Month: December 2010

What Has Happened To Political Courage?

College of Political Knowledge

Lecture #

Political courage is doing what is best for the country,  not what is expedient for one’s political career….Washington has No one with political courage….just political cowards (a strong word, I know…..but sometimes the truth hurts)……or as I call them  CENTRISTS!  (a post to follow…stay tuned)

This is one of those subjects that will not be easy to analyze….there is a wealth of angles from which to approach the subject……I will start with the last debate in Washington….the tax cuts proposal that both Left and Right have a problem with…

The media is talking with those on the Left and the right that have voted NO on the new tax bill….they are being portrayed as some kind of hero for standing on principles…..this is mostly bullsh*t!

It is called “corralling” ……the two leaders of each house, the majority and the minority, round up the required votes to pass the bill and once that is accomplished they allow some to vote in opposition to the bill….it is a way of padding a resume for the next run for office……there is NO political courage in this!

In reality, the US Congress has NOT been a serious institution for 40 years or more…..they have NOT really attacked anything of consequence, they only tackle little battles while the war rages on….they have been immature, nay…..cowards, for close to 50 years and soon it will be too late to repair the damage they have caused….and when that occurs, I hope that history will NOT be kind to them and paint them as the cowards they were and are….

The media when they make these idiots out something they are not,  are doing NO one any good and are just part of the problem with our governing system…political courage is just a catch phrase in today’s politics….it NO longer exists…..the system dashes all hopes for political courage……the system is corrupt and NO one wants it to change….the prestige, the power, the cash all work in conflict to the people’s desire and that will continue because NO one wants it to change…..NO ONE HAS THE POLITICAL COURAGE TO CHANGE IT!

Compromise: A New Political Dirty Word?

I had always heard that politicians could speak out of both sides of the mouths, but had seen little evidence to support that accusation until now!

We have all heard the argument for compromise in the government….that if anything is to get done then we need to have our Reps learn to compromise……but apparently it is going to be a dirty word when we get a new Speaker of the House in January…..in an interview with CBS 60 Minutes John Boehner refused to use the word…excerpt below from the transcript of the show of 12 Dec 2010:

Boehner: We have to govern. That’s what we were elected to do.

Stahl: But governing means compromising.

Boehner: It means working together.

Stahl: It also means compromising.

Boehner: It means finding common ground.

Stahl: Okay, is that compromising?

Boehner: I made it clear I am not gonna compromise on my principles, nor am I gonna compromise…

Stahl: What are you saying?

Boehner: …the will of the American people.

Stahl: You’re saying, “I want common ground, but I’m not gonna compromise.” I don’t understand that. I really don’t.

Boehner: When you say the word “compromise”…a lot of Americans look up and go, “Uh-oh, they’re gonna sell me out.” And so finding common ground, I think, makes more sense.

Stahl reminded him that his goal had been to get all the Bush tax cuts made permanent.

Stahl: So you did compromise.

Boehner: I’ve, we found common ground.

Stahl: Why won’t you say you’re afraid of the word.

Boehner: I reject the word.

He rejects the word?  Looks like the tactics are already taking shape for the new Congress…..

The “Lamestream” Media

We have heard the darling of the Teabaggers use the term over and over…..but now she may have something there…..I have seen reputable media outlets say and print some really ridiculous stories…..but so far the most lame is this one from the Washington times:

From the pen of Robert Knight:

Sometimes just the threat of a wacko liberal ruling is enough to drive policy. That seems to be the reasoning behind Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warning Congress to homosexualize the military before the courts do it. He said it would be disruptive if a court acts, so Congress should order up the lavender tanks instead.

I don’t recall a single reporter asking Mr. Gates why, if ending the policy by court order would harm the military, it would be less disruptive if done by the lame-duck Congress. Mr. Gates himself hinted at the answer: Training (i.e. brainwashing) could begin earlier. Think about that. Troops drawn from America’s heartland will be “trained” to appreciate sodomy – or else. Wonder if they’ll break out those little Maoist dunce caps while they’re at it?

I understand the opposition to the repeal of DADT……but to go this far and be this moronic is a new low for even the Washington Times……

Is It A New Class War?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Society/Political Philosophy

Lecture

This is a lengthy one, but it is a subject that cannot be simplified anymore than I have attempted……

My friend Quin of Quintessential Havoc (blogroll will get you to his site….visit soon and often) were having a conversation about education and social science and basically the welfare state and I said that there are two distinct classes in the US…the privileged and the non-privileged and that a person was not destined to remain in one or the other, that there was movement back and forth…..but let me explain why I feel that there is a class war starting (actually it has been going on for decades)….and for decades the division between the classes has been getting wider with each passing year….and NO one notices…..around 47% of the American people do not think that the “American Dream” is still realistic……the average salary for the average worker has gone up less than a $1000 in the last 20, maybe thirty years….while the average CEO’s pay has gone up a hundred fold in the same period….and they still say there is NO class distinction….they are wrong and it will get messy before it gets better….

