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TechnoratiCashing in the War Dividend
The Joys of Perpetual War
Forget about the butter. It's bad for you anyway. And sheer military power, as well as the money behind it, assures the country of a thick waistline without the cholesterol. So, let's sing the praises of perpetual war. We better, since right now every forecast in sight tells us that it's our future.
The tired peace dividend tug boat left the harbor two decades ago, dragging with it laughable hopes for universal health care and decent public education. Now, the mighty USS War Dividend is preparing to set sail. The economic weather reports may be lousy and the seas choppy, but one thing is guaranteed: that won't stop it.
The United States, of course, long ago captured first prize in the global arms race. It now spends as much as the next 14 countries combined, even as the spending of our rogue enemies and former enemies -- Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria -- much in the headlines for their prospective armaments, makes up a mere 1% of the world military budget. Still, when you're a military superpower focused on big-picture thinking, there's no time to dawdle on the details.
And be reasonable, who could expect the U.S. to fight two wars and maintain more than 700 bases around the world for less than the $704 billion we'll shell out to the Pentagon in 2010? But here's what few Americans grasp and you aren't going to read about in your local paper either: according to Department of Defense projections, the baseline military budget -- just the bare bones, not those billions in war-fighting extras -- is projected to increase by 2.5% each year for the next 10 years. In other words, in the next decade the basic Pentagon budget will grow by at least $133.1 billion, or 25%.
When it comes to the health of the war dividend in economically bad times, if that's not good news, what is? As anyone at the Pentagon will be quick to tell you, it's a real bargain, a steal, at least compared to the two-term presidency of George W. Bush. Then, that same baseline defense budget grew by an astonishing 38%.
If the message isn't already clear enough, let me summarize: it's time for the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs to suck it up. After all, Americans, however unemployed, foreclosed, or unmedicated, will only be truly secure if the Pentagon is exceedingly well fed. According to the Office of Management and Budget, what that actually means is this: 55% of next year's discretionary spending -- that is, the spending negotiated by the President and Congress -- will go to the military just to keep it chugging along.
The 14 million American children in poverty, the millions of citizens who will remain without health insurance (even if some version of the Baucus plan is passed), the 7.6 million people who have lost jobs since 2007, all of them will have to take a number. The same is true of the kinds of projects needed to improve the country's disintegrating infrastructure, including the 25% of U.S. drinking water that was given a barely passing "D" by the American Society of Civil Engineers in a 2009 study.
And don't imagine that this is a terrible thing either! There's no shame in paying $400 for every gallon of gas used in Afghanistan, especially when the Marines alone are reported to consume 800,000 gallons of it each day. After all, the evidence is in: a few whiners aside, Americans want our tax dollars used this way. Otherwise we'd complain, and no one makes much of a fuss about war or the ever-rising numbers of dollars going to it anymore.
$915.1 billion in total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending to date has been a no-brainer, even if it could, theoretically, have been traded in for the annual salaries of 15 million teachers or 20 million police officers or for 171 million Pell Grants of approximately $5,350 each for use by American college and university students.
Next March, we will collectively reach a landmark in this new version of the American way of life. We will hit the $1 trillion mark in total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending with untold years of war-making to go. No problem. It's only the proposed nearly $900 billion for a decade of health care that we fear will do us in.
Nor is it the Pentagon's fault that U.S. states have laws prohibiting them from deficit spending. The 48 governors and state legislatures now struggling with budget deficits should stop complaining and simply be grateful for their ever smaller slices of the federal pie. Between 2001 and 2008, federal grant funding for state and local governments lagged behind the 28% growth of the federal budget by 14%, while military spending outpaced federal budget growth with a 41% increase. There is every reason to believe that this is a trend, not an anomaly, which means that Title 1, Head Start, Community Development Block Grants, and the Children's Health Insurance Program will just have to make do with less. In fact, if you want a true measure of what's important to our nation, think of it this way: if you add together the total 2010 budgets of all those 48 states in deficit, they won't even equal projected U.S. military spending for the same year.
Take the situation of Massachusetts, for example. Yankee spirit or not, that state will see a 17.3% decrease in federal grants in 2010 no matter how hard Governor Deval Patrick wrings his hands. True to the American way, Patrick's projected $5 billion fiscal year 2010 deficit will be his problem and his alone, as is his state's recently-announced $600 million budget shortfall for 2009. Blame it on declining tax revenue and the economic crisis, on things that are beyond his control. No matter, Patrick will have to make deep cuts to elderly mental health services and disabled home-care programs, and lose large chunks of funding for universal pre-kindergarten, teacher training, gifted and talented programs in the schools, and so much more.
Still, that Commonwealth's politicians are clearly out of step with the country. On October 9, 2009, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino joined with Congressman Barney Frank in calling on President Obama to find extra money for such programs by reducing military spending 25%. President Obama, cover your ears! Menino, who actually believes that a jump in military spending contributed to "significantly raising the federal deficit and lowering our economic security," asked the federal government to be a better partner to Boston by reinvesting in its schools, public housing, transportation, and job-training programs, especially for young people. Of course, this is delusional, as any Pentagon budgeteer could tell you. This isn't some Head Start playground, after all, it's the battlefield of American life. Tough it out, Menino.
One principle has, by now, come to dominate our American world, even if nobody seems to notice: do whatever it takes to keep federal dollars flowing for weapons systems (and the wars that go with them). And don't count on the Pentagon to lend a hand by having a bake sale any time soon; don't expect it to voluntarily cut back on major weapons systems without finding others to take their place. If, as a result, our children are less likely to earn high school and college diplomas than we were, that's what prisons and the Marines are for.
So let's break a bottle of champagne -- or, if the money comes out of a state budget, Coke -- on the bow of the USS War Dividend! And send it off on its next voyage without an iceberg in sight. Let the corks pop. Let the bubbly drown out that Harvard University report indicating that 45,000 deaths last year were due to a lack of health insurance.
Hip hip...
