Political Dump

[waldopaper]

Oh... don't look at the crash. Damn... you looked. "Politics" are useless. But you can't avoid looking at the wreck. Then you wish you hadn't. Dump it on this thread. Maybe we can get it out of our system.

[Mouse]

Cannot claim to have achieved enough this time, 4.30 am. And suffering terrible poster's remorse. What the hell. Fair amount done.

Video thoughts, quite keen to return to secret early idea of making public private finance initiatives the topic, because latest planned wave here in UK are set to totally destroy National Health Service.

If that were understood, it's something within the range of the imagined possible, while 9/11 and the Thought Crimes Bill seem to be things that people over here don't think matter to them. Stunning.

http://www.health.ed.ac.uk/CIPHP/
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7641/421
You see how dry and academic it is, these are the European experts on the subject. Tried to interest them in making this visual and easier to understand year before last.

It's finding a way to introduce the bigger picture, so that the horrible machinations of worldwide privatisation of national public services is seen as the foul, money-grubbing, civilisation-consuming monster that it is.

Having a meal with a friend the other day, they said something that made me realise that they thought all my talk about the disintegration of Western civilisation was far-fetched nonsense, and I found myself unable to speak at all, or even to look at them.

[BO]

You're a sensitive soul, little mouse. Posters remorse? Don't even think about it. Your posts are a joy to read, so...stop with the guilt already. That's my job.

My wife is now ready to check out an expat community in Panama. So, take that Waldo.

OK, well, she's ready to visit to check it out. But the more I look into it, the more sense it makes. I think one visit will probably convince her.

Trying to dig out of a financial hole right now though, so we may have to wait until next year to visit. But, it sure is going to feel good getting our paperwork done for a possible pensionado visa.

Anyway, I may have to reign in any nasty anarchist talk until I'm approved. And start practicing my spanish on you folk. I'm excited. er, excitioso...

gutten tardes.

[waldopaper]

by the way, I'm completely in-sync with the Costa Rican idea!

[BO]

Gonna cultivate a new identity in the footsteps of Paul Gauguin.

"In 1891, Gauguin, frustrated by lack of recognition at home and financially destitute, sailed to the tropics to escape European civilization and "everything that is artificial and conventional.""

The more I learn about myself, the more I realize that I am unfit for American culture. I've always been an observer. I don't share the ethic. I don't carry the gene. I don't watch sports, I don't golf, and I have little interest in pretention.

I want nature and isolation. I want to live where others share the same ideal.

OK, gotta take the kid to soccer....

[waldopaper]

sometimes i consider myself a guten tardes as opposed to the cynical tards i talk at every day. one batch is supposed to be examining their ethical filter while the other batch is trying to draw a connection between "euphemism" and "cynicism" (Judenfrage, anybody?) coss,,, it depends on your ethical filter... which is directly related to "ideology," the way we think it oughta be. some of us confuse that with the way it IS... like the Paulitos and the "libertarians," with whom i am getting more annoyed by the hour. Right now I am trying to put into words why I felt compelled to weep at Lincoln's tomb... shit- he'd be 100 years dead even if Booth hadn't shot him.

But there lies one of the saddest "might have beens" in US history... maybe even the world. With a sense of Lincoln's personality (through his words) and a sense of the times... "reconstruction" would have been much more successful. As it was, the problems papered-over that Lincoln might have dealt with more pragmatically exist with greater malevolence to this day. If I would ever be critical of Lincoln, I would say... we shoulda let the fuckers GO. But for a real crack-brained "libertarian" take on the whole thing, check out T. DiLorenzo's ditty on Lew Rockwell.com. Yep... Lincoln was aware of Karl Marx, and whether he had the same interest in Marx as he had in Darwin remains to be seen.

I don't buy into Lincoln "sainthood" or anything like that... simply recognize talent. What "executive" today would seek a "team of rivals," let alone have the ability to direct such a group? The same blockheads as the "Redeemers" evolved almost unchanged into the same group/ forces that polarize us today. It appears that Lincoln was grappling with the "metaphysical," or at least the possibility of forces beyond understanding at present. It is a glimpse into his "reactive" genius, so little understood in this era of chest-thumping "pro-actives." Lincoln was not above throwing out a sop to the pious at all... and I truly believe his references to Providence and the Almighty were his own personal metaphors for the non-understood forces.

the focus-group kids can't get their brains around the implications of torture... ahem... "aggressive interrogation" in the historical context of slavery or witchcraft or the holocaust. They don't see any connection between themselves and the people who said tut-tut yas-yas about things NOW considered totally unacceptable. And dig this... being a "new abolitionist," ie- the total abolition of nuclear weapons... to them is totally absurd. The can see a "gray area" with torture... but not nuclear weapons. If someone with the stature and craft Lincoln had were able to face the "Redeemers," we may not have the same polarization we do now... as great as it has ever been since the Civil War.

