The outlook for the economy is so bad that saying we're going to be in a severe recession may be the optimistic point of view. Some feel we're more likely hading into a full fledged depression with no good solutions. This of course doesn't help the "purple funk" I'm already in because of the holidays. Now this crap has to hang over my head like some kind of Bizzaro world mistle toe. You know, instead of getting to kiss whoever wanders is under it, only you are under it and you get fu#%ked in the ass by everybody. Here's my dilemma, while I feel the need to prepare for this impending economic collapse, how far should I go? I mean is this going to be much adieu about nothing or should I seriously start hording can goods? Do I cancel my land line phone service, cable TV, and start buying generic beer? (Oh, no way I'm going through this without beer) Should I stop paying my health insurance ($343 per month) about $4,000 a year with a $500 deductible that I never reached last year so in fact I paid $4,000 plus every Fu#%ing doctor's bill.
To add to this aggravation is the fact that with each passing day, it becomes more and more apparent that our government representatives are is so very corrupt and in the pockets of those who only value profits. When America's middle class is gone and there are millions out of work, only then will these greedy SoBs be happy. Why? Skilled labor will be much cheaper when there are no good paying jobs left. The unemployed will be lining up thousands deep for a pay check, even if it is only a fraction of what they used to make. This is the end result of unregulated capitalism. This is what 28 years of Reagonomics has brought us to. His advisers realized that in the late sixties and early seventies that a healthy middle class adversly affects businesses' profit margins. The larger the prfit margin in a fiscal year the better the return on investment. Right Hank Panky Paulson, you SoB! When labor has the means a decent life (the American Dream) then have time to scrutinize the hierarchy. This is bad for unfettered profits. Those who have a lot or are planning to get a lot do not want the average Joe to be aware of just exactly what they're doing. They don't want a reasonable and sustainable profit margin that affords them a better than average life, they want to win the lottery! The fast and quick fortune now. "What do I care what happens to the economy, job market, people, etc. etc. I got mine. With billions I'll be fine, my kids and thier kids will be fine. F%#@ everybody else. " People with this mentality are stripping away what little wealth there is left in the middle class and when it gets to the point that blue collar workers no longer have discretionary income . . . it's over Charlie. Duh!
My stomach turns as I watch mother fuxing Paulson and his buddies extort billions of blue collar workers' tax dollars for their own financial gain, while the big three auto-manufactures lay off workers so their executives can glom bonuses from the table scraps of the Paulson's treasonous Treasury. It is obvious to me that anything short of a complete over haul of our congress and senate (it's operations and personnel) won't fix a God Damn thing. Nobody is acting on behalf of the people! Nobody! Even my Independent voice of the progressive movement, Bernie Sanders, only points out the problems but, won't do a thing to stop it. For example: I keep being told that unless the Dems win 60 seats in the house they're not going to be able to get things done because the Repubs can filibuster. Well, Hello! Why can't Bernie or Lahey use the filibuster to stop some of this obvious pillaging?!!! I'll send them a can of Sucrets when their throats get sore.
This ain't funny anymore! Yes, Obama is appointing some really nice cabinet members. . . educated people who believe in evolution and know that the earth is hell of a lot older than 6 thousand years. Science will actually get to play a part in the upcoming administration instead of loyalty and religion. However, in the financial and economic sections of the administration will be a lot of Clinton re-treads. Several of whom, helped get us into our current economic straights.
Okay, I'm done for thanks for letting me vent.
Merry Christmas
DaG out
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What's the deal, Barack?
He hasn't even been sworn in yet and already he's given me cause for concern. Rick Warren, are you kidding me? Barack has chosen the anti gay marriage /anti choice /anti stem cell research pastor of Saddleback church to give the invocation at his inauguration.
I've never understood why Bible thumpers feel the need to have everybody else play by their rules or why they cherry pick verses from the Bible and ignore others. The pooftas aren't out in force making sure that no one gets divorced even though they have scripture on their side. Ricky and his followers pick and choose translated version of the scriptures as if they were written by God himself. (Masculine God because we're dealing with bible thumpers) It is well known by educated folks that while Lev 20:13 says man shall not lie with man, it says nothing about women. Party on Ladies! Just remember that in Deuteronomy it says you can't wear dude's clothes. Oh yeah, don't forget that you're not supposed to prepare food for the men when you're menstruating.
This so called man of God has stated that if same sex marriages are legal then the next "logical" step will be pedophiles marrying children, incestuous marriages, inter species marriages, and of course polygamy. Polygamy was common place in biblical times. I some religious leaders just like to gloss over that part. Several arranged marriages took place where an adult male was wed to a pre-teen. Not that I'm in favor of that it's just that it didn't used to be taboo. You know a lot things written in the Bible teach great lessons in morality, especially the parts like "do not judge lest ye be judged, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and mind your own God Damn business! Oh, I'm sorry that wasn't in the Bible. At least not the King James version. It may have been in some of the chapters that wasn't canonized.
Mr. Prez elect please tell me that you're working an angle here. Tell me that you've got some master plan and this controversial decision is a part of it. The right is royally pissed that Warren is going to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration. They can't believe that their modern day Billy Graham is going to give his blessing to that liberal Chicago politician that pals around with terrorists and supports a woman's right to choose. Then on the other side of the equation: the left (especially the gay left) is up in arms about this choice because so many busted their asses (no pun intended) to help get pro gay rights/pro choice Obama elected. Only to have that man choose one of the most vocal proponents of Prop 8. After that crushing defeat Obama has just opened the spout on a Mortons iodized and poured it directly into their wound.
So, what's the deal? Is this a sign that the "change" candidate is a phony? He seems to be of two minds on the whole same sex marriage question. While on one hand he supports gay rights but on the other he says that marriage is defined by the union of a man and a woman. True, but (I'll use the Reverends logic here) that broad description opens the door to Brothers and Sisters marrying as well as Fathers and Daughters.
Is this decision a tempest in a tea pot, or a revealing look at how Obama will govern? I certainly hope that Mr. Obama isn't the typical politicians who campaigns for one thing only to deliver another after being elected. (See-"W") Is he smarter than all of us and wants to show the intolerant that their way is very un-Christian like, in which case he probably should have stated something to that effect. I hope that this is a calculated move designed to bring us together as a nation, and not his first mis-step as president. Maybe he's thinking that if he can't make everybody happy so he'll just piss everybody off and by doing that the offended will commiserate and find common ground.
DaG out
I've never understood why Bible thumpers feel the need to have everybody else play by their rules or why they cherry pick verses from the Bible and ignore others. The pooftas aren't out in force making sure that no one gets divorced even though they have scripture on their side. Ricky and his followers pick and choose translated version of the scriptures as if they were written by God himself. (Masculine God because we're dealing with bible thumpers) It is well known by educated folks that while Lev 20:13 says man shall not lie with man, it says nothing about women. Party on Ladies! Just remember that in Deuteronomy it says you can't wear dude's clothes. Oh yeah, don't forget that you're not supposed to prepare food for the men when you're menstruating.
This so called man of God has stated that if same sex marriages are legal then the next "logical" step will be pedophiles marrying children, incestuous marriages, inter species marriages, and of course polygamy. Polygamy was common place in biblical times. I some religious leaders just like to gloss over that part. Several arranged marriages took place where an adult male was wed to a pre-teen. Not that I'm in favor of that it's just that it didn't used to be taboo. You know a lot things written in the Bible teach great lessons in morality, especially the parts like "do not judge lest ye be judged, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and mind your own God Damn business! Oh, I'm sorry that wasn't in the Bible. At least not the King James version. It may have been in some of the chapters that wasn't canonized.
Mr. Prez elect please tell me that you're working an angle here. Tell me that you've got some master plan and this controversial decision is a part of it. The right is royally pissed that Warren is going to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration. They can't believe that their modern day Billy Graham is going to give his blessing to that liberal Chicago politician that pals around with terrorists and supports a woman's right to choose. Then on the other side of the equation: the left (especially the gay left) is up in arms about this choice because so many busted their asses (no pun intended) to help get pro gay rights/pro choice Obama elected. Only to have that man choose one of the most vocal proponents of Prop 8. After that crushing defeat Obama has just opened the spout on a Mortons iodized and poured it directly into their wound.
So, what's the deal? Is this a sign that the "change" candidate is a phony? He seems to be of two minds on the whole same sex marriage question. While on one hand he supports gay rights but on the other he says that marriage is defined by the union of a man and a woman. True, but (I'll use the Reverends logic here) that broad description opens the door to Brothers and Sisters marrying as well as Fathers and Daughters.
Is this decision a tempest in a tea pot, or a revealing look at how Obama will govern? I certainly hope that Mr. Obama isn't the typical politicians who campaigns for one thing only to deliver another after being elected. (See-"W") Is he smarter than all of us and wants to show the intolerant that their way is very un-Christian like, in which case he probably should have stated something to that effect. I hope that this is a calculated move designed to bring us together as a nation, and not his first mis-step as president. Maybe he's thinking that if he can't make everybody happy so he'll just piss everybody off and by doing that the offended will commiserate and find common ground.
DaG out
Monday, December 15, 2008
Please Mr. Bush don't hold it against them.
This weekend while on a surprise "farewell" tour of Iraq and Afghanistan, "W" had 2 shoes thrown at him during a scheduled press conference.
The president's message on progress in the region was having trouble competing with the videotaped image of the angry Iraqi who hurled his shoes at Bush in a near-miss, shouting in Arabic, "This is your farewell kiss, you dog!" The reporter was later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after U.S. Marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion.
"I'm not insulted. I don't hold it against the government," Bush said later in an interview with ABC News. "The guy wanted to get on TV and he did. I don't know what his beef is, but whatever it is, I'm sure someone will hear it." Bahgdad newspaper.
Mr. President, you don't know what his beef is? I realize you don't like to read the newspaper but, maybe someone on your staff does. You might want to ask them for some specifics about conditions in Iraq. Nearly 8 years after declaring "Mission Accomplished" much of Iraq is still without a clean water supply, two thirds of the population only receives electricity a few hours a day, (According to the Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction and the U.S. State department: less power is available today than a year ago due to a lack of experienced engineers and technicians, persistent sabotage by insurgents, poor planning, and the on going feud between the Oil and the Electricity Ministries in Iraq. ) Betcha won't hear that reported on Fox news.
Back to more reasons why that guy threw his shoes: hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by either our military, hired thugs, or by insurgents, (that came a running into the country once we invaded), U.S. bombs blowing up innocent civilians by the executive order of King George. After the invasion thousands of Iraqi's best educated professionals (engineers . . . hello!) career people (those who had the money to leave) have fled the country(those without the money became refugees crossing on foot into surrounding countries. Last year's exodus was absorbed mostly by Syria, which took in some 500,000 Iraqis during the year -- or nearly half of the more than a million people who sought refuge by crossing an international border during 2007. Tens of thousands more Iraqis also found their way to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, and even Sweden and Germany, which took in, respectively, 10,000 and 6,700 Iraqis during the year. The "World Refugee Survey 2008", said more than two million Iraqis are currently living outside their homeland, the vast majority in Syria and Jordan.
So you see that the mass exodus has left Iraq with the largely poor and uneducated . . . a perfect breeding ground for religious zealots and terrorists organizations.
"W" quipped with journalist after the incident and even tried to make light of it. I certainly hope that he's not just putting on a happy face and secretly seething inside. While I understand the reporter's anger I don't know how wise it is to insult "W" on the world stage. Remember this guy goes off half cocked at the drop of a hat. He's a born again Christian who looks forward to the 2nd coming of Christ. This guy wants it to happen in his lifetime which of course requires this little happening I like to call . . .Armageddon. 30 days is a long time, and judging by past performance I wouldn't put it past "W".
So, this is my plea to you Mr. President: Turn the other cheek. Ignore the fact that he called you a murderous dog, and thrust upon you his culture's greatest insult. Be Christ like George, forgive him as I hope you will be forgiven. Then lace up that guy's shoes and walk a mile them .
DaG out
UPDATE: it is being reported that the correspondent is currently being held by Iraqi authorities and is being tortured. Tortured by Iraqi authorities? I thought that Sadam was dead and American democracy fixed all that.
The president's message on progress in the region was having trouble competing with the videotaped image of the angry Iraqi who hurled his shoes at Bush in a near-miss, shouting in Arabic, "This is your farewell kiss, you dog!" The reporter was later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after U.S. Marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion.
"I'm not insulted. I don't hold it against the government," Bush said later in an interview with ABC News. "The guy wanted to get on TV and he did. I don't know what his beef is, but whatever it is, I'm sure someone will hear it." Bahgdad newspaper.
Mr. President, you don't know what his beef is? I realize you don't like to read the newspaper but, maybe someone on your staff does. You might want to ask them for some specifics about conditions in Iraq. Nearly 8 years after declaring "Mission Accomplished" much of Iraq is still without a clean water supply, two thirds of the population only receives electricity a few hours a day, (According to the Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction and the U.S. State department: less power is available today than a year ago due to a lack of experienced engineers and technicians, persistent sabotage by insurgents, poor planning, and the on going feud between the Oil and the Electricity Ministries in Iraq. ) Betcha won't hear that reported on Fox news.
Back to more reasons why that guy threw his shoes: hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by either our military, hired thugs, or by insurgents, (that came a running into the country once we invaded), U.S. bombs blowing up innocent civilians by the executive order of King George. After the invasion thousands of Iraqi's best educated professionals (engineers . . . hello!) career people (those who had the money to leave) have fled the country(those without the money became refugees crossing on foot into surrounding countries. Last year's exodus was absorbed mostly by Syria, which took in some 500,000 Iraqis during the year -- or nearly half of the more than a million people who sought refuge by crossing an international border during 2007. Tens of thousands more Iraqis also found their way to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, and even Sweden and Germany, which took in, respectively, 10,000 and 6,700 Iraqis during the year. The "World Refugee Survey 2008", said more than two million Iraqis are currently living outside their homeland, the vast majority in Syria and Jordan.
So you see that the mass exodus has left Iraq with the largely poor and uneducated . . . a perfect breeding ground for religious zealots and terrorists organizations.
"W" quipped with journalist after the incident and even tried to make light of it. I certainly hope that he's not just putting on a happy face and secretly seething inside. While I understand the reporter's anger I don't know how wise it is to insult "W" on the world stage. Remember this guy goes off half cocked at the drop of a hat. He's a born again Christian who looks forward to the 2nd coming of Christ. This guy wants it to happen in his lifetime which of course requires this little happening I like to call . . .Armageddon. 30 days is a long time, and judging by past performance I wouldn't put it past "W".
So, this is my plea to you Mr. President: Turn the other cheek. Ignore the fact that he called you a murderous dog, and thrust upon you his culture's greatest insult. Be Christ like George, forgive him as I hope you will be forgiven. Then lace up that guy's shoes and walk a mile them .
DaG out
UPDATE: it is being reported that the correspondent is currently being held by Iraqi authorities and is being tortured. Tortured by Iraqi authorities? I thought that Sadam was dead and American democracy fixed all that.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Rebel Yell!
