i will always love this man

Bill Clinton on the ridiculous MoveOn brouhaha.

not one red cent

Not one, not a single penny will I send to these spineless Democrats who, today, sold out the progressives of this country. The anger I'm sensing in the netroots is extreme. What the Democrats have done the last two days is despicable. I have been so angry I can't even put a coherent sentence together on the topic. Others have done much better than I ever could. Briefly, habeas corpus is still dead; the soldiers in Iraq will never get a break; but we can pass by 72 to 25 a resolution condemning the MoveOn.Org ad suggesting General Petraeus's report to Congress was less than forthcoming. Bastards. Useless fucking bastards, all of them except the 24 voting against this ridiculous resolution against a fucking ad.

Please read Move On and the Kabuki Congress from The Agonist. Ian Welsh perfectly summarizes what has happened and is happening with these bastards in Washington. I can't even type this without crying. These elected representatives will not do anything to end this war. They will continue to sell us out at every turn. They will allow Bush to do anything he pleases. They are disgusting, revolting, and I despise them.

What to do? Not surprisingly, because people are PISSED, there is a solution: Not One Red Cent of my money will go to "to elected Democrats or organizations that give money to elected democrats. Instead, they will promise to use their money to contribute to progressive organizations and candidates that, as proved by their record, support the furtherance of progressive ideals." Makes sense to me.

I've just given the largest donation of my political life to MoveOn.org. I am sick of the lies. SICK of them. I am sick of a do nothing Congress, of the bullshit we hear/see on television and radio. Except for the 25, I am done with these Democrats and that includes Barack Obama, who pussied out and wouldn't vote. They disgust me, all of them. I am so, so angry.

Addendum: Keith Olbermann's special comment on this whole mess.

GOP candidates bow out of minority-sponsored forums

Big surprise. And Tavis Smiley, host of the upcoming All American Presidential Forum being dissed by the top four rethugs, observes

"When you reject every black invitation and every brown invitation you receive, is that a scheduling issue or is it a pattern? I don't believe anybody should be elected president of the United States if they think along the way they can ignore people of color. That's just not the America we live in.

It's all because of scheduling conflicts, you know. The same scheduling conflicts that prevented their attending a forum for Latino voters. A rethug advisor, speaking anonymously, of course, suggests they really have nothing to gain by attending the African American forum sponsored by Smiley, saying

What's the win? Why would [the candidates] go into a crowd where they're probably going to be booed?

Yeah, what's the win in meeting with the folks you're fucking over at most every opportunity. Why meet with them?

Jack Kemp, former congressman and vice presidential candidate from New York, adds

We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us. What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote.

Yup. That's what it sounds like alright. And I hope that this disrespectful and shameful behavior on the part of the rethug candidates gets the attention of every voter in this country. What a bunch of bozos. Big old tough guys, running full force with a hawkish foreign policy stance contrary to the majority wishes of the American people. And they're too big a bunch of babies to even meet with folks who might boo them. Oh whaaaaaaaa! Boo hoo hoo. Spineless yahoos.

mitt romney on gay pride

From The Flyer Mitt Romney Doesn't Want the Right to See at HuffingtonPost.com.

my diseased brain

According to the doctor, I'm not brainless. Not yet, anyway. The neuropsychological testing, that eight hours of torture so casually referred to as a mental status exam, turned up no evidence of encroaching dementia or a sinister, looming pre-alzheimer's state.

The neurologist is a raving right winger who used the immense disparity of our political views as an assessment tool in our first meeting. He started by saying "it all looks pretty good," then said "here, I'll read you this from the status exam."

The subject is functioning in the __________ to _________ range of intellectual abilities and it appears that her distress about reduced mental functioning is groundless, though the fact that she is a far left wing liberal is of grave concern.

That was pretty cute. We both laughed. Then he said that the MRI "looks good, with mild white matter disease." What the fuck? "Looks good" does not, in my book, go together with anything ending in "disease."

Allegedly, it's pretty common and usually causes no problems, but having seen my father's brain at 85, speckled with white patches and marked by frontal lobe shrinkage, it's disturbing.

My white stuff is in the center of the brain. Can't remember enough about brain functioning (see? that's what I mean, can't remember much of anything) to remember what that controls, but I wonder if it isn't language and inhibitions and that sort of thing. I'm seized with an urge to shout "oh FUCK it! those stupid @#$!@#%#% bastards!!" on a fairly regular basis these days. But I do read a lot of political news, which may be a mitigating factor.

