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http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/14/dean_baker_the_biggest_myth_in
On New Years Eve or on Christmas Eve or late Christmas night, we’re about to get screwed. That’ll probably be when votes are cast and bills are signed. Remember the NDAA? Remember how Olbermann was the one guy in the MSM freaked out about the NDAA? And then CNN assigned him to cover the dropping of the big apple, and he was giggling and tipsy while Washington was busy signing into law the NDAA?
Yeah.
2.0 about to happen.
I already have figured out how to fit my mom into my kids’ bedroom. It’ll be 6 people in a 600 square foot house now.
“Nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care.”
24 Comments
Thanks! That is the best George Carlin rant I’ve ever seen. And entirely true. Well, it will be true until the “owners’” system collapses and change is forced upon us, anyway.
Highly recc’d.
I miss Carlin. I can only imagine what he would say about this fiscal grift thing.
Meh, he’d handle it better than most. Why? Because he had been expecting it. It’s sad that we have to live in a sytem of lowered expectations but there you have it until people treat the political like it’s life or death(and for SOME it is)we’ll continue to have a crappy system that we’ll have to fight tooth and nail to keep crumbs. The two clubs in Congress have things just like they like it, a quarter of the population treats politics like its a football game, another half is to the point they’ve become apathetic because whatever they do doesn’t seem to matter, the 10% who own everything and make all the rules are invested in keeping things as is, and what’s left after that is so freakin’ small in number that getting the other groups to understand that the game playing and doing nothing is not benefitting them is a Herculean task. *Sigh* Some days its easier to contemplate asking HMOs to offer lobotomies then to go out one more time and try to inform people what’s being done by a government that is supposed to be of the people, for the people.
This government IS of the people and for the people, as long as you remember that corporations are people.
And everybody else isn’t.
And how about those that said we had to vote for Obama because of the SCOTUS?? Where are they?
Because yeah, we definitely want the man that fought for and signed the right indefinitely detain and assassinate American citizens with no due process or habeas corpus rights to be the one picking Supreme Court judges. What could go wrong with that?
Yes, indeedy, OFG! And then there was that ‘leadership’ thingy – vote for Obama because Jill Stein didn’t seem to have ‘leadership’ qualities (thumbs down on getting arrested trying to make the point that the game is rigged, or standing up for people losing their homes – that’s not ‘leadership’ enough for some).
Well, I guess a judas goat shows ‘leadership’. Gets those sheep right into the chute on the way to the slaughterhouse.
Are we sheep, people? Maybe, when it comes to our faith, but maybe not when it comes to our citizenship rights!
That’s right. She supposedly wasn’t ready to BE president, with all caps, bold and italics for emphasis, is what was pronounced here by these super-savvy people.
Sure. There’s a bunch acting all hurt and indignant over Obama’s latest moves against SS. It’s not like he deceived them or anything. He made it plain from the get-go that he was after SS. Silly rabbits.
I’ve also seen diehards defending him with rationalizations that make no sense until you realize that for them, party loyalty trumps everything else. Their world view seems to boils down to this: When Republicans do Republican things, they are batshit crazy and evil. When Obama and the Dems do Republican things, it’s OK because, well, they are Democrats.
Heh heh. That rationalization seemed particularly dumb to me.
Should I pick the demonstrably corrupt and deceitful guy who has made it plain he will work against my interests, or, should I pick the one who, although inexperienced, has demonstrated that she has integrity and will work for me? Hmmmm?
Sorry Jill! I’d rather have Obama continue stabbing me in the back rather than take a chance on you. lol!
Actually, I thought that was a legitimate reason to not vote for Jill Stein. I know I thought it was a legitimate reason to not vote for Sarah Palin. I mean I know many will disagree as to whether or not Jill Stein was in fact ready, but IMO if one decides she isn’t, then it’s a legitimate reason not to vote for her.
Of course then one would need a different reason to vote for Obama, and I think it’s pretty apparent that fear drove those votes. And it’s hard to blame folks for being scared. I mean President Paul Ryan scared the living shit out of me too.
I just wish they’d realize thier mistake, own it, and move on. I got played in 2008 by a bunch of lies by Obama, and that was, at the end of the day, on me. And I’d bet millions of others felt the same way and learned from it. IIRC O got millions more votes in 2008 than he did in 2012.
That’s all we can do. Own up to our mistakes, admit that the Democrats are part of the problem, and then move on. Because you can’t ever fix a problem until you first admit it’s a problem. No addict will ever quit by outside pressure until s/he admits it’s a problem him/herself. The first step of the 12 step process is admitting to the problem.
I got played by Obama’s lies in 2008 and now know it was part of this two party kabuki show. Hopefully, millions that got played by the fear card will admit that and understand that too was part of our two party kabuki show. Then hopefully together we can begin to move forward.
Eskow takes a swipe at liberal Scrooges:
Here.
We have to continue to fight. Even though we may not win. With even party loyalists against us. We have to continue to fight.
… X 2
O/D/LO2E/Bots backing Obama despite Obama doing Bush/Cheney policy choices/acts 2009-2012 was/is all about IOKIYAAD — this being some damn simpleminded politics too.
