Women On...

6:50:01 PM EDT

Women On has a new home at Blogger and can be found under......guess what? Women On. See you there.

Jackie

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4:22:00 PM EDT

In light of the Republican Veep's "stay the course" remarks during the "debate" the other night. Here's an offering from the past. It's the piece that helped sink a TV show and may have helped sink a president. I do remember when the spam hit the fan on this one.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was part of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.

The captain told us to ford a river,
and that's how it all begun.
We were knee deep in the Big Muddy,
but the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, are you sure
This is the best way back to the base?
Sergeant, go on; I've forded this river
Just a mile above this place.

It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging
We'll soon be on dry ground.
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, with all this equipment
No man'll be able to swim.
Sergeant, don't be a nervous nellie
The captain said to him.

All we need is a little determination
Men, follow me, I'll lead on.
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over
We heard a gurgling cry
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.

The sergeant said, turn around men
I'm in charge from now on
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been

Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
Just a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to draw any moral,
I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
And you'd like to keep your health

But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on:
We're waste deep in the Big Muddy
And the Big Fool says to push on.

---Pete Seeger

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1:07:42 PM EDT

I've been backing up Pixels and came across this entry from 2005. With the Veep debates on tonight, this really rang my chimes. (even if I did write it)

Friday, October 21, 2005

 

CALL IN THE PROS

When you take your car to the garage you expect (and hope) that the person who will be adjusting your brakes knows what they’re doing. In other words they’d better be pros. If you have a bellyache or a lump you expect that the doctor who’s poking about in your inner self has had at least a year or two of training. You don’t expect to find a grease monkey behind the grill at your favorite diner.

So, boys and girls, what’s this thing about “professional” politicians and who started it? When did it become a good idea to put people in charge of running our government who can't find the back of their laps with both hands, a map and a compass?

We’ve got more and more people running for office trumpeting the fact that when you come right down to it they have no idea what they’re doing. These people have the power to decide where businesses will be built, what farm land will be saved, if our pensions are going to be there when we need them, the kind of breaks business get for sending our jobs overseas, whether they represent us or if we’re getting the best government that money can buy, so on and so forth ad nauseum. Although from where I’m sitting, even the lobbyists arent’ getting their money’s worth.

When you come right down to I’d like to think that the people making the decisions have some idea how the process works. I’d definitely prefer someone who not only respects the constitution but may have actually read the document.

After three years I can only say "Arrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!" A certain politicain who shall remain nameless doesn't trumpet lack of experience. But the experience she does have is, as BJ Hunnicutt from MASH would say, " thinner than 3:2 beer."  'Nuff said.

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2:32:38 PM EDT

It occurs to me that what might actually be going away here is…AOL.

Of course, they don’t want anyone to know that yet.

AOL is no longer hip. AOL is no longer at the top of the techno pile.

Evidence the fact that AOL has continued to provide a place like AOL journals, where old farts like us can write, and attempt to hold on to the shredded remains of a once vital community.

And, let’s face it, fellow old farts, we are not the demographic that anyone cares about anymore.

I wonder…does AARP offer a journal space?? J

I suppose AOL has done us a favor. They could have—and it would have been quite in character—just presented us with a fait accompli and turned us off with no warning. But they have deigned to give us a month’s notice, and offered to help us move our blogs to other blogging sites.

(But, just by the by, I wouldn’t trust AOL techs to move a vase of flowers from one side of the desk to the other…)

So, if that’s the case, if AOL really is preparing to trudge into the ethereal tar pit…

I apologize for my "You SUCK!!!" comment.

And I’m sorry for the many of you (mostly in Asia these days, I’m afraid) who will be pounding the pavement soon looking for new gigs.

And, to be gracious, I guess I need to say—

Thanks for the memories.

Good luck, all!

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12:39:07 PM EDT

WELL, LADIES, IT'S BEEN A SWEET, SHORT RIDE...

AOL is turning us loose.

It's been nice blogging with you.  And maybe we can figure out how to do one at blogspot.

BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU, THIS IS JUST AN UNBELIEVABLY...UNBELIEVABLE THING FOR AOL TO UP AND DO. 

LIKE I HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH THIS BULL**** RIGHT NOW...

AS I SAID OVER AT COMING TO TERMS,

YOU SUCK, AOL!!!

Well, at least I'll no longer have a reason NOT to uninstall "the virus known as aol" from all my computers...

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6:45:07 PM EDT

Much as, at this point, I would not vote for a Republican for dog catcher, they do seem to be learning from past mistakes…the Democrats’ past mistakes, that is…

 

Democratic house members are ready to jump right on the “gloom & doom” bandwagon, same as they did in 2003 when Bush fabricated the emergency that called us to war in Iraq.   Unfortunately, the Dems have been increasingly called on the carpet for voting to launch a war that has become expensive, unpopular, and obviously unwinnable.  All they can do is stammer and back-pedal when confronted about their “roll over and give up” act on the vote to go to war. 

