Existential Ennui

~ Searching for Meaning Amid the Chaos

Existential Ennui

Category Archives: Paul Ryan

We Built That Malarky

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by Sherry in An Island in the Storm, Corporate America, Economy, Editorials, Election 2012, Essays, GOP, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

business, economy, Election 2012, free markets, GOP, Mitt Romney, panic of 1873, Paul Ryan

Saturday evening we watched a two-part docudrama from the History Channel, called The Men Who Made America. Now get past the sexism and the pomposity of the title if you will. There is something important to be said here.

By intention or otherwise, THC offered up that a few “titans of industry” filled the void left by the death of Abraham Lincoln at the close of the Civil War, and singlehandedly rebuilt America. Dubious as this contention might seem, they offered it with no tongue-in-cheek.

Better that they had since they then peppered the show with commentary from none of than the likes of Donald Trump and Jack Walsh, aided by Mark Cuban and a pinch of Steve Wozniak. These “modern-day entrepreneurs” sought to explain the mind-set of men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie.

Vanderbilt, having made a fortune in the shipping industry, sells off all his fleet and invests in what he sees as the future: the railroads. Soon he has a commanding amount of track. Gould and Fisk apparently by pure counterfeiting, sell Vanderbilt millions of dollars in fake railroad stock (Vanderbilt is trying to buy up all the little railroads in the best traditions of monopoly), and so anger Vanderbilt that he vows never to be beaten again.

Now that he most of the railway, he must put something in his cars. He contacts a struggling oil man, John D. Rockefeller, and Rockefeller gets a sweet deal to ship all his crude via Vanderbilt’s rails. This lasts until Rockefeller is big enough to want a better deal, so he agrees to send his crude via a railroad owned by a guy named Tom Scott whose right hand man is one Andrew Carnegie.

Vanderbilt and Scott join up in an effort squeeze Rockefeller for more money. Rockefeller replies by building his own pipeline from the oil fields of Ohio and South, to his refineries in the North. Vanderbilt dies, and Scott replies by building his own pipeline that will require Rockefeller pay to move his crude to his Pennsylvania refineries. Rockefeller replies by shutting his PA refineries, throwing the railroads into bankruptcy and destroying Scott. Rockefeller then calmly buys up the destroyed railroads for pennies on the dollar.

Trump, Cuban and Walsh stand as a cheering squad, pontificating about how men like these (and themselves presumably) are cut of a different cloth. They started out poor, worked from dawn until midnight, came up with a great idea, and let nothing stand in their way. It was a game of war to them, take no prisoners and the winner has all the money. These men are apparently men we should admire.

Such men, we come to learn, get up each morning with only one thing in mind–how to beat the competition and secure the whole pie. They do not want to compete, they want to control.

The show tends to imply that Rockefeller, by his actions causes the panic of 1873. No doubt he played some part in it, since it was the over extension of railways that led to the panic, but frankly that bit is overblown from my short delve into the real history.

What is missing here?

It is so clear that all these men were indeed engaged in a game. And the pawns were the men and women who worked on the railroads and in the refineries and all those supporting industries that lost their jobs when these men decided to play hardball with each other. There is nary a breath of concern expressed for all those who will be out of work and what that will do to PEOPLE.

The docudrama points out on the other hand, that the depression that came from the 1873 Panic, caused no inconvenience in the lives of the wealthy.

What is also missing is that the Panic and following depression were caused by the unregulated excesses of these men. There was no mention of quality of goods or services. Nobody cared about the consumer. There was no interest in competition as it relates to improving the end product. Monopoly was the only interest of these men. Raw power and money and what money could buy.

This is the free market economics that are favored by the likes of Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. They are the ideal of Ayn Rand.

Somehow we are supposed to conclude that the ends justify the means, i.e., America got built. And we are to believe without proof, that if left to their own devices, everyone would have been the better for it. But that is not what happened. The excesses of these men led to anti-monopoly laws, unions, limits on working hours, child-labor laws, workplace safety laws,  various banking restrictions and so forth.