Stopping Obama in 2012 was what needed to happen — now we see in 12/2012 the consequences that not stopping Obama plainly led to.
Mitt likely would need/was going to need months and months just to get settled into the WH as a new POTUS — what would/could be done to SS meanwhile by Mitt? — the Ds would likely then push back on any SS cuts just to put Mitt in the political ditch — because Mitt was not a D POTUS.
POTUS Obama? Elected again in 2012? Obama has been setting SS up since 2009 as seen with what Obama was so willing to put into the ACA junk politics that attack(ed) MC and picking someone like Alan Simpson to sell Obama’s attack on SS. Not seeing this was/is politically dumb.
The O/DBots didn’t get it. Still don’t get it.
IOKIYAAD? That is some tall BS.
USians can not be political simpletons — the stakes to being so high and genuine. Both the Kochs and Obama showing why.
Feh. Obama will give us everything Paul Ryan would have been able to get away with.
That pretty well sums it up.
There is a popular alternate reality of Romney as president in which the Romney derided as an incompetent fool prior to the election inexplicably morphs into an omnipotent juggernaut, crushing all opposition in his path. Loyalists and apologists commonly use this alternate reality as justification for supporting Obama and the Dems.
But, there’s another alternate reality in which powerful Democrats like Pelosi and Durbin do not support Romney as president when he proposes things like cuts to Social Security. There’s another alternate reality where Dem loyalists fight tooth and nail instead of tacitly supporting presidentRomney as president with a tepid “it could be worse” shrug of the shoulders.
Sure, it’s all speculation, but if you are going to speculate, at least come up with something that more accurately mirrors the reality of politics.
In my fantasy sparkle pony of an alternate reality, the duopoly gets its tail kicked by a Jill Stein or a Rocky Anderson or a Stewart Alexander and we are now sitting around arguing over the nuances of implementing authentically progressive policies as opposed to lamenting the relentless and seemingly inexorable move to the right that continues as we speak.
Oh, this:
http://orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/e_nat
Who is “ready” to be president? Everyone who can say “yes” and “no.” Anything else is mind-reading attempting to be an excuse. Palin was ready to BE president, no doubt.
Yeah. See: Eisenhower
Well, yeah, it is all mind reading. But, if, in your mind, candidate Y isn’t ready to be President, IMO that’s as good as any other reason to not vote for them.
I thought there was no way Sarah Palin was ready to be President. I STILL feel that way.
If I’m wrong, I’m sorry. But IMO she had no business, wasn’t ready, would likely NEVER be ready, to be what I consider, Presidential material. Not even close.
Although to be fair that’s not why I didn’t vote for McCain. I didn’t vote for McCain because I can’t fucking stand Republicans. But the fact is, I believed, in my heart, Palin was not ready to be President. I thought her very nomination was a joke. A bad one.
But I see your point that, well, I guess according to the Constitution, if one is 35 years of age and a naturalized US citizen, then I suppose they’re ready to be President. But that doesn’t mean I have to agree that everyone that meets those criteria are ready IN MY OPINION.
I just think it’s a legitimate reason to not vote for someone is all I’m saying.
Anybody’s ready to be president — good, bad or indifferent. But when someone says someone else would make a good president IF ONLY they were ready to BE president (whatever the hell that means, which I believe is actually nothing specific), I think that’s ridiculous hogsnot for obvious reasons. There must be some other unstated agenda in play.
Naturalized citizens are not eligible to be pres; you must be born a citizen.
What do you mean that Jill Stein was not ready to be President? You feel that she should have been part of the village crowd and eaten weenies at the parties for a long time and been a very serious person ready to cut SS, M&M in order to be elected?
I used to say Palin was unqualified, but in retrospect, I just hated her. Seems like most presidential quality comes from being able to just identify competent experts to advise them.
The new Oliver Stone documentary about the hidden history of the US has REALLY reinforced that in my mind.
Oh, sorry, I guess I’m not being clear.
I agree that if someone decides someone isn’t ready to hanlde the adversity and trials of being President, then IMO that is a legitimate reason to not vote for them.
But I did not agree that Jill Stein wasn’t ready. I happily, and enthusiastically, gave her my vote, and at least three other family members vote, on election day in the swing state of Virginia.
All voters of the big ZERO in 2008, I might add.
Yet the asshole still won.
Until we get those that voted out of fear to admit that the problem is BOTH parties, we can’t hope to solve it. For one, as long as they hold a belief that one of the parties really can do something, then they will also believe that things can be fixed within the current political system, thus rendering them unavailable to help with what likely will end up being an attempt to force change outside the political system.
And, ironically, if they don’t ever admit that both parties are the problem, that also ensures that nothing will get fixed in the current political system as well. Because the fact is both of these parties are bought and paid for, and the only way it will change within the current system is through third parties (or, really, a SECOND party). That is as unlikely and hard to do as forcing change outside the system would be.
It ain’t gonna be easy.
But I’m not ready to BE a lottery winner! ;)