Happy Holidays

In the spirit of the season...

I had the opportunity last week to attend an all school Christmas sing-along at the Beautiful Boy's elementary school, and other than the usual kicking myself (deservedly so) in the fanny for spending too much time at work and missing too many of such things for my two lovely older children, it was one of those sweet moments when you realize how really precious life is. I spend an awful lot of time whining in this blog about how much better we could have it (and will continue to do so), but, truth be told, we as a nation are very blessed.

To wit: I stood in the school's cafeteria with the Beautiful Girl and watched as the children sang carol after carol with gusto, with sheer joy, and with the abandonment only five to ten-year-olds can have. Watching the excitement on their faces--Christmas is only days away, Winter Break starts in a few minutes, they're juiced on the sugar from their class parties--was a wonderful sight to behold, reminding me that America still has grand promise, and as long as we keep breeding (doubt that one's going away), we always will. Toward the end of the program, as the students and teachers were singing an increasingly disorganized "Twelve Days of Christmas," it dawned on me that at that moment, I had not a care in the world. It also dawned on me that, though not all of these children will succeed in life, the vast majority will, and for some odd reason this comforted me. Because some day these kids will take my place, and my neighbors' place, and my co-workers' place, and you know what? America will keep going, and though not all of them will, I'm sure there will be enough of them who will keep fighting the good fight that so many do to make this an even better country, an even more righteous country, and to look out for the least of their brothers. And that is a very good, and very hopeful, notion.

So...in the words of the jolly fat man in the red suit, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Peace,
emaycee

Ghosts appear and fade away

It's not that I don't think the Kwame Kilpatrick saga is one of the most important stories in recent Detroit history. It's not that I don't think The Detroit Free Press did one hell of a job in rooting out the the story and making it public--and doing one hell of a service for the city of Detroit. It's not even that I don't think this week's story about the charges levelled at Kilpatrick and his cronies by U. S. Attorney Barbara McQuade doesn't merit the front page coverage it received.


But it reaches a point where you wonder what is overkill and what, if any, good all of the coverage (five full pages worth) does. Kwame Kilpatrick is already out of office. Kwame Kilpatrick is already in jail. I suppose that if all or some of McQuade's charges result in conviction, Kwame Kilpatrick will spend more time in jail. His cronies will also spend time in jail. And this will accomplish...what? It's not that I don't think they deserve it, but I don't think more jail time on top of time already being served is worthy of five pages of coverage. And the time Kilpatrick serves will be as big of a deterrent to future Detroit politicians as...the death penalty is to future murderers. Everyone thinks they will be the one to get away from it.

And...one wonders what five pages of coverage would have done to educate people about healthcare reform. Or five pages on the Bush tax cuts. Or five pages on the candidates we recently elected. I just don't see where the Free Press' recent coverage of the charges levelled against Kilpatrick and his cronies does all that much to make the lives of ordinary people better, how it is anything more than one of those "ooh, this will win us some newspaper award for hard hitting coverage that covers next to nothing" pieces. A page or two would have been fine. The rest is overkill, taking space (and one would assume resources) that might actually make a difference in people's lives.

It's a good story. It's a safe story. But in the end, I don't think it's going to add one iota to make Detroit a better city or Michigan a better state.

Peace,
emaycee

Oxymorons

So my congressman, Mike Rogers, R-MI, has been named to head the House committee on Intelligence. Considering that every word he utters is like watching an episode of "Idiots on Parade," isn't Mike Rogers, Intelligence Committe Head, a bit of an oxymoron?

Yeah, it's a cheap shot, but a well-deserved cheap shot.

