bitter pills to swallow

War brings destruction in the strangest ways

2005-02-28T00:24:00.000-05:00

There is nothing wrong with being against war. I will always stand tall against death and destruction no matter how maligned that very concept is in this current age. Somehow, the idea of supporting "peace efforts" has been villified to the likes of being an enemy combatant. This seems to definatly be the result of the constant pounding of this hatred against different view points by hyper patriotic, yet often military avoidant, talk show lemmings. A little news story; about an element of rocket fuel being found in breast milk of mothers in eighteen different states, by scientists from the Texas Tech University's Institute of Environmental and Human Health; made me reassure my position on being against war. Especially since, this strange aberration in breast milk was the result of leaks and spills of perchlorate (used in rocket fuel) into the lower Colorodo River by defense industry giant Kerr-McGee.
The Bush administration may have their photo-ops with Iraqi women waving their purple fingers, but here at home, women can not even count on their own breast milk being safe for their babies. This chemical, perchlorate, has thyroid-impairing effects on developing brains, basically resulting in a child with a lower I.Q. The Bush administration has put negligible effort into regulating enviornmental standards, especially for corperations that are part of the war machine in general such as Kerr-McGee. This is a clear example of how war can have an effect on the least probable victims, newborn babies.
We hear a lot about the "culture of life" and such from the Bush administration and plenty about "saving the fetus" from the religious right who support the administration. Somehow though, you will never hear a syllable about the dangers that a defense industry plant can have on human beings from the "pro-life" zombies that crawl around abortion clinics screaming "don't kill me I'm a baby". Will the cable television "man of god" ever speak about what an environmentally apathetic administration is doing to our health and our children?? The answer is no. The Bush administration and their followers are a bunch of hypocrites. I will continue to point out each inconsistancy of their psyche and how they really do not believe in anything other than death and destruction.

american dream no more.

2005-02-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

i have not read the entire luntz document yet, but something stuck out that really got me riled up.

if i recall correctly, the american dream is all about ownership. bush has used this in his speeches many times. but... wait a minute. luntz now says to talk about the "opportunity" of ownership. as it turns out, people like "opportunity" more.

do you know what the difference is?

when the american dream is ownership, that means that every american will be able to own their own home, their own car, their own slice of american life that is undeniably THEIRS.

when the american dream is "opportunity" of ownership, this means that you will have the chance to own anything you want... if you have the opportunity.

if you don't see the difference, allow me to beat it over your head for a second...

under the "opportunity" plan, if you don't already own stuff, you'll have to be lucky - at least fortunate - to even DREAM of owning stuff.

they'll never let you have the money to do so. more on that in future posts...

the infamous luntz document

2005-02-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

i smell a dirty rat.

i think this is a setup. the republikan fascist party WANTS this document out there because...

1 - educated swing voters will certainly find their way to this document, which is (fairly) well written (though i think mr. luntz relies on his spellcheck/grammarcheck too much). while full of lies and double-talk, much of those same lies and double-talk are presented in speech segments that are focus-group tested to pull at the heartstrings of the american people.

2 - the "blogging blind" segment of the internet now feel they have answers for all challengers directly from a senior strategist. they will be brimming with confidence walking into any argument and will certainly think they have a hand up in any debate.

3 - it forces the democrats onto the defensive again. they are trying to corner and, therefore, marginalize the dems and their policies, using any and all methods.

desperation is a disgusting smell. ironically, the republikans are the desperate party right now. luntz admits in his document that people are NOT buying into their policy views. people do NOT believe tax cuts = better economy. people do NOT believe the economy is better. so what do they try to do?

they want to make us afraid. they want us to believe that 9/11 is the cause of all of our problems, in some way, shape or form. whether it's the "severe" blow to our economy, the need to feel "safe and secure," the war on "terror," etc., they will remind us that "it's all 9/11's fault." they are using the deaths of 3,000 americans as a smokescreen for how much the economy sucks because of their policies. never mind that they have engineered all their fiscal policies to come crashing through the ceiling in 2009 - just in time for the next (and, i guess they assume, democratic) president to have to deal with.

shifty bastards.

they can't hide behind their lies forever. they can't cover up their policy moves that will destroy the american way of life for the majority of americans.

i won't let them. WE won't let them!!!

fight!!!

the beginning of the war...

