various verbiage

Wow– Bernie Sanders has been standing-up for SIX 1/2 HOURS at this point, speaking TRUTH to POWER… [UPDATE: 8 1/2hrs Total!!!]
…& single-handedly SHUTTING-DOWN Obama’s utterly misguided “Tax Cuts for the Wealthy” ‘Compromise’[sic]… [or in the words of Pat Buchanan: "What Compromise? We Won Outright!"].

Oh & Btw-
Let’s hear a BIG FUCK-YOU to Harry “Monkeyboy” Reid–
After yet-another historically unprecedented number of Senate Filibusters by the Republicans, who’re so gleefully embracing this tactic that they just signed a statement saying they’d filibuster everything until they got their ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich’– just how many of those Rethug Senators had to stand-up & talk like Bernie is doing?

NOT. ONE.
NOT ONE FUCKING PISSANT REPUBLICAN HAD TO STAND-UP TO FILLIBUSTER… They just had to pass a note, “Um, we prefer to not invoke Cloture”, & Reid rolls-over like a FUCKING PUSSY.

But NOOO– Sanders can’t do that!! Reid makes Sanders Stand Up.

But know what?
JOKES’ ON THEM!!

…when even Slave-owning Racist Strom Thurmond had to read the phone book on his 24hr filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957… BERNIE CAME PREPARED!!!

Check This Shit Out:

“Why are Conservatives pushing for these tax cuts for wealthy, when even wealthiest say they don’t need or want it? Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Ben Cohn, all say they neither Want or Need more tax cuts!!

“So why are the Conservatives doing this? They’re not stupid- they know, once they get their tax cuts, that’s not sustainable, & will then scream for Cuts Cuts Cuts. And we know what they’ll cut- we heard it in the ‘Deficit Reduction Commission’– Reduce Social Security coverage 20% on the young, Raise Social Security age to 69, cut Medicare, cut Medicade… They’re even recommending increased interest on student loans- Our Country already has a very poor college grad rate & now they’ll make it even harder?
[NB: this Conservative strategic initiative is called "Starve the Beast", & was started by Reagan...]

“The rich getting richer, poor getting poorer, & middle class collapsing… While the Top 1% of Americans owns more wealth than lower 50% !!!

“Where 4 banks own more 52% of usa’s total econ output last yr;
63% of GDP

“Corporate Ceo’s are taking advantage & selling-out our young people… they told them you don’t want to work in a factory! You’ll work on a computer! So they outsourced the mfg jobs. And now they’re outsourcing the Computer/IT jobs too!

“Here’s the CEO of GE: ‘there’s 5x as many smart people in China as America, who’re willing to work for much less… And 3x as many in India! We need to be in China! China China China! We want to be a Chinese company!”
“Here’s the CEO of Chamber of Commerce: “its to the benefit of Business to Outsource!”
“Here’s Carly Fiori: “there is no job that is a ‘God Given Right’

“…& yet- when these Company’s need bailing out, they don’t go to China- they beg the AMERICAN TAXPAYER!!

“So now our Manufacturing jobs are decimated– from 17M Manufacturing jobs when GW Bush started office, to 11M when he left… and a total of 600k total job loss– how can we say ‘Tax Cuts for the Wealthy’ creates jobs?!

“We can’t buy anything made in USA, in stores, Walmart… it all says ‘Made in China’!

“& it’s not just the disasterous trade policies pushed by Chamber of
Commerce, etc… it’s the Crooks on Wall Street lobbying to repeal Glass Steagall!!
“Wall Street Banks were originally designed to ‘Create Affordable Loans for Business’… but now? Wall Street is operating on a Business Model based on fraud, dishonesty… Understanding they will never get caught, & can do pretty much anything they want, & get bailed out

“Wall Street destroyed this economy-
healthcare goes up, you can’t send kid to college
& they nearly destroyed the world economy…

And THEY GOT BIGGER!!! They were “too big to Fail”, & now they’re BIGGER?!!

“Look at how much the top Banks have grown since 2008:
JPMorgan: 51%
Wells Fargo: 41%
Bank of America: 138% !!!

“If we are serious to help the middle class, we need to return to the idea of Teddy Roosevelt: Trust Busting.
He believed it’s bad for the country when a handful of entities have a stranglehold on the economy

“We’re supposed to be living in a competitive economy, free market capitalism. This is not!! No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would be catastrophic for our economy, our taxpayers, & even the world economy!

