Sunday Morning Bobblehead Thread
Defending Your Life (1991)
Good morning, my fellow Little Brains. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about fear, because we seem to be surrounded by so much of it lately: fear of the Other, fear of change, fear of the "ism" of the week--socialism, communism, etc. There are way too many frightened people out there, fearful of some intangible bogeyman keeping them from what they feel is rightfully theirs. I quote Bob Diamond from the movie:
"Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything. Real feelings, true happiness, real joy. They can't get through that fog. But you lift it, and buddy, you are in for the ride of your life."
I don't know that truer words have ever been written. So let's lift that veil of fog for this Sunday, and refuse to accept the fear in which these bobbleheads deal. And fear is definitely on the agenda this week. The issue of Afghanistan--nine years and thousands upon thousands of deaths after our initial invasion--will be discussed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be on both This Week and State of the Union to talk Afghanistan, but you can bet there's going to be a little fear-mongering on Iran too. We get both Clintons--Hillary on Face the Nation and Bill on Meet the Press and your basic coterie of Republican politicos: John McCain (yes, again--more on that later), Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham, John Kyl, Kit Bond and might-as-well-be Republicans Evan Bayh and Dianne Feinstein. All of them full of doom and gloom prognostications, no doubt. Is it small of me to say that I suspect that politicians aspire to use 3% of their brain?
ABC's "This Week" - Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Former President Bill Clinton, New York Gov. David Patterson and Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Jim Webb, D-Va.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Rick Stengel, Trish Regan, Kathleen Parker and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Topics: How will President Obama address the looming tower of unemployment? Could Democrats lose their majority in the House of Representatives in 2010? Was the anti-Obama venom unavoidable? YES: 6 NO: 6; Has Obama Got Command Back?
YES: 12 No: 0.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Gates, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - With open arms Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi welcomed home a convicted terrorist. Fareed asks him why, and whether he regrets that move now. Gadhafi speaks out about his controversial UN speech, his meeting this week with families of Lockerbie victims, and why he calls President Obama "my son."
"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kit Bond, R-Mo.; Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell; conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe.
So, what's catching your eye this morning?
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
It looks like the neo-cons and the neo-libs are about to ramp up the rhetoric on how we need to do Iran. Where are the voices of reason on the dock?
It took two apple-tini's last night to calm me down from the Obama event I went to yesterday in Northampton. It was an "Organizing for America Listening Tour".
Here's what happened to me and my friend after we drove 50 miles in order to register our concerns with the way the economy (Wall Street), health care legislation, Afghanistan, climate change is being handled, hoping that the little "note taker" would deliver our concerns to the guy we both worked for for months and contributed hundreds of dollars to:
The "leader" got up and made clear that the meeting was for one purpose only: to create a VOLUNTEER organization for the purpose of getting Obama re-elected in 2012. They are an organization created by the DNC (Democratic National Committee). There is one "paid" organizer/state and others who "volunteer" for other regions will become the leaders of those regions. All unpaid positions.
Which means we were suckered into thinking that because it was a "Listening" tour that it was us who would be doing the talking.
My friend and I tried to bring up our concerns with the health care legislation as it appears to now be unfolding and I mentioned how confusing "The Public Option" is. The leader stopped me from talking and said, "We are NOT here to discuss policies. We are only here to support the Obama agenda."
Okay.....
So then my friend tries again to bring up "estate recovery" and I bring up the problems lots of people are having with the "fines and penalities" and that most will NOT be eligible for "The Public Option".
Again he said, "WE ARE NOT HERE TO DISCUSS POLICIES!!! WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT THE OBAMA AGENDA!"
Finally the meeting ended and two men came over to me and started screaming, "Why are you here teabagger!!! You are nothing but a teabagger and you came here to disrupt our meeting! You are a Repubican! You are working for the Republicans!"
Once I could get a word in edgewise I said, "I supported Obama for President! I had fundraising dinner parties for him in the Hamptons! Every time I got an email asking for money I whipped out my VISA card!"
And one of the guys inched closer to my face and screamed, "I don't believe you! I don't believe you EVER gave any money to Obama...TEABAGGER!!!"
Then we saw two college girls from Smith College and I offered them a Xerox of a great article regarding The Public Option. They said, in Stepford like voices, "We cannot discuss any of this with you. We are supported by the DNC. We are only here to support Obama and not to discuss any issues against Obama."
We were told by the entire group if we were not there to support Obama and his agenda WITHOUT QUESTION.... to LEAVE!!!
I tried to explain to the group that in my daily travels around town I meet many Obama supporters who are questioning his "agenda", for instance, as related to the economy. I said to the group, "People wonder, after the big bailout a year ago, why on Earth it has taken a year for Obama to decide NOT to enact strong regulations to deal with Wall Street. Wall Street is already back to dealing in "exotic instruments" and derivatives again...the very shenanigans that ended up with us bailing them out! And no one, whether on the right or the left was for the bail out! What do people like me say to those who wonder why Obama is setting the American People up for yet ANOTHER bailout because he refused to inact strong regulations??!!"
