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Wow...you know you are in the twilight zone when John McCain is sounding sane compared to the speakers that preceded him. Of course, it was quite the motley crew of fundamentalists and corporate stooges. From Romney speaking down about "East Coast elites" (he doesn't seem to remember he was the governor of Massachusetts and is worth at least half a billion) to Palin of Arc letting her little son get passed around like a prop to Rotten Rudy trying to not sound like a piece of crap, the zealots got all they wanted. Funny, they raved alot more for the nutty comments of Palin then they did for McCain, for the most part. We did learn that McCain was a POW - over, and over, and over.
I tell you, I am convinced neo-conservatism is a definable mental illness. The entire time they have ranted about "change," not once acknowledging that for the last 8 years they have had the presidency and before 2006 they had Congress for 14 years, and the only changes have been huge deficits, no movement to alternative energy, brash militarism, rampant cronyism and incompetence, corruption galore, and economic idiocy. You want change, don't even consider voting for an "R." I don't say that as a partisan "D." I have issues with alot of them too. I say that as someone who sees today's Republican Party taking America down a very dark road.
But now that the flag-waving and brash talk of the convention is over, what happens next? Hopefully, the specter presented to the country at the Republican National Convention causes Americans to recoil in horror and support Barack Obama. It sounds almost cliche, but this is the most important election in a generation, at least. I can't understand how anyone could be "undecided" with so much on the line. Of course, I wish they would vote for Obama. But damn, stand up and be counted either way.
Soon will come the debates, and hopefully the moderators will draw out some specifics on issues that go beyond god, guns, and abortion. Americans will see that to vote conservative is to vote completely against the interests of themselves and their families. To vote conservative is to not only accept, but to ask for more war and less security. That's right, security. They claim to be the party to "keep us safe." Yet another lie.
America, wake up before it's too late!
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I'm sitting here watching the Republican National Convention, and noticed a few things. Well, just now I'm trying not to throw up listening to that whiny piece of crap Joe Lieberman moan on and on, even using the extraordinarily irritating "my friends" phrase taken from the lips of John McSame. I'm trying to ignore the chants of "USA! USA!" - is this the RNC, or is Michael Phelps swimming?
Of course, even more hypocritical is the chant "Country first!" If they should be chanting anything first, it should be something like "Exxon first!" or "profits before people!" Those chants would be far more representative of the Republican Party as it exists today. Joe Lieberman, using "my friends" again, just asked that "his fellow Democrats" vote for McCain. Yea, right, you crass jackass. Damn, don't you want to just slap him upside that goofy head?
I was speaking to the crowd. What a non-descript sea of sameness. What an uninteresting looking crowd. From Barbara Bush looking her aristocratic "best" to Newt Gengrich challenging a reporter to "tell him one thing Obama has done." Of course, George Bush wasn't there. No surprise, him and good ol' Dick Cheney were no where to be found. What kind of party is it when the "leader" of the party isn't even at the show?
Can you imagine if everyone in America was a Republican? What a miserable place it would be. Like Texas, but even hotter, and less open-minded. Sure, there are some who will hear that and think it's just a bang-up idea. Everyone hanging out (well, as long as they aren't gay, liberal, free-thinkers, immigrants, etc) having a good time talking about the latest Sean Hannity sound bite.
You would get things like everyone raving about a wingnut like Sarah Palin who said about the pledge of allegiance and the phrase "In God We Trust" the following gem - "If it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me." In case you didn't know, the pledge was written in 1892, with the God reference added in the 50's. And, there were founding mothers too, Sarah.
We would have a world of drabness, where the talking points of the day are the talk of the day, where most people think God somehow guides them in their illogical trek. Rachel Maddow commented on the goings on thus far by describing the rhetoric as "Democrats will raise your taxes, and John McCain was a POW." Hopefully Americans will demand more.
Howard Fineman commented about the convention that there wasn't any sign anywhere that said "Republican." He said "I defy you to find the word Republican anywhere in the place." Hmm....play you care about the country, hide the leader of your party and the name of your party, That's pride in a job well done!
