Joe Biden, to a group of largely African-Americans in Virginia: "...[Willard Romney] is going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. Unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains."
Rochelle Riley (an African-American) on Biden's statement: "But what he did do was go too far in his efforts to talk about the damage Republican policies could do to America's middle class, poor, and minority residents--who are not all the same people."
Riley's column was kind of all over the place--at its end I wasn't really sure what she was striving for--but part of it was about conservatives making it impolitic to talk about racism even though it still exists...which, if this is her hoped for change, she should be absolutely applauding Biden's comments. I mean a white man calling out republicans for their inherent racism? It's brilliance--who else but a white American male could honestly call them out for it and be listened to? And what's with this bullshit about how the middle class, the poor, and minority residents are not all the same people? We most assuredly are--we're all Americans who are suffering under the damage done over the past thirty years by republican policies and people of Ms. Riley's ilk who are so willing to compromise with them on economic matters for the sake of bipartisanship.
It often amazes me how African-Americans can take as much bullshit from republicans without going postal on a daily basis--I do not have the inner strength to take the shit they do. But then I read comments like this from Rochelle Riley: "...conservatives and racists, who by no means are always the same people..." and I think it might just be either an utter lack of conviction or sheer ignorance on the part of African-Americans' leaders.
Your mistake, Ms. Riley, is believing their bullshit about how you can be a republican and not be a racist. You can't. I've been on this planet fifty-three years and have never met a republican/conservative who was not a racist. Get deep down into their hearts, when they think no one is watching, and their true selves will come out. Given the chance to save a black person's life and that of an ant, they will save the ant every time because they just do not think of "you people" (their words) as living, breathing human beings.
Peace,
emaycee
Showing posts with label Rochelle Riley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rochelle Riley. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
One fish
The question, what do we want in a President, posited by the Free Press's Rochelle Riley for her handful of readers, was predictably banal to begin with, but the answers she got were even worse. Hell, if that's the best her readers can do, I really wish none of them would vote because their answers were so...so...dim-witted.
We need someone who can pull both parties together to work out America's problems. No we don't--we'll end up with the usual diluted policies and laws that do nothing but continue the status quo. We need an honest President--what the fuck? So is this some kind of cheap shot at President Obama? Because from what I've seen--and I've had my disappointment with the President, too--he's about as honorable a man as I've seen in the Oval Office since I began following politics in 1976. We don't need packaged candidates, we need to talk about what we need--yawn, yawn, yawn. Bunch of hypocritical bullshit from a bunch of boneheads who have all the policy knowledge of your average Antoinette.
The one I did like, though a bit naive, was the one, who referring to the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," said he wanted a President who strove to make us more like idyllic Bedford Falls than the nightmarish Pottersville of George Bailey's misguided wish. I'd settle for a President who pointed out that if republicans had their way, we'd be Pottersville in less than a year....
No, what this country really needs (for starters) in a President is one who will stand up to the republican party, tell the American people what their true agenda is (your abject poverty), push for national health care, gut Wall Street and corporate America of its financial clout, restore the power of unions, and above all else stay the fuck away from Conventional Wisdom devotees like Ms. Riley who through their utter lack of conviction have helped lay the groundwork for the destruction of our poor and our middle class.
And a note for her African-American friend who feels so upset about feeling forced to vote for her fellow African-American merely because he's black, too: try voting for the other guy. My guess is, in about a month, the disappointment you feel in President Obama will seems like fishing in heaven compared to the utter horror of a Daddy Warbucks/Jughead Presidency.
Peace,
emaycee
We need someone who can pull both parties together to work out America's problems. No we don't--we'll end up with the usual diluted policies and laws that do nothing but continue the status quo. We need an honest President--what the fuck? So is this some kind of cheap shot at President Obama? Because from what I've seen--and I've had my disappointment with the President, too--he's about as honorable a man as I've seen in the Oval Office since I began following politics in 1976. We don't need packaged candidates, we need to talk about what we need--yawn, yawn, yawn. Bunch of hypocritical bullshit from a bunch of boneheads who have all the policy knowledge of your average Antoinette.
