Teh Good

"Goodness is easier to recognize than to define" - W.H. Auden

Taking It To The Streets

Via Firedoglake Naomi is proposing that we start taking things to the streets in a peaceful, family oriented way !


Her words -

All right: Blackwater and other contractors have four BILLION dollars in US funds and, the New York Times reports today, almost no oversight in Iraq; wildfires are consuming acres of Southern California and many counties have been declared to be in a state of emergency — and nothing at all but a whisper of popular opposition and a prayer — nothing legal — would prevent Bush today from declaring that the National Guard is overstretched and that it is Blackwater’s torturers and murderers, recruited from Salvadoran, Ecuadoran and Nigerian paramilitaries, who will be `maintaining order’ in the `public emergency’ that is Southern California; and Mukasey has informed Congress that he has no idea what waterboarding is — which professed cluelessness alone should disqualify him from service — and that the President does not actually need to obey the law of the United States of America — which alone should alert us that if he is confirmed the ga me is over. Once Congress confirms someone to decide the law of the land who holds that the President is exempt from the law of the land (which assertion was, notably, an historic tipping point when Hitler asked his Reichstag to confirm a similar position about his powers in regard to the law and the constitution) it is open season on all of us.

It is time to take to the streets.

...cont

I Don't Believe You're Christian

Can I say that?

Christian fundamentalist types seem to have no qualms with bragging about their Christian status to me. Also, since I'm bisexual they have no issues with telling me that I need to choose to go straight and accept God or go to hell.

I'm sure many of you out there have experienced pretty much the same thing. It's either toe the religious line (their religious line) or be punished in the after life. Oh, yes, you also get a mighty scolding in this life by religious fundamentalists. Essentially, if your a fundamentalist Christian you have carte-blanche to brag about your faith and harangue people into accepting your way of thinking all in the name of freedom of expression as covered in the Bill of Rights.

Right.

So, what if I told people "I don't believe you." Just like that?

Fundy's have a right to nag me and parade their assertions around and club me with them so I think I might just have to tell them that I think they are lying when they tell me that they are saved.

"You're making that up. Why would God want to save you? Anyway, I don't think you're being honest. You don't really believe in Jesus."

I want to see how many heads start to spin when I point out that they're taking their Lord God's name in vain.

Arianna May Agree

It seems like Arianna has been wondering along the same lines as I was. If you read down the comments you can see a lot of other people have made up their minds as to how dumb the dems are.

Eh, I'm still undecided but you have to admit it just looks darn suspicious. The Fudd Democrats have not been been looking so hot lately. If i were them I'd be stamping my feet and making some noise but all I hear is the sound of squeaking as the congressmen rush to their holes in the walls.

Rhetorical Questions

Just how dumb are the democrats? It seems like every time they near victory, defeat comes pelting across to backhand them into submission.

Honestly, it's like watching an Elmer Fudd cartoon, starring Bugs Bunny as the Republicans "Shhhh, I'm hunting Wepubwicans, hah hah hah hah" where Bugs always seems to outwit Fudd by wearing zaney disguises and tapping him on the shoulder to make him look back (the wrong way).

This happens so often that I have to wonder - are they really that stupid or is there some tiny part of them that agrees with what the Republicans want? The facts are that all high level politicians are in bed with special interests to some extent. The only question is how far deep into the covers are they?

Stupid or complicit, Dems. Which is it? Neither looks too good for either you or us.


From the article:

As noted below, GOP Rep. Eric Cantor came up with a clever way of throwing a wrench into the FISA bill, which was scheduled to be voted on today and which is opposed by Republicans.

He threatened this afternoon to submit an amendment that would have mandated that nothing in the bill "shall be construed to prohibit the intelligence community from conducting surveillance needed to prevent Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, or any other foreign terrorist organization…from attacking the United States or any United States person."

The Three Taboos

Has anyone ever wondered why sex, politics, and religion were taboo subjects in polite conversation? I mean, really, wondered.