Senator Richard Shelby, much like an earlier Shelby (General in the Confederate state of Missouri) is spear heading the opposition against Yankee auto makers. However, this current incarnation is not rallying the troops for his beloved Dixie. He and his fellow Southern states Republican Senators are defending their beloved special interests: Non union Japanese and German car manufacturers along with their union busting conservative lobbyists who would like nothing more than to bring Detroit and the UAW to their knees.
Just in case you forgot:
*In 1993 officials in Alabama lured a Mercedes-Benz facility, the first foreign auto plant in the state, with a package worth $258 million. *In 1999 Alabama put together a $158 million subsidy deal to land a $400 million, 1.7 million-square-foot Honda plant. In 2002 state and local officials provided an additional package worth $90 million, including $33 million in tax breaks over 20 years, when Honda decided to expand the facility. *When South Korean carmaker Hyundai staged a competition for a $1 billion plant, various states put together bids, but it was Alabama that won the contest in 2002 with a package worth $252 million
That is a total of $758 million for three foreign manufacturers. I couldn’t find the numbers for Toyota, but assuming it is similar to the packages given to Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai, that would bring the total to around $1 billion. All this while Alabama's schools and infra structure crumbled. Shelby also purchased several hundred Mercedes cars for his official state fleet of cars. I bet he got a sweet deal too.
So a billion dollars from the taxpayers of Alabama to subsidize foreign automakers is OK, but $14 billion to keep the domestic auto industry from collapsing, and 2.5 to 3 million jobs along with it, is not a wise use of our money?
No, this is not about fiscal responsibility for Shelby and the others who oppose the bailout of the Big Three. I didn’t see them threatening a filibuster when $700 billion was going out the door to rescue the fatcats on Wall Street.
This is about busting up the UAW, plain and simple. If the automakers go through bankruptcy their union contracts are gone, not to mention the pensions and health care benefits for over 400,000 retirees.
But that doesn’t matter to Shelby and his cronies, they’re just lowly blue-collar people, let them eat cake.
This trend seen through out the southern states appears to be pay back for the Civil War. With Japan and Germany's help the South may well rise again! Not the middle class mind you but the power brokers of the South. This Union busting scheme will in essence reduce our working class (middle class) into slave labor or at the very least indentured servants.
If the big three go under so will those poor southern dummies who think that Shelby and his Klan are looking out for their best interest. If we enter a depression or even a continuing recession, those who used to buy Mercedes and Hondas won't be able to afford new ones. Bubba will get pink slipped as well.
It seems to me that the haves are hell bent on crushing the have nots. I see and hear congress men, Senators, talk show hosts, Corporate CEOs, right wing pundits, ( all of which don't like to talk about how much $ they make an hour nor do they like to talk about the incredible Health care benefits they receive.) blaming the UAW and it's over paid labor force for the failure of the auto industry. Blue collar workers who make $28 an hr actual and $75 an hr if you use Fox's figures (they add in the benefits of health care) are being asked to take a reduction in wages, to pay for their own Health Care and all this while our country in going through the worst recession in 30 years. Warren Buffet once said, "Yes there is class warfare in this country and my class is winning."
CEO's of the big three make nearly 300 times that of the average worker, and yet it's the factory rat who is over paid? Are you kidding me? The UAW has already made several concessions including wage reduction as well as agreeing to take over the Health Care costs while the companies administrative positions have given up zilch. I know it's mind boggling. We must be brain washed by all the Fox propaganda or we have fallen victim to the Stockholm syndrome.
DaG out
Just in case you forgot:
*In 1993 officials in Alabama lured a Mercedes-Benz facility, the first foreign auto plant in the state, with a package worth $258 million. *In 1999 Alabama put together a $158 million subsidy deal to land a $400 million, 1.7 million-square-foot Honda plant. In 2002 state and local officials provided an additional package worth $90 million, including $33 million in tax breaks over 20 years, when Honda decided to expand the facility. *When South Korean carmaker Hyundai staged a competition for a $1 billion plant, various states put together bids, but it was Alabama that won the contest in 2002 with a package worth $252 million
That is a total of $758 million for three foreign manufacturers. I couldn’t find the numbers for Toyota, but assuming it is similar to the packages given to Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai, that would bring the total to around $1 billion. All this while Alabama's schools and infra structure crumbled. Shelby also purchased several hundred Mercedes cars for his official state fleet of cars. I bet he got a sweet deal too.
So a billion dollars from the taxpayers of Alabama to subsidize foreign automakers is OK, but $14 billion to keep the domestic auto industry from collapsing, and 2.5 to 3 million jobs along with it, is not a wise use of our money?
No, this is not about fiscal responsibility for Shelby and the others who oppose the bailout of the Big Three. I didn’t see them threatening a filibuster when $700 billion was going out the door to rescue the fatcats on Wall Street.
This is about busting up the UAW, plain and simple. If the automakers go through bankruptcy their union contracts are gone, not to mention the pensions and health care benefits for over 400,000 retirees.
But that doesn’t matter to Shelby and his cronies, they’re just lowly blue-collar people, let them eat cake.
This trend seen through out the southern states appears to be pay back for the Civil War. With Japan and Germany's help the South may well rise again! Not the middle class mind you but the power brokers of the South. This Union busting scheme will in essence reduce our working class (middle class) into slave labor or at the very least indentured servants.
If the big three go under so will those poor southern dummies who think that Shelby and his Klan are looking out for their best interest. If we enter a depression or even a continuing recession, those who used to buy Mercedes and Hondas won't be able to afford new ones. Bubba will get pink slipped as well.
It seems to me that the haves are hell bent on crushing the have nots. I see and hear congress men, Senators, talk show hosts, Corporate CEOs, right wing pundits, ( all of which don't like to talk about how much $ they make an hour nor do they like to talk about the incredible Health care benefits they receive.) blaming the UAW and it's over paid labor force for the failure of the auto industry. Blue collar workers who make $28 an hr actual and $75 an hr if you use Fox's figures (they add in the benefits of health care) are being asked to take a reduction in wages, to pay for their own Health Care and all this while our country in going through the worst recession in 30 years. Warren Buffet once said, "Yes there is class warfare in this country and my class is winning."
CEO's of the big three make nearly 300 times that of the average worker, and yet it's the factory rat who is over paid? Are you kidding me? The UAW has already made several concessions including wage reduction as well as agreeing to take over the Health Care costs while the companies administrative positions have given up zilch. I know it's mind boggling. We must be brain washed by all the Fox propaganda or we have fallen victim to the Stockholm syndrome.
DaG out
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Scatter Shooting or Fluff and Stuff
3 months is too long for the presidential transition. The new administration was already facing multiple problematic obstacles like an ill advised occupation, A world view of the US as "shoot first, ask questions later" imperialist, an increasingly deadly situation for our troops in Afghanistan, trillions of $ stolen by a corrupt congress, treasury, and federal reserve, the outsourcing of jobs, skyrocketing health costs, etc. etc. Now, in his last weeks as commander in thief, "W" is signing into law as many corporatist beneficial/ environmental detrimental pieces of legislation he can. Here's a few:
1. Uranium Mining Permits Near Grand Canyon Could Increase
2. EPA Won’t Regulate a Contaminant in Drinking Water
3. Federally Funded Institutions Could Turn Down Abortion Requests for Moral or Religious Reasons
4. Public Lands May Be Leased for the Development of Oil Shale
5. EPA Lets Factory Farms Decide If They Need A Permit to Discharge Animal Waste into Waterways
6. Rules on Dumping of Mine Debris Eased
Not all of his midnight signings will contribute to the destruction of our eco system but, this being the DaG report, we need to focus on those that will.
Can I ask a question? What exactly are we doing in Afghanistan? I thought the only reason we went in there in the first place was to get Osama. At the time I thought it a good idea. I mean we were attacked, about 3 thousand people were killed, and the mastermind and leader of the organization that committed the offense was in Afghanistan. Then logic entered into my thinking. It wasn't because Bin Laden was hiding there, it was because the highly profitable gas pipeline was endanger of being compromised. The Taliban even offered to turn Bin Laden over to international authorities but, "W" stubbornly said "No way Jose . . .er, I mean Mohamed."
Then he ordered our nation's military to invade a sovereign country supposedly to capture or kill one man. (Something he repeated not a few months later) Never mind the fact, that not one of the 9/11 attackers were from Afghanistan. Jump ahead 7 years. After removing the Taliban and then moving on to Iraq, they have reorganized and retaken most of what the had lost. They are now stronger and better equipped than before, secretly supplied by the same country they were at war with in the 80s (Russia). Remember Rambo III? Same country Afghanistan only Russia and the US have switched roles.
So, back to my original question. What the hell are we doing there? Osama isn't even there anymore, he's in Pakistan! When the world sees our military trampling through 2 middle Eastern countries (plus Pakistan and Iran), is it any wonder that they hold us in low esteem?
What are the chances that we can just back out with our heads bowed and say "Sorry. Sorry.
My bad. Sorry. . ." and get out of there. Will Barack see the waste of time and human life that it is and put a stop to it? Probably not. We'll just stay there killing and getting killed for reasons far less that noble.
We've just been informed that we've been in a recession for a year now. If you don't think that out news media is severely censored, this should prove you wrong.
In economics, the term recession generally describes the reduction of a country's gross domestic product (GDP) for at least 2 quarters. The usual dictionary definition is "a period of reduced economic activity", a business cycle contraction.
The U.S.-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines economic recession as: "a significant decline in [the] economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment (non-farm payrolls), industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales." Dec. 1, 2008 The nation's economy peaked, and the recession began, in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced today. Prior to this release, not a single media outlet used the term recession even though we've been in one since April of 2008.
The unemployment stats are skewed as well. When you hear or read a government report stating unemployment claims or percentages understand that these stats do not figure in those jobless Americans whose unemployment benefits have expired, nor do they include those who were self employed and had no unemployment insurance. The current unemployment figures show that 10.3 million Americans are currently filing for unemployment. Roughly 6.7 % of our labor force. The actual percentage or number of jobless is considerably higher.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich Arrested: Trying to sell Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder among other things. This guy's a piece of work. Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel blew the whistle on him after Blogo placed a call to him. So far every single right wing pundit has bent over backward trying to connect Blogo to Obama. Conveniently ignoring the fact that Obama's people turned the greedy SOB over to U.S. attorney Fitzgerald. (you might remember him from the Scooter Libby trial and conviction) Fitzgerald, specifically says that there is no connection between Obama and Blogo but, predictably the Right wingnuts just keep repeating the guilt by association propaganda in order to muddy the waters of the uninformed electorate.
Obama hasn't even taken the oath of office yet and he's already responsible for the Great Depression of 2009, the escalation of violence in Afghanistan, and the corrupt politics of Chicago, Illinois.
Now I don't want to leave you feeling down and sullen. It is the Christmas season and we should all try to find our inner Buddha. (?) Anway, the good news? Fox's O'reily and Hannity ratings are falling.
DaG Out
1. Uranium Mining Permits Near Grand Canyon Could Increase
2. EPA Won’t Regulate a Contaminant in Drinking Water
3. Federally Funded Institutions Could Turn Down Abortion Requests for Moral or Religious Reasons
4. Public Lands May Be Leased for the Development of Oil Shale
5. EPA Lets Factory Farms Decide If They Need A Permit to Discharge Animal Waste into Waterways
6. Rules on Dumping of Mine Debris Eased
Not all of his midnight signings will contribute to the destruction of our eco system but, this being the DaG report, we need to focus on those that will.
Can I ask a question? What exactly are we doing in Afghanistan? I thought the only reason we went in there in the first place was to get Osama. At the time I thought it a good idea. I mean we were attacked, about 3 thousand people were killed, and the mastermind and leader of the organization that committed the offense was in Afghanistan. Then logic entered into my thinking. It wasn't because Bin Laden was hiding there, it was because the highly profitable gas pipeline was endanger of being compromised. The Taliban even offered to turn Bin Laden over to international authorities but, "W" stubbornly said "No way Jose . . .er, I mean Mohamed."
Then he ordered our nation's military to invade a sovereign country supposedly to capture or kill one man. (Something he repeated not a few months later) Never mind the fact, that not one of the 9/11 attackers were from Afghanistan. Jump ahead 7 years. After removing the Taliban and then moving on to Iraq, they have reorganized and retaken most of what the had lost. They are now stronger and better equipped than before, secretly supplied by the same country they were at war with in the 80s (Russia). Remember Rambo III? Same country Afghanistan only Russia and the US have switched roles.
So, back to my original question. What the hell are we doing there? Osama isn't even there anymore, he's in Pakistan! When the world sees our military trampling through 2 middle Eastern countries (plus Pakistan and Iran), is it any wonder that they hold us in low esteem?
What are the chances that we can just back out with our heads bowed and say "Sorry. Sorry.
My bad. Sorry. . ." and get out of there. Will Barack see the waste of time and human life that it is and put a stop to it? Probably not. We'll just stay there killing and getting killed for reasons far less that noble.
We've just been informed that we've been in a recession for a year now. If you don't think that out news media is severely censored, this should prove you wrong.
In economics, the term recession generally describes the reduction of a country's gross domestic product (GDP) for at least 2 quarters. The usual dictionary definition is "a period of reduced economic activity", a business cycle contraction.
The U.S.-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines economic recession as: "a significant decline in [the] economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment (non-farm payrolls), industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales." Dec. 1, 2008 The nation's economy peaked, and the recession began, in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced today. Prior to this release, not a single media outlet used the term recession even though we've been in one since April of 2008.
The unemployment stats are skewed as well. When you hear or read a government report stating unemployment claims or percentages understand that these stats do not figure in those jobless Americans whose unemployment benefits have expired, nor do they include those who were self employed and had no unemployment insurance. The current unemployment figures show that 10.3 million Americans are currently filing for unemployment. Roughly 6.7 % of our labor force. The actual percentage or number of jobless is considerably higher.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich Arrested: Trying to sell Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder among other things. This guy's a piece of work. Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel blew the whistle on him after Blogo placed a call to him. So far every single right wing pundit has bent over backward trying to connect Blogo to Obama. Conveniently ignoring the fact that Obama's people turned the greedy SOB over to U.S. attorney Fitzgerald. (you might remember him from the Scooter Libby trial and conviction) Fitzgerald, specifically says that there is no connection between Obama and Blogo but, predictably the Right wingnuts just keep repeating the guilt by association propaganda in order to muddy the waters of the uninformed electorate.
Obama hasn't even taken the oath of office yet and he's already responsible for the Great Depression of 2009, the escalation of violence in Afghanistan, and the corrupt politics of Chicago, Illinois.
Now I don't want to leave you feeling down and sullen. It is the Christmas season and we should all try to find our inner Buddha. (?) Anway, the good news? Fox's O'reily and Hannity ratings are falling.
DaG Out
Friday, November 21, 2008
I know how to fix this my friends . . .
Problem: GM, Ford and Chrysler on the brink of bankruptcy.
