POTUS on the 2011 State of the Union

Short version: Definitely folksy, channeling Ronald Reagan. Definitely forward looking, channeling JFK. Definitely people empowering, channeling RFK. Flashes of humor. Upbeat. Hopeful. Nothing to really piss off the base, but nothing to make us throw our hats in the air in celebration, either. Left Social Security alone. Seemed apologetic for freezing federal employees wages for the next two years (not good enough, Mr. President). Definitely a Democratic Party leaning speech, just not the Wellstone wing. A triple. Republican response, short version: Really bad haircut (remind self to never get a trim in Wisconsin). Nothing about creating jobs. Nothing about raising the standard of living for the middle class and poor. Deficit reduction, even though we don't want it. Stiffly presented. Lots of fear mongering. Healthcare reform sucks, but still no alternatives. Lots of claims about about job killing policies, no proof to back it up. Lots of claims about regulations hurting the economy, total tone deafness to how much ordinary Americans mistrust corporate America. We hate Obama. Struck out looking. Oh, and everybody is really sorry about Rep. Giffords, though no one seems to want to do a damn thing to make sure it doesn't happen again. And neither one comes close to hitting the nail on the head concerning the state of our union as this "untold" one does.

Peace, 

emaycee

Johnny Potatoes

Not really sure where the phrase came from, but my Dad used to say it to express something good (e.g., "Man, winning the lottery would be Johnny Potatoes"). In that spirit....

Man, we're going to miss Russ Feingold--if you read any piece this week, read this one in Think Progress (of if you've got a little more time, the whole shebang in The Nation). The "gilded age on steroids" would probably be the best description of the times we live in that I've heard. Plus one has to admire a man who even in defeat says, "Bring on 2012." Feingold doesn't just lament the corporatization of America, he encourages the reinvigoration of the Progressive movement and tells it to never stop screaming, "Fuck you, we've had enough!"

Still...the power of corporations has to give one a bit of trepidation--they have the money, they control the media, they have the jobs we need to E-A-T. As the Queen of Punk, Ms. Patti Smith, has noted, "People have the power." There is strength in numbers--and these are some pretty good numbers.

Progressives need to harness the mistrust and anger that a vast majority of Americans feel toward corporations right now to further their agenda--reducing poverty, creating good paying jobs, rebuilding infrastructure, improving education, and protecting ordinary Americans from corporate malfeasance. Difficult times call for difficult choices, and our choice now is to fight the corporatization of America or watch our standard of living continue to sink.

Me, I've already started shadow boxing....

Peace,
emaycee

And now for something completely different

Having a sense of humor is a wonderful thing...

...though I wonder how many people's heads this went over and how many people couldn't figure out the word that needs changing.

Peace,
emaycee

Preview of the 2011 State of the Union

Well apparently President Obama's State of the Union won't be a capitulation to the right, and will focus a lot more on jobs and the economy than Mr. Boehner's agenda. Thanks, Mr. President--I can pretty much shitcan my brilliant (or not) analysis of this piece. Short version: Obama moving to the center sucks. For all of us.

The President is also not likely to discuss cuts to Social Security. No reason to bring up this, I suppose. Short version: a humongous majority of us prefer raising the payroll cap to cuts in benfits or raising the retirement age. Related note: man, not wanting to raise the retirement age really says something about how a vast majority of us view our livelihoods and the companies we work for; mostly it says how much they both suck.

Hmmm. What the.... Well, here's one of the few times I'll ever disagree with Digby (just on the first part)--I'm not really sure I give a shit if anybody shows up for the President's State of the Union, especially John Roberts, Samuel Alito, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, etc. Why in the fuck would I want face time to be given to people who couldn't care less if me or my family lives or dies? As far as I'm concerned, the President can sit quietly behind his desk and skip all the hoopla.

Peace,
emaycee

5,4,3,2,1...

In honor of Keith Olbermann...

Mr. Boehner, where are the fucking jobs?

Oh, that's right--the republican party doesn't give a shit about jobs.

