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TechnoratiIt's Going to Take a Civic Jolt
Can Congress "walk and chew gum at the same time?"
This phrase used by President Lyndon Johnson for one of his political opponents comes to mind at a time early in the first 100 days of the Obama Administration when supposedly many long-overdue changes and rollbacks are possible.
It is not just that Congress is completely absorbed with the tax-cut-stimulus package. It is stasis that seems to be enveloping, even within its numerous well-funded and staffed committees in the House and Senate, from even the signaling of serious movement toward rolling back Bush-pushed legislation and starting widely supported forays that take hope to change.
The continuation of this state of stasis is made more likely because the Republican minority is feeling its oats. It put the White House on the defensive during the struggle to enact economic recovery legislation even though previous Republican policies and coddling of Wall Street for eight years build a steep cliff for financial collapse. Add the de-regulatory moves of 1999 and 2000 by the Clinton-Rubin crowd and the financial meltdown accelerates.
There is something else operating. One gets the feel on Capitol Hill among some fairly sharp people of a lack of horizon, a paucity of progressive determination, a sense of being overwhelmed by the corporate forces still bearing down on Congress-easily the most powerful branch of government under our Constitution.
But Congress does not act as if it is the most powerful branch. It routinely abdicates its constitutional responsibilities-the declaration of war authority and the plenary authority to investigate and require access to information in the executive branch.
Even after the Democrats took control of the Congress in January 2007, George W. Bush again and again got his way including a rubber stamp for the huge Iraq and Afghanistan war budgets outside of the normal appropriations processes.
Efforts by Senator Russ Feingold and Cong. John Conyers to move a modest censure resolution of Bush and Cheney for their many constitutional and statutory violations were aggressively rejected by their leaders-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. In January 2007, Pelosi and Reid two took impeachment off the table allowing the most chronically impeachable presidency in our history to continue undisturbed.
Some staffers in Congress privately assert that the Democrats are not acting like a majority party. It is worse than that. They are not acting-period.
From their majority status in 2007 to 2009 and a Democratic President in the White House, the Congressional Democrats are not moving swiftly to repeal the ban on Uncle Sam negotiating drug prices from volume discounts under the drug benefit law. They are not moving to amend the Patriot Act, regain control of warrantless surveillance, strengthen the corporate criminal laws and enforcement budgets. Congress is not even pushing to require taxing Hedge Fund manager's income as ordinary income not as capital gains.
I cite these policies because they are policies much favored by many Democratic lawmakers. But in practice lawmakers duck and duck and duck from translating their beliefs into contentious action vis-à-vis the lobbyists and their captive legislators.
Senator Chris Dodd and the vast majority of the American people want to do something about credit card company abuses and gouges. But he is surrounded not just by the Republicans on the Senate Banking Committees but high-ranking Democrats beholden to the financial goliaths who, are demanding and receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts.
There is word from the politicians that consideration of health care insurance-apart from a quickly enacted expansion of some coverage for more poor children-will be put off for a year. The trade unions' top priority to enact labor law reforms, supported by Obama during his presidential campaign, are being held back by the Democrats.
There is even doubt whether the District of Columbia will get a voting Representative in the House when push comes to shove in the Senate.
The one-subject-at-a-time attitude is coming from the White House. "Obama doesn't want it now" is a common phrase used by legislators to excuse themselves from exercising the separate but equal Congressional powers. This pretext applies to taking away some of the hugely expensive and unnecessary weapons systems like the F-22 aircraft decried by many military and retired military analysts. The vast, bloated military budget is sacrosanct on Capitol Hill as it is in the White House.
At a time of widely perceived needs for Congressional action, with large corporations busy applying for corporate welfare and on the defensive, the Democrats are not generating any momentum for standing for and with the people. Even in the midst of food contamination, illnesses and fatalities, they cannot turn around forty years of delay on giving the Food and Drug Administration adequate authority and inspectors to protect our food supply.
It is going to take a very focused civic jolt from you all to your Senators and Representatives. A couple of million jolters from our large country can get the train moving on the tracks. It doesn't take much time to holler, yell or bellow with the facts.
123 Comments so far
Show AllPlease, I dont talk to this person any longer, will someone do his reading comprehension and explain the difference between his statement and reality....
"On September 17th 2004 the NYT's reported that Senator John McCain sent the attorney Trevor Potter, a former FEC member to Tallahassee, to help his long time friend Ralph Nader get on the Florida ballot for his presidential run despite his failure to qualify."
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
Hilarious Now!
Poor RR, A.... "Will someone do his reading comprehension?????" 'do?' People don't 'do' reading comprehension. And MOST people are smart enough to know this.
But then, B....MOST people are also smart enough to know there's an apostrophie between the n & t in don't.
To conjoin these two bits of vapidity in one sentence,
Then follow it with a quote about intelligence is Hilarious. And ironic to the tenth power.
Bertrand Russell would have thought so anyway!
Thanks for the laughs, "Red Rick". You wanna keep it up? Calling me a liar over and over while you lamely impersonate someone who can think, bring it on right freaking now.
JOSEPH.
Yeah I broke my promise not to address you again as it is a waste of time conversing with someone who disrespects the truth as you do so often, but , as others have posted links showing plainly how distorted your accusations are, well, whats the point of further dialogue with one like you?
1. You took the Nader "Uncle Tom" comment out of context to serve your own purpose.In a day when everyone can quickly search for and find that comment, read its entirety and fully comprehend how you distorted fact to "win" an argument one must be aghast at such seeming bad judgement....
2. You once again overly altered that facts of the McCain attemts at intervention in getting Nader on the ballot in Florida when most intelligent and perceptive posters understood that he ( McCain) worked to either serve justice, his own party, or his old friend Ralph. So freaking what? What on earth does that prove about the politics of Ralph Nader, or for that matter, how does your entire sophomoric diatribe serve to discuss those politics?
3. Do you think you come off as bright when you ignore the Kerry offer to McCain to actually serve as his running mate in that very same election? Do you think your lies about Nader and your avoidance of the actions of your own party serve any just cause?
Most come here to discuss politics, to bounce ideas off one another and perhaps come up with effective strategies. You, it would seem, come here to "win", to impress everyone with your intellect...You rail about rudeness and are one of the very most rude people here...quite an impression. This is why, rather than descend to your level and return rude for rude, I choose to make this my final response to such as you, at least until you gain maturity and wisdom and perhaps even a bit of perspective.
Have the last word....
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
Oh Poor RedRick!
So now "everyone understands" mccain was "serving justice?" You say? Really? Maybe you Ricky, I don't see that at all.
And this ludicrous statement if true would somehow obviate the fact that mccain worked to get nader on the ballot in Florida?
Mccain worked to get Nader on the Florida ballot, which you finally concede-thus Ricky, by definition he joined his campaign. Why is that so hard for you?
You did not refute one tiny fact as reported in the Times and elsewhere.
"Nader asked for help" in his 2004 campaign and "mccain rushed to his side" as Salon put it.
So I have been 100% correct when I said McCain joined Nader's campaign.
The best you do now is say "McCain was serving justice."
The lack of thought, analysis and moral depth of that statement is laughable.
Sure Red Rick-"McCain was serving Justice." Thanks for letting me know!!
Hilarious. Joseph.
Red Rick you are talking to me.
And you've called me a LIAR. Repeatedly Now. Remember?
Well the NYT's and salon.com (and others) report the FACTS, which 100% support my statement.
