Beaten By Corporate Force

Take a look at our president. A pretty sad fucking picture, isn't it? Not surprising, though, when you consider what he has now come to realize in the last few weeks: our country...our world, actually, is being run by corporations and there is nothing we can do about it. The United States government is completely powerless to stop this oil spill and must sit on the sidelines as British Petroleum attempts yet another Shemp like move in order to plug the damn hole. Not that the government would want to help anyway as so many of them have been bought off by the oil industry.

It's been mighty interesting these last few weeks listening to the Cult trying to spin this one away. This is Obama's Katrina, some say. Others like Sarah Palin say that it proves her "Drill Baby Drill" line was right all along. I'm not sure how that works. To be fair, some of them haven't uttered a peep because they know how royally fucked we all are. The United States government is bowing down to the corporate cock and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.

At the end of the day, it's example #343 of how the free market fantasy of the Cult has no practical application in reality. We've seen quite clearly what happens when private concerns have little or no oversight. In the case of the BP spill, take a look at five specific examples of the Mineral Management Services complete failure in doing its job of regulating.

• MMS's 2009 decision that acoustically-controlled shut-off valve (BOP) would not be required as a last resort against underwater spills at the site.

• MMS's failure to suggest other “fail-safe” mechanisms after a 2004 report raised questions about the reliability of the electrical remote-control devices.

• MMS granted a categorical exclusion waiver on April 6, 2009 to BP exempting it from National Environmental Policy Act's requirements including a detailed environmental analysis, concluding the spill risk in that part of the Gulf was “minimal or nonexistent.” Such NEPA waivers have become routine at MMS, and the Interior department approves 250 to 400 per year for Gulf of Mexico projects.

• MMS gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA) that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from NOAA about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf. Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf each day.

• MMS routinely overruled its staff biologists and engineers who raised concerns about the safety and the environmental impact of drilling proposals in the Gulf and in Alaska.

But why would MMS do this? Aren't they supposed to be regulating BP?

In September 2008, reports by the Inspector General of the Interior Department, Earl E. Devaney, were released that implicated over a dozen officials of the MMS of unethical and criminal conduct in the performance of their duties. The investigation found MMS employees had taken drugs and had sex with energy company representatives. MMS staff had also accepted gifts and free holidays amid "a culture of ethical failure", according to the investigation.

The New York Times's summary states the investigation revealed "a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch." Gee, I'm shocked.

And in May of 2010, after the spill, it was revealed that MMS regulators in the Gulf region had allowed industry officials to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil and then turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency. MMS staff had routinely accepted meals, tickets to sporting events, and gifts from oil companies.

Of course, none of these facts matter. In Cult Land, the government is still all powerful and tyrannical with President New Hitler at the helm sinking his leather boot heel into face of private industry. I guess it's up to the rest of us in the real world to solve this problem. Honestly, I don't have much faith that we will. Our culture and society have already shifted to be extremely distrustful of anything government related despite all evidence to the contrary.

Interestingly, though, a solution was presented in comments recently by none other than our very own Last in Line.

You all know that this could have been taken care of in 48 hours...the typical procedure oil companies and other governments have done many times in the past is to put a 100 yard tube down the well, send dynamite down the tube to blow up the well at the bottom, and pour concrete on top of it. Problem solved. What is going on is BP doesn't want to lose the well so they are doing all kinds of other half-assed crap that is further damaging the gulf region.

Why hasn't this been done yet?

The answer is quite simple, actually. Our "socialist" president doesn't want to be held responsible for BP losing money. He isn't going to allow the government to interfere in a private concern. In other words, he knows that corporations are running our world. He can't involve the government any more than it already is at present. Plus, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh would all up in the hizzy about the brown shirts again.

C'mon, last, don't you know that the government is completely evil? That they are forcing us to bend to their will with the butt of a gun? Let's just all get down on our knees and thank BP for all the black liquid love that is washing up on our shores right now in the Gulf. The Corporation is good....the Corporation is beautiful....anyone who thinks that the Corporation is anything other than pure goodness is a Marxist....(chant with me, touching yourself and Atlas Shrugged simultaneously)....The Corporation is good....the Corporation is beautiful....anyone who thinks that the Corporation is anything other than pure goodness is a Marxist....The Corporation is good....the Corporation is beautiful....anyone who thinks that the Corporation is anything other than pure goodness is a Marxist....The Corporation is good....the Corporation is beautiful....anyone who thinks that the Corporation is anything other than pure goodness is a Marxist....