Frankly, I don't want to live in a Republican America. I want real diversity and real discourse. I want an America that isn't so self-centered as to think they are better than the rest of the world just by virtue of where they were born. I want to live in an America where a person can have an alternate sexuality and not be treated as second class. America can and should be a progressive country, admired around the world instead of despised by so many. America, you can't be the "shining city on a hill" and be Republican.
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Hurricane Gustav did more than just wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast - it saved some major Republican embarrassment. September 1st was to be the day George Bush spoke at the convention, regulated to the opening day when he could potentially do less damage to the candidate. Instead of forcing John McCain to try to make his candidacy look less like a Bush third term, Bush gets to go to Texas and act like he actually gives a damn about common people in a storm.
This time, he is talking to emergency responders and pretending to feel something beyond contempt at the fact he was having to work a little. This time, you won't hear Barbara Bush talking about how good evacuees have it. This time, you won't hear anything about Brownie doing a "heckuva job." This time, every National Guard member available was on scene well in advance. This time, the people who want to convince you government can do no good will work very hard to ensure that it does.
What Gustav did for John McCain is allow him to change focus. Away from policies that more and more Americans are recognizing as not in their own interests. Away from politics of personal destruction to a temporary common threat. Instead of Bush speaking live at the convention, he will most likely speak via satellite about how good everything went thanks to him being a man of the people.
Cindy McCain got out of a pickle too. Instead of having to go up and be compared to Michelle Obama, she got to stand up with Laura Bush and talk about giving to those affected by Gustav. Instead of a story about a socialite beer heiress and how her husband is a "Maverick" we get a charity pitch.
Sure, now that Gustav has moved on and not been nearly as bad as it could have, the convention will resume. But not without dodging a bullet. The Republicans were going to have a hard time matching the flair and excitement of the week before. They faced the prospect of being in the shadow, even with the nomination of Sarah Palin. Now, they can parlay that nomination, with Gustav, into a much more favorable news cycle.
Still, they are going to have to present some actual proposals beyond "drill, drill" or "bomb, bomb," and anti-women and anti-gay rants. More Americans are paying attention this time, and less of them are going to fall for the obvious fear mongering. If America is to emerge from the cloud of conservatism, they must.
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It's been said that a McCain presidency would be a "Bush third term" although it may be hard to imagine, he may actually be worse. He has come full away from any pretensions of being a "Maverick" and gone straight into Bush neo-conservatism. And in a sort of oneupmanship, he is even more pro-war and internationally belligerent. His economic proposals will ensure what is a downturn/recession will become a major depression. He cannot win on the issues. His campaign knows that to approach issues in a real manner (something beyond drill here, there, everywhere) is a death sentence. So he is going negative. But he is also being exposed as a liar, a cheat, and in a funny story of stealing words from a Noble laureate, a plagiarist.
John McCain has said Barack Obama will raise taxes on people making over 42,000 dollars per year. Truth is, Obama will lower taxes there. He will raise, and should raise, taxes on those making more than 250,000. John McCain says he supports "the troops." He supports sending troops to war, not giving them equipment or assistance when the get home. McCain has voted consistently against veteran proposals. McCain is lying about "the surge" knowing full well that violence has subsided primarily because of the so-called "Sunni awakening" and a cease fire ordered by Muqtada al-Sadr
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Despite what John McCain said in his closing remark about having the forum in a church, America was not founded as a Judeo-Christian country. Our founders were very, very, concerned about the mixing of church and state. The religious right will tell you America was founded to give religious freedom, but the truth is the colonies already had it. England did not force anyone in the states to go to any particular church. The revolution was much more a revolt against corporate power (over tea, first, then other issues) than religion. But that's not what troubles me the most.