In other countries where the democratic spirit is alive and well people talk about these subjects all day and every day with no apparent trouble what-so-ever (France, Canada, Germany, to name a few).

It just makes me wonder why American society, the land of the brave and the home of the free, has such an issue with discussing these topics in day to day conversation. After all, SPR (sex, politics, and religion) is very fascinating and if the root of democracy is the discussion of ideas - then why do people feel such discomfort talking about these things??

Is America, really, based on democratic ideals? Be honest.

The Cackle of Witch Hazel

I missed the great news of the day when Ms Clinton apparently vocalized The Cackle Heard Round The World. I was sorely remiss in my duty when I missed this tragic Tell that has lain bare the cold stone of the presidential candidate's heart That I hear the same Cackle every day from warm hearted country women in Texas or in Tennessee while I'm visiting my mother has nothing to do with it. How I ever could have interpreted this laugh as just a quirk of a certain culture?

What would we ever do without our beloved liberally biased press corps pelting to cover stories of monumental importance like this one?

Journalism Today

Don't bother going to journalism school if you want to be a journalist these days...

All you have to do is practice against the gag reflex whenever your kissing ass.

Beer Drinkin' With The Pres.

"I'll pass on the beer. Just give us a country that works."

- What we say the next time someone gives us "the drinking buddy pres" test.

The Cockroaches

but I shouldn't say that.. since at least cockroaches serve a useful purpose in nature's grand scheme. These guys serve nothing but themselves.

All in all, the Graeme Frost case is a perfect illustration of the modern right-wing political machine at work, and in particular its routine reliance on character assassination in place of honest debate. If service members oppose a Republican war, they’re “phony soldiers”; if Michael J. Fox opposes Bush policy on stem cells, he’s faking his Parkinson’s symptoms; if an injured 12-year-old child makes the case for a government health insurance program, he’s a fraud.

Is anyone that routinely attacks children and people with conditions like Michael J. Foxes someone you would want as a friend? Seriously, if you are getting your money using techniquues like this (or depending on people who use them) you should know that you are a bad person. Spin that.

Gore And UK Panel Wins Nobel!

Al Gore is a personal hero of mine as one of the few public personaes in recent memory to dare stand up for what they believe in. No concessions for "practicality." No cave ins for cash.

And so, despite a last minute attempt to derail his chances, Al gets his Nobel prize



Stick THAT in your craw (or up someplace.. where ever it bests fits) wealthy capitalistic interests!
xD

EDIT: This is via talkingpointsmemo.

...

There are several layers of irony and poetic justice wrapped into this honor. The first is that the greatest step for world peace would simply have been for Gore not to have had the presidency stolen from him in November 2000. By every just measure, Gore won the presidency in 2000 only to have George W. Bush steal it from him with the critical assistance of the US Supreme Court. It's worth taking a few moments today to consider where the country and world would be without that original sin of this corrupt presidency.

And yet this is a fitting bookend, with Gore receiving this accolade while the sitting president grows daily an object of greater disapproval, disapprobation and collective shame. And let's not discount another benefit: watching the rump of the American right detail the liberal bias of the Nobel Committee and at this point I guess the entire world. Fox News vs. the world.

...

Bridges

Build bridges, don't burn them.



(that aphorism is so good i know it has to come from somewhere NOT ME) but I thought of it so unless someone hits me over the head with a comment it stands <3

Wiki The Vote

Here's an all new way to find out who's running and what they stand for. Looks promising. Let's hope people use the resource <3

Breathing In; Breathing Out

When you breath in, you breath in the love of worlds. So, naturally, when you breath out, you give back the love of the worlds.

Addicted to Last.FM

I've been spending an incredible amount of my free time over at Last.FM. What hooks me is not only the ability to listen to just about every song published but also the ability to click on user's profiles and listen to what they are listening. This means if they are from Brazil you can get a taste of what a Brazilian listens to in her country. If they are Swedish- same. Thai - same.

