typical conservative gay bashing

I think this is the first time I spoke on DADT.  I felt the need to showcase a conservative's bigoted, homophobic stance on lesbians in the military because of the egregiousness of his words. I do so enjoy highlighting stupid conservatives!

From Huffington Post:    Joe Rehyansky, a former official at the Chattanooga, Tennessee, District Attorney's office, recently penned an op-ed opposed to allowing gays in the military, in which he argued that lesbians should be allowed to serve in the armed forces, in part because it would give straight male soldiers a chance to "convert" them.
The statement, which initially appeared at the Daily Caller but has since been removed, served as the apogee to an entirely controversial piece of writing, most of which still remains in the post.
Here's the original ending, now replaced:

My solution would get the distaff part of our homosexual population off our collective "Broke Back," thus giving straight male GIs a fair shot at converting lesbians and bringing them into the mainstream.

Though apparently the only segment outrageous enough to get scrapped on the editor's chopping block -- some have suggested, based on the rest of his piece that he is advocating for a sort of corrective rape of lesbian soldiers -- what remains of Rehyansky's writing is overflowing with other strange and offensively-worded arguments against gays in the military.
"I don't claim to be a Constitutional law scholar on a par with President Obama, but shouldn't the overwhelmingly straight warriors who answer their county's call be spared the indignity of showering with other men who achieve lascivious enjoyment from the sight of those lithe naked bodies, and who may be tempted to seek more than the view?" Rehyansky writes.
And, if not for the "indignity" of having to serve alongside gays, at least think of the disastrous health consequences that could be spread by allowing promiscuous men "with little or no restraint," who believe "it's 'party time' all the time," to serve, Rehyansky argues:

"What does all this have to do with force readiness and 'Don't-hint-don't-wink' or whatever they're calling it these days? My answer should by now be as painfully obvious as a suppurating genital rash: gays spread disease at a rate out of all proportion to their numbers in our population and should be excluded from the military."

Do you see this outrageous statement as condoning the rape of lesbian soldiers by their male counterparts? Of course it is! Deleted or not, the written word thankfully stays with us and we are lucky to have this little piece of disgusting filth so we can show the world just how putrid some people are when it comes to tolerance of those not of the straight conservative persuasion...

This ignorant excuse for a human being is typical of the views coming from conservatives these days. They are coming out of the woodwork like filthy cockroaches..... 

The Pentagon's leaders said today gay troops can serve openly without harming the military's ability to fight.....
 


Obama said in a statement released by the White House: "Today I call on the Senate to act as soon as possible so I can sign this repeal into law this year and ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally.

All Quiet on the Western Front...

Well, all is quiet here at least during Advent...

You'll find me still blogging daily on my Advent blog until Christmas Eve with hopefully some helpful meanderings to provoke, to ponder and to find peace with during this holy season.

My Advent blog, Five Minutes Space, can be found here...

Our President and First Lady, Classy.....

  In an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters from the White House, President Barack Obama says he's not giving much thought to the 2012 election, but is focusing instead on being "the best possible president." And, he said, he certainly isn't focused on a potential challenge from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. When asked specifically if he thinks he can beat Sarah Palin in 2012, the president told Walters "I don't think about Sarah Palin." Gryphen (Immoral Minority) said it best...
   "Barbara Walters should NEVER have brought up the Grizzled Mama to either our President or his wife.  These are serious accomplished people, and asking them to comment on the antics of the court jester is an insult to them, and to the American people".
Oh how true Gryphen! The Obamas are beautiful people, inside and out.

The rich have gotten so rich it's obscene!

I was reading about the bills this Congress has passed benefiting small businesses when I came across this article. It talks about the New York art world and the comeback it's making.  Last week a painting sold for 42.6 million dollars at Christies auction house. Christies and Sotheby's grossed more than a quarter billion dollars in two weeks of sales that broke record after record for major art works. U.S. buyers dominated the sale. According to the article, 'collectors need to have at least $50 million in the bank to bid on art of this caliber, And that’s just to get into the game. It’s the rarefied domain of America’s elite mega-rich, who profited handsomely from the financial free-for-all on Wall Street and the generous tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush years in Washington.'


As you read this post you can also refer back to what  Mitch McConnell said in a previous post of mine.


"The high-end Bush-era tax cuts are contributing to our financial ruin rather than our economic success," says Margot Dorfman, chief executive of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce. "They should expire as scheduled on December 31. We don’t need more tax cuts at the top; we need more consumer spending at the middle."A number of regional chambers of commerce have also broken away from the national group on the Bush tax cuts. "Letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest is the right thing to do, and the responsible thing to do," Frank Knapp, chief executive officer of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, recently told Forbes magazine.
The Joint Committee on Taxation in Congress said in a recent report that only 3 percent of taxpayers with any business income would benefit from tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. The panel also projected that extending the tax cuts would add $36 billion to the deficit in 2011. As booming art sales in New York clearly show, the recession is over, and has been over, for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans for some time now.

The lame duck Congress also needs to extend jobless benefits for the unemployed, the single biggest and most effective economic stimulus; it needs to repeal the onerous 1099 reporting requirements for small businesses (starting in 2012); and it needs to repeal the 3 percent withholding requirement for contractor payments. It passed in 2005, when the economy was booming, and is set go into effect in January 2012.
The lame duck Congress won’t really begin until after Thanksgiving. That’s when both chambers will start the legislative process. Let’s hope they keep their eyes focused on the economy where the majority of the nation is mired, and not the booming one occupied by the wealthiest 2 percent that write the campaign checks. Then, maybe some of those dollars being spent on expensive art works can be put to more productive use rebuilding the nation.

This is a small business website. THEY know what the Bush tax cuts did to our economy.  We all know what those tax cuts did to our economy, so what's the problem? Do the republicans get their wish, tax cut extension for those who do not need it? Come on November 30th, I can't stand the suspense! Will the president stand with the people or won't he? Will Nancy and Harry stand strong and fight the evil GOP, do they have the votes needed to end the tax cuts to the filthy rich? The lies from the GOP are astounding, Americans HAVE spoken and they want these cuts to expire!