Solution: First, fire all CEOs, presidents, and vice presidents. This will free up more than enough capital to make the companies solvent. Second, Tariffs! No more free trade! Fair trade is what is needed. As long as goods can be purchased from overseas for pennies on the dollar jobs will be sent there and our manufacturing infrastructure will become extinct. (So many people were quick to dismiss Ross Perot as that crazy little man with a funny voice, but he saw this coming with the signing of NAFTA. "That giant sucking sound . . .")
Problem: Hannity, Rush, and the rest have all complained that the reason American auto makers can't make a profit is the unrealistic CAFE standards imposed on them by the government. Sponsored by auto makers and big oil, these right wing nut clowns (sorry, . . .that's not fair to clowns.) want us to believe that the technology for cleaner emissions and higher MPG just isn't there. The poor poor American auto industry is being unfairly targeted by our evil oppressive government causing irreparable harm. Give me a break. First of all the Right loves to accuse government of over stepping it's boundaries when it comes free market enterprise, but feels that it is well within them when it comes to environmental and civil liberty protections. Secondly, they are just out and out lying about the technology. In 1969 Subaru manufactured and sold a car in the U.S. that got 66 miles per gallon. In 1969! It was called the 360.
Check it out : http://adventurebooks.newsvine.com/_news/2008/05/03/1467619-in-1969-subaru-was-getting-66-miles-per-gallon
Congress in it's infinite wisdom or lack thereof under W's leadership passed a mandatory directive to the auto makers. All cars must have a minimum of 35 mpg by 2020. Oooooh, bold vision! LOL Talk about lowered expectations. That's like JFK telling America that before the next decade we will put a man on the top of the empire state building.
You know we had an electric car that was starting to catch on but once the auto industry realized that it adversely affected their profit margin they not only scraped future production, they recalled every single one and had them destroyed. They could still make a profit just not as large of one as they'd like. It makes me wonder just how much influence companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell and the rest had. During the past decade American auto manufactures have been pushing the SUV and the Monster truck on the buying public while the Japanese have been ahead of the curve producing fuel efficient cars.
DaG Out
Solution: First, fire all CEOs, presidents, and vice presidents. This will free up more than enough capital to make the companies solvent. Second, Tariffs! No more free trade! Fair trade is what is needed. As long as goods can be purchased from overseas for pennies on the dollar jobs will be sent there and our manufacturing infrastructure will become extinct. (So many people were quick to dismiss Ross Perot as that crazy little man with a funny voice, but he saw this coming with the signing of NAFTA. "That giant sucking sound . . .")
Problem: Hannity, Rush, and the rest have all complained that the reason American auto makers can't make a profit is the unrealistic CAFE standards imposed on them by the government. Sponsored by auto makers and big oil, these right wing nut clowns (sorry, . . .that's not fair to clowns.) want us to believe that the technology for cleaner emissions and higher MPG just isn't there. The poor poor American auto industry is being unfairly targeted by our evil oppressive government causing irreparable harm. Give me a break. First of all the Right loves to accuse government of over stepping it's boundaries when it comes free market enterprise, but feels that it is well within them when it comes to environmental and civil liberty protections. Secondly, they are just out and out lying about the technology. In 1969 Subaru manufactured and sold a car in the U.S. that got 66 miles per gallon. In 1969! It was called the 360.
Check it out : http://adventurebooks.newsvine.com/_news/2008/05/03/1467619-in-1969-subaru-was-getting-66-miles-per-gallon
Congress in it's infinite wisdom or lack thereof under W's leadership passed a mandatory directive to the auto makers. All cars must have a minimum of 35 mpg by 2020. Oooooh, bold vision! LOL Talk about lowered expectations. That's like JFK telling America that before the next decade we will put a man on the top of the empire state building.
You know we had an electric car that was starting to catch on but once the auto industry realized that it adversely affected their profit margin they not only scraped future production, they recalled every single one and had them destroyed. They could still make a profit just not as large of one as they'd like. It makes me wonder just how much influence companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell and the rest had. During the past decade American auto manufactures have been pushing the SUV and the Monster truck on the buying public while the Japanese have been ahead of the curve producing fuel efficient cars.
DaG Out
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Man the Life Boats!
Secretary Paulson,
Would you please give back the 350 billion you extorted from tax payers. Please. The American people overwhelmingly told their representatives in congress not to give it to you but, they ignored us. (kind of like you ignored the whole over sight thing) Sir, please. It's obvious that you aren't spending the money wisely. You are not helping the mortgage crisis which is why you asked for the money in the first place. The money you are spending is going to the banks and financial institutions to pay for executive bonuses and vacations. The rest is unaccounted for as you will not make public who is receiving the $. Interesting to note that a lot of merger talk is going on amongst institutions who were just last month on the brink of going under. Mergers require capital Mr. Paulson, and I suspect a lot of the bailout $ is going to underwrite these mergers.
Sincerely,
A pissed off tax payer
Here's where I have to re-tract a little of the venom spewed in the last post:
While Goldman Sachs, AIG, and other wall street companies cannot be allowed to fail . . . GM, Ford, and Chrysler are apparently expendable. As many as 3 million jobs will be lost if this auto industry collapse comes to fruition. Previously I said let them fail, it's upper management's fault and they get what they deserve. I didn't take into consideration the 3 million jobs that will be affected. I wasn't aware that this would be a loan. A $25 billion loan that the auto industry can use to retool their factories for the green revolution. It makes no sense to flush tax dollars down the toilet of Wall Street and then ignore an actual job producing industry in need. The American worker has put in more hours and is producing at a higher level than anytime in our history only to have those efforts pillaged by corporatist who want to justify their positions.
If the auto industry's unions were full of Republicans instead of Democrats I wonder if this would even be an issue. Let's not give them $25 billion with no strings attached like we did with the $750. billion to Paulson. (I still can't believe that happened. Not two weeks after receiving the first installment he lets congress know that the $ wasn't going to used the way he said it was. He changed his mind. AAARRRGH!!!!)
Let's not make that mistake again. In order for GM, Ford, and Chrysler to receive this loan they must agree to a few of these stipulations: 1. Not one dollar is to go overseas. No foreign steel would be used. 2. A mandatory streamlining of executive positions. Way to many chiefs and not enough Indians. 3. Executive compensation must be limited. (Remember Lee Iocca's bailout 20 or so years ago? He only drew a $1.00 salary that year. Let's see these bloated fat cats show that kind of integrity.) There needs to be a lot of oversight and re-structuring. In the fifties a mid level manager came from the ranks and knew what those under him did. They actually could fill in if someone called in sick. Today the white collar worker couldn't run the simplest machine on an assembly line.
The Federal Reserve (330 of the wealthiest families in the world) would like nothing more than to see the American auto industry go by the way side. The union supported labor force and their "workers rights" is the prickly thorn bush that stands between them and a one world global economy. If they can get Bush to remove that brush pile, cheap labor and rising profits will abound for all those at the top. In the on going redistribution of wealth from the working class to those at the very top of the economic food chain: our government has allowed financial institutions to embezzle the retirement savings, only to loose all of their booty in bad unsecured credit swaps. What's worse? Instead of plugging the hole in the hull of the ship, we're taking pick axes to it. Instead of bailing out the water, we're scooping it up out of the sea and pouring it into the ship. I've sent out distress signal after distress signal only to hear static and right wing talk show host call this the Obama recession. I've shot flare after flare into the night sky only to have congress say, "Ooooh . . . Ahhhh . . .how pretty!"
DaG Out
Would you please give back the 350 billion you extorted from tax payers. Please. The American people overwhelmingly told their representatives in congress not to give it to you but, they ignored us. (kind of like you ignored the whole over sight thing) Sir, please. It's obvious that you aren't spending the money wisely. You are not helping the mortgage crisis which is why you asked for the money in the first place. The money you are spending is going to the banks and financial institutions to pay for executive bonuses and vacations. The rest is unaccounted for as you will not make public who is receiving the $. Interesting to note that a lot of merger talk is going on amongst institutions who were just last month on the brink of going under. Mergers require capital Mr. Paulson, and I suspect a lot of the bailout $ is going to underwrite these mergers.
Sincerely,
A pissed off tax payer
Here's where I have to re-tract a little of the venom spewed in the last post:
While Goldman Sachs, AIG, and other wall street companies cannot be allowed to fail . . . GM, Ford, and Chrysler are apparently expendable. As many as 3 million jobs will be lost if this auto industry collapse comes to fruition. Previously I said let them fail, it's upper management's fault and they get what they deserve. I didn't take into consideration the 3 million jobs that will be affected. I wasn't aware that this would be a loan. A $25 billion loan that the auto industry can use to retool their factories for the green revolution. It makes no sense to flush tax dollars down the toilet of Wall Street and then ignore an actual job producing industry in need. The American worker has put in more hours and is producing at a higher level than anytime in our history only to have those efforts pillaged by corporatist who want to justify their positions.
If the auto industry's unions were full of Republicans instead of Democrats I wonder if this would even be an issue. Let's not give them $25 billion with no strings attached like we did with the $750. billion to Paulson. (I still can't believe that happened. Not two weeks after receiving the first installment he lets congress know that the $ wasn't going to used the way he said it was. He changed his mind. AAARRRGH!!!!)
Let's not make that mistake again. In order for GM, Ford, and Chrysler to receive this loan they must agree to a few of these stipulations: 1. Not one dollar is to go overseas. No foreign steel would be used. 2. A mandatory streamlining of executive positions. Way to many chiefs and not enough Indians. 3. Executive compensation must be limited. (Remember Lee Iocca's bailout 20 or so years ago? He only drew a $1.00 salary that year. Let's see these bloated fat cats show that kind of integrity.) There needs to be a lot of oversight and re-structuring. In the fifties a mid level manager came from the ranks and knew what those under him did. They actually could fill in if someone called in sick. Today the white collar worker couldn't run the simplest machine on an assembly line.
The Federal Reserve (330 of the wealthiest families in the world) would like nothing more than to see the American auto industry go by the way side. The union supported labor force and their "workers rights" is the prickly thorn bush that stands between them and a one world global economy. If they can get Bush to remove that brush pile, cheap labor and rising profits will abound for all those at the top. In the on going redistribution of wealth from the working class to those at the very top of the economic food chain: our government has allowed financial institutions to embezzle the retirement savings, only to loose all of their booty in bad unsecured credit swaps. What's worse? Instead of plugging the hole in the hull of the ship, we're taking pick axes to it. Instead of bailing out the water, we're scooping it up out of the sea and pouring it into the ship. I've sent out distress signal after distress signal only to hear static and right wing talk show host call this the Obama recession. I've shot flare after flare into the night sky only to have congress say, "Ooooh . . . Ahhhh . . .how pretty!"
DaG Out
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Through the Looking Glass
I don't remember ingesting mushrooms but, I must have because the shit I'm seeing has got to be a hallucination. Did I just see the colonel Klink look-a-like: Hank Paulson tell us that he changed his mind? All the things he told congress that he was going to do with the $700 billion dollar bail out . . . he's not going to do. None of the money was going to help those whose homes were being foreclosed . . .instead he's going to divvy it up amongst his old running buddies and their banks. He's going to let American Express become a bank so that they can get their hands on my money. American Express, whose slogan used to be " Don't leave home without it." Now should be "Don't foreclose on a home without writing us a big check." I'll get into the auto industry's hat in hand a little later.
Okay let me get this straight: if you or I walk into and bank, hand the teller a note that says, "Give me $100,000.00 or there's gonna be hell to pay." I will be arrested, charged with bank robbery, and when found guilty be given a mandatory sentence. I will spend time behind bars. Now, if I steal millions of stock holders and tax payers money, I just need to call this Paulson guy, and he can get congress to give me more? No arrest. No jail time. Man, am I in the wrong business.
How is this being allowed to happen? I thought Bush's lack of intelligence was an "Emperor has no clothes" scenario but, this heist in broad daylight of our money is like nothing I've ever seen. Nobody's throwing a fit! It's astounding! How about we just stop and say what the fuck do you think you're doing?!!
Apparently the financial world didn't come to an end like we were told it was going to do unless we gave Paulson $700 billion. It just brought out every Tom, Dick and Harry with their hat in hand. Sure, the economy is in a shambles but lining the pockets of those who mismanaged and embezzled trillions of dollars, is not going to do a damn bit of good. Bush is heading out of the white house door with all the silverware and the china. Baldy lets the world know that he's changed his mind on how best to spend our money and the stock market drops over 400 points. Who is this guy???? Oh yeah that's right . . . an ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs that Bush recommended for Secretary of Treasurer.
Ben Bernanke, the Pernell Roberts look-a-like and Bush appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve keeps printing money by the trillions knowing that every new dollar printed lessens the value of your savings and mine. The Fed is not releasing the identity of the banks and loan institutions that it has lent 2 trillion dollars to (in addition to the 85 billion it loaned AIG) nor is it telling us what bad debts the banks are using as collateral. Is there no end to this? I'm not an economist nor are any of my friends but, I have read a few articles in my day, and when an economy is flooded with unbacked dollars it causes inflation. (the devaluing of the dollar) This has happened on a much smaller scale in the past with devastating repercussions. The amounts the Fed is printing now is an unprecedented multi billion and trillion dollar amount. If 2 + 2 still equals 4 in this ALICE IN WONDERLAND world we find ourselves in, then we are going to have inflation on steroids. What doesn't add up is that people like Paulson and Bernanke and the majority of Congress know this and haven't put a stop to it.
Why hasn't the media put a spotlight on the naked emperor?! His naughty bits are dangling all over the place! While I've been accused of being a conspiracy nut in the past you can't tell me that you think that this is all on the up and up. Even my main man, Obama has me pissed off. I was gonna give him a few months leniency before ripping into him but, he blew it when he voted for the first $700. billion bail out. Now the American auto manufactures are asking for their welfare . . . followed by the airlines, I'm sure.
Okay Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Putting the pension plans and health care expenses aside, if you had made vehicles that Americans wanted to drive instead of gas guzzling Apartment complexes on wheels you might have weathered this storm. If you would have spent a little more money on R&D instead of thousands of white collar positions that exist only to regurgitate 30 year old marketing ideas, you might have weathered this storm. But Noooooooo! You've offered zero innovations that would have made your companies competitive in today's market place. Now, you come to the American people for a hand out. A hand out that will be like giving a wino 2 bucks who will just buy some thunder bird and who will be back tomorrow wanting more. You need to fire all of your CEO's and upper management. If you're a VP of anything at Ford, GM, or Chrysler you've got to go. If you couldn't be forward thinking enough to prepare for an alternative fuel market place then you're either incompetent or in cahoots with Big oil. In either case you're doing your company, it's workers and the United States of America great harm. So bye bye ass holes!!! And oh yeah . . .Where's my flying car?!
So, back to our government's Chief Embezzling Officers: Paulson and Bernanke. Since they can just change there mind on how our money is spent, print money willy nilly, and refuse to make public who they're giving it to. I propose that all of us follow Paulson's lead and collectively change our minds. As long as there is zero accountability of the spending of our tax dollars, a continuing redistribution of our tax dollars to poorly managed corporations and financial institutions, and a systematic devaluation of our tax dollars . . . come April 15th let's not give them any more. IMHO this is an attack on the citizens of the United States. Through lies and legislation congress and chancellor Paulson are contributing to this nation's economic collapse. We the people are severely limited in our ability to stage a revolution like the one in 1776. Our government has far superior weapons and technology on it's side, but what about a tax revolt? I'm just asking.
