By Shenonymous, January 3: “How dare you say I lack pathos… My care of the human race is well documented on these threads and you grab at straws…. stick you bellicose conceit…”

Ooh, I must have stolen yer thunder, Shhh. But the horror originates in the death of the American fantasy.  It stinks to high heaven and it will take more than a suit with a neat haircut to keep the carcass moving. And you died too, anyway, Shhh - that’s why yo’re a tru vampira, ha ha.

Come midnight, you will need more than a documentary facade to support your theories as to being a living human and not some blood-sucking chupacabra, though. Your care, uhh, of the human race is known - as it really is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOrnShOifeI&feature=related

America, Viet Nam and the Poetics of Guilt:-

The “war poem” has, since Homer, served as a means for non-combatants to access the experience of warfare; evolving over time, the genre eflects and revises cultural attitudes toward war. Since the Great War, the war poem has become a tool of political protest, a declamation of war’s destructiveness and a plea for understanding on behalf of the soldiers forced or duped into fighting it.

In Viet Nam war poetry, however, this sublimation seems impossible: the poems are overwhelmingly concerned not with the overall victimizing experience of “war,” but rather with the soldier’s acute sense of personal moral transgression….

How dare you say I lack pathos, Douglas, when you are the least insightful of the posters on TD who artfully dodges thorough answers and resorts to unending feeble and almost juvenile anticlimaxical videos.  My care of the human race is well documented on these threads and you grab at straws since you have nothing else on which to stick you bellicose conceit.

Well wasn’t Kurtz mad? Or was he?

By Shenonymous, January 3: “Well wasn’t Kurtz mad? Or Was he a great man with profound philosophical insight…. Didn’t Chef deserve to have a life…. What gave Kurtz the right to behead him?  Does the brutality of war always make all men more bloodthirsty and mad?  If not, then Kurtz is wrong.

Well, Apocalypse Now was based on Heart of Darkness but more contemporary. As the Vietnamization of Iraq proceeded, it is still pertinent. But, of course, what is more un-contemporary than “settler society” as it continues to manifest and to justify its brutality against countries, individuals and the environment?

That all men must die is one thing. All women must die too. But so too do some children - and many did die in Vietnam, and many more in Iraq. Thus napalming straw-thatched bamboo huts in rural villages is perhaps not a better way for children to die - and nor is starvation an disease in Iraq as a result of embargos and sanctions and a decade-long naval blockade.

Lacking feeling for others (pathos), the American Way, IS your “dramaturgy”, Shenonymous. And that IS the mark of empires and of “settler societies” in particular. Thus, I chose that clip to underline the grossness of the ugly American choosing, even at the last, to become some kind of warlord and to go on with conquest and murder - all in the name of what is now referred to as “the defence of the Homeland”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chYQIj39U0E&feature=related

Well wasn’t Kurtz mad? Or was he?  Was he a great man with profound philosophical insight?  Which philosophy might that have been an allusion to?  Or should I say whose?  Didn’t Chef deserve to have a life?  What gave Kurtz the right to behead him?  Does the brutality of war always make all men more bloodthirsty and mad?  If not, then Kurtz is wrong.  If so, then all men must die.  All men will die one way or another, are there any better ways than others?  Try Conrad’s Heart of Darkness for less dramaturgy and more pathos, which is where the horror…the horror originates.  Kurtz dies anyway. What does it mean for his philosophy that he dies?

Looking way beyond the haircut…. i leave the continuum for…. i’ve nebulously connected this comment to the thread

By i,Q, January 2 : “Thinking for one’s self is the key to mental freedom, yet as a society we are constantly falling back on examples of what they (or others) have said or written, as a justification for our own belief systems…”

Oh, yes…... see if you can sort the Truth from Brando’s bullshit of the insane American dream come to its end, yet to crumble http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGosYIlXdmU&feature=related

COLONEL KURTZ (on tape)... “I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That’s my dream. That’s my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor, and surviving.”

i leave the continuum for a few days and look what happens, a flame up over—of all things—enlightenment.

i’m not sure all of the focus on “experiencing the now” is as relevant to my enjoyment of life as the part where one severs one’s self from the emotional distress which results from a fundamental lack of control in such a complex universe, a lesson which i’m sure a few of us—myself included—could apply to our relationship to the current state of socio-economic/political affairs. (There, i’ve nebulously connected this comment to the thread.)

i find it interesting that so many great religious and philosophical thinkers, the originators of much of contemporary thought if you will: Buddha, Jesus, Socrates, even the Sufi mystics, all seem to indicate that honest self-examination reveals that truth is an internal acceptance of the world without and our relationship to it. Thinking for one’s self is the key to mental freedom, yet as a society we are constantly falling back on examples of what they (or others) have said or written, as a justification for our own belief systems.

Certainly, as Shenonymous alluded to, we are linked strongly to our histories and use those experiences to formulate the choices we make as we traverse the knife’s edge of the now hoping to shape a future which will compare favorably to our personal comforts. And if, as Douglas seems to promote, we are able to become more flexible in the “now” and to avoid negative reactions to stimuli which constantly bombard our senses, we will have a greater likelihood of succeeding in having shaped a future which is comfortable to our ever-presenting experience of existence. The journey is fundamentally personal, and how we balance both our expectations and our experience against the desires shaped by our past becomes the challenge of a fully realized life.

A quick note for She:

The references to Star Trek’s Q and also James Bond’s Q are secondary, but well liked, by myself. The nick name of Q was derived from an early handle (all the way back to CompuServe days) of Quanta, which i’m sure you know is the singular for a discreet measurement of energy. Having a quite common given name, and finding myself in working situations where being identified uniquely was a plus, i adopted the moniker of “Q” to avoid confusion. Unfortunately in the virtual world, Q is quite a common screen name, or fails to meet a minimum of 3 characters.

If you are still having trouble with italics here is a great tutorial to start learning html tags and concepts.

This blog supports most of the tags in the “Text Formatting” list about halfway down the page.

You have to know Douglas that I live in the mindless state of Texas and we can’t find our way out of a paper bag, besides it’s warm and cozy in there, quiet and time to meditate at will.

Have a cup of Leefeller coffee…

#122561 by Shenonymous on 12/26: “Your link to the chungtian webpage is tellingly brief….. But too many bastardize the idea just to be cute….”

Yes, I agree that Westerners especially “bastardize” Buddhism. That’s why it is utterly dependent on Tibetans, Thais and Tawanese. What puny thinking, though, Shenonymous. That’s why I selected that link, uhh….