You are on your heals Insulter. And talking to me. So instead of alluding to my deficient reading comprehension??? I invite you to refute the FACTS reported in the NYT's. Or the conclusion I draw fom them.
A little harder than hit and run insulting, huh, 'red rick?'
Call me a Liar? THEN Bring it on "Red Rick" Refute the facts as reported re mccain helping get nader on the ballot in Florida, or the conclusion I, Salon and others draw from this-That McCain joined/helped/assisted Nader's campaign for President in 2004. Or as Joe Conalson in Salon put it, in 2004, "Nader asked for help, and Senator MccCain rushed to his side." To help his campaign by getting him on the ballot in Florida where he had failed to qualify. Now that is joining the team.
Facts not Insults if you are anatomically capable "Red Rick." Better yet, give up. Because you are Dead Wrong. A feeling you are no frustratingly accustomed to, ergo the shrill, angry insults.
You keep calling me a LIAR. In this public forum. So refute these public facts, the conclusion I draw from them, or Shut-Up. Nader asked McCain to join his campaign and he did, or as Salon put it, Nader asked for help with his campaign and the Senator rushed to his side. That is black & white what it is. Just like being in the wrong is.
Joseph.
binban Red Rick And Insults.
I've been called a liar and insulted ad nauseum by "Red Rick" and "binban" on this thread because I said in 2004 Nader asked McCain to join his campaign. By join, I meant help or assist. (Not, certainly as his running mate like binban 'thought').
But even after clearly explaining that by join I meant help or assist the campaign, I'm still being insulted and called a liar. So here are facts.
On September 17th 2004 the NYT's reported that Senator John McCain sent the attorney Trevor Potter, a former FEC member to Tallahassee, to help his long time friend Ralph Nader get on the Florida ballot for his presidential run despite his failure to qualify.
Now again, I'm being called a LIAR because I stated Nader asked McCain to join, I explained I meant assist or help, his campaign. Well these events as reported in the Time's are de facto evidence of John McCain helping/joining/being part of/assisting Nader's 2004 presidential campaign in the most involved, politically sophisticated ways.
Salon.com on Valentine's Day 2008 revisited these events, saying that in 2004, Nader asked for help and McCain rushed to his side.
So McCain joined the efforts in 2004 to elect Ralph Nader. Thus he joined his campaign-unless McCain sending ex FEC memeber and attorney Potter to Florida to get Nader on the 2004 presidential ballot had nothing to do with the campaign.
Whether or not one supports RN, Senator McCain joined/helped, call it what you want, Nader's 2004 campaign. And not with a $1,000 check. But by working to get him on the ballot in Florida.
Not an insignificant piece of strategic assistance and an integral part of the campaign.
I ain't a liar. Ever. Joe.
Correction. The salon.com article about McCain's very active role in Nader's 2004 presidential campaign is from 2/29/08, not 2/14/08.
Joseph.
. .
The absolute best way for the activist community to move things forward to a sustainable future is to invent it in the present, to build it now, to do an end-run around the opposition. Allow the opposition to fall on its face, which it is doing rather rapidly.
Although you may have some success with the idea of "FIGHT," I would suggest that the real revolution comes with the idea of SURRENDER in the sense of reclaiming our innate ability to communicate honestly and openly, to use our vulnerability to get our needs met, instead of manipulating others with concepts of win-lose, struggle, and fighting, which tend to hold the "problem" in place. Fighting creates a static situation in which the expectation that the person who disagrees with us will not change becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The evolution of humanity demands that we adopt a state of mind in which relationships define us, and we are no longer materialistic individualists.
The joy, wonder, and power of people working together in community could be better elicited by articles that do not strike FEAR into the heart of the recipient, but instead inspire HOPE because they see someone actually creating a solution, and their imagination is triggered to move them to action.
Thanks for your comments and analysis, Mr. Nader. As usual they are succinct and hit the nail on the head. Your examples are but a tip of the iceberg re how sold out the Democratic Party is.
We can see from the initiatives of the Obama administration that he is not progressive in any sense. But we knew that from the election campaign. And the Democratic Party is even less so. They could barely muster enough cojones to pass the stimulus bill. So much for any chance of single-payer health care, getting out of Iraq, serious financial reform, etc, etc.
I think the only thing that would get either party's attention would be a national strike. But good luck with that. As things fall apart, I believe a move to the extreme right is more probable than a move to more progressive policies. Look at the last election. If after an incredibly inept and incompetent 8 years of supposed governance, over 40% of the electorate could still consider electing Mr. McCain what chance is there for loosening the stranglehold of corporatism on US foreign and domestic policy?
Well, I just sent this letter to my local Tacoma paper. Will it be published? Doubt it. And it isn't even all that radical compared to the comments above. Of course there are few of us who have lived this long to have been able to vote for Truman on up. Obama wasn't even conceived when Eisenhower was Pres.
Letter to editor:
President Obama seeks ideas from Republicans as well as Democrats to help him solve our Nation's problems. He ought to learn from one highly regarded Republican, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Eisenhower also had to pay for a war, the Korean War. He did not load a debt upon those that followed him; the citizens of the day paid for it. During his administration a 91% tax was levied on any income over $400,000. In today's terms that would be anyone making more than about 3 million dollars. During his eight years the national debt wavered between 260 and 290 billion.
Another piece of advice Eisenhower gave us is to be aware of the military-industrial complex growing in our country. Today it is estimated that we spend more on military matters than all the countries in the world combined.
I hear nothing from this administration or present day Republicans about taxing the wealthy and drastically reducing our military budget.
We've come a long way since the conservative days of Eisenhower. It would be heresy today to suggest a 91% tax or reduce our military.
What if all the tools in the activists/community organizers tool box no longer works Ralph?
What if the media and all of Congress and Senate ignores the civil discord of the people?
What then?
Would you then call for a general strike across this nation of all the people to stop the "PARTY"?
Or will you continue to play their rigged game that hasn't work for the people for say at least 40 years?
Maybe give our system one more try but give your efforts a deadline and then if nothing happens call out to the American people to refuse further cooperation with this oligarchy.
Who will stand up to save the U.S.
sheeple from being led into the slaughter house?
Perhaps, you will?
Don't look know but
Obama Will Fight with Us to Quash the Campaign to Loot Social Security -- Right?
By William Greider, The Nation. Posted February 14, 2009.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/126898/obama_will_fight_with_us_to_quash_the_campaign_to_loot_social...
Dear Patriots:
Democrats/Republicans are two parts of the same coin. Party titles are irrelevant. The round table of 400 is in charge. Who are they you ask? The 400+ billionaires that continue to loot unebated the national treasury!
It will not end well......
Peter Montana
Well or not well, it sounds like we agree......"it will... end"
Summum bonum!
I appreciate what you say as usual, but disagree completely concerning necessary steps and measures that need to be taken, Ralph.
1. The other corporate interest party is just that. There was never a speck of doubt regarding their agenda once "elected". Obama, as is now amply demonstrated, is nothing more than another errand boy such as the son of a Bush who seems to have gotten off scot free with some of the worst crimes against humanity.
2. No amount of "jolting" as presumably in e-mail campaigns, demos, sit-ins, teach-ins, whatever, have moved the ruling criminal cartel one jot from their chosen goal of global hegemony at any cost to any living thing. This is already history.
One would have thought that Kent State made it painfully clear sometime ago that when the populace makes too much noise demanding legitimate representation, the "liberal" allowances of the ruling criminal cartel for "free" speech end.