We interrupt this tea party "Fed Up" bullshit to bring you the following announcement

Welcome back C, Complaint Department Manager agreed to do a guest post for me! Thanks C!

 As much as I hate polls, Sue doesn’t. In fact she rather enjoyed seeing this one in a story from Yahoo! News. I’ll get to that in a minute. Right now, I want to address something that I have been saying since the recent election. The results of that election will bring gridlock. I think so, and apparently this news story backs me up on that very theory. I’ve been saying something to the effect that everyone just needs to be patient as this election will only turn around and bite these dumb fucks on the ass(the one sitting squarely on their shoulders, of course).

A bit of a side note:

You have to understand that these people (ROOKIES) were sent to Capitol Hill to “change” it. Unfortunately, they will be met with self-interested parties ON BOTH SIDES of the aisle that will correct their misguided course. We’ve already seen this happen with Rand Paul and his reversal on Earmarks. Trust me folks, this will only continue to get worse. Like I said on a few posts, “Fasten your seat belts, this ride hasn’t even left the station, yet”.

Now, back to the story posted today by Yahoo! News.

If there was one thing American voters made abundantly clear on Nov. 2, it's how unhappy they are with politicians and the way things work — or more often don't work — in Washington. Survey after survey has shown that the majority of voters want their elected representatives to do a much better job of coming together to solve the country's problems.
So will things improve after the "shellacking" that voters gave to Democrats in handing control of the House over to the Republicans?
Few Americans appear to be counting on it. In a new ABC News/Yahoo! News poll, most say they have little expectation that things will get better as a result of the recent midterms. Respondents were asked if they thought the election was more likely to move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction. The largest chunk of respondents, some 40 percent, said they didn't expect the election to make a difference at all. Only one-third of those polled, 34 percent thought the results would move the country in the right direction, while another 21 percent said they thought things were headed the wrong way.
An even more telling sign: a whopping 81 percent thought that gridlock — in which the two political parties cannot agree and thus don't pass any meaningful legislation — is likely to occur in the two years leading up to the next presidential election.
If the three weeks since the election are any guide, they look to be dead right.
"The idea that there will be any kind of bipartisan cooperation is naïve," says Greg Valliere, chief political strategist for Potomac Research Group. "Both parties are purging moderates who have had the temerity to compromise; we've never seen such a vacuum in the center."
Already, Republican congressional leaders have very publicly avoided setting a date to meet with President Obama in the White House. They've also refused to back the START nuclear-arms-control treaty with Russia, despite support from prominent Republicans such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The moves, says Valliere, were widely seen as signs that GOP leaders are unwilling to agree to any deals that might potentially help Obama.
But two can play that game, and the Democrats are jumping in as well. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he'll soon schedule several votes on what to do about the expiring Bush tax cuts for middle-class and wealthy taxpayers, though they have no chance of passing. Instead, they appear designed to put Republicans on the spot and create fodder for campaign ads that can be used to bash them come 2012.
If gridlock is the order of the day, however, Americans are far less in agreement over whether that's good or bad. By large majorities, registered voters who are Democrats or independents tend to see it in a negative light: some 67 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents say that they believe gridlock is a bad thing, as it will keep good legislation from being passed.
By contrast, a hefty share of Republican registered voters have a positive view of gridlock. Some 43 percent of GOP respondents said they thought gridlock was a good thing, because it means bad legislation fails. That's roughly the same number of Republican registered voters, at 42 percent, who think that gridlock is bad.
What accounts for the difference? Republican and Democratic strategists alike say it's a reflection of the deep unhappiness many Republicans have felt about where the country is headed under Obama — and their willingness to do whatever it takes to reverse course.

For more, read here

For stats fans:

Keep in mind, I didn’t find the level of confidence here. As the sample taken was from 1,048 adults using the random digit dialing method with a 4 point margin of error. I personally would like to have seen a larger sample, but don’t all stats people say that?

Porcupine Tree - Buying new soul

Advent Sunday - The Word as a Wordle

Here is the gospel reading for Advent Sunday from Matthew 24:36-44, as a seasonally coloured Wordle...

‘...But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^* but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day^* your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour...'^{3738394041424344}

It is interesting to note that the Wordle highlights the words son, man, one and coming. The Son of Man is one who is coming.

Who or what is the Son of Man? It seems that the phrase over the centuries has meant different things. In the very earliest times it referred most probably to a human being or one's self. For example in the Old Testament in Numbers 23:19

לא אישׁ אל ויכזב ובן־אדם ויתנחם ההוא אמר ולא יעשׂה ודבר ולא יקימנה

God is not a human being (איש : ['iysh]), that he should lie,

or a mortal/son of man (בן–אדם : [ben-'adam]), that he should change his mind:

Has he promised, and will he not do it?

Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Ben-adam. The son of Adam. The son of a man.

Later in the Book of Ezekiel in chapter 2:

He said to me, Son of man (בן־אדם : [ben-'adam]), stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. ² The Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him who spoke to me. ³ He said to me, Son of man (בן־אדם : [ben-'adam]), I send you to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day. ⁴ The children are impudent and stiff-hearted: I do send you to them; and you shall tell them, Thus says the Lord YHWH. ⁵ They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them. ⁶ You, son of man (בן־אדם : [ben-'adam]), don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. ⁷ You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man (בן־אדם : [ben-'adam]), hear what I tell you; don’t be you rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you. ⁹ When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was therein; ¹⁰ He spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Son of man here appears to be a title referring to the humanity of the author, much how the word "human" may suffice in English. It is not a respectful appellation, but a humbling one (in some cases, an arguably abject one), and this use is a consistent pattern throughout Ezekiel.

In other words, the son of man, is a downtrodden figure that the prophet Daniel then links with a divine figure, the coming Messiah, a theological link that was strengthened during the time before New Testament.

In the New Testament, Jesus uses the term in similar ways, but some think he might just be referring to humanity generally.