It is all these things that Republicans are against today. They believe that business, if left to its own devices, will naturally spread the wealth. Except they have no evidence that this has ever happened. Instead, business leaders continue to war on each other to gain the advantage and be kings of their various hills. And NO THOUGHT is given to the worker or the public good.

If you believe that certain business leaders act improperly then why aren’t they being shunned by the rest of the business world? Everyone knows that Trump, once things start to turn sour, gets out and leaves somebody else holding the bag. Yet people continue to “make the deal”. That’s because they secretly admire his success, and look only to out-Trumping Trump.

I suspect The History Channel meant to show us about the great men who built America. Instead what they have done is shown us exactly why we cannot trust the likes of Romney/Ryan or the corporatocracy they envision.

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Oh Paulie Come Wash My Clean Pots and Pans!

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Sherry in Election 2012, GOP, Humor, Literature, Paul Ryan, Satire, Short Stories

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Election 2012, fact and fiction, Humor, Paul Ryan, satire, short stories

In the best tradition of the privileged and  entitled, Paulie “lyin’ Ryan stopped in at a local soup kitchen. He hoped you all would notice. He made sure to wait for the media to get along with the cameras and such just in case they feel the need to show Merika what a fine and compassionate dude our Paulie really was.

Problem was that Paulie waited so long for the media types to git there, that all those creepy icky, sometimes smelly poor people had already been served and headed out mostly. So Paulie, said, “shucks, I didn’t know they ate at noon! We usually have cocktails at 1 and a Cobb salad (hold the ham, hold the cheese) at 1:30. But I can wash some dishes! Oh, all washed? Well dang, well no one will ever know, give me a pan and washing thingie and let’s get those pictures!”

I few minutes later, Paulie was seen directing his handlers to a guy walking slowly down the hallway. “Hey, he looks like a homeless man, that jacket is definitely not this season’s Ralph Lauren!” Whereupon the gentleman was stopped and urged to come talk to the next Vice President. “Vice President of what?” the man growled.

Whereupon Paulie, strode up careful to not touch anything that might be infested with crawling insects, and said,

“Hey dude, how’s it going? I’m Paul Ryan,  running mate of Mitt Romney!”

“Huh, Gloves? I don’t need no gloves, not yet anyhow. Still pretty warm. Hey what’s with all the lights? I know my rights, are you the police? I want a lawyer.”

“Nobody here to arrest you my good man. Can you tell me what it’s like to not have your own bed to sleep in? Are you cold at night? Must be hard to keep up with episodes of Masterpiece Theatre huh? Do they have big screens in the shelter?”

“Ya got a buck man? I could use a smoke?”

“Smoke? No. Bad for your health man. Do you work out? I work out. You probably saw the pictures of me, pretty buff don’t you think?”

“Well a buck then for some coffee? Anything will help.”

“Oh sorry man, I don’t carry money with me. Why do you need money? The shelter has a bed for ya, and this kitchen feeds ya. I mean what else do you  need. Oh, wait, I can see by the look of them teeth, that you could probably use a new toothbrush–where do you keep it dude? in your pocket?”

“Are you nuts? Get away from me you fucker, and take your damn lights. Who are all those guys standing there with microphones? “HEY, what you lookin’ at?”

“Whoa, easy now guy. Well nice talking to you. I feel your pain and all that. Vote Romney, Ryan!”

That was the conversation you didn’t hear, because Paulie’s handlers kinda knew it would go about as it went. But hey the media saw him actually speaking conversationally with a bona fide poor person. And he washed a pot in a bona fide soup kitchen. Mission accomplished!

It’s all about appearances ya know. It’s only about appearances.

My dirty pots are waitin’ for ya Paulie. I also got some doggy poo in the back yard that needs picking up.

