We're Not Doomed (today and for the next few months at least)!

Suck it Teabags. Your attempt to destroy the world and usher in a thousand years of Republican Jesus failed (this time!). Try again in about 6-9 months, if you would, so we can properly remove your sorry asses from the US House of Representatives, and restore a measure of sanity to America, and the World.

Also, have a tree full of baby bears:

Ah, bear picking season. Best part of the Fall. The best part of WINNING!

While Rome Burns

So we learn how Empires fall - by stupid people getting power, and being stupid. And thus today's American political scene: A bear ballet, dreamed up by Homer.

Which, like the nifty political drama for the Junkie, is funny! If not tragic.

Nuke the Whales

I am comforted, in some small way, by the fact that the Crazies have always been part of American politics. They just used to be shunned, and now they're in charge of the Republican Party. But that can change - that will change if the public and media hold them accountable for their insanity. Maybe?

Till then, Nuke Everything.

All life is precious

Did you know both the Republican party and major religious groups did not care about abortion until the late 70's? Concurrent with the Presidency of Democrat, Jimmy Carter. And then one St. Ronaldus Maximus Reaganus used this issue as a wedge (among many) and won huge victories. And now we live in the heights of abortion as a political issue.

My stand on abortion: I wish no one had to have one, but if a woman chooses to, that's her right and she's got final say.

The Republican Party doesn't really care about abortions (they like them too, personally, for their daughters and mistresses), but boy do they love it as a political hand grenade.

Also, it's cool mammals look pretty identical at a certain stage of development. Proof of common descent - Oh! Evolution. Something else Republicans pretend to care about for political purposes.

Remember Benghazi?

If you don't follow politics, specifically the state sponsored insanity that is the American Republican Party and its followers, you might not know what the heck is the significance of Benghazi. But rest assured, because neither do the Wingnuts who rage on about it. New Rule! If anyone you know brings up Benghazi in a sincere manner, de-friend them immediately. This belief is a touchstone for the insane Wingnut.

OMG! Employees of the American government died during a terrorist attack! What a conspiracy! What an outrage! Seriously, that's it. 4 folks, unfortunately, died during a terrorist attack on a CIA undercover base. But hey...

I'm not even blaming W. - shit went down, terrorism wise, in the years 1990 -2008. Lots of people died, unfortunately in all cases, and it's a damn shame. Do you hear the Wingnuts bleating about any of the above attacks? Of course not - know why?

He's "Black", don't ya know?

And awesome. Best President since Teddy.

A New Hope

An apt image that neatly captures today's political dynamics in America. On the one hand, you have the lock-step Authoritarians of the Right who will back anything and everything their leaders tell them to back - even if it contradicts what they were told to support the day before. And you have "Liberals", who could best be described as a herd of cats. A great concept and I celebrate the freedom of choice, but when it comes to the blood sport of team Politics, Liberals suck. Witness the myriad assaults on Obama from the Left - they're legion.

If we are going to fall into true Empire, all it will take is a persuasive Conservative at this point. Thankfully, none appear on the immediate horizon, as they're all insane.

Good for

War is good for lots of things, actually. Profits - as long as not too much gets destroyed. Propaganda. Keeping the poors further in their place. Your election chances, if your war is going well. And if it's not going well? Send some more boys into the meat grinder! Why not? Ain't you or yours, and "surges" are good for your poll numbers.

Where else can you get so many medals and pins? If you're lucky - but hey! Someone's got to be lucky. Could be you or me! Roll the dice and storm that building. You could be a war hero!

The donkey didn't get a choice. But then, no animal does, when a war's on. Except the rich ones.

How Manly, the Warrior

War is politics by different means, and politics is the pursuit of power, and power is sex, and boy, are these warriors manly! Look at how The Leader displays a terrified tiger kitten as an example of his sexual prowess!

Pop quiz: Upon initial glance at this photo, do you have more sympathy for the tiger kitten, or the people these masked hunks have no doubt killed?

Ain't no party like a Chechen warlord party. Woop-woop.

OBOT

I've become a single issue voter these days: Stop Republicans. The man best in position to do that is Barack Obama, so I support him 100%. As should any good person. And so I don't ever feel the need to debate this policy or that, or whatever revelation that comes out, in fact, I don't question BHO in the least regard while I still hold him sincere and good. Is he, sincere and good? Yes, unequivocally. Disagree with his policies if you must, be at least respect him as sincere and out for the common good.

Is that hypocritical of me? I accuse Republican followers of the same mindless following of their political leaders. But, their leaders are actual evil and are actively doing harm to our country. So, there's a difference! You see?

The first one is OUTRAGEOUS! Literally, it was a "news" story on Fox and Allies. The second picture of course, buried deep in some obscure archive. Who cares?!

The Republican mind at work today, so beware. Even fair seeming or even nice Republicans must support this evil, if they are Republicans.

But let us not end in negativity! Choom Gang, bring it home.

Barry Obama, All American Golden Child. Suck it, Wingnuts.

Thanks Dad!

