Isn't This Special……..

         

Just as all nonwhites are NOT criminals, not ALL cops are saints, though the majority have been. 

Just in case you folks are still under the delusion that the police in NYC are feeling put upon by the actions of the protestors….which were evident before the latest sickening murder of two of their own by a crazed lone killer……and are just acting out because they are "misunderstood", think again. 

Those on the Right…..I am talking about YOU Giuliani….are not wasting a MINUTE to use this as a political cudgel to bully those higher up: Mayor de Blasio, President Obama, Eric Holder, etc. This is nothing new for NYPD, but this time they have a racial component to use as a weapon, too…….and using it they are.

"Meanwhile, Republican operatives see a chance to do fatal damage to a rising Democratic star and close Clinton ally by resurrecting the kind of racial backlash politics that won them urban white votes during the Nixon era."

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/emails-and-racist-chats-show-how-cops-and-gop-are-teaming-undermine-de-blasio

" In an email to a supporter, Queens Village Republican Club president Joe Concannon referred to the planned wave of protests as “our plan to keep it in the news for the first half of 2015.”

Yes, I know…protests in the name of justice for killing unarmed black men, innocent until proven guilty…...BAD.

NYPD protests against officials…who have expressed support of law officers, but are black….and also against the other protestors…...GOOD

The End Result….

Just saw a segment on CBS on how schools are getting by after all the cuts being demanded from them (not to mention the attrition of good teachers due to "teacher-shaming" from the Right). It proved to me just how well the "small government" folks in our country are doing, at our expense. We all know that teachers in the last decade or so have had to supply all sorts of teaching materials and everyday necessities for students….out of THEIR paychecks, that is. Now they have have to be more creative:

"Many school districts across the country face budget cuts just about every year. In Chicago, teachers are turning to crowdfunding website Donors Choose, which helps them raise funds for classroom necessities." http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/teachers-turn-to-online-donors-to-fund-classrooms/

Why allocate more funds to our kids' education from government, federal or state budgets when you can get the taxpayers to pay for it (use the word "donate" to make them feel better about it). Then we can give more tax breaks to big corporations and the 1 percent... 

Same thing with helping workers: instead of asking billionaire business owners (let's say…..Walmart) to cut into their earnings to give employees more hours, better wages, and possibly healthcare, they let the taxpayers do it.
"..a single Walmart Supercenter cost taxpayers between $904,542 and $1.75 million per year, or between $3,015 and $5,815 on average for each of 300 workers.”
http://tinyurl.com/puu9eyf

All those overstocked, out of date, no longer useful bullet proof vests, tanks, tazers, and tear gas that the government contractors have produced, at a profit to shareholders and political investors alike, …..give or auction them off to state and local police forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/us/war-gear-flows-to-police-departments.html
That way you are "killing two birds with one stone"…..sorry…..giving these articles of war a "peacetime" use, and keeping the people you despise the most at bay when they finally have had enough.  At least for awhile.

At this point I am afraid that the selfishness, greed, misinformation and not-bothered-to-be-concealed racism is finally winning. It will not always be this way; everything in this world comes and goes in cycles. I just makes me cringe to see that so many people…in government and otherwise….do not understand and do not even care enough to see how it ultimately affects their lives and those of their families.

“The darkest secret of this country, I am afraid, is that too many of its citizens imagine that they belong to a much higher civilization somewhere else. That higher civilization doesn’t have to be another country. It can be the past instead—the United States as it was before it was spoiled by immigrants and the enfranchisement of the blacks.
This state of mind allows too many of us to lie and cheat and steal from the rest of us, to sell us junk and addictive poisons and corrupting entertainments. What are the rest of us, after all, but sub-human aborigines?” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Bluebeard

And Lyndon Johnson had it right:" If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."  Today, a winning strategy…….

Sure is funny how all of a sudden everybody and his third cousin has nothing but horrible things to say about Bowe Bergdahl, thanks to a FOX contributor and his public relations firm rounding them all up. 
http://tinyurl.com/lxzofdn


UPDATE:
Some other points to also be considered, if you are a rational person not ready to condemn this young man without any type of hearing.
http://tinyurl.com/mfcsppj


This should be interesting as things work themselves out…..

"Former Army Sergeant Josh Korder served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan.

He came forward Monday claiming Bergdahl deserted his post and shouldn’t be celebrated.

(Korder himself was recently given a less-than-honorable discharge from the service.)"

http://tinyurl.com/l7gnbt7

A less than honorable discharge, sometimes referred to as an other-than-honorable discharge or OTH, occurs when a person is discharged from the military for repetitive behaviour that severely goes against the military code of conduct. If a serviceman or servicewoman receives a less than honorable discharge, they are not allowed to re-enlist with the military and they do not receive veteran benefits.

