Piss On Susan Collins, Go Ahead

Note to Olbermann. The purpose of the stimulus package was to stimulate the frigging economy. It wasn't to be a Christmas tree for every solitary goodie that we've come to expect from the government. And, yes, this also includes a lot of potentially positive things; methods to battle the dreaded swine flu, etc.. The fact that you continue to cherry-pick examples of what you consider to be benevolence unattained (this, because certain people tried to trim a little off of this behemoth), damned if that doesn't say a shit-load about you, too, me-bucko. You want the government to spend more money on the swine flu? Fine. Get the Congress to pass something pertaining to it. Stop trying to jam something into a stimulus package. Ya' hack.

The Bush-Hitler-Bradley Hadley Axis of Evil

To compare, folks (as a spate of lunatic bloggers on the left have clearly been doing these days), the water-boarding of a handful of Islamic extremists (which, I totally agree, was wrong and shouldn't have been done) to the willful genocide of the Jews by Nazi Germany isn't just moronic, it's offensive as well. And, yes, when you couple that with the apparent reality that Democrats, too, had been thoroughly briefed on these "measures", damned if the outrage doesn't start to ring at least a little hollow........................................................................And what about, too, folks, the copious amount of crap/stunts that previous presidents have pulled during similar times of emergency? Are we to completely ignore all of that as well? I mean, just look at Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This darling of the left took it upon himself to "intern" over 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War 2 - 62% of whom were, hello, UNITED STATES CITIZENS!! Talk about some collective punishment, huh? I mean, seriously, can you imagine if President Bush had tried to institute something like this after 9/11?...............................................................Bottom-line, folks, criticize the former president. Underscore (forcefully, if you absolutely feel the need to) his questionable judgements, miscues, etc.. But, seriously, try and keep the Nazi innuendo to a minimum - if nothing else than for your own sake (looking less the part of an mean-spirited idiot, etc.).

Man On a Mission

Look, folks, I know that Sean Hannity doesn't care for the President. That's fine. I'm totally fine with that. It's a free country and he has total liberty to like or dislike anybody. I even share some some of his concerns (runaway spending, etc.). But it's gotten to the point of critical mass, in my opinion - the ridiculous nature of the hyperbole, especially (he's almost starting to make Olbermann look measured).....................................................................Just the other night, for Christ, he punctuated one of his silly segments by saying that Obama was 1) cozying up to some of the world's worst dictators and 2) decimating America's military power. An exaggeration and a lie, in other words. Please, allow me...................................................................First of all, folks, all Obama did was shake Chavez's hand and take a book from the SOB. What in the hell was he, Obama, supposed to do - not shake his hand, throw the stupid book back in his face? And as even Hannity's Fox News colleague, Bill O'Reilly, showed, there was actually additional footage of Obama admonishing Chavez (the exact opposite of what a sane person would call "cozying up")......................................................................And as for all of this decimating the military stuff, Obama is actually increasing military spending (I think by 21 billion). He and Gates are just spending the money differently - focusing more and more on anti-terror strategies than on cold war weaponry. This is something that Hannity should applaud, for Christ! But he won't. Such, apparently, has his hatred of Obama grown, festered, etc..

A Pelosi's Box

Nancy Pelosi had better be telling the truth here, folks. I mean, think about it. If she had actually been briefed on these enhanced interrogation measures that the Bush administration used, failed to make protestations at the time, and somebody can prove that, then, yeah, she is clearly in a world of hurt, me-buckos. And from what I can gather, there were a whole hell of a lot of other Dems who were briefed/provided at least tacit approval...................................................................If you ask me (and it's doubtful whether any of you are), that's probably the main reason why Obama doesn't want to more fully investigate/proceed with this. I mean, sure, the fellow does seem to be of a conciliatory nature and all but, still, he is in fact a politician. I think he'd be far more apt to piss upon a Republican IF, I'm saying, his fellow Democrats were a little bit farther out of the cross-fire. Seriously, though, don't you think?

Star Trek

As people know, I generally refrain from taking extremist positions. I much prefer nuance and try to see both sides/have a tendency to lambaste those whose positions are highly partisan. But every once in a while, folks - every once in a while.............................................................Take last night, for instance. While watching the classic 1939 film, "The Women", I basically blew a gasket and, yes, folks, to this moment, I'm still pretty p.o.'d about it. In my opinion, IN MY VERY STRONG OPINION, the person who concocted and/or executed that hair-style for Norma Shearer (turning that beautiful woman silly looking) SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOT!!! Well, O.K., maybe not shot....but certainly pistol-whipped, etc.............................................................I mean, I couldn't believe it, folks. She looked like something from another planet. It's like, sure, the eyes still sparkled and wept when they needed to but, damn, what a distraction that hair was. And, no, it wasn't so much the era, either. Joan Fontaine and Joan Crawford were also in it, and their hair was fine. Damn! Oh well, I guess there's no accounting for taste, huh, me-buckos - theirs or mine?