So this is a new thing too - politicians not only posing with guns, but with their kids and guns. Cuz Republican Jesus knows nothing says "Pro-Life" like having everyone in the family armed.

Not worth helmets or proper footwear though - cuz there's no Republican Fetish Lobby for helmets, is there?

Yep, it's right there in the Bible - the Holy man is an American with a handgun. Praise Republican Jesus!

Too Soon

I've been making 9-11 jokes for years, so how can I not drop a Boston terrorist joke? Here you are - it's mild. For it is too soon, but. BUT! Hear me!

While I have a lot of personal association with this event (from afar), and it is tragic for the people directly and a bit less directly affected (unlike you and me far away from this event, watching on TV, or reading on the Net), I refuse to EVER be terrorized. As we all should. And that's what this clearly was - an act of terrorism. As almost all bombings are. Cowardly stabs at the heart of decent society. Which is 97 or so % of us. Here's what I say to terrorism:

Fuck off!

The real power of terrorism, however, is not in the numbers of people killed and maimed in the terrorist attack, but in the reaction. The people who become afraid, distrustful, fearful. The powerful who use these emotions to become more powerful. The innocent caught up in waves of xenophobia. The Patriot Act. The invasion of Iraq. Color coded "TERROR ALERTS". Etc. This is the real damage of terrorism, and we directly control it, in a democracy.

It's psychological. The dramatics of it, the random suddeness of it, the cruelty of it, scars the mind/soul, and it takes far greater significance in people's minds. For example, fear of sharks. Very, very few people are actually killed/hurt by sharks in any given year, but the fear is palpable. And just so - relative to the total population of America, very, very few people are killed or injured in terrorist attacks in any given year. Compared to, oh say just for another example:

Gun deaths, whether by homicide, suicide, or accident. Fun fact! Your odds of dying by gun go up substantially the minute you buy/obtain your first gun. And yet just today in America our Congress voted down any attempt to strengthen the logical background check procedure for gun purchases. Why? Politics and power.


People are making money off gun sales - that's a big portion of the reason for our country's insanity. And it's not really that big money, but they've got a good lobby (NRA) and so, we die every day. Because it's the power behind the topic - the political power of divide and conquer - that ensures that for now, no sanity will be forthcoming. We will keep dying for reasons we could prevent/minimize, but won't. And the Right Wingers among us will in fact enflame.

Thus, here in America, the reaction to this:

The cold blooded murder of Kindergartners, is this:

Wingnut training squads, completely unlicensed and unregistered except of course by their own phony institutions and camps.

Whilst a large percentage of the country goes into a froth over a couple of high end pipe bombs.

I'm sorry if you're offended, but our priorities are fucked up.

Behind the Curtain

The Republican party is a quasi-fascist outfit at this point - seriously - and so is highly structured (as opposed to the Democratic party which is really a co-op amongst dozens of vested interest groups, often with conflicting agendas.). The structure is, from top to bottom, as such: Money.

 Two of the worst things ever to happen to America - Corporations were somehow declared actual people, just like you and me. Then, free speech was applied to political spending - that is, you can't restrict it. And so we have the Koch Brothers, heirs to Daddy's fortune. Their two claims to fame are 1. Increasing Daddy's fortune, considerably

and 2. Mainstreaming the mentality of the John Birch Society, of which their Father was a founding member. These are the crazy "FLUORIDE!" folks from the 50's, who were mocked and marginalized till Nixon, then Reagan took it to the next level. And all along the way were the Koch boys, spending freely. They are now the de facto power of Conservative America, coupled with Murdoch (and a few others), and they have two major means of control. 1. "Think Tanks", like ALEC listed above. ALEC is great - they essentially write laws whole cloth, then present these writings to Republican controlled State houses, who pass them. All the anti-Union laws that burst out of nowhere since 2010 are all ALEC written. There are many Think Tanks, and the Kochs fund quite a few of them.

There's some legitimately good stuff they do too, but consider that PR cover for their main aim. Here's another one of their Think Tank flunkies:

 Grover Norquist. Have you heard of him? Look him up if not. Basically, his "Think Tank" gets Republican officials to sign a pledge to never raise taxes. Literally - they sign a pledge to this guy, and it's taken very seriously. Why? Because if you break your word to Grover (AKA to the Kochs), they will pay big money to fund an opponent for your next primary election, which you will probably lose since you now have little money. And so everyone bends the knee to this bespectacled pudgeball with no apparent skill at anything. Odd! Again, there are many Think Tanks and they perform a variety of acts, all intended to enforce rich people's agendas. The second leg of their control is the media:

Fox is the obvious example, but I would argue all national media is duly corrupted by the power of these politically motivated billionaires - CBS, ABC, even the liberal MSNBC. The Washington Post, even NPR. They all carry the billionaire's water in one way or another. For an easy example, consider the next time you see/hear an interview with someone from a Think Tank talking about the need to reduce the deficit. You have a spokesperson for billionaires talking on a media channel owned by billionaires about ways to give these billionaires more money. It happens every day, and it's so common now as to not stand out. It's how our system works - their system. Next on the list, lower down the chain you'll note:

The politicians. Batboy here is Rick Scott, Governor of Florida and should be felon, but hey! Liberal lies. Scott was elected during the terrible year of 2010 and has followed the ALEC agenda to a T - consider that. All the Republican governors who swept to power that year were following orders from ALEC, AKA the Koch Brothers. Think of what that means for our country, you, and your family. It means we're pawns, sources of funding, dupes and goons and consumers to buy crap they've outsourced to the cheapest place they can find.

