I hope you have all read Al Franken's incredible book: Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot where he shows in great detail the hypocrisy that is Rush Limbaugh.  I guess this is why the Republican Party and Norm Coleman are so intent on keeping Al Franken out of the Senate.

I know it has been a while since you have heard from me, but I just couldn't pass this up.  This post at my favorite political blog CrooksAndLiars.com led me to several thoughts that I must share with you here.

Limbaugh Hypocrisy

While the post is very focused on the feud between the Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele and the Right Wing Radio Talk Show Host, Rush Limbaugh, I picked up on a couple of things.  I could probably pick up on a LOT of things, if I had the stomache to listen to the fat blowhard on a daily basis.

In his rant, defending his stance for wishing Obama and Dems and Liberals all fail, he rants that Obama is doing nothing about the economy as the unemployment numbers get bigger and bigger.  Let's not even talk about the fact that Obama and Dems passed the America Recovery Act in the first 30 days of the Obama Administration.  Let's move on to what he rants about later in the radio cast, on how government can't do anything for you.  Seriously, his hypocrisy is just amazing!  Within a 5 minute time frame he complains that government is doing nothing, then he says that government can't do anything.  Which is it, Rush?  Seriously?

In addition, it seems that Rush has become the defacto leader of the Republican Party.  Neocons are fond of their authoritarian style leadership and it is glaringly apparent that Rush is the voice and sole leader of the party given the way some bow and scrape at his feet.  As Digby writes:

"But he is, as some of us have been pointing for years, the true leader of the Republican Party and we were told that he was a harmless, mainstream entertainer and we should all just lighten up, even as luminaries of the Republican party and the luminaries of the conservative movement bowed and scraped like abused streetwalkers at the feet of their violent pimp."

You have no idea how elated this makes me feel as a Democrat and a Liberal.  It is just so easy to blow his arguments out of the water and expose his hypocrisy.  Having a single bloviated intellectually vacuuous target makes our job all the more easier.  You're doing a heckuva job Rushie!!!

ROFLMFAO!!!!!

UPDATE:

And here it is...I bring you the beginning of the implosion of the Republican Party.  They turn on Michael Steele.

It is a sad and pathetic day when the party of Lincoln turns on its first black Chairman.

UPDATE AGAIN:

The Rushbo Strategy

It turns out that the high paid consultants of the Democratic Party finally earn their keep and Rushbo's narcissism takes the bait and Republican congressional leaders fall right into the trap.

And I just donated to his campaign the other day.

99% Dennis Kucinich
96% Mike Gravel
81% John Edwards
79% Joe Biden
78% Chris Dodd
77% Barack Obama
74% Hillary Clinton
71% Bill Richardson
27% Rudy Giuliani
25% Ron Paul
18% John McCain
13% Mike Huckabee
12% Mitt Romney
9% Tom Tancredo
4% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

If Edwards wins, I will be ecstatic.
If Obama wins, I will be very happy and supportive.
If Hillary wins, I will very disappointed but begrudgingly supportive.

Wounded Soldiers from Iraq asked to pay back signing bonuses???

Can someone please tell me WTF is wrong with this picture?!?!?!?!?

The United Nations overwhelmingly approves Bill of Rights for Indigenous People around the world.  Four Nations voted against it;  U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.  Four nations who have consistently shown hostility towards indigenous peoples for centuries.

I think about the strength of people like Aung San Suu Kyi and the Buddhist Monks protesting in Burma, then I look at my little problems and my little life and I am in awe of them.  They face overwhelming hostility from a military junta that took over the country in 1962.  And when I think of all the other people in the world who face oppression from war, dictatorships, corporatism, and just plain hatred, I feel so small and insignificant in my comfortable middle class life.  There are people in the world who put their lives on the line for justice and freedom and peace.

These individuals do not consider who they struggle with "the enemy".  They see that the enemy is ignorance, hatred, hostility, and greed.  It is the actions people take and their misunderstanding of the world around them that is the enemy.

