Musings From the Margin

2008-10-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Choose:hope over fear- unity over division- change over the status quo-Think how lovely it will be to have a president who can string a sentence together...and a nation. Vote for Barack Obama!

2008-10-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Fire SaleHurry, hurry, hurry!Step right up, folks.Get your failed economic policies,Your compromised Constitution,Your yawning inequality, Crumbling infrastructure, decliningMiddle Class, and Defunct New Orleans While supplies last. Going, going, going! A culture war, cheap; Other wars at deep discount:Iraq war, complete with oversized embassy; Afghan war with revived Taliban;Pakistan war...oops,

2008-10-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Now we can relax, knowing our money is in good hands, right?Accountability?Oh, you think the $700bn will be different? I sure hope you are right and I am wrong. I hope it helps the people it is (alleged to be) intended to help. What are you going to do when all your appeals have been for nothing? Hope's all that's left in my arsenal.

2008-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Time to polish up the old tools: Hard Times Come Again No MorePastures Of PlentyHard Travelim'Brother, Can You Spare A DimeMore later.

2008-10-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Here's details of the bailout bill, including a summary of the unbelievable number of attachments. Newscasters mentioned the 'sweeteners; intended to entice the support of resistant Republicans, but there's a lot more than that involved! After reading it, I couldn't help marveling that any legislation ever gets passed. If Mr. Smith went to Washington today, he'd suffer culture shock. How can any

2008-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

The Senate is considering the bailout plan today. Since 4 AM, Pacific Time, I have been trying to get through the Congressional Switchboard to leave messages for my representatives in Congress, but the number has been busy and the circuit jammed. Wow! What's that all about? I hope it means that all those against this bailout plan are flooding Washington lines. This modified plan - the

2008-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Call your representative! Let them know how opposed you are to this bailout. Remind them that it's an election year. Democracy Now! had an excellent program discussing the bailout. A few snippets:ROBERT JOHNSON: [former chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee] You say, too big to fail. Well, if you’re too big to fail, you’re too big to be let loose to do whatever you want to do, because,

2008-09-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that some representatives actually listened to their constituients, and that's the reason the bailout bill failed? Dave Lindorff thinks it is (The Power of No) and he says to keep the pressure on them.People see clearly that this proposal is a trillion-dollar giveaway to the very people who have been hollowing out and destroying the US economy for over a decade or more by

2008-09-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

The bailout bill went to a vote Monday morning after a historic night of politicking. It was all set to pass, supposedly, when Nancy Pelosi gave what some are calling a partisan speech. (It merely sounded like truth to me.) As a consequence, 12 Republicans who'd pledged to support the bill got their feelings hurt and reneged. I can't say I'm sorry the bill failed - and it didn't seem to me that

2008-09-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Congress is still considering a bail out plan despite having received a letter of opposition signed by 200 economists. We see three fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan: 1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers’ expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the losses. Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The government can

2008-09-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

What Congress needs to say to Bush is, prove to us that your very expensive bailout plan will actually accomplish something. Congress needs to tell him we citizens are tired of being left holding the bag after he's used his dirty tactics to get his way. He lied about the Iraq war and look what that brought us. Not flowers and a paid-for war, as promised. Not a democracy in Iraq that looks

2008-09-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Dave Lindorff always has a clear eye on Bush's convoluted maneuvering. Here's his take on the bailout: Iraq All Over Again: Bush, Paulson and Bernanke are Just Crying Wolf A few tidbits:...now they’re doing it again, this time claiming that economic Armageddon faces the US and even the global economy if Congress doesn’t hand over all power over the economy to the Secretary of the Treasury in

2008-09-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

A deal on the $700bn giveaway is imminent. I can't wait to read the details. Then I'll know if we still have a chance to restore our democracy.Meanwhile, McCain has suspended his campaign, pleading urgency of action on the bailout proposal. Fun has been poked at him by late night comedians and the press. Nobody knows for sure why he's suspended his campaign, but we know it wasn't to cast a vote

2008-09-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

What if Congress gives all that money to Wall Street and we still have a depression? What guarantees do we have that this hasty solution will do what it's touted to do? I mean, the Iraqis were going to greet us with flowers and the Iraq war was going to pay for itself, remember? Somehow there's a disconnect for this Administration between the idea and the act.Why can't we just bail out the

2008-09-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

How gratifying to read that Congress, good Democrats and Republicans alike, are not being swept away by the wave of dire threats issued by Paulson and Bernanke. What's that old saying? The first time the dog bites you, it's the dog's fault; the second time, it's your fault. This dog bit us twice already - the Iraq war and the Patriot Act. It would be inexcusable to let it bite us again.So kudos

2008-09-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Bernanke is telling Congress that a recession is likely if they don't give Paulson his blank check. Right. And what he's not telling them is that a recession is likely is they do give Paulson his blank check. Please! Let Congress use their common sense, for a change. Let them not be stampeded into another disaster.

