Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

What are YOU thinking?

by Arthur Gilroy
Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 08:53:18 PM EST

I am SO goddamned sick of the so-called left in this country talking smack and doing shit.

Here on this blog, too.

Evidence?

The latest evidence in a long, long line, as far as I am concerned?

The one that finally drove me to say something about what I am seeing?

Thereisnospoon's recent front-paged diary What Are These People Even Thinking? here.

And especially his comment "But the nice thing is, they're cowering and unpredictable, and we're actually standing tall. Who knew?"

That was the straw that broke THIS silence's back.

"Who knew?"

That did it.

Read on if you dare.

I do not know about the cowering.

What I read? In their actions? In their statements? In the way that they stand and look into the camera as they bleat their latest demonization lines?

"Immigrants and queers? They ALL gotta go!!! And them damned Uranians, too."

They are still supremely confident.

Confident in their continuing ability to create "new realities" that will distract the populace from the results of the previous new realities. They are PERFECTLY predictable. Like the steroided-out Barry Bonds (The perfect sports analogue of BushCo. BondCo/Balco.), they WILL hit another home run and they WILL slip out from underneath prosecution once again.

And you know what?

On the evidence of the last 6 to 8 years?

They have every REASON to be confident.

On the evidence.

They control the media, and the media control the populace.

End of story.

Watch.

And...hopefully...THIS TIME...learn.

From the wonderful Joe Bageant regarding the so-called left in America.

Every American seems to think the sun rises and sets on his or her ass. Americans cannot seem to get over themselves. Consequently, empathy for mankind's planetary misery is in short supply - more of an intellectual concept than a reality to soft, moody, self-absorbed American lefties. They all come from the 25% of Americans who get a college degree. They have no fucking idea what it is like for the other 60-70% of Americans who have to survive in our brutal corporatized state without the benefit of genuine education, insight or even honest news programming to see what is going on around them. These workers are being cultivated as a human crop by global business. A crop of toilers, consumers, and when need be, mechanized killers to be sent abroad. - Joe Bageant

This paragraph ought to be required memorization for everyone who calls himself a "liberal" or "progressive" (Or whatever other blog term is currently fashionable this week on the left) in America.

Standing tall?

Not fucking YET!!!

Want more?

Sure.

Even if you don't.

See, I don't believe the U.S. really has a political left. It just has personalities who consider themselves leftists and make an identity gig of it. If we really had a left, then I could walk out this door to a leftist party headquarters and take political action. It's not like I can call up the local chapter of the Rifondazione Comunista, as in Italy. It's not like I can stop by the newsstand and buy a copy of Liberazione. Americans kid themselves about having choices. Hell, they won't even dare call themselves leftists. They've backed off into calling themselves "progressives." That is totally gutless. What is the alternative to "progress?" The Stone Age? The U.S. has a cottage culture industry called the left. And it has a body of middle class professionals and semi-professionals who cannot bring themselves to associate with Republicans, so they call themselves "liberals.'" But liberals are too comfortable. So they deny reality. They are not going to do anything so long as they are comfortably insulated in the middle class. They are not going to wade into that hate filled ditch of political action, real political action that requires sacrifice, to battle for America's soul - not as long as they are still living on a good street, sending their kids to Montessori and getting their slice of the American quiche.

What I'm saying is that until we get a real left in this country, one capable of creating change through radical action, one willing to risk everything for what they believe, we should not be talking about what our pseudo-left should be doing. Our pseudo-left is doing exactly what it should be doing: posturing, bickering amid itself and boring the hell out of the rest of America.

Standing tall my ass.

Whimpering and groveling for media scraps. For false news stories about how Rove is going down.

One of a long LINE of new realities that go right back to Unca Bill and the little blue dress.

Win in November?

I'll believe it when I see it.

No, I take that back.

I'll believe it AFTER I see it, and after I have it proven to me by the direct and forceful actions of the new majority...if it ever happens, of course...to bring these criminals to a just end that cannot be pardoned out the way Unca Bill pardoned out the PREVIOUS Ratpub criminals who came right back and bit him on his big, fat, hairy, naked, sexually obsessive ass just as soon as they could.

I'll believe it when Joe Biden is not seriously spoken of as potential Presidential timber.

He is not even presidential PLYWOOD.

I'll believe it when the Dems get so rid of Joe Lieberman that he has to join the Daughters of The American Revolution to get a speaking gig and some free rubber chicken to eat along with his new age Jim Crow. Palestinians as the niggers, Israel as the NEW New South.

