tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post7338833013850172943..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: Hand-Wringing in Liberal LandKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-61155572217556739852012-10-29T19:30:21.075-04:002012-10-29T19:30:21.075-04:00This is indicative of the kind of money the Romney...This is indicative of the kind of money the Romney camp has to spend. I watched a bit of it on Youtube and had to laugh at the old communist scare tactics. Are we still afraid of communism? Is THAT all they have to throw at Obama? <br /><br />It is so sad that a video about global warming or one revealing what the banks are up to or one revealing what Citizens United has done to corrupt the election system in the U.S. was sent in its place. Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-54688289286223153982012-10-28T10:43:29.949-04:002012-10-28T10:43:29.949-04:00Well, from a non-"eek!" anonymous commen...Well, from a non-"eek!" anonymous commenter, I am grateful for Karen's incisive criticism of the Obama administration, even though I long ago tired of reading her regular commenters. I'll vote Jill Stein in Nov. Keep up the good work, Karen, and thanks for staying true. Voices like yours are critical to maintaining what's left of our democracy, if it could ever have been called that. (We're a republic, at last check.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-71271546545217005572012-10-28T10:21:57.673-04:002012-10-28T10:21:57.673-04:00The other day a group called DFMRF, LLC sent me un...The other day a group called DFMRF, LLC sent me unsolicited by mail a DVD called "Dreams from My Real Father" directed by Joel Gilbert. It was addressed to me or the "current resident". <br /><br />The film claims Obama’s real father is Frank Marshall Davis. The film is over-the-top in many ways, but shows Obama and Davis have an uncanny resemblance. I found interesting the film’s description of how the legal profession helped Obama rise. http://www.obamasrealfather.com/<br /><br />The film claims Thomas G. Ayers (father to Bill Ayers) arranged for Obama's first job at the prestigious Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, where he met and later married Michelle. This is a short YouTube promo of the DVD http://youtu.be/6jrrnkKmUzo<br /><br />The New York Times did a story on the mass-mailing, "Strident Anti-Obama Messages Flood Key States"<br />http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/politics/strident-anti-obama-messages-flood-key-states.html<br /><br />A story on the Examiner says the 95 minute DVD was mailed to many people in Florida.<br />http://www.examiner.com/article/floridians-receive-anti-president-obama-dvd-the-mail<br /><br />The Daily KOS said the DVD was mailed unsolicited to people in Ohio. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/30/1138234/-I-am-the-13<br /><br />The DVD is apparently sold on eBay and Amazon.com<br /><br />Did anyone else receive this DVD in the mail?Neil Gillespiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12580744990628852454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-20940798206991425532012-10-27T13:54:18.444-04:002012-10-27T13:54:18.444-04:00Should progressives actually listen to Kate Madiso...Should progressives actually listen to Kate Madison? <br /><br />Overturning of Roe v. Wade could be the tip of an unfathomable iceberg, the potential reversal of nearly a century of progressive jurisprudence.<br /><br />"I think progressives should be very afraid and conservatives should be very hopeful." - Adam Winkler, constitutional law professor, UCLA School of Law, when asked about what the Supreme Court might look like if Romney wins the election<br /><br />http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/10/mitt-romney-supreme-court.php?ref=fpnewsfeed<br /><br />“Remember the Supremes!” <br /><br />But is there is no end to the capitulations that if we don’t vote for Obama, Romney will win and the consequences will be horrible?<br /><br />My exposure to domestic violence in health care taught me the key lesson of abusive behavior was that if one let abusers get away with abuse, this led only to more abuse because they knew they could get away with it.<br /><br />What a precedent Obama’s ever-expanding “Disposition Matrix” kill list (assassinations) and unlimited theater of war is for future presidents!<br /><br />Are we willing to continue to let innocent foreign children, women, and men be terrorized and die by our drones to preserve Roe v. Wade?<br /><br />“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” - Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the DarkDenis Nevillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-68511027728086493362012-10-27T12:02:03.896-04:002012-10-27T12:02:03.896-04:00Kate,
