Daily Topics - Wednesday January 27th 2010
By Louise
Quote: "The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hour One - State of the Union, Pimps and Corporate Personhood - your calls
Plus...Bill Bradbury, Democratic Candidate for Oregon Governor, former Oregon Secretary of State www.bradbury2010.com Proposes forming "Bank of Oregon" if elected Governor (Why do we need state owned banks?)
But wait - there's more...Supreme Court ruled corporations have personhood, so a corporation is running for Congress? Eric Hensal "Designated human" at "Murray Hill Inc. for Congress" campaign murrayhillincforcongress.com Supreme
Hour Two - State of the Union, Pimps and Corporations as Candidates - your calls
Plus...."Everything You Know is Wrong" Bill Wiese www.soulchoiceministries.org "23 Minutes in Hell"
Hour Three – Why are you supporting "Too Big to Fail?" John Lott www.johnrlott.blogspot.com
Comments
#2
RE SotU: I'm doubling down that Obama will tell America that it is doing GREAT because the Banking Industry bonuses for YE 2009 equal one percent of the nation's total GNP, then go on to thank Geitner and Bernake for all their good work.
#3
RE SotU, Part 2: Folk keep taklin' like Obama's first State of the Union Address will be a REDUX of Herbert Hoover's worst or FDR' best . . .
My money is on a direct lift from Pappy Shrub's third SotU.
#4
I kinda' wouldn't be surprised if the President just delivered this one line for the State of the Union:
"We are F'd, thank you."
#5
RE SotU, Part 3: I'm thinking that Obama has the Joementum he desires and you all have the insanity of false hope.
#6
"Those who do not study history, are doomed to repeat it."
That being said, can someone get The President and his administration a good history book (or several) covering American history from the Civil War period through the Clinton Presidency? There are some real excellent solutions for him to learn, as well as pitfalls to avoid in that time frame.
#7
Nels
Don't you mean: "You're all F'd, thank you."
#8
I apologize . . . That was not nice of me.
#9
Here's another thought, Thom how about you make Obama a honorary member, and as a token of this make him a very special member of the day and send him a copy of your whole catalog of books.
Feel free to highlight prior to sending.
#10
Charles, I see what you mean, but I think Obama has done a good job at screwing himself too.
#11
I't easy to fall into despair and cynicism like the Mysterious Floating Head. My own bumper-sticker says "I feel better since I lost hope.". But Thom is always saying this is a "no-despair" zone, so sometimes I'm tempted to just keep quiet and not share my despair. So why am I writing this? Cause I still have a sliver of hope?
#12
@ Richard
Be careful! Or the Church Lady will get on you.
#13
The SCOTUS has become an extended exercise in absurdity.
SCOTUS reform is about as necessary (if not more so, now) as Health Care reform.
IMHO
#14
Congratulations to Oregon for passing the taxes! I am willing to pay more in taxes to help people and not to expand wars and to start wars.
Blair should be sentenced for mass murders and war crimes.
Obama is a corporatist and not a populist. Obama’s speeches are hollow. His speeches are full of air with no substance. Obama’s talk is cheap.
Religions and religious groups must be taxed. They must lose their tax exemption status.
The Supreme Court’s Personhood Decision has opened a can of worms.
Cut out the middle person! Why should a corporation give money to a real person when it can use the money to elect itself?
I recently wrote of a dream on Render to Caesar the things that are for Caesar. I probably left the impression that murder of God’s children is acceptable if Caesar says that these murders are for our safety and security.
The Fifth Commandment says “You shall not kill!” This commandment does not just mean that we literally kill another person. There are other subsections to this commandment. Here are some of the subsections to the commandments.
Do you respect human life in all its forms? Do we let people starve in our country and throughout the world? Have you ever been responsible or partly responsible for the death of another person, such as abortion or become glorified with wars? Are you a drinker, such as an alcoholic? Do you use drugs? Do you drive recklessly, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and are you using the cell phone while you drive?
Killing a person is just limit to wars or to actually kill a person.
#15
harry ashburn,
I, too, have mixed feelings about Thom's (and Bernie's) admonition that "despair is not an option." I think it is difficult to tackle a problem without identifying it first. An honest assessment of ourselves and our situation starts the process.