I'll believe it when I see Dick Cheney's name at the top of a prosecutorial bill of goods for treasonous activities against the state.

High treason.

Punishable by high death.

THEN I'll believe it.

Dick Cheney and Saddam Hussein in matching electronic love seats.

BZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!!

Until then...what are YOU thinking?

Unbelievable.

Later...

What are YOU thinking? | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Tip or complaints. (4.00 / 12)

I no longer care one way or another.

This sham has GOT to end.

Somebody has to say SOMETHING.

You want things to change?

Really change?

I refer you to my sig.

Until then...the liberal circle jerk continues.

A(rrr)G(h)!!!

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 08:59:29 PM EST

Re: Tip or complaints. (4.00 / 3)

More from Douglass:

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning.

We're in severe need of some fucking thunder and lighting.

Diary of a Traitor

by Planet B (planb247(a)yahoo) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:38:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What are YOU thinking? (4.00 / 6)

Damn, Arthur, you're as pissed off as I am today.

It is a sad commentary on the "American Left" when the most radical publications I can get are "Mother Jones", "The Nation" and "Ms".

When's the last time any of us heard a politician run on left of center principles ?

Remember comparable worth ? How 'bout discussing the de facto segregation that still shames our nation ? Equal funding for ALL schools ? The epidemic of violence against women ? The right to organize ?
And my favourite, a five-to-one salary ratio for CEO to the lowest paid worker.

I'll believe it when I see it.

"No one has the right to say `You do what I tell you, or I'll hurt you.'" - Monty Roberts

by susanw on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 09:52:12 PM EST

Re: What are YOU thinking? (4.00 / 2)

I actually quit reading The Nation a couple of years ago, partially because of the blogs and getting the same news faster and partially because it's just not left/liberal/progressive enough for me. Check out In These Times sometime, it's pretty good.

Diary of a Traitor

by Planet B (planb247(a)yahoo) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:40:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What are YOU thinking? (none / 0)

Thanks, B, I will.

"No one has the right to say `You do what I tell you, or I'll hurt you.'" - Monty Roberts

by susanw on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 03:48:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

2 levels of power encompassed in yr point (4.00 / 5)

On one level, there is the Bush Inc hold on power; on another, the broader power of the wealthy corporate overclass. The latter of course encompasses a significant portion of the mainstram Democratic Party.

I agree it seems to be premature to celebrate the ousting Bush Inc and their conservative royalists. Their centralized power makes it much harder to dislodge them -- the fight is inherently unfair, stacked in their favor (the person holding most of the cards has a good chance of engineering the outcome of the game).

But still, they are reeling (altho they have been before). And I have some optimism about the democratic majority of Americans' ability to see what's going on (at least once it gets so bad [e.g., now], the media can't control the perception as well). ANd at that point, to some degree the media will turn (is turning) against BushInc. as well, and the dead-enders will either topple or (less likely) incite some kind of civil war.

The other broader social power of the ruling Establishment class does not appear to be at risk along with the rightist-royalists. The basic principle that the mainstream media will never question is that American society is best and properly ruled by corporations and the affluent, educated class of 'people like us'. So while the media will likely (eventually/finally) turn agst Bush, they won't turn against the ongoing plutocratic system of government and economy. FOr that to change, the gap between the rich and poor is going to have to get even more third world and the democratic majority will have to make change without the benefit of the establishment class and their (our) media.

by nine (ninethousandflowers *at* hotmail) on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 10:16:17 PM EST

Re: 2 levels of power encompassed in yr point (none / 1)

Just say to yourself over and over, "Big Business Is My Friend, "Big Business Is My Friend, "Big Business Is My Friend", until numb.

"No one has the right to say `You do what I tell you, or I'll hurt you.'" - Monty Roberts

by susanw on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 11:20:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 2 levels of power encompassed in yr point (none / 1)

I think about this quite a bit, how I just know I'll be supremely let down by the "liberal" blogosphere after Bush and the attendant Repub thugs are thrown out (DeLay, etc). The problem is far too few people understand that the problem is not THIS administration but the system as a whole. Yes, Dubya is a particularly heinous figurehead at the helm of the Corporate States of the World. But when he's gone, it'll be back to putting a shiny face on corporate fascism (ala Clinton).

Diary of a Traitor

by Planet B (planb247(a)yahoo) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:47:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What are YOU thinking? (4.00 / 2)

A fine diary, AG. Once again, you articulate many of my own thoughts quite clearly.

