Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Barry Bonds Is A Scumbag
It isn’t Complicated
An article I read today posed this question,” How will you remember Barry Bonds?” One of several options was ‘It is complicated’. The author chose that as part of his answer. He said, “You'll tell them he cheated and that his story is both sad and complicated.” Well two out of three ain’t bad. He is right, it is sad and Bonds is a cheater, but it isn’t complicated. It is so simple that an old drug user and baseball man like George Bush should even be able to understand it. But then rumor has it steroids were part of the the Texas Rangers’ game plan while he was an owner and managing general partner.
Before continuing I know my friends would insist that I come clean. Yes I have used a drug or two in my lifetime. They say I am prejudiced toward Major League Baseball (MLB) but I say my conclusions are undeniable and solidly proven.
Here is my case. It is true that I have not attended, watched, or listened to a major league game since 1994. It does not mean that I have lived in a cave so I do know that the Red Sox won the Series in 2004. And yes I do hold it against baseball that I missed that Series, but that is another story. In 1994 MLB went to the dogs. It was part of a trend started by the NBA and later joined by the NFL. It was a trend of greedy owners and greedy players sticking it to the fans. So I got mad as hell and said I am not going to take it anymore. Even though I was a sports junkie, I gave up professional sports, all of them. It would take another 10 years before I was able to kick the habit entirely and give up college sports as well.
But I digress, back to baseball, it is the greatest game ever, even better than curling. I love baseball. I refer to real baseball not the the bastardized version of the American League. It is a game of strategy and nuances. It is a thinking person’s game. It was my game of choice in my youth. It could have been my road to fortune. No, not based on my abilty. I was great with a glove and had good speed but I had a little difficulty with the curve ball. I also had a pack rat mentality and shoebox upon shoebox of baseball cards. If I would have just saved them I probably could have owned the Rangers instead of bad mouthing them.
Like the rest of the world, baseball started going through significant changes in the 1960’s. The players and fans began to realize that the sport was not just a game, it also was a business. The age of corporatization had arrived for baseball. Players responded by finally putting some teeth into their union, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and making use of agents. The first collective bargaining agreement for MLB was reached in 1968.
Two years later Curt Flood, a St. Louis outfielder, challenged the ‘reserve clause’. This clause tied the players for life to the team that held their contract. They were not free to negotiate with other teams. With a dose of hyperbole Flood said he was the same as a ’slave’. Flood was an African American but using slave was insulting to the history of Black people in America. He was making $90,000 a year in 1970. Flood was right in his fight he was not in his choice of words. He lost the battle, the courts decided against him and his baseball career was over. But the players won the war, in 1975 an arbitrator ruled against the owners and the reserve clause.
Between 1975 and 1994 there were two lockouts and three strikes. The rules say 3 strikes and you’re out. So it was with baseball for me. Baseball had become a bunch of self-centered and overpaid players in collusion with corporate pigs for owners. The everyday fan did not fit into the equation. It finally dawned on me that if I wanted to look at and support rear ends I would have become a proctologist. Hail, farewell, and good riddance, I’m never going back.
Now all that doesn’t make Barry Bonds a scumbag. Using drugs doesn’t make him a scumbag. Alcohol was the Babe’s drug; gambling was Pete Rose’s. Cheating, using drugs while denying it, and promoting a win at any and all costs attitude is what makes Barry a scumbag. A scumbag he will remain until he quits lying and starts helping solve the problem instead of adding to it. It isn’t complicated. It’s simple as sin.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
It isn’t Complicated
An article I read today posed this question,” How will you remember Barry Bonds?” One of several options was ‘It is complicated’. The author chose that as part of his answer. He said, “You'll tell them he cheated and that his story is both sad and complicated.” Well two out of three ain’t bad. He is right, it is sad and Bonds is a cheater, but it isn’t complicated. It is so simple that an old drug user and baseball man like George Bush should even be able to understand it. But then rumor has it steroids were part of the the Texas Rangers’ game plan while he was an owner and managing general partner.
Before continuing I know my friends would insist that I come clean. Yes I have used a drug or two in my lifetime. They say I am prejudiced toward Major League Baseball (MLB) but I say my conclusions are undeniable and solidly proven.
Here is my case. It is true that I have not attended, watched, or listened to a major league game since 1994. It does not mean that I have lived in a cave so I do know that the Red Sox won the Series in 2004. And yes I do hold it against baseball that I missed that Series, but that is another story. In 1994 MLB went to the dogs. It was part of a trend started by the NBA and later joined by the NFL. It was a trend of greedy owners and greedy players sticking it to the fans. So I got mad as hell and said I am not going to take it anymore. Even though I was a sports junkie, I gave up professional sports, all of them. It would take another 10 years before I was able to kick the habit entirely and give up college sports as well.
But I digress, back to baseball, it is the greatest game ever, even better than curling. I love baseball. I refer to real baseball not the the bastardized version of the American League. It is a game of strategy and nuances. It is a thinking person’s game. It was my game of choice in my youth. It could have been my road to fortune. No, not based on my abilty. I was great with a glove and had good speed but I had a little difficulty with the curve ball. I also had a pack rat mentality and shoebox upon shoebox of baseball cards. If I would have just saved them I probably could have owned the Rangers instead of bad mouthing them.
Like the rest of the world, baseball started going through significant changes in the 1960’s. The players and fans began to realize that the sport was not just a game, it also was a business. The age of corporatization had arrived for baseball. Players responded by finally putting some teeth into their union, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and making use of agents. The first collective bargaining agreement for MLB was reached in 1968.
Two years later Curt Flood, a St. Louis outfielder, challenged the ‘reserve clause’. This clause tied the players for life to the team that held their contract. They were not free to negotiate with other teams. With a dose of hyperbole Flood said he was the same as a ’slave’. Flood was an African American but using slave was insulting to the history of Black people in America. He was making $90,000 a year in 1970. Flood was right in his fight he was not in his choice of words. He lost the battle, the courts decided against him and his baseball career was over. But the players won the war, in 1975 an arbitrator ruled against the owners and the reserve clause.
Between 1975 and 1994 there were two lockouts and three strikes. The rules say 3 strikes and you’re out. So it was with baseball for me. Baseball had become a bunch of self-centered and overpaid players in collusion with corporate pigs for owners. The everyday fan did not fit into the equation. It finally dawned on me that if I wanted to look at and support rear ends I would have become a proctologist. Hail, farewell, and good riddance, I’m never going back.
Now all that doesn’t make Barry Bonds a scumbag. Using drugs doesn’t make him a scumbag. Alcohol was the Babe’s drug; gambling was Pete Rose’s. Cheating, using drugs while denying it, and promoting a win at any and all costs attitude is what makes Barry a scumbag. A scumbag he will remain until he quits lying and starts helping solve the problem instead of adding to it. It isn’t complicated. It’s simple as sin.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
In Defense Of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling
They Have Been Wrongly Accused and Convicted
I do not mean that Lay is innocent of the 6 counts on which he was convicted today or that Skilling is innocent of the 19 for which he was convicted. They are guilty as sin of those and more. No, I mean they have been wrongly accused of being a couple of rotten apples in the otherwise pure and pristine barrel of Corporate America. They are not the exception, they are the rule. There is something rotten in Wall Street, and it is not being directed by Heaven. Nay if we follow it, the stench, we find it to be Wall Street itself.
Wall Street and Corporate America have tried to hide behind a façade of amorality. They attempt to cover-up their misdeeds and illegalities by assigning them to a nebulous and ill-defined world of ‘business’. They are not accountable for their actions, “It’s only business,” magic words that relieve them of all responsibility. It is quite ironic that Big Business would adopt such an attitude after all the trouble it went through to get the government to declare that Corporations have the same rights as living breathing human beings. This the government finally did in 1886 when it was so decreed by the Supreme Court in its Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad decision. They want and have all the rights but none of the obligations. Thus it has been for the past 120 years, and the result is the devolution into Bush World.
David Sirota in his new book, Hostile Takeover, gives this warning from Thomas Jefferson,
Oh, its all been legal, bought and paid for on the open market. Greg Palast facetiously says we have “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.” Of course it is neither the best nor a democracy. It is Bush World 2006. It is the world of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
They Have Been Wrongly Accused and Convicted
I do not mean that Lay is innocent of the 6 counts on which he was convicted today or that Skilling is innocent of the 19 for which he was convicted. They are guilty as sin of those and more. No, I mean they have been wrongly accused of being a couple of rotten apples in the otherwise pure and pristine barrel of Corporate America. They are not the exception, they are the rule. There is something rotten in Wall Street, and it is not being directed by Heaven. Nay if we follow it, the stench, we find it to be Wall Street itself.
Wall Street and Corporate America have tried to hide behind a façade of amorality. They attempt to cover-up their misdeeds and illegalities by assigning them to a nebulous and ill-defined world of ‘business’. They are not accountable for their actions, “It’s only business,” magic words that relieve them of all responsibility. It is quite ironic that Big Business would adopt such an attitude after all the trouble it went through to get the government to declare that Corporations have the same rights as living breathing human beings. This the government finally did in 1886 when it was so decreed by the Supreme Court in its Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad decision. They want and have all the rights but none of the obligations. Thus it has been for the past 120 years, and the result is the devolution into Bush World.
David Sirota in his new book, Hostile Takeover, gives this warning from Thomas Jefferson,
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."Jefferson said this in 1816, almost 200 years ago. Like all aristocracies, corporate behavior has not improved with age. It has steadily declined. The trial is over and Corporate America has won, it is now the government.
Oh, its all been legal, bought and paid for on the open market. Greg Palast facetiously says we have “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.” Of course it is neither the best nor a democracy. It is Bush World 2006. It is the world of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
PS To Hillary
Getting Started
Here are a few ideas to help you get started. First clean up the electoral process. George Bush and the radical right have made a mockery of our system. Without fair and honest elections there is no democracy. This is not to say that in the past the Democrats have not done their part to subvert freedom. In fact their disenfranchisement of African American voters is one of the primary causes of our current predicament. The Democrats have always been slow learners, when they learn at all. It took them almost a century to see the error of their ways. But see it they did.
Now the Republicans have not only picked up the mantle, they have extended it to everyone who does not think (sic) like they do. And they are not satisfied with just preventing those who disagree with them from voting; they now try to change the vote of those who slip by and do vote. This is the state of America in 2006. You want to be remembered by history, then lead the fight to rebuild and restore democracy from its shattered remnants brought on by the Republican Revolution.
The first step in this new revolution is to return to all paper ballots in all elections. There is no argument that can be made against this. Cost and waste, what is the cost of freedom? How is it a waste to promote the fair and accurate count of each vote? Either your vote counts or it doesn’t. You either have a democracy or you don’t. Our current situation gives proof that just saying you do does not make it true.
The public’s right to quickly know, to know what; a number pulled from an electronic hat or who actually got the most votes? Polls should be open for several days; we should promote participation not hinder it. All exit polls should be strictly prohibited. The nation’s not knowing will cause chaos. Now that’s a good one. In 2000 we didn’t know for 5 weeks, and the chaos only began after 5 right wing Supreme Court justices went against their life long proclaimed belief in states rights and dictated George Bush to be the next President.
All attempts to prohibit a fair process should be dealt with for what they are. They are not just pranks or unintentional actions by over zealous campaign workers. They are deliberate attempts to subvert the will of the people. They are an attempt to place the perpetrators’ jackboot on the throat of freedom. All such actions should be prosecuted to the fullest and the penalties severe not just a few months in a local country club facility or a slap on the wrist. The politics of Donald Segretti, Karl Rove and Lee Atwater are the politics of death for democracy.
