DonCoquixote
DonCoquixote's Journalmore gems
"..."Simmons, Powers and New York City-based consultant Dan Gerstein have been three of the bluntest commentators. "The party in certain respects is fossilized," says Gerstein, 37. "It's trapped in the last vestiges of the New Deal coalition. That coalition is no longer an electoral majority or even close to it."
A former aide to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., Gerstein wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Democrats have "fallen right back into the elitist, weak-kneed, brain-dead trap" they thought they'd escaped with Bill Clinton."
In other words, the New Deal is obsolete, and Clinton was an instrument in "escaping" that. Oh Joy.
and here is the gem
"The Internet may be giving angry, protest-oriented activists the rope they need to hang the party. The vaunted new medium for grassroots political organizing may in fact be contributing to the Iowafication of the nominating process, disproportionately magnifying the voices of the activist groups with the loudest, most combative, and populist voices."
In other words, this is why the Third way types are here cracking the whip!
This is why the "Hillary is inevitable!" campaign is already under way.
The Centrists know we are here, and they want us either gone or helpless.
Ugly truths
Did Obama lurch things to the right when many of us elected him to be at the very least, left of the Clintons?, yes, he did. He showed that when he let the public option be choked, and when he did not send Wall Streetcrooks to jail? Has he shown that he is too wiling to make nice, too wanting to be liked, to eager to show himself as not scary, yes. Has he bought into the whole "america is a bastion of rfeedom", yes, all of this has been true, and those reasons make for valid, honest critques that is not only our right to make, but our DUTY.
However, were there people, on what is called both the "left", and what is called "the right" who had it in for him before he even stepped in the door, yes, he did. From Ted Rall, to Maureen Dowd, there were people who were self appointed spokespeople for the left that hated Obama because if he succeeded, their vision of the left would be discredited, be it violent revolution and stalinist purges (Ted Rall worte a book glorifying the idea in his "anti-american manifesto."
or the eternal reign of Divine Holy Empress Hillary of the house of Clinton (you can reduce every Dowd column to "Hillary would have done it better." Let's not even get into the folks like the Naders, Hamshers, and Huffingtons who railed against Obama for compromise, yet never seem to have a problem taking money from the right wing, much less ask themselves why the right keeps sending them money (can you say "useful idiots" boys and girls?) No, I am not going to forgive Medea Benjamin for sending Ron Paul a literal Valentine, when she knows Ron is the reason so many Texan women cannot get an abortion. No, I am not going to forget Glenn Greenwald, hero of civil liberty, was the same asshole that defended Citizen's United. Call it attacking the messenger all you want, but just because I can acknowledge the truth they incovered does not mean I have to forget that their agenda and mine do not mix, because they are willing to feed the same Plutocratic dragons that want to eat us all in the end, from Reagan Democrat to Deep Red Marxiist.
How do they make Hot Dogs where you live?
http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/07/america-regional-hot-dog-styles-coneys-half-smokes-reds-whites.htmlThis started because of another thread, but as I used to sell Hot Dogs, I was curious, namely because I never realized there were so many variants on the hot dog. It is not politics, I know, but it is American, as we have adopted Hot Dogs as an American food, yet have variants, which might say something about us.
Why being forced to work retail on T day is a big deal
There are always buisnesses open on T day: convenience stores, Pharmacies, first responders, people who either provided a service that can mean life or death, or small buisnesses that can be run by one or two people and close up early.
However, retail is NOT that sort of buisness. Retail will need tons of human-power to run, even more so than usual, as Madison Avenue is busy whipping the masses into a frenzy with sales called "doorbusters." They picked that term, though a more honest term would be "run over the employees." Bad behavior is encouraged, and employees will rightfully look upon this day with DREAD.
But what is worse is that Thanksgiving is the Holiday the starts the season, a holiday we in the US are supposed to share in common. Even if you want to cut out the religious/pilgrim side of it, every culture has had some sort of fall harvest festival to celebrate this time of year. That is because all cultures recognize the need for a Holiday, a time when people devote attention to their family, or even simple leisure. In a Holiday, commerce needs to hand over the wheel, and let people drive the culture for a while, however, brief it is.
