I had occasion to visit my local Emergency Department last night. Everyone is recovering, thanks. While there, I saw a large percentage of the patients treated were there due to conditions that were better suited to an office visit to the family Doctor. Too many of our people are unable to acquire health insurance and are relying on already overloaded Emergency Departments. Part of why President Obama got elected was his willingness to be our knight to fight the dragon that is the American Health Insurance Industry. Unfortunately for us, the Legislative Branch is outfitting our knight with tissue-paper armor and a foam rubber lance.
The news over the last few days has been full of the "compromise" on health care reform. The idea of a true "public option", already mortally wounded, was euthanized for a relative mess of pottage. At least the House passed a bill that had a "sorta kinda" public option and increased competition. The Senate, under the gutless and spineless leadership of Harry Reid, sacrificed American health care reform on the altar of the pimps that are the health insurance companies that have been turning our health care system into a series of exorbitantly priced whores and the American people into the "johns" that are overpaying to be serviced or being forced to do without. The problem is that nobody ever died from not getting laid. People are dying every day from insufficient health care.
Senator Reid has been so preoccupied with placating the conservative members of his own party, the so-called "Blue Dogs", that he has squandered the hard-won mandate of the people. The solution is simple, Senator. You need to grow a set, sit these dipsticks down in your office and explain certain facts to them.
FACT: Most of the American people, according to multiple polls, want a robust public option and the competition that will result.
FACT: The only people that will actually benefit from the current bastard child that is the "compromise" will be the health insurance companies. Not only will people be mandated to buy their overpriced products under penalty of law, but the highest-risk segment of the population (those 55-65 that will eventually be covered by the limited Medicare expansion) will no longer be their responsibility.
FACT: You are now part of the Senate majority. If you want to continue to get your prestigious committee assignments, the nice offices and all the other trappings of being in that majority, you have to do one thing occasionally. That thing is to sit down, shut up and support the party that got you elected when it needs you.
In a perfect world, that would have happened already. Senator Reid's spine, having the consistency of a soggy graham cracker, precludes this scenario. Why is America the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee health care to ALL of its' citizens? Until and unless our elected officials start listening to the voters instead of their corporate contributor$ we will never get the government of the people, by the people and for the people that we have been promised for so long. Write, call or e-mail your Senators and Representatives and demand the health care you deserve. Tell 'em The Amused Geek sent ya.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Eyes on the Prize...
This morning, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After making a very modest acceptance speech, the President announced that he would donate the accompanying cash prize ($1.4 million… chump change it ain’t) to charity. Among the expected partisan shit-storm surrounding this great honor, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was quoted as saying, “What has President Obama actually accomplished?” Even a staunch conservative named Pat Buchanan called Steele's comments "a Kanye West moment". Let me spell some of it out for ya, Mickey…
First and foremost, Obama ended the eight year era of “cowboy diplomacy” and unilateralism that was propagated by the Bush administration. Instead of “Yee-haw, I’m goin’ in… Cover me!” President Obama relied more on “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Wasn’t that quote attributed to one of the other sitting U.S. Presidents to win the Peace Prize? Teddy Roosevelt, I believe it was. Rather than “stay the course no matter what changes” our President engages other nations, friend and foe, to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Didn’t we have a sitting President that won the Peace Prize for that, too? If you answered Woodrow Wilson, you win today’s no-prize!
Then there’s the whole issue of climate change. Instead of ignorance, denial, repudiation, lies and outright stupidity towards the whole concept of man-made climate change, Obama has acknowledged that this is one of the most important and difficult issues we face as a planet today and has started us down the long road of moving to cleaner and more renewable energy sources. That’s more that any President before Obama has been able to accomplish. Didn’t we have a former Vice-President that got the Peace Prize for his work battling climate change? Al Gore, wasn’t it?
Finally we come to the vast improvement in the world’s view of America. Instead of rampaging through situations trying to hammer every problem into the administration’s image, our diplomatic corps is trying, at the direction of the President, to find peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts. Using the carrot and keeping the stick in reserve. Didn’t we have a former President that won the Peace Prize for helping do just that? President Carter, as I recall. I haven’t even started on nuclear non-proliferation. Hell, Bush couldn’t even pronounce it! Have I also mentioned working tirelessly to undo the clusterfuck that was left by Mr. Bush and his administration?
Does President Obama have a long record of successful conclusions? Not yet. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century." Some of us feel that, while a bit premature, that if President Obama’s reach does not exceed his grasp, he could wind up wining this august prize again. Chairman Steele, stick to being the poorly trained lapdog to the intellectually deficient and the morally bankrupt. It is, after all, what you do best.
First and foremost, Obama ended the eight year era of “cowboy diplomacy” and unilateralism that was propagated by the Bush administration. Instead of “Yee-haw, I’m goin’ in… Cover me!” President Obama relied more on “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Wasn’t that quote attributed to one of the other sitting U.S. Presidents to win the Peace Prize? Teddy Roosevelt, I believe it was. Rather than “stay the course no matter what changes” our President engages other nations, friend and foe, to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Didn’t we have a sitting President that won the Peace Prize for that, too? If you answered Woodrow Wilson, you win today’s no-prize!
