Like so many, I signed countless petitions for Troy Davis. I sent countless letters that those much more committed than I were gracious enough to compose. I even said a Hail Mary for him while the Supreme Court was considering a stay of his execution.
It didn't matter.
And all I will take out of Troy Davis' execution this evening is an even stronger conviction that the government should remain solely a force for good, and has absolutely no business taking the life of any human being under the auspices of our very fallible legal system.
Peace,
emaycee
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Of wars and rumors of wars
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:6
Kos called Andrew Breitbart's random musings a "psychotic break." I'm not so sure--I think Breitbart's hopes are shared by most, if not all, of his like-minded allies in the tea party. I truly believe most people in the tea party would like nothing better than to get out their guns and shoot all the Liberals, and take back the country that exists only in their puny minds. Contrary to their wishes, that civil war will never happen: the monied interests who pull their strings and call the real shots would never--repeat, never--let a civil war get in the way of their making money. That being said, a few points on Breitbart's comments:
Unless things change, though, I do believe Brietbart will get his wish of a civil war. As we've seen in the Middle East, you can only feed the poor shit sandwiches for so long before they attack and try to stuff them down the throats of those who have so much. With almost 1 in 6 Americans living in poverty, Breitbart and his monied backers should beware: there is no soldier like a soldier with absolutely nothing to lose.
Peace,
emaycee
Matthew 24:6
Kos called Andrew Breitbart's random musings a "psychotic break." I'm not so sure--I think Breitbart's hopes are shared by most, if not all, of his like-minded allies in the tea party. I truly believe most people in the tea party would like nothing better than to get out their guns and shoot all the Liberals, and take back the country that exists only in their puny minds. Contrary to their wishes, that civil war will never happen: the monied interests who pull their strings and call the real shots would never--repeat, never--let a civil war get in the way of their making money. That being said, a few points on Breitbart's comments:
- Breitbart notes that they've "got the guns." Apparently, Brietbarts mind is too small to grasp the fact that should it come to that, Liberals would have no fucking problem getting guns, too. Getting guns in America is about as hard as getting sand in the fucking Sahara Desert.
- Breitbart says the military would be with them. I have no doubt that some in the military would be with them. But as a whole? Not fucking likely--the military has strategic plans for dealing with global warming; the military is not counting on drill, baby, drill to solve our oil problems. In short, the reason our military is so successful is because its leadership is full of well-educated people--and they aren't about to support a group full of illiterate dupes.
- How many supporters, do you suppose, would last in their "cause" when it became brutally obvious that they were fighting to save the wealth of the few, who would never share with the grunts their success?
- And in the end, what does it say about the tea party and its supporters that the only way they can foresee their ideas becoming mainstream would come at the end of a barrel of a gun? Somehow I can't imagine the Founding Fathers pursuing the ideals that made this country what it is by pointing a gun at their fellow Americans and saying "Believe our way or die!"
Unless things change, though, I do believe Brietbart will get his wish of a civil war. As we've seen in the Middle East, you can only feed the poor shit sandwiches for so long before they attack and try to stuff them down the throats of those who have so much. With almost 1 in 6 Americans living in poverty, Breitbart and his monied backers should beware: there is no soldier like a soldier with absolutely nothing to lose.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, September 19, 2011
I Want to Believe
So...President Obama actually sounded like a Liberal today--basically calling Boehner an idiot, threatening a veto if the wealthy don't get taxed, and dismissing Republican claims of class warfare (thank God--we've been losing that battle since that idiot Reagan got elected). A day after that numbnuts Paul Ryan goes on Fox and tells us how the President is dividing Americans (talk about the pot calling the fucking kettle black--republicans have been dividing America for the last thirty years), the President fires back and fires back hard. Granted, his wish list has zero chance of being enacted with the republicans in the House, but at least we can go to the American people and actually show a difference between our party and theirs.
Am I dreaming? Are we going to get burned by Obama the conciliator again? A lot of people seem to think President Obama has turned a corner, but his Presidency has been an utter disaster (for Liberals) thus far. It's nice to see the President fight back--and stand up for the values we voted him into office for--but for now, I'm going to hope for the best but still expect the worst.
I'll say one thing, though--if Obama keeps this up, it's going to be a lot easier to vote for him in November of 2012.
Peace,
emaycee
Am I dreaming? Are we going to get burned by Obama the conciliator again? A lot of people seem to think President Obama has turned a corner, but his Presidency has been an utter disaster (for Liberals) thus far. It's nice to see the President fight back--and stand up for the values we voted him into office for--but for now, I'm going to hope for the best but still expect the worst.