If you just stop at despair, then there's no hope. But acknowledging "what's what" can also allow one to go on.
That said, it's awfully easy to stay in despair...
#16
OK Church Lady, I mispoke earlier, and Thom has been kind enough to remind me why. I don't TRUST ANY POLITICIAN EXCEPT BERNIE SANDERS (he's the exception that proves my rule).
In other words, even good people lie. I don't mean to say that all Politicians are liars either, I just don't have faith in their word. I watch for there actions, their votes, which rarely fall in line with their stump speeches.
Wisdom as old as Aesop
Once bitten twice shy.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
#17
I agree about reform being necessary in other structural ways before being able to realize effective and rational health care legislation. Campaign Reform, Senate rules, (Filibusters), etc. The Dems need to clean out the barn. It should come as no surprise that it was over judicial hearings that the Repubs first began threatening the "nuclear option" when they were in the minority. Decisions like last week's are the chickens coming home to roost. Dems are clueless. Redrawing the Judiciary has been a long term project of the Cons. It is all linked.
#18
Gerald,
I've been thinking about what you wrote yesterday about your reason for voting for McCain --- that he and you are mavericks.
McCain is also a hawk ('Bomb, bomb Iran, etc.) Since war is one of your major concerns, isn't this inconsistent?
'Just thinking about this overnight.
#19
Quark, Wellstone may have been taken down by the CIA. I cannot deny it or prove it. Cheney and Bush, in my perceptual opinion, are mass murders and war criminals. The reason why I do not read various rags is because our mainstream media is controlled by people who seek to contaminate my brain with garbage. I have read excellent articles and books by writers who alert me to the garbage coming from the mainstream media.
#20
Congressional hearing on financial bailout - live stream:
#21
TODAY, John McCain has a 13.7% Lifetime Progressive Score . . . That's real Recessivist for an untamed pony.
http://www.progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?search=selectName&member=AZI...
#22
Gerald,
Yes, but what about the McCain thing?
#23
@ Nels
Wasn't that "fool me once" from Mr. Spock? :-)
I love Bernie too but I wonder about his effectiveness. He is decent and honest but I wonder about how sly he is. His lone position as a Socialist Democrat should actually sometimes give him some clout. He may be too earnest to allow himself to be Machivelian enough to manipulate things to his advantage. I don't know. I know this is heresy here. Sorry I blew up.
#24
Well Richard, 13.7% is about 13.6% more progressive than the Cons want any of their members to be (giving a .01% margin of error). So I guess he could be considered a Maverick of sorts...
maybe Maverick dung.
#25
Quark, I strongly oppose wars!!! But, a person can be a maverick in many areas, such as I become truly glorified whenever I can piss off my relatives from my wife's side of the family. Pissing off these people places me in an ecstatic and a euphoric state.
#26
@ Quark
Bingo!
#27
DDay, I suppose Spock would have found Aesop logical, and Aesop's fables were more than likely a montage of spoken tales of his era.
Silly Greeks, gave us Democracy, Olympics, and to some extent Logic (although I really doubt you can pin that last one on them).
As far as Sanders goes, I find him to be honest, perhaps its because I get to hear him weekly talk straight talk on Thom's show. I can't blame him for is lack of guiding the Senate Democrats down the right path. That's the responsibility of their constituents as far as I understand it.
#28
@ Gerald
You piss me off too sometimes.
#29
Quark, I did not vote McCain. I voted for Obama but I would have given some thought to vote for McCain if Palin was not on the ticket. Plus, as it turned out, McCain French kissed the religious fundamentalists' behinds and he revealed himself as not being a maverick.
#30
@Gerald, you seem to be good at upsetting people....
Bravo, good for you. I'm always a fan of those who rock can rock the boat unabashedly.
I can't say I always agree with you either, but I could probably say that about the majority of people I'm acquainted with.
#31
The Church Lady, thank you for the comment! You made my day!
#32
@ Nels
Maybe it was Scotty?
I don't blame Bernie for anything either. He is a good man. Vermont is cool. Bernie is a dependable plow horse...not a race horse...we need both kinds.
