downward spiral

It really disappoints me that Barack Obama  has stooped to the low level of McCain in terms of opponent bashing – allthough I do understand the motivation and the sad fact that he probably has to do this.

What really insults me is the fact the McCain, who I used to at least respect as an individual, has apparently ditched all of his moral standards just to win.

I’m sick of this whole thing being about winning and not at all about what’s good for the country.

Are we really still that stupid and petty as a nation that all we care about is who is carrying the biggest stick?

When I was in high school, I remember a history teacher talking about the bell curve and civilization — that all countries throughout history have shown the same rate of decline as they did of acceleration.  At that time, the teacher thought that we were at the peak of curve and probably not too far from beginning the decline.

Sadly, I’m really starting to think he might have been right.

I guess we’ll know in November…..

 

Republican or Democrat – Crass or Class?

I am sick beyond description of the deceptive, manipulative, insulting and flat-out lying coming from the Republican side of the presidential race this year.  Granting, slash and burn and politics has been the Republican way for a good number of elections now and it has typically worked, but this year it bothers me evn more than usual.

This is not a game people!  This election is far, far too important to our nation to turn it into the kind of idiocy that’s being done.  And what concerns me is how many people are actually buying it!

Are we such a crass and fear-driven nation that simply waving a flag is all we need to be convinced?  Have we become that simplistic and “sound bite driven” that this is all we think we need to know?

It saddens me immensely that we have a candidate (whether or not you agree with him) who is willing to speak respectfully and acknowledge and honor different views as he presents his own.  He has immense style and grace – something we haven’t seen in a long, long itme.  But he’s being turned into a cartoon character.

It disgusts me that the Repulican party actually turned his popularity into a bad thing by doing the whole “rock star” insanity.  Tell me how it’s a bad thing that the rest of the world thinks he’s a person who brings hope and excitement to the world – not just to our nation.  And this is BAD????????

And then there’s the whole Sarah Palin thing — bluntly, it makes me want to throw up.

If the Republicans pull this off, it tells me that we have become a nation that I’m not at all sure I want to be part of any more.  It would mean that darkness and fear has settled onto us – and that is definitely not the America that I believe in.

 

Republican Insanity

The more I watch the ridiculous spectacle of the Republican convention, the more disgusted I become.  First of all, the choice of Sarah Palin (could easily be “Putin” — they have a lot in common) is really an insult to every woman’s intelligence.  And it’s so clearly pandering — trying to appease both those of us who happen to have vaginas and right-wing conservatives.  What idiocy!

As Fred Thompson said during his convention speech – she’s the only candidate who can field dress a moose.  That’s clearly something we need in a potential president – especially one with the largest military force and involved in the most remote parts of the world.  (On the other other hand, if the republicans actually pull this off this time, we might all wind up living in the woods soon and needing to know how to field dress a moose!)

Someone sent me an email that said that a vote for McCain/Palin would be like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.  That pretty much sums it up for me.

How stupid do they think we are???????

This really infuriates, insults, and at the same time, saddens me.  What kind of a country have we become?

If the republicans manage to win this election, I am seriously considering moving out of the country – becuase is NOT the country that I believe in.

 

Energy Crisis and T Boone Pickens

I’m old enough to remember the energy crisis of the ’70s – and all of hoopla and concern about the growing use of foreign oil – our dependence on the middle east – and everybody swearing that “something must be done!” As a very young woman, I remember being grateful that I didn’t have to worry about it because I lived in Chicago and could take rapid transit inexpensively anywhere and at any time with ease.

It was exciting to hear about all of the inventions for solar power, electric cars and all sorts of other alternative energy ideas that were happening and prototypes that got developed.

Fast forward 30 years. The only thing that changed was that it got worse. Washington sat on its collective butt and refused to actually deal with any of it in any kind of meaningful way.

Enter T Boone Pickens. It fascinates me that this man, who is insanely wealthy from oil and years of corporate raiding, has stepped in and is spending lots of his own money to try to get Washington moving. His plan isn’t all that radical – it’s totally possible, but will take a commitment from Washington – which is another way of saying that if we, as citizens, don’t keep pounding the need to do something on their heads REGULARLY for YEARS, nothing will probably happen this time, either. The hoopla will die down, Washington heads will duck and cover, and nothing of meaning will change.

So – you will rarely see me proselytizing for anything — but I’d seriously encourage you to go to take a look at what Pickens is up to and sign up for his newsletter. My guess is that there will be lots of ways in the future to keep legislators reminded about this with a simple click of the mouse. If we don’t sit on them, nothing will happen this time, either

Here’s the link: www.pickensplan.com/ – you can also find it on the sidebar

 

Political Parties as Corporations

This morning I received yet another bid for donations from the local Democratic party. So far, it’s averaging about 2 calls a week. Apparently, since I attended the first and second Democratic caucus here in Washington, they’ve now decided I’m a loyal Democratic who will want to join in with them on “the party agenda.”

I explained to this sincere young worker (as I have explained to every one that has called so far) that I’m not a Democrat. I’m an independent. Just because I’m supporting Barack Obama this time around does not automatically mean that I’m going to buy into an entire platform. Some of them have seemed bewildered by this.

It bothers me immensely that the parties are much more interested in sustaining themselves than they are in discovering the will of the people.

For those who don’t live in Washington, you might find it enlightening to know that both parties are now, once again, taking the will of the people to court. First, it was to make sure that everybody registered for a particular party. Washington then passed a top-2 rule that said the top two vote-getters, no matter party they’re from, will be on the ballot.

So once again the parties, in a case of total self-interest, are taking it to court.

Never mind that people might actually WANT to vote for individuals, rather than a platform. No, no, no – the “parties” in all of their righteous goodness must preserve themselves no matter what. Even if the will of the people get over-ridden.

I’m not seeing much democracy in our democratic process lately.

Maybe I’ll move to Canada.

 

Political Coverage Whine

I’m watching one of the morning news shows and am good and thoroughly disgusted with the so-called “coverage” of political events.  This election is far, far too important to our nation and our future for this kind of useless garbage.

The huge percent of “political coverage” that has more to do with “what if” and “how will this affect” discussions is really making me mad.  What a waste of air space!  Perhaps it’s a sign of my age and what news was when I grew up, but theoretical conversations about what might happen is not news – it’s editorializing.

This morning’s “what if” was about Jesse Jackson’s hot mike comment about wanting to cut Obama’s nuts off for his faith-based initiative program.  The 3-second clip played many times, followed by a solid 10 minutes of “will this help or hurt” discussions with so-called experts – argh!  Where, exactly, is the news in this?????

What happened to the good ol’ days when the news covered what actually occurred?  What somebody actually did or said?  This morning’s blurb about Obama ALMOST forgetting to ask for money from his supporters for Clinton’s campaign does not count – it’s yet another “almost” that didn’t happen but got air space – what a waste of air.

It’s maddening that very few “news” organizations are airing what the candidates really have to say or what they actually do — unless, of course, it involves something unimportant such as one of them playing basketball or going to a b-b-q or something equally irrelevant.

While I do think it’s very true that we get the government we deserve in a democracy, a big hunk of this can also be placed squarely at the feet of the news organizations who, by nature of their charter, have to be more focused on making money than on actually providing useful information to anyone.

This does not bode well for our future