Sunday, November 30, 2008
Little Neocon Shit!
Wow, that Bill Kristol... I guess he tailors his message to his NY Times readers, and plays to the crowd in the neocon jungle. Forget what I said about him in that earlier blog post. (Thanks, Carol!)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
And in the end...
And in the end, we just may have to give Bush a bit of credit. As much as I'd hate to admit it, and his horrid execution. He may have just backed into a good outcome despite his efforts. History will tell the tale.
Bravery
What a good and righteous man. I can think many less honorable ways to go out of this world than drinking a beer at the Leopold in Mumbai. Let's all go.
Unsettling
Here we are, in a capitalistic society, driving down wages to their lowest possible cost. But at what cost? This is a very thought provoking article. I mean what's next? My dentist managing his office with video cameras to dentists he hires in Bangalore? With the hygienists doing the work? Where does it end?
I'm a Cold Bastard
I get the argument. I really get it. But these people had choice. We all have choice. We can be compassionate... help with government programs... but we just cannot stand in the way of creative destruction. Let them re-organize under Chapter 11. Take the hard hit first, rather than the slow drip of pain that will end up at the same point.
Prop 8
Mr. Blow makes the perfect points, and the perfect solution for getting 8 defeated next time (if we need to.)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Torture
As Carol said, hang in there with this... she's kind of funky in the beginning, but the last half calms down and talks about serious considerations. (Thanks, Carol!)
WOW - A Tornado from Scratch...
I dunno 'bout you... but this is some pretty exciting footage. And Gracie and I have watched a number of YouTube Tornado Videos. (Thanks, Carol!)
Franken / Coleman
This just in from reader Carol (Thanks!) You can observe the ballots that are currently in question in the Coleman/Franken race and vote on what you think the intent of the voter was. I got up to about 18, before I got frustrated with how slow the process is. I started out thinking that a small mark in one, with a heavy mark in another was an overvote. But as I got through it, I think that it was more a person starting to vote for one, and changing his/her mind and solidly voting for another. I wonder what the criteria is? They must have had a unifying criteria from a judge, right? Wow... just goes to show... your vote CAN count! I wish they had erasers for the voters to use in the booth! :*)
I forgot what you said...
Paul is quite right here... as soon as the crisis is over, we all start thinking that we can go back to our old ways. "We fixed it... don't worry, be happy!" It's the same with oil right now. "See? I KNEW those big gas prices were a blip... Look at those Suburban's on sale!" I actually heard out of a conservative's mouth on NPR the other day: Don't regulate the car companies and tell them what to build! Raise the price of gas back to $5 and let the market figure it out! Out of a conservative's mouth, I heard this. Could we ALL be getting it?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Mein HELOC!
Classic parody! At least the Lehman and AIG are safe! B'wahahahahahahahahahaha! (Thanks, Carol!)
Written by the Hand of God
I don't think there has ever been a Collins column that I have not busted out laughing at. "Written by the Hand of God..." Indeed.
Blackberry on the Rocks?
Holy moly, Ma! Can it be that RIMM has stumbled? What does this mean to the stock? At 45... bit of support there... but when it breaks that... hello $30! Nice shorting opportunity coming up... watch for the results of this article to make the name shortable tomorrow.
Now the broader fundi picture... RIMM is the corporate gold standard! Does this mean that IT departments will now look to the gphone? (caveat - my wife is a director at GOOG) But even CIOs have to be looking... Android... open source... extensible within the organization... If I could, I'd be doubling down on GOOG right now, and tMobile in the short term. (until Sprint comes online.) Verizon, AT&T? Going down in a sea of proprietary hardward and standards.
Look out below!
Now the broader fundi picture... RIMM is the corporate gold standard! Does this mean that IT departments will now look to the gphone? (caveat - my wife is a director at GOOG) But even CIOs have to be looking... Android... open source... extensible within the organization... If I could, I'd be doubling down on GOOG right now, and tMobile in the short term. (until Sprint comes online.) Verizon, AT&T? Going down in a sea of proprietary hardward and standards.
Look out below!
Candace Gingrich ROCKS!
We have a long, long way to go - the world is more like Newt. But here in America? and the developed world? Yup. Sorry. New day. Run backwards all you want... sprint, even. You cannot fight this tide.
