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Unfortunately, the nation IS becoming engulfed in fascism, but it us up to all of us to steer us back to real democracy. We can't just accept corporate control of our lives. Support a Constitutional amendment to remove Constitutional personhood status from corporations is one step. Support legislation raising the minimum wage. Know how members of the House and Senate vote about voting rights, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and every other individual right. Then vote only for those who support human personhood, individual empowerment and freedom, equality, peace, education for all, honesty and truth, all of the things that are made this country so great, especially those attributes that are threatened by greed and plutocracy.
My basic "think" is that a civilization will survive to the proportion of what it's powers that be take care of the health, education and welfare of it's people. The weakest link, the poor, young, elderly and physically/mentally impaired are the bench marks of the strength of the civilization/society. To not take care of those in need the most means that that society/civilization/nation is not going to survive.
As a very broad generalization, I would say "Yes" as women tend to be more compassionate, nurturing, etc., qualities that I believe are valuable in an elected official. Women are certainly every bit as capable, intelligent, rational and effective, if given equal opportunities and education. Having said that, our choices should be made based on many factors, not just one. Each of us should carefully discover and understand what we believe in on all issues, learn as much as we can about each candidate, their education, their voting records, their experience, their behavior, what they say, what they do, what kind of mother/father, husband/wife, daughter/son, boss/employer they are. The whole person should be considered, when we decide how to use our valuable Constitutional right and privilege of voting.
I hope everyone noticed the pay and benefits of the Politicians in Washington and the President will not be cut by the Sequestration Bill they all have conspired to push down the throats of all Americans. It is so rewarding watching them blame each other for the cuts that will cripple our country. I have never seen a larger group of whores in one place during my life on this planet. When will the Media finally explain to the American People who the authors were and are of this Sequestration Bill? Most Americans have no idea that Obama, Democrat Politicians and the Republicans all had a hand in crafting this abomination they are forcing us to accept. We as a nation are somewhat illiterate when it comes to politics and who is responsible for what goes on in Washington!
How would you create revolt in America!
Such is definately required... though certain people of such bent oppose in weakness
A worthy revolt requires a leader with passion, commitment, drive
A hard, very DEFINATE certainty of purpose and an emotional affinity with the crowd... other humans
None in this dialogue have the such quality and fortitude for bloody damned sure
Where are we going with this dicourse?
What has happened with OCCUPY movement???
How is it that Hartmann is surprised that the Republicans will never stop pushing their agenda to dismantle the Social Security and Medicare programs! I guess his comments about Sequestration (the worst bill the President and Washington has ever written) have become repetitive and he needs fresh red meat for his blog. I guess being over 55 yrs. of age has some marginal benefits! Ha! (Only a few as far as I can see!) The last thing the Insurance Companies will do is provide a healthcare plan for older Americans that is affordable. The older one becomes the more costly health care becomes; it is just part of the nature of being a human and our bodies. Once the Republicans get Medicare converted into a voucher program the healthcare for older and retired Americans, you will see the life expectancy of Americans plummet into a downward spiral. As it stands we are presently close to the bottom of the list as far as our health and life expectancy is compared to the rest of the Industrialized World! The voucher program is just another way for the Wealthy in America to cut the costs in our budget, so their profits from the Stock Market will go up, as it has since the Sequestration Bill or Austerity has been implemented starting in March. The voucher scheme is just another way to shift the cost of doing business in America to the backs and wallets of the poor and middleclass. Nothing surprises me anymore in this country. Study what is happening in Europe, especially in Greece, Spain and Italy, because we are next in line for the ax of Austerity to fall on the necks of the poor and middleclass Americans for the next 10 years. It is time for a political and physical revolt in this Union. K.W.
