Drip, drip, drip.

[zbdent]

Republicans have fought against minimum wage.

Republicans have fought against unions which try to get liveable wages.

Republicans have fought against funding public projects which could have had a noticeable affect in aiding in evacuations.

Republicans have fought against adequate funding for education of the masses, which would lead to better jobs and better pay.

Republicans have fought against affordable health care.

Republicans have fought against bankruptcy protection for people, instead choosing to protect the corporations.

Republicans could have pummeled through funding TO THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS to shore up the levees.

Oil companies, with their refineries in Louisiana, could have spent some of their profits to "privatizedly" shore up the levees (instead of depending on the government, a.k.a. THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS) to do it.

Republicans have long sided with insurance companies, which will fight nearly every attempt to actually pay on a policy which you have been paying for.

Republicans sat back and said "Tsk, tsk. Those poor, POOR people. Too stupid to get out."

So, when the shit hits the fan, what happens? Republicans claim that you can't count on (a Republican controlled) government to help you in the time of a crisis, at a point in which corporations do not see the profit potential in helping the masses. Isn't one of the jobs of government to do the jobs that nobody else is willing to take on?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Floodgate . . . . . . nt

[dusty64]

5. You mean the whitewash

sham of an "investigation" by the repuke congress and the regime. They've already got their conclusions written blaming every Dem and the victims themselves so why bother spending the $$$$ to go through with this bullshit. I never thought they'd get away with this kinda outrage, but sadly they will just like everything else.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. No. Enough Americans are So Angry that Real investigations can't be denied

There are enough Americans of all political stripes who are very angry over this, that there will be multiple investigations and the truth will come out. The Republican attempt at whitewashing will only make them look worse in the medium and long run.

Republicans out 2006!

[Atman]

7. They CAN and WILL deny anything they want

And believe me, they will. They are in long-range mode, and nothing we do will get in their way. Soon they'll have John Roberts and another ultra right-winger on the SCOTUS, so as they eviscerate the constitution, they'll have the blessing of the court to back them up.

People, we really need to stop thinking normal. Nothing is normal anymore. These fuckers are playing for keeps, and they're not going to allow a few pissed off liberals to ruin their plans.

Posse Commitas.

Confiscating guns.

It's all happening right before our eyes, and all we're able to do about it at this point is whine. Save the whining...it's gonna get a lot worse.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Please don't tell us to give up like you just did.

[Atman]

9. I am doing just the opposite. I am fighting like hell.

You entirely missed my point...I haven't given up at all. I am telling you that if we sit back and plan on "winning" this at the polls, we're sunk. If we think our bought/paid-for/threatened Congressional reps will heed our calls and letters, think again. If you think the courts will be a last-resort for redress, fugheddaboutit. That's the old reality. BushCo has declared war on the citizens on the United States, and you don't win wars by writing e-mails and leaving voice messages.

The paradigm has shifted drastically, and the sooner we wake up to the magnitude of the battle ahead, the better our chance of beating back the BushCo juggernaut.

Your condescension has been duly noted. Thanks.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. I hate defeatists. You aren't a defeatist then don't write like one.

You wrote "all we're able to do about it at this point is whine. Save the whining...it's gonna get a lot worse." I'm not being condescending, I'm discouraging defeatists and fantasizers, of which there are a number around here lately.

Note the "all". And then you tell us to even save the whining.

I will accept your statement that you aren't a defeatist. I ask that you not write like one on DU.

[Atman]

12. I hate people who pull one sentence out of a post...

...and use it in an attempt to change the larger meaning.

The post was a call to action, and if YOU read it as defeatist, that is YOUR problem. The statement you point out was not an accusation or an admission of defeat. It was an illustration of where so many in America are at this point; the usual paths of dissent are quietly being pulled out from underneath us. Military and mercernaries, anwerable to no one, are now on our soil, unconstitutionally. When our Kent State moment comes, with our government stop at only four killings? This weekend will be a huge test of powers, both ours and their.

And if you disbelieve that all we're able to do at this point is whine, then go try to march on the capitol, or demand to see your representative. How many blocks away from the people's house have the roads been blocked off?

How many letters opposing John Roberts vs supporting John Roberts did the three dem senators get? Our plees for representation fall on deaf ears. We've been blocked from our own institutions of government. You can call it defeatist, but that is only because you apparently need things spelled out for you in much clearer terms than I feel comfortable posting here. Patriot Act, you know.

I thank you for your concern, and letting me know what you hate about me. But concentrate on the reality, not on bashing others fighting alongside you because you don't like the way they write. I promise you, that course will lead us nowhere fast.

[Atman]

2. Republicans don't care

This is part of a long-range plan. Bankrupt America so they can re-shape society and 86 the New Deal. They could give a shit about the problems they're causing, because they're all going to be in positions to profit handsomely in the New Order.

This isn't politics as usual. There is major, major social upheaval in the works. Stuff your mattresses full of cash, stock up the pantry.

That's exactly what they are doing -- with the tax cuts Bush gave them.

[acmejack]

3. Stuff your mattresses full of cash?

That's all cash will be good for soon enough. When a loaf of bread goes up to $5, $10, remember what has happened to other nations when they encountered run away inflation and/or financial collapse.

[Atman]

4. So what if bread is $10, a debit card will do you no good

It is already happening in Houston. ATM's are empty. NO CASH. If online banking centers go down in the next disaster, what the hell good is a VISA card going to do you?

I don't disagree with you about runaway inflation, but I'd rather have the $10 to buy that bread than have a walletful of useless plastic.

[ArkDem]

10. You have a keen understanding of the way the world works!