How can this keep happening? Sometimes I look at this country and find it utterly incomprehensible.
It is an all too familiar nightmare. A man, dressed in black military style clothing, carrying at least two hand guns, walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. He proved to be terrifyingly efficient. By the time he was done, according to current reports, 26 people were dead, 20 of them children. One of the six adults was found at what police are calling a "secondary location." Apparently only one person escaped with wounds. It was not a spur of the moment thing. It had all the trappings of a well planned terrorist assault.
According to unfolding reports on all the major networks the shooter was named Adam Lanza. He was in his early twenties. He's dead now, raising the body count to 27. One has to assume he killed himself, although we can always hope a cop whacked his sick ass. His mother taught a kindergarten class at the school. She and a number of her students are among the dead. One of his brothers might have been the victim in the "secondary location," but no one knows for sure. As always confusion and conflicting information are swirling about like a strong wind whipping trash through an alley.
The president of the United States of America, the father of two girls, just spoke to the nation and delivered a brief, but emotional statement. He had to pause several times and more than once wiped at tears in the corners of his eyes.
He offered no specifics about what can be done to address this sort of monstrous bullshit, other than saying "we need to come together and do something meaningful about it despite politics."
At this point I would normally rage about how easy it is for an evil fuck like this to get his hands on deadly weapons. But you know it is too easy all ready. If you don't you're a complete idiot. And the guns aren't going to go away. In fact tomorrow gun sales will soar just as they did right after Jimmy Holmes opened fire in an Aurora, Colorado theater a few months ago.
Twenty families, many of whom probably have their Christmas trees up and presents for their kids wrapped and hidden away, will now have to bury their children. There is nothing that can be written, or said that will ease their pain. There is nothing that will be uncovered, or reported that will sufficiently explain this ferocious insanity to them. There is no why, there is only what happened.
The fact is we're nuts, dangerously nuts, and we all have guns. To paraphrase Jim Morrison, "our brains are squirmin' like a toad." We'll kill large numbers of our fellow human beings in malls, schools, movie theaters, and on the street. We'll kill babies.
We are, in the end, the sum of all our fears. Merry Christmas, America.
12-14-12
updated reports have been incorporated into the original draft of this post.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Fiscal Cliff, Robert Bacharach Still in Limbo, and Kamikaze Republicans
USA Today's David Jackson is reporting that an ABC/Washington Post poll shows that 49% of Americans approve of President Barak Obama's handling of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. Only 25% of those asked approve of the way republican John Boehner is conducting himself during the talks. The same poll found 65% believe the election victory gave the president a mandate to raise taxes on everyone making $250,000 or more.
So what is the problem? Why is there a delay in reaching a settlement?
Well it is becoming painfully obvious the republican leadership doesn't give a rat's ass about polls, or future elections at this point. Their major concern right now is holding out as long as they can for all the yahoos who contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Mitt Romney and a bunch of crackpot senate candidates; then watched in shocked horror as all that money bought them nothing more than a psychotic Karl Rove rant. Yes, one has to think that the republican establishment, while wishing they could excommunicate every tea party asshole out there, knows they have to deliver something to the money people. After all, those contributors are bottom line dudes and they aren't used to getting screwed. You can never tell what jobs might, or might not be available in the private sector once you leave congress. And who knows? Charlie and Dave Koch may have sent brother Boehner a Christmas gift that included a dead fish wrapped in a bullet proof vest.
Republican senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell was quoted as saying, "Look the election is over. The president may enjoy these political rallies, but it is time to get serious." In McConnell's mind that probably means the president needs to do whatever he and Boehner want him to do. Unfortunately Senator, you're lost somewhere south of the twilight zone. This president obviously doesn't want it to happen, but if the Great American Bus goes over the cliff in January because republicans won't cave on the tax issue guess who the public is going to blame? The first hint is his name isn't Barak Obama.
At this point in time the difference between republicans and democrats has never been more stark. The GOP wants to lower the deficit by cutting social security cost of living increases, raising the retirement age, and slashing medicare and medicaid benefits to the poor, aged, and infirm. The democrats want to raise taxes on people making more than a quarter million dollars a year.
Meanwhile the senate finally confirmed Tulsan John E. Dowdell to serve as a federal district judge. However republicans are still holding up the confirmation of Robert E. Bacharach to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No one is clear on why this travesty remains ongoing. Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy of Vermont was quoted as saying, "With the American people's re-election of President Obama, there is no good purpose to be served by this further delay." He was referring not only to the Honorable Judge Bacharach, but 19 other judicial nominees who have been languishing in never never land for months now. Bacharach has the endorsement of both Oklahoma republican senators, although in an act of outright cowardice, neither would buck their party when democrats tried to push his nomination out of committee before the election. Apparently one of three things is holding up the Bacharach confirmation. One, republican senators are unaware that the election was last month. Two, GOP law makers want to prove to everyone they still have cocks. Three, Bacharach is a Jew.
Take your pick. The end result is the same.
There is a certain feel to all this. It seems the republicans are, at the moment, in some sort of bizarre kamikaze mode. They apparently feel there is no need to look ahead to future elections, that Gotterdammerung has arrived and all there is left to do is go down spectacularly in flames. Maybe they think everyone will be too stupid to remember all this in two and then four years, or perhaps they secretly believe in that Mayan calender thing.
Whatever the case, right now they do look to have all the attributes of a doomsday cult trudging off to the Kool-Aid dispenser.
If that is the case, good riddance. Their act has gotten exceedingly old and it is time to get things done around here.
