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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Republican (n) Head Stuck In An Anotomial Orifice
Part 2 - Conformity and Mediocrity
News Flash: The Baby Boom Generation is aging. One of the hallmarks of Boomerosity is an affection for merging music (especially 60s and 70s music). As the boomers age, many have turned inside out and become Republicans. It would be natural for the born-again GOPers to try to mix the tunes of their kidhood with their politics of today. For more details, read
Clueless In The USAJohn Mellencamp's catchy tune,
Pink Houses, is similar to Springsteen's message: one person's American Dream is another's insomnia.
Well there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listening to a rockin' rollin' station
Hes got a greasy hair, greasy smile
He says: "lord, this must be my destination
cuz they told me, when I was younger
Boy, you're gonna be president."
But just like everyting else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went.
Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me
Sign me up right now! I want to vote Republican so that My America can be a Republican's vision for the USA.
Labels: clueless, conformity, gop, mediocrity, mellencamp, music, no longer a republican, pinkhouses, politics, springsteen
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
More Astonishingly Stupid Stealing
Something Fishy
News Flash: The Baby Boom Generation is aging. One of the hallmarks of Boomerosity is an affection for merging music (especially 60s and 70s music) and politics. As the boomers age, many have turned inside out and become Republicans. It would be natural for the born-again GOPers to try to mix the tunes of their kidhood with their politics of today. For more details, read
Clueless In The USA Ann & Nancy Wilson wrote and performed a rock 'n roll classic. It was aimed directly at a record company's A & R guy - a music promoter - who spent a lot of time indulging in his own fantasies by sexually harassing the Heart Sisters. It is not in any manner, shape, or form a compliment.
This
misappropriation of music is supposed to be the theme song for the 2008 candidate for Vice-President of the USA. The GOP is emphasising Sarah Palin's tough, aggressive style of politics ... like a Barracuda.
You're lying so low in the weeds
I bet you're gonna ambush me
You'd have me down, down, down, down on my knees
Now wouldn't you, barracuda?
And if the real thing don't do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick
Ooooh, barracuda!
'Sell me sell you' the porpoise said
Dive down deep down, deeper than
You.. I think that you got the blues too
Yeah, you gotta love a barracuda. By the way, the string-powered opening riff of this song makes a great ringtone for your cell phone.
Remember - the Wilsons told the Republicans to cease and desist illegally using Heart's music - even if the use of the tune is anything but a good image for their candidate.
Labels: barracuda, clueless, conformity, gop, heart, mediocrity, mellencamp, music, no longer a republican, pinkhouses, politics, sarah palin, springsteen
Don't forget to visit BlackBox, the best of tech talk (in plain English), and please read/honor the legal stuff in the left-hand pane of this page
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Clueless in the USA
News Flash: The Baby Boom Generation is aging. One of the hallmarks of Boomerosity is an affection for merging music (especially 60s and 70s music). As the boomers age, many have turned inside out and become Republicans. It would be natural for the born-again GOPers to try to mix the tunes of their kidhood with their politics of today.
News Flash: There are many things that are simply beyond the grasp of people as short-sighted as Republicans. Over the next few days, here you will find at least three examples of Republicans blundering through trying to make their brand of politics seem, ummmmm, hip. In each case, there are at least 3 problems with the right-wingers' choices in publicity-oriented songs:
- It's the lyrics, stupid. Before choosing an advertising diddy, shouldn't you listen to the words? Do the words in the song really reflect what you want the public to believe about your party or your candidate?
- There are copyright laws in this country. Before using using copyrighted material for gain, one must first obtain permission of the copyright holder - and be prepared to pay royalties each time the copyrighted material is used for either commercial gain or purposes other than for its original intent: personal pleasure. In each case here it is obvious that the GOP did not first get permission to use. I know this because in each case, the artists sent cease and desist letters saying don't use my (our) music to promote your cause.
- Given #2, doesn't adherence to law - "Law and Order" mean anything to these people - the ones whose zeal led them into crookhood?
By the way, in 1992, the Clinton Campaign wanted to use Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" as a campaign theme song.Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Now THAT is a positive message, no matter what the context. Not only did the writer, Christine McVie, allow the Clintons to use her masterpiece - she and the band endorsed it. That's a long way from cease and desist orders, nicht wahr?
