With public approval of American unions at an all-time low (48 %), how much more proof do I have to provide (on the pages of Southpaw), that American intellect, or lack thereof, is also at an all-time low.
Simply put, if we follow the current tide of modern-day McCarthyism, known as the tea party “patriots,” and allow them to continue to demonize the backbone of what’s left of the great American worker, it will all be over as we know it. I should not have to go into great detail with that previous ominous statement. All of you who come here know what it means already.
Our nation of sheep allowed GWB to spend us into hell via illegal wars while further enriching his wealthiest benefactors in Texas. And now we allow a fascist and racist minority to sell us on the insane notion that the last remnants that benefit the worker need to be cut. The gradual demise of unions since Reagan’s fatal blow with the firing of air traffic controllers in 1981 is bad enough. Now, tea bagging politicians smell blood, more than anytime since that fateful year, and have the momentum to finish the job which means the end of the American union as we know it. And with a lethargic, ill-informed, obese, and outrageously stupid American public that will stand by and let their last rights and the rights of their children and their children’s children simply disappear, never to return so that they may have the freedom to shop low prices at Wal-Mart, it is sure to happen.
John L. Lewis rolls in his grave.
….and with that, all I can say is, beam me up Scotty and get me the fuck off of this planet…or at least out of this country.
Don’t know if you or any of your followers caught it this morning, Southpaw, but the Sunday Morning show on CBS did a story on retired city workers somewhere in Bumfuck, The South, who have not received ANY pension payments since some time in 2009. These people included the former fire chief, who worked for the city for 30+ years, and his wife, who was with the police department for over 40 years and was the first woman ever on the force. The city has no money and so, rather than raise taxes or do whatever else they could to fulfill their promises to these people, they just declared bankruptcy and stopped paying them. What? Isn’t this totally illegal, you ask? Why, yes it is. But guess what? The Attorney General of this bastion of the conservative South has decided to do absolutely NOTHING about it. NOTHING. In the meantime, the police chief for the city, who has had several heart attacks and open heart surgery, can’t retire because he will not get jack squat from the city he served, as its most decorated police officer, for over 30 years. So he’ll die as police chief because taking care of these people means nothing to the city of Bumfuck. There’s a class action lawsuit pending on behalf of these people, but we all know how long that could be dragged out. As of now, 14 of these retirees have DIED waiting for their pensions to be paid.
Similarly, a very good friend of mine has been a paramedic for the city of Camden, NJ, for decades. He is a highly decorated veteran who taught at the School of the Americas. As patriotic as they come, and a family man with three small kids, one of whom just had brain surgery. But he’s losing his job because the city is halving its police, firefighter, and paramedic forces. He’s a regular guy who has worked damn hard all his life. And now he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s going to do.
The Teabaggers and conservatives scream about city, state, and federal employees and unions “leeching” from business and the country and living high off the hog on their dime. It’s as if not one of them knows anybody like my friend or the people on the CBS show this morning–or my father, who was a steelworker and union man his entire life and NEVER had a dime to his name. How can this be?? These are normal, average, working people that live in every single town in this country. How can these Teabagger fucks have turned so completely against their neighbors?? It’s so fucking unfathomable that it makes my heart ache.
And that’s not even to mention the cuts to Planned Parenthood and NPR/PBS and Head Start and Fannie and Freddie that these heartless fucks want to pass that could have such huge impacts on countless numbers of people and will launch this country into a pit of despair that may just bring about Arianna’s much-hyped “Third World America” (happy now, Arianna?)
All the chickens are starting to come home to roost now. I keep saying it, but it’s not a surprise to me that it’s happening. These people made NO mistake about telling us exactly what they were going to do if we let them have power. The surprise is that people voted for these cold-hearted fucks, and will continue to do so until there is nothing left of this country.
The fact that they are going after such entities such as Planned Parenthood, NPR/PBS, and Headstart which, together, makeup a fraction of a fraction of the Federal budget, shows a personal and evil agenda on the part of Republicans. I once had hope that Americans would see such transparent efforts. But given that we are, collectively, more articulate to the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt than what Republicans are doing to us, I gave up on that hope long, long ago….