Then there’s the whole issue of climate change. Instead of ignorance, denial, repudiation, lies and outright stupidity towards the whole concept of man-made climate change, Obama has acknowledged that this is one of the most important and difficult issues we face as a planet today and has started us down the long road of moving to cleaner and more renewable energy sources. That’s more that any President before Obama has been able to accomplish. Didn’t we have a former Vice-President that got the Peace Prize for his work battling climate change? Al Gore, wasn’t it?
Finally we come to the vast improvement in the world’s view of America. Instead of rampaging through situations trying to hammer every problem into the administration’s image, our diplomatic corps is trying, at the direction of the President, to find peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts. Using the carrot and keeping the stick in reserve. Didn’t we have a former President that won the Peace Prize for helping do just that? President Carter, as I recall. I haven’t even started on nuclear non-proliferation. Hell, Bush couldn’t even pronounce it! Have I also mentioned working tirelessly to undo the clusterfuck that was left by Mr. Bush and his administration?
Does President Obama have a long record of successful conclusions? Not yet. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century." Some of us feel that, while a bit premature, that if President Obama’s reach does not exceed his grasp, he could wind up wining this august prize again. Chairman Steele, stick to being the poorly trained lapdog to the intellectually deficient and the morally bankrupt. It is, after all, what you do best.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
Fox commentator Glenn Beck has been bloviating for what seems like forever about his precious "9.12 project". Now, in fairness, the 9.12 project website has a disclaimer distancing itself from "the Glenn Beck Program, Glenn Beck, or any radio station, Cable TV Network, etc. ". A little farther down the page you will find a small shrine called the Glenn Beck Feed, however. For those who have better things to do than listen to the lies and innuendo that these neocon nit-wits spew, the stated goal of this gaggle's website is to be "a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country." Some of them marched in Washington, DC over the weekend. I noticed some disturbing trends...
First was the size of the crowd. I've heard claims of upwards of 500,000 by Beck and the Fox bozos. Judging by the authenticated pictures I've seen, that number is off by an order of magnitude (Lop off a zero for you non-math geeks).
Second was the obvious level of hatred in the crowd. I don't think Ive ever seen a group of people more riled by fear and outright ignorance. Even at the height of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I didn't see people espousing violence against any American, even (or especially!) Muslim-Americans. I'm willing to bet the Secret Service will be putting in a lot of overtime just based on some of the signs I saw on the news.
Third, and scariest of all, was the make-up of the crowd. I have yet to see a picture, ANY picture, of a single person of color attending this hoe-down. No black, brown, yellow or red faces whatsoever. Just an unbroken stream of white, most of them looking to be in need of a bit of health care. One person (and hats off to them) even went so far as to dub this the "Great White Waddle". I'm old enough (barely) to remember (from TV) the racial struggles in this country in the 1960's. The last time I saw a crowd this white being this angry at a black man there were hoods involved.
All of this got my brain running on its' hamster wheel. These people don't want government-run health care but are unwilling to give up their Veteran's and Medicare benefits, think that they have "lost control of 'their' country" just because America elected a black President and think that social justice equals socialism. I think it is high time for these crackers to form their own country. Let's call it "Cracker Nation", a nation built on fear, ignorance, hatred and deceit.
Think about it... a place where all these people that are afraid of people that are different from them can go and be out of our hair. Fixed Noise can be their Ministry of Dis-information, Lou Dobbs for Immigration Minister and of course: Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
All kidding aside, this wave of scared white people scares me more than almost anything that came out of the Bush administration. Frightened people in large groups worry me, and when people like Beck, Dobbs, O'Reilly and Limbaugh use those fears to agitate scared people it amounts to nothing more than incitement to riot, pure and simple. Wait a minute... plying on fears and ancient hatreds... those tactics sound familiar... THAT'S IT!!! The same tactics Osama binLaden used to incite the 9/11 attacks!
And so we have come full circle. Amazing, isn't it. I think Sinclair Lewis said it best. "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Two excellent reasons to be wary of excessive patriotism and religion, don't you think? And if you don't think, why are you reading this?
First was the size of the crowd. I've heard claims of upwards of 500,000 by Beck and the Fox bozos. Judging by the authenticated pictures I've seen, that number is off by an order of magnitude (Lop off a zero for you non-math geeks).
Second was the obvious level of hatred in the crowd. I don't think Ive ever seen a group of people more riled by fear and outright ignorance. Even at the height of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I didn't see people espousing violence against any American, even (or especially!) Muslim-Americans. I'm willing to bet the Secret Service will be putting in a lot of overtime just based on some of the signs I saw on the news.