How do we deal with this this Advent? The Son of Man is coming - that's what Advent is about. Getting ready for the arrival of the Messiah figure - God's chosen leader who would forge a new relationship between humanity and God and free humanity from the oppressive regime that they were bound by. Then it was a longing for a Divine King freeing people from the rule of the Romans. Today it might be a longing to be freed from debt, from habit forming behaviours and led to a better way of living. Or if the Son of Man refers to the whole of humanity, then a longing that a better 'version' of humanity is coming, is made possible by God. Either way it is a hopeful vision indeed... God's take on things, is that He longs to free us and enable us to be the people that He and we (however deep down we may need to look) long to be...

IDIOT LYING BASTARD!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! We're on to you Mitch McConnell! The American people ARE NOT LISTENING to your lies! So you can crawl back into your hole and shut your lying big fat mouth! The country does not think a tax cut extension to your rich friends will stimulate the economy! Shut up you stupid FOOL!!!

here's the transcript for those who can't watch this buffoon speak:

As Americans across the country prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this coming week, we’re reminded of the many blessings we enjoy as a nation.  

Many families will not enjoy a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, but thanks to liberal values they can visit the many soup kitchens who will open their doors for the unemployed and homeless to have a wonderful hot meal.

“We’re grateful for the sacrifices of the brave men and women in our armed forces who will not be home with their families next week, and who make these blessings possible. 
They would be home if not for Bush/Cheney and their wars of choice.

“And we’re also conscious this Thanksgiving of the many Americans who are struggling with serious hardships, including the many millions of Americans who are struggling to find work.

“At the moment, about 15 million of our fellow citizens are looking for jobs and can’t find one. The unemployment rate has remained stubbornly close to ten percent for a year and a half. We are experiencing what can only be described as a jobs crisis, a sustained period of chronic unemployment; and two years of policies that have vastly increased the size and scope of government and added trillions to the debt and have done little to alleviate this problem. You are a lying scumbag. Tell the American people the truth, your party is the problem. Your party who votes NO on every jobs bill, votes NO on helping small business to hire, your party is making it possible for your rich friends to sit on their billions and not hire.

“Take the Stimulus, for example.

“Here was a bill that was supposed to create millions of jobs and keep unemployment from rising above eight percent. Yet, since Democrats passed it nearly two years ago, more than three million people have lost jobs and the economy barely has a pulse. Another lie. We have had steady growth since the stimulus. Slow yes, but steady. Unemployment is a lagging indicator. 
The American people delivered a clear verdict on this and other failed experiments in the government-as-economic-stimulator on Election Day. But Democratic leaders in Washington continue to act as if nothing has changed, including their priorities. LIE LIE LIE, The American people want our leaders in Washington to work for them, the middleclass, not for YOUR rich friends and corporate America, which your party does. The verdict is in, the people want Obama to stop caving to republicans!

“The top priority of most Americans is to create jobs and get the economy moving. And the single best thing we could do in Washington to achieve that goal is to prevent a tax hike that’s about to hit every taxpayer and hundreds of thousands of small businesses at the stroke of Midnight on December 31st. LIE LIE LIE!! Giving tax cuts to the rich does nothing, it does NOT trickle down you asshole!! Let the tax cuts expire, ALL of them, the middleclass are not whining babies. we know how to survive!

“And that’s what I proposed a bill in September that would take care of this giant tax hike and prevent it from going into effect. Fucker...

“Unfortunately, Democratic leaders have shown little interest in the idea. After adding trillions to the debt on big-government policies most Americans didn’t ask for and which we couldn’t afford, Democratic leaders say they need more money, which they intend to take from small business, even though small businesses create the majority of new jobs. The stimulus added to the deficit because you have to spend inorder to grow the economy, asshat. Damn how does this guy get by with such stupidity?

“Americans don’t think we should be raising taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession. But instead of giving Americans what they want, Democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in Washington this year focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike, which will cost us even more jobs: Americans want the taxcuts to expire! If you'd just shut up and listen you would hear us!

“…Immigration…A repeal of the ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ …A reorganization of the FDA … More environmental regulations… Americans WANT immigration reform, they WANT DADT repealed, they WANT environmental regulations because they love America.

“Democrats put off all these things until after the election, along with the most basic task of funding the government. By focusing on them now, and not on legislation to promote job creation and reduce spending, they’re showing where their priorities lie. Your party shows every day where your priorities lie, and it's not with us middleclass Americans!

“This should be an easy one. The bill that job creators and out-of-work Americans need us to pass is the one that ensures taxes won’t go up — one that says Americans and small business owners won’t get hit with more bad news at the end of the year.

“It's time Congress got its priorities straight. It's time Congress focused on job creation —and that means preventing tax hikes. Tax hikes don't slow job growth! 
It's time to set aside the political votes and government spending that the administration and Democratic leaders have put above all other priorities for two years.

“Time is running out. But it’s not too late for both parties to work together and prevent this massive tax hike from going into effect. It’s not too late to focus on the priorities of the American people. And Republicans in Congress are eager to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to do so.

“Americans spoke loudly and clearly on Election Day. We owe it to them to show we heard them — to work together to get this done. 
Shut up about the taxcuts expiring, you are showing your true colors, who you really care about! On second thought keep talking like this Mitch...Americans know how to use GOOGLE, we know how to compare your policies and tax rhetoric to past presidents. Americans are not stupid like you wish we were...


Educate yourselves, see for yourselves, the GOP are liars...

Guest post on Wisconsins woes...

My cousin Jeanette and her husband Michael (who is the professional writer in the house) live in Wisconsin. They have been activists for more than 25 years, how awesome is that?!  They really do go to these protest rallies, not stay home on the couch complaining like most people today. We need to follow their example and get out there in the country and start protesting!

So, the other day she put on FB  she was going to the train station to protest Scott Walker killing the high speed train project. That's when I asked her to do a post for me since I had previously touched on this subject of highspeed rail. She lives there, is seeing it first hand, and is my expert guest poster, so welcome Jeanette please!

About 200 people came to the MilwaukeeIntermodal Station on Saturday, November 20 to support high speedrail in Wisconsin. The Sierra Club sponsored a statewide Day ofAction, featuring rallies in six other cities around the state. Career politician Scott Walker, newly elected Republican governor ofWisconsin is rabidly anti-government, and wants to deny the citizensof our state the opportunity to join a Midwest high speed rail systemthat would initially connect Milwaukee to Madison and on to Chicagoand Minneapolis.