Right now, there are no sections, boundaries, or recognizable badges so one "side" can recognize the other. Soon, these dividers will find a voice or a mark, and when they do, there WILL be violence.

[waldopaper]

Crushed by financial worry, in failing health from his six-month road trip, and sunk into depression, on December 5, 1931, Lindsay committed suicide by drinking a bottle of Lysol. His last words were, "They tried to get me - I got them first!"

My favorite poet. How appropriate!

[pan]

As is true of almost everything Marx ever wrote about economics, this statement is patently false.

T. DiLorenzo is truly a priest of the Market as God. I want to assume that his article wasn't peer-reviewed by any respected journal.

[waldopaper]

A Non-Libertarian FAQ ... interesting and useful... for whacking the Paulitos like a rolled-up newspaper. But they still crap on the rug...

[BO]

A day at a time, young lady. That's all any of us can do--take it a day at a time.

Try to always do the right thing and you've done your part.

Go to school for yourself. Find an interest and follow it. Knowledge before money. You'll be much happier.

Know one thing: You either are crazy or know you're crazy. It's much better to be aware of one's own limitations than to act before thinking. The vast majority of people act out without knowing why they act the way they do.

Don't waste your time on/with clueless people.

Don't respect your elders unless they deserve it. Question everything.

OK, that's enough now. ;-)

[pan]

3/6/08 by Gary Corseri
A funny thing happened on the way to the Obama campaign …

It got short-circuited.

It got swift-boated by fellow Democrats.

It got hijacked by the D.L.C.—that same Democratic Leadership Council that Bill Clinton, Inc. masterminded in ’92 and ’96 to ensure his own victories, and now wields from behind the curtains to ensure his wife’s.

None of this should surprise anyone. The narrative of a steadily mounting “people’s power” movement for Obama was always too good to be true. The idea that Obama would ride the momentum of that “people’s power” into the White House, where, buttressed by the full-hearted, full-throated support of the multitudes, he would take on the special interests in the military-industrial-media-academic complex (while simultaneously delivering manna from the heavens) was always, upon a little inspection, shall we say, unlikely in extremis!

But, folks got to believe! Folks got to sing and dance! Far more Americans believe in miracles than have ever attempted to read our Constitution and figure out the machinations of our electoral system. Waking somnambulists can be dangerous, we’re told. Or, is it better to let them stumble off the fifth-story balcony?

Now the narrative may continue as planned: Hillary, battle-scarred, tested, chastened—without a hair out of maxi-hold place—comes back swinging. And as for Barack—big hints already here, wink-wink!–if he’s a good “boy”—oops, sorry!—if he knows his “place”—somebody stop me!—there may even be a spot for him in the “not-worth-a-bucket-of-spit” Vice Presidency! Of course, owing to Barack Hussein’s lack of “experience,” he is not likely to do a particle of harm in that office—which quite contrasts him to the present incumbent—which calls our attention back to—

Our glorious Repugs (and away from those persnickety Dims). So, what is the latest argument in the Dims’ arsenal? Why, it’s that old one—if we don’t choose a Dim, we’re going to get 3 or 4 fire-breathing judges on the Supreme Soviet—oops, sorry, make that—well, you know. (Of course, the notion that that body of clergically cloaked judges should have nothing to do with actually legislating; and that, if they do, some tumor is infecting our body politic and needs to be surgically—or not so surgically!—removed—that notion need not deter the panicked masses from their obstinate belief in their own poor powers to add or detract.)

So, congratulations, Hillary! Congrats to you, Barack! Congrats Mass Hypnosis Media!—you have kept the fictions alive and well. Barely a mention of 120 slaughtered in Palestine this past week! Hardly a nod to surging wheat prices, rice prices, gas prices. Let’s forget about the foreclosures for now, another blood-lake in Afghanistan or Iraq. The Empire is alive and well, and we just shot down a satellite, proving to those uppity Chinamen we can match’em and exceed’em. We’re tough, scruffy, democratically dumb, and as mean as we’ve gotta be in this bad-assed world. Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant!

Gary Corseri, a Senior Editor of Arts and Culture at Cyrano’s Journal Online, has posted/published work at Thomas Paine’s Corner, DissidentVoice, CommonDreams, CounterPunch, GlobalResearch, The New York Times, Village Voice, World Prout Assembly, and hundreds of venues worldwide. His dramas have been produced on Atlanta-PBS. His books include Manifestations (edited) and Holy Grail, Holy Grail. He is a co-organizer of the “Building a New World: Radical Visions” Conference (http://www.wpaconference.org/). He can be contacted at [e-mail]

[BO]

You gotta ask, 'How can people be so stupid--or maybe it's simple amorality--to not be totally disgusted with Clinton's tactics. The woman is a sociopath. Maybe she connects with something in American culture: Win at any cost.

