June 9, 2009 archive

It’s YOUR DARN FAULT, but I’ma gonna fix it

It’s your fault you sick bastard.

You got sick.

You weren’t strong enough.

At the very least, you might get sick.  

You sure as hell aren’t a Senator, and you don’t have a good enough job.  

You don’t own any banks at all, you worthless scum.  

Not even a little local bank.  

(My abject apologies if I’m wrong, and you do own a bank–I didn’t mean YOU at all–I meant all the rest of YOU–sorry, sorry… I’ll buy you a drink)

So, anyway, because of your abject failures to properly provide for yourself, we’ve had to put our lofty heads together and come up with a really, really neat solution:

MANDATED HEALTH CARE: IT’S WHAT”S ON THE TABLE

(nice title right…or should it be ‘it’s what’s for dinner…. ? Na…)

(fine print: If you don’t pay the insurance company, you go to jail.)

Got that?

Simple, right?

Even all you idiots here that didn’t get in to Morris College, Yale, oughta be able to figure this one out.

Let me say it again: if you don’t pay AIG.

Every Month.  

On time.

Four at Four

  1. The Guardian reports David Sandalow, the assistant secretary of state for energy, claims China alone could bring world to brink of climate calamity.

    “China can and will need to do much more if the world is going to have any hope of containing climate change,” Sandalow said. He claimed if China continues business as usual, then that would “result in a 2.7C rise in global temperatures by 2050 even if every other country slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.”

    China’s position is the U.S. and other long-established industrialized nations “should cut emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2020, as well as paying 1% of their GDP to help poorer nations deal with the consequences and causes of climate change.”

    The Washington Post adds the U.S. and China are at odds over emissions. “Senior U.S. and Chinese officials began three days of talks here Monday in hopes of making a breakthrough on climate change, but they remain far apart on the basic issue of who is to blame for carbon emissions and should shoulder the biggest burden for reducing them.”

Four at Four continues with an update from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, Peruvian indigenous leader Alberto Pizango seeks asylum, the power-grip of Ivy League schools over the Supreme Court, and the Obama administration defends torture cover-up and secrecy.

Blogging the Future: The Post Neo-Con World

When you turn off a fan, the blades still turn for a while.

When you speculate about the future, you have to make some assumptions. For the purposes of this pierce, I am going to make what are to some, some pretty big assumptions.

I am going to assume that for the first time since WW2 we have a President that is somewhat honest, that is not facing a powerful Republican Party, can find a way to neutralize the worst of the bought politicians in Congress…..and is willing to actually resist the wishes of the MIC and the Oil companies.

Under these assumptions….we are looking at a quite interesting future.

Obama wants a second term. If there are still wars raging that will be a threat to his second term. So he WILL get us “out” of Iraq. He will turn loose the drones and McChrystals death squads in AfPak to take out the leaders of the Taliban and he will make whatever deal he has to with Pakistan and India to stabilize Pakistan and neutralize their nukes.

He will be forced to make some kind of economic deal with China no matter what, (sorry Tibet) and part of that will involve N. Korea.

Where does that leave us?

In a world with no “major” wars. Perhaps we can even give some attention to Africa; Darfur and the Congo etc….and take the “quotation” marks off.

We are left with, then, in this speculative but possible future, with the most peaceful world we have seen since Clinton….

But with no resurgent, Culture War surfing, blowjob impeaching, Rovian/Cheneyized Republican party to service the MIC and the Oiligarchy and put political pressure on the GOOD Dems to lean Right.

Climate Crisis will unfortunately be devastating the planet in an undeniable, but still relatively benign harbingerishly obvious way… and combined with the slightly lessened influence of the economic denialists, resistance to shifting off of oil will be at an all time low.

The economy will be ‘bad,’ as it will be from now on out for the whole world as we shift from a resource rape based economy to….something else….hopefully something very green.

The demographic shift of increasing minority participation and the influence of the new generation of young voters will be in full effect.

The Cold War Fear Mongers (like Cheney) are dead or too old to have real influence.

The age of the White Male Christian Power Structure will be coming to a close…..though the fan blades will still be spinning.

Obama wins his second term, just enough “better democrats” are elected to complete a real power shift in Congress.

And “Prop 8” goes down to defeat in Cali as an increasing number of states formally adopt semi-equal rights for all under the influence of the huge young voting block and the diminishing political power of the Religious Right.

In other words….we are on the road….and it is a pretty damn clear road, relatively….to overcoming the worst of the World of the Neo-cons and their Reign of Terror.

It IS possible.

Especially if we, and many, many others….Yell Loud enough.

If all, or even most of these things come to pass we will be looking at at least a path to a brand new kind of world….on, lol, Dec. 31st of 2012.

Interesting times.

No more Starbucks.