All federal campaigns must be publicly financed. Since 1976 with the Buckley v Valeo Supreme Court decision the one man one vote democratic concept was codified into the one dollar one vote malignancy of Corporate Domination. The costs will be minute compared to the savings made by putting an end to the corporate welfare sustained by subsidies and tax breaks. An election process no longer bought and paid for by the privileged few is a necessity for a democracy.
Hillary, these changes are the easy part and they must be changed before the real work to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, “ can be started.
Letter To Hillary
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Getting Started
Here are a few ideas to help you get started. First clean up the electoral process. George Bush and the radical right have made a mockery of our system. Without fair and honest elections there is no democracy. This is not to say that in the past the Democrats have not done their part to subvert freedom. In fact their disenfranchisement of African American voters is one of the primary causes of our current predicament. The Democrats have always been slow learners, when they learn at all. It took them almost a century to see the error of their ways. But see it they did.
Now the Republicans have not only picked up the mantle, they have extended it to everyone who does not think (sic) like they do. And they are not satisfied with just preventing those who disagree with them from voting; they now try to change the vote of those who slip by and do vote. This is the state of America in 2006. You want to be remembered by history, then lead the fight to rebuild and restore democracy from its shattered remnants brought on by the Republican Revolution.
The first step in this new revolution is to return to all paper ballots in all elections. There is no argument that can be made against this. Cost and waste, what is the cost of freedom? How is it a waste to promote the fair and accurate count of each vote? Either your vote counts or it doesn’t. You either have a democracy or you don’t. Our current situation gives proof that just saying you do does not make it true.
The public’s right to quickly know, to know what; a number pulled from an electronic hat or who actually got the most votes? Polls should be open for several days; we should promote participation not hinder it. All exit polls should be strictly prohibited. The nation’s not knowing will cause chaos. Now that’s a good one. In 2000 we didn’t know for 5 weeks, and the chaos only began after 5 right wing Supreme Court justices went against their life long proclaimed belief in states rights and dictated George Bush to be the next President.
All attempts to prohibit a fair process should be dealt with for what they are. They are not just pranks or unintentional actions by over zealous campaign workers. They are deliberate attempts to subvert the will of the people. They are an attempt to place the perpetrators’ jackboot on the throat of freedom. All such actions should be prosecuted to the fullest and the penalties severe not just a few months in a local country club facility or a slap on the wrist. The politics of Donald Segretti, Karl Rove and Lee Atwater are the politics of death for democracy.
All federal campaigns must be publicly financed. Since 1976 with the Buckley v Valeo Supreme Court decision the one man one vote democratic concept was codified into the one dollar one vote malignancy of Corporate Domination. The costs will be minute compared to the savings made by putting an end to the corporate welfare sustained by subsidies and tax breaks. An election process no longer bought and paid for by the privileged few is a necessity for a democracy.
Hillary, these changes are the easy part and they must be changed before the real work to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, “ can be started.
Letter To Hillary
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
An Open Letter To Senator Clinton
Do The Right Thing
Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their country and party. Now is your time. I love you as a Senator despite all your warts. But I have to tell you even in my wildest imagination I cannot conjure up any set of circumstances that would persuade me to vote or work for you in a run for the Presidency, at least not in 2008. If you are nominated I will no doubt return to my old habit of voting for a third party candidate. Though I must admit Dubya is so bad that I did vote for Kerry in 2004.
Do not take that as a sign for a scintilla of support for the Democratic Party as it is now constituted, for it most definitely was not. With very few exceptions I find the Democratic leadership to be void of character, courage, and creative vision. I believe that opinion to be shared by most Americans. The current wave of anti-Bush and anti-Republican distrust and dissatisfaction is just that, anti-Bush and anti-Republican. Do not confuse it for a New York minute with an ounce of solid support for the Democratic Party. That distrust and dissatisfaction probably will, or least could, manifest itself in November. The nation now understands that Bush and his duplicitous cadre of radical right-wingers must be stopped.
If indeed that does happen, most pundits and Democratic spinmeisters will no doubt declare it to be the dawn of a new political day. Trust me on this, that will show how out of touch they are with the electorate. Unless the Democrats evolve and come to life, this November will be but a brief respite from the vast right-wing conspiracy you spoke of in 1998. The loyal(?) opposition, the Democratic Party is in terrible shape. I say again, anti-Bush does not equal pro-Democrat.
Here is something even your handlers can understand, numbers. Since World War II the Democratic nominee for President has received over 50% of the vote all of two (2) times in 15 elections. The first was in 1964 when LBJ was the recipient of the pent-up sadness for a slain President. This coupled with the perception of his opponent as being a mad bomber allowed him to get 61.8 % of the vote. The second and last was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter pulled 50.8%, only 50.8% in the next election after Richard Nixon, think about it. Not even Bill could hit the halfway point. After 1994 the Democrats could not even maintain majorities in Congress. You and your party are on extremely feeble life support.
You have no one to blame but yourselves. You have abandoned the Democratic tradition of representing Middle America, the common man, and the downtrodden. You (Democrats) have become the ugly sister of the Republicans and you have adopted their trait of whoring yourself to Corporate America and to power and privilege. That is why I won’t help you (Hillary) in 2008. I don’t trust you and given the choice of being stabbed in the back by foes or alleged friends. I choose foes. At least that lets me keep the illusion (delusion) of having friends.
Please take this as being personal for every thing I say is personal, therein lies the problem, with you it isn’t. As long as your ambition to be President goes uncontrolled you will continue to say what your handlers think a particular audience wants to hear. So you see there is no you, only an ever changing projection devoid of substance.
Having said that let me add something positive. I probably will support Democratic candidates for Congress in 2008. I would even support a Democratic Presidential candidate if it were someone like Dennis Kucinich, or perhaps a John Edwards,but not you, not in 2008. However if over time you truly exhibit qualities of leadership I would most welcome you as a candidate.
You may feel that for you it is 2008 or nothing. Age may be a contributing factor. If a Democrat other than you were elected in 2008 you would be 69 in 2016. So let me suggest an alternative. Run fast and hard for reelection this year, then help any and all Democrats in 2008. Fire all your handlers, yes including Bill. Stop being afraid and start leading. Then become THE Democratic spokeswoman. Push a true Democratic agenda as Senate Majority Leader in 2011. We all must make sacrifices and it will be Senator Reid’s in 2010. If he decides to run for reelection in 2010 he must step down as Democratic leader.
As much as you want to be President in 2009, you cannot win. In 2000 George Bush said we needed a ‘uniter’, he said it was him. He willfully lied. You want to be and may actually believe you are a ‘uniter’, but alas you are not. If you run for the nomination you will split your party and revitalize the radical right, but if you did not run you could have a big say in who is nominated. To be a ‘uniter’ you must actually unite. The choice is yours and it will take hard work and effort. But America cannot long survive much more Bush. Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their country and party. History awaits your decision.
PS
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Do The Right Thing
Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their country and party. Now is your time. I love you as a Senator despite all your warts. But I have to tell you even in my wildest imagination I cannot conjure up any set of circumstances that would persuade me to vote or work for you in a run for the Presidency, at least not in 2008. If you are nominated I will no doubt return to my old habit of voting for a third party candidate. Though I must admit Dubya is so bad that I did vote for Kerry in 2004.
Do not take that as a sign for a scintilla of support for the Democratic Party as it is now constituted, for it most definitely was not. With very few exceptions I find the Democratic leadership to be void of character, courage, and creative vision. I believe that opinion to be shared by most Americans. The current wave of anti-Bush and anti-Republican distrust and dissatisfaction is just that, anti-Bush and anti-Republican. Do not confuse it for a New York minute with an ounce of solid support for the Democratic Party. That distrust and dissatisfaction probably will, or least could, manifest itself in November. The nation now understands that Bush and his duplicitous cadre of radical right-wingers must be stopped.
If indeed that does happen, most pundits and Democratic spinmeisters will no doubt declare it to be the dawn of a new political day. Trust me on this, that will show how out of touch they are with the electorate. Unless the Democrats evolve and come to life, this November will be but a brief respite from the vast right-wing conspiracy you spoke of in 1998. The loyal(?) opposition, the Democratic Party is in terrible shape. I say again, anti-Bush does not equal pro-Democrat.
Here is something even your handlers can understand, numbers. Since World War II the Democratic nominee for President has received over 50% of the vote all of two (2) times in 15 elections. The first was in 1964 when LBJ was the recipient of the pent-up sadness for a slain President. This coupled with the perception of his opponent as being a mad bomber allowed him to get 61.8 % of the vote. The second and last was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter pulled 50.8%, only 50.8% in the next election after Richard Nixon, think about it. Not even Bill could hit the halfway point. After 1994 the Democrats could not even maintain majorities in Congress. You and your party are on extremely feeble life support.
You have no one to blame but yourselves. You have abandoned the Democratic tradition of representing Middle America, the common man, and the downtrodden. You (Democrats) have become the ugly sister of the Republicans and you have adopted their trait of whoring yourself to Corporate America and to power and privilege. That is why I won’t help you (Hillary) in 2008. I don’t trust you and given the choice of being stabbed in the back by foes or alleged friends. I choose foes. At least that lets me keep the illusion (delusion) of having friends.
Please take this as being personal for every thing I say is personal, therein lies the problem, with you it isn’t. As long as your ambition to be President goes uncontrolled you will continue to say what your handlers think a particular audience wants to hear. So you see there is no you, only an ever changing projection devoid of substance.
Having said that let me add something positive. I probably will support Democratic candidates for Congress in 2008. I would even support a Democratic Presidential candidate if it were someone like Dennis Kucinich, or perhaps a John Edwards,but not you, not in 2008. However if over time you truly exhibit qualities of leadership I would most welcome you as a candidate.
You may feel that for you it is 2008 or nothing. Age may be a contributing factor. If a Democrat other than you were elected in 2008 you would be 69 in 2016. So let me suggest an alternative. Run fast and hard for reelection this year, then help any and all Democrats in 2008. Fire all your handlers, yes including Bill. Stop being afraid and start leading. Then become THE Democratic spokeswoman. Push a true Democratic agenda as Senate Majority Leader in 2011. We all must make sacrifices and it will be Senator Reid’s in 2010. If he decides to run for reelection in 2010 he must step down as Democratic leader.
As much as you want to be President in 2009, you cannot win. In 2000 George Bush said we needed a ‘uniter’, he said it was him. He willfully lied. You want to be and may actually believe you are a ‘uniter’, but alas you are not. If you run for the nomination you will split your party and revitalize the radical right, but if you did not run you could have a big say in who is nominated. To be a ‘uniter’ you must actually unite. The choice is yours and it will take hard work and effort. But America cannot long survive much more Bush. Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their country and party. History awaits your decision.
PS
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Natalie Maines Was Wrong
The Man Makes The Clothes
Tomorrow the Dixie Chicks release a new CD, Taking The Long Way. It chronicles their three year fight against right-wing tyranny. On March 10, 2003 during a concert at Sheperds Bush Empire in London, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks spoke these now famous words,
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas,"It was just 10 days before George W. Bush began his deceitful and fabricated war on Iraq. Her and the group’s career took a full speed crash into a wall of censorship and banishment constructed by right wing extremists in their defense of liberty. Freedom of speech to them is a one way street.