“On Oct 15 2008- Alan Greenspan, the Architect of Deeregulation(!!) admitted: “if they’re too big to fail, they’re too big… We broke up Standard Oil, & over time they grew into even stronger players.”

“Wall Street’s lobbysts are all over this place, you can’t walk down the hall in Congress without tripping over them…. and we’re going to have to fight them every step of the way–
“But we need to BREAK THOSE BANKS UP!!
Paul Volcker supports it!
Even heads of Fed in Dallas, Chicago, agree!!

“Plus the issue of Usury- look at nearly all religions, they’re universal in their rejection, disgust, of the immorality of Usury.
“But look– those Big Companies and Banks paid MUCH LESS INTEREST than they charge to us Workers!

Bank Bailout: <1% interest

Loans for Workers: >25-30% interest(!!!)

“Anything over 20% interest is usury, it’s not ‘providing affordable loans to job creators’
“But instead– the Marquette Decision allowed Credit-Card Companies to dodge State interest rate limits, so they all moved to Delaware!

“We tolerated the thievery of the Big Banks, & we bailed them out… they needed Welfare to survive!!
& now they’re bigger and more successful & even wealthier than ever!!

“WHEN IS IT THE MIDDLE-CLASSES’ TURN???”

THANK GOD FOR BERNIE SANDERS.

BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT!!!

…some Notes from Krugman:

“with Republican policy makers seeing economic hardship as the path to election glory,” they would be “opposed to any actions taken by the Federal Reserve that would make the economy better.” In short, their real fear is not that Fed actions will be harmful, it is that they might succeed.

Hence the axis of depression. No doubt some of Mr. Bernanke’s critics are motivated by sincere intellectual conviction, but the core reason for the attack on the Fed is self-interest, pure and simple. China and Germany want America to stay uncompetitive; Republicans want the economy to stay weak as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House. link

Here’s the thing: Mr. Obama still has immense power, if he chooses to use it. At home, he has the veto pen, control of the Senate and the bully pulpit. He still has substantial executive authority to act on things like mortgage relief — there are billions of dollars not yet spent, not to mention the enormous leverage the government has via its ownership of Fannie and Freddie. Abroad, he still leads the world’s greatest economic power — and one area where he surely would get bipartisan support would be taking a tougher stand on China and other international bad actors.

But none of this will matter unless the president can find it within himself to use his power, to actually take a stand. And the signs aren’t good. link

My immediate thought was, why not ask for a pony, too? After all, the G.O.P. isn’t interested in helping the economy as long as a Democrat is in the White House. Indeed, far from being willing to help Mr. Bernanke’s efforts, Republicans are trying to bully the Fed itself into giving up completely on trying to reduce unemployment.

And on matters fiscal, the G.O.P. program is to do almost exactly the opposite of what Mr. Bernanke called for. On one side, Republicans oppose just about everything that might reduce structural deficits: they demand that the Bush tax cuts be made permanent while demagoguing efforts to limit the rise in Medicare costs, which are essential to any attempts to get the budget under control. On the other, the G.O.P. opposes anything that might help sustain demand in a depressed economy — even aid to small businesses, which the party claims to love.

Right now, in particular, Republicans are blocking an extension of unemployment benefits — an action that will both cause immense hardship and drain purchasing power from an already sputtering economy. But there’s no point appealing to the better angels of their nature; America just doesn’t work that way anymore.

And opposition for the sake of opposition isn’t limited to economic policy. Politics, they used to tell us, stops at the water’s edge — but that was then.

These days, national security experts are tearing their hair out over the decision of Senate Republicans to block a desperately needed new strategic arms treaty [EDIT: Isn't this the "Party of Reagan"? Who passed TWO Strategic Nuclear Limitation Treaties? SALT1 & SALT2?!!!]. And everyone knows that these Republicans oppose the treaty, not because of legitimate objections, but simply because it’s an Obama administration initiative; if sabotaging the president endangers the nation, so be it.

How does this end? Mr. Obama is still talking about bipartisan outreach, and maybe if he caves in sufficiently he can avoid a federal shutdown this spring. But any respite would be only temporary; again, the G.O.P. is just not interested in helping a Democrat govern.