According to those on FOX, Robert Bergdahl looks like a member of the Taliban.

“I mean, he says he was growing his beard because his son was in captivity. Well, your son’s out now. So if you really don’t want to no longer look like a member of the Taliban, you don’t have to look like a member of the Taliban, are you out of razors?”

But if another former soldier, a squadron leader for Bowe Bergdahl speaks out disparagingly against the POW, his looks REALLY don't matter so much.

Unfortunately, the Right's "shoot first, ask questions later" and their fine-tuned hate machine have a lasting affect. No matter what is revealed as time goes on, or the final outcome…….their reaction will be "it's a lie, there's a coverup, Obama is threatening the military, he's not a real American", blah, blah, blah. And I can almost predict someone is going to get hurt, more than this family has been in the last few days.

WHEN will people say "enough is enough" with all of this garbage?

Slutty Female College Students??

This is just getting disgusting! We all have heard how Republicans in Texas HATE Wendy Davis for standing up against their insatiable drive against women's reproductive rights (read: abortion).

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/25/sexist-attacks-wendy-davis/

 We all know how the Right DESPISES educated people and critical thinking, hence the decades-long push to privatize schools by giving vouchers to their charter schools where the learning is low and the profits are high. We all know how they think that poor folks should have just TRIED harder, gotten a college education which in their minds is the roadmap to a lucrative future (or it would be if you could also maneuver it into a lobbyist position so you can pay off your student loans).

So what do you get when you combine the misogynistic old white guy party's two favorite things? A slanderous underhanded push to denigrate a female's march to the front. This is what passes as "reporting" in Ohio (that bastion of Kasich and the Koch Brothers money these days.)…...

Miami University among fastest growing “Sugar Baby” schools in Ohio

Rising tuition costs and mounting college debt have some college students in Ohio seeking an alternative way to pay for their education. According to a new survey by SeekingArrangement.com, a dating site, six Ohio colleges are among the “Top fastest growing sugar baby schools,” where female students use “sugar daddies” to pay for college.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/miami-university-among-fastest-growing-sugar-baby-/ncnjG/

I don't know what the aim of this sort of push is……..just to denigrate all female students, I guess. Look for this to be occurring other states as well. I'm getting REAL tired of this "subliminal" message the Right is pushing. Just too chicken to come right out and say it I guess. How any self-respecting, critical thinking, compassionate, hard working member of the female sex……..or members of ANY nonwhite sector of this country……can be OK with this denigration and lying BS is beyond me! Anybody that votes to keep these poor excuses of humanity in office are out of their minds!

Next, They'll Bring Breakfast….

And if being treated like they are nothing more than money-grabbing babysitters for the Right's little snowflake offspring isn't insulting enough for teachers: 

"If you’re a K-12 teacher in the state of Nevada, you know that keeping the classroom supply cabinet fully-stocked can be costly. To help you purchase the materials you need beyond what the school’s budget may provide, we’ve created a low-interest Classroom Supply Loan especially for you."

http://www.silverstatecu.com/personal-and-vehicle-loans/educational-employee-loans/classroom-supply-loan.aspx

Nothing like going into debt for the privilege (read "freedom") of teaching the next generation how the country is supposed to work. Yep…after paying off the student loans, make them go into debt to do their jobs!

"But This Country Was Founded On The Bible..."

We've all heard: 

"This nation, without reasonable doubt, was established on the firm foundation of Scripture. Our forefathers, brilliant as they were, openly acknowledged the true genius behind the new system to be the eternal principles of God's Word. The most fundamental concepts of the republic find their roots in the Bible. From the beginning, the basis for law and government in American society was decidedly biblical. What's more, the new land was forged through the energy of the Judeo-Christian work ethic."

http://patrioticnation.blogspot.com/2007/10/was-usa-built-on-christian-principles.html

Really?? There seems to have been a "lost in translation" moment somewhere during the last 300 or 400 years. This was in evidence last week when the Farm Bill was being debated in Congress by several lawmakers, including Juan Vargas and Doug LaMalfa. Included in the bill, which increased farm subsidies, was a cut to food stamps. The Repubs hate food stamps. Several "Christians" defended the cuts by saying "the Bible encourages people to help each other but doesn't dictate what the federal government should do. We should be doing this as individuals, helping the poor."  (But...the Constitution....)

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/05/house_panel_debates_cutting_fo.html

Yep, this is a Christian nation...no Muslims, no Jews, no Pagans, no Buddhists...at least in THEIR minds.  And remember the Bible is your FRIEND...when you want to find a reason for mans basic egotism and selfishness.

