame? Apparently, the Dems are supposed to shut up about it or else they'll just fan the flames and bring on even more. By this logic, one supposes that the party of law and order would advise an abused wife to just shut up about it or else her husband will hurt her even worse. And if there is anyone alive who believes were the shoe on the other foot that Republicans wouldn't be politicizing this...well, congratulations you have just been awarded the Stupidest Human Out of the Six Billion People on this Planet Award. Thank you, Mr. President--"Go for it!" sure beats the hell out of "Bring it on." First time in quite a while I cheered the President's words. And it felt great. A rarity: I was right. Turns out that despite their rhetoric about being independent-minded, how they are the voice of the silent majority, speaking out for the American taxpayer, the Tea Party is really just a radical wing of the Republican party. Good luck with that. Oh--you may have missed this with all the other bullshit going on today, but it seems the Reconciliation bill passed the Senate and then the House. It's over--it may be flawed, it might not contain all that we wished, but anyway you cut it...WE FUCKING WON! Peace, emaycee

Whining wimps and blithering babies--Danger ahead edition

I don't care for my congressman (Mike Rogers-R-MI). I disagreed with him vociferously while he was rubber stamping the disastrous Bush the Lesser agenda. He's little more than a Republican toadie, a seasoned liar, and his mind knows independence like mine knows cold fusion (i.e., zip, zero, nada). I wrote him letters expressing my disappointment with his votes. I've voted proudly against him twice. Never, though, never did I think that throwing a brick through his office window or threatening the lives of his children was a valid option. Silly me--apparently this is appropriate behavior for "patriots." For the rest of us, though, I'm certain it would be viewed as terrorism. Along that same line, the Republicans passed many bills during the Bush the Lesser years (tax cuts for the wealthy, the credit card bill, Iraq war resolution, the Medicare prescription plan that was little more than a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry) that I vehemently opposed--**Aside--good day for big words beginning with the letter "v"**--but never, repeat, never did I think that somehow they had cheated to pass their agenda. Yes, I was unhappy, yes, I think they made our country worse off, but the truth of the matter is they won majorities in the House and Senate, won the Presidency, and therefore had the right to pass their agenda. And I had the right to write letters to the editor, donate to Democratic candidates, and work for defeating those majorities (2006--YES!! 2008--YES, AGAIN!!). One would think that now that Healthcare reform has passed (nyah, nyah--fuck you Tea Partiers) and the Republicans are perilously close to the political wilderness again (once the majority of the American people see what this bill does, they're going to like it--though it does have its faults--and vote for the party of go over the party of no) they would at least attempt to be good losers and give themselves a chance with socially liberal/fiscally conservative independents. Nope--why suck it up like an adult when you can throw a tantrum like a child. Is there a more pathetic politican these days than John McCain? And, thank you, Vice President Biden, your enthusiasm is warranted: this is a "...big fucking deal!" Peace, emaycee

This America, is your Tea Party...

Oh, but the truth of the matter always has a funny way of coming out eventually. For all its talk about being a grass roots organization, the national debt, looking out for the American taxpayer, ad nauseum, turns out the Tea Party is basically the lunatic fringe of the far right wing of the Republican party: little more than a radical group of racists and homophobes (don't know if there's an epithet for those who hawk loogies). As reported by Digby and Think Progress, the Tea Party showed its true colors with their antics today in protest of tomorrow's historic healthcare reform vote. If ever there were reasons for the gutless to stand up and vote yes tomorrow, these are those. Nothing like being proven right to make for a good night's sleep... Peace, emaycee

It's a big old goofy world--Friday edition

So it's Saturday--tough (and long) day at work yesterday...