Yep. The truth is there for everyone to know. So why don’t they? Because they’re lazy and are more prone to just believe what they hear on Fox News rather than delve into the issues themselves. And like you said, as long as they can get cheap shit at Walmart nothing else matters. WTF happened to this country? It’s as if people don’t give a shit about anything anymore. Did they ever? I honestly don’t know what happened. It seemed in 2008 like the sky was the limit, didn’t it? I don’t want to be melodramatic about it, but there was such a sense that we were going to move forward and start caring again about people and the planet and the future. We had a moment, and it was great. And then it went so wrong so quickly. The “powers that be” (like the Koch Brothers) decided they just couldn’t have that–they couldn’t allow the new guy to come in and take away their ill-gotten fortunes–so they created the Tea Party and delivered a big fat sucker punch to the president, liberals, and the American people. And we allowed it to break our stride. We should have fought back harder. The president should have fought back harder. Why didn’t we?
I’ve been trying so hard for the past few months not to think so much about this stuff. Before the midterms I had myself in such a state about it all that it was affecting my well-being. I had to step away from reading about it or even thinking about it. I buried myself in work. But goddammit I can’t stop caring about it, or about my fellow Amerikkuns, as stupid and fat and lazy as they are. So now what?
I scoffed, back in ’08, whenever I would hear some dumbshit use the cliche, “This country’s not ready for a black President.” I now know this country is not ready for anything of virtue. All we, collectively, want is something that will speed up the Rapture
If we could get rid of the crazy Protestants in this country with a Rapture I would be all for it.
LOL !!!! Hmmm, you’re right. Maybe I need to start praying for the goddamn thing myself.
Plus… when they get craptured up, their stuff is left behind.
Some of the televangelists have some antique cars we can get.
“Craptured” …LOL !!!
I have relatives who owe EVERYTHING they have to unions and who vote Republican. You know what their key concern is? Dark-skinned people getting more than they deserve. When you add those voters to (1) the anti-abortion folks who vote Republican and perpetuate the appalling economic policies that result in more abortions and (2) stupid American Protestants who think that liberal educations and other things dear to Democrats are bad for Jesus, we are sunk.
That’s exactly right. And, of course, the most undeserving dark-skinned of the dark-skins, in their opinion, is sitting in the Oval Office.
One of the most clever things you have ever come up with is “PTBPS” and you were spot-on…as you are with most everything.
Don’t forget: Many union members voted Republican because Democrats were going to take their guns away and force them to enter gay marriages.
How can I forget? The rest of the world, with the exception of such bastions of rights and freedoms as Uganda, is laughing at our demise as they make advancements while we stay intoxicated and mired with fear, gay marriage, and abortion. I hate being the same nationality as about 250 million others.
Now that is one I just can’t get past…union people voting republican. I know some of these folks here in Montana. It’s becoming harder for me to find the right assholes to blame. The stupidity runs far and deep.
Governor Walker and the Republican legislature announce their next legislative goal:
The adoption of “Arbeit Macht Frei” as the state motto.
A must read:
Thanks. It is a must read. The only line I disagree with, and now dispatch permanently from my own vernacular, is the line “America is great in many ways but….”
….we aren’t (great in many ways) and the quicker we come to grips with that truth and stop deluding ourselves the better off we’ll be
Perhaps “America was great in so many ways…” would be more apropos.
I have reached the point that I think Americans are going to have to hit rock bottom before anything is done.
Tens of thousands in the UK were out protesting over the weekend. The public found out that Barclay’s Bank paid an effective 1% tax rate last year.
Baggers here want to exempt corporations from all taxes…
Where’s the bottle of scotch? I need to tie one on.
You mean 10 thousand banshees dressed like Paul Revere and Napoleon screaming “I want my country back” from a black man is not rock bottom? If it isn’t, I sure don’t look forward to seeing rock bottom. But once we reach it, I’m confident we are there to stay
Actually, I think that what will happen is that there will be enclaves of rationality who refuse to continue subsidizing the areas of insanity
http://www.lukecole.com/Electoral%20Maps/dumfuckistan.gif
…then I need to get my ticket to one of those enclaves now…and start packing my bags
I love Charles M. Blow–his stuff for the NYTimes is always must-read for me. As usual, he’s right.