In that same Bible that the Conservative Right wants to use to point out THEIR standing, in the eyes of the Lord, you will also find: 

Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Luke 3:10-11 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

Yes, there have to be checks and balances in all programs. No, big oil companies or those such as Apple, Exxon, GE, and Microsoft do NOT need any government subsidies. But the people who actually produce for those companies do, at this time.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) cited Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, "for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."  This quote, I'm afraid to tell him, has NOTHING to do with caring for the poor. Jesus is talking about being saved by grace, but not by "good works." Your faith will be what saves you...not just pretending that you are doing good things, or keeping account of all the "good " that you think you are doing. Which, by the way, leads me to this verse:

Matthew 7:20 - Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

CONDITION OF THE DAY: Selective Amnesia

The noise from the Right these days is "Obama never reaches out to us. He doesn't like us." Of course, that was before the dinner that a few of them finally attended. The tab was on the President, too.

Let me refresh a few memories that seem to have become clouded over the past  four years:

In January, several high-ranking Repubs were invited to the White House for a private screening of LINCOLN. They did not attend.

"The guests of honor included cast members Daniel Day-Lewis, James Spader, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones, along with director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner.

http://www.newsmax.com/US/obama-lincoln-invitation-snub/2013/01/15/id/47148

The website says Boehner “may be setting something of a record for sending regrets to the White House,’’ having turned down six state dinners hosted by Obama."

"Also in 2011, the White House held a reception for newly elected members of Congress. Only 27 of the new Republican House members showed up, out of the record GOP freshman class of 87."

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/president-obama-cant-get-a-republican-date/

Then there is the infamous remark by Mitch McConnell. There seems to be some debate as to when the actual quote was made...but it WAS made:

"McConnell made his remarks in an interview that appeared in the National Journal on Oct. 23, 2010 — nearly two years after Obama was elected president. The interview took place on the eve of the midterm elections.
The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

Did Mr. Boehner forget about this: "The president of the United States calls the speaker of the House, in the midst of an economic crisis, and the speaker won't pick up the phone? You don't refuse a call from the president, no matter how deplorable you find his policies."

President Obama may not play the usual "good ol' boy" political games that DC is infamous for. He isn't cut of the same cloth..and he's not been at it as long. But to say he has NOT tried to reason or compromise is ludicrous. When you have been mocked, denigrated, ignored, lied to, slapped down, called arrogant,  and been either described as a "dictator" or a "wus" (depending on the day of the week).....you tend to keep your own counsel. It's hard to say what anyone would do in the same situation.

THIS Is What We Need To Say...

I live in a Red State...a very red state. For example....our neighbor is a good person, a hard working single gal, nice to talk to. But she is sort of a TPer and has a concealed carry permit. (I do not even like guns.) Another person is an "Obama is Gonna Let the UN Take Over The Country" pusher. You didn't see many Obama stickers on cars on my road. But another neighbor (a fellow Dem) used to be a Forensic Accountant with the FBI, living in DC. (Follow the money....) 

If you go downtown into the city of Knoxville......it's as if you are in a different world. Art galleries. Music. Obama stickers on cars. Fresh markets. Cafes and bistros (including the one that asked Stacy Campfield to leave), Green initiatives. ( We really have solar and wind power starting in this area. Chattanooga, by the way, is very progressive and has internet now as fast as that in Europe.)

So it was heartening to me so see the following article in our daily newspaper (on line version, of course.)

I’m a Democrat because I believe in Jesus’ Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) instead of the politician’s Golden Rule (“Those with the gold make the rules”). I’m a Democrat because John 3:16 teaches: “For God so loved the world ” — not just the powerful or the powerless, not just those who look like us or think like us, but the whole world.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/mar/02/roy-herron-strong-faith-led-to-democratic-party/

A lot of the comments make you cringe.....but not surprising to those of us who everyday plow through the insanity and twisted truth on the Right. It just makes me very sad that we cannot pierce through the veil of ignorance, racism, and the "don't-tell-me-I-don't-want-to-know-any-different" that passes for TRUTH and JOURNALISM today.

But hats off to the author of this intelligent article.

Post-Post-Post Debate Analysis, Sort of

Ok, the Right is having a field day with the fact that "Romney won the debate." Which he did fairly and squarely...if going for the most phrases spewed in a specific time which had absolutely no basis in fact is a qualified win. Apparently, it is. The technique is known as the Gish Gallop, named for the famed (?) evolution-basher Dr. Duane Gish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12nYRa8PTzo
&
http://www.omg-facts.com/Other/The-Gish-Gallop-is-the-debating-techniqu/53793

Having to deal with sort of nonsense can make you want to tear your hair out. The President comes in, ready to defend his stances and debate his ursurper-to-be and is bombarded with stuff pulled out of thin air, apparently. To do anything but stare down, and try not to throw something at this fool must have been torture. The Angry Black Man was probably the effect the Repubs were hoping to achieve....at least that's my take.