2005-02-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

breaking news!

america has been living in a civil war for the past 10 years. it's so civil, in fact, few of us have even noticed it's happening.

no, it's not north vs. south. that's so 1860.

it's not democrats vs. republicans, either.

it's the corporations vs. our money. and the corporations are creating a powerful allegiance that would decide this war's outcome...

...with our own government.

the government has always been supported by corporate interests - this is not new. what is thoroughly new is the incredible synergy of oppression the two structures have developed. this post chronicles the lead up to war.

in the 1980's, reagan/bush policy was about minimizing the influence of unions. the corporations used their decline in power to smash them into pieces. unions made it easier for them by fighting it, because their fight gave the corporations an opening to make them look greedy. ah, the irony. american corporations layoff swaths of american workers, and move to other countries - wherever the costs of labor and (re)importation to america would be less than just hiring american workers. american workers KNEW what kind of profits their employers are making on their hard work, and would always demand higher salaries. people who are poor and already living in squalor will take whatever you offer them. many of these jobs were lost from the manufacturing sector. the corporations, in turn, needed more people to manage their money. those jobs - ones that require a college education - were out of reach to most of the displaced manufacturing workers. some companies needed to employ americans as a result of their industries - various food industries, for example... so a handful of the larger companies started eating up small companies, and laying off redundant workers in the process, particularly at the lower levels. these mega-corporations (megacorps) then started buying the larger companies that did not feast on enough small companies, laying off even more people.

you can see where this is going.

the men and women - fathers and mothers - who lost their jobs found themselves in a quandary. do they go back to school to get the better jobs, or do they find a new job? finding a new job? what could be available in industries that are drying up? there were only a few sectors that could take this burden - retail and services. the problem with this? retail and service jobs are the same type of jobs we encourage our teens to work to earn spending money. these are not jobs with incomes that will support a family; these are not jobs that will support an individual with an apartment and a car. a man supporting a family on a retail job would often have to spend close to half a week's time per week working in order to tread water... this means mom might have to work too.

what happened to the children?

their fathers were never around - if their fathers even stuck around. children often spent large amounts of time in the home un- or under-supervised, which led to a "decline of morals in our youth" (see: smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, violence, vandalism, etc.). these same kids suffered in public schools as the focus of education shifted to a stance that opinions are worth more than facts (because a student's opinion can't be wrong, and we want our children to feel good!). some private schools still taught the "old" way - but these are often out of the price range of a now-financially strapped family. students' grades declined, due to minimal parental involvement in their intellectual and social growth. families found it difficult to send their children to college, as costs escalated even in government-funded schools (due to the government slashing funding during the recession). higher education was quickly becoming the province of the higher paid. the jobs that would normally be taken by non-college graduates looking to support a family were disappearing; the ones they worked as teens to make a few extra bucks were growing.

the upper class absorbed a small chunk of the upper-middle class (doctors, lawyers, accountants) and started kicking the rest of the middle class down the mountain.

oh yeah, and the war hasn't even started yet. i'm still working towards 1995.

that's for tomorrow...

important bulletin...

2005-02-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

... for the 3 people who actually read this thing! ;)

i'm opening my forum up to a few people whose opinions i value and respect. this will now be a group effort - which will hopefully expand this blog's readership. i am looking forward to seeing what my co-bloggers contribute!

i'll be back with some of my own revelations over the coming days...

peace!

sound the alarm! the end is near.

2005-02-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

welcome to the new american ending. same as the last time.

the difference is, this time, we are prepared.

the issues will come up soon, and as i research and analyze, i will give detailed opinions. but for now, suffice it to say that stock answers will do for now.

my only glaring concern is bush's throw-in about asbestos lawsuits. the greatest beneficiaries of bush's policy are... dick cheney and halliburton! and the people who get SCREWED by it? the WORKERS who develop mesothelioma (CANCER) and other serious respiratory issues due to hazardous exposure to asbestos when there was supposed to be minimal to no exposure!

WHOSE SIDE ARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ON???