Third, and scariest of all, was the make-up of the crowd. I have yet to see a picture, ANY picture, of a single person of color attending this hoe-down. No black, brown, yellow or red faces whatsoever. Just an unbroken stream of white, most of them looking to be in need of a bit of health care. One person (and hats off to them) even went so far as to dub this the "Great White Waddle". I'm old enough (barely) to remember (from TV) the racial struggles in this country in the 1960's. The last time I saw a crowd this white being this angry at a black man there were hoods involved.
All of this got my brain running on its' hamster wheel. These people don't want government-run health care but are unwilling to give up their Veteran's and Medicare benefits, think that they have "lost control of 'their' country" just because America elected a black President and think that social justice equals socialism. I think it is high time for these crackers to form their own country. Let's call it "Cracker Nation", a nation built on fear, ignorance, hatred and deceit.
Think about it... a place where all these people that are afraid of people that are different from them can go and be out of our hair. Fixed Noise can be their Ministry of Dis-information, Lou Dobbs for Immigration Minister and of course: Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
All kidding aside, this wave of scared white people scares me more than almost anything that came out of the Bush administration. Frightened people in large groups worry me, and when people like Beck, Dobbs, O'Reilly and Limbaugh use those fears to agitate scared people it amounts to nothing more than incitement to riot, pure and simple. Wait a minute... plying on fears and ancient hatreds... those tactics sound familiar... THAT'S IT!!! The same tactics Osama binLaden used to incite the 9/11 attacks!
And so we have come full circle. Amazing, isn't it. I think Sinclair Lewis said it best. "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Two excellent reasons to be wary of excessive patriotism and religion, don't you think? And if you don't think, why are you reading this?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Students and Technology
The Constant Reader knows of the high esteem in which I hold my beloved wife, the Lovely and Talented Cathy. Her latest project is another stunningly wonderful idea. She has started podcasting and a new website, Student Tech. This podcast covers all the nifty technological goodies she has found helpful in her quest for her doctoral degree. It also shares ways to save money and blow off steam with low-cost fun, since keeping your sanity is just as important as gaining an education.
In addition to learning all kinds of stuff, you will also get to hear the beautiful voice of the woman that is the light of my life. Check out Student Tech and tell her The Amused Geek sent you!
In addition to learning all kinds of stuff, you will also get to hear the beautiful voice of the woman that is the light of my life. Check out Student Tech and tell her The Amused Geek sent you!
The Lion Sleeps
America lost perhaps its' greatest liberal champion last night. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy lost his battle with brain cancer. This man, born to wealth and privilege, never ceased to battle for the rights of those less fortunate. Kennedy spent more that 47 years in the U.S. Senate and left his stamp on every major civil rights and anti-poverty legislation presented to that body. He will be missed.
It seems ironic to me that the darkest day of his career may have done more than anything else to extend Senator Kennedy's life. His brothers, John and Robert, came to early ends in possesion or pursuit of the nation's highest office. Ted could have easily become President had it not been for the tragic "Chappaquiddick" incident. He remained in the Senate and probably did more good for the disabled, poor and under-privleged over his long Senatorial career than he ever could have in a four to eight year Presidency.
Your labors are done, old lion. Rest well.
It seems ironic to me that the darkest day of his career may have done more than anything else to extend Senator Kennedy's life. His brothers, John and Robert, came to early ends in possesion or pursuit of the nation's highest office. Ted could have easily become President had it not been for the tragic "Chappaquiddick" incident. He remained in the Senate and probably did more good for the disabled, poor and under-privleged over his long Senatorial career than he ever could have in a four to eight year Presidency.
Your labors are done, old lion. Rest well.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Tyranny of the Wingnuts
In the days since I've last updated this missive, a disturbing trend has come to the fore. People (and I use that term loosely in this case) staring at the President's birth certificate still claiming that he's not a citizen, Medicare recipients railing against "government run health care" and the right-wing screaming meemies (This means YOU and your kind, Plush Windbag!) spewing talking points that are intellectually bankrupt and morally reprehensible.
It seems like the airwaves are filled with people shouting bullshit at the top of their lungs under the impression that volume can replace truth. On the news recently I saw elderly person after elderly person crying about how a public insurance option would mean that old people would have to die rather than get the health care they deserve. Do you honestly think that a country that specially designed a government-run single-payer healthcare system JUST for the elderly would make these same people end their lives due to a lack of healthcare? What color is the sky in your world? You sure don't live here! By the way, all of you who are screaming that America doesn't have a government-run single-payer healthcare system just for the elderly, it is called Medicare.
This mess is so pervasive that there is even a name for it. They are called "astroturf movements" because they claim to be coming from the "grass roots" but are fake. The Republican party is behaving like it believes that this is what the people want. Take that lying and barely literate village-idiot-of-the-tundra (could Dubya and she be related? Scary!), Sarah Palin. She is blathering on about how the Obama healthcare plan would create panels that would decide whether a citizen would live or die when, if Palin had the intelligence and integrity to read the actual bill, she would know that what is being offered is voluntary end-of-life counseling to the terminally ill. Palin, you lying guttersnipe, you have no room to chastise the press for "makin' stuff up"! Senator McCain, your selection of this moron didn't kill your campaign, but it did put it out of our misery.
