cause and effect

we have been bombarded from all sides lately- election crap, economy, corruption and erosion of civil liberties… the list goes on and on.  i have a sneaking suspicion that all of us just want the damned election to be over- the damned holidays to be over- and the damned depression to be over.  but we would still be left with a significant mess.  stop and think for a moment and sift through all of the senses that have just been overloaded- and what you are left with is a bigger problem than the economy or the election.  it’s us as a nation.

we, on the left, like to think that we are above the knuckle draggers on the right- the ones we continue to see played over and over on youtube.  but we aren’t.  we aren’t because we have closet knuckle draggers on our side.  the ones who blah, blah, blah about inclusion and sing kumbaya but then work to exclude people of color from actually participating.  i have heard that allegation many times from women of color and lgbt women regarding the feminist movement and it was complained about in the last few elections from ‘minority’ folks who felt ignored by the democratic party until election time.  not only that, but we have allowed the rabid right wing base to take over this country through our inactivity and lack of engagment for decades.  we treated our civic duties the way we treat our children- hands off and an accessory to our lives while we go to work in our suv and then to the all included cruise to the bahamas every year.  it’s up to someone else to deal with- and the rest of the world be damned.  yes, dems are as guilty as the rethugs.

i am always interested in points of view that aren’t american or are americans abroad observing.  ‘young americans abroad‘ expresses the arrogance that many talk about when describing americans in general- and the jingoistic nationalism at palin rallies just drives that home.  and palin seems to naturally gravitate towards that group- the nationalistic, white supremacists who tote guns and call themselves ‘middle class’- who don’t necessarily want women in positions of power but hey, it’s better than a black muslim arab terrorist guy, right?

we, on the left, played politics as usual for decades- we just sat by and grumbled and griped and waited it out until the next election.  something finally dawned on us though- there may not be anymore elections if we don’t get ourselves involved.  unfortunately, it came too late- because the legislation passed is almost impossible to overturn now- even if the folks who take over were of the mind to try.  and i doubt that they would be.  unbridled power is heady stuff.  so, like it or not, america is what we never wanted to believe or face- it is not the best and brightest; it is not the beacon of democracy or a shining example to the world; it is a wannabe empire that has no regard for non westerners and non whites and wants what it wants of the world’s resources and starving children in africa be damned!  and our only hope is that the world doesn’t stop being hospitable to life before the inmates stop running the asylum.  ’cause the inmates are us.  and the left is just as guilty as the right for buying into the ‘fighting terror over there so we don’t have to fight over here’ and ruin our middle class, suburban way of life.  and, just like john mccain- we have sown the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind.

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far removed

i am going offline tomorrow. i should have my computer up and running again by the middle of next week. my moving folks are coming tuesday but the cable guy is hooking things up at the new place tomorrow- so i will be here in the emptying apartment sans internets. and you know what? i am not sorry. i continue to be amazed and disgusted at the left’s capacity to embrace the tactics of the right. i never advocate rolling over and taking crap that other people dish out. if you can’t stand the heat, stay the fuck out of the kitchen. bloggers need a thick skin to withstand the sheer volume of ignorance and outright stupidity that’s out there. but you don’t have to resort to right wing tactics to succeed. to do so is classless, tasteless and just plain lazy.

i have blogged before on how very disillusioned i have been by the left wing being little different from the right wing. well, i think that the neo cons have gotten the last laugh because these days- the democratic party is sharing one brain cell amongst the millions of people who belong. i can’t say one single good thing that has come out of this ridiculous sham of a primary. not one. the democratic party is perhaps the lesser of two evils between the two party system- but by how much? dez was right in her speech when she said that we shouldn’t strategize and settle for this system. i am changing my party affiliation to nothing or independent depending on what new york lets me do because i can’t stand any of the political parties out there. they certainly don’t represent me.