She was obviously light years ahead of the curve on that sentiment. Unfortunately in the intervening three years Mr. Bush and the far right have accelerated their attack on the truth, justice, and liberty and in so doing have caused most Americans, even loyal Republicans, to come to the same conclusion. The Presidency of George W. Bush is now recognized as a total failure and catastrophe. America and the world cannot long survive his continuing assault on human rights and dignity all for the enrichment of a privileged few
But here is where Ms. Maines was wrong. A couple of days later she issued an apology to Mr. Bush. She said,
“As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect."In today’s world the man or woman and the office or position are one, there is no separation. In fact that is the way it always has been. Only a deliberate and concerted effort by those in power and those wanting power, from history’s beginning, created the illusion that there was and should be an unnatural division. To say the President of the United States deserves respect is no different than saying the President of Iraq, no matter who it is/was deserves respect. When Mr. Bush lies, cheats, and steals the President lies, cheats, and steals. Those are not qualities worthy of or deserving respect.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Defending America Part 5
The Next Generations
Generations two and three of the radical right are worse than generation one. Not only are they intellectual cowards, they are moral and physical cowards as well. They are scared little men and women who not only were/are willing to let others put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, they insist upon it.
From 1945 to 1991 the far right continually shouted that communism and the Soviet Union were deadly threats to American democracy and freedoms. Today it is terrorists. They preach(ed) that sacrifice was/is needed from all. Here is a partial list of those who have worked in the current Administration that have refused to heed their own call. I list the highest government or political station they have thus far attained. Draft Dodger signifies the person used some kind of deferment between 1948-1973 to avoid military service. Did Not Enlist means the draft did not apply to this person because of age or sex.
Let me assure you that I do not say or imply that all people who used deferments or did not enlist in the military or either cowards or unpatriotic, but I am saying it about those listed below. They and those like them who scream about dangers to our nation then do nothing about it except insist someone else act, are cowards of the worst kind. Those who start and support unjust wars based on lies and Machiavellian manipulations while requiring someone else’s sacrifice and blood are not patriots they are traitors to freedom and democracy.
Executive Branch
George W. Bush - President – Draft Dodger & AWOL(deserter) from National Guard
Karl Rove – Senior Advisor to the President – Draft Dodger
Dick Cheney – Vice President – Draft Dodger 5 deferments
Condoleezza Rice – Secretary of State - Did Not Enlist
John Negroponte - Director of National Intelligence – Draft Dodger
Stephen J. Hadley – National Security Advisor – Draft Dodger
Paul Wolfowitz - Deputy Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Elliot Abrams – NSC Special Assistant to the President – Draft Dodger
Gordon England - Deputy Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Richard Perle - Assistant Secretary of Defense - Draft Dodger
Douglas Feith - Undersecretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Peter Rodman - Assistant Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Lewis "Scooter" Libby – VP Chief of Staff – Draft Dodger
Michael Chertoff - Secretary of Homeland Security – Draft Dodger
John Hannah - Assistant to VP for National Security Affairs – Did Not Enlist
Spencer Abraham – Secretary of Energy – Draft Dodger
John Bolton – US Ambassador to UN – Draft Dodger
John Ashcroft – Attorney General – Draft Dodger
Theodore ‘Ted’ Olson - Solicitor General – Draft Dodger
Andrew Card – White House Chief of Staff – Draft Dodger
Joshua B. Bolten - White House Chief of Staff – Did Not Enlist
Michael Brown – Director FEMA – Did Not Enlist
Senate
Trent Lott – Senate Majority Leader- Draft Dodger
William Frist – Senate Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
Mitch McConnell – Senate Majority Whip – Draft Dodger
Jon Kyl – GOP Policy Committee Chairman – Draft Dodger
Rick Santorum – GOP Conference Chairman – Did Not Enlist
Orrin Hatch – Judiciary Committee Chairman – Draft Dodger
George Allen – Foreign relations Committee – Draft Dodger
Saxby Chambliss – Select Intelligence Comm – Draft Dodger
Sam Brownback – Foreign Relations Comm – Did Not Enlist
Norm Coleman – Foreign Relations Committee – Draft Dodger
John Cornyn – Armed Services Committee – Draft Dodger
Mike DeWine – Select Intelligence Comm – Draft Dodger
House
Dennis Hastert – Speaker of the House – Draft Dodger
Tom DeLay – Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
John Boehner – Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
Roy Blunt – Majority Whip – Draft Dodger
Deborah Pryce – GOP Conference Chairman – Did Not Enlist
Christopher Cox – GOP Policy Chairman – Draft Dodger
Peter King – Homeland Security Chairman – Draft Dodger
Peter Hoekstra – Select Intelligence Chairman – Draft Dodger
James Sensenbrenner- Judiciary Chairman- Draft Dodger
Joe Barton – Energy Chairman – Draft Dodger
This is but a small list and does not include those officially not in government, people like Richard Scaife, William Kristol, Antonin Scalia, Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Lee Atwater just to name a few. Every time these and others like them open their mouths and deceitfully declare to be the true defenders of liberty they dishonor all those who truly were and are. To quote Dalton Trumbo, “You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else's life. They're plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congress.”
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The Next Generations
Generations two and three of the radical right are worse than generation one. Not only are they intellectual cowards, they are moral and physical cowards as well. They are scared little men and women who not only were/are willing to let others put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, they insist upon it.
From 1945 to 1991 the far right continually shouted that communism and the Soviet Union were deadly threats to American democracy and freedoms. Today it is terrorists. They preach(ed) that sacrifice was/is needed from all. Here is a partial list of those who have worked in the current Administration that have refused to heed their own call. I list the highest government or political station they have thus far attained. Draft Dodger signifies the person used some kind of deferment between 1948-1973 to avoid military service. Did Not Enlist means the draft did not apply to this person because of age or sex.
Let me assure you that I do not say or imply that all people who used deferments or did not enlist in the military or either cowards or unpatriotic, but I am saying it about those listed below. They and those like them who scream about dangers to our nation then do nothing about it except insist someone else act, are cowards of the worst kind. Those who start and support unjust wars based on lies and Machiavellian manipulations while requiring someone else’s sacrifice and blood are not patriots they are traitors to freedom and democracy.
Executive Branch
George W. Bush - President – Draft Dodger & AWOL(deserter) from National Guard
Karl Rove – Senior Advisor to the President – Draft Dodger
Dick Cheney – Vice President – Draft Dodger 5 deferments
Condoleezza Rice – Secretary of State - Did Not Enlist
John Negroponte - Director of National Intelligence – Draft Dodger
Stephen J. Hadley – National Security Advisor – Draft Dodger
Paul Wolfowitz - Deputy Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Elliot Abrams – NSC Special Assistant to the President – Draft Dodger
Gordon England - Deputy Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Richard Perle - Assistant Secretary of Defense - Draft Dodger
Douglas Feith - Undersecretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Peter Rodman - Assistant Secretary of Defense – Draft Dodger
Lewis "Scooter" Libby – VP Chief of Staff – Draft Dodger
Michael Chertoff - Secretary of Homeland Security – Draft Dodger
John Hannah - Assistant to VP for National Security Affairs – Did Not Enlist
Spencer Abraham – Secretary of Energy – Draft Dodger
John Bolton – US Ambassador to UN – Draft Dodger
John Ashcroft – Attorney General – Draft Dodger
Theodore ‘Ted’ Olson - Solicitor General – Draft Dodger
Andrew Card – White House Chief of Staff – Draft Dodger
Joshua B. Bolten - White House Chief of Staff – Did Not Enlist
Michael Brown – Director FEMA – Did Not Enlist
Senate
Trent Lott – Senate Majority Leader- Draft Dodger
William Frist – Senate Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
Mitch McConnell – Senate Majority Whip – Draft Dodger
Jon Kyl – GOP Policy Committee Chairman – Draft Dodger
Rick Santorum – GOP Conference Chairman – Did Not Enlist
Orrin Hatch – Judiciary Committee Chairman – Draft Dodger
George Allen – Foreign relations Committee – Draft Dodger
Saxby Chambliss – Select Intelligence Comm – Draft Dodger
Sam Brownback – Foreign Relations Comm – Did Not Enlist
Norm Coleman – Foreign Relations Committee – Draft Dodger
John Cornyn – Armed Services Committee – Draft Dodger
Mike DeWine – Select Intelligence Comm – Draft Dodger
House
Dennis Hastert – Speaker of the House – Draft Dodger
Tom DeLay – Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
John Boehner – Majority Leader – Draft Dodger
Roy Blunt – Majority Whip – Draft Dodger
Deborah Pryce – GOP Conference Chairman – Did Not Enlist
Christopher Cox – GOP Policy Chairman – Draft Dodger
Peter King – Homeland Security Chairman – Draft Dodger
Peter Hoekstra – Select Intelligence Chairman – Draft Dodger
James Sensenbrenner- Judiciary Chairman- Draft Dodger
Joe Barton – Energy Chairman – Draft Dodger
This is but a small list and does not include those officially not in government, people like Richard Scaife, William Kristol, Antonin Scalia, Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Lee Atwater just to name a few. Every time these and others like them open their mouths and deceitfully declare to be the true defenders of liberty they dishonor all those who truly were and are. To quote Dalton Trumbo, “You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else's life. They're plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congress.”
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Defending America Part 4
A Pattern Established
“I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department,” Senator Joseph McCarthy, February 9, 1950. With this speech he institutionalized the sleazy tactic of the Republican radical right of branding their opponents as Communists and/or traitors to America. The Democrats could not be trusted with the national security. It was an issue that only could be handled by Republican right-wingers. It was a lie that the GOP has propagated for the last 56 years. How ironic that this deliberate deception has actually done more to destabilize and endanger American security than other word or deed since then.
In his lust for power with what has now become GOP SOP, McCarthy demonized any and everyone who disagreed with him. America had ‘lost’ China. It was because the State Department was overrun with Communists. At best McCarthy was an idiot with no knowledge or understanding of history. China was never ‘ours’ to lose. China had been struggling to regain her sovereignty for over 100 years. It had endured the drug addiction, exploitation, forced acculturation, and proselytization attempted by the West. With the defeat of Japan the ongoing twenty year civil war picked up intensity. It took Mao four more years to finally defeat Chiang Kai-shek. It was a triumph for Chinese nationalism, but the radical right portrayed it as another brick in the wall of the worldwide monolithic Communist conspiracy. McCarthy went on the attack.
God and country were in a life or death struggle with evil. Leading the attack from within was our own State Department. There were Communists and evil-doers everywhere. The State Department went through a forced radical lobotomy as result of McCarthy’s charges and diatribes. The China and Far East desks lost most of their knowledgeable people; people who knew and understood the Orient. They were replaced by people who either couldn’t find their own rear ends with the help of the entire Seventh Fleet or by people who made the cowardly lion look like Sgt. Fury.
This along with the ascension of a fanatical and virulent anti-communist John Foster Dulles to Secretary of State permanently damaged and scarred American foreign policy. Dulles was so obsessed that in the 1930’s he helped rearm and industrialize Nazi Germany and Hitler. This combination of idiots, cowards, and fanatics then proceeded to do irreparable harm to national security.