Operation: Brainwash (Heroification)

Most of you know that I am a big fan of James Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me. In that book, he discusses how American History is taught using a number of poor methods and concepts. One such concept is heroification. He uses the excellent example of President Woodrow Wilson, a figure who is regarded in most history textbooks as a hero. In fact, President Wilson was probably the biggest bigot our country had ever seen, overturning decades of progress made by the Republicans in respect to rights and advancement of African Americans. The image of Wilson by our nation is one of the many great lies in our country's history.

Another great lie is one that got started by Ann Coulter and is now policy according to the Texas State Board of Education. Essentially, it's this: Joe McCarthy was a hero. Coulter said:

Everything you think you know about McCarthy is a hegemonic lie. Liberals denounced McCarthy because they were afraid of getting caught, so they fought back like animals to hide their own collaboration with a regime as evil as the Nazis.

Caught in what, exactly? Oh yes, that's right...anyone to the left of the Cult is a commie. Got it. It's also amusing that she brings up hegemony. The raison d'etre of the Cult is control through blind consensus. Once again, we see the Rove in action.

But this view of McCarthy is exactly what Texas school children are now going to learn...how he was a hero fighting against (in his own words) the treasonous Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. They will learn of a US government filled with dirty, stinking Commies many of whom "got away" and remained in power...in the form of the Democratic party. None of this, of course, is even close to being grounded in reality.

Coming a few years after we defeated the greatest army and threat the world had ever seen, McCarthy accused the Democrats of "twenty years of treason." He added twenty one after Eisenhower refused to acquiesce to McCarthy's demands. His paranoia knew no bounds as he went after the United States military. In one hearing he called Brigadier General Ralph W. Zicker, a WWII battlefield hero, a "five year old child not fit to wear the uniform." Ironic, considering McCarthy's outright lying about his own military record. His investigations into the US military turned the tide of public opinion well against him and his rampant alcoholism began to show in his Senate floor speeches. In fact, his constant changing numbers of how many communists were in the US government from the very beginning were evidence enough of his severe impairment and inability to think clearly.

None of this matters to that chapter of the Cult that has now changed the curriculum in Texas and perhaps nationwide. Commies were everywhere (ahh!!!!!!! look out...he looks funny...commie!!!) and still are. No matter that McCarthy was shown to be a liar very early on..he said pretty things so we loves him:) One need only spend a few minutes reading McCarthy's quotes to see that he was, in a myriad of ways, a founding father (along with Richard Nixon) of the Cult playbook. Say it and it's true...attack your opponent with what is, in fact, your greatest weakness (see the forthcoming comments below for what will be excellent examples of this), ignore facts, think with your guts and, above all, distrust anyone who doesn't think EXACTLY like you do. Joe McCarthy spawned the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. It's no wonder they are fighting tooth and nail to re-imagine him in history. All three of them, as well as the Cult, are still paranoid about Commies (ahh!!! Commies!!!) even years after communism FAILED and whatever remnants are left (save North Korea) are embracing capitalism or some quasi form of it.

I stated previously that I am nauseated by the clear heroification of McCarthy. Honestly, that's not much redeemable about him. Rarely do secondary school texts get it right when it comes to wrongdoing but the American Pageant does in their McCarthy entry. I wonder how many of the facts listed there will be completely left out. Ah well, no matter. Anyone critical of a Cult forefather is a lying Commie which would include yours truly. Cue the red herring of Venona.

As an educator, I am tasked to present the basic facts of what happened in any historical period. To leave out McCarthy's lying, alcoholism, assault on civil liberties, and attacks on distinguished members of the military like George Marshall would be historically dishonest. It would be like showing the happy go lucky side of Stalin and skip over the whole gulag thing. Stalin was an asshole who murdered people. McCarthy was an asshole who destroyed people's lives due to a psychosis that forced an ideology on people. This ideology has now morphed into a faux critical thinking devoid of reality.

Yet I would still be more interested, given all of the facts about McCarthy and what the Cult will now be teaching in Texas, what my students think about Joe McCarthy and why. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what my view is or what the Texas School Board's view is regarding McCarthy. It matters what they think and how they evaluate the facts.

Since close to 5 million students in Texas and perhaps more nation wide will be missing key facts, critical thinking skills have been hijacked. And that's the real fucking travesty.