Peace,
emaycee

Screwed, blued, and tattooed

That would be us, the working men and women of this country. Two pieces in The Huffington Post (figures--a short while back I made some catty remarks about how far it's fallen in relevancy, and since, the Post has featured several excellent pieces; the power of the lone blogger!) show just how much we've been let down by the government and our global corporations (no surprise on the last one). Robert Reich explains why the Chinese are racing past us toward economic success--surprise! It's because they are actually investing in more and better higher education, as well as good paying jobs. Compare and contrast with the home team, which isn't doing much of anything other than watching as the wheels go round and round. No money for infrastructure? Check. No money for universal higher education? Check. Record profits for multinational American corporations with no investment in their (and our) future? Check. Sublime, darling.... The other, by Les Leopold, shows how socialism is alive and well in America...for the monied elites. Wall Street's casino playing with the American economy is bailed out by the U. S. government, but when the average American gets fucked by the monied elites bad business decisions, they're on their own. My, my, my.... As Mr. Dylan once said, it takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry--the government's failure to look out for us and the continued raping of our economy by the wealthy, Wall Street, and multinational corporation are two mighty big steam engines. Peace, emaycee

Things don't go better with Koch

I hate to sound like a cynical old fart (basically because I am a cynical old fart) but with the 2012 elections just around the corner I have serious doubts that the DOJ is going to do much of anything concerning Justices Scalia and Thomas and their all too cozy relationships with the Koch brothers. For one, as Digby points out, the Boss (President Obama) and his re-election team think he may need to raise over a billion dollars for the 2012 campaign. For two...uh, when was the last time justice triumphed over dollars in America? Still, it warms my heart a little--someone, somewhere is fighting the good fight. And even the shitty Free Press had a tiny blurb about Common Cause's actions. It's the little things, ain't it? Peace, emaycee

The state of the State of Michigan

We have a new governor--and there seems to be great hope that he will fix Michigan's problems. I truly hope Michigan's citizens and pundits are right. That being said...they are living on Fantasy Island.

The Free Press ran its umpteenth story about the upcoming budget cuts, none of which are going to do a damn thing to solve Michigan's problems. Apparently Gov. Snyder wants to do away with the Michigan Business Tax, but, unfortunately, has not come up with a way to replace its $1.5 billion in revenue. Even worse is the bizarre notion that somehow this will create jobs. American corporations posted record profits last year and unemployment in America is still above 9%. Hate to break it to the folks living in Neverland, but $1.5 billion dollars is chump change to corporations, and most of whatever is saved will be used to raise executive pay and shareholder dividends, not create jobs. There's also the usual bullshit about the "need" to cut the pay and benefits of state workers--thanks, but no fucking thanks. I'm not a public employee, but I fail to see how paying employees less is going to create jobs. Further, why is it always the middle class who has to sacrifice? Talk about a graduated income tax in Michigan and I might be more inclined to listen, otherwise fucking forget it. The two items which might actually make a difference--cutting prison costs and closing tax loopholes--will be given lip service (if that) and die quiet deaths. Nothing will change.

Gov. Snyder did grace us with his first State of the State Address, in which he proclaimed that "Job 1 is jobs," and then said nothing in the remainder of the address to show us why we should believe it. To wit: he discussed ending the MBT (see above), adding $25 million to the Pure Michigan budget (nice touch but though tourism helps, Michigan, in case anyone hasn't noticed, is not Florida and the tourism industry is not going to solve our jobs crisis), end the pricing laws (I work in retail, the law is a pain in the ass and I'd be glad to see it gone, but its repeal is going to cost jobs, not create them), and building the second bridge to Canada (which admittedly will create jobs, unforunately not for quite some time and not that many). For this, the Free Press ran comments and op-eds which heaped praise (less the one who spoke truth to power and said that Gov. Snyder basically did what he's done since his campaign began--spoke long on platitudes and short on specifics) on the governor for beginning his effort to run the state of Michigan as a business (and good fucking luck with that), his hopefulness (one would think Rochelle Riley would know a lot better--Gov. Granholm exuded hopefulness and we all know how that worked out), and his ability to turn water into wine (ha, ha, ha--no, really, too funny).