Their lack of knowledge and their adherence to right wing dogma led to the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953, the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, and the subverting of the Geneva Peace Accords of 1954. This latter action led directly to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The radical right thus insured America would never be in a state of peace. They need a world full of enemies to maintain their power and control. When one enemy falls they must create another, how else can they be the defenders and protectors of hearth and home? Those who came later just followed the path already paved with one glaring and blatant exception, the unwillingness to give a personal commitment or self-sacrifice.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
A Pattern Established
“I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department,” Senator Joseph McCarthy, February 9, 1950. With this speech he institutionalized the sleazy tactic of the Republican radical right of branding their opponents as Communists and/or traitors to America. The Democrats could not be trusted with the national security. It was an issue that only could be handled by Republican right-wingers. It was a lie that the GOP has propagated for the last 56 years. How ironic that this deliberate deception has actually done more to destabilize and endanger American security than other word or deed since then.
In his lust for power with what has now become GOP SOP, McCarthy demonized any and everyone who disagreed with him. America had ‘lost’ China. It was because the State Department was overrun with Communists. At best McCarthy was an idiot with no knowledge or understanding of history. China was never ‘ours’ to lose. China had been struggling to regain her sovereignty for over 100 years. It had endured the drug addiction, exploitation, forced acculturation, and proselytization attempted by the West. With the defeat of Japan the ongoing twenty year civil war picked up intensity. It took Mao four more years to finally defeat Chiang Kai-shek. It was a triumph for Chinese nationalism, but the radical right portrayed it as another brick in the wall of the worldwide monolithic Communist conspiracy. McCarthy went on the attack.
God and country were in a life or death struggle with evil. Leading the attack from within was our own State Department. There were Communists and evil-doers everywhere. The State Department went through a forced radical lobotomy as result of McCarthy’s charges and diatribes. The China and Far East desks lost most of their knowledgeable people; people who knew and understood the Orient. They were replaced by people who either couldn’t find their own rear ends with the help of the entire Seventh Fleet or by people who made the cowardly lion look like Sgt. Fury.
This along with the ascension of a fanatical and virulent anti-communist John Foster Dulles to Secretary of State permanently damaged and scarred American foreign policy. Dulles was so obsessed that in the 1930’s he helped rearm and industrialize Nazi Germany and Hitler. This combination of idiots, cowards, and fanatics then proceeded to do irreparable harm to national security.
Their lack of knowledge and their adherence to right wing dogma led to the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953, the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, and the subverting of the Geneva Peace Accords of 1954. This latter action led directly to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The radical right thus insured America would never be in a state of peace. They need a world full of enemies to maintain their power and control. When one enemy falls they must create another, how else can they be the defenders and protectors of hearth and home? Those who came later just followed the path already paved with one glaring and blatant exception, the unwillingness to give a personal commitment or self-sacrifice.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Defending America Part 3
Communist Conspiracy Or National Interests?
The 80th Congress convened in 1947. For the first time since the Depression Republicans controlled both houses, due in large part to their newly adopted campaign tactics of fear and hate. The radical right wasted little time in applying its campaign techniques to actual governance. The House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC launched an investigation into the influence of Communism on the motion picture industry. Redbaiting began in earnest. One of the main witnesses called to verify the presence of subversives was Ronald Reagan.
In 1948 HUAC had an investigation into Alger Hiss and Communist influence in the State Department. An up and coming freshman Representative, Richard Nixon, led the charge. Nixon would later say, “We won the Hiss case in the papers. We did. I had to leak stuff all over the place because the Justice Department would not prosecute it. Hoover didn't even cooperate. It was won in the papers. We have to develop a program, a program for leaking out information. We're destroying these people in the papers. I had Hiss convicted before he got to the grand jury....I no longer have the energy, [but we need] a son of a bitch who will work his butt off and do it dishonorably. I know how to play the game and we're going to play it."
Events of the late forties and June 1950 only fueled Republican right-wing attacks. In the summer of 1948 Stalin made an incredibly stupid move by throwing a blockade around Berlin which was in the Russian sector of post war Germany. This forced the U.S. and its allies to airlift supplies into the city for almost a year. Then in September 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb. Less than a month later Mao Tse-Tung (Mao Zedong) claimed victory in the Chinese revolution and established the Peoples Republic of China. In June 1950 Communist North Korea launched a surprise attack against the U.S. backed South Korea.
The Republican extremists were correct in judging the USSR to be a threat to American imperial and economic interests, but then again the U.S. was a threat to Soviet ambitions also. Had it been in the early 20th century or before, the end result would most likely have been a war. Despite their overall stupidity both sides are to be commended for not allowing conflicts to erupt into a nuclear confrontation. But there were and are serious consequences to the far right’s actions. By using lies and the politics of fear and hate in their grab for power the right-wing created an atmosphere conducive to demagoguery and abuse. It didn’t take long for the Republicans to start taking advantage of that atmosphere.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Communist Conspiracy Or National Interests?
The 80th Congress convened in 1947. For the first time since the Depression Republicans controlled both houses, due in large part to their newly adopted campaign tactics of fear and hate. The radical right wasted little time in applying its campaign techniques to actual governance. The House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC launched an investigation into the influence of Communism on the motion picture industry. Redbaiting began in earnest. One of the main witnesses called to verify the presence of subversives was Ronald Reagan.
In 1948 HUAC had an investigation into Alger Hiss and Communist influence in the State Department. An up and coming freshman Representative, Richard Nixon, led the charge. Nixon would later say, “We won the Hiss case in the papers. We did. I had to leak stuff all over the place because the Justice Department would not prosecute it. Hoover didn't even cooperate. It was won in the papers. We have to develop a program, a program for leaking out information. We're destroying these people in the papers. I had Hiss convicted before he got to the grand jury....I no longer have the energy, [but we need] a son of a bitch who will work his butt off and do it dishonorably. I know how to play the game and we're going to play it."
Events of the late forties and June 1950 only fueled Republican right-wing attacks. In the summer of 1948 Stalin made an incredibly stupid move by throwing a blockade around Berlin which was in the Russian sector of post war Germany. This forced the U.S. and its allies to airlift supplies into the city for almost a year. Then in September 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb. Less than a month later Mao Tse-Tung (Mao Zedong) claimed victory in the Chinese revolution and established the Peoples Republic of China. In June 1950 Communist North Korea launched a surprise attack against the U.S. backed South Korea.
The Republican extremists were correct in judging the USSR to be a threat to American imperial and economic interests, but then again the U.S. was a threat to Soviet ambitions also. Had it been in the early 20th century or before, the end result would most likely have been a war. Despite their overall stupidity both sides are to be commended for not allowing conflicts to erupt into a nuclear confrontation. But there were and are serious consequences to the far right’s actions. By using lies and the politics of fear and hate in their grab for power the right-wing created an atmosphere conducive to demagoguery and abuse. It didn’t take long for the Republicans to start taking advantage of that atmosphere.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Defending America Part 2
A Republican Myth
The far right and the Republican Party began to try to define post war society in terms of fear and hate. It is a style of politics that they have adhered to ever since. Despite the wishes and beliefs of the left the world can not be made perfect. However it can be made better and many of the reasons that it has not must be laid at the feet of the GOP and the radical right. They have made their world of fear and distrust a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The radical right was correct in recognizing the Soviet Union as an enemy. But it was an enemy of a competing imperial empire not a world wide conspiracy against democracy. The Russian revolution, never much for freedom and egalitarianism, morphed into a horrible dictatorship under Stalin. He was a tyrant not an ideologue. He used Marxist dogma to lend legitimacy to his rule and to justify the horrors he committed.
The Soviet Union had better reason to be distrustful and suspicious of the United States than the U.S. did of Russia. In 1918 and 1919 the U.S. sent more than 15,000 troops into the Soviet Union as a part of a Western force trying to subvert the Revolution. The dictum that you’re not really paranoid if they are out to get you surely applies here. None of this is meant as an apology for the USSR. Stalin was evil and Stalinism was brutal. It is a tossup between Stalin and Mao Tse-tung as to who was the worst murderer in history.
Under Stalin USSR foreign policy was the same as the United States’; they both gave aid and comfort to a nation based on that nation’s geopolitical support of the provider of the aid. Neither Russia nor America demanded the recipient to be ideologically pure and America couldn’t care less whether the receiving nation was a democracy or dictatorship as long as it at least claimed to pray to the God of capitalism and opened its markets and resources to United States’ corporations.
The elections of 1946 gave the radical right their first opportunity to use their anti-democratic philosophy and tactics. They were successful in several instances, not the least of which was the election of Joseph McCarthy to the Senate and Richard Nixon to the House. GOP extremists were off and running and they have never looked back.
Defending America Part 1
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
A Republican Myth
The far right and the Republican Party began to try to define post war society in terms of fear and hate. It is a style of politics that they have adhered to ever since. Despite the wishes and beliefs of the left the world can not be made perfect. However it can be made better and many of the reasons that it has not must be laid at the feet of the GOP and the radical right. They have made their world of fear and distrust a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The radical right was correct in recognizing the Soviet Union as an enemy. But it was an enemy of a competing imperial empire not a world wide conspiracy against democracy. The Russian revolution, never much for freedom and egalitarianism, morphed into a horrible dictatorship under Stalin. He was a tyrant not an ideologue. He used Marxist dogma to lend legitimacy to his rule and to justify the horrors he committed.
The Soviet Union had better reason to be distrustful and suspicious of the United States than the U.S. did of Russia. In 1918 and 1919 the U.S. sent more than 15,000 troops into the Soviet Union as a part of a Western force trying to subvert the Revolution. The dictum that you’re not really paranoid if they are out to get you surely applies here. None of this is meant as an apology for the USSR. Stalin was evil and Stalinism was brutal. It is a tossup between Stalin and Mao Tse-tung as to who was the worst murderer in history.
Under Stalin USSR foreign policy was the same as the United States’; they both gave aid and comfort to a nation based on that nation’s geopolitical support of the provider of the aid. Neither Russia nor America demanded the recipient to be ideologically pure and America couldn’t care less whether the receiving nation was a democracy or dictatorship as long as it at least claimed to pray to the God of capitalism and opened its markets and resources to United States’ corporations.
The elections of 1946 gave the radical right their first opportunity to use their anti-democratic philosophy and tactics. They were successful in several instances, not the least of which was the election of Joseph McCarthy to the Senate and Richard Nixon to the House. GOP extremists were off and running and they have never looked back.
Defending America Part 1
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Defending America Part 1
A Republican Myth
For 60 years the Republican Party has been fomenting the illusion that it is THE political party concerned with national defense. It is an illusion built on lies and deception and it has been the bread and butter issue for the radical right for every election since WW II. After the war the Republicans were in dire need to find something to hang their hat on. Their social policies had proven to be complete disasters during the twenties and thirties, so much so that it boggles the mind that they resurrected them in the eighties. Their foreign policy was just as bad. A surprise attack by the Japanese and the impatience of Adolph Hitler in declaring war against the United States could well be the only things that saved America from the Republican isolationism of the thirties and forties. Had the Republicans had their way we might be wearing brown shirts and marching in goosestep today. Of course there are those who say that doesn’t sound so far off from some of the radical right’s current wishes.
So with nothing but bankrupt and failed policies after WW II the GOP went looking for new ideas with which to seduce the American people.
They found the answer to their prayers in Communism, that giant monolithic threat to world peace, mom, apple pie, and the soon to be American way of life as provided by good ol’ corporate capitalism. It provided both foreign and domestic devils to rail against, and so they did for the next 45 years
Rather than admitting that the Soviet Union was a post war imperial nation not unlike us, the Republicans branded Communism as a unified world wide conspiracy. They branded the Democrats as the Chamberlains of the new world, appeasers that would not stand up for America. This has proven to wildly successful for the far right, they still use it today. It was as false and misleading then as it is now. With the aid of hindsight it is obvious that the Republican tactics of fear, hate, and lies of the post war era were much more detrimental to American security and freedom.
