The World According to Me

So I’m watching Keith O. on MSNBC and I get a call from my little brother, who also watches Keith.  He and I both heard Michael Steele’s claim that government doesn’t create jobs, it creates work.  His assessment, “This guy’s BIZZARO,” referring to the villain from the Superman comic books.  For those of you who aren’t into comic books (or cartoons), Bizzaro is sort of this anti-Superman.  He wears a similar costume to Superman’s, but the “S” on the chest is backwards.  His thinking is backwards too.  In fact, in his world, everything works backwards.  He’s the total opposite of Superman in every way.  Likewise, Michael Steele is the total opposite of Obama, particularly in his grasp of reality.  Check this interview with George Stephanopoulos (courtesy www.mediamatters.org).

STEELE: You’ve got to look at the entire package. You’ve got to look at what’s going to create sustainable jobs. What this administration is talking about is making work. It is creating work.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But that’s a job.

STEELE: No, it’s not a job. A job is something that a business owner creates. It’s going to be long term. What he’s creating is a –

STEPHANOPOULOS: So a job doesn’t –

STEELE: Well, hold up.

STEPHANOPOULOS: — count if it’s a government job?

STEELE: No, let me — let me — let me finish. That is a contract. It ends at a certain point, George. You know that. Those — these road projects that we’re talking about have an end point.

[...]

STEPHANOPOULOS: Democrats would say that the broader school construction funding will create jobs. Do you accept that?

STEELE: For a short term, yes. It’s a construction job. I agree with that. But, you know, do we need to put — is that what you — we need to put in place right now when you can look at other ways in the economy to stimulate that type of growth?

So let me get this straight.  Forgetting the fact that this is a Black man who has apparently no concept of what a “government job” is, in Michael Steele’s warped view of the world and how it works, jobs like Policemen, Firemen, Social Workers, Teachers, in fact any municipal occupation aren’t real jobs.  They’re just work.  The people just show up, do 8 – 12 (or more) hours, give their all (including their lives), collect a paycheck (which pays taxes to the government), but it’s just work to him. 

And what of contracted positions that aren’t created by the government, or temp jobs, or summer jobs?  I suppose those aren’t real jobs either.  So when Joe [not] the Plumber is on a contract assignment (plumbing, or whatever it is he does these days) those aren’t real jobs, it’s just work.  Somehow I think even he would have the brains enough to disagree with that. 

Is it just him, or are all Republicans this clueless?  Or worse, was he really elected to be the “token” face of the party as I feared?  Admittedly, I tried to cut the guy some slack because he’s a “brotha”.  But seriously, he’s starting to look more and more like the Black SARAH PALIN.

Cowboy Hats to Turbans

Of course when you’re the minority party, you may feel as though you want to launch some kind of insurgency to get your point across.  However, most people aren’t stupid enough to say it in public, and certainly not stupid enough to actually compare themselves to the Taliban.  Enter Republican Representative Pete Sessions of
Texas.  In an interview for a Washington political newsletter Sessions likened the GOP strategy for the 2010 mid-term elections to that of a Taliban insurgency.

(From the Dallas Morning News)

“Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban,” Sessions said during the 60-minute sitdown. “And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes.”

He continued: “I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. … I’m saying an example of how you go about [it] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with.”

Between Sessions foot-in-mouth moment and the recent tirade of David Duke (see last entry), not to mention comments by Andy Card (dress code), Lindsey Gramm (Obama AWOL), and Dick Cheney (everything else), you have to wonder if Republicans actually THINK about what they say before they say it, or if they simply let the words randomly fall out of their mouths and hope they form coherent sentences with no forethought as to what they could potentially mean.

The Sky Is Falling

In more ‘foot-in-mouth’ news, Dick Cheney continues in his role as “Henny Penny” even after leaving office.  In an interview with Politico, he regurgitates the same tired old “vote for us or die” rhetoric that he used in 2004, with a few variations.

(From Politico.com)

“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” Cheney said. 

Protecting the country’s security is “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business,” he said. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.” 

Further, regarding the “tactics” the administration used in the war on terror, and the likelihood of another attack…

“I think there’s a high probability of such an attempt. Whether or not they can pull it off depends whether or not we keep in place policies that have allowed us to defeat all further attempts, since 9/11, to launch mass-casualty attacks against the United States.” 

The really scary thing about Cheney’s diatribe is that it’s not just rhetoric to him.  It’s more than just “legacy spinning”.  Cheney actually believes this crap.  There is no doubt in his mind, no hesitation in his heart about this.  He truly believes that America, more specifically he, is in imminent danger from the terrorists, whomever they may be.  He believes that the world is evil, and anyone who disagrees with him is complicit in that evil.  Furthermore, he believes that it is his God given duty to combat this evil, much as Hitler probably thought that it was his duty to protect Aryan purity from evil by committing genocide against the Jews in Germany.  One must wonder what the world would be like if HE were actually elected president.

Things I Hate About Obama!

There’s a reason for Separation of Church and State.