As it says on the door of a brewery somewhere, laboremus pro patria.
12-12-12
So what is the problem? Why is there a delay in reaching a settlement?
Well it is becoming painfully obvious the republican leadership doesn't give a rat's ass about polls, or future elections at this point. Their major concern right now is holding out as long as they can for all the yahoos who contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Mitt Romney and a bunch of crackpot senate candidates; then watched in shocked horror as all that money bought them nothing more than a psychotic Karl Rove rant. Yes, one has to think that the republican establishment, while wishing they could excommunicate every tea party asshole out there, knows they have to deliver something to the money people. After all, those contributors are bottom line dudes and they aren't used to getting screwed. You can never tell what jobs might, or might not be available in the private sector once you leave congress. And who knows? Charlie and Dave Koch may have sent brother Boehner a Christmas gift that included a dead fish wrapped in a bullet proof vest.
Republican senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell was quoted as saying, "Look the election is over. The president may enjoy these political rallies, but it is time to get serious." In McConnell's mind that probably means the president needs to do whatever he and Boehner want him to do. Unfortunately Senator, you're lost somewhere south of the twilight zone. This president obviously doesn't want it to happen, but if the Great American Bus goes over the cliff in January because republicans won't cave on the tax issue guess who the public is going to blame? The first hint is his name isn't Barak Obama.
At this point in time the difference between republicans and democrats has never been more stark. The GOP wants to lower the deficit by cutting social security cost of living increases, raising the retirement age, and slashing medicare and medicaid benefits to the poor, aged, and infirm. The democrats want to raise taxes on people making more than a quarter million dollars a year.
Meanwhile the senate finally confirmed Tulsan John E. Dowdell to serve as a federal district judge. However republicans are still holding up the confirmation of Robert E. Bacharach to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No one is clear on why this travesty remains ongoing. Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy of Vermont was quoted as saying, "With the American people's re-election of President Obama, there is no good purpose to be served by this further delay." He was referring not only to the Honorable Judge Bacharach, but 19 other judicial nominees who have been languishing in never never land for months now. Bacharach has the endorsement of both Oklahoma republican senators, although in an act of outright cowardice, neither would buck their party when democrats tried to push his nomination out of committee before the election. Apparently one of three things is holding up the Bacharach confirmation. One, republican senators are unaware that the election was last month. Two, GOP law makers want to prove to everyone they still have cocks. Three, Bacharach is a Jew.
Take your pick. The end result is the same.
There is a certain feel to all this. It seems the republicans are, at the moment, in some sort of bizarre kamikaze mode. They apparently feel there is no need to look ahead to future elections, that Gotterdammerung has arrived and all there is left to do is go down spectacularly in flames. Maybe they think everyone will be too stupid to remember all this in two and then four years, or perhaps they secretly believe in that Mayan calender thing.
Whatever the case, right now they do look to have all the attributes of a doomsday cult trudging off to the Kool-Aid dispenser.
If that is the case, good riddance. Their act has gotten exceedingly old and it is time to get things done around here.
As it says on the door of a brewery somewhere, laboremus pro patria.
12-12-12
Monday, December 10, 2012
Right to Work in Michigan: The Scam is On
Well those rascally republicans in Michigan are up to no good. An act is being fast tracked through the legislature that would make the state the latest home to "right to work."
Right to work is a euphemism for what amounts to an institutional effort to eliminate organized labor.
Here is how things work. In most places, including Michigan at the moment, if workers at a factory, or company gather enough signatures they can petition the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB asking to have a union represent them in collective bargaining agreements. Usually there is a union behind this movement and there are a number of reasons the employees sign the petition cards. It normally has to do with wages, working conditions and such. Once a certain percentage of the employees sign onto the idea, the NLRB calls for an election to be held to certify that the union, whichever one it is, will be authorized to represent the workers. As with any American election there is a campaign where the union and its supporters actively lobby for their side. Conversely, the corporation and those who don't want a union do the same. At the end of the campaign there is a vote among all eligible employees. Management is not allowed to participate. If the majority of employees vote to certify the union the business becomes a union shop and everyone, even those who didn't vote for it, become members. This is widely known as majority rule.
In a right to work state, the employees who didn't vote for the union don't have to join, don't have to pay union dues, but do get the exact same benefits and wages as those who do join. In some corners this is known as welfare, although those accepting the wages and benefits negotiated by an entity they refuse to join, or support would probably differ with that opinion.
This is all supposed to promote personal choice, although we as a nation don't accept that when it comes to other elections. If we as a city, or state decide to hike the sales tax through a referendum, everyone has to pay it. We don't let those who opposed it off the hook when they buy their new gun.
The truth is this whole right to work thing is a scam meant to destroy the power and influence of organized labor. It reduces the monies unions have to contribute to political candidates and keeps the employees fractured and in disagreement with each other. It also gives the company immense leverage when bargaining with the union and provides them with a base of employees it knows won't go out on strike if the union members vote to call one.
And that is the key here. There is not a union out there that orders its members to strike without a majority of them first voting to do so. The portrait of some cigar smoking union boss with a five o:clock shadow ordering unwilling members to walk the picket line is simply Chamber of Commerce propaganda.
In Oklahoma the people voted for right to work a number of years ago. The state Chamber of Commerce spent untold millions on the campaign. Then governor, republican Frank Keating jubilantly told a rally, after the votes were counted, that, "We've sent a message that Oklahoma is now open for business." Not long after that GM shut down its massive plant and Bridgestone-Dayton Tires moved their operation to Mexico, proving that right to work doesn't mean diddly squat when it comes to promoting middle class blue collar jobs, or corporate loyalty to a region.
