Quote douglas m:Between wall street and congress this country is toast,

Call it what it is,

douglas m ~ A wise person once said:

Doubt Kills

More Dreams

Then Failure

Ever Will

Incidentally, it is also worth noting that in the case that this travesty is narrowly defeated now--with a Democrat in the White House--it will almost certainly rear it's ugly head again as soon as the wheels of Citizens United allows more and more money to flow into the political arena. In the event of another CONservative being sworn in; or, taking the majority of both houses of Congress, it may be very possible and likely for them to attempt to slide this debacle through again--and succeed. Merely stopping this particular bill is only the beginning. If successful we must not become complacent. We will then have to move quickly to get BIG money out of Washington for good by repealling Citizens United with Move To Amend and passing vigorous Campaign Finance Reform. Then a Constitutional Amendment forever banning engaging in international treaties that nullify domestic sovereignty would do much to prevent another TPP type agreement from ever see the floors of Congress again.

The problem now is that once you get over 50, employers don't want you unless your skilled in some scarce but high demand disipline. Too many jobs have been automated, outsourced or eliminated altogether. we have too many people for the available jobs.

We must raise tariffs, end all free trade agreements & stop TPP as "free trade" has been proven to be a job killer here, raise taxes on the rich & corporations who are not paying their fair share or nothing at all & end ALL our dam WARS & occupations.

We must also end all immigration. It's the hight of supidity to keep importing low skill people when our citizens can't find a job at a living wage & the mininum wage is much too low.

The most important vote of our time and Congress wants to give up its right to negotiate! Wanna slide it past us, of course.

Wikileaks leaked two additional documents last night!! These are working documents from the meeting in Salt Lake City. You can view them here: http://wikileaks.org/Second-release-of-secret-Trans.html

Don't give up yet! And I agree this is the WORST action I've seen in my lifetime, a global gamechanger on...everything. There IS pushback against the US from other countries! This is NOT a done deal. I am amazed how many people still don't know about this. So little coverage by mainstream news sources. One of the actions being taken by activists around the country is writing op-eds in their local papers; some are even planning on picketing newspapers asking why they are not covering it. First things first -- stopping Fast Track. There is a count of 150 Dems who signed on opposing it. I understand that negotiations are ongoing. There was a report from a staffer that a floor vote was not expected this week... but frankly, I don't trust Max Baucus any further than I can throw him,

The situation is being actively and constantly monitored right now. Public Citizen will probably be best source for latest reports. I think they are posting updates/actions at www.exposethetpp.org which also has great resource materials already prepared. I know there are folks working on op-ed templates for people to get to the press. Make sure you SHARE this new information leak with everyone you know! Write your Congress critter AGAIN. The Founding Fathers DID charge them with responsibility for trade agreements! They are shirking their Constitutional mandate if they support Fast Track authority. The proposed dispute resolution tribunal will be able to challenge and overturn federal, state, local laws as well as Supreme Court decisions if this goes through! NO APPEAL PROCESS> People REALLY need to understand how that gives corporations the status of nation-states! We MUST DEMAND full consideration by Congress with public hearings! Next year is an election year; start a new petition where people can pledge to oppose ANY candidate who votes to approve fast track authority.

I am as exhausted and depressed and disgusted as you. Continue on anyway. Literally the planet depends on it! I'm going to see if AVAAZ has any international petitions out there where we can stand in solidarity with the other participating nations who are standing up to the US strong-arm tactics. The new leaked materials show summarized provisions and which participants stand in opposed to what. Extend patent protection to plant and animal products? Not on my watch! New ammunition.

Rest. Pound your fist. throw things....just don't. give. up!

Solidarity!!

Aliceinwonderland ~ Nope. I wouldn't groan about that either. I hate acronyms too. In the technical field they are a nightmare. An unnecessary nightmare. There are entire books written that are solely dedicated to defining technical acronyms. In my opinion it is easier to learn another language than master all the acronyms of a technical field. They are only useful in writing to save time. A form of shorthand. They are also useful to refer to poorly named things. A form of contraction. They tend to be a form of secret language when undefined to the novice; which, is why I always try to define them. In the event a reader might not be familiar with it using an acronym has the same social faux pas of intentionally speaking a language they don't understand.

Are you familiar with the acronym OTFLMAO. It means "On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off." You have probably heard me use it with Kend as he often elicits that reaction. I apologize if you didn't understand it. IMHO is "In My Humble Opinion"; or, "In My Honest Opinion." WTF is "What The F..." There is also a variation of the first acronym OTFLMFAO. I'll let you use your imagination on that one. That and of course LOL (Laughing Out Loud) is pretty much my vocabulary of social acronyms. If that helps...

