Posts with the tag Newt Gingrich

2010 Elections - Response to President Bill Clinton

"Voice for Humanity" — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:13:03 EDT

From: PADMINI ARHANT
WWW.PADMINIARHANT.COM

Hon. President Bill Clinton.
New York

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your letter. It’s truly an honor to receive your request.

I share your thoughts and concerns about the 2010 elections outcome. Needless to say, that you have experience with the opposition majority during your presidency and the challenges you faced in the legislative process with the “Government Shut Down” led by the former speaker Newt Gingrich and the republican allies.

Although, I agree that the Senators competing for their first term or re-election require the grassroots/base support, the general public perception from the health care debate is - the conservative and the moderate democrats forget their promise to the electorate that initially support them to get where they are now.

Rest of the content available @http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

THE UNITED SUCKERS OF AMERICA... *or, The Progressives LAST STAND!

Frank Esposito — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:32:53 EDT

AUTHORS NOTE: I’ve spent the last decade and a half fighting against the phenomenon that I write about in the following post. This just might be my way of avoiding a future of explaining to my children (and grandchildren) how THE ADULTS allowed a bunch of vain, self-serving, power mad, greed stricken, silver spoon Con Artists to steal away the American Dream. At the very least I didn’t become one of the silly, ignorant, victimized, self-absorbed, apathetic, celebrity worshipping COWARDS who stood by and let vile, contemptible NONSENSE get in the way of my values.

1st draft:

The American PEOPLE are at the CROSSROADS in 2009. We can do NOTHING and let the Status Quo ruin everything America stands for… OR, we can fight for the UNALIENABLE rights and freedoms that were “endowed by the Creator”.

“NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION” has been ingrained in the public consciousness by the recent right-wing Tea Party Movement. Once again Republicans/Conservatives took a Patriotic symbol and put their own spin on it. (These LOSERS misrepresent American HISTORY, vital issues and the Constitution as badly as they interpret the Bible, lol)

I want to correct this travesty with facts that are more in tune with what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

It’s a slogan that described the grievance, people who lived in the original 13 Colonies, had with the Brits. The British Ruling Class was distant and unsympathetic to the wants and needs of the American Colonists. (sound familiar?)

Here’s the thing… The PEOPLE had BALLS back then, so they REJECTED the Stamp Act of 1765 which was repealed. In 1773, years of fermenting anger/frustration turned to violent uprisings (one most famously known as the Boston Tea Party) which led to the great American Revolution. Like I said… the PEOPLE had COURAGE back then. (and didn’t like being played for FOOLS)

Single payer health care WAS Obama’s Waterloo and he already lost that battle. Our sacred Obama/Biden Administration seems to have retreated to the weakest possible version of Healthcare reform. Speaking for myself, if the politicHo’s leave single payer out of health care reform then I rather they did nothing at all. It will only end up being a failure and huge waste of taxpayers dollars.

Let me explain how this ONE ISSUE can dash the hopes of a majority of the American PEOPLE.

I have a question… When did the USA become the United Suckers of America? Here’s the average American taxpayer… basically honest, hardworking, law abiding citizens caught in the middle.

On one side are Corporations, who have all the RIGHTS of a citizen but none of the responsibilities (limited liability). The Corporations don’t REPRESENT the American PEOPLE, their only concern is profit and stock holders.

On the other side of Mr/MS average taxpayer is the Government. A UNION of Federal, State, County and local government workers and elected officials. Many of these government officials/workers take a sworn OATH to UPHOLD the Constitution, PROTECT, SERVE and work for the best interests of the American PEOPLE.

But things CHANGED in the 1980’s. It was a REPEAT of what happened to the PEOPLE before the Great Depression. Government Representatives of the average taxpayer were wined, dined. sexed, and bribed by wealthy powerful men who wanted the game rigged so they would ALWAYS come out on top. (Status Quo)

It was and IS hard times, THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER started to NOTICE things… On the one side Corporations spending the last few decades getting huge government subsides and stimulus while *@~/ing over the American PEOPLE every chance they got.

On the other side government workers and elected officials (public sector) had the kind of JOB/PENSION/HEALTH CARE SECURITY the average taxpayer could only HOPE for or dream about. (pursuit of HAPPINESS) Civil servants, my skinny Italian-American @$$… just who the #*~/ is serving WHO?

Caught in the middle is the average American citizen, PAYING FOR IT ALL while watching their jobs, pensions, prosperity, health and happiness FADE AWAY! They started to realize this was the price of their APATHY of the last few decades. They didn’t hold their leaders ACCOUNTABLE for their actions, they forgot ETERNAL VIGILANCE included DEMANDING ETHICS AND RESPONSIBILITY!

Because of this error in judgment and lax standards (deregulation), an orgy of waste fraud, abuse, scandal, corruption, arms dealing, war profiteering, violations of the Constitution HAPPENED! (which the 4th Estate mostly ignored or diverted attention from)

Vain, self-serving, power mad, greed stricken silver spoon Con Artists ravaged, off-shored and expatriated most of our nations wealth and resources… AND THEN GOT THE GOVERNMENT to force the DEBT of these criminal actions ON the average taxpayer. (while the Con Artists got multimillion dollar salaries, golden parachutes, $150,000 speaking engagements and police/secret service protection)

PLEASE! Someone tell me WHERE the REPRESENTATION IS in this whole scenario? What did the average American taxpayer get for their tax dollars in the last 13 years? You dumbass numbskull mother#*~/‘s really need to learn that a con is a CON! No matter in a back alley or from the Ivory Towers, the trick is to RECOGNIZE IT and not get played for a FOOL…

Whether one believes it or not… Single Payer Health Care WAS the Waterloo of both Obama’s Presidency and rights/freedoms of the American PEOPLE. Y’know, all that about “Of, By, For, Life, Liberty, Happiness, Equal Rights and JUSTICE”. Single Payer was the most efficient, cost effective way to start down the path to the American Dream. This ONE issue can rock the foundations of the Status Quo much like the Tea Party did at the start of this great nation.