Walker campaigned on the issue of jobs,but wants to throw away $800 million of federal money already grantedthe state. As a result, the Spanish train car manufacturer Talgowill probably abandon its newly opened factory in Milwaukee's innercity, denying the dreams of thousands of potential job holders. One2006 study estimates that the Midwest Regional rail System willbring Wisconsin an estimated 9,570 permanent jobs, $173 million inadditional household income, and $704 million in increased propertyvalues.

Wisconsin will be left behind with thisrail system, which would not only put people to work, but be anenvironmentally friendly way to travel. But Walker is doing thebidding of the road builders looking for more highways, which meansmore cars and trucks spewing carbon monoxide over the countryside. Walker said on election night “Wisconsin is open for business,which really means “we will keep the unions out”, and he hatesany hand-outs by the Federal Government, which would be providing the$800 million we were alloted, $100 million of which we have alreadyused to do the preliminary work needed to start laying the tracks. There have been numerous offers from other governors to take themoney for high speed rail in their states, but Walker is trying toweasel out of giving up the money restricted to high speed rail.

Walker slashed county programs asMilwaukee County Executive, including our fabulous park
system, aremnant of the bygone age of the early 20^th century, whenSocialists were active participants in Milwaukee area government. This is when our beautiful lakefront on Lake Michigan was kept openfor the public to enjoy, instead of being bought up by privatelandholders, Now Scott Walker wants to turn back all of the gainsmade for the working people and give everything to the rich. And hewants to see our vision of the future derailed.

Jeanette

    

Thanks so much for this post Jeanette. Unfortunately your story is the same as hundreds of others in different states having to deal with Republican leadership doing everything in their power to kill jobs. What the hell is going on in our country? These republicans say they are listening to the voters who are sending a message, they want the government to stop spending! These are boldfaced lies! The voters have spoken loud and clear.....THEY WANT JOBS FIRST, and worry about paying down the nations debt when the country starts to prosper! Why is that so difficult to understand? These lying hypocrite republicans care not a bit about the unemployed, they want this country to stay suffering because they think it will help their chances in 2012! OH HOW WRONG THEY ARE!!!

The Fest of Christ the King - A Royal Wedding

Everyone loves a good wedding and this week we got news of a biggie! Finally sections of the nation cry... Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced their engagement and are planning to marry next year.

The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones one of many of the Church’s leaders to congratulate the couple, said that “one of the first sources of tension” for an engaged couple was “the invitation list. . . Don’t imagine that the royal couple will be immune to this, however big the church they choose.” It may be a royal wedding, but it is just a wedding with all of the joy and stress that you would expect.

Cynics are already queuing up to see an alternative benefit for the announcement. Lord Sugar, of The Apprentice fame, encouraged companies to use the announcement to bury bad news. it would seem, whether intended or not, that is what has happened.

Because of the Royal announcement the story about former Guantanamo Bay prisoners receiving payments from the government (in return for dropping claims that British secret agents knew they were being tortured) struggled to be reported as did other stories including the loss of up to 3000 police jobs.

Weddings are normally a source of good news and rejoicing. Ours certainly was. It was stressful to organise and if we did it all over again we might do parts of the day differently, but would we get married in the first place. I love Alex and I wanted nothing more to show her that by making public commitments before our families and friends and in the sight of God.

Now whilst the detail of the wedding day begins to fade into the mists of history - nearly 10 years now - the fact that I am married is not in any doubt. How do I know that? I could show you our marriage certificate. certificate - my name is there, so’s Alex’s and it has been witnessed by our fathers’. How else could I and you be sure that I am married? Well, I have a memory of an event at a certain date, place and time with family and friends in a church and then a reception venue in Somerset. How else though can you be sure that you are married - I could reflect on nearly 10 years experience of married life with all it’s many highs and mercifully not so many lows.

Today, on this Feast of Christ the King, we recollect a royal wedding, where earth is wedded to heaven and heaven wedded to earth; where Jesus, God’s appointed King of the universe marries His bride - us. For today we celebrate the completing of God’s work in Christ, offering the world a chance of a lasting relationship with Him and knowledge that all that holds us back from being the people He and we long for us to be - our guilt, our shame, our sin - are taken from us. This royal wedding isn’t a chance to bury bad news. It is the best news in the universe and is shared in joy every time we accept Christ’s kingship of our hearts and lives and of our world.

How do I know that Christ is King in my life? Emily will be able to show you her baptism certificate. The day that she was committed to Christ. Her baptism in itself, doesn’t make her a Christian any more than being born in MacDonalds makes you a hamburger. For Christ to be King of her and our lives begins with an event - for some of us that will be our baptisms. For some of us it may be the day that we made a concious decision to discover more for ourselves. For my marriage to Alex to work though we need to continue to work at our relationship; spending time together. The same is true for Emily’s and our relationship with Jesus - spending time with him in prayer and worship and in reading the scriptures, and in spending time together, seeing her love for him grow and her ability to live and love like him to flourish.

How do I know that Christ is King in my life? Emily will be able, with some help, to recall her baptism day and the people she shared it with - especially her parents and Godparents. For Christ to be King of her and our lives involves recalling not just today, but another event in history where earth was wedded to heaven at the foot of the cross of Christ. How the crucifixon of Jesus offers us a new opportunity of a relation of God is a theological debate we could have, but but that event some 2000 years ago changed the course of history for Emily and for you and me, for through it, we can know God for ourselves and invite Christ to direct and shape our lives and actions. To become what the Bible calls Christlike - not being a holy goodfornothing, but being more loving, joyful, peacefilled, more patient, more kind more good, more faithful in friendships and relationshps, more gentle spirited, and more self-controlled. Sound good?