Peace,
emaycee

Trust me, sweat the small stuff

This piece was little more than a blurb regarding Unions protesting PulteGroup (the company name sounds like something out of 1984, doesn't it?) events ostensibly to force congressional hearings on how PulteGroup used federal money. It ends up reading like what it basically is: a corporate press release. The CEO, Richard Dugas, didn't show up to speak at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon because he had a "business conflict" (read: too chickenshit to face the protestors). The company spokesman said the unions were waging a "campaign of intimidation and false information against PulteGroup...." (read: we know the republican playbook well--make a generic accusatory claim because the press is too lazy to actually check it out). The piece closes with the usual, PulteGroup bemoaning that unions are actually trying to make employees lives better (read: can you believe the gall? they actually want decent wages and benefits!).

It's probably seems petty, but what bothers me most about the piece is that PulteGroup, through its spokesman, is actually given a face, while unions are basically a generic boogeyman. And this is a narrative that's been going on a long while, and one that if we don't change, our economic well-being is only going to worsen.

Peace,
emaycee

Class Warfare III

At least this one isn't a surprise. The Detroit News proudly bills itself as a conservative stink tank.... Apparently old Nolan thinks (if you can call what he does "thinking") that the public sector unions should follow the suit of certain private sector unions and sell out their brothers and sisters so the rich can get richer, and the rest of us can continue to fall farther and farther behind. Thanks, but no fucking thanks. All unions need to stay strong and not accept bad deals from greedy corporations whose wants will only continue to grow if they don't. There is nothing good that comes from unions accepting job cuts, wage cuts, or benefit cuts--and it only empowers corporations that don't have to deal with unions to offer their people the same bad deals. This is not, as Finley claims, a matter of profits. Frankly, it is a matter of needs versus wants, with the needs being jobs, decent wages, and good benefits, and the wants being unadulterated greed. Public sector employees need to start reminding the people of this country that they provide valued and vital services, and that they're worth every penny of what they get paid. Can you afford private school for your kids? Can you afford a private security detail? Can you afford to pave the roads you drive on? If not (about 95% of us), then sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. Game, set, match...emaycee. Peace, emaycee

Class Warfare II

Swear to God, I woke up this morning and it was raining bullshit...from the pages of the Free Press.

In fairness to Wonk, he makes a a valid point: while the auto industry's comeback is very welcome news, we can no longer depend on it here in Michigan (or any other community dependent upon the auto industry) to be the cureall it once was. But then...but then...he has to get into the beltway conventionalism, which in short means "survival of the fittest" which is really short for the wealthy elite, which leaves somewhere around 95% of us fucked. He says Michigan has to switch from "big" to "smart" (good luck with that, considering we just elected the republicans to overwhelming majorities, and if you look up stupid in the dictionary there's a picture of the gop elephant next to it). Here's how he defines "smart": "more people will be left to their own devices" (what the fuck?...is this a nation or Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson?), "government will be doing less" (again, what the fuck?...with their utter incompetence--and even more important, their complete lack of concern for the welfare of others--the private sector makes the public sector look like an anal retentive book collector , I somehow doubt most Americans want to end up like some third world nation with children starving in the streets), and "the most dramatic cuts in public employment and services are yet to come"(ditto...why is it always the middle class and the poor who are expected to accept job losses and cuts in needed services? for what, so we can give out more corporate welfare? for what, so the wealthy can put more money in the bank?).

Over the years I've learned that you can't argue with stupid, but when it comes to defending the middle class you can't give up, either.

Peace,
emaycee

Class Warfare I

More brilliant analysis from the pages of the Free Press...shocking. Tax-cut deal "should" (quotes mine) help Michigan, Susan Tompor tells us. How does she figure this? Well, we're a state that sells stuff, so people having more money in their pockets is good for Michigan. (Cue incorrect answer buzzer) Wrong! Since the tax rates are already in place, you will be taxed at the same rate as before. You will not be taking home any more money. The payroll tax decrease will probably bring an extra tank of gas a month (half a tank if you drive an SUV)--and this will stimulate what? Will bring in how many jobs? And as for the wealthy, well they just put their money in the bank and history shows tax cuts have never done anything to stimulate the economy. And the kicker? If you make less than $20,000 dollars a year (roughly one in three American workers) you will likely see a tax increase. But never fear, Tompor cites several financial analysts who are more than happy to continue their roles as toadies for wall street and tell you how good this tax cut will be for stimulating Michigan's economy. And these people are right about as often...as the doofuses who write the paper's daily horoscope column. Good times...if you're wall street, a corporation, or a trust fund baby. Just more horseshit from our mainstream media. Peace, emaycee