DaG Out
Okay let me get this straight: if you or I walk into and bank, hand the teller a note that says, "Give me $100,000.00 or there's gonna be hell to pay." I will be arrested, charged with bank robbery, and when found guilty be given a mandatory sentence. I will spend time behind bars. Now, if I steal millions of stock holders and tax payers money, I just need to call this Paulson guy, and he can get congress to give me more? No arrest. No jail time. Man, am I in the wrong business.
How is this being allowed to happen? I thought Bush's lack of intelligence was an "Emperor has no clothes" scenario but, this heist in broad daylight of our money is like nothing I've ever seen. Nobody's throwing a fit! It's astounding! How about we just stop and say what the fuck do you think you're doing?!!
Apparently the financial world didn't come to an end like we were told it was going to do unless we gave Paulson $700 billion. It just brought out every Tom, Dick and Harry with their hat in hand. Sure, the economy is in a shambles but lining the pockets of those who mismanaged and embezzled trillions of dollars, is not going to do a damn bit of good. Bush is heading out of the white house door with all the silverware and the china. Baldy lets the world know that he's changed his mind on how best to spend our money and the stock market drops over 400 points. Who is this guy???? Oh yeah that's right . . . an ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs that Bush recommended for Secretary of Treasurer.
Ben Bernanke, the Pernell Roberts look-a-like and Bush appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve keeps printing money by the trillions knowing that every new dollar printed lessens the value of your savings and mine. The Fed is not releasing the identity of the banks and loan institutions that it has lent 2 trillion dollars to (in addition to the 85 billion it loaned AIG) nor is it telling us what bad debts the banks are using as collateral. Is there no end to this? I'm not an economist nor are any of my friends but, I have read a few articles in my day, and when an economy is flooded with unbacked dollars it causes inflation. (the devaluing of the dollar) This has happened on a much smaller scale in the past with devastating repercussions. The amounts the Fed is printing now is an unprecedented multi billion and trillion dollar amount. If 2 + 2 still equals 4 in this ALICE IN WONDERLAND world we find ourselves in, then we are going to have inflation on steroids. What doesn't add up is that people like Paulson and Bernanke and the majority of Congress know this and haven't put a stop to it.
Why hasn't the media put a spotlight on the naked emperor?! His naughty bits are dangling all over the place! While I've been accused of being a conspiracy nut in the past you can't tell me that you think that this is all on the up and up. Even my main man, Obama has me pissed off. I was gonna give him a few months leniency before ripping into him but, he blew it when he voted for the first $700. billion bail out. Now the American auto manufactures are asking for their welfare . . . followed by the airlines, I'm sure.
Okay Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Putting the pension plans and health care expenses aside, if you had made vehicles that Americans wanted to drive instead of gas guzzling Apartment complexes on wheels you might have weathered this storm. If you would have spent a little more money on R&D instead of thousands of white collar positions that exist only to regurgitate 30 year old marketing ideas, you might have weathered this storm. But Noooooooo! You've offered zero innovations that would have made your companies competitive in today's market place. Now, you come to the American people for a hand out. A hand out that will be like giving a wino 2 bucks who will just buy some thunder bird and who will be back tomorrow wanting more. You need to fire all of your CEO's and upper management. If you're a VP of anything at Ford, GM, or Chrysler you've got to go. If you couldn't be forward thinking enough to prepare for an alternative fuel market place then you're either incompetent or in cahoots with Big oil. In either case you're doing your company, it's workers and the United States of America great harm. So bye bye ass holes!!! And oh yeah . . .Where's my flying car?!
So, back to our government's Chief Embezzling Officers: Paulson and Bernanke. Since they can just change there mind on how our money is spent, print money willy nilly, and refuse to make public who they're giving it to. I propose that all of us follow Paulson's lead and collectively change our minds. As long as there is zero accountability of the spending of our tax dollars, a continuing redistribution of our tax dollars to poorly managed corporations and financial institutions, and a systematic devaluation of our tax dollars . . . come April 15th let's not give them any more. IMHO this is an attack on the citizens of the United States. Through lies and legislation congress and chancellor Paulson are contributing to this nation's economic collapse. We the people are severely limited in our ability to stage a revolution like the one in 1776. Our government has far superior weapons and technology on it's side, but what about a tax revolt? I'm just asking.
DaG Out
Monday, November 10, 2008
No Truth Just Consequences
Dear right wing conservative talk show hosts,
I am writing you today in hopes to appeal to your Christian sensibilities that you claim to cherish. Please sirs and madams, stop telling your listeners that Barack Obama and his policies are dangerous to this country. You can not say with any degree of certainty (although you have) that President elect Obama will do this country harm anymore than I can say with certainty (although I have) that you lie when you say that Sarah Palin is intelligent and would have made a great vice president. You folks are paid propagandists hired by those who want to protect their wealth. Your job is to spread fear and disinformation to the uneducated masses in order to keep this country divided. When you use phrases like " What scares me about Obama . . ." and "What I fear Obama will do. . ." and in Hannity's case, "America will cease to exist." . . . you give the impetus to hate groups and narrow minded individuals to act aggressively. Just look at the Palin rallies. While your rhetoric and propaganda is wrapped in the American flag (made in China) and "America First" bumper sticker mentality, your words of unwarranted distrust are incendiary and must be tempered with reason. When you stir up fear in people they make bad decisions. Please please please sirs and madams, if there be a shred of decency within you understand the volatile state of mind in the McCain/Palin base. They are angry at this election's outcome and when you add to that the incredible anxiety our nations feels as we head into tough economic times, you have the recipe for tragedy. Should one of these people, or one of your listeners , God forbid, attempt to harm our new president, will you not feel partly responsible?
If you truly are a "great American" you understand how far we've come and how fragile the advancement. Your professed fear of the Obama administration pales in comparison to my fear of what would happen to this country if he is taken from us by an assassin's bullet. You're playing with fire in a tinder box soaked in kerosene.
Liberal doesn't equal radical. Democrat doesn't equal Atheist. Obama doesn't equal terrorist!
I am not asking you to quit your job or flip your party allegiance, I ask only that when you criticize president elect Obama please use the same amount of respectful language that you chose during the scant few times you disagreed with president Bush.
Sincerely,
DaG
From Telegraph.co.uk: Nov. 10 2008
Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama
Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.
DaG Out
I am writing you today in hopes to appeal to your Christian sensibilities that you claim to cherish. Please sirs and madams, stop telling your listeners that Barack Obama and his policies are dangerous to this country. You can not say with any degree of certainty (although you have) that President elect Obama will do this country harm anymore than I can say with certainty (although I have) that you lie when you say that Sarah Palin is intelligent and would have made a great vice president. You folks are paid propagandists hired by those who want to protect their wealth. Your job is to spread fear and disinformation to the uneducated masses in order to keep this country divided. When you use phrases like " What scares me about Obama . . ." and "What I fear Obama will do. . ." and in Hannity's case, "America will cease to exist." . . . you give the impetus to hate groups and narrow minded individuals to act aggressively. Just look at the Palin rallies. While your rhetoric and propaganda is wrapped in the American flag (made in China) and "America First" bumper sticker mentality, your words of unwarranted distrust are incendiary and must be tempered with reason. When you stir up fear in people they make bad decisions. Please please please sirs and madams, if there be a shred of decency within you understand the volatile state of mind in the McCain/Palin base. They are angry at this election's outcome and when you add to that the incredible anxiety our nations feels as we head into tough economic times, you have the recipe for tragedy. Should one of these people, or one of your listeners , God forbid, attempt to harm our new president, will you not feel partly responsible?
If you truly are a "great American" you understand how far we've come and how fragile the advancement. Your professed fear of the Obama administration pales in comparison to my fear of what would happen to this country if he is taken from us by an assassin's bullet. You're playing with fire in a tinder box soaked in kerosene.
Liberal doesn't equal radical. Democrat doesn't equal Atheist. Obama doesn't equal terrorist!
I am not asking you to quit your job or flip your party allegiance, I ask only that when you criticize president elect Obama please use the same amount of respectful language that you chose during the scant few times you disagreed with president Bush.
Sincerely,
DaG
From Telegraph.co.uk: Nov. 10 2008
Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama
Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.
DaG Out
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Soup kitchens dead ahead!!!
WASHINGTON – The nation's jobless ranks zoomed past 10 million last month, the most in a quarter-century, as piles of pink slips shut factory gates and office doors to 240,000 more Americans with the holidays nearing. Politicians and economists agreed on a painful bottom line: It's only going to get worse.
The unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent, the government said Friday, up from 6.1 percent just a month earlier. And there was more grim news from U.S. automakers: Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., American giants struggling to survive, each reported big losses and figured to be announcing even more job cuts before long.
Thank you presidents Bush, (1 and 2) Clinton, and Reagan for opening our doors to free trade and removing all the tariffs that kept jobs here in the U.S. Thank you for giving tax breaks to those companies who employ their work force from overseas and south of the border. Thank you for allowing them to avoid taxes by using offshore P.O boxes as their accounts receivable addresses. Thank you for allowing them to hide their profits in Swiss bank accounts. Thank you for supporting the economy of China, Pakistan, India, and Russia while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs here in the states. I could go on but, I'm really starting to get pissed off and my doctor told me that I need to avoid stress.
Beginning with Reagan and Bush I, temporarily slowed by Clinton but then regained speed when Bush II took the helm: CORPORATE profits have been steadily increasing breaking past performance records while CEO's have enjoyed the largest gap in compensation between themselves and their employees. (In 2007 - CEOs were paid 300 times that of the average American worker) Excessive CEO pay takes dollars out of the pockets of shareholders—including the retirement savings of America’s working families. Moreover, a poorly designed executive compensation package can reward decisions that are not in the long-term interests of a company, its shareholders and employees. When companies file bankruptcy they let go all the workers, get a pass on paying outstanding debt, but somehow find the cash to pay their CEOs millions of dollars in bonus and severances. Under an Obama administration will there be a resurgence of Unions and a return to some sort of economic sanity in the CEO/employee wage gap?
Home prices are down 20% nationwide since their peak in July 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Economist Nouriel Roubini of New York University, who accurately predicted the housing slide and credit crisis, expects another 20% decline in home prices next year. Patrick Newport of economic forecasting firm Global Insight projects a 15% drop.
We're entering uncharted waters here. Never in my lifetime has home ownership been a bad investment. If this Roubini guy is right a house purchased in 2006 could lose 40% of it's value by 2010. Are you kidding me? Conservative estimates are that your home will lose 30% of it's value by 2010. Many of us have been upside down in our vehicles but, never have we been upside down in our homes. Let's hope our new captain knows how to use a sextant because not only are we entering uncharted waters but the sun has set, it's dark out, and the GPS is on the fritz.
As mentioned before president elect Obama is going to have his hands full trying to juggle much needed change in the way government is run and this current economic disaster that has been 28 years in the making. There will be no easy solutions, no magic stimulus package that will cure these ills. The bright side is that at least we have a chance under this new administration. Already the senator from Illinois has recruited not only former Goldman Sachs and other financial institution's CEOs as part of his economics team, he has brought in two very pro Union/worker's rights advocates who fly directly in the face of these career financial finaglers. David Bonier and Robert Reich will offer up ideas and suggestions in labor's best interest and not the CEO's. Lest anyone think that I am waving poms poms and shouting, "Give me an O!" you need to know that I think the economic stimulus package being proposed by Obama is a complete waste of time. Might as well squirt a little perfume in a septic tank. It ain't going to make a fart in an outhouse worth of difference in the economy. If anything it's going to add to the inevitable inflation because we're just going to print more money.
Okay, can't end this post without giving props to OB14me. Did you hear the "mutt like me." comment he said while talking about what kind of dog he was going to get for his girls? You gotta love this from an elected official. Self deprecating humor and the ease that he can talk about race is very cool. ( Okay maybe that was a little cheer leader-ish)
DaG Out
The unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent, the government said Friday, up from 6.1 percent just a month earlier. And there was more grim news from U.S. automakers: Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., American giants struggling to survive, each reported big losses and figured to be announcing even more job cuts before long.
Thank you presidents Bush, (1 and 2) Clinton, and Reagan for opening our doors to free trade and removing all the tariffs that kept jobs here in the U.S. Thank you for giving tax breaks to those companies who employ their work force from overseas and south of the border. Thank you for allowing them to avoid taxes by using offshore P.O boxes as their accounts receivable addresses. Thank you for allowing them to hide their profits in Swiss bank accounts. Thank you for supporting the economy of China, Pakistan, India, and Russia while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs here in the states. I could go on but, I'm really starting to get pissed off and my doctor told me that I need to avoid stress.
Beginning with Reagan and Bush I, temporarily slowed by Clinton but then regained speed when Bush II took the helm: CORPORATE profits have been steadily increasing breaking past performance records while CEO's have enjoyed the largest gap in compensation between themselves and their employees. (In 2007 - CEOs were paid 300 times that of the average American worker) Excessive CEO pay takes dollars out of the pockets of shareholders—including the retirement savings of America’s working families. Moreover, a poorly designed executive compensation package can reward decisions that are not in the long-term interests of a company, its shareholders and employees. When companies file bankruptcy they let go all the workers, get a pass on paying outstanding debt, but somehow find the cash to pay their CEOs millions of dollars in bonus and severances. Under an Obama administration will there be a resurgence of Unions and a return to some sort of economic sanity in the CEO/employee wage gap?
Home prices are down 20% nationwide since their peak in July 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Economist Nouriel Roubini of New York University, who accurately predicted the housing slide and credit crisis, expects another 20% decline in home prices next year. Patrick Newport of economic forecasting firm Global Insight projects a 15% drop.
We're entering uncharted waters here. Never in my lifetime has home ownership been a bad investment. If this Roubini guy is right a house purchased in 2006 could lose 40% of it's value by 2010. Are you kidding me? Conservative estimates are that your home will lose 30% of it's value by 2010. Many of us have been upside down in our vehicles but, never have we been upside down in our homes. Let's hope our new captain knows how to use a sextant because not only are we entering uncharted waters but the sun has set, it's dark out, and the GPS is on the fritz.
As mentioned before president elect Obama is going to have his hands full trying to juggle much needed change in the way government is run and this current economic disaster that has been 28 years in the making. There will be no easy solutions, no magic stimulus package that will cure these ills. The bright side is that at least we have a chance under this new administration. Already the senator from Illinois has recruited not only former Goldman Sachs and other financial institution's CEOs as part of his economics team, he has brought in two very pro Union/worker's rights advocates who fly directly in the face of these career financial finaglers. David Bonier and Robert Reich will offer up ideas and suggestions in labor's best interest and not the CEO's. Lest anyone think that I am waving poms poms and shouting, "Give me an O!" you need to know that I think the economic stimulus package being proposed by Obama is a complete waste of time. Might as well squirt a little perfume in a septic tank. It ain't going to make a fart in an outhouse worth of difference in the economy. If anything it's going to add to the inevitable inflation because we're just going to print more money.
