That's the sound of the men, working on the chain gang

This, my friends, is really rich. Newt Gingrich, a man who has lived off the public trough, as well as that of corporate benefactors for most of his career, thinks we need a better work ethic. Two words, Newt: fuck you. Why is it that it's always the working man who is supposed to sacrifice? Why don't these numb nuts ever suggest that perhaps the private sector needs leaders whose sole talents are much more than just cutting jobs and begging for corporate welfare? Further, what the fuck is up with this: "'Poor people respond to money,' and will turn to illegal activities if it's not available through other means, he said, as an example of how the free enterprise can lift people." Really? I'd be willing to bet there is a shitload of poor people who do not turn to illegal activities and keep trying to raise themselves and their families through legitimate means--otherwise, approximately 20% of our population would be in prison (or else we have a hellaciously talented bunch of criminals out there) instead of the 1-2% currently residing in prisons.

Thank, God, though, for one Heaster Wheeler of the NAACP who summed Gingrich (and the Republican party as a whole) up perfectly" "Newt Gingrich is less than a joke. If he understood the needs of the urban centers of America where was he when he had the authority to do something about it as speaker of the House?" Preach it, brother! The only accomplishment that would come from Gingrich's ideas for urban centers would be for us to do all the work while the private sector buys low and sells high, i.e. the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Next fucking idiot, please!

Tom Walsh is one of the few Free Press pundits that I can occasionally stomach (he's hardly a liberal, but he once predicted that by the year 2100 we'd have National Health Insurance a la Canada and wonder what the fuck we were thinking before we did), but this is sick. Channeling Bob Dylan as the background music for some radical right winger's pipe dream of making Michigan a right to work state? Uh...I'm pretty sure that as a musician Dylan is a member of the Musician's Union, and considering that they've helped him make a pretty penny, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be too thrilled with making union membership even harder to attain. And why the fuck is it always the union's fault (because the right to work states are in such good shape--always in the bottom five for highest poverty levels like Mississippi)? Why does the working man always have to take the hit for the idiocy of industry leaders who have guaranteed contracts and golden parachutes to counter their failing? I've got a great idea for turning around the economy--end welfare for corporate leaders and give them what the working man gets if they fail: a few months of unemployment (about $350 a week here in Michigan). I bet that'd light a fire up their asses. As it stands now, there's no incentive for not failing--they get paid whether they're successful or not.

A quick answer to a stupid question: Fuck no. It's a slippery slope when you start singling out people to question for any reason. Who's next? Catholics? Bald-headed men? The only outcome of any such law is to move America one step closer to totalitarianism.

Leave it to the political reporters (so-called) of the Free Press to key on some meaningless sniping between two lame ass candidates (Republicans Mike Cox and Rick Snyder) and just give a passing mention to Virg Bernero who "stood up loudly for unions and decried corporate abandonment of the middle class." I mean because their petty sniping over some piddly bullshit is so much more important than the working men and women of Michigan making a decent living. The editorial board of the Free Press wasn't much better: their sole response toward Bernero was to call him out for "ranting on behalf of union positions." For those not familiar, here's how the "liberal" Free Press deals with unions.

Another bullshit poll on healthcare reform: the results show 51% oppose and 43% in favor, but the poll fails to note how many of those opposed are opposed because the bill isn't liberal enough. Or how many will base their vote on it. American media fail indeed....