When retail works on a Holiday, it means that nothign is sacred, and that the oligarchs realize they do not even need to pretend at virtue. They have moved on from trying to seduce us into givign up whatever dignity we had, to outright raping it out of us. Yes, I use that term, because to quote Eric Hoffer, we rightfully condemn those that would rape the body, but often ignore those who commit the rape of the mind." When even the most treasured holidays, that ones that families use to define their own sense of self, are subject to the whim of the oligarchs, it is something that violates us, something that forces us to say "because you are rich and I am poor, I have no right to resist you taking from me whatver you want, however you want it, sir."
City of Tampa will not be reimbursed for $677,000 in RNC costs
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/city-of-tampa-will-not-be-reimbursed-for-677000-in-rnc-costsNo surprise at all. Not only were GOP people known for trying to haggle hotel rates that were already low, but contractors made a point to try and discourage GOP types from actually doing things in the city. In part, that was because Ron paul was threatenign all sorts of mayhem.
Iran accord Talk me down
I am happy about this, but frankly, part me me is afraid that
A) the folks in Tel Aviv will start playing dirty pool
B) said act of dirty poll will be Hillary talking about hwo SHE would gladly go to war with Tehran.
What is ugly about the GOp trying to claim JFK.
It is funny to see the GOp try to claim JFK was closer to their side of the street. Yes, the so called "moderates" are very careful not to publicly slam JFK, RFK, or MLK; they leave that work to the Talk Radio goons and the people dressed in three corner hats at Tea Party Rallies. However, read what the GOp was saying about JFK, and the symmetry between their hate of that Catholic, liberal president and Obama is apparent. Both presidents had to deal with Dixie trying to wage the Civil War by other means, and both had the oligrachs heap hate upon them.
Let's face facts, the same GOP bastards that cry crocodile tears over JFK are the same bastards that would pop champagne if someone shot Barack Obama, just like they popped champagne 50 years ago today, wther they dare admit it or not.
In the spirit of Maher, a new rule for 2016 discussions
If you want to go ahead and talk about the 2016 election, you should be able to taste what you are doing for the 2014 election, because the 2014 election will determine the fate of whatever poor soul gets the Oval Office next.
I will offer an example: I am in Florida, so my job will be to get Rick Scott the hell out of office. I will also support Alex Sink in her bid to take the seat vac ated by the death of Bill Young. It would be nice to think either of the Clintons or Obama will help, but I will work regardless. This will help in 2016 as we do NOT want Rick Scott trying to cook the votes for the GOP, especially since a lot of the old cast and crew from 2000 are ready willing and able to help him.
Yes, single payer is the goal
Yes, Obama should have let the medicare for all advocates get on stage and make a pitch, maybe even let them take over second half of a national address. If dean and Dennis failed, they coudl take the blame
Yes, the public option should have been kept
Yes, he should have pillioried Joe Liberman, even though Joe would cry "look at what this ->boy<- is doing to me!"
Even though Hillary would have secretly applauded the mayhem and used it for her 2012 or 2016 "you shoulda voted me in" campaign.
and yes, him trusting the insurance companies to NOT stab him was foolish. We know they are just biding their time till 2014 and 2016, when they can win elections and make Galt's Gulch look like a hippie commune.
However, there is one two things I notice:
One, a lot of people assume this would be quick and easy. It took the Canadians 60 years to get to single payer, and they did not have the GOP. While there is a lot of genuine criticism of Obama, a lot of it is still "why doesnt he snap his magic fingers and make it happen NOW!" Folks, we have a fifth colum. No, I will not call the GOP opposition. A fifth column that is well finded by people who wants to actually DESTROY the government, period!
And sadly, many of the people who complain that their cheap ass insurance is gone are the same no necks idiots that vote GOP, because they think nuttin ever happens to GOOD people. And of course, we reward Bill Clinton again for acting as president of the peanut gallery, just like when he told Obama not to be a "wuss."
But if the left wants to win, they cannot fall for the division, and to be persistent, neither Bill Clinton nor the GOp let anything stand in the way of consitency, so sadly, we need to be firm, even if it means 'wrong and strong". If we carve up the ACa in the name of "see Obama, you should have lsitened to me!" then all we will do is make it easy for the right to mow us down. that is reality, like it or not.
If the ACA fails, single payer dies, that is a fact,like it or not.
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Member since: Thu Apr 17, 2008, 05:51 PMNumber of posts: 13,616