Okay, can't end this post without giving props to OB14me. Did you hear the "mutt like me." comment he said while talking about what kind of dog he was going to get for his girls? You gotta love this from an elected official. Self deprecating humor and the ease that he can talk about race is very cool. ( Okay maybe that was a little cheer leader-ish)
DaG Out
Thursday, November 6, 2008
One step forward and two steps back
While our country opened the door to one group of it's citizens, it slammed it shut on another. The very same ballot that gave an African American the keys to the White House, foreclosed on gay America's dream house. It truly is baffling. What is it that straight America is so afraid of? What do they think is going to happen if two people of the same sex marry each other? It's like all other moral issues: if you don't think it's right . . . if it goes against your religious teachings, then don't do it. If God is offended . . .let the Deity deal with it. It's really none of your business. The bible specifically states that we should not judge others, that's God's gig. I don't recall God taking a sick day and asking his followers to fill in and pass judgements . . .so knock it off!!!
Where do you get off imposing your religious beliefs on others? Where does the state get off putting this issue on a ballot and allowing a majority to decide on the civil rights of a minority? In the word of Jeff Dunham's "Peanut", "What the hell?!"
When trying to figure out why something is happening politically one needs to follow the money. so, when you see who is funding the Proposition 8 initiative you find themajority of the funding came from the Mormons. Californians Against Hate released figures Tuesday showing that $17.67 million was contributed by 59,000 Mormon families since August to groups like Yes on 8. The surge in support has been an attempt to boost the church's social standing among the greater religious community.
Apparently the Mormons are tired of being looked down upon by the Catholics, Christians and the evangelicals. I guess they want to be as socially relevant as the big boys. By funding anti-gay legislation, they can divert attention away from their history of polygamy and "magic underwear"and unite all religions under the anti-gay flag. Funny how those who profess to be morally superior to homosexuals belong to the same cult that encouraged the slaughter of hundreds of thousands during the crusades, tortured thousands during the Inquisition, drowned and burnt women whom they believed to be witches. No wonder the Romans fed them to the lions.
If God really gives a shit about "the sanctity of marriage", why hasn't he or she strike down all the Catholics, Christians, and evangelicals that have gotten divorced? Where's the ban on breaking a vow you made before God? I've yet to see that turned into a proposition!
I wanted to be able to just celebrate this past election.and feel good . . . really good about where we were headed for a change but, this whole proposition 8 thing just pissed on my parade. The ironic twist in this election is the very group (African Americans) that turned out in record numbers to vote 95% to 5% in favor of Obama, also voted 69% to 31% in favor of Prop 8. If I were Rush Limbaugh I would tell my listeners that blacks are racist and anti-gay. The exit polls show that to be true but, it's like eating a great big shit sandwich when I agree with anything Rush says. A lot of false information was put out there by the Knight's of Columbus and Focus on the family that inferred Obama supported prop 8. He most definitely did not. Also a lot of the money that went to fund Obama's campaign would have gone to defeat Prop 8.
The wording of all these propositions are intentionally confusing as well. At a glance: a voter sees Prop. 8 "gay marriage" vote yes or no. In order to support equality a voter had to vote "no". It's very awkward for a voter to cast a negative vote in order to achieve a positive outcome. This may not be the entire reason for the passing of the ban but, it more than likely contributed to it. These sweet and sour historic election results emphasizes the need for true equality in this country. Prop 8 should never have been put on the same ballot as a presidential race.
We have managed to evolve enough as a society to vote for content of character but still can't seem to get past the notion that everyone's bread must be buttered on the same side.
DaG out
Where do you get off imposing your religious beliefs on others? Where does the state get off putting this issue on a ballot and allowing a majority to decide on the civil rights of a minority? In the word of Jeff Dunham's "Peanut", "What the hell?!"
When trying to figure out why something is happening politically one needs to follow the money. so, when you see who is funding the Proposition 8 initiative you find themajority of the funding came from the Mormons. Californians Against Hate released figures Tuesday showing that $17.67 million was contributed by 59,000 Mormon families since August to groups like Yes on 8. The surge in support has been an attempt to boost the church's social standing among the greater religious community.
Apparently the Mormons are tired of being looked down upon by the Catholics, Christians and the evangelicals. I guess they want to be as socially relevant as the big boys. By funding anti-gay legislation, they can divert attention away from their history of polygamy and "magic underwear"and unite all religions under the anti-gay flag. Funny how those who profess to be morally superior to homosexuals belong to the same cult that encouraged the slaughter of hundreds of thousands during the crusades, tortured thousands during the Inquisition, drowned and burnt women whom they believed to be witches. No wonder the Romans fed them to the lions.
If God really gives a shit about "the sanctity of marriage", why hasn't he or she strike down all the Catholics, Christians, and evangelicals that have gotten divorced? Where's the ban on breaking a vow you made before God? I've yet to see that turned into a proposition!
I wanted to be able to just celebrate this past election.and feel good . . . really good about where we were headed for a change but, this whole proposition 8 thing just pissed on my parade. The ironic twist in this election is the very group (African Americans) that turned out in record numbers to vote 95% to 5% in favor of Obama, also voted 69% to 31% in favor of Prop 8. If I were Rush Limbaugh I would tell my listeners that blacks are racist and anti-gay. The exit polls show that to be true but, it's like eating a great big shit sandwich when I agree with anything Rush says. A lot of false information was put out there by the Knight's of Columbus and Focus on the family that inferred Obama supported prop 8. He most definitely did not. Also a lot of the money that went to fund Obama's campaign would have gone to defeat Prop 8.
The wording of all these propositions are intentionally confusing as well. At a glance: a voter sees Prop. 8 "gay marriage" vote yes or no. In order to support equality a voter had to vote "no". It's very awkward for a voter to cast a negative vote in order to achieve a positive outcome. This may not be the entire reason for the passing of the ban but, it more than likely contributed to it. These sweet and sour historic election results emphasizes the need for true equality in this country. Prop 8 should never have been put on the same ballot as a presidential race.
We have managed to evolve enough as a society to vote for content of character but still can't seem to get past the notion that everyone's bread must be buttered on the same side.
DaG out
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wrong again. Thank God!
I don't know what to say. It still seems like a dream. This won't be a real Daggy kind of post. No military in the streets. No e-voting machine warnings. No shadow government conspiracy theories. I'm too jazzed and amazed. Something good happened. Monumentally good! I think we just witnessed a country moving forward: truly seeing a man's character and not the color of his skin. Or was it just because I predicted the other guy would win? (remember my abhorrent prediction record) It appears that a majority of the U.S. voters have made MLK Jr.'s dream come true. It fills me with such hope. When my sons call me me to say they are moved, feel patriotic, and feel a sense of pride having actively taken part part in our democratic process it just makes me well up. I'm sure it helps that we all backed the winner. The winner who taught constitutional law, graduated first in his class at Harvard, and holds politically progressive ideas instead of neo-con might makes right ideas . . . prefers the end of war instead of war profiteering . . . prefers equal rights for all and not constitutional amendments to ban same sex marriages . . . believes all Americans have the unalienable right to life, liberty , and the pursuit of happiness and not just the upper 1% . . . wants to give back civil liberties instead of stripping them away . . . thinks that you can disagree with him without actually supporting terrorists . . .wants to unite our country and not divide us by saying you're either with us or against us . . . sees problems and wants to address them instead of pretending like everything is fine if we just don't ask questions. . . .and best of all, wants to help rebuild a middle class instead of destroying it.
Simply remarkable. Even if he is only a figure head and won't be able to get done all that he promised, his election is such a huge step in the right direction. I mean the man can actually speak in complete sentences and not make up words that don't exist. How refreshing! And let's not forget(because this is no small detail) he will more than likely get to nominate 2 or maybe even 3 Supreme court justices! Hooray!! Balance. Oh sweet sweet balance! I hope his first nominee is a 30-35 year old liberal woman judge with radical leftist affiliations, who legislates from the bench, had two or three abortions, and is a professed atheist.
Also . . .(snicker) Sarah Palin has to go back to Alaska. Bye bye Brainiac. (I'm not as cool as Obama, I can be shitty) When I saw her crying during McCain's concession speech I don't think it was because they didn't win. I think it was because she knows she has to go back to Alaska. She was on Saturday Night Live for crying out loud. She's tasted celebrity and that shit's hard to give up.
Now all the Right Wing talk show hosts will have 4 years of trying to dig up whatever new dirt they can on Obama. Apparently Ayers, Wright, Resko, and Khalidi weren't enough to keep him out of the White House. Not even accusing him of wanting to gas Jews. Do you suppose we've seen the last of Joe the Plumber as well? One can only hope. I guess they could always find and intern with good oral skills to disgrace and embarrass Obama. Then try to impeach him for lying about the relationship. Just for the entertainment value . . .I hope it's a white girl. Cable news ratings go up when a blond haired white girl is involved in some kind of scandal.
Poor poor president elect, I do not envy you. The mess you've inherited can only be compared to FDR's 1st term. Although he at least had a massive manufacturing base to work with. You on the other hand get the largest budget deficit in the history of our country, the largest national debt in history, the largest out sourcing of jobs in history, the worst environmental pending disaster in out 232 years, the worst financial institution disaster in history, a infra structure much need of repair, a health insurance crisis like never before, a frozen credit market, a terribly depressed housing market, and last but certainly not least a considerable amount of radical white supremacist whack jobs that would like nothing more than to see you . . .well you know.
You have guts Mr. President. You have brains, guts, and more balls than all the Brunswick Lanes in the Midwest.
Indiana turned blue!! Indiana!!!! The comet should hit any day now.
Fox News was hysterical tonight. The forlorn look on all their faces as they had to report that Barack was winning was priceless. When they had to say Obama won, you could have heard a pin drop. The only moment when they spoke glowingly was when the were commenting on how gracious McCain was giving his concession speech. I almost vomited when the architect Karl Rove tried to put a positive spin on the election acting as if he thought this was good for America. Note to Karl: It is good for America but, when you did everything in your power to prevent it then act as if you're kinda of glad it happened . . . . You could at least have the decency to act perturbed. Your side lost!!! You and your Rove clones under handed robo calls and guilt by association smears failed!!! Quit trying to glom off our side's defeat of you! Pond scum.
So, America there just might be hope for us yet. I'm a big fan of our new president . . .at least for now. After Mr. Obama takes office, I'll give him a few months or so to get his feet wet before getting too critical, but be forewarned Mr. President elect , if you don't start kicking ass and taking names in a timely fashion - DaG will turn on you like apple cider left out in the sun.
DaG Out
Simply remarkable. Even if he is only a figure head and won't be able to get done all that he promised, his election is such a huge step in the right direction. I mean the man can actually speak in complete sentences and not make up words that don't exist. How refreshing! And let's not forget(because this is no small detail) he will more than likely get to nominate 2 or maybe even 3 Supreme court justices! Hooray!! Balance. Oh sweet sweet balance! I hope his first nominee is a 30-35 year old liberal woman judge with radical leftist affiliations, who legislates from the bench, had two or three abortions, and is a professed atheist.
Also . . .(snicker) Sarah Palin has to go back to Alaska. Bye bye Brainiac. (I'm not as cool as Obama, I can be shitty) When I saw her crying during McCain's concession speech I don't think it was because they didn't win. I think it was because she knows she has to go back to Alaska. She was on Saturday Night Live for crying out loud. She's tasted celebrity and that shit's hard to give up.
Now all the Right Wing talk show hosts will have 4 years of trying to dig up whatever new dirt they can on Obama. Apparently Ayers, Wright, Resko, and Khalidi weren't enough to keep him out of the White House. Not even accusing him of wanting to gas Jews. Do you suppose we've seen the last of Joe the Plumber as well? One can only hope. I guess they could always find and intern with good oral skills to disgrace and embarrass Obama. Then try to impeach him for lying about the relationship. Just for the entertainment value . . .I hope it's a white girl. Cable news ratings go up when a blond haired white girl is involved in some kind of scandal.
Poor poor president elect, I do not envy you. The mess you've inherited can only be compared to FDR's 1st term. Although he at least had a massive manufacturing base to work with. You on the other hand get the largest budget deficit in the history of our country, the largest national debt in history, the largest out sourcing of jobs in history, the worst environmental pending disaster in out 232 years, the worst financial institution disaster in history, a infra structure much need of repair, a health insurance crisis like never before, a frozen credit market, a terribly depressed housing market, and last but certainly not least a considerable amount of radical white supremacist whack jobs that would like nothing more than to see you . . .well you know.
You have guts Mr. President. You have brains, guts, and more balls than all the Brunswick Lanes in the Midwest.
Indiana turned blue!! Indiana!!!! The comet should hit any day now.
Fox News was hysterical tonight. The forlorn look on all their faces as they had to report that Barack was winning was priceless. When they had to say Obama won, you could have heard a pin drop. The only moment when they spoke glowingly was when the were commenting on how gracious McCain was giving his concession speech. I almost vomited when the architect Karl Rove tried to put a positive spin on the election acting as if he thought this was good for America. Note to Karl: It is good for America but, when you did everything in your power to prevent it then act as if you're kinda of glad it happened . . . . You could at least have the decency to act perturbed. Your side lost!!! You and your Rove clones under handed robo calls and guilt by association smears failed!!! Quit trying to glom off our side's defeat of you! Pond scum.
So, America there just might be hope for us yet. I'm a big fan of our new president . . .at least for now. After Mr. Obama takes office, I'll give him a few months or so to get his feet wet before getting too critical, but be forewarned Mr. President elect , if you don't start kicking ass and taking names in a timely fashion - DaG will turn on you like apple cider left out in the sun.
DaG Out
Monday, November 3, 2008
As the day grows nearer I can't shake this sick feeling in my stomach. They're going to steal this one too. There is no doubt. I thought democracy had a chance when I was under the assumption that a mere 51 % of all votes were cast on e-voting machines but when I found out that 90% of all votes cast are counted by e-voting machines . . .the air went out of my sails.
Even though it seemed an insurmountable task I truly held out a sliver of hope when I realized that this election is bringing out huge numbers to the polls. Could it be possible that democracy will actually take place? The answer is an unequivocal "No." What we have today and have had since the 2000 election is in essence a poll tax. You may remember the poll tax from the old days in the south when white men couldn't lynch enough blacks to suppress their votes they devised a thing called the poll tax. This made it very difficult for all but the very successful blacks from voting. Back then you could count the number of wealthy blacks living in the south on one hand. Poor black folk couldn't afford to pay, white folks could so . . .(you see how this worked.) Eventually it was found to be unconstitutional and the Southern white man had to come up with a new scheme.