I'll say one thing, though--if Obama keeps this up, it's going to be a lot easier to vote for him in November of 2012.
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Hey, can I vote for this guy?
I came to this piece (it's short and well worth the two minutes it takes to read) on the President's jobs speech before Congress a bit late, but approximately one week later, I have to admit Mr. Cole was very prescient. I like his addendum even better. Why don't we Liberal ever get real candidates like this?
One of the reasons humor is, well, humorous, is that it hits close to home. Mr. Cole's piece puts a stake through the heart of the matter. This is what has become of President Obama and the hope we had: a bitingly sarcastic piece that's funny because of how truly sad it is.
What the fuck--at least we've kept our sense of humor.
Peace,
emaycee
One of the reasons humor is, well, humorous, is that it hits close to home. Mr. Cole's piece puts a stake through the heart of the matter. This is what has become of President Obama and the hope we had: a bitingly sarcastic piece that's funny because of how truly sad it is.
What the fuck--at least we've kept our sense of humor.
Peace,
emaycee
Punching a redneck
I've been on a one man crusade lately that we Liberals need to learn to punch back, to take the fight to conservatives. Digby has a nice piece that more or less says the same thing--we spend way too much time trying to explain ourselves, to educate others, and be rational in our positions.
I honestly don't see anything wrong with, when it comes to any position we hold, flat saying, "Fuck you, it's what we believe. Don't like it? Tough shit!"
It's certainly bolder than the geek route, and as the past couple of years have shown, we can't be any worse off than we are now.
Peace,
emaycee
I honestly don't see anything wrong with, when it comes to any position we hold, flat saying, "Fuck you, it's what we believe. Don't like it? Tough shit!"
It's certainly bolder than the geek route, and as the past couple of years have shown, we can't be any worse off than we are now.
Peace,
emaycee
Waiting for the great leap forward
The news is in on poverty from the 2010 census, and the results are not pretty. More Americans--46 million--now live in poverty than in the 52 years the census has been tracking the poverty level. That is 15.1% of the people who live in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. The next time you're taking a walk, count ten people that you pass--of those 10 people, 1.5 live in poverty (defined, by the way, as $22,000 a year for a family of four--what the fuck? I'd love to see the family of four who basks in riches at $23,000 per year). Even sadder, 22% of American children live in poverty. For all the republicans chatter, God only knows how much worse it would have been were it not for the social safety net previous (and more compassionate) generations passed.
Our median income fell 2.3%--seems those of us bemoaning the shrinking middle class had good reason to do so. The minimum wage is woefully inadequate--it isn't even keeping up with the minimum wage of the fifties. Almost fifty million Americans are without healthcare. If you're a republican, that is apparently reason to cheer.
And here, here is what is wrong with America today, what will be her ruin: no one--and I realize Obama's jobs bill will help part of this, but it is not the bill's objective--on the Presidential campaign trail is talking about the level of poverty in America, no one is asking for a war on poverty, no one wants to eradicate it, or lessen it, or make it a centerpiece of their plan for America. A country that cares so little for its poor will either face their wrath, or the wrath of the greater good.
Swear to God, had Jesus not already exited his tomb, he'd be rolling over in it now.
Peace,
emaycee
Our median income fell 2.3%--seems those of us bemoaning the shrinking middle class had good reason to do so. The minimum wage is woefully inadequate--it isn't even keeping up with the minimum wage of the fifties. Almost fifty million Americans are without healthcare. If you're a republican, that is apparently reason to cheer.
And here, here is what is wrong with America today, what will be her ruin: no one--and I realize Obama's jobs bill will help part of this, but it is not the bill's objective--on the Presidential campaign trail is talking about the level of poverty in America, no one is asking for a war on poverty, no one wants to eradicate it, or lessen it, or make it a centerpiece of their plan for America. A country that cares so little for its poor will either face their wrath, or the wrath of the greater good.
Swear to God, had Jesus not already exited his tomb, he'd be rolling over in it now.
Peace,
emaycee
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thanks, but I'll pass
If Labor Day is one of my favorites days of the year, this is one of my least.
A moment of silence or remembrance for those who were killed or gave their lives in service to their country and fellow Americans on 9/11/01 is certainly a noble effort. As for the rest...you can have it.
For newspapers and edutainment channels, it's become just another way to make money. Frankly, after ten years there is neither anything new nor anything of genuine interest to add. They should save their "what the day means to you" stories for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, MLK Day, or Labor Day.