The Constant Reader will know that I am a recent but devoted convert to liberalism and social justice, and I want to ask a favor. Please write, call, email or send a carrier pigeon to your Senator and your Congresscritter telling them that you want healthcare reform WITH a public option, and tell them that The Amused Geek sent you. I especially want you to write if you have the ill-fortune to live in a Congressional district represented by a Republican. I don't have much of a following, but perhaps we can make the Geek voice heard!
It seems like the airwaves are filled with people shouting bullshit at the top of their lungs under the impression that volume can replace truth. On the news recently I saw elderly person after elderly person crying about how a public insurance option would mean that old people would have to die rather than get the health care they deserve. Do you honestly think that a country that specially designed a government-run single-payer healthcare system JUST for the elderly would make these same people end their lives due to a lack of healthcare? What color is the sky in your world? You sure don't live here! By the way, all of you who are screaming that America doesn't have a government-run single-payer healthcare system just for the elderly, it is called Medicare.
This mess is so pervasive that there is even a name for it. They are called "astroturf movements" because they claim to be coming from the "grass roots" but are fake. The Republican party is behaving like it believes that this is what the people want. Take that lying and barely literate village-idiot-of-the-tundra (could Dubya and she be related? Scary!), Sarah Palin. She is blathering on about how the Obama healthcare plan would create panels that would decide whether a citizen would live or die when, if Palin had the intelligence and integrity to read the actual bill, she would know that what is being offered is voluntary end-of-life counseling to the terminally ill. Palin, you lying guttersnipe, you have no room to chastise the press for "makin' stuff up"! Senator McCain, your selection of this moron didn't kill your campaign, but it did put it out of our misery.
The Constant Reader will know that I am a recent but devoted convert to liberalism and social justice, and I want to ask a favor. Please write, call, email or send a carrier pigeon to your Senator and your Congresscritter telling them that you want healthcare reform WITH a public option, and tell them that The Amused Geek sent you. I especially want you to write if you have the ill-fortune to live in a Congressional district represented by a Republican. I don't have much of a following, but perhaps we can make the Geek voice heard!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Grim Reaper Working Overtime
Is death just in the air, or what? In the last seven days we've lost Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays died today. On top of that, Walter Cronkite is reported to be gravely ill. Seems to be a bad week to be famous.
I normally wouldn't comment about this, but I am amazingly most moved by the sudden death of Billy Mays. One of my recent guilty pleasures has been the show Pitchmen on Discovery. It's the story of Mays and Anthony Sullivan and how they find and pitch products. High-brow television it ain't, but it was fun and I'll be sorry to see it go. For all his bluster in public, watching him on TV turned him into a real person. I guess you can't ask for more from putting yourself in the public eye like that.
I normally wouldn't comment about this, but I am amazingly most moved by the sudden death of Billy Mays. One of my recent guilty pleasures has been the show Pitchmen on Discovery. It's the story of Mays and Anthony Sullivan and how they find and pitch products. High-brow television it ain't, but it was fun and I'll be sorry to see it go. For all his bluster in public, watching him on TV turned him into a real person. I guess you can't ask for more from putting yourself in the public eye like that.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Brain Droppings
(with all proper credit to George Carlin) Too much shit going on in the world for my brain to absorb these days, but my biggest fan that I'm not married to commented that I've not written lately. So for my favorite waitress, Sharon at the Pancake Palace in North Highlands, here we go...
Am I the only one that finds the latest Dos Equis commercials, featuring "The Most Interesting Man in the World", utterly fascinating? "His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards." Amazing!
The World Series of Poker is in full swing down in Las Vegas. Jeffrey Lisandro has already won an incredible THREE bracelets this year! It is one of my fondest dreams to play in an event someday. One of those bracelets would look really good on my wrist!
Michael Jackson is dead. Big, fat, fucking, hairy deal. The only person that started as a poor black boy and ended as a rich white woman finally overloaded his body. I really don't care what finally killed him, but what I want to know is how or why he went from black to white and what was up with all the cosmetic work... I heard one today that said how Jackson's body is going to have to be recycled because of all the plastic.
Finally, is it just my imagination, but is President Obama not living up to the hype? He's had ample opportunity to live up to his promises and it seems like all we're seeing is more of the same. He has a Democratic Congress and a popular mandate. Shouldn't he be giving the Republicans a dose of their own medicine? Isn't that what we elected him for?
Am I the only one that finds the latest Dos Equis commercials, featuring "The Most Interesting Man in the World", utterly fascinating? "His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards." Amazing!
The World Series of Poker is in full swing down in Las Vegas. Jeffrey Lisandro has already won an incredible THREE bracelets this year! It is one of my fondest dreams to play in an event someday. One of those bracelets would look really good on my wrist!
