( - promoted by leftake)

It's everything we've been wanting to tell our congresspeople for months - with beer!

In all seriousness, the time for "biparisanship" is over. What has it gotten us? Anyone else hear those crickets? It's time for our elected officials to grow a pair and stand up to the schoolyard bullies. In fact, I would say it's past time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

I saw this today & imagined myself as a fly on the wall of Wicked Witch of the North's tour bus as someone read this to her (and showed her the pictures, story time at the Library style).

That pervert's impersonating me, little ol' Sarah Palin from Wasilla. This is just another example of the Liberal Media Elite picking on me with their sexist, gotcha bull-puckey! It wasn't bad enough that they forced my dirty, stinkin' rotten almost-son-in-law to do porn! Nope, you betch yer ass, it wasn't! No, now they gotta take me down to their level with this Ru Paul fellar dressin' up as me! Well, I'll just have to pray to Jesus to smite them for this! Perverts! The whole lot of 'em!

I imagine the shrieks of outrage and self-righteousness were enough to shatter a glacier or two, causing the ice caps to melt even more rapidly. Who says climate change is man-made? Not when sister Sarah can hit those high notes of indignation.

If I could embed the image, I would. Unfortunately, there is no embed code, so you just have to click the link. Enjoy!

Scientists have successfully mapped the entire genome for the two most common cancers in humans: melanoma and lung cancer. Yeah, I said it! "SCIENTISTS"! Eat it all you science-haters! Wow! And they know just how many mutations cause these tumors & are planning to use this knowledge to fight cancer. Just imagine all of the good old fashioned American Ingenuity it took to think that up...mapping the DNA sequence for a tumor...I'm awful proud!

Wait...What?? They were British Scientists??? What the eff are you talking about, CNN? Everyone (who has ever listened to FOX, that is) knows that the UK has evil socialized medicine - in fact, they have the worst kind of socialized medicine: they have honest-to-Gawd REAL GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTHCARE!!! Their doctors don't just bill some bureaucracy - they get a paycheck from it! They show up to work at a GOVERNMENT-OWNED hospital or clinic & DO THEIR JOB & get a CHECK! And they don't even get to bring in 7 figures every year in bribes from pharmaceutical representatives! None of this billing for services, or dealing with Medicare & effed-up insurance companies...they WORK FOR THE PEOPLE!!!!! It's SOCIALISM at its worst - it's COMMUNISM!

Effing Commies can't research! Effing Commies can't innovate or discover! Effing Commies can't CURE DISEASES!!!! YOU LIE, CNN!!!! YOU EFFING LIE!!!!

* deep breath, calm down, DJ *

We pay the most for our healthcare because we HAVE TO! We have to pay for all that research and testing & pharmaceutical manufacturing, remember? That shit don't come cheap, CNN. We have to pay so the rest of the world can benefit from our advanced society. You just think about that, CNN. Next time you start lying about socialized medicine creating advancements in medicine, you remember that it's because we - the good citizens of America - pay out the ass for our healthcare that every other human being on this planet gets to benefit from our sciency-stuff - when we deem them important enough to donate money & medicine to their countries, that is.

I expected better of you, CNN. I might just never read your website again to teach you a lesson. I will no longer stand for this America Bashing from the Liberal Media Elite, CNN, and I'm putting you at the top of my list.

As for you, allegedly "Great" Britain: no matter how hard you try to fake some research saying your socialized medicine can actually do good stuff, you will never bring the GOP down! They will never be caught with egg on their face for condemning your healthcare system, because it's basic human knowledge that SOCIALISM is bad and nothing good will ever come from it!!! I'm sure in a month or two we'll find some emails that we can doctor to prove that you're making this up, lying bloody wankers!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH...
In all seriousness, go check out this story, and the project's site - awesome geekery to feed the brain!

I hate it when the right preys on old people and the brainwashed. Especially when they do it under the guise of "the Lord's work". Somehow (I'm guessing Catholic Digest sold Mom's info) The "Hon." Newt Gingrich got my mother's address and she received this today. I have edited some, and omitted what I could, but I really wanted to give you the whole picture he's trying to paint. Anything in italics is mine, the rest is straight from the Newt, himself. I recommend a breathy read aloud, to give the full impact of Newt's message.

