Home » The Watercooler for 10/27/09 9:00 AM
The Watercooler for 10/27/09 9:00 AM
DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.
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are accusing Seashell and me of being whiners for being skeptical about the "Public Option".
If it contains a trigger,or co-ops, or opt-outs for states, or long delays in implementation, it will be worse than no bill at all. Ordinary people will not get what they need, and the whole process will be rightly called a failure.
Kissing up to Snowe for one lousy Repug vote is a loser's game.
this pubic option thig is nuts......so, some states will have it and other not? some "united" states...........pfft...........
Again, lets cut the crap and have someone else run the show that can do it right.............
Offerings from the other side of the aisle
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/show
Saw an adorable green convertible coupe the other day. Contrast that with yesterday's very Cherry Red 67 Pontiac GTO - amazingly beautiful.
- Arianna Huffington: Barack Obama Is Doing My Job; Why America Needs Him to Do His
By Hu Jo on Oct 27, 2009 10:12 AM EDTWhen it comes to dealing with Wall Street, President Obama seems to have traded in his position as our economy's commander-in-chief for a different role: pundit-in-chief. He and his top advisors are suddenly very big on urging, advocating, and cajoling. During his weekly radio address, which focused on the need to get America's banks lending to small businesses, the president laid out his plan of action: "We're going to take every appropriate step to encourage them to meet those responsibilities." Encourage them? How about make them? Columnists and bloggers encourage. Presidents execute. It's in the job description. Hence: the executive branch. And the executive branch has plenty of weapons at its disposal to force banks still dependent on billions of dollars in taxpayer funds and guarantees to change behavior.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Democracy is such a lousy form of government. Just nothing perfect happens. Everything is compromised, watered down. We should just go for dictatorship as Plato suggested and let those benevolent autocrats fix everything, don't cha think?
I listened to NPR this morning and the Republican take is just the same as HuJo and Seashell: it's a scam, though they have different end results in mind. Have to smile.
I am pleased that so much, $3 billion is being directed towards a renewable energy grid. It's been a long time, since the 50s that we've done much for infrastructure. Someone wrote, (Who? I read so much.) that Hong Kong's airport puts ours to shame. Also that China is making a huge effort towards clean and renewable energy, but then they have a dictatorship.
Finally, a fun book, "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Place in the World" by Eric Weiner. He visits nine different international communities and a couple of U.S. places and comments are what constitutes happiness for the majority. If interested, I'll include a few quotes later on.
Have a fine day, folks.
Sometimes being grumpy is happiness for too many. Too hard to change.
I can't speak for Sea, but my take is a polar opposite from the Repugs'. I passionately believe in the need for Universal, affordable health care, but from what I've read and heard, what's coming out of Congress will simply be a fig leaf covering "same old, same old" with the added feature of forcing people to buy the Insurance Companies' crappy product.
Pretty soon we'll be hearing the old "perfect is the enemy of the good" refrain with a subtext of "America, love it or leave it".
I, for one, am getting tired of hearing the same thing: that opposition or criticism of Obama or of the health insurance reform is the same as mimicking the Republican talking points.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The compromises in the reform package are not acceptable to me and many left leaning (if that's the label needed to differentiate from pragmatists) reform advocates, who have been on this cause for well over 20 years now. There is plenty of well researched and considered analysis from highly respected individuals who have concluded that the reform that appears to be coming out in the final bill of the Senate (and most of those in the House) it nothing more than window dressing.
One of the great failures of activists is to not speak out when the Democrats have power and assume that thy will do the right thing. The results were the disaster that marked the Clinton Administration.
To say that our opposition is somehow encouraging the GOP is akin to those who say that war protestors give aid and comfort to the enemy. And NPR is a kitten when it comes to activism and the progressive left. All cute and cuddly but at the end of the day it still pees on the floor and you have to clean it up.
Yes, I'm hostile.
- I don't disagree it is if anything the very minimal acceptable outcome.