I didn’t care for Bush’s “Faith-Based” initiative when he rolled it out in 2000.  Frankly, I’m no more receptive to it now that Obama wants to try it than I was then.  We’ve already got cynics on the right snarkily claiming that he’ll give preference to Muslims, while most of them feel preference should be given to Christians.  The problem that I have with such initiatives is the question of which faith.  Who benefits from these “initiatives”?  Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Satanists, Trekkies?  If you give preference to one, by definition you have to give preference to all of them.  And even then, do you try and influence what they teach, or who gets to speak?  Does Rev. Wright ring a bell.  Do you give taxpayer money to a church where he’s the featured speaker, or Louis Farrakhan, or Rick Warren, or John Hagee?  Are you really ready to bite into this proverbial apple, Mr. President?

Tell us why you picked this guy Gregg again?

The more I hear about him, the less I like him, and the less I understand why Obama chose Judd Gregg for Commerce Secretary.  Of course there was the shamefully obvious and failed ploy of sneaking in a 60^th Democratic seat in the Senate.  But Obama would never do something that political, would he?  Which brings us back to the question of why he picked a guy to head the very department he (Gregg) once pledged to abolish. To quote the song, “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.”

Open Letter to President Obama

If this week’s back and forth about the Stimulus package taught us (and hopefully, Obama) anything, it’s that the Republicans in Congress are not at all interested in any form of bi-partisanship.  They’re still stuck on the “our way or the highway” mentality that’s gotten them their way for the past 8 years.  I realize it’s very early in his presidency, but if President Obama is to have any chance of making the changes we need in this country, then he’s going to have to drop this insistence on “reaching out”.  The GOP has slapped his hand away every time he’s tried, and frankly I’m rather tired of seeing it.  When the open hand doesn’t work, it’s time for the closed fist (preferably wrapped around a Louisville Slugger).  Hence this open letter to President Obama.  Here’s where I’d like your help.  The whitehouse.gov site has a section where you can send comments, suggestions, and concerns to the President (or at least the people who read them).  I figure that we should tell Mr. Obama that we don’t want compromise simply for the sake of bi-partisanship.  Here’s the letter.  Go to www.whitehouse.gov/contact  and cut-and-paste it into the message field.  If enough of us send it, then maybe he’ll get the message and listen to us instead of the obstructionist in the GOP.  It just makes the 500 character limit on the page.

Mr. President

We understand that you wish to usher in a new era of bi-partisanship in Washington, DC.  However, many of us feel that the Republicans simply aren’t willing to enter into this cooperative spirit.  We urge you to not let your agenda for the country be derailed by obstructionist Republicans who are influenced by right-wing talk radio.  Remember your pledge to us, the voters, and continue to put forth your message of change.  We are all with you.

Sincerely,

The voters.

Let’s work for that change we keep hearing about.

Pete Sessions story:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/DN-sessions_06nat.ART.State.Edition1.4c9e094.html

Dick Cheney story:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18390.html

Well, that didn’t take long.

On Friday, Michael Steele became the first African-American chair of the Republican National Committee.  Of course it was only a matter of time until the nut-jobs in the lunatic fringe found their way onto the public stage.  I actually lost a bet here, as I thought it would be Lord Limbaugh who’d be the first to start the rant-fest.  As it turns out, it was former congressperson and KKK member David Duke who threw the first hissy-fit, first calling Steele a racist (pot, meet kettle), then referring to him as “Obama Jr.”.  Check this out from his website (www.davidduke.com) and see if you don’t piss yourself laughing as I almost did.

I am glad these traitorous leaders of the Republican Party appointed this Black racist, affirmative action advocate to the head of the Republican party because this will lead to a huge revolt among the Republican base. As a former Republican official, I can tell you that millions of rank-and-file Republicans are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore! We will either take the Republican Party back over the next four years or we will say, “To Hell With the Republican Party!” And we will take 90 percent of Republicans with us into a New Party that will take its current place!

I think the insanity of nominating “Mr. Amnesty” John McCain and now this Black racist — will lead to insurgency in the Republican ranks, and a lot of dissidents getting elected in Republican Party primaries around the country. This will result over the next four years in a real move by millions of Republicans to take the party back to the populist issues that are not only right but can win for the Republican Party. We must end affirmative action, protect our gun rights and all our constitutional rights, have a moratorium on immigration, we must have protectionism, yes I said protect American businesses and their workers from NAFTA and GATT and the lie of free trade, and we must have America First, not foreign interventionism. Our boys should be home protecting the American borders and not being murdered on the borders of
Iraq or Afghanistan. The time has come for the Republican Party to stand up to Obama and defend American heritage, rights, and freedom!

I hate to break this to you, Mr. Duke, but these days you can fit the number of people in America who are still willing to admit to being Republican in the same clown car.  Seriously, Republicans are fighting with down-low Gays for closet space.  Plus, about that “revolution” that you’re hoping for.  News flash, buddy, IT ALREADY HAPPENED.  Remember the tension that was going on in the country a couple hundred years ago, some of us refer to it as the Civil War?  Well, your side lost, and you missed it.  Sorry.