Why Howard Dean could be the next President of the United States

Okay--it's a longshot. And while most Presidential bids against sitting Presidents are quixotic at best, I always remember Eugene McCarthy in 1968, who sent Lyndon Johnson packing. It can happen. The Democratic base has given up on Barack Obama. Wealthy donors are planning on withholding donations from Obama. Liberals and Progessives are itching for an intraparty fight for the soul of the party. If you think about it--especially with some of the names being bandied about to challenge Obama from the left (Grayson, Feingold--Liberal stalwarts, both, but neither with the slightest chance of upending Obama)--Howard Dean is the logical choice. Who has fought harder for Progessive values over the last several years than Howard Dean? From his Democracy for America political action committee, to his constant support for the Public Option, to his leadership at the DNC resulting in massive Democratic gains (okay, so the 50 state strategy didn't work out quite as planned--give me a little leeway here), to, hell, his speaking out today against Obama's tax cut capitulation, Howard Dean is the only Democrat with a chance to upend Obama. Is he as Progessive as Bernie Sanders? No. Is he a better option than President Obama? Good God, yes. And I'm telling you, all it takes is one victory--the Iowa caucus. It's not impossible--an engaged base could push him over the top. As to questions of his electability on the national level...I think Dean would face a much less hostile press, a much more invigorated base, and a much smarter blog field, as evidenced by this piece. But the real kicker is...Sarah Palin. Anybody who doesn't think Sarah Palin is going to run for President in 2012 is living in a fantasy. You don't announce on TV that you can beat the sitting President if you're not planning on running. You don't run off to Haiti to increase your compassionate conservative cred if you're not planning on running for President. And, mark my words, Sarah Palin will be the republican nominee in 2012. Romney and Huckabee couldn't even beat fucking Grandpa McCain in 2008, and I see no way they can match her fundraising or devoted following. Pence and Daniels might appeal to the base, but, again, zilch on the fundraising and both are so boring the national media would ignore them. Pawlenty is a joke. And even republicans aren't stupid enough to elect Newt Gingrich, who shares as much of a chance as I do of being the next President of the United States. Trust me, tea party nation and the base loves Ms. Palin, and they don't care if she can't win the national election--she toes the party line (see also, Ken Buck, Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle--the goofy bastards gave up control of the Senate on these losers, and they'll do it nationally, too). Frankly, I think the Obama administration knows this every bit as well as I do, and it's why they are not afraid to piss off the base and capitulate. Face it, no matter the disdain we currently have for President Obama, if Sarah Palin is the nominee, Liberals and Progressives will go into batshit overdrive to see that she is not the next President. And this, in a nutshell, is how Howard Dean becomes the next President: challenge Obama from the left based on his Liberal credentials, win in Iowa, face Sarah Palin for the Presidency, ride the coattails of a terrified base, and send Palin's ass back to Alaska between her legs (truthfully, Palin would probably carry North Carolina and Indiana, might carry Virginia and Florida, but those are about the only states that Obama won in 2008 that she could turn red, and that will still leave her far short of electoral votes to win). Ta-da! And happy days would be here again.... Peace, emaycee

Reality Bites

I really like Robert Reich--he and Paul Krugman seem to be about the only pundits of note (plenty of less notheworthy company) who consistently espouse the common sense of the Liberal agenda in matters economic. But sometimes...

It could just be my having had it with all these Liberal pundits who keep insisting what Obama should do (he won't), but we can't even end the temporary Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and by some fucking miracle we're going to get a 70% tax rate on the nation's richest folks? Get real, for Christ's sake.

Want to enact a Liberal economic policy? Get Liberals elected who will be receptive to such policies. Anything else is mere talk, and as we found out so succinctly from President Obama, talk is cheap.