Thank you for the link, as well. I'm surprised I haven't heard of Blageant before (or, if I have, I haven't read him). Yet another articulate individual bringing a crucial viewpoint to the general dialogue.

However, if his stated intention of foreign patronage is meant to be exemplary of the type of liberating sacrifice he recommends for a revitalized Left, he's just as hopelessly lost as any.

by wilderness wench on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 11:33:23 PM EST

Joe Bageant. (none / 1)

Here.

And here too.

Read him.

Since Jimmy Breslin retired...the best of the best journalism about the American working class.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:12:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Joe Bageant. (4.00 / 2)

Thanks for the links, AG. Glanced briefly at the blog, saw nothing to either counter or reinforce the opinion I was able to form yesterday re the quality of his writing & opinion. Saw a bit about the lit biz, vacation in southern France, all very nice.

Saw nothing either regarding his plan -- voiced last year -- that he would purchase property in, say, St. Kitts & deed it to needy citizens, with the proviso that it remain at his full disposal. Also very nice, I suppose, though (as I said before) not exemplary of any manner of meaningful sacrifice as recommended, far as I can tell. Similar 'deeds' are traditional between moneyed landowners & their lessers; only the tenants stand to lose, if it becomes adventageous for the landowner to displace them.

This is actually a mirror of certain aspects of traditional US foreign policy, as well. Regardless of an apparent impulse toward lending 'empowerment', ultimate control is retained & reinforced; nothing vital is shared or relenquished.

Blageant's journalistic gifts aside, however: ultimately, if one espouses the type of perceptual realignment now required of American leftists -- one that compels actual sacrifice outside the comfort zone (is it sacrifice otherwise?), in which action is taken with secondary consideration to personal risk (however subjectively defined) -- then one should simply walk the talk, no?
I'd sooner see an example in action than see the possibilities advertised, however artfully (or vaguely). Talk about the blind leading the blind!

We've certainly got a long, long, long way to go in our collective movement toward crucial matters of personal sacrifice for communal benefit, if that sacrifice is basically defined as the easing of liberal guilt while covering one's ass.

Again, however: I thank you for the links. No skin off mine to familiarize myself with esteemed opinion.
I continually bear in mind, however, that the business & discipline of writing is largely a matter of pitching the best bullshit.

by wilderness wench on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 12:10:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Holy shit, Batman! (none / 1)

Help has finally arrived! Where's Baegeant been all my life?

Gilroy, I've been thinking what you've been thinking since I last voted for Kerry (anything but Bush). But I'll be damned if I can do that again. Ever. A vote for a Dem whore just ain't gonna do it for me.

Oh, thank you for stating the obvious! At last a place exists that the Truth can be sprayed like birdshot, warts and all. Thank you, Booman! Until and unless this country has this VERY conversation, we are doomed. More importantly we in fact are "our brother's keeper" and "he ain't heavy" either.

Beageant sez:

"What are the Democrats offering working class folks? Do they dare say: "Your health care is non-existent so we're gonna fix it by completely socializing all health care, period. Fuck the upper middle class medical racketeers." Do they stand up and say, "We are going to completely stop the outsourcing of American jobs?" Or that those goddamned fraud elections are over and will never happen again? Are they out there door to door educating the people, connecting the dots for them? Hell no. Instead they field, as one of my readers put it, ". . . cheerleaders for exactly the kind of global corporate suck down that is leaving the working class shattered and more vulnerable every day. In the wake of the Kerry disaster, who is now the front-runner for 2008? Hillary."

Jesus, this guy is important! Thanks so much for the introduction!

by Annalize5 on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 02:43:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Have to agree. (4.00 / 4)

It was only yesterday (Sunday) that a friend said to me, "Look, the New York Times is coming around (giving up on support of the Iraq War)."

--Even while it continues to agitate for a new IRAN War!

It is frustrating to be surrounded by clueless people, but that is life.

Thereisnospoon is no shining light of wisdom, trust me, having tangled with him just last week. He represents the new remake-the-Democratic-Party-as-a-politically-centrist-white-male-club brand of politics. This is supposed to be somehow different from the DLC, and win elections. On the we-can-do-the-same-wrong-things,-only-better, platform, I guess.

I will be glad when Bush falls, as it looks like he may do.

But I know his replacement will be worse. Any lefty who doesn't know that hasn't been paying attention.