How do I know that Christ is King in my life? Emily will be able, with some help, to recall her baptism. But baptism is not the end of something, rather the beginning of it. For Christ to be King of her and our lives involves not just the events of today, but the actions of tomorrow. If we long to see our lives changed and transformed and to become the sort of people He and we long to be deep down, it will take Emily and each of us time to live each day the way that Christ would want us to. That is hard, but it is is the experience of Christ’s promise to be with us always, every day every where we are, which gives us the resources we need to try to follow Him, to live and act and speak like Him, to constantly be asking ourselves - what would Jesus do in this situation?

A wedding, however royal, must have as it’s foundation - contract of love between two people - for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and health. On this Feast of Christ the King, we celebrate the contract of love between God and Emily revealed afresh in her baptism, and God and you, and me, and all of us; God loves us through good and bad times, whether we know it or not. Unlike the wedding day, this love of God costs us nothing and is available at all times and in all places, but it cost him everything in one time and place. To enter into that love relationship - all you have to do is ask. As of today, with the help and support and prayer of many, Emily will begin to know Christ as King of her life. Would you? Pray...

~~~~~~~~~

That was a version of the sermon I preached this morning on the feast of Christ the King. At the Eucharist, we also baptised a beautiful baby called Emily

Poor thing, nobody likes her...

 Do you like her??

 A conservative columnist whose bonafides include a stint at the National Review and a speechwriting gig for former first lady Nancy Reagan has slammed Sarah Palin, calling the former half-term governor "consumed and obsessed by the media."
Writing on the self-described "conservative" Townhall.com, columnist Mona Charen blasted Palin for her lack of experience:

Palin was advised by those who admire her natural gifts to bone up on policy and devote herself to governing Alaska successfully. Instead, she quit her job as governor after two and a half years, published a book (another is due next week), and seemed to chase money and empty celebrity.

 Barbara Bush spoke to Larry King about Sarah Palin......
Her impression?
"Thought she was beautiful. And she's very happy in Alaska," Bush said, chuckling. "I hope she'll stay there."

Rosanne Cash, daughter of legendary country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, tweeted her way into politics again Tuesday, sending out a dispatch batting former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for supposed hypocrisy in her criticism of President Obama as an unvetted, unprepared leader.

The musician tweeted Tuesday:

He was pres. of the Harvard law review, a constitutional scholar and a Senator. And you?http://fb.me/KloEmhZ9

 Sarah Palin was at the butt end of an insult from former Hillary Clinton aide Jami Floyd on Friday, when Floyd called the former Alaska Governor and potential presidential fascination an "extraordinary ass."
"Never underestimate your opponent and the governor says she's an extraordinary asset to her party," Floyd said on MSNBC. "I say she's an extraordinary ass, frankly."

In an interview with ABC News scheduled to air in full on December 9, Barbara Walters asked Palin, "If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?"
"I believe so," Palin responded.

This woman is getting slammed from every front, and some say we better be careful because it will just cause her followers to reload, not retreat. But damn, Hillary Clinton is one of the smartest and most qualified political figures in America today and she failed at winning the nomination, and this woman actually believes she can do what Hillary could not?


In a New York Times piece she said this,
 “I know that a hurdle I would have to cross, that some other potential candidates wouldn’t have to cross right out of the chute, is proving my record. That’s the most frustrating thing for me — the warped and perverted description of my record and what I’ve accomplished over the last two decades. It’s been much more perplexing to me than where the lamestream media has wanted to go about my personal life. And other candidates haven’t faced these criticisms the way I have.”
I asked her if by avoiding the national press, she didn’t bear at least some responsibility for the way the public viewed her. “I’m on television nearly every single day with reporters,” she shot back. “Now granted, that’s mainly through my job at Fox News, and I’m very proud to be associated with them, but I’m not avoiding anything or anybody. I’m on Facebook and Twitter. I’m out there. I want to talk about my record, though.”


Why does she make us throw-up? Her record is not warped and distorted, it's the absolute truth, that's the problem she's having. We Know Her! We know her record, She's NOT qualified to be president but she's too stupid to see that!

The GOP and the Games they Play

 Another day, another setback, just another ploy by the GOP to bring our president down. 

These Republicans have no shame, they are willing to put Americas security on the line for political game playing. The ratification of the START treaty should not be controversial, but the GOP is hell bent on making it so! Why? For what reason? The first treaty was ratified in the Senate with overwhelming support from both parties. Well come now, we all know what's behind the the latest GOP scheme. 

The GOP's fringe element of Obama haters, fearing a boost in his popularity numbers, has chosen to put fear into Americans by claiming the treaty will leave only a measly "thousands" of nuclear weapons, and what about our missile defense? We will be rendered defenseless! Oh Horror! This is one of the most disgusting acts of  contempt, and is simply to try and humiliate President Obama. The GOP has it all planned out, do not budge on this START treaty and it will die in the new Congress. Yes folks, the GOP is so willing to destroy the president that they will even play around with our national security. This is your republican party. Well ya know what GOP'ers, it's just another nail in your own coffins cuz your little ploys are not gonna work!

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl is the foot dragger this time. The nerve of this hypocrite! It was just last year he accused the administration of foot dragging on renewing START. He even said on the Senate floor, "for the first time in 15 years an extensive set of verification, notification, elimination and other confidence-building measures will expire." So what's he doing now, he's fighting Obama  on the renewal. It really is hypocrisy at its finest.

From The Washington Post,
Republican leaders have been willing to entertain the notion, common among their base, that the president himself is an existential threat to the country, leaving little room for cooperation. Voting on START means making a choice between indulging the reflexive hatred of their base or acting in the U.S.'s basic national security interests.
The Republican attempt to derail ratification of the new START arms control treaty with Russia is a reminder of just how far the GOP is willing to go merely to deal the president a political defeat.


MOSCOW - Russians are mystified. They can't quite believe the U.S. Senate might fail to ratify the nuclear arms treaty, and they see no good from such an outcome. And to top it off, the United States and it's president would look ridiculous.
   But of course, this is the GOP plan, dontcha know!

