Just when you think it can’t get any worse, we have dawn to dusk coverage of a topic so vitally important to the country and, indeed, the world as “lipstick on a pig.” Is this what the campaign for the highest office in the land has degenerated to? Are we so ignorant that we dignify this kind of crap and, even worse, give it one scintilla of credence? This is what we get from corporate-owned news outlets that want to ensure a prevailing level of stupidity among the electorate. Keep them satiated and keep them focused on a diet of trivia that is the stuff of juvenile minds. We now have a massive demand for Sarah’s eyeglass frames, plus the introduction of three action-dolls of the bimbo from the frozen North. Are we not capable of greater things in the face of a total collapse of our national economic and social fabric?
I cannot believe how the foundation of the greatest democracy in the world rests on the impressions created for popular consumption by the image makers of Madison Avenue and Hollywood. Nothing like fooling yourself. Hey, folks, Rome is burning! Put down your fiddles and learn what is happening and what you can do about it. Your very life and the future of your progeny depend on it.
When hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on bagging the highest elected office in the country that only pays $400,000 per year, the payoff is immediately suspect. On the surface that doesn’t seem to be a very good return on investment. Those who seek the office and the political machines that champion their causes must see a whole lot more for their money than we do in terms of the spoils that will go to the “winner.”
I don’t trust either of the two major political parties. They have a strangle-hold on the electoral system and control every aspect of our government. They have effectively neutralized and hamstrung any serious attempt at an alternative party. We have one choice between the two. Take it or leave it. We are deluged by massive numbers of one-minute sound bites that say little or nothing, or are outright fabrications of the truth. But, we blindly accept all that nonsense as gospel and make our choices accordingly. Just what the doctor ordered!
That John McCain endured the agonies of the damned while he was a POW goes without saying. But to extol him as a hero is, in my opinion, a bit of a stretch. He is only one of thousands who have suffered through years of incarceration as prisoners of war. Rather, I pay more heed to the way he slithers from one position to another in order to incur the favor of those in positions to further his ambitions. After what George W. Bush did to him in 2000, any self-respecting person would not have given him the time of day, much less cozy up to him to the extent McCain has. The mere fact that he would seriously consider the Democratic Party as an alternative speaks volumes about his commitment to party principles. The personification of his rather fluid principles is only underscored by the sycophant, Joe Lieberman, being attached to McCain at the hip. Hey, John, you can stop beating your war record to death. I want to hear what you stand for, if you stand for anything. If John McCain can co-opt the label as a war hero, Bill Clinton can pass himself off as a sex therapist.
Aided and abetted by Bill Clinton who deregulated the financial industries, the Republicans wasted no time in seizing the moment and systematically plundering the nation. Now they are hell-bent on devouring the corpse. The American middle class, which has been the historical backbone of this country, has taken it in the shorts, big time. They are the ones who have fought our nation’s wars, who have borne the brunt of its grief and the aftermath, and who have received little recompense for all that they have given. It is they as taxpayers who are being asked to bail out the excesses of corporate America and foot the bill for massively huge severance packages for CEO’s who have taken their organizations down the pathway to financial ruin. It is not the hustlers and opportunists of Wall Street and Washington, D.C.
The last 8 years stand as mute testimony to the depths of evil to which our elected officials are capable of descending. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. And the real travesty is that they will probably get away with all their shenanigans without ever being called to account for what they have done to this once great country.
Then there are those “across the aisle.” The great champions of the common man. All one has to do is to seriously look at the myriad examples of collusion with their adversaries, the pork-barreling and corruption to which they have been a party. They have bought into such great social and economic tonics as NAFT, CAFTA, and the total dismantling of every regulatory program designed to protect the population from such excesses as those heaped upon us by the Republicans. They have, also, worked hand in glove to insulate themselves from any semblance of accountability to those who put them in office. They have colluded with those who share the chambers of government and who believe in the omnipotence of their judgment over the wisdom of the people they are supposed to serve. Where in the hell are our advocates in all this?
Republicans are the great champions of a totally unfettered free market as the panacea for all our ills. That premise is glaringly flawed by the fact that for a free market to work for the benefit of everyone, all those involved in the market must, of necessity, be absolutely squeaky-clean honest. Without honesty, the entire system is victim to the excesses of human nature. Seems to me the last eight plus years underscore that fundamental flaw rather well.
The other thing that galls me about the Republicans is making religion one of the mainstays of our national politics. Now, I respect and admire anyone with genuine religious convictions. But religion, to my way of thinking, is a very personal matter and has no place in any campaign dialogue. The disproportionate amount of attention devoted to this issue saps valuable time, resources and energy from the focus of what our political discourse is all about.
Democrats hold themselves out to us as the great champions of the people. The collective connotation of the word “people.” would suggest to me that there is an all inclusive philosophy behind that notion. I don’t see that in actual practice. One of the fundamental principles of our government is that it is founded upon and operates from a base of respect for and an adherence to the rule of law. I see a progressively greater erosion of that principle every single day. Rather, I see a political party that panders to every special interest group and minority faction in society. Are we not “one nation under God?” Do we not expect every one hitting our shores to come here legally and to seek assimilation into the greater identity of what it takes to be an American?
