Are Americans in Line for Gitmo? by Ray McGovern -- Antiwar.com

A few hundred years ago, the Inquisition was in full force. People were arrested, jailed, tortured and killed because of rumor and suspicion. Rumor and suspicion was all it took to kill thousands of people. And greed. Actual proof never came into the process.

In the 1600's here in this country (before we were a country), people were arrested, jailed indefinitely and quite a few killed based on suspicion and rumor. Again, actual proof was never on the agenda.

During World War II, thousands of people were put in camps here in the US only because they were of Japansese descent -- no crimes, no courts, no proof of wrongdoing.

I really don't understand what is going through the minds of those who we, collectively, have put in office. Because it looks like we're going down that same road.

Are Americans in Line for Gitmo? by Ray McGovern -- Antiwar.com

Why?

Unbelievable Rant on MSNBC! Reporter CRACKS & Spews TRUTH! Occupy Wall S...

Powerful:



We really do need to get the money out. In more ways than one. In the Capitol, we need to get rid of the lobbyists and the special interest groups. More than that, we need to do something about that oh-so-sweet pension our elected officials enjoy when they retire (or are fired voted out of office). Maybe then we would get people running who actually want to be part of the solution rather than being the problem. Maybe then we'll get people who are more than petty bureaucrats who want to get rich and retire on the government's dime.

The pension for Senators, Representatives and Presidents? Their entire annual salary plus that very sweet benefits package for the rest of their lives.

Apathy in America

As I watched yet another GOP presidential wannabe implode, I started thinking about how we came to this point. This point where a group of clowns in nice suits can spawn our possible next president. How can this be?  The Occupy movement is going strong, for all the attempts to shut it down. Even with the attacks on our educational system, this is still a mostly intelligent and educated society. So what's with the acceptance of these total losers as possible presidential material?

Then I got the answer: Apathy. Yup, that's right, apathy. How can that be? you ask. How can it NOT be, I say.

Too many people are living horror stories. Private, personal horror stories. They've lost their jobs, their homes, their savings, and there isn't an end in sight. All they see on the news is bad. The economy sucks, the war in the Mideast drags on, and now, on top of everything, on the horizon is a holiday that used to be a time of hope. Too many people have seen their futures destroyed along with the futures of their children. Some may have taken part in the Occupy movement in the beginning, but that doesn't put food on the table or clothes on their backs and it doesn't pay the rent.

Then they start listening to a bunch of people who are jockeying for position to become the next President of the United States. At first, they probably laugh and scoff, but then they start hearing what they want to hear: Quick, easy answers to all their problems. It doesn't matter that these "solutions" won't work. Its what they want to hear.

This is what really scares me. One of the clowns may become president because people can't afford to care any more and will vote for the one with the easy answers with no substance.

Remembering too much

Remember September 11, 2001. Today is the 10th anniversary of that day. It isn't something that anyone can really forget. But isn't it time we stopped picking at the scab and let it scar over? We really need to grow through and past what happened. It really doesn't do anyone any good to keep the memory so fresh that we can't finish grieving for what happened.

Does anyone remember April 19, 1995? I'm sure some do, but this is a date we should remember as well.

This is just plain wrong

This isn't what I was going to say today, but a friend pointed out that "Deviant Art" is dropping the ball big time.  Here's what my friend had to say:

Dear Deviant Art:

How long will it be before you open your eyes and see that the 'joking' stamps about rape are not jokes, that they are warning signs that the person who makes them sees rape as funny and encourages others who think like they do? We report them and you seem to just giggle and ignore us, as if you agree with these sociopathic cretins that keep making these violent stamps. Well starting today, each time one comes to my attention there will be a post about it on all my blogs and on FB and Twitter. Oh and on Care2 as well. I want the world to see that Deviant Art seems to have a hatred of women and encourages that attitude. 
Shame on you for supporting rape, for that tells me you care little for the welfare of the women in your lives and I feel such sympathy for them. 
And so people can see what you support, let's share a link or three shall we? And I ask all who read this to report these stamps and even reblog this to get more people to pressure DA into doing the right thing.
Nastiness 1

Nastiness 2

Really? Some things are just plain wrong, and this is one of them. Okay, Deviant Art, time to wake up and fix this.