2008-09-22T18:56:00.001-07:00

If Congress gives Paulson the bailout money the Bush Administration is trying to extort from the American people - the $700+bn - without punitive conditions attached to its use, we may as well just line up to claim our status as serfs and turn over our country to the overlords. Listen to (or read) whatDean Baker BAKER: Well, essentially, what the President has asked for is a $700 billion blank

2008-09-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

It's time to Tax the Speculators, according to Chuck Collins, in The Nation:<...> ...what happens when a whole sector of the economy has been cooked and billions of dollars have...been stashed in offshore bank accounts? How are the crooks held accountable for robbing our entire economy? Here are six actions that will fairly generate over $400 billion a year to pay for a broad-based economic

2008-09-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Something to contemplate:Meltzer Calls Paulson Plan `Social Democracy at Its Worst' By Bob WillisSept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve historian Allan Meltzer said U.S. government efforts to cleanse financial institutions of troubled loans shouldn't be financed by taxpayers. ``I certainly don't think this is the taxpayers' problem,'' said Meltzer, a professor of political economy at Carnegie

2008-09-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Listen to Democracy Now: Hear how the bailout of Fannie May, Freddie Mac and AIG is just more class war. Increasingly, the next president will be hamstrung by decisions of the current administration: be handed a broken system and then be blamed for not fixing the unfixable.<...>AMY GOODMAN: Michael Hudson, we’re talking government bailout, which means taxpayers stuck with the bill. Do you think

2008-09-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Visit Count the Lies for a review of lies McCain has told.

2008-09-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

For over two years, Obama, in the face of scorn from Republicans and even some Democrats, has maintained that we should engage in talks not just with our friends but with our enemies, specifically, Iran. Now five former U.S foreign secretaries - Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker and Henry Kissinger - are saying we should talk to Iran. Once again, Obama proves to

2008-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Democrats have been handling McCain with kid gloves because he once was a prisoner of war, and because he served our country in war time. Well, friends, that was a long time ago, and the person who was John McCain then is not the person who is John McCain now. Why do I say that? The McCain we see now lies and cheats. He has no honor. He surrendered it when he jumped off the Straight Line Express

2008-09-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Have you got a strong stomach, steel nerves, a dead conscience? Then this video may not bother you. Unquestionably, it's sick stuff. I couldn't watch it - I listened to it instead. But I wonder: on the basis of selling the lives of wolves to hunters, can Palin claim to be an expert on the economy? After all, money was involved, and she could see net profit. Does net profit make her a wizard even

2008-09-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Blizzard of Lies The Straight Talk Express may not realize, after being immersed in Bush culture for 8 years, that lying is a form of cheating. (Don't you love that word, immersed? I especially find apt the definition: Biol. embedded in another organ. Yep. That's where you'll find Mccain/Palin: embedded in Bush's...well, you can chose which organ for yourself.)

2008-09-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Straight Talk Express takes a nose dive:Don't miss this one!John "Clean Campaign" McCain, approved these messages:Integrity? Don't be absurd! Pure pandering of the worst sort. Ambition claims another one.Palin billed Alaska for nights spent at homeIs dishonesty endemic to Republicans? They have such huge notions of entitlement, they don't even think they are stealing when they do stuff like

2008-09-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Experience is Over-RatedSarah Palin stated again, most recently in her interview yesterday by ABC’s Charlie Gibson, that she has foreign policy experience because as governor of Alaska she has been in charge of that state’s National Guard, and because Alaska is, doggone it, “right next” to Russia. Most of Palin's "experience" happened here.This made me feel pretty good, because it made me realize