My sense is that most Americans still don’t understand this reality. They still imagine that when push comes to shove, our politicians will come together to do what’s necessary. But that was another country.

It’s hard to see how this situation is resolved without a major crisis of some kind. Mr. Simpson may or may not get the blood bath he craves this April, but there will be blood sooner or later. And we can only hope that the nation that emerges from that blood bath is still one we recognize. link

Perfectly Said:

“Hello Mr. President, here’s how you FIX this SHIT”:

Beautiful.

But Nope, He won’t do it…
…but at least we know what could have worked…

And so– C’est La vie any Dem majorities in Congress, come Nov ’10…
…& then c’est la vie anything other than:

The only bright spot?
If/when the “Tea Party” candidates ‘take over’ Congress, and all of this economic dysfunction accelerates, maybe all that ‘populist anger’ will be directed less towards ‘Birth Certificates’ & more towards “Jobs Now!!!”

Sheeeit.

President Reagan’s former Office of Management and Budget Director, David Stockman, recently wrote:

IF there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republican push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing. The nation’s public debt — if honestly reckoned to include municipal bonds and the $7 trillion of new deficits baked into the cake through 2015 — will soon reach $18 trillion. That’s a Greece-scale 120 percent of gross domestic product, and fairly screams out for austerity and sacrifice. It is therefore unseemly for the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, to insist that the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers be spared even a three-percentage-point rate increase.

Now note– this is one of REAGAN’s Top People!! And even he has an issue with the modern GOP/”Conservative” Party!!

Because– this makes no sense. How could GOP’ers, who demand so stridently that budgets be balanced, & ie. “no passing down debts to our grandchildren”, absolutely INSIST that the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy– ie, for families making $250k and above– be maintained… without campaigning for any corresponding CUT in Government Spending? In fact, for any Democrat proposal, the GOP always demands cuts… which are correspondingly always on the ‘Social Services’ side… (which includes “special interests” such as Police and Teachers, btw), but NEVER on the ‘Defense Spending’ side, which is by far & away the biggest chunk of the budget, -&- the biggest sector of Budgetary Growth in the past 10years…

Well– here’s an explanation by Martin Wolf, the Chief Economics commentator of the Financial Times (a very CONSERVATIVE publication, btw… or at least what passes for “Conservative” in Britain): “The political genius of supply-side economics“:

To understand modern Republican thinking on fiscal policy, we need to go back to perhaps the most politically brilliant (albeit economically unconvincing) idea in the history of fiscal policy: “supply-side economics” [ie, also called "Trickle-Down" Theory, or "Voodoo Economics"]. Supply-side economics liberated conservatives from any need to insist on fiscal rectitude and balanced budgets. Supply-side economics said that one could cut taxes and balance budgets, because incentive effects would generate new activity and so higher revenue.
How did supply-side economics bring these benefits? First, it allowed conservatives to ignore deficits [cf. Cheney, "Reagan proved, deficits don't matter"]. They could argue that, whatever the impact of the tax cuts in the short run, they would bring the budget back into balance, in the longer run. Second, the theory gave an economic justification – the argument from incentives – for lowering taxes on politically important supporters. Finally, if deficits did not, in fact, disappear, conservatives could fall back on the “starve the beast” theory: deficits would create a fiscal crisis that would force the government to cut spending and even destroy the hated welfare state.
True, the theory that cuts would pay for themselves has proved altogether wrong. That this might well be the case was evident: cutting tax rates from, say, 30 per cent to zero would unambiguously reduce revenue to zero. This is not to argue there were no incentive effects. But they were not large enough to offset the fiscal impact of the cuts (see, on this, Wikipedia and a nice chart from Paul Krugman).
Indeed, Greg Mankiw, no less, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under George W. Bush, has responded to the view that broad-based tax cuts would pay for themselves, as follows: “I did not find such a claim credible, based on the available evidence. I never have, and I still don’t.”

So– Chief Economists under both Reagan -and- Bush W. say, basically, DEFICITS DO MATTER.

But Who is listening?

Do we really think the broken Senate is going to make a difference? Even with 60 votes, every single piece of significant legislation is either ignored (350+ House Bills simply discarded in latest Congress Session), or Filibustered (most Filibusters ever recorded in history, latest Congress Session)… Details here.