(meta-writing note to all: what i just did is called "framing an argument." the republikans do it all the time - see pro-LIFE and FAMILY values arguments. yeah, how could you be against family? against life? you want to know why they are beating us? THIS is why.)

well, republikans, how can you be against dying WORKERS? these are men and women with FAMILIES. the money from the lawsuits will have to go towards medications and procedures to prolong their LIVES. plus, these workers lose their JOBS or can't WORK due to these diseases, which further hurts their FAMILIES, affecting their LIVES.

allowing the money to find its way to dick cheney and other ultra-upper-class individuals as opposed to middle-class fathers and mothers and boys and girls who need it more is WRONG.

these are terrible times for our sliding nation. i bid you all well.

(p.s. - i've been posting a random thought or two on www.myspace.com as "god of cyanide." i'll be copying my posts there over here where appropriate. hopefully this will increase the activity on this board. sorry!)

foresight is dangerous.

2005-02-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

our president, one day, will piss off the wrong country.

say, china.

they've got a lot of people there. which means quite the army.they've got neighbors who are problematic - north korea, for example.

they've got neighbors who america has wronged in the past - japan, russia.

never mind the fact that most of the southeast asian and middle eastern muslim countries would salivate at the chance to throw down to beat us senseless.

first, china and saudi arabia would yank all their money out of this country. some 20% of this country is floating on their backs. when they disappear, we'll be thrown into third world splendor.

next will come the bombs... then the soldiers. could you imagine the satisfaction of our enemies when they do to us what we've done to iraq for the past 14 years (paying close attention to the last 2)?

if bush gets his way, this could be our future. everyone will reap what they sow. hatred begets only more hatred.

grand theft america

2005-02-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

tomorrow night is the big speech from our bogus president.

if bush were pinocchio, his nose would come crashing through my screen 10 minutes into his address.

who cares if/how the iraqis voted. we couldn't get a clean election in OUR OWN COUNTRY. bush will do NOTHING to address this.

social security is NOT in danger as it stands now. don't believe the hype. our leaders have already been caught paying pundits to insure their view of the truth hits our ears. bush will do NOTHING to change this, and he will do less than that when our seniors, who drained their youthful energy into their work, are eating cat food because bush bankrupted social security.

who cares if gays get married? heterosexuals can't get it right... so who are we to discuss the sanctity of marriage? this is one place where i will be glad to see bush do NOTHING. speaking of which... good job, "religious right," your champion will ABANDON you.

the democrats, sadly, don't do much better. they do NOT serve the interests of the people when they support nomination of LIARS to cabinet posts. they do NOT serve the interests of the people when they give bush and his cronies a free ride on this whole iraq debacle while verbally bitch-slapping the "religious right" for their QUITE ludicrous opinions.

the american people's pockets are being picked. the republikans are diverting our attention away from the hand in our pocket, and the democrats turn to look at the diversion, oblivious to the reality of the disaster we are heading towards.

WE ARE BEING ROBBED, people!!!

i think it's time...

2005-01-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

... to start hating some democrats.

i want to know how only 12 democratic senators voted against that idiot condoleezza rice. our face to the world is named CONDOLEEZZA!!! and she's also a real bad liar, right through that gap in her freakin teeth. and as far as the king of loopholes, the honorable LIAR alberto gonzalez is just as much of a crook. they are both dishonoring our country with every breath that fills their lungs. i can't wait for 2008.

rest in peace, dime...

2004-12-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

"dimebag" darrell abbott, one of my favorite guitarists of all time, was shot five times at point blank range, a minute after his band took the stage for a show last wednesday, by a crazed fan.

i had the privilege to meet him briefly before they took the stage at l'amour way back in the day, right after cowboys from hell was released. he seemed like a great guy, very friendly, all about reaching out and communicating with the fans. i am still in shock at the notion that someone would want to shoot him for any reason.

rest in peace, dime. you will be missed, but never forgotten.

time - and time, again.