First from the Newser website:

Plenty of time and space has been and will be devoted to figuring out why the income gap between the rich and poor has gotten so big in the US, writes Steven Pearlstein. Today, though, he focuses on the very real consequences: “Runaway inequality,” he writes, “undermines the unity of purpose necessary for any firm, or any nation, to thrive. People don’t work hard, take risks, and make sacrifices if they think the rewards will all flow to others.””Without a sense of shared prosperity, there can be no prosperity,” writes Pearlstein. “And given the realities of global capitalism, with its booms and busts and winner-take-all dynamic, that will require more government involvement in the economy, not less.”

The poverty rate has NOT gone below 30 million people since 1982…..this is according to the census and I am sure that there will be those that will dispute the figures and want to quote those of some obscure think tank that has an agenda and the facts would just get in the way…..and then you have this occurring in the business community…..

US corporate profits are soaring in the midst of the deepest economic slump since the Great Depression, on the basis of a ruthless policy of using mass unemployment to slash wages and heighten the exploitation of American workers. In order to make the impoverishment of the working class a permanent feature of American life, companies are hoarding vast amounts of cash rather than hiring workers and expanding output.

These are the conclusions that flow from a Wall Street Journal analysis of second-quarter 2010 corporate profits, reported in the newspaper’s Monday edition under the headline “Propelling the Profit Comeback: Retooling, Downsizing.” The article gives statistics showing that US corporate profits are surging despite stagnant and even falling revenue, sharply increasing the percentage of revenue represented by profit.

I am sorry to crap on those who cannot see that there is a divide and a widening divide in the classes in the US…..but the economy is NOT about getting people back to work….but rather to improve the position of those who buy stocks….and before some mental midget tells us that a lot of Americans own stock…they do….but it is through a fund of some sort and that is who is getting wealthy off this slowdown in the economy…that the suckers that trust them….

This from the Newser website again………

American companies are sitting on record piles of cash right now, but instead of spending it to hire more workers or increase productivity, most are choosing to buy back huge quantities of their own stock, the Washington Post reports. This year firms have announced $273 billion in buybacks, more than five times last year’s figure. “They don’t know what they want to do with all the cash they’re sitting on,” explains one researcher.

And the US Congress is NOT helping either…..

The latest jobs bill from Senate Democrats – a plan to punish firms that ship jobs overseas – failed to clear a key procedural hurdle Tuesday after even some Democrats complained that the measure would hamper the ability of U.S. companies to compete in foreign markets.

Four Democrats and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) voted with a united Republican caucus to block the bill, which was crafted to address the 9.6 percent unemployment rate in the run-up to November’s midterm elections. On a vote of 53 to 45, the measure failed to garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster.  (Thanx to Lori Montgomery of WaPo for the thoughts above)

All this is fueling the grow divide….there is cash out there for the companies to use to help end this recession….but they do not want the recession to end….thus the working stiffs are being used in an attempt to further the accumulation of wealth…..now there is NOTHING wrong with that….but these people owe something to the society that created them and their wealth…

This could degenerate into a new call for class warfare….Eventually the working class will realize that instead of comparing themselves with the lower paid co-workers they need to focus on their ever shrinking pay as compared to the CEOs and the like with multi million dollar bonuses and salaries……I know that scares the sh*t out of most people….but failing to see the problem approaching is a sure way to get your pee-pee spanked…..

Recently, the GOP held up benefits for the unemployed and refused to help 9/11 responders with their medical problems all because it would be too expensive….but yet they will do all necessary to help the wealthy keep more of their money….some will say it is not about class but money….but is that not what a class warfare is basically about?

I know most pundits will not acknowledge the class war (and yes there is a class war) because they would have to go against the corporate interests of their handlers and in doing so would jeopardize their million dollar contracts….so these people will continue to refuse to acknowledge the character of the class structure in the US….everyday they report just how well the economy is doing….actually it is the markets doing well…..all else sucks…the economy is NOT doing well when there is 17% real unemployment….and by all means keep voting for those who do NOT have your best interests at heart and eventually you will join those on unemployment……if that happens….you most likely deserve it!

“Obamacare” Is Unconstitutional!

Well, parts of it……. so says Federal judge, Henry Hudson…….