GOPathetic

Ok.  As of now, all of the hopes and dreams of the GOP lie with three people.  Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and now Joe the Plumber.  Get that look off your face and pick your jaw up off the floor.  You read it right.  Joe the Plumber is now a GOP political advisor.  According to Politico.com JTP was the featured guest of the Conservative Working Group Tuesday.  This is a group of GOP staffers that meet regularly to plot strategy.  Joe will be speaking on the Economic Stimulus package (of course he opposes it). 

Am I missing something here?  This is a guy who claimed to be buying a business that he wasn’t buying, was too stupid to realize that he would benefit from an Obama campaign promise that he opposed, and owed back taxes to boot.  And this is who the Republicans want to advise them on the Stimulus package.  OH MY FUCKING GOD, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?   I wonder if he’s going to have to withdraw because of his back taxes.  I’m just sayin’

Things I Hate About Obama

I said I’d make this a regular section, and this week President Obama gave me a couple of things to really hate about him.

Is he even TRYING to vet his cabinet appointments?

So far four of his cabinet appointments have had ethical issues, three of which had to withdraw from the process.  I have to ask, is Obama doing any kind of background checking on his nominees, or is he just closing his eyes and using the force.  Seriously, bro, I know you like these people and all, but for those of us who stand by you, YOU ARE SERIOUSLY EMBARASSING US.  You’re actually making the folks that “vetted” Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate look like they did a GOOD job.  Worse yet, now that two of your nominees just quit on you in the same day (Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer) you’re now left with filling the posts they were initially nominated for with political sloppy-seconds.  Not big in the grandest scheme of things, but to those of us who have to defend you in blogs, let’s just say you’re not making it easy for us.

Thanks for playing, here’s your lovely parting gift.

One of those cabinet positions that Obama had problems filling, Commerce Secretary (that’s the one Bill Richardson had to skip away from) now has a new nominee.  NH Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican is Obama’s latest nominee for the position.  The reason this is an interesting pick is because while Gregg is a Republican, the Governor of NH, John Lynch is a Democrat, and he would appoint Gregg’s replacement in the senate.  Now I’m sure someone in the senate had to be thinking, “YES!  60 at last!”  Not so fast.  It turns out that a deal was made between Gregg and Lynch that would assure that the seat would be filled by a Republican.  Now I wouldn’t begin to accuse Obama of this kind of political gamesmanship to get 60 seats in the senate, but if it was, it was a really sloppy play.  Yeah, like the Republicans just weren’t going to see this coming a mile away.  It does prove one thing, though.  It proves that Obama really doesn’t do partisan politics…at least not well.

They’re just not that into you, O.

I’ve said it before, and now I’m really serious.  PRESIDENT OBAMA, STOP PLAYING UP TO THE GOP!  THEY REALLY DON’T LIKE YOU!

I mean, really.  Dude, you’re trying to talk reason and compromise to people who are taking financial advice from Joe the Plumber.  JOE THE FREAKING PLUMBER!  They’ve taken their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin is their goddess.  In other words, they are catering to the extreme lunatics on the right in their party, and you’re not invited.  You’re like the little Black kid trying to play with the White kids in the playground, and they don’t want you to play.  You can probably guess why.  Whatever the reason, stop wasting your (and our) time with these people.  You can pass the stimulus package through congress without them.  DO IT NOW AND STOP WITH THE BI-PARTISAN BU–SH–.

Joe the Plumber story:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18324.html

So Much for Bi-Partisanship
So, Obama includes House Republicans in the discussion of the Stimulus package, asks for their input, adds more of the tax-cuts they want, cuts funding for infrastructure, and drops funding for contraceptives (admittedly, that one was a little silly).  Essentially, he did everything but strip naked, put his legs in the air, and yell FREE TRICK!  And what do they do?  They totally SHAFT HIM!  Their excuse, they weren’t included in the drafting of the package.  In other words, they didn’t write it.  His stimulus package easily sailed through the House as expected, but without one Republican vote.  It will likely, with revisions, sail through the Senate as well.  So what was their point?  Simple, obstruct the machine into failure in order to bring themselves back to power.  I’ve said all along that Obama needs to quit kissing up to these people.  They’re never going to go along with any of his proposals.  They’ve heard the word from the great Lord Limbaugh, and have now taken a vested interest in Obama’s failure.  He should waste no more of his time, his administration’s time, or the country’s time trying to convince them to come on board.  Obama won, the Democrats won, and America won.  If the Republicans in congress and their lunatic fringe supporters led by Rush Limbaugh can’t get with that program, then so be it.  Leave their ever dwindling number on the tracks of change where they can either get out of the way, or get run over.

