tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post225962091241969437..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: Have a Very Classist ChristmasKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-57035471310871706112012-12-25T09:10:58.124-05:002012-12-25T09:10:58.124-05:00@spreadadoption
Actually, unless you've interv...@spreadadoption<br />Actually, unless you've interviewed Obama in your role as an experienced clinician, you have no evidence whatsover, concerning a "diagnosis".<br />As a clinical social worker, with many years of experience, I'm tired of "armchair" psychology.<br />mac gordonmac gordonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-47127007293929120352012-12-25T02:12:18.072-05:002012-12-25T02:12:18.072-05:00@Pearl--
"No one comes out unscathed from w...@Pearl--<br /><br /><i> "No one comes out unscathed from war no matter how justified." </i> <br /><br />Amen! <br /><br />May peace be with you, and with all of us.Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-75320237311067972812012-12-24T19:36:05.318-05:002012-12-24T19:36:05.318-05:00Zee:
Yes, I agree that the decision to force Ja...Zee:<br /><br /> Yes, I agree that the decision to force Japanese citizens living in the<br />U.S. to sell (give away) their homes, land and possessions to live in poorly<br />maintained interment camps during the war years was not something to be<br />proud about. They proved their loyalty by fighting and dying in the second World War.<br /> When I enrolled at the U. of Wisconsin after the war I lived in a women's cooperative house and one of the residents was a lovely Japanese girl who was very quiet and withdrawn. One day, someone asked her about her past and she told us that she had grown up in an internment camp and how it had affected her life. We made efforts to be more friendly and bring her out of<br />her sad remembrances and I believe she met and married a University student despite his family's resentment at first.<br /><br /> FDR was also unable to allow a boatload of German Jewish refugees from the war to set foot on U.S. soil as well as not permitting similar individuals to immigrate because with<br />so many people out of work they had to put restrictions on quotas which created a large controversy among many lawmakers and citizens within his administration.<br />I have wondered ever since whether he would have ordered the dropping of<br />bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki to prevent the Russians from having a part in decision making after the war. I don't think he would have, but we will never know.<br /><br /> No, he was not perfect, but was a great leader during a time of turmoil and war.<br />And let us not forget how many enemy cities were bombed with high civilian<br />casualties that have haunted many soldiers involved. I believe the late<br />George McGovern, who was a bomber pilot spoke regretfully about this. No onecomes out unscathed from war no matter how justified. <br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-74740822816839376822012-12-24T12:59:40.831-05:002012-12-24T12:59:40.831-05:00@Valerie--
As I recall, I was asking Progressives...@Valerie--<br /><br />As I recall, I was asking Progressives how they could (still) venerate FDR so much despite the fact that he violated the civil rights of upwards of 100,000 Japanese-Americans by interning them in concentration camps during WW II.<br /><br />This purely rhetorical question was asked in the context of a discussion of the hard choices that even a great and generally good person such as FDR might have to make when faced with a serious threat to national security. <br /><br />http://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/2012/08/principles-matter.html<br /><br />I happen to agree with you Progressives that FDR is worthy of all the respect that you pay to him, and I think that I have acknowledged as much elsewhere, though I don't have @Denis's encylopedic memory to recall just where. <br /><br />While it is my humble opinion that Washington and Lincoln precede FDR on the list of Great Presidents, FDR is certainly Number Three on my personal list.<br /><br />This belief is only reinforced by the draft letter that @Denis recalled on the previous thread. Truly, he was a man of courage and conviction.<br /><br />I probably didn't need to say any of this, but it gives me an excuse to say the following:<br /><br /><i> <b> Best wishes to all of you for a joyous and restorative holiday season, regardless of your faith traditions and political persuasions. </b> </i>Zeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-9552895227948378872012-12-24T12:52:07.586-05:002012-12-24T12:52:07.586-05:00We are covertly signalling that our base consists ...<i>We are covertly signalling that our base consists of upper middle class families who not only have kids in college, but whose parents have both the time and the reliable wheels and modern appliances needed to deliver concierge service to their offspring.