Put on your seat belts, kiddies. We're going to take a ride down the rabbit hole.Part 1 - Born On Some Other Planet
Springsteen's signature song is about the failed American dream. Why would anyone in politics want to use that concept as a PR diddy - one that is supposed to say "We are the real Americans. Join us in celebrating our American-ness." look at these portions of the lyrics:
Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog thats been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go
Now there is a positive image for the Republicans. Would you want to vote for a party so clueless - or who thinks that stomping on middle class aspirations is a good idea?
Labels: barracuda, clueless, conformity, gop, heart, mediocrity, mellencamp, music, no longer a republican, pinkhouses, politics, sarah palin, springsteen
Don't forget to visit BlackBox, the best of tech talk (in plain English), and please read/honor the legal stuff in the left-hand pane of this page
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Why I Am No Longer A Republican
To Republicans, lower taxes masquerade as fiscal responsibility. Tax cuts, in the right-wing delusion, solve everything.
Lower taxes don't solve anything (unless you are part of one of the special interest group at whom tax cuts are typically aimed). Interestingly, good things happen after tax increases. I'm not advocating high taxes, but I'm pragmatic: go with what works.
Republicans have always laid claim to fiscal responsibility.
That is a myth. The facts say otherwise.
First, a quick summary
- Republican presidents
1920-1932
income taxes - negligible
economy upward trend first 7 years
then the biggest economic crash in history
don't forget those really cool scandals & corruption
- Democratic presidents
1932-1940
higher income taxes on wealthiest
economy recovered, slowly but steadily
1941-1948
higher income taxes on nearly everyone
economy improved (war spending was a two-edged sword)
- Republican president
1952-1960
economy slowed
deep recession
- Democratic presidents
1961-1968
economy soared
- Republican presidents
1969-1972
economy leveled
1973-1976
"stagflation" - stagnant economy and high inflation
- Democratic president
1977-1980
stagflation subsided, but the resulting credit crunch persisted
- Republican president
1981-1992 borrow and spend like crazy under Reagan
1981- biggest income tax cut in history
budget deficits skyrocketed
economy went backwards
1982 - biggest income tax increase in history
economy recovered
1986 - shifted income tax burden away from wealthy to middle/lower classes
1987 - 2nd largest wall st crash in history
economy went into recession
1989-1992, recession continued and worsened
- Democratic president
1993-2001
income tax hike
economy went into best 9 years in historybudget deficits decreased every year, with 1997-2000 having budget surpluses (paid down national debt)
- Republican president
2001-2008
income tax cuts to wealthiest 10%
went from budget surplus to biggest budget deficits in history
economy slowed dramatically
economy went into and stayed in recession
Now, let's back up the claims:
To measure fiscal responsibility, let's consider the change in the relationship between federal debt and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That relationship demonstrates growth (or decrease) in the government's debt in the context of growth (or shrinkage) of the economy as a whole. In other words, when times are good, does an administration use that as an opportunity to pay down debt? Or the opposite? Does fiscal policy cause increases or decreases in debt when times are bad?
Running up debt:- Since 1945, every Democratic president presided over decreases in the debt-to-GDP ratio (that's good)
- Since 1945, every Republican president presided over
- in the best years, smaller decreases than under all Democrats
- in worst years (20 out of the last 36 years under Republicans), sharp INCREASES in the debt-to-GDP ratio (that's bad)
- 1977-1980, the Carter administration, was interesting in that
- his one term saw solid decrease in the debt-to-GDP ratio
- Nixon/Ford preceded him, and had deficit increases
- Reagan/Bush followed him, and had huge budget deficits
What about jobs?- From 1929 to the present, job growth (net annual increase in number of jobs)
- under EVERY Democratic president, significant net increases in creation of new jobs
- under EVERY Democratic president, increases in rate over rate under preceding Republican
- under EVERY Republican president, smaller net increases than under ANY democratic president with one exception: 1945-1948, the net increase (under a Democrat) was smaller than those in 1969-1972 and 1985-1988 (under Republicans)
- Under two Republican administrations (but ZERO Democratic administrations) there were net job losses during their terms: specifically, 1929-1932 and 2001-2004; if the economy continues to fall this year, the small increase of 2005- part of 2007 could be erased.