NEWT GINGRICH
Speaker of the House
(1995-1999)
Dear Friend,
I'm sending you this enclosed "Citizen Survey" today because I've been told that you are an American who agrees with me that God should not be driven from the public Square.
The Founding Fathers wanted it that way, too.
Yet for the last 50 years, the ACLU lawyers and left-wing judges have been outlawing God in our culture. Yeah, because the ACLU doesn't have anything better to do than attack God.
They insist that "separation of church and state" means that "under God" must be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance..."In God We Trust" taken off U.S. currency...and all references to God erased from American history textbooks. Oh, the horror!!! It's time for everyone to homeschool right effing now!
And they'll get away with this scheme unless people of faith like you and me stop them. They're scheming schemers! We MUST stop them from scheming against God!!!
... (He goes on to briefly discuss his newest project. A documentary to inform all of us secularists that the Founding Fathers demanded we all worship God! Complete with a walking tour of D.C. by Newt and his wife.)
...Let me quickly explain why it's so crucial that you complete the enclosed "Rediscovering God in America Citizen Survey" - and why you and I must get this movie into the hands of citizens across this country.
Over the last 50 years, radical secularist judges have slowly and steadily outlawed references to God, religious symbols, and public prayer. That's right! Those dirty secularists have no respect for the Baby Jesus!
For instance, public prayer at high school graduations is no longer allowed. What commencement would be complete without a prayer to our Lord and Savior???
And the Ten Commandments can't be displayed in a public school. Moses is gonna be pissed when he finds out we let THAT one slide...
These radical secularists don't want our children to know that the Founding Fathers built this nation on a faith in God. Radicals!!!!
Worst of all, they've just about convinced an entire generation of Americans that even mentioning God in public is against the Law. Omigod! We're all going to jail AND Hell if we say "God"!!!!!

( - promoted by leftake)

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hears nails on a chalkboard whenever Sarah Palin opens her mouth. Glenn Beck usually elicits the same response. So when a rumor started circulating that there might be a Palin/Beck ticket in 2012, I seriously considered buying some property in the middle of nowhere to build an underground bunker to wait out the campaigns. I really effing DO NOT want to have to see them on TV every single day on every single channel on every single program. Imagine the campaign commercials!

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Fear not! For Good Ole Glennie has assuaged our fears. You see, he can't stand to be around Sarah, either!
   

BECK: I don't think things are hoots. I don't. I don't think it's a hoot. I would never use the word hoot, and I respectfully ask that every time my name is brought up she would stop using the word "hoot." [...]

   No, no I'm just saying - Beck-Palin, I'll consider. But Palin-Beck - can you imagine, can you imagine what an administration with the two of us would be like? What? Come on! She'd be yapping or something, and I'd say, "I'm sorry, why am I hearing your voice? I'm not in the kitchen."

So, let me publicly thank Mr. Beck. Thank you, sir, for your honesty and sexism.

OK, no doubt about it - I DID just throw up.
Full story: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/...

Lately we have been discussing homophobia vs. tolerance, inclusion vs. segregation. I don't understand why our society as a whole can't just get over the issue and accept people as they are without "feeling squirmy" about it. It's ridiculous that so many adults in our nation have worse social skills than most pre-schoolers.

Since Mad Men's season has ended, I have no need to turn on my television on Sundays. I didn't even know the American Music Awards happened until I was listening to the radio this morning, and Brooke and Monti were talking about some pop star I've never heard of (must be an American Idol thing) being censored for "lewd behavior". apparently, the network censored his performance on the West Coast feed so that all the people over here wouldn't have to see him gyrating with men and women - wait, they showed the acts with women, they didn't show the dancing with men. Hmmm, it's ok for him to thrust a woman's head to his groin area, but not a man's...really?

I did find the original footage I recommend turning the volume off in my 30-second Youtube search but didn't find any "west coast" version, so I'm not sure what actually aired. I imagine they cut away to the crowd - but I have no way to verify that.

If the issue was sexuality in general, the whole number would have been scrapped (well, except for the really annoying screaming scale-ish thing at the end), but from what I heard listening to other folks who watched the show, it was just the simulated sex acts with the male dancers that got the ax.

