Scorpion can't swim and wants to cross the river. Asks the fox to take him on his back because the fox CAN swim. Fox says "but you'll sting me. You're a scorpion after all!" Scorpion says "what? That means I'd drown, too. What good would that do?" Fox accepts Scorpion's reasoning and proceeds. Halfway across the river, yep, Scorpion stings Fox. As they both go down for the last time, Fox asks the Scorpion - "WHY?????" Scorpion replies with a shrug - "'cause I'm a scorpion. That's what I do!"

has the added benefit of being true.

Anarchists should NOT be ruling the day!!! I'm sorry, but anarchists DON'T deserve a seat at the table. Any more than a dug-in terrorist bomber would deserve it. Because they don't come to negotiate or give-and-take or talk things over. They come only to blow things up and destroy and ransack and pillage and burn. People who don't believe in government have NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER being in government in ANY way - since all they want to do is DO AWAY WITH that government.

Glad you're here! GOBAMA!!!!!! This is GREAT!!! All those uninsured families - they now have a chance!!!

We're finally emerging from the Dark Ages, into the family of nations! No longer the ONLY industrialized nation on earth that doesn't believe in helping its people! And we can get accomplishments like this here in California because we're a BLUE state, we have a Democratic governor, and we have a super-majority in the state legislature - not enough of the obstructionist bad guys to be able to do ANY damage!!! Which is how it should be!

GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to call Joe Manchin's office to tell him to stay strong with the Dems.

I was on hold for awhile before the switchboard operator picked up. She transferred me. I got a recording that said Manchin's office was closed because of the government shutdown and they couldn't respond, but if you left a brief message they could at least take that. So I did.

They NEED to hear from us, guys!!! They need calcium supplement for their new spines - and tons of it!!! Remember: the bad guys won't be letting up at all. You think the teabaggers are sitting quietly now, and behaving themselves, and not trying to butt in and drown you out and monopolize the message?

But it's actually more extreme than that. More like letting the pre-schoolers determine your entire curriculum - from K-8.

Glad you're here! It's EXTREMELY and PROFOUNDLY well-deserved! And we have to work hard and long to KEEP it that way! Don't ever forget the machinery the bad guys have at their fingertips to turn the tide. They have ALL the hate radio from coast-to-coast (AND limbaugh on Armed Forces Radio around the globe), they have an entire 24-hour/seven-day-a week cable network that doesn't EVER break for prison documentaries throughout the night and all weekend, they have koch brothers money and US Chamber of Commerce money and shel adelson money and donald trump money and NRA money and kkkarl rove American Crossroads money and MEGATONS of financial and media TNT on their side to help reverse any trend they don't like.

We can NEVER let up. We can NEVER lull ourselves into thinking we've won this. The bad guys are always gonna be there trying to make a comeback. So we can NEVER let our guard down!!!

Now that we have the advantage, we have to go ALL OUT to make sure we keep it!!!! Please note the TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard numbers in my sig line. Please also consider your Congresscritter's REGIONAL offices, where you might find it easier to get through. PUSH THE MESSAGING!!!

If they think you don't care, they won't either!!! They'll go with the teabaggers - who do not hesitate to let them know THEY care!

SPREAD THAT MEME!!!!

The messaging is OURS this time! Let's work it!!! We can't afford to sit back and relax now! Now is when we have to help drive this stake into the heart of the teavampires, and then GLUE it in place. With Superglue and fast-drying cement! And then bolt it in like a house being bolted to the foundation in earthquake country. And then surround it with 24/7 armed guards.

We have the advantage. We need to use it and secure it!

Don't EVER forget what Mad-Eye Moody always warned Harry Potter: "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!!!!" The only times we've ever lost (and unfortunately there have been many) are when we think we've just won and our side rolls over and goes back to sleep.

AND, couple that with the "USA Today's" "The Shutdown Party"!!!!!!!

The press is on OUR side! The memes are on OUR side! The FRAMING is on OUR side! The IMAGING is on OUR side! The MESSAGING!!! The MESSAGING is on OUR side!!!!!! WE've got this!

But even more important is that we KEEP this!

When Robert Gibbs goes on TV and says the White House just should sit back and watch. WRONG!!!!!! Now that we're winning the narrative, we have to KEEP AT IT!!!

Underscore it!

Reinforce it!

Buttress it!

Support it!

Sustain it!

Secure it!

Keep it standing strong!

Don't let this erode!

Do NOT blink!

DO NOT CAVE!!!!!!!!!!

Now that we have the advantage, the last thing we can afford to do is sit back and enjoy our "victory"! 'Cause we don't HAVE a "victory" yet!!!!!!! This is still a battle being fought - at present! In the here and now! But so far, the bad guys ARE down. What we have to do is KEEP them down. Now that they're on the floor, we need our jackbooted-feet on their throats.

Remember - these are not people. These are scorpions wanting a free ride on our backs across the river. And what should you always remember that scorpions inevitably do? Do they ever act nice and concede, or is it their nature to sting you into full paralysis and death?

The more we help further the messaging - "hostage-taking," "extortion," terminology like that - needs to be Said, Read, and SPREAD!!!!

REINFORCEMENT!!! AT EVERY TURN!!!! This time, the messaging is in OUR favor, and it's helping to cement into the national mindset the imaging we want!!! Which, also, has the added benefit of being TRUE.