Not in the way Conservatives think, though. Single payer is not government control over our lives but a way to get out from under the thumb of this Corporate/Government fascist police state that uses strong arm tactics resembling ORGANIZED CRIME to get what they want. A first step to bring POWER back to the PEOPLE. The kind of CHANGE most American taxpayers really want (whether they know it or NOT)

Can anyone tell me with a straight face what it is Insurance Companies DO… beyond creating a pool of people they can profit from? Is making outrageous profits from the suffering of your fellow man/woman a RIGHT or a PRIVILEGE? Single Payer was the way for Progressives to get rid of evil middle-men between YOU and your Doctor. That’s all it was, pooling all Americans so we could watch out for least of our Brothers.

I don’t know about what the knuckle-heads think but sick people being denied because of pre-existing conditions or contract fine print and 47 MILLION Americans WITHOUT health care is all the proof I need that our present system is G-damn failure. I’d even go so far to say it’s one of the MANY crimes against HUMANITY our government/corporate entities have gotten themselves involved in.

(if the American PEOPLE don't start DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY from their leaders then you don't deserve the RIGHTS and FREEDOMS you're letting slip away)

EXPOSÉ:
Something I been warning about since 1998. What I like to call the Liberal VS Conservative, DIVIDE and CONQUER Scam. The Rich and Powerful (corporations/special interests) turned many of our government officials in to their bitches. The economy was rigged to work AGAINST the best interests of the American PEOPLE.

12/1/2000 - Leaked CIA document Case# F-2001-00009:
“International Crime Threat Assessment” defines “Kleptocracy,
…rather than serve PUBLIC INTEREST, top leaders use nations resources solely to enrich themselves and their cronies. To cover up crimes the stage is set for social and political upheavals…”

Sound familiar America? The CIA will never admit they included USA “top leaders” in that report. I say anyone with half a brain already realizes something is just NOT RIGHT! One news story after another about waste, fraud, abuse, incompetence, corruption, etc. due to the LOW GRADE THOUGHT PROCESSES of our top leaders.

Am I mistaken, isn’t the job of our top leaders to protect the PEOPLE from “upheavals”? The problem here is NOT ENOUGH American PEOPLE had the COURAGE to DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY from those in power. Elected officials and public sector officers in general get away with the same things those of us in the private sector would be fired and prosecuted for. There’s NO incentive to be VIRTUOUS.

Not only top leaders in government but also those from the business world that have INFLUENCE over America’s future. I think this phenomenon was best described by Benito Mussolini:
“… fascism might more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power…”

And we all know how badly THAT turned out THEN and what the consequences are of history repeating itself NOW!

Single Payer Health Care is only a representation of a much bigger STRUGGLE. An uprising of 40 MILLION AMERICANS struggling BELOW the poverty level… OR the 47 MILLION AMERICANS without health insurance. Don’t THEY DESERVE the government subsidies and stimulus MORE than the wealthy, powerful entities who’ve been sucking the lifeblood of the American PEOPLE?

REALITY PLEASE!

A bit of factual history so Americans don’t make the same MISTAKES of the past.

If our economy is failing it’s because of the low grade thought processes involved with the long range fiscal planning of the Republican Party since 1980... THAT NOT ONE OF THEM WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOW!

Republicans believe Corporations have a right to do as they please. Most card carrying conservatives are so ignorant they don’t even know their own ideological CREDO. “Limited intervention in the economy. Substantial intervention in morality”. This means let the RICH/POWERFUL do whatever they please while finger pointing and preaching to the average Joe and Jane Schmuck.

Reagan/Bush killed ANTI-TRUST and any regulation that kept industry HONEST. When Reagan/Bush came to power, the USA was #1 on the planet in exporting goods and importing raw materials. This is the very definition of a prosperous economy. In 2009, it is the exact opposite. Why? Years of Republicans selling out the American middle class, that’s why. Oh and let’s not forget Reagan union busting and DEREGULATION. The root of ALL future Corporate scandal.

A long list of legislation starting with “fiscal conservatism” and “trickle down economics” led to the decline in federal aid to local governments from $64 per resident in 1980 to $29 per in 1992. To REPLACE the lost funding, a mandate for LAW ENFORCEMENT and Criminal Justice (sic) System to generate revenue for itself, State and local governments. PROFIT margins created a government VS. the PEOPLE mentality.

NOTE: (Sunday, April 16, 2000 Press-Enterprise B-1 article titled “San Bernardino County leads nation in forfeitures” WHAT? Joseph D. Mcnamara, a research fellow at Stanford University and former police chief in San Jose, said: “I think in general it’s a BAD MISTAKE to have the police interested in anything other than the pursuit of justice”)

Add the special interest pandering which further separated the PEOPLE from “LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS, EQUAL RIGHTS and JUSTICE”. As a mater of fact JUSTICE became a commodity bought and sold by the wealthy, powerful and well-connected.

NOTE: (Robert Ito in Los Angeles Magazine writes: “…YES, the $40 BILLION dollar private prison business is recession proof. The Corrections Corporation of America controlled 52% of the domestic market. Net income grew 75% in 1997, it’s stock doubled…” YEA! Ask Bob Barker about investing in the jail/prison industry. Bob Barker plastic soap dishes, jail shoes… and how can one strip down, bend over and COUGH without thinking of Bob Barker latex examination gloves?)

Then we go to the 90’s with Newt Gingrich/Tom Delay/John McCain/etc. controlled Congress... Republican’s busy selling out the American PEOPLE. I wanted to ask the Grich about all the hidden legislation such as the “Expatriate Clause” in Clinton’s Family Leave bill. It allowed the super rich (multinational Corporations, Saudi royals, drug trafficers, etc) take their billions out of the country PENALTY FREE!