3. The "jolt" that is needed was aptly expressed by Jefferson. Mad dogs do not run, nor do they listen to the voice of reason, as witnessed by unfolding global events since 1969, as just one example.
A suggestion;
Why don´t you, Ralph, contact all of the other leading members/spokespersons/icons of the presumably "progressive" section of American society and immediately commence the construction of a genuinely representative peoples party?
Call it the "Whole Party" for a change.
One of the most salient features of the progressive community is it´s blatant inability to marshal resources, establish a unified agenda, construct a working administration, elect/select spokespersons, create a common platform for all disenfranchised members of our global society, in short, there is no means and no target for the general populace to direct it´s voting power coherently;
-- a little Nader here
-- a little Greens there
-- a little Democratic Socialism whispering in the dark
-- a little Kucinich lost in the folds of the beast
-- a little McKinney hounded for her honesty
-- a little Libertarianism floundering against the inexorable logic of human
society in a material world gone mad
...and no single coherent agenda for peace, justice, and global cooperation to be found.
Amazing.
A gaggle of rebels that looks only like a rabble. The first casualty of war is not truth. It is innocence. Face the facts, this is a social war for possession of our planet, and individual agendas are not what we need. We need a federated human society across our great planet, and the removal of all corporate criminal interest regimes and their ... servants.
B February, nice post!
I'm sorry to say that "a federated human society across our great planet" will not be taking place until the American Empire collapses.
The good news is that it's happening - now - as we speak.
Magarulian;
Yeah, nice post, thanks! The issue though is whether or not enough individuals will see the need to take the initiative, to take the battle directly to the enemy, where it COUNTS.
I am sorry to tell you, but it SHOULD be excruciatingly obvious that the ruling criminal cartel which includes the owners of ALL the media mainstream, could care less how many thousands walk on predesignated sidewalks to predesignated...containment centers....in order to speak their unheard and UNPRINTED statements. This also, is history.
Demos are a thing of the past, UNLESS we are prepared to support each other in order that hundreds of thousands can CONTINUOUSLY occupy OUR capitol city and seat of government precisely in order to install a government of, by, and for, the people...I strongly suggest a dedicated effort to get every single individual out of the WADC ghettos of despair and neglect and onto the capitol grounds. That alone will generate enough thousands to literally speaking...force the issue, locally at that point. The same needs doing in every major city and it needs to be ongoing, not some preplanned, prestaged, preDESIGNATED faux protest.
We know it is a small minority of humanity that hold the remainder in bondage; we know who they are, we know where they live, we know their movements, and they know nothing of us.
A perfect equation for action. Time, however, is NOT on the side of reason.
If we want genuine change for the better, on holistic and humanitarian terms, then perhaps our slogan should be:
Death to Tyrants!
Can you recall a single instance in human history wherein a despotic ruling cartel of criminals willingly surrendered to reason?
The answers are all already given, and the next steps are obvious. No matter what anyone may believe, the revolution that will in fact change the course of history is going to occur, again, in the place that will soon become known as the "United Peoples of America".
Thanks for responding! Stay well.
The following by February is worth repeating:
"Why don´t you, Ralph, contact all of the other leading members/spokespersons/icons of the presumably "progressive" section of American society and immediately commence the construction of a genuinely representative peoples party?
One of the most salient features of the progressive community is it´s blatant inability to marshal resources, establish a unified agenda, construct a working administration, elect/select spokespersons, create a common platform for all disenfranchised members of our global society, in short, there is no means and no target for the general populace to direct it´s voting power coherently;
-- a little Nader here
-- a little Greens there
-- a little Democratic Socialism whispering in the dark
-- a little Kucinich lost in the folds of the beast
-- a little McKinney hounded for her honesty
-- a little Libertarianism floundering against the inexorable logic of human
society in a material world gone mad
...and no single coherent agenda for peace, justice, and global cooperation to be found.
Amazing.
A gaggle of rebels that looks only like a rabble. The first casualty of war is not truth. It is innocence. Face the facts, this is a social war for possession of our planet, and individual agendas are not what we need. We need a federated human society across our great planet, and the removal of all corporate criminal interest regimes and their ... servants."
Call it the "Whole Party" for a change."
Ralph, with all humans, suffers from the divisive ego and it's conflict that is ever emerging. For any of us to overcome this and move on is a miracle but not impossible at all, it is probable for survival.
Summum bonum!
Ralph could be an ideal figure to lead in the call to organize a peoples convention under Amendment X.
Such a convention would be constitutional, and may perhaps be the only real means by which the progressive community might actually "marshal resources, establish a unified agenda, construct a working administration, elect/select spokespersons, create a common platform for all disenfranchised members of our global society," to identify and target our voting power coherently.
Will it happen? Can progressive voices unite to find common cause? Does progressive leadership have the resolve?
Some states are drafting and approving Amendment X resolutions now. Why aren't we, the people?
Ralph? Dennis? Cynthia? Or even Ron? Others?
I love Ralph. But keep in mind, back in 2000, he said there would be no real difference between Gore and Bush. This a crazy-assed statement if there ever was one.
Since people seem to be worried we're going to "go back to the horrible Clinton years," here's a review of just how bone-chillingly horrible those years were:
longest economic expansion in American history--a record 115 months of economic expansion
More than 22 million new jobs: more than 22 million jobs were created in less than eight years -- the most ever under a single administration
Highest home ownership in American history
Made the Federal government smaller (a feat matched only by Harry Truman; if you like small government, vote Democratic)
Lowest unemployment in 30 years: unemployment dropped from more than 7 percent in 1993 to just 4.0 percent in November 2000; unemployment for African Americans and Hispanics fell to the lowest rates on record, and the rate for women was the lowest in more than 40 years
Largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI Bill
Connected 95 percent of schools to the Internet
Lowest crime rate in 26 years.
Family and Medical Leave Act for 20 million Americans
Smallest welfare rolls in 32 years
Higher incomes at all levels: after falling by nearly $2,000 between 1988 and 1992, the median family's income rose by $6,338, after adjusting for inflation; all income brackets experienced double-digit growth; the bottom 20 percent saw the largest income growth at 16.3 percent
Lowest poverty rate in 20 years: the poverty rate declined from 15.1 percent to 11.8 percent in 1999--the largest six-year drop in poverty in nearly 30 years
Lowest teen birth rate in 60 years
Lowest infant mortality rate in American history
Deactivated more than 1,700 nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union: efforts of the Clinton-Gore Administration led to the dismantling of more than 1,700 nuclear warheads, 300 launchers and 425 land and submarine based missiles from the former Soviet Union
Paid off $360 billion of the national debt: under Clinton, we were on track to pay off the entire debt by 2009; what a difference a stolen election makes...