So there it is. I don't function as well as I once did (*sniff*), but that's typical as we age. Or so he says. I have white stuff in my brain from tiny exploding capillaries and whether I have enough gray stuff to outlast the white, I guess we'll find out in 25-30 years. My father was smart enough that he had to lose a big chunk of brain before it was clear something was wrong. I am, alas, not as smart as my brilliant daddy.

So lots of cardio for me ~ one of the few things that seems to act as a preventive for dementia ~ and good vitamins. I think I'll add a little niacin and some of the brain nutrients. Puzzles like sudoku are supposed to help but I despise puzzles.

Time marches on and though I'm happy being fif-fif-fif-fifty, I don't like much about this brain crap and I hate the sound of "white matter disease." Coupled with the occasional burst of pain I feel running on the elliptical, I'm thinking today it kind of sucks to be old.

of paranoia, dissent and my shiny silver hat

I hopped out of bed this morning, donned my little tinfoil hat and my just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you t-shirt and posted over at Sirens Chronicles.

they're here!

The arrival of these beautiful butterflies will forever mean fall to me. As children, my sister and I would take a quilt to the roof of the house for an afternoon. We'd lie on our backs beneath the lazy autumn sun and then we'd count, as cloud after cloud of hundreds of Monarchs passed overhead.

I don't see clouds of them anymore, but their arrival in small groups of five and ten is always magically timed to the blooming of the sedum and asters in my garden. In an uncertain world, the faithful return of these beauties is comforting.

Fall will also bring us huge zebra swallowtails and golden sulphurs, plus these tiny little purple skippers that perfectly match the New England asters. You? Do you have Monarchs where you live?

the GOP's culture of corruption

As Larry Craig says, "Nasty, bad, naughty" boys. It's really something to see this year's parade of thugs and thieves all in one place. The list, courtesy Oklahoma's Doc Hoc. I'm getting that delicious sense of schadenfreude again.

dear al gore

Yance Gray, Omar Mora, R.I.P.

American soldiers stationed in Iraq, two of seven brave enough to compose an op-ed for the New York Times speaking the terrible truth about the war. All seven were at the end of their 15 month deployment.

Two won't be coming back. Yance Gray and Omar Mora were killed in Iraq on Monday. About a month ago, these were their words:

To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day ...

The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere ... In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act ...

As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.

There aren't words sufficient to describe the travesty of this war.

internet

This is a remarkable video from a 1993 newscast. It's hard to really get a feel for how dramatically the world has changed in the last 14 years. This helps put it in perspective.

all about us

The liberal brain v. the conservative brain. Based on the results, he said, liberals could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas.

laughing out loud

with joy. Fred Thompson. Why? And then to read this, delicious.

Just four Thompson supporters showed up at Utah Republican Party headquarters for the event, leaving dozens of untouched cookies and vegetable snacks provided in hopes a much bigger crowd would materialize.

And in Utah?? Jiminy Christmas, that's really surprising. And such fun.

amy amy amy

Catching up with blog friends yesterday, I was visiting World O' Jeff, my source for all things retro, gay and fabulous. Along with his recent near plane crash (which inspired my dream of a crash landing, thanks pal), Jeff introduced me to Amy Winehouse.

Oh lord, do y'all know this woman? Have you been keeping her secret? I am enchanted. I can't quit listening to this song. Delicious heartbroken diva. Love her.

rainbow visitor

As I was snapping photos yesterday in the warehouse, a cheery visitor appeared. It was the most intensely colored rainbow I've ever seen. It appeared here and there, on the crown of a ravishing oak art nouveau armoire, on the mesh support for an 1880s Victorian featherbed.


Embiggen to make very pretty. The happy side effect of this unexpected treat, the source of which we couldn't find anywhere, made me wildly happy, beyond anything I'd have expected given recent political events. It was lovely, and looking at it filled me with a fine feeling, reminding me that there is always hope. And there you have it, the cheering of the Belle. I may begin buying Precious Moments figurines any minute now.

what's wrong with the boomers

I saw this link in the comments at Joe's place and just started laughing my ass off. Duck and cover!

Do you remember? All of those bomb shelter signs? The bomb drills in school? Duck and cover!!!! Is it any wonder that the baby boomers are (reportedly) the most self absorbed generation ever?

That shrieking siren would go off at First Lutheran and all of us would rush out to the hallway where we'd kneel and tuck our knees beneath us, link our hands over our necks. Evidencing the sadistic bent for which I so well remember them, none of the teachers would tell us whether it was real or not; only when we were allowed to get up would we realize it was only a drill. They talked constantly of communists and nuclear holocaust and the looming invasion of the US by the "red Chinese."