While President Clinton and the American PEOPLE were MISDIRECTED by the media, fake Christian morality and the famous Monica Lewinski blowjobs… Newt oversaw legislation/policy that paved the way for outsourcing of American jobs, off-shore accounts scandal, media consolidation, predatory lending and the “Corporate Crime Wave” (Enron, etc.) While Republicans were waving the American flag and professing love of our great nation, behind the scenes they were busy selling out our children’s future. Explain to me please Newt, what good can come from insuring the venture capital of Corporations that move American jobs to Communist China?

And what were the TOP OFFICIALS doing while all the so-called representatives of the PEOPLE were breaking their sworn oaths and ignoring the SIGNS from the turbulent Middle East? Well, they were hanging out in the Halls of Congress with Larry Craig, Mark Foley and Ken Starr MASTURBATING to Monica Lewinski testimony…

THEN the biggest insult to the American Constitution conservatives could possibly come up with… these pathetic morons elect George W. Bush (not once BUT TWO TIMES) and there is the death blow to the US economy.

What kind of FOOLS took pleasure in Bush bragging about his TAX CUTS? What you idiots don’t realize is he’s had to borrow TRILLIONS of dollars from foreign entities to pay for his WAR in Iraq. 12 billion dollars a week going to the Iraqi money pit, arms dealers and war profiteers. AND OUR CHILDREN AND GRAND-CHILDREN WILL GET STUCK WITH THE BILL! How’s that for fiscal irresponsibility? (explain that to the next generation)

THE DOLLAR ISN’T WORTH THE PAPER IT’S PRINTED ON!

Tell me, PLEASE TELL ME one damn thing the George W. Bush administration DID for the American PEOPLE? And don’t give me that bullshit about he “protected us from terrorism”… LIES! You people are so #*~/’n brainwashed, reality is right in front of your EYES but you failed to SEE! If one does the slightest bit of research into the subject the facts are there SCREAMING AT YOU TO LISTEN.

The questionable election of Bush/Cheney in 2000 was everything a smart strategic planner like Osama bin Lunatic could have hoped for. With a handful of terrorists he has succeeded in taking DOWN the U.S. ECONOMY! He knew a cheerleader cowboy like Bush and all his sniveling, greedy, conniving cronies would break the bank to show they were tough guys… The basic plan of bin Laden was to

1) get the USA in AN expensive, never-ending WAR.

2) take down the economy of the Great Satan and the infidels.

I’m convinced economic among other POLICY of the last decade will hurt the United States of America MORE THAN ANY TERRORIST ATTACK! (read: Vanity Fair magazine article titled “Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush”)

Reagan didn’t bring down the Soviet Empire it was that War in Afghanistan that broke the Soviet Union. Bin Laden just used the same method counting on the right-wing hawks to bring down the USA! AND IT WORKED! Really, our economy is already fucked, Bush traveled around the world getting his wealthy handlers to PROP UP THE US ECONOMY UNTIL he left office… then he can blame the Democrats who were sure to WIN BIG IN 2008.

IT was also a good excuse to initiate the Conservative wet dream of what Reagan called “Starving the Beast”

Americans who want single payer health care among OTHER Progressive vital issues are what Conservatives consider the BEAST! Which proves just how brainwashed, ignorant, misinformed and un-American the RIGHT-WING REALLY IS!

A displeased critic (such as myself) jeopardizes the good life the Ruling Class and public sector set up for themselves. Boat-rockers must be stopped at ANY cost. Better to slap some uncomplimentary labels of terrorist threat or conspiracy nut than to EXAMINE the opposing viewpoints or alternative thought process.

Well I say it’s the height of hypocrisy shown by a Ruling Class that holds up core American values like they’re were actually proud American patriots. NO FREE THINKERS ALLOWED! It seems many government officials/workers have taken on the contemporary manifestation of the Neo-Conservative.
“…highly skeptical of the PEOPLE’s ability to analyze the complexity of historically developed society or the capacity for correctly planning desirable conditions…”

My readers can take this information any way they want… But I’m not so sure even the most open-minded, enlightened individuals among us UNDERSTAND just how IMPORTANT the next few years really are. Everything is in place for true CHANGE. We have all worked so hard to elect Obama/Biden and a Democratic controlled Congress WHY LET IT ALL SLIP AWAY NOW?

If the American PEOPLE don’t have the imagination, will or COURAGE to fight back NOW… then we might NEVER (in our lifetimes) get ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET WHAT WE WANT ...WHAT AMERICA NEEDS! I swear to the ALMIGHTY, if you apathetic, dumbass m#*~/ers don’t take this shit seriously then one might as well wipe your @$$ and flush down the toilet everything we hold dear about this great nation.

This is one of those RARE moments in the history of humanity where average PEOPLE can actually affect CHANGE for their own good. NOTHING is more vital to the USA than THAT!

...viva la revolution as posted on blog jinnbad.blogspot.com

To: Newt Gingrich

Thomas S. Kelly — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:49:36 EDT

I fail to understand why the Bushies and the Neocons want to take down the whole of the CIA just so they can put another notch in the proverbial belt when they have finished having had their way with the American Public and Nancy Pelosi (D - CA). I believe this is this un-American and below even an aspiring politician such as Newt Gingrich.

Hey Newt, citizen-to-citizen I believe you’re a loser who should shut-up and do something meaningful with your time off rather than continue to hurt this Country and its citizens and the elected officials who serve them.

Stephen Views the News 11/22/08

Stephen from Elkins Park, PA — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:29:31 EST

Stephen Views the News 11/22/08

http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/

* The Stench of Torture ~ will not dissipate with Bush’s exit – Barack Obama has stated emphatically that he will end any use of torture by the USA. Human rights groups, constitutional scholars and citizens have called for the next administration to prosecute those who authorized or used harsh interrogation techniques. “But two Obama advisers said there's little — if any — chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage.” Having closely followed the actions by the Bush administration and the use of torture, actions contrary to national and international law, I would like to see those who authorized and then lied about it come under scrutiny. Many believe that the US should not look back as Obama changes policy. What about after Obama? If Bush could authorize the use of torture so could a future president. It is obvious that safeguards are not in place to prevent the use of torture. It should not be an option for ANY administration. At the least, America should enact laws that unequivocally prevent any president or U.S. agency from utilizing a policy of torture. That being said, regardless of how the Obama administration decides to deal with abuses by George W. Bush or, should Bush grant broad immunity to perpetrators of abuse before he leaves office, the international community still could address the subject.

