Historical Hysterics and The Rest Of The Best Of 2008

Kinda pleased to have the Obama presidential win as  the most important thing that happened in the world this past year. With the collapsing economy trying to steal his limelight, his historic election still tops my list of historical hysterics we watched in 2008. I had a good friend “break up” with me, in an e-mail no less, because of my views about McCain and the atrocious way his votes treat the troops who are fighting for what they believe is our freedom. Although I cast my vote for the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney it pleased me to see how the country was so hungry for some kind of change they voted in our first black president. Hopefully he tries to keep his promise of change even if he is surrounding himself with the good ol’ backroom boys of our capitol.

(The new bosses just before they came onstage in Chicago Nov. 4, 2008)

The Who “Wont Get Fooled Again”

The destruction of the American economy by the backroom boys (yes…if there are any women who helped shape the policies that caused this disaster I still call each of them a backroom boy as well.) comes up in second place as the most newsmaking story this year. Thousands lost their homes and jobs this year so the C.E.O.’s could take home billions in bonuses.

The only upside to folks losing their homes, jobs being cut, the collapse and bailouts etc. is they came just before the elections. John McClone and the You Betcha Babe were gaining on the “nigra boy” but his cronies part in the economic doom tainted the vote and even the hardcore racists had to look closer at promised “change”.  (The racism in that statement came from a conversation with my mom who called Obama that all the time. Now she is forced to say “Our President”.)

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq still raged on. March saw the number of troops killed in Iraq reach the 4000 mark and the election news smothered the outrage that I thought would have had the American people marching in the streets demanding the end of this atrocity based on lies and deceit.  During this time the press kept us appeased with the ridiculous crap from the primary trail. President Bushit said all of the things the war machine wanted to hear and so did the candidates. Alien Trucker even posted a Pink song on this blog. The only Pink song I have ever thought listenable. It carries such a message I am going to repost it here and hope Mr. Obama listens to it as well, and considers taking that walk with Pink…or any regular world citizen…every day.

Hurricane Gustav visited the Gulf Coast in September and found many many homes and businesses there still bearing the “blue roof”. You know…the big tarps that were put there after Katrina 3 years ago to keep residents dry while waiting on FEMA or the insurance money to come through so they can be repaired. Funds that were supposed to go there have been diverted many times over and still the destruction has no fix. Even the beautiful Sanger Theater in New Orleans, the site of many a great song played for us, is still un-renovated because the people need housing worse than the entertainment that plays, dance or Government Mule can offer.

(Filmed at the Sanger)

Unemployment and homeless rates rose higher than they have in decades. Businesses and factories around the nation have cut back production or closed completely. Folks have taken to robbing or begging just to get by. More than one have robbed someone or asked to take a shift at the Cumberland Mine just to make a house payment.

The price of crude oil topped $100 a barrel and plummeted down again by mid-December. In the midst of financial hardship Americans paid the highest at the pump in our history and are now being thankful that prices are down again…to higher than they were five years ago.

California’s Proposition 8 won. WON!?!?? I believe it was a huge loss on the civil rights front as it shows that bigotry and prejudice is not a thing of the past. Backed by Big Religion the “moral” right fought civil rights again basing their hatred on Old Testament hatred. IT’S 2008 PEOPLE! Those laws handed down by “GAWD” are ancient and really have no part in today’s law making.

So as we make our way into 2009 and all of the marvels and wonder it brings I am not so sure we have loads to celebrate. I am looking forward to seeing the change the new administration brings. I do see that after a while of beans and rice I may be able to afford some chicken by the end of the year. Not everything is doom and dismay. Sometimes it just seems that way.

These are just a few of the important stories of the year. I really didn’t want to go into speculating how they would influence 2009 so I just stopped here.

I really hope it gets better.

Led Zepplin. “The Song Remains The Same”

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A bit about Activism

 

There is no time like the present – to be an active citizen for the good of the country. Here are some of the more obvious things you might consider doing:

• Vote if early voting is available in your state. Offer to take someone from your neighborhood or workplace with you to do the same.
• Go to your candidates’ websites and make your presence known there. Write a note of encouragement, make a donation, or fill out a poll form on issues of importance to you.
• Visit your party’s headquarters. Pick up some election souvenirs, or make a purchase.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Express your opinion in good form and it might get published.
• Switch channels on TV to avoid getting too exorcised by idiots. Guard your peace of mind during these tough times.
• Leave an encouraging comment at a blogsite whose author is feeling very “down and discouraged.” Think about doing that for some thoughtful Republican writer, with an eye to unity, bipartisanship and reconciliation. These are very difficult times for Republicans, after all. Be magnanimous if you can.

Continuing with this week’s tidbits on activism – First, thanks to the Internet, the truth gets out#. Count your blessings as an American for your Internet freedoms*. And count the days# (82) until Bush moves out of the White House. Remember that we will soon be free of campaign advertising. It is likely, however, that we will not be free of endless news about the sad state of Republican affairs. That will continue. Please note that most Americans are good and principled people*, and that we still have our senses of humor#. It is heartwarming, also that all rich men are not greedy, including T. Boone Pickins and Warren Buffett. Anyone have any good ideas for more things activists can do this week?