What we need is a governor--and legislature--that is reality based. I love Michigan. I'm probably going to die here (in many, many years I hope). But Michigan's best days are behind it and are never coming back. The reason Michigan gained the stature and the clout it did was the auto industry provided lots of good paying jobs that drew lots of people here. Unless Gov. Snyder is Jesus Christ (highly doubtful) he is not creating those kinds of jobs; ergo, people will not be moving here, will not be staying here, and the exodus of youth will continue. The only difference between Michigan and the rest of the Freezing Fucking Cold Belt (Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, etc.) was the good paying jobs. Minus that, it's just like the others--fucking cold and boring. Don't believe me? Compare the population of Michigan with the rest of the Freezing Fucking Cold Belt--if not for the good paying auto industry jobs, Michigan's population is at best about half of what it is today.

So everyone can skip the reinvent Michigan bullshit, unless they're talking about reinventing it to be like North Dakota. I suspect, though, that to most people reinventing Michigan means a return to earlier days (though assuredly in different form) that is never happening. If Gov. Snyder is serious about preparing for Michigan's future, he needs to plan for continued exodus. He needs to take a good look at the other states in the Freezing Fucking Cold Belt and what they've done to remain viable (let's face it, there are probably many people who love living in North Dakota, but most Americans aren't going anywhere near the state) in the face of limited future resources. And he needs to seriously prepare Michiganders and Michigan businesses for a reduction in living standards--$10 an hour at Wal-Mart is not going to buy the same kind of lifestyle that $25 an hour at Ford did, and it's not going to attract people from other states in search of a more profitable future for their families.

It's not pretty, but it's a lot more accurate than the horseshit that's being shoveled by Gov. Snyder, the Free Press, most Michigan pundits, and the Michigan republican party.

Peace,
emaycee

This is your republican party...

...and you can fucking have them. Seems there will be a vote tomorrow on repealing healthcare reform. Never fucking mind that more people are in favor of expanding it than repealing it. Never fucking mind that a mere 17% of Americans consider it a priority for Congress (46% think it's jobs, 34% protecting Medicare and Social Security). Never fucking mind that the republicans have absolutely no alternative to the current plan. Never fucking mind that there is no way in hell President Obama will ever sign it and they have no chance at getting 2/3 of Congress to override the veto. They're going to have a big ass vote over a lot of big ass nothing. And this is helping the American people how? This is listening to the American people how? This is going to create jobs how? The toadies for the healthcare industry march on at our expense. Peace, emaycee

Fishers of Men

Sargent Shriver passed away today--I'm sure there are many who have no idea who he is, or what he did other than be the father of Maria Shriver (Mrs. Arnold Schwarzenegger). He was the first director of the Peace Corps, led LBJ's War on Poverty, and was an integral part of the Special Olympics with his wife of 50+ years, Eunice Kennedy. He was also one of the few surviving links to the John F. Kennedy administration. There are few public servants today like Sargent Shriver.

This Thursday, January 20th, will mark the 50th anniversary of JFK's inauguration. JFK's presidency will never be fully judged due to its tragic brevity, but I think it would be fair to say that its mission was noble in intent, that the call to public service was for the greater good of America and everyday Americans (compare and contrast to public service today which seems to be how to line your own pockets while fellating corporate America and fucking over everyday Americans).

Brent Budowsky has written one of the best pieces I've read all year (all eighteen days of it!), calling on each of us to heed the call of Kennedy's inaugural address and not only speak of improving America, but also to follow through with our deeds. I'm not sure all of us (myself included) have greatness within, but we certainly have some good, and even the smallest contributions will help.

Here's to you, America--better bit by bit, by keeping up the good fight.

Peace,
emaycee

Changing the Narrative, Part II

Digby had a couple of pieces this week that I think are a good starting point--I don't know exactly how the message is echoed--but she's had a running commentary, for one, about how republicans claim to love America and democracy but it's truly only when they win that they do. The other involves John Boehner and his lame excuses for not showing up at the Memorial for the Tucson (swear to God, I've had to look up Tucson about a thousand times this week just to make sure I'm spelling it right) shooting victims.