It remains to be seen whether there will be an effort to bring war crimes charges against Americans responsible for and involved in torture in Iraq, Guantanamo and secret prisons the U.S. government sanctioned around the world. There is a just-released report by the Human Rights Center/Center for Constitutional Rights report titled “Guantanamo and Its Aftermath.” Former DC Appellate Judge Patricia Wald, a judge at the international trial for Serbians accused of committing war crimes against Bosnian Muslims, compared the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody to the treatment Bosnians received at the hands of their Serbian captors. And from the web site ThinkProgress.org: “Last June, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (ret.), the Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, also accused the Bush administration of committing “war crimes” and called for those responsible to be held to account.”

The report noted above is 136 pages in length. Even if one only reads the Forward and Executive Summary one will find a chilling condemnation of the policies invoked by the Bush administration to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. It is a vision that no sentient American in my lifetime could have envisioned. I was especially struck with the innocent lives destroyed. I would hope that Americans are struck with a sense of the loss of innocence. The Forward concludes, “We, as a nation, must not only remember our past but strive not to repeat it. This report makes an invaluable start in that direction.”

* In Case of Emergency 1 ~ a simple yet very intelligent idea – A reader sent me notice of an idea conceived by a paramedic that is growing in popularity. Most of us have cell phones. If we were to be injured in an accident or unexpectedly taken ill, emergency personnel would want to alert someone to our situation. To avoid the need to search through a large number of entries in the phone’s address book there is an alternative. Add to the address file “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) and the telephone number of the person you want to be contacted. If there is more than one person or phone number, enter ICE 1, ICE 2, and so on. This is an idea you may want to share with friends and family.

* In Case of Emergency 2 – If you just accidentally swallowed poison and need to regurgitate, watch this video of the members of the U.S. Senate giving a standing ovation to Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens is not returning to the Senate because he lost his re-election bid. Even if Stevens had won the election he very probably would have been expelled from the Senate because he recently was convicted in a federal court on 7 felony counts. This is the man who porked huge amounts of federal money for Alaska and he was the legislative architect for the Bridge to Nowhere, while using his legislative power for financial gain for himself, members of his family and friends and associates. And our illustrious Senators gave him a standing ovation, which happens to be against their own Senate rules. Applauding a low-life power abuser and convicted felon is not the message that I want to hear from legislators. It does not bode well for ethics reform or the responsible leadership that the American people crave. Republican losses over the last two election cycles have made this very clear. The Good Ol’ Boy Club has gotten very old. More need to be replaced, including a covey of Democrats.

* Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ say hello to Newt Gingrich – Appearing on FOX News (of course) Gingrich was criticizing those individuals protesting the loss of the right of gay couples in California to marry. Gingrich said, "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion." I find Gingrich’s comments disingenuous, hypocritical and misleading.

Recall that it was Gingrich and his Republican Party that consummated a marriage with religious-right fundamentalists attempting to tell Americans how to conduct their lives. I see no evidence of people with a gay lifestyle either attempting to or, by example, influencing anyone to be gay. The gay community does not proselytize. It is seeking its own civil rights, in opposition to the likes of Mike Huckabee who pronounce that gay rights and civil rights are totally different. What is Fascist are Gingrich and his tight-assed brown shirts spewing untruthful propaganda and misinformation. Has anyone seen evidence of gay violence or harassment? More than half of the American people are aware of Gingrich and company’s dangerous band of blowhards. Once a few million more Americans wake up to the uncivil attacks on and the denial of civil rights to the gay community, people like Gingrich will find limited access to mainstream media and be relegated to the increasingly irrelevant Pat Robertson’s Holier than Thou TV infomercials.

* Knowing your limitations – “Congratulations” to Fred Thompson. Following the failure of his somnambulant presidential bid he has decided to again leave politics and return to acting. I suggest that his best chance to earn an Oscar or Emmy would be playing the role of Rip Van Winkle.

* Goodbye and good riddance – Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott is retiring in February. Under his management the largest retailer in this country honed the business model for low wages and low benefits, resulting in many Wal-Mart employees requiring public assistance. Wal-Mart is one of the models for sourcing goods and services overseas that has contributed to the weakness of our economy. Recall that Wal-Mart opposed more diligent inspection of containers as they enter our borders. A container destined for Wal-Mart enters the U.S. every 45 seconds. U.S. national security does not stand in the way of the Wal Mart bottom line. The bottom line is that under Mr. Scott, Wal Mart was a winner on Wall Street but quite damaging to Main Street.

* Is the Bush administration getting in touch with the needs of Americans? ~ Nah! – In an exceptional move the administration has agreed to support the extension of unemployment benefits as unemployment claims reach a 16-year high and unemployment reaches a 25-year high. Otherwise, it is nasty business as usual. The Bush presidency continues to undermine environmental safety, broaden the destruction of public lands and national parks, and further endanger endangered species as it pimps for business interests that are not in the interest of the American people. President George W. and co-conspirators in his administration are making every effort to reduce regulation and constrictions on oil, gas, mining, fishing, timber and financial industries while promoting the development of shale oil, the dirtiest fuel on the planet. America does not need enemies from afar. Our hands are full with the enemies from within.