We know that Mr. Obama is a better person than that...but have we on the Left become as blood-thirsty as those on the Right? There are two more debates and two more chances, now that we've seen which road Romney and Ryan are going to take.
And the past is usually a good indicator of the future: 
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/10/06/so-much-for-romneys-bipartisanship-claims/

This comment stolen from a discussion today on just this topic, to me, says it all:

"You know what? If the worse you can say about the president is that he decided not to kick ass when we all know he could and that he looked down alot to hide his disgust with wasting his anniversary arguing with a beach sandal, I mean think about it. We knew and he knew he had Bain in his boot, 47% in his belt, non-existent specifics under his jacket and Mitt's tax returns in his breast pocket. You KNOW he was strapped. Come on now, son. If Mitt is busy shooting himself in the foot why would the President bother wasting ammunition? Or worse, pulling a weapon and risk having it used against him by someone insane enough to try to take it from him. You stand back and look at crazy, you don't try to reason with it"  Tomiko Nichols · Executive Director at Drama Kids

To quote Mark Twain:

"Never argue with a fool, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." 

Hypocrisy On Sunday
or, How the Right Wing Extremists Interpret The News.

I usually avoid all Sunday morning political talk shows. It's not good for the digestive system. But I did happen to catch CBS this morning, and while I don't care one way or the other for Tavis Smiley...meaning sometimes I agree but other times I feel he's off course...I was impressed with what he had to say. The topic was poverty in our country, something the Repubs just gloss over, or blame on the poor themselves. Mr. Smiley did a straight forward, factual, emotional piece: NO MENTION of Repubs or Dems, left or right, white or black or hispanics, male or female, this president or that one. Just a solid piece.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57476855/tavis-smiley-poverty-is-the-new-slavery/?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.13


I was TOTALLY taken back by the comments on the article, as you can see for yourself:

"Slavery, really? You make me sick. Slavery is code for it's the white guy's fault. The problem with the economy is in the White House. Smiley, I put you in the same category as Wright, Sharpton, & Jackson. You, like them, are race baiters and serve only to enflame hate. You are as big a racist as the Klan."


What is WRONG with this country? Is the divide, hate, ignorance and refusal to adhere to facts  too deep? Has the Right Wing Extreme Machine done THAT great a job? Do we have ourselves to blame, libs? 


We can say that the Right lives in an alternate reality...but it's here on the same ground as the rest of us. I don't want to believe that regular people think that way. I'm ashamed for them and scared at the same time. What does the future hold if this sort of thinking and behavior wins out..........?

Do They Have Class or Are They Just Rich ?


Yes, we have heard about President Obama's war on the rich. The Right never stops shouting about how "this is the most divisive president the entire universe has ever seen." They never give a rest to their "class warfare" meme.



And then the Only-Class-That-Matters had a little shindig for their presidential candidate (not the one of their choice, I'm sure.): 

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. – A woman in a blue chiffon dress poked her head out of a black Range Rover here on Sunday afternoon and yelled to an aide to Mitt Romney, “Is there a V.I.P. entrance. We are V.I.P
“We’ve got the message,” she added. “But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies — everybody who’s got the right to vote — they don’t understand what’s going on. I just think if you’re lower income — one, you’re not as educated, two, they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work, they don’t understand the impact.”


Yes..the rich ARE different than you and me. But "class"....that's another story:

Class never runs scared. It is sure-footed and confident in the knowledge that you can meet life head-on and handle whatever comes along. Those who have class have wrestled with their own personal “angel” and won a victory that marks them thereafter.

Class never makes excuses. It takes its lumps and learns from past mistakes. Class is considerate of others. It knows that good manners are nothing more than a series of petty sacrifices. Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with ancestors or money. The most affluent blue blood can be totally without class while the descendant of a Welsh miner may ooze class from every pore.

Class never tries to build itself up by tearing others down. Class is already up and need not strive to look better by making others look worse. Class can “walk with kings and keep it’s virtue, and talk with crowds and keep the common touch.” Everyone is comfortable with the person who has class- because he is comfortable with himself.

If you have class, you don’t need much of anything else. If you don’t have it, no matter what else you have – it doesn’t make much difference.