Of course up in Michigan the GOP controlled legislature is trying to do things differently. The authors of the bill have utilized a procedural rule that prevents the law from being voted on by the public. They maybe assholes, but they aren't stupid. They know that a statewide vote on the issue would probably sink it in a Detroit minute. Besides, the whole concept of right to work is to ignore majority rule in the first place.
Indeed, divide and conquer. Not even Adolph and the boys won a majority before they were able to outlaw free elections. Sometimes you have to take decision making out of the hands of the people and give it to those who know better. Just ask any number of despots world wide.
The corporate minds of this world, in conjunction with their hired hands over at the GOP, really need organized labor and its money to go away. Eliminating a major source of funding for democratic congressional and presidential candidates, not to mention increasing the old profit margin is a dream they've had ever since workers started to unionize. It is the age old concept that for any company to be successful they must be able to relentlessly screw their employees over.
Big business is trying desperately to convince workers that things like a 40 hour work week, overtime pay, insurance benefits, sick leave and paid vacations are written in stone. That they don't need organized labor to enjoy them.
Right. Don't believe it for a minute. Once the unions have gone the way of the Dodo these Scrooges are going to run wild. Just ask your average Wal-Mart employee how much fun it is to work there. There is your template of how it will be everywhere and in every industry.
There is your future with "right to work."
12-10-12
Right to work is a euphemism for what amounts to an institutional effort to eliminate organized labor.
Here is how things work. In most places, including Michigan at the moment, if workers at a factory, or company gather enough signatures they can petition the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB asking to have a union represent them in collective bargaining agreements. Usually there is a union behind this movement and there are a number of reasons the employees sign the petition cards. It normally has to do with wages, working conditions and such. Once a certain percentage of the employees sign onto the idea, the NLRB calls for an election to be held to certify that the union, whichever one it is, will be authorized to represent the workers. As with any American election there is a campaign where the union and its supporters actively lobby for their side. Conversely, the corporation and those who don't want a union do the same. At the end of the campaign there is a vote among all eligible employees. Management is not allowed to participate. If the majority of employees vote to certify the union the business becomes a union shop and everyone, even those who didn't vote for it, become members. This is widely known as majority rule.
In a right to work state, the employees who didn't vote for the union don't have to join, don't have to pay union dues, but do get the exact same benefits and wages as those who do join. In some corners this is known as welfare, although those accepting the wages and benefits negotiated by an entity they refuse to join, or support would probably differ with that opinion.
This is all supposed to promote personal choice, although we as a nation don't accept that when it comes to other elections. If we as a city, or state decide to hike the sales tax through a referendum, everyone has to pay it. We don't let those who opposed it off the hook when they buy their new gun.
The truth is this whole right to work thing is a scam meant to destroy the power and influence of organized labor. It reduces the monies unions have to contribute to political candidates and keeps the employees fractured and in disagreement with each other. It also gives the company immense leverage when bargaining with the union and provides them with a base of employees it knows won't go out on strike if the union members vote to call one.
And that is the key here. There is not a union out there that orders its members to strike without a majority of them first voting to do so. The portrait of some cigar smoking union boss with a five o:clock shadow ordering unwilling members to walk the picket line is simply Chamber of Commerce propaganda.
In Oklahoma the people voted for right to work a number of years ago. The state Chamber of Commerce spent untold millions on the campaign. Then governor, republican Frank Keating jubilantly told a rally, after the votes were counted, that, "We've sent a message that Oklahoma is now open for business." Not long after that GM shut down its massive plant and Bridgestone-Dayton Tires moved their operation to Mexico, proving that right to work doesn't mean diddly squat when it comes to promoting middle class blue collar jobs, or corporate loyalty to a region.
Of course up in Michigan the GOP controlled legislature is trying to do things differently. The authors of the bill have utilized a procedural rule that prevents the law from being voted on by the public. They maybe assholes, but they aren't stupid. They know that a statewide vote on the issue would probably sink it in a Detroit minute. Besides, the whole concept of right to work is to ignore majority rule in the first place.
Indeed, divide and conquer. Not even Adolph and the boys won a majority before they were able to outlaw free elections. Sometimes you have to take decision making out of the hands of the people and give it to those who know better. Just ask any number of despots world wide.
The corporate minds of this world, in conjunction with their hired hands over at the GOP, really need organized labor and its money to go away. Eliminating a major source of funding for democratic congressional and presidential candidates, not to mention increasing the old profit margin is a dream they've had ever since workers started to unionize. It is the age old concept that for any company to be successful they must be able to relentlessly screw their employees over.
Big business is trying desperately to convince workers that things like a 40 hour work week, overtime pay, insurance benefits, sick leave and paid vacations are written in stone. That they don't need organized labor to enjoy them.
Right. Don't believe it for a minute. Once the unions have gone the way of the Dodo these Scrooges are going to run wild. Just ask your average Wal-Mart employee how much fun it is to work there. There is your template of how it will be everywhere and in every industry.
There is your future with "right to work."