</i><br />But Karen, to be fair he may be envisioning some of these families as black, or as Asian, or even composed of two mommies + kids. Diversity!Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-10557328358258014532012-12-24T11:28:59.357-05:002012-12-24T11:28:59.357-05:00My comment (buried at #240) at Paul Krugman's ...My comment (buried at #240) at Paul Krugman's "When Prophesy Fails":<br /><br />"So we cannot and will not persuade these people to reconsider their views in the light of the evidence. All we can do is stop paying attention." [Paul Krugman]<br /><br />Who is "we", Dr. Krugman? I've never given any credence to those who would decimate social programs as solution to a manufactured crisis, and I've only ever "paid attention" to them in the same sense that I pay attention to any group whose ideology endangers social and economic justice. And I presume that any attention that you give them, Dr. Krugman, is similar.<br /><br />So by "pay attention", I presume that you mean the attention and legitimacy shown to them by portions of the public at large, and, most importantly, by complicit Democrats and the news media. If social programs are cut in response to this manufactured crisis, it will be due to the "manufacture of consent", and it will be a strong indictment of Democratic politicians and the U.S. "news" media as, at best, incompetent, or worse, as lackeys of the plutocracy.Fred Drumlevitchhttp://www.freddrumlevitch.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-4942466174197603222012-12-24T08:48:12.696-05:002012-12-24T08:48:12.696-05:00How tasteless and ill-bred the “civilized” Scrooge...How tasteless and ill-bred the “civilized” Scrooges of The Fix are. They would have Obama go up our arses for a penny and burn our beds to catch a flea. They are as thick as manure but only half as useful.Denis Nevillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-51075953931567121712012-12-24T06:09:09.159-05:002012-12-24T06:09:09.159-05:00You are my hero, Karen. And I don't doubt many...You are my hero, Karen. And I don't doubt many people who never comment themselves go to the reader comment section of PK and other NYT articles to read your insightful words. Thanks for fighting the good fight. It gives the rest of us courage to keep fighting too.<br /><br />Happy Holidays everyone. May Occupy prosper and may the world see Obama for the fraud he is.Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-66924430239010686302012-12-23T23:14:32.797-05:002012-12-23T23:14:32.797-05:00Here is my reply to PK's column, "When Pr...Here is my reply to PK's column, "When Prophecy Fails"... an elaboration on his blogpost the other day about the president's apparent belief in the Bond Vigilantes.<br /><br />Let's just call out the cult of the deficit scolds for what it is: class warfare.<br /><br />They have their gold-plated knives out for the safety net of the New Deal. They're spending millions just to ensure that millions of their own fellow citizens don't ever get to collect on the great social insurance policies of the New Deal and the Great Society. The Fix the Debt campaign might be more aptly called The Fix is In -- for all but the most obscenely wealthy. Pete Peterson, and his sidekicks Simpson and Bowles, are in cahoots with our own "Democratic" president to hype their Orwellian "balanced approach." This is Newspeak for the imposition of austerity on the middle class -- combined with a few fleeting, token tax hikes on the plutocrats to make it seem like everybody's doing their "fair share."<br /><br />It's an illusion. The Fix Is In.<br /><br />The "tweaking" of Social Security via chained CPI is an exercise in cruel subterfuge. The average woman on Social Security received only $997 a month in 2010. If the Grand Bargain had succeeded then, her monthly income would have fallen to $933 (in inflation-adjusted 2010 dollars) by age 85 and $915 by age 95.<br /><br />How is this not a War Against Women? Millions of older women already are living in poverty, unable to pay their bills, putting off medical care, scrimping on food. I guess the Scrooges of the ruling class won't be happy until we switch from Fancy Feast to the Walmart brand.<br /><br />The Fix Is In, unless we all band together and fix their wagon.Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-25490074162942806282012-12-23T23:02:42.324-05:002012-12-23T23:02:42.324-05:00Dear Friends: I was trying to figure out an approp...Dear Friends: I was trying to figure out an appropriate Xmas message when a friend sent me the following. So I will use it for all of you Sardonickyites: I think he was too kind to the Republicans.<br /><br /><br />To All My Democratic Friends:<br /><br /><br />Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2013, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.