Where are my ACORNs?
One of the talking points constantly regurgitated by the right is the alleged provision of funds to groups like ACORN in the stimulus.  The Followers of Lord Limbaugh who often spew such misinformation usually don’t even bother to do any real research, content that the talking point fits in with their world view (and they wonder why I refer to them as “no information voters”).  I took it upon myself to find and read the house version of the Stimulus package (H.R.1) to see where it provides any money to ACORN.  Since ACORN is mentioned so often in these right-wing rantings, I assumed that it would be referenced in the package.  Well guess what.  NO ACORNS IN THE PACKAGE?  Now granted, my eyes aren’t what they used to be when I was one and twenty (that’s 21 for the mathematically challenged), and it is a 600+ page document.  So Friday I issued a challenge on First Read, the MSNBC blog where I often leave comments, to the Limbaugh followers to find any direct reference to ACORN in the stimulus.  After all, we liberals are just a bunch of lazy good for nothings waiting for a handout.  We couldn’t possibly have actually read the thing as thoroughly as our wiser conservative counterparts.  The one response I received, a reference to a New York Post article, was a swing-and-a-miss.  So far, no one else has taken me up on it.  I invite you righties reading here to take the challenge and show me where in either the House or Senate versions (I plan on checking that one out next) ACORN is referenced.  My search continues.

Who’s Your Daddy?
And how pathetic is the GOP anyway?  I mean, you have Georgia Republican Phil Gingrey Saying this past Monday…

(from Politico.com)
“I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party.  You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell,” Gingrey said.

Then Wednesday, after getting slammed by his constituents, and Rush Limbaugh…

(from Politico.com)
“Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience. Everyday, millions and millions of Americans—myself included—turn on their radios and televisions to listen to what they have to say, and we are inspired by their words and by their determination,” Gingrey said.

So, is Rush Limbaugh giving the orders to the GOP now?  Are Republicans so pathetically without leadership that they turn to an extremist, racist, right-wing DJ?  Perhaps more to the point, are they actually afraid of him and his extremist talking head cohort.  It seems that the party in desperate need of direction has chosen to follow a lunatic off a cliff to their own destruction.  Really sad, actually.  Especially since it was this narrow focusing of their message that lost them the past two elections.  If the Republicans ever want to be allowed back at the adult-table again, they’ll not only dump the extremist of their party, but they’ll also stand up to them.

…and yet there’s HOPE!
I have to wonder how Lord Limbaugh is taking the RNC’s recent election of Michael Steel as chairman.  It’s certainly a step in the right direction for them, whatever the ulterior motives.  Some on the left (many, actually) prefer to see this as mere tokenism, and that may very well be the case.  However, the larger picture for me is that this represents another milestone for African-Americans.  While his politics don’t agree with mine, and he is a Republican and staunchly conservative, that shouldn’t take away from the fact that this is the first African-American to head the Republican National Committee.  That doesn’t mean that I and other African-Americans are going to suddenly run out in droves and register Republican (it didn’t happen with Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, or Condi Rice), but at least we can take some measure of pride in this.  For you White liberals who may disagree, to quote a cliché, “It’s a Black thing, you wouldn’t understand.”

Sheeee’s Baaaack (like she ever left)
I have to admit something.  I think I’ve really become addicted to Sarah Palin.  No, not in the hard-up horny, sexually perverted way that Rich Lowry of the National Review seems to be.  For me, it’s just a matter of sheer entertainment value.  Think of her what you will, defend her if you must, but at least admit this much: PALIN IS COMEDY GOLD.  The latest wacky Palinism?  She’s formed her own Political Action Committee called SarahPAC.  The website (if you’re interested in a good laugh) is www.sarahpac.com. Check out the first part of the FAQ page:

“SarahPac is a federally registered political action committee that supports Gov. Sarah Palin’s plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century.”

That actually works out well.  After all, she can see Russia from her house.  She’d be the perfect person to keep an eye on those sneaky Russians.

Inauguration Day

Tuesday, while the “rest” of
Philadelphia was still lamenting the EAGLES not making it to the Super Bowl, Obama supporters like my self were taking in history being made.  On Tuesday January 20, 2009, our first African-American President-elect, Barack Husein Obama, was inaugurated President of the United States.  For some, it was an event 8 years in the making.  For African-Americans like myself, it was an event over 400 years in the making.  While I wanted to be in DC for the history making even (in retrospect, REALLY BAD IDEA), I had to settle for watching it along with a few hundred fellow supporters on the lawn of the Constitution Center in Philly on a giant jumbo-tron screen.  I can safely say the joy of the moment was not diminished.  Being with so many fellow supporters, it felt good to know that we are finally getting our country back from the ideology of the outgoing administration.  After 8 years of the most divisive political environment in our history, we are now going to get an administration that will truly be “Of the people, By the people, and For the people.”  It’ll feel good to be proud of your country again, won’t it?

Cleaning House

Have you ever moved into a house that the previous owners kept full of un-neutered cats?  Ever try to get the smell out?  Takes a while, doesn’t it?  Well, such is the job President Obama (feels so good to write that) has drawn.  Now that all of the stinky cats (aka Bush and the GOP) are gone, Obama in his first week in office took to scrubbing the White House (and the country) clean of the stench of the last 8 years.  A flurry of executive orders designed to signify a break from the previous administration, were signed by Mr. Obama.  Orders ranging from overturning the US policy on foreign aid for family planning that prohibits talking about abortion, to CLOSING GITMO.  There’s lots more to come, and most of this is symbolic, but it signifies a clear directional shift away from Bush’s “my way or the highway” philosophy.  It’s pretty clear that he has a lot more cleaning to do.  I’d suggest lots and lots of Pine Sol.