American Family

To all of the families who have lost loved ones while serving...never doubt for a moment that their memory will always be honored and remembered by all of us...your American family. Thank you.

No Shit

In response to this article from the Washington Post, my friend Vincent had this to say.

Score another victory for corporate deregulation. Financial deregulation gave us the economic crisis, and energy deregulation helped give us this fine mess.

No shit, Vincenzo.

Certainly, I was mistaken when I predicted that the election of President Obama would make the Cult irrelevant. All I really needed to do was sit back and let their fucked up way of running things clearly demonstrate how ridiculously wrong they are in their borderline psychotic views on government.

Operation: Brainwash (Part Two: The Deists)

At the opening of the Texas School Board meeting last Friday, the meeting was opened with a prayer on behalf "of a Christian land governed by Christian principles." The prayer was made"in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The invocation continued.

"I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the Spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses," board member Cynthia Dunbar said.

"I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it... "I like to believe that we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion and as long as we do so no great harm can come to our country."

And so began the meeting to re-write history and commence the brainwashing of over 4 million students. I'm wondering why it's OK to open state meetings like this but not OK when it is done in Arabic...in Iran. More on that later.

One of the central tenets of the TSB's decision to change the curriculum is that our founding fathers were Christian and wanted our country to be a Christian nation. Sarah Palin has said as much in her recent appearances. As many of you know, I am a Christian so one would think that I would be happy with this.

I am not.

The founding fathers were Deists who loathed organized religion and its oppression combined with outright lies. So do I. They were products of the Age of Enlightenment which basically means they would have opened up a can on the Cult and those who proclaim themselves to be more "Christian" than everyone else. In short, they weren't evangelical Christians shepherding in a vision shared by James Dobson, Ralph Reed and the late Jerry Falwell. And this would be why the TSB has changed the curriculum to downplay people like Thomas Jefferson who had a lot of "kooky" thoughts on religion...like people should be free to choose their faith.

And that there should be a separation of church and state. TSB board members have said throughout these entire proceedings that they don't like this. “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, one of the conservative board members. "I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

Send me my check, Mr. Bradley. Amendment #1:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Perhaps Ms. Dunbar needs to review the Bill of Rights as well.

Religion, not Christianity. And Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists is an example of why the TSB wanted him ejected in their new curriculum. There is only one religion and one way...the RIGHT way. The Cult's way.

I guess I'm wondering if this line, from the Treaty of Tripoli, will now be redacted as a result of the TSB's decision.

the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion

This was signed by President John Adams...a founding father.

The Cult wants our schools and our government to be Christian and Christian only. They are doing this because they see our nation changing and immediately assume, due to their hate filled paranoia and rage, that it means "the end." They want a theocracy that will inevitably lead to the same preaching we see today from the likes of Anwar al Alwaki...a man they have more in common with than they would care to admit. Essentially, this all comes down to the Cult ironically trying to make our nation more like the madrassas in the Muslim world.

Our country is not a Christian nation...it is a religious one. Our founding fathers believed that it was each person's right to choose their religion and practice it freely. Overall, they believed in a great architect of the universe who gave mankind the freedom to choose.They believed that the government should not interfere with this nor be a theocracy. The type of tyranny that the TSB is now legitimizing is the exact type of tyranny the founding fathers established this country against.

They want a theocracy, folks and they want to indoctrinate millions of children in their Cult. There is no freedom in indoctrination.

Operation: Brainwash (Part One)

I've tried to remain calm over the last few days since the Texas School Board decided to make up their own version of history last Friday but I just can't. Not only have they decided to fictionalize reality in an unbelievably insane way, but they have also re-written the role of religion in the state to be...well...just like Al Qaeda.

I have much to say about this decision but I wanted to begin with two things. First, why do I care since I am in Minnesota? And second, aren't they just "making things even" since liberals have "taken over education?"

I care because I'm an educator and it makes me fucking nauseated beyond belief that Joe McCarthy is now going to be seen in a more positive light by over 4 million students. Of course, I have no say in Texas curriculum...only Minnesota curriculum, right? Well, textbooks in Texas are used nationwide and it is considered a main source for social studies curriculum. So this is a national problem.