In an act of unbelievable stupidity, Starbucks has decided to be a huge, major sponsor of the right-wing propaganda show “Morning Joe”.  

No more Starbucks for me.  

And this isn’t just a few commercials they’ve decided to air, or their logo flashing on the screen, or even a voiceover with someone saying “brought to you by Starbucks”.  

No.  This is the CEO of Starbucks going on the show and talking about how great the show is, how much he thinks Starbucks should be tied in with it, with the hosts verbally fellating the product and the CEO.  

It’s the most disgusting show of corporate cock-sucking I think I’ve ever seen.

Here’s The Daily Show link to their video where they cover this atrocious story:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/vi…

Feingold Hearing Over Now, Open Thread?

Going on now Feingold Hearing, live webcast at that link.

and GreenSooner has a Live blog going at the orange

“The Legal, Moral, and National Security Consequences of ‘Prolonged Detention'”

Senate Judiciary Committee

Subcommittee on the Constitution

View a live webcast of this hearing

DATE: June 9, 2009

TIME: 10:00 AM

Torture by Gag – US Policy.

Apparently some of our best soldiers are less “fabricky” than others. They threaten the “fabric” of our troops.

But, if GAGGED their “fabricity” remains intact, thus that they are often decorated and rise within the ranks of our fine armed services.  



Photobucket

Are you fucking kidding me?

Radioactive Cheese graters!

Note the comments.  Was it recycled WTC center steel.

http://michiganmessenger.com/2…

That aside let us look at the subliminals mainstream media puts out or more accurately has become institutionalized into the very fabric of sheeple life.

It is in the very title.

illustrates-lack-of-federal-oversight

Homeboy Stupidity Department of Cheese Grater Inspectors

The lie of 911 is falling apart but media following the Illuminati Prime Directives continues to foist fascism on the useless eaters.

In conclusion I will imply how it’s not just about Unicorn Flu anymore.

Docudharma Times Tuesday June 9

 But instead, Boumediene said he endured harsh

treatment for more than seven years.

He said he was kept awake for 16 days straight,

and physically abused repeatedly….

Boumediene described being pulled up from under his arms

while sitting in a chair with his legs shackled, stretching him.

He said that he was forced to run with the camp’s guards

and if he could not keep up, he was dragged, bloody and bruised….

Formerly of the Red Cresent




Tuesday’s Headlines:

Sotomayor is remembered as a zealous prosecutor

Shell pays out $15.5m over Saro-Wiwa killing

Bongo’s son calls for Gabon calm

North Korea threatens ‘merciless’ nuclear offensive

Pakistan put on the spot

Bound, blindfolded and beaten – by Israeli troops

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rally abandoned because crowds are too big

Rout of the soft left: Europe veers right to beat recession

Latvia budget cuts ease fears of Sweden’s nervous banks

Authorities vow impartial inquiry into Mexico day-care center fire

CIA Urges Judge To Keep Bush-Era Documents Sealed

Al-Qaeda Could Use Contents, Agency Says

By R. Jeffrey Smith

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 9, 2009


The Obama administration objected yesterday to the release of certain Bush-era documents that detail the videotaped interrogations of CIA detainees at secret prisons, arguing to a federal judge that doing so would endanger national security and benefit al-Qaeda’s recruitment efforts.

In an affidavit, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta defended the classification of records describing the contents of the 92 videotapes, their destruction by the CIA in 2005 and what he called “sensitive operational information” about the interrogations.

The forced disclosure of such material to the American Civil Liberties Union “could be expected to result in exceptionally grave damage to the national security by informing our enemies of what we knew about them, and when, and in some instances, how we obtained the intelligence we possessed,” Panetta argued.

In Lebanese Vote, Hopeful Signs for U.S.

NEWS ANALYSIS

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN

Published: June 8, 2009

BEIRUT, Lebanon – There were many domestic reasons voters handed an American-backed coalition a victory in Lebanese parliamentary elections on Sunday – but political analysts also attribute it in part to President Obama’s campaign of outreach to the Arab and Muslim world.

Most analysts had predicted that the Hezbollah-led coalition, already a crucial power broker in the Lebanese government because of its support from Shiites who make up a large part of Lebanon’s population, would win handily. In the end, though, the American-aligned coalition won 71 seats, while the Syria-Iranian aligned opposition, which includes Hezbollah, took only 57.

It is hard to draw firm conclusions from one election. But for the first time in a long time, being aligned with the United States did not lead to defeat in the Middle East. And since Lebanon has always been a critical testing ground, that could mark a possibly significant shift in regional dynamics with another major election, in Iran, on Friday.

USA

Supreme Court Delays Sale of Chrysler to Fiat



By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED

Published: June 8, 2009


The Obama administration’s effort to hurry Chrysler through bankruptcy court ran into an unexpected last-minute delay on Monday, when the Supreme Court said it could consider whether to hear the objections of three Indiana state funds and consumer groups.