The Week's Not So Top Five

1) This has absolutely nothing to do with politics (or maybe it does), but did anyone else notice something odd about this year's commercials for the upcoming Master's Tournament? No fucking highlight reels of Tiger Woods! Come on--I know the guy fucked up royally, but please. He is easily one of the two greatest golfers ever, and the only reason many of us (myself included) watch so much as a nanosecond of golf. Four Master's championships, and the best they can do is show Mickelson's belly jiggling when he jumps up and down? Fuck you, CBS! Next idiot, please!
2) Not sure I've ever seen a Dem more inept than our own Governor Granholm, and she managed to put her head up her ass again this week by declaring today a "meatless day." It has raised quite the fuss here in the Wolverine state (a protest is being held on the lawn of the capitol today with a barbeque) and I really think this is much ado about nothing, but come on Guv--we've got 14% unemployment and a budget shortfall that's going to cripple us for years, and this is the best you can do? Save the cuteness for better days...
3) Another good week for the Catholic church: seems the Archbishop of Denver defended a Boulder Catholic school's decision to not allow the admission of the children of a lesbian couple because it "was acting in line with church teachings." He also said "the church doesn't believe God has any less love for the children of gays and lesbians than for other children, or that gays and lesbians are bad people." **Aside for those wondering: it appears the church is within its legal rights** Ahem--so even though God loves them, they're just not quite good enough for the Catholic church? Kind of reminds me of those old Jim Crow laws which had nothing against black Americans as long as they rode on the back of the bus and didn't use the same drinking fountains as the white folk....
4) Rather than fight a lawsuit from the ACLU a school district in Mississippi (what a surprise--the land of cotton and hatin') has cancelled their senior prom instead of simply allowing a lesbian couple to attend. One of the young women was purportedly told by a fellow student ..."thanks for ruining my senior year." Note to the little girl whose year has been ruined: hate to break it to you, but you're going to face much worse than this in the coming years. If your senior year is ruined by something as trivial as this, you might as well throw in the towel now because you're going to be utterly miserable by age thirty. Besides, I didn't attend my senior prom and my life has turned out wonderfully, though in fairness I had a decidedly different reason for not attending. I suffered from a malady which persists to this day: Acute Dorkism.
5) The Iraq War had its seventh anniversary this week. While I opposed it from the start, I can add little to what Digby posted so eloquently earlier this week. If only more of our leaders were as prescient as she...

Peace,
emaycee

Be afraid, very afraid

A truly alarming article in today's Washington Post shows the first consequences of the Supreme Court's recent disturbing ruling in Citizens United v. FEC--the fucking Chamber of Commerce is going to war against the Democratic party by spending millions supporting (mostly) Republican candidates who are friends of corporations and special interests. Wonderful--as if we working class Americans don't have enough of a battle in trying to keep our heads above water, now we have an organization in the Chamber of Commerce--an organization that uses its vast resources to effect policies that fuck over 95% of Americans--free to spend as much as they'd like to make certain that we drown.

Folks, the war starts here, today.

And for those idiots who spout about the influence of labor unions on our policies, this factoid in Sunday's Detroit Free Press--in 2009, labor unions spent $43.4 million (granted, not chump change) on federal lobbying; however, the automotive industry alone spent $573 million. That's just one industry, for Christ's sake. It's like the New Orleans Saints playing a fucking Pee Wee League team. Jesus H. Christ, this is our best hope and they're fighting a modern army with spears. I know I give thanks, living here in the great state of Michigan, for the UAW everyday, even though I don't belong to the union--I'd hate to even imagine how little I'd get paid if they hadn't raised the standards.

We decide: it's either the Republican party, the Chamber of Commerce, corporations and poverty, or the Democratic party, labor unions, good government and a higher standard of living.

Doesn't seem like that hard of a decision when it's put so eloquently, does it?