2008-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

On the California Dems blog, Party Line, a talented writer, Kevin Smith, takes on the myth, In Depth: When a Maverick is Just an Elephant:<...>During McCain’s acceptance speech he said, “And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming.”Excuse me Senator, that “old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first,

2008-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Another kind of elitism: Sarah Palin's AlaskonomicsSarah Palin thinks she is a better American than you because she comes from a small town, and a superior human being because she isn't a journalist and has never lived in Washington and likes to watch her kids play hockey. Although Palin praised John McCain in her acceptance speech as a man who puts the good of his country ahead of partisan

2008-09-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Remember yesterday, I said that decent Republicans have left the Party? Here's one of them writing on the vital topic of McCain's Integrity. <...>In the end, his final concern is not national security. No one who cares about national security would pick as vice-president someone who knows nothing about it as his replacement. No one who cares about this country's safety would gamble the security

2008-09-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a comment from DS, posted to a Reuters blog article. It gives you hope to see that some people are out there trying to combat the McSame lies by providing hard, cold facts. Thanks, DS, whoever you are! Listen up, folks! It's your wallet. September 10th, 2008 4:46 pm GMT Today in America the wealthiest 1% owns more than everyone in the bottom 95% combined. Income inequality is at its

2008-09-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

Sure, I've been tough on the Repugs today, but before you launch your attack on me for lumping all Republicans together as greedy, dishonest, war-mongering profiteers, allow me to say that any decent Republicans left the Party long ago. Those still registered Republican haven't got souls, and nothing I say here is going to change that fact, plain and simple.

2008-09-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

US now in the 'end game' in IraqRemember when we won the war in Afghanistan? It looks like we are about to win in Iraq, too. We just have to be there for the next 50 years or so. Biden says McCain reprising 2000 attacks Repuglicans never change. Why should they when the public keeps swallowing their line? It's been working for them for many elections now, and the only drawback is the damage to

2008-09-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Obama accuses McCain camp of lies, phony outrage Obama pleads, "So spare me the phony outrage, spare me the phony talk about change. We have real problems in this country right now. The American people are looking to us for answers, not distractions, not diversions, not manipulations." But Republicans love distractions, diversions and manipulations! That's their stock in trade. Why throw in a

2008-09-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

Washingon insider, 90% "there's gonna be more wars" McBush wants us to jump on the 100 years War of the Crusaders bandwagon. Just mark your X in the box next to McCain/Palin in November and you're on board for an interesting ride. Of course, you won't be around to see the conclusion of the war, and old McCain certainly won't be around. I mean, let's face it: he's probably not going to live out

2008-09-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing about Palin: she's likeable enough. You can see that she is sincere in her beliefs and tries to live up to her ideals. Those things were true of "heck of a job, Brownie," too. The question isn't how likeable or sincere a candidate might be unless she is also qualified. Last night, at the Republican convention, they made a monumental effort to deprecate Obama's qualifications to

2008-08-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Don't be deceived by spinning pundits who trumpet Obama's choice of Biden as a show of weakness. It is one more example of Obama's good judgment. It shows his wisdom when he draws people to him who will challenge, not just augment, his vision. He is not looking for rubber stamps.We have seen what evils can occur when a president surrounds himself with and only listens to those of like mind.

2008-07-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

It's time to fire up the old blog again, to have a voice, however small, promoting my preferences for the 2008 election.I'll get right down to it: for the sake of our country, for all that we represent as a nation of laws and as an aspiring democracy, it must be Barack Obama for president in 2008. Not that he is the only one who could save us from this horrendous slide toward corporate fascism,

2006-05-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

You've been reading all about Congress making English our offical language and you're wondering where this fits into the immigration issue. You can find a few hints in Wikipedia's entry on Language and Nationalism:Language and NationalismA common language has been a defining characteristic of the nation, and an ideal for nationalists...The formation of nation-states, and their consolidation after

2006-05-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Illegals granted Social SecurityHow gratifying that the Senate voted down the Ensign Amendment. You'd almost think they've been listening to Woody Guthrie:Deporteeby Woody GuthrieThe crops are all in and the peaches are rottingThe oranges are stuck in their creosote dumpsThey’re flying’em back to that Mexico borderTo pay all their wages to wade back againGoodbye to Juan, goodbye RosalitaAdios, mi