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said in a 42-page opinion that the so-called individual mandate provision, which requires all Americans to buy some form of health insurance, would “invite unbridled exercise of the federal police powers.”

The Obama administration had argued that the individual mandate was essential to keep down nationwide health care costs, and that Congress had acted under its authority to regulate interstate commerce. But the judge said an individual’s decision to purchase — or to decline to purchase — health care from a private provider is beyond the “historical reach” the Constitution grants Congress to regulate interstate commerce.

So the Tea Party and the more Rightie of the GOP should be doing victory laps……or at least jerking off in the corner of their offices……but here is something that has NOT been mentioned……

Henry E. Hudson, the federal judge in Virginia who just ruled health care reform unconstitutional, owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform.As the Huffington Post and others first noted last July, Hudson’s annual financial disclosures show that he owns a sizable chunk of Campaign Solutions, Inc., a Republican consulting firm that worked this election cycle for John Boehner, Michele Bachmann, John McCain, and a whole host of other GOP candidates who’ve placed the purported unconstitutionality of health care reform at the center of their political platforms. Since 2003, according to the disclosures, Hudson has earned between $32,000 and $108,000 in dividends from his shares in the firm (federal rules only require judges to report ranges of income).

What was that the conservs call most judges that do not agree with them…..oh yeah…activist judges!  This should make an immediate filing with the US Supreme Court…..This guy should have immediately removed himself fromn hearing this case on grounds of conflict of interests……

Will this ruling hold up to a challenge?  I am sure that FOX will be reporting this every hour on the hour and will have all their minions working hard behind the scenes to make this stick in the public’s mind……..

January oughta be a an interesting beginning to an interesting year……

Don’t Look Now, But It Is A Neo-Conserevative!

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Political Theory/Government/Conservatism

Paper #42

Shall we return to sanity?  The elections are over and now we need to return to reality…….

Neo-conservative or as we call them today, NEOCONS….why?  Apparently we are too damn lazy to say the whole phrase and must shorten it for our personal ease…..

I have come to a point where I am sick of people calling themselves conservatives when they are not really…..they do not believe, for instance, they feel that American society is breaking down because of sexual liberation, multiculturalism, political correctness and a culture of dependency.  Neocons believe that other countries are envious of the democracy in the US….and that it is the US place in history to , basically, thrust democracy on others, willing or not…..G.W. Bush is a good example of neo-conservative thinking….he had a strong conviction to advance American values (whatever those are)….he had a ruthless pursuit of American interests, no matter the course and exploited the politics of fear to justify any and all actions…….

Okay let us look at this more simply…..the “new” NeoCons…the Teabaggers….have many of the same leanings as their predecessors……traditionalism, authoritarianism, social order, traditional values (there is that word again), strong state, these are the things that most of the “newbies” in Washington are yelling about…..it is there way or the highway and that will eliminate any compromise to get the country moving again……social order which will be tested if these people get their way in the next couple of years…..well you get my point here…..

My problem with this whole movement is that hey are incoherent in their policy stands….there seems to be NO ideology or said principles….they have attached themselves to anger to win a position in Washington…that does not bide well for the American people….no matter how angry the electorate is voting from anger in place of knowledge is just plain ignorant and self-defeating……

Gandhi was right when he observed:   “Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”  Pretty much proves my point….at least in the recent past.

More Normal Than Abnormal

There is youtube which has been replaced by facebook….then we have flickr and twitter and ……..anyway a wealth of sites where we can be famous at least for a short time….we can see our vids and fotos and words and…….we can have our instant gratification…we buy zit cream to give us the perfect skin or dye for that perfect blonde color….and with that comes bigger tits….firmer ass and a vacuum of the gut….

Then we go to the gym and do pilates and jazzercise and lift VWs….or we buy home dildos to work every portion of our body or we buy a pill that promises 6 pack abs…..we buy special shoes when worn will give you the perfect ass…..and it goes on and on…..to the point that we are a narcissistic society…..a society of self-center turds……

Back in the day that was called…..

Narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and the need for constant attention, has been eliminated from the upcoming manual of mental disorders, which psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness.

Yes…if you suffered with this disorder….then you were mentally ill……but in today’s world all that has changed….But wait!

As Charles Zanor reports in today’s Science Times, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — due out in 2013 and known as D.S.M.-5 — has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition. The best known of these is narcissistic personality disorder.

So what once was abnormal is now normal…….what a great day for society……justification for self-absorb little turds!

Only In America……

From the VOMITORIUM

We Americans think we are the most unique individuals in the entire world…..a bit arrogant and self centered, but I think they have a point……let me explain….

Only in America…..

Would we allow liars to become the pillars of society

Would we allow major decisions to be made on false information…..

