Reasonably disgusted with congress... but what else is new.

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I absolutely hate to be right when it's something that I was hoping I was just too cynical about and was really wrong...
But- So much for the bipartisianship. No, I didn't think in a million years it would happen but I figured I could hope anyway.


Rush Limbaugh hopes Obama fails because he disagrees with his policies...
Sarah Palin is drooling at the chance to have the repubs run her in 2012.
Everyone's got their motives and designs, no one wants to cooperate and make things work.

More of the same old shit.

Why?
Because they can?
Because they're ALL children? Obnoxious children that MUST get their own way or no way at all.

Don't they believe there's a real economic disaster on the horizon?

At this point I'd rather they gave everyone money to pay off existing debt then play this game. Hey, show me the money!

I'm sick of it. Both parties do it. Obama has really tried and a few weeks in and nothing but criticism.
Golly gee, if only we could vote for the economic stimulus... we would, but of course we can't because we just don't like it.
So the repubs say nay and the dems vote it in so if something goes wrong then the republicans will harp on it for 2012 starting, well, right about now I'd say.
Limbaugh is at least honest this time, I'm pretty sure he and many others would like to see Obama fail.
Because it's not the country that comes first with them... it's saying outrageous things to keep people listening to them.
Money, money, money. That's what it's really about. if suddenly they became reasonable no one would listen.

Our elected officials can't even agree on extending the digital signal for the tv... nope, because damn that's really important.

Fine. Interesting situation we find ourselves in. What exactly are we (the working class backbone of this country) supposed to do? Sigh. Patience dear Laura, they know what's best for us, right? Um, right?

Obviously if it was left to the republicans and they had the majority, NOTHING would be getting done just for spite.
So I guess the majority of people that voted Obama in don't count for anything.

I'm feeling really, really frustrated and angry.

Or as Stealers Wheel put it:

Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you. the working class.
everybody struggling to get through.

Yay.

G'night

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Three days left until the Bush administration fades into the sunset!

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I understand why the incoming administration doesn't want to create a ruckus in the republican and democrat camps about the idea of looking into the Bush Administration's illegalities over the past 8 years. I really do. I get that it would create a media firestorm and has the possibility of a three ring circus-like atmosphere. I know if it was taken to congress it would tie them up inexorably in endless testimony and argument. I realize it would take money to run such proceedings, that we don't want to invest the time and cost of hearings at this point in time.


I also know that what Barack Obama said: “I don’t believe that anybody is above the law... we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards.” doesn't even remotely begin to cover the issue at hand. I know that this logic is sound in the sense that in the grip of an economic meltdown he wants to keep the good will of both parties together and move the country forward towards a better time than now. Maybe he feels that an investigation into the policies and practices of the Bush administration would take necessary time and be a distraction to current pressing problems.


But I really needed a firmer condemnation of the blatent disregard the outgoing administration's towards human rights, constitutional law and overstepping of power of office. Bad enough we were sent to war under false pretense but to allow this to happen without bringing any accountability to bear is beyond wishing for bipartisanship. It is unconscionable and ignores the truth and justice that we keep being told is the American way of democracy.

At the very least set up a special commitee and create a report.

Paul Krugman article NY Times
We're talking some gross disregard for the laws, more along the possibility of Watergate, arguably in some cases even worse. There were hearings over Iran/Contra, Nixon resigned under clouds of wrongdoing, others went to jail...


For god's sake the republicans against the wishes of the majority of the people in this country spent a fortune on Kenneth Starr and his report while trying to impeach Bill Clinton because he lied about, uh, "getting a Lewinski?" Seriously. This country was dragged through the mud because of a vendetta for Clinton... over what? Not even close to the things this administration has done, and shows no remorse for doing.


It's not possible that as a country we will turn away from foul policies that caused so many deaths and trampled all over what our country is supposed to stand for???
This is the major problem with this country right now. It's always the other guy's fault. As a matter of fact Bush himself stated: "If it feels good do it, if you got a problem blame somebody else..."
No one takes responsibility for f**king up anymore straight on up to our elected officials/ People lie, cheat and steal... if it's overlooked at the top how do you expect the "average joe's" to be more noble then them?
The response to the near disaster plane in NY's Hudson River shows what our country and our people are capable of. Please Barack Obama as President: don't let this administration get away with these crimes.


Congressional hearings and further justice can be put on the back burner for a later date while you work on the economy but there must be an official record of this travesty.

