What has happened to the Democratic Party of Paul Wellstone? Where have all of the truly bold and visionary progressives gone? Are they hiding under a rock or does the Party Machine not let their voices be heard via the corporate media lest they piss off the corporate sponsors of the Democratic Party? Yes, that is correct, I said Corporate Sponsors of the Democratic Party. After reading the following article, http://www.salon.com/news/opin... I must say it only reinforces the beliefs I have had for the last 12 months.
The Democrats don't care about their base unless it is 9 months before the next election. Then, on cue, they start up with the populist and "working families" rhetoric. After the election is over and they have won, it is right back to "business as usual". They slide up to the lobbyists and continue to do the work of Big Business all the while giving us patronizing quips, gentle pats on the head, and nice, warm fuzzies.
Take, for example, the recent Al Franken rally in Minneapolis. The room was packed and people were cheering for a bill that FORCES PEOPLE TO BUY A PRODUCT THAT IS SO BAD, THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO FORCE PEOPLE TO BUY IT. Unfortunately, it is sadly ironic and masochistic. I am sure there were quite a few people who were questioning the bill, as am I, but you could tell the MoveOn.org, SEIU, HealthCareForAmericaNOW, TakeActionMN, and OFA people were all boldly and vigorously cheering for not only Al Franken but also the bill that the President and Congress will eventually pass.
How is that possible? Why have we, the people of the Democratic Party, become so gullible and misinformed that we are willing to become slaves to the medical insurance industry. If you question that statement, I ask you; what other option is there in the president's plan? How else do I obtain medical insurance except through a private medical insurance company?
I truly believe that if President Bush was offering this very plan the Democratic faithful would be up in arms and frothing at the mouth. However, since someone from our party is in power and is offering the plan, we sit back quietly and say while nodding our head, they must know better.
Bullshit! They don't know better because the facts show that they have sold us out for the campaign contributions by the medical insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the medical device industry, and almost every other sector of health care. I can't believe I just said that. The Democratic Party has sold out the working people for Big Business. Disgusting and pathetic!
Therefore, I forewarn you with great respect and remorse before this legislation becomes law. KILL THE HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL!! KILL THE BILL!! Otherwise, the Democratic Party will no longer be the party of the People. Instead, they will join with the Republicans and be the party for the Power.
Let's break down the analogy literally: Pawlenty/conservatives = wronged white wife; Obama/liberals = unfaithful, multiracial public figure; politics = golf, both realms traditionally reserved for whites; violence = appropriate solution to budgetary challenges.
The governor has used the nine iron line before, so be assured that the race-based comparison is intentional and playing well with teabaggers. A point of information to the governor--you need more than a nine iron to make it all the way around a PGA course.
Blogger Rob Port, attending the CPAC conference, took a White House tour and snapped a photo of a bookshelf, the tomes of which were apparently picked out by Michelle Obama. He hoped the photo might provide something telling and they did: he got the jackpot, proof the Obamas are socialists. Port's commenters couldn't be happier to have their beliefs proven.
Alex Koppelman at Salon's War Room, where I found the story, tried to crinkle their tin foil hats by pointing out these are books about socialism, not advocacy for socialism, and at least one was actually written by a neocon.
Well, I'm not buying it. What sits on a bookshelf in incontrovertible evidence of the truth about the bookshelf-filler. By happy coincidence, I just happened to be privy to what else is on the Obamas' bookshelves and I'm afraid the truth about them is rather disturbing. Look at what else they have:
Simply unbelievable - yet in today's GreedOverPrinciples party, what with Birthers and Deathers and TeaBaggers crowding underneath The Small Tent ("RINO's and other Non-True Believers NOT Allowed!"), it actually is true. Allen Quist actually said it. As disgusting as it is, it's still worth a watch:
Did you catch that?
"Our country is being destroyed. Every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom... Terrorism? Yes. That's not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C. with the radicals. They aren't liberals. They are radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz: They're not liberals, they're radicals. They are destroying our country." - Allen Quist, 07 Dec 2009
Sergeant Major (Ret.) Walz's service to his country apparently means nothing to Allen Quist, one of the Republicans lining up to challenge Walz in this year's mid-term election. Here is a video of Quist, who has never worn the uniform of his country, telling you that this brave American is a "radical", is more dangerous than a terrorist and is out to destroy the country he served for 24 years (if you'd like, skip to the 3:12 mark).