12-10-12
Friday, December 7, 2012
Friday Dispatches: A Day at the Ritz, Obama on a Roll, Boehner in Denial, Dead Nurses and Children, and Jimmy Massey in Stripes
My father can tell you exactly where he was on this date 71 years ago. He was a seventeen year old kid sitting in the Ritz Theater in Muskogee, Oklahoma when the manager stopped the film, walked on stage, and told the audience that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. At that moment, for ill and good, this country changed forever. By the time the war was over he was in the navy, serving in the Pacific. One of his best friends, the guy I'm named after, was dead on some Philippine island. And the United States of America had become the preeminent world power. Mainly because we had a major hand in defeating some truly evil fucks, Americans became utterly convinced that not only were we always right and good, but a ravaged world needed us to be the planet's police force. It is an attitude that permeates our national character to this day.
It still astounds and angers us when others on this blue ball don't think we're always right and good. It aggravates us to no end when people feel we are exploiting them and the natural resources of their country. Finally, it genuinely pisses us off when other governments don't do what we want them to. What we did as a nation nearly three quarters of century ago was indeed right and good. It was, perhaps, our greatest moment and achievement. However in triumph we morphed into something that at times can be arrogant, overbearing, and downright deadly. We don't like to admit it. In fact, some will read this and accuse me of practically committing treason. It is the truth though. And deep down we all know it.
Be that as it may, on other fronts, Barak H. Obama's approval rating, according to a AP/GfK poll, has reached its highest level since he put out the hit on Osama bin Laden. It sits, at the moment, at 57% and a majority of Americans believe he will improve the economy over the next four years. Of course almost of all that support comes from registered democrats. The poll finds that nine out of every ten democrats approve of the job he is doing while only two in ten republicans think the same way.
Other encouraging news is that the unemployment rate has hit a four year low and 146,000 new jobs were created in November. Someone should send that news to one John Boehner. Mr. Boehner, head of the republicans in the house of representatives went before the press to explain no progress has been made on the budget. He is demanding the president submit a new plan that is, "going to take a step toward us." The big sticking point is the whole tax thing again. Boehner, who is apparently unaware of recent election results, appears to be still kowtowing to the glittering two percent, the extraordinarily wealthy among us, who will have to absorb a tax increase under the Obama plan. Congressman, does the name William Barret Travis mean anything to you? You might want to take a look at how things turned out for him.
A couple of days ago two Australian DJ's decided to call the King Edward VII hospital in London, pretend to be the Queen and Prince Charles and inquire into the health status of the Duchess of Cambridge. She was there due to acute morning sickness. Yes, it was just a prank and all in good fun. Everyone had a great laugh when the call was played on Australian radio. Earlier today, according to Reuters, the nurse who initially fielded the call, Jacintha Saldanha was found dead in her home. The cause is still not official, but London's Daily Mail has reported that police feel it was a suicide.
In Iowa deer hunters discovered two bodies believed to be Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins. The two girls were last seen on July 13th of this year as they rode their bicycles near a park. No word on the cause of death is available yet. NBC NEWS reports authorities are "leaning" toward reclassifying the case as a homicide.
Here in Oklahoma City, yesterdays "The Oklahoman" ran a story by Tim Willert regarding the status of Mr. Jimmy Lee Massey Jr. Massey was ordered to stand trial on charges of drug trafficking. Specifically he is accused of being in the methamphetamine business. His co-defendant is Francisco Gomez. This sort of thing isn't unusual in this town and state. In fact at times it seems like more Oklahomans cook meth than do pot roasts. However, Massey along with Luis Ruiz, is also charged with the murder of Carina Saunders. Her dismembered body was found in a duffel bag not quite 14 months ago. Since then rumors have swirled and public disclosure of evidence has been scant. No trial date has been set in the case.
So there we have it. Pearl Harbor Day, Obama on a roll, Boehner in denial, a dead nurse in London, two dead children in Iowa and Jimmy Massey in the dock, but not for murder, at least not yet.
All in all just another gray December afternoon. Hopefully, as the song says, everyone will, "be good, for goodness sake."
sic vita est
12-7-12
It still astounds and angers us when others on this blue ball don't think we're always right and good. It aggravates us to no end when people feel we are exploiting them and the natural resources of their country. Finally, it genuinely pisses us off when other governments don't do what we want them to. What we did as a nation nearly three quarters of century ago was indeed right and good. It was, perhaps, our greatest moment and achievement. However in triumph we morphed into something that at times can be arrogant, overbearing, and downright deadly. We don't like to admit it. In fact, some will read this and accuse me of practically committing treason. It is the truth though. And deep down we all know it.
Be that as it may, on other fronts, Barak H. Obama's approval rating, according to a AP/GfK poll, has reached its highest level since he put out the hit on Osama bin Laden. It sits, at the moment, at 57% and a majority of Americans believe he will improve the economy over the next four years. Of course almost of all that support comes from registered democrats. The poll finds that nine out of every ten democrats approve of the job he is doing while only two in ten republicans think the same way.
Other encouraging news is that the unemployment rate has hit a four year low and 146,000 new jobs were created in November. Someone should send that news to one John Boehner. Mr. Boehner, head of the republicans in the house of representatives went before the press to explain no progress has been made on the budget. He is demanding the president submit a new plan that is, "going to take a step toward us." The big sticking point is the whole tax thing again. Boehner, who is apparently unaware of recent election results, appears to be still kowtowing to the glittering two percent, the extraordinarily wealthy among us, who will have to absorb a tax increase under the Obama plan. Congressman, does the name William Barret Travis mean anything to you? You might want to take a look at how things turned out for him.
A couple of days ago two Australian DJ's decided to call the King Edward VII hospital in London, pretend to be the Queen and Prince Charles and inquire into the health status of the Duchess of Cambridge. She was there due to acute morning sickness. Yes, it was just a prank and all in good fun. Everyone had a great laugh when the call was played on Australian radio. Earlier today, according to Reuters, the nurse who initially fielded the call, Jacintha Saldanha was found dead in her home. The cause is still not official, but London's Daily Mail has reported that police feel it was a suicide.