2005-04-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

So the minority voice in the Senate may be silenced. So mayhem rages in Iraq. So we lose battles to save our most precious natural resources. So our country is being sold to the highest bidder...or at least to close friends of the reigning party. So the new pope is an arch conservative. Yet, you may console yourself with this: Bush has not yet achieved the destruction of Social Security, his most

2005-01-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

Can you say "Scare Tactics?" Here's the mushroom cloud of the Social Security debate:Social Security tax hike fearedBush official predicts 50% jump with no revampAlan Fram - Associated PressSaturday, January 15, 2005Washington --- Social Security taxes will have to rise by half if lawmakers don't revamp the giant program, President Bush's budget chief said Friday as the administration sought

2005-01-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

URGENT Next week's Senate confirmation hearings are our only chance to hold Condoleezza Rice accountable. We deserve the truth. Sign the petition. Let's stop rolling over for these Neocons!

2005-01-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

So today there are reports that the search for WMD in Iraq is officially over, with no weapons found, much of Iraq destroyed and many dead. How long it will be before we hear reports that THERE WAS NO CRISIS in Social Security - and how much of that program will be destroyed?

2004-11-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

What's the news from Iraq? Deadliest attacks on Iraqi security forces since Saddam fell January elections? How? ----------- And here's an item sure to inspire hope for the Middle East: Peace plan summit GEORGE W. Bush and Tony Blair will try to thrash out a new Middle East peace plan as Yasser Arafat's health hangs in the balance. They've done such a fine job in Iraq... ----------- A

2004-11-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

So we have Bush for another four years. Fortunately many of us enjoy a good fight. Assuming we are a free nation then, 2008 will reflect a backlash that is sure to follow four years of Bush's bungled public policy. We've got a firm start toward a liberal base that we can build on. Of course we will have to purge our party of the Zell Miller wannabes first, but if we keep in mind that almost half

2004-11-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Kerry would do well not to concede until at least Nov. 17. These election results are unbelievable.

2004-11-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the day we discover whether America still has a soul. If Bush is elected, we have put our fears ahead of our hopes. If you're still undecided, please take a moment to consider the ramifications of your vote. To help you out, here's a couple of resources: The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration Newspaper and Media Endorsements Compelling reasons for me, personally,

2004-03-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Soon I will post an essay on the uses of character assassination, as its use varies from the political to the merely personal. It's an interesting phenomenon. We tend to flock to it like sheep to a salt block. We've all nipped at the edges of it. It's an annoyance when used politically and it can be devastating when used personally. But more later. Invest in our future - send in your donation

2004-03-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

Another egregious fact attack by BushCo. The liars are in full cry. Are you safer today than you were before Bush started his preemptive war? Bush's Iraqi Terrorism Laboratory; Was it Worth it? Ask the Spaniards, Phillipinos, Moroccans, Saudis, Turks and the rest of the nations that have been victims of explosion in terrorism since the Iraq Invasion if the world is a safer place thanks to

2004-03-12T04:25:00.000-08:00

Instead of demanding an apology, you'd think the Republicans would understand when Kerry said of them, "We're going to keep pounding. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen. It's scary." After all, aren't Republicans the masters of preemption? Or is that only the neocons? Speaking of neocons, I wonder how it feels these days to be a Republican who has voted for

2004-03-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

We gotta get rid of this scary guy because there isn't anywhere to run in a new search for religious freedom...and we need to do it before we find ourselves living The Handmaid's Tale. Bush Tells Evangelicals He Will Fight Gay Marriage In addition to gay marriage, Bush touted his decision last year to sign a ban on a type of late-term abortion and said, "We will vigorously defend this law

2004-03-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

You all remember how Bush forbade news coverage or images of dead soldier's from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? Yet he has the gall to use images from 9/11 as if he owned them. As a matter of fact, Bush seems to have a real problem understanding the boundaries between governing and owning: he's sold our country to the highest corporate bidders, allowing them to gouge us when they provide us

2004-03-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Dennis Kucinich was my candidate from the beginning. I believe in his platform, and I was aghast when, even though he was winning in all the internet polls on Moveon.org, he was judged by some faceless forces of the Party to be unelectable - or as they so tactfully put it, "not viable." Still, I continued to support him and my admiration for him grew as I learned more about his agenda and his

2004-03-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Just when you are about to give up on the world, you read something like this: Another kind of spring break Or this: Florida Again

2004-03-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Much brouhaha on the DNC blog today about posters being banned and having their dissenting posts deleted. It's sad that many of the regular posters can't understand why that's undemocratic. Indeed, they vigorously defend their right to do it - or the management's right to do it, that is. There are notable exceptions: Lance Collins, for example, wrote: I have a bit of a problem with posts that

2004-03-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

No day shall be complete without a few good links. Here are a few more compelling reasons to banish Bush: IUCN List Of Threatened Species The Sixth Great Extinction: A Status Report How Industry Won the Battle of Pollution Control at E.P.A.