So, the thought to ponder for today is to try a paradigm shift.  If you have someone in your life that you consider "enemy", for a moment, shift that perspective and do not think of the individual as the enemy.  What is the actual source for the hostility?  Compare that with the great injustices in this world.  How does it rate in comparison to our comfortable lives?  Do we even truly know what it means to struggle against hostility and oppression?

Today, I feel small. 


UPDATE:  I forgot to add that I heard a part of an interview last night with Studs Terkel and Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!  She played a clip of Studs interviewing Mahalia Jackson who said, "I don't want to hate, I want to love."  That is what has inspired today's post.  Can we learn to love our enemies? 

UPDATE 2:  Just ran across this article:  Who is our enemy in Iraq?

This is a great perspective blog post on what you can do about illegal wire-tapping. We have to keep it from being institutionalized, so that the next Emperor doesn't think the American people are going to let him get away with it.

Fuck Bush!

Today, President Bush delivered what was billed as a major address on Iraq. Instead, unfortunately, it was just more of the same "stay the course" rhetoric, moving us no closer to a resolution of the conflict.

We've all been waiting for many months for President Bush to come clean with the American people about the war in Iraq. But clearly, the President still fails to see and confront the truth:

1. President Bush refuses to acknowledge that the Iraq war has nothing to do with the 9/11 attack on our country by al Qaeda, and it has diverted us from our appropriate response to that attack which was to go into Afghanistan and hunt Osama bin Laden.

2. He refuses to acknowledge the fact that our long term presence in Iraq is fueling the very insurgency that he vows to end.

3. President Bush refuses to acknowledge that any mistakes were made and that this war was based on false pretenses.

4. He ignores the tremendous financial burden on our citizens, and he completely ignores the thousands of wounded that need to hear that they will not be forgotten and that they will receive the care they need.

5. President Bush even refuses to acknowledge that Iraqi government officials believe that we can withdraw within a two-year time frame, while continuing to demean those members of Congress who disagree with him.

Today President Bush squandered yet another opportunity to level with the American people and bring the country together around a unified effort to end the war in Iraq. Instead, the President used this speech to lash out in a very personal way against those who believe the best strategy for success is an accelerated training of Iraqi security forces and a drawdown of American troops, starting with the National Guard. Once we clearly state that we do not intend to stay in Iraq forever, the insurgency will be diminished and our brave men and women can begin to come home.

The President's failure to address the concerns of the American people and the Congress is a devastating blow to everyone who hoped to hear the President articulate a clear mission and a projection of when our troops can return home.

With American confidence in his handling of the war in Iraq at an all-time low, when will President Bush get the message? It's up to us to keep standing up and speaking out until he does.

In Friendship,

Barbara Boxer

I often take wisdom where ever I can find it. In this case, an idea came to me from that best of SciFi shows, "Battlestar Galactica".

It has occurred to me why Progressives are losing these kinds of battles and how we need to start winning them. Babies. We need to start making babies. If we are to survive as a species, we need more babies. The Cylons...er conservatives are taking over the world.

Of course, this goes against every principle Progressives stand for. Progressive people tend to have fewer children if at all. This is primarily because we educate ourselves about birth control and reproductive freedom. We are more concientious about population control and managing our natural resources. For the most part, children tend to follow in the same political footsteps as their parents. There are always exceptions, but point out to me one person you know whose parents are progressive and their children are neo-cons.

Neo-cons want to abolish abortion. They have clinics and "counselors" who talk young women out of having abortions. They refuse to teach responsible birth control and insist on abstinence. They stick their heads in the sand about our environment, so they have no qualms about over-taxing our natural resources with more children. They are fruitful and produce children who, for the most part, think like they do.