Chung Tian is a temple in Australia in Queensland state. It is as near to Texas as you could get in another land. They even have a town called Texas (pop. 900) http://www.flexi.net.au/~ingleweb/texas.htm

Chung Tian is part of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order and its headquarters are Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Taiwan is the world’s leading leading supporter of Buddhist missions….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dupbuPvYke4&feature=related and check related clips…. http://english.kscg.gov.tw/CmsShow.aspx?ID=338&LinkType=3&C_ID=638

What puny thinking Douglas.  Your link to the chungtian webpage is tellingly brief and obviously meager.  I need no help before during or after Christmas as it is not a holiday for me.  It is only a holiday for the deluded.  And it wasn’t the dog that Joshu, made the mistake about, it was himself!  What is your Buddha nature?  To put stupid videos on the Internet and cast aspersions to women?  Are you too a misogynist like the Buddha?  And by the way, in Buddhism, all things have a Buddha nature, even women.  Buddhism went beyond Gautama. It now resides as only an idea.  But too many bastardize the idea just to be cute.

#122503 by Shenonymous on 12/25: “... I guess the gerl stuff is for the inane prick guys who can’t get enough…asinine videos.  Do you need some help?

It looks like you need some help with the day after Christmas, Shenonymous, if not Christmas day itself.

Having missed the point entirely, consider that “dogs are people too”, uhh (Joshu’s Mu).

Zen is as Ch’an does. Then there is the attitude of asinine chics…. Suave - Suavemente!

Ask Tipitaka how to give up the stuff if you are having trouble http://www.chungtian.org.au/ctt_chan.htm

It is applaudable that you did your duty to Truthdig and John Edwards, somewhat like Arjuna?  But the comment was so obtuse that it was incoherent.  I guess the gerl stuff is for the inane prick guys who can’t get enough giggly sex and bare breasts.  Poor things.  I suggest some sexual gratification through self-stimulation therapy might help, as it would be a bit more real than asinine videos.  Do you need some help?

The comment about the Turks was a metaphor for all those who would “trot out” insane religious based fascism.

But I defy you to catch one of your moments by moments.

It is not compulsion that ties us to the past; it is a fact of existence.  We can only ever imagine the future and actually live through the now that we can never grasp. 

Yes, I am well familiar with the Hindu detachment.  My western mind accepted it a long time ago.  It is facile and slick to talk about the NOW as you do.  It is a superficial way of hit and run kind of approach.  For instance, exactly how exceedingly hard is it to fully realize the timeless state of now?  It is so easy to let slide through the lips to say.  But do try to say why you think so. Maybe it is easier than you think, as thinking can be deceptive.  Look up Joshu’s Mu in the Zen tradition.

#122305 by Shenonymous on 12/24: “Poor woman Stoker, too bad she wasn’t “liberated,” but maybe she was in a perverse death-release kind of way?  So maybe the Turks get everyone in the end???  Now that’s food for a sci-fi novel…..  We always live in the past and can only imagine the future.  The now is a figment and never really exists….”

Uhh, “the blurb on Edwards” was because this was/is nominally an Edwards topic, if I got that right. I’m only doin’ ma dooty to Truthdig, Shenonymous.

The self-sacrificing woman was not Stoker’s wife but the original Vlad Dracul’s. There’s a pic of the old castle she threw herself from in one of those links too - but try a more contemporary Macedonian close relative, if you wish - its all gerl stuff,  though, ha ha.

Its not the Turks we have to fear nowadays but the Catholic Neocon pope and he has already tried to fit us with an agenda to re-prejudice Europe against secular Turkey and any Islamic countries. He failed but he has recently trotted out another agenda against Russia - another imagined despot despised and feared by Western Europeans.

But which “state of mind” was I referring to? As regards “the NOW”, however, we are experiencing that moment by moment - but only superficially. That is because, as you say, we are so compulsively tied to the past or the supposedly desired (or feared) future.

That is why the Hindu religion advocated “detachment from the fruits of one’s actions”. That is very hard for the Western mind to accept. Actually, NOW is a timeless state in which all truth is present. Again, it is exceedingly hard to fully realize. That IS enlightenment, after all, as one is in contact with the Force Itself!

At least she went into a hospital to see what those nurses have to deal with.  One sampling, however, does not give a completely honest account of what Hillary really thinks.  Since this was videoed by her own crew, interacted mainly with one nurse and her family, it still seemed deliberate, calculated and somewhat contrived.  I don’t completely mind that since there aren’t many really genuine experiences of that nature that comes up on any regular basis.  I would rather have seen her visit a couple or even three hospitals.  But this didn’t have Boyarsky in it at all, so like John Travolta, “I’m confused.”  Maybe you posted it in a different place?  Not sure what you are talking about with the blurb on Edwards, either.

And I don’t’mind your videos at all, if you have read my comments you would see that I have an appreciation for them.

We can’t help but live in the past Douglas.  It is beyond effectively.  If you can even notice a moment, which I highly doubt, it is already in the past by the time your brain cognizes it, and you are only left with a memory of it.  We always live in the past and can only imagine the future.  The now is a figment and never really exists.  It is one of those hypothetical constructs, like time and space.  Too deep for an end of the year holiday?  What exactly is the state of mind you are referring to?  It is somewhat nebulous the way you put it.

Poor woman Stoker, too bad she wasn’t “liberated,” but maybe she was in a perverse death-release kind of way?  So maybe the Turks get everyone in the end???  Now that’s food for a sci-fi novel.  It’s getting to be time for that glass of wine.

#122254 by Shenonymous on 12/24: “...dungeons and dragons chic…. I like the asian rugs in the castle. Stoker never actually even visited Bran Castle….”

No, Shenonymous, “looking beyond the (1400’s) haircut”, he ran off and left his wife to throw herself off the wall of their real castle (further up the creek somewhere) rather than be captured by the friendly Turks. But apparently, they got him in the end too.

The movie was different, though (made in Romania). The rooms reminded me of some colonial American home for some reason - maybe because we are all effectively living in the past. Domestic architecture tends to be rather backward even if people drive the sleekest things. Its a state of mind…....

Edwards’ words…. sounded so out of tune with this year’s campaign discourse…. that the man might as well have been campaigning on another planet.... His talk of hunger, poor medical care and working people’s fear might have “provided a bracing touch of reality” but Hillary has already been on that trail despite the media’s pre-occupation with attacking her.

Dare I post another video clip again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSxgUQ3VNg4 - although this article is partly about Bill Boyarsky talking to people “who had been observing the campaign coverage to see if they shared my outrage at a media seemingly intent on trivializing the election”.

Doug:  So dungeons and dragons chic!  The gothy music reminds me of the Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, only not half as good really.  Schmaltzy, and calculated to excite the pubescent pimply-faced 15 year-old boys with a sword in hand,... or something else.  I like the asian rugs in the castle. Stoker never actually even visited Bran Castle.  See how we make up stuff? 

Uh, does any one know what rock that Dumb Vita slithered out from under?

Youse no what Don Vito, why don’t you go suck on a lollipop of arsenic.  Get outta m’face you moron.

ell I’m tired of sucked out journalists.  I don’t understand why the intelligent folks even bother to read or listen to them.  I am so tired of the newspeople that I haven’t heard or seen a journalist is weeks.  They are sophomoric at best and most tedious.  Daniel Shorr is the only one I can relate to and he is 92! Democracy Now with Amy Goodman is an exception too.  Seems like journalists these days are quite artless and ingenuous.  I can hardly stand to listen to any of them.  Most unsophisticated in their posturing and pretensions.  Their low-tech brains try to achieve high-tech intelligence and they just don’t make the grade.  So much for journalists.  I don’t want to spend my time in an Aldo Nadi or Passate-sotto on blog sites.  I’d rather engage in a riposte action.  But on the blogs it is tiltiing at windmills.  Don Quixote’s fate is not really that interesting in this context.  I’m getting jaded with the drone of the TD and CD forums and find my eyes are glazing over more and more.  Might be time to find other diversions.