I say problem because this is the Cult in action once again. They start off by operating under the insanely false assumption that liberals have taken over the schools and are indoctrinating our children. In addition to being FUCKING WRONG, it is a paranoid delusion. The people that support this measure are not well in the head. They have decided that "things I don't like" (e.g US coup in Iran) are now "liberal." They don't like Ted Kennedy so he is now unimportant. They do like Phyllis Schlafly so she is now in the curriculum. It all comes down to their emotions not facts or logic.

The irony about all of this is that instructors around the nation are beholden to teach critical thinking. The stories you hear on Fox News about some teacher somewhere telling children that Cuba is a great country are fucking lies. Most teachers are asking question like...

Do you agree with the fundamental aspects of Social Security? Why or why not? Support your ideas with evidence.

Can you assess the value or importance of religion in the minds of the Founding Fathers? Based on which of their writings and why?

What judgment would you make about Joe McCarthy? Why?

These are questions that I have asked in the past and have gotten a myriad of responses. The truly sad fact is that this decision in Texas will only provide students with one answer: the RIGHT one in the eyes of the Cult.

I'll be spending the next few days on this but I wanted to start off straight away with dispelling the usual crap that comes up with this topic. Tomorrow, we will take a look (sadly, once again) at the similarity between the people that made this decision and the ones that flew airplanes into buildings on September 11, 2001.

Indeed

Check out this line from the latest on the oil spill.

The disaster has demonstrated the enduring laxity of federal regulation of offshore operations and has shown the government to be almost wholly at the mercy of BP, the company leasing the rig, to provide the technology, personnel and equipment to stop the bleeding well.

WAITAMINUTE!!! I have been told several times by my colleagues on the right that our government is the entity that has too much power and that private business is at the mercy of them. If you ask me, this entire disaster proves, once again, how incredibly WRONG they are on just about every issue.

Our government lacks the infrastructure and money to adequately deal with this catastrophe. And why? Because the Cult has had their paranoid on for the last decade so they, backed by millions of people, have been rendering the government ineffective. This has all been done with the BELIEF that private industry would be free of government intrusion and the free market (see: George Romero) would take care of us all.

Doing a pretty good job, aren't they? Corporate force, indeed.

Quiet Reflection

I can't post any political stuff today. My mind and heart are on the last ever episode of LOST which has completely blown me away on just about every level.

The implications of the series go beyond simply fantastic writing, acting, and creativity. If you get out of it what I did, you will see the next step in human evolution on a mental, emotional and spiritual level. This is why there is no doubt that it is the best show (and one of the best created works of any medium) I have ever seen.

Well done, cast and crew of LOST. Very well done.

Welcome to the Party

First of all, I want to assure all of you that I will be commenting on the Texas School Board decision yesterday. I've received bunch of emails and comments on the subject. Rest assured, I will be commenting early next week.

In the meantime, how about that Rand Paul? I actually felt sorry for the guy until he pulled out of his appearance on Meet The Press. What better opportunity to defend yourself than on the Cadillac of talk shows. But he canceled his appearance due to "fatigue." I think his handlers told him that he needed to stop talking for awhile. Jack Conway is probably dancing a jig now.

What did he think was going to happen when he spewed the Cult meme about business (see: They are Jesus)? I feel like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."

Welcome to the party, asshole!

As of Yet, No Response

Ten days ago, Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, offered to have any conservative on his show (appearance fee and all) to dispute any of the things Rush Limbaugh has been saying lately. He has added just yesterday that it could be something incredibly minor with which a GOP member disagrees...anything at all...

Thus far, there have been no takers. I'm not surprised.

When Rush says things like "The Obama administration is not of this country," he gets higher ratings. Those ratings mean more people and that's what the GOP desperately needs because more people means more votes. So, essentially, Rush Limbaugh is one of the heads (see: Cerebus) of the GOP.

Go against him for any reason and you are banished from Cult grounds.

What Would You Say?

Check out this video of First Lady Michelle Obama answering a question. Since many readers here have the immigration issue and new AZ law all figured out, what would you say to this young student? More importantly, what would you DO?

The Real Big Tent

The special election in PA-12 yesterday proved one thing beyond the shadow of a doubt: the Democrats have no purity test. And that's why, as I have been saying all along, the GOP might want to consider moving to the left if they want to see substantial gains in the fall.