"we won't get fooled again." - Pete Townsend.
"we won't get fooled again." - Pete Townsend.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Never Stand Behind Palin, Mr. Greenspan...
I feel bad for Alan. All his life he's been heralded as a magician, a wizard, a true star. And now to go out like this... He and W are each other's new drinkin' buddies. Hey, Alan?! I bet George is someone you could enjoy a beer with, eh?
Sad.
Sad.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Two Thirds Majority For Something This Serious!
I'm sorry but you just cannot insert bigotry into the California Constitution. It just will not fly. I hope the justices have the balls to do the right thing.
Everyone's to blame.
I have to say, that I hope that the bankers who got their bonuses for all this, were fully invested in the market when it collapsed.
Pass the Ganja, Brother...
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Going to get my Birkies on right now. :*) (not hard... I always wear them... )
Sunday, November 23, 2008
New Respect for Kristol
I have to say, that it's nice to see columnists whom I've never really much respected in the past rise to a level of discourse that's commensurate with the times we're in. Good job, Bill.
Finally, Momo! Finally!
Finally an editorial that isn't full of that National Enquirer level of text, Momo. Keep up the hard stuff, and leave the People Magazine stuff to the people who enjoy it. I'm not one of 'em. (well, sometimes... but go back to THIS stuff, OK?)
Stop the Taliban
While many people will gloss over this editorial, it's probably one of the most important things we can pay attention to. Why? All it will take is for a few Pakistanis to figure out a way to do something destructive here in the states, and then the country will turn back to the Republicans and the Religious Right's Talibanistic ways here. Please Mr. President elect... keep your finger on the Pakistani pulse.
More Great Ideas
Another great idea from Larry Tribe, via Jim Warren:
I just posted the following to the Obama administration's change.gov. If enough people advocate the same and pass the word, perhaps someone in the new admin, above the level of email-drone, might actually give it serious consideration:
http://change.gov/page/s/techagenda
It is long overdue to implement - at least by statute and regulation - Constitutional Scholar Laurence Tribe's 1991 proposal for assuring constitutional civil liberties in the 21st Century:
For the first time in his professional career, Professor Tribe (now a Obama administration advisor) proposed a Constitutional Amendment, in his keynote address at the 1991 First Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (that I founded and chaired). On 3/26/91 in Burlingame CA, he proposed a 27th Amendment:
"This Constitution's protections for the freedoms of speech, press, petition, and assembly, and its protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process of law shall be construed as fully applicable without regard to the technological method or medium through which information content is generated, stored, altered, transmitted or controlled."
It was later published in The Humanist, Sep/Oct'91, pp.15-20,39
I just posted the following to the Obama administration's change.gov. If enough people advocate the same and pass the word, perhaps someone in the new admin, above the level of email-drone, might actually give it serious consideration:
http://change.gov/page/s/techagenda
It is long overdue to implement - at least by statute and regulation - Constitutional Scholar Laurence Tribe's 1991 proposal for assuring constitutional civil liberties in the 21st Century:
For the first time in his professional career, Professor Tribe (now a Obama administration advisor) proposed a Constitutional Amendment, in his keynote address at the 1991 First Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (that I founded and chaired). On 3/26/91 in Burlingame CA, he proposed a 27th Amendment:
"This Constitution's protections for the freedoms of speech, press, petition, and assembly, and its protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process of law shall be construed as fully applicable without regard to the technological method or medium through which information content is generated, stored, altered, transmitted or controlled."
It was later published in The Humanist, Sep/Oct'91, pp.15-20,39
Open!
Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage by Jenny BlockMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is an amazing eye-opener. Jenny Block is a brave and courageous woman, and it should be mandatory reading for anyone who considers themselves a thinking person. Whether or not you subscribe to what this author has done with her life, you owe it to yourself to open your brain with her words. HIGHLY recommended.
View all my reviews.
Shrink the Corporations
This just in from Jim Warren. Also see the thinking some of history's more famous "radicals" below...