Crickets..... Then, "We are NOT here to discuss policy"!!! He was like a Chatty
CathyTom doll.At one point he stressed the need to have people call their Congresspersons to support Obama's health care legislation because, "right now there are thousands more calls coming in against it than for it. The opposition is very well organized."
I don't consider myself "the opposition". I have been a registered Democrat my entire adult life. I do feel that I have the right/duty to tell my leaders if I feel they are going down a path that can lead us to more hardships and pain...whether that be the economy or health care.
Are there any other Democrats on this thread who are not blindly marching behind Obama and are as offended by what I saw at this meeting as I was??
Speaking of FEAR Nicole, the people from "Organizing for America" were VERY afraid of me and my friend and a couple of other "brave" Democrats for the legitimate concerns we were voicing.
And then the Democratic Party wonders why people on the left are always looking for a viable third party to join??!!
Geesh.
P.S. Check this out: Prison time for not paying the penalty regarding non-compliance with buying health insurance???!!!:
http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0909/Ensign...
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Thanks for your post Abby.
Pardon my fear but what I was afraid may happen looks like it is unfolding.
Imagine this: The public option has passed. You sign up, but in order to manage costs, you have to submit to a drug test. You say you don't want to give a pee sample? Fine. Into jail you go.
I don't want to be sucked into the FED's morality checkpoints at the health care door. This could get really fucked because they could do the same thing to people they deem to be overweight.
Sure, some of the hope of nine months ago has been replaced by apathy and anger, but not fear. How to get fellow 'Murkins not to fear--that's a much bigger problem that frustrates me, but I can't dwell too much on it.
Going to miss all the "fun" this AM. Off to a plant sale in Sarasota, FL and to finally meet a buddy with whom I've communicated online for a few years but never met face-to-face. Have a good one.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Yep fear is the great distractor by the media, politicians, clergy, etc. and Michael Moore brilliantly brought that out as the main theme in Bowling for Columbine.
The problem? Michael Moore turns around and does the exact same fear tactic thing on his web site as do many other liberals on this site.
So you have both sides shouting that everything is 'scary' and therefore nothing really gets highlighted because people are always crying wolf.
I would like someone to explain to me why it is all right for India, Pakistan, and Israel to have nuclear weapons, but NOT Iran??? Am I missing something?? Iran has signed the NPT..........Israel refuses to do so..........Iran has allowed inspectors, but Israel refuses to allow inspectors!! Is this country THAT committed to Israel??.............and if so.....WHY??
good for business ? .
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
Why ask why?
AIPAC.
The most important thing for the human race at the beginning of the 21st century is doing away with immoral double standards and creating a more fair and just world.
True liberals/progressives don't simply critique the elite, we actually fight them and win.
follow the money.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
Iran is breaking a treaty which it signed and Israel isn't.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Well, I now know what the hot topic is going to be this morning:
Iran tests short-range missiles amid nuclear tension
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
to being called out earlier in the week. Really, I'm not at all surprised.
Meanwhile, back in North Korea, Kim Jong-il is feeling a little left out of the fun...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Our Polls use it unspairingly. We have been awash in fear, or should I say made up fear for as long as I can remember. For how long did we live in fear of the Russians? And comunisum spreading all over the world. Remember if we lost in Vietnam they would follow us home and kill us in the streets. What happened to the russians? They went broke in a trumped up war against the Afgan people. Sound familar?
What we have here is what Isenhower warned of The military industrial complex. These people have spread out into the whole country.
Most of our polliticians have millions invested in these companies whos main business is killing other people. The people have got to wake up and clean out this rats nest before it looks like the treminater movie. The corporations have taken over our country and we need to end the corporations now!
republicanism is a mental illness!
Some cartoonist like Auth from the Philadelphia Inquirer should do a cartoon that shows the American people dying from a lack of quality, "affordable" health care while the people are sitting in a sea of weapons.
Nuclear weapons, battle ships, fighter jets (the latest and greatest), depleted uranium weapons, drones and on and on.
HEALTH CARE NOT WARFARE!!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
we could just get that "rapture" thingy going on, and send all those looney tune religious zealots up into the clouds with their big ol' Sky Daddy, then, maybe we could make some progress about "peace".
so its ok to fuck up the clouds now .
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
:)
be the h2o i found in my moon
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
when I find H²O in my moon, I eat more fiber.
thang da moon is made of chezzze , peanut butter is cool
every time you throw a little mud , you lose a little ground .
The only thing I fear is another repugnacan administration.
Mooseburger Mama will be the leader of the pack....doncha know!!
in the latest issue of Vanity Fair?