<br /><br /><br /><br />To My Republican Friends:<br />Merry Christmas and a Happy New YearPearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-31211120431396882812012-12-23T18:22:51.340-05:002012-12-23T18:22:51.340-05:00I think we have enough "clinical" eviden...I think we have enough "clinical" evidence to label Obama a narcissistic psychopath.<br /><br />If that second term in particular seems a bit much, read an expanded, functional definition of psychopathology. They're not all obvious Charles Manson-types. Many can seen as "successful psychopaths" who are socially skillful (some even charismatic) and who typically inhabit executive suites and the halls of government.<br /><br />http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/19/inside-the-psyche-of-the-1/ <br /><br />It helps to know what we're dealing with. Do we have a fit here?spreadoptionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-87865066623745742622012-12-23T17:38:24.688-05:002012-12-23T17:38:24.688-05:00December 23rd - Happy Festivus, the holiday for th...December 23rd - Happy Festivus, the holiday for the restivus Seinfeld fans. <br /><br />Obama recently was named Time Magazine's 'Man of the Year' for the second time, winning over Malala Yousafzai if you can believe it. FOR WHAT? He wins too many honors for no good reason to believe there isn't a lot of backroom dealing going on. <br /><br />I don't think his insatiable ego will ever be satisfied with being merely the President of the United States. Will he craft a national emergency at the end of his second term and name himself our Emperor?<br />Or Messiah?<br /><br />Did anyone else read Obama's eulogy for Senator Inouye? It's more about Obama than about Inouye. Quelle surprise. Have your barf bag handy if you want to read it at: <br /><br />http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/184465371.html?id=184465371Outsidanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-24786661268090429202012-12-23T17:05:33.984-05:002012-12-23T17:05:33.984-05:00Merry Saturnalia everyone! And may Kronus smile up...Merry Saturnalia everyone! And may Kronus smile upon you. As Epicurus would say, Don't worry about the gods, they couldn't care less. Seek pleasure, but not in excess. And as Socrates might say, Do no harm. <br /><br />Yes, I think 2014 is the time of judgement for the Democratic party.James F Traynornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-74965969683851235532012-12-23T16:50:56.823-05:002012-12-23T16:50:56.823-05:00@Zee
You once asked on this blog forum, why true ...@Zee<br /><br />You once asked on this blog forum, why true liberals love FDR. I think Denis' quote says it all. Particularly when you compare it and the man with Obama and Clinton - and Bush, Reagan and Cheney.<br /><br />I cannot stand the Obamas - They are so fake and condescending - and the remark about the dog reminds me of how Hitler loved his dogs and yet had no compassion for the Jews he tortured and killed and damaged for life, if they were fortunate enough to get out of those hellholes. <br /><br />And as Pearl pointed out - the Obamas are the antithesis of what a real African American leader should be like. MLK must be turning over in his grave. Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-86619509323381070122012-12-23T16:00:37.591-05:002012-12-23T16:00:37.591-05:00Great post, Karen; great comments, Denis and Pearl...Great post, Karen; great comments, Denis and Pearl.<br /><br />There are many things that need to be done to change the deteriorating conditions the majority of the people are experiencing, and the adverse direction in which the nation is moving. Significantly cutting the outsized influence of corporations and the military, making the minimum wage a livable one, changing our economy to one that ensures that necessary and beneficial goods and services will take precedence over superfluous ones... all are necessary, posthaste.<br /><br />But in the near term, the most pressing item on the agenda must be to block all attempts by the wealth-lackey Social-Darwinist Republicans and spineless complicit Democrats to cut social spending as even a partial response to the contrived crisis of the "fiscal cliff". Members of the poor and middle classes have for decades been losing ground not only relative to the wealthy but also in comparison to their same-class historical peers, particularly when costs such as higher education, health care, and retirement are included, and these less-fortunate citizens bear little responsibility for our national economic problems. To put matters bluntly: It is patently unjust — actually, immoral — for them to be expected to bear ANY of the burden of economic remedies.<br /><br />We already know that the Republican Party is morally bankrupt on this issue. How will mainstream Democratic politicians fare? I'm not optimistic, but I do view it as a useful litmus test for whether the Democratic Party might be fixed, or whether it should be written off like the Republican one. If the latter, organizing an alternative for 2014 and beyond should begin now.Fred Drumlevitchhttp://www.freddrumlevitch.