As far as the Ryan budget goes, it will pass in the House and will fail in the Senate. We have all heard this B.S. for the last year and longer. The Republicans will all favor any cuts or changes to Medicare and the Democrats will all refuse to support any major changes to Medicare or social programs. The same old dance and song over and over again. The Republicans are out to destroy any and all social programs that do not make a profit for big business and big tax cuts or loop wholes to increase the profits of all the big multi-national corporations. The Democrats will fight to save all the much needed social programs that help the poor and the middleclass, as well as the youngest and oldest Americans in our society. And nothing will be done, with the exception of the Austerity (Sequestration) cuts that are now being pushed down the throats of Americans across this Nation. Hell, I am even starting to repeat the same thing over and over again!! Whether you’re a conservative or a liberal, we all know what is going to happen and the only people who will actually benefit from these actions are the wealthy and those who are heavily invested in the Stock Market and rely on the Capital Gains they will receive from it. It is not hard to see who the real winners and losers will be over the next ten years of Austerity and the chaos that will be part of the pain that will be inflicted on our society.
When Congress leads with changes to their 'retirement' and healthcare benefits I'll begin to believe they are serious.
At this time I see little beyond a need to get re-elevted.
That was a serious question?
I know few women as numb as myself.
A letter to the Whitehouse - We need to let the President know how we see his failed Administration, especially the role he had in preparing the Sequestration bill.
Mr. President, we hold you and the politicians in Washington responsible for the pain you are inflicting on the American public through the Austerity program you helped design. The Sequestration is just a tool you and Washington have devised to push your Austerity measures down the throats of the American People. I am a Democrat who will never vote for your party again. I, my family, fellow workers and fellow church members are signing a petition to have you impeached from office (we are mostly Democrats). We will then send this petition to the Republican leaders in the Senate and the House to show the people who voted for you, no longer have any faith in your leadership. Once the public realizes you helped to design this monster bill, your popularity will fall even more and the Democrats in Washington will feel it in the 2014 elections across this country. The Republicans have outwitted you on all levels since you took office. We realize you will never read any comments sent to you, but when the overall picture shows your ratings dropping like flies on a hot day, you might get the message of how you have failed. We do not expect the Democrats to comply and vote for your impeachment, but it will go down in history that your own party see's you as a lame duck president. You have really given away any bargaining power you might have had when you agreed to raise the Capital Gains tax by a mere 5% and the Republicans got what they wanted and you again have failed in your leadership as President. You are the second worst president in U.S. history, only G. Bush has a worse record of leadership then you. You are more like a Republican then a Democrat and it is obvious the wealthy now control the Whitehouse as well as the Senate and the House. We will do everything in our power to show the American voters how you have failed them and the country you were elected to serve. It is obvious you are more concerned with your record of achievements than the needs of the poor and the middleclass Americans you were supposed to support. You have been bought and paid for by the Billionaires and Millionaires that paid for your re-election. We see you as a failed leader in the domestic and world affairs you have a hand in governing and your policies to kill Americans you perceive as the enemy, shows only Bush had a worse record in handling the Wars you have governed over and the policies you have implemented. We are truly sorry for helping you get elected the first time in 2008. Sincerely, a citizen of the United States. March 8, 2013.
You can contact the soda jerk in the Whitehouse by going to whitehouse.gov and accessing the comment section. You will be required to give info concerning your name, address, e-mail, etc. The only thing you will have to be cautious about is if he doesn't like your comments he might send one of his drones (I am not referring to his personnel in the Whitehouse) to bomb you or send the guys in the black trench coats to arrest you for questioning his policies. A small price to pay for voicing your own thoughts.
i agree that one's vote should not be based on gender, but who is best qualified for the job!
Exactly well said
Amen to telliottmbamsc's comment !!!
the good ole usa is becoming a fascist state ruled by the corporate elite.
what a sad state of affairs.
Women sure can't do worse Likely much better I'm talking classy intelligent women who care about America, its citizens / workers / families./ quality education.
More women like Elizabeth Warren, Debbie Stabenow, or Jan Shakowsky? Or more women like Michele Bachmann and Christine O'Donnell?
I will vote based on who they are and what they say, not based on sex, race, religion, or anything else.
Of course I will admit when they say they are a republican that stops me for looking any further.
Hillary Clinton is unfit to be President - she is the choice of the Moneyed Elite which her husband helped create and her daughter married into. If you she wasn’t she wouldn’t be so heavily touted in the media as Obama apparent heir.
Enough is enough.
Looking to the system to produce a solution to the Peoples' predicament is pure fantasy. Your vote is meaningless when cash can purchase both parties allegiance or corporations can otherwise threaten both parties into servitude. As we have seen, in the absence of a complete social restructuring any promise or hope to change this is a pure lie.