Peace,
emaycee

emaycee loves Bernie

When you look up the word bad-ass in the dictionary, future editions will feature a picture of Bernie Sanders next to the definition. Because this--Bernie Sanders mock filibuster of President Obama's capitulation, eight and one half hours worth, of a fucking Democrat standing up for us, telling the world that "we can do better" is the epitome of fucking bad-ass. (With help from Sen. Brown and Sen. Landrieu--Mary Landrieu? What the fuck?) Liberals, Progressives, Democrats who belong to the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party haven't had much to celebrate these past few months, but this, this we can celebrate. As Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently stated, "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." Sen. Sanders is doing his part to keep our infinite hope alive. Peace, emaycee

Too fucking funny

Though it bothers me to a degree that Wal-Mart has decided to cut their $1 (a whole fucking dollar--goddamn, now they can put the kids through Harvard!) premium pay for working Sundays--because it's another example of the working men and women of this country getting fucked out of money so the wealthy elite can have more (come on--with the "talented" leadership this company has they can't make up a lousy couple of thousand dollars a year per store? Sounds to me more like talentless leadership), I understand how they can justify it. Nobody does it any longer, and most companies stopped many years ago (I've been in retail nearly 30 years and both of the companies I have worked for stopped when I was still a young buck). No, what really bothers me is the narrative that Wal-Mart is trying to create--they're not the bad guys, the greedy workers are. "We regularly review our compensation programs, and are confident Wal-Mart's pay and benefits are as good if not better than other retailers," the article quotes a company spokesman as saying. Really? Isn't that comparable to someone saying they're the best cabbage farmer in Alaska? In the end, who really gives a fuck? Cabbage still sucks and so does the state of Alaska. And the media helps them: take a good look at the title of the article. "Chain to cut Sunday wages." Chain? Jesus H. Christ, Wal-Mart isn't a just a chain, it's the fucking biggest company in the world. Why wasn't the title of the article "Wal-Mart to cut Sunday wages"? How many people do you supposed read the headline and moved on, thinking it was just another Billy Bob's Grits and Shits? Am I just paranoid or are we really fucked? Peace, emaycee

Can't stop my wondering...

Can anybody think of a good reason to read Huff Post anymore? Between frivolity (divorce.com or Blackberries r' Us), the umpteen pieces about what Obama needs to do (he won't, so spare us and give us a real alternative), and the too numerous to mention articles about some New Age Nirvana, what's the point? It might as well be Time or Newsweek.

If you're thinking about watching The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell in the hopes that it will be another good jolt of Liberalism like Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, skip it. Tonight he had a feature on Obama's "compromise" on the Bush tax cuts, and it was like watching Bill O'Reilly argue with a liberal--O'Donnell (who is in favor of the capitulation, believing it to be the best deal Obama could get) had four guests and never let any of them make their points before cutting in with why they were wrong. It was brutal--had I been one of the guests, it would be the last time I'd ever be on the show. Who the fuck thought this show was a good follow-up to Maddow and Olbermann?

Can anyone think of a Democrat with national prominence from the last few years who we can be prouder of than Elizabeth Edwards? May she rest in peace....

My eldest (the talented writer in the family) sent me this heartbreaking article from Mother Jones which, unfortunately, is all too familiar for those of us who live in and around the great city of Detroit. Callousness, corruption, greed, tragedy--and more children dead that shouldn't be. When will it end? Is it even possible to find solutions? Long, but well worth the read.

Why is it that outside of liberal bloggers Rep. Jan Schakowsky's alternative to the Catfood Commission's recommendations has received very little media attention? It's fair, it doesn't put the burden of fixing America's fiscal disasters on the backs of the poor and middle class, and would put a signigicantly bigger dent in the deficit than the shit Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson are pushing. Her plan should be front page on every newspaper, every magazine, and the top story on every news show--and is further proof of how the wealthy elite control our media, and the continuing crushing of the poor and middle class in the continuing class war that Reagan and his cronies engineered in the 1980s.