Americans are not going to take back their democracy while the country exists. They want lower gas prices, not democracy.

The only left strategy is deep strategy, which looks ahead to the time and situation when events might become favorable. Children mob the soccer ball and kick. Adults step back and think about where it might go, and what can be done.

To the point of the essay: Bush hasn't made a logical argument in decades. The public accepts this. It perhaps is no longer necessary that his arguments even appear to make sense. Nobody cares. Really.

Its all about those gas prices.

Nature has her own plans, and doesn't care what anybody thinks.

Lefties should think about THAT.

by Gaianne on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:01:38 AM EST

Re: Have to agree. (4.00 / 2)

Gaianne...

You write:

"Nature has her own plans, and doesn't care what anybody thinks.'

Yup.

Stephen Crane wrote:

"A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe, 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.'"

Yup.

Lefties should think about THAT, too.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:18:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Thanks for not drive-by shooting. Have a nice day. (none / 1)

Thank you for making your point without throwing a Molotov Cocktail.

You may have noticed from my sig line that we're on the same wavelength on the natural consequences of hubris.

No need to shoot your friends while waiting for the teetering shitpile to fall.

The conditions that lead to the fall help create the opportunity for the growth of something different, if we find, create, and share the tools to do so now. I guess that may not be immediate enough or plainly visible enough for some.

If we rise to the occasion we see another FDR; if not, we get the despot we deserve until we catch on, or nature presents us with another opportunity - for such people in their selective blindness to the parts of reality they prefer to ignore shed the rapidly-sprouting seeds of their own - and their regime's - destruction.

If anything is preordained by God (however one defines the word) it's that. But as someone once said, "Truly, God's work must be our own."

No need to insult your friends.

The cliff looks mighty and impregnable until a huge chunk suddenly falls off, the result of a generation of quiet erosion by water, the weakest but most vital thing on earth.

I'm not embarrassed to be told I'm all wet. ;-)

"Money ruined Democracy. Washington is lost. We only have the grassroots left." - Bill Moyers

by Knoxville Progressive (green_planet_2000 (at) yahoo (dot) com) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 11:10:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Have to agree. (none / 1)

Thereisnospoon need to get his own danm spoon.

"No one has the right to say `You do what I tell you, or I'll hurt you.'" - Monty Roberts

by susanw on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 11:22:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What are YOU thinking? (4.00 / 2)

I'm with Gilroy, with the impatience. Tired of reading diaries of internalizing guilt, and how awful we all are, and how awful it all is, and the latest fart from Ann Coulter.

I just want to hear what you're doing about it in your own communities, and nationally.

You create a left community with activism, not with writing about your wish to create a left community.

Here is our latest on the front page of the New York Times, on the grass roots movement for public and affordable housing in New Orleans.

by duranta (yocandra42@hotmail.com) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 05:55:35 PM EST

Re: What are YOU thinking? (none / 1)

Oh take a hike, Arthur!

Do you know what "projection" means?

What a crock! Let's see ANY evidence that you yourself escape this indictment.

I had many clear chances to make millions being a corporate asshole...or to go my own route, which involves helping as many people as I can, by my skills and my lights. And the same is no doubt true for virtually everybody on this site.

What the hell do you think you can accomplish with a screed like that? Would you like some kind of special medal?

by Arminius on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 11:17:33 PM EST

Medal? (4.00 / 2)

No.

I only want sanity.

Sanity in this country.

And I do not see it.

What do I think that I can "accomplish" with a cri de coeur of this sort?

I simply do not GIVE a flying fuck what I can "accomplish" any more.

I am simply going to tell the truth as I see it, and if you people do not any longer have the native sense to be able to hear it...so it goes.

I've got better thin s to do than to preach to a choir that is wearing earphones tuned to the failed hits of the past 60 years.

What have YOU people accomplished with all of your half-assed progressive rhetoric?

A proto-fascist nation.

Evidence?

60 years of Republican rule.

There's my "evidence."

An unceasingly imperialist country riding around in its swollen SUVs and stuffing itself full of poisoned food while billions suffer.

Where's YOUR evidence?

Lying in pools of blood in places like Haditha.

How DARE you tell me to "take a hike?"

You and your weak-assed policies of halfway compromise with the devil have succeeded in NOTHING.

And unless a miracle happens, Republican OR Democratic wins in 2006 and 2008 are going to change NOTHING.

Plan A and Plan A Lite.

STILL economic imperialism.

STILL bogarting the joint of the world.