Absolutely spot on
Yeah america is great jesus walked on water and obama was going to bring change and the fucking democrats are for the working class all sounds so good but when is this shit all going to happen all just a god dam fairy tail.Take are money take are jobs take are freedoms but keep us safe ignorant mother fuckers , This shit of better to fight them ( who ever the fuck that is at any time in history) over there then here why is that everyone is so god dam brave and have their guns let THEM come here why spend so much on travel if they are after us let em come and let the real americans fight em chicken hawks bastards Its always some one else that has to pay the way for the fucking rich and fight their battles and dumb fucks wrap themselves in the flag and pound on their chest and claim to be citizens of the united states and yet hate the idea of a united work force a union which allows for a living wage how many rich union workers are ripping this fucked up kuntry off compared to great american business ass hoes. Why do god dam war criminals get to make money from their illegal dealings why do fucken bankers get a huge bonus for crooked deals an average citizen would go to jail for because the god dam democrats and fucken obama let it happen where is the bastard on the shit going down in WI. riding the fucking fence ( every one has to sacrifice ) fuck him what the hell has he or any of his cronies sacrificed 8 years of gwb was hell now 8 years of this prick helping the gopers and baggers pick away at what little fucking freedoms we have left.Im so god dam sick and tried of these self serving bastards .I cam no longer stand to watch the phony fuck speak and the phony god dam words that come from the big ( im fucken ya ) smile .But you will get use to it look at me if i can do it you all can do it . Boehner is looking more like obama every day and obama is acting like boehner more and more.I live in the fucked up state of ohio and god dam its always a battle with these fucking idiots that wouldnt have a dime if it wasnt for welfare and gov. assistance but hate unions because they make to much .O well ill just get drunk and try to forget for a few hours . Patriots my ass Pansies is more like it
You are remarkable for having the capacity to care so much. I have a certain quantum of emotional suffering that I am willing to devote to such things and when it is spent, I become philosophical. One of the things I appreciate about Southpaw is that he allows himself to stay emotionally raw-edged without tipping over the edge into grief. It takes a lot of strength and courage to be that way.
Obama’s chief legacy is breaking the color barrier. Coming into the second term, he either needs to step down from a position of strength or he needs to win re-election. The first black President is not free to further feed the backlash that we have witnessed since the 2008 election. So, I have to give Obama a pass.
As for Jesus walking on water, I marvel at how pedestrian Biblical fantasies are. Now, people riding on the backs of eagles and falling in love with elves–that is spectacular. The Big Bang(s) and ten, eleven or twenty-six dimensions in our universe alone–that is just as cool if not more so. The fifty percent of American Protestants who think that the world is 6,000 years old suffer from a colossal laziness of imagination and are to be pitied, not reviled. Seriously, were I to believe in God, I would believe in a god who was muuuuuuch more magical than the standard Christian god who performed some mediocre miracles a couple of thousand years ago and then, except for some dubious and unimpressive examples attested to by some weak-minded chuckleheads, basically declared a miracle moratorium until the Second Coming. I would believe in a god who repeatedly and reliably performed colossal miracles–one who for example created a man (southpaw) to be my Second Coming. Oh my God! I would exclaim. He fits just like he was providentially made to serve the pleasure of womankind! And, on top of that, feel those muscles! Dear God in heaven, what did I (or any other woman) do to deserve such goodness? My knees go weak. Surely, we females were made for happiness, and in a world as hopelessly screwed up as this one, that is…well…a miracle.
Religion, ultimately, is the root of all evil
Yes, but more importantly, how much do you love me?
Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I knew the day would come when you would prefer me to kj.
Ha! I rather tend to believe the statement (from the Bible) that “Love of money is the root of all evil.” And, of course, it is the love of money (and more to the point, power) that makes religion so perverse. Many people think that magical thinking is the worst sin of religion. I disagree. First because magical thinking (if confined to one’s imagination, to art and to love, or if used to overcome fear) can be life enhancing. Second, because we could live happily with magical thinkers if they used their “magic” for social good (e.g., peace and social justice) and not for their own earthly and cosmic aggrandizement.
We don’t need to get rid of religion. We all just need to admit that it is a fantasy. It is a role-playing game…like Dungeons and Dragons, though maybe not that much fun, in part because it is a game that addresses the question, what is the meaning and purpose of life? If we see religion in this light, it will take its proper place in our culture and cease to be such an effective instrument of social and political coercion.