Can anybody begin to imagine a republican President having a news conference and berating his party's base? Does anyone but me wonder what the fuck President Obama was thinking when he did it today? Alas, I only have my usual retort: fuck you, next idiot please!

Can I get a witness? A-fucking-men!

Peace,
emaycee

Preach it, Sister!

Perhaps because we're of nearly the same age--and I'm sure her world weary cynicism about all things concerning the Democratic Party plays a part as well--Digby has rapidly become my favorite Liberal blogger. This piece is one of the best I've read from anyone in a while, mostly because she puts into words what I've felt for a long time: comparing the government's financial situation to that of a family is not just stupid, but it's dangerous, and does as she says, get us into trouble. (Can't begin to count the number of idiots who have written letters to the Free Press over the past couple of years making this same comparison--I usually have to keep myself from gagging when I read them.) One of the few points the piece doesn't make, is very few families who are tightening their belts these days are doing so at the risk of losing their job or blowing a job opportunity--I mean, seriously, no one's showing up at their office job in ratty clothes to save a buck, no one's letting the car run out of gas so they can't make the job interview to cut a few pennies, and no one's not buying paper and postage so they can't send out their resumes to shave off a few more cents. Let's face it--you've got to spend money to make money in a family, and the government shouldn't be short shrifting money at the expense of jobs and job creation.

She also calls the government should be run as a business as the second stupidest metaphor, which I would actually rate as the worst. For one, with the utter incompetence we've witnessed over the past couple of years on Wall Street, in the banking industry (AIG, Lehman Bros.), the automotive industry (GM, Chrysler)--and let's not forget MCI and Enron from the early part of the decade--um, this is how we want government run? Not to mention that if we run it like a business that means the President would be paid hundreds of millions of dollars, Governors tens of millions of dollars, ad infinitum...for really being cheerleaders pushing a bunch of platitudes that do nothing to increase efficiency. And let's not forget--there are NO civil rights in a business. Don't think so? Try writing a letter to your company's president in which you tell him in no uncertain terms he's a fucking idiot--my guess is you wouldn't have a job for long. But you can write a letter to the President of the United States using that same wordage, and no one can strip you of your citizenship (though you'd probably end up on the Secret Service's shit list).

In short, the country can ill afford simple minds with simple plans...pretty much a description of the republican party/tea party nation, now that I think of it.

Peace,
emaycee

President Chickenshit

Here's a surprise--President Chickenshit caved again and the American people are the big losers. No jobs will come of this, wages will not increase, and the economic recovery will continue to putter along. Just another kick in the teeth to the Democratic party and its fervent base supporters. Does anybody really believe Obama is going to fight the tax cuts for the wealthy two years from now? Does anybody really believe Obama is going to fight for anything that benefits the 98% of Americans who aren't wealthy? Does anybody really believe Obama is going to ever fight for anything of value for the American people without giving everything away in some half-assed hope for bipartisanship? And while we're at it, I've had it with articles like this one, where some fucking genius tells us what Obama should do, or needs to do. Fucking forget it--it's been two years and Obama hasn't shown once that he's going to do anything that's popular with the base of the party, or in the best interest of the American people. Can anyone tell what the Democratic Party is supposed to stand for anymore? Between the Catfood Commission (horrible idea from the start), Dick Durbin capitulating already on Social Security, and 14 Democratic Senators signing on to their support for the Catfood Commission's recommendations, what are we? Near as I can figure, we're the party of mediocrity--hey, we won't help you, but we won't fuck you over as bad as the republicans. Woo-fucking-hoo--can't wait to waste another vote in 2012. My vote for Obama in 2008, without a doubt, is now the most disappointing vote of my life (not that I had much choice--Grumpy McCain and Dopey Palin would have been catastrophic). Time to take down the Obama poster in the Beautiful Boy's bedroom--is he someone I really want my son to emulate? Methinks not. Peace, emaycee