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 3:52 PM EDTand since there is still time for improvement every incentive to let our critters know just that, that they are being watched and not one more inch
Just a note: a commentator on NPR said that as did the Republican, Cornyn? that states really wouldn't be able to opt out of the public option. How'd you like to vote to opt out and run for re-election? Again, practical politics is essential, and it looks like to me that Obama's Administration is brilliant in its understanding of how things work.
Think of how the public has been involved in pressing for the public option. Keith Olbermann's free health clinics for three states, constant reminders to write our Congress people, call them, sign petitions, have house meetings, and now we have the declaration that there will be a public option. Interesting the quick conclusion that it is a scam, worthless, etc.
Some quotes: " For years, political scientists assumed that people living under democracies were happier than those living under any other form of government. cont.
States can always do their own thing, too, as we are trying with single payer in California. Strong group out here, I feel at some point it will happen. But not anytime soon.
- I don't think it is brilliant to bend for one lousy vote.
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 11:10 AM EDTbut we always knew the Baucus bill would be the worst, the Leader's blend an improvement, a need for Party discipline simply to get it to the floor, where hopefully a 51 vote bill will be good enough that the House version can be fitted with it in Conference and we can get on to other things. State opt out is the least onerous compromise to get it to the floor. No one should celebrate such a shallow victory, the knife fight is just getting ready to start. We get people on record on a real bill soon and can begin the intense effort we have been warming up for all summer with our contacts.
"It made sense, intuitively, and there was some data to back it up. But the collapse of the Soviet Union changed all that. Most (though certainly not all) of these newly independent nations emerged as quasi-democracies. Yet happiness levels did not rise. In some countries they declined, and today the former Soviet republics are, overall, the least happy places on the planet. What is going on? That old causality bugaboo, policial scientist Ron Inglehart concluded: It's not that democracy makes people happy but rather that happy people are much more likely to establish a democracy.
"The soil must be rich, culturally speaking, before democracy can take root. The institutions are less important than the culture. And what are the cultural ingredients needed for democracy to take root? Trust and tolerance. Not only trust of those inside your group--family, for instance--but external trust. Trust of strangers. Trust of your opponents, your enemies, even. That way you feel you can gamble on other people--and what is democracy but one giant crapshoot? cont.
Thus, democracy makes the Swiss happier but not the Moldovans." Moldovia is the least happy country in the world, and he concludes it's because they distrust the nation, the neighbors, even their own family, and life is miserable there.
And when he visits Britain: "Arthur, like most Brits, I suspect, derives a perverse pleasure from his grumpiness. How else to read this description of how he feels in midmoan? 'As I railed on and on, I became increasingly energized and excited by my own misery and misanthropy until I reached a kind of orgasm of negativity.' He's taken Hilmar the Happy Heathen's 'enjoyment of misery' to a whole new level. The Brits don't merely enjoy misery, they get off on it."
It's a fun book as he visits Switzeland, India, Bhutan, Iceland (where he finds the people the most creative of all and very happy despite all that darkness), Thailand, the Netherlands, Qatar, Moldovia, and Britain. He looks at democracy, prosperity, stress, climate, boredom and other qualities. It's a fun read.
Thanks for asking for quotes, LWC. It makes my librarian's heart happy.
My daughter's dream is to have a library room. Actually, she said when she has her own home one day she wants every wall to be built-in bookshelves. We had them built in her bedroom here and kabam, the whole wall was instantly filled with her books. When she was a toddler she *played* with her books ~ she had zero interest in the toys. When she finishes college her big dream is to study ancient manuscripts. Even as a swimmer between her meets ~ she brought a book with her! ;~)
- I bet the Netherlands is a pretty happy place :)
By Love White Castles on Oct 27, 2009 11:36 AM EDTActually when I was there, I really enjoyed it. Very friendly group, at least from Amsterdam south to the border.
It was your conclusion that was exactly the same as the Republican's, for different reasons. The immediate reaction from both of you was that it's a scam, a cheat, though your reasons for that conclusion were different.