Defending America Part 2
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
A Republican Myth
For 60 years the Republican Party has been fomenting the illusion that it is THE political party concerned with national defense. It is an illusion built on lies and deception and it has been the bread and butter issue for the radical right for every election since WW II. After the war the Republicans were in dire need to find something to hang their hat on. Their social policies had proven to be complete disasters during the twenties and thirties, so much so that it boggles the mind that they resurrected them in the eighties. Their foreign policy was just as bad. A surprise attack by the Japanese and the impatience of Adolph Hitler in declaring war against the United States could well be the only things that saved America from the Republican isolationism of the thirties and forties. Had the Republicans had their way we might be wearing brown shirts and marching in goosestep today. Of course there are those who say that doesn’t sound so far off from some of the radical right’s current wishes.
So with nothing but bankrupt and failed policies after WW II the GOP went looking for new ideas with which to seduce the American people.
They found the answer to their prayers in Communism, that giant monolithic threat to world peace, mom, apple pie, and the soon to be American way of life as provided by good ol’ corporate capitalism. It provided both foreign and domestic devils to rail against, and so they did for the next 45 years Rather than admitting that the Soviet Union was a post war imperial nation not unlike us, the Republicans branded Communism as a unified world wide conspiracy. They branded the Democrats as the Chamberlains of the new world, appeasers that would not stand up for America. This has proven to wildly successful for the far right, they still use it today. It was as false and misleading then as it is now. With the aid of hindsight it is obvious that the Republican tactics of fear, hate, and lies of the post war era were much more detrimental to American security and freedom.
Defending America Part 2
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Monday, May 15, 2006
A Five Month Plan – Part 2
A Referendum On Dubya
The November election is nothing more or less than an up or down vote on George W. Bush and his gang of right-wing radicals. It is a national referendum on whether to continue the policies of divisiveness and destruction of the last six years. Are we to continue the politics of the extreme for the betterment of the few or, are we to turn to a different path of healing and hope for an endangered world, a world that has suffered through six years of deliberate callousness and abuse? It is the world of George Bush as planned by Karl Rove. It is a world of power and greed fueled by hate and fear.
As I have said over the last few days it is a world that has been in the making for the last 40 years. It is a world so evil that the crowning stage could not be allowed to be settled by a majority of the electorate. It could only come about by a coup set in motion by an ambitious prince stealing an election for his older brother. Then in true fascist fashion an elite cadre, consisting of a woman and four men, refused a democratic solution by dictating the legitimacy of the theft. And you wonder at the state of the world today?
Only the intervention of a madman, and perhaps voting machines, allowed this extremist coup to survive this long.
Osama bin Laden had no idea of the havoc he was unleashing when he carried out his treacherous attacks of September 11th. Of course he would have been thrilled had he known, but the law of unintended consequences gave him a much larger victory. We can only pray that it will not be permanent.
Had there been no 9/11 the major political story for 2002 would have been the economy, Wall Street, and the corruptness of Corporate America. The Democrats would have won at least one House of Congress if not both and in 2004 King George would have been deposed, buried in the trash heap of other dictatorial wannabes. But at least he would not have had to bear the burden of being the worst President in American History.
Again, it is not that the Democrats are so good, it is that Dubya has turned out so inconceivably bad. Had America known in 2000 how extreme, uncaring, and inept
Bush was not even his lying stealing brother could have saved him. The Supreme king makers would not have come into play.
So this election is a referendum on George W. Bush. The next few days we will look in more detail at individual issues, issues propagated by his lies and deception.
A Five Year Plan Part 1
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
A Referendum On Dubya
The November election is nothing more or less than an up or down vote on George W. Bush and his gang of right-wing radicals. It is a national referendum on whether to continue the policies of divisiveness and destruction of the last six years. Are we to continue the politics of the extreme for the betterment of the few or, are we to turn to a different path of healing and hope for an endangered world, a world that has suffered through six years of deliberate callousness and abuse? It is the world of George Bush as planned by Karl Rove. It is a world of power and greed fueled by hate and fear.
As I have said over the last few days it is a world that has been in the making for the last 40 years. It is a world so evil that the crowning stage could not be allowed to be settled by a majority of the electorate. It could only come about by a coup set in motion by an ambitious prince stealing an election for his older brother. Then in true fascist fashion an elite cadre, consisting of a woman and four men, refused a democratic solution by dictating the legitimacy of the theft. And you wonder at the state of the world today?
Only the intervention of a madman, and perhaps voting machines, allowed this extremist coup to survive this long.
Osama bin Laden had no idea of the havoc he was unleashing when he carried out his treacherous attacks of September 11th. Of course he would have been thrilled had he known, but the law of unintended consequences gave him a much larger victory. We can only pray that it will not be permanent.Had there been no 9/11 the major political story for 2002 would have been the economy, Wall Street, and the corruptness of Corporate America. The Democrats would have won at least one House of Congress if not both and in 2004 King George would have been deposed, buried in the trash heap of other dictatorial wannabes. But at least he would not have had to bear the burden of being the worst President in American History.
Again, it is not that the Democrats are so good, it is that Dubya has turned out so inconceivably bad. Had America known in 2000 how extreme, uncaring, and inept
Bush was not even his lying stealing brother could have saved him. The Supreme king makers would not have come into play.
So this election is a referendum on George W. Bush. The next few days we will look in more detail at individual issues, issues propagated by his lies and deception.
A Five Year Plan Part 1
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
A Five Month Plan Part 1
Facing Reality
As I said yesterday it is imperative that the Democratic Party regain control of either the Senate or House. In order to do this they need to forego such things as demanding a candidate lay down his life for a green-eyed newt found only in the four corners area of the United States and at a cost of the loss of three billion jobs in America. They need to let go of the idea of the government giving $20 trillion for the next Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit in which all the adults attending must wear Speedos and be accompanied by a twelve year old. In short they need to wise up.
Anyone not on life support or a card carrying member of the Radical Republican Right (RRR) knows America is in deep trouble and must turn away from the extreme and hateful agenda of George Bush and his cronies. The problem for Democrats is that they too know this but they have been unable to do anything about it. The reasons for this are several. While they might not be brain dead many are running on low octane; their bulbs are dim at best. Another common trait for them is lack of courage; leadership implies that you are out in front not following the pack. Some are enamored with the sound of their own voice; they enjoy their fifteen minutes. Some just enjoy the notoriety of being a victim. Some place their own selfish narrow agendas ahead of the overall good and in so doing insure not only the defeat of their own cause but the steady decline of the nation as well.
Here is a hint; as long as George W. Bush and those like him are in control, unless you are a card carrying member of the RRR, your life and your agenda are going to continue down the tubes. America must change, but it is not going to be overnight or in five or six months. It will take time to overcome the RRR coup. It will come as the RRR coup itself, in increments. But we must begin the first step now. The RRR chokehold on government and liberty must be broken. Step one must be November 7th. Vote for any and all Democrats regardless of whether they jump out of closets, sanctuaries, or boardrooms. The five month plan is to work and vote for all Democrats.
And that is all it is, a five month plan. If I am drowning I don’t care if an eight foot tall transvestite, a gay bashing steel worker, a corporate vice-president, or a purple haired Martian throws me a life preserver; I’m grabbing it. I’ll worry about saving a sinking ship after I’m out of the water. To my way of thinking my martyrdom only helps the RRR. Take a clue from the RRR, let the other guys fall on their swords.
So I am giving the Democrats 5 months; then they must give me 2 years to take action and start steering America on a different course. Right now there is no one on the Democratic horizon, well perhaps Dennis Kucinich, that I would even consider supporting for President in 2008 as long as they hold on to their philosophy and deeds of today.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Facing Reality
As I said yesterday it is imperative that the Democratic Party regain control of either the Senate or House. In order to do this they need to forego such things as demanding a candidate lay down his life for a green-eyed newt found only in the four corners area of the United States and at a cost of the loss of three billion jobs in America. They need to let go of the idea of the government giving $20 trillion for the next Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit in which all the adults attending must wear Speedos and be accompanied by a twelve year old. In short they need to wise up.
Anyone not on life support or a card carrying member of the Radical Republican Right (RRR) knows America is in deep trouble and must turn away from the extreme and hateful agenda of George Bush and his cronies. The problem for Democrats is that they too know this but they have been unable to do anything about it. The reasons for this are several. While they might not be brain dead many are running on low octane; their bulbs are dim at best. Another common trait for them is lack of courage; leadership implies that you are out in front not following the pack. Some are enamored with the sound of their own voice; they enjoy their fifteen minutes. Some just enjoy the notoriety of being a victim. Some place their own selfish narrow agendas ahead of the overall good and in so doing insure not only the defeat of their own cause but the steady decline of the nation as well.
Here is a hint; as long as George W. Bush and those like him are in control, unless you are a card carrying member of the RRR, your life and your agenda are going to continue down the tubes. America must change, but it is not going to be overnight or in five or six months. It will take time to overcome the RRR coup. It will come as the RRR coup itself, in increments. But we must begin the first step now. The RRR chokehold on government and liberty must be broken. Step one must be November 7th. Vote for any and all Democrats regardless of whether they jump out of closets, sanctuaries, or boardrooms. The five month plan is to work and vote for all Democrats.
And that is all it is, a five month plan. If I am drowning I don’t care if an eight foot tall transvestite, a gay bashing steel worker, a corporate vice-president, or a purple haired Martian throws me a life preserver; I’m grabbing it. I’ll worry about saving a sinking ship after I’m out of the water. To my way of thinking my martyrdom only helps the RRR. Take a clue from the RRR, let the other guys fall on their swords.
So I am giving the Democrats 5 months; then they must give me 2 years to take action and start steering America on a different course. Right now there is no one on the Democratic horizon, well perhaps Dennis Kucinich, that I would even consider supporting for President in 2008 as long as they hold on to their philosophy and deeds of today.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Sword Of Damocles
The Dubya Legacy
George W. Bush, the radical right, and their extremist followers have placed America and the world in a most precarious and dangerous position. They are in an out of control headlong rush to consolidate corporate hegemony, power, and profits; and to dictate the thoughts and way of life of the entire global community. In their attempt to empower and enrich the privileged few they have left the health and well being of everyone on planet Earth hanging by a hair.
That hair is fraying, and if allowed to continue will bring life as we know it to a screeching and abrupt halt. Time is no longer a luxury. If we are to survive, action must be taken now, we can no longer Bet On The Come. We must derail the Bush and radical right’s train to oblivion. The first step must be accomplished on November 7th of this year. It is imperative that the Democrats win control of the Senate and/or House of Representatives. As I said yesterday the House is the only viable possibility this year. The Democrats must have one and only one goal, get elected, kick a Republican. To this end the various factions and splinter groups that make up the Democratic Party must give up their time honored demand that any and all Democratic candidates strictly adhere to and profess faith in whichever dogma that particular group regards as sacrosanct. There is really not that much difference between the radical right and the radical left except that they pray to different gods and up to now the radical right has been much savvier about politics.
But this election is only an emergency stopgap. America will change whether by our own design or by the capriciousness of someone or something else. Our chance of survival and living “the good life” is much better if we change ourselves. But who is to lead this change, Democrats, Republicans, or some yet unknown? No matter who it is there are certain knowns that must be dealt with. The American society based on unlimited consumption is doomed. We live in a world of limited resources and the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America are demanding and will continue to demand more and more of those resources. They will get them.