[Note on sources: For more information and many of the figures on defense spending in this piece, see the National Priorities Project's Security Spending Primer: Getting Smart About The Pentagon Budget, which can be found at the top of the project's website. The Primer answers the most frequently asked questions about, and supplies the most commonly requested information on, the Pentagon budget and U.S. military spending. Note also that Jo Comerford can be seen in Robert Greenwald's striking new film Rethink Afghanistan.]
80 Comments so far
Show AllSioux Rose
I apologize to those in the forum who found this "discussion" tedious. I hope I never have to feel like a target again. Nonetheless, I would like to thank those who posted comments in support of my views, or RIGHT to share them. THANK YOU: Jill Bains, AGG, Ranjit and Jennifer Bedington. Max, thank you, too.
Perhaps we can get back to the topics that really pertain to our lives now.
"So, let's sing the praises of perpetual war. We better, since right now every forecast in sight tells us that it's our future."
Ha! It's also been 'our' past and it will be 'our' demise too, quite appropriately.
Hmmm...another thing, Cuba never produced any weapons or spent a penny on buying them either. All of the Cuban weaponry was provided by the Soviets. It was a good trade, in exchange for being a colony and sending the Cuban boys to war to get slaughtered, they got free weapons and the honor of fighting proxy wars for the Soviet empire.
Ready to renounce your American citizenship yet?
And become a citizen of which country?
Iraq. 'We' have now spread democracy there.
what happened to MoveOn? CodePink? Kos? I thought they opposed war?
Code Pink still opposes war, despite your pretenses; unlike the other 2 which have always been Democratic fronts, especially Kos. Kos has always been unabashedly Democratic supporting.
If you were genuinely asking a question, instead of engaging in pathetic right wing trollery, a simple internet search of a few minutes would have answered your question about Code Pink.
I agree with that "You wonder why the mistakes all seem to go one way? That guy that private company's paying to negotiate? You think he doesn't know what he's selling? He's got production figures and costs per quantity broken down, and he probably knows what his commission is going to be, too."
_________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EqD3zRip7k
Representative democracy is not working.
FREE AMERICA
REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY
Major corporations not only lobby your Reps. As well your military is lobbied ( as to the newest"War Fighter").
Major corporations get their funding from efforts of their political, military, and INVESTMENT lobbying.
All you need to know is:
This is the definition of Fascism.
URGENT: google control fraud theory
click on googles "encyclopedia of
white collar crime; you can buy it for 32.50
through alibris ($75 book, 2006) by jurg gerber
and eric jensen. on the google preview you
will see all you need to know. It makes sept
2001 into an relatively insignificant detail.
I did a review for google. peace and justice
pentagon and wall street have merged and been
acquired.
The military must be in the category "too big to fail", so if they go down in Afghanistan, it will all be over. So we will have to stay over there, until it's over, over there. Here's to James Cagney and a little song and dance.
So what in the hell will it take to end this insanity?
One more war and it will be all over! We won't have to wait long...
"So what in the hell will it take to end this insanity?"
It will take patience. The empire has already begun the process of unraveling. After the collapse and breakup into a handful of regional countries, the war machine will end. There will never be any hope of world peace as long as America and its system of capitalist barbarism exists.
I doubt the U.S. will break up regionally, it's not like the USSR in that regard. But I am thinking we need to focus on getting local and state governments and groups to push the federal government to end the wars sooner. The author of this article was on Democracy Now! this morning and she said the 2010 defense budget is bigger than all 50 state budgets combined, $710 or so billion compared to $689 billion for the states. That is something we should be able to use on the local level.
For one thing, more people paying attention to their local and state elections and getting the voter turnout improved. That's on top of the need to replace the military pork reps with pro peace representation that will subsidize non-DoD related businesses and thus employment. Ending the war on drugs is another requirement.
The Pentagon is controlled by the politicians who decide who to put in charge of running it. It's almost always a yesman who will be filthy rich at the end of the day.
The state and local leaders are the result of lack of higher voter turnout due to lack of paying attention to elections due to lack of media on the tv, radio, and the internet giving viewers the awareness. We have a lot of technology our ancestors didn't have and yet turnout on the local and state elections are always dismally low. If we paid attention to electing leaders who looked out for the constituents, we might build a better path towards electing better representation in Washington that doesn't engage in military pork barrel spending. Instead of bringing Washington to your local town, why not bring every precinct to Washington. The war machine would be tamed because there would be room for more local jobs that aren't tied to MIC and would pay well so that people could get along with their lives without financial worries and woes.
Generally speaking, the richer you are, the better you think you are, the more conservative you become, the more afraid to lose your wealth and power, the more reactionary, the more violent, the more warlike.
Also, the poorer you are, the more generally ignorant, the easier for rich conservatives to indoctrinate you with their fear, racism, jingoism and religion, the more reactionary, the more violent, the more warlike.
To end war, end conservative rule.
I agree and I define conservative rule as republican + democrat corporatism.
However, nothing will change if we can't get good people on the ballot because corruption stops them and we don't ever get runoff elections because corrupt legislators won't allow them.
Well put sir.
Come on people. We're all tied to the Military Industrial Complex like it or hate it. If you want to change that, then go bug your elected officials about it like I do or keep your mouths shut. Anyone who thinks God or some supernatural bs creation is ruling and causing this needs a head examination.
Go to your local 'elected' officials! Ha ha! Thanks for the laugh. That's the funniest thing I've read all night.
Sioux Rose
Still any question that the US is under thrall to MARS RULES?
Hell, we've been seriously ruled by these predators since reconstruction. In 1876, when every serious reform brought about by the civil war had been overturned, blacks had once again become de-facto slaves and the railroads were buying or bopping anyone in their way, the fix was in. The arguments on the senate floor were incredibly belligerent and imperialistic during the "gay nineties". The Phillippines and Cuba and Puerto Rico were war prizes. Talk of the "right of conquest" (WTF is that? the biggest bully?) was common. Treaties? National sovereignty? There's a tiny island off the south coast of Haiti that the US just TOOK because of the OUR Sovereign need (greed), according to the US congress, to provide fertilizer for American farms (guano). Guano was a "national security" item, you see (you thought the "national security" canard was new?). When the US took this Island, Haiti had been a republic since 1804 (the US didn't recognize it until 1862!). The US took this island around 1840. The pattern of "might is right" with the excuse that God was on our side was firming up even then. The island off Haiti that we took is STILL occupied by the US Navy (it's a bird sancuary now- isn't that nice?). No, we don't need more Guano, we're full of shit already.