Just in from a friend, re my anti- corp-personhood proposal. --jim
These from two earlier radicals:
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy
of our monied corporations which dare already
to challenge our government to a trial of strength,
and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
--Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1816
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=808&chapter=88352&layout=html&Itemid=27
"When I took the office the antitrust law was practically a dead
letter and the interstate commerce law in as poor a condition. I
had to revive both laws. I did. I enforced both. It will be
easy enough to do now what I did then, but the reason that it is
easy now is because I did it when it was hard. Nobody was doing
anything. I found speedily that the interstate commerce law
by being made perfect could be made a most useful instrument
for helping solve some of our industrial problems. So with
the antitrust law. I speedily found out that almost the only
positive good achieved by such a successful lawsuit as the
Northern Securities suit, for instance, was in establishing
the principle that the government was supreme over the big
corporation, but by itself that the law did not accomplish any
of the things that we ought to have accomplished; and so I began
to fight for the amendment of the law along the lines of the
interstate commerce law, and now we propose, we Progressives,
to establish and interstate commission having the same power
over industrial concerns that the Interstate Commerce Commission
has over railroads, so that whenever there is in the future a
decision rendered in such important matters as the recent suits
against the Standard Oil, the Sugar - no, not that - Tobacco -
Tobacco Trust - we will have a commission which will see that the
decree of the court is really made effective; that it is not made
a merely nominal decree. Our opponents have said that we intend
to legalize monopoly. Nonsense. They have legalized monopoly. At
this moment the Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust monopolies are
legalized; they are being carried on under the decree of the
Supreme Court. Our proposal is really to break up monopoly. Our
proposal is to lay down certain requirements, and then to require
the commerce commission - the industrial commission - to see
that the trusts live up to those requirements. Our opponents
have spoken as if we were going to let the commission declare
what those requirements should be. Not at all. We are going to
put the requirements in the law and then see that the commission
requires them to obey that law."
--Theodore Roosevelt, October 14, 1912
http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trmilwspeech.html
I just posted the following to the Obama administration's change.gov "Share Your Thoughts". And, if you and enough people do the same and pass the word, maybe someone above the level of email-drone might actually see it and DO something!
--jim
http://www.change.gov/page/s/economy
In the '60s, when "radicals" were trying to start a peace, one sometimes heard the insightful slogan: "Small is Beautiful!"
Never has it become more obvious that the nation needs to roll-back the power and dangers of bloated conglomerates.
As the FOREMOST move to DEFEND Americans from attack, we need to begin steps towards breaking up the natural/Darwinian concentration of wealth and power in faceless, unaccountable overpowering conglomerates (FUNCTIONAL cartels, trusts, monopolies):
1. For the first time in history, the federal government - instead of unelected and unaccountable political appointees to the Supreme Court - need to declare that corporations are NOT "persons"; that "person" and "people" refer EXCLUSIVELY to humans; and thus and most importantly, that corporations have NO rights or privileges other than those that may be explicitly stated in legislation.
2. To protect and obtain for ALL of We, the People, the REAL benefits of business competition, we need to begin defining policies - by statute and regulation (e.g. FTC, EPA, DoD contracts, etc.) - that (a) force the break-up of conglomerates that threaten the nation's safety by being "too big to allow to fail", and (b) prohibit mergers and acquisitions that create such dangers.
--jim
http://www.change.gov/page/s/
In the '60s, when "radicals" were trying to start a peace, one sometimes heard the insightful slogan: "Small is Beautiful!"
Never has it become more obvious that the nation needs to roll-back the power and dangers of bloated conglomerates.
As the FOREMOST move to DEFEND Americans from attack, we need to begin steps towards breaking up the natural/Darwinian concentration of wealth and power in faceless, unaccountable overpowering conglomerates (FUNCTIONAL cartels, trusts, monopolies):
1. For the first time in history, the federal government - instead of unelected and unaccountable political appointees to the Supreme Court - need to declare that corporations are NOT "persons"; that "person" and "people" refer EXCLUSIVELY to humans; and thus and most importantly, that corporations have NO rights or privileges other than those that may be explicitly stated in legislation.
2. To protect and obtain for ALL of We, the People, the REAL benefits of business competition, we need to begin defining policies - by statute and regulation (e.g. FTC, EPA, DoD contracts, etc.) - that (a) force the break-up of conglomerates that threaten the nation's safety by being "too big to allow to fail", and (b) prohibit mergers and acquisitions that create such dangers.
Just in from a friend, re my anti- corp-personhood proposal. --jim
These from two earlier radicals:
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy
of our monied corporations which dare already
to challenge our government to a trial of strength,
and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
--Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1816
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?