'Hillary Clinton's a monster': Obama aide blurts out attack in Scotsman interview
By GERRI PEEV

HILLARY Clinton has been branded a "monster" by one of Barack Obama's top advisers, as the gloves come off in the race to win the Democrat nomination.

In recent TV appearances Mrs Clinton had looked desperate and on the back foot.
In an unguarded moment during an interview with The Scotsman in London, Samantha Power, Mr Obama's key foreign policy aide, let slip the camp's true feelings about the former first lady.

Her comments came as Mr Obama, whose defeats in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday were largely attributed to a series of negative attacks on him, vowed to turn up the heat on Mrs Clinton over her claims to be the more experienced candidate.

Yesterday, the Obama camp went on the offensive, pointing out that Mrs Clinton has still not released her tax return and casting doubt on her experience.

In response, a Clinton adviser said the attack reminded him of the witch-hunt led by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, which led to the impeachment of her husband, Bill, when he was president.

Earlier, clearly rattled by the Ohio defeat, Ms Power told The Scotsman Mrs Clinton was stopping at nothing to try to seize the lead from her candidate.

"We f***** up in Ohio," she admitted. "In Ohio, they are obsessed and Hillary is going to town on it, because she knows Ohio's the only place they can win.

"She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.

Ms Power said of the Clinton campaign: "Here, it looks like desperation. I hope it looks like desperation there, too.

"You just look at her and think, 'Ergh'. But if you are poor and she is telling you some story about how Obama is going to take your job away, maybe it will be more effective. The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive."

Ms Power's comments reveal how the inexperienced Obama campaign is coming under increasing pressure from a battle-hardened Clinton camp that saw Ohio as its last chance to save its candidate.

Before Tuesday's vote in Ohio, the press and the Clinton camp seized on remarks by Austan Goolsbee, Ms Power's colleague, on the North America Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). His comments are widely believed to have cost Mr Obama the Ohio Democratic presidential primary.

Mr Goolsbee, Mr Obama's top economic policy adviser, had told Canadian officials a public pledge to force a renegotiation of Nafta with tougher labour and environmental rules was "more about political positioning".

But the Clinton camp said Mr Obama could not tell the public of Ohio, where many manufacturing jobs have been lost, one thing and then tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors.

Yesterday, Mr Obama blamed fierce attacks by Mrs Clinton for his defeats in this week's big primaries, and quickly made good on a promise to sharpen his criticism of her, in what promises to become an all-out brawl in the race for the White House.

The Illinois senator took the offensive against Mrs Clinton, targeting her claims she is more experienced in handling foreign policy. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no," he said. "She made a series of arguments on why she should be a superior candidate. It's important to examine that argument."

In recent days, the former first lady argued that Mr Obama was getting a free ride with the media and had hinted he was not ready to be commander-in-chief in a crisis.

Mrs Clinton, asked about her national security qualifications, highlighted a series of events in which she played a role, including peace talks in Northern Ireland, the Kosovo refugee crisis and standing up for women's rights in China.

Mr Obama's aides went on the offensive yesterday, holding a conference call to ask why Mrs Clinton had not released her tax returns. Her campaign team responded with a statement e-mailed to reporters while they were on the call that said the Clintons' returns since they left the White House would be made public around 15 April.

"There's no doubt Senator Clinton went very negative over the last week," Mr Obama said, adding that the Clinton campaign's attacks "had some impact" on the poll results, "particularly in the context where many of you in the press had been persuaded you had been too hard on her and too soft on me".

After this latest row, Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party, warned that the tone of the campaign "may get nastier" and said discussions would take place to try to prevent that.

After Mr Obama's camp had raised the issue of Mrs Clinton's failure to release her tax returns, Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Mrs Clinton, described the statement as being reminiscent of the attacks the Clintons endured during investigations by prosecutor Kenneth Starr in the 1990s, which many saw as politically motivated.

Mr Wolfson's introduction of Mr Starr's name again portrays Mrs Clinton as a victim, while her attacks on Mr Obama's "preparedness to be commander in chief and steward of the economy" continue.

Mr Wolfson said: "I, for one, do not believe imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."

The Clinton campaign has also attacked Mr Obama's inexperience on foreign matters, but Ms Power insisted he was not afraid to take tough decisions on this front.

She added: "Hillary Clinton always portrays his position on meeting with dictators as naive."

Ms Power also described working for Mr Obama as a pleasure, and said that people who knew him "adore him".

She added: "When we started this, we were all backing the guy who was supposed to lose.

"He was 25 points down going in to Iowa in January.

"If people were in this for the job or the political reward they would have gone somewhere else. They would not have gone to Barack."

Ms Power also said she believed Gordon Brown and Mr Obama would get on "like a house on fire".

Ms Power was in the UK to promote her book on Sergio Vieira de Mello, the extraordinary UN representative who died in a Baghdad bomb attack.

[pan]

Apparently Geeri Peev doesn't understand what "off the record" means.....

"She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.