Peace,
emaycee

Na, na, na, na, hey, hey...goodbye

A whopping 300 tea partiers showed up yesterday to protest the Democrats' healthcare proposals. A mass of humanity--a whole three hundred! I suspect that any day now we'll be seeing the mainstream media begin to concede that perhaps this Tea Party movement is what it is: a fringe movement that has about as much chance of success as does the Green Party. Nah--blithering idiots screaming at town hall meetings makes for good TV (or not). Also, as reported in the Daily Kos, an NBC/WSJ poll shows the following: while 20% of those polled said they would consider voting for a Tea Party candidate (a relatively decent number until you remember that number would probably represent the far right lunatic fringe of the Republican party--which is basically what the tea partiers are), 50% said no. Good luck with those numbers.... Perhaps that most surprising number of the poll was that 18% of those polled had never heard of the Tea Party movement. Jesus fucking Christ, what galaxy are these people living in? It certainly isn't the Milky Way. Must be the never listen to the radio, never watch TV, never read a book, magazine, or newspaper, never log on to a computer demographic. Didn't realize we had quite so many catatonic people here in America... Peace, emaycee

Fare thee well, m'lady

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT: To our own Senator Stabenow for her appearance on Olbermann tonight. I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts about Sen. Stabenow during her first term (specifically her vote for the credit card companies) but her second has been a joy. It appears she does belong to the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. Particularly enjoyed her mentioning what many blogs have been saying for a while--if this Healthcare Reform bill was going to be as truly disastrous in November as Republicans claim they'd vote en masse against it and let the Democrats pass it. Not happening. Kudos, Senator! Peace, emaycee

Words

There was an interesting exchange on "The Rachel Maddow Show" (sorry, I still haven't figured out the whole link thing yet): J. D. Hayworth (who I'll grudingly give credit to for appearing on a decidedly liberal show)**Aside: I can't be the only one who's noticed how few Republicans show up on Maddow (granted, I'm guessing Olbermann is like me and couldn't give a shit what they think and thus they never appear on his show) yet how many--even hardcore liberals--Dems show up on on Faux News--we've actually got cojones, for fuck's sake!**who is running a far right challenge to John McCain (like we give a shit: two mother fuckers who'll have their noses far up the asses of corporate elite and fuck over the rest of us) was debating with Ms. Maddow over what the court ruling that allowed gay marriage in Massachusetts said. Mr. Hayworth claimed the ruling said marriage was defined as a state of intimacy. Ms. Maddow said he was mistaken. Mr. Hayworth then said, they'd "just have to disagree." Um, no--either that wording is in the ruling or it is not (it isn't). Mr. Hayworth's contention, when I was but a wee lad, would be called "lying." Now it's called a "disagreement."

Words.

I also saw a snippet of Rush Limbaugh in which he called those of us with a liberal bent, "...the Democrat Party." No, you fucking idiot, it's the Democratic party. We are smart enough to use proper English--therefore, we do not call you the Republic party. At one time, this would have been called "misleading people." Now he's "playing to his audience."

Words.

The company I work for is instituting a new policy which is not going to make many of our employees very happy. As we pass along this policy**Aside--note how the peons have to communicate this new policy: the kings sit in their castles and issue their edicts. Note to executives: they're still going to blame the corporate office.**we have been told that we have to understand it's "...the wants of the employees versus the needs of the company." Get it? The greedy, overly pampered employees "wants" versus the poor, pitiful, put upon company's "needs." Once upon a time, this would have been called "bullshit." Now it's "being a team player."

Words.

Peace,
emaycee

It's a big old goofy world...

It's Friday, and time for what I hope will become a regular feature....It's a big old goofy world, Friday edition (with all due thanks to John Prine and his wonderful ditty):