Peace,
emaycee

My oh my, why oh why

This piece is another of those lame-ass pieces that appear all too frequently in the Free Press. You would think by now I would take them with a grain of salt.... Think again. This whole idea that somehow, by some miracle, if we'd all just sing fucking "Kumbaya" together the country would be a lot better off is misguided at best, and delusional at worst. The legislation that has helped the American people most (think Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights Act of 1964) were not largely bipartisan efforts, but bold ideas strong-armed through by courageous leaders. Bipartisanhip is a code word for wishy-washy people who are more than happy to accept mediocrity (see also, Healthcare reform 2010) and the status quo (see also, Financial reform 2010). Far too much goddamned time is spent trying to appease centrists and acquiesing to Republican proposals (even though they don't vote for the mother fuckers). The majority of the American people voted for Democrats with Democratic principles and to enact those principles. If they turn out to be piss-poor, Republicans get another shot. Besides, as noted by Digby, what bipartisanship means to most people is that the other side should give in to their demands. Two words: fuck that. Don't believe me? How do you think the majority of Americans would answer this question: Would you rather have a good bill that was entirely partisan, or a bad bill that was bipartisan? Case closed. Newt Gingrich? I mean the Newt fucking Gingrich? If he's the best the Republicans have to offer, they're an even more pathetic group than I had thought. Forget the resignation amidst scandal, forget his role in the impeachment of Clinton while he's schtupping a woman not his wife, but this: the guy asks his wife for a divorce while she's in the hospital being treated for cancer. Think about that...if he's willing to treat his wife, the mother of his children, that callously, do you think for a minute that he's going to give two shits about you? Puhlease! Gingrich is another Republican loser bankrolled by Corporate America and the wealthy whose only interest is his (their) own. No surprise that a pinhead like Finley would be enamored of Gingrich's failed ideas, but the Detroit Regional Chamber? While I realize that the Chamber (despite its trying to appear as such) isn't exactly a bipartisan organization (its motto would probably be "goverment of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation") but you'd think they could do a little better than a second-rate ideologue. I'm not a statitician, but these numbers don't make much sense. Forty percent of Michigan voters back the Tea Party, but 36% say the Democratic Party best reflects their values, 24% Republican, and 17% the Tea Party. Methinks--as with much of the Tea Party coverage--the headline is overhyped and the poll questions piss poor. It's the Free Press--I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.... Peace, emaycee

It's my (Democratic) party and I'll cry if I want to

Frankly, this is just sad--I sometimes wonder if we expected too much after the 2008 landslide, but the more I see, the more I think we were just hoodwinked. We are talking 300,000 teaching jobs gone, an end to extended unemployment compensation, less police and firefighters--versus hedge fund managers (all of whom played a huge role in the mess we're in) getting taxed at a bullshit rate, that's considerably lower than most of us pay (Robert Reich--can we elect this guy President?--has an excellent analysis). And the Democrats are just slinking away, when they should be screaming about it from the roofs of every building and home in America. Is this the Democratic Party that I signed up for?

Obama has become the second coming of Bill Clinton--complete and utter mediocrity, without the pure shit luck of a dot.com boom to help us forget how mediocre his leadership has been. Healthcare reform has its bright spots (an end to lack of coverage for pre-existing conditions, kids kept on their parents' insurance until age 26, an end to recision), but I have a hunch that the individual mandate unless markedly changed is going to come back and bite Democrats in the ass, and without, at the very least, the public option the whole exercise was pretty much futile. Financial reform is a joke, as nothing with any teeth has passed and without serious safeguards we're setting ourselves up for another disaster at some point down the road. I mean, what exactly have we gotten for our troubles in getting these people elected? Stem cell research and the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act. Woo-fucking-hoo.

Yes, I know that things would be considerably worse under McCain, but if we can't take bold action after winning a huge majority in Congress and the White House in a landslide after the worst financial crisis in 80 years, when the fuck can we? Where are the courageous leaders of our party who are going to stand up and essentially say, for example, "Deficits my ass! We need to spend to keep the economy going, we need to spend to keep the unemployed going, we need to spend to make the necessary repairs to our infrastructure..."? Or "Wall Street? Fuck them--they're going to pay to make Main Street whole again...." Or "BP stands for Better Pay Up...." Apparently they only exist in an alternate universe (or our fantasies) because there certainly aren't any of them (at least with any serious clout) in the Democratic Party now.

I've tried all day to come up with the proper adjective for all of this, but the best I can do is: pathetic.

One thing's for sure--my money this election cycle is going for books and CDs. At least then I'll get something of value for my hard-earned cash.