The one I did like, though a bit naive, was the one, who referring to the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," said he wanted a President who strove to make us more like idyllic Bedford Falls than the nightmarish Pottersville of George Bailey's misguided wish. I'd settle for a President who pointed out that if republicans had their way, we'd be Pottersville in less than a year....
No, what this country really needs (for starters) in a President is one who will stand up to the republican party, tell the American people what their true agenda is (your abject poverty), push for national health care, gut Wall Street and corporate America of its financial clout, restore the power of unions, and above all else stay the fuck away from Conventional Wisdom devotees like Ms. Riley who through their utter lack of conviction have helped lay the groundwork for the destruction of our poor and our middle class.
And a note for her African-American friend who feels so upset about feeling forced to vote for her fellow African-American merely because he's black, too: try voting for the other guy. My guess is, in about a month, the disappointment you feel in President Obama will seems like fishing in heaven compared to the utter horror of a Daddy Warbucks/Jughead Presidency.
Peace,
emaycee
Friday, January 13, 2012
You go girl
It's nice to read Rochelle Riley and see her writing again as a Progressive voice in the Free Press--it probably has nothing to do with it, but the disaster that is Gov. Rick Snyder would make just about anyone rethink their leanings.
Her piece on the lack of respect republicans have shown for Michelle Obama (and what a surprise that has been!) could be a primer for the election this November: Republicans = Neanderthal, Democrats = At Least We're Not That Pathetic.
Apparently there is also a new book called "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor, a reporter for The New York Times, which claims that Ms. Obama is quite the behind the scenes manipulator in the Obama administration, fighting hard for her husband and having problematic relationships with former Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and former Press Secretary Joe Gibbs.
Not quite sure what the fuss is--if you ask me, Ms. Obama comes across as a champion of progressive causes, there are zero, zip, none, of those in the Democrats core constituency who do not despise Emmanuel and Gibbs, and the woman has an approval rating of 73%. "Independents" will see the whole episode as unseemly and a Democratic fart would serve as red meat to republican pinheads.
Or, in the words of Officer Brady: "Nothing to see here, move along."
Peace,
emaycee
Her piece on the lack of respect republicans have shown for Michelle Obama (and what a surprise that has been!) could be a primer for the election this November: Republicans = Neanderthal, Democrats = At Least We're Not That Pathetic.
Apparently there is also a new book called "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor, a reporter for The New York Times, which claims that Ms. Obama is quite the behind the scenes manipulator in the Obama administration, fighting hard for her husband and having problematic relationships with former Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and former Press Secretary Joe Gibbs.
Not quite sure what the fuss is--if you ask me, Ms. Obama comes across as a champion of progressive causes, there are zero, zip, none, of those in the Democrats core constituency who do not despise Emmanuel and Gibbs, and the woman has an approval rating of 73%. "Independents" will see the whole episode as unseemly and a Democratic fart would serve as red meat to republican pinheads.
Or, in the words of Officer Brady: "Nothing to see here, move along."
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Lame times two
I think what's frustrating about traditional media is how shallow the majority of the commentary is--I mean, for Christ's sake, putting thought into it is their fucking job and it truly seems beyond them.
Not sure what happened to Rochelle Riley--at one point during the height of the Bush/Cheney years she was leading the charge for impeachment--but she seems to have joined the Kumbaya movement (it'll all be okay if we just work together in a bipartisan yada, yada, yada). I would be the last person to defend President Obama, but Riley's charges against Obama are just flat weak (other than the he was supposed to be different but he isn't). I think there were very few Democrats--or Independents for that matter--who voted for Obama with the belief that he was leading the way for a third party. We voted for him to return us to the Democratic Party values we hold dear--Social Security, Medicare, pro union, better standard of living for the Middle Class, taking care of the poor. We may have seen what wasn't actually there--as Digby has noted often--but we weren't voting for an end to partisan gridlock. (Basically because there is no partisan gridlock--it's fucking republican gridlock). The Dems--led by Nancy Pelosi--have plenty of ideas for getting this country back on its feet, but republicans have blocked us at every turn. People voted for Obama because he wasn't espousing the bullshit of George W. Bush, and we'd all seen where that had led us. In fact, I'd say the main reason Obama has failed to get his message across is because he's been too middle of the road, too bipartisan. The boldest leaders, who have helped the poor and middle class the most (FDR and LBJ) didn't give two shits about bipartisanship--they took care of us first and everyone else could go to hell. I know the Free Press' few readers are mostly dinosaur conservatives anymore, but Riley's piece was just pathetic.
