fyi

"But by far the most extraordinary part of this luncheon is the antipathy the gathered members exhibit toward the American people for having the temerity to vote the Democrats back into power. When Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong bemoans the lack of "sympathetic ears" on Capitol Hill, Rumsfeld offers that the American people lack "the maturity to recognize the seriousness of the threats." What's to be done? According to Rumsfeld, "The correction for that, I suppose, is [another] attack."

h/t at largely

if you think that these people are out of the way simply because they are voted out- think again. they become policy makers at think tanks and institutes- or lobbyists- or donors to various friendly candidates. they could care less about you and me- as is evidenced by the fact that america and the rest of the world is now in the toilet. i hate to sound so cynical but the people who are 'governing' us- feel this way about us. hillary clinton- well, you heard how she talked about us 'progressives' over here trying to change the election process:

"Moveon.org endorsed [Sen. Barack Obama] -- which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down," Clinton said to a meeting of donors. "We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me."

not pleased at activism when it supports her rival. we are a means to an end- and the religious right may finally be figuring that out. they have been used like the black voters in the democratic party- simply tools. i harbor no illusions that barak obama as president is going to be a magical panacea for what ails this country. the people of this country ails this country. the people who become politicians ails this country. when you have people still not voting for a candidate because of the color of his skin- and you have political opponents taking advantage of that fact in order to garner votes- that's what ails this country.

i am moving out of my neighborhood soon- and i can't say that i am going to miss it one bit. i don't believe i have lived amongst more bigoted, prejudiced people in my life. apparently, i am an elitist because these folks are all blue collar whites and don't want any blacks moving into their neighborhood- or gays to marry. i stopped going to block parties because everytime i went someone would say something untoward and i would have to rebut. now, they can sit in their little circle and have at it. obviously, i was unable to change any hearts and minds. imagine my surprise when the newest neighbor next door found out i was moving and told me not to rent to blacks. his wife says, "it's a real problem for him." no kidding. these are the folks who vote clinton. the folks just south of me in scranton, pa- these are the proud americans who voted clinton. it makes me sick. so, by all means, try and reach out to these "people" and attempt to heal the nation. i think it's far too late. this nation has been on life support- and i really think it's beyond time to pull the plug.