I still think they are going to pick up around 17 seats in the House and 5 in the Senate but they could get more if they want to. They are going to have to move more to the center on some issues. This, of course, means compromise and that has about as much of chance of happening as me setting my DVR to a season pass of Glenn Beck. More importantly, they are going to have to tell the American people how they are going to create jobs. So far, they have done a poor job of this largely due to the fact that they are simply running on hate and fear. Mistakenly, they have turned their party over to the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and now they are paying the price.

Certainly, the Dems got a little bruised yesterday as well but it was a good thing. Sestak is much better candidate than "which party do I belong to again?" Spector. I was pretty happy at that one and thought President Obama was wrong to campaign for Spector. In addition to being part of the cover up of the coup d'etat in this country in 1963, Spector was 80 yeas old for crying out loud. Time to rent a room at Shady Acres, dude.

Getting back to PA-12, one has to wonder exactly what the strategy is for the fall for the GOP. Anyone care to guess? Mark Critz is one of the most conservative Democrats you will ever see. He is pro life, pro gun and anti Obama care. But he would never pass the Cult's purity test because he believes that government is not a four letter word. No problem, say the Dems. We can find some stuff that we have in common. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. And, by they way, we'll send President Clinton down there to help you win...win in a district that McCain won in 2008 and favors our current president at 35 percent.

Keep it up, Cult members. If things keep trending this way, I may revise my numbers above downward:)

Let Her Have Fun

I've been seeing an ad for a group on Facebook called "Send Sarah Palin Back to Alaska." I checked it out and there are a bunch of fans as well as your typical bullshit similar to the "Not Having George Bush as President" group. I guess I don't see the point.

Sarah Palin has waited her entire life for this moment. She has always wanted to be a media personality and make a shit load of money. Early in her career, she wanted to be an ESPN anchor which is why she named her daughter Bristol. She never really made it and got into the beauty queen thing. Then she saw an opportunity in politics, seeing that it wasn't much different than show biz, and she took it. It lead her to where she is today.

I think her job as mayor of Wasilla and her time as governor were just stepping stones to her overall goal which she has now clearly achieved. She has made 12 million bucks, has a large fan base who will believe anything she says, and stands to continue being successful. Yeah, she has no clue whatsoever about government, socio-economic issues, or international affairs but so what? She's achieved what she has set out to do and isn't that the very essence of the American dream?

I can't promise I'm not going to get upset and write about the outright lies that come out of her mouth (past, present or future) but these days I'm of the mind of...more power to her. And people that form Facebook groups to send her back to Alaska are silly. They should put their energy into something that they believe in...something that has merit...something that can produce results. Sarah Palin is going to be around a long time and it's absolutely pointless to try to "stop her."

Krugman a Go Go

Before the Pawlenty 13 year old girl view of world economics disappears from the bottom of the page, I thought I'd resuscitate it up here. For those of you who don't know, it's basically another example of appeal to fear by the Cult in the form of the phrase, "We are going to be Greece soon." Thankfully, we have Paul Krugman, professor of Economics at Princeton or, for those of you Cult members, a "fucking idiot who lies about stuff."

In a column from last week, Professor Krugman clearly illustrates why we are NOT going to be Greece...pretty much torpedoing much of the silliness we hear from the Cult.

Both nations have lately been running large budget deficits, roughly comparable as a percentage of G.D.P. Markets, however, treat them very differently: The interest rate on Greek government bonds is more than twice the rate on U.S. bonds, because investors see a high risk that Greece will eventually default on its debt, while seeing virtually no risk that America will do the same. Why?

One answer is that we have a much lower level of debt — the amount we already owe, as opposed to new borrowing — relative to G.D.P. True, our debt should have been even lower. We’d be better positioned to deal with the current emergency if so much money hadn’t been squandered on tax cuts for the rich and an unfunded war. But we still entered the crisis in much better shape than the Greeks.

Markets are about perception and not necessarily about hard numbers. The perception is that the Greeks are going to default. There is no perception that we will...except from the Cult who has a clear agenda which we will illustrated clearly at the end of this column.

Even more important, however, is the fact that we have a clear path to economic recovery, while Greece doesn’t.

Look under the hood of those troubling long-run budget projections, you discover that they’re not driven by some generalized problem of overspending. Instead, they largely reflect just one thing: the assumption that health care costs will rise in the future as they have in the past. This tells us that the key to our fiscal future is improving the efficiency of our health care system — which is, you may recall, something the Obama administration has been trying to do, even as many of the same people now warning about the evils of deficits cried “Death panels!”