It is more likely that neo-con children will become Progressive than the other way around but that is an uphill battle. We have to spend a lot of effort convincing them that what their parents taught them is wrong. If you have ever argued with one of them, you know how stressful it can be. It can be very draining. Whereas making babies is fun. We all love to practice at it. We all enjoy doing it. Let's just do it a little more. Let's throw caution to the wind. We need to expand our population. The Democratic Party can start a new Patriotic Baby Making Campaign. We can give new meaning to the term Blue Baby. Save our country. Have more sex.

In the end, it's a numbers game, folks. If we are going to win at the polls, we need to start having more children. We need to teach these children to vote Progressive and think Progressive. Or, you can do like I did; I married a conservative, had his baby and then divorced him. That basically trumps his vote. He doesn't plan on having any more children. I not only have replaced my Progressive vote, I have taken out any potential conservative votes in the future. It is the least I can do for my country.

You may commence with the flogging.

And I don't mean that figuratively, I mean that literally. My voting experience yesterday:

( Read more... )

I received a message from MoveOn.org two days ago asking me to sign a petition to be submitted to the Senate speaking out against the nomination of the right wing activist Judge Samual Alito to the Supreme Court. MoveOn.org's goal was to get 250,000 signatures on their petition.

I have been pretty busy, so I didn't take the time to sign the petition. I figured when I had time later, I would take the time to find out more about Alito and then make my decision. After looking at his record and finding out what kind of a Justice he has been on the 3rd Circuit, I decided that this was NOT a good nomination in terms of the gains made in civil, labor, human, and reproductive rights. So today, when I check my email, I get another email from MoveOn.org saying this:

"On Monday, President Bush buckled under pressure from the radical right and nominated the extreme right wing Judge Samuel Alito. MoveOn members leapt into action, blowing away our original goal and gathering more than 350,000 signatures in just over 24 hours—a new MoveOn record."

This time they are upping the ante. The email continued saying:

"Yesterday more than 350,000 Americans signed the petition to stop Alito. Now we're shooting for half million signatures by tomorrow, so we can publish the total in the newspaper that Congress reads. Can you help us get there?"

The reasoning behind the big push for tomorrow is:

"Tomorrow's an especially important deadline, because the so-called "Gang of 14"—a group of centrist Senators from both parties—will be meeting to discuss the possibility of a filibuster, and whether or not they'll honor their agreement to keep the "nuclear option" off the table.2 We need to make sure those Senators, and all of Congress, understand that the public is fully engaged and prepared to defend our basic rights."

So, I thought, damn, I better get over there and sign the petition. When I signed the petition, there were over 420K signatures already. Less than an hour later, I have just checked the website. There are now over 430K signatures. Sick and tired of Conservatives telling you how to live your life? Want to be a part of history? Sign the petition NOW and stop this travesty:

http://political.moveon.org/stopalito/

If you want to know who Alito is and what he is about, I recommend you Google or go to Wikipedia. Find out for yourself, like I did. I'm not going to tell you what he is. I am most confident that when you find out what kind of judge Samuel Alito has been, you will sign the petition, too. The media is saying that the far right is cooing and happy over this nomination as if they spoke for all Americans. Let's show the Senate that the Right Wing Conservative Movement does NOT represent Americans. It is a fringe political movement that used lies and deception to win elections and take us into a war with more lies. Let's show our Senators that we want a moderate voice on the SCOTUS that follows in the footsteps of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Even your average everyday Conservative can appreciate the idea of maintaining the status quo and having an ideaologically balanced Supreme Court. Encourage everyone to sign this petition. I thank you for your time!

-- Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, indicted by grand jury on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in CIA leak probe.

Okay, now who is going to be indicted for outing a CIA operative? I hope it's Karl "The Brain" Rove. He deserves this. It's got his tactics written all over it.

A while back I posted this about the current construction on Toll Roads in San Antonio. Actually, they are not constructing anything new except toll booths on an already existing highway that tax payers have paid for, which amounts to double taxation.

