US politics gets uglier by the day, even by the hour, as the fascist wing realizes it is losing out in public opinion. In Texas, the statehouse is threatening a forced redistricting of the entire state, effectively removing 5 or 6 elected representatives from office, just as soon as they can arrest 11 AWOL senators, drag them back to Austin and physically lock them in their offices so they can claim a quorum for their anti-democratic voting.
California appears to be coming out of its drug haze and realizing that, gee, maybe the recall wasn't such a good idea. Bustmante leads Ah-nold the Idiot, and Gray Davis's numbers keep rising. The AFL-CIO just came out strongly against the recall. You mean saying old lines from second rate movies won't solve the budget problem? Whoda thunk it....
There are now more soldiers dead since end of hostilities was declared than were killed during the invasion, and there is no end in sight. Duhbya seems to think that the UN owes him to come pull his ass out of the fire by sending in *their* men and women to get their asses shot off - but all under US command and direction. Oh, right.
That's a tough one, actually. I don't think anything less than a strong UN presence can restore something resembling normalcy to Iraq and alleviate the ghastly conditions Iraqis are being forced to live under. OTOH, I really don't want to see the Unelected Fraud and his band of goons foist the real work off onto the UN, particularly after having shit all over the rest of the world to create this debacle in the first place. They are playing chicken with people's lives - c'mon and help, now. You don't want to see this little girl die of starvation due to our brutality, do you?
Fucking fascist bastards...
Ang
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
From the introduction of "Big Lies"
"The most basic liberal values are political equality and economic opportunity. Liberals uphold democracy as the only form of government that derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and they regard the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights as essential to the expression of popular consent. Their commitment to an expanding democracy is what drives liberal advocacy on behalf of women, minorities, gays, immigrants, and other traditionally disenfranchised groups.
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
From the introduction of "Big Lies"
"The most basic liberal values are political equality and economic opportunity. Liberals uphold democracy as the only form of government that derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and they regard the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights as essential to the expression of popular consent. Their commitment to an expanding democracy is what drives liberal advocacy on behalf of women, minorities, gays, immigrants, and other traditionally disenfranchised groups.
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
From the introduction of "Big Lies"
"The most basic liberal values are political equality and economic opportunity. Liberals uphold democracy as the only form of government that derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and they regard the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights as essential to the expression of popular consent. Their commitment to an expanding democracy is what drives liberal advocacy on behalf of women, minorities, gays, immigrants, and other traditionally disenfranchised groups.
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
Liberals value the dynamism and creativity of democratic capitalism, but they also believe in strong, active government to protect the interests of society. They understand that markets function best when properly regulated, and they also know that unchecked concentrations of private power encourage environmental pollution, financial fraud, and labor exploitation. Liberals see a broad social interest in ensuring real opportunities and decent standards of living for everyone, while requiring basic responsibility from everyone.
Those who regard such ideals as naive today should remember that America in the 20th century was built on liberal policy, from the Progressive Era through the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the GI Bill, and the Great Society. The modern economy -- a private enterprise system that relies on government safeguards against depression and extreme poverty -- is the legacy of liberal leadership, from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. (And more recently Bill Clinton, who erased Republican deficits that were sending the economy into a spiral of recession and began to pay down the national debt.) Liberal policies made America the freest, wealthiest, most successful and most powerful nation in human history. Conservatism in power always threatens to undo that national progress, and is almost always frustrated by the innate decency and democratic instincts of the American people.
If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.
If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.
Whether they now describe themselves as liberal or not, most Americans remain strongly progressive in their views about taxation, healthcare, education spending, Social Security, environmental protection, and corporate regulation. In fact, despite conservative political advances in recent decades, survey evidence gathered by pollsters of all persuasions suggests that Americans are still more liberal than conservative."
Fom Joe Conason's new book Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth. Buy it on Amazon
Ang,
who is a liberal through and through, and damn proud of it
Sunday, August 17, 2003
The CA Recall
The LA Times published a big spread comparing the leading candidates answers to a single issue - the increase in vehicle licensing. Under the current plan, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Davis, fees on vehicle licensing will triple. By doing so, $4 billion in revenues will be raised. This is a small but significant portion of the $35 billion deficit in the CA state budget.
Most candidates are running with this as their main issue - if elected, I will repeal the tripling of the fee. So the Times asked each campaign: Would you really repeal this law and, if "Yes", where are you going to raise the $4 billion in funds that this measure provides?
In other words - talk is cheap. How are *you* going to manage California's fiscal crisis?
Arnold the Actor did not even bother to reply. Yup, the big Rethuglican front-runner doesn't think he has to bother giving people real answers. Loser.
The Rethuglican morons who lost the last election still hold to the same line - cut services for poor people, let the infrastructure of the state go to hell, don't tax the rich. Simon will cut all state services across the board, and the others all claim they will find the money by cleaning up government fraud and abuse. OK, good enough. How are you going to fund the enforcement and investigative agencies needed to root out the "fraud"? How do you know there is $35 billion in fraud going on such that you can balance the budget just by getting rid of it? Aren't you really saying you intend to lay more state employees off, cut services to ordinary Californians, and then finger-point at Mexican migrant labor as the source of the state's woes? Like you Rethuglicans always do? Or will you admit your dirty secret - you will pass the SAME budget measures Gray Davis is trying to get passed, with the same taxes, except now your Rethuglican buddies in the legislature will vote yes instead of stonewalling? Liars.