Frankly, both of these pieces speak volumes about the republican party and its followers. They are not interested in what's best for America: it's what's best for the republican party. They are not interested in taking care of Americans: they are interested in more money for republicans (a fund raiser, for Christ's sake, is the reason for Boehner's no-show). They have no political courage: rumors persist that Boehner was afraid of a blowback from the right wing fringe; please spare me, a real leader leads and does what's right (guaranteed if the shoe was on the other foot, Pelosi shows up in a heartbeat because unlike Boehner, she has class and courage). This is not a party that shares anything in common with everyday Americans. This is a party that is only interested in furthering it's own power, and in suckering in as many pinheads as it can get to believe that they have their best interests at heart (yeah sureee, sweetie).

I am not interested in civility--this is a narrative pushed by the traditional media that only hurts Democrats (who are much more civil than they should be) and helps republicans (who must chortle mightily watching Liberals trip all over themselves to be polite knowing republicans have no intention of reciprocating). What I am interested in is what's best for poor, working class, and middle class Americans, and that is not in the best interest of either the traditional media or the republican party, both of whom thrive on a setting a culture of fear.

They used to call Hubert Humphrey "The Happy Warrior." Frankly, what the Dems need is a leader--someone? anyone?--that everybody calls "The Mean Son of a Bitch Warrior." Someone who, you know, actually gets results (jobs, better pay, affordable healthcare, good schools, etc.) that actually benefit everyday Americans.

Peace,
emaycee

Changing the Narrative, Part I

Changing the political narrative in America? I'm not even sure it's possible. Still, after the past two years of reading the countless "This Is What Obama/Dems Should Do" pieces and having their result be that Obama/Dems do nothing of the sort, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we shouldn't try another strategy. This piece by Harold Meyerson really got me to thinking about how good republicans are at creating their own reality--anything that can foster the fantasy that the government is coming to get you and yours is thrown out there and furthers the conservative fears despite the fact, as Meyerson points out, there isn't a single case of Uncle Sam taking anyone's kids because they refused to get them a flu shot, and zero people went to jail because they refused to cooperate with the census takers. Meyerson rightly notes that this paranoia is not good for America, and I highly doubt we could convince already highly skeptical Liberals to spout conspiracy nonsense. Still...there's something to be said for the single-mindedness of their statements and their ability to keep reminding their followers of who the enemy is. And if Liberals are to succeed, we need to get a whole hell of a lot better at narrating our single-mindedness (Liberal and single-mindedness is probably an oxymoron), and communicating to the American people just who the enemy (outside of the Batshit Insane 30%, the true enemies of everyday Americans and their freedoms are the christian right, wall street, corporate America, the tea party, the chamber of commerce, and anything the republican party gets its greedy paws on) is. Peace, emaycee

Palin in 2012--Not So Fast Edition

Okay, so Sister Sarah didn't have such a great day--or week...or month. I'm still sticking to my earlier prediction: she will be the republican nominee for President in 2012. Today helps her cause. It does not hurt it at all. There is still no viable republican candidate with her name recognition or ability to raise money. America does not elect the republican nominee for President in 2012--republicans (and the more hard-core the better) do. This furthers her victimhood cred, which is huge with tea partiers who, after their 2010 success, will continue to have massive influence on republican candidates. "Blood libel"? Christ, I had no idea what the phrase meant until it was explained again and again today, and if I don't, I'll guarantee you most of her supporters don't either (admit it--you didn't either!). And don't forget Citizen's United--no doubt there are plenty of wealthy conservative organizations and individuals (the Koch brothers, chamber of commerce, americans for prosperity) that would absolutely love to have their very own Chauncey Gardiner in the White House (again--Reagan being the first). Never underestimate the sheer idiocy and lunacy of America's right-wingers. Peace, emaycee

Reality Bites--Last Exit to Brooklyn Edition

I don't know if it's just me, but of late, it seems as if the business news is nothing but positive (and if not positive then buried)--Dow's on its way to 12,000, unemployment dropped to 9.4%, more jobs were created than shed last month....