How can society possibly progress when artists' performances are censored because they could potentially be interpreted as containing homosexual behavior?  

Lately, I have been noticing parallels in thought. No, I'm not going to attribute this to any supernatural influences. I take it as a sign of hope that people are thinking and coming to the same (or similar) conclusions at the same time. I don't think it's mass-produced, influenced, or modeled (not like when two bands come out that sound nearly identical at the same time...), I think it is evidence that critical thinking is still occurring. - Take THAT, homogenized education system!

A couple of months ago I was talking to a non-politically active friend of mine and informing her of the many scary things the right is up to. I told her that I was afraid for the future of this nation, that I fear the possibility of a violent period, and that the end goal would be a theocracy. Sound far-fetched? Does it? I just read an interesting blog that  connects the dots and fills in details more eloquently than I can. I encourage you to read the full entry http://alheithinn.blogspot.com... but here are just a couple of quotes that stand out to me.

They're here. They're draped in the flag. And they're carrying crosses. If you've somehow missed this, you're not paying attention.

"If you're not with us, you're against us."

Listen to them, America. Listen to them, and you will see where totalitarianism lives in American politics.

If you like to think for yourself, if you like having the freedom not only to hold an opinion but to express it, an opinion generated by your own informed viewpoint and not dictated from above, not held through fear of exclusion but born of the fruits of diversity, you won't be at home on the Right, unless that opinion is the pre-approved one. It is no surprise that Ann Coulter calls liberalism a religion (Godless: the Church of Liberalism 2006); it is no wonder she attacks liberalism so relentlessly. Liberalism is the only thing that can stand up to totalitarianism. Liberalism is the Nazi's Judaism, a bacillus that threatens "real" America.

...The United States was born left-of-center. Any move to "return" to what never existed (not even "right-of-center" but to the extreme right) is a lie. A very dangerous lie within which lies the heart of darkness and the destruction of the American Promise.

Thoughts?

On an unrelated diary the topic of abortion was brought up. You can read the thread here: http://leftake.com/diary/1179/#15406. In the interest of brevity, here's a summary:

Faultguy said:

time to pull a Rush
...Conservatives are against abortion because it robs them of a person that they can use to forcefully spread christianity...er I mean democracy...er I mean freedom to other nations...

Bugspray said:

...As a Conservative I am piqued by your observations on abortion. It is deeply unsettling that someone would end a life just because it exists. It has nothing to do with Christianity or Democracy but every thing to do with freedom. He did not put himself there. He is not a cancer to be cut out. Yes, there are those embryos that do put the mothers' life in danger. Those are few and since they place another's life in peril their elimination is justified.
The imposition the rest place on the mother is temporary and society has ways to accommodate those that are unwanted. I know, my grandkids are proof....

So I said:

I am adopted
And have no problems with abortion. I think it is a terribly difficult decision for any woman to make and government (and especially society) should just get the hell out of the way. As for the Stupak amendment, allowing ANY healthcare plan to exclude ANY medical procedure is effing ridiculous, whether it is the public option or Aetna. That is discrimination.

 

I have been thinking about this for a while. There has been some serious vitriol on this site. One side just posts as many diaries under as many names possible to spew hate and anti-progressive rhetoric. The rest of us have been eager to refute these diaries and we have allowed ourselves to get dragged down to the level of the chicken-plucker. While I admit I have participated and egged-on many of these encounters, I can't help but think about a central theme FaultGuy keeps referring to: It's us against them. I'm all for enjoying our majority in Congress, and the fact that we are in the majority within the voting community at the moment. However, I feel it is necessary to be better than the NeoCons have been over the last several years. We know we're smarter, more compassionate, and have better ideas. They refuse to even consider the possibility. Frustrating, I know! I stumbled across this diary at the Daily Kos and I thought it might help.

I often visit the White House Facebook page, and usually just argue with the same handful of birthers and Glenn Beck followers. Tonight, I got to have a reasonable debate about healthcare reform with someone who does not share the same views. While she was not swayed by my logic (admittedly, I was not swayed either), we were able to stay mostly civil and share ideas. So, here's a link to the posting. If you would prefer I post the whole thing here, let me know & I'll do so. :)

http://www.facebook.com/WhiteH...

