Archive for the ‘2012 Presidential Race’ Category
Well, that explains a lot…
The original horse whisperer…
Much like Sarah Palin or Ann Coulter, whenever Michael Brown pops up in the news, on a radio or television station, my first response is typically “Umm, why the fuck are we supposed to care what you think about, well, anything?”
I mean, Sarah was a shit governor nominated on a lark in a losing presidential campaign, who became even more famous for being an idiot. Ann Coulter is like the kid who raises her hand in class and says “Fag” or “Retard” and then looks quickly around at the attention she receives, taking her classmates giggles as an affirmation of what she consider her amazing wit. Ann’s essential argument for ten years can be basically summed up as “Liberals suck,” same as Sarah just throws out “Maverick” for the thousandth time and then off camera, listens enraptured as her handlers compliment her for her amazing insight, again.
And then there is Michael Brown.
The man who, in tandem with Bush, proceeded to oversee one of the most inept disaster responses in human history which left untold numbers to suffer while he focused on his hairstyle and clothing choices.
So, why the hell is this guy being asked about Hurricane Sandy at all?
Michael Brown: Obama could have “gotten more mileage” by delaying disaster relief
Oh.
Yeah, that might explain it.
Perhaps we should let the man tell it himself:
“Politically, he went out too soon…He could have just made a comment while he was in Florida that says, ‘You know my FEMA director is on top of this and we’re gonna do everything we can when the states ask us to come in and help.’ Boom.” He then added further, “He would have been better served politically to let everybody else—Bloomberg, Christie, Cuomo, O’Donnell [sic] – all of them make whatever statements they were going to make. Call for their evacuations…and then he could have stepped up, very presidentially, and said, ‘And by the way, I have instructed my FEMA director to give the states whatever they need as the storm approaches.’ I think he would have gotten more mileage out of it. In other words, he peaked too soon.”
Boom.
More mileage.
Obama peaked too soon.
The long and short: Rather than Barack Obama getting things up and running in an attempt to ensure as much was in place as possible, to alleviate as much suffering as possible, he should have waited because politically it would have made him look more presidential? Not only do I not even get the logic of this argument, I’m hard pressed to explain the morality of anyone who might delay relief efforts for a better(?) political appearance.
Moral, like GW Bush, Cheney and Mr. Brown.
So okay, maybe I do get the value of letting Brown continue to speak. Every time he does, I come to a better understanding of what the hell happened during Katrina and how much of a shame it is these people still walk free while others still wonder if they will ever get home.
Asshole.
Have a nice day.
Back to the spill tomorrow, but first…
Here's looking at you...dip-shit.
Ever read an article that you found to be so well written, informative and funny (cause its true) you felt the need to put it out there and share? Yeah, me too…from the wonderful writers at Cracked, enjoy this article about the wealthy gaffe-challenged -
“All of a sudden, it’s like you can’t make huge amounts of money without people getting all pissed off about it. And it’s only going to get worse — with the election coming up and the weather getting warmer, this whole “Occupy” movement is probably going to come back strong. The 1 percent will feel even more besieged than before.
“What the hell?” you’re probably thinking, if you’re somehow both rich and reading an article with this title, “I didn’t crash the economy!” You might even be tempted to take to a microphone, to defend yourself and your wealthy friends. But before you do, I want you to stop and ask yourself, “Will this make me sound like an out-of-touch douchebag?”
Continue reading…trust me, it’s worth it.
6 Things Rich People Need to Stop Saying…
Have a nice day.
On Koch: Mental health, Martin Luther and martyrs…
Martyrdom? I could build you some crosses...
It would seem if one wanted to get an idea of a person’s mental health, about their emotional disposition, one thing to do would be to take a look at their reactions to receiving hundreds of death threats. Would they brag about it in the media? Would they become introspective? What would they do, especially if they were very wealthy and a captain of industry and the founders of Tea Party activist group called (couple of) Americans for Prosperity?