Wonk had another of his half-ass pieces, too--Christ, this guy is just mailing it in anymore. While I'll freely admit I was in the "Anthony Weiner Should Resign Because He's Hurting the Cause" camp, I thought, as I did with David Vitter and John Ensign and Arnold Schwarzenegger, that it was much ado about nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these people making our laws (or, if there is, it is based on Liberal ideas vs. conservative ideas, not their sex lives)--if we applied Wonk's logic to the business world, my guess is that about half of our business leaders would be out of a job due to their sexual pecadilloes. They are perverts, not idiots. And what's really sad is that with all the problems this country has, Wonk actually wasted a column (and my fucking time, thank you very much) on drivel such as this.
In a somewhat related note, there are people in this world who are funny, and there are people who are not. Wonk is obviously in the latter category--if you ain't got it, don't force it.
Peace,
emaycee
Not sure what happened to Rochelle Riley--at one point during the height of the Bush/Cheney years she was leading the charge for impeachment--but she seems to have joined the Kumbaya movement (it'll all be okay if we just work together in a bipartisan yada, yada, yada). I would be the last person to defend President Obama, but Riley's charges against Obama are just flat weak (other than the he was supposed to be different but he isn't). I think there were very few Democrats--or Independents for that matter--who voted for Obama with the belief that he was leading the way for a third party. We voted for him to return us to the Democratic Party values we hold dear--Social Security, Medicare, pro union, better standard of living for the Middle Class, taking care of the poor. We may have seen what wasn't actually there--as Digby has noted often--but we weren't voting for an end to partisan gridlock. (Basically because there is no partisan gridlock--it's fucking republican gridlock). The Dems--led by Nancy Pelosi--have plenty of ideas for getting this country back on its feet, but republicans have blocked us at every turn. People voted for Obama because he wasn't espousing the bullshit of George W. Bush, and we'd all seen where that had led us. In fact, I'd say the main reason Obama has failed to get his message across is because he's been too middle of the road, too bipartisan. The boldest leaders, who have helped the poor and middle class the most (FDR and LBJ) didn't give two shits about bipartisanship--they took care of us first and everyone else could go to hell. I know the Free Press' few readers are mostly dinosaur conservatives anymore, but Riley's piece was just pathetic.
Wonk had another of his half-ass pieces, too--Christ, this guy is just mailing it in anymore. While I'll freely admit I was in the "Anthony Weiner Should Resign Because He's Hurting the Cause" camp, I thought, as I did with David Vitter and John Ensign and Arnold Schwarzenegger, that it was much ado about nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these people making our laws (or, if there is, it is based on Liberal ideas vs. conservative ideas, not their sex lives)--if we applied Wonk's logic to the business world, my guess is that about half of our business leaders would be out of a job due to their sexual pecadilloes. They are perverts, not idiots. And what's really sad is that with all the problems this country has, Wonk actually wasted a column (and my fucking time, thank you very much) on drivel such as this.
In a somewhat related note, there are people in this world who are funny, and there are people who are not. Wonk is obviously in the latter category--if you ain't got it, don't force it.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, May 2, 2011
A little bit me, a little bit you
Hey, hey, we're the Monkees....
So little to cover, so much time...oops, reverse that....
How bad is your budget plan when even the blue dog leaning Free Press (they of the Gov. Snyder is a bold leader, or we endorsed him so we're stuck with him, take your pick) questions its effectiveness, basically calling it a scheme for the rich to get richer at the expense of the rest of America. Rep. Paul Ryan, your fifteen minutes of fame are just about over....
Susan Tompor tells us to watch out for goblins and ghouls--the S & P issued a negative outlook for the U. S. credit rating which could lead to an eventual downgrade, all because of that nasty little federal deficit. And don't we need to take the "federal budget by the horns" and fix that nasty little problem? Anybody remember how well financial analysts like Tompor predicted the economic crash of 2008? This guy does--and it's why he's not buying the bullshit. By the way, neither is Nobel Prize winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz--he suggests it may the worst move we can make, as evidenced by the the ill effects of austerity measures in Europe. Remember, boys and girls, NEVER trust a financial analyst--they're just like those traveling medicine shows in the Old West selling their "elixirs."