I hope Hillary does well, but as I’ve mentioned I have settled on John Edwards for a number of reasons, even though he isn’t perfect.  I don’t like his position on illegal aliens (as in aliens from Mars or elsewhere), I completely agree with Joe Biden but he hasn’t a rat’s ass chance in a Calcutta jail.  Sigh. I figure congress will take care of the illegal alien problem eventually.  Come January I’m going on down to Ft. Worth and find a way to work for Edwards.  I think he is solid presidential material.  The drug thing is another case of pure stupidity created by punch-drunk blasé journalists.  The mundane is so tiring, doesn’t any body else feel it?

I live deep in the heart of Texass.  We don’t get earthquakes but as I said we get class 5 tornados, but my 100+ year old house is still standing!  I have a bomb/tornado shelter out back.

I’ll check out that YouTube link and get back to you.  I’ve noticed since the Hitchens caucus you have a cool sense of humor.

#122227 by Shenonymous on 12/24: “His hell will welcome him with open arms….”

Duh, see #122206 by Douglas Chalmers on 12/24 re the evil Prince Vlad, Shenonymous - its a link to a YouTube page.

That “giant orb of iron and nickel” really is essential to the Earth’s center - as well as ‘producing’ the magnetosphere, it keeps the planet ‘on course’. That is something more than any amount of politicians have been able to do for most coutries, uhh.

Frankly, back on topic, I don’t see why Hillary should “accept the journalistic verdict that her campaign is falling apart” merely because it is some journalists’ weary opinion.  Whether Obama “pined for the presidency in kindergarten” matters less than whether he is still doing something other than “dope smoking as a teenager”.

Just calling a drug “legal” dosen’t mean that it is not being used, even if it is only ‘legally’ available to the medical profession - “Obama….. hasn’t consumed any illegal drugs in 20 years…” Strange, too, that Truthdig had to turn to quoting a media website in Melbourne, Australia to get at Hillary , though.

Do try http://www.noaa.gov/ for tsunamis if a you are on or near a beach on the Pacific coast (can also get a relayed message to your cell phone) or the http://www.usgs.gov/ site elsewhere and for earthquakes, etc. Click on the “RSS” symbol and you will receive…...

Doug, there was no video, but a rather boring story about Huckabee who is really a Hasbeenabee and his new sick herd.  His hell will welcome him with open arms.  I see a lot of the same crowd and saying pretty much the same kinds of things.  Ho Hum.  Rather see a good video.  I’ll take another look at the Idiot Evangelical Rebellion and give it a couple more seconds of thought, but these cretinous baby-bottle sucking religious nuts all ought to be, well, I’m not a violent person, so somebody else can fill in the blanks and I’d rather spend my time listening to Mahler.

Thanks for the posting tips. You seem like a good person.

#122207 by Shenonymous on 12/24: “It’s an evening thang.  Salute again….”

Shenonymous, I posted another video at http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071223_the_evangelical_rebellion/ - cheers, ha ha!  Oh, and congratulations on your “lightening rod’, too…...

Did I take a wrong turn somewhere….. Just go back and follow the instructions to italicize…. [color=darkred text /color] ....choose yer color and close brackets.

Well, I don’t drink this early!  Maybe gave the wrong impression.  It’s an evening thang.  Salute again.

Good morning Doug, I could swear I was asking Q if he was related to Q?  Did I take a wrong turn somewhere?  Do you mind Douglas, explaining the interest in geophysical events?  I don’t really need to keep up with it or meteorology as I get enough here where I am, the Texass prairie has extremes of weather, 9 degrees one minute 110 the next!  Tornados and other wind storms.  I have a lightening rod in my front yard. Of course, that is all above ground, just as I am.  I used to know a geophysicist very well, and I know about plate tectonics and so forth, but I fail to see how that is relevant to this forum. But it’s interesting that you have some bluster about it.  Unless you are trying to be cute too?  You know I’m one of the biggest flirts on the net and that my middle name is Hyperbole.  Did you know that the giant orb of iron and nickel that is essential to the Earth’s center is spinning faster than the planet’s surface?  What do you think might happen from that?

And besides I love The Next Generation and Patrick Stewart.  It was the bestest.  And furthermore, how did I,Q (now known as Q) at #121992 get to bold your name and make bold red Ab-Lounge???? And I love to Italicize.  I need more intuition about RSS, what? Feeds?

Keep having a Happy Solstice.  I am, with some Cabernet Sauvignon…salute

#122027 by Shenonymous on 12/23: “...how do you make bold or italics on your comments?  I use MS Word and my stuff always come up with no inflections…... the Q on The Next Generation Star Trek….. I have signed up for google alerts…”

You might sign up for RSS feeds on earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, too, Shenonymous. Its surprising jus how much “activity” there really is on and under the surface of our planet.

How could you possibly compare me to anything from StarTrek, though? Its no use doing your WP and transposing it - it doesn’t work on blogs. Add [b text /b] or [i text /i] manually and close the brackets around each to get your desired result.

P.S. Happy Solstice!!!

Q:  Well the mindless state of Texass will make up for your no-name, inconsequential state.  I’d offer for you to migrate to Texass but you are probably too good for it, though I’d love the company.  I’d say to bolster up and put out your blue signs, but I’m afraid the AK47 crowd could do you in, so faggetdaboutit.  We want to keep you.  Unless you have a Sicilian in your family. 

Chalmers’ always comes in with hysterical videos, I just love ‘em.  The History of Q is precious.  I wish I understood Japanese, but I get the drift.  Performance art is one of the most politically charged ways to get public attention.  Though I’m not sure what our Japanese artist was saying.  His abs aren’t that great, though he is a looker.  Gawd is he cute.  And I wouldn’t call that a Speedo, I’d call it an Almost-Speedo that wanted to jump off him (with his help of course).  Do you really watch Hardball?  Uh, how do you make bold or italics on your comments?  I use MS Word and my stuff always come up with no inflections. 

Oh yeah, I would never forget the Q on The Next Generation Star Trek shows.  He was great, one of a group of omnipotents.  Now are you related to them?

Happy Solstice

P.S. I have signed up for google alerts for Ron Paul (cause I hate him), and for John Edwards (cause I love him) and I am getting such emails that keep me up at least on the latest news on the Internet.  You might want to check out google alerts for your pet political watches.