Every nationality that has ever immigrated to the United States has come here expecting to “earn their stripes” and to do what it takes to become an American. That is, until an exception was made for the hordes streaming across our southern borders. That they are criminals violating the very laws we hold dear is no longer relevant. Rather, it is they who seek to demand rights they have never earned and never had. It is they who want a bilingual society and all the attendant difficulties inherent in that notion. It is enough that it splits us as a unified people, but ask our neighbors to the North as to how well it has worked for them. I don’t hear that same hue and cry coming from the Southeast Asians who have immigrated to our shores. They have worked to become a part of the American fabric, not an island within a nation. Today, they are some of our finest examples of success in realizing the “American Dream.”
We are not a society of special interest groups. We are one people being served by one government. I am appalled by the political figures who have declared American cities as havens for illegal aliens, and the churches that are doing the same. Where is the public outrage at the fact that they are violating their oaths of office and that they are breaking the law? Those who violate their oath of office and break those laws should be impeached and thrown out of office. Those who wear the cloth and provide safe havens for “illegals” should be stripped of their nonprofit status and thrown into the slammer just like the criminals they are. Those running for public office, be they Democrat or Republican, have a solemn duty to all of us to respect and uphold those laws as well. Our hopes, dreams, aspirations and basic needs are as one people, not a collection of special interests who want only that which will serve their own agendas. They have no inherent right to what belongs to all those who have preceded us in working to make this country what it is today.
If the Democratic Party is truly a party of the people, then it is high time it acted and advocated as a party of everyone, not just those factions who speak with the loudest voice. If the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln, then they need to accept the fact that “government” is not a dirty word. Government is the people and it is there to look out for all of us. That means it is there to keep us honest so everyone has an equal shot at all this country has to offer. If it takes regulation and oversight to make that happen for the collective benefit of everyone, then so be it. By the same token, the electorate has an obligation to keep government honest, as well.
This country is staring into the abyss of a total collapse of the great experiment known as the United States of America. We are like a row of dominoes standing on end just waiting for someone to knock down the first chip and set the whole process in motion. If we don’t get very serious about what we face, we are surely destined to become a third-rate power, watching what was once the basis of our national pride shift to the Orient, Russia and the oil-producing nations of the Middle East. At this juncture, I am not altogether certain we can stop the Titanic from hitting the iceberg.
As surely as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, arrogance and ignorance always travel in tandem. One is the lifeblood of the other. As for “lipstick on a pig,” that is a cheap shot at trying to derail the real debate as to what this election is all about. To those who dignify such nonsense, I say, “get over it and get real.” The sun is setting on us all.
Cowboy Bob
September 10, 2008
I cannot believe how the foundation of the greatest democracy in the world rests on the impressions created for popular consumption by the image makers of Madison Avenue and Hollywood. Nothing like fooling yourself. Hey, folks, Rome is burning! Put down your fiddles and learn what is happening and what you can do about it. Your very life and the future of your progeny depend on it.
When hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on bagging the highest elected office in the country that only pays $400,000 per year, the payoff is immediately suspect. On the surface that doesn’t seem to be a very good return on investment. Those who seek the office and the political machines that champion their causes must see a whole lot more for their money than we do in terms of the spoils that will go to the “winner.”
I don’t trust either of the two major political parties. They have a strangle-hold on the electoral system and control every aspect of our government. They have effectively neutralized and hamstrung any serious attempt at an alternative party. We have one choice between the two. Take it or leave it. We are deluged by massive numbers of one-minute sound bites that say little or nothing, or are outright fabrications of the truth. But, we blindly accept all that nonsense as gospel and make our choices accordingly. Just what the doctor ordered!
That John McCain endured the agonies of the damned while he was a POW goes without saying. But to extol him as a hero is, in my opinion, a bit of a stretch. He is only one of thousands who have suffered through years of incarceration as prisoners of war. Rather, I pay more heed to the way he slithers from one position to another in order to incur the favor of those in positions to further his ambitions. After what George W. Bush did to him in 2000, any self-respecting person would not have given him the time of day, much less cozy up to him to the extent McCain has. The mere fact that he would seriously consider the Democratic Party as an alternative speaks volumes about his commitment to party principles. The personification of his rather fluid principles is only underscored by the sycophant, Joe Lieberman, being attached to McCain at the hip. Hey, John, you can stop beating your war record to death. I want to hear what you stand for, if you stand for anything. If John McCain can co-opt the label as a war hero, Bill Clinton can pass himself off as a sex therapist.