#33
Gerald,
"I would have voted for McCain but Palin as his running mate turned me off. If McCain was truly a maverick, I would have voted for him because I consider myself a maverick."
Yes, I see your comment. I guess what made an impression on me was that you would even consider voting for McCain since war seems to be the defining issue.
#34
@ Gerald
Aren't you speeeshall.
#35
Gerald,
I'm not trying to win an argument or back you into a corner. I'm just trying to understand your position.
#36
Gerald,
I truly want to understand others' points of view if they sincerely express them, which I believe you do.
#37
Quark, Nels has a comment about rocking the boat. Whenever a person rocks the boat, this behavior can take on a maverick form.
A person can be a maverick in many forms and in many ways.
Nels, when a person comments on a blog, the person must be willing to accept some criticism from the people who will disagree with him or her. There is no person who can please all the people all of the time.
#38
DDay, yes I agree, I hope some of the more ideological Senators (the rare few, I know) take a page from Sanders play book. Stick to your guns, slow and steady wins the race.
And no, I don't think that last part of that sentence can be attributed to Capt. Kirk or Dr. Bones.... maybe Sulu?
#39
Quark is like a dog with a steak bone. She's got Uncle Gerald by the ankle and won't let go. Truth and logic are stubborn things....Gerald... You rock Quark!
Peace everyone
Goodnight Church Lady!
#40
I really have come to hate the word: Maverick.
#41
The Church Lady, if, by speeeshall, you mean special, yes, I have had people say that I am a special ed student.
#42
I'm happy you express your views Gerald. Its also healthy that Quark wants to delve deeper into your point of view. Wonderful that people can disagree, or just differ a little and still have a rational and civil discussion. It helps everyone who's interested in either points of view to understand more.
Its why I blog here. More thought and insight than sights that devolve into name calling and insinuations.
#43
Case in point, even though I make a load of typo's, no one has been so petty as to make that an issue here. Can't say that about several other sites I've blogged. Its a little thing, but a mark of quality.
#44
Nels,
It's so easy to make a typo. To call attention to someone else's mistakes is a pot-kettle thing I think (at least for me --- and I used to be an editor. 'Nuff said?)
#45
Nels,
It's also a Golden Rule thing, though that, too, is hard to live by 100% Unfortunately, we're all human (as the Supreme Court says!) :-)
#46
'Bye for now, dear ones.
#47
That's part of the point I was making Quark. Essentially I'm saying that I appreciate the maturity found here.
I'm as happy to read a die hard Obama supporters' point of view, as well as read a disaffected progressives' rebuff of it. Especially when the effort is made by the blogger to explain their own point of view, why they believe what they believe. It really helps see the other side, or in some cases dissect my thought process even more thoroughly.
#48
I had it in my notes but I forgot to post it.
I want to wish Oregon success in forming a state bank, like North Dakota.
The state of Michigan will never have a state bank because the western side of the state is one massive red district. The westside of the state controls the elections. The only way a a Democrat becomes governor is through the two Santa Claus theory. The repugs screw up the state's economy so badly that the people will vote for a Democrat. After one week in office since the election the repugs will scream so loadly that the Democrat has failed and he or she wreck the Michigan economy. Since Americans have short memories, they will agree and they can't wait to vote another repug back into office.
#49
Puxatawny Phil has it easy. He lives in the high school all year and is pampered to the max. One day a year he comes out to see his shadow.
#50
Do we even have 50 PROGRESSIVE senators? Are we assuming that Obama is a corporatist without really realizing how many senators are really PROGRESSIVE? We know a few demacorpses Lincoln, LIEberman, etc.. But? Are they just covering up the real number of demacorpses in the senate? We wont really know until thier is another vote on something else now that the 60 vote "perfect world" is over.
But possibly Obama is more progressive than he is letting on. He went against the banks last week and was then blindsided by the scotus. Was that "payback" for Obama "speaking against" the banks?
but? then Obama hasnt made recess appointments which Bush certainly would have.
Where's the backbone?
Perhaps the Democrats need http://www.michaelshealth.com/pdf/testosterone.pdf
lol!
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By webmaster
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OBAMA is a pro-corporatist DINO. Bernanke is a pro-corporatist shill.
Marriage in Bill Wiese's "Heaven".