Michael Jackson is dead. Big, fat, fucking, hairy deal. The only person that started as a poor black boy and ended as a rich white woman finally overloaded his body. I really don't care what finally killed him, but what I want to know is how or why he went from black to white and what was up with all the cosmetic work... I heard one today that said how Jackson's body is going to have to be recycled because of all the plastic.
Finally, is it just my imagination, but is President Obama not living up to the hype? He's had ample opportunity to live up to his promises and it seems like all we're seeing is more of the same. He has a Democratic Congress and a popular mandate. Shouldn't he be giving the Republicans a dose of their own medicine? Isn't that what we elected him for?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Seven Justices, One Spine
Today the California Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, upheld Proposition 8. The top court of the state that I used to be proud to call home has effectively made it legal for any group with sufficient money and hatred to force any group they disagree with into second-class citizenry. The one place in America that should be on the forefront of equal rights for all has taken a giant step back toward repression and apartheid. I am saddened not only by the loss to the gay and lesbian wing of the human community, but by the fact that one of the larger demographics that voted for this abomination in the first place was the African-American religious community. It wasn't all THAT long ago that they were the ones forced to ride on the back of the bus...
I am reminded of a poem I first heard in grammar school. We were being taught about Anne Frank. It was an evil time in world history, and I am most assuredly NOT trying to compare today's events to the Holocaust in any way, shape or form. There was a poem, written by Martin Niemöller that has remained in my head ever since. It seems especially appropriate today:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
All of you that are members of some kind of minority whose rights are protected by law and the state Constitution, look to your rights. The gay and lesbian community learned today that the state constitution is no longer protection from the neanderthals who prefer religion over reality. We all learned that the law that is supposed to protect the rights of those that need protecting can be overturned for no better reason than the hatred of those that fear you. We also learned that the courts put in place to redress the wrongs of bad law will do nothing.
The lone bright spot in all of this is that the California Supremes didn't retroactively annul the gay and lesbian marriages that took place while we were an enlightened state. To those who were married in that golden time, I salute you and wish you the best. To those seeking equal rights, it is ironic that I suggest to you, perhaps Ohio?
I am reminded of a poem I first heard in grammar school. We were being taught about Anne Frank. It was an evil time in world history, and I am most assuredly NOT trying to compare today's events to the Holocaust in any way, shape or form. There was a poem, written by Martin Niemöller that has remained in my head ever since. It seems especially appropriate today:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
All of you that are members of some kind of minority whose rights are protected by law and the state Constitution, look to your rights. The gay and lesbian community learned today that the state constitution is no longer protection from the neanderthals who prefer religion over reality. We all learned that the law that is supposed to protect the rights of those that need protecting can be overturned for no better reason than the hatred of those that fear you. We also learned that the courts put in place to redress the wrongs of bad law will do nothing.
The lone bright spot in all of this is that the California Supremes didn't retroactively annul the gay and lesbian marriages that took place while we were an enlightened state. To those who were married in that golden time, I salute you and wish you the best. To those seeking equal rights, it is ironic that I suggest to you, perhaps Ohio?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Dick
There is a lingering plague afoot in this nation. After a thorough high colonic, the parasite that caused this pestilential eruption lingers, continuing to spew filth and corruption. I speak of none other than our former Vice-President, the incredibly aptly named Dick Cheney. This scion of corporate corpulence, this Sith Lord with his hand firmly wearing his former boss like some sort of demented flesh sock puppet, the being that single-handedly orchestrated the greatest single assault on our Constitutional freedoms since King George III, has risen from the slime of his "undisclosed location" to show the moral bankruptcy that characterized the administration of Bush the Younger.
Hyperbole aside, I am constantly amazed at the unmitigated gall of this Dick. Since skulking out of office, he has done nothing but criticize the foreign policy of the Obama administration. On closing Gitmo: It's a bad decision. It's a first-class facility (ABC News). When President Obama officially ended torture? "President Obama campaigned against it all across the country, and now he is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack." (CNN) The crowning glory came on April 20 when the most secretive government official since that other Dick (Nixon, for you young'uns), who has fought tooth-and-nail to exert executive privlidge wherever possible (and in a few impossible places), was quoted by UPI as saying that the Obama administration didn't release enough information!
After the work-product from the twisted hobgoblins that made up the Bush "Justice" department was made public, Dick had the nerve to say, "One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort." (UPI) The implication is that there are volumes of interrogation reports and other documentation of all the plots foiled by America's descent into Inquisition. From Dick's own pen, the truth is somewhat underwhelming.
Dick filed a request for documents from his old office under the Freedom of Information Act. Apparently he had a file labeled "Detainees" in his office. From that he wants the documents that, one assumes, will vindicate his torturing of prisoners. So, how many memos does Darth Cheney think it will take to clear his "good name"? Two, total pages: 21. Is there anyone out there still buying the bullshit?
