Oh, but it can get worse. The worst would be sprinkling tactical nukes over Iran in the Dominionist belief that America = Instrument of Christ. That is another concern for another discussion under most circumstance, but I think not today.
1 party rule is not good. True.
Putting up no visible resistance to 1 party? Also not good. Failing to identify a better direction than the fear proffered by the 1 party? Deadly.
A friend of mine is a known Bush supporter and freely consorts with the elderly like-minded and their apprentices at a Maryland Rotary Club. I have used him as a window into the mind of Bush base supporters--the real obstacle to overcoming a 1 party rule. The obstacle is not the "Bush Base" of NeoCons and Fundies. The obstacle is the "normal" conservatives and moderates in the Republican and Democratic camps who simply don't believe we're in all that much trouble and that it will work out in the end. The pendulum-metaphorists--you know--"history is fraught with extremes, but we tend to swing back and forth between them spending most of our time in transition, and in the middle."
I admit to a desire to believe this. But as I have aged, I see the pendulum give way to the wobble of a gyroscope that loses its energy. It tries very hard to right itself and stay upright. If it fails, he seems almost to flail in a desperate search for the right axis to recover its balance.
The forces that energize a two party system are drained. I don't understand why exactly. But my Rotary friend is beginning to lose faith in the pendulum metaphor too. He is beginning to see low-level corruption is not merely "the natural overhead of many businesses and certainly all governments". He is beginning to chafe under the blather of "righteous causes" and "noble goals". The problem, however, is that he is willing to write all 1 party problems off as mere incompetence"---Bush can't run a war properly. He cannot balance a checkbook. He is bankrupting the country. He is surrounded by idiots and that makes him an incompetent manager. Incompetence.
I have no problem agreeing with these assessments. But they are quite forgiving in my view. They are minimalist assessments. You might expect a British Upper Class twit to forgive a cricket fault in the same tone. I suppose eventually--if Bush becomes even more crass--he will be seen as the weak-minded liar he really is. But in the meantime, Bush still has the appeal of high level manager who was a hit when he arrived, but has lost his luster among the Board of Directors.
I think the Dems are weak and unable to provide an elevated notion of where to go to get outta this mess---or who to hire and put in charge.
But here is a clue. From the same Rotarian.
He said almost wistfully--"you know, we're never gonna defeat terrorists. There are always gonna be wackos who can't do anything else but tear things down. What we oughta do is leave them behind...leave them in our dust. What we ought to do is press on so hard and so fast, make a bigger and better place that everybody wants---then the terrorists won't have any fans. Their support will just dry up and they'll be seen for who they are: Wacko nutcases who never figured out how to get a better life."
From the mouth of an awakening Rotarian. He is talking again about the American dream. The one we learned about in school and the one Mama always said existed.
I don't know, Pessimist, but maybe he's right. The Dems have an opportunity to elevate the profile of the Right America--and by this I clearly mean the "Correct" American dream. The one my Mama told me I should believe in.
You trust your Mama don't you?
Posted by gtash at April 9, 2006 06:01 AMgtsh, thnks vry mch fr btflly thght t pc. Pls cnsdr hw th ‘mrcn Drm’ bcm vlgrzd. Fr 13,000 yrs th wrld, vryn, hs hd th drm f rsng fmly n th bst nvrnmnt pssbl. Hwvr, ‘trrrsts,’ wth thr blty t mrph nt mny fcs, frm strt drt bgs t pltcl thgs t crprt mss mrdrrs, ls blv n th ‘mrcn Drm,’ bt dfn t tsd f th nstttn f th fmly. Thr dfntn f ths ‘Drm’ cntrs sqrly pn r nnt ntr f vl. Thy dsps th vry nstttn tht, wll, mks mn ccntbl. mn bcms mn whn h s ccntbl t Gd, (nd ths cld b th tr Gd f th Bbl, bt ls nclds ll mn-md sbsttt rlgns) hs wf, nd hs chldrn. Slghtly vr smplfyng, rmv n f th thr bv ngrdnts, nd mn gs frm mrgnl, t fr, fr wrs. Hstry s rplt wth th bv lss f th fmly frml dgnrtng nt bldng th scl cnstrctn f vl, ll bsd pn sm frm f th dstrctn f th fmly.