We live in a Corporatestocracy that yields only corrupt results when pretending to be a democracy. The fantasy that it can do anything else is the main source of power the ruling class has over us and it is maintained through the use of propaganda.
And year after year it has failed the People and now, it has gotten so bad that you actually purchase meetings with a President who is fighting hard to drown out the constitution as well as our rights with the implements of a surveillance state (drones).
The social safety net and general welfare of the People will continue to fall. They will slowly be eroded even further. Especially through the elite's policy toward the environment. Non-violent civil disobedience of the kind that gave the People throughout history nearly each and every piece of their humanity is the only true option left.
What about Obama held himself out, what he purported to stand for, is pure fantasy. The American dream is a fantasy and so is the representativeness of what our government can currently produce for us.
Americans are looking at a very grave future at a time of severely concentrated wealth. Promise yourself you won't be silenced or lulled into complacency with more heavily disguised pittances coming out of Washington. ALEC doesn't care about social issues and there can be no equality without economic equality.
The America I see today makes me sick.
DAnneMarc: Sorry bout the delay, lunch break ended!....Anyway I need to clarify, Dr Feelgood was a great English band with a true, in the Chuck Berry sense, rockin guitar player by the name of Wilco. I saw the guitar video you posted a while back and I thought you might get a kick out of Wilco's relentless style. As I mentioned before, I used to play in garage bands and could relate to your video.
Regarding drones, DAnneMarc says: "Essentially, they've evolved beyond the toy status and have the potential to be very useful tools. HalFonts was right in this respect and I agree with that."
Once our government has evolved into a true democracy instead of a fascist plutocracy, and respects and upholds the Constitution, and no longer wages war on the rest of the world; and once our police forces have demonstrated a committment to protect & serve everyone equally regardless of race or class (rather than simply serving as goons & bullies protecting the interests of the rich), then - and ONLY then - will I change my position on the question of whether or not drones should exist. - Aliceinwonderland
Marsh in Florida ~ Calm down! Remember when we were kids these drone predecessors were merely toys. Essentially, they've evolved beyond the toy status and have the potential to be very useful tools. HalFonts was right in this respect and I agree with that.
It is only when they are perverted and equipped with weapons that they become evil.
By themselves they can serve many benevolent potential uses. They make wonderful toys. They can be used not only in surveillance, but also in search and rescue missions. They can be used by fire fighters to deliver extinguishing agents in perilous areas, in particular, forest fires. They can be used by meteorologist to examine hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanoes without endangering scientist. They can be used by the police department to follow suspects instead of engaging in high speed pursuits. They can be used by farmers to deliver fertilizer and pesticides to crops without endangering pilots with this task. They can also be used by news agencies to gather traffic information without having to send helicopters in the air with people in them.
The list goes on and on. The benefits are quite specific. Don't let the current perverted use of these tools discourage you from the technology all together.
2950-10K ~ I too spread the word this way myself. Seems like a waste of time sometimes. People don't want to hear my opinion. The experience usually reminds me of that famous Bible quote:
Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Yet, somehow, I always find the strength to press on. After all, even an avalanche begins with one snow flake. So let me be that flake.
Rome wasn't built in a day and I believe that you can change the world just by putting the divider behind your groceries in the check out line at the supermarket for the person behind you. It shames them into being considerate for the person following them--and so on, and so on...
Dr. Feelgood. Hmmmm! He may have written a prescription or two for me in the past. Seriously though, I assume you speak of the "Crew." I've got them on DVD, but only just now checked them out on YouTube. Nice video! Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I've retired from 'practicing' medicine decades ago. I enjoyed the video though!
DAnnMarc: Regarding this type of political communication, I do it in the workplace when possible, I do it at various places online, I do it with agreeable conversation at community events, political events, you name it. However my main point is we don't have a network called FOX, but we do have social media like Thom's Blog, so let's make the most of it!
By the way D, did you check out Dr. Feelgood on Youtube? I know you're a guitar player!
