Thoughts provoked by an old house in need of renovation, its garden, a marriage lived within its walls, and of a retired Thoroughbred race horse named Fibs and Flannel.
Progressives? Are you there? Ms. Maddow (and I, most humbly, not wanting to even suggest that I might be even remotely in the same league as this wonderful woman), right along with all our friends at Firedoglake, and everyone else who is going to wake back up again after the lull of getting the appearance of a win (ps: I contacted Dodd's office, my senator who isn't the evil one saying he will join the Republicans -- Wait! Didn't he already do that? --, and filibuster the Reid plan to tell him that contrary to what he claims in his latest email seeking contributions, to tell him that, no, this is not a "big win") and get back to work.
We've got a real public option that is not optional, limited to the uninsured, nor up to the states to decide.
President Obama addressing the DNC in San Francisco
Grab a mop!
Love that chuckle. Gotta' love that chuckle.
Ah, the GOP. What would we do without them?
Gotta' give them credit for entertainment value in the material they provide for parody.
Can you chuckle again, Mr. President? That'd do me good.
Tracy Chapman's opener for the President wouldn't be bad, though, to start the day. And here's Speaker Nancy Pelosi's remarks, followed by the President's. ....
That's really the very, very nicest thing I think anyone who isn't a Teabagger could think to call them. All the other republicans had to join the Democrats and the Independents in November, and I'd bet they'd really like to have their political party back.
My capitalist French friends know it's all true, but it's so hard for them to wrap their cerveaux around this and accept that it can be, "Mais, why do you not stop thees?"
When politicians get accused of being in the pockets of the private financial interests here, well, they've got nothing on the USA. Must be some sort of decency that comes from centuries of feudal history or something that prevents such boldfaced indecency as Americans appear to feel is justified.
C'mon! We can do better. Yes we can.
Remember that, or is that just what the fans chant at European soccer matches now? ....
BecauseJesus is our King. -- Demonstrator, 9/12 Washington Tea Party
What struck me more than the ignorance and assumption of fact and the irrelevance of supporting evidence the people interviewed showed -- we all know all about that by now, unfortunately -- was the fact that when the young independent (I am supposing) interviewer from NewLeftMedia countered their assumptions with facts without being condescending or aggressive, some actually listened and admitted not knowing about what he had said.
That is a very tiny possible indication that even tinier baby steps in education on a really, really small scale, one-to-one or small group interaction with people of widely opposing points of view, is just possibly maybe just possible.
Can you imagine worse than being isolated amongst people who are so ignorant of reality, insulating one another and giving comfort in each other's point of view, and what it must feel like to look out at the world from that rabbit hole?
By the way, did I hear a chant of "Shame France! Shame France! Shame France!"?
I got to get back to my drafting (paving plans) before the workers beat me to it and start twiddling their thumbs, which is never, ever a good thing. My husband is already on my case to get the windows sealed and finish the balcony before the weather turns permanently foul.
I'm on it. Right after I check out the NYT's OpEd page to see what they have to say after Baucus's delivery of exactly the garbage he promised to take care of his constituents.
PS: I checked. This is what we get, Ron Wyden of Oregon's Free Choice amendment, designed to simplify everyone's life. Good grief.
PPS: Fortunately, I checked out Gail Collins afterwards, writing mostly about congress's work on the student loan system, she gets this in. I just love her to death:
It is a tad depressing to imagine all those committees of yore, sitting there and saying: “Gee, it sure would be nice to improve Pell grants and community colleges. But everybody says we need that money to give to the banks.”
The House Republicans have a different proposal. Which, as Representative John Kline of Minnesota explained, is to leave everything the way it is and “convene a nonpartisan commission.”
Perhaps there will come a time when the words “convene a nonpartisan commission” do not cause people to topple over in depression and despair. But it may take a while.
Just hours before, Senator Max (Futility is My Middle Name) Baucus had unveiled the long-awaited product of his blue-ribbon, bipartisan committee on health care reform. You will remember that the whole legislative world came to a screeching halt so Baucus’s group could do its work. All summer long, the members floated above tawdry political concerns and labored on a meeting of the minds. Now the final product has landed, its wishy-washiness exceeded only by its total lack of bipartisan backers.
“No Republican has offered his or her support at this moment,” said Baucus, ever cheerful, ever hopeful.
Can we hear from the disappointed, bitter decent Republicans who feel like, "This is not my Republican party! My God!... what have I done?" Now that all the money's gone.
Same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was.
During the campaign, I wondered if the GOP would rise up, rise up and toss the lunatic fringe overboard, reclaim their party for the fiscally conservative, socially tolerant among you -- there must be some there, no? -- and make the other ones go form their own party, like Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National in France. A radical, racist, socially conservative, anti-immigration nationalist party merely capable of splintering an election result, not taking over a country as the neocons did for 8 years.
Same as it ever was.