Sergei M. Rogov, director of the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, said he had difficulty believing Republicans are serious about killing the New START treaty, even though Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona said Tuesday there was not enough time to consider it in the lame-duck session. A vote next year makes ratification harder because a loss of Democratic seats means 14 Republican votes will be required for passage rather than nine now.
"In arms control, Russian and American cooperation is crucial," Rogov said. "I really don't think Republicans want to kill arms control."

Well, we'll see. But one thing is for certain, the Republicans care about ONE THING and that is to make Obama a one term president. They think these policy battles will benefit them, how stupid can you be. Their skewed thinking and harmful and dangerous game playing will backfire on them,  IMO.

UPDATE: One sane Republican.....
Today on MSNBC, Sen. Rich Lugar (R-IN) urged Republicans such as Kyl to support the treaty and called on Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to hold a vote on it in this lame-duck session of Congress:

LUGAR: Please do your duty for your country. We do not have verification of the Russian nuclear posture right now. We’re not going to have it until we sign the START treaty. We’re not going to be able to get rid of further missiles and warheads aimed at us. I state it candidly to my colleagues, one of those warheads…could demolish my city of Indianapolis — obliterate it! Now Americans may have forgotten that. I’ve not forgotten it and I think that most people who are concentrating on the START treaty want to move ahead to move down the ladder of the number of weapons aimed at us.

NO unemployment extension for YOU!

I wonder, how many unemployed Americans who continue to get fucked by the GOP, voted to put those despicable excuses for Americans back in power?? I told myself to sit down with a cup of coffee, stay off the computer tonight and just relax, it is afterall my TGIT. WELL, after watching the first 10 minutes of Ed Schultz and his report on the failed unemployment extension, here I sit!  The measure failed in the House leaving 4 million Americans sitting and waiting in fear as their benefits are set to expire right after Thanksgiving.

Only 4% of the people want the government to concentrate their efforts on reducing the deficit. ONLY 4%! So what do the rethugs do,  they deny 4 million Americans an extension to keep them afloat. The legislation would have cost about $12.5 billion to extend the deadline to file for federal unemployment benefits from Dec. 1 until Feb. 28,  a measly pittance, giving the unemployed around 300 to 400 a week in benefit payment, INSURANCE, meaning these people PAID into the program! Never before has the government turned it's back on the suffering in times of such high unemployment. This is unprecedented, and especially at a time those thugs will be standing up in Congress fighting to give the top 2% of wealthy Americans their tax cuts, tax cuts that will cost 700 billion!!

NOW, let me point out some wingnuts like to blame Nancy Pelosi because 11 democrats voted against the measure and 7 democrats did not vote at all. But to be fair, WHY do all these measures have to have 100% democrat support or Nancy Pelosi is blamed? If we just had a simple majority of rethugs voting to help their fellow Americans Congress might be able to get some work done! That's RIGHT, I am a partisan and I blame the fuckin Republicans for all these failed bills! Just 17 votes short, that's all, 17 votes from republicans could have moved the measure to help suffering Americans! The GOP has been the party of NO for 2 years and plan on being the party of hate and total disregard for Americans for the next 2 years too. NOTHING will change as long as Americans keep giving republicans a chance to PROVE they don't care about them!

So what's next on the thug agenda? They will demand the tax cuts to the rich be extended and quite possibly be permanent and OH just to be nice they will offer up an UI extension addition!   Don't do it Democrats, do not fall for their hideous game playing! I would rather see all the tax cuts expire then see the rich get their cuts!

Nancy Pelosi said,
“Our first priority is to create jobs; the American people want to get back to work. Unemployment Insurance is a proven economic booster, returning $2 into the economy for every $1 invested.  We will continue to work for an emergency short-term extension to get families through the holidays and to work for longer term solutions as well.”

The current benefits are scheduled to expire Nov. 30, so the House will still have two legislative days to try to prevent the benefits from expiring when Congress returns to finish the Lame Duck session after Thanksgiving.
It's the holidays coming up, Americans are suffering, I am mortified our government and political parties don't fight harder for us. It's pathetic!

Advent draws near...

Which must mean that my Advent blog, Five Minutes Space, needs to be taken out of it's wrappings from last year and spruced up.

Why not head on over to have a look at three online resources I have made available to help you get the most out of this holy season.

Is She or Isn't She??

In a just-released New York Times Magazine cover story, Sarah Palin responds "I am" when asked if she is considering a run for president.
"I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here," Palin is quoted as saying.
She goes on to argue that the major potential Republican candidates are largely alike when it comes to policy - "but in fact there's more to the presidency than that."
Should she run, Palin tells author Robert Draper, "I'd have to bring in more people -- more people who are trustworthy" into her inner circle. Palin has only about ten advisers (most of whom did not know her before two years ago) and has built up little in the way of infrastructure for a run, unlike likely GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty. (Here, via Politico, is the cover image for the story, which shows her advisers.)
A number of top Republicans are reportedly discussing how to stop a Palin presidential run for fear that the polarizing former Alaska governor will lose badly against President Obama in a general election should she secure the nomination.
Palin acknowledges in the story that unlike some other candidates, she would have to prove her record "right out of the chute."
"That's the most frustrating thing for me - the warped and perverted description of my record and what I've accomplished over the last two decades," she tells Draper. "It's been much more perplexing to me than where the lamestream media has wanted to go about my personal life. And other candidates haven't faced these criticisms the way I have."
Because of the unfairness of the media toward her, she adds, "I fear for our democracy."
In the story, a Palin friend suggests that she could improve public perceptions of her if "when she starts doing the debates during the primaries, she knocks it out of the park."
"That would cause an entirely different view of things, wouldn't it?," he says. 

Read full post…

Holy fuckin shit, I guess we should NOT be surprised.

CNN Poll: Most Americans say Palin not qualified to serve as President.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Fewer than three in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin's qualified to be president, according to a new national poll - the least of any of the five potential candidates included in the survey.

But another woman tops that list in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday: two-thirds of the public thinks that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's qualified for the Oval Office. That's more than Vice President Joe Biden, who's currently next in line for the presidency.
According to the poll, 28 percent of Americans say Palin is qualified to run the White House, with seven in 10 saying the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee is not qualified.