Nrly ny hmn thght nvntn tht dsn’t ncld th thr ngrdnts f th bv, ndcs chs, cnfsn, nd wrs, nstttnlzs cnfsn. Ths, yr scl cnstrct f th ‘pndlm’ f pltcs s scl cnstrctn f nstttnlzd cnfsn. n mng prhps thsnds mbddd wthn vry cltr. Th mnd gnrs th trth, nd ltchs pn chs. Ths s crtcl: th vry src f r nnt ntr f vl s th mpls f th mnd t ltch nt nstttnlzd cnfsn, ll th whl twkng sch cnfsn nt fls frm f ‘trth.’ ll scl cnfsn lcks n f th thr mn ngrdnts tht mks mn mn: Gd, wf, nd chldrn.
50 yrs g, nd rlr, yr frnd’s frml f scl strczng, sng mtrl sccss s th stndrd, wld hv wrkd. Bt nly bcs ch cltr ws rltvly clsd, prhps nly lsly cnnctd wth th tsd wrld. Tdy, w hv dvlvd t th pnt f ncnt Nmrd, w hv ndd bcm glbl ppl. nd, lk th tm f Nmrd, w r glbl ppl tht lvs ts vl ntr. Thrfr, vn tryng t rs stndrd f lssr vl, s n mtrlsm, whl ttmptng t strcz th dscntnts, wld fl f nly pn th grnds tht th dscntnts r mpwrd wth nt nly th sm nstttnlzd chs f th dmnnt cltr, bt hv hg shppng lsts f vrs strtgs tht sht t why thr frms f chs mk sns, ll mpwrd by th vry cmmnctn tht mks ths wrtng pssbl.
Fnlly, ll frms f scl chs lck n, r ll, f th bsc ngrdnts fr hlthy mn: Gd, wf, nd chldrn. Rmv n, nd w slp dpr nd sld fstr nt th scl byss f cnfsn. Thr s mch mr hr, bt ’m rnnng lng. Thnks gn fr yr pc.
Scout: you are a very intelligent individual. However, you have to lose your misogyny (hatred of women), and your constant reference to Biblical scripture in your posts.
You are capable of making your case using logic alone. Give it a thought, won't you?
Posted by tempus at April 9, 2006 08:50 AMWhen did this become a xtian blog? scout, go back to Westboro church where you belong. They really like it when you don't take your anti-psychotic drugs.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 9, 2006 09:01 AMtempus, scout is a disturbed individual with just enough intelligence to pretend being sane. "Losing the misogyny and scripture" will not cure this toad. A hatred of women and gays pervades his entire "logic" structure. In the last few days he's written about the "perversion of women in authority" and "homosexuals/pedophiles." His refrain about Condi's incompetence was "the whore, Condi Rice." Here he elevates men as master in his "God, wife, children" doctrine as if only men can make the world a better place if they would just get the bitches back in the kitchen spewing out babies and bible verses. Just this line
History is replete with the above loss of the family formula degenerating into building the social construction of evil, all based upon some form of the destruction of the family.
should set off alarm bells to everyone here. Familiar? That's what the anti-gay rabid religious right are saying about gay marriage, and Ann Coulter says about women in the workplace. I gotta tell you, I'm pretty flabbergasted that people take scout seriously, just because he writes long posts that no one reads through, or they agree with his "corporations are evil" rhetoric. As a woman, I find this fucker more dangerous than the Falwell and Dobsons who are up front with their hatreds; and more insidious because his pseudo-intellectual shit seems to have snowed nearly everyone here. Read this shit closely, over time. scout is not one of the good guys, and the level of hatred this fuckwad has for women cannot be "lost." It is what he is, and it is enabled by his selective interpretations of god and the bible. /rant over (for now)
Posted by iamcoyote at April 9, 2006 09:33 AMiamcoyote: I know, you are entirely right. But I thought (probably foolishly) that common sense would work. Apparently, I will have to deal with this using 'unconventional' methods.
I hope everything is good in the coyote's world. Have a great day, tempus.