And do we really think Obama is going to make a difference? I mean, I can understand most Campaign Promises are hyperbolic, but really- why so many Issues -&- People ‘thrown under a bus’?! Perhaps Obama was simply ‘center-right’ &/or Corporatist all along…? or more likely, he’s simply a Situational Conformist:

What Obama does by his nature is find the middle ground. As an excellent innate politician, he will find the political center of any field and rush to it. That’s where elections are won – the center. So, that’s why he sounded so progressive during the primaries, because that was the center of the left. And why he sounded like such a reformer during the general election because the great majority of Americans desperately wanted change.
Right now, Obama perceives the center of the country to be somewhere between Dick Cheney and Harry Reid. Do you know where that leaves him? Joe Lieberman. That’s why we’re in the sorry shape we’re in now.

Maybe we should just giggle, & watch Colbert’s version of “Trickle Down”…

From Huffpost:

It is a truly remarkable feat, in just one year’s time, to turn the fear and anger voters felt in 2006 and 2008 at a Republican Party that had destroyed the economy, redistributed massive amounts of wealth from the middle class to the richest of the rich and the biggest of big businesses, and waged a trillion-dollar war in the wrong country, into populist rage at whatever Democrat voters can cast their ballot against.

Stupid NeoCon Trick #(billions & billions):
“I don’t NEED that, so WTF do i gotta PAY for it (taxes, etc)”

& at first, that sounds Reasonable, eh?
Sure, you’re a Guy– you ain’t gonna get Pregnant, right?
You don’t drive thru that tunnel, or across that bridge– so fuck them!
“If they can’t stand the heat {can’t pay for prenatal care, etc}, then THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN {pregnant, etc}.”

HERE’S THE THING–

1. You use the freeway system, eh?
2. Ever call a Cop, b/c someone sketchy was in your neighborhood? (or worse– you needed them b/c Something Bad Happened?)
3. Ever need the Fire Department?

Even the Richest MOFO needs the rest of us– they don’t do their own dishes, clean their toilets… they can just import undocumented labor, right? But what about plumbing? Okay, they sneak-in skilled undocumented labor…
…but what do they connect their pipes to? Municipal Water Supply?

They can ‘think’ they’re truly Self-Reliant, but unless they’re COMPLETELY OFF THE GRID, it’s just SLOPPY THINKING & INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY
…& if they CONTINUE to keep claiming all these things, AFTER being ‘schooled’–
then they’re just INTELLECTUALLY VIOLENT… ie completely REPREHENSIBLE, & ACTIVELY TEARING-DOWN THE SOCIAL CONTRACT.

PS– know what’s really hilarious?
99.99% of these “Go it Alone” types would DIE IN 1 WEEK if stuck in the wilderness…
…true ‘Survivor’ types really do know, understand, & appreciate our Interconnectedness…

…but not the Modern NeoConservative Movement, definitely NOT when it comes to TAXES.

“MORAL VIRTUE = SPENDING ALL MY $$ ON *MYSELF*” is their ethos…

I would really LOVE to see these types really do “Go Galt”… put ‘em in a plastic bubble, & watch them devolve into chaos & cannibalism… much faster than you’d ever expect, I’ll bet…

Cf: the WSJ’s “Is your Coach Republican“:

…it turns out, that the Great Coach Lou Holtz is running around, trying to be a politician– which is fine, I admit.. & I’m actually interested. His skill at Coaching is legendary, & I have his series of tapes w/ Blanchard…

But then he ‘draws a parallel between the standards and rules that most coaches set for their players -and the- Republican vision of how American society ought to operate‘, saying this:

“”You aren’t entitled to anything. You don’t inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team,” Mr. Holtz said. “You’re treated like everybody else. You’re held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There’s winners, there’s losers, and there’s competitiveness.”

OH REALLY.

Let’s take this in order:
1) “You aren’t entitled to anything.”
-Funny: Republicans historically are some of the most Entitled Group *ever*; ie, nobody’s ‘entitled’ to anything but THEM. & correspondingly, they are extremely classist, & extremely hostile to worker’s rights, let-alone individual rights. They are as W.Bush labeled them the “Have Mores”, & the Middle Class can basically Fuck Right Off. In fact, their original impetus (from Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”, bearing fruit with “Reagan Democrats”) was to deliberately appeal to White, Well-Off, ex-’Plantation-Owner’ types… & heavy on the extremely ‘Nationalist’ (ie, code for anti-minority) themes.
-Historically, when Republicans are in Power, they’re extremely “Federalist” & you’re a ‘traitor’ if you don’t agree: ie, you’re NOT ‘entitled’ to argue with the Feds. But then when in minority, they’re all “States Rights” & scream for “minority protections” & ARE ‘entitled’ to blow-off Federal regulations (sound familiar?)