The survey indicates that a majority of Republicans, 54 percent, feel Palin is qualified, with 44 percent indicating she isn't. But only 29 percent of independent voters questioned feel she is qualified to serve as president, with 68 percent disagreeing. According to the poll, nine in 10 Democrats feel Palin is not qualified.


You think the turn out for Barack Obama in '08 was HUGE, wait til the republicans nominate Sarah Palin in 2012. The country will see a tsunami at the polls, 100% of registered voters coming out to vote against Palin! Well okay, 90%!
That woman caused the republican ticket to lose in '08 for fear old man McCain would kick the bucket which would then place her in the Oval Office. The country was afraid of such a scenario then, so what makes her think they will embrace her now??

Scaredy Cats

GOP postpones summit with President Obama!

By GLENN THRUSH | 11/16/10 10:44 PM EST Updated: 11/17/10 7:29 AM EST

The roots of the partisan standoff that led to the postponement of the bipartisan White House summit scheduled for Thursday date back to January, when President Barack Obama dominated a GOP meeting in Baltimore to deliver a humiliating rebuke of House Republicans.

That Is one lame excuse!

 So, the GOP fears a one on one with the president? I think it's because they feel so inadequate, they want to be the big bad GOP with a so-called mandate, but the truth is there is no mandate. 

According to a CNN opinion poll only 17% of Americans believe the midterm elections gave a mandate to the GOP, they still find it necessary to degrade the office of the presidency by spitting on Obama's extended hand. This is just the beginning, the next 2 years of nothing getting done will be on the backs of the GOP. They have no idea how to move forward even with their House majority. They NEED more time before meeting with Obama, so of course the president will accommodate them, again....

A Christmas present to myself

How beautiful is this?

President Obama's book is in the stores now,

from The Washington Post

By Stephen Lowman

"Have I told you that America is made up of people of every kind?" asks President Obama in his latest book.
Two weeks after voters gave his party a "shellacking," Obama is out with children's book celebrating the American people.
“Of Thee I Sing,” aimed at children ages 3 and up, is light on text but rich with Loren Long’s illustrations. On the opening page Obama addresses his two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
“Have I told you lately how wonderful you are? / How the sound of your feet / running from afar / brings dancing rhythms to my day? / How you laugh / and sunshine spills into the room?”
Obama goes on to tell them about 13 “groundbreaking Americans.” In order, they are:
Georgia O’Keeffe (“helped us see big beauty in what is small”)
Albert Einstein (“changing the world with energy and light”)
Jackie Robinson (“showed us all how to turn fear to respect”)
Sitting Bull (“a Sioux medicine man”)
Billie Holiday (“sang beautiful blues”)
Helen Keller (“taught us to look and listen to each other”)
Maya Lin (“public spaces should be filled with art, she thought”)
Jane Addams (“fed the poor”)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (“taught us unyielding compassion”)
Neil Armstrong (“first to walk on the moon”)
Cesar Chavez (“showed farmworkers their own power”)
Abraham Lincoln (“promised freedom to enslaved sisters and brothers”)
George Washington (“our first president”)

Obama’s dedication reads: “To Michelle — whose fierce love and daily good sense have nourished such wonderful daughters.”
Random House said that the 40-page book has a first printing of 500,000 copies. It has a list price of $17.99.
The origins of the book date back to 2004, when then Senator Obama inked a three book deal with Random House worth $1.9 million.

Proceeds from the sales “Of Thee I Sing” will be donated to a scholarship fund that serves the children of soldiers who have been killed or disabled.

The book is subtitled "A Letter to My Daughters," but it's not the first time the president has written a letter to Sasha and Malia for everyone to see. Shortly before taking office in 2008 Parade Magazine published a "letter" he wrote to them.

Say what you will about Barack Obama, but it's quite obvious he is a wonderful loving husband and father. His family are lucky to have him.....I think we are too

Social Security will be around longer than all of you!

Social Security DOES NOT add to the deficit!!

I don't know why we have to keep talking about this, well yes I do, it's because the hardheaded, mean spirited, social program hating righties keep spewing lies about it!

Social Security, funded separately from rest of the federal budget, quite simply pays benefits to those who have paid in. In order to qualify to draw Social Security, an individual must work and contribute to the program for 10 years. Social Security is not means tested; benefits are paid progressively as a percentage of former earnings and contributions.
The mean Social Security benefit is around $14,000 a year, providing 40 percent of retirement income for the average American.  According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Social Security lifts 20 million Americans out of poverty.  And, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the AARP, 85 percent of adults oppose cutting Social Security and half of non-retired adults support paying higher payroll taxes to ensure the systems stays solvent. Younger Americans, while skeptical about the program’s future, are particularly supportive of the program. 90 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 said they believe Social Security is important.
However, while Social Security is popular, many Americans, particularly young Americans, are skeptical about its future. Much of this can be attributed to the misunderstandings and mistruths that are continuously perpetrated by some in Congress and in the media. Here are the truths behind some of the more common Social Security myths.
1. Social Security adds to the deficit.
Social Security, by law, cannot add to the deficit. It is a separate program, paid into through FICA contributions, with benefits paid only from the revenue it raises. If the trust fund were to be exhausted and current contributions were not adequate to pay benefits, Social Security could not borrow from the general budget. Federal law prohibits Social Security from borrowing.
2. Social Security is broke, and there is no “Trust Fund.”
Conventional wisdom among Social Security skeptics is that the program is out of money now and that there is no Social Security Trust Fund. This is fueled largely by the fact that Social Security did begin to pay more in benefits than it received in taxes earlier than was projected due to the depth of the 2008 recession. Regardless of this fact, The Social Security Trust Fund currently runs a $2.5 trillion surplus. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the surplus will peak at $4.2 trillion in 2024.

Trust Fund intact, with no changes to the program, Social Security is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of benefits until the year 2037. After 2037, Social Security will still be able to pay 75 percent of benefits. A program projected to meet costs almost 3 decades into the future with no adjustments is not a system in crisis. Other government programs would be hard pressed to meet such a standard.

GOT IT?? 

Common Dreams.org...
Social programs did not cause the deficit
As Seth Freed Wessler notes for ColorLines, deficit hawks’ emphasis on social programs is at odds with the factors that actually created the deficit. The Bush tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the bank bailouts are the big-ticket items when it comes to government revenues and expenses. Yet deficit hawks in Congress have been refusing to extend paltry unemployment benefits or food stamps to the people hit hardest by the recession. And pretty soon they’re going to go after Social Security too.