The new voter suppression scheme that has been in effect since 2000 is the lack of places to vote and the limited availability of voting machines and or ballots. This method has been extremely prevalent this election. While white upper middle class suburbia is simply a wash with polling places and voting machines (even if they are those damn e-machines) the inner city and less affluent areas (poor black folk) find themselves waiting in 3 to 5 hour lines at the far too scarce polling places with one or two working machines. Working people can not afford to take a day off to vote, wealthy people could take a week off if necessary. This is the 21st century's version of the poll tax.
Add to this the media's involvement with setting up the populace for the inevitable McCain win. The head lines over the week end and today have turned into McCain campaign advertisments. Calling him the "Under Dog" and reminding the readers how he could pull off the upset. Rather than focusing on all the voter suppression techniques being utilized this election, the corporate media is determined to make a stolen election seem legit. They are laying the ground work for the American voter to accept that McCain won fair and square.
There's not enough Maalox in the world to settle my stomach. The points I bring up are not some in depth, behind the scenes, in the dark recesses of some shadow government's back room. these things are out in the open. It's right under our very noses and it stinks!
DaG Out and very depressed
Even though it seemed an insurmountable task I truly held out a sliver of hope when I realized that this election is bringing out huge numbers to the polls. Could it be possible that democracy will actually take place? The answer is an unequivocal "No." What we have today and have had since the 2000 election is in essence a poll tax. You may remember the poll tax from the old days in the south when white men couldn't lynch enough blacks to suppress their votes they devised a thing called the poll tax. This made it very difficult for all but the very successful blacks from voting. Back then you could count the number of wealthy blacks living in the south on one hand. Poor black folk couldn't afford to pay, white folks could so . . .(you see how this worked.) Eventually it was found to be unconstitutional and the Southern white man had to come up with a new scheme.
The new voter suppression scheme that has been in effect since 2000 is the lack of places to vote and the limited availability of voting machines and or ballots. This method has been extremely prevalent this election. While white upper middle class suburbia is simply a wash with polling places and voting machines (even if they are those damn e-machines) the inner city and less affluent areas (poor black folk) find themselves waiting in 3 to 5 hour lines at the far too scarce polling places with one or two working machines. Working people can not afford to take a day off to vote, wealthy people could take a week off if necessary. This is the 21st century's version of the poll tax.
Add to this the media's involvement with setting up the populace for the inevitable McCain win. The head lines over the week end and today have turned into McCain campaign advertisments. Calling him the "Under Dog" and reminding the readers how he could pull off the upset. Rather than focusing on all the voter suppression techniques being utilized this election, the corporate media is determined to make a stolen election seem legit. They are laying the ground work for the American voter to accept that McCain won fair and square.
There's not enough Maalox in the world to settle my stomach. The points I bring up are not some in depth, behind the scenes, in the dark recesses of some shadow government's back room. these things are out in the open. It's right under our very noses and it stinks!
DaG Out and very depressed
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Rich get Richer The Poor . . .well you know
Summer of 2008 Exxon Mobile reported a record breaking 11.68 billion 2nd quarter profits. Today Exxon Mobile shattered that record when they reported 14.83 billion in 3rd quarter profits. Nice to see that some industries aren't affected by this financial meltdown and impending deep recession, huh. Remind me again why we need to offer tax incentives and government subsidies to these people?
I have a problem with the republican slogan, "Country First". Palin tells us that if she and McCain are elected, these words will be printed on every page of the Federal employee hand book. It seems to me that a lot of bad things can be done to free thinking people under the umbrella of "Country First". In the past, slogans like this that remind government employees that the individual citizen is far less important that the country and the party that rules it. I'm reminded of John Lennon's "Imagine". My choice of a slogan printed in the handbook would be "We the people First".
Here's a Jefferson quote the Left often uses: "A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference."
Here's one the Right is fond of: "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."
Here's the one I like: "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. "
Our fore fathers, like the Romans before them feared the 51% and didn't think it was a good idea to give the unwashed, uneducated masses too much power or "say" in their own governing so, they devised something called a representative democracy. The unwashed and uneducated could vote for someone they felt best looked after their interests. Just in case that individual didn't stay true to his constituency, we have the three separate branches as a sort of check and balance. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. No one branch has controls the power.
No one branch nor one party, however it may not be that way anymore. Over the past 6 years the Judicial (the Supreme Court) had two new appointees, both staunch conservatives, giving the deciding vote to Head Justice Roberts. Justice Roberts, according to a 16-page financial disclosure form Roberts submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his net worth was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in stock holdings. I don't have a problem with Roberts earning a 6 million his 50th birthday, but I do have a problem with the fact that he held positions in Republican administrations in the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of the White House Counsel. He's a wealthy Republican insider that has defended big business on several occasions when he was a practicing attorney. And most recently upheld Exxon's right to gouge billions in profits from the very people whose tax dollars subsidize that company.
Let me just wrap this one up with one more Jefferson quote: "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor. "
DaG Out
I have a problem with the republican slogan, "Country First". Palin tells us that if she and McCain are elected, these words will be printed on every page of the Federal employee hand book. It seems to me that a lot of bad things can be done to free thinking people under the umbrella of "Country First". In the past, slogans like this that remind government employees that the individual citizen is far less important that the country and the party that rules it. I'm reminded of John Lennon's "Imagine". My choice of a slogan printed in the handbook would be "We the people First".
Here's a Jefferson quote the Left often uses: "A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference."
Here's one the Right is fond of: "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."
Here's the one I like: "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. "
Our fore fathers, like the Romans before them feared the 51% and didn't think it was a good idea to give the unwashed, uneducated masses too much power or "say" in their own governing so, they devised something called a representative democracy. The unwashed and uneducated could vote for someone they felt best looked after their interests. Just in case that individual didn't stay true to his constituency, we have the three separate branches as a sort of check and balance. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. No one branch has controls the power.
No one branch nor one party, however it may not be that way anymore. Over the past 6 years the Judicial (the Supreme Court) had two new appointees, both staunch conservatives, giving the deciding vote to Head Justice Roberts. Justice Roberts, according to a 16-page financial disclosure form Roberts submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his net worth was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in stock holdings. I don't have a problem with Roberts earning a 6 million his 50th birthday, but I do have a problem with the fact that he held positions in Republican administrations in the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of the White House Counsel. He's a wealthy Republican insider that has defended big business on several occasions when he was a practicing attorney. And most recently upheld Exxon's right to gouge billions in profits from the very people whose tax dollars subsidize that company.
Let me just wrap this one up with one more Jefferson quote: "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor. "
DaG Out
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thank you uncle Jimmy for this FWD
Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. Now we realize that there are many of you who vote blue but, find yourself living in a red state. Here's your chance to leave all that frustration behind. For a limited time, New California will accept refugees from the red states as long as they promise to value education, an informed electorate, and demand real news from the 4th estate. It also helps grease the wheels if you wear a button that's says "Sean Hannity is a pig". However, if you choose to not take advantage of this one time offer and remain in those red states:
You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you. Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico
Peace out,
DaG and the Blue States
Note: The above post is satire and not to be taken seriously. I am not a secessionist, that's Todd Palin's bag.
If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. Now we realize that there are many of you who vote blue but, find yourself living in a red state. Here's your chance to leave all that frustration behind. For a limited time, New California will accept refugees from the red states as long as they promise to value education, an informed electorate, and demand real news from the 4th estate. It also helps grease the wheels if you wear a button that's says "Sean Hannity is a pig". However, if you choose to not take advantage of this one time offer and remain in those red states:
You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you. Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico
Peace out,
DaG and the Blue States
Note: The above post is satire and not to be taken seriously. I am not a secessionist, that's Todd Palin's bag.
Double Standard
If you are one of those who do not think that we are being manipulated the powerful elite: I give you oil prices below $65. Weren't we told just last week that "Drill Baby Drill! was the best way to help bring down the price at the pump? Today I saw gasoline for $1.93 a gallon. Now, we haven't discovered vast new supplies of crude to explain this, Opec hasn't flooded the market, and the oil companies didn't start feeling guilty about gouging us over the last year. Nope, the only thing that has changed is those speculators that artificially pushed up the price per barrell are in the process of receiving nearly a trillion dollars from the United States treasury. Oh yeah, and the election is next week.
$700 + billion of your and my money needed to bailout failed financial institutions, of which $70 billion of it went to pay million dollar bonuses to the executives, $440,000 for AIG executive vacations, $250 billion more given to banks to help fund the buying out and mergers of smaller banks. A move that will ensure less competition among the banking industry, costing you and me more in bank services and interest rates. $25 billion for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Is there no credit limit to the tax payer backed credit cards? Is there no interest rate? No APR? Where can I apply for this card?
Haven't we been told that we live in a capitalist society? Isn't the market place supposed to determine the success or failure of businesses? Why is the double standard being applied here? When a democrat encourages congress to cut checks for unemployment benefits. health programs, or welfare, it's called 'socialism" and "redistribution of wealth." These democrat Marxist want to take money out of the wallets of hard working Joe the Plumber and spread it to those who don't even pay taxes.
It's not the case when the Repubs want the checks cut. Oh no, McCain defended the bailout weekend on "Meet the Press" saying, "Because we are in a financial crisis of monumental proportions. The role of government is to intervene when a nation is in crisis."
Senator McCain, doesn't call it socialism or the redistribution of wealth, or even seem to be concerned about his latest adopted son, "Joe the plumber". Doesn't senator McCain realize that Joe's hard earned cash is being given to millionaires who have exercised poor judgement in the managing of trillions of dollars?!!
If American car manufacturers are in danger of going under, a large part of it is because of the unfairness of no tariff imports and partly because they are not modernizing their designs to keep up with the changing times . . . .how is giving them our tax dollars going to do anything but keep them a float for another year or so? As far as I can see there is no mention of any changes being made in their operations . . . only the infusion of my tax dollars.
Forgive me if I repeat myself in covering the topics of these blogs but, the ridiculousness of the way our country is being governed, financed, and manipulated has me in such a tizzy that I either have to vent in these posts or start a revolution! I'm just too old to start a revolution. Revolutions are a young man's game. Now if any of you more youthful disenfranchised patriots want to start one, I'd be more than happy to offer my services as a speech writer, protest sign painter, and I'll supply the duct tape to bind any captured P.O.W.s like maybe Paulsen, Bernanke, Greenspan, Frank, Dodd, Bush and anybody in congress that voted for the bail out . . . including McCain and Obama. (I'll suggest that we let Obama go if he promises to never do it again. Can't let McCain go because he's a repeat offender.. . remember the Keating 5)
DaG Out
$700 + billion of your and my money needed to bailout failed financial institutions, of which $70 billion of it went to pay million dollar bonuses to the executives, $440,000 for AIG executive vacations, $250 billion more given to banks to help fund the buying out and mergers of smaller banks. A move that will ensure less competition among the banking industry, costing you and me more in bank services and interest rates. $25 billion for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Is there no credit limit to the tax payer backed credit cards? Is there no interest rate? No APR? Where can I apply for this card?
Haven't we been told that we live in a capitalist society? Isn't the market place supposed to determine the success or failure of businesses? Why is the double standard being applied here? When a democrat encourages congress to cut checks for unemployment benefits. health programs, or welfare, it's called 'socialism" and "redistribution of wealth." These democrat Marxist want to take money out of the wallets of hard working Joe the Plumber and spread it to those who don't even pay taxes.
It's not the case when the Repubs want the checks cut. Oh no, McCain defended the bailout weekend on "Meet the Press" saying, "Because we are in a financial crisis of monumental proportions. The role of government is to intervene when a nation is in crisis."
Senator McCain, doesn't call it socialism or the redistribution of wealth, or even seem to be concerned about his latest adopted son, "Joe the plumber". Doesn't senator McCain realize that Joe's hard earned cash is being given to millionaires who have exercised poor judgement in the managing of trillions of dollars?!!
If American car manufacturers are in danger of going under, a large part of it is because of the unfairness of no tariff imports and partly because they are not modernizing their designs to keep up with the changing times . . . .how is giving them our tax dollars going to do anything but keep them a float for another year or so? As far as I can see there is no mention of any changes being made in their operations . . . only the infusion of my tax dollars.
Forgive me if I repeat myself in covering the topics of these blogs but, the ridiculousness of the way our country is being governed, financed, and manipulated has me in such a tizzy that I either have to vent in these posts or start a revolution! I'm just too old to start a revolution. Revolutions are a young man's game. Now if any of you more youthful disenfranchised patriots want to start one, I'd be more than happy to offer my services as a speech writer, protest sign painter, and I'll supply the duct tape to bind any captured P.O.W.s like maybe Paulsen, Bernanke, Greenspan, Frank, Dodd, Bush and anybody in congress that voted for the bail out . . . including McCain and Obama. (I'll suggest that we let Obama go if he promises to never do it again. Can't let McCain go because he's a repeat offender.. . remember the Keating 5)
DaG Out
Monday, October 27, 2008
Misguided Fears
When I read that as many as 7 million registered voters have been purged from the swing states, it became apparent that senator Obama need not worry about the shadow government knocking him off. Those power brokers in the military industrial complex who have enjoyed substantial profits, unfettered access to the public coffer, and no bid contracts under the current administration won't have to resort to violence to keep Obama out of the white house. They've got the e-voting machines and the on going voter purging in their arsenal. The termination option is no longer necessary to prevent your opponent from winning.
By DAN FROSCH
Published: October 24, 2008
A national voter group filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Coffman alleging that as many as 30,000 voters had been purged from the rolls in Colorado.
CNN.com has a story up now about up to 50,000 new voters in Georgia having been been purged (even after being informed they were registered, and almost certainly most of them erroneously), with insufficient time to correct the mistake.
A lawsuit has been filed over Georgia's mismatch system, and the state is also under fire for requesting Social Security records for verification checks on about 2 million voters -- more requests than any other state.
In Florida, election officials found that 75 percent of about 20,000 voter registration applications from a three-week period in September were mismatched due to typographical and administrative errors. Florida's Republican secretary of state ordered the computer match system implemented in early September.
This doesn't mean that senator O doesn't have to worry about the lone nut or the skin heads or the KKK but, it doesn't appear that he need fear a government conspiracy type attempt. This is really good news. Lone nuts, skin heads, and the KKK have to get past law enforcement officers and the secret service. Those inbred racists rarely if ever have the intelligence or planning ability to pull off a child's birthday party let alone an assassination plot. The military industrial complex operatives not only have the intel, strategy, and access. They have trained sharp shooters can knock a fly off of a pile of shit at 300 yards. Kinda sucks that the integrity of this country's election process has been corrupted and violated like a teen age runaway turning tricks the streets of some big city, but it beats taking a life.
DaG out
By DAN FROSCH
Published: October 24, 2008
A national voter group filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Coffman alleging that as many as 30,000 voters had been purged from the rolls in Colorado.
CNN.com has a story up now about up to 50,000 new voters in Georgia having been been purged (even after being informed they were registered, and almost certainly most of them erroneously), with insufficient time to correct the mistake.
A lawsuit has been filed over Georgia's mismatch system, and the state is also under fire for requesting Social Security records for verification checks on about 2 million voters -- more requests than any other state.
In Florida, election officials found that 75 percent of about 20,000 voter registration applications from a three-week period in September were mismatched due to typographical and administrative errors. Florida's Republican secretary of state ordered the computer match system implemented in early September.