Tea Party? No!

Until the "Tea Party" is officially designated as a viable political party, we really need to stop using that term. At the very least, add in the word "Republican." Why? Because there will be no "Tea Party" designation on the ballots come election time. There are those who will look for their favorite "Tea Party" candidate....

Second, I really don't like the term "Tea Party" since it kind of means that they are patriots of some sort. Patriots with a very skewed sense of history. Apparently, all that tea was dumped into the Boston Harbor to stop the British from taxing us and the "Tea Partiers" are all about no taxation.... They forget about the other two words: "without representation."

I say we go back to calling them "Tea Baggers" since the term fits... "Tea Bagger Republican". I like the sound of that......

In Which I Lose My Temper Over Politics

Okay. I have had it. I am sick of the stupid partisan politics. I am sick of the idiocy that is happening over the national budget. I HAVE HAD IT! 

Dear Elected Officials: Do your f*cking job. So, you don't want Pres. Obama re-elected. WHO CARES! You know what people are going to remember?? Huh? Do you? They are going to remember you guys f*cking around with our lives. Guess who won't get re-elected..... Won't be just the Pres. ALL of you jerkwads are going to lose your jobs because you are being so f*cking stupid. Yes, I am PISSED OFF!

For some reason, ALL of these elected officials think the voting public is too stupid to remember any of this come election time. They had best think again because I, for one, will keep it to the top of the list of things to talk about. Maybe Boehner wants to find out first hand what its like to be unemployed? Maybe Sean Duffy thinks that we're all so forgetful and won't remember his pissing and moaning about how hard it is for him to pay his bills with a six figure salary when 3/4 of his constituents will never make half of that.

Stop screwing the people who put you in power just because you don't like the President. How does what you are doing keep him from getting re-elected? You think your voters won't remember? How stupid do you think we are? What was the plan? Ummmm, lets mess things up and then tell everyone that its the President's fault because he's the one in charge. Yeah, that'll work.

It is time to remember a little history. The big finance bail-outs? That was under the Bush presidency. Entry inton not one, but two wars? Yup, you guessed it, Bush again. Do the math. The budget problem was set up by A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT. Even better, the problems in the Bush presidency were set in action by.... THE FIRST BUSH PRESIDENT. Yes. And the rest of the budget problems? Well, do you really need to be told again that trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK. It never did, it never could, and you bought it like it was the gold standard. 

I am sick of all of it. Leave the politics out of the budget talks. Hell, leave the f*ucking partisan politics out of the whole thing. Each of you elected idiots has personal things you want to get passed... how many of those things actually help the people who put you in office? My guess is about 1% the rest is all for personal glory.

I am calling on the voters to vote every single one of these greedy, narcissistic asshats out of office. Let them be the ones trying to figure out how to feed their families and pay the doctor and keep a roof over their heads. I have had enough. 

Its time we all quoted the movie "Network."  "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I"M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT!"

The Dark Side of the Social Internet

I guess it was inevitable.

Social networking is THE thing these days what with blogging, FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace (well, maybe not so much) and other sites. Along with the social part comes something that everyone's mom would cringe at and would then send us to our rooms with no supper over... Rudeness.

Only its more than just being rude. Its some people feeling like they can get away with just about anything because of the anonymity afforded by the very nature of the internet. Everyone is basically faceless and unknown to everyone else and likely to stay that way.

This lends itself to blog comments calling the blog host a "moron" or an "imbecile". And it goes downhill from there. In extreme cases, the rudeness devolves into bullying and whether you are a direct target or not, bullying hurts everyone. 

The unfortunate thing is, most of these bullies hide behind the Constitution (if they're American) if they're caught. The vast majority are not caught or stopped. So, where does that leave us? In the dark, mostly. I don't have any answers. 