Well, now’s our chance to find out…
Charles Koch recently gave a phone interview where he said, “We are under attack from various directions, both with threats of violence against us personally, and with threats of attacks on our business.”
Okay, so like I wrote, if one receives death threats, a lot of death threats, it would seem there are a couple of ways to go with this…
1.
Stop a moment and think, why do all these strangers hate me so much, what am I doing that they consider so wrong? Is there anything I want to change about these practices or at least, perhaps, really listen for a moment to what to others might be saying?
2.
Ignore all that by way of megalomania, and then proceed to take a martyr position.
So, let’s see what happens…
“The threats,” Charles Koch continued, “are obviously worrisome to me, but I kind of relate to what Martin Luther said ‘Here I stand; I can do no other’…the importance of helping to save America from a financial disaster that is going to hurt everyone…the threats against us are nothing compared with that disaster, if we fail…”
Jesus…so I suppose we know which way he went on that one.
Yep, Koch then goes on to say how continued spending will cost America its competitive edge, and lead to the decline of its culture and political system…
Interesting…
Interesting that he leaves out the part about our competitive edge diminishing because our nations schools are falling apart over lack of funding, our culture is imploding in part due to lack of cultural programs in our schools, again because of lack of funding and our political system? Well, the majority of Americans believe it’s a shambles in large part because of decisions like Citizens United which allows people like the Koch Brothers to form Super PAC’s and flood election campaigns with corporate money for corporate favors, all the while drowning out the voices of your average everyday American…and, of course, when tax codes and loopholes are kept in place to allow the wealthiest in this country to not pay their fare share, this is when we run into all this economic inequality and revenue problems that lead to all this lack of funding for education and basic needs which then destroys our competitive edge…
But them’s just details.
Not to mention, Koch gave this phone interview from Koch Brothers headquarters in Wichita, a city in a county doing so well financially they recently had to stop prosecuting domestic violence cases because the county cannot afford to prosecute them any longer…
So, I don’t know…
If Koch really wants to play martyr, maybe his significant other could just, you know…because it’s not like she’d be prosecuted.
Read the article:
Charles Koch, employees reveal e-mailed threats from past year
Have a nice day.
An open letter to the President, and both the Democratic and Republican Parties…
- Hell, even GW Bush is impressed with how far to the right you managed to push budget negotiations… you know, to help the people you uh, you promised to help?
Hello…
So, I might as well address this to the highest ranking of you, though I’m not so sure that’s something to be proud of these days…in fact, from where I sit it’s something to be rather ashamed of but nonetheless, this goes out to Obama, Pelosi, Boehner, Cantor, Reid, Geithner, Bernanke, McConnell…
Yeah, all of you public servants(?)
Okay, something is happening in this country that none of you really seem to understand…I mean, have you looked around yourselves lately? In the cities? Have you read the polls? Have you bothered for a moment to look past your office walls, your meeting rooms and political staffers and handlers and their gratuitous nods of the head?
I don’t think you have…
You see, I and a lot of other Americans read the news and I don’t know about you politicians, but what I’m reading lately simply doesn’t make sense.
Poll after poll shows that Americans want taxes raised on the wealthy and the safety net? They want it left alone. It’s almost universal, bipartisan…consider these headlines of late: 68% of Millionaires support raising taxes on millionaires and Poll: Tax the rich, corporations and Vast Majority Of Americans Favor Buffett Rule’s Millionaire Tax: Poll Also consider these: Washington Post/Bloomberg poll: Even GOP majorities say tax rich, protect Social Security, Medicare and New Poll shows Republicans have it all wrong with Social Security and Attacks on Social Security called “un-American” and Faith groups target ‘Super Committee’ on poverty
That all seems a pretty clear message.