"When I took the office the antitrust law was practically a dead
letter and the interstate commerce law in as poor a condition. I
had to revive both laws. I did. I enforced both. It will be
easy enough to do now what I did then, but the reason that it is
easy now is because I did it when it was hard. Nobody was doing
anything. I found speedily that the interstate commerce law
by being made perfect could be made a most useful instrument
for helping solve some of our industrial problems. So with
the antitrust law. I speedily found out that almost the only
positive good achieved by such a successful lawsuit as the
Northern Securities suit, for instance, was in establishing
the principle that the government was supreme over the big
corporation, but by itself that the law did not accomplish any
of the things that we ought to have accomplished; and so I began
to fight for the amendment of the law along the lines of the
interstate commerce law, and now we propose, we Progressives,
to establish and interstate commission having the same power
over industrial concerns that the Interstate Commerce Commission
has over railroads, so that whenever there is in the future a
decision rendered in such important matters as the recent suits
against the Standard Oil, the Sugar - no, not that - Tobacco -
Tobacco Trust - we will have a commission which will see that the
decree of the court is really made effective; that it is not made
a merely nominal decree. Our opponents have said that we intend
to legalize monopoly. Nonsense. They have legalized monopoly. At
this moment the Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust monopolies are
legalized; they are being carried on under the decree of the
Supreme Court. Our proposal is really to break up monopoly. Our
proposal is to lay down certain requirements, and then to require
the commerce commission - the industrial commission - to see
that the trusts live up to those requirements. Our opponents
have spoken as if we were going to let the commission declare
what those requirements should be. Not at all. We are going to
put the requirements in the law and then see that the commission
requires them to obey that law."
--Theodore Roosevelt, October 14, 1912
http://www.theodore-
Saturday, November 22, 2008
We can all help.
I realize times are tough here. But these men and women have put their lives on the line. We owe them our support. Oh, and thanks W. Your country appreciates your service - a$$hole.
Don't worry, be turnin' off da TV.
Probably the only TV I watch is the news. Maybe I'd be happier if I didn't. :*)
Yes Virginia, Evil still Exists in the World.
I mean COME ON! If you're going to be unethical... Try HARDER to cover your tracks!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Hmmm... not sure.
I'm not sure what this is implying. Does he mean to say that we need MASSIVE spending (and thus deficit) to get out of this? Or is he saying that it doesn't matter what you do? Comments?
If he was a REAL man...
I think if Bush were a real man, he'd say "folks, these are extraordinary times. I want the next president to get started right away. I'm going to leave my office on December 1st, and he can continue his transition from the oval office." Pfft. Like that will happen.
I swoon!
I just get giddy all over when I see what Obama is doing. Actually leading with thought. Who knew that was possible?!
Move over Nostradamus
This in from our first (and only) subscriber Denali. Very nice thoughts here. It makes me wistful for a time when there was more cooperation in getting the business of the country done. Nothing exceeds like excess. (Thanks, Tom!)
"The award for prescience, however, goes to Jacob K. Javits, the liberal Republican senator from New York who, incredibly, just a year after the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, predicted that the first black president would be elected in the year 2000. In an essay titled "Integration from the Top Down" printed in Esquire magazine in 1958, he wrote:
"What manner of man will this be, this possible Negro Presidential candidate of 2000? Undoubtedly, he will be well-educated. He will be well-traveled and have a keen grasp of his country's role in the world and its relationships. He will be a dedicated internationalist with working comprehension of the intricacies of foreign aid, technical assistance and reciprocal trade. … Assuredly, though, despite his other characteristics, he will have developed the fortitude to withstand the vicious smear attacks that came his way as he fought to the top in government and politics … those in the vanguard may expect to be the targets for scurrilous attacks, as the hate mongers, in the last ditch efforts, spew their verbal and written poison."
In the same essay, Javits predicted both the election of a black senator and the appointment of the first black Supreme Court justice by 1968. Edward Brooke was elected to the Senate by Massachusetts voters in 1966. Thurgood Marshall was confirmed in 1967. Javits also predicted that the House of Representatives would have "between thirty and forty qualified Negroes" in the 106th Congress in 2000. In fact, there were 37 black U.S. representatives, among them 12 women.