 

Related articles
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  • BUSTED: Charity Prez Objects To Ryan’s Soup Kitchen Photo Op (occupytvstations.com)
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  • Paul Ryan’s Compassionate Conservatism (crooksandliars.com)
  • Paul Ryan Busted For Staged Photo-Op At Soup Kitchen Where He Pretended To Wash Dishes (businessinsider.com)
  • Paul Ryan washes clean dishes in cynical soup kitchen photo op (tv.msnbc.com)
  • Paul Ryan Scrubs Already Washed Soup-Kitchen Pots Because That’s How Much He Cares (nymag.com)
  • Ryan Accused of ‘Barging’ Into Kitchen (abcnews.go.com)
  • No soup for you: Ryan makes unauthorized stop at soup kitchen (timesunion.com)
  • Ohio Photo Op Flop: Paul Ryan Pretends to Wash Already Clean Pot in Empty Homeless Shelter (pensitoreview.com)

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Whee, Change Comes Roaring

08 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by Sherry in An Island in the Storm, Barack Obama, Economy, Election 2012, GOP, Humor, Individual Rights, Life in the Foothills, Mitt Romney, New Mexico, Paul Ryan, Satire, Women's issues

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Election 2012, Humor, labor, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, satire, women's rights

 

Last night the thunder and lightning rolled in and it rained most of the night. At 4 a.m., Diego nuzzled me awake to go out, and noticing that it was still showering at least, I realized that our walk today was caput.

The Contrarian woke when a wet Diego jumped full-tilt into the bed and wiggled his happiness. After removing said dog from my now wet side of the bed, I told him (the Contrarian that is) not to waken me at 5:45 for my walk. “No walking today,” I mumbled, “It’s raining. Maybe I can take him later for a walk around the neighborhood.”

Well, it’s still going at a slow but steady pace now at 9 a.m. This is wonderful since we so need the rain, and a fun day for me. A load of laundry is now in the dryer, and I’ve cooked up the ingredients for a new Southwestern adapted salad to go with steaks today, called I think Foothills Salad. Roasted red potatoes, bacon, corn, chiles, and a nice spicy dressing. While I compose this, I listen to the second half hour of Chris Hayes, “UP“. It’s all good.

Well, now after two conventions, let the games begin:

Now people have different opinions about the President’s speech. Mindful that the jobs report was not good, I think he set the right tone myself.

And certainly it got bigger and bolder and more exhilarating as it built to the end.

At the close of the day, one can say that the DNC put on a well-planned show that seemed to state their position quite well, while the RNC was negative and devoid of much energy and peppered with forgettable speeches for the most part except for the Eastwood debacle.

The debates should be something else I’m guessing.

Speaking of which, I think that the Dems pretty much laid to rest that silly question.

Of course we are better off. We aren’t all picking garbage from the dump for dinner tonight.

Stephen Colbert had perhaps the best line. It went something like this and I do paraphrase:

“Mitt Romney keeps asking us if we are better off today that we were 4 years ago. He better not answer that question himself since he’s only given us 2 years of his tax returns.”

And the beat goes on.

Bill Clinton said it best:

“They’re argument is this: we broke it, you haven’t fixed it fast enough, hire us again.”

Let’s face it, Romney is more “European” in his outlook than Obama as he so tries to paint. Romney’s economic policies have already been tried. First they were the essential policies of the Bush fiasco. And second, look to Ireland, Britain, Spain and so forth if you want to see how well drastic spending cuts work to restore an economy.

As more and more economists point out, the debt crisis is a problem, but not THE problem. You put people to work building infrastructure, manning our schools and fighting fires and policing the streets. When the work force is engaged and gaining wealth, the economy picks up, surpluses can then be used to pay down the debt. A debt I might remind you, we owe ourselves. China owns but 4% of our overall debt much as the GOP would lie to you to the opposite.

I guess I wonder why the GOP thought this crap “We built this” would work. Have they not added up the numbers? the entrepreneurs of the world constitute only a tiny fraction of the total population.