The situation was best summed up by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee when he told the Wall Street Journal, “This administration will stop at nothing to jam through as many reckless proposals as they can before the clock runs out.” A glimmer of hope for the health of planet Earth is Barack Obama’s promise to make a decisive break with George Bush on the environment … promising a "new chapter in America's leadership on climate change.” These developments bring to mind a question I have often asked over the last seven years. “Why does George W. Bush hate America? I do not accept the conventional wisdom alibi that he is well-intentioned but ill-advised. The damage he has rendered is too widespread, too deep and well beyond the pale of mere incompetence.

* What have we learned in two millennia? A reader asked this question, accompanied by the following quote:

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

Cicero, 55 BC

Words Matter: Words used by Republicans to describe the Democratic Party

Food Fascist — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:50:40 EDT

per page 67 of Cracking the Code, by Thom Hartmann :Here’s the key message from Newt Gingrich’s 1996 memo (and later video) with the Orwellian title, “Language: A Key Mechanism of Control.”

Often we search hard for words to define our opponents. Sometimes we are hesitant to use contrast. Remember that creating a difference helps you. These are powerful words that can create a clear and easily understood contrast. Apply these to the opponent, their record, and their party.

The words that follow in Gingrich’s essay are designed to trigger the submodality filing system in our brains. They are all words heavy with emotion. the first set contains words Gringrich urged Republicans to use against their Democratic opponents:

decay, failure (fail), collapse(ing) deeper, crisis, urgent (cy), destructive, destroy, sick, pathetic, lie, liberal, they/ them, unionized, bureaucracy, “compassion” is not enough, betray, consequences, limit(s), shallow, traitors, sensationalists, endanger, coercion, hypocrisy, radical, threaten, devour, waste, corruption, incompetent, permissive attitude, destructive, impose, self-serving, greed, ideological, insecure, anti-issue, anti-flag, anti-family, anti-child, anti-jobs, pessimistic, excuses, intolerant, stagnation, welfare, corrupt, selfish, insensitive, status quo, mandate(s), taxes, spend(ing), abuse of power, machine, bosses, obsolete, criminal rights, red tape, and patronage.

So how can you take the image of the Democratic Party back?

Thom Hartmann is heard every morning on the internet at: Green 960 Radio at: www.green960.com or Think For Yourself Radio at http://www.krxa540.com/

Hartmann, Thom (2008). Cracking the Code. San Francisco. Berrett Koehler.p. 67-68.

Its Time For America To Graduate

Scott Foval — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:56:26 EDT

For a while now numerous American leaders have called for a change from business-as-usual politics. Barack Obama arguably has the most star power of this new generation. In reality, though, he is boiling down the complex web of issues that America needs to address into a core message for a mass audience to digest. “Change” is the mantra, because in these days of “sheeople” that can't pay attention long enough to see the train that's about to hit them, one word is just about all that can get through the noise coming from their iPod.

His advisers understand this intimately. His top “commander” is David Ploeff, a member of my own generation of political operatives who grew up with TV, worked for the old school candidates, and cut our teeth on Baby Boomers' perceptions of the world – often having more than a few misgivings about how the old ideas were working out. Barack Obama himself straddles the two generations, but is arguably more “Next Generation” than “Boomer.” To put it in TV terms, our parents liked Captain Kirk, but our generation knew that Jean Luc Picard was better.

So now the next generation political campaign is setting records in nearly every area of American politics. Ploeff, with a ripened, old-school mentor in strategist and media guru David Axelrod, is hatching a plan to be competitive in 50 states, many that haven't voted for a Democrat in two to three generations. They are raising money that out-paced even the money machines of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush using a hybrid of small donors and big money supporters woven into a symbiotic patchwork, rather than big lobbyists just running the table. Finally, and this may be the most important part, they've managed to boil the campaign down to “change” and make it stick.

Yes, they are stealing a page from Bill Clinton's own playbook. Anyone who's seen “The War Room” remembers the two mantras that James “Semper Fi” Carville (a.k.a. “Copperhead”), Paul “Motormouth” Begala (a.k.a. “The Texan”), and George “The Whiz Kid” Stephanopolous (a.k.a. “The Greek”) drilled into staffers' heads. “Change vs. More of the Same” and “It's the Economy Stupid” are as famous now for how closely they followed the good old P.R. rule of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid), as Bubba is for actually taking it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When you remember this factoid it might explain why the former POTUS was more than a little hurt and uncharacteristically hypersensitive when Obama kicked him and his wife in the tail on the campaign trail.

The fact remains, when Barack Obama was a young “Barry;” he was exposed to the lessons that were taught during the Reagan and Clinton eras. What he and his own “War Room” understand now is that those political lessons need to be improved upon and revised for the next generation. They understood at the campaign's outset that K.I.S.S. was going to have to be boiled down even further for today's “Ritalin Kids” to absorb. The result of their work is that he has a bigger army of diverse, excited, and energized young activists joining his campaign organization (i.e. the “movement”) than anything modern American politics has ever seen.

If you take the 100,000-foot view of the two major Presidential campaigns, there is a stark contrast between the messages preached out on the stump. It is so simple, really; but not everyone is seeing it -- either because they are blinded by the hubris that got them where they are today in the first place, or they are just part of a different generation. John McCain is a product of an older generation, the Clintons are Boomers (and so are Al Gore and John Kerry, mind you – part of the reason they never captured the next generation's imagination), while Barack Obama is recognized "one of us” in the minds of these young activists. He “gets it” and “means it.”

The older folks don't believe it though, because they think they've seen this dog-and-pony-show before.

They're right. His name was John F. Kennedy, and if you've been paying attention you'll quickly remember that Kennedy's brother Ted and daughter Caroline are major players in Barack Obama's kitchen cabinet of advisors. So is Gore, and hopefully so will be the Clintons if the former POTUS can put his ego in his pocket.

The JFK comparisons have been all over the place, but most commentators haven't quite been able to nail the “why.” What is it about Barack Obama's candidacy that reflects John F. Kennedy's? The reason is simple. It's the “movement,” not the particular candidate, something the older generation was unable to achieve in the post-JFK-assassination political landscape. The people who were there for the inside discussions in some of those aforementioned campaigns know and privately might even admit -- it has been tried numerous times.