Sen. Javits was one very keen prognosticator. When we consider the characteristics that he insisted the first black president must possess—he must be well-educated, well-traveled, have a keen grasp of his country's role in the world, be a dedicated internationalist and have a very thick skin—it is astonishing how accurately he is describing the background and character of Barack Obama."
I remember Jacob Javits from the late 60's political scene in NY. Like Nelson Rockefeller (only better to my point of view, I despised Rockefeller after Attica) Jacob Javits was from a time when the parties weren't so polarized, and many Republicans had a much more tolerant social agenda.
TomAlarming use of correct English!
See, this has been troubling me, as well. I mean the first news conference, I was like: "What is coming out of his mouth? Fully formed sentences? Thought behind words?" It was like listening to a foreign language. (Thanks, Carol!)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tight or Light?
This is certainly a more solid piece than what Maureen Dowd wrote today. If what Tom says is true... there is a risk that there may be more lightness than tightness between Obama and Clinton. Still - they could both learn from each other. I think on balance, it would be a good pick.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
How the Republicans can become competitive.
I have many objections with the tenets of the Republican party, but I think this is my chief one. McCain, in the good old days, when he stood for something, had it right. The religious right is our own domestic Taliban. They have no place in politics. And if the Republicans want to get into the white house ever again, or have any substantive numbers in Congress, then I believe they have to jettison the grip that the Religious Right has on their party. But hey - they've run the numbers. Maybe not.
This song by Oingo Boingo says it best for me. Here are the lyrics and enjoy the video on this link.
Insanity
Oingo Boingo / Danny Elfman
I'm so sorry, please forgive me
Who do I pray to to straighten out this problem?
Straighten out this problem, straighten out my mind.
Straighten out this crooked tongue...
My mind has wandered, from the straight and narrow.
My mind has wandered from the flock you see.
My mind has wandered, the man just said so.
My mind has wandered, I heard it on TV.
And the flock has wandered away from me.
-chorus-
All around the world now
Like a big bright cherry cloud
Traveling from home to home
TV sets and telephones
Here it comes just like a storm
Bathe in it and be reborn
Time to let the world know
Welcome madness, say hello
Like a wave we cannot see
Washing over you and me
Hiding here and hiding there
Madness hiding everywhere
Such a curiosity
Here it comes to set us free
Plenty left for you and me
Say hello insanity
I am the virus, are you the cure?
I am morally, I'm morally impure
I am a disease and I am unclean
I am not part of gods well oiled machine
Christian nation, assimilate me
Take me in your arms and set me free
I am part of a degenerate elite
Dragging our society into the street
Into the abyss and to the sewer don't you see
The man just told me, he told me on TV
Do you think you're better than me
Do you want to kill me or befriend me
And the alcoholic bastard waved his finger at me
His voice was filled with evangelical glee
Sipping down his gin and tonics
While preaching about the evils of narcotics
And the evils of sex, and the wages of sin
While he mental fondles his next of kin
My mind has wandered from the flock you see
And the flock has wandered away from me
And he waved his hypnotizing finger at me
Let's imitate reality
Let's strive for mediocrity
Let's make believe were all the same
Let's sanitize our little brains
I'd love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed
I'd love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head
I'd love to hear you laugh tonight, I'd love to hear you weep
I'd love to listen to you while you're screaming in your sleep
Christian sons, christian daughters
Lead me along like a lamb to the slaughter
Purify my brain and hose down my soul
White perfection, perfection is my goal
Do you think you're better than me
Do you want to kill me or befriend me
Christian nation, make us alright
Put us through the filter and make us pure and white
My mind has wandered from the flock you see
And the flock has wandered away from me
Let's talk of family values while we sit and watch the slaughter
Hypothetical abortions on imaginary daughters
The white folks think they're on the top ask any proud white male
A million years of evolution, we get Danny Quayle
(chorus)
I'd love to take you home with me, I'd love to tuck you in
I wish I could protect you from the wages of our sin
I'd love to hear you scream tonight, I'd love to hear you cry
Protect you from the madness that is raining from the sky
(chorus)
I'd love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed
I'd love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head
I wish that I could keep you in a precious Chinese box
On Sundays I would pray for you so it would never stop
I'd love to hear you laugh tonight, I'd love to hear you weep
I'd love to listen to you while you're screaming in your sleep
I'd love to soothe you with my voice and take your hand in mine
I'd love to take you past the stars and out of reach of time
I'd love to see inside your mind, to tear it all apart
To cut you open with a knife and find your sacred heart
I'd love to take your satin dolls and tear them all to shreds
I'd love to mess your pretty hair, I'd love to see you dead.