In Iowa deer hunters discovered two bodies believed to be Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins. The two girls were last seen on July 13th of this year as they rode their bicycles near a park. No word on the cause of death is available yet. NBC NEWS reports authorities are "leaning" toward reclassifying the case as a homicide.
Here in Oklahoma City, yesterdays "The Oklahoman" ran a story by Tim Willert regarding the status of Mr. Jimmy Lee Massey Jr. Massey was ordered to stand trial on charges of drug trafficking. Specifically he is accused of being in the methamphetamine business. His co-defendant is Francisco Gomez. This sort of thing isn't unusual in this town and state. In fact at times it seems like more Oklahomans cook meth than do pot roasts. However, Massey along with Luis Ruiz, is also charged with the murder of Carina Saunders. Her dismembered body was found in a duffel bag not quite 14 months ago. Since then rumors have swirled and public disclosure of evidence has been scant. No trial date has been set in the case.
So there we have it. Pearl Harbor Day, Obama on a roll, Boehner in denial, a dead nurse in London, two dead children in Iowa and Jimmy Massey in the dock, but not for murder, at least not yet.
All in all just another gray December afternoon. Hopefully, as the song says, everyone will, "be good, for goodness sake."
sic vita est
12-7-12
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Trouble in Egypt: Riots, Molotov Cocktails, Tanks, and Group Gropes in the Streets
As we knew it would things have taken a decidedly deadly turn in Egypt. President Mohammed Morsi's power grab immediately led to demonstrations protesting his autocratic decrees. Those demonstrators opposing Morsi are now being met in the streets by crowds of fundamentalists and rank and file members of the Muslim Brotherhood. NBC and Reuters are reporting that after three hundred or so anti Morsi protesters staged a sit in near the presidential palace a large number of the Brotherhood gathered, ran them off, and burned down their tents. The immediate result of that action was a full scale riot featuring rocks and Molotov cocktails.
The grim figures are seven dead and three hundred and fifty injured. The Egyptian army, who will probably have the final say in all this, deployed at least four tanks and several armored personnel carriers around the palace in order to bring peace to the scene.
General Mohamed Zaki was quoted by the state controlled radio as saying, "The armed forces and at the forefront of them the Republican Guard will not be used as a tool to oppress the demonstrators." Well that certainly is a double edged sword. The General is apparently letting Morsi know that the army isn't going bail his ass out, but at the same time he is telling the opposition they are, in effect, on their own. It would seem the military, the time honored arbitrator of all things political in Egypt, is biding its time to see which way the winds finally blow.
Last week pro Morsi mobs blocked members of the Egyptian judiciary from their offices, harassing and intimidating judges in an effort to make sure their man's edicts went unchallenged. In addition there has been an uptick in the number of instances where women have been sexually harassed and set upon in public. No one really knows if this is due to a concerted Brotherhood effort to keep women off the streets or not. Obviously fundamentalist aren't big fans of women in the first place and the Brotherhood knows all too well that they played a large part in the demonstrations that brought about the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. It has been speculated that some of the attacks seem a bit too orchestrated to come under the heading of just a bunch of wild and crazy guys looking for some fun and a quick, crude, grope, but no one has any real proof. All of this sordid behavior was highlighted by a disturbing video making the rounds on the web that showed a crowd of lechers descending upon a female French journalist as she was making a TV report.
The violence has spread nationwide as Brotherhood offices in Suez and Ismailia have been torched. Also a Brotherhood leader in Alexandria was severely beaten. It is unclear as to how long and far the military will ultimately let the violence go. Obviously Morsi thinks they have his back or he would have never started this putsch in the first place. However, one has to think he never dreamed that there would be such wide spread and determined opposition. Perhaps, as others have done recently, he made the mistake of relying too heavily on his in house pollsters
The only thing truly certain at the moment is that Mohammed Morsi isn't backing off and he is setting himself and the Brotherhood up to run Egypt for a long, long time. Anyone who disagrees with that notion will ultimately be dealt with one way or the other. No doubt a list of names is being compiled at this very moment and if yours is on it you can count on a late night knock on the door sometime in the near future. We've seen this sort of thing too many times and in too many places. Democracy provides a wonderful means of pulling off a huge scam to get yourself elected to power, but once there it needs to be chucked out the window as quickly as possible. I mean if you can't run a country for life, why take the time and trouble to run it at all?
Just ask Hugo, among others.
12-6-12
The grim figures are seven dead and three hundred and fifty injured. The Egyptian army, who will probably have the final say in all this, deployed at least four tanks and several armored personnel carriers around the palace in order to bring peace to the scene.
General Mohamed Zaki was quoted by the state controlled radio as saying, "The armed forces and at the forefront of them the Republican Guard will not be used as a tool to oppress the demonstrators." Well that certainly is a double edged sword. The General is apparently letting Morsi know that the army isn't going bail his ass out, but at the same time he is telling the opposition they are, in effect, on their own. It would seem the military, the time honored arbitrator of all things political in Egypt, is biding its time to see which way the winds finally blow.