The Week's Not So Top Five

1) Apparently it isn't enough of a challenge for the California state Assembly that their constituents face 10% plus unemployment and their state is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, a bill is being floated to have a Cuss Free Week to, supposedly, "promote greater harmony." To this, I have but three words: Fuck that bullshit!
2) A local man in Contra Costa County, CA was perturbed that a local mountain was named for the devil (Mt. Diablo), and petitioned the County supervisors to have it renamed after Ronald Reagan. The petition was rejected due to overwhelming support for keeping the original name. Note to Republicans: perhaps it's time to give up on the St. Ronnie schtick when an overwhelming majority of people would prefer a peak be named for Satan rather than your hero (or, more likely, they realized the two were one and the same).
3) In their never ending quest to beatify Mr. Reagan, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-Surprise!) has introduced legislation to have Reagan replace Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill. So many idiocies, so little time...in the first place, and I'm not an expert on the minting process, for a party that's so concerned with spending, isn't this change going to cost money that we really don't need to spend? Second, we're going to replace a Civil War hero with...what, the man who singlehandedly did more to destroy working class Americans (firing of the air traffic controllers started us on our downward trend financially, trickle down policies ensured that, as Leonard Cohen wrote, "the poor stay poor, the rich get rich...")? Give me the drunken, corrupt politician over the malevolent, corrupt politician anyday. Though, I suppose, there would be a certain poetic justice in putting Reagan on a bill that most of us poor bastards can't afford to carry in our pockets.
4) A high school in Rome has begun selling condoms out of vending machines (this seems to be a somewhat common practice in several European countries) in the hopes of "curbing teen pregnancy and HIV." In a move that is about as surprising as a Conservative being an idiot, the Catholic Church has condemned the move, saying the condoms will "encourage young people to have sex." What the fuck? This is why men who don't have sex should never offer advice on sex. It's been thirty some odd years since I was a teenager, but if memory serves, it didn't take much during my teen years to encourage sex--a nice smile, a good head of hair, a pleasant perfume, or even, for fuck's sake, looking at a cheeseburger. Note to the Catholic Church: teenager can be defined as "one gigantic, raging hormone." Stick to saving souls, guys, at least you're trained for it.
5) Glen Beck is encouraging his viewers (apparently the TVs in mental institutions only get one channel) to leave their churches if they talk about social justice. What is it with Conservidiots that if some obscure passage in the Old Testament condemns homosexuality they expect it should be followed verbatim, but if Christ says in the New Testament (Christ being the reason they're "Christians") something along the lines of love your neighbor as yourself, or, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man get into heaven, it's sloughed off as just so much fluff? Can somebody please explain this to me? What's that? Oh--it's usually said by rich mother fuckers who don't give a fuck about anybody but themselves. Got it...
To which I reply to Mr. Beck, "Fuck you! Next idiot please!"

Peace,
emaycee

Pinheads in the Free Press

So many pinheads, so little time...

Today's Free Press opinion page (www.freep.com/section/OPINION) is a beaut...

First of all, the headline "Sen. Bunning: Is he heartless or prudent?" Um, we have to ask? That anybody even bothers to raise this question speaks volumes about where we are as a nation. Ten percent of us are out of work, it's closer to twenty-five percent if you add in people who are working part-time but want full-time, or aren't getting 40 hours a week--NONE OF IT THEIR FAULT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH WALL STREET--and there are people who think we should not extend unemployment benefits. And we're really supposed to wonder if this is being prudent? Prudent how--so we can be a third world country? So we can lose even more jobs as there is less money to be spent?

Then there's the bonehead who "applauds" Sen. Bunning for "standing up against the constant increase in our debt." Uh, where were you when George W. Bush was running up record deficits, mostly through two badly thought out wars and cutting taxes for those who least need it? That worked out so well for us. Trickle down--as it always has in the past--ended up being a drop of water in the desert. Thanks for nothing.

But the winner for today was the idiot who wrote "Bravo, Jim Bunning," and then went on to claim that the best way to get people back working is to cut off their benefits, so they can move to where the jobs are. Hello? In the first place, where the fuck are they supposed to get the money to move if they don't have any? Second, what about the millions of us who need two incomes and have a spouse who is still working--he or she is supposed to quit and move, too? Frankly, it doesn't just bother me that I have to share a country with this stupid mother fucker, but that I even have to share a planet with him.

I feel so much better...

Peace,
emaycee

Sunshine on a cloudy day

Quick takes...