Yet, then I read this bullshit: Boehner Dismisses Democratic Super Committee Proposal As Unserious
Now, I happen to agree with Boehner about this, but me and the majority of Americans? Our reasons are quite different from Boehner and the GOP’s reasons for disagreeing with the proposal. Boehner says the Dem proposal is unserious because it raises taxes on the wealthy whereas I disagree with the Democratic’s proposal because it proposes billions in dollars in cuts to Medicare, even more extensive cuts than the Catfood Commission’s proposal. The cuts however, Boehner is almost fine with except he wants them to go deeper than the Democrats have proposed…
Okay, so…in light of all this, what the hell is wrong with you politicians?
You’re not listening…or maybe you are. Maybe you are listening quite intently, you’re just not listening to the majority of Americans, instead keeping your focused ear intently on your campaign donors, the financial institutions, big money lobbyists…essentially anyone but the American people.
Seems fairly evident, but I suspect you all might disagree with this assessment. Yeah, two words to that…fuck you. I’m not stupid, please stop treating me as such.
So then, if you are there in DC to do the work of the people, why is it you choose to ignore the people completely? This is why you have a 9% approval rating, Congress. Oh, and Boehner, Cantor, McConnell and the rest of you GOP hacks, what the American public really wants are jobs. Jobs!!!! And jobs aren’t created by lower taxes on the wealthy. Stop your bullshit, they aren’t. Jobs are created by demand. Demand is created by people with money to spend, keeping the social safety net and unemployment benefits puts money in people’s pockets, which they then spend which creates demand, which creates jobs. Know what else creates jobs? Spending on infrastructure, which again puts money in people’s pockets…and so on and so forth. Austerity makes everybody broke, nobody spends, no demand…it ain’t that hard to figure out…are you all just fucking stupid? Now, I know you have said that you’re spending cuts thus far enacted have created jobs, but they haven’t. In fact, they have done the opposite: REPORT: House GOP’s ‘Job Creating’ Spending Cuts Destroyed 370,000 Jobs.
Oh, and Barack and Nancy? Let’s not get all full of righteous indignation on this one. Last week, the GOP decided to put you guys in the corner by agreeing to one part of your jobs agenda, while linking it with a budget cut item: House GOP Lays Trap For Obama On Jobs Plan. Yeah, the GOP agreed to end a three percent withholding tax on private contractors intended to keep corporations from cheating the government on taxes, and in return the GOP proposed to pay for this by limiting Medicaid eligibility for people who also receive social security benefits.
Wasn’t that nice of them?
Private contractors get the a-ok to cheat on their taxes, paid for by kicking grandma and the disabled off their health insurance.
Well, it would seem this GOP proposal was tailor-made for the Democrats to stand up, just say no, go to bat for those less fortunate and tell the GOP to blow while explaining to the American people what the GOP was trying to get away with…except the Democrats didn’t do this. Nope. Instead, they agreed.
More money for the wealthy, more costs for the poor.
I seem to be picking up on a pattern here…Barack, Nancy, Harry…who are you standing up for?
You agree to Medicare cuts on the poor and kicking some people off Medicaid, which runs counter to what the American people have said they wanted. And you…Eric, John, and Mitch…you are giving more and more money to the wealthy, at the expense of the poor, which again, is the opposite of what the American people have said they want to see happen…
Yes, a pattern.
And then you wonder why thousands of people are hitting the streets nationwide, fueling the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Oh wait, I forget, many of you have said you understand the people’s frustrations. Yeah, great…well I understand that you’re all a bunch of self-righteous assholes, but that don’t turn you into good people, now does it? Nope. And none of you are doing much about that frustration you claim to understand either, except presenting proposals that either do nothing to address income inequality, or will only serve to make it worse.