Last week pro Morsi mobs blocked members of the Egyptian judiciary from their offices, harassing and intimidating judges in an effort to make sure their man's edicts went unchallenged. In addition there has been an uptick in the number of instances where women have been sexually harassed and set upon in public. No one really knows if this is due to a concerted Brotherhood effort to keep women off the streets or not. Obviously fundamentalist aren't big fans of women in the first place and the Brotherhood knows all too well that they played a large part in the demonstrations that brought about the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. It has been speculated that some of the attacks seem a bit too orchestrated to come under the heading of just a bunch of wild and crazy guys looking for some fun and a quick, crude, grope, but no one has any real proof. All of this sordid behavior was highlighted by a disturbing video making the rounds on the web that showed a crowd of lechers descending upon a female French journalist as she was making a TV report.
The violence has spread nationwide as Brotherhood offices in Suez and Ismailia have been torched. Also a Brotherhood leader in Alexandria was severely beaten. It is unclear as to how long and far the military will ultimately let the violence go. Obviously Morsi thinks they have his back or he would have never started this putsch in the first place. However, one has to think he never dreamed that there would be such wide spread and determined opposition. Perhaps, as others have done recently, he made the mistake of relying too heavily on his in house pollsters
The only thing truly certain at the moment is that Mohammed Morsi isn't backing off and he is setting himself and the Brotherhood up to run Egypt for a long, long time. Anyone who disagrees with that notion will ultimately be dealt with one way or the other. No doubt a list of names is being compiled at this very moment and if yours is on it you can count on a late night knock on the door sometime in the near future. We've seen this sort of thing too many times and in too many places. Democracy provides a wonderful means of pulling off a huge scam to get yourself elected to power, but once there it needs to be chucked out the window as quickly as possible. I mean if you can't run a country for life, why take the time and trouble to run it at all?
Just ask Hugo, among others.
12-6-12
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
John Boehner is a Funny Guy and Has The Tea Party Purge Begun?
John Boehner is a funny guy. He and other members of his party put together a budget proposal and sent it to the president a little bit ago. This was in response to the proposal made by the president last week. In it, Mr. Boehner and his party advocated sweeping cuts to medicare and medicaid and a reduction in cost of living increases for social security recipients. He pointed out that the plan would close loop holes and shut down deductions and that everything would be peachy keen and no one would ever have to pay more in taxes. That would include the GOP keepers in the top two percent income bracket. Of course he didn't say which loopholes and deductions would be closed, but I'm sure he considers himself more of a big picture sort of person.
The reason this should provoke a grim smile from many people is that it is the exact plan that was pushed by Mitt Romney when he was campaigning for the presidency. You know, the one a majority of voters rejected along with Mitt on November 6th. Yes, it would seem Mr. Boehner and his boys have it in their heads that somehow they run the show and the public, which resoundingly rejected their fiscal ideology simply doesn't count. Well you have to keep your owners happy one way or the other don't you.
The president reacted this way when asked about raising tax rates on the top two percent of earners, "we're not going to be able to get a deal without it." In other words there is no compromise available to Boehner and the republicans that will allow the richest among us to not pay more. Back in the 60's we called this a "non negotiable demand."
Of course many will and have pointed out that last weeks opening offer by the president and this weeks counter offer by Boehner and Co. are merely bargaining ploys. That everyone in their right mind knows that the answer is somewhere in the middle and now that both parties have played to their bases they can begin moving in that direction.
Of course not everyone on the GOP side is actually in their right mind. That is why today NBC NEWS is reporting that the republican leadership purged four of its members from committee seats. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were removed from the Financial Services Committee. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Austin Amash of Michigan were booted off the House Budget Committee. Jones, Huelskamp and Amash all voted against the republican budget bill saying it didn't go far enough when it came to reducing the deficit.
NBC quoted an unnamed republican staffer as saying, "These guys are clearly not team players. This isn't about ideology; this is about how you treat the people on your team." Well maybe it isn't about ideology, but five will get you ten that right before those clowns were shown the door someone said to them something along the lines of, "you stupid sonsofbitches got Obama re-elected and we're not kowtowing to you any more."
Indeed, if a deal is to be struck, if a great compromise must be made, you can't have ideologues from your own party gumming up the works in critical committees. In a strange fashion we might have just seen the first step taken in marginalizing the tea party hacks. The republican leadership is obviously tired of their bull shit and isn't going to put up with it any more. The message here is that principles are one thing, but governing is another beast entirely and you'd better figure out the difference in a hurry.
So right now the term de jour is "fiscal cliff." It would seem the nation is careening toward it at breakneck speed. Everyone wants to avoid it, because if a compromise isn't reached all parties, coast to coast, rich and poor, sick and retired will get fucked. No one, either on the hill or in the white house, wants to see that happen, because if it does Americans are going to blame the entire District of Columbia for it. Barak Obama says he is willing to make cuts in entitlements to ease the pain of people like Sheldon Adelson and John Schnatter. However it has become perfectly clear he isn't going to let them off the hook. They are going to pay more--no ifs, ands, or buts. John Boehner and his pals better figure that out pretty quickly, other wise they need to learn how to fly.
Yes, live together ladies and gentlemen or in two years many of you will looking for jobs in the ever shrinking private sector. This president has nothing to lose. He can spend every penny of his political capital right now. After all, he can't take it with him. None of us ever can.
Over and out.
12-4-12
The reason this should provoke a grim smile from many people is that it is the exact plan that was pushed by Mitt Romney when he was campaigning for the presidency. You know, the one a majority of voters rejected along with Mitt on November 6th. Yes, it would seem Mr. Boehner and his boys have it in their heads that somehow they run the show and the public, which resoundingly rejected their fiscal ideology simply doesn't count. Well you have to keep your owners happy one way or the other don't you.