I'm a poet! Ha ha...yeah, it wasn't that funny :)

Does anyone remember "Ren and Stimpy"? The lovable, delusional, violent Chihuahua and his dim but sweet friend, the fat red cat? I am finding that they are both metaphors for the tea-baggers. Seriously, when dealing with them online, just use Ren's voice and inflections when reading their rants and remember Stimpy's simpleness...it always fits!

If you don't necessarily enjoy depraved humor, I apologize. Me - I'm going to go laugh my friggin' ass off! I forgot how much I love them :)

I could potentially be hanging my ass out there with a big freakin' target for this, but I figure I'm among friends who think and research and debate, so why the heck not? This is a fairly new subject for me, but given Spiral's recent journals about the religious right, I thought this might be somehow related.

I understand that the Religious zealots are terribly upset at the president because he feels Israel can stand on her own. The Christian extremists in this nation believe that by helping Israel rebuild their temple, it will start the End Times, in which Christ will rise again. (Am I correct so far?) The faithful will be whisked away and the non-believers will be pitched into a lake of fire and the faithful will give us all a big "I told you so".

Our nation has blindly supported Israel, for years. Even more so under Bush 43. Israel has engaged in a genocide against the Palestinian people. Our government supports them in this endeavor. Our tax money, weapons, and equipment are used in the slaughter of people and the destruction of homes. 

As I have stated before, I live in WA, not far from Olympia. My Americorps team was based out of Olympia and most of my team members were from the Olympia area. During my year, a local activist, Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer. I did not know her, but got to know her through my team. She was an amazing soul who only wanted to make the world better. She died 6 years ago, but it would appear her death was in vain. Israel still wishes to eradicate the Palestinian people, and we continue to support them. 

I've posted a few vidoes/links below. If you have others to show a different light or provide more info, please post them.

Again, this is a new topic for me and I'm curious about what everyone thinks. Any thoughts? Resources? Opinions?

It has been a busy couple of days for me. However, I did manage to get to Representative Brian Baird's town hall meeting last night (on the correct night, even) to participate in a lively dialogue about healthcare reform, among other things. Having never attended a town hall meeting before, nor heard the Congressman speak, I was very impressed. I may not agree with everything he said, and I don't like the fact that he is undecided about the public option, but I am very satisfied that he represents my corner of the world.

I wish every town hall meeting could be run as smoothly as this one. I don't know how most are operated, but I'll briefly describe what happened last night:

If you wanted to ask a question, you signed up outside the auditorium giving your name and address and you're given a number. The numbers were drawn 5 or 10 at a time, those who were drawn moved to a row of reserved seats and the Congressman would alternate sides until all questions were asked (at which time, the moderator would draw more). Each person was given 3 minutes to ask their question or state their concerns, then Rep. Baird had 3 minutes to answer. The moderator was fairly strict with the time & outbursts only took away from the allotted time. Unfortunately, my number, 887, was not called. :(

The debate stayed mostly civil, although there were certainly heated moments. I encourage you all to watch the full video at www.chronlinemedia.com.

Pay special attention to the guy near the end in the bright green shirt - I sat right next to him the whole night and thought a few times that I might bite my tongue completely off. But was overjoyed when the next - and final - person put him in his place. Another bright spot was near the middle of the event, when the Congressman discussed that Glenn Beck is not an unbiased newscaster. I about jumped out of my skin I was so proud! (You won't see that in the short video, sorry.)

Overall, there were relatively few (and comparably brief) outbursts from either side, although they were more often from the opponents of reform. The discussion stayed mostly civil, and (surprising to me) there was very little rasicm - except for the little old man who followed a person of color and felt the need to categorize himself specifically as a white man sigh. (Won't see that one in the short version, either.

So, enjoy the show - I did! Here's a link to the short video, sorry I couldn't embed. http://www.chronlinemedia.com/...

Yesterday, I was excited about a (relatively) coherent debate I had with some Sarah Palin supporters. I thought there might be hope for the two sides to coexist without the threat of violence. Then I read some news today:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32...