Posted by tempus at April 9, 2006 10:01 AMThanks, tempus. It's the last day of a 4 day weekend, and I've been lazy, lazy. I didn't mean to go off on you; I'm sure everyone thinks I'm being really mean to the troll, and make no mistake, he's just as much troll as Bill the bible-debunker in one of the threads above. I think people just scroll past scout, or only skim his posts; but even when he doesn't mention god, or women, or gays, read closely, it's in there. This is one truly sick dude; and defininely scout is not liberal in any sense of the word. Just like the other trolls, scout is taking advantage of our belief that everyone should have a voice, but while the other trolls are outed and banned, scout continues to be allowed a forum to spew hatred and paranoia without being called on it. It just pisses me off, so I pounced. Sorry some of the spittle got on ya; you're one of my favorite commenters.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 9, 2006 10:17 AMCoyote: You are a well respected, and hard won friend. I'm sorry if I occasionally give the Trolls the time of day, but as you mentioned, we have to give everyone a right to speak. If we do not, we are no better than the Trolls.
Posted by tempus at April 9, 2006 01:42 PMFunny I mentioned American Idol on my post for today. My readers are asking what can we do and I'm going to lead them to this post. It's time to wake up. Thank you.
Posted by Blue Gal at April 9, 2006 02:20 PMHere's something completely different: A comment about the article.
"[I]t took a little more than a decade for DeLay and House Republicans to succumb to many practices they railed against in the 1990s.... Republicans have become like the Democratic barons they ousted in 1994."
This comment is absolutely false. Much of what Delay started, (We all agree Delay was/is a huge part of this, yes?) started in late 1995 and early 1996. So the reality is it took two years at most. This may seem like a small issue, but it needs to be stressed, because it speaks to the "real" character of the current brand of Republicans. They became corrupt sooo fast, because they were predisposed to corruption.
Henk:
I am not a student of DeLay (nor a fan), but could you give me some landmarks and time line supporting your comments. I read that same piece and it sounded right. Some time ago (years) I believe I read an article--I want to say Vanity Fair--- profiling DeLay and how he moved from being the the Hot Tub king of Washington to the disciple of some powerful arch-NeoChrist Fundie who--even in the pages of Vanity Fair---was made to seem respectable and a strong influence on the wayward DeLay. It was at that point early in his career (I thought) that he began his relations with K-Street folk. Anyway, please give me a better picture--I am only vaguely aware of his rise to power. I am sure he'll be writing an autobiography soon--hopefully from prison.
tempus, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how deserving of respect I am, but I am honored to be considered your friend. And no one need apologize to me about engaging trolls; I'm very guilty of just calling names out of frustration at the silliness of it all.
I guess scout galls me because, when you take his comments apart, it always turns out to be: corporations are evil because they aren't xtian, women/gays are perversions, the bible is law. And everyone's polite because he cloaks it in psychosocial pseudointellectual rhetoric that sounds kinda cool if you skim over it. I decided to call him on it just as you posted, and you got caught up in my rant. And sure, everyone has the freedom to say their piece; I just wanted scout to know that I know what he's actually saying, and that I don't like it a bit.
Anyhow, sorry about that, pessimist, I got carried away. I think henk's right though, the 'pukes are predisposed to corruption dressed up as faith and patriotism. I also think that they're going to pull out all stops in this next election because before, they were all about gaining the power to do what they wanted; now, they're about the fear that once the dems have the power of subpoena, they'll start finding out exactly what kind of damage the Republicans have actually done while in power. They'll say whatever their constituents want to hear just to get reelected.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 9, 2006 03:05 PMCoyote: this is the reason for making salsa sauce so 'indefinable'!!! Do not let the wingers have their day. Common sense will always win out.
Posted by tempus at April 9, 2006 04:06 PM"Common sense will always win out."
And that, in a nutshell, is why the Democratic Party has lost the Presidency and both houses of Congress.
Furthermore, it perfectly encapsulates why the Democratic Party needs a major overhaul.
Posted by Bagley at April 9, 2006 05:25 PMWhat are you trying to say, Mr. Teabagger?
That common sense will not win out?
That people who rely on common sense are losers?
That common sense is not as common as the Democrats think it is?
That the people who vote for Republicans don't have any common sense?
That relying on Republicans to show common sense is for dummies?
And why do the Democrats need an overhaul?
Because common sense tells them that the Republicans are a bunch of lying, thieving, lowlife cowards?
Because they still rely on the common sense of American people to come to the conclusion on their own that the 'pukes are running this country into the ground?
Because common sense is no longer the "new black" and - look over there, something shiny!
Oh, show us your wisdom, Dear Bag o'Tea, tell us what you mean with your fatuous belchings! We await your learned counsel.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 9, 2006 06:01 PMNot to be too optimistic about America's political future, but if the Democrats just tell the truth, enough people now get it.