The time is thankfully near to a new administration and hopefully to a better future.

G'night,

Laura

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Fifteen days to the close of George W Bush's amazing legacy...

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This is why I think we need more than the luck that we've been running this country on:

I see the democrats and the republicans as opposing factions that are part of the same enormous problem.

The best analogy I explanation I can give is reflected in the behavior of packs of dogs.

The republicans have at least one powerful dog that immediately upon seeing the prize knocks all the other dogs out of the way and lunges at the meaty bone to grasp it. It runs off with the bone in its mighty jaws. The rest of the republican dogs take off in a flash after the top dog with the bone. There are usually three plans in the pack’s mind.

1) The idea of catching up to and stealing back the bone. This a ploy to wrest the lead dog’s position of power by gaining control over the bone. Ultimately nothing truly changes and the chase remains on. The only difference is the dog leading the charge.

2) The pack races in pursuit hoping to scoop up any stray morsels of meat that jar loose during the mad chase. They are always happy to take credit for any hunks of meat they can scavenge as if it was won in a fight or given freely to them although they did nothing themselves. This is a popular republican dog belief that roughly follows the idea that if you throw enough shit at the wall, something is bound to stick eventually, but in the mean time, there's enough excess crap to go around and sustain most of the other dogs.

3) The longest term goal is in the hopes of convincing the lead dog to share while offering loyalty and services in exchange (officially the I stroke your belly you stroke mine position). Though the democrat dogs often mimic this goal they're rarely successful at it as their loyalty is not as structured as the republican dogs.

No matter which belief governs any one dog’s behavior, their strong point is that all the republican dogs at least run in the same general direction even though their loyalties may lie in different places. On at least a primeval level the dogs recognize the concept of strength in numbers (and stampeding over the opposition). They're far more conservative and rigid than the democrat dogs. They only want to further their beliefs and causes. They don't particularly care about the well-being or representation of those dogs not behaving according to the laws of their pack.

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The democrats believe in fairness to all dogs (at least in principle) and care about the plight of “the everyday or main street dog.” In the name of impartiality and tolerance they take the bone and throw it up for grabs over all the dogs making it almost impossible for one particular lead dog to keep control over the pack for any amount of time. Their pack's behavior is governed by somewhat different behavioral rules from the republican dogs.

1) In the event one dog becomes too powerful and holds onto the bone too long the others nip, nag, bite, bark and growl at the top dog until they bring it down. Upon rare instances they psychologically injure the lead dog making it useless for any position of authority but do allow it a pity factor. The injured dog then is allowed to whine endlessly without reprimand.

2) They meet in order to decide their game plan for holding on to the bone in large groups. When they can't agree on protocol they actively attack the dog holding the bone or those even remotely near the bone. The democrat dogs then get any hold on the meaty bone they can and spend all their time, tearing and tugging it back and forth. They stay in one place and get nowhere fast.

3) There isn't actually a third rule since there aren't any democrat dogs alive that still can remember deliberately overcoming the perpetual tail chasing around in circles in order to consistently succeed. The democrat dogs would be so intensely involved in arguing every possible course of action they could take before any option could be put in effect. They would inevitably take their eyes off of the bone. All it took was one unprotected moment for a lead republican dog to swoop in and steal the bone away. Often it took quite a while for the democrat dogs to realize their loss.

The democrat dogs have a major problem with remaining in power over the republican dogs because they can't seem to get out of their own way. They self-destruct with in fighting and a lot of barking without biting. They periodically gather to rebuild the group in order to have something to tear apart again. They are more liberal and scattered in their beliefs and therefore often sabotage any power they accidentally acquire through unintentional solidarity. They understand the merit of the republican dogs strategy for living but choose not to follow it. The democrat dogs see themselves as representing every living dog and want to give them their day. Unfortunately every dog doesn't want the democrat dogs to represent the dogs they don't agree with.

This political impasse between the packs always leads to stalemate and selective justice for the general masses of dogs, for neither the republican or democrat dogs make a huge difference over the long run.

Many see themselves as free-range dogs that are happy to live out their days trying to balance work and play to maintain their many obligations. They don't understand why all dogs can't live and work together toward mutual goals. But the free-range dogs aren't in charge and the democrat and republican dogs maintain that they know what’s best for all dogs and must protect them from not only themselves but the dog eat dog world they live in.

I wonder what a dog biscuit is worth these days?

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No political news tonight just the bedtime story...

G'night

Laura

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