Now, many of us are waking up. I have a faint amount of confidence that the worm has turned and a majority of folks are realizing how screwed they've been by this "Conservative" movement. But not everyone, not the 27%, for sure:

Think of this: In the weeks following the massacre of Kindergartners at Sandy Hook, gun sales have set another record. They've been setting records, coincidentally enough, since 2008. Think of what it means that there are people out there who's reaction to that massacre is to immediately go out and buy a ton of assault weapons and ammo, on the assumption the Government (read: Barack Obama, the Enemy. If it was a Republican in charge there would be no panic) will take their guns. Consider these folks spend many thousands of dollars a year on guns, money they probably would be wiser saving/spending elsewhere. These are our future Brownshirts, and FSM help us if a Republican of this fold wins the White House again.

If you're still reading, you probably agree with me so far. Thus, let me conclude with an entreaty: Get involved. Get active. We can make a difference, and we must. We can't cede this country, and this world, to a handful of selfish rich fucks who would see us all burn to put a few more dollars in their portfolios.

Are you with me?

A Clear Choice

Here's a young Obama visiting the family back in old Africa. And this is part of the problem, for many. Race. Simply because of the color of his skin, or the (D) after his name, a large percentage of Americans HATE our President with a fury beyond logic. They're mad with hate. And yet...

A young Barry with Mom, and Grandad at the beach. These pictures are jarring to many, I suspect - whiter than white folks with a black child. DOES NOT COMPUTE! But it does. This is America, given our horrid racial history. This is the world, in fact - populations that evolved in isolation for thousands and thousands of years now all mixed up and swirled. This is our future - the mixing.

Look at this crowd. This is the future of America, and aye, the world. Different peoples and cultures living together in harmony based on the bedrock principle that no "people" are superior to another, but rather we all are equal and value peace, justice, and the well being of ourselves and our families.

And thus, a very clear choice: Elect the man who in person and in deed represents this diverse future - Barack Obama. Or another white man who's claim to fame is being rich and belonging to a cult he can't talk about.

The choice is stark - one brings a continuation of the Renaissance; the other its denigration.

Choose wisely, America. Choose Democrats, at every level.

Have a great Summer!

Choom Gang, represent.

Also, is that a beer bottle in the center of the bottom photo? Also too - I love "Yearbook" font.

Also, as well: This is the worst day of the year. DST ends. Sunset for me today was at 4:30 PM. Ug. And there's still daylight to lose till we rebound. Summer, how I miss you.

Worn Soles

Did we not get our Change? The Iraq War is over - remember that? Afghanistan is on its way to ending. Osama Bin Goldstein is dead. Al Qaeda is crushed. The economy is recovering and survived several catastrophes. Everyone gets health insurance for cheap = it's true, and it's coming. No longer will you be tied to some corporate doodad for health insurance. Get it from the Gummint for a fee (tax), way more cheaply.

The world has changed. And it can change for the better yet still.

Vote Obama, America. He's the Change we need.

Stage Diving POTUS

Trust me - I'd never blindly follow anyone. I'd follow if I thought the cause worthy, or I was forced to, but never blindly. So when I say I truly love Obama and think he's the best thing to happen to America since.... Lincoln? Teddy? A long time, believe me. Cuz it's true. Barack Obama is awesome.

This is a thing that happened, in Richmond, Virgina. I am a bit agog the POTUS would actually jump off the stage like that - it's simply too awesome. Would you? Would you dare? The Prez does, and he nailed the landing, of course. Cuz Barack kicks ass.

And doors. Like all badasses. And Nobel Peace Prize winners - little known fact.

Memories of Berlin

Berlin, July 2008. Good times - remember? Hope was what you felt then - for Change! Now you probably feel some variant of weary. But fret not! Change is on the way.

With our help, Barack Obama will be re-elected next week, and America will have 4 more years to try and recover from the Republican poisoning. We'll need a better Congress though, so get out and vote!

Get excited! It's important work we do here - literally, saving the world. The stakes are that high. Good versus evil stuff. Oh yeah, and babes. Liberals have the better babes. And these days for sure, crowds.

An estimated 240,000 Berliners came out to see then Senator Barack Obama speak. Hundreds of thousands more in cities across Europe. He also went to Iraq and Afghanistan. Compare that to Mitt Romney's trip to Europe this past Summer, which was a hilarious tour de farce, lurching from one mistake to another. I don't recall any crowds, either. Private fundraisers ($$$) only. It's a joke that there's any kind of competition between these two candidates. But that's the reality when a solid 40% of Americans would vote for a rock as long as it had an (R) next to it's name. Propaganda's a hell of a thing.