The implications of the court’s move – Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a one-sentence order that amounted to a holding action – are unclear.

The delay could be resolved by Tuesday, freeing Chrysler to join forces with Fiat. But if the court decides to hear an appeal that lasts weeks or months, it could put Chrysler at risk of going out of business. Fiat, the only company to show an interest in acquiring most of the assets of Chrysler, can walk away from the deal if it is not concluded by June 15.

Muse in the Morning

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muse in the Morning

One should first establish

oneself in what is proper.

One may then teach others,

and wise, one is not blamed.

–The Dhammapada, 158

Phenomena XVII: wondering


Looking Back

Lacking Options

Meaningful discussion

about what it means

for me to be

differently gendered

must clearly begin

by exploring

why you are not

I shall wait

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–May 30, 2008

Sociopath Nation

A diary was recently posted to a liberal blog attacking the baby boomers for their bad eating habits. The argument was made that they should not be allowed unlimited health care because they don’t deserve it – “they should have eaten better.”

This is typical Right wing savagery. But what surprised me were the responses.

Many arguments accepted the premise that health care is earned and responded by proposing that the baby boomers have indeed earned their health care because they are paying for it – with social security etc.

What I didn’t see was one argument that addressed the real issue – that access to health care is not something you earn, it is a right.

As decent people of good conscience we must reject the right wing frame of health care as a privilege or something you must earn. What kind of society turns away the sick because they don’t “deserve” health care? A sick society.

This is the disease of the free market ideology – the idea that everyone, working in their own selfish interests, creates an equilibrium which benefits society as a whole.

What this ideology creates is a sociopathic society.

sociopath

noun

a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

We must restore the health care debate to the realm of common decency. And we must reject the fallacy that Adam Smith’s invisible hand can replace our basic obligations to our fellow man.

Humans, on the most instinctual level, have always understood that we depend on each other to survive. Society itself is a product of this understanding.

The ideology of the free market, the view of society as the aggregation of individual self interests, is just an invention designed to allow the corporate model to operate without conscience or regard to society as a whole.

It has been embraced and propagated by capitalist forces who see democratic institutions and government regulation as enemies to profit. The health care system is only one manifestation of this sociopathy.  There are many others, from environmental abuse to economic injustice.

What the left has allowed, under the leadership of conservatives like Bill Clinton, is nothing less than the defeat of the idea that society is a social compact, the means by which we work together to solve common problems, and express the basic understanding that we are all in this together. We have allowed right wing forces to slowly redefine our most basic values and subvert our better nature.

Even entertaining the notion that people should be denied access to health care because, by some criteria, they don’t deserve it, is evidence of how far we have fallen.

The instrument of Social Democracy, the way  we as a society make collective decisions on how to benefit society whole, is democratic government. But the left, and Democrats specifically, have largely conceded to the right’s fallacy that government is inherently bad. And as a result, we have allowed the subversion of the most powerful agent of social justice in the history of the human race – the federal government under the United States constitution.

This could not have happened at a worse time. Never before in history have we needed to come together as much as we do now. Modern civilization is in a crisis state on multiple fronts. It is essential that we, as Americans, and as citizens of the world, unite in common purpose to solve these problems – the climate crisis, the energy crisis, overpopulation, under-education and, of course, the health care crisis. Transparent, effective, democratic government is the only tool we have. It is our only shot.

The first Americans fought and died for the same government that Ronald Reagan, a candidate for the presidency, called “the problem.” We must fight for our government again. We must fight for the idea that a free, thinking people can come together and work for not only the interests of the individual, but the interests of society.

If we don’t succeed, we will see all that we know and love perish.  

Upset about the massacre of Peruvian indigenous people?

Upset about the massacre of Peruvian indigenous people?

Please consider voting at progressive.org to have this question asked at their next Q&A session:

What do you intend to do about the massacre of Peruvian indigenous people?

What do you intend to do regarding the Peruvian Free Trade Agreement which is being used as justification for the massacre indigenous protestors who have been protesting the oil and mining projects in the northern Peruvian province of Bagua.

With the Peruvian Free Trade Agreement as excuse, the Peruvian government is now taking away indigenous rights and creating a threat to the Amazon rainforest by taking away land from indigenous people and allowing that land, rainforest, to be reclassified as agricultural land so that biofuel companies can move in with plantations and to allow oil companies and mining companies to be able to work in the area without having to negotiate or speak to the local communities before using THEIR lands.

How can we stand by and allow this to happen in the name of “free trade?”

If enough people vote for this question, it will be answered on the floor of the House of Representatives by members of the Progressive Caucus live on C-SPAN and also be recorded as part of the official Congressional Record.

Admittedly it’s a small step, but IMO anything that adds visibility to this issue is a good thing.

Late Night Karaoke

Wish You Were Here



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