This doesn't mean that senator O doesn't have to worry about the lone nut or the skin heads or the KKK but, it doesn't appear that he need fear a government conspiracy type attempt. This is really good news. Lone nuts, skin heads, and the KKK have to get past law enforcement officers and the secret service. Those inbred racists rarely if ever have the intelligence or planning ability to pull off a child's birthday party let alone an assassination plot. The military industrial complex operatives not only have the intel, strategy, and access. They have trained sharp shooters can knock a fly off of a pile of shit at 300 yards. Kinda sucks that the integrity of this country's election process has been corrupted and violated like a teen age runaway turning tricks the streets of some big city, but it beats taking a life.
DaG out
Friday, October 24, 2008
Open letter to senator Obama
Dear Senator Obama,
I would like to take this opportunity to offer you my friendship and to thank you . . . for a number of reasons. First the offer of friendship: While it's true we have never before met, I think you should know that we could become great buds. There are people that I had never before met who became my friends. They don't have half as much in common with me as you do. I mean you're a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration . . . I'm a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration! Your mother was white and your father was black. . . . my mother was white and my father had black friends! Your father was a goat herder . . . my father had a goatee! Your parents were sixties liberals . . . my parents were sixties liberals! Your parents divorced when you were a kid . . . my parents divorced when I was a kid! You like to shoot hoops . . I like to shoot hoops! You graduated at the top of your class at Harvard Law school . . . I went to class and graduated from High School! Your wife's name is Michele . . . my girlfriend's middle name is Michele! You have two kids . . .I have two kids! You're running for president of the United States. . . I ran for student council in Ben Geyer Junior High! I mean it's like were practically the same person!
What you have accomplished in 47 years on this planet is simply remarkable. At a time when mixed race marriages were looked upon with disapproving eyes in this country, your mother and father brought you into this world. Consider yourself lucky to have spent your teen years in Hawaii during the 70's. Some folks here in "Main Street" USA could've made it kind of tough on a kid of mixed race.
When you were still in diapers your father left you and your mother and I bet times were tough. Your mom eventually hooked up with another guy who became your step dad and moved you and your mom to Indonesia. That had to be wild, a 6 or 7 year old born in Hawaii now finds himself living in Indonesia. Just 4 or 5 years later you're sent to live with your grandmother. Again, that must have been very emotional for you as well. Turned out to be a very good thing because like your mother, your grandma valued education and continued fostering your thirst for knowledge.
Since I was very young, I have dreamed of a country where race no longer mattered. Actually I dream of a world where it no longer matters. Much like the comedian George Carlin I want men and women of every race to fuck the shit out of each other so we'll all be of one race. The future race will be caramel colored and it'll be called the human race. Then maybe we can get on with the really important things. Okay now that the groundwork is laid let get to the thanking. Thank you for being so studious and acquiring such a thirst for knowledge. Getting into Harvard is an accomplishment in itself. Graduating at the very top of your class from Harvard Law is cause for a month long celebration with dancing girls and controlled substances. Then to put off a highly lucrative career in order to help those who haven't the clout to help themselves put you right up there with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (. .oops, let's not go there.)
Mr. Obama and I soon hope to say President Obama, not enough can be said about the way you have inspired an electorate without negative campaigning. While your opponents and political machine slings more mud than can be found at the bottom of the Mississippi Delta you remain focused on the issues. When you're opponents result to rhetoric designed to evoke violent responses from the crowd, you are quick to quell even the "booing" of your counterpart. Any truly impartial observer sees and hears intelligent answers sans the buzz words and political talking points when you are questioned. How refreshing!
You sir are a prime example of a leader who can keep his cool when all about you are losing theirs. Credit where credit is due . . . never thought a democratic candidate stood a chance in the race for the white house without fighting fire with fire. You've proved me and Thom Hartman (author of Breaking the Code) wrong. If the fix isn't in and the election were held today. . . you would be the next president of these United States. That would be one of the most prideful moments of my lifetime. The birth of my youngest son. My oldest son choosing to take my last name. My mom yelling at a spurned girlfriend of mine who thought my mom would be upset if she knew that I was dating a Hispanic girl. Mom gave the cliche' liberal response, "I don't care if she's pink, purple or polka dotted!!" (even though Mom hated polka dotted people) If this election is stolen from you, it won't rob me of the pride I feel knowing that a huge portion of this country has socially evolved, conquered old prejudices and voted for an intelligent progressive for president. And now my sons are grown and both have voted for you, even my crotchety old libertarian/anarchist Dad is voting for you. Because of you Senator Obama people from all walks of life have taken an unprecedented interest in our political process.
Now this may sound racists but it's not meant that way: I'm not so naive' as to think that a large number of black voters are voting for you just based on your skin color. While I sincerely believe that reverse racism is just as wrong as racism their is one humongous difference here. The pendulum of equality has been on the white man's side for so very long. In order for it to settle at a truly neutral place, it may need to swing the other side for awhile. So, if the brothers and the sisters want to vote for someone because of their skin color. Let it be. More power to them! After all, white politicians who don't agree with the KKK manifest, benefit by the votes the Klan members cast.
You got balls senator! Not since John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn took on Ned Pepper and his gang in "True Grit" have I seen such bravery. Knowing you will be the target of every white supremacist organization, simple minded hate filled FOX NEWS watching red neck, and shadow government power broker, you entered this race. I'm not a religious man but, I pray for your safety everyday. It would be such a horrible demoralizing and tragic event should another progressive voice be silenced like those in the sixties.
So, in closing . . .what'd'ya say? You and Michele pack up the kids this summer and come over for a swim and I'll grill us some steaks. Seriously, I gotta a really nice gas grill and I know how to use it.
DaG Out
I would like to take this opportunity to offer you my friendship and to thank you . . . for a number of reasons. First the offer of friendship: While it's true we have never before met, I think you should know that we could become great buds. There are people that I had never before met who became my friends. They don't have half as much in common with me as you do. I mean you're a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration . . . I'm a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration! Your mother was white and your father was black. . . . my mother was white and my father had black friends! Your father was a goat herder . . . my father had a goatee! Your parents were sixties liberals . . . my parents were sixties liberals! Your parents divorced when you were a kid . . . my parents divorced when I was a kid! You like to shoot hoops . . I like to shoot hoops! You graduated at the top of your class at Harvard Law school . . . I went to class and graduated from High School! Your wife's name is Michele . . . my girlfriend's middle name is Michele! You have two kids . . .I have two kids! You're running for president of the United States. . . I ran for student council in Ben Geyer Junior High! I mean it's like were practically the same person!
What you have accomplished in 47 years on this planet is simply remarkable. At a time when mixed race marriages were looked upon with disapproving eyes in this country, your mother and father brought you into this world. Consider yourself lucky to have spent your teen years in Hawaii during the 70's. Some folks here in "Main Street" USA could've made it kind of tough on a kid of mixed race.
When you were still in diapers your father left you and your mother and I bet times were tough. Your mom eventually hooked up with another guy who became your step dad and moved you and your mom to Indonesia. That had to be wild, a 6 or 7 year old born in Hawaii now finds himself living in Indonesia. Just 4 or 5 years later you're sent to live with your grandmother. Again, that must have been very emotional for you as well. Turned out to be a very good thing because like your mother, your grandma valued education and continued fostering your thirst for knowledge.
Since I was very young, I have dreamed of a country where race no longer mattered. Actually I dream of a world where it no longer matters. Much like the comedian George Carlin I want men and women of every race to fuck the shit out of each other so we'll all be of one race. The future race will be caramel colored and it'll be called the human race. Then maybe we can get on with the really important things. Okay now that the groundwork is laid let get to the thanking. Thank you for being so studious and acquiring such a thirst for knowledge. Getting into Harvard is an accomplishment in itself. Graduating at the very top of your class from Harvard Law is cause for a month long celebration with dancing girls and controlled substances. Then to put off a highly lucrative career in order to help those who haven't the clout to help themselves put you right up there with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (. .oops, let's not go there.)
Mr. Obama and I soon hope to say President Obama, not enough can be said about the way you have inspired an electorate without negative campaigning. While your opponents and political machine slings more mud than can be found at the bottom of the Mississippi Delta you remain focused on the issues. When you're opponents result to rhetoric designed to evoke violent responses from the crowd, you are quick to quell even the "booing" of your counterpart. Any truly impartial observer sees and hears intelligent answers sans the buzz words and political talking points when you are questioned. How refreshing!
You sir are a prime example of a leader who can keep his cool when all about you are losing theirs. Credit where credit is due . . . never thought a democratic candidate stood a chance in the race for the white house without fighting fire with fire. You've proved me and Thom Hartman (author of Breaking the Code) wrong. If the fix isn't in and the election were held today. . . you would be the next president of these United States. That would be one of the most prideful moments of my lifetime. The birth of my youngest son. My oldest son choosing to take my last name. My mom yelling at a spurned girlfriend of mine who thought my mom would be upset if she knew that I was dating a Hispanic girl. Mom gave the cliche' liberal response, "I don't care if she's pink, purple or polka dotted!!" (even though Mom hated polka dotted people) If this election is stolen from you, it won't rob me of the pride I feel knowing that a huge portion of this country has socially evolved, conquered old prejudices and voted for an intelligent progressive for president. And now my sons are grown and both have voted for you, even my crotchety old libertarian/anarchist Dad is voting for you. Because of you Senator Obama people from all walks of life have taken an unprecedented interest in our political process.
Now this may sound racists but it's not meant that way: I'm not so naive' as to think that a large number of black voters are voting for you just based on your skin color. While I sincerely believe that reverse racism is just as wrong as racism their is one humongous difference here. The pendulum of equality has been on the white man's side for so very long. In order for it to settle at a truly neutral place, it may need to swing the other side for awhile. So, if the brothers and the sisters want to vote for someone because of their skin color. Let it be. More power to them! After all, white politicians who don't agree with the KKK manifest, benefit by the votes the Klan members cast.
You got balls senator! Not since John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn took on Ned Pepper and his gang in "True Grit" have I seen such bravery. Knowing you will be the target of every white supremacist organization, simple minded hate filled FOX NEWS watching red neck, and shadow government power broker, you entered this race. I'm not a religious man but, I pray for your safety everyday. It would be such a horrible demoralizing and tragic event should another progressive voice be silenced like those in the sixties.
So, in closing . . .what'd'ya say? You and Michele pack up the kids this summer and come over for a swim and I'll grill us some steaks. Seriously, I gotta a really nice gas grill and I know how to use it.
DaG Out
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
That's all I can stands cuz I can't stands no more!
Will somebody please tell Mrs. Sarah Palin that small town America isn't the only place hard working, patriotic, real Americans can be found. Just because someone doesn't agree with your political message doesn't mean that person isn't a real American. On the contrary, the fact that someone exercises their 1st Amendment rights and voices a dissenting opinion is as real as it gets, sister! Those who march lock step to the beat of your divisive rhetoric drum are far more like the brown shirts of Germany in 1934, than real Americans of the 21st century. How horrible it is for the children of this country to witness the corruption of one of the greatest gifts it has to offer, the peaceful transfer of power through democratic held elections. What used to be heated political contests of vision and ideas has been hijacked by the Right and turned into political civil war. (I'm not using the term "civil war" as hyperbole) Right Wing Republicans have claimed Christianity, Patriotism, and the American way as teir own. And their not sharing! According to the new doctrine of the right, it's "Us" against "Them". Echoed in the words of W, "You're either with us or against us." Damn, that's divisive, counter productive, stupid, and dangerous. It didn't used to be this way, Kennedy sought the advise of both Repubs and Dems, knowing that both parties loved their country. You could disagree with each other's policies and ideas but, you didn't accuse someone of being dangerous or evil or not real Americans if they belonged to the other party. ( Unless your name was Joseph) This path we're heading down is going to lead us into a very dark place. Do we really want to go there? Questioning patriotism or loyalty to the country is the protocol of a fascist society and not a democracy.
Now having said all that, attacking those highly paid pseudo pundits and talk show hosts is absolutely fair game. Insulting these guys and gals in no way harms democracy as I don't call into question their loyalty. It's obvious to me that they bow to the almighty dollar.
If you wonder why senator McCain finds himself talking down supporters who say they fear an Obama presidency, it's because of the junk yard dogs like Hannity continually try to equate a Democrat or a Liberal with someone who is A-moral, unAmerican, and a terrorist sympathizer. He has said repeatedly that, "Americans have a lot to fear if Obama becomes president."
I actually heard a local Right wing talk show host say that he knew for a fact that George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Sarah Palin love this country more than Barack Obama. It was said with great confidence. This guy needs to resign from the radio gig and go to work as a mentalist . . .apparently he can read minds. Can you say thought police?
Let's not forget the grand daddy of all the right wing wind bags, the fat drug addicted racist ass clown Rush Limbaugh. Rush told his sheep (oops sorry I meant listeners) that Obama is an Arab and not an African American. What a bigot! Obama is not an Arab, nor is he of Arab descent and even if he was who gives a shit?! Interestingly enough Rush just this week after the Colin Powell endorsement told everyone that the only reason Powell endorsed Obama was because of race. He was emphatic about it. I guess he forgot that he told everybody that Obama was black. Maybe Rush thinks General Powell is an Arab as well.
I thought the 2004 presidential race was as bad as it was going to get in this country. The swift boating of a John Kerry, a Viet Nam Vet who received a purple heart mocked at the Repub convention with the band aids. I was wrong this campaign takes the cake.
McCain campaign rep and congress woman Barbara Bachman re-invokes McCarthyism with her comment on last night's edition of HARDBALL. Ms Bachman believes that Obama may hold anti-American views and wishes that the news media would to do an in depth expose' on those in congress who hold those same "Un- American" views. Are you kidding me? I thought this crap went the way of the Edsel. The bright side: Since her ill fated appearance on HARDBALL, the RNC has pulled all her advertising financing for re-election bid. Her Democratic opponent, who was down in the polls, has received nearly a million dollars in campaign donations and has closed the gap. The race is up for grabs. It is to laugh
I just want to finish up with the hypocrisy of Mrs. small town values. I'm not calling into question her patriotism or loyalty merely her hypocrisy.
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writers
11:19 PM CDT, October 21, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.
According to The Politico, Palin is living large on the Republican dime.
"The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August," reports The Politico.
I seem to remember a huge uproar from the right when it was reported that John Edwards got $400.00 hair cuts.
Palin loves to invoke 'Joe the Plumber" as she accuses Obama for his socialist ideas saying things like, . . .with the financial crisis we find ourselves in, this is no time for socialistic ideas like the
redistribution of wealth. I paraphrased the statement.
One of Gov Palin's accomplishments was to put higher taxes on the oil companies in Alaska in 2008 so she could generate revenue for the State. Jacking up the price per barrel for those of us in the lower 48. She then distributed this money to Alaska's citizens in the form of individual rebate checks worth $3,269.00 apiece. Even those non hard working unemployed lazy welfare recipients received a check thanks to good old socialist hating Sarah.