President Obama made a mistake when he said the the CIA operatives that followed orders to torture shouldn't be prosecuted. The saving grace of that moment was when he said that investigation and prosecution of the torture incidents was up to the Attorney General. AG Holder, the very reputation of the American nation and her people is at stake. Lady Liberty was not just assaulted, she was clubbed, dragged into a dark alley, sodomized and her purse ransacked for cabfare. It is essential that you order investigations and, where the evidence indicates, prosecutions. To make any investigation more than a fancy cover-up, you MUST follow the evidence wherever it leads, even if that destination is the highest office in the land. The ghosts of torture victims throughout history cry out for the restoration of America's reputation as that shining beacon of freedom and liberty that she has been in the past, and is on her way to being again.
Hyperbole aside, I am constantly amazed at the unmitigated gall of this Dick. Since skulking out of office, he has done nothing but criticize the foreign policy of the Obama administration. On closing Gitmo: It's a bad decision. It's a first-class facility (ABC News). When President Obama officially ended torture? "President Obama campaigned against it all across the country, and now he is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack." (CNN) The crowning glory came on April 20 when the most secretive government official since that other Dick (Nixon, for you young'uns), who has fought tooth-and-nail to exert executive privlidge wherever possible (and in a few impossible places), was quoted by UPI as saying that the Obama administration didn't release enough information!
After the work-product from the twisted hobgoblins that made up the Bush "Justice" department was made public, Dick had the nerve to say, "One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort." (UPI) The implication is that there are volumes of interrogation reports and other documentation of all the plots foiled by America's descent into Inquisition. From Dick's own pen, the truth is somewhat underwhelming.
Dick filed a request for documents from his old office under the Freedom of Information Act. Apparently he had a file labeled "Detainees" in his office. From that he wants the documents that, one assumes, will vindicate his torturing of prisoners. So, how many memos does Darth Cheney think it will take to clear his "good name"? Two, total pages: 21. Is there anyone out there still buying the bullshit?
President Obama made a mistake when he said the the CIA operatives that followed orders to torture shouldn't be prosecuted. The saving grace of that moment was when he said that investigation and prosecution of the torture incidents was up to the Attorney General. AG Holder, the very reputation of the American nation and her people is at stake. Lady Liberty was not just assaulted, she was clubbed, dragged into a dark alley, sodomized and her purse ransacked for cabfare. It is essential that you order investigations and, where the evidence indicates, prosecutions. To make any investigation more than a fancy cover-up, you MUST follow the evidence wherever it leads, even if that destination is the highest office in the land. The ghosts of torture victims throughout history cry out for the restoration of America's reputation as that shining beacon of freedom and liberty that she has been in the past, and is on her way to being again.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tempest in a Teabag
Today is tax day. Corporate right-wing fucktards attempted to stir up the populace and claim it to be a grass-roots movement. Conservatives, if that is the state of your grass roots, your lawn is dead! One of the largest gatherings was here in Sacramento, but they couldn't even out-draw the worst team in the NBA, our very own Kings.
One of the asshats at the Washington, D.C. protest managed to get that prayer-meetin' busted up when they threw a box of teabags over the fence at the White House, earning the ire of the Secret Service who treated it like a possible bomb, and rightly so. I noticed that the tea was from Wal-Mart. It seems that even the right-wing, while protesting the tax policies that are cutting taxes for 95% of Americans, can't afford to shop at better than Wal-Mart.
The funniest thing about this whole thing is that none of the neo-cons or their mouthpieces at Fixed Noise seem to know about the "other" definition of "teabagging". The left-wing media has been one long scrotum joke for about a week now. It shows, once again, that you just cannot fix stupid (with all credit to Ron White)!
One of the asshats at the Washington, D.C. protest managed to get that prayer-meetin' busted up when they threw a box of teabags over the fence at the White House, earning the ire of the Secret Service who treated it like a possible bomb, and rightly so. I noticed that the tea was from Wal-Mart. It seems that even the right-wing, while protesting the tax policies that are cutting taxes for 95% of Americans, can't afford to shop at better than Wal-Mart.
The funniest thing about this whole thing is that none of the neo-cons or their mouthpieces at Fixed Noise seem to know about the "other" definition of "teabagging". The left-wing media has been one long scrotum joke for about a week now. It shows, once again, that you just cannot fix stupid (with all credit to Ron White)!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Five Decades!
A week ago, I reached one of those milestone birthdays. 50 years ago last week, I was brought into this world. I have had time to think about my life and I'm amazed at the changes that have occurred. ATMs, PCs, SUVs and a whole host of other acronyms that have come about. Hell, fifty years a website involved spiders! I am very glad that I didn't have to endure one of those cheesy black-balloon and geezer joke parties. Cathy and I went to Reno, where my birthday spanking was well and truly applied by the denizens of the Peppermill poker room. Now if I could just stop those AARP cards from arriving...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Moment of Clarity
I was in the shower, one of the planet's best thinking spots, mulling over the latest chapter in the saga of the bailed-out financial institutions when I had what my wife, The Lovely and Talented Cathy (TM) so eloquently calls a "brain cascade". That's what happens when one thought leads to another, then another, eventually leading to an epiphany of varying scale from "cool" to "OMFG!"