Oh wait, there is one more you could easily imagine someone using with Kend, STFU. That stands for "Shut The F... Up." It's actually a rather popular acronym on social media. Go figure!

What you have said is what porgressive belive. Thank you for have the guts to say it.

Marc- it wasn't the Spanish I imagined you groaning over, but my dissing of acronyms.

Quote Aliceinwonderland:Point well taken, Marc. I'm just very depressed right now. Tired of living on a sinking boat. - AIW

Aliceinwonderland ~ I know the feeling. Look on the bright side, as long as we keep taking turns bailing and paddling were bound to get somewhere eventually--at least we'll deny the sharks a good meal. Oh oh!! Don't look now; but, I think I see a waterfall up ahead. Better put on this life preserver. Oh well, at least we don't have to worry about the sinking boat anymore! Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dre....AAAAAAHHHH..........BAM! Hey look, this rock broke my fall.... Where did all these Alligators come from? Hey! Next time we take my boat.

To the gentleman that called in and said that bisexuality doesn't exist, it's so easy for someone to have such a firm opinion when they are really only speculating on a subject that they have never been through. I myself identify as bisexual. I have had relations with men, women, and a man who was bisexual. We very much understood the topic. It seems so confusing to other people. I am entirely capable of being turned on by both sexes. I am capable of loving both sexes. I am not in denial. I am confident and comfortable in my own skin. My whole family knows. I'm not ashamed. I have a very supportive group of people around me and would have no problem saying "hey guys, I'm a lesbian." It's simply not the case. I even have a gay older brother who came out years ago and was fully accepted by my parents and our family. So, no, it is not fear, denial, or shame. I firmly believe that sexuality is a gray area, that there is a Kinsey scale of sorts. Some people who are entirely attracted to and fall in love with the opposite sex have trouble grasping this concept. Is someone a complete 50/50 between which gender they like? I think that's not very realistic. We may lean more in one direction at different times, but perhaps do not feel overwhelmingly stronger about one gender or the other. It's always been such a complex emotion. That's what makes us human. There's hardly ever a situation in life that is purely black or white.

Thom, I appreciate you discussing homophobia and how pervasive it is in the United States. I agree that it is indeed tragic that many closeted gay men are living in sexless marriages because they feel they have no other choice. At the same time, I urge you not to fall into the trap of biphobia. I've known I was bi since I was a child (now in my 40s). I've also known many gay men and several bi men. I think that homophobia contributes to confusion among all of us (inlcuding heterosexuals) in terms of understanding, realizing and acknowledging our sexuality. However, I also think that biphobia is part of the oppression of GLBT people. When I came out 30 years ago, I was urged by a lesbian counselor not to openly identify as such because of the community's hostility towards it. While things have thankfully improved for bi people since then, there is still a pervasive notion in dominant society that we "should choose a side" (ie, to be with either men or women, but not both). I think bisexuality is just one of many possible human characteristics and is as normal as all other orientations.

Loren ~ I too am sorry to hear that. The holidays can be very trying by themselves. It's a shame to cloud their beauty with additional hardships. Hopefully, it is short lived and the holiday spirit will pick you up soon.

Let me assure you that I too am a strong believer in the first and second Amendments. In our struggles we should remain strong and well armed. I've traveled abroad and seen countries where the only people with guns are the military and the criminals. I have no wish to live in such countries; and, quite frankly, could not wait to get home. There is nothing like seeing fully armed militia on every street corner carrying machine guns to make you homesick. I believe that the final struggle to end all wars will not need guns; however, I never meant to say we should surrender them before that struggle begins. We can carry our weapons. We just won't use them--much like in your own personal story.

Aliceinwonderland ~ I don't see why you think I would groan at the thought of you learning SPANISH. I learned it enough to be fluent to the point of thinking in Spanish. Espanol is a beautiful, melodic, clear, expressive, and a very, very easy language to learn. The only real problem you might have is practice. I'm not sure what the Spanish speaking population density is where you live. Without opportunity to practice, it is really difficult if not impossible to learn a different language. As they say, if you don't use it you lose it. I've actually known people who spoke a native language as children and then forgot it because they moved away and learned to speak a different language the rest of their lives. I respect and encourage you to learn to speak a second language. If you do have the opportunity, it is well worth the effort.

As far as acronyms are concerned don't feel bad they often escape me too. That is why whenever you see me use one I usually put its meaning in parenthesis the first time I use it. It is a courtesy for any reader who is unfamiliar with them, as I usually am. I like to be clear as possible when I speak to avoid any potential misunderstandings. We will always have reason to argue; however, arguing over a misunderstanding is ridiculous. I can explain myself now or explain myself latter. Might as well do it right the first time.