And don't get me started on all the "help" Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Phillipines got.
Carry on, dear Sioux Rose.
There's no such leader as Mars. Astro bs as usual. It's the US system that's at fault. Pay attention.
Sioux Rose
SHAWN: Stop harassing me. You are the equivalent of a STALKER on the threads, and you have little to contribute. No original thoughts, a limited reading list, no college background, nothing of SUBSTANCE to contribute. You want others to concede to a status quo that is bringing the world to ruin. And you have said damaging UNTRUE things about me, trying to discredit me in this forum.
See if you can convince someone else. I wish to have NO comments from you, and if you leave me alone, I will happily not need to respond. After your dominating the Naomi Klein thread with over 55 of your comments (in a total of 230), I hope it will become clear to others what or who you are.
Hey, Rose, are we to assume then that you do have college background [in astrobable] and something of substance to contribute [even if it was beamed down to you from the stars and the daily horoscope at Yahoo]? ROFL! This is priceless for everything else, there's astrology!
Now, do you want your palm red? Errr...I mean, read.
Sioux Rose
Begonia: I was in all advanced classes in Junior high and high school. I graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with 132 credits Magna Cum Laude. My major was English literature and my minors: sociology, psychology and photography. I studied astrology as an independent study course in London during my college years, and then worked with a private tutor. The rest was self-taught over the course of three decades. I have counseled hundreds, been published in over 20 magazines and newspapers, some translated into other languages (primarily Spanish). I have published 8 books, one through The American Federation of Astrologers, a second, "Starmates" which I co-authored with Zolar, was published by Simon & Shuster. I have self-published 6 others, written movie scripts, children's books, and poetry.
I have also taught Tarot, Astrology, and Numerology at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, as well as at the Florida Keys Community College. There is a college in London that accredits astrology; however, due to the backward spiritual bankruptcy of this country, its offerings generally consist of a materialistic Calvinistic new take on "The Secret," or the equally repugnant views of fundamentalist patriarchal religions. There IS no major venue for the subject apart from seminars conducted by the AFA. I also hosted a LIVE television show that was quite popular, aired throughout the Florida Keys (TCI Channel 5) from l986-l994. And I have done radio, and TV appearances in Puerto Rico, Florida, New Mexico and New York.
Any other issues? I am a consumate professional and with an intellect as refined as mine, I could have gone into law, higher academics, or advertising. I chose this field because of its vision and capacity to enlighten. It also intrigues me. Most of my clients are college-educated, inclusive of a few psychologists, lawyers, and psychiatrists.
My website has articles, and lists all my books. If anyone else in this forum has better credentials, and gives more generously of their time to be maligned by persons who know NOTHING about the subject, let them take my place! Serious "seekers" may on the contrary, learn something. www.siouxrose.com
Sioux Rose's translation: "It's my way or the highway. I'm the damn goddess of this form who dictates what I want. I'm a celebrity who dare not be questioned or else."
So according to Sioux Rose, if she posts in a narcissisticly, she has to be worshipped but anyone taking issue of her mixing astrology with politcs is to be demonized. To all readers outside Sioux Rose and her associates, is this the kind of role model for kids to follow?
Sioux Rose's imitation of Rush Limbaugh is right here on public display for everyone to follow. Biased followers will defend her while objective and independent thinkers will see through her lies, bs, conflated ego, madness, and name calling who she portrays herself to be.
I rest my case.
The biggest bedwetting Naderite strikes again. Loser.
I'm not harassing or stalking you. You posted the question and I answered. This is a public site. If you don't like my comments, then just ignore them and move on. You joined your associates in attacking me and I shot your lying down. Stop your lying. Archives don't lie.
Sioux Rose is a brainwashed astrozombie who can't shut up and compromise. I wouldn't worry about that loser. Good job kicking her ass.
I don't have anything personally against her even if she has against me. I just called her out on her lying and all her associates cluster around like jerks on other articles. Except for AGG and maxpayne, the rest are obvious associates but enough said. I think practically while the others are idealists. Third parties never can win no matter what anyone says. I support worship Obama but I don't bash him either. There's more to governing than just Obama. It's easy to bash Obama than to try pushing the party to the left. I'd rather do the latter and be proud of it.
Peace
Sioux Rose
I believe in karma and do not lie, unlike yourself... you have also granted me false witness. I come to this forum as a professional writer, you hide behind many names and throw poison darts. I consider THAT cowardice. Ultimately, everyone has to face all that they've said and done. Being hired by another does not excuse your actions. I stand on my own.
You lie to yourself out of thin air. You think I hide behind multiple names but it's obvious that I don't. Sorry to expose the vampire to the sunlight but you are the company you keep. You can keep lying and trying to dominate but you're not the boss. Your name-calling and lying with no basis, facts, or evidence to support it has to stop. Calling someone another person is childish and dishonest unless that person admits it explicitly or is proven that he/she is that. That will probably fly over your head but it's becoming obvious even to your own associates who are resorting to desperate measures to defend your childish behavior. Shawn Berry is Shawn Berry and no one else and that's a fact you cannot change. With your attitude showing, I wonder if you sleep at all or have fun posting such stupidity. You are making yourself a laughing stock and it is showing. For your own good, open your mind and grow up.
Oh, what a pleasant remark. And, SO helpful, too, adding just SO much to the discussion.