So that's why health care was so important. Huh. You learn something new every day:)

The U.S. economy has been growing since last summer, thanks to fiscal stimulus and expansionary policies by the Federal Reserve. I wish that growth were faster; still, it’s finally producing job gains — and it’s also showing up in revenues. Right now we’re on track to match Congressional Budget Office projections of a substantial rise in tax receipts. Put those projections together with the Obama administration’s policies, and they imply a sharp fall in the budget deficit over the next few years.

That's true. Take a look at the chart below.

I pulled it from Christopher Chantrill's web site, usgovernmentspending.com. Make sure that you check out his bio before poo pooing the data, Cult members.

Take a look at where we have been as opposed to where we are right now. You can also see the sharp drop that Krugman mentions. All of this jibes with the White House historicals you can review here. See Table 1.2.

But let's get back to Greece.

Greece, on the other hand, is caught in a trap. During the good years, when capital was flooding in, Greek costs and prices got far out of line with the rest of Europe. If Greece still had its own currency, it could restore competitiveness through devaluation. But since it doesn’t, and since leaving the euro is still considered unthinkable, Greece faces years of grinding deflation and low or zero economic growth. So the only way to reduce deficits is through savage budget cuts, and investors are skeptical about whether those cuts will actually happen.

Investors are skeptical with Greece but not so skeptical with us because of the avenues that are being pursued by President Obama. Again, it comes down to perception. And we have our own currency as does Britain, which is in much worse shape than us, yet both the US and the UK can still borrow at relatively low interest rates. So?

In short, we’re not Greece. We may currently be running deficits of comparable size, but our economic position — and, as a result, our fiscal outlook — is vastly better.

Next Krugman gets to the Cult bullshit.

“We demand more than we’re willing to pay for,” is the usual line. Yet that line is deeply misleading.

First of all, who is this “we” of whom people speak? Bear in mind that the drive to cut taxes largely benefited a small minority of Americans: 39 percent of the benefits of making the Bush tax cuts permanent would go to the richest 1 percent of the population.

And bear in mind, also, that taxes have lagged behind spending partly thanks to a deliberate political strategy, that of “starve the beast”: conservatives have deliberately deprived the government of revenue in an attempt to force the spending cuts they now insist are necessary.

Yep. But why?

We should ignore those who pretend to be concerned with fiscal responsibility, but whose real goal is to dismantle the welfare state — and are trying to use crises elsewhere to frighten us into giving them what they want.

I have a few ideas about why they want to dismantle the welfare state. One of them is that they simply don't want to give up their money. On the surface, it seems there is nothing wrong with this at all. But these same people want to enjoy the benefits of those aspects of government they deem important. They are so myopic in their Cult's beliefs that they can't see that the government needs to be about more than just "protecting us from bad guys" as Glenn Beck tells them. Worse still, their narrow mindedness views ANY perception of government that is different from theirs as being totalitarian. As Lewis Black said last week, they have Nazi Tourettes. Actually, it's a Tourettes salad of Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Pick any frightening dictator and that's what will happen to us if we don't listen to every thing the Cult says!

So, basically, what Krugman is saying is what I have been saying all along: don't pay attention to the people running around saying "We are going to be like Greece." That would include White House Budget Director Peter Orszag who clearly said it for political reasons. As is always the case with the Cult, they are using logical fallacies again.

Just like most of the time, they will be wrong again. And quickly onto something else...never admitting their error. Same shit, different day.

Good or Bad?

In what is yet another example of Reaganesque behavior, President Obama is rallying to bring back the line item veto. I doubt he has a chance of getting it but at least he is making an effort. This is part of his overall strategy, through his bipartisan commission of lawmakers and economic experts, to produce a plan to reduce red ink.

Of course, this blows a hole in the Cult's theory that Obama is rampaging spender. In reality, it's Congress that is the rampaging spender and controls the power of the purse strings. Fisk any DC or politico web sites and you will hear rumbling of nerves on Capitol Hill. What will he want to cut? Will it be my shit?

That's basically the problem and it's an across-the-board red and blue issue. No one wants their little piece of the pie to be taken away. At this point, we really don't have a choice. We do have to cut spending to reduce our debt. While I don't think we are going to end up like Greece, we do need to be on more solid economic ground.