Huffington and Camejo propose taxing wealthy Californians and/or corporations at a higher rate. Sounds good until you realize that you can't do either without getting a super-majority in the legislature - which is what is preventing Davis from getting moderate measure passed in the first palce. So, an 8.5 for social activism, a 0 for political reality. Also, taxing companies is a sticky wicket. Some have excess profits (Enron, anyone?) but often are not CA corporations, while small businesses are just getting by in the stagnant economy, and can't cough up more until the business environment gets better.
The only candidate who had an answer with any substance was Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. He would exempt the first $20K value of a vehicle, so as not to unduly penalize low and moderate income citizens, which would cut the revenue by $2 billion. He would then increase the alcohol and cigarette tax to make up the amount lost by exempting the first $20K value of a car. These are measures that try to address conflicting class interests in the state (c'mon folks, this is a class war between the rich and the non-rich, complicated by the usual racist, homophobic, and religious hysteria that grips Central Valley Californians. Get a clue), and has a chance of being approved by the legislature.
The real problem is the super majority (2/3) required to pass the budget. It needs to be made a strong majority (55%, the same as school bond measures) which allows budgets to be passed but not rubber-stamped. Right now, a minority of legislators can hold the entire state hostage to their ideological posturing, circumventing reasonable majority rule.
Meanwhile, the 5th largest economy in the world (if California were a nation, not a state) is unable to provide social services or get the economic engine back up to speed. Think of it this way - had California not been so badly fucked over by George W. Bush's buddy Kenny Lay and the other "energy bidness" robber barons, the *world* economy would be much stronger, the national economy would probably be growing at a good clip, employment would be higher (though not back to Clinton-era levels), and individual families would not be struggling so hard to make ends meet. California would not have lost BILLIONS down that open rat hole.
It is the economy, stupid.
Ang
Saturday, August 16, 2003
FAIR AND BALANCED!
Argh! I missed the celebration of the offical "Fair and Balanced" day of blogging yesterday!
Form Joe Conason's blog on Salon: "In case you don't already know, Aug. 15 has been declared Fair and Balanced Day by freedom-loving bloggers everywhere, in response to the morally unfair and mentally unbalanced nuisance lawsuit brought by Fox News against Al Franken and his publisher."
I declare this LJ to be fair and blanced, particularly when compared to the crap that the right-wing fascist media in this country distributes. I am not in the pay of any political party, nor under the influence of religious superstition.
Ang
Form Joe Conason's blog on Salon: "In case you don't already know, Aug. 15 has been declared Fair and Balanced Day by freedom-loving bloggers everywhere, in response to the morally unfair and mentally unbalanced nuisance lawsuit brought by Fox News against Al Franken and his publisher."
I declare this LJ to be fair and blanced, particularly when compared to the crap that the right-wing fascist media in this country distributes. I am not in the pay of any political party, nor under the influence of religious superstition.
Ang
Friday, August 15, 2003
I Wonder
The snarfy Washington Post "journalist" who mocked Europeans for not being able "to take the heat" was so proud of his/her/their air conditioning and sealed buildings.
I wonder how many people in those kinds of buildings when the power went out across a huge chunk of the US yesterday were wishing they could open windows and turn on ceiling fans to keep cool. When my husband's building lost power last week, they had to leave because the temperatures rose to higher than the outside - no windows to open, no natural air currents.
And no power means no ice for your water, no way to run electric fans, and a whole host of other conveniences people take for granted.
The technologies that make living in hot, humid climates comfortable are heavily dependent upon large amounts of "cheap" energy.
Ang
I wonder how many people in those kinds of buildings when the power went out across a huge chunk of the US yesterday were wishing they could open windows and turn on ceiling fans to keep cool. When my husband's building lost power last week, they had to leave because the temperatures rose to higher than the outside - no windows to open, no natural air currents.
And no power means no ice for your water, no way to run electric fans, and a whole host of other conveniences people take for granted.
The technologies that make living in hot, humid climates comfortable are heavily dependent upon large amounts of "cheap" energy.
Ang
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Just Too Disgusting
The Washigton Post has an editorial making fun of the people in France who are dying becuse of the heat.
The bastard who wrote it is mocking Europeans for not having sealed buildings with air conditioning and saying that Americans can take high temperatures, what's wrong with those wussy Europeans?
Well, if the US had been suffering through a month of record temperatures with no rain, gee, we'd be in pretty bad shape ourselves, AC or no AC, don't you think?
Also, as usual, there is no mention of the fact that the oil, gas & coal burned in America to make our ACs run so nicely is demonstrably adding to the greenhouse effect - which is what is triggering weather abnormalities around the globe.