Just wanted to apologize to you and Marie ...Kate, <br /><br />Just wanted to apologize to you and Marie for our little dustup a while back. I should've taken the agree-to-disagree route rather than resort to juvenile name-calling. So sorry it took me this long to say so. (Wait, did I just apologize twice in the span of a few sentences? I think I'm getting good at this. It's about time!) Hope you and Marie are well. Take care. :)Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-75993600051878887032012-10-27T10:31:21.002-04:002012-10-27T10:31:21.002-04:00Wow, Karen touched a nerve. At Play in The Fields ...Wow, Karen touched a nerve. At Play in The Fields of The Lord, Huckleberry Finn, The Tiger (recent book by Vaillant), Typee - it's all there. Scary. We're really a dangerous species. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with Vaillant's tiger in the neighborhood than I feel in the society of my fellow man; like being in a cage full of crazy monkeys. I could understand the tiger. Romney is definitely a crazier monkey than most. Down deep that's why I voted for the other primate, even though he'll probably throw his shit at us.James Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-3748165572722587492012-10-27T09:31:24.057-04:002012-10-27T09:31:24.057-04:00Hi Kate,
Thanks for your input. You might be inter...Hi Kate,<br />Thanks for your input. You might be interested in reading this piece:<br /><br />http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/SoniaSotomayor/story?id=7699191&page=1#.UIjrl2l27R_<br /><br />It discusses one of Sonia Sotomayor's previous decisions on reproductive rights, in which she sided with the Bush Administration's ban on aid to international groups that provide funding for abortion.<br /><br />We do not know how Sotomayor would vote in an attempt to overturn Roe V. Wade.<br /><br />We do not know what kind of justices Obama would appoint in a second term. Assuming he is faced with continuing gridlock in the Senate, he might just do another one of his famous compromises. He talks the talk, but for a clue on his real position on reproductive rights, look at his overriding of his own FDA commissioner on the sale of the morning-after pill to teenage girls. The man is as conservative as they come. <br /> Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-13942680276334459282012-10-27T08:23:33.076-04:002012-10-27T08:23:33.076-04:00Kate@young wingnut judges
You mean like Justice E...Kate@young wingnut judges<br /><br />You mean like Justice Elena Kagan? BFF with Justice Antonin Scalia?<br /><br />"Speaking at the University of Tennessee on Friday, Kagan told of plans to travel to Wyoming where she would meet Scalia, her hunting mentor. "I'm hoping to bag myself an antelope," she said. Previously she and Scalia had hunted birds, but he suggested last spring it was time to move on to the big game."<br /><br />http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kagan_reveals_affinity_for_action_heroes_weekend_plans_to_shoot_antelope_wi/<br /><br />Actually Kate, "MittWitt Rawmoney" supports abortion. Romney supported abortion in the past. He is just lying to his base now to get elected - just like NoBama! <br /><br />So the abortion mills will continue Kate, you can rest assured. BTW, Romney is not a right-wing ideologue. Romney is a rapacious capitalist. If there is money to be made aborting babies, Mitt will figure out a way to cash in.<br /><br />The CDC reports roughly 50 million legal induced abortions have been performed in the United States since 1993. If those 50 million were alive today, and paying into Social Security, things might be going better. The law of unintended consequences....Mamacitanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-5489777671592557292012-10-27T08:11:53.261-04:002012-10-27T08:11:53.261-04:00That designer drug aptly named 'Obamopiate'...That designer drug aptly named 'Obamopiate' by Karen is actually a placebo, manufactured and sold undercover by the Obama campaign, guaranteed to make you feel high enough with Hope to push the lever for our Dear Leader. Take one and you will also believe anything. (Or is it Soma, relabeled?) <br /><br />The idea of PRESSURING Obama AFTER his re-election surely didn't originate with Progressives, though they are falling for it because they are UIO - Under the Influence of Obamopiate - which is being feverishly peddled by the Obama campaign.<br /><br />I recently got an email which took the same tack. 'Please sign this petition which will be used AFTER Obama's re-election to PRESSURE him to strengthen women's rights of some kind or other' was the message. <br /><br />Well, hallelujah! Get pre-emptive absolution of the sin of voting for someone you know is a force for evil. Just sign the petition before you vote for him and you are absolved of any conflicted or guilty feelings you might have. As an added boost, consider yourself now an Activist, with a little hope on the side. This from the same people who helped crush and silence the Occupy movement when they could have helped strengthen it into a major force for good. <br /><br />Mr. Make-Me-Do-It is one cynical dude. He announces 'The Republicans are trying to kill Big Bird!' while he is actuality killing real children in the Middle East by drone strikes. Evil is as evil does. <br /><br />But never mind all that. Just vote for Obama and enjoy feeling oooooh sooooo good. Ahhhhhhh.Anne Lavoienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-1720883891911245592012-10-27T01:54:24.880-04:002012-10-27T01:54:24.880-04:00Hi Karen-