This song by Oingo Boingo says it best for me. Here are the lyrics and enjoy the video on this link.
Insanity
Oingo Boingo / Danny Elfman
I'm so sorry, please forgive me
Who do I pray to to straighten out this problem?
Straighten out this problem, straighten out my mind.
Straighten out this crooked tongue...
My mind has wandered, from the straight and narrow.
My mind has wandered from the flock you see.
My mind has wandered, the man just said so.
My mind has wandered, I heard it on TV.
And the flock has wandered away from me.
-chorus-
All around the world now
Like a big bright cherry cloud
Traveling from home to home
TV sets and telephones
Here it comes just like a storm
Bathe in it and be reborn
Time to let the world know
Welcome madness, say hello
Like a wave we cannot see
Washing over you and me
Hiding here and hiding there
Madness hiding everywhere
Such a curiosity
Here it comes to set us free
Plenty left for you and me
Say hello insanity
I am the virus, are you the cure?
I am morally, I'm morally impure
I am a disease and I am unclean
I am not part of gods well oiled machine
Christian nation, assimilate me
Take me in your arms and set me free
I am part of a degenerate elite
Dragging our society into the street
Into the abyss and to the sewer don't you see
The man just told me, he told me on TV
Do you think you're better than me
Do you want to kill me or befriend me
And the alcoholic bastard waved his finger at me
His voice was filled with evangelical glee
Sipping down his gin and tonics
While preaching about the evils of narcotics
And the evils of sex, and the wages of sin
While he mental fondles his next of kin
My mind has wandered from the flock you see
And the flock has wandered away from me
And he waved his hypnotizing finger at me
Let's imitate reality
Let's strive for mediocrity
Let's make believe were all the same
Let's sanitize our little brains
I'd love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed
I'd love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head
I'd love to hear you laugh tonight, I'd love to hear you weep
I'd love to listen to you while you're screaming in your sleep
Christian sons, christian daughters
Lead me along like a lamb to the slaughter
Purify my brain and hose down my soul
White perfection, perfection is my goal
Do you think you're better than me
Do you want to kill me or befriend me
Christian nation, make us alright
Put us through the filter and make us pure and white
My mind has wandered from the flock you see
And the flock has wandered away from me
Let's talk of family values while we sit and watch the slaughter
Hypothetical abortions on imaginary daughters
The white folks think they're on the top ask any proud white male
A million years of evolution, we get Danny Quayle
(chorus)
I'd love to take you home with me, I'd love to tuck you in
I wish I could protect you from the wages of our sin
I'd love to hear you scream tonight, I'd love to hear you cry
Protect you from the madness that is raining from the sky
(chorus)
I'd love to take you home with me and tuck you into bed
I'd love to see what makes you tick inside your pretty head
I wish that I could keep you in a precious Chinese box
On Sundays I would pray for you so it would never stop
I'd love to hear you laugh tonight, I'd love to hear you weep
I'd love to listen to you while you're screaming in your sleep
I'd love to soothe you with my voice and take your hand in mine
I'd love to take you past the stars and out of reach of time
I'd love to see inside your mind, to tear it all apart
To cut you open with a knife and find your sacred heart
I'd love to take your satin dolls and tear them all to shreds
I'd love to mess your pretty hair, I'd love to see you dead.
A Strong Opposition
Rich has it right here. We need a strong opposition (not too strong, thank you very much) to keep us from going soft.
Jaws
I just wince when I hear that we need to go out and spend money. It's so... so Bushian! I don't think anyone can swallow that, as much as it may be necessary. While the pain may be ten times greater than if we spent money now, perhaps the lessons of this era need to be matched with ten times the pain to sear in the message. But then I always was a masochist.
Why Sarah Will Never Be President.
See, this is EXACTLY where the Reps got lost in the wilderness. They could capture the middle if they only listened up. Will they? Doubtful.