Peace,
emaycee

More Reasons I'll Never Be a Conservative, Vol. 867,000

So much time, so little to do...stop, reverse that.... Apparently, the Catholic Church doesn't have its hands full enough with the massive priests and pedophiles tour, they need to be evaluating a group of nuns who appear to have more class in their habits than Pope Bendict has in the entire Vatican. It's like the Vatican's leadership is trying to destroy itself much like the Republican Par...oh, wait a minute, they are one and the same. I particularly like the quote from the lunatic who says the compassionate nuns are being encouraged to do some serious "re-evaluation." Over what? Whether or not the Church is worth their efforts? In light of our troubles with teaching kids how to read (am I the only one who finds it horrible that Massachusetts--gotta love those bluer than blue states--is number one in the nation and still 53% of their fourth graders can't read proficiently?), the failure of the White House and Congress to act on Sen. Harkin's amendment to save 100,000 teacher's jobs is unconscionable. Without solid education for our youngsters, our future as a nation is bleak, bleaker, and bleakest. This is just pathetic--stupid is as stupid does and our leaders seem bent on proving Forrest Gump correct. *ASIDE* I never paid much attention to Sen. Harkin before this year, but he's rapidly becoming one of my favorites. His push on healthcare, fight for the public option, and his teacher's amendment make him aces.... So if Republicans truly believe the auto safety bill is too tough on auto manufacturers, essentially what they're saying is that corporate profits are more important than American lives. Can someone of importance please point out their callousness to the American public? Please? A turd (a.k.a. Karl Rove) visited our great state this week, and said, "I don't need to tell you that the president of the United States has been an absolute disaster when it comes to spending...." Which is especially rich coming from the man who helped elect the idiot who turned a surplus into the largest deficit in U. S. history. Note to the imcompetent reporter (Kathleen Gray of the Free Press) who failed to point this out: you ought to head to the Beltway--your complete and utter cluelessness would fit in perfectly with the other Beltway reporters. Rove also said, "Why is it that special interests are always business, but not unions?" Though I would question his assessment--conservative media points out unions as special interests regularly--uh, I think the short answer would be because UNIONS ARE PROTECTING THE WORKING PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY AND BUSINESSES ARE OUT TO FUCK US OVER. See how simple that was? Thank you AFL-CIO--it's about time somebody stood up to weak-kneed Republican lite Democrats and told them to go fuck themselves when they're not standing up for workers. "Threatening," said Rep. Melton, a "Democrat", "that's the old way of doing things." No, sir, that's how you keep chickenshits such as yourself in line. Between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, I've seen more than enough of "New" Democrats. Give me an old mother fucking Democrat like Teddy Kennedy anyday--somebody who's going to fight for workers, the poor, the middle class, and not spend most of his time supporting conservative policies and kissing Republican ass. Note to ESPN on the Indy 500--unless Danica Patrick wins the mother fucker, don't wake me up. It isn't newsworthy, and I couldn't care less. Peace, emaycee

Odds and Sods

Pete Townshend turned 65 last week--sixty-fucking-five! Man, am I getting old....

An interesting couple of weeks:

Apparently, the rumors of our demise are a bit premature...seems we won a congressional race in PA we weren't supposed to win, Sestak took out Specter, and Halter has forced Lincoln into a runoff. Hell, even the MSM had an inkling on this one--seems the polls they are-a-changin'. I have no doubts we'll lose seats, but it may (key word) not be as bad as once thought. I've always had difficulty accepting the narrative of deep Dem losses this November (though I know it could happen)--people's memories aren't that short (Bush, Repugs 2002-2006), and you have to give voters something to vote for that isn't merely whining (see also, Tea Party). Plus, Rand Paul (and maybe Sue Lowden in NV) seems to be the gift that keeps on giving--there's no way we should win in KY (or Nevada for that matter), and yet we might. Good times....

Seems the not so great state of Tex-ass(holes) has gone ahead with their plans to rewrite American History. Nice pieces by tristero and the King laying out just how ridiculous this all is--if ever, of late, there has been a what the fuck? moment, this is a what the fuck? moment. Thank God for state assemblyman like Leland Yee (D-SF, what a surprise, still the gutsiest liberals in America)--let's hope there's plenty more like him.

There's so much wrong with this piece that I would almost swear it was written by an internet company lobbyist (funny, too, that I received an e-mail from my congressman, the corporate loving, working folks hating, Republican, Mike Rogers, that echoed many of the same points). Business knows best? Really? Kind of like the banks and their derivatives? Kind of like the auto companies and their failures to modernize? I also like the way they refer to the "'net netrality' regime." Regime? Please let's exaggerate when in desperation. The FCC should step in as soon as possible and Congress should let them. If not, we're going to end up with internet service providers who are as inept as our cable providers. Piss poor service, exorbitant rates, and less choice--by all means, yes, let's let the internet service providers reign. Can't fucking wait.