Granted, Phil, Olympia Snowe's vote to probably everyone here is irrelevant and a waste of time, but I think putting the burden on Congress and calling for public response is something we haven't seen since Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam War. If we are to be a functioning democracy, we have to get rid of the idea that we have a "strong leader" who will do it for us. This is the job of Congress and We the People, but we've had "strong, (autocratic) leadership for too many years, and Congress was relegated to Yes people, not responding to We the People.
But then, I always have hope and believe in discussion and a variety of ideas. But, how do we deal with the Progressives who are as autocratic as the Birthers? I'm puzzled because I think they do even more damage to any possiblity of progress. Just my take.
And you don't deal with progressives that aren't really "all that." Progressives work within the system to change it. They don't look to the "top" for direction.
- But it's so much easier to complain about all the nasty, corrupt people in charge
By dog soldier on Oct 27, 2009 12:15 PM EDTwhile bitching that Obama is not a strong enough leader when we had eight years of dictatorship.
We have a Congress who is not used to being an equal partner.
Many of the issues are dealing with outputs from the Senate Finance Committe which is always the most conservative committee in government. My issue is with Reid who put one of the more conservative Senators in charge.
I can see the uproar if Michigan Congress critters decide to opt out of the health care plan.
I get into a lot of contentious discussions with local folks who whine about "government is taking over our lives." Ask them for alternatives and it is still government at best taking over programs and at worst, providing full funding for programs.
Most of the antis' are clueless about what to do next. We went thru this with bank-bailouts when the nutcases who wanted to see bankruptcies. I have huge isses about rewarding those who caused this mess, but the overall idea was sound.
I understand the issues faced with Afgan and am wondering how badly filtered is the data given to the President. For instance, the models for Afgan are using the scenarios proposed by McChrystal. A more logical idea is to allow strategies proposed by other forward thinkers who may opt for leaving. Let's model what happens if we just pack up and go? Not doing that is filtering out unwanted data points, which is what a lot of anti's do. It is easy to listen to the Krugman's, Stiglitzes, etc. of this world and not think about what is being ignored. The main fault, and Friedman says this in a recent article, is the lack of education. Not only in basic job skills, but (my addition) in basic logic and critical thinking skills. The jobs for tomorrow will need new educational parameters. Obama can't change this by himself, as he can't do much of anything by himself.
It's pretty obvious progressives are moving the health-care bar to the public option. That doesn't happen with folks sitting around whining about things not being done. But it isn't just only progressives per sae; it is often more conservative people who are seeing thru the ooze to their own benefit of attainable, affordable health care.
- Most of the antis' are clueless about what ot do next. We went thru this with bank-bailouts when the nutcases who wanted to see bankruptcies. I have huge isses about rewarding those who caused this mess, but the overall idea worked fine.
By Hu Jo on Oct 27, 2009 12:24 PM EDTSure--banksters getting richer, credit card charges through the roof, no loans for small businesses and individuals, continuing foreclosures, more jobs lost every month.
That's not working fine where I came from. I haven't seen one factual piece of evidence that taking over th banks would have led to a worse situation than we have now.
Or as Kunstler puts it:
When the historians look back at this era - especially at the time between January 20th and the holiday season of 2009 - won't they marvel at how well-understood our predicament actually was, by so many parties to it, and the gulf between that comprehension and the story we told ourselves: that we were "recovering."
Lehman Brothers and the 1930's depression
And you still haven't figured out the process. It is time for you to start thinking a bit.
The bank bailouts were to stop the economy from going into a 1930's depression. The way to do that is to put all the money chips on the table.
But instead of just doing that, more rules were put in;
A demand for recapitalization to get the margin numbers back to sanity. That means you don't have as much money to loan and must keep money in the vault.
The second change was the tightening up of credit requirements so it was harder to get loans. So here we have a lot of folks and businesses needing loans because of their deteriorating financial positions at the same time loan requirements are being tightened up.
We end up with less money to loan then was allocated to fewer and fewer qualified people.