Still not persuaded
Great points here, but in the end, I think the foreign auto makers will step up to the plate and fill in the void. With money, with demand, and with jobs.
Wow! Glad *I'M* not in charge!
I think David Brooks is right on this. I think the best solution is bankruptcy. It will preserve them from their creditors while they reorganize, and not cost the taxpayer. I think if we give them money, it will prolong the Detroit mindset. This must be destroyed.
The Right Moves to the Center!
Who would have thought that a conservative commentator could have made a persuasive argument for being conservative on right wing policies? (You can't call those policies conservative! They're liberally right wing!)
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ding! Hillary for SoS
While Gail is highly entertaining, she makes wonderful points here about Hillary being the best choice for SoS. Go girl.
How Blessed We Are...
How incredibly blessed we are to live in a time like this. To see centuries of oppression, while far from removed, at least come tumbling down. He is the hope. He is the sign. He is the one. A new dawn begins. (Thanks, Tom!)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Religion Must Die.
I'm sorry. This is just pure ignorance. We cannot advance as a society until religion is wrested to the mat, and dismembered. Hopefully my great, great grandchildren will get to see a glimmer of a new way. (Bye-bye, Momos! Hasta la vista!)
Local Boy Saves Planet - Film at 11.
Leave it to Neil. He's a local boy to La Honda. He makes a hell of a lot of sense. Creative Destruction may be unnecessary, but I still think the Detroit mindset cannot wrap their heads around this. We will see. (Thanks Mike!)
Still a Frightening World Out There, Kids!
I just stumbled on this when I was looking for some info on Janet Napolitano. It just blows me away when I think of the ignorance that still exists in this country. We've come so far, but we have so much further to go.
110% Correct!
When Brooks is right, he knocks that ball out of the park. GM and Chrysler need to file for bankruptcy. We need to directly help the workers with investments in re-training. Call it the Michigan/Ohio Act. And we will re-train those workers, and help them with unemployment benefits. But to reward GM for it's massively ignorant behavior would be the completely wrong thing to do. It's as if the auto industry has a gun at the head of the workers and is at the teller window saying "give us the dough, or the worker gets it." Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!
How about this: We put the workers to work repairing our infrastructure (I bet there are a TON of public vehicles that could use some repair work, or failing that, laying rebar) and then we cut them 25% of their time into training programs where they could be re-tooled into the modern economy.
Now THAT'S something worth putting money into.
How about this: We put the workers to work repairing our infrastructure (I bet there are a TON of public vehicles that could use some repair work, or failing that, laying rebar) and then we cut them 25% of their time into training programs where they could be re-tooled into the modern economy.
Now THAT'S something worth putting money into.
Let's Hope He Does!
I think Krugman is right here, despite my friends on the right saying that what's needed now is tax cuts. Tax cuts will do nothing right now. Think of the business owner... He gets a tax cut... what will he do with that? Nothing until he gets customers in the store. The only way he's going to start hiring is when he sees more traffic. Right now, no one is seeing traffic. There's only one person who's going to get the traffic going, and that's all of us. We will fund the traffic going up by hiring people to re-build our infrastructure. No one person will do this. No one person will step up to the plate. We need a big stick to stir this economy. Bigger than GE... Bigger than Procter and Gamble... Bigger than Microsoft. And we need it now.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Let 'em Fail.
I know this could be an unpopular stance with my Democratic/Liberal friends, but I think GM should not be bailed out. They killed the electric car. They pushed the SUV. If they had behaved like Toyota? OK. But they didn't. And now they come crying. I know this will bite the economy in the ass (and us along with it), but - hate to say this - there has to be a moral hazard for inappropriate behavior.
Reality Ceases to Exist - Film at 11
I love this kind of stuff. Especially at the end... when you really can't be sure what's real and what's not.
LOVE Gail... just LOVE this woman.
So good that we have a cause to sop up our time. Going to help Al with a donation right NOW!
The Best of Us.
This makes me so proud to live in this country. After being so ashamed for so long. Thank you, America. (and thank you Kelly for the link.)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Palinism! (hint: this ain't yer Daddy's Libertarianism!)
This just in from my friend Tom...