Most of us are, were, or will be workers–working for somebody. And we know to our core, that no “job creator” creates anything but an idea with the worker who actually builds.

Eric Cantor had the audacity to tweet something to the effect of “congrats to all those who risked money and built a business–this is your day!” Yeah, it’s not labor day Eric, it’s bosses day. Are you people proof that a human can function completely devoid of a brain?

If you have ever met a pathological liar, well, I need not say more.

It’s mind-blowing to know someone who lies because it’s simple part of their DNA–about things that aren’t even important.

Like running a marathon. Why would you lie about that?

See you don’t even do it intentionally really. It’s just something that comes out of the old pie hole when you open it. Such people should be kept in locked rooms with simple repetitive tasks to perform.

They should never be considered for political jobs. But sadly, such types fit in so well in our present political climate.

See, Willard said all the right things about stupid puddle, Akins and his thoughts about rape and pregnancy.

But then Willard went to Iowa and publicly embraced Steve King (R-IA) who has given Akins a pass (I have no reason to know if he’s right or wrong, personally), and who calls immigrants dogs, and who thinks dog fighting is an okay thing, and who isn’t sure the President is an American, and  who is just an all-around IDIOT on any subject you can dream up.

And then you know.

Willard really doesn’t care anything about Akins and his kind. His handlers told him to say it, so he did. And he certainly didn’t mean it, because he doesn’t mean anything other than “let ME be president.”

So the choice will soon be ours.

Ninety-nine percent of us have made up our minds.

One percent of the rest are dead in their beds and just haven’t been found yet.

The rest are dead in their souls and haven’t heard a single thing since they spend all their free time watching professional wrestling.

It’s pretty scary knowing that.

So getting out the vote is the key now.

Do what you can will you?

It could be kind of important ya know.

 

Related articles
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  • Romney Hoping For Bad Job Numbers This Week (alan.com)
  • Stewart Rips Into Fox For Its Hypocritical Coverage Of RNC And DNC Conventions (mediaite.com)

 

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The Measure of Their Disdain is the Measure of His Success

06 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Sherry in Barack Obama, Election 2012, GOP, Humor, Paul Ryan, Satire, US Parties-Elections, What's Up?

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Bill Clinton, Election 2012, GOP, Humor, Paul Ryan, satire

 

 

 

I know the idea is a bit hard to stomach, but truly, I lie not.

If you want to know how well a Democrat does at ANYTHING, switch to Foxy Noise immediately after. The more they criticize and moan about how awful it was, well, the better it REALLY was.

So take it from me President Bill Clinton hit a homer, and damaged Mitt Romney perhaps irreparably and made Barack Obama’s job a whole lot easier tonight.

Brit Hume mumbled, “it was a good speech” and then immediately added, “it was as usual, too long.” As we moved along the panel, more criticisms “he was off message, it was all defense”, the pace picked up. By the time it got back to Brit, the speech was still too long, but he now could add that it was “not forward” but “looking backward” and “about as good a defense as one could make–he basically explained why Obama failed.”

“Too much detail,” moaned another, “nobody sitting on their couch can remember all those facts.”

“The fact-checkers will be combing through it all night,” said the panelist who could not come up with any untruths himself.

Well, if you watched it, that certainly was not your impression. Of course people aren’t going to remember all the details. They don’t need to. What they will remember is that Bill Clinton explained the facts to them, and it satisfied them. It was classic Clinton. It was great.

What Clinton did regarding the GOP was masterful. He managed to praise many Republicans, he managed to shame them into remembering what and who they used to be before they became entranced with the Jezebel–TeaParty. He pretty much made it clear that they must bite their collective lips, grab the knife, and excise the abscess before it is too late. They are a doomed party until they do.

If you have any doubt, then follow this link and see what the crazy Right was saying about the empowering speech of Sandra Fluke, you know, the Georgetown law student who was vilified by Rush Limppaw and called a slut. It ain’t pretty folks, and the worst diatribes about her come from the likes of She-creatures Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin.