In many respects, Bin Laden's efforts have succeeded. Thanks to republicans, Americans are more divided than ever since 9/11--and that division is downright rancorous. Our moral compass has been shattered: we let a President lie us into an unnecessary war that killed thousands of Americans and never held him to account; we turned a blind eye to torture and are a lesser nation for it. We chewed up and spit out our precious freedoms, enacting civil rights killing measures like the Patriot Act and giving the Presidency untold power to spy on us. Ten years ago, the tea party would not have been considered mainstream--they would have been called what they are: a lunatic fringe hell bent on the further destruction of America.
But Bin Laden's greatest success has been the financial ruin that is the American economy since 9/11. Over a trillion dollars has been spent on two largely failed wars yet one quarter of our children now live in poverty.
Billions have been spent on Homeland Security and further increasing an already bloated Defense budget, yet our roads and schools are falling apart. In fear, too many Americans helped to elect people who promised to protect them but whose main objective was to lower the standard of living for the many and imcrease it for the wealthy few. Unemployment in America is over 9% and underemployment is over 16%, yet Sen. Kyl is threatening to quit the Catfood Commission II if there are any more cuts to the Defense Budget. Want to guess the odds of one of the six Democrats on the Super Committee threatening to quit over cuts to the Social Safety Net? Thanks to Citizens United, corporations can now effectively buy our elections--too many of us shrug our shoulders because, hey, we can still afford the cable and cell phone bills and never mind the shrinking middle class, the backbone of our country, and the fact that most of us are a medical crisis away from financial ruin.
Patriots Day? No, thanks--I'll say a prayer for the innocents and heroes killed on 9/11/01 and spend the rest of my time working on the progressive values that make America greater and not so much on the lip service that has lessened our country over the past ten years.
Peace,
emaycee
A moment of silence or remembrance for those who were killed or gave their lives in service to their country and fellow Americans on 9/11/01 is certainly a noble effort. As for the rest...you can have it.
For newspapers and edutainment channels, it's become just another way to make money. Frankly, after ten years there is neither anything new nor anything of genuine interest to add. They should save their "what the day means to you" stories for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, MLK Day, or Labor Day.
In many respects, Bin Laden's efforts have succeeded. Thanks to republicans, Americans are more divided than ever since 9/11--and that division is downright rancorous. Our moral compass has been shattered: we let a President lie us into an unnecessary war that killed thousands of Americans and never held him to account; we turned a blind eye to torture and are a lesser nation for it. We chewed up and spit out our precious freedoms, enacting civil rights killing measures like the Patriot Act and giving the Presidency untold power to spy on us. Ten years ago, the tea party would not have been considered mainstream--they would have been called what they are: a lunatic fringe hell bent on the further destruction of America.
But Bin Laden's greatest success has been the financial ruin that is the American economy since 9/11. Over a trillion dollars has been spent on two largely failed wars yet one quarter of our children now live in poverty.
Billions have been spent on Homeland Security and further increasing an already bloated Defense budget, yet our roads and schools are falling apart. In fear, too many Americans helped to elect people who promised to protect them but whose main objective was to lower the standard of living for the many and imcrease it for the wealthy few. Unemployment in America is over 9% and underemployment is over 16%, yet Sen. Kyl is threatening to quit the Catfood Commission II if there are any more cuts to the Defense Budget. Want to guess the odds of one of the six Democrats on the Super Committee threatening to quit over cuts to the Social Safety Net? Thanks to Citizens United, corporations can now effectively buy our elections--too many of us shrug our shoulders because, hey, we can still afford the cable and cell phone bills and never mind the shrinking middle class, the backbone of our country, and the fact that most of us are a medical crisis away from financial ruin.
Patriots Day? No, thanks--I'll say a prayer for the innocents and heroes killed on 9/11/01 and spend the rest of my time working on the progressive values that make America greater and not so much on the lip service that has lessened our country over the past ten years.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, September 5, 2011
Look for the union label
This day--Labor Day!--is right up there with MLK day (take the virtual tour of the new memorial--the Beautiful Boy loves it) as one of the best days to be a Liberal. Everyone (not counting the traditional media) wants to remind us all just how much unions have done for us--and how we need to get back to where we started from.
The biggest lie American workers have been fed in the last thirty years? That post-industrial prosperity was right around the corner. It isn't ever happening--and as Mr. Meyerson notes in his piece, that prosperity isn't coming back until we get back to that which made us great: manufacturing. And I might add, with a healthy dose of union labor leading the way.