Ali al-Shihri (or “How to Create a Terrorist”)

Recent news of released Gitmo prisoner Ali al-Shihri turning up as a deputy al-Qaida leader in Yemen has right-wingers and Gitmo defenders enraptured with orgasmic joy (watch out or you’ll get something on you).  “Here’s why you can’t close Gitmo,” they exclaim.  “You’ll be releasing terrorists back out into the world.”  Al-Shihri was released in 2007.  Like most Gitmo inmates, he was never charged, never prosecuted, never given a trial.  His cover story was that he was buying carpets for his store in Riyadh when he was captured in Pakistan back in 2001.  The rub of all of this is that because he was never charged or tried, we have no way of knowing if he actually was a terrorist when he was first captured, or if we actually turned him into a terrorist by holding him.  Good job keeping us safe, Bushie.

Things I Hate About Obama!

I plan on making this a regular entry.  Basically it’s some criticisms of the Obama administration thus far.  Things that I don’t necessarily agree with.  This one is for the righties who are reading this.  See, unlike you guys, we on the left of the aisle don’t think it unpatriotic, or un-American to criticize our president, fairly or unfairly.  For all of Obama’s strong points, he’s made what I consider some missteps.  And since he’ll inevitably make more throughout his presidency, I feel this column should serve as a reminder that we elected a human being for president, not a Messiah.

To Lobby or Not To Lobby

On Wednesday Obama signed an order prohibiting lobbyists from working in areas of his administration for which they once lobbied.  This is an evolution of his campaign promise that started with “No lobbyists will work in my White House”, then became “No lobbyists will influence policy in my administration” to the current version.  On Friday, that version was cast into the Darwinian scrap-heap of evolving policy when he signed a waiver that would allow him to appoint Bill Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense.  Mr. Lynn was a defense lobbyist for a corporation called Raytheon, which among other things provides military and homeland security for the Department of Defense, where he’ll be working.  Armed Service Committee chairman Carl Levin insists that strict rules will be applied to Mr. Lynn.  However, I’m afraid of the proverbial slippery slope Mr. Obama appears to be on.  This ignoring of the rules as soon as they become inconvenient is the very thing that defined the previous administration.  In that case it extended all the way up to the constitution.  My biggest fear is that this becomes just another administration that bends the rules in the name of expediency.

Prosecute Now!

That pretty much describes my view on this one.  Obama has shown a reluctance (more like punk-assed wussiness) to pursue any kind of investigation into the allegations of torture by the Bush administration.  Even though his AG designate, Eric Holder, has stated that “water-boarding” is torture, the chief prosecutor at the Pentagon as indicated that torture took place, and both Bush and Cheney have all but put up billboards saying “WE DID IT!”.  Still, Obama wants to maintain this kumbiyah moment and move forward to the future.  The problem is that the past will always come back to bite you in the ass.  In this case the bite will be in the form of a UN investigation, which doesn’t need Obama’s permission to move forward.  Bottom line, handle your business on this, Mr. President, or it will be handled for you.

Who won again?

Speaking of kumbiyah moments, why are Obama and the Democrats bending over backwards and forwards for the Republicans on this Stimulus package.  It’s pretty much established that he has the House votes to pass it without them, and will likely sail it through the Senate as well.  So why are we even talking to the Republicans.  After the way they treated Democrats the past 8 years, they should be thankful that Obama allows them in the White House.  Clearly they’re playing the obstructionist game and aren’t interested in any measure of bi-partisanship.  Obama needs to learn (like many Black leaders, sadly) that you can’t change people who don’t want to change.  Reconciliation is not possible with people who don’t want to reconcile (see Rick Warren), and bi-partisanship only works when both parties are bi (trust me on this).  It’s time for Obama to take his tongue out of John Boehner’s ass and do the work he was voted in to do.

Final Thought

While I have the attention of you Bush supporters (shrubbies) who believe that he kept us safe since 9/11, allow me to put this question to you.  Where is Osama Bin Ladin?  If Bush really kept us safe, then why isn’t he in custody?  If all of these “enhanced interrogation” techniques resulted in such valuable information, then why haven’t we captured him?  If the warrentless wiretapping was such an integral part of our national security, then why is Bin Ladin still languishing in a cave somewhere, laughing at us?  Tell me this.  If someone burst into your home, robbed you, beat you senseless, murdered your children, raped and sodomized your spouse, would you feel safe if he was still at large?  Seriously, try to lie to me and tell me “yes”.  Osama Bin Ladin masterminded the most horrific terrorist attack on American soil, and he is still at large.  Yet you shrubbies claim that Bush kept you safe because he hasn’t tried again.  This is the delusion that he fed you for 8 years.  This is the lie that kept you in his pocket.  This is the manipulation that he used to convince you to give up your freedom, your liberty, and your privacy, for his own benefit.  For all of you who are hoping that Obama fails in his presidency, or worse, hoping for another 9/11 attack, here’s something you may want to think about.  If Osama Bin Ladin attacks us again, it won’t be Obama’s fault.  It will be the fault of George W. Bush.