2004-12-14T11:43:00.000-05:00

it's been a while.

i apologize for neglecting this forum... time is certainly NOT a friend of mine.

much has happened since the election. lawsuits in ohio and florida relating to the vote audit. north carolina's ruined vote. continuing crisis in iraq. flawed ukrainian vote sends world into chaos (note no one cares about our vote getting screwed...). bush continues to give props to those who have least earned it (see condi rice). the republikan fascists reveal all the underhanded tricks they can to crush opposition (see dennis hastert). rumsfeld desperately tries to cover himself for not being able to cover our troops with armor. bush pleads with the supreme court to allow posting of the ten commandments on government property.

fascism is alive and well here. anyone who says different isn't looking at the big picture.

i came to a realization yesterday. as president, clinton will be remembered as doing great things politically (economy, foreign policy, etc.), while not being the best handler of personal affairs. clinton's errors were outside of his job. bush may be able to keep his dick in his pants, but he can't help but keep sticking his hands in the proverbial cookie jar. he is, at worst, incredibly corrupt; at best, incredibly inept. this administration will end in scandal - hopefully before january 19, 2009.

could someone explain to me why i keep getting the sinking feeling that this country is in danger of imploding under president bush? will he be like nero, fiddling away while we all burn?

stay safe, my friends.

mandate - my ass!

2004-11-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

facts:

1. bush won by a margin of 51%-49%. this does NOT sound like a mandate to me. nor was it a "spanking," as was alluded to in a comment to a previous post. it was a close election - and voting errors are starting to surface with the electronic voting machines. some places were told that the hard drives could hold ~10,000 votes when they could actually only hold ~3,500. in at least one recorded incident so far, a machine that registered some 4,000 votes only had around 700 signed to use the machine. those numbers are not exact, but they're in the ballpark. i'll have to research it later.

2. bush may have received the most (numerical) votes for president in history, but keep in mind that kerry received the second most in history. this is partially a function of the fact that there are far more people in america than ever before. this may also be reversed pending any exposed voter fraud.

3. bush's victory is the narrowest for a sitting president since WW I president woodrow wilson in 1916. exposure of election hijinks may tighten or even flip this over.

4. polls show that around 65% of americans think the president should explore bipartisan opportunities, while only around 30% think he truly has a "mandate."

last time i checked, these numbers don't exactly add up to a mandate. neo-kons may be gloating, but plans are being set in motion all over this country to make sure this is the last time they will be able to bask in such ill-gotten gains.

revolt!

what's the word?

2004-11-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

the word of the next four years... sheep.

that is the perfect description for the average american. sheep.

i figured this as best during a conversation with my mom last night. i said that these "evangelical christians" look to bush as their "shepherd." i then recalled that christians followed another "shepherd," and bush is nothing like that one. this conclusion was helped along by watching c-span on election night, listening to the republikans talking about bush. they are blind followers. they didn't mention a single issue except "morality." i want a president - not a national parent, not a national religious leader.

i don't ever recall christ teaching people to hate. it's amazing that people fall for that... but it is much easier to hate than it is to love.

this country is full of blind, mindless sheep. if you ever hear me saying "baaaaaa," you'll now know why.

all we have become are consumers. they want us to be docile. they're like the (bad) parent archetype - the parent who tries to buy their children's love. give them "holiday spice" flavored pepsi and watch them love us.

fucking bastards.

rebel!!!

why?

2004-11-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

kerry is conceding?

my faith in america is GONE.

i'll be making plans to leave this once-great nation. i don't want to be here to watch it die. and i certainly don't want to live under fascism in a country that used to be steadfast in opposing it.

democracy? that's funny, i don't see one...

2004-11-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

i'd like to start this post by saying that this thing isn't going to be over for quite a few weeks.

it ain't over 'til it's over. and it's deja vu - all over again.

thanks, yogi. wise beyond your mirth.

i'd like to send a clear message to an unclear group - members of the 48% who didn't vote who were not intimidated/duped/prevented from voting.

GO FUCK YOURSELVES. THIS IS A DEMOCRACY. VOTING IS YOUR DUTY.

if you don't want to vote, leave the country now. go start your own country where no one has to vote. you're a disgrace to every single american - especially those in the military who died to protect our freedoms, and those 3000+ who lost their lives unnecessarily in the worst unresolved crime in history (9/11, you morons). i don't care if you're a friend of mine. i don't care if your religion bars you from voting. voting is a RESPONSIBILITY for every eligible member of this society. regardless of the quality of candidates available, pick one and VOTE.

our country tries to spread democracy, yet we can't even get it right ourselves.

regardless of who is declared the winner, all americans should hang their heads in shame at what has happened to our once-great system. our leaders are so blinded by power that they have turned their backs on us - what with all the possible/realized voter disenfranchisement. we've responded by turning our backs on ourselves. we have shown ourselves as a disgraceful populace - which, i guess, supports our having a disgraceful leader.