The thoughts that added to the cascade were that the last bonus I got, my stay bonus when I got laid off last year, had 42% sucked off the top by the Feds and that when I did my income tax this year the unemployment insurance I got was taxable income on my form 1040. Add hot water, soap and a major case of hamster brain...
The two ideas that sprang to mind were these. First, make any bonus awarded to anyone with a base salary less than $50,000 per year taxable as if it were a regular paycheck. No more getting just over half, just tax it as if it was a regular weekly/bi-weekly/monthly paycheck. This would put more money into the economy by keeping the bonus in the hands of the employee, not the Feds. The best part is that if some greedy corporate bastard tries to dodge the law by paying a CEO $50k a year with a $50 million bonus, it gets taxed like they make $50 million A MONTH!
Idea #2 was either the PR move of the year for any Republican or the ultimate "gotcha" for any Democrat. Introduce a bill making public Unemployment Insurance exempt from federal tax, retroactive to tax year 2008. This will provide a small reduction in the tax bills of those who need it most and will stimulate the economy of a record number of Americans by cutting taxes. Republicans can use it as a centerpiece of the "cut taxes is the only answer" BS they spout, and Democrats can just say, "You want tax cuts so damned bad, here you go!"
I wonder if this could gain any traction?
The thoughts that added to the cascade were that the last bonus I got, my stay bonus when I got laid off last year, had 42% sucked off the top by the Feds and that when I did my income tax this year the unemployment insurance I got was taxable income on my form 1040. Add hot water, soap and a major case of hamster brain...
The two ideas that sprang to mind were these. First, make any bonus awarded to anyone with a base salary less than $50,000 per year taxable as if it were a regular paycheck. No more getting just over half, just tax it as if it was a regular weekly/bi-weekly/monthly paycheck. This would put more money into the economy by keeping the bonus in the hands of the employee, not the Feds. The best part is that if some greedy corporate bastard tries to dodge the law by paying a CEO $50k a year with a $50 million bonus, it gets taxed like they make $50 million A MONTH!
Idea #2 was either the PR move of the year for any Republican or the ultimate "gotcha" for any Democrat. Introduce a bill making public Unemployment Insurance exempt from federal tax, retroactive to tax year 2008. This will provide a small reduction in the tax bills of those who need it most and will stimulate the economy of a record number of Americans by cutting taxes. Republicans can use it as a centerpiece of the "cut taxes is the only answer" BS they spout, and Democrats can just say, "You want tax cuts so damned bad, here you go!"
I wonder if this could gain any traction?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Random Bravos and Bitchslaps...
Too much information swirling through my brain tonight... A few random comments
Alex Rodriguez: Am I the only one that is tired of all these baseball players that refuse to admit to steroid use but keep apologizing for getting caught? A-Rod, Bonds, Tejada and all the rest of you need to just say "I did it. It was all over the place. Once baseball ruled it was cheating, I quit." and then get past it. Until you do that, shut up already! Bitchslap!
Bud Selig, Comissioner of MLB: Take the home run record away from Barry Bonds and give it back to your buddy Hank Aaron? Only if you are ready to take away every record, award and performance bonus from everyone else in the Mitchell Report, dipstick! Bitchslap!
Hank Aaron: Always one of the most classy guys in baseball, for publicly telling the world that the home run record belongs to Barry Bonds and that Selig has the wrong idea, BRAVO!
Bristol Palin: In an interview with Fox "News", she said that relying on abstinence was "completely unrealistic". She also said that having her baby was her choice. Just remember that your mother, Caribou Barbie, would take that choice away from all women in America. BRAVO!
I know there is more, just not tonight.
Alex Rodriguez: Am I the only one that is tired of all these baseball players that refuse to admit to steroid use but keep apologizing for getting caught? A-Rod, Bonds, Tejada and all the rest of you need to just say "I did it. It was all over the place. Once baseball ruled it was cheating, I quit." and then get past it. Until you do that, shut up already! Bitchslap!
Bud Selig, Comissioner of MLB: Take the home run record away from Barry Bonds and give it back to your buddy Hank Aaron? Only if you are ready to take away every record, award and performance bonus from everyone else in the Mitchell Report, dipstick! Bitchslap!
Hank Aaron: Always one of the most classy guys in baseball, for publicly telling the world that the home run record belongs to Barry Bonds and that Selig has the wrong idea, BRAVO!
Bristol Palin: In an interview with Fox "News", she said that relying on abstinence was "completely unrealistic". She also said that having her baby was her choice. Just remember that your mother, Caribou Barbie, would take that choice away from all women in America. BRAVO!
I know there is more, just not tonight.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Sunday
Who'da thunk it? I tuned in to the Super Bowl and a football game broke out! After the Cardinals made every mistake you possibly could and overcame a couple of questionable calls by the officials, it took a last minute TD to put the Steelers on top. A really good game to watch by any standard. If anyone doubted Kurt Warner's credentials for the Hall of Fame, I think that was put to rest. It didn't hurt that I had the Cardinals +7 either!