Converted the largest budget deficit in American history to the largest surplus
Lowest government spending in three decades
Lowest federal income tax burden in 35 years
More families owned stock than ever before
Most New Jobs Ever Created Under a Single Administration: Republicans really chew the rug when you mention this one, so it's worth repeating constantly
Median Family Income Up $6,000 since 1993
Unemployment at Its Lowest Level in More than 30 Years
Highest Home ownership Rate on Record
7 Million Fewer Americans Living in Poverty
Largest Surplus Ever
Lower Federal Government Spending: after increasing under the previous two administrations, federal government spending as a share of the economy was cut from 22.2 percent in 1992 to 18 percent in 2000--the lowest level since 1966
The Most U.S. Exports Ever: between 1992 and 2000, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 74 percent, or nearly $500 billion, to top $1 trillion for the first time
Lowest Inflation since the 1960s: inflation was at the lowest rate since the Kennedy Administration, averaging 2.5 percent, down from 4.6 percent during the previous administration
The child poverty rate declined more than 25 percent
The poverty rate for single mothers was the lowest ever
The African American and elderly poverty rates dropped to their lowest level on record
The Hispanic poverty rate dropped to its lowest level since 1979
Lowest Poverty Rate for Single Mothers on Record: under President Clinton, the poverty rate for families with single mothers fell from 46.1 percent in 1993 to 35.7 percent in 1999, the lowest level on record
Smallest Welfare Rolls Since 1969: between January 1993 and September of 1999, the number of welfare recipients dropped by 7.5 billion (a 53 percent decline) to 6.6 million. In comparison, between 1981-1992, the number of welfare recipients increased by 2.5 million (a 22 percent increase) to 13.6 million people
Lowest Federal Income Tax Burden in 35 Years: Federal income taxes as a percentage of income for the typical American family dropped to their lowest level in 35 years
Higher Incomes even after Taxes and Inflation: real after-tax incomes grew by an average of 2.6 percent per year for the lower-income half of taxpayers between 1993 and 1997, while growing by an average of 1.0 percent between 1981 and 1993
8 Years without a Leader
"I love Ralph. But keep in mind, back in 2000, he said there would be no real difference between Gore and Bush. This a crazy-assed statement if there ever was one." Really? There was little or no difference in 2000 and there still is little or no difference between the two Corporate Parties and their chief. Regardless of the stripes on the sock, the sock puppet elected as prez has the same Corporate hand up its extremity. No one, by now, should be surprised that this is the game plan of USA, Inc.
I think that perhaps a better statement would be that there will be no significant change if we are torn constantly by the flip -flop between two parties that stand against each other and for special interest.
Summum bonum!
The "flip-flop between the two parties" is modus operandi of the One Corporate Party. It IS a diversion for our distraction.
Stiff Little Fingers had this to say back in '79, inspired by the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but lyrics that can be applied to US politics. The video shows footage of real resistance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwVT5Ys_64E
Suspect Device
Inflammable material planted in my head
It's a suspect device that's left 2000 dead
Their solutions are our problems
They put up the wall
On each side time and prime us
And make sure we get sod all
They play their games of power
They cut and mark the pack
They deal us to the bottom
But what do they put back?
(Chorus:)
Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Don't be bitten twice
you gotta suss, suss, suss, suss, suss,
Suss suspect device
They take away our freedom
In the name of liberty
Why don't they all just clear off
Why cant they let us be
They make us feel indebted
For saving us from hell
And then they put us through it
It's time the bastards fell
(Chorus)
Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Question everything you're told
Just take a look around you
At the bitterness and spite
Why can't we take over and try to put it right
(Chorus)
We're a suspect device if we do what we are told
But a suspect device can score an own goal
I'm a suspect device the Army can't defuse
You're a suspect device they know they can't refuse
We're gonna blow up in their face
Sounds like victim mentality and that is why we can't take over. The victim does not take over the suspect does. It's an absolute, like gravity IMO.
Summum bonum!
Ralph Nader continues to speak the truth. I, for one, can't wait to vote for him again in 2012.
Obama will not reverse the Patriot Act. He wll escalate the Afghanistan war. He so far has not pulled troops out of Iraq. He will support bombing in both Pakistan and Afghanistan where the people don't matter. He will not oppose our private health insurance system which says some of us are more equal then others. He will continue to support CIA "extraordinary renditions"(even if he does manage to shut Guantanamo Bay-he hasn't done this yet.). He will continue to mindlessly wrap himself in the American flag and escalate, instead of cutting, the Pentagon Budget. He will not declare a 'war on poverty'. He will continue to pledge his support to the "middle class" and ignore all the poor. He will ignore the outrageous, scandalous slums which exist in all of our major cities(such as Chicago, IL and Queens, NY where I have lived and been shocked and amazed that such poverty existed in our rich country). He will continue to suppport bailout money for rich bankers/corporations. He will continue to scare the public into thinking that more money is the answer to our economic problems.
Yes, Obama will support the status quo. Oppose Obama 2009-2012. Vote Nader in 2012.
There will be a guarantee of votes swinging toward a third party or the Republicans again if Obama fails to bring about significant change. Perhaps that is just part of the process we are in.
Summum bonum!
Unfortunately, "the process" can not, and will not, wait. The life or the death of the American Empire will be decided soon.
We will make a conscious decision supporting its demise - or the lack of making a decision will be foisted upon us.
Either way, the American Empire will cease to exist ...and that is a very good thing!
I don't fear anything. The worst is happening, and it will get worse, and it won't get significantly better. The past 20 years, since Reagan, through Clinton, and Bush, and now Obama, will show that the fundamental rule of law and justice will never be enforced for the social elite, and the suffering will be borne by the ones who are powerless to prevent it from happening to them.
When people look back at American history, their view is tainted by the false history that was presented back then, just as the reality of what is happening is being distorted by the current media (from the Iraq War to what the Obama presidency will mean or not mean for change in America).
Look at how the Clinton or Reagan (or Bush) era is presented currently by the media and the political parties. Depending on your point of view, and which 'side' you support, many on both sides favorably view the possibility that we could go back to when it was better under the Clinton (or Reagan) rule. And yet the reality is that both were unacceptable, and yet the 'democrats' want to go back (and are back) to the Clinton years.
The funny thing in life is that sometimes there aren't do-overs. Time is linear. For those people who didn't vote for Mr. Nader but now want to, IT'S TOO LATE.
I don't know how Mr. Nader still fights for the very people that turned against him, and that is why I admire him.
I gave up a year ago in the belief of fundamental change, because of Common Dreams, and the lack of support for progressive voices both in the articles published and in the comments. Yes, there were some people who voiced their support for Nader based on sound rational reasons, and for those people I am thankful because at least there are 3% of the people who aren't blindly drinking the koolade.
The fact that Common Dreams is now publishing Nader, I say shame on them for not publishing him a year ago when it could have effected the national debate (and please don't tell me he was 'published'. He was marginalized and the number of articles that mocked him or viewed him negatively far outnumbered the articles that were in support of him or the policies he represented.)
Doesn't mean that I will change how I live my life, or what or who I support, but the expectation that there will be the necessary quantum change in society is most likely not going to happen in the history of humans.
so sorry, there is no heaven, save the earth.
We should all at least try to understand why we should fear an out and out collapse of the system. Though that is one way for real change to occur, it can also occur through collective intention and agreement to change. What our congress and President are both missing, Obama's elusive partisan dream that as he confesses may take years if at all to develop. I don't think they (those who we entrusted with power to make the right choices for a democratic society) understand the ramifications if they fail and chaos ensues.....not in any way it seems beyond how it impacts one of our new sacred cows: "economy".
But there is much to fear in chaos and collapse....just look around at other countries, and as desensitized as we have become just try to imagine how bad it could get here.
Summum bonum!
My message to all members of the u.s. government. "A scheme is not a vision" Leoranrd Cohen, 'Isaac'
Wow, that cuts like a knife into the matter, doesn't it?
Summum bonum!
When the public is sufficiently jolted, they will pass it on. Right now they are clinging to the promises of their newly elected president. When the situation begins to really bite, they'll bite back.