Sarah Palin fires up her supporters questioning Obama's connection to William Ayers saying, --"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
Here's a few quotes I found: "My government is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand." "When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion." "The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damn flag."
Did William Ayers spew that hatred for the United States of America? Nope. The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. The very same secessionist party that her husband Todd was a member of as recently as belonged to for seven years and as recently as 2002. In 1993 the AIP made a deal with Iran in which Iran was going to sponsor AIP as a sovereign nation. You don't hear a lot about that terrorist connection do you? Ms Pit Bull with lipstick made a video and sent it to the AIP convention earlier this year and told the members to, "Keep up the good work."
And last but not least, the Vice President is not in charge of the United States senate!!!! If elected you will not have the authority to do anything in the senate other than voting to break a tie!! That's it!!! You don't get to get in there and help write legislation or policy changes!!!! Please, please, please, read the constitution just in case you find yourself a heart beat away from the presidency.
DaG Out
Now having said all that, attacking those highly paid pseudo pundits and talk show hosts is absolutely fair game. Insulting these guys and gals in no way harms democracy as I don't call into question their loyalty. It's obvious to me that they bow to the almighty dollar.
If you wonder why senator McCain finds himself talking down supporters who say they fear an Obama presidency, it's because of the junk yard dogs like Hannity continually try to equate a Democrat or a Liberal with someone who is A-moral, unAmerican, and a terrorist sympathizer. He has said repeatedly that, "Americans have a lot to fear if Obama becomes president."
I actually heard a local Right wing talk show host say that he knew for a fact that George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Sarah Palin love this country more than Barack Obama. It was said with great confidence. This guy needs to resign from the radio gig and go to work as a mentalist . . .apparently he can read minds. Can you say thought police?
Let's not forget the grand daddy of all the right wing wind bags, the fat drug addicted racist ass clown Rush Limbaugh. Rush told his sheep (oops sorry I meant listeners) that Obama is an Arab and not an African American. What a bigot! Obama is not an Arab, nor is he of Arab descent and even if he was who gives a shit?! Interestingly enough Rush just this week after the Colin Powell endorsement told everyone that the only reason Powell endorsed Obama was because of race. He was emphatic about it. I guess he forgot that he told everybody that Obama was black. Maybe Rush thinks General Powell is an Arab as well.
I thought the 2004 presidential race was as bad as it was going to get in this country. The swift boating of a John Kerry, a Viet Nam Vet who received a purple heart mocked at the Repub convention with the band aids. I was wrong this campaign takes the cake.
McCain campaign rep and congress woman Barbara Bachman re-invokes McCarthyism with her comment on last night's edition of HARDBALL. Ms Bachman believes that Obama may hold anti-American views and wishes that the news media would to do an in depth expose' on those in congress who hold those same "Un- American" views. Are you kidding me? I thought this crap went the way of the Edsel. The bright side: Since her ill fated appearance on HARDBALL, the RNC has pulled all her advertising financing for re-election bid. Her Democratic opponent, who was down in the polls, has received nearly a million dollars in campaign donations and has closed the gap. The race is up for grabs. It is to laugh
I just want to finish up with the hypocrisy of Mrs. small town values. I'm not calling into question her patriotism or loyalty merely her hypocrisy.
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writers
11:19 PM CDT, October 21, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.
According to The Politico, Palin is living large on the Republican dime.
"The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August," reports The Politico.
I seem to remember a huge uproar from the right when it was reported that John Edwards got $400.00 hair cuts.
Palin loves to invoke 'Joe the Plumber" as she accuses Obama for his socialist ideas saying things like, . . .with the financial crisis we find ourselves in, this is no time for socialistic ideas like the
redistribution of wealth. I paraphrased the statement.
One of Gov Palin's accomplishments was to put higher taxes on the oil companies in Alaska in 2008 so she could generate revenue for the State. Jacking up the price per barrel for those of us in the lower 48. She then distributed this money to Alaska's citizens in the form of individual rebate checks worth $3,269.00 apiece. Even those non hard working unemployed lazy welfare recipients received a check thanks to good old socialist hating Sarah.
Sarah Palin fires up her supporters questioning Obama's connection to William Ayers saying, --"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
Here's a few quotes I found: "My government is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand." "When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion." "The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damn flag."
Did William Ayers spew that hatred for the United States of America? Nope. The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. The very same secessionist party that her husband Todd was a member of as recently as belonged to for seven years and as recently as 2002. In 1993 the AIP made a deal with Iran in which Iran was going to sponsor AIP as a sovereign nation. You don't hear a lot about that terrorist connection do you? Ms Pit Bull with lipstick made a video and sent it to the AIP convention earlier this year and told the members to, "Keep up the good work."
And last but not least, the Vice President is not in charge of the United States senate!!!! If elected you will not have the authority to do anything in the senate other than voting to break a tie!! That's it!!! You don't get to get in there and help write legislation or policy changes!!!! Please, please, please, read the constitution just in case you find yourself a heart beat away from the presidency.
DaG Out
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
It's Over, They've Already Stolen 2008
Early voting has begun in several states. It is obvious to me that the fix is in. From Deibold, Premier, and ES & S voting machines flipping votes to massive voter purgings in the swing states, to the "Stepford Wives" election officials and poll workers repeating , "Everything is fine. Everything is alright. There is no need for concern. Have a nice day.", as more and more voters complain of machine errors.
Example #1. October 18, 2008
More W.Va. voters say machines are switching votes - In six cases, Democratic votes flipped to GOP
By Paul J Nyden
Staff Writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week. This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".
Not one voting machine's error has ever been in favor of a Democratic candidate. Not one!!
Example #2 Ohio Secretary of State's website has hacked. This October surprise seems aimed to harrass and intimidate. The bigger concern is that the attacks could threaten sensitive records and functions of the site. And the SOS is taking precautions. In a press release Monday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced that "the state website has been set in a static mode with limited functionality as a precaution." The press release also cites "denial of service" attacks against both phone and email, and which include threats of harm and or death, as well as a suspicious package.
On Oct. 16,2008 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked the United States Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of an estimated 200,000 Ohioans. Because of a politically-motivated lawsuit, eligible Ohio voters could be forced to use provisional ballots if a lower court’s divided decision stands. (Provisional ballots are rarely if ever counted) The State's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ms. Brunner. The decision by the full court repudiates the lower court's ruling siding with the Ohio Republican Party and ordering Brunner to verify records of about 200,000 of 666,000 new voters this year whose driver's license and Social Security records don't match information in other government databases.
Example #3 October 9, 2008 In response to the New York Times article reporting that thousands of voters have been purged from the voting rolls, The Colorado Secretary of State's office says potentially ineligible voters have been put on "canceled status," which it says isn't the same as taking them off rolls. The republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman adds, "Voters who have been wrongly put on cancelled status can cast provisional ballots, which will be counted if they are found to be eligible."
Mr. Secretary, Whether you put them on "canceled status" or "purged" is splitting hairs, you say potato and I say potato . . .either way these people's votes will not be counted! You are systematically diminishing the number of voters in your state, the majority of which are Democratic!!
Example #4 The "Help America Vote Act" passed into law in 2002 is another example of deception in politics. Much like "The Clean Air Act" that removed the restrictions on toxic emissions placed on businesses during the Clinton administration. The "No Child Left Behind" Act that in fact made less funding available to children's health and medical programs and totally eviscerated the "Head Start" program that helped feed under privileged kids. The Help America Vote Act actually makes it more difficult for a citizen to vote. Due to the debacle in Florida in 2000, this act mandates that all states and localities upgrade many aspects of their election procedures, including their voting machines, registration processes and poll worker training. The specifics of implementation have been left up to each state, which allows for varying interpretations of the Federal law. Those states with Republican Secretaries of State have very successfully used this act to suppress the votes of Democrats.
This lousy Act mandates the purchasing of electronic voting machines that are now in 90 percent of all the voting districts. The voting technology business is dominated by Republican-leaning U.S. and foreign corporations. Today, two Republican-controlled corporations, Election Systems and Software ( ES&S) and Diebold Voting Systems, and a British-based company, Sequoia, control about 90% of the vote count in the U.S.. (Up from 60% just 8 years ago) Many other corporations are also involved in the elections industry. Meanwhile, the long history of exit polling accurately predicting election outcomes has mysteriously become unreliable over the past 8 years. In every curious incident the Republican candidate won. There is no federal agency that has regulatory authority over the elections industry. There are no government standards or restrictions on who can sell and service voting machines and systems. Foreigners, convicted criminals, office holders, political candidates, and news media organizations can and do own these companies.
This is the last blog entry on the evils of the electronic voting. I've devoted far too many posts to this abomination and it's time to address other issues. Let me just tie this up in a nice neat little pissed of bow: Let's just suppose that you bought a computer and every time you entered the Disney web site . . . up popped Milf Hunter.com. Oh, and by the way the computers were made by a company owned by Larry Flynt and Ron Jeremy. How long would it take for congress to demand a recall? What if every time you used your universal remote to change channels and when you pushed the numbers for FOX news . . .up popped MSNBC. Then you find out that Chris Matthews owned stock that universal remote company? You see my point here? It would be the headline of every newspaper and the lead story on every news program. (except MSNBC of course) It astounds me that the Dems in congress allow this monopoly of the instruments of our democracy to go unchallenged. What am I missing here? Do I need to revisit my conspiracy theory that there is only one party and we the people are merely given the illusion of choice? I hope not but, the closer we get to election day, the more election tampering is taking place. It's time for printed receipts so a voter has indisputable proof of who he or she voted for. It's time for voter notification if they've been purged from the voting list. It's time for a moratorium on voter purging less than 90 days out from an election. Voter I.D and registration cross checking needs to be streamlined. If a car dealer, can verify a person's address, social security number, checking account, and credit rating in a timely manner, why can't state election officials? I have such a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we' re gonna wake up on November 5th and see that they've stolen another one. I hope I'm wrong, because if that happens I'm taking it to the streets where I'll get the shit kicked out of me by some police officer in riot gear or by someone from the 3rd infantry's 1st brigade.
DaG Out
Example #1. October 18, 2008
More W.Va. voters say machines are switching votes - In six cases, Democratic votes flipped to GOP
By Paul J Nyden
Staff Writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week. This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".
Not one voting machine's error has ever been in favor of a Democratic candidate. Not one!!
Example #2 Ohio Secretary of State's website has hacked. This October surprise seems aimed to harrass and intimidate. The bigger concern is that the attacks could threaten sensitive records and functions of the site. And the SOS is taking precautions. In a press release Monday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced that "the state website has been set in a static mode with limited functionality as a precaution." The press release also cites "denial of service" attacks against both phone and email, and which include threats of harm and or death, as well as a suspicious package.
On Oct. 16,2008 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked the United States Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of an estimated 200,000 Ohioans. Because of a politically-motivated lawsuit, eligible Ohio voters could be forced to use provisional ballots if a lower court’s divided decision stands. (Provisional ballots are rarely if ever counted) The State's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ms. Brunner. The decision by the full court repudiates the lower court's ruling siding with the Ohio Republican Party and ordering Brunner to verify records of about 200,000 of 666,000 new voters this year whose driver's license and Social Security records don't match information in other government databases.
Example #3 October 9, 2008 In response to the New York Times article reporting that thousands of voters have been purged from the voting rolls, The Colorado Secretary of State's office says potentially ineligible voters have been put on "canceled status," which it says isn't the same as taking them off rolls. The republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman adds, "Voters who have been wrongly put on cancelled status can cast provisional ballots, which will be counted if they are found to be eligible."
Mr. Secretary, Whether you put them on "canceled status" or "purged" is splitting hairs, you say potato and I say potato . . .either way these people's votes will not be counted! You are systematically diminishing the number of voters in your state, the majority of which are Democratic!!
Example #4 The "Help America Vote Act" passed into law in 2002 is another example of deception in politics. Much like "The Clean Air Act" that removed the restrictions on toxic emissions placed on businesses during the Clinton administration. The "No Child Left Behind" Act that in fact made less funding available to children's health and medical programs and totally eviscerated the "Head Start" program that helped feed under privileged kids. The Help America Vote Act actually makes it more difficult for a citizen to vote. Due to the debacle in Florida in 2000, this act mandates that all states and localities upgrade many aspects of their election procedures, including their voting machines, registration processes and poll worker training. The specifics of implementation have been left up to each state, which allows for varying interpretations of the Federal law. Those states with Republican Secretaries of State have very successfully used this act to suppress the votes of Democrats.
This lousy Act mandates the purchasing of electronic voting machines that are now in 90 percent of all the voting districts. The voting technology business is dominated by Republican-leaning U.S. and foreign corporations. Today, two Republican-controlled corporations, Election Systems and Software ( ES&S) and Diebold Voting Systems, and a British-based company, Sequoia, control about 90% of the vote count in the U.S.. (Up from 60% just 8 years ago) Many other corporations are also involved in the elections industry. Meanwhile, the long history of exit polling accurately predicting election outcomes has mysteriously become unreliable over the past 8 years. In every curious incident the Republican candidate won. There is no federal agency that has regulatory authority over the elections industry. There are no government standards or restrictions on who can sell and service voting machines and systems. Foreigners, convicted criminals, office holders, political candidates, and news media organizations can and do own these companies.
This is the last blog entry on the evils of the electronic voting. I've devoted far too many posts to this abomination and it's time to address other issues. Let me just tie this up in a nice neat little pissed of bow: Let's just suppose that you bought a computer and every time you entered the Disney web site . . . up popped Milf Hunter.com. Oh, and by the way the computers were made by a company owned by Larry Flynt and Ron Jeremy. How long would it take for congress to demand a recall? What if every time you used your universal remote to change channels and when you pushed the numbers for FOX news . . .up popped MSNBC. Then you find out that Chris Matthews owned stock that universal remote company? You see my point here? It would be the headline of every newspaper and the lead story on every news program. (except MSNBC of course) It astounds me that the Dems in congress allow this monopoly of the instruments of our democracy to go unchallenged. What am I missing here? Do I need to revisit my conspiracy theory that there is only one party and we the people are merely given the illusion of choice? I hope not but, the closer we get to election day, the more election tampering is taking place. It's time for printed receipts so a voter has indisputable proof of who he or she voted for. It's time for voter notification if they've been purged from the voting list. It's time for a moratorium on voter purging less than 90 days out from an election. Voter I.D and registration cross checking needs to be streamlined. If a car dealer, can verify a person's address, social security number, checking account, and credit rating in a timely manner, why can't state election officials? I have such a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we' re gonna wake up on November 5th and see that they've stolen another one. I hope I'm wrong, because if that happens I'm taking it to the streets where I'll get the shit kicked out of me by some police officer in riot gear or by someone from the 3rd infantry's 1st brigade.
DaG Out
Monday, October 20, 2008
Couldn't have said it better myself
" . . . I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."
And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." - former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
Thank you General . . . for your endorsement and for making this the easiest blog entry ever.
-DaG Out
And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." - former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
Thank you General . . . for your endorsement and for making this the easiest blog entry ever.
-DaG Out
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