Shenonymous, your call to action for Edwards is well spoken and moving. The metaphor of the solstice marking an important turning point in the ecliptic of American optimism grooves with my own sentiments on the rebirth of hope. Of course, i will be watching with anxious anticipation as the primaries begin to play themselves out. Unfortunately since i don’t live in a state that is considered to “matter” — a fertile topic for a discussion in its own right — and most poignantly in an area which refuses to engage in political discussion, much less political debate, i fear i can do little to affect the inevitable red state electoral college result. There are just too many “These colors don’t run” bumper stickers cozied up with Jesus-fish on the tailgates of four-door work trucks sucking down diesel at a rate of 15 miles per hypocrisy.

Regarding “The History of Q” which Douglas Chalmers linked to, it is my great pleasure to assure you that i am not the speedo-clad Japanese interpretive-dance-machine/pop-culture phenomenon chronicled in that hilariously perplexing video amalgamation. i wouldn’t mind having those abs though. Maybe i should look into getting an Ab-Lounge so i can work up some rock hard abs while i watch Hardball.

Thanks for the shout out, and thanks for a good laugh!

#121425 by i,Q on 12/19: “...i am amazed at how much antipathy a haircut can muster…. Agenda seems to be a popular buzzword around here….”

History of Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMFIoX7y1wM

Agreed - There is no rescue ‘copter coming to whisk us away to safety; we have to walk our way out of here. One foot in front of the other, as they say, and soon we will be back on the road…

Howdy Q, yeah I know, agenda is overworked, but for want of a better word and I was too much in a hurry to get going for the day…you know. Would “personal ax to grind” be better?  What I meant by the word idiosyncratic, in this case as I’m sure you well understand the meaning of the word definitively, is that you were expressing a specifically indivdidual oblique inclination.  Achally I am by way of California and Texass, from wild Pennsylvania and have that accent, or as is the case, a non-accent.  I wasn’t really offended, so you may be at ease.  You have some fine thinking brains there young feller.  I do recognize a pragmatic color to your arguments and that is applaudable.  But I just “came out” for Edwards and have explained it as much as I will in my last post here.  I will look forward to your opinions and comments as I too enjoy intelligence shown.

Have we found our candidate?  I have a good feeling about this and I don’t usually go on feelings,  I am not doing so exclusively here either, rather I have listened to all the candidates very critically over the span of time they have been stumping, debating, lecturing and measuring what every one else is saying both proponents and detractors, but I also am adding in the gut factor.  I don’t get that sinking feeling that I get with the other candidates regardless of their sincerity, promises, and objectives.  I have a great deal of respect for Kucinich’s principles and program, and even Hillary’s courage to wage an intelligent campaign, and Obama’s electrifying outlook.  I, on this time of solstice have chosen Edwards and it seems there are quite a few others also on this and a few other forums who have too.  Now as the new year refreshes we must do more than sound off, we must breathe more life into his candidacy than ever seen before in an election and help him kindle the energy that will bring back this country to the high moral ground and sufficiency it once had.  Personally I am going to sign up with his campaign on the solstice as an article of faith and at this moment I feel more optimistic than I have in years.

Happy solstice everyone and may the renewal of the sun be the genesis of a better era for you individually as well as for the world.  Let us take this time between winter solstice and summer to celebrate our humanity.  A little dramatic I know, but sometimes I get carried away, it is my histrionic nature.  But it is done with candor, probity and anticipation of a brighter now.

John Edwards as candidate for president has is the choice I am now trending toward, having started out as a firm supporter of Obama.  I simply like what he has to say, he’s clear and direct about it—he doesn’t equivocate, pause, calculate or hedge.

He understands this immigration problem in the context of Nafta and its impact on both Mexicans and the American worker.  Other candidates want to limit the debate on immigration to drivers licenses, survival, compassion, racism—all smoke screens designed to cloud the economic issues and deflect scrutiny of the NAU and protect corporations who want to circumvent minimum wage and worker protections for cheap labor. 

Poverty, the weakening middle class, the high cost of health care and medicines, crowded schools are problems that cannot be solved if we keep adding millions ofimmigrants and illegal workers and then allow legislators to pass laws permitting families of these 20 million undocumented workers to come here as well.  Any candidate who cannot define the problem will not be able to put forward a solution to it…period.

Forget the haircut, puh-lease.  There’s a lot at stake in this election and Republlicans would love nothing better than non-Republicans to get hung up on stupid things.  The man has money and he’s entitled to indulge his vanities as he wants—but he also gives away a lot of money and he understands why people don’t have it and why the rest are losing it. 

My growing skepticism with Obama is due to his vagueness, lack of specificity on the issues, and an increasingly apparent habit of trying too hard not to displease certain groups, particularly the crossover Republicans in his camp who are socially liberal and fiscally conservative. 

His health care plan allows the status quo to continue by largely preserving the system, only requiring that children be covered—the cheapest demographic to serve.  Although he emphasizes his stance on the Iraq vote, he now backtracks on ending the war. 

Obama may be, in fact, the most conservative Democratic candidate of the bunch, and I don’t like his corporate allegiances.  He presents his credentials on issues—opposed the war, worked with the poor—but they don’t sync with his proposals for the future, they don’t promise a presidential outcome.  I’ve yet to hear him explicitly address the problems of poverty except to deliver a policy statement on education—very unoffensive to the ears.  And it bothers me that all of people to choose from, he uses Oprah to stump for him (even though she’s black, crossover Republicans love her; she doesn’t scare anyone either).

i’m flattered to get a double-posted response . Please allow me to clarify my position: i think that Edwards is a great candidate and would make a fine President, as would any of the Dems—it’s hard to imagine any regime change to be worse! It is my opinion, however, that Edwards has focused his campaign effort so much in Iowa that he doesn’t have enough presence in other states to have a realistic shot at actually winning the nomination, and so he’s a longer shot than Obama. And since Hillary is the least favorite of my choices, and most likely to continue the war, pander to big business, and generally maintain the welfare of the Establishment, i must hope that Obama can win in Iowa and carry that momentum into NH, SC, and NV and overtake Hillary in the national polls.

i apologize if i offended by inferring that a southern speech pattern is folksy. In retrospect it is a loaded euphemism and perhaps an unfair characterization. Despite having been born in Oklahoma, or perhaps in part because of experiences related to that accident of birth, i carry a certain irrational bias against southern accents. Just the accent mind you, not necessarily the mind behind it. i guess on a superficial level, i wouldn’t mind a change of pace after sixteen years of sound bites. On a more sociological note, in this age so strongly defined by the moving image and its requisite sound-bite,it might better serve the interests of repairing our foreign relations were we to elect a President who is the complete opposite of Bush in speech patterns and countenance, as well as policy, party, partisanship, and well, let’s face it, outward appearance. In the pageant of foreign relations appearances, Obama would certainly play the anti-cowboy more easily than Edwards.

i hope you will recognize a pragmatism in my arguments which does not reflect my “perfect world” hopes and dreams in which i am with you in electing Kucinich to office to set up shop with his Department of Peace. But if i am to pursue this pragmatism to its full consequence, i must also admit the possibility of Obama losing the general election on the sad fact that there is a slim but perhaps decisive slice of voters who would vote against him simply on the matter of skin color.

i’m not sure what you mean by my “idiosyncratic agenda.” Agenda seems to be a popular buzzword around here. Everyone has an agenda, benign or otherwise, and mine is not to convert anyone to a particular way of thinking (well maybe to occasionally point out to the anti-pro-Isreal-ites that they are slaves of their own paranoia). i’m just excited to have found a forum where people with genuine intellectual curiosity are exchanging their thoughts intelligently and (for the most part) politely. So thank you, Shenonymous, for offering me my first direct reply. Oh and feel free to call me Q. i,Q only makes sense when i’m saying it, hehe. 