Convince Me, Fellows

How 'bout this for a compromise, folks? Instead of EITHER card check OR the present scenario, we allow for a much more open process. I.E., if a union wants to make headway at a certain plant or facility, those folks get the opportunity to debate the management folks. It can be a single debate or a series of debates over a set period of time. Workers will be encouraged (but not required) to attend these debates, ask questions if they wish to, and to decide for themselves. And then, yes, after this process takes place, a secret ballot ensues. Sound good? It sounds damn fair/acceptable to me. I mean, we really want to eliminate intimidation from both directions, right? RIGHT?

Tea With a Venom Chaser

As to these tea parties, folks, was there orchestration involved? Yes (Fox News's constant promoting of them alone is evidence), of course, there was. Was there a radical/fringe/sycophant element to those who participated? Yes again (there are wack-jobs full-fledged in every movement - Louis Farrakhan in the civil rights movement, for example). These are not points that I'm going to debate at all............................................................But come on here. Enough is enough. To suggest (as partisan hacks such as Keith Olbermann and Jeaneane Garafolo have) that every single person who participated in these protests is nothing but a dangerous moron and a racist - that, me-buckos, goes FAR beyond the pale, in my opinion. And if you don't believe me, just ask Howard Fineman. This, I'm saying, in that, while appearing on none other than Olbermann's show itself, he told his host that a lot of these people weren't just mad at Obama but mad at Bush (HIS deficits, HIS bailouts, etc.), as well. Hell (he further went on to say), a lot of them actually had some kind words for Bill Clinton. They see the former president as someone who clearly put fiscal responsibility near the top of his agenda................................................................I don't know, folks, it doesn't sound as if these protesters represented a monolithic group at all. But then again, I'm not exactly a partisan stooge when it comes to analyzing, either. You'll have to go to Olbermann and Cliffy for that.

Slack Attack

And then, of course, there's Mr. Sean Hannity. This fellow apparently can't take his partisan hat off EVER. Just this week (for crying out loud), while everybody else (literally) was commending Obama for his handling of the pirate mess (his first foreign policy crisis), Hannity wasn't/was pissing on him as bad as ever, for Christ! Yeah, that's right, folks, he was being dismissive, spiteful, and sarcastic.......................................................................And the thing is, it's not like he had to say that Obama was on a par with Ike, J.F.K., Churchill, or anybody really. He just had to give the President a nod, for Christ! NO HYPERBOLE WAS NECESSARY. But he couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it. Advocacy journalism is clearly running amok here, folks. I mean, seriously, don't you think so?

The Exception That Proves Diddly

Keith Olbermann, folks, gingerly and respectfully criticizes President Obama once or twice and this, THIS, is somehow proof that the numb-nuts ISN'T a partisan hack? And what is he criticizing Obama for? He's criticizing him for not going aggressively enough after the Bush administration, prosecuting them for war crimes, etc.. I don't know, to me, all that that frigging shows about Olbermann is that his hatred for Bush, Cheney, etc. supersedes (ever so slightly) his adoration for Obama.....................................................................P.S. This is not to say that we shouldn't be more aggressively pursuing an investigation of Bush, the C.I.A., etc.. At least from what I can gather, the torture/borderline torture allegedly used was used on more than just the three guys originally mentioned (not that torturing "just" three guys is necessarily O.K., mind you). And I also heard that there were far more innocent people held at Guantanamo than originally thought. If in fact one or both of these facts is true, then, yes, proceed. And, yes, criticize Obama for not proceeding. But don't expect to be called a nonpartisan for doing so - not after all the partisan crap you engaged in prior.

Can't Make it Up, Folks

You got two guys, right; one, Retch, who has consistently and for two years now been highly critical of both sides and two, Leeds, a man who's shameless pandering to the left and vitriol to the right is literally legendary. It would seem to be an open and shut case, no - Leeds being the divisive one, the partisan stooge, etc.?................................................................Well, not according to Bradley Hadley. This frigging guy (himself a member of the partisan fringe and a lunatic), folks, says that it's Retch - that it's him who "sees everything through a partisan lens." I mean, talk about a partisan, paranoid lunatic-stooge, huh? And the fact that he absolutely believes it, folks. That to me is metaphysically frightening. Literally.