So lets talk first in earnest and good will, before chaos takes over.
Summum bonum!
I Fear It's Going to Take Blood In The Streets.
Salon.com 02.14.08
Lead article, "RALPH NADER LOVES JOHN MCCAIN," subheading, "In 2004, Nader asked McCain to help his campaign-and the senator rushed to his side."
But I'm called a 'confused liar' by DaveBronstein because I said ralph invited mccain to join his campaign in 2004. Join? Help? It's the same to me-Render Aid Unto. Assist.
Insults are unnecessary-like Nader and the "Uncle Tom" comment on the Fox News radio affiliate.
Shucks, I would of said to 'rush to someone's side' was to 'join' them. Nice to be Corrected & Insulted! Them 2 go side by side don't they now?. Joined naturally, huh?
So what? If I were running I would take all the help I could get. I didn't see Obama telling Republicans who supported him or worked for him, or those who voted for him, to go away. Obama didn't send back contributions from Republicans or right wingers did he? Understand that Ralph gives a rat's ass about having just two parties. And so do many of us. The Democrats believe that if you don't suck their teat then you are excommunicated and executed. Screw them.
azjoe. I know the feeling, as I posted a satire about Obama a while back and Dave B.took me literally and insulted me in his arrogant and asinine post.
Paul Revere..........ah, well.
Funny enough, this started w/ me not liking Nader's Uncle Tom comment and
the pursuant contention precluded me from saying I think RN
should be given some position of stature by BO.
One soliciting his ideas, his articulation, his Vision. Put him on point. Empower him a bit.
Things change. Forward movement. Inclusion.
Now PR, did you say Satirized BO? My hero? Oh Heavens!!!
Life is good. azjoe.
ok, let's cut to the chase... money.
money... pursuit of... got us here...
money... lack of... to get us out...
money... there's none left...
money... the only thing the politicians hear...
money... the only thing the corporations hear...
money... plenty of it sloshing back and forth between politicians and corporations...
but... wait a minute... most money... or so i'm told... comes from... consumers...
wanna quiet... but effective... riot... STOP BUYING CRAP. period.
i'll use one examaple... WHY... does every american... 8 to 80... blind crippled or crazy... need to have a cell phone in their ear 80% of their every waking hour? "we" consumers... HAVE A CHOICE... what's a average cell phone bill? $54 - $159? so i can keep talking to someone i'm going to be seeing in 10 minutes???? need security? get a prepaid phone and keep under the car seat or in your purse.
go ahead... i dare anyone here... look for ONE day at what you own... what you spend money on every day... and tell me you NEED it... once you de-couple from the corporate machine... there's no there there for them...
take fruit juice... two apples... a quart of water... a blender... voila... PURE apple juice... btw... 2 apples will make up to a gallon of PURE apple juice... no chemicals... no advertising costs... no packaging costs... no delivery costs... any idea how much a 1000 quarts of apple juice weighs? how much energy is used to process and ship...
THE ONLY UPRISING ***ANYONE*** UNDERSTANDS IS MONEY. DECIDE WHERE TO SPEND YOURS.
it's funny saying this: but I don't even have a "cell-phone" or even a regular phone...and haven't had them for years...inconvenient and likely makes certain things more difficult..but somehow if i need to use a phone...i go to the public phone . incidentally : the mineral (cobalt?..not sure what) that is in every cell-phone happens to be mined in Congo....where IT is one of the primary causes of the tribal fights to have control over its export to more advanced countries where cell=phones are ubiquitous.
so -- in many ways -- what probably the entire globe now considers as necessary -- a cell=phone - and the "connectivity" it brings is at the cost of the lives of people in congo..including children who are enslaved to mine by warlords eager for the profits...
it really is heartbreaking what our world and WE do to "function" on our societies -- and the price is paid in the suffering of so many who are ALREADY living the lives of "the least among" us...
it just really is heartbreaking.
this is partly also the same story with , for example....our "sweet tooth" such as in valentine's day....
it is for people across the globe about "love"......to give Chocolate...but so MUCH of the world's chocolate is actually gathered by enslaved children who are UNloved and Uncared for and probably will live out their lives never knowing hope and even just peace of mind or even just being children rather than Slaves..........
one almost wants to just "close out" any news because of the knowledge of what it implies about the suffering of those that are "out of sight, out of mind" even as our societies become more "advanced" IN their "connectivity".....
EXCEPT for those that are the victims, knowingly or not, of "advances".
I think the dangerous mineral you refer to is 'coltran'. It has a very bad history - reminds me of 'blood diamonds'.
The mineral is not COBALT. It is COLTAN. It is short for Columbo-tantalite. Niobium and Tantalum are extracted from it. Nionium's old name was Columbium. This the contraction and colloquail "coltan".
As for the problems associated with it, see:
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20081112-coltan-blood-mineral-congo-mining-nkunda-rwanda
binban-Thanks. Sorry to get that wrong.
It's so awful and uneccessary-the death for the coltan, diamands, et al.
The dirt-poor workers could be paid not enslaved.
The shame of it is endless.
Thanks again for catching my error, azjoe.
Cobalt is mined out of the Katanga province in Congo. No cobalt, no cell phone. This mining, a source of money, conflict and death, is orchestrated largely by the OM group out of Ohio.
Follow the drops of blood from Africa to Ohio to our cell-phones.
azjoe
You are right!
I've cut off cable, have never had a cell phone and use dial-up at $19.95. I'm retired, make less than $35,000 a year and save over $700 a month. My car is over 10 years old, I have no debts (home is paid for) and I refuse to buy a new car. It's the only way to get back at the rich bastards for impoverishing us.
I'm outta here. Had it with the USA. Fuck this place. By the time single payer comes I'll be dead, not from illness, but from old age. Give all the tax money from all of us to the banks and their bosses? And there's no outcry, no mobs in the streets, no pitchforks and torches? Everyone even going back to work (those with jobs, anyway). Make too much noise and you're put away. Say the wrong thing in the wrong place and you're arrested. Make noise on a street corner and all you get is weird stares. No, not for me. I am done with this pitiful excuse of a republic. It's even better in some shitty eastern European countries than here.
Hope and Change. More like Bait and Switch. I ain't buyin' that kool aid anymore.
May the Force be with you all, you're gonna need it.
Dear fellow citizen of planet Earth;
You can RUN. But you can´t HIDE.
The enemy to human brotherhood is extant in every single nationstate, if you study you will see that some branches of the criminal cartel choose varying methods, some give slightly more healthcare/public services, some less, some practically none.
The differences aren´t about substance or morality, they are about choices of how to best keep the wageslaves working and too self satisfied with their faked social status as consumers to be bothered by trifles such as law or reason.
We all choose our battlegrounds and our battles; for me the entire planet is a battleground between those who literally speaking are enemies to humanity as they would rather gorge themselves than serve their grandchildren, and those who recognize that personal development as a human, or social rank and status, entail self sacrifice for others as part of the social equation. The level of sacrifice INCREASES with ones personal development, on any level.
Criminals have stolen that game, as we both know.
It doesn´t really matter where one is with regard to unfolding current events, no one will be left untouched by the increasing chaos.
For you it may prove to be somewhere other than the US. The battle will remain, wherever you go.