2. “You don’t inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team,”
-clearly he hasn’t heard of ESTATE TAX, which the Repubs framed as “Death Tax”… & correspondingly nearly obliterated. Which is probably why all the current statistics (including current Census numbers) show that MOST ppl who are RICH in this country, INHERITED THEIR MONEY… so much for “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”… Well, as long as those ‘bootstraps’ are DADDY’S TRUST FUND.
-plus, w/ the incredible gerrymandering escalated by Delay, less than 2% of any Congressional Seat is -ever- up for grabs!!! Ie, “inherited power” in Congress!!! 98% re-election rate!!! Is it any wonder they call it ‘life-time appointment’??

3. “You’re treated like everybody else. You’re held accountable for your actions.
-really? when Ken Lay, Madoff etc gets Club Fed, & crack dealers (who kill far less ppl) get the chair?
-when Cheney & OJ walk free? Cheney’s crimes have already gotten him subpoenaed to the Hague, & OJ isn’t in jail for murder
…Are these Dem’s, pray tell?

4. “You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…”
-omigosh– is he claiming that Repub’s literally “care about others”? when they’re historically the Party of NO:
-no Social Security
-no MediCare: they just voted LOWERING access to MediCare to 55yo, just last year!!!
-NO UNIVERSAL HEALTH-CARE
-No Food Stamps
-No Welfare
-No Health-Care Reform, AT ALL.

…perhaps he means, “ppl on YOUR team”, ie “other well-off, entitled individuals”… & then he’d be Exactly Right;

-& Finally-
5. “There’s winners, there’s losers, and there’s competitiveness.”
-Exactly: Republicans Win, & Dems Lose. How is that called “Competition”?
-The biggest keyword for “Competitiveness” is always “Innovation”… & look who screams that word the loudest: Bill Gates, who has more marketing & lawyers on staff than Engineers– Ie, “let’s not ‘innovate’ great new Products; let’s ‘innovate’ new License Agreements which force Dell/etc to buy a copy of Vista for computers that have Linux installed” [true!]
-Health Care, Banks, Big Auto, Big Pharma… basically EVERYONE who spends literally BILLIONS on ‘Campaign Contributions’
…you can make a chart, of exactly how much “Campaign Contributions” all these companies have made, -vs- how much $$$$ they saved (taxes, protectionist tariffs, regulation loopholes) or ‘earned’ (tax incentives, national resource giveaways, ‘no-bid contracts’, & the almighty TARP).

Is that “Competitive”? No ‘level playing field’ here, guys… It’s ‘uphill all the way’ if you’re not a Rich Republican, ie in the words of W. Bush, “My Base”.

I truly Respect Lou Holtz, & will forever remember some tapes I listened to of his, when hitchhiking to Alaska…

…but he should really stick to Football, or apply his excellent skills of ‘game’ analysis, to the political boilerplate he’s spewing…
…b/c Every One of his comments is True of Football… but sadly less-than-true of politics, & esp. of Republicans.

I suspect, if he does his research, he’ll turn Libertarian.

Here I go again–
i’m full of [rage/resentment/disbelief]…
& i tell everyone, write a bunch of emails…
…& never get it together to blog…

…& now *everyone* is writing about it:

OBAMA IS FUCKING US OVER:
“is Obama Punking us”

…we kept ‘giving him chances’;
-thought all the repubs on his Cabinet/etc was “great Lincoln statesmanship”
-then gave him the benefit-of-doubt for all the Wall Street insiders put in charge
-got a little bitter re. the bank bailouts… but didn’t blame O
…& a bit frustrated w/ “we’re looking forwards”, ie “we won’t prosecute the Bush guys”
…more frustrated b/c leaving Iraq is really slow… but wait– he’s RAMPING UP in Afghanistan!!(?!!)
et et etc

…but i think the Moment i started to Wonder, was the Detainee Photos;
htf can he possibly get-away w/ that? Why not censor the photos of returning caskets too?? And then giving Bush’s own excuse, “this is a National Security Issue”. Is Obama a complete IDIOT? Is he totally Owned by Military?? What happened to “Change”?!!!