You can find comments all over the place about how the night went, and who won or lost. My contention is that America lost. With so many issues at hand, what is a major forum doing in a church? And no matter how popular he is or how many people go to his mega-church, what is Rick Warren doing playing the role of potential king maker? What kind of America are we living in? Are we so hung up on a religious litmus test that this is the kind of election we are going to have
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Mounting evidence from all corners show that Mr. Bush and his administration completely and totally lied and manipulated the people and Congress into taking on his folly that is Iraq. They forged letters, changed intelligence reports, withheld information that would suggest an invasion wasn't needed while trumping up anything that might point to Iraqi culpability, and attacked anyone who didn't come along.
John McCain has decided to hitch his wagon to the dogs of war too. He has completely accepted the Bush line on Iraq. He is even more bellicose than Bush about Iran. And now it comes out he is deeply involved with the events leading up to the Georgian army attacks that led to the current crisis. And why was Karl Rove just recently in the region? And why are McCain's lapdogs, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, going to Georgia
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Like children who don't understand it's for their own good to be dragged out of the toy section at the Wal-Mart, conservatives are kicking and screaming and making it harder for Americans to move ahead on so many important fronts. They don't like all kinds of important ideas, like fighting global warming and finally putting an end to the Iraq occupation. They can't see the glaringly obvious need to move rapidly away from oil in whatever area we can. They are entrenched in very bad ideas with bad consequences for everyone.
If the stakes weren't so high, we wouldn't have to act so boldly. But inaction on the important fronts are very much endangering far more than just opinions. The very future of our planet is at stake. Now that's not like a Christian end-time thing. The planet will go on. Humans will go on. But what kind of world will it be? How many millions will have to die
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We were told that America was going into Iraq to remove a threat to the United States. The spectre of a nuclear attack, the threat of gas or biological terror, all were thrown at the American public in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. When those were shown to be overblown at best and more likely just downright lies, we got other reasons. To bring democracy to Iraq, to help the Iraqi people, to stabilize the region, to counter the Iranian threat, to hunt down Al-Qaeda, and to "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here." Hell, some neo-cons have even come out and said it really was about oil.
It's funny, the McCain/Bush team has even started to talk about Obama's 16 month time-frame as a good idea. Don't look for that to last past the election. If, for some reason beyond me, John McCain did become the next president - they will return to their staunch position favoring staying alot longer. The oil cabal has no intention of just moving on, leaving Iraq to the Iraqis they value so little. Still, with the political climate being what it is, they will probably need an excuse
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Pretty much anyone who frequently reads Orble knows of a Silly Lady (don't wanna get censored here, ya know) and a Ruby. One is the epitome of well-researched and passionate writing, the other - well, sewers were made to deal with such.
I'm not going to criticize anyone for opionated writing, including the Silly Lady. I am, however, going to rise to the defense of someone who hardly needs it. A certain Ruby is more than able to defend herself in a very capable and complete way. Still, I can't help myself. The personal attacks hurled at her were beyond the pale. Everyone with a brain knows Silly Lady is a raving crank and not to take her words with even a grain of salt, but sometimes a person just goes to far
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What the hell? Elizabeth Dole, (R-NC) put forth an amendment to rename an AIDS relief bill to honor the recently departed Jesse Helms. Yes, you heard right - Jesse Helms. Conservative double-speak would have us believe that Bush is a good president, giving away the treasury to the rich is a grand idea, invading Iraq was to keep us "safe," and Karl Rove is a genius. Now, in one more outrage of idiotic double-speak, Elizabeth Dole wants to deliver a slap in the face of AIDS relief efforts by attaching said relief to the memory of a vile and hateful man.
Yes, she has every right to speak, as did he, and yes -as do I, when I say, go screw yourself, Mrs. Dole! She wants to amend the bill that is to authorize appropriations from 2009 through 2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. She wants to add the name of Jesse Helms, perhaps the most infamous gay-basher in Senate history
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Comment by Jeff Musall
on Crazy Quote Of The Week
Secular Humanity
Siberia is huge. The capital, Novosibirsk, is farther away from any ocean than I am from the beaches of Florida. (I live in the Pacific Northwest) The argument is so insipidly stupid that you wouldn't think the right would even take it up...but then again,,,,