If music is a universal language then mediums like this might be wonderful diplomats.

Tell Your Friends

It's Burma, not Myanmar. Myanmar is what the thugs in charge (the junta) want us to call it out of a cynical hope that it will instill national pride into her citizens and help fully legitimize them. Burma is what the rightfully elected president and the opposition movement against the junta call their country.

It's been Burma for centuries, also. Why give the thugs what they want?

Via the "Fair Use Act" from the above ABC News link. -->

In all my reporting on Burma, I have often pointed out that "Burma" is still the name of the country to those who legitimately won the 1990 election (which we covered in Burma). Note that all the opposition and exile groups use "Burma".

It was the junta that changed the name after Suu Kyi was arrested and accused of being under the influence of foreign powers (she was married to an Englishman). The junta ruled that keeping the name as Burma was an insult and proof that foreign powers wanted to dictate the country's future.

In fact the military was intent on wiping out the past and creating a whole new reality, history, and power structure under a new name: Myanmar.

They claimed it had true nationalist roots.

In fact, this is exactly what the Khmer Rouge did when they changed Cambodia's name to Kampuchea. Only those who wanted to gain favor with the regime called it Kampuchea. Today it is Cambodia again. I expect the same will be true of Burma and Rangoon if the military regime is ever unseated. - Correspondant Mark Litke

I Swore No More TV

Then they have to remake Bionic Woman... and from all reports it's entertaining. Yee - quick someone Teevo!


*It was one of my faves growing up

Kool-Aid Time

America is in a "restructuring" moment at present.

We have a lot of rich folk that wish to keep their money and we have a lot of folk that want to enforce their simplified world views on people (social conservatives). So, we have lack of health care and nothing in the way of decent social services or infrastructure. We get lack of net neutrality and corporations popping up everywhere to tell us what we can listen to, what we can do,
and who we can do. ^

It's the age old phenomenon of technology outstripping social progress and at present the distance between the two is fixin' to grab a huge can o' whoop-ass on The USA and the world in general.

At the end of it all, if the globally warmed oceans haven't swallowed us all, we'll emerge in a new world created by new democracy movements. It has to happen. We live in an information age and the only way to progress in an information age is to be good with information (duh). We can't do that if we're trying to go back to a fake 50's idea of social model (with a lot of laissez faire market practices).

Isn't that a nice thought?

Burmese Action

Just because these guys need all the help we can give them. Let's try to kick our congress people in their rear a bit.

Asperger's Syndrome

Mine papa has asked me to look up Asperger's Syndrome for him so I can discuss it with him later. I have to say it is rather interesting reading as I now can readily exclaim "aha! I know people that fits!"

Snipped from Wikipedia.org:

Asperger syndrome (also Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's, AS, or AD) is one of several autism spectrum disorders (ASD) characterized by difficulties in social interaction and by restricted and stereotyped interests and activities. AS is distinguished from the other ASDs in having no general delay in language or cognitive development. Although not mentioned in standard diagnostic criteria, motor clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported

Reading further down the article informs us that many brilliant people fit the AS category and there's a growing trend to see AS as just a "type" of functioning person, rather than a disorder. I suspect ADD is a lot like that , also.

The Net Is A Neat Place

If you know where to look and what to avoid. A friend turned me onto last.fm so I listened to a few stations and I've finally got enough in my play list to embed my own lil player thing-a-ma-bob into the blog. It's over to the right ----->

There ya go!

Gramma told me once, " that the world is a great place, if you don't weaken," which, in the case of the internet is pretty on the money. As long as you protect yourself against ID thieves, stalkers, and virii, it's a great place.

On other topics; those Burmese monks are sure stirring things up nicely. I heard that there are just as many of them as there are troops. Peace against tyranny. It can't get any clearer than that. Again, best to them.