Yes, politics matter. It matters that we get politicians in office who do not believe it is their God-given, Xtian right to rape the earth and rob their neighbors and kill the heathens they can't convert.
Oh, and another soldier dead in Iraq, more civilians killed there, and still no end to the floundering malaise of joblessness in America.
Ang
The bastard who wrote it is mocking Europeans for not having sealed buildings with air conditioning and saying that Americans can take high temperatures, what's wrong with those wussy Europeans?
Well, if the US had been suffering through a month of record temperatures with no rain, gee, we'd be in pretty bad shape ourselves, AC or no AC, don't you think?
Also, as usual, there is no mention of the fact that the oil, gas & coal burned in America to make our ACs run so nicely is demonstrably adding to the greenhouse effect - which is what is triggering weather abnormalities around the globe.
Yes, politics matter. It matters that we get politicians in office who do not believe it is their God-given, Xtian right to rape the earth and rob their neighbors and kill the heathens they can't convert.
Oh, and another soldier dead in Iraq, more civilians killed there, and still no end to the floundering malaise of joblessness in America.
Ang
Saturday, August 09, 2003
Just a Thought
If the real backers of al-Quaeda are members of the Saudi royal family, and if the reason we can't *say* this officially and then open a can of Whup-Ass on them is because they control oil, doesn't it seem logical that the research and scientific might of America, not to mention the proper patriotic attitude, should be to go hammer and tongs at replacing oil as the primary energy source?
Oil Independence = National Security
Forget the Greens. This is a national security issue. Dependence on imported oil makes the US, Europe and Japan vulnerable because we can't afford to cut the Saudis off, declare them a pariah state, and let them rot in splendid isolation.
Oil Independence = National Security
Ang
Oil Independence = National Security
Forget the Greens. This is a national security issue. Dependence on imported oil makes the US, Europe and Japan vulnerable because we can't afford to cut the Saudis off, declare them a pariah state, and let them rot in splendid isolation.
Oil Independence = National Security
Ang
Thursday, August 07, 2003
What a Joke
So the Austrian weight-lifter is running for California governor.
What are the odds that he'll get it? Pretty good. The state is in hideous condition because of the Rethuglican fuck-over during the Enron price-gouging on energy, and what will happen? They will be rewarded with the governorship of the largest state because Ahn-nold will bring out stoopid people who just think it's cute to vote for the Terminator.
Just when I think the population is beginning to clue in to just how badly the Rethuglicans are screwing them, the public rejoices in the presence of another ass-hole fascist to vote for.
Ethical people will not use the bogus recall action to be rid of their political enemies, and the scum from the bottom of the sewage tank won't hesitate a second to use it at any opportunity. We have a "recall" process, people - it's called regular elections.
Diane Feinstein got it right when she said:
Additionally, it is now becoming apparent that there may well be dozens of candidates on the recall ballot, most of whom have no background or knowledge of the state’s enormous portfolio of issues -- whether it be the $99 billion budget, the numerous pieces of legislation awaiting signature or veto by the governor, or the thousands of pending appointments to critical judgeships and important state posts.
Indeed, few of these candidates know much about the law enforcement needs of the state or the security risks we face in the war against terror.
Few understand the myriad of challenges facing California’s public schools.
And, I would hazard a guess that if you asked these candidates what the Healthy Families program is, how it is funded, and how it benefits the state, the vast majority would have no idea what you are talking about. And that’s not to mention the enormously complicated Medicaid issues that face the state.
It matters who runs a bureaucracy. There are a lot of nuts and bolts to be managed. I'll take bland over incompetant, or fascistic, any day.
Ang
What are the odds that he'll get it? Pretty good. The state is in hideous condition because of the Rethuglican fuck-over during the Enron price-gouging on energy, and what will happen? They will be rewarded with the governorship of the largest state because Ahn-nold will bring out stoopid people who just think it's cute to vote for the Terminator.
Just when I think the population is beginning to clue in to just how badly the Rethuglicans are screwing them, the public rejoices in the presence of another ass-hole fascist to vote for.
Ethical people will not use the bogus recall action to be rid of their political enemies, and the scum from the bottom of the sewage tank won't hesitate a second to use it at any opportunity. We have a "recall" process, people - it's called regular elections.
Diane Feinstein got it right when she said:
Additionally, it is now becoming apparent that there may well be dozens of candidates on the recall ballot, most of whom have no background or knowledge of the state’s enormous portfolio of issues -- whether it be the $99 billion budget, the numerous pieces of legislation awaiting signature or veto by the governor, or the thousands of pending appointments to critical judgeships and important state posts.
Indeed, few of these candidates know much about the law enforcement needs of the state or the security risks we face in the war against terror.
Few understand the myriad of challenges facing California’s public schools.
And, I would hazard a guess that if you asked these candidates what the Healthy Families program is, how it is funded, and how it benefits the state, the vast majority would have no idea what you are talking about. And that’s not to mention the enormously complicated Medicaid issues that face the state.
It matters who runs a bureaucracy. There are a lot of nuts and bolts to be managed. I'll take bland over incompetant, or fascistic, any day.
Ang
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