Trust me, George IV did more to make sure that won't happen in France any time soon than Le Pen could dreamed have accomplishing, although he did manage to do a number on those who flirted with fire, showing their frustration with criminality and unemployment by voting for him in round one against Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who should have been in the second round against Chirac.
Perhaps you could take an idea from this country of the Enlightenment philosophy that spawned The United States of America (if you believe it wasn't purely economically motivated; when Enlightenment sheep lie down with the lions of commerce, a great democracy is born) with more than a smidgen of hubris. Ahem.
Believe your principles of social justice, honor your rule of law that protects every citizen from another, maintain a separation of church and state and keep your main political parties aligned with the axis of your constitution and towards the center of the bell-curve of society, rather than out at its screaming extremes.
What's that? The gays are the extreme? When they are asking to marry and raise a family, not have a quickie in the men's room at Minneapolis St.Paul International Airport?
Nah, think again.
Hey, let's look at this together again... then, pst! Do something... sign the petition and send it along before Valentine's Day...
Stick rather, Barack (sorry, we were classmates, so it's hard to get used to calling you "Mr. President" and "President Obama"), to your sense of what is right and wrong and, as Jericho said, talk not to the politicians, but to those who vote for them. Talk straight from your principles, using your considerable oratorical power to reach them. Tell them why what is uncomfortable is yet right, why what is cause of fear is yet worth finding a little courage for. Be a leader and continue to lead us to a better society, a better country, a finer hour in history like you did throughout the campaign. This is no time for compromise when we are on the threshold of a transformation in our society, and you could be the one to lead it, not to betray it in compromise. You don't need to be afraid. We are your lieutenants (unless you betray too many of us, my gay friends and family members on the top of that list).
We've got your back.
I've got to say, while I am on the subject again, Barack, that I don't agree with Frank Schaeffer when he says that you were right to invite to have Rick Warren to pray at your inauguration. I could start with saying that there is no place for public prayer in government, but tokenism is always wrong. That's like saying, "You were right, Mr. President, for nominating Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the bench. A little tokenism can't hurt. Might mollify the colored people." You fell there. You never promised equality to gays, but you didn't have to put a man up in front of the nation at the moment of your investiture, and have him pray for their damned, craven souls.
You might have been right in a highly qualified sense to indulge in a little tokenism praying, but led by a person who publicly condemns none.
I want to know, from those who are its members but do not consider themselves at ease with either of these factions of the Republican party, who are cast adrift whether you care, how you identify yourselves right now, what it means to you and what you want. I'd be furious if it were my party, and I don't know if it would be enough for me to content myself with voting with the Democrats and calling myself an Independent.
Are we heading to a real three party system, with the Independents picking up the phlogiston of the Republican conflagration?
Are we going to see the extremes in the Republican party lose their hold in the subsequent congressional and senate election cycles with a host of Independents who feel themselves to be Republicans of a pre-Nixon era taking back their party?
Or, are we going to see a continued rise in the Democratic party as it expresses it principles and aims for the nation in this time?
I think there are a couple tiny mistakes in the first couple paragraphs, but you get the idea...
Dear President Obama: I know that from time to time you read Huffington Post because you've written for it. As a Huffington Post reader you'll know that no one on this web site has more faithfully supported your candidacy and now your presidency than me. As a former lifelong Republican, son of a co-founder of the Religious Right; my late evangelical leader father, Francis Schaeffer, I'm in a unique position to tell you a few things about the Republicans from inside perspective. (As you know I left that movement in the mid 1980s.)
*The lack of cooperation you're getting from the Republican Party will continue. You were right to indulge in a little bit of tokenism when you had to Pastor Rick Warren pray at your inauguration. But if you think that the Republicans in Congress and the Senate are going to do more than their utmost to obstruct everything you are and what you stand for you're dreaming.
As someone who appeared numerous times on the 700 Club with Pat Robertson, as someone for whom Jerry Falwell used to send his private jet to bring me to speak at his college, as an author who had James Dobson giveaway 150,000 copies of my one of my fundamentalist "books" allow me to explain something: the Republican Party is controlled by two ideological groups. First, is the Religious Right. Second, are the neoconservatives. Both groups share one thing in common: they are driven by fear and paranoia. Between them there is no Republican "center" for you to appeal to, just two versions of hate-filled extremes.
The Religious Right supply the kind of people who at McCain and Palin rallies were yelling things such as "kill him" about you. That's the constituency to which your hand was extended when looking for compromise on your financial bailout bill.
There's only one thing that makes sense for you now. Mr. President, you need to forget a bipartisan approach and get on with the business of governing by winning each battle. You will never be able to work with the Republicans because they hate you. Believe me, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are the norm not the exception. James Dobson and the rest are praying for you to fail. The neoconservatives are gnashing their teeth and waiting for you to "sell out Israel" or "show weakness" in Afghanistan, whatever, so they can declare you a traitor.