The president reacted this way when asked about raising tax rates on the top two percent of earners, "we're not going to be able to get a deal without it." In other words there is no compromise available to Boehner and the republicans that will allow the richest among us to not pay more. Back in the 60's we called this a "non negotiable demand."
Of course many will and have pointed out that last weeks opening offer by the president and this weeks counter offer by Boehner and Co. are merely bargaining ploys. That everyone in their right mind knows that the answer is somewhere in the middle and now that both parties have played to their bases they can begin moving in that direction.
Of course not everyone on the GOP side is actually in their right mind. That is why today NBC NEWS is reporting that the republican leadership purged four of its members from committee seats. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were removed from the Financial Services Committee. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Austin Amash of Michigan were booted off the House Budget Committee. Jones, Huelskamp and Amash all voted against the republican budget bill saying it didn't go far enough when it came to reducing the deficit.
NBC quoted an unnamed republican staffer as saying, "These guys are clearly not team players. This isn't about ideology; this is about how you treat the people on your team." Well maybe it isn't about ideology, but five will get you ten that right before those clowns were shown the door someone said to them something along the lines of, "you stupid sonsofbitches got Obama re-elected and we're not kowtowing to you any more."
Indeed, if a deal is to be struck, if a great compromise must be made, you can't have ideologues from your own party gumming up the works in critical committees. In a strange fashion we might have just seen the first step taken in marginalizing the tea party hacks. The republican leadership is obviously tired of their bull shit and isn't going to put up with it any more. The message here is that principles are one thing, but governing is another beast entirely and you'd better figure out the difference in a hurry.
So right now the term de jour is "fiscal cliff." It would seem the nation is careening toward it at breakneck speed. Everyone wants to avoid it, because if a compromise isn't reached all parties, coast to coast, rich and poor, sick and retired will get fucked. No one, either on the hill or in the white house, wants to see that happen, because if it does Americans are going to blame the entire District of Columbia for it. Barak Obama says he is willing to make cuts in entitlements to ease the pain of people like Sheldon Adelson and John Schnatter. However it has become perfectly clear he isn't going to let them off the hook. They are going to pay more--no ifs, ands, or buts. John Boehner and his pals better figure that out pretty quickly, other wise they need to learn how to fly.
Yes, live together ladies and gentlemen or in two years many of you will looking for jobs in the ever shrinking private sector. This president has nothing to lose. He can spend every penny of his political capital right now. After all, he can't take it with him. None of us ever can.
Over and out.
12-4-12
Monday, December 3, 2012
Susan Rice and the Maddow Theory
It is a convoluted world we live in. People do things for reasons that are sometimes apparent and sometimes not so apparent.
I personally tend to go with straight forward motives when it comes to behavior both political and criminal. Bill Clinton was on the stump this fall on behalf of Barak Obama because in four years his wife will be running for president. Jimmy Holmes opened fire in that Colorado theater because he is crazier than bats on peyote. And finally, a gaggle of republican senators are after Ambassador Susan Rice's head simply because they want to prove that even after losing the national elections they still have penises.
Ms. Rice, who is the U.S.'s chief representative to the U.N. has been rumored to be in line for the Secretary of State job when Hillary Clinton goes off looking for a campaign staff. A gang of GOP senators led by John McCain have gone ballistic, even though the president hasn't nominated anyone for the post at this time. In fits of absolute apoplexy they have blamed Ms. Rice for the Benghazi disaster, then the supposed cover up, and even a couple of embassy bombings back before al Qaeda was a house hold name and she had a job at State that meant something. The way they've been acting you'd think the president had floated the name, Hugo Chavez out there for the job. Their opposition has rivaled that of the late, unlamented, Joseph McCarthy both in tone and scope.
So what is the deal here? Why do these people go absolutely off their nut when her name is mentioned, even after having met with her and the interim CIA chief privately? Is it really the aforementioned testosterone factor? Is it that the senators are a tad bitter that a few weeks ago black Americans and women told them and their candidates where to shove it? Can it be they truly don't like women of color, no matter what their qualifications?
Well last week along came Rachel Maddow. Maddow is the host of an MSNBC show and a known screaming liberal, not to mention an up front homosexual. She has a theory. It is a shade Byzantine and perhaps a bit too subtle for the likes of republicans, but it begins like this. On November 6th one of the senate seats the GOP lost was held by Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It was, in fact, the seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy before he went off to that great touch football game in the sky. Brown was a moderate of sorts, but then when compared to some of the other loons the republicans ran practically everyone, including Josef Goebbels looked moderate.
Be that as it may, democrat Elizabeth Warren won 54% to 46% and Mr. Brown was prematurely retired. However, one of the other names being bandied about for Secretary of State is John Kerry. Kerry, of course, holds the other Massachusetts senate seat. In the Maddow plot line things go this way: the GOP puts the kibosh on the Rice nomination and they let Kerry slide in. That opens up a senate seat that will be decided by a special election. Scott Brown is still very much available to run and one would suppose eager to do so. If he were to win the republicans would pick up another seat in the senate and make life even that much tougher for one, Barak H. Obama.
Maddow had NBC NEWS chief foreign correspondent, Andrea Mitchell on and asked her about it. The wizened Mitchell has been around for years and seen quite nearly everything when it comes to Washington shenanigans. She actually seemed as befuddled as just about everyone else when it came to the reaction of the McCain posse to Rice's possible nomination. She even thought there was a chance that one or more of the senators believed Rice had committed a personal offense against them at some point. It was, she postulated, the only reasonable answer for all the vitriol. After listening to Maddow she shrugged and admitted her idea might have some merit. Her exact words were, "It is as good a reason as any." That is hardly a ringing endorsement, but it emphasizes that even veteran observers of hard ball politics are scratching their heads over all this.