to the 26.5% (as stands now) who did vote, and voted for the current idiot-in-chief, i ask you to look deep inside yourself and consider why you voted the way you did. is denying rights to people (anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-iraqi) more important than giving rights to people? this country was founded on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. the person you voted for wants to conditionalize that slate of ideals. if that's what you want, fine... but i don't want people like you in MY america. you are a danger to everything you've ever held dear. it's sad that you're too blind to see it.

i never could grasp how people could be more afraid of gays, aborted fetuses, and tougher gun laws than the consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of the few, the destruction of our natural resources, and fascist policies.

one of the reasons people came here was to escape religious persecution. now, we have one religious group trying to run the table. the irony is, your "religious" leader shows NO christian ideals other than "i hate gays" and "i hate abortion" and "i hate muslims." it is NOT christian to destroy the environment. it is NOT christian to bomb innocent people, regardless of who their leader is. it is NOT christian to force christian ideals on non-christians. i've always said to people that i'd love for us to have a jewish president who decides that cheeseburgers and pork chops should be illegal. yeah, it's a facetious example, but it's the same thing. i shouldn't have to live to the ideals of YOUR religion, just my own, IF i choose to have one.

i don't understand this country anymore. it may be time for all the intelligent, open-minded americans to leave the country for 10 years, let all the ignoramuses kill each other off, then come back and start all over again.

VOTING SHOULD BE MANDATORY.

again, if you chose not to vote, fuck you very much. please leave, and don't let the doorknob get stuck in your ass when i kick the door shut behind you.

religiously idiotic...

2004-09-30T02:44:00.000-04:00

this post will NOT be political. yeah, the republikans are religiously idiotic and religious idiots, but that is not my point tonight. i need to vent.

i came home from work and doing work on my new apartment (at 2:20am) to find some moron with new jersey plates blatantly blocking my driveway, and partially blocking the shared driveway of two of my neighbors. there was a sign in the car basically saying "sorry, but due to religious observances for sukkhot (or whatever the hell holiday it is) we cannot move the car thursday or friday. sorry for the inconvenience."

what kind of crap is this? if you're observing a religious holiday which prohibits you from moving your car, the LEAST you could do is be considerate of others' rights. this is arguably the RUDEST thing i have EVER experienced, parking-wise, in my lifetime. i don't care WHAT religion you're observing, it gives you NO right to be this inconsiderate. i'm sure your god would understand if you had to drive a little bit over the "holiday" instead of being disrespectful to others. it is NO EXCUSE. it's too bad that street cleaning will be suspended, because i would love to see that car ticketed and stickered when i wake up in the morning to try to find a new spot for my car (i'm currently parked at a meter).

of course, i left a note right back at them, which i will replace if need be, that says "it was very 'RELIGIOUS' of you to block the driveways of THREE HOUSES for two days. you should have considered that."

kerry's plans for iraq

2004-09-21T23:35:00.000-04:00

glad to see kerry giving a framework to his plans for iraq. you can't expect him to be crystal clear on concrete plans until he actually has the keys, especially since i am SURE he doesn't have the security clearance of a sitting president. it's like thinking of buying a used ("pre-owned" is too PC - i hate PC crap) car after only seeing a picture. you can think about where you'd go with it, but you shouldn't make definitive plans until you get to look at it, pop the hood, kick the tires, & take it around the block.

patriots' day? please.

2004-09-15T02:57:00.000-04:00

as part of my work, it is necessary for me to maintain a day-planner. i was rather stunned to learn that september 11th has been named "patriots day." this makes absolutely no sense to me. 9/11/01 was a day of tragedy; subsequent years' 9/11's should be solemn days of remembrance (a la pearl harbor day, though its importance is waning as that generation dies off)... not a day to celebrate "patriotism." companies such as hallmark provide patriots day e-cards now. WTF?!?!?! oh, someone better hold me back if i ever see a patriots day sale. you know it's coming, folks...

cheney the "magnificent"

2004-09-13T01:52:00.000-04:00

cheney's parents clearly have the gift. they knew he was a richard the second they saw him...