Leave it to Robert Reich to cut to the chase--2011 will probably be another banner year for corporations and the wealthy. For the rest of us...not so much.

My question: why is it pieces such as Reich's never make it into mainstream publications? Why is it we're fed a steady stream of goody-goody bullshit?

Just because I know the answer to both of those questions doesn't mean it still doesn't piss me off.

Peace,
emaycee

Scared Shitless--Lions, and Tigers and Bears Edition

Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, one of my teachers had a poster hanging in her classroom that said, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." Believe it or not, there are times when I wonder if perhaps I worry a bit too much about the corporate/right-wing agenda, if indeed their agenda is as coordinated as it seems, if it's as damaging to the poor and middle class as I think. After reading this (admittedly a few months behind) piece by Jane Mayer about the Koch brothers, the answers are I don't worry enough, it's more coordinated than it seems, and it will destroy the poor and middle class (or, more accurately, make them one and the same). Peace, emaycee

After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same

Not that there aren't plenty of people bloviating about the shootings in Tucson already...but these things I know: 1) The traditional media will get it completely wrong. The story the right wants is that this kind of thing happens on both sides, and that's the story the traditional media will give them. As usual, the traditional media will be wrong. 2) The right will give lip service to toning the rhetoric down for about a week, when some low level tea party nutjob will start screaming about political correctness gone amok which will eventually weave its way up the conservative food chain and Beck, Limbaugh, Coulter, Savage, Palin, ad nauseum will be back in business. 3) The right will reach out to that 30% of Americans who are completely batshit insane with as many goofy theories that put the blame on Liberals as possible, and since this 30% has no connection with reality, many of those theories will do what they are supposed to: get "Liberal" newspapers like the Free Press to publish completely false letters to the editor that only reinforce the worldview of the batshit insane 30%. They will do the same on every blog available, as well, publishing comments that are "true" simple because the batshit insane 30% believe they are true. It will sow just enough seeds of doubt as to make the truth of the Tucson shootings--another right wing nutjob turning to violence--mincemeat. 4) There will be lots of talk about gun control measures, but nothing--that's right, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING--will change. The NRA is too fucking powerful, Obama is too wishy-washy, and republicans have complete control of the House. Forget the Senate, too--finding 51 Dems with cojones would be like finding four leaf clovers in your beard. Ain't happening. 5) Between SB 1070, Gov. Brewer's draconian cuts to Medicaid for transplant patients, and now the Tucson shootings, is there anyone who fucking wants to live in the state of Arizona that isn't already stuck there? Count me the fuck out--isn't any amount of sunshine that makes a sinkhole look any better. Peace, emaycee

And a bang on the ear

...to the idiot giving the "First Forecast" weather report on WWJ-TV last evening.

I'll be the first to admit that ten days without a cigarette has left me a wee bit cranky, but for fuck's sake, a forecast that's calling for shovel worthy snowfall is not good news, not a reason for smiling, and most certainly not a call for cheeriness.

Christmas is fucking over. Snowfall is no longer "a white Christmas." January is here--about the only thought people are giving to winter now is that it would please be fucking over quickly. Measurable snowfall results in the following: fender benders, longer commutes to and from work, lost work days if school is called off (or, if you're lucky enough to have an on call sitter, money spent taking care of kids that wasn't in the budget), and more gas burned driving (last check--it's over $3 a gallon). None of this, you dimwit, is good news.

Thanks to my job, I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes a company worthy of your trust and your business. I've yet to find a company that really captures that, but I've found quite a few that suffer from customer service tone deafness. Congratulations, WWJ-TV: you're the first of many who will be so noted this year for your utter cluelessness when it comes to your customers (we, the viewers). You might let the weather girl know that perkiness might work very well on her next date, but to skip it when giving the weather report unless she's calling for eighty degrees and sunshine.

Peace,
emaycee