Sleep well, shrubbies.

A SPECIAL SONG FOR THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT!

NOT IRREPLACEABLE
(Sung to the tune of Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”)

First Verse:
To the left, to the left, everything you shredded in the box to the left
In the background, that’s OUR VOICE,
You couldn’t silence us, we made OUR CHOICE
You keep spinning that truth, that’s fine. 
Can you walk and spin at the same time.
This is our time, and it’s a new day. 
So move out the way, ‘cause it’s time for a CHANGE.

Standing in the east lawn
tellin’ us how you kept us safe.
Talkin’ bout how we’ll never find a better prez than you.
You got it twisted.

Chorus:
You just don’t know ‘bout us
Cause you don’t know what’s up
We ‘bout to get better prez in a minute, matter fact
Here he is, so get with it. (Baby)
You just don’t know ‘bout us
Cause you don’t know what’s up
We gonna have another prez come tomorrow
And we’ll be thanking God above that you are truly
NOT IRREPLACEABLE.

Second Verse:
Go ahead and get gone
And take those wiretaps off of our phones
Oops, I guess you thought that we didn’t know
The people you tortured, you should be so ashamed for
You were so untrue
Lying ‘bout a war that would just benefit you
And all of your friends
We can’t wait until this nightmare ends

Standing at the podium
Talking up all kinds of smack
Telling us how we’ll never have another prez like you
You got that right.

(Back to Chorus)

Bridge:
Don’t forget about the economy
And the victims of Katrina
They meant nothing at all to you
Baby we won’t shed a tear for you
We won’t lose a wink of sleep
Because the truth of the matter is
REPLACING you feel so damn good

To the left, to the left
To the left, to the left
To the left, to the left. 
Everything you own in the box to the left
To the left, we’ll be thanking God above that you are truly
NOT IRREPLACEABLE!

(Back to Chorus)

You just don’t know ‘bout us
Cause you don’t know what’s up
We ‘bout to get better prez in a minute, matter fact
Here he is, so get with it.
You can pack all your bags, cause you’re finished
You done had your chance and YOU BLEW IT
You gotta know that CHANGE is coming tomorrow
And we’ll be thanking God above that you are truly
NOT IRREPLACEABLE!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all of that.  I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged here (sorry, life intrusion), so I figure I’d use this entry for catch-up.

Rod Blagojevich

Stupid, arrogant, idiotic, disgrace, this guy embodies just about every bad thing you can say about a politician.  From his attempt to try and sell Obama’s
Illinois senate seat, to appointing a senator to it over the objections of the Democratic senate, this guy is the delusional Teflon Don of the political underbelly.  He is the prime example of why people distrust politicians.  Illinois would be well served by having this guy impeached and run out of town on a rail, along with his trailer-park tramp of a wife.

Roland Burris

Blago’s apparent butt buddy.  Having been appointed to a seat that he would not have otherwise gotten on his own, by a governor who is as corrupt as they come, Roland Burris chose to make a mockery of the appointment process by having his toady, Bobby Rush, interject race into the process.  Of course he had help aplenty from Harry Reid and his grandstanding beforehand.  The whole affair proves that sometimes standing on a principle, even if you’re right, doesn’t necessarily bring you honor.

Sarah Palin (aka THE GIFT)

I’ll be forever grateful to John McCain for bringing us such an enormous gift.  She has no doubt been the comedy relief of the campaign season.  And she’s not done.  She’s been spending much of the past two weeks on a self delusional, paranoid rant on how the media apparently hates her.  Sadly she doesn’t seem to realize just how much ammo she’s been giving them over the past two weeks.  She would do well to contemplate the words of one of her fellow Republicans, Abraham Lincoln, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

George W. Bush (aka BU–SH–)

In two days (as of this writing) our 8 year long nightmare will be over.  This clown, who has done more to disgrace his office and this nation than any president in history, will be leaving office with the lowest approval ratings since Nixon, and no one (except the lunatic fringe) will be sorry to see him go.  This man should have never become president, did not deserve to be president, and didn’t even earn the title (it was appointed to him by the Supreme Court).  His farewell speech wall little more than a self-delusional love letter to himself that did little more than parody his failures, and make a mockery of the many thousands who suffered and died because if his so called “tough decisions”.  He will not be missed, and despite his attempts to self revisionism, he will go down as the worst American president in history.

Barack H. Obama

Too Black, not Black enough, too presidential, not presidential enough, too popular, not popular enough, too experienced, not experienced enough, terrorist, socialist, communist, Muslim, religious Black separatist, stoner, foreigner, etc. etc. etc.  Call him what you want, but on November 4^th 2008 America elected this too Black, not Black enough, too presidential, not presidential enough, too popular, not popular enough, too experienced, not experienced enough, terrorist, socialist, communist, Muslim, religious Black separatist, stoner, foreigner, etc. etc. etc. President of the United States.  Call it delusional hope, or a hopeful delusion, but after 8 years of the most divisive administration we’ve ever had to endure, America’s decided that it’s had enough of the Sith-like (pardon my Star Wars reference) “with us or against us” environment that demonized dissent, and ostracized anyone who didn’t fall in lock-step with its philosophy.  While I, for one, do not believe that Obama can accomplish everything that he’s promised, I do believe that if he accomplishes even a tiny fraction of his agenda, this country will be far better off than it has been for the past 8 years.  What the right-wingers have accused Michel Obama of stating I’m going to state for real.  For the first time in a long time I’m actually proud of my country.