Shawn, I think that it is best to just let it go and allow me to help you out. You're not getting anywhere with your remarks even though you are not completely rude. Look, I had my arguments with her too before when I first came to this site but she and I reconciled over the time and I decided to take some time to read and understand. I too started out joining the wrong folks in speaking vehemently against her take on astrology but I had misunderstood her and astrology back then. I did get some outside help from some folks and eventually overcame my misunderstanding. Later, I had occasional disagreements and got concerned about her take on gender and all and got into a brief argument but was shown to her site by another user and after carefully reading her article on Mars vs Venus, I acknowledged my misunderstanding and we reconciled. If you take the time to carefully read what everyone has to say to and from her, you'll realize that not all of them share their agreement with her on astrology either but she is nice and understands.
I don't think most people think you're a troll or a Republican. However, I have read your comments and her's and I think that both of you are making a mountain out of an anthill. I see you're an atheist while she is spiritual so I don't know how I will be able to help you out here especially since you attacked Ranjit for trying to help you learn from her site but let me see if I can give this a shot. Ok, I'm a Christian but I have a lot of respect for SR's writings and a lot of it is lining up real well with the current political climate. Listen, you have to look at Mars, Venus, et al in a metaphorical sense and try to relax and let the thoughts flow. Taking all this literally won't work.
I have seen you going all over this site telling everyone to pressure Congress and the president. Most of us here do not take kindly to such advices because most have us have already tried all that only to be disappointed. My two senators from VA wouldn't even try and one of them came out strongly against single payer health care at one point. I am now banned from Obama's White House site for trying to ask him to put single payer on the table and I have received similar complaints from several others. Washington is too closed minded to be reasoned with. It's ok to try to contact your Congressman at first but at some point, you can only let the chips fall where they may. The only real control that you, SR, myself, and all of us voters have is at the voting booth. I suggest you open your mind to third parties and listen to what they have to offer. I would also suggest that you pay attention to your local and state elections. A better Washington starts locally. Think about it.
Another thing that might help is consider paying attention to some of the best writers on this site. Some of my favorite in addition to SR are RichM, AGG, JenniferBedingfield, Henry8 though he can be so so depending on the issues, zmann, Kay Johnson, BeForKids Jerry Rose, and a few more I just can't remember off the top of my head. I haven't seen some of them for a while last week and this week but try to listen and learn from what they are all outraged about. Believe me, the public lava is getting redder and hotter the more Washington keeps selling out and giving the economic middle finger. If you keep being callous about it and telling everyone to keep pressuring your Congressmen and senators even when that has already been proven to be a failure, people won't take you seriously.
I hope this helps. No, I am not anybody's associate in case you're wondering.
Thanks max for sharing your history but I don't agree with a lot of what you recommend. First off, I was not the rude troll even if she and her associates want to make up that bs and lie. I was just being honest and consistent. I sure don't need a college degree to see what a hypocrite Sioux Rose is making of herself. She never read my posts but just looked at my name and blew up. This is the same thing she has done to others in the past and some of them were actually the nicest ones to her. I saw the archives and they have every single post of hers. Sometimes, good posts but often too must astro bs which has nothing to do with it. Why inject religion of any kind into politics? She thinks she can bully others by overpraising some and threatening others. She once posted bragging to her associate that she wants to have this forum limit members on their posting. She's the one driving people away from this site. She writes some of her posts framing men as the culprit for everything or blaming this or that male trait or figure for everything. Plenty have asked her about the women also involved and she had a tough time trying to answer until she finally found some way to make an exception. I never said anything against her personally and everyone who can read knows that. I called out on her questionable posts but that's it. There was nothing personal about it. She was the one gathering up her associates and doing the bullying and attacking while I stood my ground and made the case. This kind of childish behavior from SR and her associates is why progressives never win on anything. They think that they can pretend to sound "progressive" but as soon as someone like myself admits odd differences such as owning an SUV or working in odd locations, boom they go and they never back up their lies and bs. Ditto for disagreements. In addition to you in the past and Boyd Collins, I saw SR and her associates being very mean to even the most vocal progressives such as Leea and JenniferBedingfield in the past and for what? Just being different in each of their levels of progressive. How are progressives supposed to win with all this purist vs practical shit. Progressive is by definition practical. Nowhere did I say or imply that I wanted status quo and SR is unable to back up that another one of her lies. Changing the system from within doesn't mean keeping the status quo. She has an attitude problem against those of us who think differently from her. I saw one of the best folks on this site such as Ted Markow leaving because of this kind of torment against him. Even some of the most vocal progressives have been leaving because of SR and her bullying attitude. It's just not right to play elitist and play into the conservative hands by shouting down progressives who might not agree with her. Common Dreams is supposed to be the place where progressives of all kinds can get together and voice their dissent from all angles and work out ideas and compromises not to mention discussing all that relative to the article being posted. This isn't supposed to be an astro-turf for SR loyalists and Obama bashers nor a place for Obama worshippers. She thinks she knows everything just because she was rich enough to afford plenty of college education, flying around the world and guzzle more gas, and be another big talk writer and talk show host. According to her, anyone who questions her authoritarian attitude is supposed to be a paid troll. She can't take constructive criticism and dissent seriously even from fellow progressives. Her attitude is just like the Republicans when she posts. Anyone who takes a look at her posts objectively would know that. I don't know man but the more she blows up, the more she drives more people away from this site and it's showing.
PEACE
Sioux Rose
SHAWN: You are once again falsely representing me. I have posted over 4000 comments on this site, and I am quite sure you have not read them all. For to have done so, your characterization of me and my words would fall on its face. I have in fact, read all of your recent posts, unfortunately. You are an apologist for the status quo and can't even begin to think outside the box. Putting out false data that I insult, bully, etc is a LIE and unfair. There have been a few persons I had to stand up to, for UNFAIR attacks much like yours.