I personally don't think that argument of Rand Paul's went far enough. I find absolutely no difference in the possible harm caused by the use of drones and the use of nuclear weapons. There should be a world-wide prohibition against drone warfare just as there is an "attempt" to get worldwide cooperation against the use of nuclear weapons. The use of drones to stop so-called terrorists is a very self-serving and unfair tactic, and it is indescriminating in who it kills, the people guiding these drones are not always right about what they "think" they are seeing or reacting to, and such weaponry leaves a permanent scar on the country these weapons are deployed in. It's an unfair tool on so many levels, that it reaches the level of the horror brought to bear by nuclear bombs.
All drones, even those proposed to be used by police departments in the U.S., should be outlawed. The potential is not only there for abusive use of these drones, but in fact has already been shown exactly how badly our freedoms provided for by the Bill of Rights are subject to being totally corrupted. Do you really want to trust your police department, the men and women who are seen on every nightly news report taking very abusive action over and above the necessary action to restrain someone in their custody, do you really want them to have this technology to use against you?
ALL drones should be recalled and destroyed. All of the horrors of these "tools" have not yet been realized. Do we really want to wait until the damages have been done to start asking for their demise? Why do we need to keep running in front of speeding trains before we realize that it could be hazardous to our health to do so?
2950-10K Wrote: "Our aim with communication should include not only this relatively small group of politically astute blog participants, but it should also endeavor to reach beyond to the vast numbers of those less interested voters. "
A brilliant idea! I'm all for Adult Education. Any ideas how to achieve this noble objective?
HalFonts: We progressives should keep in mind that most of the population has very little interest or attention span for lenghty and complex discourse, especially when political in nature. The Right has gained much ground on us by their clever usage of overly simplistic all-or-nothing babble. Babble like, thaaaats Socialism!.....he's gonna take your guns!..... it's a Govt. take over! ..... Obama-care will include Govt. Death Panels!...etc. The Kochs realize how well this strategy of babble/disinformation works, just look at the number of Teabaggers in the House.
What's wrong with fighting back with truthful but brief RHETORIC that's composed with puposefully simple language?
Our aim with communication should include not only Thom's,"relatively," small group of politically astute blog participants, but it should also endeavor to reach beyond to the vast numbers of those less interested voters. It works well for FOX with their lies, it will also work for us with the truth. That's my goal anyway. I think we progressives need to win over the hearts and minds of the many. We're not going to do it with complex language and thoughts that will only tend to alienate the average citizen.
Marsh in Florida ~ Well said! I couldn't agree more. In fact, I think you just made my case for Campaign Finance Reform. Without that, voting these Puppets out of office is only going to vote in another cast of Puppets. We must cut the Corporate strings before we cast the votes. Food for thought!
I agree DAnneMarc - I think President Obama walked naively into field of quicksand. He ran on a promise that there would be no "politics as usual" but once he got into office, so much damage had already been done, and I'm not just talking about the bottoming-out of the economy, I'm talking about all the little legalities (or illegalities) that have been set into motion that makes it damned near impossible to fully stop this runaway train.
Case in point, government contractors such as Halliburton, KBR, Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, these are all contractors who have been sued numerous times for criminal acts as well as civil misdeeds. Yet when they are found guilty and punished with a fine, they are able to stick that fine to the American people to pay. It seems they all have this little "indemnity" clause in their contracts - which, by the way are so secret that no one is allowed to SEE that indemnity clause, yet they are allowed to use it to protect themselves from any financial harm. So it's on the backs of the American taxpayer to pay the fine, or penalty, or whatever you want to call it. Let's say it's a $1,000,000 fine. As soon as the case is over - maybe even while the case is pending - Congress rewards these same WRONGDOERS with new contracts in the Billions. How do we stop this kind of injustice when our legislature is promoting it?
When the GOP or the tea party or the libertarians and anarchists speak of Less Government, this is the kind of Less Government they are referring to. Zero ability of the American people to interfere with the Mil.Ind.Comp. and the banksters to seek honest retribution for the grand theft committed against the public. A bank robber on the street will receive a 20-year sentence when caught, tried and convicted. Not so with big business, the plutocrats. And all the public can hope to do is vote out of office the crooked politicians who allowed this blitzkrieg on our democracy to happen.