If you have any doubt about the brilliant speech given by Michelle Obama, go and read John Heilemann’s assessment. It was every bit as good as I thought it was.

By the way, I went back and watched Ann Romney’s speech. It was good, but nothing to compare to Michelle Obama’s. She lacked the ability to carry the punch line, and she over emphasized words at times. Worst of all was her shrill, (vintage Oprah) “I love you Wiiiimen!” which was simply, well a caricature and caused great guffaws (Romney likes guffaws you recall) in our household.

An extraordinary talking point was the Bloomberg report that indicated that from 1962 or so, Democrats have added 42 million jobs to the workforce while Republicans only 23, and this is while they controlled the White House for more of those years.

Oh *snap*. Oh no he dint. No No No ! Paulie boy has been funnin’ with us again. Just when we thought he was a die-hard ideologue, albeit a lying one, he goes and poops in the can. It seems that all the while Paulie has been moaning and groaning and offering to slash your wrists if we don’t get rid of Obama and his CARE, well Paulie was sneakin’ around back of the barn and what? Yes. Yes. Yes HE WAS! Asking for some of them dirty old Affordable Health Care dollars his own self. For a clinic in his own district. Just like he was against the Stimulus before he begged for some it. Oh Paulie dear sweet stupid lying Paulie, you would make Sistah Sarah proud.

Ah, with that adieu, dear bloggy ones, for I am off to a location known as Gonzales Nursery to examine the fauna since our environs is a bit stark still with plenty of planters but each an empty wretch yearning to embrace the tendril roots of its beloved. Translation: we are going plant shopping. Hark, I think I shall write anew of things of Camelot.

Related articles
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  • Pundits swoon over Clinton’s speech (politico.com)
  • Brit Hume Reacts to Mitt Romney’s RNC Speech: ‘He Was Not Trying to Sing and Be Poetic’ (foxnewsinsider.com)
  • Eric Boehlert: Fox News completely barren of actual journalism (rawstory.com)

 

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Adventures in Living

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by Sherry in 2nd Amendment, Election 2012, GOP, Health care, Humor, Individual Rights, Life in the Foothills, Mitt Romney, New Mexico, Paul Ryan, Satire, What's Up?

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

2nd Amendment, cartoons, convention, Election 2012, gun control, Humor, life in the foothills, Mitt Romney, New Mexico

This is the header for the blog, but I just love it. It was taken by my smart phone a few days ago as Diego and I walked in this direction, watching the first rays of sunlight just begin to creep up the east side of the Organ mountains.

Diego and I have had our adventures for sure. We started running into a hunter early in the morning, hunting we know not what. Either jackrabbits, quail or hopefully not, coyotes. Yes coyotes.

Our handyman’s son’, Ernest Jr., claims that the coyotes are coming down into the foothills in search of food. Mostly they prey on the calves in the cattle herds. I have not seen any that is for sure, nor have we heard any howling at night, which I certainly would recognize. He tells us that the bear and mountain lions do not venture down. Thank goodness for small pluses.

A few days ago, we were coming down the homestretch, down a barely discernible home-made “road” when we spotted a pick-up coming west on the service road was cut for the city trucks that maintain the wells. As it drew near in the early morning sun, I saw a horse, bridled and saddled, and trotting alongside the truck. The driver had a good grip on the reins and the equine was getting a good workout, though I would have thought it much more fun to ride the animal myself.

Every day is unique in its presentation of new things to do. Yesterday, Diego had to go to the shelter for his shots, a prelude to his being “fixed” in a couple of weeks. Well, we learned that the dear thing is adamant that he wants nothing to do with getting in a car. I guess he was too confused when we loaded him aboard the first time, but we had quite a time getting him inside. Once there, he sat quietly if seemingly quite frightened. We have no idea what in his past may have led to this.