The Detroit Free Press tackled the Tea Party this past Sunday with it's usual incompetence. One hundred and fifty--that's right, one hundred and fifty--Tea Party activists showed up for a meeting with no agenda. The house was packed--guessing here, but they must have rented a storage shed. The big news, of course, is that the Tea Party can be defined as "the American taxpayer."

And that smell emanating from my ass can be defined as "rose petals."

It's been a nice couple of days for the good guys:

• Progressive Bill Halter announced he will oppose Blanche Lincoln (Queen of Special Interests) in Arkansas for the Democratic primary. Move.on is all over this--give if you can.
• It looks as if the Dems will pass healthcare reform (however weak), and Repugs are shitting themselves over it (call it an "Oops, We're On The Wrong Side Of History Again!" moment).
• We are now up to 34 Senators signing onto Sen. Bennet's letter urging the passage of the public option via reconciliation. Still don't think it's going to pass, but it's good to see a few more Dems developing cojones (with all due respect to our own Sen. Stabenow).
• Sen. Bunning has shown the Repugs true colors again, opposing help for those in need by filibustering the unemployment extension. They were for him, faced a backlash, now are coming out against him, will probably say he was right in the fall elections but claim to want to help ordinary Americans. Again: how can anybody vote for these fuckers?

Also in Sunday's paper: Dems are losing support among the youth vote (18-29)--not their policies, just their party. Wake up Dems--Lieberman, Lincoln, and Nelson are not the future. Those kids want to support you, but you have to act like true Democrats first, and pass progressive legislation. Carpe diem!

Peace,

emaycee

Tea Party=R.I.P. America

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell I always get a kick out of conservatives who claim that a spokesperson (Beck, Coulter, Limbaugh, ad nauseum) speaks the "truth." I hear this said, I see it in letters to the editor. And that's why we liberals hate them. In a word: No. What they're really doing is lying, and it just happens to be a lie you agree with. That's fine--you want to live in "I'm Forty-Two Years Old, Flipping Burgers For A Living, Still Living With My Mom, But I Could Get A Date With Salma Hayek If I Could Only Get Her Phone Number Land" that's your business. What really pisses me off is that the mainstream media gives these people credence. Like they're something more than what they are, which is a superlatively small fringe movement. To wit: In a year-end recap, Chris Matthews ranked the Tea Party movement as one of the top ten political stories of the past decade. Please--they have accomplished absolutely nothing--nothing--of importance. Or this: when our less than beloved Governor Granholm gave her final State of the State Address this past month, four hundred Tea Party members showed up to protest. Out of 11 million people who call our great state home, an entire four hundred showed up to protest, and The Detroit Free Press thought this was worthy of an article. For fuck's sake, fifty of us showed up to watch our kids take their Tae Kwan Do testing last week--does that make us a movement, too? Can anyone other than Olbermann and Maddow get this right? The Tea Party movement is bankrolled by corporations and the wealthy who are seeking to ensure that the wealthy get wealthier, and the rest of us get as little as possible. The best of all possible worlds for these people would be a government without power, controlled entirely by corporations and the wealthy, so that we, the people, would be completely powerless, without any means of protection. Free Market, my ass--what these people want is a return to serfdom. They want peons and lords--99% of us will be the peons (shopping at the company store, living in company homes, treated by company doctors). Think I'm full of shit? Check out your wages versus inflation over the last ten years. How much your health benefits have risen. How little autonomy you have in your job any more. How your CEO's pay has risen exponentially compared to yours. How the wealth of the wealthiest 10% has risen compared to the other 90% of the country. More of the same in the years to come? Then the Tea Party is for you. You want the "truth?" Here it is: your "movement" is a movement for corporations and the wealthy, who have as much respect for you and your family, are as concerned about your family's needs, as was Marie Antoinette for her loyal subjects. Good luck with that. Me, I'm going to keep fighting the liberal fight. We deserve it. Peace, emaycee