Like others I sometimes experience computer and Internet failure, sorry about the double posts. I guess it is something we all have to live with sometimes.  I know you will forgive and forget about it. Thanx

I,Q – your post is thoughtful although I cannot agree with you about Edwards and Obama. If anything I believe the better ticket would be with Obama as VP to Edwards’ president.  Edwards shows us what is wrong with America because there are things radically wrong with it.  And being from a folksy southern state, way…ell, John Edwards sounds jes laik me.  He has the experience of the Senate and understands world politics better than Obama.  He is brilliant and has the only-can-help law degree, and he has honest care about labor and all the other middle class and poor folks.  Whatever is your personal agenda, it is idiosyncratic.  It will definitely be a more interesting election than the Kerry/Bush face off, which was a debacle just as the Gore/Bush was and with the Supreme Court that is in the conservative pocket pulling the strings all the way.  I like the excitement that Obama brings to the political floor, and I think he will be a fantastic future president.  At the moment I think we need someone like John Edwards.  Kucinich as I said has the best ideas, but he is not national fare.

I,Q – your post is thoughtful although I cannot agree with you about Edwards and Obama. If anything I believe the better ticket would be with Obama as VP to Edwards’ president.  Edwards shows us what is wrong with America because there are things radically wrong with it.  And being from a folksy southern state, way…ell, John Edwards sounds jes laik me.  He has the experience of the Senate and understands world politics better than Obama.  He is brilliant and has the only-can-help law degree, and he has honest care about labor and all the other middle class and poor folks.  Whatever is your personal agenda, it is idiosyncratic.  It will definitely be a more interesting election than the Kerry/Bush face off, which was a debacle just as the Gore/Bush was and with the Supreme Court that is in the conservative pocket pulling the strings all the way.  Let us hope that the magnifying glass the public now is will avoid a same scenario.  I like the excitement that Obama brings to the political floor, and I think he will be a fantastic future president.  At the moment I think we need someone like John Edwards.  Kucinich as I said has the best ideas, but he is not national fare.

There is no shortage of “interesting” info concerning our presidential candidates is there?  I noticed this story from “The Hill” and thought, “there it is, that little annoying link to treachery”.  Although the candidates all seem to be guilty of this to a degree….it certainly brings down Obama’s “spit-shined” image and lends some credence to Edwards’ “hard-polish”.  From “The Hill”:

concerning Obama:
“Three political aides on Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) payroll were registered lobbyists for dozens of corporations, including Wal-Mart, British Petroleum and Lockheed Martin, while they received payments from his campaign, according to public documents.

The presence of political operatives with long client lists on Obama’s campaign contrasts with his long-held stand of campaigning against the influence of special interests. Obama has even refused to accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees (PACs).”

concerning Edwards:
“Two members of former Sen. John Edwards’s (D-N.C.) staff were registered as lobbyists for the first six months of this year. Adam Jentleson lobbied on behalf of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank headed by John Podesta, the White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration. Matthew Morrison registered as a lobbyist for the American Federation of Teachers in 2007.”

The entire article:  http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lobbyists-on-obamas-08-payroll-2007-12-20.html

This reminds me of that “Sesame Street” song…one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong”......

i am amazed at how much antipathy a haircut can muster.

Indeed, Clinton’s campaign is falling all over itself to expose its nasty, two-faced power grabbing for what it is. Hillaryous at first struggled to present a sympathetic “her” to the electoral audience, better stylists and make up artists, better lighting in interviews, even smoothing out the shrill squawk in her speech pattern. In the interest of keeping this related to the article, i would venture that she’s spent far more on her physical appearance than Edwards, Obama, Dodd, Richardson,  Kucinich, and Gravel put together. (i know it’s not a stretch with Kucinich and Gravel, and do note the omission of Biden—ha!) She had been doing such a great job of acting like a nice human being, eloquent and gracious on stage at early debate performances—until October when she stepped in it and exposed her true colors once more. She will say anything to any group in order to remain in their good graces, and when it back fired on her in the middle of the debate, that’s when we started to see her campaign begin to unravel. She looks tired, has gone speciously negative on Obama, Bill is running amok on Charlie Rose, and the squawk has returned to her voice, grating on my ears every time i see her interviewed saying, “Well, I [insert whining prevarication here]” What she really is saying is: “I am inevitable! Why can’t anybody see that? Why doesn’t anybody like me?”

i think that Edwards is going to make Obama one hell of a VP candidate. As someone else posted, sorry if the truth hurts, but Hillary is Margaret Thatcher in sheep’s clothing, and Edwards has staked his whole populist strategy almost entirely on Iowa, and despite having the platform most beneficial to most Americans, Kucinich was painted out of the running from the get-go, a “Furry Woodland Creature,” to quote Jon Stewart. One of the greatest strengths about Obama right now is that he doesn’t represent much but the hope for change, and because he is still a work in progress, he can appear to many to be many different things. He isn’t that shrill First Lady from the good old days, he isn’t the guy who couldn’t beat Kerry and then couldn’t team up with Kerry to beat the Boy Emperor. He is well-spoken and thoughtful, he seems to be able to consider both sides of an argument before making a case for compromise, he doesn’t seem to lose his composure when confronted, and let’s face it, he looks pretty damn cool wringing his gigantic hands in quiet contemplation. He speaks of hope for a better America, and that is much more appealing than being guilted always by Edwards who is so busy showing us what is wrong with America with his depressing folksy statist-ecdotes, to realize that we already know, and (as evidenced by many posts i’ve read around this site and others like it) are on the brink of cynically throwing up our hands in defeatist capitulation to the inevitability of a fascist monopololigarchy.

For all of our frustrations and suspicions and all of the deceits and sleights of hand we have endured for the last 7 years, we can’t reasonably say that anyone but the Bush administration knows (perhaps a poor choice of words) exactly how f*ed up the big picture is. With that in mind, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to get behind a hopeful, thoughtful leader who will be in a good position to take stock of what will certainly be a disheveled matted coif of a situation—if i may extend the haircut into administrative metaphor—and act accordingly for the situation, rather than someone who’s already prescribed an agenda that may simply be impossible to deliver on. Ultimately the greatest disappointment would be more broken promises. There is no rescue ‘copter coming to whisk us away to safety; we have to walk our way out of here. One foot in front of the other, as they say, and soon we will be back on the road.

