Thought for Bastille Day, July 14, 2009

In France, the Revolution didn’t lead to better government, just different government and different despots. Same is true for the Russian Revolution. The American Revolution still maintained slavery. And the Islamic Revolution enforced laws of repression and discrimination. I am sure that there are instances when the oppressed once freed did not mimic their oppressors. But, since I am not a student of history, I can’t think of one off-hand. Those overthrown deserved their fate, but the populaces affected deserved better post-revolutionary leaders and governments.

Dick Cheney — the next generation

Liz Cheney is defending her father and possibly running for office. I would be grateful if she went back into the closet because she gives gays and lesbians a bad name. Maybe she can use the man-size safe that her father used for his regular top secret expense reports as her home office.

A Politician who told the truth by accident

I love Barney Frank. Not because I agree with everything he says and does. In fact, I often disagree with him. But you have to hand it to him when he appears on The Daily Show and says that the slogan for the Democrats in 2010 should be that the economy would have sucked worse without the recovery plan. Not a lot of spin there. Thank G-d for small favors.

GOP is a party of hypocrites

Mitch McConnell is going crazy over the cost of health care, but he didn’t mind the reckless spending by the Bush administration. It was solid accounting not to include the gazillions of dollars for the Iraq war in the budget, but health care reform is too expensive. It is appalling how Republicans destroyed our surpluses; yet, it is galling that they won’t take responsibility for that and are instead pointing the finger at Obama who is trying to FIX THE MESS.

Back to health care. So far, I can afford top of the line health care, so this isn’t about my particular situation. But it is critical that we fix the problem.

Why? Because this is America, damn it, and it is a DISGRACE that, in such a rich and wonderful country, millions are not insured, health care is inadequate when available and illness will backrupt a family. The Bush administration gave over $700 billion to the banks without asking where it was going. But no GOP member wants to put at least that much into the health of the taxpayers? Let me remind you, members of the GOP, that the $700 billion was earned on the backs of those very taxpayers.

Failure is not an option. So, instead of criticizing the president’s plan, come up with a solution that works and not just some pander to big business.

Scoreboard is now tied: Sarah 1, Humankind 1

We dodged a serious bullet when Sarah Palin was not vice president.  So, humankind 1, Sarah 0.

Then she scored big while we were feeling sorry for her. As a result of her “quitter” mentality and crazy press blitz, more Republicans than ever before support her and would vote for her for president in 2012.  Sarah tied the score at 1 all.

I still think I watched Sarah Palin have a mini-breakdown before the cameras and I felt sorry for her, as I would anyone who was unraveling and even more so because she was doing so in the public view.

Now I also think she is crazy like a fox (or sociopath) AND I don’t understand a portion of the population of this great country.

I am really not crazy.I am really not crazy.I am really not crazy.I am really not crazy.I am really not crazy.  (That’s my writing it like I mean it.)

Second thought of the day, July 8, 2009

A (former, I hope) CIA analyst  appeared on the Glenn Beck show and said the best thing for us is if Bin Laden attacked us again so that the government would finally protect us. (ok, set aside the logical flaws for a moment.)

If this lunatic were, let’s say, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and not some nerdy white guy, would MSNBC be the only news outlet covering this?  If Bush were in power, would the guy be on his way to Gitmo?

Ok, now I feel bad for Sarah Palin

I never thought I would write, let alone think, that I feel sorry for Sarah Palin.  But her progressively steeper downward spiral is as ooky as watching photo montage of Michael Jackson as he morphed from a person to plastic surgery super-weirdo.  By contrast, Kerry’s various explanations of being for the Iraq War before he was against it are models of clarity.  Based on what I read about her second press conference to clarify her first press conference, I imagine that, by the time this political sideshow ends, there will be an anthology of clarifying statements for future generations to ponder.

I think she will be responsible for a new words in the English lexicon:  palinate: (verb) means to implode or self-immolate.  palination: (noun) implosion or self-immolation.

I feel bad for her kids.

Sarah, please defect

So, today I happen to speak to many people who are fluent English speakers and English is their second, third and, in one case, fourth language. Each one speaks English more coherently and with better grammar than does Sarah Palin. Of course, they each assumed that they were rusty on idioms because they couldn’t understand her. Idiom is not the word that fits.

Sarah Palin is bailin’

I was away this weekend, trying to unplug and relax.  I worried about a threatened North Korean attack on the Fourth of July but that would mean that Kim Dong Il was crazy, sick AND stupid.  Still, in the back of my mind, I worried.  I thought Honduras would continue in chaos as nations back the principle of democracy although probably not the president himself.  Even Dick Cheney gave it a rest.  Ok, I thought, the usual grandstanding in Washington while everyone sets about the “people’s business”.

Oh, no! Sarah Palin is back! Check Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary.  She is listed under antonyms for “articulate”, “cogent” and “decipherable”.  She bails because she does not want to be a lame duck? So, she passes the fiscal mess (recession compounded by low oil revenues) to the lieutenant governor?  Unless he is running for governor in the next election, isn’t he a lame duck as well?  I guess she wins the title, “Lamer Duck of Alaska”.  (There would have to be three competitors in order to have a “most lame”, but, Sarah, dear, don’t start worrying about grammar.)  Must be something about the days of Sarah Barricuda or the beauty pageants.

So Governor Family Values Stanford goes down the Appalachian trail. Then Governor Responsibility in Government (but not in family planning) Palin goes OFF the Appalachian trail.

P.S.:  Sarah, being a leader is about sticking it out when it becomes hard and tough decisions have to be made.  Thank G-d you were not vice president.  If you had to ascend to the presidency, would you have bailed if Russia got tough, or Pakistan fell to the Taliban?