I'm predicting a showdown between Congress and Obama after the election. I think it's going to surprise a lot of people and I can't wait.

Perfect

Check out this video. It's a perfect example of my frame of mind when I talk to commenters over at TSM.

And some here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Absolutely!

I don't talk enough about religion on here. That really needs to change. After all, I now have become good friends with THREE (count 'em, 3!) evangelical ministers. Most of you know that I am a believer in Jesus Christ as our savior and I think He, in guiding me on this path towards these three folks, is teaching me a lesson.

No...I'm not going to become an evangelical conservative. I know plenty of you are disappointed:) What he is trying to tell me, I think, is to check my bias at the door of His temple. I've always found the evangelicals to be restrictive, narrow minded, intolerant, and ignorant. The issue of homosexuality has always been the biggest dynamite stick. But there are times like this when I am happy to be proven wrong.

One of EM friends, a pastor from Missouri, sent me this link on Face Book the other day. It's something I have been saying for years.

In creating works of art, you are exercising your own freedom of expression, a freedom many people do not experience because they are bound by religious customs and unwritten codes and rules

So wonderful and true. But how does this relate to God?

The creative process is something God went through and goes through in the creation of our exposition, the very planet we live on.

When you create a piece of art, you are experientially understanding God.

Art matters, so keep creating, even as God is creating, for your pleasure and for His.

These are just the best bits from the post so please go and read the whole thing. I was pretty stunned that he forwarded this to me as I've always seen the evangelical conservative as being pro-censorship when it came to being creative and artistic...especially if those expressions were in any way, in their view, against the will of God.

I am proud to say that I was wrong. Perhaps there is hope after all. Hope through creativity and artistic expression...nice!

Never Owned

I get a lot of lip on here about how I am "owned" by some of the commenters here and all of them over at TSM. Given what has happened in the last few months, I'm curious....in what reality do they reside?

A few months ago, I was told by many members of the Cult that Toyota was the model for running a car manufacturer. Toyota doesn't have to deal with all the "socialist bull shit" of Detroit and President Hussein. Apparently, they don't deal with quality control as well.

This is but one example of the constant whining I hear about the "free market" and if government just stayed out of the business of private industry (see: turn the other way when we fuck people over and laugh all the way to our third vacation home), all would be well. Private industry can take care of itself and needs very little regulation or oversight (see: already happening). The free market is wonderful and all who earn profit are Christ like. All who are remotely critical of private industry and/or call for sensible oversight and regulation are communists who hate Jesus and want to send us all to re-education camps.

That is, of course, until private industry royally fucks up and comes crying to the government for help. And that's just what we have now with BP, Haliburton, and Transocean.

Of course, I could write post after post about how there needs to be more regulation but they will get me nowhere. It doesn't fit with Ayn Randian Cult narrative. Thus, we will always have 30-40 million people that will NEVER believe that private industry can fuck up this badly. Instead, I'm going to take a different tack.

I submit that whenever the come to Jesus moment arrives for those who worship the free market, they are fucking cowards. They will wiggle and squirt to deflect blame and not take any responsibility (as we see now with the testimony in front of Congress) ultimately ending up begging for help from the government they rip whenever they get the chance.

Believers of Ayn Rand can ignore reality all they want, as we see in nary a post regarding BP or Toyota at TSM, but sooner or later it's going to bite them in the ass. Actually, I would say a Jaws like chomp. When that happens, watch them fall all over themselves...yelling...that the government (see: Help Me, Daddy!) needs to help out with greater vigor. We've seen it already as some Cult leaders are saying that this is "Obama's Katrina."

As always, I'm willing to be proven wrong. So, what do you say, Ayn Rand zombies? Are you and the executives of BP going to roll up your sleeves and start cleaning oil off of fish and birds?

Or are the cleaners going to be the people you deride as tree huggers bent on destroying us all in the flames of fascism/communism/socialism?

Hmmm?

That's (Not) Racist!

The topic of affirmative action has come up again in comments and, as it usually does, made me chuckle. Bring up affirmative action in a group of conservatives and be prepared for an onslaught of wordy squirts. They will scream and stomp their feet about how liberals are racist because they support quotas...screwing themselves into a monumentally deep chasm of denial of their own racism. They completely fail to see that the reason why affirmative action laws were made in the first place were to insure that non whites got the same opportunity for education and jobs as whites. Back in the day, people didn't want niggers and chinks working at their place of business or going to their schools. So, they wouldn't hire them and thus we started to see these laws.