I wonder, though, would most of these internet bullies behave the same way in a real-life, face-to-face meeting? Would someone who disagreed with a movie or book review call the reviewer a "moron" right to their face? I'm guessing the majority of them would not. So, why do it in a blog comment? Because they can. Because there's a shield there: Anonymity. Yeah, maybe you fill out a form with a name and an email address in order to comment, but there's still no actual contact, no apparent reason to act respectfully toward the other person.

Right now the only weapons a person has is 'moderation' and ignoring the bully. What happens when you ignore a bully? They try harder. It becomes a 'Catch-22' situation that can easily spiral out of control. I don't like the possible answers, but I really don't like bullies.

Anyone have any ideas?

A Republican Who Supports Gay Marriage And Doesn

I'm not from New York. And I'm not a Republican. But right now, I'm very proud of a Republican from New York State. The Honorable Roy McDonald has restored my faith in humanity. I admire him. He is worthy of admiration.

A Republican Who Supports Gay Marriage And Doesn

He stood up against the party line and said "Enough!" He is doing what he's supposed to be doing. Its easy to uphold the rights of the strong, but difficult to help the weak secure those same rights. Democracy is NOT about making sure the strong continue to win. Its about making sure everyone has a chance to at least enter the playing field. Senator McDonald is doing his part to make for a more equal playing field.

Its very easy for us liberal types to lump all the conservatives together in one group and say that they're all the same. Hell, they do the same to us. But we know they're wrong about us, which pretty much makes it even money that we're wrong about them. And Sen. McDonald proves that. He said to hell with the party line and decided to stand up and fight for a group of people to get rights that they should already have. We need more people like him. I don't care what political party anyone belongs to, not really. What I care about is that those elected officials do what is right, not what is expedient. I want my elected officials to fight for my rights, which means they have to fight for the rights of everyone, whether I like them or not because my rights really won't mean a thing if someone else can't exercise the same.

Senator McDonald, thank you. Thank you for being an honorable, admirable person who believes that ALL Americans are entitled to equal rights.

Dancing With the Dead

Walking with the dead

In a fog shrouded night

Midst the gravestones of memories

In a cemetery of the past

The dead don't stay dead

In dreams

They walk the streets and alleys

Of the mind

Dredging up a past

Best forgotten

Dancing with the dead

In the night of the dark moon

Phantom musicians play

On and on forever more

The dancers continue

Until they rot and fall

To be trod on by the others

Dawn

Twisted Easter

Although I am not Christian, I did get into the secular part of Easter when my kids were small. I'd hide eggs and baskets. Occasionally, the cat would find said eggs while I was sleeping and we'd find an egg in the middle of the living room floor kinda cracked and smooshed.... apparently, Easter eggs are fine cat toys.

My kids discovered early on that there was no Easter bunny and chocolate bunnies also did not exist. We had the Easter Chipmunk. And really adorable Chocolate Chipmunks for them to eat. This happened by accident one year, and I had to foster that story on purpose for a lot of years after that (still do, btw).

As I was putting the baskets together one year (helping out said bunny), one of the chocolate bunnies was dropped and the ears broke off... Damn. Not only did they break off, they shattered. So, I warmed a knife up, and smoothed off the bunny's head (and ate the ears). Of course, I had to do the same for any other bunnies that were around. From that time on (1982 or so), the legend of the Easter Chipmunk lived.

In the late 1990's I was shopping for candy and discovered that one of the candy companies finally figured out what I had known all along: The best part of the choc. bunny was the ears. For a year or two, one could buy just the bunny ears! Of course, this did nothing to abate the ear-ectomies going on late at night on the night before Easter.

To this day, there are Easter Chipmunks wandering around, looking for a way to get into your celebrations.

Weird stuff that's in my head

I don't really "get" Easter. Its a Christian holy day that is determined in a very Pagan manner (the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox). From there, you count backwards for Good Friday, Maundy Thursday and Ash Wednesday.

