I swear, I'm going to lose every last friend I got.

[Touchdown]

I work on campaigning for workers rights with some good people at the AFL-CIO and Denver Area Labor Federation. We are all of one drive and purpose. Right now, we are concentrating on The Dems keeping control of the State Legislature.

BUT!... One very close friend of mine loves to send anti-immigrant (read mexican) e-mail spam, and pro-in your face overt Jeebus worship bullshit. I get this crap in my in box all the time. I hate it. HATE IT... but what's more, I hate the fact that she should know better. She's a Democrat. She should keep up on these things. She should know that most of these are made on some computer farm run by the GOP. The emotional appeals to hatred are obvious. Consider...

Anybody got that one about "Re-instating the Pledge of Allegiance in Public Schools" yet? Some forwarding petition with about 2200 (maybe over 3000 by now) sigs? She and her husband signed it.

So I wrote back..

It was never taken away. I'm rolling my eyes at the stupidity of 2100 idiots in this country. Is it any wonder why this dumb shit is Prez? Oh' I see you signed it...your different then. ;-) ;)

Keep in mind that we rib each other a lot, so it's not as harsh as it should seem...maybe

Then she said..."YES IT WAS TAKEN AWAY, I'm not sure at what level, if it was all or what, because of the FACT it say's ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!!! 1% FOUND IT Intolerable, so FUCK THE REST!! As with the way this countries PLURALIST BULLSHIT has gotten out of control!!!!"

Then I exploded, and replied back in 24 font...

It was NEVER FUCKING TAKEN AWAY! You think different? Prove it!

BTW: I'm one of that 1% that you want to "fuck".

LOVE YOU, and your Christian values too!

I got another from my step Dad. Some may know about him, cuz I think I had another thread about him a couple of months ago...

"According to the weather reports, it is my understanding that it is 122 degrees in Iraq right now - and the low will be 111! Our troops need our prayers for strength, endurance, and safety. If it be God's will, give these men and women the strength they need to prevail.

I am sorry but I am not breaking this one....Let us pray.

Prayer chain for our Military...please don't break it...
Please send this on after a short prayer.

Pray for our soldiers...
< a picture of a soldier who's in a green meadow...obviously Europe>

There is nothing attached.... Just send this to all the people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you, please....Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine & others deployed in harm's way, Prayer is the very best one!!!!!

To which I replied to all, including some I know to be Bush Moonies...

I pray that George Bush gets impeached, tried, convicted and imprisoned in Guantanamo for sending these troops to 122 degree Iraq so he can enrich his plutocratic cronies, and continue to stand on the necks of formerly free Americans everywhere.

In Jesus name, I pray.

I am at my wits end. My mother says I'm the one going off the deep end. Is the world this insane that thinking like this is normal?

[tocqueville]

1. it's very difficult to beat myths

I lived in Sweden 30 years. The Swede had a myth of the perfect country on earth (oh no it wasn't the US) because of their prosperity and peaceful development. Warning signals came first with the assassination of their PM 1986... 1996 the country was in a deep economical crisis and had lost faith in itself... Now it lives better, but far from the "paradise" of the seventies. But you still meet plenty of people that think that the faith in the politics that caused the debacle is the only remedy. It's not their fault, it's somebody else, often foreigners...

America lives with a myth. One day the truth will be revealed and it will be very painful. But some will always deny it...

[magellan]

2. Bush** made it normal

I don't blame you for lashing back, but it's an exercise in futility. The batshit extremist views in our society have been validated and glorified by BushCo for 5 years. No one can put them back in their place now.

Heaven help us all.

[MadMaddie]

3. I had a similar experience...

A good friend of mine....sent out an email (refuted by SNOPES) that the TV show "Touched by an Angel" was taken off the air because of it's religious tone.....sigh...

Of course I had to research and find the link that stated that this was started by Right Wing groups and was baseless....the show ran a long TV life...it was tired....and the show was cancelled...

Sometimes people get caught up these email chains and believe everything they see....because it's in an email..

[mwb970]

21. Mostly, they only believe what they already "know".

Sometimes people get caught up these email chains and believe everything they see....because it's in an email..

As long as it's not a liberal email.

[MadMaddie]

4. Delete-Dupe

[karmaqueen]

5. I know how you feel....

I am to the point of thinking I must be crazy because every where we go we seem to be in the minority. There are so few people who know anything about what is really going on. We were at a party yesterday with a group of old friends. Everything was fine until one guy kept saying what a wonderful plan Bush had for the ME. His two sons, attending expensive colleges were there. My husband asked if it was so wonderful why was his kids not over there helping carry out the "plan" I asked him how old he was and he said 42. I told them they raised the age for enlistment so he was in luck. One very Liberal couple was there & were cheering us on but everyone had no idea or were very misinformed about EVERYTHING. Even the very liberal couple had never heard of Air America radio,or any of the progressive sites. I worry that the average American is so busy with their daily lives they do not realize that America as we knew it is coming apart at the seams. Good Luck & hang in there :pals:

[givemebackmycountry]

6. Boy, is this timely

I just told my cousins husband if he ever wanted to talk to me again, don't send me any more right wing bullshit.