Blue will be true for you..
(if you've got a color, use it.)
Posted by herbal tee at April 9, 2006 07:23 PMBagley: how can you possibly defend the idiots running the White House? You are a reasonable, serving citizen, so what the fuck is going on in your mind?
The powers that be are totally sick bastards, and if you cannot see that, then perhaps you are as well.
Posted by tempus at April 9, 2006 07:34 PMtempus,
Those in the White House are the lesser of two evils.
Posted by Bagley at April 9, 2006 08:06 PMCoyote, I just read through your complaint, but too tired to respond with the thinking you deserve. I'll get back tomorrow. If I missed any past counters, it was merely an oversight as I tend to forget where I place comments. This place gets busy. Let me say for now that I don't want you to take anything I say personal. Also, the ilk of Falwell and Robertson (I don't know anything about Dobson or Coulter) are solid hypocrites, without any knowledge of Biblical principles.
For the most part, I am certainly guilty as charged. However, my authority is the Bible. The Bible contains only one truth, not 400 or 4,000. There were a few like myself back in the medieval period, that went by the names of ‘Cromwell,’ and ‘Calvin.’ There are nearly none left at this point in time, (there are a couple; only one site that has any organization, familyradio.com). Be advised that the spiritual ‘Dark Ages’ exists in our modern period. This same term was a rebellious construct of rebellious ‘scientists’ and quasi-historians of our modern period to denounce the Church Age‘s social controls. Those like Huxley, Darwin’s gopher, I suspect loved to use this term if only to justify their wrong headedness.
Although the Bolshevik sites love to pull the ‘misogyny’ card, I quickly put that to rest when I point out that the endorsement of the institution of family excludes hatred of women. Indeed, family elevates women; while our modern Bolshevik family system of exploitation of women and in the work force; removal of women from the center-post position of the family, and the social destruction of the family with unborn infanticide, relegates many Western women into the terrifying social caste of bloodstained terrorist-servants of our corporate gods of power, profit and dominance. The phrase, ‘women’s liberation’ is Orwellian. ‘Liberty’ is not slaving outside the family; it is not killing her children; it is not about divorce; it is not destroying the institution of family and society. The truly free woman is the queen of the family, highly honored by her God fearing husband.
I’ll get back later.
scout, don't bother, please. You're the troll equivalent of the Jehova Witness at the door, trying to push your "good news" on this blog. You can call a woman "queen" of the kitchen all you want, but your backwards, medieval thinking is what it is and your hatred of women and gays is pathological and creepy, no matter how much you pretend you're "elevating" them. By your own admission, you're godspam, dropping little turds of hate everywhere and pretending it's easter eggs. I don't know how you keep managing to get past the spam filters.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 10, 2006 05:43 AMiamcoyote: my hat is tipped to you. Damn good shot at Scout (shit for brains).
Posted by tempus at April 10, 2006 06:17 AMThanks, tempus, but I'm evil, I know. When these idiots come to my door, I carry my "Servants of Satan" book (about the witch hunts in Europe in the Dark Ages) and try to turn the to the dark side. It's fun and easy, and a treat for the kids, the poor things.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 10, 2006 07:53 AM...turn them, dammit! I feel sorry for the kids forced to go door to door. It's child abuse.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 10, 2006 07:55 AMCyt, t’s n bthr, nd n, th Jhvh Wtnsss, lthgh thy ctlly try t rd th Bbl, nd r bl t ntllgntly cnvrs n ts cntnt t pnt, fl t ndrstnd ts fndmntl prncpls. Thy r, n ssnc, n rmnn clt, n dffrnt thn yr Flwll nd th 400 r s ‘Chrstn’ chrchs t thr.
Crflly lk t yr wrtng: y’ll nt ht. Y s, r nnt ht s grndd n rblln, rblln gnst th Lw f Gd: th Bbl. Yr pnt bt th Bbl bng ‘gd nws’ s crrct, bt nly fr ths tht Chrst plnnd nt t dstry. Nvrthlss, th Bbl s n xcllnt src fr gdng ll hmn scl bhvr, vn f thy r dmd n th fnl dy. (Thr r gng t b dffrnt lvls f ‘hll’ n trms f dscmfrt. sspct tht w’ll s clss systm, smlr t wht w hv n ths rlty. ltmtly, prhps th wrs pnshmnt f hll s tht th hypcrts/lvrs f mn-md ds, tc., wll b htng thmslvs fr nt sng th rlty f Gd, thrby flng t cnstrct n rgmnt t scp thr prdcmnt.) Y r cmpltly crrct n yr tct rfrrl t th Bbl bng flld wth ‘ht.’ t s mst dfntly flld wth Chrst’s ht fr ll rblln gnst Hmslf. Th pnt f th Bbl s tht Gd s th nly ‘gd,’ th nly ‘prfctn.’ Yt, t shw Hs strngth t th nd, Chrst wll s Hs pwr drng r rlty, mnpltng th vl tht H dd nt crt, t cnstrct ppl fr Hmslf.