What you don't know is that the future of this toll road is also tied to the future of San Antonio. Proposition 1 would allow the state the funding it needed to update railway systems and allocate funding for improvement and relocation. This is money that Rick Perry wants to use to create his super highway that will gobble up family farms using immenent domain. Unfortunately, this same funding is desperately needed to repair and possibly move freight rail systems that run just south of downtown San Antonio.

Let me try and impress upon you how important this is to me. First, Proposition 1 is supported by Ruth Jones McClendon. Mrs. McClendon, as I remember her, was my 7th grade honors English teacher at Page Middle School in San Antonio. Mrs. McClendon represents the district that I grew up in and that my mother still lives in. My mother lives 2 miles south of downtown San Antonio. This is the home I grew up in. This is the home my mother has lived for the past 30 years. This is the home that she is not financially able to sell and move from, nor does she want to. The railway in question is only 1 mile south of downtown San Antonio. This railway goes right behind my highschool. It also goes right in front of the original Lone Star Brewery, a Texas monument. I remember going to sleep at night with the sound of the train in the distance. I remember crossing these tracks everyday walking home from school when I was in high school. The railroad tracks are in desperate need of repairs, or at best relocation. Many children have died skipping school and trying to hop the trains.

I tell you these things to give you an idea how close this is to me and to try to put a human face to a potential tragedy.

If a train were to derail in this area and it contained chemicals, and chemicals were spilt, as has happened in the past in other areas, it would be devastating to San Antonio. It would be catastrophic. The casualties would be in the thousands. Imagine if it happened during Fiesta; during one of the many well attended night parades, or NIOSA. The casualties could reach the tens of thousands. It is another New Orleans type disaster waiting to happen, for it is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when".

So, it is for the greater good that monies be allocated to this activity. I am asking that you please support Prop 1 so that lives can be saved. Thank you.

We are in the home stretch for Plamegate

Fitzgerald has requested indictments of the Federal Grand Jury for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Karl "The Brain" Rove for perjury and obstruction of justice. In addition Fitzgerald is also asking for a second indictment for "Scooter" Libby for knowingly outing a CIA operative. More at The Raw Story.

Have you ever heard of gangsters called "Scooter" or "The Brain"? *shakes head* The Republican version of "The Godfather"! I would say that Cheney is The Godfather, so does that make Bush, Fredo or Sonny?

UPDATE: The Raw Story link posted is only speculation at this moment based on anonymous sources close to the investigation. So, this is all unknown and everyone is on pens and needles, but it is the best we have to chew on for the moment.

The news of the stupidity of our illustrious GOP leaders spreads:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3413565

When are people going to realize that Republicans are not fit to govern? They are such idiots. Got this off the wire:

( Texas Marriage Amendment Proposal could Annul ALL Marriages in Texas )

A Liberal with a Gun

The message is that the Libs aren't going to take it anymore. I appreciate his sentiment. I really don't like guns myself, but....if things keep going the way they are going???

I think I'm going to have my friend take me to the shooting range sometime and show me how to use the .22 he loaned me. If the Conservatives are going to be handing out "Liberal Hunting Licenses", like Mykeru says, "Liberal hunting? In their whining Charlton Heston fucking right wing dreams. One thing that the insular, consequence-free right wing mindset is good at is shooting at people provided, that is, that people aren't shooting back."

The bad news: Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) was charged with DUI Friday night while attending homecoming weekend at the University of South Dakota, his alma mater.

Brady, 50, was pulled over by a state trooper for a problem with his taillights; results of his blood-alcohol test are pending. If convicted, he faces a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. "I take full responsibility for my actions, and I am glad law enforcement is doing their job," Brady said in a statement yesterday.

The good news: The South Dakota Coyotes beat Minnesota State, Mankato, 35-14.

This Just in...