Okay, now for the week leading up to Easter.... First, you have virtual cannibalism; then either a sacrifice, murder or execution; and finally, a couple days later, reincarnation (or a zombie, depends on who you talk to).

What I want to know is: Where do the chocolate bunnies come in? And the jelly beans?

The Fashion Police rant

There are things we see as adults that we just know if we had seen them as a child, we would have been scarred for life and would possibly never leave the house again.
Case in point: Larger woman in a very tight mini-skirt bending over to get something off the floor.... Ummmm, lady, the last thing I really need to see is your whoo-ha hanging out all over the place. Look in the mirror. Then look again as if you were looking at a stranger. Then, go back to your closet and find something else to wear so you don't flash (or moon) your co-workers.

There is more need these days for the fashion police than ever before. "Skinny" hip-hugger jeans really don't look good on anyone who wears a size 18 (or larger). Especially when said person seems to think they still wear a size 14. Add a 'belly shirt' and all eveyone else sees is muffin-tops. Made of jello. This is really not attractive. Please people! There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wearing the size that fits! Honest, there are clothes for those of us who are 'healthier' than the average that look good and are "in". I wear a size 20 and I don't have a problem actually purchasing clothes that not only fit, but look good.

Larger people aren't the only ones making the fashion faux pas these days. I have seen otherwise intelligent people leaving the house in color combinations that are not only unflattering, but you can get the same painful effect by scraping your eyes with a cheese grater. "Hey, Mister! Whoever told you that it was okay to wear a lime green and blaze orange tie was wrong." And, yes, there are times when its okay to mix different patterns. But it is never, ever okay to wear a red and blue striped shirt with yellow, green and black plaid pants (my ex did this regularly).

Finally, "Casual Fridays" does not mean wear your jammies to work. Nor does it mean that you can wear your rattiest, holiest, worn-out jeans with a Megadeth t-shirt. At least, not in an office setting. I'm sure that somewhere there exists a description of what "office casual" means. There has to be. I don't want to have to be the one to write it....

Dawn

The Bitch Post

January 5 and I'm ready for winter to be over.  Hello, welcome to my bitch post where I let off some steam and just complain about everything that bugs me.

Typos. Yeah, everybody has them, nobody wants them, and so many otherwise intelligent people don't fix them!  If you want me to take you seriously, fix your freakin' typos! Nothing says "I don't care" better than 'teh', 'adn', 'thier' and myriad other un-fixed mistakes.

Then there are those who refuse to use the right word.  Too, to and two are NOT interchangeable. A person bragging about being a teacher for 27 years should know the difference, but apparently not. Or, s/he is "to lazy too go back" and fix what is obviously a stupid mistake (made more stupid by not fixing it).

If you are under 30, don't bitch about being old.  Especially to me.

If your dress size is 6, don't bitch to me about being 'fat.'  I wear a size 20 sweetheart, and I will not be nice to you.

If you go out and get really, really drunk and then decide to call someone at 3:00 AM, don't be surprised if that person decides to play with you.  If I am the person you end up drunk dialing to, I WILL ask to speak to your mother and I WILL expect you to wake her up. Why? So I can ask her why you are unsupervised since you are obviously not in control of your own actions.  If your mother is not available, I will think of something else.  Your best bet is to leave the phone off.

I am not amused by people who drive cars through puddles and slush and the like just to splash pedestrians. I am so not amused by it that I will take down your license plate and file a complaint with the local police department.  Especially if I am on my way to work wearing a suit that needs to be dry-cleaned. You WILL pay.

Not everyone wants to listen to the music you are playing in your car.  Nor do we need to have our windows rattling. Yes, you are impressed by your wonderful sound-system in that really ratty beater you drive. Take it somewhere else. You made me miss half of the dialog on the television program I was watching.

If you are smart enough to have graduated from college, then you are smart enough to know that when I am reading a book and have headphones on, I really don't want to talk to you.

That's enough for now, I think.  I'll get around to the rest of the bitches later.

Dawn