So... can we conclude
Taxes = evil
Tax cuts = sacred & honorable
???
No and No.
- Borrow-and-spend (increase the national debt) is far worse than tax-and-spend.
- Borrow-and-spend creates the illusion of something good happening, but leaves it for future taxpayers to pick up the tab.
The facts:
- Increases in income taxes always immediately precede economic improvement AND lower budget deficits.
- Decreases in income taxes usually precede economic downturns AND higher budget deficits
- Budget deficits fall, and the economy improves under Democratic presidents
- Budget deficits increase and the economy nearly always slows (or worse) under Republican presidents
Let's face it:
- conventional wisdom about taxes is wrong: 'lower' does not mean 'better' and 'higher' does not mean 'worse'
- what matters is how the economy is doing, how many jobs are out there, how much money you have left at the end of the pay period, and whether or not we've prepared for the future (national debt increases or decreases).
Sorry, Republicans. Ouch!
Labels: borrow-and-spend, depression, economy, GDP, higher taxes, jobs, lower taxes, national debt, no longer a republican, recession, republican, tax cut, tax-and-spend
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Why I Am No Longer A Republican
My imaginary friend thinks I have sold out to the tax-and-spend liberals, to the terrorist-loving wimps, to the big government wimps, to those who prefer a sluggish economy.
I haven't sold out to anyone. I just looked at the facts.
Tax-and spend isn't the problem. Fiscal responsibility is what matters.
- My former fellow travelers talk a good game, but truth be told, Republicans have long been fiscally irresponsible. They are the ones who borrow-and-spend.... and spend way too much.
- Democrats are more included to spend less, and do a better job of pay-as-you-go.
Terrorists are a serious concern. Who has the good track record in dealing with terrorists? Whose record is dismal?- Terrorists have tested our mettle 3 times.
- Under one party's leadership, the perps of both events were caught promptly and brought to justice.
- The other party has botched everything and wound up with terrorist leaders regularly going on TV and mocking us. My prior party's leaders have the dismal record.
Who really grows government? Who really shrinks the size of government?- Small government sounds good, but the GOP consistently expands government, while the other side shrinks it.
Who wins wars? Who supports the troops? Who demonstrates the correct priorities?- I am embarrassed to say that like other Republicans, I parroted the party line. We were dead wrong. And deadly wrong, as well.
- Which party is in charge every time we did not win?
- Which party is in charge every time we DID win?
- On whose watch have we cut-and-run?
- If you want to prolong a war, who ya gonna call?
- When veterans get mistreated, who is supposed to be providing leadership?
- An easy one - who has the most blood on their hands from active duty troops and veterans committing suicide?
Are you pissed off yet? Stay tuned... the proof is coming.Labels: borrow-and-spend, do anything, greed, no longer a republican, racist, recovering republican, redneck, say anything, southern strategy, strong national defense, tax cut, tax-and-spend, zealot
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
Why I Am No Longer A Republican
There are several reasons why I am no longer a Republican.
- The party has sold its soul to religious zealots.
- The party's platforms and beliefs are based on hypotheses that have been proven wrong.
- The party eagerly assists those who would claim righteousness while performing very unrighteous actions.
- The party has abandoned its principle of a strong national defense.
- The party accepts - worse, encourages - fiscal recklessness.
- The party climbs on the backs of entrepreneurs to promote the growth and profit of wall street's worst.
- The party has tossed accountability and personal responsibility in favor in expedience.
- The party approves of winning - saying and doing anything - at any cost.
- The party's vision extends only to the next election.
- The party is in bed with the targets of the "Southern Strategy": the latter-day racists.
My imaginary friend is stunned and demands an explanation. He, and you, will have to settle for understanding each of these one day at a time. Stay tuned.
Labels: do anything, no longer a republican, recovering republican, redneck racist, republican, southern strategy, strong national defense, zealotsay anything
Don't forget to visit BlackBox, the best of tech talk (in plain English), and please read/honor the legal stuff in the left-hand pane of this page
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