this primary has been the nail in the coffin for me because of the bloggers. i expect low blows and dirty tactics from politicians- they are nothing more than corporate toadies with a penchant for power. i expected more from the people who changed the course of the 2006 election cycle. instead, i have been treated to censorship, name calling, smearing, lying, trolling and you name it. any of the right wing tactics we called out in 2006- well, the left wing bloggers rolled them out for this primary. as a whole, i am disgusted and i will not be a part of this anymore. there will be little to no change because you are simply changing the window dressing of the white house. the congress will be the same political hacks that always get elected and the justices remain no matter what. the corporates are simply relabeling everything eco friendly and green in order to continue to trick people into the mindless consuming- and the world is still experiencing ecosystemic collapses at an alarming rate. there has been an increase in greenhouse gases this year alone and we are sniping at each other over whose minister is the worst- or which candidate wears a goddamned lapel pin.

and yet, we, the people,- we, the democratic party,- bought right in. yep. we let clinton and her ilk manipulate us. we let obama and his ‘changeineers’ woo us with rhetoric. we have ignored the secret prisons and the multistate roundups and the continued erosion of our civil liberties because we bought into the distractions. and we committed the same infractions on our blogs. we discriminated and we censored and we bullied.

and we should be ashamed. deeply ashamed. because we were supposed to be better than this. we are supposed to be the party for the ‘little people’- and we are no better than the people who would rule us. and we won’t see that. and we should be ashamed of ourselves.

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The Reality Of The American Political Establishment?

While this video from The Onion, may be mildy humorous, we believe that a strong case could be made that this is the reality of the Bushliburton administration and the Republican controlled (through the early and middle years of the Bushliburton) Congress. What concerns us more, though, is that this well may be the reality of either a Democratic or Republican controlled Congress, under a Billary administration:

Send Hillary back to the Senate, and send Bill back to Chappaqua.

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march winds howl in

it’s a tad windy here today- not sure it’s great kite weather as it’s also rainy. and warm. there isn’t any doubt in my mind that there’s global climate change on a- well, global scale. i heard an interesting rumor that al gore was going to run for president as an independent candidate with michael bloomberg as his vp. i am not going to get my hopes up but i felt a bit of relief as i read those words. why? i don’t know. gore would have a tough time getting things cleaned up to- but at least he is familiar with the landscape and has public backing for policy change on environmental issues. we’ll see. i would definitely vote gore. bloomberg- gee i hope not. although, it could bridge some gaps and he isn’t a horrible rightwinger. we’ll see. i guess i wonder if it would shut the clintonistas and the obamalamas up for a while. i have never seen or heard such stupidity in my life. i don’t know what else to call it and is second to pelosi and reid in reasons i am changing my party affiliation to independent. instead of fighting the real enemy- this party is eating its own. stupid and shortsighted- and the reason that the right wing always makes a comeback. i can’t in good conscience be a part of that- and i send them back their beggings for money with a note- ‘no impeachment = no money.’ perhaps someday an actual person will read it.

in the meantime, i am researching fair trade coffees and teas and where folks can buy them because i had no idea (but why it should surprise me is beyond me) that coffee and tea plantations were outside sweatshops. not that most americans give a damn- but i do. if i am going to buy something, i don’t want my enjoyment to cause suffering to another living being. if i have the choice between sweatshop and fair trade, i will pay the few extra cents. and that’s my two cents for now.

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Now That’s Just Nasty

Is there anybody this Ho won’t schlep with? I don’t know about you, but when somebody has it in for my family, does everything in their considerable power to destroy everything we’ve worked to achieve, does it publically and does it dirty, I would NOT be pals. I would not forget, and I damn sure wouldn’t pander.

Of course, I’m not Hillary Clinton. The picture is priceless.

That’s Richard Mellon Scaife! Yesterday! Jeebus, I need a shower after looking at that. For those with short memories, Scaife was THE MAN orchestrating the Clinton attacks. From Salon, 4/7/1998:

The man whom Time magazine, in its latest issue, calls “the ultimate patron” of the Clinton haters has been identified by Salon and the New York Observer as a key funder of the $2.4 million Arkansas Project, a four-year effort organized through the American Spectator magazine to discredit the president. Scaife foundation money, as Salon has reported, has also allegedly been used to pay key Whitewater witness David Hale and to help bankroll Paula Jones’ sexual harassment case against Clinton. – Salon

Read more

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