Today, having finally gotten all the “stuff” for our landscaping done (save actually buying plants and planting them), we went out to move things around, create little vignettes that tickled the eye and warmed the heart. The Contrarian is busy painting a huge wooden chair that we brought from Iowa. It has long since lost it “patina” of green. All the algae has died in the hot dry sun. It is just dull now. So it’s getting a coat of primer and then a turquoise overcoat. We have a chaise lounge I want to get yet, but mostly we just need to buy the plants now.

So the refried beans are done, the enchilada sauce made, and the laundry washed and folded, so hey, let’s see what cartoons were filed this week.

This pretty much says it all doesn’t it?

Ya know the thing that griped me most is Romney claiming now that “I wanted this president to succeed”, just not succeed with his policies–which is not success is it? The freakin’ truth is that Romney started running for 2012 the minute he dropped out in 2008 and everybody knows it.

He banked on this president failing, he prayed for it, and he worked for it in every way that he could. And EVERYBODY knows that.

But lying is second nature to him and his ilk.

I guess it begs the question why there is even a platform to begin with since the Willard brigade has done its damnest to ignore it and not talk about it.

The funniest piece I saw was on the Daily Show where Samantha Bee was interviewing delegates and asking them wasn’t it true that Romney’s position was not the same as Ryan’s on abortion, nor the same as the party platform.

Over and over, each delegate pointed out, that “everyone doesn’t think the same, believe the same things, and differences of opinion were just fine. After all, we have freedom of choice in this country.”

Most of them, nay, all of them were too brain dead to see that this kind of conflicts with their refusal to allow the same “difference of opinion” as regards abortion itself. It is too sad.

Was it lost on everyone that all the people were wounded at the Empire State shooting, were shot by stray bullets from police weapons?

The people who argue that we all need to be armed have no clue the havoc and mayhem they would cause.

When are we going to give up our love affair with guns?

Why do we glorify all this so much? It seems to me only people who ought to be “up in arms” about the 2nd Amendment are the gun toters. Most of us are not. So why is this impossible to do something about?

Let us not be deceived.

The Ryan budget will screw the poor and the elderly. It will. And no amount of lies will change that.

No amount of fake promises.

No amount of innuendo that the poor are really just lazy.

No amount of claims that the vouchers will enable the elderly to “buy” health care of equal value.

No, it’s pure and simple. They don’t believe we are in this together. They believe they are in it alone, but of course, they aren’t.

This is all the people who made it happen for them.

This is what it takes to build a business. As much as the acumen and capital of the rich.

But of course, they can make even more money without unions and their pesky desire for fair wages and benefits so that retirement came be ENJOYED and not ENDURED.

They think they have made their case.

The world was perfect in the 1950’s when Willard was young.

And he wants to return to that time, as he remembers it from his mansion and his prep school.

But then along came Dirty Harry:

And the world went on tilt.

And we scratched out heads.

And the elderly shrugged in embarrassment.

And the young giggled.

And the GOP, gulped and tried to find the off switch.

And Clint, why he stumbled and mumbled, and confused even more.

And he really thought that President Obama was there next to him.

And Ann Romney shriveled, and Willard threw up, and Chris Christie ate another donut and smiled—“Hey Jeb, bring it on!”

And the beat goes on, and the City of Carmel tweets–“he was our Mayor once upon a time, in the land of Lilliput!”

Related articles
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  • RNC attendees explain why they are all about choice because liberty and stuff (dailykos.com)

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Amnesia Rampant in the GOP

30 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by Sherry in Corporate America, Economy, Election 2012, GOP, Humor, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, racism, Satire, teabaggers, What's Up?

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bain, Condi Rice, economy, Election 2012, foreign policy, GOP, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, racism

 

 

Condi may not want the Veep prize, if such it could be considered, but she sure seems to want the political limelight still.

Recently the rather controversial chief foreign affairs adviser to Dubya, had these kinds of things to say about the present administration:

“Where does America stand?”