Is it acceptable practice to click the report comment link on comments obviously making no attempt to relate to the source article or the thread itself?  (e.g. 1dree5 spam/drek)

It’s interesting that Giacobbe tries to set himself up for absolutely no criticism.  As if anybody really cares about his pompous opinions, except his hubris comes through loud and clear and we find that repugnant.  He demonstrates a basher online personality, very common with the weak of mind.  He criticizes John Edwards without much substance,

It is one thing to make valid criticisms but to think that ambiguity does it is plain stupid.  Giacobbe is one of those hit and run assault sharpies who gives a bunch of bull shit arguments.  For instance he said he’d rather vote for a on-legged, transvestite, Tourette syndrome, Afghan goat-herder sooner than he’d vote for Edwards.  Way…ell, we will see if we can find one for him to vote for.  We’d rather he vote for his phantasy than be involved in our election.

Department of Justice launched political prosecutions against both Edwards and Clinton as possible challengers to the Bush policies, see http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/22/1151/98789
At least Edwards was honest about accepting public campaign funding and tells the truth about the need for taxes see
http://www.politicalstar.com/
As a matter of fact, if you want to see a concise, objective reporting of all the candidates positions, see the same politicalstar website.  You will be surprised at how all-at-a-glance review you can get.

Regarding Edwards receipt of honorarium from UCD, first of all he has to pay taxes on any honorarium because lecturers must fill out a W-2 form before they get paid on any campus.  Second it is standard practice to pay dazzling “whopping” fees to glitz and glamour lecturers and they are paid because students and campuses want them there.  Some people of small petty minds are too overly impressed by dollar figures over 10 bucks.  Campuses don’t have to have anybody they don’t want to pay there. So the criticism is rather stupid.

Finally, Edwards adding an attachment to a congressional amendment is also standard practice and all the Washington politicians do it.  It is the bargain-way-to-get-things-done in Washington.  Just check it out. 

It would seem that Giacobbe’s entire diatribe against John Edwards only present weak argument after weak argument.  I only bring this to your attention because I haven’t even decided who to vote for yet, but it galls me that mental midgets try to persuade with really feeble so-called facts.  You must be vigilant against such spindly thinking.  And it is your responsibility to check everything out, and I mean everything.  Otherwise you are letting others do your thinking for you.

The neocon assault on this country began long before George W. Bush ran for office.  The biggest change needed to allow the neocons to take control was to revise people’s ideas about values, and what matters in their lives and for the country.

There are no more values except as the preachermen say.  And the preachermen focus on and reinforce the old ideology that provides support for excluding women and non-whites from most areas of society.  Sex outside of marriage is bad.  Homosexuals are bad.  Birth control and abortion, and working women, and educated women are bad.  Women’s liberation, women’s rights, women’s job demands, women’s education, women’s opinions, women’s concerns are of no consequence except when it comes to child rearing and meal preparation.

What does matter then?  Money.  Everything is evaluated solely based upon how much money it can bring in.  Movies are no longer evaluated based upon story, writing, acting, directing, but instead are deemed good or bad based upon the box office, and DVD rentals and sales.  Music is evaluated based upon the number of albums sold.  When Brittany Spears recently came out with a new CD, and everyone panned it in advance, when it got decent sales the media suddenly decided it must be pretty good.  Not based upon the music, but upon the money.  The Apprentice on TV lets the young business people know clearly that the only thing that matters is how much money did they bring in.  It’s not personal, it’s business, is just another way of saying that a person can be as ruthless, brutal, and dishonest as they want as long as they do it in the interest of making a profit.

And so our candidates also are evaluated based upon only one question:  how much money have they received.  We have taken official bribery, a crime that should land these people in prison, and have elevated it into a popular sport.  Which politician receives bribes from Rupert Murdoch so they will allow him to own all the media in the U.S.?  Which politician receives from Wall Street so they will turn the Social Security fund over to the fee-driven parasites in the stock market?  Which politician receives money from the preachermen so they will give our tax dollars to support other people’s religions.

John Edwards is the only candidate who has any substantive policies that could change our country for the better.  Hillary is a Republican, and Obama was set up by the DLC, the Clintonistas and the insiders to run only for the purpose of keeping support from Edwards.  That Obama is now doing well comes as a big surprise to all involved.

Vote Edwards.  The others are useless.

Then I went and made a complete farce of myself by posting twice. Apologies all around.

#120713 by Robert Giacobbe

Might have been willing to concede a point to you and then you went and made a farce of yourself by having to insert a snark about the silliness of a haircut. I am a John Edwards supporter. I, being a rational human being, don’t expect him to be perfect. I concede that he has made mistakes, taken wrong turns and may have even, gasp, done some things of which I don’t completely approve. Like all the nominees he is a politician. He is still thought to be the best that we can or will get at this point.

#120713 by Robert Giacobbe

Was willing to concede that you might make some legitimate point and then you did it. You made a complete farce of yourself by bringing up the infamous haircut. If that’s the best mud you have to sling you are way out of your league. I support John Edwards and have from the gitgo. I can do that as a rational human being without thinking he is perfect or that he never made a mistake or that he has never done anything wrong. I can accept that because he is the one thing that ALL presidents are: a politician.

There was an interesting poll on the Alternet site regarding Edwards.  It cites a CNN poll from earlier this month and projects Edwards as the only candidate with enough support to beat the top four GOP contenders.  Interesting…....

http://www.alternet.org/story/70781/

Also “Media Matters for America dispells some of the propaganda circulating about Edwards.

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/john_edwards

Of the frontrunners, I like Edwards best but that’s really not saying much.  My feeling is he is more “hard polished” whereas Obama appears more “spit shined”.  Hillary…??? I’d sooner vote for my neighbors hamster.

It’s obvious to me who the corps. DON’T WANT. That would be Kucinich.  It’s really shameful too since I don’t think Kucinich is about “putting them out of business” just “leveling the playing field”.  One must be extremely inept or debasedly greedy to feel that fairness would “put one out of business”.  Makes you wonder doesn’t it…..?

It’s about time someone took a realistic view of Edwards.  Why is it so few reporters pay attention to him, well he is a truthteller and they usually can’t tell their collective asses from a hole in the ground.  He is an interesting and articulate man.  And how ridiculous it is to say Hillary’s campaign is falling apart.  Someone (or many someone’s) doesn’t want to read the tea leaves that are plastered on their eyelids.  National polls are less likely to be wrong than local ones.  This kind of sophomoric report needs to go to bed with out any supper.

While Kucinich says all the right things, he has flaws that will not get him elected.  He does not “look” presidential, and maybe, Ernest, Dennis ought to get a $400 haircut too????  Calling a spade a spade.  Truth almost always hurts.

#120954 by reason on 12/18 at 5:30 am
(20 comments total)

“I am only person and I don’t have the right or authority to tell others on this blog how they should act but I do have to right to evaluate what I read and give “my” opinion of its value.”

Yes, that’s correct.  But, big BUT, don’t expect other posters to follow your expectation.  Many here have an agenda; it doesn’t have anything to do with what you say or the subject at hand, so: welcome to the meat grinder of reality.  Poster beware!