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-41661576064659337172012-12-23T15:42:55.012-05:002012-12-23T15:42:55.012-05:00What I find strange is that praising them for bein...What I find strange is that praising them for being the first Afro American<br />president and first lady to grace the White House is a farce. They do not<br />represent the history and political activism of so many black people who<br />followed Martin Luther King in the historic marches of the civil rights<br />movement those years ago. They really represent the old boy network of white<br />affluent men (and women) but parading in black skins and living the elite life by ignoring the reality of the depths our country has sunk to, and<br />not fighting to stop the accelerating deterioration in every aspect of life<br />as we know it.<br /><br />Sadly as well, is how many black citizens support the Obamas not recognizing that they have been sold out and remain loyal to people who do not represent their interests. It is interesting that I have never heard President Obama refer to anything MLK has ever said or accomplished. Yet warnings that were made by MLK about<br />the state of the Union and its future, are even more relevant today than ever before, some of which have been mentioned by Sardonicky readers.<br /><br />The overdecorated White House does not disguise the fact that it is not a beacon of light in the current darkness surrounding it.<br /><br />Bah Humbug Pearl<br /><br /><br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-78349625276913434612012-12-23T14:59:38.308-05:002012-12-23T14:59:38.308-05:00No, you really can't make that shit up.
As W....No, you really can't make that shit up.<br /><br />As W.C. Fields once said, “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” <br /><br />They have a compassionate deficit worthy of Dostoevsky’s Heavenly Christmas Tree. Christ would weep.<br /><br />Franklin Roosevelt’s 1939 Christmas Eve greeting to the nation stands in stark contrast:<br /><br />“The old year draws to a close. It began with dread of evil things to come and it ends with the horror of another war adding its toll of anguish to a world already bowed under the burden of suffering laid upon it by man's inhumanity to man.<br /><br />But, thank God for the interlude of Christmas. This night is a night of joy and hope and happiness and promise of better things to come. And so in the happiness of this Eve of the most blessed day in the year I give to all of my countrymen the old, old greeting-"Merry Christmas- Happy Christmas."<br /><br />A Christmas rite for me is always to re-read that immortal little story by Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol." Reading between the lines and thinking as I always do of Bob Cratchit's humble home as a counterpart of millions of our own American homes, the story takes on a stirring significance to me. Old Scrooge found that Christmas wasn't a humbug. He took to himself the spirit of neighborliness. But today neighborliness no longer can be confined to one's little neighborhood. Life has become too complex for that. In our country neighborliness has gradually spread its boundaries—from town, to county, to State and now at last to the whole Nation.<br /><br />For instance, who a generation ago would have thought that a week from tomorrow-January 1, 1940—tens of thousands of 'elderly men and women in every State and every county and every city of the Nation would begin to receive checks every month for old age retirement insurance—and not only that but that there would be also insurance benefits for the wife, the widow, the orphan children and even dependent parents? Who would have thought a generation ago that people who lost their jobs would, for an appreciable period, receive unemployment insurance—that the needy, the blind and the crippled children would receive some measure of protection which will reach down to the millions of Bob Cratchit's, the Marthas and the Tiny Tims of our own "four-room homes."<br /><br />http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15854<br /><br />Roosevelt once said, “We put those pay roll contributions there so as to give the contributors a legal, moral, and political right to collect their pensions and their unemployment benefits. With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program.” <br /><br />Now 73 years later, Barack Hoover Obama is plotting ways to cut Social Security - reaching down to the millions of Bob Cratchit's, the Marthas and the Tiny Tims of our own four-room homes to deprive them even further - and is setting the precedent for the further benefit cuts. One day, another damn politician may very well scrap FDR’s legacy altogether.Denis Nevillenoreply@blogger.com