This is America?

America is amazing; completely head-'explodingly' amazing. With all the crap going on in the world these days, the only thing that people are concerned over is whether Barack Obama wears an American flag lapel pin or not. Unfrickingbelievable. I thought we were America, land of the free; free to be individuals, not pin-wearing automatons.

Why is it that in America the depth of one's patriotism is measured by whether a pin is attached to one's lapel? Can this be any more of a false whine that has ever left the lips of a right-wing operative? Is this really the measure of how much or how little an American can love his country? Is a lapel pin really the measure of a man's soul?

An Internet friend sent me a link to a William Rivers Pitt column at Truth Out, in which Pitt believes he may have developed a touch of the insane from the way that Republicans have successfully warped reality. I would like to tell him that he has not gone insane. The Republicans who are worried about this shit as well as Republicans who still shill for this administration, are the insane one and they have lost their fucking minds. And nothing, and I mean nothing, will bring them back to sanity. Why? Because they do not want to think clearly, they have created their own reality, and yes, it's backwards, opposite land. They are lost in their own need to win, to control, and be part of the "in" crowd of patriotic, hyper-American lapel pin wearers.

I declare that Obama is my candidate. He doesn't have to wear an American flag or yellow ribbon pin to prove to me that he loves his country or supports the troops. It's actions that count, not canned rhetoric. And if anyone needs that symbolism in order for him or her to love their country, it's a hollow, false and dead patriotism that I do not want and do not need.

IT'S SCARY OUT THERE

I'm sitting here in my apartment on the night of Halloween. I was going to go out dressed as Andy Warhol (sans bullet wounds) and walk New York's Village Parade, but I decided to come home instead. It's too scary out there, and I don't mean the streets of lovely weathered New York City with its ghouls and goblins hobnobbing drunkenly on the streets.

I'm frightened because what I keep hearing from certain politicians scares the living crap out of me. There are Republican boogeymen around every corner, uttering scary phrases every which way I turn. Among the scary phrases:

1. Stay the Course.

2. Measuring the Drapes.

3. Democrats Want the Terrorists to Win.

It's scary stuff, folks. Please help me stop being so afraid by doing the following on Tuesday, Nov. 7th:



What are some of the scariest phrases you've heard lately from our Republican boogeymen?

A House, Just a House (and a Senate Would Be Nice, Too)

Yesterday, I noted that I need a House, and I wouldn't mind a Senate, either.

For my dreams to come true, I believe Republicans and those Independents leaning toward the Republican abyss, should wake up and face reality. I posted a link to a comprehensive list of Republican corruption scandals, and now, a list of symptoms that you should consult to check yourself in case of rampant Republicanism gone wild.

Larry Johnson helps you to recognize if you have the Republican malaise. You should immediately seek medical attention OR vote for a Democratic candidate in the House or the Senate to cure Republicanism. Your life depends on fast action.

1. If you enjoy shoplifting while working at the White House, you might be a Republican.

2. If you enjoy soliciting teenagers and children for sex over the internet, you might be a Republican.

3. If you enjoy sending other people’s children to war while your kids go to college and hang out in bars, you might be a Republican.

4. If you start a war in Iraq while lying to the American people that Saddam was tied to Osama Bin Laden, you might be a Republican.

5. If you failed to complete your own National Guard service and your Vice President received five deferments to avoid service in Vietnam, but accuse political opponents who challenge your failed foreign policy in Iraq of being cowards, you might be a Republican.

6. If you call dark skinned people Macacas and Niggers, you might be a Republican.

7. If you ignore intelligence community warnings that Bin Laden is determined to strike inside the United States, you might be a Republican.

8. If you follow policies that squander a budget surplus and create an $8.5 trillion dollar budget deficit, you might be a Republican.

9. If you expose the identity of an undercover CIA officer in charge of tracking down Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, you might be a Republican.

10. If you believe the President should be entitled to jail, without recourse to Habeus Corpus, anyone he decides is a threat, you might be a Republican.

Larry's conclusion to a ready cure: "After careful consideration, I realize that I lack the moral bankruptcy, cowardice, and fiscal recklessness to call my self a Republican. I've decided, I am an American."

I say, Be an American: Vote Democratic.

There are more "You Might Be a Republican" symptoms posted at Johnson's site. Learn the signs and cure yourself!

Repeat after Me...

From Crooks and Liars:

As Jane points out, [Jack] Abramoff never gave a dime to democrats. Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show...read on

So when you hear folks say that Jack Abramoff's clients gave to Republicans and Democrats, just ask 'em, but what did Abramoff give to Democrats? Nada. Zip. The big nuthin'.

2006 might be interesting indeed...