In these occupy demonstrations, in all of these different cities, stand Americans of every race, age, class and creed. And you know what else they are? They are the disenfranchised of this country. Do you think these people would be suffering the elements, the police brutality if they really felt that voting for one of you frauds would change anything? Doubtful. These protests, these people are the fruit of your labors, those who believe the system to be broken, or if it is working, it sure ain’t working for them…and not for me either. I’ve attended a few of these rallies in different cities and you know what I see? I see middle-aged couples, the elderly, the young, white, black, hispanic…and all these different members of society, they are uniting against you, against your bullshit ways, your bankrupting ways…your Republican power-grabs and your Democrat craven cavings to the financial industry and the banks…
And speaking of banks…
Hey Bernanke and Geithner, do you honestly think we haven’t been paying attention to what you’re currently letting Bank of America get away with? And Barack, these assholes were appointed by you…so you’re on the hook as well. Right now, your crew, with GOP assent, is seeing fit to allow Bank of America to set up American tax-payers for another huge debt, all so this bank doesn’t have to pay for their own investment mistakes, again. Yes, Bank of America has moved 75 trillion dollars in potentially bad derivatives from its holding company, into Bank of America proper…want to know why?
Because unlike its holding company, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America is FDIC insured, so if these 75 trillion dollars in bad derivatives fail, the government (FDIC) will have to pay out, which of course means, the taxpayers have to pay out, bail out Bank of America for more bad investment decisions. Bernanke, Geithner and Obama are allowing this to happen. They are allowing this to happen to you… once again taking the money from the middle class and potentially giving it to the wealthy to compensate for their poor choices.
So back to that pattern:
The Democratic leadership, in the form of Pelosi, Reid and Obama have shown they are quite willing to cut the social safety net, to cut benefits to the poor and disabled, to the elderly so long as the Republicans are willing to allow some marginal taxes on the rich. The Republican leadership in the form of Cantor, Boehner and McConnell are of course unwilling to do this, no how, no way, and in return for their refusal, they want even deeper cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security than the Democrats are willing to offer. Meanwhile, the Fed is letting Bank of America off the hook for bad investments again, with American tax-payers potentially footing this bill if the derivatives go bad…again moving money from the poor and middle class to the wealthy.
Yes, a pattern.
These politicians, elected by the American people only agree on one thing, doing whatever it is the American public doesn’t want you to do while at the same time, doing very little about job creation.
Yet all of you feel you should be reelected.
Why is that?
Since the occupation protests have begun, thousands of protestors have been arrested across this country…but of the people working in the financial institutions who caused the recession that led to millions of lost jobs, of bankrupted pensions, savings, cities and states?
Nobody arrested. None. Zero.
Again, why is that?
Are you simply admitting in cold hard arrest statistics that the rule of law is dead, provided you are wealthy enough to have received a Bush tax cut, extended further by Obama? Is that the established line in the sand? If you qualify to receive a tax break due to wealth, the law no longer applies to you?
I’m thinking that rather than being reelected, what should really happen here is Obama, Reid, Pelosi and Bernanke, Cantor, Boehner, McConnell and Geithner, all of you need to wind up in a cell right next to the heads of the major banking institutions in this country. You all, who have taken it upon yourselves to damn your children’s futures for your own selfish gain.
Pathetic, all of you.
Off to jail, lock them in the Bastille…why not? What do we really have to lose anymore? This way, the rest of us can try this again, we can have our country back, see if we can do better and I’m betting we can. After all, you pathetic politicians have lowered the bar so far…be pretty damned impossible to do worse.
Or better yet, get involved with the Occupy Protests in your city, what else you gonna do? Sit bitching on the sidelines? Vote? Yeah, good luck with that…the people currently in power, and the politicians too would like nothing better than for you to just stay home and vote at the appropriate time for one of the politicians they’ve hand-selected to serve (them) you…
Think about it.
And have a nice day, even the aforementioned politicians…right before you trip down your front steps and chip your tooth on the sidewalks our taxes paid for…and if you bloodied your nose, that’d be cool too. Okay…I’m sorry about that last part, not that I didn’t mean it…I’m just sorry about being petty sometimes, trying to work on that…kind-of.
Oh, and P.S. – To the mayor of Oakland, Jean Quan…resign, and take the members of the Oakland Police Department who caused the violence with you…you’re all one collective disgrace…and to San Francisco (interim) mayor, Ed Lee and Police Chief Greg Suhr, stop with the games already…you really want another Oakland on your hands? Seriously…let it go.