I've always known the republicans are a vicious lot, never to be trusted. However, if the Maddow theory is right it proves there are some higher thought processes going on in the reptilian cores of their brains that I would have never given them credit for.
Unfortunately for all of us, conspiracy theories are by nature never proven, or disproven. Even if I had Brother Oswald on video admitting he assassinated Jack Kennedy there would be those who claim I had doctored it. That I was part of the vast plot. If Susan Rice's nomination is killed, or if she is never nominated in the first place and Kerry is, we'll never know for sure if it was all by design, or just happenstance.
In the end what really matters is that the republicans need to finally come to grips with the fact their power base is dwindling. They need to realize that savaging an accomplished ambassador who happens to be an African American woman isn't exactly the way to reach out to the people who shunned them last month. Yes, gentlemen, those demographics that kicked your ass aren't going to magically turn around. You might want to think about that as you ferociously libel Susan Rice, no matter what your true motives are.
After all, sometimes it isn't the end game itself. Sometimes it is how you got there that will come back and bite you in the ass.
sic vita est
12-3-12
I personally tend to go with straight forward motives when it comes to behavior both political and criminal. Bill Clinton was on the stump this fall on behalf of Barak Obama because in four years his wife will be running for president. Jimmy Holmes opened fire in that Colorado theater because he is crazier than bats on peyote. And finally, a gaggle of republican senators are after Ambassador Susan Rice's head simply because they want to prove that even after losing the national elections they still have penises.
Ms. Rice, who is the U.S.'s chief representative to the U.N. has been rumored to be in line for the Secretary of State job when Hillary Clinton goes off looking for a campaign staff. A gang of GOP senators led by John McCain have gone ballistic, even though the president hasn't nominated anyone for the post at this time. In fits of absolute apoplexy they have blamed Ms. Rice for the Benghazi disaster, then the supposed cover up, and even a couple of embassy bombings back before al Qaeda was a house hold name and she had a job at State that meant something. The way they've been acting you'd think the president had floated the name, Hugo Chavez out there for the job. Their opposition has rivaled that of the late, unlamented, Joseph McCarthy both in tone and scope.
So what is the deal here? Why do these people go absolutely off their nut when her name is mentioned, even after having met with her and the interim CIA chief privately? Is it really the aforementioned testosterone factor? Is it that the senators are a tad bitter that a few weeks ago black Americans and women told them and their candidates where to shove it? Can it be they truly don't like women of color, no matter what their qualifications?
Well last week along came Rachel Maddow. Maddow is the host of an MSNBC show and a known screaming liberal, not to mention an up front homosexual. She has a theory. It is a shade Byzantine and perhaps a bit too subtle for the likes of republicans, but it begins like this. On November 6th one of the senate seats the GOP lost was held by Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It was, in fact, the seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy before he went off to that great touch football game in the sky. Brown was a moderate of sorts, but then when compared to some of the other loons the republicans ran practically everyone, including Josef Goebbels looked moderate.
Be that as it may, democrat Elizabeth Warren won 54% to 46% and Mr. Brown was prematurely retired. However, one of the other names being bandied about for Secretary of State is John Kerry. Kerry, of course, holds the other Massachusetts senate seat. In the Maddow plot line things go this way: the GOP puts the kibosh on the Rice nomination and they let Kerry slide in. That opens up a senate seat that will be decided by a special election. Scott Brown is still very much available to run and one would suppose eager to do so. If he were to win the republicans would pick up another seat in the senate and make life even that much tougher for one, Barak H. Obama.
Maddow had NBC NEWS chief foreign correspondent, Andrea Mitchell on and asked her about it. The wizened Mitchell has been around for years and seen quite nearly everything when it comes to Washington shenanigans. She actually seemed as befuddled as just about everyone else when it came to the reaction of the McCain posse to Rice's possible nomination. She even thought there was a chance that one or more of the senators believed Rice had committed a personal offense against them at some point. It was, she postulated, the only reasonable answer for all the vitriol. After listening to Maddow she shrugged and admitted her idea might have some merit. Her exact words were, "It is as good a reason as any." That is hardly a ringing endorsement, but it emphasizes that even veteran observers of hard ball politics are scratching their heads over all this.
I've always known the republicans are a vicious lot, never to be trusted. However, if the Maddow theory is right it proves there are some higher thought processes going on in the reptilian cores of their brains that I would have never given them credit for.
Unfortunately for all of us, conspiracy theories are by nature never proven, or disproven. Even if I had Brother Oswald on video admitting he assassinated Jack Kennedy there would be those who claim I had doctored it. That I was part of the vast plot. If Susan Rice's nomination is killed, or if she is never nominated in the first place and Kerry is, we'll never know for sure if it was all by design, or just happenstance.
In the end what really matters is that the republicans need to finally come to grips with the fact their power base is dwindling. They need to realize that savaging an accomplished ambassador who happens to be an African American woman isn't exactly the way to reach out to the people who shunned them last month. Yes, gentlemen, those demographics that kicked your ass aren't going to magically turn around. You might want to think about that as you ferociously libel Susan Rice, no matter what your true motives are.
After all, sometimes it isn't the end game itself. Sometimes it is how you got there that will come back and bite you in the ass.
sic vita est
12-3-12
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