Common Sense for Uncommon Times - Fair and Balanced |
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Random, occasionally rambling thoughts with links to interesting, scandalous, or partisan news of the day. Fair and Balanced 
We owe the liberty and freedom we take for granted to the enlisted men and women in the armed forces. They sacrifice family, ease, and even life laboring in service to all of us. The least we can do for them is honor their devotion with dignified pay scales, decent education for themselves and their children, and reasonable compensation for service away from their families and death on the battlefield. Flag waving politicians who praise the troops on one hand and cut their pay and benefits with the other should be deeply ashamed of themselves.
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Sunday, December 05, 2004
Time for a vent and some rambling thoughts on trends to wake. Nascar dads, security moms, the daddy and mommy parties, framing, Lakoff, DNC chairs, and another election decided by voters clueless about the implications of their votes. When your time horizon is next week's paycheck, it might seem easier to trust Republican happy talk about how much money that tax cut put in your pocket. Maybe fears that the Democrats are just too weak on security or likely to turn over your schools, churches, hospitals, and road to marauding bands of marrying gays. Whatever the reason, the Democratic arguments for fairness, tax progressivity, social security, and health care aren't getting traction with enough lower and middle class voters who are one of their natural constituencies. If the Democrats are losing, and they are, as the mommy party, what can they do to change the playing field. First, they've got to call out the Republicans on their abusive behavior. From Delay to Frist to Bush, the pattern of verbal abuse, non-cooperation, derision and neglect is clear. We've got to bring the pattern to the forefront, so when people see it they can recognize it. Secondly, and most importantly, we have to change the kind of daddy party the Republicans are. They want Jimmy Stewart and Ronald Reagan. We have to make them into a Saddam-faced mix of Scrooge, Scott Peterson, and Strom Thurmond. We've got to point out they have become the party of deadbeat dads who neglect their kids emotionally, shirk their child support, and leave the kids nothing but heartache. They've got to be ball and chained to an image so Dickensian that no woman, and no man with kids of his own, would ever vote for them again. Republicanism must become synonymous with first of all, greed. It's a sin. We all understand it. We all know how ugly it is. We have to make greedy Republican a redundancy. We have to point out their victims more clearly; their children and grandchildren. It's time to dump the mis-named tax cut and speak clearly about a tax shift to future generations. With interest. If we were building schools or educating teachers or building the next generation alternative energy systems, perhaps our progeny could forgive us for being profligate with their wealth. Tax cuts for the rich and a misguided adventure in Iraq aren't even going to begin to explain what we were thinking. And boomers. Sheesh. We've been paying social security taxes through the nose since Greenspan decided we should have a trust fund. A couple hundred billion dollars a year right from our pockets into the general budget. THAT's the Eff'ing money that should have been put into the stock market, not into treasuries. THAT's the couple hundred billion a year EXTRA our kids and grandkids have to come up with. Because the Republicans pissed it away. First Reagan. Then Bush II. It's in their genes to be stupid about money, and the only thing to do is keep them away from it. They're deadbeats and they don't care about tomorrow. Deadbeat Daddy Party. Sure they're tough, but who gives a shit. They're assholes. Lousy parents. Lousy planners. And blamers. That's another wind-me-up topic. One month post election, the major cabinet posts are shuffled. Who'd left? The one guy who singlehandedly has made more mistakes than any cabinet official in history. From WMD to Abu Ghraib to flowers in the street to six weeks or six months. His whole crew is filled with crackpots and lunatics. You'd be a fool to trust your daughter to date a single one of these maniacs. Why are they still around. Well, maybe the Deadbeat Daddy Party just doesn't think the husband is ever to blame. Always the wife's fault. Sound familiar? Like every deadbeat dad you ever met who had a damn good reason not to pay his child support. Not my fault. couldn't be. nope. not me. Clinton is attacked from Washinton to Nome for eight years. His biggest provable sin? Lying about sex. Bush gets a free pass for breaking the Geneva convention, torturing prisoners, presiding over massive increases in fiscal irresponsibility, invading innocent countries at the cost of over 1200 American lives, uncounted Iraqi lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars of hard earned tax dollars. Where's the blame? None for Daddy, that's for sure. I guess when you think our President is also Jesus reincarnated, it might be time to rethink the blame thing. Speaking of Jesus, how about a Jeff Foxworthy routine on the the Deadbeat Daddy Party. Ripping off his riffs on "how do you know if you're a redneck?": If you've got two Porsches and a Hummer in the garage, you might be a Republican?" If the caddies at the golf course all know your name, shoe size, and favorite cocktail, you might be a Republican. If you think getting under 100 in bowling is good, you might be a Republican. If the only Spanish speaking person you know is your maid, you might be a Republican. If your Jesus doesn't like poor people, you might go to a Republican church. If your God still smites with firebolts, you might want to stay away from Pat Robertson for awhile. Send me yours. posted by Dave on 10:22 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- |