seriously, this line from cheney has tortured me for days. why, oh why, is he not being raked over the coals for such a blatantly cheap shot? this is a slap in the face to any american who dissents with the current government's policies enough to use the constitutionally granted RIGHT TO VOTE to unseat said government. so now we're going to bring death to our people if we make "the wrong choice"??? i know the difference between right and wrong - thanks, mom! - and this is plain old WRONG. i don't think i've ever seen politicians as desperate as these guys. they are so afraid kerry will win (since they've done nothing themselves) that they have to make us more afraid of voting for him.

this is a strategy that is destined to backfire, especially with all the corruption coming to light.

as a new yorker, i am especially offended by this. he'd like me to think that i may be voting for my OWN DEATH should i vote for kerry - or, more importantly, against them.

people, THIS IS TERRORISM. terrorists make people afraid. we've been accustomed to using that word about people who use violence in service of fear...

let's draw a parallel to... domestic abuse.

all abuse starts with a psychological assault - threats of violence if the will of the abuser is not satisfied. with every repetition of these assaults, the abuser inches ever closer to the first blow. the abused is forced to subjugate to the whims of the abuser, for FEAR it will lead to violence. when the abused takes a stand, the inches disappear, and the first strike is made. this is the moment the abused is most TERRIFIED of; the warnings were given, and the abuser proved true to words. this is terrorism in the home.

the bush/cheney system is not much different. first, they (attempt to) terrorize us by saying our position as BDOE (big dog on earth) will become BPOE (big pussy on earth) under a kerry administration. subsequently, they say that the economy, social security, medicare, et al. will be destroyed if kerry becomes president. then, it's all that makes america great will fall down like a house of cards if kerry's hand guides the building. now, terrorists will strike again with kerry in the oval office.

who else feels the hand being raised, fist shaking and waiting to strike?

terrorists are striking NOW. FROM the white house.

stewing juices

2004-09-08T08:35:00.001-04:00

a lot has happened the past few days. i'll get right to it.

- kerry is finally on the move, sticking it to bush wherever he can. good for him. he did the right thing letting the republicans launch attack after attack on him, allowing them to dig their own grave while he stayed calm and focused. every day he will have plenty of ammunition with which to put holes in bush's record, thereby eliminating any bounce bush will have gained post-convention.

- how many ex-bush aides, military people, and washington insiders have to write books exposing the lies, hypocrisy, and corruption of this presidency before people sit up and take notice? next in line is "intelligence matters" by bob graham, which finally puts a name over all the blacked-out sections of intelligence reports. no surprise - it's saudi arabia, prince bandar "bush," et al.

- how long must we wait for this government - and its constituents - to realize that bush and his cabinet have been acting criminally through his whole term? i don't understand how they could impeach clinton for perjury and getting head from an intern but not impeach bush for treason and murder. i'll take this opportunity to point out that the US death toll in iraq broke 1,000. ONE THOUSAND american soldiers dying for no worthy reason...

- i finally figured out how bush says "most of my tax cuts go to the people at the bottom" with a straight face... "most of my tax cuts go to the people at the bottom" of the list of who paid the least taxes under clinton. when warren buffett thinks repealing the dividend tax is a terrible idea, even though he is one of the top beneficiaries of it, it should have been re-thought. trickle-down economics doesn't work, because it assumes behavior contradictory to human nature. provide the rich with more money, and they will hoard it, not spend more.

- a clear sign to me that this administration needs to be taken out with the quickness... i don't recall many elections having as much chaos surrounding them as 2000 did and 2004 is shaping up to have. am i supposed to believe that back-to-back elections steeped in vote-count controversies have NOTHING to do with their participants - specifically, the candidate that was in both? a friend pointed out a dirty-trick strategy that i still have to check the legality on - electorates voting against the popular vote of their state. believe me when i say that if this election has even a tinge of questionable or illicit activity, there will be hell to pay from the american people. i, for one, will NOT stand idly by during a second consecutive tainted election, and i'm sure i will have plenty of support.

side notes on bush's speech

2004-09-03T08:03:00.000-04:00

a few other notes:

the more i see rudy giuliani, his rat-like face and half-smile, the more i feel like kicking his teeth in! i have personal reasons for hating this man (he single-handedly almost caused the collapse of my stepfather's business), but there is more. i do NOT want to hear him reference the judeo-christian god (i.e. "thank god bush is our president," etc.) after watching him flaunt judi nathan all over town while still married (with child) to donna hanover.