This is how your Republican Congress is behaving. They propose a bill before Congress and only give Congress one day to review it and put it up for a vote. What is the Bill? It subsidizes oil companies to build more oil refining capacity. Why is that such a bad thing? Because these same oil companies are making record profits at the gas pumps, and now they are going to get more of our tax dollars, too.

Okay, we can debate that the oil companies would not build more refineries without incentives and you might win that argument. My option would be to force them to build refineries, but that wouldn't be democratic. We could impose a "windfall tax" by imposing price restrictions which would be a better option and more in the interest of the people. Then, they would be forced to build more refineries in order to increase supply and therefore their profit margin. That would be democratic and the will of the people even though it would not be capitalist, but who says we are a capitalist country? Who says we have to be a capitalist country? There is NOTHING in the Constitution of the US that states we HAVE TO BE a purely Capitalist country. What is important is acting in the interest of the people and NOT corporations run by the few elite.

Republicans were going to lose the congressional vote on this bill by three and therefore held up the vote beyond the time expired in order to "convince" *strong-arm* three junior Republican Representatives to change their votes. When everyone had already voted, the Speaker held up the vote in order to give time for those three votes to be changed, therefore bypassing parliamentary procedures adopted by Congress (Roberts Rules of Order) in order to get the desired outcome. The Dems were outraged and rightly so. One asked if we are living in a Banana Republic. I wonder:

http://streaming.americanprogress.org/ThinkProgress/2005/energy_vote.320.240.mov.html

Not to mention that we probably wouldn't be in such an oil crisis if we had not invaded Iraq, and if we didn't have a President who enjoys holding the hand of the patriarch of the Saud family.

UPDATE: The Bill also reduces EPA restrictions on Coal Burning Power plants. Now, what does any of this have to do with reducing gas prices and conserving energy?

Who says your voice does not make a difference?

I was talking to a co-worker yesterday with liberal leanings and he felt so extremely depressed. He feels that everyday, things get worse and worse and has decided to stop watching CNN.

This morning, as I felt the first full cold-front of Fall blow through Texas, I heard something else on the wind. A voice I have been seeking to hear for many moons these past 5 years. It said, "The tide is turning." We have now passed the apex of the swing to the right and the pendulum is beginning to make it's journey left again. The Hegelian Dialectic works its magic on the collective Geist of our Nation and those who were "conservatives" last night, awake to find that they are "moderates" this morning. Those who were "moderates" last night, awake to find they are "liberals" this morning, just as in the 80's "moderates" discovered they were "conservative Reagan Democrats". And sometimes, if you go far enough left and far enough right, you meet in the middle.

In the end, no matter what label you wear, we are all human (even Ann Coulter). It is my hope that we all discover this soon and start to treat each other more kindly, yet... I remember a time in the 80's when the "Conservative Movement" began to gain steam and invective talk radio became popular with the likes of Rush Limbaugh. I heard time and time again from the Right that Liberals on the Left were "pussies" and "whiney babies" and "commies". We were accused of advocating things in the extreme of what we were really advocating. The media twist and spin had begun to tear down the long standing image of Jeffersonian Liberalism in the American psyche.

Then, one day, a "sleeping giant" awoke. The Liberal Movement took over the blogosphere. We formed grass roots movements that took real action on those issues that Liberals value. We woke up and found out that we were strong and the Right found out, that we are in fact not "pussies".

Now, all we hear is their whining about how unfair we are treating them, when we expose their lies.

But, those pundits and political vultures are only peripheral to the real dynamic that is occurring in our country. It is a battle for the hearts and minds of the people. The "Geist" of our times. Unfortunately, they are static and noise in the way of what is really important, and they must either be faced or ignored. It their lies are left unchecked, people begin to believe them, so they must be faced and challenged. That is also at the heart of Jeffersonian Liberalism. I am proud to be a Liberal, today and always. One day, I will sing in my worst Reba impersonation, "I was liberal, when liberal wasn't keeeewwwl!"