I am once more appealing to your progre...Hi Karen-<br /><br />I am once more appealing to your progressive commenters to<br />"Remember the Supremes! If MittWitt Rawmoney is elected--and has one or two Court appointments--this could change the laws of our land (i.e., Roe v Wade) and, therefore, women's rights for several generations. (You know he would appoint young wingnut judges.)<br /><br />Jonathan Bernstein makes a good argument at "The Plum Line" in WaPo today.<br /><br />Peace and health-<br /><br />Kate<br /><br /><br />Kate Madisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-8082803490828175932012-10-26T22:48:14.636-04:002012-10-26T22:48:14.636-04:00Yes, I am with Denis "Doing the same thing an...Yes, I am with Denis "Doing the same thing and expecting different results? It is never going to happen!" We have had a taste of how liberal an Obama administration is going to be. Anyone who thinks Obama is going to govern any differently if we give him another term is deluding him/herself. We won't be able to pressure Obama into doing what we want any more than we were able to do it his first term. In fact, we will have even less power because he and his handlers know that they can do anything and those loyal to the party will simply go along. For these people, the party is a religion and they will worship at the altar of Obama no matter how much evidence there is that he isn’t the messiah they want him to be. <br /><br />It is a real shame that the Progressives who are unhappy with Obama but will still vote for him had a little backbone in the first place. If there had been enough dissent within the party and those running the party didn’t think Obama could be re-elected, they would have pushed him to step aside. I heard it time and time again, "I will vote for Obama but I won't work for him again." Silly person! Obama never cared about your approval. All he wanted was your vote. By announcing that you would support him no matter what simply because he wears the Democratic label was betraying your own ideals. No - what you should have done is what a handful of principled people will do - made it clear that if Obama didn't represent those who elected him, that they would take their vote elsewhere on election day.<br />Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-62317829728225156932012-10-26T19:29:01.681-04:002012-10-26T19:29:01.681-04:00@Karen, @spreadoption, and anyone else in the path...@Karen, @spreadoption, and anyone else in the path of Hurricane Sandy: <br /><br />Stay safe, and evacuate to the high ground <i> early </i> if necessary!Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-67145352271687712462012-10-26T19:16:03.024-04:002012-10-26T19:16:03.024-04:00Thanks everyone, for all the great comments today....<br />Thanks everyone, for all the great comments today. Personally, I waffle between the anger and acceptance stages. Just when I think I have sunk into the slough of despond, looking at our sad state of affairs, something new will happen to make me truly pissed off all over again. All fired up and ready to go, in the words of Dear Leader. <br /><br />There was a mad dash for batteries in town today. We got the last package of Ds at Rite-Aid, so that we can try and find a radio station that is not Clear Channel, broadcasting an endless loop of crap from Genericville USA in the middle of a natural disaster. Here's hoping everyone stays safe and that Sandy makes a direct hit on either K Street or Wall Street and spares all the main streets. <br /><br /><br /><br /> Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-35364872944589879462012-10-26T19:12:59.553-04:002012-10-26T19:12:59.553-04:00@Anonymous--
How on earth does one "apply p...@Anonymous--<br /><br />How on earth does one <i> "apply pressure" </i> to a "lame-duck" President, which is precisely what Obama will be should he be re-elected? <br /><br />In his second term, Obama will undertake exactly as much or as little as he chooses, with nary a concern for what anyone else wishes--or urges--him to do. <br /><br />That's the definition of a "lame duck:" <i> impervious to pressure. </i><br /><br />Obama has <i> already </i> carved out his unique niche in history as America's first Black President <i> and </i> Nobel Peace Prize laureate. <br /><br />Attaining the second term is really just an "ego thing"--tacit affirmation that the American public saw his first term as a success rather than a failure--and it will be dedicated to not messing up that image, at least not any more than he already has. <br /><br />"Apply pressure" to Obama as a lame duck? <br /><br />Har. Har. Har.Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-12373531447911006462012-10-26T19:06:00.578-04:002012-10-26T19:06:00.578-04:00(addendum to last comment)