Good luck and the best of health.
good riddance
The perception of our continued lack of real choice is not a hallucination. It's a continual struggle by the elite to keep us down. However, the words from President Obama keep ringing in my ears:" Vote for me and we'll change the world!" He repeated it. We heard him and said to ourselves, " All right, but if you don't deliver, there will definitely be hell to pay". Obama or anyone else is dead wrong to think the public can continue to be steered into docility and impotence while being taxed to pay for elite wars and bank bailouts. The fact that they are throwing us a few crumbs now doesn't blind us from the fact that banking theives are taking the lion's share. We, the people, are what make this country tick. You, our pretend leaders, don't get it. We, the people, are being impoverished. We, the people, are now going to make sure you rich bastards become impoverished too. We won't spend and we'll scrape by until you deliver. Hey, we know how to live poor. We can take it longer than you. Congratulations, rich people. You have succeeded in making 90% of America unite behind a cause. The cause is to make you poor. You taught us how to do it, thank you.
What congress does and doesn't do vis-a-vis their rhetoric leads me to think they are doing what they want to do to serve themselves and their constituency--their big donors.
Do you think they might consider themselves and "executive" of sorts, the executive of the elite ruling class?
And how is it that you are wondering why the Dems don't stand up and act on behalf of most of the people, you who have said for a long time that there isn't a dimes worth of difference between the parties? And you have been right!
And where is this two million of which you speak? There are maybe 200--2000 at the outside. The rest of America is watching TV and online (not on political sites).
Think of how different things would be now if Nader was president. In order to change things now it will take more than rhetoric. Shouting, screaming, having a command of the facts won't do it.
I see two choices - an armed revolution, or a total sit-down with everyone, except emergency workers, doing nothing. That's right - NOTHING. No work, No travel, no going to school... A total national sit-down strike - with a list of demands.
1 A single payer health care system
2 A fair livable wage for all
3 A 100% tax on all income - earned and unearned- above $100,000
That's just for starters. It won't happen. Many in the U$A don't know or care that the largest corporate welfare bill was just passed by members of Congress who did not read it.
The Empire is dead but Ralph lives on.
Now everyone go and have a peanut butter sandwich.
100% tax on income about 100k...then why would anyone work hard or put in extra hours or bust their butts to invent the next breakthrough technology?
Let's instead do something along the lines of what we had under Eisenhower - 92% marginal tax rate on income above ~3.2 million dollars. That would be an enormous improvement.
Better still, a tax on stock transactions recommended by Ralph Nader, a one cent tax on each transaction, when there are a trillion or so such transactions per year hurts nooone and raises huge sums.
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
MMMM peanut butter.
What would occur if Nader became president would be a stalement of the greatest magnitude. Both the GOP and the Democrats would simply refuse to work with the Executive for four full years. Nader never, ever ran with the intention of winning that race only to advance an agenda that he, and I , thought very important to express. I voted for the man in three national elections precisely as a protest and in full agreement with his agenda and platform.
I still hold hope that the coming revolution will not be a violent one, though I agree that the winds of change are certainly in the air, and, as soon as the Obama cultists recognize the full magnitude of his betrayal of their support, the excrement is certain to hit the air circulation device.
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
"What would occur if Nader became president would be a stalement of the greatest magnitude". You mean something kinda like what we have now? Ralph has it right, nothing on a progressive agenda is even being talked about. Some speak of this as a divided country, I wish. It would be divided if the worthless dems stuck together like the repulsive repuglicans, what we have is a fragmented country. Repuglicans in one box and the dems all over the map and nothing getting done. Time for Obama to stop kissing up to repuglicans, whip the worthless dems into a force and go to work.
Your post echoes mantras that , unfortunately, are shared by far too many; that Obama could 'whip' his party into a force, that Obama is not fully in accord with the current direction of his party, that the democrats are 'all over the map' when they have consistently supported only the interests of the large companies from which the wealthy check writers spring.
Even if president Obama is sincere, he proposes only window dressing, sad to say. Those who cite his flowery and empty rhetoric fail to see that follow through is absent, that there are no mentions of many important and necessary changes, changes like, strong regulation of our financial community, changes to our campaign methods in order to reign in the power of corporate monies over our elections and the course of our elected officials, the ending of the Bush tax cuts to his buddies and an insistence that even the wealthiest pay their fair share.Changes that make it harder for American corporations to abandon American workers for overseas shelters. I think that, if you ponder the question for a bit you will come up with more additions to this list in short order...
A man who raises 700 million dollars in a two year span in order to successfully compete for the office of President is certainly beholden to the source of all that money. A man whose political resume consists of one incomplete term int he Senate was simply a very poor choice in the first place, regardless of his eloquence.
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
There is no evidence credit card relief for the consumer will come to play. Remember the first bill BHO voted YEA for was to allow the APR on revolving credit to go up to 33%. He was going to vote YEA on the bankruptcy bill until he was ridiculed by progressives in Congress. Now he’s President and it doesn’t appear that either Democratic and Republicans are safe from being used as scapegoats when he needs to paint the image of himself as above DC politics (see the way he already belittles VP Biden)
Don't hold your breath, if you’re in debt. The money allocated today is intended to keep the system in place and to keep you in debt, paying interest for life.
T he new sec of treasury’s example on how to pay back taxes is the only really novel point the Administration has put in front of the consumer. It appears that we can disregard taxes for five years, and then negotiate to pay only two years worth.
Military spending will not decrease, it will increase. The military will increase under BHO –he’s promised to do so. Private contractors will be integrated even more so in the war in Central Asia. The CIA will continue to be politically focused. That’s the downside to the BHO foreign policy agenda; he intends to use his political capital to recruit young, idealistic people to implement his version of American Exceptionalism as he projects democracy and interventionalism.
Ralph Nader writes:
"A couple of million jolters from our large country can get the train moving on the tracks. It doesn't take much time to holler, yell or bellow with the facts."
Wildwood February 14th, 2009 8:59 am writes:
"... the economic system that encourages competition and consumption is malignant."
Gail February 14th, 2009 11:16 am writes:
"The legal loan-sharking which has been taking place for decades will come to end only when the people OPT OUT to be abused; get their cards canceled..."
sand flea February 14th, 2009 1:03 pm writes:
"I seriously suggest that Americans not file income tax returns this year, next year, and so on..."
Yes yes yes and yes.
Ralph is right, we need to speak up loud to our 'representatives' and tell them to do what we want.
Wildwood is also right, that what we want has to go way beyond better regulation of a diseased system.
Gail is right, we need to act directly in our own lives to stop our own participation in this consumerist madness.
And sand flea is right, we need to act in our own lives to stop our own participation in funding the government until our demands are met.
If we think we cannot dare to take such actions, we need to look at the other side of this coin: the systems we are afraid to break away from, are literally destroying us and destabilizing the living Earth. Be brave!
Finally, for sand flea's idea to work best takes organized mass action, but it is good even for individuals to take this action and begin building mass resistance drop by drop, at the same time that we speak out about the corruption of our economic / political system and work to build a movement for a humane and sustainable system as we take steps to opt out of the existing diseased one.
Oregoncharles
Yes! We need to redirect our government towards the will of We The People! We need to do this collectively and powerfully so that they feel it, like we feel their actions!
And asking nicely has had no effect whatsoever..... I'm wrong about that. It's actually made us appear toothless. We are not toothless beggars!
We need to organize actions similar to the ones the French are engaged in. And Icelanders with their paint balls creating abstract expressions on the wall of the Parliament! Very good!
Remember:
Begging only makes us shorter.
Begging only makes us shorter. And demanding makes us taller! But sheeple being sheeple...