…& now:
-mortgage assistance to ppl who were risky/irresponsible, & a big FUCK YOU to those of us who played the game honestly, yet were still burned by the market crash, & now have houses 6-digits under-water…
-an energy bill w/ elements WORSE than Bush’s; all the “alternative fuels” initiatives castrated
-a credit-card bill allowing the C-card companies to make it radically WORSE for us, in the ramp-up to 2/2010… which is infinitely bad timing, b/c during a Recession you need your c-card MORE, not less(!!)

…& thus, Final Straw-1:
-> Obama didn’t even CONSIDER a major Liberal for Supreme-Court?!!
…i’m not asking for an “Anti-Scalia”, but c’mon, couldn’t've one been even CONSIDERED?!!
…so SCOTUS’s now got 4 RABID-CONSERVATIVES, & 5 “Moderates”…
…which is NOT AT ALL the demographics of the ACTUAL USA
…is it so inconceivable to have a SINGLE LIBERAL on there??
…are you telling me, we don’t have a single true-blue LIBERAL “So super-qualified nobody could attack them” [ie, the rationale attributed to how John Roberts skated thru a fucking Democrat-controlled Congress]
-> WE HAVE FUCKING MAJORITIES IN BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS, & WE DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO GET A LIBERAL?!!!

…& Final Straw-2:
-> “Health Care Reform” will just be another massive give-away to the Rich, yet-again… with an impotent “Public Option”, there will be ZERO ‘Market Forces’ driving any sort of change whatsoever from the Medical Providers & their Insurance Companies… & now Obama has just backed-away from allowing the ‘Public’ version to collectively-bargain as well. Basically guaranteeing the ‘Public’ version will cost more than the already-outrageously-expensive current options!!!

…& this is ALL OBAMA’S FAULT!!!
…the Mother-Fucker hasn’t even put HIS OWN BILL on the table!!!
…when numerous Dem Senators keep saying, “we really need the Prez to step-in, & say ‘This is What i Want’”
…but he DOESN’T(?!!)

…this feels like some kind of horrible retrograde from Bill Clinton, who used to run polls before he’d fucking even take a breath… now we have a prez who doesn’t even want to *appear* he has an opinion, else if/when it gets attacked, he won’t come-out looking pretty.

…For fuck’s sake– “The Great Compromiser” is getting GAMED, simply b/c he’s taking the same, intellectually-bankrupt tack that the MSM does: ‘always pick two opposite sides, & draw a line thru the middle to get to the Truth of the matter’. But guess what– MSM NEVER picks a rabid left-winger, to ‘balance’ the rabid right-winger… so thus, EVERY ‘COMPROMISE’[SIC] SKEWS MORE&MORE ‘RIGHTWARD’.

…i’m beyond surprise that the Repugs are incredibly organized, spewing finely-honed rabid framing on *everything*… [from "ObamaCare is Socialism" to "Forced Euthanasia for the Elderly"... to fucking Rush Limbaugh comparing Obama to Hitler... didn't he scream "Treason" when ppl did that w/ Bush?!!]
…& that their True Believers swallow it whole… i mean, the very ppl getting FUCKED by major corporations eagerly vote for them, b/c they “deserve the fruits of their labors”… Brilliant– tapping into (white) middle-class Rage, & channelling that into PERPETUATING the conditions keeping the hoi polloi down!!

…but THIS? when all that “Joy” & “Hope” & “Change” has been exposed as just more BULLSHIT CAMPAIGN PROMISES…
…we went from 8yrs of an opportunistic Marie Antoinette, taking every opportunity to privitize gov’t, eliminate environmental protections, & drill everywhere he could [let-alone invade & start the longest war we've had yet...]

…& now we have a guy who raises all the “Right Questions” & then pulls a Pontius Pilate, washing his hands of any Responsibility, & leaving it to Congress & the Lobbyists to fill-in the blanks…

…& what’s coming-out, looks SIMPLY TERRIBLE.

