March 3, 2014

Fellow Putinists, check in here.

Comrades:

Apparently, around these parts, not agreeing that Putin=Hitler makes one a Putinist. If so, I'm guilty.

I think that Putin is a bad actor.

I think that Russia's military incursion into Ukraine is wrong.

I think that non-military steps should be taken against Russia - just like what (Soviet puppet?) Eisenhower did in 1956 when tens of thousands of Russian troops invaded a restive Hungary and killed thousands.

But I don't think this is Europe in 1938. Or 1933. So I, Manny, am a Putinist.

Any other fellow Putinists out there? Or am I alone in my disgrace?

Regards,

Comrade Manny

March 3, 2014

Hey Republicans: know what Eisenhower would have done in Ukraine?

Probably the same thing that he did in 1956 when tens of thousands of Soviet troops invaded Hungary to quash an uprising, killing thousands: Ike offered some fine words of encouragement, wished the Hungarians luck, and said it would be nuts to risk a war over it by taking military action.

I think we can safely say that General Eisenhower was one of the baddest bad asses of all time (although compared to our current president he was a screaming, flaming, mind-blowing Liberal). But Ike knew when the price of war was higher than its return.

So to the Republican crazies who want to go to war with Russia: grab a side arm and go yourself. Good luck. Just don't drag us sane and decent people into your lunatic blood fantasies.

March 3, 2014

Attention good friends!

Пожалуйста! Укажите по вашим постам ниже вашего поддержке группы Владимира Путина, чтобы быть возбуждено по демократическим метро! Мы будем иметь возможность размещать наши многие очаровательные фотографии в этой группе.

С уважением,

товарищ Мэнни

March 2, 2014

Stupid question, I know: Why shouldn't Ukraine split in two?

The left side becomes part of the European bloc, the right part of the Russian bloc. It makes sense in terms of what the different parts of the country desire, I think.

There used to be a Czechoslovakia...

March 1, 2014

"Most men... are certainly complicit in Rape Culture"

So lovely to wake up to that on DU.

March 1, 2014

Thanks, sort of. One of the three most appalling things I've ever seen:

This thread from last night: Which is better?, along with Stiv Bator puking in his pants then rolling around in it on stage, and... I can't remember the third.

I know that nobody believes me, but I was just pathetically trying to make a point that we could work better together. I'm actually not very good at secret agendas, my poor executive functioning gets in the way of the secret part.

Well, anyway, at least I have a new superlative to cringe at.

February 28, 2014

Which is better?

February 25, 2014

Welcome, Mr. President, to *12-dimensional* chess.

I was just listening to a recording of Chris Matthews from a few days ago. He was talking (well, shouting) that President Obama has decided that flipping off his base and appeasing Republicans isn't a winning strategy. Apparently, that just makes everyone angry. So the President will end the appeasing and the flipping off, at least until the election, and do some good, Democratic stuff like his executive order raising the minimum wage for those paid by the federal government.

Excellent!

We've been hearing for five years that the President is playing a game of 11-dimensional chess which mere mortals don't understand. Meanwhile, the real unemployment rate is staggeringly high and barely budging and more school children are homeless than ever before. Oh, and the wealthy are doing better than ever, and the banks have never been bigger, etc.

So, Mr. President, welcome to the next dimension of chess play: the one that all manner of other people (who now have arrows in their asses) were suggesting for 5 years. Welcome to 12-dimensional chess, or what we simple people call "acting like a Democrat". You'll find it to be an improvement over the old strategy as, Lord knows, the 99% will.

And by the way Mr. President, it may be a little to late in the game, but there's yet another dimension you could achieve - the Liberal dimension. It's the most winning dimension of chess the world has ever known. If interested, check with Elizabeth Warren or one of the other masters who've achieved it, they'll be happy to mentor you.

February 20, 2014

Hey! We won another one!

Starving old folks Social Security cuts are still "on the table", but gone from our President's budget. A step in the right direction. Only three years ago, thanks to Bush's Catfood Commission, even the AARP was saying that cuts were a certainty.

We've had a few other steps in the right direction in the past year or so. Larry "Toonces" Summers was prevented from taking another crack at the 99%, TPP and TTIP are probably shut down, Elizabeth Warren (yes, I heard you, she's not running) is in the Senate and on the Banking Committee, military fun in Syria was prevented, our President is at least *claiming* that Spy On Everyone is being pared back a bit, the filibuster was fixed a little, Republicans were finally confronted on a debt-limit hostaging, probably a few more wins that I'm not thinking of.

The 99% have finally figured out that we're FUBARed, and we're starting to push back a little, and win a little. If we get more Liberal recruits, and fight back harder, nothing can stop us: because history proves that we are in the right.

We will win, but it will take some time.

Excelsior!

February 19, 2014

There was a point to it, you know

I wrote a post last night about Beatles lyrics that caused a hell of a fuss. I'm alternately appalled and amused by that thread.

I'm sure that clarifying my intent won't particularly change anyone's mind about the thing, or about me; but for my own edification, here goes:

What I'd hoped to show is that it's possible to go too far in deconstructing everything in search of nefarious stuff. We all objectify to some extent. Most of us are attracted to people for non-optimal reasons at some point in our lives. Most of us like to look at pretty people, which is why we groom ourselves - so people will look at us.

And sometimes people do bad stuff. It's bad to hate a person because of skin color, or to believe that a person is limited because they are a certain gender, or attractive, or unattractive. And when that happens, it should be dealt with. For the record, I think it's pretty rare on DU.

But sometimes, she's just 17 (you know what I mean) and the way she looks is way beyond compare. And that's OK, I think. We don't need to protect the world from it.