Did you know that Daily Kos has a new site devoted to Labor? This piece by Laura Clawson (who has done a lot of wonderful pieces on the labor site) is a call to arms to setting the record straight. Because of corporate lies and traditional media incompetence, a majority of Americans believe Unions make the standard of living worse for non-union workers. Nothing could be further from the truth--today Think Progress gave us a handy-dandy chart (in addition to a nice cheat sheet on everything unions have done for all of us--the usual suspects: the weekend, health benefits, an end to child labor, a robust middle class) which clearly shows that as Union membership has waned, so have middle class wages.
And this year we had...Wisconsin. From small things mama, big things one day come...
And speaking of music this year brought us Tom Morello's "Union Town" and the Dropkick Murphy's "Take 'Em Down" (in support of the Wisconsin workers). There's even this--the commercial from which I stole this post's title. Hell, there's even a site devoted to union songs.
There is no Business Day or Corporate Day. No one writes songs about the glory of business or the free market, and if they did, very few would give a fuck.
There's a reason for that: it's called having a soul, and those of us who proudly support Unions, and those who belong to them, and those who believe in looking our for their least of their brothers, have got one that's shining as bright as the sun in all its glory.
Peace,
emaycee
The biggest lie American workers have been fed in the last thirty years? That post-industrial prosperity was right around the corner. It isn't ever happening--and as Mr. Meyerson notes in his piece, that prosperity isn't coming back until we get back to that which made us great: manufacturing. And I might add, with a healthy dose of union labor leading the way.
Did you know that Daily Kos has a new site devoted to Labor? This piece by Laura Clawson (who has done a lot of wonderful pieces on the labor site) is a call to arms to setting the record straight. Because of corporate lies and traditional media incompetence, a majority of Americans believe Unions make the standard of living worse for non-union workers. Nothing could be further from the truth--today Think Progress gave us a handy-dandy chart (in addition to a nice cheat sheet on everything unions have done for all of us--the usual suspects: the weekend, health benefits, an end to child labor, a robust middle class) which clearly shows that as Union membership has waned, so have middle class wages.
And this year we had...Wisconsin. From small things mama, big things one day come...
And speaking of music this year brought us Tom Morello's "Union Town" and the Dropkick Murphy's "Take 'Em Down" (in support of the Wisconsin workers). There's even this--the commercial from which I stole this post's title. Hell, there's even a site devoted to union songs.
There is no Business Day or Corporate Day. No one writes songs about the glory of business or the free market, and if they did, very few would give a fuck.
There's a reason for that: it's called having a soul, and those of us who proudly support Unions, and those who belong to them, and those who believe in looking our for their least of their brothers, have got one that's shining as bright as the sun in all its glory.
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Bullshit platitudes...a minor bit of philosophy
In the past couple of years, one continually hears either a fellow worker or, worst case scenario, your asshat boss, say the following (or some variation thereof): "Be thankful you have a job."
There's another saying--it's been around for a while, but I seem to be hearing it more often lately (again, or some variation thereof): "Life is not about the end result, but the journey itself."
As to the first: Only be thankful if you have a good job, or at the very least, a job you enjoy doing. Accepting happily a shit job just because you have one leads to shit wages, shit benefits, shit treatment, and eating plenty of shit from your boss.
As to the second: this bullshit platitude is often said by people who are much better off financially than you. It is like secondhand smoke, a stealth killer of your financial well-being. It is class warfare at its most fetid. One does not climb Mt. Everest for the journey--one climbs it to make it to the top. Acceptance of this bullshit will lead to...see above paragraph.
Thus endeth the lesson.
Peace,
emaycee
There's another saying--it's been around for a while, but I seem to be hearing it more often lately (again, or some variation thereof): "Life is not about the end result, but the journey itself."
As to the first: Only be thankful if you have a good job, or at the very least, a job you enjoy doing. Accepting happily a shit job just because you have one leads to shit wages, shit benefits, shit treatment, and eating plenty of shit from your boss.
As to the second: this bullshit platitude is often said by people who are much better off financially than you. It is like secondhand smoke, a stealth killer of your financial well-being. It is class warfare at its most fetid. One does not climb Mt. Everest for the journey--one climbs it to make it to the top. Acceptance of this bullshit will lead to...see above paragraph.
Thus endeth the lesson.
Peace,
emaycee
Raising our fists won't be enough
I can't say that news showing that 25 U. S. corporations paid more to their CEOs than they did in taxes is surprising in the least, and while I appreciate it getting the space and outrage it deserved on so many of the sites I read, space and outrage aren't going to end it or put any kind of a dent in it. And I can guarantee you won't see any complaints from any traditional media outlets.