Bonus reads:

1. Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria’s great article, “Obama For President#“
2. Bill Moyers Journal,”Media Consolidation: A primer on making your opinion heard“
3. “10 Tips for Conserving Energy This Winter,” from EcoLocalizer.
4. “The ‘Noosphere’ – Teilhard de Chardin’s vision for the Internet,” by John R. Mabry
5. From Decloned, “Sunday Salon: Creativity in reading“

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

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old spice goes on hiatus

do candidates usually go mia during campaigns?  well, pow maverick john mccain sure does!  you betcha!  first, he allegedly suspended the whole campaign.  now, mccain is retreating back to his ranch in sedona, arizona after raising ‘the white flag of surrender’ in michigan.  allegedly, to prepare for tuesday’s debate.  since it worked so well for bible spice, i guess old spice decided to give it a go.  according to rasmussen today, obama is currently leading in the polls 51% to 45%.  the vp polls are supposed to be released later today.

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Where you stand –

Just what is the right political path? Democrats have a rocky road ahead of them. But they are on the right track, in my opinion. Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware), speaking yesterday to the big crowd around the court house in Springfield, and to his television audience, began by hearkening back to Abraham Lincoln. To quote from the transcript of Biden’s Remarks in Springfield (Ht to Liberal OC):

Well, it’s great to be here! On the steps of the old State House in the land of Lincoln. President Lincoln once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place. Then stand firm. Today, Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place. And I am proud to stand firm for the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

“American Prayer” was prescient. This is a song written by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. It was recently featured in a post by “Moonbat” at The Mahablog. The “video and lyrics” post contained a few lines that have a clear connection to the upcoming election about which Biden spoke. To quote:

And what you see depends on where you stand
And how you jump will tell you where you’re gonna land
**********
Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses
You know they’re yearning to breathe free
**********
If you get to the top of the mountain
Remember me

On the economy is the place for Democrats to make a stand — It seems to me that Senator Biden was asking, in a way, that we all heed Abraham Lincoln’s admonition to “put your feet in the right place.” The current public opinion polls show that there is no agreement about which of the two nominees are standing in the right place. Obama (at 44.6%) and McCain (at 43.2%) are “neck and neck,” in horse race terms, according to Pollster.com (8/21/08). And picking Senator Biden was not an instant hit, according to Memeorandum’s Rasmussen poll story. However, Americans may have an even harder time picking Senator McCain for president, according to Steve Benen’s story, “THE DREADED SEPTUAGENARIAN ISSUE…,” posted at his new hangout, The Washington Monthly.

Where I stand – Just because I am a retired social worker does not mean that I can ignore social problems, in our own nation and abroad. A nation is measured by how well it protects its vulnerable people. It is not protecting Americans to focus only on military adventurism and terrorist surveillance efforts that threaten civil liberties. That is of little comfort if we are not making it economically. It is no exaggeration to say that I believe Senator Biden will stand for “the least among us” in ways that would make Lincoln proud.

References:

• Senator Barack Obama’s Springfield remarks, “as prepared for delivery,” from The Washington Note.
• Best laugh line of the day from Think Progress — Biden: McCain has to ‘figure out which of the 7 kitchen tables to sit at.’
• “5 Things Biden Pick says about Obama,” by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen at Politico.com
• Biden got Obama call during root canal — Memeorandum

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics democrats biden obama 2008 election vice-president u.s. economy

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Electoral politics in Texas

Texas Elections Explained (again) — With 32 U.S. representatives and 2 U.S. senators, the total of 34 electors makes Texas the second largest electoral vote state (California first) in the nation. Texas is the only state that holds a primary that is a combination of precinct elections, followed by caucuses after the polls close. I voted and then attended my caucus. Senator Barack Obama was my pick. For those who do not understand, try Texas Demystified! Delegate Allocation and Caucus Process Flow Chart, via TXSharon. Also, this from the Texas Observer includes great graphs that show how many Republicans voted in the Texas Democratic primary: “Poll “Positions: How McCain Supporters Skewed the Democratic Primary Results” byLeland Beatty | May 30, 2008 | . To quote:

In the aftermath of the Democrats’ huge primary . . . speculation about whether the results had been tainted by Republicans encouraged by Rush Limbaugh to vote in the Democratic primary for the candidate they hoped would be weakest in the general election.

. . . First-time primary voters and crossover Republicans (those who had previously voted with the GOP) surveyed by the Observer between May 8 and May 19 preferred Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton by small margins. But John McCain also claimed a significant share, and about one of seven remained undecided.

McCain supporters, our poll revealed, made up 9.4 percent of the total vote in the Texas Democratic primary. Clinton’s margin of victory was only 3.5 percent. (The poll has a margin of error of 2.7 percent.) We can’t say that the McCain ringers in the Democratic primary changed the outcome, because we don’t know for whom they actually voted in March. But it is clearly possible.