Allen Quist, a politician who has been chasing office since 1982, should be ashamed of himself. A year before Quist began his desperate attempt to become a career politician, the man who's patriotism he attacks put on an Army uniform at the age of 17 and wore it for 24 years, rising to the highest enlisted rank and becoming the highest ranking enlisted soldier in southern Minnesota. A man who has so little respect for the service of America's Veterans has no business serving in Congress. (VetVoice.com)
Indeed, Richard - indeed.
And it's simply pathetic what today's GreedOverPrinciples party has morphed to: "Birthers and Deathers and TeaBaggers"
Well, for now. God only knows what those (cheney)in' nutjobs will come up with/stoop down to next.
(Finally, some good news. Thanks, Eric - promoted by The Big E)
There are many people on the left feeling like every thing has gone to crap since we celebrated Obama's inauguration. The approval ratings of Obama and Congress are lousy, in no small part because of disgruntled Democrats who feel Obama has followed Bush's policies on the wars and civil liberties. Allegedly Democratic senators are on the point of killing health care reform, conservatives are resurgent and feeling quite cocky about their prospects for next year. At the state level, Pawlenty is so far getting away with unallotment and somehow still has about half on Minnesotans liking him.
However, some things have gone well over the last year, and even some disappointments have their mitigations. Suspect if you want that I'm keeping the glass half full by pouring a bucket into a bottomless glass, but consider a few things. All right, a bunch of things, which is why this is just part 1 instead of the whole thing. It was getting rather long for a blog, but let's get started:
For the past few years peace demonstrations have been mostly the older folks, like me. Sometimes it looked like the 60's activists aged to the present.
This is changing fast. The crew that took over the streets of Minneapolis on Dec 2 to protest the escalation included lots of young people, some on bikes, most passionately shouting. You could feel the new energy.
Saturday, Dec 5, on Lake Street, the same force was evident. Lots of young people, lots of students. Some organizing other students and kids. All protesting the escalation in Afghanistan
And after last night's speech by President Obama, here on the semi-frozen tundra, people will be exercising their Constitutional rights to do just that.
"Second guessing is for Monday morning quarterbacks and not the way to decide foreign policy. The point is our troops are in Iraq now, so the real question is how do we support our troops and the new Iraqi government?" -- John Kline, Pioneer Press, September 2006
(Tonight, President Obama will deliver a major address to the nation - and the world - from the United States Military Academy at West Point. To understand where we are and where we are going, it is important to remember where we've been. The following Op/Ed was co-written by Coleen Rowley and yours truly, the ol' TwoPutter, on September 5th, 2006 and submitted to the St. Paul Pioneer Press for exclusive publication to coincide with the 5th "Anniversary" of 9/11. While almost all publications were focusing on Iraq on the 5th "Anniversary", Coleen and I thought people should remember exactly where the perpetrators of 9/11 came from, and what was currently happening there. In their "infinite wisdom", the PiPress chose not to publish it. I chose John Kline's quote, above, to start this post because that attitude ("we don't do Monday morning quarterbacking") is just one more example of "those that forget the lessons of history tend to vote GOP." More on that quote, below the fold and after the reprint.)
The Rumsfeld Doctrine approaches combat with overwhelming air forces but limited, highly mobile ground forces and an exit strategy to be determined. It was conceived in large part by the neo-conservative Project for the New American Century, a civilian think tank, in the late 1990's to emphasize maximum bang for minimum buck. Its implementation began immediately upon President Bush's inauguration in January 2001. Clearly, six years into the new century and five years removed from 9-11, the Rumsfeld Doctrine has failed, most clearly in Afghanistan.
On September 11th, 2001, our country was attacked. President Bush rightfully issued ultimatums that the Taliban ignored, and he made the correct decision to send troops into harm's way. Americans united and the world stood with us as American forces led coalition troops into Afghanistan.
The initial results were spectacular. Our military performed with valor and distinction. In little more than two months, our enemies had been driven from power and the interim Afghani government was sworn in. The Taliban, Osama Bin Laden, and al-Qaeda were on the run.
I'm going to jump ahead of the obvious criticism of that headline and acknowledge it's premature. We don't yet know how the health care debate will come out. I'm going to expound on the lessons learned anyway for two reasons, only the weaker of which is that at this point, we've seen enough to be pretty sure what some of the lessons will be. With the acknowledgment that this assertion is arguable, I'm confident that most of what I say will hold up when a bill is passed and when some time has passed.