In the meantime, for those who are beginning to despair, I bring to you the real fruits of your labors. The battles won. We are nowhere near winning the war. The war will go on indefinitely, back and forth throughout the ages. Possibly, Hegel's vision will come to fruition one day and the battle will finally end when we realize the existential nature of the universe and live in the "eternal now". But, in the end, the nihilists will site the cruelties of history to hold us back, and somehow I believe we will have to come to terms with our sins as a species before we can reach that state. And the Left and the Right will continue to battle. The Existentalist and the Nihilist. The Optimist and Pessimist. Those who believe humans are innately good and those who believe humans are innately evil.

Now, your little victories:

FEMA to Hold Re-bid on Katrina Contracts

Vote 90-9: Senate Supports Interrogation Limits

When it looks like things will never change, it is nice to look back and see where you have won. What did you win? Your voice was heard and change took place (the foundation of Liberalism). Listen to the voice on the wind and know that "the times, they are a changin'".

A couple of days ago, MoveOn.org requested of it's members to do some research on Harriet Miers because she is a big unknown. This is what was uncovered:

What is clear is the deep personal and professional connection shared by Harriet Miers and George W. Bush. Here's what some members have uncovered about their long relationship:

When Miers was Bush's appointee to head the Texas State Lottery Commission, the lottery was accused by a former director of awarding multi-million dollar no-bid contracts to a technology firm represented by former Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes. Barnes has since said he helped Bush escape active duty in Vietnam, and the lottery director alleged that Barnes demanded, (and under Miers received) the lucrative public contracts to keep quiet about Bush's military service.

"Texas Speaker Reportedly Helped Bush Get Into Guard" The Washington Post, 9/21/99
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=956

As Governor, Bush signed a law blocking Texas consumers from collecting a $6 billion dollar judgment against car dealers for predatory lending and keeping secret kickbacks. The law firm Miers headed represented the auto dealers.

"What's the deal with Harriet Miers?" The Village Voice, 10/03/05
http://villagevoice.com/news/0540,webmondo3,68426,2.html

Miers was hired as legal counsel on both Bush's gubanatorial campaigns. Among other things, her research was used to persuade a local judge to excuse then Governor Bush from jury duty, a civic task that would have forced him to disclose his 1976 arrest for drunken driving in Maine. He was then able to keep his arrest secret until late in the 2000 presidential campaign.

"Miers ties to Bush include personal lawyer" Associated Press, 10/03/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9577329/

Miers's personal friendship and allegiance to Bush has been cited for years in connection with her promotions, including to her highest post of White House Counsel.

"Bush promotes Miers from staff to Counsel" The Washington Post 11/18/04
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=957

Cronyism is assured, but there is something more insidious about this appointment. The deep and long connections to Bush ensure that if she becomes a Supreme Court Justice, Bush and his ilk will be pulling her strings for years to come. This isn't about 4 more years. It is about decades. And it isn't about someone with an ideaology similar to Bush, because that can change, as in the case of Justice Souter (I could be mistaken on this one.) It is about someone who will be answering directly to Bush long after his term is over. It is about backroom phone calls and not about the law.

At first, I thought this was something to blow off, but I realize now that it is more dangerous than 4 years of Bush. This woman will not be persuaded by argument, because she won't be making the decisions. Someone will be making them for her. This makes her more dangerous than anything Bush has ever done. Bush is a cancer on America and he has infected our government beyond a cure.

I must give full credit for this to Darrell Rose, a converted Conservative. After years of batting back and forth, this is now his view of America:

I pledge allegience
to the flag
Of the Empire of America
And to the Corporations
For which it stands.
One Nation, under Jesus
with liberty and profits
for the elite.

My country tis of thee, sweet land of private property, of thee I sing.
Land where my Presidents lied. Land of corporate free ride.
From every highway side, let profit cha-ching!
(c) Darrell Rose, 2005

(Note: Permission to redistribute has not been provided.)