If someone steps on my toe and I scream, to edit out the person who stepped on my toe and only make note of the scream is completely disingenous. That is YOUR tactic. You have the goal of maligning me and trying to compromise my reputation. You have never published anything, you never hosted a TV show, probably haven't taught school, or achieved ANY of the things I have as a single Mother in a world that is often hostile to my beliefs. People who know me admire me, my efforts, tirelessness, and courage! It is one thing if you don't want to read what I have to say, quite another for you to ENTIRELY deconstruct my opinions, and the LOVE and LIGHT I have brought to this forum... because I have donated MANY hours of my time to it. I learn from many here, and salute THEIR efforts. I have made some "virtual" friends. You and your tag team are here with dubious motives, and I will call you on that. You are doing what piss poor attorneys seek to do... ruin the reputation of their rival's chief witness.
If any wish to believe you at this point, acting like Hamlet's Mother you indeed ARE the lady that doth protest too much (over 50 postings on a site with 200 comments, c'mon) then perhaps they belong in YOUR camp. I do NOT want to tango further with you; for one thing, you're a lousy dance partner and hardly my equal. You have so much growing to do.
SR scribbles:
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"You are once again falsely representing me. I have posted over 4000 comments on this site, and I am quite sure you have not read them all. For to have done so, your characterization of me and my words would fall on its face. I have in fact, read all of your recent posts, unfortunately. You are an apologist for the status quo and can't even begin to think outside the box. Putting out false data that I insult, bully, etc is a LIE and unfair."
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SR, any intelligent and objective person reading what you wrote would confirm that I am factually correct. Archives don't lie and your past posts confirm your own behavior against people who don't agree with what you say.
Attempting to fix a broken system from within is not maintaining the status quo but trying to change it. Try it sometime.
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"If someone steps on my toe and I scream, to edit out the person who stepped on my toe and only make note of the scream is completely disingenous. That is YOUR tactic. You have the goal of maligning me and trying to compromise my reputation."
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Wrong, you're bringing this on yourself while I state the facts. It's not my problem that you cannot handle the truth.
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"You have never published anything, you never hosted a TV show, probably haven't taught school, or achieved ANY of the things I have as a single Mother in a world that is often hostile to my beliefs. People who know me admire me, my efforts, tirelessness, and courage! It is one thing if you don't want to read what I have to say, quite another for you to ENTIRELY deconstruct my opinions, and the LOVE and LIGHT I have brought to this forum... because I have donated MANY hours of my time to it. I learn from many here, and salute THEIR efforts. I have made some "virtual" friends."
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Whatever you did is irrelevant. Your childish behavior already negates whatever big stuff you did throughout your career. You are not bringing love or light to this forum. You are being divisive and bringing more hate and darkness to this forum in the form of your black magic bs half of the time. I see no evidence that you learned anything here. Archives don't lie.
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"You and your tag team are here with dubious motives, and I will call you on that."
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More lies and bs with nothing to back it up. You and your associates can't learn to debate so you engage in childish name-calling, lies, and bs. Half of the people on this site are questioning you on this.
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"If any wish to believe you at this point, acting like Hamlet's Mother you indeed ARE the lady that doth protest too much (over 50 postings on a site with 200 comments, c'mon) then perhaps they belong in YOUR camp. "
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I don't give a damn who wants to believe me or not. I post the truth and nothing but the truth. Since you have a mental problem with the truth, it's not my problem but yours.
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"I do NOT want to tango further with you; for one thing, you're a lousy dance partner and hardly my equal. You have so much growing to do."
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You can't debate properly so you resort to violence and personal hate. I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last dog on this planet. You're the one who needs to grow up. It doesn't take a college degree to see through your immature posts.
You're going too far with your own lies against her. Ms. Rose has been great friends with JB and Leea. A few days ago, Ms. Rose and Leea had a cordial dialogue with Leea herself. Ms. Rose was never mean to JB. JB allowed Ms. Rose to help her improve in life. Both Leea and JB have matured this year. You could learn from those two rather than acting like a backwards loser. Boyd Collins was polite compared to you and BeForKids is still around as far as I can tell. BeForKids and Sioux have known each other on this site for years. All of them including me have had differences with Ms Rose but there was never any hostile behavior. Ms Rose is not the reason there aren't as many people on this site. The reason there are less people is Obama and the Congress who are doing nothing about the sputtering economy. How can people expect to have time to post when they are pressed for time and trying to keep up? Some of these people may have found new jobs but will have to work longer hours for less pay for one. You ask Ms. Rose to prove everything but we can prove that you just stated a pack of lies against her.
You were the one who insulted her with your insults against her excellent writings. You think it is fun to insult people who are intelligent, don't you? We are trying to be nice to you but you are acting like a stubborn mule. You cannot expect us to praise Obama even when he is throwing us under the bus and carrying water for the Republicans. Progressive resistance is unavoidable and expected so get used to it or go repair Obama and then come back when you are done. You are the one who needs to stop slandering Ms Rose and others on this site and grow up.
Ranjit, thank you for setting the record straight on Sioux, Leea, and myself. I'm surprised that any of you put up with that Obamabot which he appears to be even if he claims to be outraged at him. He has posted sooooo much that I didn't feel like reading what he had to say. I'm surprised Sioux could put up with that weasel. CD would never be the same without her to brighten our days and enlighten us. Her beautiful posts have also helped me overcome my unhappiness and reduce the confusion in my mind from bloody politics.
Go away Shawn and repair your Democrat party and Obama !
And, Shawn, please stop telling us that we should just shut up when we disagree with you. That doesn't require education, just common courtesy. Last time I checked we still had freedom of speech (sort of, at least) in this country.
Shawn Berry,
Let's agree to disagree and leave it at that. This situation is becoming tedious for all players. You know how I feel and I won't repeat it. Nor will I recant or apologize for what I said or believe. That is of no importance anyway. That is all over and done with and best forgotten. Suffice it to say this recent spat with Sioux Rose, which I just had the displeasure to read was distasteful and troubling to me. Especially what Ranjit had to say about his views on your 'methods.' Beyond that, no further comments.
You know whose 'side' I'm on. That is not the issue here. I think both Max Payne AGG, and even Ranjit have been exceedingly patient and giving in offering you advisement and being decorous as well. They evinced an engaging and quite remarkable courtesy, dare I say understanding. I have gained a great deal of respect for both of them, while simultaneously disagreeing with almost all their politics. They bent over backwards. I applaud them for their estimable services as conciliators. I am not here to take sides or rag on you again and I won't. I just refuse to discuss it anymore and request that you do do the same. I don't envision any problems here.