High On a Mountain Of War

We're sending 17,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan because....? I mean, it can't be because of Al Qaeda, the frigging "war on terrorism", etc.. Those frigging sons of bitches are in the mountains of Pakistan, for Christ! And as far as those Taliban numb-nuts go, sure, they did give sanctuary to Al Qaeda back in 2001 and, yes, they may ultimately do it again but, come on, we can't be micromanaging that hellish country ad infinitum/in the interim. That would truly be insanity, folks!................................................................I mean, I know that Barack Obama wants to underscore the fact that the former president blew it and all, that the son of a bitch clearly took his eyes off the prize, got us all bogged down in Iraq, etc.. But this, my friends is 2009. To try and correct the Bush administration miscues of years ago with additional folly is additional folly and little more. Hopefully, the elements who so angrily excoriated the former president recognize this/won't be taking a siesta on this one. I sure as hell won't be taking one.

That the Baby and the Bath-Water Are Somehow Separate

While Congressman Kucinich isn't necessarily the person I look to first for wisdom (I agreed with him on the war, but little else), I have to admit that the guy from time to time does put forth some interesting views. One of his quips that I especially like is the one where he points out that the American political system, just like the American eagle, needs both of its wings (i.e., the left AND the right) to fly. If in fact it loses one of them, it perishes................................................................I site this not just to the Ann Coulters of the world, those who would like nothing better than to see the U.S. Democratic party evaporate, period, but also to those on the left - those on the blogosphere, in particular. I mean, seriously, folks, have you ever taken the time to take a look at some of this crap? I think that if they could wave a magic wand and get rid of ALL Republicans (yes, even the frigging moderate ones, for Christ!) FOREVER, they'd do it in a frigging beat. Get rid of the opposition and apparently pure nirvana will occur................................................................But back to the gist of perhaps what Congressman K. was saying here. Think about it. If in fact we only had liberals/progressives in a society, changes/paradigm shifts would occur so rapidly that anomie (reference Durkheim's anomic suicide, for example) could conceivably occur within that society. If, on the other hand, we only had conservatives/traditionalists, change (necessary change, I'm saying) could conceivably occur at such an incremental pace that stagnation could result. That would be dangerous, too (an inability to adapt, etc.)..................................................................The bottom-line, folks, a society needs both of these forces to survive. The liberals put forth the type of change that a society often needs to be adaptive. Conservatives slow down the process to the point where we can more readily assimilate this change....................................................................This, of course, isn't to say that we shouldn't be debating (and vigorously), posturing, working about the margins, etc..We should be. Just try to remember (as President Obama himself tried to remind us), though, the other side occasionally has some good ideas, too.

Defective Invective

I'll admit to it, folks. I have from time to time been a critic of the President. I think he's spending way too much money (yes, the previous president started this trend - no question) and, yes, his approach to foreign policy and "anti-terror" strategies now have an eerie familiarity to them. But, no, folks, not even a little bit to I subscribe to that nightly 60-minute screed that Fox News's Sean Hannity is spewing out every night. I mean, have you seen this guy lately? Talk about an unhealthy obsession. I think if he could blame Obama for his brother-in-law's hemorrhoids, and get away with it, he'd absolutely give it a shot......................................................................And he's a flat-out dishonest guy, too, folks. He totally cherry-picked snippets from President Obama's speech in Europe and purposefully made it sound as if the President was doing nothing but bad-mouthing his country. Yes, the President said that sometimes the U.S. has been arrogant in its approach. But he also said (in the very next segment of his speech, no less) that often the rest of the world has UNFAIRLY blamed America for things that it shouldn't. Hannity left this statement out (as opposed to O'Reilly who praised the President for this part of his speech). How convenient, huh?....................................................................Look, my conservative friends, I agree with you. Certain aspects of the media were extremely unfair to Sarah Palin. Keith Olbermann, in particular, has treated her like garbage. But for Sean Hannity to go on the number one cable news network and do nothing but find fault with a guy who's obviously trying hard (albeit, yes, ineffectually at times) to get the country going again, I don't know, it just kind of feels a little slimy. I just wish that both sides would step back from the precipice here and try to be at least a little constructive. I mean, seriously.