Hey Charles, (totally off the topic) did you enjoy that CSN DVD that I left with you and yours - probably about 2 years ago - at a party?
P.S. I'm glad to see that you are still active!
This suggestion may be too risky for many people to embrace, and I don't have the knowledge or expertise to analyze it critically (although over-analysis of potential responses has paralyzed us all). However, I seriously suggest that Americans not file income tax returns this year, next year, and so on, until we get single-payer health care, a reduction in military spending, divestment from Israel, accountability from financial corporations, a domestically based energy production industry based on solar, wind, geothermal, and increased conservation and efficiency. We also demand electoral reform, housing and meaningful jobs for all, a guaranteed 16+ years of publicly funded education for all, true justice for war criminals and executive/congressional traitors, and a foreign policy based on diplomacy and assistance, not on weapons and threats.
Don't just respond that this strategy won't work. The IRS and Justice [sic] Dept. couldn't possibly proceed with criminal cases against millions of American simultaneously, and if all "evaders" stood together to demand that taxation be accorded representation for our needs and rights, I think the tide could be turned against a culture completely immersed in the killing-for-profit industry (whether it's outright warfare or merely bilking lifelong employees whose retirement funds are used for corporate payouts). It's either that, or I'm starting to buy guns myself, and they will be used on anyone approaching my home in a business suit or a uniform. At this point in my life, I'd be OK dying in defense of the country we need, as opposed to letting the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Hoyer, all Republicans, and the rest of the criminally intransigent corporate whores in Congress run the country.
sand flea, this is a very good suggestion.
I have not paid into the system since the year 2000. I recognized the reality of Empire in 1980 when Raygun was (s)elected. I recognized the horrors of aggression even earlier - during the Vietnam era. But it took me until the year 2000 to take personal responsibility.
More people must wake up and realize that supporting the American Empire, in any way, shape or form, is not only detrimental to their own well-being, it is also destroying humanity and our planet everywhere that it exists. And it exists everywhere - from overseas sweat shops to resource pillaging to 760+ foreign military bases.
The Empire must cease to exist.
With our help, it will happen sooner. Without our help, it will happen more slowly and cause much more worldwide anguish.
The choice is up to each of us.
Was not the 1776 revolution -------- no taxation without (valid) representation?
Your vote for Al Gore cost Nader the election!
Nader cost Nader the election. He did not campaign in the years prior.
He was too busy attacking Obama to campaign.
I remember your HERO calling Obama UNCLE TOM ON A FOX NEWS RADIO STATION last fall.
Why? I'll tell you. Nader invited McCain to join his campaign in 2004, his Republican lover.
In 2008 his loyalties were the same. Nader is a Republican Tool. And a F*#%$@# Racist.
Signed, someone who voted for "UNCLE TOM."
Nader:
Fox News
"Uncle Tom"
2004 invites mccain to join campaign.
Invested in Fidelity Magellan who is invested in Raytheon, the world's #1 manufacturer of cluster bombs! He made a name for himself railing against corporations? Same guy?
Est vous ciegos?
Here, according to the Compact Oxford Dictionary, is the definition of an UNCLE TOM ... "A black man considered to be excessively obedient or servile."
The term "Uncle Tom" is not a racist slur; it's simply a negative, contemptuous way of describing a certain kind of black person.
(Note: As I recall, Ralph Nader didn't call Barack Obama an Uncle Tom; what he said was -- let's wait and see if Barack Obama turns out to be an Uncle Tom. ... So far that's exactly how he's acting.)
Is Barack Obama "excessively obedient and servile" when it comes to Corporate America, a.k.a., the economic elite? ... Obviously! ... He serves on bended knee.
He loves what they love -- capitalism, empire, the military-industrial complex. With capitalism and empire inflicting pain and misery on millions of people throughout the world and throughout history.
Any black man or black woman (e.g., Barack Obama, Condolezza Rice, Colin Powell) who is excessively obedient and servile vis-avis Corporate America is turning their back not only on humanity but on their own people; blacks being the most exploited race in the history of the world.
And so to accurately and fully describe Barack Obama, one would have to go much further than to characterize him as an "Uncle Tom." Barack Obama is a mouthpiece, a con man -- an enabler of a system that has not only exploited countless numbers of people but has also *murdered* millions of people, the overwhelming majority being non-whites and non-Westerners.
... 2,000,000 Vietnamese.
... 225,000 Iraqis in Gulf War One.
... over 1,000,000 Iraqis in the Gulf War Two.
... the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis -- some say over a million -- who died as a direct result of US- and UK-led economic sanctions against Iraq.
This does not include the scores of corrupt and murderous governments the US has financed and supported -- governments that have slaughtered millions of people -- one example being the hundreds of thousands of East Timorese murdered by the Indonesian government WITH THE CONSENT AND SUPPORT OF THE US RULING CLASS.
Those who support capitalism-cum-empire have an army of highly-paid (highly successful) marketing and pr consultants -- marketing and pr consultants who, in their amoral efficiency, make their clients, (e.g., Barack Obama)lovable and appealing to those millions ill-informed by mainstream media as to just how murderous, just how exploitive corporatism-cum-empire truly is.
-- Is Barack Obama an Uncle Tom? ... Answer: Follow the money. ... Not only the millions of dollars Barack Obama received from Corporate America for his 2008 campaign -- corporate-millions *significantly greater* than John McCain received in 2008 or George Bush in 2000 or 2004 -- but follow, too, the trillions of taxpayer-dollars, and notice into whose hands those trillions wind up.
-- Is Barack Obama a con man? ... Answer: How long do you expect the US will be in Iraq? (Hint: On July 16, 2004, John Kerry told The Wall Street Journal that if he was elected, the US would be in Iraq "for at least four years.")
... Does Barack Obama have blood on his hands? ... As commander-in-chief, all he has to do is say "STOP!" and the slaughter, the mass-murder, the crimes against humanity stop.
The Democratic Party is one wing of the Democratic-Republican duopoly; and that duopoly not only defends the interests of the oligarchic-few, it defends the interests of the oligarchic-few AT THE EXPENSE of the democratic-many.
And there are names for that ... class warfare, exploitation of the masses, an upward, polarizing shift of wealth.
I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, 2004 and 2008. In a way I regret it, in that Ralph Nader is not nearly as radical as he should be. Ralph wants to *reform* capitalism, civilize it. But capitalism -- or, more accurately, corporatism: capitalism gone wild -- can't be reformed. What's needed is an entirely different system. See www.wsws.org
Snore. ZZZzzzzzzz.........
azjoe
I suggest that you read Black Agenda Report: The journal of African American political thought and action http://www.blackagendareport.com/
"On Fox (News), I said that as the first African American president we wish him (Barack Obama) well. The question is, will he be Uncle Sam for the people or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations which are driving America into the ground."
Ralph Nader in Hail to the Chief of Staff by Alexander Cockburn - November 7, 2008 http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn11072008.html
Also see An Open Letter to Barack Obama by Ralph Nader - November 3, 2008 http://www.counterpunch.org/nader11032008.html
P.S. Ralph, please stop using the term "the Patriot Act." It's the USAPATRIOT Act - "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" (And I know you are aware of this).
Magarulian. Hello, thanks for the contexting. To me it ameliorates somewhat how wrong it was. Somewhat.
I can't fathom though inviting mccain to join his campaign in '04, Or a few other things.