The problem is that when you deal with the Republican Party you're talking to the polished characters in Washington. I wish you could see the hate e-mail's that I have received over the last two years because I supported you, letters calling for God to kill me, telling me that I hate God because I supported you and that I am "an abortionist" and worse a "fag lover" because I've written that I believe that you will be a great president.
What those senators and congressmen are telling you is not what their rabid core constituents are telling them. Their loyalty is to a fundamentalist Christian ideology on the one hand and American exceptionalism of perpetual warfare and hatred and fear of the "other" on the other hand. Between the neoconservatives and evangelical Religious Right Republicans you have no friends.
The good news is that most Americans support you. And if you will just get in the face of the Republican Party and call their bluff you'll be surprised how many individual ordinary Republicans will support you, not to mention the rest of us. America is sick of the Republicans.
The Democratic Party won for a reason: the Republicans failed and have taken us all down with them! You're doing your presidency and America no favor by extending an open hand to the perpetually knotted fist of what has become the embittered lunatic fringe of our country. They would rather go down in flames than "compromise" their ideology.
As you showed us again at your press conference of Feb 9, you are a brilliant, articulate and decent man. Your Republican opponents are not decent people but ideologues bent on destroying you. To quote the biblical adage sir, don't cast your pearls before swine.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back. Now in paperback.
And I really like this notion. I really, really do --
Taking Stock in America, or the American Stockholder
America’s horror of “nationalization” could be defused by handing out shares to all American households. President Bush used to talk about building an “ownership society.” Well, giving shares in big banks to all American households would be a terrific way to do that.
I just have to include this from Kristof today, too. Thank you, Sir:
Yes, troubled banks might lose good people to hedge funds that can pay more because they’re not bound by these curbs. But that upsets me less than the idea of single mothers working multiple jobs so that their tax dollars can underwrite million-dollar bonuses at companies getting taxpayer assistance.
But, keep those single mothers out of those hedge funds, for everyone's sake.
So, why not look to Sweden for their bank bail-out model, and to France for national health care?
Why not, America? We weren't exactly screaming, "But that's not American, it's French!" when we were borrowing their philosophical principles for our constitution and relying on their military and financial support to get the job done.
Why not, indeed.
....
once in a lifetime
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/after the moneys gone Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
And you may ask yourself How do I work this? And you may ask yourself Where is that large automobile? And you may tell yourself This is not my beautiful house! And you may tell yourself This is not my beautiful wife!
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/after the moneys gone Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was... Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was... Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Water dissolving...and water removing There is water at the bottom of the ocean Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/in the silent water Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/after the moneys gone Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
And you may ask yourself What is that beautiful house? And you may ask yourself Where does that highway go? And you may ask yourself Am I right? ...am I wrong? And you may tell yourself My god!...what have I done?
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/in the silent water Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down Letting the days go by/water flowing underground Into the blue again/after the moneys gone Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was... Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was... Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Lunch today at the Café des Musées on the rue Turenne and the rue du Parc Royal in the Marais with my two favorite fellow progressive Democrats in Paris. My ladies-who-lunch jacket is leather with a fake fur detachable collar, à la my motorcycle leather (No, that's not I. I only wish.). Taking my bike, like I did last night for the Barnard book club meeting in the 16th. Happiness. For once, it wasn't below freezing. The sun is even shining today for the ride. See? God favors Democrats.
OK.
I know.
This is the age of bi-partisanship, letting those Democrats and those Republicans capable of reasoning with themselves and one another work together to do our nation's business. I was listening to Obama during the campaign, I really was, even as I was impatient that we weren't necessarily going to get the programs I want, like single-payer health care.
The truth is that if we do get them, we'll get them because we did it right. We made the case on its merits and won conservative support for a progressive ideal that provides economic benefit and social justice. We'll have avoided the Clintonland of partisan hatred and Rovian politics-as-usual. As my friend Q points out to me, Democrats clinging to single-issues and their pet programs and ideas can be as despicable and harmful as Rove over on the other end of the political spectrum. Such a bitter taste in the mouth to say that, but true.
The alternative is to risk growing another Gingrich in the hot-house of congress.
Yes, Barack, I was listening, even when I wasn't perfectly happy to hear what I was hearing. I pretty much get it. Really.
Anyway, hacks and wonks or not up there on the heights, I do prefer the idea that the president sets the agenda from the executive and the representatives work it out in the legislative. Everyone is happier when he or she gets to do their job and get some credit for it. We behave better then, too.
So, time to take the doggers for a 15 minute walk and then get ready to leave. I don't want to be late for this lunch, no way.
Ciao!
PS: A second perfect day for the workers, so you can be sure they won't be here again today. End of February. I laugh.
Bitterly.
I leave you with Barack -- "I urge all of us not to make the perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary" -- and Keith Olbermann...
Don't leave it to the states
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