The American society being sustained by foreign holders of American debt is also doomed. Right now Japan is the largest holder of American debt, soon it will be China. Notice something here? We’re talking Asian. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Asians are different than you and me,” not better; not worse; just different. One of the ways they are different is their concept of time. There are many things we should have learned from our experience in Vietnam. The one I refer to here is the Asian attitude toward patience. They do not live by the Western concept of immediacy. The long term to them is long term; not three months till the next quarterly statement; and not till the end of the day and the closing stock price. Right now the Chinese, in particular, deem it to be in their best interest to hold up the American economy. This will not always be the case; then they won’t.
The American society based on the individual internal combustion engine is doomed. It will not be very long till $3.00 for a gallon of gas will be nothing but a nostalgic memory of the good old days. Soon oil will be powering the engine of the Chinese economy not the American automobile. The Age of Ford will be no more.
These are just three of the certain changes to come. There are many more some will be man made, some will be natural. The Pacific tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina all give evidence to impending disasters that will happen. Life IS hard and challenging enough for everyone without having to deal with an artificial world created by Bush and those like him for the betterment and enjoyment for an elite and chosen few. It is our world if we so choose. Who do you want to make that decision?
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The Dubya Legacy
George W. Bush, the radical right, and their extremist followers have placed America and the world in a most precarious and dangerous position. They are in an out of control headlong rush to consolidate corporate hegemony, power, and profits; and to dictate the thoughts and way of life of the entire global community. In their attempt to empower and enrich the privileged few they have left the health and well being of everyone on planet Earth hanging by a hair.
That hair is fraying, and if allowed to continue will bring life as we know it to a screeching and abrupt halt. Time is no longer a luxury. If we are to survive, action must be taken now, we can no longer Bet On The Come. We must derail the Bush and radical right’s train to oblivion. The first step must be accomplished on November 7th of this year. It is imperative that the Democrats win control of the Senate and/or House of Representatives. As I said yesterday the House is the only viable possibility this year. The Democrats must have one and only one goal, get elected, kick a Republican. To this end the various factions and splinter groups that make up the Democratic Party must give up their time honored demand that any and all Democratic candidates strictly adhere to and profess faith in whichever dogma that particular group regards as sacrosanct. There is really not that much difference between the radical right and the radical left except that they pray to different gods and up to now the radical right has been much savvier about politics.
But this election is only an emergency stopgap. America will change whether by our own design or by the capriciousness of someone or something else. Our chance of survival and living “the good life” is much better if we change ourselves. But who is to lead this change, Democrats, Republicans, or some yet unknown? No matter who it is there are certain knowns that must be dealt with. The American society based on unlimited consumption is doomed. We live in a world of limited resources and the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America are demanding and will continue to demand more and more of those resources. They will get them.
The American society being sustained by foreign holders of American debt is also doomed. Right now Japan is the largest holder of American debt, soon it will be China. Notice something here? We’re talking Asian. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Asians are different than you and me,” not better; not worse; just different. One of the ways they are different is their concept of time. There are many things we should have learned from our experience in Vietnam. The one I refer to here is the Asian attitude toward patience. They do not live by the Western concept of immediacy. The long term to them is long term; not three months till the next quarterly statement; and not till the end of the day and the closing stock price. Right now the Chinese, in particular, deem it to be in their best interest to hold up the American economy. This will not always be the case; then they won’t.
The American society based on the individual internal combustion engine is doomed. It will not be very long till $3.00 for a gallon of gas will be nothing but a nostalgic memory of the good old days. Soon oil will be powering the engine of the Chinese economy not the American automobile. The Age of Ford will be no more.
These are just three of the certain changes to come. There are many more some will be man made, some will be natural. The Pacific tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina all give evidence to impending disasters that will happen. Life IS hard and challenging enough for everyone without having to deal with an artificial world created by Bush and those like him for the betterment and enjoyment for an elite and chosen few. It is our world if we so choose. Who do you want to make that decision?
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Betting On The Come
Democratic Strategy for 2006
The 2006 mid-term elections are less than 6 months away and the Democratic Party, lap dog, er loyal opposition, to the totally corrupt ruling Republican regime has yet to come anywhere near formulating a plan for confronting and correcting the moral, physical, and fiscal decay in which America has become mired. The Democratic leadership is thus far quite content to know that all the known world either now acknowledges or soon will that the GOP Congress and Bush Administration are the most corrupt and inept in United States history. The problem is that the Democrats believe this recognition is going to automatically manifest itself into an overwhelming number of votes for Democrats. Some are even saying 2006 will be a 1994 in reverse. They are in for a rude awakening.
In 1994 the Republicans took control of both the Senate and House. They gained 8 seats in the Senate and 54 in the House. This year the Democrats need to have a net gain of 16 in the House to become the majority party. They need to gain 7 seats to take over the Senate. Odds are decent, but not close to certain, that even if the Democrats continue on their current road to nowhere they will be able to win a slight majority in the House though they can kiss the Senate goodbye.
The nature of American politics has been basically reactionary since 1968, some will say longer. This is one reason for the current success of the Republican Party. They understand and use reactionary tactics much better than the Democrats. The Democrats will never be able to out reactionary the GOP, the sooner they understand this the better they and the country will be.
The Republican Party has not been a party of forward vision since Lincoln. It is a party based on an interpretation of Adam Smith and 18th century British economics. For better or worse the economics of Adam Smith are more outdated than an Altair 8800 computer with an Xmodem. And this interpretation is not only outdated it is completely false, for few that sing the praises of Smith have even read him and fewer still understand him. While Smith was a strong advocate of private property he was totally against the acquisition of power and wealth by monopolistic or oligopolistic concerns. He believed in the dignity and worth of the individual. He would have hated the evolution of the corporate capitalist state into a consumptive society believing only in Social Darwinism and survival of the fittest, (elites).
It is time for the Democratic Party to once again be a visionary party. It is time but do the Democrats have the heart, will, and guts to grasp the wheel of destiny and to steer a new course or will they continue to somnolently drift in the current of corruption and failure of the reactionary right.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Democratic Strategy for 2006
The 2006 mid-term elections are less than 6 months away and the Democratic Party, lap dog, er loyal opposition, to the totally corrupt ruling Republican regime has yet to come anywhere near formulating a plan for confronting and correcting the moral, physical, and fiscal decay in which America has become mired. The Democratic leadership is thus far quite content to know that all the known world either now acknowledges or soon will that the GOP Congress and Bush Administration are the most corrupt and inept in United States history. The problem is that the Democrats believe this recognition is going to automatically manifest itself into an overwhelming number of votes for Democrats. Some are even saying 2006 will be a 1994 in reverse. They are in for a rude awakening.
In 1994 the Republicans took control of both the Senate and House. They gained 8 seats in the Senate and 54 in the House. This year the Democrats need to have a net gain of 16 in the House to become the majority party. They need to gain 7 seats to take over the Senate. Odds are decent, but not close to certain, that even if the Democrats continue on their current road to nowhere they will be able to win a slight majority in the House though they can kiss the Senate goodbye.
The nature of American politics has been basically reactionary since 1968, some will say longer. This is one reason for the current success of the Republican Party. They understand and use reactionary tactics much better than the Democrats. The Democrats will never be able to out reactionary the GOP, the sooner they understand this the better they and the country will be.
The Republican Party has not been a party of forward vision since Lincoln. It is a party based on an interpretation of Adam Smith and 18th century British economics. For better or worse the economics of Adam Smith are more outdated than an Altair 8800 computer with an Xmodem. And this interpretation is not only outdated it is completely false, for few that sing the praises of Smith have even read him and fewer still understand him. While Smith was a strong advocate of private property he was totally against the acquisition of power and wealth by monopolistic or oligopolistic concerns. He believed in the dignity and worth of the individual. He would have hated the evolution of the corporate capitalist state into a consumptive society believing only in Social Darwinism and survival of the fittest, (elites).
It is time for the Democratic Party to once again be a visionary party. It is time but do the Democrats have the heart, will, and guts to grasp the wheel of destiny and to steer a new course or will they continue to somnolently drift in the current of corruption and failure of the reactionary right.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Three Stooges
Bush The Small, Bush The Lesser, and Bush The Least
George ‘Dubya’ Bush, the Lesser, said today that his brother Jeb Bush, the Least, would make a great President. This seems to be at best very presumptuous and at the worst very cynical and stupid. It could be that Dubya was thinking that no President could ever be any worse than he, the Lesser, is and by comparison anyone else would have to be better. But history belies this way of reasoning. Up until Dubya most people thought no President could be worse than Ronald Reagan, we now know that to be false.
It is not hard to discern several patterns among the Bush family. They are greedy, class conscious, not very bright, unsympathetic and not empathetic, and most of all they are willing to say and do anything in their lust for power. While all politicians embody some of these traits the Bushes are the poster children for all of them. This coupled by the trend of decreasing competence from father, the Small; to child, the Lesser; does not lend much confidence or hope that that the Least would only be as bad as his brother the Lesser, much less better.
Of course in the above paragraph I refer to fairness and justice of governance, not the capability to get elected. The Least has had six years to improve and perfect on the illegal and unscrupulous tactics he used to steal the Florida vote for the Lesser in 2000. We know for a fact that Diebold and other companies have been working hard to insure that the “right” vote count prevails in all elections. No doubt the Least and other members of the radical right have spent countless hours working on new plans and derivatives that would make sure that only the correct names show up on future voter registration logs.
While this may seem to be contradictory with the incompetence I spoke of earlier it most definitely is not, for the skills needed to be elected are often diametrically opposed to the skills that insure fairness and justice in the operations of government. I wholeheartedly admit that the radical right has honed the skills of winning (stealing) elections to both a science and an art form.
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 6
The K Street Gang – A Gingrich and Corporate Apologetic
The main thesis of Continetti is the evil and badness of big government. The quagmire of corruption that we find in Washington today is not the fault and responsibility of the Republican Party and corporate America which have been running an anti-democratic takeover since 1968. All our problems can be laid at the feet of big government. If the government were smaller then there wouldn’t be any corrupt lobbyists trying to buy and bribe our elected officials. Here is a conservative either without a clue to the intrinsic nature of corporate capitalism and human beings; or a person who is a cynic and is desperately trying to conceal and cover-up the workings of big business and their GOP toadies.
Another point of the book is the political rehabilitation of Newt Gingrich. In this Continetti is showing the desperation of the far right in their attempt to avoid catastrophe in 2006 and 2008. This shows just how panicked the extreme right is. They have totally forgotten about the Democratic Party. If ever there was a group so inclined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory it is and has been the Democratic Party. Since the ending of WW II the Democrats have received over 50% of the popular vote all of two times, 1964 and 1976. That’s 2 out of the last 15 elections. In 1964 Johnson got 61.8% that’s because he got a huge sympathy vote for a slain President and his opponent was totally inept. In 1976 Jimmy Carter only got 50.8% of the vote, this after the greatest scandal in American politics, at least up to that time. Bill Clinton won with 43% of the vote in 1992, thanks to Ross Perot. He was reelected in 1996 with 49.2% of the vote. And by that time he had become a corporate Republican wearing Democratic clothing when indeed he wore clothes. That’s it that’s all, there are no more. Anyone afraid of the Democrats is on the verge of being as dumb as they, Democrats, are.