I, like Max Payne, do not share all Sioux Rose's views but I understand what she brings to the table in her inimitable way and find her writing insightful and quite often powerful. I read all her postings. I have differed with her over one issue over the value of Jungian psychoanalysis and that was resolved amicably. I am not a 'dittohead' for her nor her for me. She is not my bitch nor am I hers. Her postings impart subtle 'energy transference's' and make one 'feel good.' The beauty of them is that they negate the whole concept of the 'argument' or the adversarial format which is actually quite profound.
I am not speaking for Sioux Rose, but for myself alone. I have nothing whatsoever to learn from you. Ever. I respectfully request that you not comment on my postings at anytime or attempt to engage me on any matter whatsoever. It is just better that way. I don't want to belabor this or explain anything to you, I simply want you to stop. There is no place to go with this. I believe this to be a fair and practical solution. Consider it a 'separate peace.' We both have much better things to do than engage in a war of attrition that no one cares about.
You are absolutely correct that this is a public site and you are free to do as you wish.This is in no way a request for self- censorship. I will in turn respectfully refrain from commenting on your postings or referring to you at any time. I too have nothing to say that would be of any value to you. I'm sure you would agree. Please understand that this is not something I want to 'argue' or even discuss about beyond this posting. It's a matter of simple courtesy, no more no less.
You do not have to reply to this and I request that you don't. I have no desire or intention to read it. We have nothing to say to each other. I just request that you honor a simple request. You don't exist for me and I hope that feeling is mutual.
As Omar says, "It's all in the game."
–Jill Bains.
Like Rose, you scribble bs without merit. You think everything has to be "my way or the highway". I can reply to whoever I feel like it. Don't like it? Then don't post or provoke.
Jill Bains,
Well said. I respect you, as well.
You have a way of going straight for the jugular that is refreshing.
Live long and Prosper.
Well said.
When we get to an intractable point, it's best to respectfully disagree. Militant ANYTHING goes over like a lead ballon here. Shawn can get quite abrasive and SR is the antithesis of abrasiveness. The hard boiled "you don't want to know the truth" types get really bent with SR's beautiful prose which artfully tears the warlike mindset to ribbons and reveals it to be the bully mentality of the insecure predator.
Shawn may think we are a pack of naive sillies, but if he does, he's dead wrong. Many of us here are veterans of searing life experiences. We learned, we read and we grew. All who come here should assume that commenting is an act of community, not ego. We catch on real fast when we see someone trying to puff up their ego. Enough said. We ain't puppies, Shwan.
Interesting what you said and I saw Shawn's response to my post as well as your response to his. I didn't know what to tell him but I think you set him straight. We'll see what he says whenever he comes back here.
Shawn is taking Mars and Venus as each individual when in fact each is a representation of each different collection of ideologies. He needs to read George Lakoff's books and learn the differences between Strict Father Morality and Nurturent Parenting. Lakoff discusses the mindset of blue collared workers. Most are a mix of both world views. It's possible for a typical blue collared worker to be a strict father conservative at home but at work follow the nurturent model as a union member. I wonder if Shawn is a union member.
When I read Ms. Rose's question, I remember a lot of what I read on her site and the impression I actually came out with about men and women in general when I compared it to my wife's daily life and mine. See, I'll confess that even the meanest sounding/looking women will have a softspot to prevent them from completely going macho. They'll be macho enough to be feared by even some of the really macho men but they can be pulled out of it. For us guys, it's a different story. In this country and in most countries, certainly India, if a woman is not happy no amount of covering it up will shake the impression from the viewer that she is most likely unhappy and needs help. With guys, the macho complex makes it dangerously easy to not only deny being unhappy but to fake being really proud and super inflated even when they're down in the dumps. I've been through this in my life and my wife had to go through hell to snap me out of my insanity and let out my real status. I have been also rethinking some of my decisions I made about employment and am reconsidering the idea of working in the wrong places just to take the money and run in a metaphorical sense.
It may also be the case that part of the solution to ending the war dividends may involve bringing out the soft spot in each and every one of us. For some, it will be harder but that may be the ticket towards raising the value of the peace dividend and lowering the war dividend.
You cover a lot of territory there. It reminds me of myself many years ago. You are clearly using critical thinking to question many things you had previously assumed. I applaud you for that. It's tough to do but helps us to sleep at night when we do what is right come hell or high water. And believe me, the hell and high water are par for the course when a person has integrity.
As for the Mars versus Venus concepts, I see them as behavior metaphors. As SR says, we all have varying portions of both. I prefer to describe people as sanguine, melancholy, saturnine or gregarious. Those four personality types are somewhat more nuanced and, again, people have varying amounts of two or more of these types. I lost a lot of that macho thing over the years but I do remember when It was fairly easy to set me off. At any rate, I've seen women that are absolute tyrants. But, generally speaking, I believe women to be more gifted than men in leadership roles. Remember that, biologically, we all begin as females. Males are a modification of the main pattern. For this reason alone, I don't believe men and women are equals. I believe women are naturaly superior to men. That said, there are exceptions and some women can become stupid brutes and some men can, without being effeminate, be far more sensitive than many women. I never bought into any of the politically correct stuff. I knew it was a hypocritical PR smoke screen to get people who were minorities to think things were improving. The CEOs of today show us that not much has changed. It's all of a piece with the war mentality. I don't know if we can fix it, Max, but we can keep commenting and setting an example with our behavior.