Brian Dickerson wonders who'll play fair when everyone feels cheated--and I continue to wonder how Dickerson ever got into Princeton (or wish that I had applied). Apparently social scientists who study dishonesty find a disproportionate amount of people who cheat feel they have been cheated themselves, and Dickerson is afraid that if we all feel cheated, no one will abide by the rules. I think I can honestly say that a good portion of us feel fucked over by our employers, but we continue to try to do a good job--for simple reasons such as respect and concern for our co-workers, and perhaps that we don't want (or our children) to sink to the level of our tormentors. It's called "class." Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
Rochelle Riley continues her quest to go from respected liberal voice on the Free Press to idiotic buffoon a la Mitch Albom with her column on the release of President Obama's birth certificate. She claims it's Obama's fault...what the mother fucking fuck? Afraid not, ma'am--it's your fault. You and your traditional media colleagues who have spent the past two years giving voice to the birthers in the name of objectivity, instead of calling them the idiots they are in the name of truth and honor. Obama's a long way from perfect for this Liberal, but I think he handled this exceptionally well--if the traditional media had taken his cue and ignored the dimwits, a lot of time and wasted news space could have been saved for the issues really affecting America. Or even better, like these folks, have a little courage and call it what it is: racism.
And finally, with leadership--and analysis--like this, is it any wonder that we're fucked? It seems that Oakland County here in Michigan (my home county) is the silver lining for the state on the economic recovery and job creation front because our leaders "...have long been engaged in long-term fiscal planning, which helped them anticipate the downturn far earlier than most." Hell, our County Executive, republican L. Brooks Patterson, had a smile on his face which he claimed came from the good news he had to present. The good news? Oakland County's unemployment rate will be at 9.8% by the end of the year, and by 2013 (a fucking year and three-quarters from now) it will be at 9.1% as projected by a couple of University of Michigan economists. Holy Owl Shit, Batman--unemployment as low as 9%--that's some good fiscal planning there, yessiree. Have we completely lost our collective fucking minds? Since when is 9% unemployment a cause for rejoicing? How much fucking worse could it have been without such adept fiscal planning--10%? 11%? I mean, really--is this the republican plan for claiming success on job creation--letting us believe that somehow they've done good to keep it under 10%? For Christ's sake, you could not make this shit up--republicans are tuned into some planet in this universe, but earth it ain't.
Peace,
emaycee
So little to cover, so much time...oops, reverse that....
How bad is your budget plan when even the blue dog leaning Free Press (they of the Gov. Snyder is a bold leader, or we endorsed him so we're stuck with him, take your pick) questions its effectiveness, basically calling it a scheme for the rich to get richer at the expense of the rest of America. Rep. Paul Ryan, your fifteen minutes of fame are just about over....
Susan Tompor tells us to watch out for goblins and ghouls--the S & P issued a negative outlook for the U. S. credit rating which could lead to an eventual downgrade, all because of that nasty little federal deficit. And don't we need to take the "federal budget by the horns" and fix that nasty little problem? Anybody remember how well financial analysts like Tompor predicted the economic crash of 2008? This guy does--and it's why he's not buying the bullshit. By the way, neither is Nobel Prize winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz--he suggests it may the worst move we can make, as evidenced by the the ill effects of austerity measures in Europe. Remember, boys and girls, NEVER trust a financial analyst--they're just like those traveling medicine shows in the Old West selling their "elixirs."