my woman and i had a humorous exchange late in the speech after bush asked america to stand with him:
me: "well, looks like i'm still sitting. how about you, hon?"
her: "i'm still sitting, on the toilet bowl!"

here's my list of (short-handed) quotes that i referenced in the last post. please note that i was going to make a list of facetious lies as well because i knew i'd need to temper my rage with humor...
- "shaken economy... back up" (he said something similar later in the speech)
- "superb vice president" (HAHAHAHAHAHA right)
- "we love our first lady" (i think nothing of her...)
- "intelligent... young women" (referring to his daughters)
- "reagan: great american" (that will forever make me want to vomit)
- "schools are getting better" (don't say that around those who fill in the gaping holes in education)
- "new jobs" (at least ones that pay anything like the ones that have been lost)
- "compassionate conservative" (see my last post)
- "we will win the war on terror" (i thought you said we couldn't. what happened?)

as a final note, what was the deal with the protesters? aside from the fact that they shouted "out of turn," did they really do anything wrong? admittedly, i didn't see it, but i DID see bush's smirks as he watched them being escorted out.

what a wonderful president we have. i can't wait for the kerry landslide!

bush's speech

2004-09-03T07:43:00.000-04:00

i was going to spend today railing against the media... but then the media did something useful.

they broadcasted the hot air that was the nomination acceptance speech of george w. bush.

i missed most of pataki's speech, as i ran out to get dinner for my woman and myself, but i'm sure he spent an inordinate amount of time about 9/11. i had grand plans to write down and report on ALL bush's lies, half-truths, and overt exaggerations, but my hand started cramping shortly after his introduction. i'll post that list, and other notes, shortly. in any case, 'tis analysis time.

the most glaring omission from last night's speech was "he-whose-name-we-can't-mention" OSAMA BIN LADEN, who is SUPPOSED to be public enemy #1. instead, we're at war with "terrorism," but there is no more emphasis on the al qaeda bitch. now, wait just one minute. wasn't he responsible for bringing down our towers? YES. didn't clinton catch and try the bastards who perpetrated the last terrorist attack on american soil 8 years prior to 9/11? YES. should bush be held accountable for the inability of our army to capture/kill osama? HELL YES. terrorism cannot be "beaten" until we at least resolve the osama issue.

this country has NOT been made safer. ask me again if it is safer if/when new york gets off orange alert. when we're at yellow, MAYBE i'll start buying into it.

since when has september 11th become september THE 11th? that just sounds stupid. 9/11 is fine, september 11th is solid, september the 11th is not this voter's english. september the 11th what???

bush spent a LOT of time on the war, far and away more than he spent on any individual topic. it was probably a good idea. for someone who has been president for 4 years, he hasn't done much, as evidenced by all those "i will"'s he spouted. most of what he's done on "meat and potatoes" issues (education, health care, job growth, social security, etc.) has been half-hearted at best, and short-sighted or just plain inadequate at worst. his plans to privatize social security and medical insurance leave our future health (physically and economically) as a nation in the hands of the mercurial stock market.

for someone who is christian, he sure hates a lot of people. but he doesn't hate "unborn children," that's for sure. you know, i don't think pro-choicers hate them either. call it a hunch... anyway, i should discuss his hatred for two groups who he practically singled out. first, gays... his declaration of marriage as being necessarily between man and woman raised my ire. it's been my observation that men and women, as mixed pairs, have only de-perfected marriage (what's the divorce rate now? 60%?), so why not give two men, or two women, the chance to express their love the same way. i doubt they'd do worse than mixed couples. plus, they deserve familial rights (re: health care, taxes, insurance) that others enjoy. why are we still biasing against homosexuality? aren't we an enlightened culture? second, and even scarier, was his broadside slap in the face to every single muslim on this planet, declaring their beliefs to be only those of hatred. i don't know what else to say about it other than bush has talked out of both sides of his mouth on this issue, and i am sick of it.