AGG, I'm as outraged with this administration as most people here are. I'm not saying that all of SR's posts are bad and if I ever did, my bad. I'm just having a hard time making sense of her posts when she mixes up religion and astrology with politics. I looked through the archives and she was mean even to nice folks like Leea. I don't believe you all are naive but what you're calling for is going too far and playing right into the hands of the GOP. I understand that we're all outraged with this administration but the anger is going too far and sounding almost identical to the Republicans. Can't we moderate and be practical even a little bit? I miss my favorite people such as Ted Markow and BeForKids who never gave up contacting and pressuring their representatives and senators just like I did. I'm not a paid troll either and I was falsely accused of it and I'm not some other user. What post of mine shows that I'm abrasive? I'm tired of flying lies and accusations on this site that's driving everyone away. The next time someone wants to say I'm a paid troll or someone else, they better prove it instead of giving personal assumptions out of thin air.
I hear ya. Remember that we all have our good days and bad days. That said, the normal societal patterns of one group coalescing into a battle front to debate another group are ill defined here. Most of us are not happy with the status quo. Consequently, few argue in favor of it. Those brave souls who do get showered with criticism. Women and men here are totally equal so I don't expect to run to "help out" Sioux Rose, Jennifer, Jill Bains or whoever because they are female. And vice versa is true also. There ain't no "weaker" sex here. The advantage here goes to the ones with the best vocabulary and clarity of expression. Frustration in self expression (I'm guilty of this sometimes) leads to a slew of cuss words, but that's all part of the deal here. I do believe we ARE helping many people by shedding a light on the greed and corruption in our government even if we aren't marching on Washington. As the old saying from that ancient Steve McQueen movie went, "A man's got to know his own limitations". We all have them and getting on our high horse has limited value if it is insulting, berating or belittling.
My advice to you is, in the debating technique, do what lawyers do; for practically every argument or subject, they file ONE motion in court (ONE comment). This simplifies the give and take and avoids misunderstandings.
As to what people believe in, I'm a Christian but that doesn't mean anything if I'm an asshole. If Sioux Rose's beliefs translate into a person who is an asset to the world community, who are we to ridicule her? She's a lot more "Christian" than most Christians I know. Some atheists are also a lot more "Christian" (respecting their neighbors) than a lot of Christians. The bottom line is behavior.
AGG, I may not agree with everything you say but I think I like it. Like maxpayne, you're not so bad yourself. I'll keep that one in mind.
Maybe it's my profession as a construction worker that has kept me used to thinking of repairing from within and leaving the outside for another time. I'm not a Democratic Party loyalist but I just don't believe that third parties stand any chance. We would have to change the system dramatically just for them to compete and then the Republicans and Democrats would adjust and negotiate to win back support. If something breaks, I believe in fixing it as best as I can before deciding to buy a new part. I call that part of going green. I used to be a repairman sometimes and I often alternate between the two. I hope you get to see the connection but to put it short, I don't believe in throwing it all out and buying a new system. I still think there's room for repair. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't know.
Peace
AGG, be careful about Shawn's recent reply to you. Some of his statements against Sioux Rose are false. Read my reply to him. I assume that you have kept up with this site so you will probably be familiar with what I have debunked about him.
Ranjit Kumar,
Yes, I got sort of glazed over with that multiplicity of comments coming from Shawn on some other thread. I just couldn't read them all. I certainly didn't see much merit in the bickering. The thrust of the arguments in defense of or attacking a political figure, followed by commenters bickering with each other is tiresome. My problem with Shawn is that he appears too loyal to the Democratic party machinery. I hope he comes around to a more logical stance devoid of political loyalty. I'll keep my eyes open.
Thank you for the heads up.
You guys are just baiting each other and you know it. Go bicker somewhere else.
If you think I'm baiting her, prove it. You don't see me replying to all of her posts. I just reply where I find it questionable and I don't just reply to her. You could say that she baited me with her question followed by my taking the bait and attacking the religion part but I don't know that she intentionally baited me. I cannot prove that just like she cannot prove her accusation that I'm a paid troll which I'm not. Sometimes, her posts make sense but when she mixes mars, venus, and other astrological stuff to make an explanation, it just doesn't make sense. It's no difference from Republicans using God and X-tianity to justify their actions and ideology. I'm not the only one who has questioned her use of Mars to explain everything. She has offended a lot of people who are scientifically oriented and don't appreciate her using pseudo-science to analyze. I'll try to reframe my wording differently the next time I call her out on her astro stuff on her astroturf if I ever decide to try again.
Don't fight. Play nice. Both of you.
You're right. I think it's better to let her rant her own astro bs on her own astroturf. There are more down to earth people on this site to talk to instead of her and her associates.
Peace
Is there anyone still out there that thinks Obama will reverse this trend of using middle class taxes solely for the benefit of feeding the multinationals?
As Americans we need to boycott corporate America beginning with corporate media. Don't watch TV. Don't listen to hate radio. Don't trust everything you read in the newspapers. Research your facts. Seek out alternative websites for news and information. Don't use labels like "Democrat" and "Republican" but rather refer to people as being either pro-corporate or pro Joe Citizen! We must learn to scrap the preferred language of FOX, CNN, NBC et al. that is used to steer blame away from the true culprits.
Educate everyone you know (and who will listen) that we must ignore the party labels of potential politicians and instead concern ourselves with the issues; universal healthcare, decreasing military spending, tightly regulating Wall Street, no more corporate welfare, eliminate the prison-industrial-complex, eliminate corporate control of the media, close U.S. bases abroad and introduce balanced debate into our political process.
Want to start up a local newspaper? Now would be a good time.
I agree. Obama can't do it alone. We must make pressure both him and Congress. Forget the newspapers. We could educate people about the need to pressure our elected officials just like people did during the Great Depression.
Obama can't do it alone? Obama doesn't WANT to do it. It's foolish to think otherwise.
I actually wonder if the people in congress actually have any idea what the repercussions of their treasonous activities are, or if they are just stupid.
It doesn't matter, the news reports declaring the "recession ending soon!" is a bunch of sh*t. Wait till the credit card bubble bursts, and China stops buying our debt, then the fun starts.
MBK, I don't get the "Obama doesn't WANT to do it." Even if he wanted to do it, how will he get it done unless Congress acts differently?
Whatever Congress has in mind, it's up to us to pressure it member after member. The leadership stinks of sewage but the rank and file is where we can put a lot of pressure.