Our first encounter with one another was occasioned by a religious discussion in which I told you that it was honorable to be an atheist. I want you to know that if somebody said that godlessness was the root of all evil, I would have an easier time disagreeing with that statement than with yours. Your statement is actually pretty defensible (and may even be right). I suppose I disagree with it because I was such a heretical and unfaithful atheist. Better for me just admit a penchant for magical thinking and to be disciplined about it in a church than to unwittingly and erratically think magically as an atheist. I would also point out that my magical thinking about you is not all bad
And the dumbfucks shall inherit the earth.
Ooops, too late.
LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are end times — not for the world & not via the God of the Stick — but end times for the United States. I believe this country was doomed from its inception, because it maliciously & deviously stole the land from native peoples, and allowed the institution of slavery to persist.
America was a promising nation when it had unlimited resources, but truthfully anyone, any people, could have done better with such potential. Instead the United States acted, characteristically, as a dumb fuck: one quarter of our virgin timber was felled for telephone poles! The rest was taken to build tacky houses & other buildings that didn’t last due to a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ philosophy. We especially have this mentality west of the Mississippi. My California home is falling apart after 30 years whereas in Europe it would take 300 years to arrive at the same condition.
The only Americans who respect the land are its few remaining native inhabitants, and a few diehards like me. Show Americans a beautiful area with wildlife, vistas, rare flora, and their eyes fill with dollar signs. They wonder how they can steal the land & build a piece of shit on it so they can live in a larger house with bigger toys. That’s the mentality today.
Slavery, too, is alive & well. It doesn’t matter if your skin is white, yellow, brown — if you’re working your ass off to pay your mortgage (news flash: the bank owns your home, not you), your car, and the rest goes to buy adulterated food & water — you’re a slave, or more correctly, an indentured servant. Same difference — actually that’s worse because a slave doesn’t have to buy his/her clothing, food or shelter. The Master takes care of all that.
So slave ship America is shedding its few virtues to also shed its hypocrisy; no more platitudes about what the Ruling Class (the only ones who matter) gave away to convince British subjects to not fight on behalf of the Crown. Really these ‘freedoms’ were bogus to begin with: I belonged to several unions (one as a public servant & another as a school teacher) and they were both run by rat-faced bastards who took my money & did squat for any of us. The unions are a great idea — don’t get me wrong — but we have faux unions like we have faux government & faux media & faux food ad nauseum.
America is a shit hole, truth be told, and its become ravaged from the greed of families like the Hearsts, who made medicine illegal in order to perpetrate the rape of the forests for toilet paper & other products that could have been created from sustainable hemp. The forests are gone but the Hearsts and dePonts & other fuckheads have never had it better.
So while the fall of civil liberties is upon us, remember it’s been a long time coming, and the liberties have been so proscribed and compromised through the years, that they’re fairly meaningless. Look at the prison population — how free are those people? What was their crime? Being poor, and not being a good little slave.
Time to medicate on Dead Presidents Day. We can think of it as Dead America Day too.
Wow…just wow. I love you man…..seriously
Hey, LTTL, me too; you’ve the heart & soul of the Left, something that’s rare in this fuckheaded Disunited States. I appreciate your courage of convictions & you’re invariably dead-on about the assholes who lord it over us. One word of advice, though, about being an expatriate; I’ve been there & done that, and you NEVER escape your Americanism. Also, thanks to Mr. ‘I’m Not GWB II” Obama, the government can kill any American living overseas for any reason.
I know, it’s nitpicking & NOTHING compared to what they can do to us here; but thought you’d like to know.
Since it’s Ronald Reagan’s 100th, is this the proper venue to state that I’ve pissed on his grave?
I think everyone here can appreciate that gesture! And I’m sure Hume was there in spirit (even though he didn’t believe in that
).
Didn’t believe in spirit, that is, NOT in pissing on Reagan’s grave–Hume most certainly believed in that)
HP has deteriorated exponentially since his death
Funny you mention pissing on RR’s grave my friend. Scroll back two or three articles on SPB
X2!! Time for hippie to pst another guest-article on SPB…
That was awesome!!
post, that is…
Another brilliant comment. Post it as an article if you would like!
Just received a news update from the Austin American Statesman
Texas Legislature poised to pass a bill allowing university students and professors to carry guns on campus.