I am the 99 and the 53 percent…
Upper Class Tool
Hello…
I am a former boy scout, altar boy, baptized and confirmed atheist.
I make around $35,000 a year.
I am a committed social worker and divorced, college graduate.
I work out every day, but really like Popeye’s chicken so sometimes, one step forward, two steps back.
I rent. I have no debt. I own a car. I don’t want a car but I need it for work, oh and I’m kind of a workaholic.
I am a Taoist, and an Anarchist. I dislike the police. I really do, but because of my job I work with the police every day so go figure…ah, life…funny.
I own almost no furniture, but I have a lot of books, and I read them…
Republicans and Democrats…I am hard pressed to think of a politician from either party you could put in front of my car where I wouldn’t speed up…
I would only agree that British Petroleum, TransOcean, Anadarko, Nalco and Halliburton, or any other corporation should be entitled to corporate personhood if we could put them on trial and sentence their person to the death penalty.
My life? Well, it’s pretty good…can’t complain, actually.
I got plenty of money, don’t want for much, am productive, artistic, meditative, and on a really good day, have enough disgust with people and society to melt a piece of glass at one hundred yards…with one eye.
It’s a gift.
Oh, but why am I so angry?
Well, some people, so I understand, want to have children, houses, health care, credit cards, family, labor day picnics, pay for weddings, funerals, even cancer treatment.
Oh, and you know what else?
These people? These entitled people not only want kids, they actually want to have time…yeah, actual time with those actual kids.
I dunno. I don’t get it either.
Oh, and check this out…these people with their kids and their houses and their family get-togethers?
Yeah, they also don’t want to be buried in debt. They don’t want to have to choose between electric bills and tetanus shots, groceries and physical exams, rent and a decent night’s sleep.
Slackers.
These neo-hippies think it would be a good idea to actually have the time to raise their families and I’m sorry, as a member of the the 53%, who feel to demand changes in the way our institutions operate, to demand the ultra-rich make a little less money, maybe pay their share in taxes in hope for a more equitable society, well, me and Eric Erickson, we recognize that for what it is…
Unamerican.
Seriously.
These bastards actually want the time to make their marriages work, time with their wives or husbands…and not just time over their bills, at the plasma donation center or out picking up aluminum cans, but times on vacation, maybe an hour in the park, go to a movie, go to church, play a board game…Life, Monopoly, Sorry, Clue…anything.
And that demand for time and equality is nothing more than lazy Socialism.
Look, it’s not that I don’t treasure the family, the house, the two cars, the whatever…it’s just that hell, I am a social worker. I have two college degrees, I have no debt or health problems, and very little chance for unforseen expenses. I have no desire to live outside my means, no desire for kids or furniture, time to myself or groceries for more than one person. I have no desire to work more than 47 hours a week, car insurance beyond what’s legally required, a house of my own or new clothes, dental care and fresh food, or gas…nope.
I don’t need any of those uppity trappings.
And since I don’t…
Why in the hell do you think you should?
Look…the American Dream is a subjective moment of subconscious paralysis, and the quicker you realize this, the happier you will be…
Like me.
Financial fraud isn’t a crime, it’s simply being creative. As a modern day American, I recognize my patriotic duty as a simple willingness to play host to every financial parasite and politician.
So to the banks, to those who would deregulate, to their political enablers I lie prone and smile.
Have your way with me. I recognize I have no right to complain.
I may be of the 99%, but I am more inclined to be the 53%.
So, I’m yours.
God Bless America.
Read the articles…
Have a nice day.
Monday afternoon in Chicago, Occupied…
A fine, disenfranchised day...
Excuse me, Jeff?
Mr. Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric?
Yes, you…come over here, just for a quick second…K, thanks…
Recently, you said the following: “I want you to root for me. Look, every one in Germany roots for Siemens, everyone in Japan roots for Toshiba, everyone in China roots for China South Rail, I want you to say, win GE.”