“When our friends and our foes, alike, do not know the answer to that question,” she told the Republican National Convention, “the world is a chaotic and dangerous place.”

Really?

REAL “e”?

Um, did ya kinda forget your time in the White House Condi? Did you bother to read any polls about how much the world thought of your esteemed former boss, the Cowboy with the brain freeze? Iraq ring a bell? Memo about flying planes into buildings set off any alarms for ya?

What do the following statistics suggest to you?

According to a recent survey by the Poll Research Center, 53 percent of British citizens had a favorable view of the United States in 2008, the last year of Bush’s presidency. Today the figure is 60 percent. In France, the figure rose from 42 percent to 69 percent; the Czech Republic, from 45 to 54 percent; Germany, from 31 to 52 percent; Japan, from 50 to 72 percent; Mexico, from 47 to 56 percent. Only in the Arab countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan) has the rating declined (and do the Republicans really care much about that?).
Another Pew Poll, released just this week, about global attitudes toward President Obama as a leader makes Rice’s concerns seem ridiculous. As summarized by CNN, 87 percent of the Germans, 86 percent of the French, 80 percent of the British, and 74 percent of the Japanese have confidence in Obama–in each case, more confidence than they have in their own leaders. More striking still, 92 percent of the French, 89 percent of the Germans, 73 percent of the British, and 66 percent of the Japanese want Obama re-elected.

I mean really Condi, we all know the GOP has become the party of the convenient lie, but you too? I thought you had a bit more dignity and personal principles than that girl.

µ

I confess, I cannot tolerate listening to the bobble heads that pass for the GOP at the convention. I freely admit that I did not watch Paulie last night. It is annoying to others to scream out “you lie” every 20 seconds and so the better part of valour is to depart the field of battle and fight another day. That day is now, the place is here. Just telling you the truth after all.

So if you want a good analysis of Paulie’s goings-on last night, please go read what Squatlo Rant wrote. You can be sure it’s factual.

µ

I for one believe that the Willard Group is actively and deliberately playing the race card. I think they, with malice aforethought use racial code words in an effort to continue to gin up their base as well as anger more apathetic working class white folks. They are just that determined to win at any cost.

Read this article by Ron Fornier in the National Journal and see if you don’t agree that this is the group they are pandering too.

The welfare ad run by the GOP is false by every standard. And the GOP has stated it isn’t going to be dictated to by fact-checkers, meaning truth is irrelevant. Here is why:

First, internal GOP polling and focus groups offer convincing evidence that the welfare ad is hurting Obama.  Second, the welfare issue, generally speaking, triggers anger in white blue-collar voters that is easily directed toward Democrats. This information comes from senior GOP strategists who have worked both for President Bush and Romney. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution.

That’s why they do it. So much for your Christian set of ethics huh?

µ

I swear there are times that one almost wishes one were dead so one could roll over in their grave.  I mean really. The gall of the Willard is once again so big and so all-encompassing as to defy one’s sense of reality.

This is the guy who said that a federal bailout of GM was wrong, that we should just let them file bankruptcy. You remember?

Well, the freedom of information act is a wonderful thing. And Rolling Stone obtained Bain documents that prove that once upon a time, one Willard Romney “saved” Bain from falling apart. And you want to know how?

HE GOT A FEDERAL BAILOUT FOR THE COMPANY. And then he turned around, and screwed the FDIC out of about 10 billion in repayments, and did the usual thing which is pay huge bonuses to the rest of the team there at Bain who had failed so miserably in the first place.

Good grief. Go read it, but secure a barf bag alongside because you surely will need it.

µ

Bear with me as I search for a new theme. You know me, I’m always redecorating here. This is not the one I want. I just don’t know what I do want. . . .Hey it keeps me off the streets!

Related articles
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Ha! Surviving Yet Another Week!