From a recent letter to the editor in the News: "Tea Party members are much closer to the center of the political spectrum than those extremists who seek to discredit them." Wow--who knew? I mean, I had absolutely no idea that those in the political center of this country carried posters of President Obama looking like Hitler, or that used the n-word, or thought Sarah Palin was a brilliant thinker. Please--this is just another in a long line of bullshit letters to the editor that have popped up of late linking the movement to Moms, blacks (must have got the one African-American in Michigan that is stupid enough to buy their bullshit to send that one), or Democrats (only in an alternate universe) that are little more than propaganda to make the Tea Party look more mainstream (think "compassionate conservatism"). Editorial boards may be that ignorant, but the rest of us are not: they are like a sledgehammer to subtlety, the radical right wing. Period.

Holy shit--Wonk almost gets one right. Too bad he had to throw in the usual bullshit "While Democrats are hardly blameless for this ongoing mess, which is manifest in both Washington and Lansing...." How so? Just once I'd like to see some pundit point out exactly--with facts, not Republican talking points--how Dems are responsible for the poisoned atmosphere. What, because we won and Republicans hate democracy? We water down bills, we try to get them to the table, and still they vote no. Is calling them on being the party of no unfair? Hardly--sometimes the truth hurts. The one thing that amazes me is that approximately thirty percent of Americans and Michiganders still believe their bullshit.

Too Little, Too Late, Dept.: This from the campaign brochure that Mike Rogers sent to my home (note to Mr. Rogers--save the taxpayers money and skip my house next time--if the Virgin Mary came down and told me herself that you were right, I still wouldn't believe your bullshit)..."I know times are tough (obviousman strikes again!). The last thing we need is an out-of-control Washington, DC spending money we don't have and sending the bill to our kids and grandkids...." Right...Democrat spending on jobs and healthcare bad, Republican spending on misguided wars and tax cuts for the wealthy good. Because that worked out so well the first time around, Mr. Rogers. Save it for the disciples--those of us with an ounce of sense don't believe you. And I have to live with this pinhead at least until he retires (he's not losing unless he pulls a Souder--and even that wouldn't hurt that much since he's single, last I heard).

Speaking of Souder, it couldn't happen to a nicer fellah. I spent one hellaciously bad year of my life in Fort Wayne, being represented by this buffoon. Good bye and good riddance. A question (and admittedly this is somewhat childish): how in the hell does a guy who looks like the closest he should get to nookie is internet porn end up bedding a pretty darn attractive woman like his mistress? Must be something to that whole power thing....

Final note: the only way the Dems win the governor's race in our beautiful Michigan this year is if a week before the race the Republican nominee is caught, on film, molesting a child. And then just maybe. Therefore, if we're going to get our ass kicked anyway, can we at least give ourselves a chance to not get completely embarrased and nominate the real Democrat, Ving Bernero, and send the Republican lite Andy Dillon home? Thank you....

Peace,
emaycee

A very hungry caterpillar

Every now and again in our daily struggles, one goes through a period where one feels like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. As one ages, one realizes these periods are usually short-lived, and eventually the sun peeks through the clouds again and one is ready to continue pushing that boulder back up the hill....

It's been a rugged couple of weeks--nothing major, some setbacks, a couple of stress filled weeks at work that make your back feel like a twisty-tie--and Sunday night I'd had another long day and was completely exhausted (as in twelve or thirteen hours of sleep in the last three days exhausted), but the beautiful boy wanted to play. So he raced around the sidewalk with his garbage truck and I did my best to keep up with him. Periodically in our travels, I had to walk ahead of him after he had stopped and be the stop light (which basically means he tells me whether I'm red or green and he stops or goes accordingly). On our third trip around, while I'm standing there preparing to shout "green," we noticed a caterpillar crawling across the sidewalk. After a couple of futile attempts to get the caterpillar to crawl into my hand (not too terribly disappointed as I'm not particularly a "bug" person), we decided to watch him slither along the sidewalk...and the grass, and the pine bark, which as you might guess, is a rather slow process. But we watched and watched, and the beautiful boy kept asking questions ("Why isn't he going up the tree, Dad?" "Doesn't he need to eat some leaves, Dad?" Where's he going, Dad?" "Dad? How long until he's a butterfly?" "Dad? How come he rolled over on the bark?") which I tried my best to answer with my limited knowledge of caterpillars (i.e., fuzzy worm, makes a cocoon, becomes a butterfly--pretty much the extent of my expertise), until the caterpillar eventually disappeared in a fluffy bush right as Mommy came out to yell down the sidwalk, "It's time for bed, he's got school tomorrow!" The beautiful boy flew down the sidewalk like a bottle rocket to tell Mommy about our adventure--and I smiled as he ran.