Okay, the reason nobody wants to “root for you” and your company, General Electric, is that you continue to export jobs overseas, your company made $145.2 billion dollars last year and you paid no taxes.
None. No taxes…
Zero.
All while the country’s going broke and you and your executive buddies made millions upon millions of dollars in salary and bonuses, and all while the economic inequality in this country is at its worst since the Great Depression.
The government gave you $5 billion dollars in subsidies for chrissakes, while also cutting energy assistance for the poor amongst other austerity measures, you know, because the government had to tighten it’s belts.
That’s why we’re not rooting for you, instead we’re involving ourselves in demonstrations such as the one taking place in the photo above…
Jeff, the way you and your company does business?
It’s a large part of the problem.
Asshole.
Have a nice day.
Hello, Mitt? It’s me, Drake…go fuck yourself!
Caucasian cake is my favorite...
So, Mitt Romney, running for president on the GOP ticket…that same all encompassing candidate who said he didn’t find the booing of a gay soldier to be reprehensible, that same guy who said he knew what it was like to be unemployed, the very same multimillionaire who pays a lower tax rate than I do, whose $12 million dollar mansion is inadequate, you know, small, so he’s tearing it down to build a bigger one…
Yeah, this elitist…he came out today and said that the Wall Street Protests are “dangerous,” that “this is class warfare.”
Yeah right…class warfare…and this is troubling to you now, why, because a growing percentage of Americans are waking up and realizing your class, Mitt, the top 1% of wage earners aren’t the only ones capable of waging this war? And you don’t like that at all so now it’s suddenly “dangerous.” You mention class warfare like it’s something brand new, like corporations, banks and politicians haven’t been waging this war for decades, but a few thousand people camp in a New York City park or march on Bank of America in Boston and plan nationwide protests on October 15th, and because there are 99% more of us than you, and we’re getting news coverage…now we’re dangerous, now it’s a war, and all because we want a bit more equality, fairness, jobs, food, healthcare, a place to live, an education, security, a pension?
Well, if you want to call that class warfare?
So be it, job creator.
Oh, and by the way, you’ve raised more than twice as much from the Wall Street Banks as that other corporate shill, Barack Obama, so pardon me if I think your opinion is just one more chattering jack-ass on the GOP news stations. You ain’t listening to anybody but your donors, so why the hell should anyone of passion, the passion for the American Dream listen to you at all? Especially when the Wall Street Occupation is more patriotic than anything you’ve ever done, said or breathed…
Consider what the Wall Steet Occupations have in common with the actual Boston tea Party:
1.) The Original Boston Tea Party Was A Civil Disobedience Action Against A Private Corporation
2.) The Original Boston Tea Party Feared That Corporate Greed Would Destroy America.
3.) The Original Boston Tea Party Believed Government Necessary To Protect Against Corporate Excess.
4.) The Original Boston Tea Party Was Sparked By A Corporate Tax Cut For A British Corporation.
5.) The Original Boston Tea Party Wanted A Stronger Democracy.
Have a nice day Mitt…oh…and while we’re at it…Mr. Cain? Herman?
Yeah, you can go fuck yourself too.
When asked about the Wall Street protests by the Wall Street Journal, Herman Cain said, “if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!”
This, despite there being over 4 unemployed applicants for every job, that unemployment and massive income inequality shrinks the economy and decreases job opportunity…oh, and then Herman went on to add, “I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration.”
Really, you came to that conclusion despite admitting you “don’t have facts to back this up?”
Herman, you probably should have stopped right there, you know, when you admitted you had no proof, that you really didn’t know what the hell you were talking about. It’s a thought…course you were talking to the Wall Street Journal so it’s not like they’d challenge any statement you decided to make, factually incorrect or not and…well, hell…
Why don’t you just join Mitt and have a slice of fucking cake…
Everyone else, have a nice day.
The GOP’s final solution…
Yeah, and when I kicked the puppy again, it's face went like this...ha ha, yeah, puppies are stupid...