Granted George W. Bush is by far the worst President in United States history. Granted that it is now obvious that if this fact is not universally recognized by no later than 2012 earth will soon be a pretty crappy place to be. Despite these things it is only problematical that the Democrats will achieve much success beyond possibly the 2006 Congressional races. They are a party of no present, no future, and a 70 year old past. They have no vision, they have no memory. They have no substance or soul, their essence is as ephemeral as an early morning fog on a hot August day.
They most likely will be too dumb to understand that my Democratic vote this fall will be not be a clarion call for the virtues of the Democratic Party but rather a shout of disgust and disdain against the hatred, the corruptness, the ineptitude, and the inhumanity of George W. Bush and the Republican Party.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang – A Gingrich and Corporate Apologetic
The main thesis of Continetti is the evil and badness of big government. The quagmire of corruption that we find in Washington today is not the fault and responsibility of the Republican Party and corporate America which have been running an anti-democratic takeover since 1968. All our problems can be laid at the feet of big government. If the government were smaller then there wouldn’t be any corrupt lobbyists trying to buy and bribe our elected officials. Here is a conservative either without a clue to the intrinsic nature of corporate capitalism and human beings; or a person who is a cynic and is desperately trying to conceal and cover-up the workings of big business and their GOP toadies.
Another point of the book is the political rehabilitation of Newt Gingrich. In this Continetti is showing the desperation of the far right in their attempt to avoid catastrophe in 2006 and 2008. This shows just how panicked the extreme right is. They have totally forgotten about the Democratic Party. If ever there was a group so inclined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory it is and has been the Democratic Party. Since the ending of WW II the Democrats have received over 50% of the popular vote all of two times, 1964 and 1976. That’s 2 out of the last 15 elections. In 1964 Johnson got 61.8% that’s because he got a huge sympathy vote for a slain President and his opponent was totally inept. In 1976 Jimmy Carter only got 50.8% of the vote, this after the greatest scandal in American politics, at least up to that time. Bill Clinton won with 43% of the vote in 1992, thanks to Ross Perot. He was reelected in 1996 with 49.2% of the vote. And by that time he had become a corporate Republican wearing Democratic clothing when indeed he wore clothes. That’s it that’s all, there are no more. Anyone afraid of the Democrats is on the verge of being as dumb as they, Democrats, are.
Granted George W. Bush is by far the worst President in United States history. Granted that it is now obvious that if this fact is not universally recognized by no later than 2012 earth will soon be a pretty crappy place to be. Despite these things it is only problematical that the Democrats will achieve much success beyond possibly the 2006 Congressional races. They are a party of no present, no future, and a 70 year old past. They have no vision, they have no memory. They have no substance or soul, their essence is as ephemeral as an early morning fog on a hot August day.
They most likely will be too dumb to understand that my Democratic vote this fall will be not be a clarion call for the virtues of the Democratic Party but rather a shout of disgust and disdain against the hatred, the corruptness, the ineptitude, and the inhumanity of George W. Bush and the Republican Party.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 5
The K Street Gang – Policy and Dogma Beginnings.
In The K Street Gang Continetti says that a few GOP powerbrokers became corrupt and fell into a morass of illegalities and deceit. He says it began after the Republican takeover of the legislative branch of government in 1994. While he is correct about the fall, he is mistaken about its length and depth. As I have shown in earlier posts, criminal and unethical behavior became the SOP of the GOP beginning with the 1968 presidential campaign. That is one of the reasons Karl Rove has been demoted and relegated to oversee the 2006 elections. This just goes to show how out of touch with reality Dubya and his gang truly are. They do see the need to place some distance between Rove and his creation but they do not realize Karl will not have time to try and steal yet another election; he will be far too busy fighting his criminal indictment while trying to stay out jail.
The soldiers for the radical right’s assault on democracy were being recruited in 1968; the political dogma and manifesto would have to wait until 1971. It was then that Lewis Powell a corporate lawyer and staunch supporter of big business wrote a memo to and for the National Chamber of Commerce. In it he said the United States and western society were under attack from leftist and radicals; if we were to survive as a nation Corporate America and big business must begin a counterattack of guerrilla warfare to preserve the corporate way of life.
Among other things he called for big business to start and feed a massive public relations campaign; he called for an attack against education by stacking college faculties with Corporate sympathizers and censoring text books; he called to put pressure on the judicial system to be more supportive of Corporate America; he said the right must fund ‘think tanks’ that would support the right’s point of view; and the GOP right began to do exactly what he said. Two months later Richard Nixon nominated Mr. Powell for a vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Justice Powell’s defense let me say that it is unlikely that he wanted his ideas to be carried out in such undemocratic means by the extremists who helped found and fund the American radical right wing, men like Paul Weyrich, Richard Mellon Scaife, and Joseph Coors. And it is unlikely in August 1971 that he knew the Republican Party had already begun to subvert democracy through the illegal, covert, and clandestine actions of such groups as the Nixon ‘plumbers’ and the College Republicans. But by that time it was too late the seeds had been planted; the money would flower; and young Turks like Karl Rove and Lee Atwater would adopt and pass down the tactics of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or as he is better known, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang – Policy and Dogma Beginnings.
In The K Street Gang Continetti says that a few GOP powerbrokers became corrupt and fell into a morass of illegalities and deceit. He says it began after the Republican takeover of the legislative branch of government in 1994. While he is correct about the fall, he is mistaken about its length and depth. As I have shown in earlier posts, criminal and unethical behavior became the SOP of the GOP beginning with the 1968 presidential campaign. That is one of the reasons Karl Rove has been demoted and relegated to oversee the 2006 elections. This just goes to show how out of touch with reality Dubya and his gang truly are. They do see the need to place some distance between Rove and his creation but they do not realize Karl will not have time to try and steal yet another election; he will be far too busy fighting his criminal indictment while trying to stay out jail.
The soldiers for the radical right’s assault on democracy were being recruited in 1968; the political dogma and manifesto would have to wait until 1971. It was then that Lewis Powell a corporate lawyer and staunch supporter of big business wrote a memo to and for the National Chamber of Commerce. In it he said the United States and western society were under attack from leftist and radicals; if we were to survive as a nation Corporate America and big business must begin a counterattack of guerrilla warfare to preserve the corporate way of life.
Among other things he called for big business to start and feed a massive public relations campaign; he called for an attack against education by stacking college faculties with Corporate sympathizers and censoring text books; he called to put pressure on the judicial system to be more supportive of Corporate America; he said the right must fund ‘think tanks’ that would support the right’s point of view; and the GOP right began to do exactly what he said. Two months later Richard Nixon nominated Mr. Powell for a vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.In Justice Powell’s defense let me say that it is unlikely that he wanted his ideas to be carried out in such undemocratic means by the extremists who helped found and fund the American radical right wing, men like Paul Weyrich, Richard Mellon Scaife, and Joseph Coors. And it is unlikely in August 1971 that he knew the Republican Party had already begun to subvert democracy through the illegal, covert, and clandestine actions of such groups as the Nixon ‘plumbers’ and the College Republicans. But by that time it was too late the seeds had been planted; the money would flower; and young Turks like Karl Rove and Lee Atwater would adopt and pass down the tactics of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or as he is better known, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 4
The K Street Gang – College Republicans and Young Fascists
When Nixon became President he made future convicted felon H.R. ‘Bob’ Haldeman White House Chief of Staff. Haldeman hired future felons Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson, Dwight Chapin, and Donald Segretti to the White House Staff. Politics in America was changed forever. From day one as President, Nixon’s mind was on November 7, 1972, the next Presidential Election Day. Nixon’s paranoia was the defining characteristic of his four year reelection campaign. All decisions were based on it. Early in 1969 covert operations were set up to destroy the electoral process. Nixon would be reelected by crook or crook.
Colson and Chapin were placed in charge; Segretti became one of their main conspirators. Segretti recognized the need to reinvigorate the GOP with a youth movement; to this end he began recruiting operatives from the College Republicans organization. Karl Rove was one of the first recruited. He was sent to Illinois for the 1970 Senatorial campaign where he began his continuing campaign of lies and deception against Democracy and the American people. In the late 1990’s Rove would say this about his work in 1970,"It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it.
He calls it a prank that he tried to subvert a Federal election(s). Freedom loving Americans must call it treason, for winning elections by lying, cheating, stealing, intimidation, and blackmail have from that time on become not only the modus operendi of Karl Rove but the Republican Party in general.
Though the FBI had evidence of Rove illegalities in the 1972 election for whatever reason they chose not to pursue the matter. In their defense they probably had their hands full with much bigger fish like their boss; John Mitchell, Attorney General; John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs; H.R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff; and Richard Nixon, President of the United States. This is not to mention their entirely separate criminal investigation of Nixon’s Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, for accepting bribes and falsifying federal tax returns.
In 1973 with the help of Lee Atwater and George H.W. Bush, Rove honed his duplicitous techniques by stealing the election for National Chairman of the College Republicans. Rove and Atwater ran such an underhanded and dirty campaign that the final decision had to be decided by the Republican National Committee Chairman, one George H.W. Bush. It must have seemed like old times in 2000 when another stolen election was sent to the United States Supreme Court for a final decree.
From that time on the College Republicans became a cesspool and breeding ground for anti-democratic forces. Some of the more nefarious alumni include; Karl Rove National Chairman and future ‘brain’ of George W. Bush; Lee Atwater, Executive Director, future Republican National Committee Chairman, and campaign manager for George H.W. Bush; Jack Abramoff National Chairman, Tom DeLay sycophant, and future felon; Grover Norquist Executive Director and bosom buddy of Jack Abramoff;
and Ralph Reed Executive Director, Pat Robertson protégée, and crony of Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist. Rick Santorum future Senator from Pennsylvania was also a member. One name is conspicuous in its absence, Tom DeLay. One can only surmise that at the time the College Republicans were not reactionary and anti-democratic enough for DeLay’s taste.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang – College Republicans and Young Fascists
When Nixon became President he made future convicted felon H.R. ‘Bob’ Haldeman White House Chief of Staff. Haldeman hired future felons Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson, Dwight Chapin, and Donald Segretti to the White House Staff. Politics in America was changed forever. From day one as President, Nixon’s mind was on November 7, 1972, the next Presidential Election Day. Nixon’s paranoia was the defining characteristic of his four year reelection campaign. All decisions were based on it. Early in 1969 covert operations were set up to destroy the electoral process. Nixon would be reelected by crook or crook.
Colson and Chapin were placed in charge; Segretti became one of their main conspirators. Segretti recognized the need to reinvigorate the GOP with a youth movement; to this end he began recruiting operatives from the College Republicans organization. Karl Rove was one of the first recruited. He was sent to Illinois for the 1970 Senatorial campaign where he began his continuing campaign of lies and deception against Democracy and the American people. In the late 1990’s Rove would say this about his work in 1970,"It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it.
He calls it a prank that he tried to subvert a Federal election(s). Freedom loving Americans must call it treason, for winning elections by lying, cheating, stealing, intimidation, and blackmail have from that time on become not only the modus operendi of Karl Rove but the Republican Party in general.
Though the FBI had evidence of Rove illegalities in the 1972 election for whatever reason they chose not to pursue the matter. In their defense they probably had their hands full with much bigger fish like their boss; John Mitchell, Attorney General; John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs; H.R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff; and Richard Nixon, President of the United States. This is not to mention their entirely separate criminal investigation of Nixon’s Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, for accepting bribes and falsifying federal tax returns.
In 1973 with the help of Lee Atwater and George H.W. Bush, Rove honed his duplicitous techniques by stealing the election for National Chairman of the College Republicans. Rove and Atwater ran such an underhanded and dirty campaign that the final decision had to be decided by the Republican National Committee Chairman, one George H.W. Bush. It must have seemed like old times in 2000 when another stolen election was sent to the United States Supreme Court for a final decree.