Students can carry guns at age 18, but they can’t buy a drink until they are 21?
WTF?
Are you surprised?
You know what the ol’ bumper-sticker says…
“Don’t Mess With Texas!”
…because they’re too busy messing with (and popping caps into) each other.
Im sorry gordita but giving this president a pass just because he is the 1 st black president is like putting the cute bushy tail fox in the hen house it will eat up all your chicks and eggs and leave you with nothing . I voted for that ass because he sold me a dam good line but his actions show me differently.I have been a democrat all my life but these bastards will not stand up for anything but the corporations and rich buddies i will not vote for a goper or bagger so im left feeling what the hell can i do they are all the same these self serving bastards democrats are cowards and go along with the scumbags im just at a loss at the present time watching everything our folks built for us being destroyed little by little .Its not the color of the man i have a problenm with it is his shister ways selling false hope is very wrong . 2 wars he he keeps lying about gitmo he continues to keep people locked up and no trial he will let the environment be destroyed for profits that find their way back to him .he turns a blind eye to war profiteers he will go after Julian assuage for telling the truth and protect the likes of bush cheney rumsfield that whole bunch he is a sorry peice of shit and i hope i dont have to look at him for 8 long years.he make a better street baler then a president .Blue dogs have ruined the democratic party and he is the top blue dog of them all catering to the gopers and baggers just my thoughts sorry for the rant but thanks to your love i have a place to vent . I very much enjoy your writing and thoughts as well as those of all the others on here hope i didnt offend you in any way
Offend gordita? I was invented to be beyond offense or embarrassment!
If everyone were as passionate as you, the world would be a much, much better place
Workers rights have been around for 60 years, give or take, and 1 asshole Repub Governor puts “the end of collective bargaining” in his budget, and that’s it?
This guy doesn’t care about the budget, per se.
He cares about busting the unions where unions started in this country.
If he can cut the budget as well, so be it.
Walker doing this in Wisconsin is no coincidence, and people all over the country now know who this asshole is.
The GOP doesn’t care about the average worker.
They never will again, either.
Vote your own self interests, Americans.
Democrats are pro-union.
Howdy, Dogworth and KJ!
☺☻♥
Good to hear from you, Seek! Tell HITO to get herself over here. We miss her!
Will do!
Hey good buddy….don’t be such a stranger
My bad, my friend.
Peace to you and yours, lefty.
Seek, here is an article about labor union history and wealth diparity in America. Sadly, it’s not a good outlook for union pwer…
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-labor-union-decline#
Thanks for the link!
Peace.
Just when I think all is lost, the Supreme Court surprises me:
The conpervatives couldn’t even get 4 justices to agree to hear the appeals.
They have to punctuate their subversions with law-abiding decisions. They are trying to build up some credibility before they ignore well-established precedent and invalidate the Healthcare Reform Act.
I agree. I just have to take what little joy I can find, whenever it happens
I call that “hardscrabble happiness” and I live on it.
hear hear….and no shit
If they can throw Citizens United on us & kill campaign-finance reform, trust me sooner or later they’ll come up with a way to kill HCR…
What other long-standing laws await destruction by the SCOTUS? One can only ponder…
I would have thought by now, I would have a better grasp on life in general.
Things still surprise me, almost daily.
Thanks for the heads up, CR.
Peace.
Scott Walker Falls for Killer Prank by Liberal Blogger Posing as Right-Winger Sugar Daddy David Koch
Wisconsin governor and union-buster extraordinaire Scott Walker has been fooled by a progressive blog editor posing as David Koch. The prank caller, Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy, got some amazingly off-guard comments out of Walker.
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/483275/scott_walker_falls_for_prank_call_by_blogger_posing_as_tea_party_billionaire_david_koch/
~snicker~
Ha! That discussion about the baseball bat and all the other puffed-up macho bravado made it a great read.
Scott Walker is so butch he holds his own ankles in the air.
My Gaydar has never been wrong. Walker is a big ole ‘MO
A Log Cabin Republican, huh?
I don’t know how they tolerate the GOP view of gay issues in general,
LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You’re a butch straight guy and I loooooooooove you that way
LOL!
An interesting piece from Daily Kos.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/21/947947/-The-Koch-Brothers-End-Game-in-Wisconsin