When it comes to…
…disaster aid, clean air, clean water, financial regulation, voting rights, health care, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, mortgage reform, banking reform, union support and collective bargaining, jobs programs, unemployment insurance, infrastructure repair, fairness in taxation, energy assistance, coal, natural gas and oil industry regulation, overall environmental concerns including endangered species and especially global warming, state and national parks, wildlife refuges, storm monitoring, food safety testing and regulation, protecting the oceans…
…rebuilding the Louisiana Coast and true levee protection for the city of New Orleans and the state of California…
…taxes on hedge fund managers, honest protection of small business, rebuilding schools, funding education, funding for the CDC, the EPA, the NOAA, the NIH, the FDA, the ADA, privacy rights, 4th amendment rights, school lunches, worker re-training, protecting the constitution, protecting the first amendment, maintaining free and honest elections, funding FEMA, funding green energy, protecting American citizens from toxic pollution, protecting innocent men and women from a state sponsored death…
…reining in Wall Street, keeping commodities speculators from increasing the price of such commodities as food and oil through their trading so they can make a buck, the same extra bucks the rest of this country pays for their unlimited greed…
Yeah, the GOP solution to all of the above?
Simple:
Fuck the People – The Kills
Have a nice day.
9-11 Inc.
Strange days...
Ten years ago on September 11th, I was in a place not unlike many Americans, essentially surrounded by Europeans in a Las Vegas youth hostel trying desperately to sleep off a hangover…but that morning I heard people chattering, something about burning buildings, plane crashes and how it all looked like a movie, and through my bleary-eyed state, at first I thought they were describing a movie, until it became clear they were discussing something else entirely. Don’t remember what detail finally sank in, but I do remember jerking up from the bunk, hurriedly getting dressed and heading down to the social room where the one television in the place blared on, surrounded by a bunch of people staring at it, slack-jawed and disbelieving.
I stared too, for quite some time…
Then I did what most people did, I called my family and spoke to friends, to make sure everybody was okay, to touch base with something real, logical, something safer I could understand, and also to see if it would be best for me to continue my travels at the time or go home to be with family as soon as I could get there. Well, my mother and I decided I should stay put, in Las Vegas, and later that night I headed back to the Strip to see what, if anything the terrorist attacks might have changed on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Not much, actually.
People still gambled, maybe the tones were a bit more subdued, worry was a bit more pronounced, exhibited by glances at the news on all those casino monitors where previously, gambling instructions had played in an endless loop. People were drinking, there was more security in the casinos…oh, and there were a hell of a lot more flags. Flags everywhere, waving from every Jumbotron on the strip…you couldn’t turn without seeing a flag.
And now here we are, ten years later.
And those flags are still waving.
And 9-11 has become just as inescapable: movies, news programs, documentaries, divided histories, tributes, posters, commemorative coins, stamps, coffee mugs, shot glasses, silver spoons, posters, videos and t-shirts. 9-11 is an industry and yeah, I kinda have a problem with that, same as I have a problem with every politician who gives the overly patriotic speech, or demonizes his political adversary in the name of 9-11, using it to forward an agenda or to demonize a religion so to boost his or her own bullshit credentials. It’s a cheap shorthand for jingoistic intolerance and then that same politician will often use 9-11 as a campaign weapon, invoking it as proof of thier own red, white and blue beating heart, the purest example, further symbolized by a far-too-easy flag lapel pin: yeah, the people involved in these displays are parasites…parasites exploiting the dead, exploiting fear, exploiting a national and world tragedy, all for their own material and political gain.
Which isn’t to say there aren’t commemorative ceremonies meant to respectfully honor those who died that day, sincere words from sincere people without hidden agenda, who put country and healing first: these ceremonies do exist, and rightfully so, and I applaud them.
Personally, I won’t watch them but I applaud them nonetheless.
But then there is talk radio, there is political grandstanding, agenda setting and bullshit politicians who put on the flag like a superhero’s cape and go out of their way to prove their genitalia is way more patriotic than the other guy’s…and these types, these parasites expect you won’t know the difference between the shallow and the deep.