From that time on the College Republicans became a cesspool and breeding ground for anti-democratic forces. Some of the more nefarious alumni include; Karl Rove National Chairman and future ‘brain’ of George W. Bush; Lee Atwater, Executive Director, future Republican National Committee Chairman, and campaign manager for George H.W. Bush; Jack Abramoff National Chairman, Tom DeLay sycophant, and future felon; Grover Norquist Executive Director and bosom buddy of Jack Abramoff;
and Ralph Reed Executive Director, Pat Robertson protégée, and crony of Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist. Rick Santorum future Senator from Pennsylvania was also a member. One name is conspicuous in its absence, Tom DeLay. One can only surmise that at the time the College Republicans were not reactionary and anti-democratic enough for DeLay’s taste.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 3
The K Street Gang – Radical Republican Agenda
A bitter and paranoid Richard Nixon was elected President in 1968. The seeds of a devolving Republican radical right had taken roots. Also a pattern of subverting the existing American government became SOP of the GOP. In May 1968 after LBJ announced he would not run for reelection the United States entered into peace negotiations with North Vietnam. Henry Kissenger covertly intervened with the North Vietnamese to kill the talks until after the 68 election. After the election Kissenger was immediately rewarded for his treachery. He was named Nixon’s National Security Advisor. The Nixon campaign also held secret talks with the South Vietnamese before the election. They met with South Vietnam’s President, Nguyen Van Thieu, and told him he would get a better deal with Nixon rather than with Johnson or the Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey if he were elected. This style of treachery and treason would be repeated by Ronald Reagan during the 1980 Presidential campaign. William Casey, Reagan’s campaign director met secretly with representatives of Iran to insure they would not release the American Embassy hostages before the election. The hostages were released on Reagan’s inauguration day and Casey was named Director of the C.I.A.
The 1968 election marked the change of the Republican Party to the anti-(small d)democratic party. Their only 2 concerns would be their election/reelection and the advancement of the nation’s corporate rulers and elites. Nixon solidified the first goal and Reagan cemented the second. Of course these had always been a part of the Republican platform, but after Nixon and Reagan they became the only parts of the Republican Radical Agenda.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang – Radical Republican Agenda
A bitter and paranoid Richard Nixon was elected President in 1968. The seeds of a devolving Republican radical right had taken roots. Also a pattern of subverting the existing American government became SOP of the GOP. In May 1968 after LBJ announced he would not run for reelection the United States entered into peace negotiations with North Vietnam. Henry Kissenger covertly intervened with the North Vietnamese to kill the talks until after the 68 election. After the election Kissenger was immediately rewarded for his treachery. He was named Nixon’s National Security Advisor. The Nixon campaign also held secret talks with the South Vietnamese before the election. They met with South Vietnam’s President, Nguyen Van Thieu, and told him he would get a better deal with Nixon rather than with Johnson or the Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey if he were elected. This style of treachery and treason would be repeated by Ronald Reagan during the 1980 Presidential campaign. William Casey, Reagan’s campaign director met secretly with representatives of Iran to insure they would not release the American Embassy hostages before the election. The hostages were released on Reagan’s inauguration day and Casey was named Director of the C.I.A.
The 1968 election marked the change of the Republican Party to the anti-(small d)democratic party. Their only 2 concerns would be their election/reelection and the advancement of the nation’s corporate rulers and elites. Nixon solidified the first goal and Reagan cemented the second. Of course these had always been a part of the Republican platform, but after Nixon and Reagan they became the only parts of the Republican Radical Agenda.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 2
The K Street Gang
In 1960 John Kennedy trounced Richard Nixon in the Presidential election by a little over 100,000 votes out of almost 69,000,000 cast. The electoral count was 303 to 219. Though he never contested the election Nixon always believed Kennedy and the Democrats stole the election. He could have been right.
Kennedy won Illinois by less than 9000 votes out of almost 4.8 million cast. There is no doubt that the Daley Cook County political machine aided by the Chicago mafia significantly added to Kennedy’s total. However the State GOP party was pulling the same kind of stunts for Nixon downstate. But all things considered Daley and the mob probably stole more votes than the downstate good ol’ boys. It might be worth noting that voting machines were used in Cook County for the first time in 1960. Kennedy won Illinois’ 27 electoral votes.
With Lyndon Johnson on the ticket as Vice-President, Kennedy carried Texas by 1,167,567 votes to 1,121,310 votes for Nixon, a difference of a little over 46,000. At the risk of having some infer that other states’ politics are clean let me say that Texas politics is and always has been extremely dirty. The Johnson Texas machine made ample use of the graveyard vote as well as shanghaiing Mexican illegals to the polls to cast democratic ballots. It is debatable as to whether they stole almost 50,000 votes though. Kennedy won Texas’ 24 electoral votes.
If you choose to believe that both states were stolen, Nixon did, and if you reverse their electoral count Nixon would have had 270 electoral votes to Kennedy’s 252. Nixon would have been President, we may or may not have had Watergate, Nixon probably would not have resigned, and a certain amount of the extreme right’s vitriol and hatred might have been averted or contained.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang
In 1960 John Kennedy trounced Richard Nixon in the Presidential election by a little over 100,000 votes out of almost 69,000,000 cast. The electoral count was 303 to 219. Though he never contested the election Nixon always believed Kennedy and the Democrats stole the election. He could have been right.
Kennedy won Illinois by less than 9000 votes out of almost 4.8 million cast. There is no doubt that the Daley Cook County political machine aided by the Chicago mafia significantly added to Kennedy’s total. However the State GOP party was pulling the same kind of stunts for Nixon downstate. But all things considered Daley and the mob probably stole more votes than the downstate good ol’ boys. It might be worth noting that voting machines were used in Cook County for the first time in 1960. Kennedy won Illinois’ 27 electoral votes.
With Lyndon Johnson on the ticket as Vice-President, Kennedy carried Texas by 1,167,567 votes to 1,121,310 votes for Nixon, a difference of a little over 46,000. At the risk of having some infer that other states’ politics are clean let me say that Texas politics is and always has been extremely dirty. The Johnson Texas machine made ample use of the graveyard vote as well as shanghaiing Mexican illegals to the polls to cast democratic ballots. It is debatable as to whether they stole almost 50,000 votes though. Kennedy won Texas’ 24 electoral votes.
If you choose to believe that both states were stolen, Nixon did, and if you reverse their electoral count Nixon would have had 270 electoral votes to Kennedy’s 252. Nixon would have been President, we may or may not have had Watergate, Nixon probably would not have resigned, and a certain amount of the extreme right’s vitriol and hatred might have been averted or contained.
K Street Part 1
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Kuintessential Republicans Part 1
The K Street Gang And Before
Matthew Continetti, a young staff writer for The Weekly Standard, has written a new book titled, The K Street Gang. It is a self-serving Republican version of the history of the K Street Project, the wildly successful, up till now, GOP and radical right, strategy to subvert our democracy and to dictate our direction as a nation. Its main theme is to provide a measure of damage control for the exploding Republican and extremist culture of corruption over the past 35 years.
Continetti does this in a number of ways. Since there is no longer any way to cover up all the crimes and illegalities, he tries to limit responsibility to a handful of GOP operatives, most notably, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, and Grover Norquist. While he is quite correct in labeling them opponents of democracy and honest government, he tries to whitewash the depths of the deceit and treachery. He says they are basically good guys who got caught up in their lust for power and money. This is undoubtedly true, at least the part about their lust and greed. But he tries to lead us down the primrose path when he says those traits and behavior came after the Republican Revolution of 1994. By limiting the timeline he is trying to confuse and obfuscate the pattern of lawlessness and abuse of power since the Nixon Presidency.
The seeds for the radicalization of the right came with the 1964 landslide loss of Barry Goldwater to Lyndon Johnson. No one likes to get the daylights kicked out of them, and the GOP rightwing certainly was no exception. This trouncing coupled with their natural tendencies of aggressiveness, combativeness, and their inability or unwillingness to forgive lit the fire and gave birth to today’s radical right.
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
The K Street Gang And Before
Matthew Continetti, a young staff writer for The Weekly Standard, has written a new book titled, The K Street Gang. It is a self-serving Republican version of the history of the K Street Project, the wildly successful, up till now, GOP and radical right, strategy to subvert our democracy and to dictate our direction as a nation. Its main theme is to provide a measure of damage control for the exploding Republican and extremist culture of corruption over the past 35 years.
Continetti does this in a number of ways. Since there is no longer any way to cover up all the crimes and illegalities, he tries to limit responsibility to a handful of GOP operatives, most notably, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, and Grover Norquist. While he is quite correct in labeling them opponents of democracy and honest government, he tries to whitewash the depths of the deceit and treachery. He says they are basically good guys who got caught up in their lust for power and money. This is undoubtedly true, at least the part about their lust and greed. But he tries to lead us down the primrose path when he says those traits and behavior came after the Republican Revolution of 1994. By limiting the timeline he is trying to confuse and obfuscate the pattern of lawlessness and abuse of power since the Nixon Presidency.
The seeds for the radicalization of the right came with the 1964 landslide loss of Barry Goldwater to Lyndon Johnson. No one likes to get the daylights kicked out of them, and the GOP rightwing certainly was no exception. This trouncing coupled with their natural tendencies of aggressiveness, combativeness, and their inability or unwillingness to forgive lit the fire and gave birth to today’s radical right.
K Street Part 2
K Street Part 3
K Street Part 4
K Street Part 5
K Street Part Last
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Mission Accomplished
“My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”
Today marks the third anniversary of victory in the Bush War, at least as proclaimed by George ‘Dubya’ Bush. Since then 2260 American troops have been killed and over 17,000 have been wounded. This means that over 94 percent of the deaths and 97 percent of the non-lethal casualties thus far have occurred after George played cowboy by making a carrier landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln, strutting across the flight deck, and declaring the war to be over. By definition those percentages can only rise. It would seem that George was as clueless about his war as he was about Vietnam when he just disappeared for a year while hiding out with the Texas Air National Guard. Despite all the lies and duplicitous machinations of Karl Rove and the radical right media little George has never been much of a warrior, neither as a faux soldier nor as the commander. We have always needed many good men when Dubya was involved. As I have said before his credo is, “No sacrifice is too great for others to make.”
If it were anyone other than Dubya it would almost be incomprehensible that the Commander-in-Chief would be so clueless, after all the planning of the war had been going on for over 10 years. I would say that George is a slow learner but that would be an insult to the slow learners of the world. It is time for the American people to hold Dubya accountable for his lack of intellectual ability. For 25 years Rove and Bush’s other handlers have succeeded in hiding this failure behind a façade of commonness. They have projected the image of George as just one of the guys, a ‘good ol boy’. It is time to recognize that the image of Bush as an empathetic everyman is as false as his warrior image. George, plain and simple is and always has been just like his father, a spoiled rich kid, an economic elitist. The family credo is “No sacrifice is too great for others to make.”
Dubya also said, “We're helping to rebuild Iraq.” This begs the question, just how? After three years tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed or injured. Their entire infrastructure has been destroyed; they are on the verge of civil war. The entire society is a breath away from total collapse and chaos reigns. Rather than extinguishing the flames of terrorism Bush has rekindled them into a raging conflagration. But when it comes to Bush World, “No sacrifice is
too great for others to make.”
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
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