25 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by Sherry in Election 2012, GOP, Health care, Humor, Life in New Mexico, Life in the Foothills, LifeStyle, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Reproductive Rights, Satire, teabaggers, What's Up?, Women's issues

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Election 2012, GOP, Humor, life in the foothills, Medicare, Mitt Romney, New Mexico, Paul Ryan, satire, teabaggers, women's rights

 

 

Naw, not as bad as all that, but yesterday was not our funnest day. The Contrarian had an appointment at the VA in El Paso so we negotiated that trip of lefts and rights and ended up at our destination. Much thanks to the smart phone and google maps which makes this sooo much easier.

Anyway, the El Paso VA hospital is on a military installation, part of Ft. Bliss, I assume, and so there are uniforms everywhere. (The Contrarian had been referred there by his doc at the regional VA office here in Las Cruces for some tests to determine the cause of his balance problems.)

As a sufferer of PTSD, one of his triggers is government and military edifices, so his stress was up, and mine goes up when his goes up. Well, anyway, we got ‘er done as the saying goes and returned home to a anxiety-ridden puppy who had ripped insulation from the garage door and managed to screw up the opening and closing mechanism as well. That with his chew toys left in the laundry room along with food and water which were untouched during our absence.

So today is a definite day of chillin’. The Contrarian is working on the door, and I made some roasted corn dip, and have a load of laundry a goin’ and am half-watching UP with Chris Hayes which my beloved tapes for me each weekend so I can watch the entire thing.

Whew.

So, while we are doing this, Willard is out on the stump *nudge, nudging, wink, winking* with his racist base, by making a “joke” about nobody ever asking him for his birth certificate, because “everybody knows where I was born.”

As Mark Shields said Friday night, the tiniest book in the world is the one entitled Mitt Romney’s Joke Book.

Joke my foot. It the usual pandering to the base. All the polling when you look deep enough, suggests that Romney’s chances are not something to bet in favor of  and so, it’s try try try to excite the crazies to order their sane neighbors at gun-point if necessary to the polls to vote for him. He actually did ask his “supporters” to convert someone by election day. Sad jackass.

So instead of talking about the economy, we all talked about Todd Akin and his nutzy thinking about how women’s bodies work.

Now we can put that all down to one crazy, but remember that Paul Ryan wants no exceptions to the denial of abortion that he so desires, and he wants to be but one heart beat from the Presidency.

And again, we note that Willard has the backbone of a jelly fish. So, I’m thinkin, it’s just best if we send these two back to the abacus room from whence they were hatched.

Just add it to the unending list of both sides issues that our wonderful Willard lives in. He’s for everything before he is against it.

And I hear he has a new excuse for not releasing his taxes. I just caught the headline so don’t quote me, but it seems his church doesn’t allow that. Now I wonder why if that be the case, and I wonder about how separate he really things church and state are, if that is true.

Me? I think that Willard discovered that Santa Claus wasn’t real, and decided he would never believe in anything again, except that he should be president to show his daddy that he could achieve what that dad couldn’t.

I see it this way. Paulie is good at dazzling with numbers, and of course so is Willard cuz they are numbers nerds. I’m not, and probably you aren’t either.

So, before I’m gonna believe a word that comes from their 1% lips, I’m gonna remember than in general they have been opposed to just about everything that I am for, and since they didn’t dispute their determination to dismantle this socialist program of medicare back in the day before it “mattered”, I’m thinkin’ I’m just not gonna believe a syllable coming from between their capped teeth.

Which all comes down to a platform that the GOP can sure sell to the crazies, of which there is about 15%, but of course to the rest of us, it just looks, well, crazy.

I think that it should be noted that a whole bunch of these illegits seem to be cross-eyed to boot. I don’t know what that means, I just note it.

So kiddies, it’s been another fine week and I hope you are planning lots of relaxing things to do on this a Saturday, fun-day designate. And be sure to rest on the Lord’s day, which is rest-day designate. And joy of joys we get to do it all over again after that!

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