Finally…

To finish this off I offer a quote from another historic Republican, Theodore Roosevelt (gee, Republicans were really cool back in the day).

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

I say this not just to those on the right who’ve accused anyone who’s made any slight against George W. Bush of being “unpatriotic”, but also (and perhaps more so) to those of us who’ve supported Obama throughout this campaign.  While our devotion to his success is immeasurable, we must remember that there are those who’s opinion differ.  Most of all, we must remember that Obama is human.  He will make decisions that we disagree with.  He’ll make mistakes, some minor and some major, and he will be worthy of some criticism.  We must remember that dissention is not only an expected and necessary part of our diverse society, but it is also our very patriotic duty to dissent when there is an obvious wrong being done by our elected administration.  The problem of the past 8 years is that dissent has been demonized.  The result is an administration that has engaged in torture, raped our civil liberties, involved us in an unnecessary war, used the constitution as toilet paper, and ruined our moral and ethical standing in the world.  To paraphrase Mr. Obama, we can’t allow “the next 4 years look like the last 8”.

Again, sorry for the delay in blog entries.  I’ll try to be a bit more regular (I’ll drink more coffee) in the future. 

On November 4^th when this country elected its first African-American president, many of us who supported Barack Obama were elated to say the least.  Finally, the politics of divisiveness and hateful rhetoric of one politically powerful group of people against a less powerful group of people would end, and all of us as Americans would be treated equally and with respect by those with whom we have entrusted our well being.  While I still feel this way, and thus far have been generally pleased with most of the decisions he has made thus far, the decision to invite evangelical pastor Rick Warren to open his historic inauguration is one decision with which I vehemently disagree.  This is a man who openly compares homosexuality to such crimes as pedophilia, bestiality, incest, and polygamy, and was a strong proponent of California’s Proposition 8, which stripped away the rights of same-sex couples to marry.  This is a man who does not deserve such a prominent place in history, and the decision to give him such a platform, regardless of the intention, is unequivocally, absolutely wrong.

That being said, a little perspective.  Blacks nationwide overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama for president.  Yet in California, 7 in 10 of these same Blacks voted FOR Proposition 8 (source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/06/AR2008110603880.html).  Further, a large majority of black clergy in this country, many of whom also support Obama, are against same-sex marriage, and carry many of the same views as pastor Warren.  Indeed, Obama’s own position on the subject is that marriage is between one man and one woman.  Now let’s flip the script here.  Obama has come out against Proposition 8, and has stated during the campaign that he would not support a constitutional ban on Gay marriage (preferring to leave the issue for states to determine).   He is also considering appointing the first openly Gay Navy Secretary (source: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/poweringup/archive/2008/12/18/gay-man-for-navy-secretary.aspx), which could be a first step in eventually overturning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which he has also promised to do.  And contrary to Warren, Obama still supports a woman’s right to choose, stem cell research, and practical sex-education in schools with an emphasis on contraceptives.  Let’s take this further and look at it from Warren’s point of view.  So far he has taken a lot of heat from his fellow evangelists for accepting Obama’s invitation, with many on the right protesting just as loudly as Gays on the left.

One thing of which we can be reasonably certain is that this is not the emergence of an ideological pattern with Obama.  And despite the fact that this is about as boneheaded a move as barebacking at an orgy on a leper colony, I believe (perhaps naively) that Obama’s intentions were good.  The whole theme of his campaign was to open a dialogue with ALL Americans, not just the ones who voted for him or who are members of his party.  He’s pledged bring together diverse viewpoints, even when we do not necessarily agree with them.  And if this move opens up a civil dialogue with the religious right regarding Gay rights, then the backlash he’s feeling, along with the anger we all feel, may be worth it.  Besides which, we are coming out of an 8 year long tunnel of the most closed-minded, intransient, divisive administration since before the civil-rights era, and now is not the time for us to become like those we despise, rejecting people and viewpoints out of hand simply because we do not agree with them.  It is for this reason more than any I’m willing to reluctantly give Obama the benefit of a doubt on this one.  Note that I did not say “give him a pass”.  Indeed, if this is an indication of how he intends to govern with regards to the LGBT community, then it becomes our duty to fight him on it by any means necessary.

Besides, it could be worse.  He could have picked Jeremiah Wright.