It was in an interview with her ex almost son-in-law Levi Johnston.
He said that after he and Palin's daughter had their baby that Sarah would come home from the Governor's office and walk over to their baby instead of her Down's Syndrome baby and say, "I want to hold the normal one, not the retarded one."
Nice.
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Okay friends, let's set the "Wayback Machine" to 2007 when a small group of idiots "planned" to attack the FBI headquarters in Quantico, VA.
On FnS, Wallace showed a list of "three foiled terrorist plots", the recent one in Dallas, another in Illinois and one in NY. Sen. Kit Bond told Wallace he failed to "include the failed plot in Quantico, VA" as one ofthe foiled terrorist plots... as examples of why repealing any of the provisions of the Patriot Act are "a bad idea at this time".
What "provisions" does the government want to repeal? Naturally, that is never mentioned.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
VA Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell is being criticized by his opponent for (among other things) "opposing equal pay for women, child care, and birth control for married couples"... according to his 1989 Masters Thesis at age 34.
McDonnell said "some of his views have changed", but Wallace points out that since that time, McDonnell voted the same way on several occasions.
McDonnell never actually comes out and denies supporting his extreme positions today.
Note: McDonnell leads his Democratic opponent by 4% points.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
that McDonnell's views regarding women are virtually indistinguishable from those held by the Taliban.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
WTF is Krauthammer's role on FNS "Power Panel"? The only "power" there is my TV's lack of ability to amplify his voice sufficiently to hear him. What a bore.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
I can't look at Krauthammer and not think of this guy:
The Child Catcher from Chitty Chity Bang Bang.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
Hmm, the smarty pants in the "Defending Your Life" clip is not so smart after all.
http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent...
It never asserted itself as a scientific documentary.
Let art flow.
Considering that this factoid was a common misconception for the longest time, I thought some folks here might be interested in the above link. I absolutely adore "Defending Your Life," so I'm in no way trying to debase this classic comedy.
FnS named ACORN "exposer" James O'Keefe as their "Power Player of the Week", who revealed just what a Conservative tool he really is, saying, "If you use their own beliefs against them (Liberals), you can reveal their hypocrisy."
Note of interest: O'Keefe refuses to call himself either a Republican nor a Conservative (similiar to the way people once avoided calling themselves "Liberal". The tide is changing.)
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
I caught that too. Indeed, the time is NOW for making "Conservative," at least the way it has been used by Rethugs recently, a four-letter word.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
While on MtP, Sen. Webb cited "China" as being responsible for Pakistan now being a nuclear power.
Sorry Jim, I like you, but China didn't give Pakistan the bomb, Reagan did.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
This is a one senator most Democrats listen to when it comes to foreign policy matters! Way to destroy your credibility on perhaps one of your strongest attributes that helped get you elected.
why anyone thinks "the bomb" has to be given as a gift. The things are very simple to design and build and the only hard part of the technology is isotope separation and that has been in the public domain for a very long time. By the time I was in grad school I knew most of the fundamentals. It is really not that hard.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
With open arms Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi welcomed home a convicted terrorist. Fareed asks him why...
The Libyan was railroaded by Scottish 'justice' in response to pressures from the (USer) relatives of the victims. PanAm 103 was dropped as pay-back for the Iranian Airbus full of innocent pilgrims shot down by the USS Vincennes some months earlier...It was Iran that brought it down, but it was easier--less politically 'painful'--to convict some schlub from Libya, every--WESTERN--body's favorite bad guy...
"If you are using more than 5% of your brain, Earth is not a place you want to be."
The Racist Nazi Christian and the Goofy Opposition Party, (RNC) GOP), now need you to help confirm their unfounded fears. Yes it is Patriot Act time, a funny Brown Skin Man says he doesn't like us oh oh oh help help I am a Spineless Gutless, Coward looking for some one to share my fear with, help help, hew ain't white he speak with accent he not American bomb bomb, not know for my Intelligence but am known for my Hatred they Call me Republican, Conservative and NEOCON all which spell COWARD, Gutless, Spineless and mealy mouthed.
GOP = Greedy Opposition Party
While Steph-O worries about "how long" the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan is dragged out, Sec. Gates reminds him that the decision on the Iraq "Surge" to send more troops "took three months; from October to December of 2006."
Ah, that political short-term memory of the Press rears its ugly head again.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
I must admit, I was stunned to hear McCain correctly define "anti-insurgency vs anti-terrorism" on TW.
While listening to Sen. Kyl on MtP, I couldn't help but notice him using the terms interchangeably and often incorrectly. So to hear McCain point out the difference was a huge surprise to me.
* There are two types of Republicans: millionaires and suckers.
"Mugsy's Rap Sheet": Recording history for those who seek to rewrite it.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
(Remember though, fear is not the only little-death.)
Comments are closed on this entry