He sends me this e-mail yesterday called - "Do you remember this?"

It has pictures of the WTC in flames, and then goes on to talk about (are you ready?) Oliver North.
And how while he was testifying in front of congress, he said Bin Laden tried to kill him.
The senator that was grilling him was (OH NO!) Al Gore.

I replied that he was fucking CLUELESS.

He's a 30 bong hit a day, 56 year old BROKE ASS LANDSCAPER, still mowing lawns in Tampa, Florida and sponging off of his wife (my cousin).

I also informed him he'll be lucky if I don't knock his teeth out the next time I see him at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Uneducated, 56 year old manual laborer, who George Bush would gladly throw UNDER the jail knows more than I do.

He couldn't find CSPAN on his big screen with a road map and a .oz of Afghani weed.

What A FUCKING TOOL.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

[Elwood P Dowd]

9. Your cousin's husband is lying about North's testimony

He mentioned Abu Nidal, not Osama bin Laden. Osama was working for the CIA in the 1980's.

[Lorien]

7. I feel the way you do

Even the Democrats I know are saying the most absurd RW crap these days, and many still seems so clueless about the issues. I feel like a stranger in a strange land....

[readmoreoften]

8. As a fellow union member...

My friend, after being on strike since Nov. 9th and losing my job directly from a Bush NLRB decision, I know exactly how you feel. First I was disgusted with the War and Bush's war against gay people. I lost most of my older male social libertarians on the war. Then I lost most of my latte liberal NYC "artiste" friends on the union issues. "Labor? Social justice? Ew, icky. I mean, aren't labor unions for teamsters. Aren't unions run by the mafia? Gosh I wish I could find a decent job. I wonder why I can't."

I'm gearing up on losing folks on 9-11 issues. I'm trying not to get too partisan on the Israel/Hezbollah front.

:toast: Here's to people who give a shit! Let's stick together! :toast:

[Touchdown]

11. Thank you Brother!

NNever thought I'd feel so alone in my own union hall.:toast:

[readmoreoften]

12. Correction-- Sister! ;)

:toast:

[Touchdown]

20. You go Girl!

:dunce: :hug:

[ribrepin]

10. I get the same crap from my Dad

He's a life-long Democrat and hates Bush, but he is all over the immigration and terrorism issues. I just received a rant about how the muslims have been out to get us since the Iran hostage situation in 1979 under Jimmy Carter. He's almost 80 and in bad health. What do you do? I just roll my eyes and delete the E-mails.

[AnnieBW]

13. Our Troops Need More than Prayer!

They need better body armor, better armored vehicles, lots of care packages from home, water, fans, A/C, and to COME HOME!!!

[Cobalt-60]

18. Almost

They either need to be removed immediately from harm's way.
or
reinforced with 50 divisions.
We need to get in or get out.
Small contingents of troops are the Carlyle Group's best way of ensuring eternal war.
A massive strike would be immoral. But the fighting would be over.

[progressivebydesign]

14. You sound incredibly normal and well-adjusted.

I can't vouch for the rest of the folks you are describing...

[hfojvt]

15. at least be aware of what was said

"Then she said..."YES IT WAS TAKEN AWAY, I'm not sure at what level, if it was all or what, because of the FACT it say's ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!!! 1% FOUND IT Intolerable, so FUCK THE REST!! As with the way this countries PLURALIST BULLSHIT has gotten out of control!!!!"

Then I exploded, and replied back in 24 font...

It was NEVER FUCKING TAKEN AWAY! You think different? Prove it!

BTW: I'm one of that 1% that you want to "fuck".

LOVE YOU, and your Christian values too!"

She did not say anything about "fu$%ing" the 1%. She said 1% found 'under God' in the Pledge to be intolerable so take it out and fu$% the 99%.

But I am sure those percentages are way off.

[Cobalt-60]

16. Save it for election eve

Us all that berserk energy to roam the streets with a meat hammer, getting out the vote!.
Seriously, the GOPS have reduced many of my friendships to hollow shells as well.
It's the vile poisonous thing that they do.
If your friends are lost to the fascists, strike all the harder in memory of the people they were.

[Touchdown]

19. One snag. I GOTV with The 99%er.

She's a Dem, a good one, and knows her stuff when it comes to health care and worker's rights. She's just a xenophobe when it comes to Mexicans. Doesn't say anything about Russian, Polish, Indian or Chinese illegals (I guess she still wants her Kung Pao Shrimp delivered).

[Swamp Rat]

17. I agree with you...

and I don't give a fuck what they think about me anymore. Now, I just tell 'em to go enlist and stop acting like sissy cowards, or else "do humanity a favor and go rapture yourself."