Bush’s excuse for pursuing a failed war, for attempting to deep-six global warming solutions—all this in spite of national and world opinion—is that he is directed by God. There is no such self-delusion by the media. It is directed by money.

People don’t get elected or rejected on their merits, on the basis of how good or effective an office-holder he or she might be.  We don’t vote for a candidate based on his qualifications and how good he would be as president or legislator.  We vote, sometimes still deciding as we step into the booth, on perceptions and images. 

The process of getting elected, campaigning, getting the voter to vote for you has very little to do with effectively executing the office you’re running for.  One activity requires a different set of skills than the other.  And we never really talk about what makes a good president, for example, but rather the campaign consists of the process of generating images in the minds of the voters.  Positive images for your candidate and negative, scary, repulsive, if possible, images for the opponent.  And it’s those images we carry into the voting booth.  The successful candidate will be the one with the most effective campaign team

But what does that say about either the winner or the loser with respect to his ability to perform the functions of the office. All the election has decided is who is a better campaigner or who has a more skillful set of handlers and packagers.

Debates are a good example of the futility of the whole process of selection.  What exactly do we learn from watching this play-acting over and over again.  Does the president have to be a good debater? It would be helpful if his aides were.  They’re the ones who have to present various sides of an argument but the chief executive, as W says, is the decider.  He doesn’t have to debate anyone, other than himself.  So we might benefit by knowing the man himself,  How will he wrestle with this or that issue, internally?  What is his core philosophy, how does he think, not on a stage with millions watching and weighing his every utterance and body movement but in his heart of hearts. When no one is watching, what basic principle does he turn to.  Which, it seems to me, means we ought to get a clearer picture of the man, beyond stage presence.

Some say that we get a sense of “how the candidate can think on his feet”.  Well, the last picture I saw of the Oval Office, I’m pretty sure I saw a chair in there somewhere.  The President can sit down almost anytime he wants.  But we put such emphasis on who scored a point by raising an eyebrow (and I don’t mean figuratively) at this moment or made a 3-word crack at that moment.  Who lost ground for appearing nervous or gained ground by not sweating, etc., etc.  Do we ever learn anything about the candidates that will tell us that he will or won’t be a good president.

Of course, the real problem is that we never discuss what we want in a president, what makes a “good” president and it’s apparent that we don’t because we haven’t figured it out yet.

Don’t confuse E-mail with comments:

If and when I choose to post and comment on Truthdig, I would like to discuss the issues and the articles appearing on Truthdig but it seems there are more and more people posting who choose to make personal attacks on those that disagree with them.
I thought this was a blog that deals with political issues. Directing attacks against other posters is not only a waste of time but it attacks the premise that all posters have a right to state their opinions. Directing comments at a another poster is little more than using the blog as “e-mail”. I am not a fan of censorship but, the quality and content of comments tend to dictate value of a blog.
I am only person and I don’t have the right or authority to tell others on this blog how they should act but I do have to right to evaluate what I read and give “my” opinion of its value.

Wow,  Bill Boyarsky, a white male democtrat candidate - just what you want for your Christmas stocking, uhh! As a journalist, you are only too keen to tell us that “...the journalistic verdict” is that Hillary’s campaign “...is falling apart”, groan.

The point is, though, that as a lawyer, Edwards along with the rest is telling a story that people want to hear. You are all deleriously lapping it up…... because you are all desperately delirious….

#120773 Sharon Ash:  You must be too young to remember the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  Doing something about poverty was mainstream then, and yes candidates did go around campaigning on that issue.  It was in 1980 that the country was abducted by the aliens known as republicans and neocons.  They decided to “get the poor off our backs” by decimating all entitlement programs and by making political campaigns so expensive that they could only be funded by corporate donations, thus insuring that the voice of the people would never be heard.
You should study American hitory.  Start with Howard Zinn’s A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

#120789 by Thomas Billis

“Geroge (sic) Bush is the two term President of the United States. If we go any lower on the evolutionary scale the next President will be sleeping in a cage. “

Good post with a great ending!  We are in the era when the troglodytes rule.  Can you imagine a President who doesn’t believe in evolution?  If all are “made in god’s image” what does Bush say about the image of god?

Among the “anointed by the MSM” top tier, Edwards is my favorite.  He speaks to the problems of health, health insurance, poverty (a big one in my book) and the corruption.  His health care program is extensive and comprehensive.  None of the other “top tier” candidates come close; in this three way race on health care his opponents would tie for 5th place.

The fragility of the “middle class” financially and in other ways is one of the 800 lbs gorillas prancing about in the background.  We should clap our hands and pretend they aren’t there?

#120737 by Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD

Anger is different from hate.  Read some of the atheist existential philosophers.  Try to find a copy of Bertrand Russell’s “Nightmares of Eminent Persons”  good for a smile and instructive too!

#120691 by cyrena keep your passport close.  Of course there is the problem of whether of not we will be permitted to use them.  I’ve read some dire predictions about our ability to travel freely after FEB 08.

Welcome to the party Mr Boyarsky.John Edwards is the only candidate in both parties who recognizes what the problem is.Can he do anything about it?Who knows?What I do know is that in order to cure any disease you have to know what the disease is.The system is rigged and corrupt and that feeling should pervade the electorate.I believe it would if we had a media that was even semi responsible.The issues that John Edwards talks about are not hard to show the media choses not to do it so they can trivialize every aspect of the news for the morons.Let us not forget when Anna Nicole Smith died it was breaking news.I blame us.If we demanded Shakespeare on television every night we would get it.We elected George Bush, a man who cannot even speak his native tongue, that is how sophisticated we are.They are giving us, the morons, what we deserve.Elect a Robert Kennedy.Thomas Jefferson could not get elected today.FDR would not have a chance in a million years.Let me repeat something that shows who we are.Geroge Bush is the two term President of the United States.If we go any lower on the evolutionary scale the next President will be sleeping in a cage.

Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD

You are correct, Hate is destructive, Hate is a strong, powerful, emotional word, and one that should be thought over through and through before using or applying to your thoughts and or dialog.  What I’ve tried to do is distance yourself from whatever is making you feel enough rage inside to really hate a particular person, thing or statement.  I myself have gotten a little jagged around the edges recently (not so much about politics but with my mother-in-law).  I can’t say I hate her (like I said Hate is a very powerful, emotional word), but I really can’t stand to be in her presence, and am not myself when she is around because of my dislike of her.  What I would recommend is thinking about what is making you angry, how and why it makes you angry, and then construct a plan of attack to get this irritant out of your life.  If it is politics, then maybe you should take a break for awhile, if it’s your job, then maybe it’s time for a change; but to continue to slam you head into a wall over and over is no way to deal with it.  If you hold any cards (meaning, I way to rid yourself of the problem) then by all means play them.  If it is something as simple as politics than just ignore it for awhile and let yourself come to grips with your emotions again, then go back at it.  Because really it’s not like you getting pissed about a topic is really going to sway some sleazy politicians ideology for the way he/she voted or is voting on a topic and or issue.  Also, ask yourself why are you getting so angry?  What are these politicians saying or not saying that has you HATING?