So Obama is going for it, not for himself, but for “the movement” and this time the Secret Service is hopefully going to keep him alive to actually make it happen. Hopefully the Clintons will go the way of Gore and Kerry and work with the Obama juggernaut to bring the Boomers into the fold. Obama's folks will hopefully keep just enough independence there to insure that the next generation campaign continues adding independent voters, Reagan Democrats, and maybe even a few Republicans willing to cross over and vote for “change.” If that happens (and the polls are looking like McCain doesn't have a snowball's chance in his supporters' favorite tax-dodging land of Barbados), the Obamakins will have proven they have learned all the lessons necessary to go out and lead. They will have earned the right to “graduate” to The White House.

The question is, are the American people ready to graduate from the new school of political and diplomatic leadership? I think so; otherwise people wouldn't be so passionate about crossing over in the first place. They are tired of the divisive ways of George Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Karl Rove, and Jesse Helms is now gone (R.I.P. to the 'ol hate-monger). They're tired of being looked at as “those people,” with a pariah as a leader, by other countries. In this economically connected global community, it is time that we start acting as the 232 years our country has aged. In short, it is time for the United States to graduate into genuine long-term leadership.

We're no longer the new kid on the block that needs to prove its greatness to the rest of the world. We don't need to lead by shoving “our way” down the throats of those who don't understand that Democracy is better. We need to adapt a higher level of leadership than even our own country has been called to deliver before. It's called “demonstrative leadership,” and it is how truly great societies go from historic to legendary. Rather than having to invade to get what we want, as George W. Bush has attempted and failed to do, we are going to have to raise the bar of democracy and show that it works for the long term. This is arguably the single greatest challenge for any society in human history, and even the great ones don't always make it.

Of all the times in our country's still young life, though, it is time that “America” stands for a unified and flexible definition of a democracy that works well, innovates, and really leads the world rather than representing an ideological slice of the past. People like Obama are pushing us in this new direction, not because they don't like America as it is, but because they understand that our country must evolve to survive. Like everything in our young country's fast ascension, our adolescence was painful and difficult, and sometimes reckless. It is time for us to prove that we are ready to leave behind the imperialism, the nukes, the Cold War, and the Culture Wars. We have learned enough now to know that pushing our way upon others isn't authentic leadership.

As an adult nation, ready to “graduate” from those ideas and actions, we must show the world that we know how to behave, be responsible, and truly lead as the great country we profess to be. After all, there are a lot of other adolescent countries out there who are learning from the lessons we must teach.

Where is Our Leadership? (Has Anyone Asked Illinois?)

Concerned Citizen, Iraq War Veteran, Equal Shareholder in the American Dream — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:14:32 EDT

This is stunning, and a disappointment...

I wish someone could explain to me why the best candidate we've had for President of the United States continues to have to be drug into the media to defend himself over two individuals. Whether it's a former pastor or real estate developer, why do we continue to see any candidate weather a storm like this with so much as stake right now?

Have we forgotten about the characters in the lives of both Bill & Hillary Clinton? Of John McCain? In our own lives?

Again, it is stunning to see that in the year 2008 we are here on a Tuesday night in the Spring season and our attention remains fixed on this while gas is almost unaffordable, food choices at the grocery store are having to be seriously altered to meet a budget that no longer can sustain it, and jobs that can sustain average Americans are harder and harder to find. We have troops on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and all over the world. A soaring trade deficit, national debt, and we are talking about a man not even in the running for the most powerful political office in the world?

Where is our Leadership? Where is the muscle in the Democrat and Republican Parties of the United States? Where are the decent political leaders who should be outraged that Barack Obama is continually being attacked over this mess? Where are any of our leaders?

Are we going to gamble away this wonderful opportunity we have to shake this off, roll up our sleeves, and make a fantastic nation even better?

Still want answers? How about asking Illinois? I ask you. Barack Obama is the junior Senator from your state. Are we to believe that your collective judgment somehow overlooked this man, passing through your State Senate, onto the U.S. Senate, and to the position of Presidential Candidate Frontrunner and you somehow missed whatever secret everyone keeps digging for? Or, can we just say that Senator Obama is a great guy, and we can all follow him together?

Shawn Hannity: STOP the anti-OBAMA “FOX-VIRUS” NOW

Rick — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:03:29 EDT

From: Rick Basora [the_dragonwolf@comcast.net]

Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 6:00 PM

To: letters@time.com; WebEditors@newsweek.com; Letters@newsweek.com; letters@usnews.com

