Month: March 2006
I can't impress upon you how true this is…
The title of Northwest Leftists post is “The Most important book for Progressives”… He’s talking about Crashing the Gate and I must stress how true those words are.
If you read political books to be outraged instead of informed — trash like Michael Moore or Al Franken and their self-obsorbed writings — this book can and should replace that type of reading in your bookcase. While Crashing shows you reasons to be outraged at both the left and the right, it keys you in how things must change and how you must be part of the political process too.
It’s the Red versus the Blue.
The Old versus the New.
It shows you what’s wrong with the Democrats and how we can go about fixing it.
Please, if you’re a Democrat — this is required reading material.
Sylvain Avenue Elementary class of 1991
I moved to Florida in 1989 — very beginning of the year — from Long Island New York. That’s 17 long years here in the Sunshine state. Yet there was never a time where I totally forgot the kids I used to go to school with in New York, though I had no clue how to get in touch with them.
Oh sure, I visited Brian Huber — a kid who lived a couple of houses away — in the early 1990’s when my family visited our old house and old neighbors in Blue Point… But there are other people that I can still remember from school who I wonder what happened to. David Carew for starters, or Tommy Bonasara. Chris Rambo and Jessica Perna… In fact, I’m actually getting ticked off at myself for forgetting some of the last names of kids that I can remember.
There was the pastors son, Tommy, who had a ton of brothers and sisters. There was Mike who lived near Sylvain Avenue Elementary, and there was the tall kid, Jason who lived a few blocks away from me. Not far from Jason, there was Sarah who seemed like she couldn’t stand me. There was Scott who lived closer to the school — his father was divorced and took Scott and his brothers to see Die Hard (of all movies — we were fourth graders and this kid gets to see an R rated flick? Bah!). There was Brian and Ryan, who lived closer to Jessica Perna. Brian got sick and tired of me – he also had some of his toys stollen by my younger brother. Brian loved Rock and Roll and his father worked in the city.
Betsy Maldanado, Jennifer Jones… Ray, Cheryl, Daniel, Mrs. Giarracco (who taught me both in 2nd and 4th grades). People long in my past but not quite forgotten.
the three I's of current
I grew up a fan of the WWF and I re-acquired my fondness for wrestling late int eh 1990’s during the WCW/WWF wars. One of the performers for the WWF (now WWE) was former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle who played a pompous and crass patriot who embodied everything that you could dispise about an athlete. Selfishness, arrogance, etc, etc.
Kurt had a good “angle” though and played the part well. Still does in fact. One part of his repetoir was talking about his three I’s — three words begining with I that were his guiding principles — of Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence.
You realize that the country currently has it’s own three I’s? These aren’t principles that are guiding us but they are factors in our daily lives:
Inflation – you will not hear the Federal Reserve chairman talking about inflation, nor will you hear the Bush administration talk about how costs have skyrocketed over a short period of time. Everyone knows about gas prices, but real estate prices, durable goods, groceries, insurance premiums, medical care — everything is spiking for the common person. The federal governent is just concerned with the mega-ultra-large corporations in how they deal with this. Corporatiosn are going strong right now while workers wages are stagnent. It’s been almost a decade since minimum wage was increased in the United States and instead of promoting better treatment for employees, the Bush administration has worked vigilently to repeal work laws so corporations can profit and not be stradled by the costs of labor.
Intolerance – you reep what you sow and that is the case with the Dubai Port World deal and George Walker Bush signing off on the deal. Bush made Arab’s into the boogeyman of the 21st century with his rhetoric after 9-11. The propoganda coming out of the White House tied Iraq to 9-11 in order to justify the invasion of Iraq. People were scared and reacted to just that, signing off on the war because those damn Arabs attacked us first! (wwhich is a flat out lie and ignorant assumption by the citizens of the US)
So the Dubai Ports deal comes through and Bush has no problem with it — it’s a furtherment of his pro-big business agenda. Bill Clinton signs off on it and does what he can to help out behind the scenes (as Slick Willie has always been a proponent of Globalization — as is New York Times writer Paul Krugman). Everyone expects a free pass over this as that is how the country has operated since 9-11 (allowing Bush to get whatever he wanted)…
…Until the public learns about the deal.
Everyone cries foul — Republicans and Democrats alike. The Xenophobia of the Arab Boogeyman that Bush’s administration has so well played rears it’s ugly head. An Arab country in charge of US Ports?! An Arab country with ties to 9-11?!?
And yet, Krugman had a good point in a recent article which denounced this intolerance. The United States should be an active player in the global economy and we cannot run scared from a country in the middle east because of the ignorant and arrogant propoganda show that was put out by the Administration to further it’s agenda.
Of course I could go on about intolerance — everyone beign afraid of homosexuals, blacks and whites in the continued racial war of poverty, faux-Christians sullying Christian ideals and justifying hatred, violence and greed in His name, etc…
Isolationism – Go it alone, “with us or against us,” and the country trumping the world in matters of global politics (be it war, peace, treaties, signing off on elected officials in other countries or dispatchign elected officials in others)Â The US has become largely islolated with thanks to it’s policies while being depedant and indebted to cheap foreign labor and despot oil suppliers.
Just another reason why this Democrat doesn't trust Hillary Clinton
If Hillary Clinton were elected to the highest office in the land, as desperate Democrats have been talking the last few months, it would just be more of the same corruption that we’re faced with on a daily basis right now.
This exhibit is proof enough. I didn’t trust Hillary before it was announced that she was back-dealing with regards to the Dubai Port sale… And I don’t like her now. She’s a carpet bagger and a schemer. This is not trying to piss on the concept of a female president or a female candidate for president. This is pissing on a bad candidate for president and someone who is looked at as a hope because she won’t take a stand on anything for the sake of not ruining her Presidential run.
Gotta hand it to Microsoft.
Even with their bad reputation for software, for being monopolistic and for countless other things, their entire Oragami thing has been played well and has kept people curious.