Aided and abetted by Bill Clinton who deregulated the financial industries, the Republicans wasted no time in seizing the moment and systematically plundering the nation. Now they are hell-bent on devouring the corpse. The American middle class, which has been the historical backbone of this country, has taken it in the shorts, big time. They are the ones who have fought our nation’s wars, who have borne the brunt of its grief and the aftermath, and who have received little recompense for all that they have given. It is they as taxpayers who are being asked to bail out the excesses of corporate America and foot the bill for massively huge severance packages for CEO’s who have taken their organizations down the pathway to financial ruin. It is not the hustlers and opportunists of Wall Street and Washington, D.C.
The last 8 years stand as mute testimony to the depths of evil to which our elected officials are capable of descending. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. And the real travesty is that they will probably get away with all their shenanigans without ever being called to account for what they have done to this once great country.
Then there are those “across the aisle.” The great champions of the common man. All one has to do is to seriously look at the myriad examples of collusion with their adversaries, the pork-barreling and corruption to which they have been a party. They have bought into such great social and economic tonics as NAFT, CAFTA, and the total dismantling of every regulatory program designed to protect the population from such excesses as those heaped upon us by the Republicans. They have, also, worked hand in glove to insulate themselves from any semblance of accountability to those who put them in office. They have colluded with those who share the chambers of government and who believe in the omnipotence of their judgment over the wisdom of the people they are supposed to serve. Where in the hell are our advocates in all this?
Republicans are the great champions of a totally unfettered free market as the panacea for all our ills. That premise is glaringly flawed by the fact that for a free market to work for the benefit of everyone, all those involved in the market must, of necessity, be absolutely squeaky-clean honest. Without honesty, the entire system is victim to the excesses of human nature. Seems to me the last eight plus years underscore that fundamental flaw rather well.
The other thing that galls me about the Republicans is making religion one of the mainstays of our national politics. Now, I respect and admire anyone with genuine religious convictions. But religion, to my way of thinking, is a very personal matter and has no place in any campaign dialogue. The disproportionate amount of attention devoted to this issue saps valuable time, resources and energy from the focus of what our political discourse is all about.
Democrats hold themselves out to us as the great champions of the people. The collective connotation of the word “people.” would suggest to me that there is an all inclusive philosophy behind that notion. I don’t see that in actual practice. One of the fundamental principles of our government is that it is founded upon and operates from a base of respect for and an adherence to the rule of law. I see a progressively greater erosion of that principle every single day. Rather, I see a political party that panders to every special interest group and minority faction in society. Are we not “one nation under God?” Do we not expect every one hitting our shores to come here legally and to seek assimilation into the greater identity of what it takes to be an American?
Every nationality that has ever immigrated to the United States has come here expecting to “earn their stripes” and to do what it takes to become an American. That is, until an exception was made for the hordes streaming across our southern borders. That they are criminals violating the very laws we hold dear is no longer relevant. Rather, it is they who seek to demand rights they have never earned and never had. It is they who want a bilingual society and all the attendant difficulties inherent in that notion. It is enough that it splits us as a unified people, but ask our neighbors to the North as to how well it has worked for them. I don’t hear that same hue and cry coming from the Southeast Asians who have immigrated to our shores. They have worked to become a part of the American fabric, not an island within a nation. Today, they are some of our finest examples of success in realizing the “American Dream.”
We are not a society of special interest groups. We are one people being served by one government. I am appalled by the political figures who have declared American cities as havens for illegal aliens, and the churches that are doing the same. Where is the public outrage at the fact that they are violating their oaths of office and that they are breaking the law? Those who violate their oath of office and break those laws should be impeached and thrown out of office. Those who wear the cloth and provide safe havens for “illegals” should be stripped of their nonprofit status and thrown into the slammer just like the criminals they are. Those running for public office, be they Democrat or Republican, have a solemn duty to all of us to respect and uphold those laws as well. Our hopes, dreams, aspirations and basic needs are as one people, not a collection of special interests who want only that which will serve their own agendas. They have no inherent right to what belongs to all those who have preceded us in working to make this country what it is today.
If the Democratic Party is truly a party of the people, then it is high time it acted and advocated as a party of everyone, not just those factions who speak with the loudest voice. If the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln, then they need to accept the fact that “government” is not a dirty word. Government is the people and it is there to look out for all of us. That means it is there to keep us honest so everyone has an equal shot at all this country has to offer. If it takes regulation and oversight to make that happen for the collective benefit of everyone, then so be it. By the same token, the electorate has an obligation to keep government honest, as well.
This country is staring into the abyss of a total collapse of the great experiment known as the United States of America. We are like a row of dominoes standing on end just waiting for someone to knock down the first chip and set the whole process in motion. If we don’t get very serious about what we face, we are surely destined to become a third-rate power, watching what was once the basis of our national pride shift to the Orient, Russia and the oil-producing nations of the Middle East. At this juncture, I am not altogether certain we can stop the Titanic from hitting the iceberg.
As surely as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, arrogance and ignorance always travel in tandem. One is the lifeblood of the other. As for “lipstick on a pig,” that is a cheap shot at trying to derail the real debate as to what this election is all about. To those who dignify such nonsense, I say, “get over it and get real.” The sun is setting on us all.
Cowboy Bob
September 10, 2008
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