i don't mind having a pious president, but i have a few problems with bush's piety. bush acts like god came down and told him, "your religious views are the only correct ones, and you should denigrate all others." this is evidenced in his use of "the almighty" in his REPEAT of the line about freedom being "the almighty's gift to all of us." he could have said "god's gift to all of us," which would have enabled jews, muslims, buddhists, etc. to feel that freedom comes from a higher power, as opposed to THE higher power. piety is supposed to enlighten; in bush's case, it darkens and subsequently narrows his vision - a dangerous quality for the leader of a country once touted as the great "melting pot." it almost seems like he wants to convert every single "soul" to HIS vision of christianity - which, in action, is not very christian.

another topic not discussed: the environment. as with the osama issue, it seems like bush wishes we'd all forget about this one as well. not a snowball's chance in hell, buddy.

according to immediate post-speech coverage on cnn, bush announced approximately 10 programs that would cost a lot of money to get off the ground. he's going to CUT taxes to pay for it? doesn't make sense, especially since our biggest potential taxpayers - the corporations who sell products in a country whose people they USED to employ - incorporate offshore to prevent paying THEIR FAIR SHARE. i'm sure bush will cut taxes - but for whom?

visually, physically, bush did NOT present the image of a strong leader. the image was more of a leader pandering to his party's line while attempting to sell the american public a bill of goods he can't deliver. i almost felt his fingers crossed behind his back at times. he had to dust off the "compassionate conservative" propaganda again, seeing as how we haven't seen - or heard - any compassion since his inauguration. bush always has this look that says to me, "i can't believe i can say these things and everyone buys it!"

next up: quickie notes on this...

of a single mind...

2004-09-01T11:55:00.000-04:00

the leadoff topic is here, and it's a very general one.

the two-plus party system is not well. higher-office-seeking third-party (how many third parties are there, anyway? 10? 20?) candidates typically can't generate an equal level of media exposure to that of the "major" party candidates without the candidate being wealthy himself (ross perot, ralph nader, jesse ventura). it's a catch-22 for them under the current system: they can't get anywhere remotely close to equal money towards "face time" without public and private funding, but they can't get that funding without the "face time" that makes the people aware enough of their candidacies. i also sense hostility to third-parties from both "major" parties in terms of making it difficult for third-party candidates to share time they're sharing amongst themselves (debates, etc.). the beast we call media is thwarting, as well, in a variety of ways that i will discuss at length later.

it also seems to me that politicians have this habit of acting not on behalf of their constituents, but on behalf of the constituents who voted for them, manifesting itself fully in party-line votes and an unwillingness to compromise for the good of the populace. this may be government of the people and by the people, but not enough for the people to qualify it as such. this type of behavior leads to the majority of "flip-flopper" situations such as john kerry's "i voted for the $87 billion before i voted against it" debacle. lost in that particular issue is that bush gave the $87 billion kerry voted for a thumbs DOWN before giving the one kerry voted against a thumbs up. hmm... sounds like a flip-flop to me! each and every person on this planet "flip-flops" often enough on enough matters that making it a derogatory label is meaningless.

being single-minded and determined does not, in and of itself, make one a good person, let alone a good leader. the willingness to accept when you are wrong and correct said mistakes IS a quality i look for in a leader. i expect nothing less of myself. as an example of this, the current iraq war. i was all for it initially - it seemed plausible to me that the toppling of the taliban in afghanistan would inspire osama to bail out of there. since the enemy of his enemy could be his friend, iraq seemed a natural - and nearby - destination. pakistan's and iran's leaders were then seeking to curry some favor with the US, and saddam certainly dislikes us enough to support osama's desires. in addition, saddam's stifling of the weapons inspectors was guilty behavior if i ever saw it. i was hoping that we'd go with the UN's graces (yeah, the UN isn't perfect either, but later...), but it seemed an inevitability that force would be necessary. now that we have gone in there, toppled saddam's regime, and explored virtually everywhere necessary... no osama, no WMD... hmm... now what? as colin powell said, "you break it, you bought it." we have enough worries in our own country, and now we're responsible for theirs as well. yes, saddam was a dictator, but how do we treat kim jong il? yes, saddam committed genocide, but what are we doing for the sudan? we had a larger reason that turned out to be wrong. we made a mistake, and that is one thing no one - and no country - should ever be too proud to admit to and then rectify as appropriate.

i'd expect no more and no less from myself, my people, my leaders, and my country.

where are the apologies from all of our leaders for failing us in so many ways?