2004-03-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Although I've given up watching what masquerades as news on the television, I happened to stumble on CNN's Wolf Blitzer this afternoon discussing a poll, as I explain in the letter I sent to CNN: Dear Staff: Early this afternoon, Mr. Blitzer was discussing a recent CNN poll which shows Kerry leading over Bush by a comfortable margin. However, when asked who was expected to win, Mr. Blitzer

2004-03-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

To outrage you: Selling Death for Fun and Profit Aristide's Final Hours To sober you: THE SIXTH GREAT EXTINCTION: A Status Report To cheer you: In Illinois poll, Kerry's cruising

2004-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

You all know what a shill is, don't you? I know of at least one political blog that is composed almost entirely of shills. Sure, hapless players wander in from time to time, but for the most part, it's the same old faces loading the deck with frantic knight-errantry. It's an act of desperation. We are all consumed by fear that Bush will somehow get another four years to trash America. Still, it

2004-03-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

There are times, however, when you regret riling the powerful. I'm not sure which political party is worst, but I do know that many individuals simply cannot deal with power. They are bound to misuse it.

2004-03-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

Does anybody else see the irony of Bush's using the 9/11 dead to advance his campaign while simultaneously forbidding any photos of the flag-draped caskets of dead soldiers returned from Iraq? He wouldn't be trying to manipulate public opinion, would he?

2004-03-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

Kerry's Shifts: Nuanced Ideas or Flip-Flops? Mr. Kerry's explanations for a number of the recent stances Republicans are branding as flip-flops have a common thread. He voted for the Iraq resolution but criticizes the war because, he says, the president "broke his promises" to exhaust the diplomatic process and use force only as a last resort. Kerry probably thought, as many of us did, that

2004-03-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

How Ralph Nader Might Help the Democrats ....This year, Nader's candidacy might be a blessing for the Democrats. It has to do with the benefits of negative campaigning - and how it helps and hurts candidates. We have learned some things about negative campaigning. First of all, it works. It drives away support from the candidate who is the target of a negative campaign. But there is a problem

2004-03-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

Any discussion of Nader is apt to elicit four letter words from normally civil people. It's sad. If we can't talk prospective Nader voters into supporting Kerry with our clear and compelling arguments, why would foul language work? And what purpose is served by expressing anger against someone who is honestly trying to do what he sees as his moral responsibility? We might sigh and shake our heads

2004-03-05T05:12:00.000-08:00

Speaking of Nader, I could tell the story of how - on a Democratic blog where I frequently post - my account was disabled when I posted material favorable to Nader. Apparently we can't even talk about his candidacy. Why am I thinking this is somehow undemocratic? Why am I embarrassed for those people who can't bear to speak his name - or hear it? Funny thing is, I'd gone back to the blog to post

2004-03-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

Contrary to popular opinion: Nader is not an enemy of the people

2004-03-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

The GOOD: Krugman on Greenspan The BAD: Brooks on poverty The UGLY: America's Expanding Middle

2004-02-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

"It's the TEAMWORK, stupid!" The best common sense!

2004-02-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

Common Sense at CommonDreams It makes perfect sense to me, all except that line about the Kucinich charade...

2004-02-27T11:20:00.000-08:00

Nostalgic for the 50s?

2004-02-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

Alan Greenspan "He enjoys classical music, tennis, the writings of Ayn Rand, and reportedly writes all his speeches in the bathtub." Suddenly everybody is speculating on his political beliefs and goals. One clue lies in the preceding sentence of his ABC bio: Ayn Rand, mistress of folly, author of The Virtue of Selfishness, founder of the Ayn Rand Institute to further the study of

2004-02-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

After listening to the Democrats bemoan the candidacy of Ralph Nader for president, I am suddenly sick of politics. Maybe it's time to talk of whether pigs have wings.