However, the second reason is not arguable at all: the legislative fights to which these lessons must be applied are starting already. The state legislature goes into its non-budgetary session in January, where it will be trying to reverse some of Pawlenty's unallotments, especially GAMC. There will also be the bonding bill which is always contentious, at least with Gov. Wounded Deer still in office. Congress is already working on financial reform and global warming legislation, the corporate lobbyists have already chosen their targets, and conservatives are certain to use the same tactics they've been using to obstruct health care, the stimulus, and pretty much everything. That's why the heading says "apply" instead of "learn". What particularly worries me is I see the same mistakes being made at this early stage.
It fairly obvious to all of us, that fraud department investigation (FBI) and prosecution(Justice) has been totally AWOL during the last 8 years resulting in our mortgage meltdown. So I am really glad that new chiefs are coming from outside the department!
Top DOJ Fraud Section Supervisors Planning to Leave Justice
The government's lead lawyer in the prosecution of Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is taking early retirement as the Justice Department's Fraud Section prepares to undergo big changes under new leadership in the Criminal Division, several sources with knowledge of the decision said. The decision comes as the Fraud Section chief prepares to leave for work in private practice....
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, the head of the Criminal Division, has put a renewed focus on the section and its work prosecuting fraud on a number of fronts-including in the health care, securities and mortgage arenas.
Breuer has said he wants a "rock star" leader for the section, a person who careers speculate will be pulled from the ranks of Big Law. (Breuer joined the department this year from the Washington office of Covington & Burling, where he co-chaired the white collar criminal defense and investigations practice.) Career prosecutors want a chief who has deep prosecution experience rather than a criminal defense lawyer who, perhaps, hasn't been in the trenches for years.
(Legal Times)
Dusty Trice got the scoop! Here's what Dusty has to say about his video, as posted on YouTube:
EXCLUSIVE: Ron Paul explains why the MN GOP suddenly needs his help: "They Want My Money."
The MN GOP blocked Ron Paul from speaking at their 2008 convention in Rochester, MN. But on Sept. 25, 2009 the MN GOP sponsored an appearance by Dr. Paul at Northrup Auditorium in what was billed as a joint town hall with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
What's behind the MN GOP's sudden change of heart? According to Ron Paul, "They want my money. They want to get a little bit of influence from our supporters, too."
I think this says a lot about Ron Paul, who's been a consistent voice for what he believes in, so much so that he was willing to forget the past troubles with the MN GOP.
I also thinks this speaks volumes about the MN GOP. Their leadership realizes that they have alienated roughly 15% of their party. Now they realize that Michele Bachmann is actually in trouble and the only way to save her is to turn to the person they publicly shunned and beg for his money and help.
The MN GOP is exploiting Ron Paul because they are terrified without his support they will lose and lose big.
On a side note, I'd like to thank Congressman Paul for taking moment to speak with me. (DustyTrice)
Let's watch!!!
I'll have my own thoughts about Dusty's breaking story later, for now, link here for Mary Lahammer's May 30th, 2008 report from the 2008 MnGOP State Convention - the footage of the floor scuffle between a Ron Paul supporter and a McCain suporter is "must see TV" - great job by Mary Lahammer and the Twin Cities Public Television team!!!
We've all been reading about the activities with the tea baggers in Washington on Saturday, September 12th. But, what about what went on in other parts of the country?
I'm so used to being erroneously called a socialist, I didn't flinch when they started calling our president one. But getting all hot and bothered by a presidential chat with school kids on their first day back? Calling it a Communist Manifesto? Accusing the Prez of indoctrinating their young minds with socialist propaganda? Refusing to send the kiddos to school so they don't have to listen to the big bad president? Did I fall asleep and wake up in a Ray Bradbury yarn?
Read the complete text of Obama's speech to be delivered at 10:00 a.m., and don't keep the kids home. Unless you consider flamthrowing language like "work hard and do your homework" propaganda. They'll probably be listening to their iPods or fighting over who gets to hold the new classroom pet gerbil anyway.
Normally, Democrats win with the over 65 crowd. I think that we have failed in messaging when we are losing this crowd to Republicans. I think Obama can make the difference in his speech on Wednesday. Only a robust public option is acceptable. We should not be trying to appease Republicans because Republicans only want Democratic failure and would find any public cost acceptable if that included Democratic failure.
The video below shows what other people think. What do you think?