I can't thank Sarah for getting me reading the Anchorage Daily News. Alaska is fundamentally different in its structure than the lower 49. And its not just because they track bear and moose adventures on the front page. (that is so Cool!) I can't get over the irony of her criticizing Obama as a "Socialist." Yeah, the election is happily over, but look at how the Alaskan economy is socialized to share the wealth of its natural resources (OIL). It ain't Texas up there. Venezuela would do well to take note.
LOVE those MoMos!
How the hell... how the @$*&^% hell can those $%*&^% Mormans have any, ANY complaints about alternative marriages? It's the MOTHER FU*&^%$*^& patriarchy at work again.
The struggle is long, the work is hard. But we must march on.
The struggle is long, the work is hard. But we must march on.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Fucking DING!
Tom has this 100% spot on. If we're not going to let the markets savage the big 3... then WE have to. They need to be reformed, BADLY!
The Supremes ROCK!
OK, look... you just cannot use the Supreme Court every time you need to get an election fixed. We let you fix the first one... we let diebold fix the second... you are just FUCKING NOT going to take this one.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Hope takes flight.
If this is not a time of hope, I do not know what is. Some of the best writing of all time has been this year. Thank you writers one and all.
Fasten your seatbelts, Republicans... we're BLASTIN' OFF.
I LOVE it! Bill Kristol realizing that the juggernaut that was launched by the fall of de-regulation has a bit more to it than just the polling suggests. Can I get me a DING?! DING!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Call my cynical...
I dunno... while I'd like to trust the people who said all those evil words... I suspect they're erring on the side of pragmatism than true religion. But, I'll take it where I can get it.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Welcome Genners
It's very odd to be in our parents position now. And so the moving sidewalk continues it's inexorable trek... But the one thing that was important about our generation, appears to have bloomed in the younger. Hope is alive. (Thanks, Elisa!)
The Struggle for Equal Rights Continues.
I mean, in this day and age... having to fight for equal rights? It's just beyond me. Completely beyond me. (Thanks, Kate!)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I'd just let him go.
Yesterday, the Secret Service arrested a man trying to climb the fence at the White House. The Secret Service detained him and said "No, Mr President, you have two more months to serve"
Wow. Seriously, Wow.
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Friends,
Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.
In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.
There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.
It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.
But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.
An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.
We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.
I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.
But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com
Friends,
Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.
In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.
There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.
It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.
But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.
An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.
We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.
I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.
But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Today is the day - VOTE!
This is the day we've waited for lo these eight years! Les MisBarack! Thanks, Catherine!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Gay Rights in Arizona - NO on Prop 102!
I thought I blogged this, but evidently not. Very, very good. Tanks, Batman!
It's the HOPE, Stupid!
Now see? We need MORE white Republican males out there canvasing for O! (Thanks, Carol!)
Now THAT'S a Plumber!
I think many Republicans - hell, many people - can identify with Max the plumber: A true American success story. He dwarfs Joe, who forgot to pay his taxes, and doesn't even have a license. There are no shortcuts in life - only hard work.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
John!
John, John, John! You went AWOL on us! And NOW you come back? pfft. Better late than never, I guess.
Fabulous Form, Crazy Content
Wow - Bill Kristol can write... you can't fault him there. But you know that life is hard, when the opposition is describing remote scenarios where they MIGHT be able to win... As alwasy, be compassionate. That's what we liberals do best.
Fire!
Wow... this article is on FIRE! I think we may have to move out of the country even IF we win!
Memo to Myself: Read on Wednesday
I hope I get to relish this article on Wednesday. Right now, I'm just hopeful.
They have SO PHUCKED our children's future.
I'm sorry, but Bush has put us in such a hole that I am fearful that we will NEVER get out. And our poor children's grandchildren that will have to pay for this ClusterPhuck.
Rejoining the World
There is so much work that needs to be done on this planet. This is the first step.
Can't wait for the autobiography!
John McCain will go down as one of our tragic heroes. He was so great... he had such great potential. And he gave it all away just to win. Which in turn, completely prevented him from winning. It's Shakespearean!
Oui, Oui!
This has been the best election cycle EVER. I'll be glad when it's over, but fun while it lasted. (Thanks, Tom!)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Don't cry for me Sarah Palin...
At the intersection of art and politics, lies brilliance. (Thanks to one of the more brilliant artists I know, Elisa!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