You know what? Every now and again, I'd be willing to bet, the one-legged man gets in at least one good boot before he falls on his fanny....

Peace,
emaycee

Pinheads in the Free Press and News, ad nauseum

So many pinheads, so little time... Once again, Nolan Finley is proving he sucks at math (or is very selective in his use of information). While I am not happy at the amount of money banks and financial institutions have funneled to the Dems, it's funny how Finley only mentions Dems having received money. By my calculations (directly from open secrets.org that Finley mentions), the financial industry for this election cycle has given $6.5 million to Republicans, and $6.3 million to the Dems--that strikes me as roughly 50/50, not the three quarters Finley claims has gone to Democrats. Further, when you look at the last 20 years as Finley mentions, $131 million has gone to Republicans, $90 million to Democrats. Please understand I am not defending the Democrats (Chuck Schumer, you know who you are) taking this money--just pointing out, as Finley does not, that Republicans are even moreso guilty. But what really pisses me off about his piece is the fact that once again Conservidiots are deflecting blame from where it really belongs--the financial industry. Yes, Congress and the SEC could have done much better in protecting us, but ultimately, this is about the financial industry's greed and carelessness. So the News thinks President Obama should name a SCOTUS nominee who will "hear cases with an open mind." Funny, but I don't remember this being one of their concerns when GWB was nominating conservative judicial activists Roberts and Alito. Apparently, only Democrats need to nominate justices with an open mind--Republicans are free to nominate ideologues at their pleasure. Frankly, fuck that--Obama should nominate someone who is to the left of Stevens (if that's possible). And young, too, so he/she can spend years hectoring Roberts and Alito. Ron Dzwonkowski (Wonk from here on out) has another of his lame-ass columns on "commonsense folks," this time concerning the federal deficit. Paul Krugman has written extensively on the difference between the deficit itself and what it means versus the politics of the deficit (a good example can be found here). And any initiative that has the Peter J. Peterson Foundation on board is asking for trouble (Digby here). Hard to know where to begin there's so much bullshit in this article, but first off, I find it really hard to imagine that Dave Camp's entire congressional district is full of folks "who still believe in saving up for what you want and not spending money you don't have." Considering that consumer debt skyrocketed in the early aughts, you'd think a few of them would have spent beyond their means. And just what does this every American being "about $42,000 in the hole" supposed to mean, other than being some second rate scare tactic? Like I'm going to have to come up with 42k to make up for it (and good fucking luck with that). No, as the economy improves, so will tax revenues and the deficit will go down. Finally, does Wonk actually believe, given the complete lack of support Republicans have shown President Obama thus far, that "commonsense" Dave Camp is going to do anything other than push the Republican's colossal failure policies? I'll believe it when Rep. Camp starts talking seriously about cutting the defense budget. And just where are we going to cut anyway? Everyone loves talking about pork, but it's not going to put anything other than a minor dent in it. What do we want--even worse roads? Less education for our kids? Less police and firemen? Worse regulation on our food and work safety? I'd love to hear where they're going to cut that is going to do anything but make our lives worse (though I do have a couple of ideas that won't make our lives miserable--get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now, end corporate welfare). What a fucking idiot. I mean, really--a ban on texting is a restriction on free speech? Isn't it really just a ban on not always being able to do what you want when you want to? I mean if the idiotic messages being passed along are that important, couldn't you pull over for a second? Besides, as Oliver Wendell Holmes so famously stated, the right to free speech isn't absolute (i.e., you can't run into a crowded theatre and shout "Fire!" just because you feel like it). If it presents a clear and present danger (the study she cites says studies have shown that phone use while driving increases the risk of accidents), it can be prohibited. You can swing your fist all you want until it comes into contact with my nose. The problem is that too many people just aren't all that responsible (like the idiot who almost slammed into my family head-on tonight because apparently she thought stop signs are optional). Note to those who do use phones and drive: if you ever hit my car while you're talking on the phone or texting, not only will you be going to the hospital for your injuries, but also to have a phone removed from your ass.... Do you suppose if the Hutatree were Muslims they'd be getting released? Just wondering.... Peace, emaycee