 

Now, Bush and Co. are huffing and puffing about “the whole thing coming down,” referring to the economy that his unfettered wealthy and powerful friends have created with smoke and mirrors over the past seven years.  And the House Democrats are obediently falling into line behind Bush once again. While “Main Street America” riots in the streets about having to bail out the rich and mighty, the Dems have their heads shoved solidly…where the sun doesn’t shine, evidently.  What don’t they get about the fact that they are all up for reelection in a little more than a month?

 

Certainly this is the card that the House Republicans aim to play now:  They know Election Day is nearly upon us.  They know that they can rack up all kinds of political capital if they appear to stand with the outraged majority for the next 35 days or so.  Then, after the election is safely behind them and they have saved their asses, I mean, their seats, they can go back to screwing the middle class and shoveling money into the pockets of the rich—back to business as usual for the GOP.

 

I have a theory on our economic crisis…and with as complicated and inscrutable as economics seem to be, I think my theory is as valid as the next guy’s.  My theory is that Bush’s tenure in office has been all about making the rich and powerful richer and more powerful.  As they’ve been stuffing their pockets and building up invisible and untouchable assets, they’ve been blowing smoke at the American people in the form of tax breaks and “economic stimulus” checks.  Keeping the little guys appeased by shoving a few hundred bucks their way now and then…  It’s appalling, and it’s insulting, and it was always only a matter of time before “the whole thing [came] down.”  I’ve predicted several times in the past few months that we hadn’t yet seen the worst of what was going to happen as the Bush Watch drew to a close.  There was bound to be a last-minute money grab of historical proportions as Bush and his cohorts slunk out the door.  And so there has. 

 

I like to think that they thought they had it timed so that the whole house of cards would blow down on the next guy’s watch.  But, like everything else associated with the Bush Administration, it’s obvious that they…slightly miscalculated.  Surprise.

 

And now they will all go off and retire with their billions, while we try to find a way to dig our way out of this monumental pile of dung they intend to leave us buried in. 

 

Happy voting, folks. 

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2:39:09 PM EDT
The Sons of Liberty were "community organizers" too. Or disorganizers, depending on your point of view.

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2:10:05 PM EDT

Sis forwarded an e-mail with information about John McCain’s time as a POW. I admire the man’s courage under fire. The man was a great fighter pilot. It doesn’t mean he’d make a great president. Actually, I’m not sure that what makes a great fighter pilot, necessarily makes a great president. The e-mail compared McCain to George Washington. I replied that we would have to agree to disagree on this one.

We’ve had three generals that made the transition to political greatness, or near greatness, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, (I do definitely question some of his policies) and Dwight Eisenhower.

Washington was what I’d have to call an Independent, in fact he warned against dividing into parties, Jackson was a Democrat and Eisenhower finally came to office as a Republican. Broad spectrum, that.

George Washington was also the losinginest successful general in the history of the army that he literally created from nothing. Granted he had a little (lot of) help from generals and troops from Prussia, Poland and most importantly, France. You can call ‘em Freedom Fries if you want, but without support from France we might still be carrying British passports. And, France’s support for our revolution probably helped bring on the revolution in France and another twenty years of war in Europe.

There’s an uneasy parallel here. The French economy was already shaky when they took on a war they didn’t have to fight, by supporting the American Revolution. Sigh. Start heading in one direction with an entry and just see where you end up.

Andrew Jackson is most famous for a battle that was fought after the peace treaty was signed. He’s also defied the Supreme Court ruling in support of the Cherokee and is infamous for their expulsion from their lands in the south and the Trail of Tears that led to the Indian Territory in the west. He was the first president who was neither a Virginian or a New England lawyer. He had a famous temper, fought more than one duel, helped to create what became the Democratic Party and threatened to hang “nullifiers.” (link) Given the opportunity I think he would have made good on that threat.

Dwight Eisenhower was a Kansas farm boy. His parents were pacifists, but he went to West Point. He came up with a better way to solve a calculus problem and took the reprimand for not paying attention in class. Not paying attention was what led to the original solution to the problem in the first place. In fact it seems he was about as obedient as he needed to be at as cadet and still graduate. Since class standing included demerits his class standing doesn’t reflect how he did academically.

 He trained tank troops but WWI was over before he could be sent overseas. His commander in the Canal Zone was a military history junkie who put his exec through what amounted to graduate studies in history and tactics. He worked with George Patton to create  tactics for the new cavalry and Patton predicted that one day he’d be taking orders from Eisenhower. He was right.

Eisenhower commanded the American invasions of North Africa and Italy. He sacked generals who couldn’t get the job done even if they were friends or old class mates. He spearheaded the invasion of Normandy but of more importance he also successfully navigated the prickly personalities of the likes of McArthur, Montgomery, Churchill, Patton and “Uncle Joe” (Truman’s label) Stalin.

He and Harry Truman also pretty much took an instant dislike to each other. Eisenhower didn’t much care for career politicians and Truman couldn’t stand career military officers. It was a match made a little lower than heaven.

During his two terms we saw, among other things, Social Security expanded, the beginnings of the interstate highway system, the beginnings of desegregation and the intensification of the cold war. The 101st Airborne was deployed twice by his orders. The first time they went to France. The second time they went to Little Rock.