Cc: 'Atlarge@foxnews.com'; 'Hannity@foxnews.com'; 'JER@foxnews.com'; 'Lineup@foxnews.com'; 'Martha@foxnews.com'; 'Ontherecord@foxnews.com'; 'Special@foxnews.com'; 'Cavuto@foxnews.com'; 'yourcomments@foxnews.com'; 'editor@ajr.org'; 'rrieder@ajr.org'; 'rsmolkin@ajr.org'; 'tkunkel@ajr.org'; 'president@nytimes.com'; 'executive-editor@nytimes.com'; 'managing-editor@nytimes.com'; 'washington@nytimes.com'; 'national@nytimes.com'; 'metro@nytimes.com'; 'news-tips@nytimes.com'; 'public@nytimes.com'; 'letters@nytimes.com'; 'CEO-CarolineLittle@wpni.com'; 'executive.editor@washingtonpost.com'; 'letters@washpost.com'; 'ombudsman@washpost.com'; 'metro@washpost.com'; 'national@washpost.com'; 'wsj.ltrs@wsj.com'; 'a.murray@wsj.com'; 'a.latour@wsj.com'; 'd.pettit@wsj.com'; 't.cullen@wsj.com'; 'j.fry@wsj.com'; 'darren.mcdermott@wsj.com'; 'tips@tribune.com'; 'ctc-tribletter@tribune.com'; 'publiceditor@tribune.com'; 'EAchenbaum@tribune.com'; 'ctc-editor@tribune.com'; 'bdold@tribune.com'; 'TMcNulty@tribune.com'; 'gdelama@tribune.com'; 'JCWarren@tribune.com'; 'aaguilar@tribune.com'; 'aahmed@tribune.com'; 'KAlleynemorris@tribune.com'; 'LBAnderson@tribune.com'; 'rranderson@tribune.com'; 'kataiyero@tribune.com'; 'NBendavid@tribune.com'; 'lbowean@tribune.com'; 'SChapman@tribune.com'; 'LCohen@tribune.com'; 'JChase@tribune.com'; 'JCrewdson@tribune.com'; 'HDardick@tribune.com'; 'MDorning@tribune.com'; 'askamy@tribune.com'; 'national@latimes.com'; 'tvtimes@latimes.com'; 'op-ed@latimes.com'; 'letters@latimes.com'; 'ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com'; 'info@ap.org'; 'headlinenews@cnn.com'; 'mediainquiries@msnbc.com'; 'letters@msnbc.com'; 'Nightly@NBC.com'; 'Dateline@NBCUNI.com'; 'transnet87@aol.com'; 'countdown@msnbc.com'; 'race08@msnbc.com'; 'Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com'; 'views@phillynews.com'; 'letters@post-gazette.com'; 'opinion@tribweb.com'; 'mm-tips@mediamatters.org'; 'barrett_td@yahoo.com'; 'wholesalershoppers@yahoo.com'; 'karendillard@hotmail.com'; 'dplouffe@barackobama.com'; 'john@greenskydesign.com'; nancymillinger@theamericaninitiative.org; Blackberry Muppet; Mutt; Sis; Cousin Jeannette; Marmaduke's Office; Marmaduke ; Mike Beauregard; Rick Basora ; Tuneta; Gizmo Chula; Broomrider; The Wielder of the Wand; Wiccan Bride of the Elder God

Subject: Shawn Hannity - STOP the anti-OBAMA FOX VIRUS NOW

Dear Mr. Hannity;

By now you must certainly be aware that a NATIONAL MOVEMENT is in motion against you and against what America has come to know as THE FOX VIRUS that comes forth from the RADICAL EXTREMIST NEO-CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN mouthpiece that you and FOX have become. Presenting our voice to the media of America now comes in the form of the Robert Greenwald film “Fox Attacks Obama (Spreading the Virus)” which, as you can see, is the envelope sent “special delivery” and containing the national petition now underwritten by moveon.org and their Political Action’s Adam Green.

After the travesty of ethical journalism perpetrated by FEMA on October 26, 2007, where it hosted its own “staged” televised news conference reporting on the state of EMERGENCY SERVICES to victims of Hurricane Katrina, it was brought to the attention of America that, not only was the person addressing this “skit” a FEMA official, but so were those asking the questions who, while posing as reporters, were exposed by Al Kamen of The Washington Post in his article FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA. The fact that the article alleges that you carried this charade LIVE, and then passed on the video to MSNBC and other news outlets, renders FOX Television, and its agents, complicit in the efforts of what Christy Hardin Smith, of FIREDOGLAKE, calls The Department of Planting Your Own Propaganda And Hoping No One Notices assigned to the Bush administration.

Mr. Hannity, neither you, nor your colleague-at-arms, Rush Limbaugh, can be allowed, by a nation on the very brink of social, economic, political and global chaos, to continue manipulating puppet strings, pushing buttons and pulling levers the outcome of which you CLEARLY know nothing about. Mr. Limbaugh’s disgracefully titled attempt at hijacking the current Presidential election has earned him the dubious distinction of being named WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23908634#23908634) by MSNBC's KEITH OLBERMANN. It now appears on his own website with the headline Operation Chaos Under Assault.

As you frantically attempt to continue the milking of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy, synthetically created by your Conservative minions, you appear less than pathetic before an increasingly intolerant nation that, as you can see, by Senator John McCain’s attainment of the honorable position of The Republican Presidential Nominee, America has declared you and your Neoconservative “cult”, politically, philosophically, morally and subversively UNDESIREABLE.

I, and America, continue to observe your frenzied contribution to the engineering and staging of a premeditated and choreographed conspiracy aimed at discrediting the legitimacy of Senator Barack Obama as a Presidential candidate, as well as the WONDER of the grass-roots movement taking shape around him. We watch in dismay as you question your guests, carefully selected to provide the most desirable answers for the damming of the voice of HOPE that FOX radio has described as “sounding like Hitler.” Yet, when Democratic Analysts, Tanya Acker and Bob Beckel, as well as your own Alan Colmes, have asked you questions as simple as “So, are you saying that every child whose parents took them to the Trinity United Church of Christ is, therefore, disqualified from growing up to aspire to one day becoming President of the United States,” you conspicuously, and at every turn, refuse to answer the question. You are fully aware that, answering that question, honestly, would reduce you to the hypocritical contradiction of yourself that you are. Take note, Mr. Hannity, your refusal to respond implicitly convicts you in spite of you.

I was held in utter disbelief … which then slowly grew to anger when, last night, you summoned former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to join in the spreading of THE FOX VIRUS. I found two things to be in poignant opposition with your intention of subverting America. The first was Mr. Gingrich’s repeated insistence that he did NOT question Senator Obama’s integrity, his loyalty to America or his non-alignment with Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s apparent anti-American rants. Later in the same program, and despite your best efforts, this same opinion was echoed, with even greater emphasis and eloquence, by Senator John McCain, who insisted on addressing issues of legitimate concern to our country and clearly, refused to participate in your scripted outcomes. You must, as a consequence, Sir, be torn between wondering if the walls of correctness are closing in on you or whether they, in fact, are spreading so far apart that your only company would be the members of your own League of Liars.