Texas Democratic Party Convention Covered – I did not go to the convention. So Texas Kaos is the site to find all the latest on the state party’s convention that took place this past weekend, even “Hillary’s Concession Speech,” for those who missed it. For more extended coverage,(6/7/08) BlueBloggin’s “nytexan” has all the latest on “Ann Richards and Ladybird Johnson,” as well as a video that optimistically says Texas will be blue in November. It certainly cannot hurt to dream.
The general election in Texas is the next event – Isiah Carey’s (5/29/08) Insight headlines that “Baseline poll says McCain sixteen points ahead in Texas . . . When matched up with Obama McCain leads 52-36.” DANGER DEMOCRAT, in “By the Numbers” (5/29/08) says,

. . . Jeremy Barlow used a recent Rasmussen poll . . . Unexpected Close Races: Texas 49 to 43 McCain over Clinton 34 Electoral Votes. Senator Clinton loses a point as compared with Senator Obama v. McCain in Texas, but Texas is still a close race at only 6 points.

Texas Republican running mate? There is considerable talk about the value of McCain choosing Texas Rep. Ron Paul as his Vice President. Conservative blogger Tony Phyrillas suggests (6/5/08) a John McCain-Ron Paul ticket would be a winner.

Senator Obama’s chances of winning Texas this fall are not good. But that does not mean we Texas Progressives will give up our fight. There is much about Senator McCain that is worrisome. Here is a small example. There will be more, of course. John McCain’s Texas friend, Phil Gramm is one of his five campaign co-chairs. A post by Cliff Schecter, June 3, 2008, for Firedoglake was titled, “McCain Advisor/Lobbyist pushed” the most macabre investment scheme[s] ever devised by Wall Street” known as “death bonds.” Quoting from his quote:

McCain’s campaign is already distancing itself from some of Gramm’s other work for UBS: his involvement in attempts to sell financial products known as “death bonds,” which BusinessWeek described last summer as one of “the most macabre investment scheme[s] ever devised by Wall Street.” Not long after joining UBS, the Houston Chronicle reported, Gramm helped lobby Texas officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, to sign on to a UBS proposal in which revenue would be generated for a state teachers’ retirement fund by selling bonds, whose proceeds would in turn be used to buy annuities and life-insurance policies on retired teachers. UBS would advance money to the retirement fund, then repay itself, compensate bondholders and pocket profits when insurance companies paid off on retirees who died.

References to other Texas connections:

• Hagee — Pastor distances self from McCain
• Former Texas congressman, lobbyist Tom Loeffler

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

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Presidential candidates switch seats this week.

The Democratic Party’s campaign has come to an ending and a beginning during the past few days. This momentous week that is now coming to a close. Saturday will mark the official end of Senator Hillary Clinton’s historic bid for the U.S. presidency. The presidential election will be contested from now until November by Senators Obama and McCain.

What do we know? We know an awful lot. A search on “obama” in my Bloglines aggregator returned 3,155,000 posts. Memeorandum.com leads with the best and most prominent current info about the changes with the Democratic campaign. The news that Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had a meeting somewhere in Washington, D.C. Thursday night was the most intriguing. The New York Times reported much of what is known about the event, headlining “Clinton meets with Obama, and the rest is secret.” To quote the story’s conclusion:

Finally, as Mr. Obama was headed back to Chicago on a private plane and Mrs. Clinton had returned to her home, another rarity took place. A joint statement was issued by representatives of the two senators, but sent out by Mr. Obama’s staff. Those words, perhaps, were the first cooperative undertaking since the presidential race began six seasons ago.

“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November,” the statement said.Mrs. Clinton’s farewell from the race comes Saturday. When she offers her endorsement, Mr. Obama said he intends to be in Chicago with his family. Unless, of course, he isn’t.

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Our Biased Media and the Election Process

Our Biased Media and the Election Process
By PraetorOne

“We can do The Innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it’s said and done we haven’t told you a thing
We all know that Crap is King
Give us dirty laundry!”

From Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry.”

Did anyone catch the last debate between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama? I did and the whole thing struck me as a farce. Is there anyone out there who doubts that Hilary had been informed about the nature of the questions ahead of time? That may sound preposterous but let’s remember that one of the panel members was George Stephanopolis, a butt-sniffing political hack with long standing ties to the Clinton Administration. And while I may be pushing the envelope I don;t think there’s any doubt that Hilary was handled with kid gloves on while Obama was treated like a victim of the Spanish Inquisition. By any standard, Hilary was treated with kid gloves on while Barack was treated like shit.

Even more revealing was the body language. Both Hilary and the moderators betrayed the same degree of smugness. Indeed there were times when I wanted to slap the smirks off of all their faces. Whenever Hilary received a question she just stood there with a knowing, arrogant grin on her face. Whenever she answered a question the degree of smug arrogance reached a new peak. It was almost as if she didn’t even need to think about the answers because she had already been coached. In sharp contrast, Obama seemed attentive. He was concentrating and trying to give the best answers possible. Indeed, the only time Hilary looked nervous and worried was when Obama responded to one of the more difficult questions–possibly because these were the only moments when she wasn’t in full control or hadn’t been coached ahead of time. There’s a huge difference between sticking to your prepackaged responses and worrying about what your opponent is going to do or say off script.

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