Trouble is, I can also name at least one general that was a stand out on the battle field and a total disaster as a president. Ulysses S. Grant was the bulldog that led the Union to a final battlefield victory over the Confederacy. Yes, I said battlefield. We’re still working on the actual social victory. The fact that anyone gives a damn about the skin color of the Democratic candidate speaks to that. Unfortunately Grant’s abilities on the battlefield didn’t transfer to the White House. His two terms as president were a byword for corruption and cronyism that was unmatched until the Harding administration. And Harding was the bench mark for how low you could go until………..enter the “current occupant.”

I don’t think John McCain is quite the equal of the first three and I don’t want to find out if he belongs with the last group.

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11:10:04 AM EDT

Go read this:

This is Your Nation On White Privilege

It might give you some idea of why John McCain isn't totally eating Barack Obama's dust in the polls.

I'm begging that enough "swing voters" out there are quietly waking up and smelling the coffee...

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3:20:34 AM EDT

Unfortunately, I have recently come to the conclusion that despite all the bitter name-calling, accusations, ugly rhetoric and outright lies clogging our nation’s airwaves and atmosphere, nobody is really going to change anyone else’s mind about the coming election.  And I said as much to someone with whom I was discussing politics the other day.  Whereupon she insisted that there were tons of “swing voters” out there who are still undecided and need to be convinced one way or the other.

 

All I can say is, if they haven’t figured it out yet, they must be literally waiting for a bomb to drop—say, a hydrogen bomb somewhere in the continental United States.

 

Yes, I suppose there are swing voters who will refuse to tip their hand before election day.  I can respect that, actually.  It was the essence of my Dad’s political philosophy.  He never once told us who he planned to vote for before an election, or who he had voted for once the election was over.  He firmly believed that his vote was nobody else’s business.  How I wish, in today’s uber-hyped political climate, my Dad’s wisdom still prevailed. 

 

The swing voters will keep their own counsel and do what they will do come election day.  However, there is another segment of the electorate which, to me, is a complete enigma.  That would be those otherwise intelligent folks out there who are simply die-hard Republicans (though I can’t for the life of me figure out why…) These are not the types who have been drinking the current administration’s kool-aid.  They are not the ones who are circulating emails claiming Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, or that if one of Mr. Obama’s daughters was pregnant, he would have her kill the baby before it was born. 

 

No…these are folks who simply adhere (like super-glue) to the pure essence of what the Republican message used to be.  Conservatism, smaller government, lower taxes…   They know that the current occupant has royally f’d up.  And they aren’t blind…they know the country is in a mess.  They realize that Bush and Co. have screwed up everything from A to Z, domestic and international, political and economic.    

 

What bothers me about these folks is that still they refuse to even consider the possibility that a vote for the other candidate might be a vote for what’s right for the country.  If the answers don’t lie with the Republicans, then there aren’t any answers, apparently.  I’ve seen statements like, “Sure, things suck right now, but things have always sucked.”  Or “We’ve survived Bush, and we’ll survive whoever wins this time around.”

 

Okay folks.  Sure, things have always sucked—to some degree.  But it is not the American Way to just sit back and let things suck.  That is why we have a vote.  That is why we have a say.  That is why we have the ability, theoretically, to oust the leaders who suck and bring in ones who don’t suck, or at least show some promise of not sucking.  It is not just our privilege, it is our responsibility to choose fine leaders.  We owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to the world.  The United States of America cannot afford to be allowed to suck just because the voters are too pig-headed to choose the best candidate for the job, regardless of political affiliation.  

 

And let’s face it:  The GOP doesn’t know who or what it is anymore.  It surely bears no resemblance to the sainted GOP of the Ronald Reagan era.  McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate proved this beyond all doubt.   It is rumored that McCain was leaning toward naming a politically moderate running mate, possibly even Joe Lieberman.  Warned and threatened by the Christian right, he threw over his original choices in favor of fundamentalist gun-toting nursing mother Sarah Palin, choosing to appease the radical fringe rather than appeal to more centrist swing voters.  Doesn’t this prove to any thinking person that McCain has no intention of breaking with the formulae that have kept the disastrous Bush team straddling the nation?  Is this the direction in which thoughtful, forward-thinking Republicans want our country to go?  Want their party to go? If I were a Republican, I'd be, at the very least, monumentally embarrassed by the performance of the GOP over the past eight years.  I would do everything in my power to expunge the current crop of disastrous clowns from the party, and start all over again, if need be.

 

Hell, I'm a registered Independent.  Even though I've known for over twenty years that the Democratic party more closely mirrors my personal values and convictions than the GOP does, I haven't wanted to rule out the possibility that the better person for a position might just be a member of some other party.  I have a really hard time swallowing the idea that I would have to vote for an asshole just because that asshole happens to be a Democrat. 

 

In the case of this fall's presidential election, I don’t know that the Democrats and Barack Obama are the be all and end all.  What I DO know is that they are a 180 degree change from the status quo.  And given the mess we’re in, that’s all I really need to know.   

 

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