What to do? It will be interesting to see what the UAW does in its current contract talks with Ford, as Bob King has mentioned on several occasions that the rank and file are not happy with the $26.5 million bonus Ford CEO Alan Mulally got after the Ford workers granted concessions too numerous to mention to help keep the company afloat--and that they want their share. The members have authorized a strike, and I hope they keep that threat front and center--one has to doubt that Ford is going to want a strike as their fortunes continue to improve.
As for the rest of us wage slaves...stealth drops in productivity.
Can't hurt.
Peace,
emaycee
What to do? It will be interesting to see what the UAW does in its current contract talks with Ford, as Bob King has mentioned on several occasions that the rank and file are not happy with the $26.5 million bonus Ford CEO Alan Mulally got after the Ford workers granted concessions too numerous to mention to help keep the company afloat--and that they want their share. The members have authorized a strike, and I hope they keep that threat front and center--one has to doubt that Ford is going to want a strike as their fortunes continue to improve.
As for the rest of us wage slaves...stealth drops in productivity.
Can't hurt.
Peace,
emaycee
The smile of a girl
I felt pretty good about Obama's chances in 2012 after reading that Allan Lichtman, who has developed 13 keys that decide who is going to win the Presidential election and whose system has never been wrong since he first debuted it in 1984, said Obama was going to win election easily, having 9 of the 13 keys in his pocket (and needing only six to win reelection).
That was until Obama caved a-fucking-gain to Boehner over the timing of his speech and then his administration did everything it could to make itself look as boob filled as possible. I can't say it much better than Kos did, but the Obama administation is failing on a massive level to show any sign of life when it comes to dealing with republicans. A republican debate? Months before the Iowa caucus, when about 2% of Americans will even be watching...against the most significant problem facing this country, job creation, and the bozos running Obama's administration caved again?
Despite the title, the grumblings by Hunter in this piece (a little long but well worth the effort) are anything but pointless and its hard to argue with him that there is nothing being done by Democrats to take care of the working class despite it being an issue tailor-made for them, a third party would only ensure further republican gains, and giving money probably is a waste of effort. Still..if we give up, it's only going to get worse.
Sure would be nice, though, if President Obama and his handlers would occasionally throw us a bone so we could at least have some hope to latch onto.
Peace,
emaycee
That was until Obama caved a-fucking-gain to Boehner over the timing of his speech and then his administration did everything it could to make itself look as boob filled as possible. I can't say it much better than Kos did, but the Obama administation is failing on a massive level to show any sign of life when it comes to dealing with republicans. A republican debate? Months before the Iowa caucus, when about 2% of Americans will even be watching...against the most significant problem facing this country, job creation, and the bozos running Obama's administration caved again?
Despite the title, the grumblings by Hunter in this piece (a little long but well worth the effort) are anything but pointless and its hard to argue with him that there is nothing being done by Democrats to take care of the working class despite it being an issue tailor-made for them, a third party would only ensure further republican gains, and giving money probably is a waste of effort. Still..if we give up, it's only going to get worse.
Sure would be nice, though, if President Obama and his handlers would occasionally throw us a bone so we could at least have some hope to latch onto.
Peace,
emaycee
The plan of attack
It's become brutally obvious over the past couple of weeks that the republican plan of attack (which can be neatly seen in this--another idiotic and factually challenged piece by Nolan Finley--ask anybody who wasn't wealthy how Reagan's economy boomed, it didn't) is to blame it all on Obama (majority of Americans aren't buying it) and to talk about how tax cuts and deregulation--both of which failed miserably under Bush the lesser and Reagan--will turn it around.
I mention this because it's becoming almost scripted (hell, it probably is scripted)--Cantor says it, Boehner says it, letters to the editor say it...but there's little push back from the administration. While I wish Obama had been much bolder--and hope he is this Thursday--he still can strike back and he needs to hurry before the republican bullshit becomes the common wisdom.
The republicans created this mess--and as the massive mistakes voters made voting for republican governors in New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida show, if we don't keep reminding voters of this we are going to doom ourselves to an even worse standard of living than we're currently getting from republican leadership.
Peace,
emaycee
I mention this because it's becoming almost scripted (hell, it probably is scripted)--Cantor says it, Boehner says it, letters to the editor say it...but there's little push back from the administration. While I wish Obama had been much bolder--and hope he is this Thursday--he still can strike back and he needs to hurry before the republican bullshit becomes the common wisdom.
The republicans created this mess--and as the massive mistakes voters made voting for republican governors in New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida show, if we don't keep reminding voters of this we are going to doom ourselves to an even worse standard of living than we're currently getting from republican leadership.
Peace,
emaycee
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