To Those Who Advocate an Open Border Policy With Mexico, Simply This

The native populations of America were treated unconscionably. I don't think that that's the issue here. All I'm saying is that we're living in the present tense and that a lot of factors have to be taken into account - one of which is that 20th century countries must have the capacity to defend the integrity of their borders........................................................................Bottom-line, folks, all wars have displaced populations; Greece and Turkey after WW1, Finland and Russia after WW2. An infinite regress of grievances that fixates upon them (while, yes, it may in fact make us feel better) only gets us nowhere and nobody, NOBODY, takes them seriously. Obama seems like he (a la Bush) wants to institute a "comprehensive" (yes, the devil will clearly be in the details) approach and, yes, I think that that's probably the most plausible way forward.

The Encyclopedias Arrived Yesterday

One of the reasons why people claim to support card check legislation is that it supposedly gets rid of intimidation. Well, guess what, folks, it doesn't..............................................................Let me explain here. About three or four years ago, the health-care workers union came into our place and tried to get us to join them. They started off by recruiting a couple of true believers and, yeah, you got it, so, too, did the frigging hard-sell emerge (cards, cards, and more cards). You want to talk about intimidation/peer pressure/making a bunch of bogus promises (the owner of our facility makes about a one percent profit, by the way). Half the poor bastards who signed those cards did it just to get these characters off their backs..............................................................And, no, folks, I'm not saying that the management side was completely sympathetic, either. They absolutely plead their case. But, as far as I could tell, there wasn't a solitary example of strong-armed tactics (and certainly not one that was ever proved)...........................................................As for this whole ruse that the proponents of this legislation offer; that it doesn't necessarily stifle secret ballots but instead leaves it up to the workers, what in the hell kind of argument is that? I mean, seriously, what kind of a negotiation is it that basically allows one side to set up the parameters of it? Let us frigging be honest here, folks. This is the Democratic party capitulating to labor (paying them back for their support, evidently) - pure and simple. Kind of like what the Republicans do to the gun lobby. Got to love it, huh?..................................................................P.S. Yes, we voted the union down.

Frozen Rivers in Spring-Time

Unlike Bradley Hadley, Slade Leeds, etc., my positions on the issues/feelings for people AREN'T immutable. If in fact a person makes a good faith effort to smooth out a prior difference with me, yes, I am more than willing to meet them in the middle, flat-out show them a little respect, etc.. I mean, that's the mature thing to do, right?.................................................................And you know what else would have been "nice" (this directed DIRECTLY at Hadley, folks), maestro? It would have been "nice" if somebody OTHER THAN ME had voiced, yes, displeasure over there (yes, at Sassy's, I'm saying). I mean, if somebody had "posted" something as vile as that at my place (John McCain being accused of being a traitor - yeah, that one), I would have not just disavowed it but condemned it as well. At least I hope I would have done so.

Sheik Yer' President

Obama OBVIOUSLY bowed to the Saudi king, folks. The frigging camera caught it, for Christ! I mean, that was in fact Obama in the film, correct?.....................................................................P.S. Not that I even necessarily care, mind you. I mean, I personally wouldn't have bowed to the SOB - EVER! But that's just me (I don't even like to "rise" when the judge comes prancing in). My only complaint is with the ridiculous "explanations" that the Obama camp is presently serving up; that the president was leaning over to accommodate the much shorter Saudi king, etc.. Bullshit, in other words................................................................I don't know, folks, it's like, why can't these frigging politicians just be straight with us? I mean, all that Obama/team Obama had to say was that they just weren't certain as to the proper protocol. That's all....and that maybe he, as president of the United States, didn't necessarily have to show a deference of this magnitude to a fellow who consistently makes the top ten worst dictators list. Simple, no? But, no, gotta constantly try and fool the public with spinning and bull-crapping. I'm just getting kind of sick of it, personally.

And On the Eighth Day God Made Candidates

One of the more unnerving memories I have of last year's election season actually happened during the nominating process. Perhaps you remember it. It took place during MSNBC's Republican debate telecast. During the format, moderator, Chris Matthews, proceeded to ask these nominees (I think that there were eight at that stage) which of them DID NOT believe in evolution. The unnerving aspect? Three or four of them actually raised their hands...............................................................I mean, I know that I shouldn't have been at all shocked by this - what, with guys like Huckabee (who I actually kind of like in certain ways), Brownback, Tancredo, etc. comprising a part of this lacklustre field. But, still, I have to say that it did creep me out a bit. Quite a bit, to be honest with you.....................................................................The bottom-line, folks, I don't think that I could ever support a presidential candidate whose intellect/wherewithal was such that they would eschew the sciences to this degree. Not that I would necessarily fall in line with his/her Democratic adversary (no doubt endowed with some rather fuzzy thinking, too), either, but at least he or she would have a chance, I'm saying.