Fuck ’em.
They’re worse than parasites.
They are worms, feeding on the parasites.
So what’s the best way to honor 9-11?
Up to you, your choice of course…we do still have some freedoms left round here, but for me, it’s maybe a moment of quiet contemplation, a few minutes of silence for those who died and reflection about what exactly’s changed since that day, and how I feel about those changes.
And for me, I’ll keep the television and radio off.
I’ll keep at arm’s length everything the media wants to sell me both during their 9-11 programming and the commercials in between, and then I’ll do what I did on that day ten years ago…I’ll contact some friends and family, make sure the people I care about are doing okay.
Just the way I do things I guess, kind of low-key, quieter…
Oh, and thankfully my memory is good enough I don’t need to pass a resolution to never forget something as unforgettable as the morning thousands of people died in a terrorist attack on American soil. Members of the House of Representatives apparently are not as fortunate in this respect…either that, or their memory is just fine and their resolution was only that much more political grandstanding.
Cough…cough…(parasites)…cough…
Have a thoughtful day.
GOP job killers…
It's just this simple...
Tonight is Obama’s jobs speech. That’s nice and all, but not really important as evidenced by the reactions of Republican Senators like Mitch McConnell and Jim DeMint who have already figured out nothing Obama could propose will work. “Same failed approach,” McConnell called it.
Interesting, considering for the past two years the GOP hasn’t said much about jobs at all…
But that was then, this is now…of late, taking their cues from the Chamber of Commerce and ALEC, Republicans have decided it is finally time to talk about these jobs. Well, not creating jobs exactly, moreso they want to talk about what kills them. This would appear key to the platform. They cite regulations as being high on the list of what kills jobs in businesses big or small, despite the McClatchy poll of small business owners which found small business owners didn’t agree, nor did the business owners feel taxes were the problem, another key job killer Republicans like to talk up. Oh, and Republicans now say the deficit kills jobs too…and unions, don’t forget the unions. They kill jobs like a motherfucker, worse than a repeal of the Bush tax cuts ever could.
So, we get the GOP list of top job killers and surprisingly, it would appear everything Republicans have a problem with? Yep, somehow kills jobs.
Top 15 job killers:
1. Higher taxes on the wealthy, killing the jobs big time, the less money they have the fewer guards they can employ to make sure liberals don’t steal it.
2. Regulations on the financial industry, it’s a super-duper killer of jobs, especially the jobs’ pension plans.
3. Regulations on the coal industry, kills more jobs than their pollution kills people.
4. Abortion, kills all the jobs them fetuses might of one day created.
5. Obamacare, kills way more jobs than government doctors can save.
6. Unions, their demands for living wages and benefits – jobs assassin.
7. Social Security, money for grandma could be used to create jobs for grandma, jobs she’ll soon need – horrid job killer.
8. Obama’s skin color, kills jobs nationwide, even worse than Boehner’s spray tan or Cantor’s air of self-righteousness.
9. Gay Marriage, if this happens, wealthy people will be too afraid to leave home and create more jobs with all their tax savings.
10. Government Jobs, if people don’t have to work in the private sector, why would wealthy people try to create jobs for them? Job destroyer.
11. Big Government, when government gets too big, it can kills jobs just by taking a step.
12. Teachers, see #6 Unions, and teachers might teach people to think, which in turn might show people that Republican obstructionists might be better replaced by people who care more about their country and less about power.
13. Atheists, because they love to have so many abortions, see #4.
14. Women, because if women just stayed at home where they belong, we wouldn’t need so many jobs.
15. Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, Energy Assistance, Welfare to Work, Planned Parenthood, National Endowment for the Arts, PBS, NPR, NOAA, FDA, because this is all money stolen out of the wallets of the top 1% and if they had their money back, just think of all the extra jobs they’d be creating right now. Seriously. Drowning in jobs. Wouldn’t be able to even see the sky the jobs would be piling up so high, all around us, everywhere, blocking the sun.
Have a nice day.