nd Chrst s nt bng ‘nc’ t ths H svs frm Hs vngnc. H s mkng ppl fr Hmslf fr Hs wn prd, t dmnstrt Hs wn pwr. n shrt, Gd dsn’t nd th chsn, bt shws tht H cn d th mpssbl: lv grp f ppl tht hts Hm! Hw mny ppl, Cyt, hv y lvd tht htd y? H! Y r nt lk Gd, n ths rspct. Hwvr, hw mny ppl wh htd y wld y wnt t dstry? Wll, y’r lk Gd s ths rspct. Bt nlk Gd, vl wld ls dstry gd. vry tm tht th sprtl rlr f ths wrld dstrys n f Jhvh’s chsn, Stn s kllng pc f Jhvh. Stn knws th Bbl, thrfr knws tht h wll py. Bt, lk smll chld, Stn wnts th mmdt grtfctn f strkng gnst Chrst, nd gd, whl h s bl. Th chsn r n n ntrstng pstn f ndrstndng tht Tr f Knwldg f Gd nd vl. W r vl, thrfr bl t ndrstnd rslvs nd thr, nd w knw Gd, wh s th nly ‘gd.’ ndrstndng Gd nd gd cms frm stdyng th Bbl, nd t tks tm; frthr, t s mpssbl t ndrstnd th Bbl wtht Gd’s ssstnc. D y s? Gt ths: hv nt fnd mdrn smnry trnd ‘thlgn’ tht ndrstnds ny f th bv.
Nw, Jss’ prd n r-crtng n vl grp f ppl fr Hmslf s grndd pn Hs lw f ‘gd,‘ nd ds ndd cm t trmnds cst t Hmslf. Cnsdr: t s cstng Chrst fr mr t mk th chsn thn t dd fr hm t mk th ntr nvrs nd ts cntnts. Fr vdng th dstrctn f th chsn csd trmnds grf t Gd. pn ndrstndng th slvtn mssg f th Bbl, th chsn ndvdl slwly grvtts twrd ths ‘gd’ nsgn, th Bbl.
llw m t shw hw slctv Chrst s bt th ppl H chss t vd th cmng dstrctn:
sh 6:9. ‘nd h sd, G, nd tll ths ppl, Hr y ndd, bt ndrstnd nt; nd s y ndd, bt prcv nt. 10. Mk th hrt f ths ppl ft, nd mk thr rs hvy, nd sht thr ys; lst thy s wth thr ys, nd hr wth thr rs, nd ndrstnd wth thr hrt, nd cnvrt, nd b hld.’
Jss rpts th bv n Mrk 13. My pnt hr s tht thr s nt n thng tht cld wrt tht wll cnvnc y f nythng f th bv s Trth nd fctl, nlss Chrst ‘pns yr ys nd rs.’ Ths s th crtn prcss f Chrst. Nvrthlss, th nly prps fr th rdmd/chsn s t spk bt sch mttrs. slly, mght s wll b tlkng nt th byss.
Fnlly, t s nt prdx tht whn vstd yr st, y s stylzd grphc f Stn. ls, y spk f Stn. B dvsd tht ll wh d nt hv thr ‘ys’ pnd by Chrst lv Stn, lbt mrphd nt vrs frms, sm vn mttng Chrst, sch s yr frnd, Flwll. D y s? Y r n dffrnt thn th lst tht fllw Flwll nd th hst f mdrn ‘chrchs.’ Chrst gv th wrnng tht hs dvdd cnnt stnd. Ht fghts tslf whn nt drctd gnst Gd.
[Editor: ignore=off]As I said, you're the godbot internet equivalent of a JW doorknocker. This is not a religious site. Take your pamphlets elsewhere.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 10, 2006 10:33 AM