Bomb shelter signs were everywhere and I always associated them with this movie, the viewing of which (peeking through my fingers as my hands covered my eyes) may have been the biggest trauma of my childhood years. Community meetings were held to discuss what would be done post-attack and to urge the building of home bomb shelters which, of course, had us burrowing into the soil like terrified prairie dogs.

This post isn't about trauma; it's about community craziness and the fun of looking back at a time when we lived with a simple kind of terror. On the advice of wise counsel, I am making a serious attempt to divert my attention to things other than the collapse of the republic.

Help me. Tell me if you remember the craziness of it all? Did you do the drills? Did you lie awake at night thinking about the coming commie horde?

rethugs attack ron paul

Interesting, in the rethug debates on the Faux News Channel, Ron Paul was the only one who made sense when talking about the war. He won the post-debate text messaging poll, much to the disgust of the propagandists and the other candidates. Paul seems to have a grasp of what's missing in what presently passes for American foreign policy. If I had to vote rethug, I guess he'd be my guy. And I love it that the other slick bastards on the stage, the haters and the lunatics, as well as the gasbags at Faux News, were flummoxed by the outpouring of support for Paul. Fuck 'em. We, the people, still have a voice in this country and there's your proof.

post-mortem america

Chris Floyd wrote this in 2001 and here we are.

It won't come with jackboots and book burnings, with mass rallies and fevered harangues. It won't come with "black helicopters" or tanks on the street. It won't come like a storm – but like a break in the weather, that sudden change of season you might feel when the wind shifts on an October evening: everything is the same, but everything has changed. Something has gone, departed from the world, and a new reality has taken its place.

As in Rome, all the old forms will still be there: legislatures, elections, campaigns – plenty of bread and circuses for the folks. But the "consent of the governed" will no longer apply; actual control of the state will have passed to a small group of nobles who rule largely for the benefit of their wealthy peers and corporate patrons.

To be sure, there will be factional conflicts among this elite, and a degree of free debate will be permitted, within limits; but no one outside the privileged circle will be allowed to govern or influence state policy. Dissidents will be marginalized – usually by "the people" themselves. Deprived of historical knowledge by an impoverished educational system designed to produce complacent consumers, not thoughtful citizens, and left ignorant of current events by a media devoted solely to profit, many will internalize the force-fed values of the ruling elite, and act accordingly. There will be little need for overt methods of control.

The rulers will often act in secret; for reasons of "national security," the people will not be permitted to know what goes on in their name. Actions once unthinkable will be accepted as routine: government by executive fiat, the murder of "enemies" selected by the leader, undeclared war, torture, mass detentions without charge, the looting of the national treasury, the creation of huge new "security structures" targeted at the populace. In time, all this will come to seem "normal," as the chill of autumn feels normal when summer is gone."

I have nothing to add.

death of democracy

"What is the price-current of an honest man and patriot today? They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret." –Thoreau.

I wish I could just stay distracted, with quizzes and auctions and such, but I keep coming back to this. Read it and weep.

how good are you?

After last week's bit of navel gazing related to handwriting analysis, the charming Red 7 Eric sent this quiz via email. Who can resist a quiz? Certainly not me, and especially not one that will tell me, once and for all, how good I am. Because, you know, a little blog space filling quiz thingie surely has the actual factual on all of us, yes?

So the results are in and I'm 76% good. When I took it the first time Eric sent it, I was 80% good. The one about thieving throws me. I don't steal now, but back in the day? Bar the door.

And you? How good are you? Do tell . . .

You Are 76% Good

You are a good person. You do the best you can to be ethical, fair, and moral. And as you know, being a good person means making hard decisions... and following them through. If you're confronted with an ethical dilemma, you will usually do the right thing. Of course you do slip up. No one's perfect. But you do your best to correct your missteps. You are also probably: incredibly honest, especially with yourself. Right now you are on track to being: A respected leader To be a better person: Be kind to someone who is not very kind to you

How Good Are You?

We're off to auction in Arkansas. When our world has gone mad and nothing makes sense, we must simply carry on, so away we go to Fort Smith. A good dose of Arkansas redneck hillbilly friendliness will counteract much of what ails me, possibly the world.

US launches massive military strike against Iran

Not today, but there's cause for concern. I've written about it this morning at Sirens Chronicles. Some information and an opportunity for action. This month ~ September ~ must be the month that the American people launch an assault on Congress beyond anything we've done before. Call every day. Write every day. Make them listen to us.