You all remember the last president? THAT GUY?? Remember what would have happened if someone joked about assassinating him? Every Mother-effing law enforcement officer would be breaking down their door shooting first and asking questions later. Flash forward to 8/25/09 when a Republican candidate for Governor in the state of Idaho makes a joke about buying "tags" to hunt Obama. WTF? Yes. I said "buying tags to hunt the president". But it's OK because he was joking.

Mr. Rex Rammell: You and your GOP sheep like to throw around the word "treason" whenever the whim strikes. Let me remind you that a call or threat to assassinate the president IS treason! You dumb bastard! You should be dragged through the streets, tarred and feathered! Then thrown out bleeding to be slowly picked over by the animals you were selling "tags" to hunt. You slimy, wormy, worthless sack of putridness. If this lunatic doesn't withdraw his candidacy, it'll be a sad day for America. And a sad future ahead.  

Oh my universal goodness! I actually got to talk and have semi-rational debate on the Sarah Palin fan wall! I am elated! I found one logical, intelligent conservative who agreed that the name calling should stop & helped to shut down the "noise" & for almost an hour - that site slowed down & one rational, reasonable discussion happened. No one's minds were changed, but it gave me hope. Hope that our 2-party system might still have a chance - that there is still a chance for the people following mob rule in this nation. I'd like to share the epiphany with all of you.

It's fairly long & I didn't edit any posts, but hopefully worth the read.

I'm so happy & excited! Enjoy!

I just found this, and I'm sure if you're on Sick For Profit's list you've seen it too. In memory of Sen. Kennedy.

This is by far the most simplified argument for single-payer I've heard, which is why I like it. For any conservatives who are still terrified of the idea, ignore Glenn for just a minute and open your mind.  

I just read that Senator Kennedy has died. I realize the man was in his seventies and had brain cancer, and it was generally understood that he wouldn't be with us much longer. Still, to lose a man who has done so much good for this nation and its citizens is a terrible loss for everyone, not just liberals. So I drop by leftake to see if anyone has posted a story, thought, poem about the late Senator and what do I find?? The worthless, brainless, sorry sack of shit that passes for Nearly Nobody has pasted links to his site o' hate and lies with the subject "Senator Kennedy dies".

I really want to contain myself and say "it's not worth my time/energy/breath", but I just can't do it. This slimy bastard has unfortunately gotten under my skin with his obvious lack of tact or decency. If Rush Limbaugh died right now would I gleefully post links on some conservative community to lead them here where many of us  would likely be rather amused by his passing? Absolutely not! That would be disrespectful and an embarrassment for all liberals.

So, since I have given up on the whole idea of personal restraint, To Mr./Ms. Nobody Gives-a-Shit: FUCK YOU! Get a fucking life! Get a fucking clue! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and stop the harassment with hate and tasteless nonsense.

So today, a friend posted a video on his Facebook page that some people may be disgusted by and others could possibly benefit from.  I don't know where he found it, but as a father of 3 teen/college aged daughters, he was very moved, shocked, and scared.

http://www.facebook.com/video/...

please universal computer gods let that damned video pop up on the screen...

We have a relatively new law on the books in my state that prohibits a driver from texting, and another that bans the use of a cell phone without a hands-free device. While I don't like the intrusion into my privacy, I do certainly see the need for such laws.

I have a touchscreen phone & can't even dial a number without looking at it to see what I'm doing - so I just don't make calls or even answer them while driving if at all possible. Sure, I could use my bluetooth & do the whole "please say a command" thing, but really, the voice command bitch lives to harass and disagree with me and I find myself wanting to cause the device physical harm. Besides, if you crank the stereo & sing at the top of your lungs, you don't hear the damn thing anyway & have a much more enjoyable ride and cause people to look at you in that incredulous slack-jawed way that my neighbors seem to favor - I like to think that I'm preparing for American Idol, if only I gave an eff about Reality TV, but that's another topic...

Today as I was watching this video, it made me wonder how you all perceive these laws intended to stop distracted drivers. Necessary evil? Government intrusion? Any thoughts?

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/h...

Seriously, I'm NOT a computer person, so if these don't work it'll be the last time I try to put any visuals into my diary entries...