Then we have the bank bonuses which were more of a public relations issue then a financial issue. Add that to the dividends which were mainly tax-payer dollars going to bond holders while at the same time, people getting kicked out of their homes and loosing their health care, and there are/were real implementation issues.
To say the whole idea was wrong is absurd. The execution ran into issues that were never addressed properly.
Instead of quoting something you have never taken the time to study, try reading and thinking about it.
who disagree with you. I tend to agree with them
There are some pretty smart people
By Hu Jo on Oct 27, 2009 10:24 AM PDT
who disagree with you. I tend to agree with them---
****************************************************
There are some pretty smart people who disagree with you also. Problem is: you, John, seek only the opinions of those that match your preconceptions.
Not honest inquiry.
I note that you stopped quoting Krugman altogether when it was clear he's not nearly as shrill nor does he come to the same conclusions that you'd like him to. Suddenly...no Krugman from HuJo. Yet you used to quote him daily.
Why don't you at least give dog soldier's suggestion some consideration as opposed to coming up with the quickest snottiest response you can in a knee jerk. Calm down and give it a try.
After Reform Passes
So, how well will health reform work after it passes?
There’s a part of me that can’t believe I’m asking that question. After all, serious health reform has long seemed like an impossible dream. And it could yet go all wrong.
But the teabaggers have come and gone, as have the cries of “death panels” and the demonstrations by Medicare recipients demanding that the government stay out of health care. And reform is still on track. Right now it looks highly likely that Congress will, indeed, send a health care bill to the president’s desk. Then what?
Conservatives insist (and hope) that reform will fail, and that there will be a huge popular backlash. Some progressives worry that they might be right, that the imperfections of reform — what we’re about to get will be far from ideal — will be so severe as to undermine public support. And many critics complain, with some justice, that the planned reform won’t do much to contain rising costs.
[. . . .]
Still, if the Massachusetts experience is any guide, health care reform will have broad public support once it’s in place and the scare stories are proved false. The new health care system will be criticized; people will demand changes and improvements; but only a small minority will want reform reversed.
This thing is going to work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/opinion/26krugman.html?pagewanted=print
Keep calling your congresscritters
A Molecule of Motivation, Dopamine Excels at Its Task
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/science/27angier.html?th&emc=th
Got an auto-call from Verizon this morning telling me that they had
checked my line, and that *their* equipment was working fine,
therefore, it is the 11 inches of wiring in my house that is causing
all the problems. . . .
Line was dead for four hours Saturday night. Phone has disconnected 8
times since noon when I got online. . . . And both of my most recent
phone calls have had static on them.
Whatza body to do?
I hope you get your phone problems fixed puddle.
Though I think it is rare that the fault is inside the home, I pay the extra few bucks to include fixing anything inside my home. We have had many phone problems here during the 20 years we have lived here and *never* did the problem turn out to be inside. I often wonder if that would have been the case if we had not paid the monthly lug for inside repair. Not that I don't trust the phone company. . .
- One of the Smart Guys (who know more than our resident "experts"
By Hu Jo on Oct 27, 2009 2:12 PM EDThttp://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0903.galbraith.html
No Return to Normal<!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="SubHed" -->Why the
economic crisis, and its solution,
are bigger than you think.
The president has an economic program. But there is, so far, no clear statement of the thinking behind that program, and there may not be one, until the first report of the new Council of Economic Advisers appears next year. We therefore resort to what we know about the economists: the chair of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers; the CEA chair, Christina Romer; the budget director, Peter Orszag; and their titular head, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. This is plainly a capable, close-knit group, acting with energy and commitment. Deficiencies of their program cannot, therefore, be blamed on incompetence. Rather, if deficiencies exist, they probably result from their shared background and creed—in short, from the limitations of their ideas.
The most likely scenario, should the Geithner plan go through, is a combination of looting, fraud, and a renewed speculation in volatile commodity markets such as oil. Ultimately the losses fall on the public anyway, since deposits are largely insured. There is no chance that the banks will simply resume normal long-term lending. To whom would they lend? For what? Against what collateral? And if banks are recapitalized without changing their management, why should we expect them to change the behavior that caused the insolvency in the first place?