1) we’re on-track to losing Roe-vs-Wade; John Roberts wrote essentially that in his last ‘late-term abortion’ ruling opinion… & Sotomayer is a “devout Catholic”
2. we’re on-track to spend MORE than ever before… but NOT on something sustainable, eg a “Moon-Effort” aimed at alternate fuels would be WISE, STRATEGIC DEFICIT-SPENDING… but just PISSING-AWAY all that $$$ to Corporate America? O’s made the problem WORSE, & left us FURTHER in debt!!
3. From Outsourcing, to Economic Recession… we’re on-track to another “Jobless Recovery”; just like in ’04, the $$ will come-back, but to the CEO’s, & NOT to the US employees!!… & the CEO’s will just open more overseas “divisions”, while banking their $$$ here, tax-free…

If this all happened under Bush, i would be irate, but resigned. What did i expect??
…but this is all happening under our “Hope”, who has FUCKING MAJORITIES IN BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS.

I can’t believe anymore, it’s as simple as “Democrats Suck at Fighting”. Nor that Obama is ‘inexperienced’, or even ‘dumb’– even the dumb-ass C+ student we previously had severely outperformed our “Law Review” Golden-Boy… as Bill Maher noted, “at least Bush was effective in getting his Initiatives passed”… Fuck– Bush did that with a DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS his last 2 years!! & Congress still rubber-stamped his Iraq war, etcetc.

I’m really starting to believe that Nader was right– “there’s not 2 Parties– they’re both the SAME Party”.
…b/c even if the avg. Dem congressperson would vociferously argue… let’s see the actual outcomes.

Smells real “Conservative” in Congress, to me.
& Smells like fucking BUSH in the White-House… but a pitiful, ineffective Bush at that.

THIS is our GREAT HOPE?

…fergoshsakes, even a 7th-grader knows the “Office of VP” is -part- of the Executive Branch, & not a “Fourth Branch” of gov’t… despite all of Cheney’s “Man-sized Safes” & his own “More-Secret-than-Top-Secret” designations notwithstanding…

…And thus we have Pundits galore, (hinting): “whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad”
…& saying Cheney is skating right on the razor’s edge of Nicholson in “A Few Good Men”, ie:

Cruise: “Did you authorize that Code-Red?!”
Nicholson: “You’re DAMN RIGHT I did!!”

Basically:

(random Faux Newscaster): “Did you approve of waterboarding (..) Islamic Prisoner?”
Cheney: “You’re DAMN RIGHT I did!!”

…& then it’s all: “Take him away, Baliff.”

…but know what?
That’s all a “West-Wing” wet dream.

Here’s what’s Really Going to Happen:
Cheney ain’t just whistling in the wind:

…but the Ultimate “get-outta-jail card?
=> No matter what happens, Cheney expects to Appeal to the Supreme Court.
…Where he’s got 4 votes in his pocket..
…Aaand a huge war-chest to (acquire) one more….
…& then it’s “Bush vs Gore” all over again… But this time, w/ 2 even more hard-line Right-Wingers to ‘influence’ the swing-votes.

& if Somehow Cheney still comes-up Short?
Obama’ll just pardon him, & Cheney will live life a free man, (aiming) to rehabilitate his image a la Nixon.

No matter what happens, Cheney sees only upside in all this.

He won’t even have to pull his Bush “Get-out-of-jail-Free” Memo, a la Rove & Miers…
Heck, Cheney probably wrote one of his own, for himself.
“Fourth Branch of Government”, indeed.

RIP, “Rule of Law”…

What can we say about LIMBAUGH that hasn’t already been said before??

Let’s start w/ a couple of Rush’s Favorite Systematic Logical Fallacies
1) Straw Man: completely misrepresenting the opposing position, eg, taking a hyperbolic, outlying possible case & characterizing it as the “normal” or “generic” situation… Or simply “damning with faint praise”
2. Argumentum Verbosim: to overwhelm with verbiage, leaving little room for cogent, point-for-point response (to wit, “baffle ‘em w/ bullshit”). This is Rush’s specialty; it’s inordinately simple to tear-apart his arguments, if you only can get him to write them down.
3. Ad Hominem. Personal Attack. “Feminazis”, anyone? Or how about calling Chelsea Clinton the “White House Dog”?!
4. Argument by Authority. He actually takes both sides of this fallacy:
…a) Attacking EVERYONE ELSE’s authority
“you need to listen to my show for 6weeks before I’ll bother listening to your criticism”
…while for his part frequently quotes & plays clips out-of-context
…b. Leveraging ‘Authorities’ which are highly-partisan, & frequently suspect:
-Washington Post
-David Brock on the Clintons