Would we consider allowing hate and bigotry to replace tolerance….

Would we consider fear a better choice than common sense…….

Would we prize inaction over action…….

With all that said I still cannot understand the fascination of the American people on anything royal…..

We hold our breath at the announcement of Prince whats-his-name and Lady Kate (?)……

Or the offer of a replica of the Princess Di ring that the Prince gave to his lady….it is a fake sapphire, fake diamonds and fake silver setting and will sell for $40 plus S&H……and it will become an instant best buy…..

All that is just plain silly…but there is something that is just extremely scary……

undergarments purportedly belonging to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II are now being auctioned off by a man in Florida, sparking a trend for selling celebrity knickers.

Globetrotting Miami bon vivant “Baron” Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi – or Sepy, as he was known – reportedly snagged the royal bloomers off a friend after they were left on a private plane when the Queen visited Chile in 1968, celebrity website TMZ.com reported…

It seems that some of Queen Victoria’s drawer brought about $9,000 at auction……

Just how f*cking sick are you people?

The Food Nazis

Not to be confused with Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”…….But damn close……I am talking about those elites with the large wallets that want to dictate what we consume……you know who they are…they are the ones yelling the loudest about calories and sugar and salt and fats on….on and on…..they are the ones that want the government to step in a control the consumption of certain items……

(Thinking……thinking…..)

Where I have heard this before?

After some careful thought…..I seem to recall back in the day in an American History class we were studying the beginning of the country…you know when Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and the boyz were trying desperately to find the right balance for the government of a new nation….I recall one of the lesser known Founders, George Mason IV, considered to be a radical as opposed to the moderate that most others were…..at the Federal convention of 1787,  he moved to empower the new congress to enact sumptuary laws regulating what people could eat, drink, or wear……in order to promote frugality among the lower ranks of society…….think about it!  Does that not sound a bit familiar?

We now have all these elites going on the tube telling us what we should eat and drink and in some cases what we should wear….we have governors telling us what foods are acceptable for consumption….we have mayors telling us what drinks are acceptable…all in the name of better health and most are aimed squarely at the “lower ranks of society”……

Once again the elites, those in the upper class of our society, are deciding what you should eat, drink and in some incidences wear…it was unacceptable in 1787 and it should be so in the 21st century….but you people buying the CRAP they keep selling…….at least they had enough brains to stifle that move in 1787….when less than 50% of the country could read or write…….what is your excuse?

As usual, those that are all for the government intervention are the very ones that bitch about too much government intervention……but on a side note……they will NEVER address the causes of the problem….just a solution that only effects a small group that will have to shoulder the entire situation….so damn typical of the American mentality!

What Do You Read?

Sarah Plain answers that probing question from her recent past……finally the mystery is solved!

Remember back during the ’08 presidential election when the disastrous interview that Palin had with Katie Couric?  She  was asked what she read and she stumbled and crashed loudly on the evening news, when she could NOT name one magazine, newspaper or book that she read or had read……that incident has haunted her and lead her to only do friendly interviews with softball questions…nothing too hard that she might have to use a little mental power…….this is where she started calling the media…the Lamestream media…..

But now after two plus years she can put the allegations to bed……(may we have a drum roll, please)

More than two years after Sarah Palin was stumped by the question, “What newspapers do you read?”, she told Barbara Walters in an interview to air later tonight.

Said Palin: “I read anything and everything that I can get my hands on as I have since I was a little girl… I’m reading the best book right now — Dean Karnazes’s book about being an ultra-marathoner. I read a lot of C.S. Lewis when I want some divine inspiration…I read Newsmax and The Wall Street Journal. I read all of our local papers of course in Alaska because that’s where my heart is.”

Of course, she would say Newsmax….last book was a gift to subscribers and the WSJ is one of the few papers that prints her op-eds….as I have said…it is about her, not the country…..

After two plus years and that is the best list she could come up with….not a lot of thought there…..That is great we now know that she reads fantasies, sports thingys and ONLY news that will dispute anything liberal…..does not sound like someone that would like a balanced knowledge of the world and its workings…..does she get her talking points from Newsmax or the Tea Party or the GOP?  She definitely does not read enough to formulate her own talking points……

But, I guess, that is the average person in the ultra-right…..why let facts get in the way……..

Well, Plain may read anything and everything, but the public is NOT going that route…..in the first couple of weeks her first book sold about 700,000 copies and her second book is finding it hard to sell 100,000 copies in the first couple of weeks of its release …..then her first one has been released in paperback, in September, and it is struggling to break the 20,000 mark….looks like her books are destined to be sold in the Dollar Stores in the bargain book bin……