- I really support the opt out provision of the Public Option.
By Joan In Florida on Oct 27, 2009 2:19 PM EDT
I think it is a politically brilliant idea. Not only will it give cover for those blue dogs to vote for it now, any state governor (or state legislature whichever it will be) who turns it down will be hard-pressed to be re-elected.
The proposed version, I think, is that all states will have the public option for at least the first year--plenty of time to get to really like it--R or D! Kitchen table issues, especially this one, are very important to families. Cross those constituents up and your political career could be dead in the water.
- And here's one guy to apparently doesn't like his job much
By Joan In Florida on Oct 27, 2009 2:23 PM EDTPOLITICO Breaking News:
-----------------------------------------------------
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) says he will join a Republican filibuster against the Senate Democrats' health care reform bill unless the public option is removed.
Lieberman is nothing but an adult child needing attention all the time, especially since Gore choose him for a running mate when he apparently became addicted to attention.
Will someone donate a brain for this nut case!!!!
is the predictable ass he's always been. He will join the Rethugs in filibuster.
- I often wonder if that would have been the case if we had not paid the monthly lug for inside repair. Not that I don't trust the phone company. . .
By puddle on Oct 27, 2009 2:29 PM EDTLOL! I don't pay for it, and in 14 years of the worst telephone service I've had in my lifetime, it has *never* been in the inside wiring. Though I have to put up with the endless warnings of how much it's gonna cost me if it is. . . .
My mom's house, on the other hand ~~ she did pay, and the single problem she had, it *was* the inside wiring, so who knows? That one time prolly cost them more than her thirty years of payout. . . .
Healthcare is gonna pass. It's not gonna be a perfect bill in *anyone's* view. And they'll start to fix it, stat. And all the happy will remain happy, and all the unhappy will remain unhappy.
And so it goes.
Except in this case, the so-so Bill that the house will pass is the enemy of the really awful bill that passes the senate.
And presidential leadership does not equate to dictatorial powers. The buck will stop on the oval office desk, so Obama should be out in front, demanding what most of us want, not kissing Olympia Snowe's skanky butt
Exactly what percent of Americans will be covered? 100%?
Why wait till 2013?
Who's running the co-ops?
Triggers are not acceptable. Ask Howard.
By their actions, dems, like repugs, are beholden to the war machine, the banks and the insu cos. Handwriting/wall.
Criticism of Obama does not make us repugs. That's black and white thinking, prevalent during the bush years, yet it persists here among supposedly intelligent people. Amazing. I have no use for the likes of Limbaugh, Coulter and the repugs in general.
If we are to be a functioning democracy, we have to get rid of the idea that we have a "strong leader" who will do it for us.
If we are to be a functioning democracy, we have to get rid of the idea that we have a "strong leader" who will do it for us. we need an informed voting public who elects progressive leaders, according to merit,not party, who do what we elected them to do. We shouldn't have to push uphill all the way and all the time...and still be dissed. And that's what's happening.
************************
The Americans are, in general, unhappy right now and that's becuz we don't have a functioning fair democracy of representation. JMO That's one cause/result of happiness.
I believe that happiness is an inside job. And you can be happy and critical of the gov't at the same time. :-)
Obama's kids have had their flu shots. The kids next door? No. Not enuf vaccine.
- Obama's kids have had their flu shots. The kids next door? No. Not enuf vaccine.
By Joan In Florida on Oct 27, 2009 3:35 PM EDT
- Obama's kids have had their flu shots. The kids next door? No.
By Jo*in*Vermont on Oct 27, 2009 3:40 PM EDTall of my family have had their flu shots and the ones who need h1n1 have gotten that also.
so you can add me to your list of 'blame' or whatever your point was (above) since I have had mine while others are still waiting for theirs.
bad Jo! got your flu shot already!!
H1N1 vaccine has not made it to our little island and won't make it here for another month. But my son's doctor called this morning and asked that I take him to Laconner (off island but close) since they have a huge supply of the vaccine. My son is a high risk patient so I'm taking him in this afternoon. Phew.