-Howard E. Ferguson, Author of The Edge

No Words Necessary

This Is What We're Up Against

The next few months are going to be a nightmare, in case you just dropped in from Mars or somewhere. The GOP is pulling out all the stops when it comes to Koch Brothers' money, instilling fear, spewing hatred (for everybody, it seems), ratcheting up war speech and military spending, disenfranchising would-be-voters, and venting their hatred and distrust of women and gays. Blacks and Hispanics: duck and cover.

I've often wondered if this is instilled into their poor RW youth at an early age, even before they can even comprehend their actions. Sorta like this:

ALERTS:

And then do they grow up to believe it's OK to act like this:

73

How in the world did some of those people on the Right in positions

of authority whether in politics, education, religion, or business, come to feel that THEIR ideas, THEIR reasoning, THEIR interpretation of the rules, are the bedrock of all that we do in this country and the rest of us be damned. Compromise or seeing another person's point of view (and accepting it as valid) is foreign to them.  

Maybe a lot of it is the fact that some people do not actually move around the country much: they are born and raised in a certain area, grow up there, and don't feel the need to venture much further. I'm glad we moved several times as I was growing up, and I got to experience different kinds of people and life styles. So did my kids as they grew up: friends of different races and cultures, gay couples as neighbors, attending different churches or none at all, and of course changing schools.

So, I guess my point is: get out and REALLY see this great land of ours. There shouldn't BE any "enemies". We're all in this together. I firmly believe that people are taught to behave the way they do...and this feeling is reinforced by the "company that you keep." Temper tantrums, name calling, truth twisting, died-in-the-wool hatred of others, and boatloads of money are going to be our downfall....Left or Right.

AT A LOSS FOR WORDS


I don't even know where to begin on this:

Liberal progressive thinking people: we have to find a way to make our voices heard. This kind of in-your-face truth twisting, name calling, denigrating, innuendo spewing, down right bullshitting makes a mockery of our place in this country.

I know, I know....it's just another day in FOXWORLD. But unfortunately this is what passes for journalistic integrity for a large portion of the viewing public in today's world. Sound bites. Vitriol. Eye rolls. Shouting down the opposition. And I'm also aware it is almost dangerous to voice an opposing view to these folks. 

Welcome to the Right's Brave New World.

Yin and Yang on the Right

During the past couple weeks, I've done some reading to further enlighten myself on those folks opposing my own political and social views. I like humorous, satirical fare...not the heavy-handed, punch-to-the-stomach approach you usually find. And since I purchased these books at McKay's Used Books and CD's (which, by the way is AWESOME.), I felt I wasn't really "giving aid and support to the enemy."

The first book A Field Guide to Evangelicals and Their Habitat, written by Joel Kirkpatrick, who writes "pithy Christian Satire," is conservative, and "attends church regularly for new material" was a hoot. It is written with love, humor, and had me in stitches all the way through the book. As an "insider" he is well aware of the impression that casual observers have of some of these people...his people. Everything from restaurants frequented by evangelicals, what to expect entering their churches, hand raising gestures in church, dating rituals, and decorating like an evangelical: "The focal point of your living room should be a massive painting by Thomas Kinkade with an elaborate wooden frame and a small brass plaque bearing the painting's title......apart from Kinkade paintings, there should be no "real" art in the home...." And he just keeps going from there. What a delight!

A Red State of Mind was my second choice, as it was supposedly about the culture shock on a conservative Southern belle who has to move "up North" after she married. Since I lived in Upstate New York for years, and Ohio, and Hawaii, and now live in East Tennessee (home of my maternal side for generations), I thought this would be something I could relate to. The back cover stated "Nancy French's style is like that of Erma Bombeck on steroids." Erma being the delight of Dayton, Ohio whose many books I've laughed through over the years, I was intrigued. I read half-way through...we have different concepts of humor I could see....and then the picture became very clear. The poor little conservative was at odds with all those mean "Birkenstock wearing, turtleneck sporting, Media Matters reading, no-leg-shaving liberals, who probably were lesbians...." She considered buying a "Rush was Right" teeshirt, but her husband warned her against it. The churches in Pennsylvania and New York didn't suit her either.

Glad I only paid seventy-five cents for that book.

Now, you're probably wondering why I brought all this up now. I think it was the events of the last week that made me think about it all: Thomas Kinkade died. No matter what your view of his "talent" I'm sure he brought joy to a lot of people. Nancy French and her husband, which I found out with my after-the-fact research on that biased book, are journalist contributors to NRO....the NRO of racist and homophobic Mr. Derbyshire fame. 

I guess it is true: there is a good side and dark side to everything. I just wish we could see more of the good.......


Update:http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/09/11099319-autopsy-scheduled-for-painter-thomas-kinkade?lite