But I learned in the last many months it's about organizing and activism months and years ahead of time if real movement to the left is to be known. RN has not done that. Peace Out. Ciao.
Moving forward, just me, I've contacted my local radio station, KVMR, to ask for help getting progressive democrats in my county organized to caucus in the California Democratic Party.
I'm new to this, but it don't sound like rocket science, but force of will.
I've started. What I'm not doing is waiting 4 years, months or weeks for things to 'get better,' as though change happened in a vacuum.
Thanks, M., for your cool tone.
"...I can't fathom though inviting mccain to join his campaign in '04..."
- You are confused. It was John Kerry who invited McCain to join his '04 campaign.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E3D9163FF936A25756C0A9629C8B63
Dave, the article in salon.com I mention below was a year ago today, not today, but ancient news as I said.
Again, a most good evening to you.
DaveBronstein. Hello. Salon.com 2/14/09 Today Their lead article is about Nader asking McCain to join his campaign in 2004.
Dave, this is ancient news. google 'nader campaign 2004 mccain' I believe the 4th hit down is salon.com, and there are ten thousand more.
If you check this and I'm right do you tell me you are sorry for calling me confused or do I not hear from you again?
Either way, have a nice night. azjoe.
You're worse than just confused -- you're also a liar. The Salon story (by Joe Conason, Feb 29, 2008) does not say a single word about Nader asking McCain to "join his campaign" (as you wrongly claimed) in the sense of being a running mate, as was very definitely the case with John Kerry. It merely alludes to the fact that in 2004, McCain & other Republicans helped Nader get on the ballot in some states. As the article explains, this was done because, very unsurprisingly, Republicans hoped Nader's presence on the ballot would siphon votes away from Democrats. http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/02/29/mccain_nader/
That's not the same thing as asking McCain to "join his campaign" in some active capacity, let alone as a running mate. So you're both confused, and a liar.
Hey NameCaller-I get it now. When I said accurately nader invited mccain to join his campaign you 'thought' I meant as his running mate!
I did not SAY that or mean it. Scores & Scores of people join POTUS campaigns in different capacities.
You are pegged though NameCaller-I'll take the time to read your posts-keep your facts stone cold straight. UNLIKE TODAY!
See You NameCaller/"David Bronstein." JOSEPH.
It is a sad morning for me azjoe, for I find you to be not what I hoped you were, an honest poster dedicated to the search for truth and a better path for our nation. I now find, through the diligence of another, that you stand exposed as an intentional distorter of fact. You damn well did attempt to deceive and you , and now everyone else here as well, knows it full well.
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
Get off my ankles Red Rick, I stand by the salon.com article. And what I said.
Nader invited Mccain to join/assist his campaign in'04. That is fact. Not as a running mate which I never said, but to help.
You like to follow people around the threads and hassle them.
If you don't like my posts, ignore them.
But you won't be able to. Because you are not here to learn, but to seek out the drama, contention and soap-opera bs you obviously enjoy.
So go away. Get a life. Quit following me-AND OTHERS-around the threads hassling and insulting us.
Bye ankle-biter! Go outside and play (or something).
It is not a fact. It is a deliberate misstatement and disinformation. You make a claim, now back it up with references and quotes not hearsay. I know Ralph. He did not ask McCain to join his campaign.
Hey 'BINBAN'
You are a DEAD WRONG unless you differentiate between join and help which I sure don't.
Go to the top of the thread for some FACTS. azjoe
But start here 'binban' help=join
Thank you for,yet again, proving my assessment of you to be accurate..Sad little fellow you are. I will, I assure you, ignore your ravings forthwith.
I hope that, after your high school graduation, you will gain enough wisdom and life experience to understand fully what a spectacle you are now making of yourself.
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
See the post at the top of the column namecaller.
Dont you get tired of this sort of silliness, Joe? Doesnt your conscience twinge you when you cite Faux Snooze as a source....Do you not understand that those charges about stock ownership refer to FUNDS that bought shares in those companies and not ownership of the stock of those companies directly? Do you not know, despite being told before, that those funds have divested, in large part, of those stocks?
I would note again the ringing words of Mr. Nader that probably set you off, loyalist democrat that you are:
"Some staffers in Congress privately assert that the Democrats are not acting like a majority party. It is worse than that. They are not acting-period."
By the by, Joe, Ardee says hi!
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
Keep it real Red Rick. Nader's racist UNCLE TOM comment on a Fox radio affiliate is kinda checkable....shucks, infamous, notorious. But you question my "source?" like it did not get said?
As for his investments, Yawn, they are horrible.
If you are good with Fidelity Magellan et al,
Google nader cisco systems china amy goodman.
RR-You don't refute that he invited mccain into his campaign in '04 either!
"Most people would rather trot out tired old quotes-the same one day after day after day, than have an original thought."
Hey Red Rick-azjoe says hi.
Can anyone who actually watches FOX "news" be taken seriously?
Hey 'binban'
It was radio not TV 'binban.' I don't own either by the way. Or listen to or watch either 'binban'.
It was that sold-out creep Ralph Nader on FOX. So anyone who spews on FOX, can they be taken seriously you asked???? No. I offer RN as exhibit A.
God you are so easy. I feel like I'm playing chess with a child. Yeah, your hero was on FOX slamming Obama and the Democrats in the run-up to the election.
Ralph Nader was helping the Republicans by his one sided attacking.
Ralph Nader did it on FOX radio, an affiliate.
Ralph Nader on FOX Radio made the Uncle Tom comment.
You are on the side of right binban, supporting Ralph Nader's racism
and Venue-FOXNEWS. Uncle Tom. Your Hero impresses the heck out of me. Keep defending him and his appearance on FOX, his favorite by the way, he needs defending. Like you.
JOSEPH.
Despite your silly attempt at childishness I would offer more dispassionate communications.
As one who is so opposed to Nader's sup[posed overtures to McCain I guess you will now resign your membership in the Democratic Party:
http://www.command-post.org/2004/2_archives/012788.html
| McCain Rejects Kerry's VP Overture
Republican Sen. John McCain has personally rejected John Kerry’s overtures to join the Democratic presidential ticket and forge a bipartisan alliance against President Bush, The Associated Press has learned.
Kerry has asked McCain as recently as late last month to consider becoming his running mate, but the Arizona senator said he’s not interested, said a Democratic official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry has insisted that his deliberations be kept private. A second official familiar with the conversations confirmed the account, and said the Arizona senator made it clear he won’t change his mind.
Both officials said Kerry stopped short of offering McCain the job, sparing himself an outright rejection that would make his eventual running mate look like a second choice.
...................
I am really disappointed in your lack of self control, Joe, please try harder. I doubt that my sig line causes you such apparent discomfort, rather it is my opposition to your vindictiveness and Nader bashing that is the culprit. Noone of any intellectual worth would possibly base their opinion of Ralph Nader on the content of those funds in which he is invested, or rather was once invested. Especially when the man has a long and illustrious history of public service...What in the hell is wrong with you, my supposed friend?
"Most people would sooner die than think, in fact they do so." Bertrand Russell
I was wrong.
Google 'cisco systems nader china NAOMI KLEIN', not
'cisco systems nader china Amy Goodman'
It was Naomi that exposed ralph's cisco/china investment, not amy, my mistake..
Corporate profits drive the free-market system right? To which I know I personally am sure beholden. $$$$$$$!!!!!! Go RN. It's his right. No laws broken.
Signed, Someone who don't know Uncle Tom. Cause guess what? He's dead.