And still sitting on the short end of a long fuse that is now burning in the Islamic countries, in South/Central/Caribbean America AND in the ghettoes of your own country...In the Hispanic and Black communities at the very least...and quite possibly in China and India as well. With Africa coming on late but strong.

Take your bourgeois outrage and shove it.

I'm outta here.

What the fuck is WRONG with you people!!!???

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Mon Jun 5th, 2006 at 11:46:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

And what about Russ Feingold? (none / 0)

Given what you have seen of him, would he be a good Presidential contender if Howard Dean does not run? Does he have the spine that others lack?

Conservatism is Dead!

by Eternal Hope on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 01:59:36 AM EST

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (4.00 / 2)

Feingold's will be a disappointment along with most of the other Democratic contenders. Dem's and Repub's are one and the same on all issues.

Their is only one party left in America. That's the money party. They won the class war. 90% of America lost but won't admit it because it's too much fun thinking that they could be one of the 10% class.

America has become the monarchy that it originally rebelled against. What goes around comes around.

Even counting every vote no longer matters so says the Supreme Court in Gore v. Bush.

Anyone who thinks this is not the truth is not paying attention to what really counts.

Being President in America today is meaningless as long as the lobbyist can write any bill it likes for Congress to rubber stamp. The public is told what to think and who to vote for by the corporations which control Wall Street and the media.

Democracy is a joke that a large majority of the population is taught to believe in. No one in the 10% crowd believes in Democracy.

They believe in one thing and that is their bottom line, golden parachutes and Corporate Fiefdom's which have no loyalty to any political party or country.

Metal Faces, Metal Times, Metal Places, Metal Lives, You can laugh or you can cry, For Metal Men, With Mirrorshade Minds.

by Mirrorshade Mind on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 04:27:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (4.00 / 2)

You sound like Nader. And I voted for him in 2000. Although I never fully believed his 'they're both the same' mantra. And I definetily don't believe it now. But it's obvious that there are very few democrats that are willing take a stand that is left of, and independant of the party. Russ Feingold is the most prominent one to date. Then there's Gore. I'm not sure what to make of him just yet. I need a little more time to see if he stays consistent and doesn't begin to do a shapeshifter dance. I listen to him speak now and I wonder where this guy has been all this time. He actually seems...human. I would vote for either one of those guys, or even a combination of the two. But to be realistic, I don't see any way that Feingold has a chance at being elected in this country just yet. I think Gore has a great chance, if he chooses to run. That remains to be seen. I just hope it isn't Clinton. She's my Senator and I voted for her, but she's a major, major disappointment to me.

"green grass and high tides forever"

by supersoling (colorsplash62@optonline.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 06:56:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (none / 0)

Nader was right. His problem was he never understood that most Americans are not interested in hearing the truth.

Most of America doesn't really care about America except for the little slice they happen to be standing on at the moment. Feingold is no different from any other politician in this respect. He does care but in politics that is not considered an asset.

No matter who gets elected President no one can fix America in one or two terms. The important stuff has been ignored too long for it to be fixed.

Democracy is a dead horse. When everything in America is all "image" without "substance" (think Katrina) Americans are living in a world of self delusion where reality shifts to fit the latest excuse for why nothing works and no one cares.

(example. Hitler ignored reality when his generals told him the war was lost when the allies established a foothold in France. It wasn't until he holed up in the bunker in Berlin that the reality hit home. Another example was the failure to follow up the attack on Pearl Harbor with the invasion troops. Admiral Yamoto had warned the high command that this failure would result in losing the war against America. He also was right but no one listened.)

The Multi-National Corporate Shadow governments are here to make sure Democracy stays dead.

Kind of interesting how the large scale protest movement against the WTO dissipated after 9/11. Nothing like a surprise attack to refocus the publics concern and instill a large dose of fear into the population.

Metal Faces, Metal Times, Metal Places, Metal Lives, You can laugh or you can cry, For Metal Men, With Mirrorshade Minds.

by Mirrorshade Mind on Wed Jun 7th, 2006 at 03:30:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

And who would you vote for? (none / 0)

Conservatism is Dead!

by Eternal Hope on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 04:58:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And who would you vote for? (none / 1)

George Galloway.

Or anybody else who stands up and tells the truth in public with real fire and passion.

Win lose or draw.

FUCK "politics".

Too late for halfway measures.

Opposition on any and all levels, right on up to lawbreaking.

"In a criminal society, only the honest are criminals."

Do you know who said that?