The second observation, born of your program’s intentions, last night, was your patent set-up of “JUDGMENT” as the supposedly flawed characteristic displayed by Senator Barack Obama in his choosing to continue to attend Wright’s Trinity church. You spoke the word “JUDGMENT,” with diacritical accentuation, no less than a dozen times and consistently modified it with adjectives such as “flawed,” “poor,” etc in your transparent attempt to pre-empt the Senator’s platform of SOUND JUDGEMENT in the furtherance of his Presidential bid. I will excuse myself from redundancy and I will quote my own words from the letter that, on March 16, 2008, I sent to you and Fox Management titled SHAWN HANNITY - THE PINNACLE OF IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM AT ITS WORST:

“Gentlemen, if this was Shawn Hannity’s way of weaving “illusions of war-mongering” with which to surround a Presidential candidate who stands on a platform of DIALOGUE as his preferred weapon of pre-emption of war, you may want to advise him about the fact that we ARE, in fact, in a war unjustly started; a war that he endorsed and that he is a member of the political party that started it. Senator Obama was the legislator who attempted unsuccessfully to galvanize an effective movement to avoid it. History has proven him to have been STRATEGICALLY CORRECT and no degree of Mr. Hannity’s resenting him for it will grant him access to that elite minority reserved solely for the JUDGEMENTALLY SOUND.”

Last night, what achieved the “apex of the offensive,” Sir, was that you utilized former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, to assist you in making the point of presenting Senator Obama’s judgment as, somehow, flawed. Might I remind you that Newt Gingrich headed the 1998 charge to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton on charges stemming from the extramarital affair that he sustained with one Monica Lewinsky. In a March 8, 2007 Associated Press article featured on your very own FOX News, titled "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Acknowledges ...Having Affair During Clinton Impeachment," we are presented with an interview with James Dobson of Focus on the Family that reveals the following:

“Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.”

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

Sir, translated into common English, this says…There are rules and laws that apply to ALL, including the President of The United States, but that I, because my name is Newt Gingrich, a Neoconservative, reserve the right to exempt myself from them. No, Mr. Hannity, your show, your network, your self-righteous, pontificating ploys called supporting guests, your intentions, your manic obsession with imposing dynastic rule… but most of all, YOU… are tacitly UNACCEPTABLE as is your effort to present this morally diseased neoconservative “fowl” as someone qualified to “judge the judgment” of EAGLES. I am taking the liberty of forwarding this correspondence to Representative Henry Waxman, who, last year moved to have yours and Mr. Rush Limbaugh’s actions investigated, as well as to Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Kevin Martin, who, I am advised, has been put on notice of the nature of your endeavors, that now appear to many, as being contrary to our very national security.

America will NEVER belong to your minion of disguised patriotic indigence, Sir, and, least of all, to YOU. I would suggest that you listen to a song, considered by many of my generation as an American Anthem, and that I recently sent to the Democratic Superdelegates as well. In ’64 Bob Dylan spoke of times that were “a-changing. I submit to you, Shawn Hannity, that there is an unmistakable wind of CHANGE in the air and MILLIONS, like me, bear witness to its hopeful reality. To you, and to those like you, frantically trying to stop this will be like trying to stop the wind. We have paid for this campaign and for this movement, unlike the politicians of yesteryears and of today, with our own monies, 5, 10, 25 dollars at a time. I know that you must resent the force that such a movement presents. Your colleagues must , as well, fear the threat to their lifetime relationships with lobbyist dollars that will scatter like fallen leaves on this wind. Yes, Mr Hannity, make no mistake. More than times a-changing, Sir, the times …THEY DUN HAVE CHANGED!

                          Come senators, congressmen
                          Please heed the call
                          Don't stand in the doorway
                          Don't block up the hall
                          For he that gets hurt
                          Will be he who has stalled
                          There's a battle outside
                          And it is ragin'.
                          It'll soon shake your windows
                          And rattle your walls
                          For the times they are a-changin'.

From the song The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964)

Complete lyrics - http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/times.html

Listen to it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vou4qUu5YY

RICK F. BASORA

Fort Lauderdale, FL

The_Dragonwolf@comcast.net http://my.barackobama.com/page/dashboard/public/gGR355

Sean Hannity/Newt Gingrich - Discuss Speech 'A More Perfect Union'

Donald — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:49:15 EDT

This is an e-mail sent to Sean Hannity and other Fox news mail addresses as well as our 45th legislative district congressional representative and our Washington state senators Thursday, 2008-Mar-20, after Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich discussed Barack Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' speech the evening of Tuesday, March 18, 2008. Click Read More to view the entire content.

Hi Sean, A few comments relating to the show Tuesday, March 18, and the interview with Newt Gingrich. I was struck by the focus you and Newt had on what I can only call the minutia of what Barack Obama had to say in his speech that morning and missing the point even on your discussion of that minutia. I was further struck by the callous reference by Dick to the sort of politician we need in this country as the sort of politician who is willing to throw their best friend overboard...

Re: Why is Hillary insulting Obama?

signsSansSignifieds — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:24:31 EST

Consider this a (possibly too long) plea for calm...

On Mar 8th, 2008 at 12:48 pm, Lisa Fitzpatrick wrote:

Since there is no experience that prepares one for presidency, I find the inexperience arguments and attacks are insulting and discount everything he [Obama] has done in the community and in his state legislature...all of which in my estimation are extremely relevant.

I agree with the first clause of your first sentence above. As to the second, I don’t find Hillary’s claims insulting so much as nonsensical, for the reason you stated. The only people with directly relevant experience for the position of president are ex-presidents. Everyone else, regardless what their prior positions, learns on the job.

The question in the title of your post is answered by the fact that Hillary’s been socialized into a culture of attack politics.

Newt, I believe you!

Rena — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:54:19 EST

"“I have a hunch that the emotional energy that Sen. Obama’s building is more powerful than the emotional energy that Sen. Clinton is building.”

I fount this gem on Reuters this morning... ha!