Of course football isn't the only reason to watch the Super Bowl. It may not even be the main reason. The Super Bowl commercials are traditionally as much or more fun than the game. Was it my imagination or were this year's commercials kinda flat? In fact, I think the big winner this year was NBC! My favorite had to be LMAO with the Hulu ad with Alec Baldwin and the Heroes Football Game close behind. Of the "commercial" commercials, my top two were shown in the same break. The Pedigree "Crazy Pets" and Bud's "Stick" (I still think of it as "Fetch") were my favorites. Monster.com also had a good one with "Need a New Job?"
The biggest waste of $3 million: Cash4Gold. Ed McMahon and MC Hammer babbling about how you can sell your "excess" gold. Like anyone these days has EXCESS gold... I feel sorry for Ed McMahon. Between his "Tonight Show" and "Star Search" work and all those commercials he should have never had money troubles again. If it can happen to someone like him, some of us should thank our lucky stars.
Of course football isn't the only reason to watch the Super Bowl. It may not even be the main reason. The Super Bowl commercials are traditionally as much or more fun than the game. Was it my imagination or were this year's commercials kinda flat? In fact, I think the big winner this year was NBC! My favorite had to be LMAO with the Hulu ad with Alec Baldwin and the Heroes Football Game close behind. Of the "commercial" commercials, my top two were shown in the same break. The Pedigree "Crazy Pets" and Bud's "Stick" (I still think of it as "Fetch") were my favorites. Monster.com also had a good one with "Need a New Job?"
The biggest waste of $3 million: Cash4Gold. Ed McMahon and MC Hammer babbling about how you can sell your "excess" gold. Like anyone these days has EXCESS gold... I feel sorry for Ed McMahon. Between his "Tonight Show" and "Star Search" work and all those commercials he should have never had money troubles again. If it can happen to someone like him, some of us should thank our lucky stars.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Yes, We Did!
President Obama. I STILL think it sounds cool! I got to watch the whole inauguration ceremony live, and except for that sanctimonious hypocrite Rick Warren it was a wonderful experience. Aretha was in fine voice and as one of my co-workers said, "There are only a few places you can wear a hat like that.", but she pulled it off with style. I still think she should have sung "Respect", but tradition must be served. Perhaps in four years?
Our new President is about to sign an executive order to close the gulag at Guantanamo. That's a great first step, but I think that more needs to happen. In the unlikely event that someone with the ear of President Obama reads this, my advice as an American that longs to see his country regain the moral high ground is this: Please order Attorney General-Designate Holder (Still Designate thanks to partisan Republican bullcrap) to investigate the illegal wiretapping, eavesdropping, no-bid contracts and, most of all, the use of torutre by the Bush administration. If sufficient evidence is found, those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If that means that the former President and Vice-President go to jail, so be it.
I am not advocating a "witch-hunt". Merely following the evidence wherever it leads, even if (and especially if) it leads all the way to the top. The U.N. Special Investigator on Torture, Manfred Noack said today that, "The American government has a clear obligation to prosecute members of the Bush administration for war crimes" as a signatory to the U.N. Convention on Torture. Mr. Noack specifically named Donald Rumsfield and former President Bush. In fact, under those conventions, the U.N. might be able to start prosecution on its' own!
Wouldn't it be better for us to clean our own house than to let the rest of the world do it for us?
Our new President is about to sign an executive order to close the gulag at Guantanamo. That's a great first step, but I think that more needs to happen. In the unlikely event that someone with the ear of President Obama reads this, my advice as an American that longs to see his country regain the moral high ground is this: Please order Attorney General-Designate Holder (Still Designate thanks to partisan Republican bullcrap) to investigate the illegal wiretapping, eavesdropping, no-bid contracts and, most of all, the use of torutre by the Bush administration. If sufficient evidence is found, those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If that means that the former President and Vice-President go to jail, so be it.
I am not advocating a "witch-hunt". Merely following the evidence wherever it leads, even if (and especially if) it leads all the way to the top. The U.N. Special Investigator on Torture, Manfred Noack said today that, "The American government has a clear obligation to prosecute members of the Bush administration for war crimes" as a signatory to the U.N. Convention on Torture. Mr. Noack specifically named Donald Rumsfield and former President Bush. In fact, under those conventions, the U.N. might be able to start prosecution on its' own!
Wouldn't it be better for us to clean our own house than to let the rest of the world do it for us?
Monday, January 5, 2009
Feeling vile...
Why is it that a simple cold will turn the average human being into a quivering shell. I've come down with one and I feel like a mass of barely-congealed bat crap. Of course it has to show up while I'm in my probation period in my new job so I can't take the time to get over it. We can have people live in outer space, connect the entire world to one another and have pills to cause erections and grow hair but we can't cure a simple bloody rhinovirus? SIGH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)