I did

Two years ago.

And I stand by it.

This country has become a total kleptocracy. Top to bottom. And it will either be thoroughly overhauled or it will sink to the bottom along with all the other bottom feeders.

No more politics.

No more "If we say that, we won't WIN!!!"

Just the truth.

Anything less simply will not do.

Not anymore.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 07:26:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And who would you vote for? (none / 1)

George Galloway is a badass. Saw him in DC last September too. When I watched his testimony in the Senate last year I listened for the first few minutes with my mouth hanging open and smacking myself in the head just to make sure I was really hearing what I thought I was hearing. To say we're starved for honesty in this country has to be the understatement of the century.

Here's a link to an interview he gave on BBC radio regarding his statement that the assassination of Tony Blair would be morally justifiable. Damn George...just damn.

George Galloway/BBC Radio

"green grass and high tides forever"

by supersoling (colorsplash62@optonline.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 02:41:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I love you Super, I'm so on your wave (none / 1)

length. I downloaded his testimony and watched it numerous times just so I could remember what it was like when someone honest was televised addressing our Senate! It was a moment in history I will never ever forget!

PMS Purchase More Shoes

by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 03:48:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (none / 0)

What is this "democracy", and where can we buy some ?

"No one has the right to say `You do what I tell you, or I'll hurt you.'" - Monty Roberts

by susanw on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 11:24:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (none / 0)

It's for sale right here in the U.S., but the price is rather exorbitant.

Tengo un sueño.

by ejmw (ewitham (at) umich (dot) edu) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 04:12:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (none / 0)

If you have to buy "Democracy" then the whole concept is dead from the get go.

Metal Faces, Metal Times, Metal Places, Metal Lives, You can laugh or you can cry, For Metal Men, With Mirrorshade Minds.

by Mirrorshade Mind on Wed Jun 7th, 2006 at 02:54:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And what about Russ Feingold? (4.00 / 3)

He will be "Aaaarghed" by the media before he gets in a POSITION to run, should he decide to do so. Unless of course he is a political genius.

Gore too. Who on the evidence of his last attempt to become president is most definitely NOT a political genius.

And the word "if" in the phrase "if Howard Dean does not run?"

Priceless.

Howard Dean is most apparently NOT running.

People who are running for president have to start the buzz happening at least two years before primaries. They hire people to stir the pot. People who sit at phones and talk to OTHER people. People who make waves. If he HAS hired people of that sort, they are doing a damned poor job of wave making, because there is nary a hint of a Dean current in the national trance-media.

Feingold hired some mediocre ones. Made some little theme park waves.

Gore's got some GOOD ones. A sudden media storm to coincide with the movie. Whether he is really running or not.

Hillary? The BEST ones. A constant stream of waves for two years. Building JUST right. Steady as she goes.

SURF'S UP, DUDE!!!!

But Dean?

Nope.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 07:17:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

When I joined up on the pond (none / 1)

When I joined up on the pond I couldn't imagine how we would get to Frog Marching here, and checking out the terrain today there are certainly a lot more possibilities that we may be heading sort of that direction now but you are right and other than Conyers and Fitz nothing else even indicating Frog Marching potential has knocked much on the door yet. We are a long long way from satisfaction!

PMS Purchase More Shoes

by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 10:57:51 AM EST

We're closer than you think (4.00 / 3)

Think of each of those "possibilities" as a spinning plate balancing on a stick, like on those old TV variety shows. How many scandals can they balance at once? Each revelation is like a new spinning plate, and only one or two need to fall before it's "show over."

The next act may be only marginally better; therein lies the challenge. This act is going down fast. Will we get a real replacement, or another song-and-dance routine?

"Money ruined Democracy. Washington is lost. We only have the grassroots left." - Bill Moyers

by Knoxville Progressive (green_planet_2000 (at) yahoo (dot) com) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 11:17:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Derrick Jensen sez: (none / 1)

Abandon hope. Just act. This graf in particular caught my eye:

I have no patience for those who use our desperate situation as an excuse for inaction. I've learned that if you deprive most of these people of that particular excuse they just find another, then another, then another. The use of this excuse to justify inaction--the use of any excuse to justify inaction--reveals nothing more nor less than an incapacity to love.

Food for thought.

The Mahatma X Files. Peace With Attitude.

by James Benjamin (the_bokononist at yahoo dot com) on Tue Jun 6th, 2006 at 06:35:50 PM EST

What are YOU thinking? | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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