In reality, the deficit is only a problem if investors are afraid that the government will default on its debt. Markets measure this worry with interest rates—high rates mean investors are worried, low rates mean they are not. Right now, interest rates on government bonds are at their lowest in decades. With the recession dragging on and the recovery weakening, now would be a great time for the government to spend more money to create jobs and help those knocked out of work.
Instead, the policy debate features cranky old men whining about 310-million-titted cows.

The truth hurts the wingnuts, but if you really want some truth and a SS fix here's what NEEDS TO BE DONE. Make the rich pay their fair share!! SURPRISE!  Right now high earners only pay SS taxes on the first 106,000 of their income! Can you believe that bullshit??! Make the rich pay their fair share, make them pay taxes on ALL their income and SS can be strengthened. All this talk from the deficit commission is crap when it comes to SS. Republicans HATE Social Security and every chance they get they will lie about it but the people aren't buying into their lies...

Word as a Wordle

A wordle of the Gospel reading for the Fest of Christ the King (Luke 23:33-43:

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus^*34 there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]]^*35 And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah^*363738 of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him,^* ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding^* him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah?^* Save yourself and us!’ ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ ⁴²Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into^* your kingdom.’ ⁴³He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

OCEANSIZE - SuperImposer (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

This is an amazing song by an amazing, underrated band. Health warning though, the video might, note might, unsettle some of you.

Enjoy the song. It's from their superb new album "Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up."

Europeans are flabbergasted

While the rightwingers are laughing at President Obama and Democrats for their losses in the mid term elections, the Europeans are laughing at THEM!  Well maybe not laughing, more like scared, puzzled, in disbelief Americans are so STUPID as to put Republicans back in power, no matter how slight, but to give those disastrous Republicans a majority after just 2 short years of trying to get past the horrific actions of the Bush administration.....after those destructive policies... it's just too much for the Europeans to grasp...

From Alter Net
 Like the rest of the world, Europe cheered the election of Barack Obama as a change from the economic and foreign policy disasters of his predecessor.  Yet just two years later the US government is returning to Bush-lite.  How could this be, Europeans are wondering? The American electorate is looking like a coyote with its leg caught in a trap, chewing its own leg off to get out of the trap.

Europeans are puzzled by the success of the populist Tea Party movement, which seemingly wants to roll back the last two years and return to how things were at the end of the Bush-Cheney years. Even conservatives in Europe are scratching their heads over their transatlantic allies -- “Americans don’t want health care??? How can these Tea Party people say ‘Get government out of my Medicare -- don’t they know Medicare IS a government program???”

Christian Stoffaes who is chairman of the Center for International Prospective Studies based in Paris, stated the United States is in disarray, extremely polarized. It is practically a civil war there and you can't count on it.

THIS statement by Stoffaes is because of the rightwing extremists takeover,

 There is a widespread view that the US is being consumed by the severity of the Great Recession, brought on by a broken Wall Street capitalism, as well as by the quagmires of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and an inability to change course. Brought on by the Bush administration and because of republican obstructionism, increasingly difficult for President Obama to move forward his agenda. I do take into account this administrations problems when it comes to the wars and the policies the left wants Obama to stand firm on. I don't give the president a free pass, he can change course if he so chooses....

Previously, Obama’s failure at the Copenhagen summit on climate change to deliver a serious commitment to that agenda, and instead to strike a deal with the Chinese to do next to nothing, was a real wakeup call to the Europeans. It was as if they suddenly “got” it, that it wasn't George W. Bush who was the problem, but something more profound about America’s broken political system that prevents any leader, even one as talented as Obama, from delivering.  That political system is marinated in money, is paralyzed by a “filibuster-gone-wild” Senate that has allowed a minority of Senators to obstruct all legislation, and is hamstrung by a sclerotic, winner-take-all, two-party electoral system that has left voters poorly represented and deeply frustrated.

This is what the conservatives of Europe are saying about us! The world is afraid of what America is turning into....

Now, in the aftermath of the recent election, the European media landscape is screaming with headlines like:  “Is the American Dream Over?”, “A Superpower in Decline,” “Deep divisions across political map,” “Power gridlock looms between parties,” “Washington turns into a battleground,” and “Elections tarnish Obama's world image.” The recent move by the Federal Reserve to jumpstart the U.S. economy by taking steps that will result in the devaluing of the dollar has been met with great skepticism in Europe. Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has said the Fed's action shows U.S. policy makers are "at a loss about what to do."  The American growth model, he said, is stuck in a deep crisis. "The USA lived off credit for too long, inflated its financial sector massively and neglected its industrial base.”

We the people elected Barack Obama  because this country needed desperate change.  And what do we do, we get impatient and wham, the thugs are back in the majority in the House. Not only are the democrats in this country shaking their heads in disbelief but the rest of the world is too. I know some of you will say President Obama is no different than Bush-Cheney, but Obama is no dummy, he knows what needs to be done to change course. The question is, will he do it?

The predictable American reaction has been, "Europe is one to talk. Have they gotten their PIIGS back in the pen yet?” Certainly Europe has its own challenges. But to the extent that the election of Barack Obama represented an American rejuvenation in the eyes of the world, this recent election represents a further loss of American mojo.  Americans may shrug their shoulders and say, "We don't care what the rest of the world thinks"--  but that will only reinforce what the rest of the world thinks.

This "we don't care about the rest of the worlds perception of us" is rightwinger talk. We better start caring about our reputation, and we better start caring about our country and her people before we let the wingnuts take us to a place we will never recover from....

I don't believe the mid term losses for the Democratic Party mean a loss of American mojo either. The voters were not voting out of a love for the republicans, they were voting out of a frustration the democrats were not fighters for the progressive agenda this country wants. You can go right ahead and deceive yourselves into believing otherwise righties. This country wants Obama to be more progressive, to be a fighter against the destructive republicans and what they are gonna try and do in the next 2 years. The world will be watching in disbelief.....