Brian Dickerson wonders who'll play fair when everyone feels cheated--and I continue to wonder how Dickerson ever got into Princeton (or wish that I had applied). Apparently social scientists who study dishonesty find a disproportionate amount of people who cheat feel they have been cheated themselves, and Dickerson is afraid that if we all feel cheated, no one will abide by the rules. I think I can honestly say that a good portion of us feel fucked over by our employers, but we continue to try to do a good job--for simple reasons such as respect and concern for our co-workers, and perhaps that we don't want (or our children) to sink to the level of our tormentors. It's called "class." Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
Rochelle Riley continues her quest to go from respected liberal voice on the Free Press to idiotic buffoon a la Mitch Albom with her column on the release of President Obama's birth certificate. She claims it's Obama's fault...what the mother fucking fuck? Afraid not, ma'am--it's your fault. You and your traditional media colleagues who have spent the past two years giving voice to the birthers in the name of objectivity, instead of calling them the idiots they are in the name of truth and honor. Obama's a long way from perfect for this Liberal, but I think he handled this exceptionally well--if the traditional media had taken his cue and ignored the dimwits, a lot of time and wasted news space could have been saved for the issues really affecting America. Or even better, like these folks, have a little courage and call it what it is: racism.
And finally, with leadership--and analysis--like this, is it any wonder that we're fucked? It seems that Oakland County here in Michigan (my home county) is the silver lining for the state on the economic recovery and job creation front because our leaders "...have long been engaged in long-term fiscal planning, which helped them anticipate the downturn far earlier than most." Hell, our County Executive, republican L. Brooks Patterson, had a smile on his face which he claimed came from the good news he had to present. The good news? Oakland County's unemployment rate will be at 9.8% by the end of the year, and by 2013 (a fucking year and three-quarters from now) it will be at 9.1% as projected by a couple of University of Michigan economists. Holy Owl Shit, Batman--unemployment as low as 9%--that's some good fiscal planning there, yessiree. Have we completely lost our collective fucking minds? Since when is 9% unemployment a cause for rejoicing? How much fucking worse could it have been without such adept fiscal planning--10%? 11%? I mean, really--is this the republican plan for claiming success on job creation--letting us believe that somehow they've done good to keep it under 10%? For Christ's sake, you could not make this shit up--republicans are tuned into some planet in this universe, but earth it ain't.
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Michigan's defining moment
That would be Gov. Snyder's description of his new budget unveiled over the last week. It would also be my description of Gov. Snyder--for all his posturing, he's just another republican. And guess what? Democrats and Independents are beginning to see the light (i.e., they were hoodwinked).
Ah, yes, Snyder's budget--a change is gonna come, that being the chance for Michigan to become the next North Dakota. Who wins? Corporations--to the tune of a $1.2 billion reduction in their taxes which will create zero jobs. Who loses? Everybody--and I mean everybody--else. Retirees will now pay a tax on their pensions. K-12 education loses 4%, universities 15%. State employees will pay more for their health benefits. The poor will lose their earned income tax credit--widely recognized as one of the most successful programs for reducing poverty. This is Snyder's idea of "shared sacrifice": CEOs, corporations, and their shareholders get a free ride; the poor, the middle class, the working people of Michigan--the burden once again falls on their backs.
Hey, Gov. Snyder: Fuck you, next idiot please! Sidenote: prouder than ever that I voted for Virg Bernero....
I can't say I'm really surprised--or disappointed--by Snyder's actions. I expected nothing less from a republican, especially one who was once a CEO. I shouldn't be surprised, as Liberal analysis in the Free Press is comparable to the zestiness of rice pudding, but Rochelle Riley's column on Snyder's budget was utterly and completely pathetic. Somehow Riley has bought into the conventional wisdom (a misnomer if ever I've heard one), that somehow this is an "adult" moment, that Dudley Do-Right Snyder is using this as a teaching moment, that somehow the "budget crisis" should take priority over all else, even job creation. What a complete and utter moron--thank fucking God she wasn't around when FDR was bailing out America from the last doomsday crisis created by Wall Street, or we'd still be hovering around 20% unemployment and half the country would be Hoovervilles. Want to fix the budget crisis? PUT PEOPLE TO FUCKING WORK! And the way you do that--because God knows businesses aren't going to do it--is for the government to spend money. Lots of it--on aid to the poor, on education, on infrastructure, on tax credits for new industries, and on more state employees.
Here's to Snyder's plan--and the tumbleweeks soon to be tumbling down Michigan's more and more deserted streets, and the little Snydervilles popping up all over the place for those without the resources to get the fuck out.
Peace,
emaycee
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