But things are different now. No doubt, there still are plenty of people who discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. As I mentioned yesterday, if you are one of these people, chances are that you are a Republican. More than likely, you are one of the people I mention above who scream and stomp their feet about how it's liberals, not conservatives, that are racist because of affirmative action.

A funny thing happened, though, on the way to equality. There is a small but growing number of liberal organizations in liberal states that have figured out a much better way to combat racism. The states of California, Michigan, and Washington, certainly not known as conservative strongholds, have banned school admissions and hiring practices based on gender, race or sexual orientation. At first glance, this may seem like an affirmative action ban. It's actually not.

In fact, it's fucking brilliant.

In each of these states, it is now ILLEGAL to not hire someone because they are black, for example. People must hire other people solely based on their qualifications and nothing more. So if the Acme Warehouse in Tacoma, WA refuses to hire someone who is black, they are subject to state prosecution. They have to prove that they have hired the most qualified candidate if any issue of racial bias comes up. In essence, they are forced to look past skin color and that's exactly the way it should be.

Schools and universities must admit students based on their grades and test scores alone. California schools noticed no drop off whatsoever of non white admissions after this law was enacted. Kids work hard and they get into school. That's just the way it should be but that's not even the best part.

The best part is that liberal organizations in these states have figured out a way to eliminate yet another "tap into your inner rage" issue from the Cult and render it moot. By hiring the best possible person for the job, there is nothing with which to have a ten year old temper tantrum. Yea!!! (clap clap:)) And anyone that won't hire Spics at their place of business is going to get a rectal probe by state authorities.

So, Notes From the Front is calling on all states to enact similar laws. Make it illegal to not hire someone based on their gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. Hire the best possible people for each job. Admit the hardest working students.

And show the Cult that their narrow vision is getting even smaller.

News On The March!!!

Big doings across our country today...

First of all we have the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. I guess I'm wondering how someone without any bench experience should be on the SCOTUS. Add in the fact that she is going to have to recuse herself from over 90 percent of the cases the SCOTUS hears in the next year because she is now solicitor general of the United States.

As expected, both sides are all uptizzy about her nomination. The left wanted Wood, a more liberal judge, and thinks that Kagan was too much of a champion of Bush era executive power issues. The Cult thinks she's a liberal activist judge who wants to kill their babies, take away their guns, and send them to re-education camps so nothing new there.

My view is that she's just OK. I think he would've done better with Garland or Wood. The fact that they both have bench experience and could actually hear cases and rule on them make them better choices. I think President Obama had other factors in mind.

Moving out west I see that the GOP purity test has been given to Bob Bennett of Utah and he has failed. Voting for TAARP and trying to solve the health care issue with Ron Wyden added together means exile from the Cult. Doesn't he know that the golden glow of the free market would've easily solved the health care issue and the government always fails? What a fool. More and more, we are seeing the move further to the right on candidates from the GOP. Again, I must ask, how does that translate to victory when it's the middle of the country that decides elections?

I am still holding steady at 17 pick ups in the House and 5 in the Senate for the GOP in the fall election. That number could fall, however, if we see statements from Harry Reid's challenger in Nevada, Sue Lowden, similar to her solution to the rising costs of health care. Lowden said that "bartering is really good" to "get prices down in a hurry," and even urged people to "go ahead and barter with your doctor."Lowden subsequently doubled down, saying that in the old days, people traded chickens for health care, adding: "I'm not backing off of that system."

Finally...this just in...99 percent of the GOP are not racist. At least, that was what was asserted to me by all of my conservative friends after Bill Maher's recent comment on This Week on ABC.

Not all conservatives are racist but if you are racist, chances are you are probably a Republican.

True, indeed, Bill. Why is it so hard for them to admit this? The titanic level of denial is amazing to behold. The Democrats have a much longer history of racism in this country. As soon as Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act, however, Nixon employed his southern strategy and now all the former Dixiecrats are Republicans. It's not particle theory, folks. Take a look at this map.

See the giant concentration of RED in the Dixie states? That's where the people live who don't like black people and they all vote Republican. They are the base. So, please, stop insulting my intelligence and playing games. Maher is right. If you are a racist, chances are you don't like President Obama (he's black) and you are a Republican.

File this under: NO SHIT...which is where it fucking belongs.