.
My ultimate FAVORITE Rush Hypocrisy?
“Too many whites are getting away with drug use…Too many whites are getting away with drug sales…The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.”, 5 October 1995, “The Rush Limbaugh Show”

…let-alone “Operation Chaos“:
Leo Jennings, a spokesperson for the office of the Ohio Attorney General, after Limbaugh urged Ohio Republicans to reregister as Democrats to disrupt the Democratic primary, which would be a FELONY if done with fraudulent intent, said: “We have no intention of prosecuting Rush Limbaugh because lying through your teeth and being stupid isn’t a crime.”

.
Here’s Rush’s 3 Favorite Defenses:
1)’Republicans/Conservatives aren’t so bad– Democrats are JUST AS BAD
…they’re just as corrupt; if they haven’t been caught yet, they will be
2. No Republican Office-Holder is a “True Conservative”
…so their [position/actions/etc] don’t affect True Conservatives
…(this is most frequently used with Bush, McCain, Steele, etcetc)
3. ‘My hypocrisy [prescription drug abuse, etc] is not significant compared to Liberals & MSM’

This is Brilliant, really–
…basically, if it’s really true that “Words mean things” (from Rush’s “35 Undeniable Truths”), & yet he constantly, repeatedly says incorrect, hyperbolic, illogical, factually-disproven things, & then when confronted systematically denies having said them, rephrases, &/or says “what I was really referring to”…

Then by his Own Words– He’s Untrustworthy.

Oh but wait– that’s “Okay”, b/c he’s an “Entertainer”.
…ie, basically Seeking Attention, both Coming & Going
1) Start w/ flagrant hyperbole
2. Get on every media outlet possible, loudly trumpeting his own words
3. Once confronted w/ actual facts, loudly deny he ever said it to begin with
4. Next, grudgingly rephrase, ironically implying we ‘misunderstood’ him [cf "Words mean things"]
5. Finally, triumphantly claim mistreatment by The Enemy [Liberals, MSM, Democrats, FemiNazis, Evolutionists, etcetcetc]

This is not a “Leader”, “Pundit”, nor even an “Entertainer”
Instead– he’s a DEMAGOGUE of the kind that H.L. Menken defined as “one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.”

Specifically, how’s about the “Dreaming of Riots in Denver” Incident?
Rush: “With riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don’t elect Democrats… That’s the best thing that could happen to the country.” (23 April 2008, his own Show)

…which he promptly hedged, later in the same show, “I am not inspiring or inciting riots, I am ‘dreaming’ of riots in Denver.”

MAKE NO MISTAKE–
1) “Free Speach” does NOT INCLUDE yelling “Fire” in a crowded Theatre:

The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. –Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr

2. The civilized world *DOES* hold “incitement to riot” as Actionable:

On 3 December 2003, at “The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda” in Arusha, life sentences were given RTLM (Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines) leaders Ferdinand Nahimana, and Jean Bosco Barayagwiza.
They were convicted of genocide, incitement to genocide, and crimes against humanity, before and during the period of the genocides of 1994.

Let’s finish-up w/ a word from a Republican, from Denver:
“For any radio announcer to wish a riot on a city so his party could win, that’s disgraceful and it’s absurd.” Republican Denver Councilman Charles Brown, on Limbaugh’s speech about rioting in Denver; April 24, 2008; DenverPost.com

Actually, that’s not just Absurd.
That’s not just Hypocrisy: “We don’t riot. We don’t burn our cars. We don’t burn down our houses. We don’t kill our children. We don’t do half the things the American left does.” -Rush, DenverPost.com

…it’s actually a FELONY

But don’t hold your breath– Rush Limbaugh’ll NEVER be prosecuted
…& if he is, he’ll dodge the very Discipline & Punishment he loudly proclaims for everyone else– like the TEN Felonies he plea-bargained out of, w/ his illegally-acquired & illegally-self-prescribing Oxycontin abuse…

So there’s your Great Leader, Head of the Conservative Party, he of the 20 Millions “Dittos”.

All Authoritarian Talk & Zero Conservative Walk…
…preaching doctrines he knows to be untrue.