Use Karen as your guid...(addendum to last comment)<br /><br />Use Karen as your guide - the courage to speak the truth which compromises her career aspirations. With her writing ability and knowledge she could get a well paying job on a major newspaper provided she kept her real critical views private. But she has dedicated her life to the truth because of love of country, concerns for its people and her dreams for all our futures. This qualifies her as a real example of a true patriot.Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-38071419298047292552012-10-26T19:03:25.412-04:002012-10-26T19:03:25.412-04:00Spreadoption:
The other day I attended a gathering...Spreadoption:<br />The other day I attended a gathering of some of my retiree residents where I live, on the topic of Aging. When asked by the moderator what we feared the most, I said having to deal with facing losses especially when it was a<br />spouse. Some of the women (we have mostly women here) nodded their heads and then a neighbor whom I am not particularly fond of stated in a 'know it all tone of voice', Pearl, we have to learn how to accept what happens, and then move on with our lives which I have been able to do. I felt a chill in the air but I was silent. We will be having another meeting on this topic at which point I plan to say that if it works for her fine, but many of us question the word "accept" and moving on without thinking about what happened and how we can learn from the experience and also have our feelings validated.<br /><br />I connect it to the thinking going on politically where difficult challenges<br />are shoved under the rug by "moving on". My original feelings about my<br />neighbor were corroborated - someone who is not overly concerned about<br />others and does not care that she puts down those who don't feel the same way.<br />Follow your heart and do not accept the unacceptable and do what you feel is best for you to translate your reactions into action. Your son will be inspired by how you handle problems and perhaps be encouraged to follow his best instincts. Often our younger progeny are afraid of being singled out by others negatively when they don't "fit in". You can be an example to others - courage combined with truth can be contagious and uplifting which has a ripple effect - to your son and to a friend of his, and onward.<br />And yes, take care of yourself. <br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-64855784910559168072012-10-26T17:12:31.005-04:002012-10-26T17:12:31.005-04:00spreadoption@"Where is our outrage?"
We...spreadoption@"Where is our outrage?"<br /><br />We are living in corrupt times, and corrupt people do not get outraged, they start goose-stepping to the popular tune.Neil Gillespiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12580744990628852454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-55149961955010613132012-10-26T15:14:42.676-04:002012-10-26T15:14:42.676-04:00Please stay safe as the hurricane approaches.Please stay safe as the hurricane approaches.John in Lafayettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-88288171930067405152012-10-26T13:46:09.377-04:002012-10-26T13:46:09.377-04:00Struggling toward the acceptance stage. Thanks, An...Struggling toward the acceptance stage. Thanks, Anne, for your insightful diagnosis. As Hurricane Sandy threatens the US northeast, our entire nation is being devastated by Storm Kubler-Ross. <br /><br />A comment by "Anonymous" is irritating and symptomatic of the cancer that has invaded our country. Forget "those Muslim terrorists", forget China, Russia, and socialism - "We have seen the enemy and he is us."<br /><br />For more than a decade I've been asking serious people of all ages, "Where is our outrage?" In all that time, I've never heard an answer. Outrage about what? I've learned that if I persist I lose friends. My conclusion is that most of us have been in either denial or acceptance all along.<br /><br />My 25-year old son "gets it" and he's been pushing me toward acceptance for a couple of years now. We are powerless, he says. Get over it and don't waste your time. Do what you enjoy, get good at it, assist and try to inspire those people closest to you. Take care of yourself.<br /><br />I assume my son reflects the attitude of his generation, or at least his peers. He has no time for outrage, nor use for it. At his age I didn't either (and that was during Vietnam!). Reagan got me started.<br /><br />Me, I want to keep fighting. I've always hated bullies - they're stupid and harmful. I'm not a quitter. I've never felt so powerless. <br /><br />Articles urge, give up on America. We have no plan, other than for empire and ever-growing profit. <br /><br />I'm getting closer to acceptance, but it doesn't seem to suit me. spreadoptionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-14430671268242341582012-10-26T11:36:07.273-04:002012-10-26T11:36:07.273-04:00After a painstakingly thorough investigation, I be...After a painstakingly thorough investigation, I believe I've uncovered the true identity of Anonymous. (The Big Reveal occurs at the 1:27 mark of the 3-minute video.)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e24kdjdbtw<br /><br />P.S. Great responses from Denis, Elizabeth, Kat & d12345 so far!Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-6699292304659989292012-10-26T11:21:45.961-04:002012-10-26T11:21:45.961-04:00Wow. Psychologically, Progressives are a real case...Wow. Psychologically, Progressives are a real case.<br /><br />In the five stages of grief, they are stuck simultaneously in the denial and bargaining stages. They think that if they give Emperor Obama their vote, somehow they will be magically endowed with more influence and power than they were during his first term when he SHOULD have needed to please them, but instead threw them under the bus. That kind of magical thinking is straight out of 'The Secret', which is apropos to Obama's methods.<br /><br />There is going to be a lot of angst for Progressives in the future when they finally break through to anger, depression, and acceptance like the rest of us. Whoever is elected, it's going to be more of the same, and far worse as the Corporate State grows by eating us for breakfast. <br /><br />It's been rough facing up to the reality of the demise of our Democracy and the rise of the Plutocracy, so I can understand why they cope by denying and rationalizing, but it isn't progress or Progressive to get stuck in wishful thinking and denial.<br /><br />The reason many of us rarely submit comments anymore is that the Acceptance stage has left us nearly mute from facing the stark reality of it all.Anne Lavoienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-83161643449099378852012-10-26T10:51:52.590-04:002012-10-26T10:51:52.590-04:00The "strategy' of these November 8th &quo...The "strategy' of these November 8th "progressives"<br />is eerily similar to the strategy the administration pursued with the banks. First give them everything they want. Then say, "Remember we were there for you...you should do something for the American people."<br /><br />Worked well with the banks...d12345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-43683746118836001062012-10-26T10:03:09.851-04:002012-10-26T10:03:09.851-04:00Earth to Anonymous: yes, yes Obama can only accomp...Earth to Anonymous: yes, yes Obama can only accomplish the "politically possible" and since the people cried out for a surge in Afghanistan, cuts to social security, banker friendly policies, and the right to indefinitely detain and assassinate Americans that is what we get.<br /><br />I think you confuse glib, polished, and above all corporate friendly with "articulate", by the way.Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-67499468124812825082012-10-26T09:41:30.123-04:002012-10-26T09:41:30.123-04:00Anonymous said...“Progressives are right to wait u...Anonymous said...“Progressives are right to wait until after the election to apply pressure”<br /><br />Doing the same thing and expecting different results? It is never going to happen!<br /><br />How did progressives get into this position? They unconditionally gave Obama a pass on most everything. <br /><br />Real political change never happens until you demand it.<br /><br />“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” - Frederick Douglass<br /><br />The plutocracy doesn’t want change, and the public is too passive to demand it.<br /><br />Be a DINO and perpetuate the system? Continue to follow Obama’s march to the Right? <br /><br />A nation’s whose focus is cutting programs of social uplift to answer the elite’s call for austerity is approaching spiritual death.<br /><br />And so it will go until things get so god awful that unforeseen forces will make the changes for us.<br /><br />“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The "tide in the affairs of men" does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: "Too late." There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. "The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on...<br /><br />“Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message, of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise we must choose in this crucial moment of human history." – Martin Luther King, Jr.Denis Nevillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-20873734239060279602012-10-26T00:00:58.969-04:002012-10-26T00:00:58.969-04:00I saw the debate which included Jill Stein and thr...I saw the debate which included Jill Stein and three others. I didn't watch the other presidential and vice presidential debates, as I knew nothing of real substance would be discussed and don't really have the extra time to sit around and let my blood pressure rise.<br /><br />I had already sent in my absentee ballot, and watching the debate made me even more glad to have given my vote to Jill Stein. If she wasn't in the race, I'd have chosen Rocky Anderson.<br /><br />When asked what one amendment they would pass if they had the chance and knew it would get approved by 75% of the states, Jill is the only one who said the amendment to abolish corporate personhood and eliminate money as speech. <br /><br />I voted for Obama the first time. He wasn't a self-appointed judge, jury and executioner back then.<br /><br />Elizabeth Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05996557196169451999noreply@blogger.com