Fringe-Like Casting

While it may not have been exactly according to Hoyle, to Slade Leeds (and, yes, to Bradley Hadley, too), in particular, at least it was approximate. And, yes, me-buckos, the fact that there was indeed a plethora of others; loony-tunes to toot about it at Sassy's especially (them, taking it up the poop-shoot, repeatedly so), what if not for me to draw attention to that, too? Of course, when in fact the bulk of those drum-rolls and class-roles at once started fusing/stumblin' over there, so, too, unfortunately did the spindle itself. And, yes, the rest IS, as they're always want to tell you, history, Slade Leeds foaming profusely, at the mouth, etc..

More Than a Trickle, Less Than a Flood

There's one thing that President Obama didn't do to stimulate the economy that surprised me. He didn't propose a one to two year vacation (sorry, but I couldn't think of a better word for it) from the payroll tax. I say it surprises me because to most of the people I talk to, it sounds like a fundamentally liberal idea. I mean, think about it, you're giving money directly (and, yes, disproportionately) to people who are more than likely going to be spending it - i.e., the working poor. And if in fact you supplement that with the additional food stamps and unemployment extensions (with strict controls, of course) that Obama did put in, you'd really be pumping some serious cash into the economy.......................................................................Contrast this with what we've done instead; an 800 BILLION (over a trillion when you add in the interest) dollar spending bill that, while, yes, it undoubtedly will have some stimulative effect (I don't buy the Limbaugh line that it's totally ineffectual), features aspects in it that do nothing but blow an even larger hole in the deficit. And, worse, folks, we're doing it in an era in which we're rapidly becoming a debtor nation. I mean, couldn't Nancy Pelosi maybe try and reel it in a little? It's like, I know she's had it hard under G.W.B. and all but, come on, the Democrats are supposed to be the grown-ups here. At least that's what the memorandum tells me.

The Thin (Albeit Impenetrable) Line

I don't know, folks, I think it's gotten to the point where these labels and demarcations (left, right, liberal, conservative) have become essentially meaningless. I mean, was it a series of "conservative" actions by George Bush that ran up all these budget deficits? And what about his 700 BILLION dollar plan to bail out the banks? Was THAT conservative? And was the preemptive war in Iraq a conservative action - SERIOUSLY?.................................................................Couple that, me-buckos, with the fact that we now have a Democratic president who apparently doesn't have a problem with rendition, warrantless wire-taps, a huge residual force being left in Iraq, drones continuing to be sent into Northern Pakistan, etc., and, yeah, so, too, does this all confusion grow..................................................................Now this, of course, isn't to say that there aren't huge differences between the parties (philosophically speaking); the Democrats genuinely believing that the federal government can and should promote social justice just being one. But, I'm telling you, folks, the money, it goes to both parties, and both parties clearly have been corrupted by it. I mean, just look at the doo-doo that Chris Dodd's been sliding into, for example. ..................................................................I don't know, folks, as much as I hate to say it, I'm actually starting to long for those days of divided government; Clinton, Gingrich, the whole big frigging bunch of them back then. I mean, sure, nothing of a revolutionary nature ever materialized but, still, nothing really all that bad happened, either. Now, I know I should give the Dems a little more time to get it together and all....and I will. But, please, my fellow bloggers on that side of the aisle, try and keep these folks at least a little disciplined. For their own good, I'm saying. So they don't end up getting voted out of office, I'm saying (a la the Republicans). So we don't end up as a debtor nation, I'm saying. Etc..

Sometimes a Slippery-Slope is Just a Place Where People Go Sliding

I don't know, folks, if embryonic stem-cell research is as bad as President Bush/the Religious Right say that it is, then, really, shouldn't we be considering banning it completely (this, as opposed to merely halting federal funding for it)? I mean, seriously, if it is in fact tantamount to a murderous act of sorts, then how, pray-tell, should we even be allowing it at all? And what about all those thousands of times when the stem-cells end up just getting tossed - how is that act ALONE not considered by these folks a holocaust?................................................................I don't know, folks, I think that if the religious right were in any way consistent on the matter, they would actually want to address the bigger picture here. Hell, I'd go as far as to say that if in fact they TRULY had the power of their convictions, they would want to close down fertility clinics, period. I mean, seriously, are they not in a certain sense (the logic being carried to its conclusion, obviously) equivalent to a killing field?...................................................................Look, people, I actually do understand the controversy as it pertains to federal funding. People really don't want their tax dollars going to something that they find morally reprehensible. I get it. But those same people have understand that they're not alone in these types of laments. I personally was against the Bush administration's actions in Iraq. I would have greatly preferred that my tax dollars not support that. But they did. And, yes, folks, that was bloody that.