I find it interesting how those on the right are very quick to accuse President-Elect Obama of lying, covering up, nepotisim, disregarding the constitution, etc.  What I find even more interesting is how they fail to see that these are the very same actions that were committed by our current President and his administration.  Throughout the past 8 years, starting with the stolen 2000 election, they proven themselves to be the most corrupt, unethical, amoral, deceitful, scandalous, unprincipled, and incompetent administration to ever lead this country into the abyss.  They lied to us about invading Iraq, lied to us about the ever-shifting motives of the invasion, lied and rationalized the tactics used on Iraqi prisoners (torture), rationalized their dismissal of any credible intelligence against the war, discredited anyone (including ordinary citizens) who openly criticized the war and their administration in general, paid news organizations (NBC and MSNBC included) for favorable stories about the war and the administration in general, used the constitution as toilet paper, used the SCOTUS as pawns, used congress as its personal playground, and generally bareback-raped this country and everything it stood for.  Yet the people who hate on Obama support this administration so vehemently that I can only conclude (IMO) that it’s largely out of GUILT.  These are people who likely voted for G.W.Bu–sh– in both 2000 and 2004, and likely voted for McCain as well.  Not out of any degree of objectivity or logical thinking, but out of blind party loyalty and blissful ignorance. 

They see an administration that supported and approved of torture, misled the public at every turn, insulated itself from any scrutiny, and not only failed miserably to protect this nation from harm on September 11, 2001, but unnecessarily sent hundreds of thousands of men and women INTO harm’s way for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with that fateful day, and that were as thin as rice-paper.  Faced with these facts and their indirect culpability in the deaths of over 4000 military personell and many thousands more in civilian deaths, not to mention the total degredation of this country’s international image, their reaction is not to apologize for their ignorance, but to transfer it.  They try to paint Obama with the same brushstroke and on the same canvas as the current president.  They figure that since the current administration is as corrupt as they come, the incoming administration must also be corrupt.  That way they can justify their gulibility and naievete by saying, “see, he’s just like Bush.”  And when their rationalization tactics like the current GBA (Guilt By Association) ploy regarding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich don’t work, they become even more vehement in their support for their guy, and more defensive, and more angry.

Honestly, I feel quite sorry for these people.  Their party is in shambles, their president has lied to and betrayed them, and they don’t have the good sense that God gave a gnat to realize it.  They’ll forever wallow in the cesspool of their own ignorance, self doubt and guilt, hoping against hope that their ignorance, fear, desparation, or whatever their motives, will be justified by history.  Unfortunately, history can be very harsh in its judgements.  And while experience can be a good teacher, some will never learn from history.

The recent news regarding Rod Blagojevich putting the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama up for sale, and his subsequent arrest, has the GOP and their supporters (most notably RNC Chair Robert Duncan) creaming their pants with near-orgasmic bliss.  “Finally,” they exclaim, “we found something that we can hang on Obama.  Now we can show America how much they need us.”  Hate to be the pin in your balloon, GOP, but if you really look at what has come out about Obama’s relationship with Blago, and how Obama may have been instrumental in his downfall while he was senator, you’ll find that attaching Blago to Obama would be about as effective as trying to attach steel girders with Elmer’s Glue-all.

Even if you ignore Blago’s reaction when he realized that all he’d get from the Obama camp for appointing Obama’s suggested pick was a handshake and a smile (I believe the phrases used were “motherfucker” and “fuck him”), or that in the three months or so that Blago was bugged nothing was found (so far) that indicated anything nefarious between him and Obama, there is the New York Times story of a piece of legislation that Obama supported and urged the Illinois state senate to pass, which they eventually did.  According to the story, Obama placed a call to the president of the Illinois Senate urging passage of a state ethics bill which would curbe the influence of money in politics.  The senate president, Emil Jones Jr., was a critic of the legislation, and Blago ultimately vetoed it.  However, after Obama’s phone call, the senate overrode that veto.  Immediately, Blago started pressuring his state contractor friends for campaign contributions before the bill took effect on January 1st.  Apparently, this was what tipped off the feds, and the rest is history.  There are further reports (from a FOX news affiliate, no less) that it was Rham Emanuel who may have blown the whistle on Blago in all of this, which would seem to be a solid on his part.  Further, Patrick Fitzgerald has already indicated that Obama has nothing to do with any of it.

Clearly the GOP wants something, anything, to hang on Obama to somehow tarnish his image.  Given the failed guilt by association sleeze-balls they tried throughout the presidential campaign (Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright, Rashid Khalidi) one would think that they’d be reluctant to throw yet another one.  But if there is one thing that we’ve learned this year is that the GOP is nothing if not consistent.  Once again they throw some limp tired piece of spaghetti against the Obama wall hoping that it will stick.  Given the president-elect’s approval rating (see NBC/WSJ poll: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28163452) it’s clear that even if Obama has more than a terciary involvement in this, they’d be hard pressed to find anyone other than hard-core right-wingers that would do little more than tisk-tisk the whole thing.  Indeed, with what we’ve had to endure for the past 8 years (too numerous to put here), a little old-fashioned “pay-to-play” politics would seem quite tame.  In any event, the RNC’s time would be better spent trying to figure out what kind of party it wants to be in the future if they’re to have any chance of being allowed to sit at the grown-up table again.  For now, GOP, I can only say sorry.  Thanks for playing.  Enjoy your lovely parting gifts.

New York Times story refrenced here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/us/politics/10chicago.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&partner=msnbcpolitics&emc=rss