I hear you on the last point but it's not funny. There's nothing fun about disaster. When China stops, we'll have to wish that we will ever be able to laugh again.
I'm saying...Obama doesn't want to end this war. If he wanted to, he could, you see, the president has this title "commander-in-chief", which gives him certain powers, like troop withdraw. You can pressure them all you want, I don't think their listening, nor do they care.
And to the China part, you don't see anything ironic about the US's fall from grace? Maybe i'm the only person that finds that amusing. Maybe if our ever-so-intelligent citizenry/elected "representatives" (wonder who they really represent, not me) read a history text book, particularly the chapters concerning the fall of Rome, they might learn from others mistakes. Maybe i'm just a bit twisted, but the fact that humans have been making the EXACT same mistakes throughout history slightly amuses me.
If you want Obama to end the war, then make him and Congress do it.
The joys of perpetual war. It is joy for the Pentagon and the military; it is a joy for the defense industry; it is a joy for the crooked, people in Government and the Congress; it is a joy for the cheerleading whore Media; it is a joy for the munitions companies; it is a joy for Boeing,Lockheed Martin and Raytheon; in summation: It seems to be a joy for most of America to wage perpetual wars!
It is pain for people who have a conscience.
There was an article yesterday in the New York Times with the ominous-sounding information that the Taliban has raised "hundreds of millions" (low hundreds actually) of funds for their military operations, including such dubious sources as drug traffic, kidnappings and foreign donations. The Times didn't bother to juxtapose that to the information about the U.S. military budget as reviewed in this article: in hundreds of BILLIONS (high hundreds, actually) of dollars. If you need a refresher, a billion is a thousand million, so the U.S. (not to mention its NATO allies) is outspending the Taliban at rate of several thousands to one, in this most "asymetrical" of wars. Still this is the war we can't "win." Given the defense industry dividend of perpetual war, this may not even be a cause for conceern. As a professor of mine used to say: "what would we do in this country if peace broke out?"
Jo Comerford compares our national priorities in such stark, staggering terms. Indeed, we must forgive his sarcasm: there is simply no other way to confront the mind-blowing, Orwellian reality of our national psyche.
Absolutely. This steam roller just keeps going and going.
There has not been a single president more disastrous to this country than Obama. But if he keeps up this warring, perhaps in the long run it will do this country and the whole world good. He'll speed up our collapse so that we can finally behave as good global citizens.
Well, actually, Obomba has a way to go to catch up with disastrous presidencies like those of Clinton and Bush. But - give him time, and I'm sure he'll be breaking records (and us).
Sioux Rose
LICKETY: You know what? I think we could make a damned good argument for a domestic version of The Domino Theory; and by that I mean, each of the last 5 presidents has paved the way for greater and graver disasters, nor are these limited to the travesty of obvious war. There has also been much "progress" in effecting a virtual class war, and then there's been the abundant ecocide, as in a holocaust wrought against the natural world... all for trinkets, the illusion of wealth! As the banks of nature's long-labored ecosystems collapse, one after another.
If one observes the progression of recent administrations, the various rules that have been relaxed under each of these corporate CEO-cum-presidents, it becomes clear that they operate as an almost organic version of the Manchurean Candidate, each a robot with specific operating instructions the sum of which equals the calamitous casualties currently underway. It's been a seamless progression towards the edge of the abyss. Not one has put the brakes on, nor shown a morsel of consideration for mankind, nature, or the greater good. Washington DC has become a moral sewer, so only those immuned to the scent of doo-doo can make it to the top of the heap. Perhaps that's the ultimate job description today?
With respect to the administrations you are correct but you are leaving out lack of voter turnout in local and state elections that allowed for this kind of representation in the first place. If there higher turnouts for local and state wide races, the chances of winning better leaders to represent the constituents on domestic issues would be greater than getting stuck with leaders doing their military pork deals and keeping the country tied to the war machine.
The only way I see cleansing DC of smelling like moral sewage is to bring all local precincts to Washington via improving voter turnout on local and state elections. Otherwise, allowing it to remain only makes the smell worse.
The gifts just keep on coming. The dividend of propping up a regime of heroin warlords is, of course, cheap heroin on American streets. Remember that war on drugs? Bonus: many of Afghanistan's 2 million heroin addicts got their monkey after we originally invaded the country.
Removing the ban on cannabis for both industrial and medical purposes would put the oil and war cartels out of business without a doubt. Getting rid of the war on drugs is hitting two birds with one stone.
the 4 00 for the gallon of gas seems extraordinary, considering 800000 gallons are used each day. perhaps the supply contract can be given to the afghans rather than kbr, to supply at 25 dollars for a gallon - that will still be 900% markup.they already know how to negotiate the treacherous roads to get in essential supplies, and at those profits, will be reliable suppliers. the profits will keep a million families in comfort,or 20 million if one believes the fed and treasury that 1 dollar spent creates 10 in the economy. and a real alternate to growing poppies. the saved 375 / gallon can be used towards health insurance or heating costs or food pantries in usa.
When you consider that the military buys toilet seats for $4,000.00 and buys hammers for $1,400.00 (the same ones you pay $12.00 for at Ace Hardware), why does $400.00 per gallon for fuel seem extraordinary ?
I roomed with a government buyer for a few years:
"Bardamu, a lot of folks don't see how you can wind up with a four-thousand dollar toilet seat, but let me tell you, when it's 3:45 on Friday and you got to argue with these guys over the price of a XYZ12-hy, and you can't know whether it's a toilet seat or rocket fuel because you don't have the damn security clearance to know it, it gets a little hard to care.
"You wonder why the mistakes all seem to go one way? That guy that private company's paying to negotiate? You think he doesn't know what he's selling? He's got production figures and costs per quantity broken down, and he probably knows what his commission is going to be, too."
Bunnatine Greenhouse had them dead to rights and they promptly got rid of her (Poor efficiency reports and all that sort of deficient job review stuff).
Orwell would be amazed.