- not enough vaccine for St. Louis and too late for one law student
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 4:00 PM EDTmy son missed classes yesterday and today and will again in the morning even if he feels like getting out of bed which he hasn't
as Reed warned us it is one bad bug
I was one of the unlucky ones who had a bad reaction (auto immune)to the Ford swine flu shot, took me months to fully recover from the shot, but I still had my son ready to stand in line when he got the chance which hadn't happened yet there in St. Louis where they have just hit those in the profession and most vulnerable
I guess some states get theirs sooner. OR doesn't have any at all yet.
Shouldn't the most susceptible people all over the country get theirs first? The kids?
How come some people have a supply of Tamiflu w/o even being sick, and others can't get any at all?
It take only 51 votes to change the rules in the Senate, permanents or temporarily.
If Reid has the guts, the Senate could change the filibuster rules so that nobody can vote to filibuster their own party or the party they caucus with (Lieberman in this case).
Just a thought.
I like the way you think Joan. (it would probably kill Senator Bryd though to mess with his precious rules)
Lieberman isn't anymore of a Democrat than Glenn Beck
He's an Indy, not a Dem. He has the luxury of doing whatever he pleases with no accountability. He'll be obsolete soon, we can only hope.
I guess some states get theirs sooner. OR doesn't have any at all yet.
Shouldn't the most susceptible people all over the country get theirs first? The kids?
How come some people have a supply of Tamiflu w/o even being sick, and others can't get any at all?
got the h1n1 because they're considered at risk - they're pregnant. my sister-in-law's baby is due on Nov 5th and my grandbaby is due in March.
our state nurses are doing a tremendous job of getting the vaccines where they need to be even though we're having shortages too - 20 state and a large number of company-sponsored clinics for the seasonal flu shots were cancelled this week so that they could use the current supply for the at risk folks. most of them are rescheduled for next week so let's hope the promised supplies come through.
our visiting nurses post their clinic schedules online so it was really easy to find a flu clinic for my Mom - they have one every Saturday at the VNA office (central and on the bus line) for the next 5 weeks. she lives in the building next door so she was in and out in about 10 minutes. ;)
BTW, it isn't the President's fault that the vaccine isn't plentiful at the moment. The issue is the cultures have taken far longer to grow than the vaccine manufacturers anticipated. This all started prior to his presidency. Just another shallow swipe at the POTUS, seashell.
Why waste time with her posts?
Slamminmg Obama about flu shots is normal for her.
You own the down arrow.
- I'm finding it amusing of sorts how far seashell has to cast a net
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 4:15 PM EDTto find something bad to say about Obama at times. But I don't regret a grumbling progressive wing of the party forcing Dems to do the right thing.
I save my scrolling for the personal attacks back and forth.
I have a bigger concern with the problem Monica addressed in the puddle link written October 26:
since you aren't old enough to have the immunity from the fifties
do you have access to proof that people over 64 are immune? Or is it that we simply don't have enuf vaccine to go around?
- it is a fact that people in their sixties aren't getting as sick if at all
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 4:45 PM EDTand of the thousand plus deaths so far a limited number
yes it does appear not needed for us old folks
present or past.
evidence:
"The Americans are, in general, unhappy right now and that's becuz we don't have a functioning fair democracy of representation. JMO That's one cause/result of happiness.
I believe that happiness is an inside job. And you can be happy and critical of the gov't at the same time. :-)"
Obama's approval rating is the majority, though slim. How is it that we don't have a fair, functioning democracy???
And, criticism or critical thinking is essential to a democracy: it's the willingness to see only the negative and to personalize it to Obama that seems pointless at times.
When there's no trust, there isn't any happiness, according to Eric Weiner and the surveys and statistics he read and the countries he visited. I suppose it's possible to ignore the entire world and feel happy, but usually that's a mental condition that requires hospitalization.