I’ve never come out and asked for help before but here goes.

I had a Christian values upbringing, but then turned atheist.  But I do like the idea of not hating.  Hate is destructive. 

My dilemma:  I HATE all the candidates.  Can you suggest some one or place I can turn to for help?  People are starting to notice changes in my behavior. 

I avoid pharmies. Janism is a little too weird.  I simply don’t know what to do.  Suicide is not an option. 

Even my dogs walk the other way when they see me coming.  Sad to say, all this Truthdigging hasn’t really helped.  I’m getting desperate and there’s still 17, or so, months of this s*** to go.

Thanks, in advance for your help.  You’re the only friends I have.

We can’t have democracy and a corporate owned media. It’s one or the other.  Looking at Hillary’s health care plan tells us everything we need to know about the state of democracy in this country.  She knows that the vast majority of people want some form of single payer universal heath care, but she can’t say that because that’s not what corporate america wants.
If she did say it she would be labled a left wing radical nut case with no chance of winning.  They might not let her into the debates.  So she has to invent a convoluted plan that allows her to say the words “health care” often enough to make people blieve she is going to do something about it, but which in fact is little more than keeping things as they are with insurance companies in control.
If Bobby Kennedy were alive today and running in this race, he would make the corporate media the issue and take it right to the people without mincing any words.

#120658 by rowdy on 12/16 at 7:55 pm
(243 comments total)

So…...I have enjoyed your other posts, but this one raises my hackles a bit….talk to me….in metered prose…..so I can understand what you are really saying.  Articulate, in English, the thing you feel…..can you?  Previously, I have thought we are not really that far apart, or are we?
“that stupid non nigger is just as despicable.”
Wow!  Can you get beyond this hate language to an articulate explanation of what you mean?  I despise Hillary and want her to go away.  But Obama, maybe he is not the greatest, I don’t trust him either, but maybe he is just playing the game to get where he needs to be………..I don’t know………….I’m just observing, so I can feel out the candidates……..what do you think?

#120658 shows you what can happen to you if you let your Republican DNA take over your brain. You find yourself typing racist, sexist rants that anyone with a functioning conscience or mind will find repugnant. I like John Edwards. Nothing but a haircut? He was not only a successful trial lawyer, he was a successful enough trial lawyer to go from being the son of a mill worker to a relatively rich man. Not as rich as Mitt or some of the empty suits that are running for the Republicans. Now there is a bunch that would cause nausea in anyone that has any sense. Which of course would leave out folks like the adolescent rantings of rowdy. But then I suspect rowdy was only crying out for some attention poor silly little thing.

Bill Boyarski…

At least YOURS is an excellent piece of journalism, and I like Edwards just fine. Please keep covering him if you can, since the old style media has deserted us long ago.

Meantime, why do people say things like “he’s rich” without any sense of relativity? Seriously, how ‘rich’ is he? Is he as rich as Oprah? I would bet not close, and he’s actually earned his money doing GOOD WORKS for people, and actually standing up for them against these same people that G.Anderson talks about having ripped us off for so long. Wanna compare his ‘wealth’ to that of Dickie boy Cheney? Or even Georgie Boy, and the whole Oil Oligarchy, along with the Wall Street obscenely wealthy who pay nearly nothing in taxes? I mean, there’s rich, and then there’s grotesquely obnoxiously wealthy.

(Excellent post BTW G.Anderson #120678), and I know exactly how you feel. Really, I do. He actually does allow one to hope again. And yeah, it might be scary, but ya know, don’t we maybe deserve a little hope about now? Things are really awful, and I have to admit, he’s really sounding way better than the others.

So, I’m gonna check out his web-site, to see if I can find out more on what he thinks about the US imperialism of the Middle East, and how quick he can get us of of there.

On the immigration, it’s annoying that folks want an immediate fix, without being willing to address the reasons for it, or even acknowledge the reasons for it, including the racist tinge to it. There just has never been the backlash against other immigration, which I know for a fact has always happened without much of a hassle at all, at least between 1960 and 1995, Euros immigrated in with little more than the same process the rest of us go through to get a passport. Nobody was complaining. And, Canadians STILL don’t have any problems. (unless they’re Arabs).

And, same with Asians now that I think about it, for at least the past 40 years, because of what we did to Viet Nam. There are literally huge communities of Vietnamese in places like San Jose, Ca,  and parts of Southern Louisiana. I would guess other places as well. Lot’s of Filipinos in California too, that have come without a lot of hassle. So, folks need to get a perspective here, and consider that their cheap stuff comes with a price of immigrant labor. They are HERE, because our corps are THERE… along with NAFTA.

Meantime, I think the only people who are bothered by his ‘class’ message, are the 1%’ers, along with the other ones who still haven’t figured out how or why they aren’t in the same ‘class’ they thought they were in before, and just wanna blame everything on “The Mexicans”. Once it slaps them in the face that they’re getting to be (if they aren’t already) part of that same ‘class’ of the have-nots, at the expense of the 1%’ers, they might actually vote in their own interests for a change. Then again, who knows.

Anyway, I like his haircut too, and I think I’ll treat myself to one tomorrow. (not as expensive as his, but I don’t need that – which is a good thing).

Rowdy, what the hell is your problem? Can you spend all of that hate on the rent? Or maybe use it as currency at the market? Can you turn your hate energy into gas to fill your tank? Or, are you already full of gas? Light a match, why don’t ya!!

Again, the haircut wasn’t what was expensive, but paying the hair stylist to *fly out* to Edwards was.  Good Lord.  Edwards decided to pay out of his own pocket to ensure he didn’t waste any time off the campaign trail.  Why the hell is that even wrong?

We should back a person with lofty goals for all those he represents. If they happen to have a good haircut, all the better.

Yes, I like what he says, but it scares me, because then I could start believing in things again, and I don’t know if I could take it, if it turns out to be a lie.

Hillary, seems to feel entitled to the job, I listen to her but I can’t remember anything she’s said, It looks like it’s her husband that’s running again, he’s coveting her presidency already and she hasn’t even been elected yet.

Honestly, sometimes I feel very alone, even though I know there are millions of American’s just like me, down to the bone financially, ripped off by credit card companies, mortgage companies, banks, collections agencies, and the tax man.

They’ve all taken from the middle class, as if there was no tomorrow, but tomorrow is today.

It scares me that maybe Edwards, or someone would do something about it, and I could have hope again.

The Energy Non-Crisis

Please watch this Google video…absolutely sickening…but it doesn’t surprise me in the least.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147

120658 by rowdy…...YOU ARE THE REASON THE DEATH PENALITY IS STILL AROUND…YOU ARE ONE SICK LITTLE REPUBLICAN .......LITTLE BITCH PUPPY THAT IS….As SANTA SAYS HO HO HO….

The corporate media dislikes John Edwards because of his class conflict message.