Rudeness, constant negativity, distrust, poverty, overwhelming competition that insists on winners and losers, the sense that failure is a bad thing (in Iceland, failure is regarded as necessary to growth and creativity), the sense of isolation that everyone is indifferent or against me, these are all crucial to happiness according to Eric Weiner's research.
- I suppose it's possible to ignore the entire world and feel happy, but usually that's a mental condition that requires hospitalization.
By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 4:18 PM EDTBig Pharma would have you believe it takes a pill, Pat. and given how many hundreds of millions they sell they have convinced a lot of folks
- Obama's kids have had their flu shots. The kids next door? No. Not enuf vaccine.
By puddle on Oct 27, 2009 4:24 PM EDTNope. They haven't. They're not in a high risk category, and those who are are getting the vaccine. However, the left wing-nuts are hysterical because they haven't: he knows it would kill them. . . .
Talk about damned if you do, damned if you don't.
reporting that they've had their shots. My point was that all children should be getting shots before any adults. Obama simply could have stated that. First the children. Including his.
when the going gets tough the tough get going type of thing
if you can't get satisfaction from a job well done you get it from a good effort anyway
but Americans do have a birthright to at least "pursue" happiness, it is not a bad thing
what has currently broken down is the social contract of an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, and it is at the heart of many political debates including health care and the bailouts
feeling of victimization is a legitimate response to being a victim
projections of feelings of self hate (or whatever the root of unhappiness) are pretty easy delusions for political operatives to manipulate and they go for the low hanging fruit, but if you do enough canvassing and then review of voting patterns you realize most of those folks don't vote, so don't really participate in the "democracy" aspect (hence the seashells of the world become background noise, scrolled if you will)
OK, I'll stop making calls or writing anyone or signing anything since I'm just "background noise." I'll stop voting as well.
Happy? Good god, Phil, use your head.
politicians don't listen to people who complain all the time and one of the reasons is they don't vote
and your posts fall into that category
I've voted all my life for dems and also have been critical.
Remember Mark Twain? I'm not as funny, however. Bill Maher, Stewart, Colbert, Mort Sahl, and many many others "complain" about our gov't.
And some of you "complain" frequently about Hu Jo and me and our posts.
Pot/Kettle
If you want to hear only how brilliant and intelligent Obama is, there must be a blog somewhere for people like that...but it won't be a progressive blog.
He's not going to do the right thing by patting him on the back. Nor does it help to call him a nutjob or Muslim.
We're telling him what we want. He just needs to listen and lead.
do you realize that many people don't vote becuz they don't like the choices? That, in its way, is a form of participating in democracy...by not being willing to continue down the path we're on of endless wars and the destruction of the middle class....by refusing to enable the 2 political parties to continue their fun and games at our expense.
Politician and polls might be wise to pay attention to the people who don't vote and ask them why.
We continue to ask the wrong questions, usually loaded in favor of one idealogy or another.
- Recapping D.C.’s International Day of Climate Action Event
By Susan Rowe on Oct 27, 2009 4:32 PM EDTJO --
We just finished going through the submissions to OFA's Health Reform Video Challenge, and they're great. There are personal stories that grab your heart, brilliant summaries of what reform would really mean, and plenty of biting satire that calls out the insurance lobbyists.
Out of nearly a thousand excellent videos submitted, we're down to the top 20. Now it's your turn to watch the finalists and vote for your favorites -- and then we'll air the winner on national television.
Watch and vote on the finalists now.
and he does his darndest to help people with problems especially ones that have a governmental component.
I was standing next to him when a lady started in with blaming everything from the weather and the football coach's losing record on state government and ended up with the potholes on her street.
he had a good retort
"where do I start?"
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Videos of some of the 64 House Healthcare Heroes standing strong for a public health insurance option
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
Congressman Lloyd Dogget
Congressman Keith Ellison
Congressman Bob Filner
Congressman Phil Hare
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
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By Phil Specht on Oct 27, 2009 9:03 AM EDTsoybean harvest is getting very late due to the long stretch of rainy weather
maybe a few hours later today