The Cynical Liberal (original) (raw)
The Cynical Liberal [Most Recent Entries][Calendar View] [Friends]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded inThe Cynical Liberal's LiveJournal:
[ << Previous 20 ]
| Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| _11:02 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
To Convince an Undecided This is arguably the most important election that a member of our generation has yet faced. And this is unarguably a partisan issue. I am, and have been since the early days of the campaign, an Obama supporter and I offer no apologies as such. This essay is intended to explain my decision to support Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden over Senator McCain and Governor Palin, and to spell out the reasons that undecideds like her should as well.Senator McCain’s pick for running mate is nothing short of an insult to American women everywhere. Senator McCain’s choice not to go with those Conservative darlings like former Governor Mitt Romney, or Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, in favor of a little-known governor of the largest state in the union with the 3rd smallest population in the union is a political play intended to shave support from the disaffected women who feel they were short-changed with the defeat of Hillary Clinton. Sarah Palin’s politics are at the opposite of the political spectrum. Palin’s pro-gun, anti-choice conservatism rivals only a figure like Ann Coulter – a bastion of feminism if I’ve ever heard of one.What is being lost on most of Hillary’s supporters is that Governor Palin is opposed to virtually everything that Senator Clinton believes in and ran on. All that Governor Palin and Senator Clinton share is a biological similarity – and nothing more. And if Hillary Clinton’s reproductive system was the only (or primary) reason that her supporters voted for her, then her supporters need to seriously reconsider their political priorities.Consider for a moment the political positions important to this race, the political positions that Hillary Clinton believed were important when she ran for President: The issues that are important to women.ChoiceSenator McCain’s views on abortion have been made clear. Despite the attempt to portray himself and his ticket as a moderate shift from the Republican party, the Senator’s views on abortion have certainly met with staunch approval from the likes of Reverend Pat Robertson and Senator Sam Brownback. In fact, Senator Brownback read a statement by Senator McCain to a protest march in Washington on January 22, 2008 reading “If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next President of the United States, I pledge to you to be a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement.” NARAL Pro-Choice American has prepared a report stating that Senator McCain has voted against the right to choose in 115 out of 119 relevant votes. McCain has an opinion on determining what choices a woman should and should not have regarding her body and her family that is direct contrast with the views shared by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And Senator McCain’s selection of a female running mate does on no way counters or balances these positions – in fact, they exacerbate them.Sarah Palin is lock-step with Senator McCain on the issue of a woman’s right to choose. The website of NARAL Pro-Choice American cites an article from the Juneau Empire: “Palin, a member of the anti-choice group Feminists for Life, said during her campaign for governor that she is opposed to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.” Any comfort that female supporters of Hillary Clinton get from McCain’s running mate can be dissolved by realizing that the first female Vice-President will be an ardent supporter of eroding her gender’s hard-fought rights and victories over the male establishment over the years. And the woman who would be president should John McCain – who would be the oldest man ever to assume the Presidency – die or become incapacitated, would use her office to select Federal judges who would erode those freedoms, and would veto any bills that attempt to further those freedoms.Fuel PricesThe McCain/Palin ticket's plan to wean America off of oil is predicated on drilling for more oil here in America. While this plan may help to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will do nothing to reduce our dependence on oil, which is the underlying problem.In his state of the union in 2006, President George W. Bush, a product of the oil industry, announced that "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." Even T. Boone Pickens, one of the hardest-core oil men, has endorsed a plan that does not include oil!The McCain/Palin plan not only does nothing to curb America's addiction to oil, it means to increase it! Assuming for a second that the President was right, and that America is addicted to oil, is the cure for an addiction more of the same? Think of it this way: If a man is an alcoholic, do we suggest that the best cure for his love for Scotch is to switch to American-made Tennessee whiskey? This is what the McCain/Palin plan is tantamount to. Don't work on the addiction, just bring the addiction closer to home. The only ones that benefit from the McCain/Palin plan is the people who make the record profits from oil revenues. Because they will have all sorts of new places to drill, and they won't have to go far from home.Obama/Biden's plan is surprisingly-Republican sounding. Huge government investment in businesses to create economical alternative energy solutions. Basically they want to invest in the private sector and have industry solve the problem. It is surprising to me that there isn't an industry involved seeking out the Republicans for their stereotypical love of big business, in fact it's the Democrats that want to invest and show the tax-break love for an industry that can actually taper America's dependence on oil... Not just foreign oil, but domestic oil, too.ExperienceExperience is something that has been blown vastly out of proportion during this campaign. Pretty much every candidate, Democrat and Republican alike, have accused Barack Obama of being inexperienced.Only in the Fox series "24" does the President call all his/her own shots. In the real world, the President makes a decision only after careful deliberation and debate amongst his/her staff and advisors. Same for the military. Presidents are the Commanders-in-Chief of the military, but they issue orders only after being carefully advised and briefed by the finest minds in the best-trained military in the world. Such is the nature of the civilian-run military. But let's put that aside for a second and look at history's "greatest" (in quotations because this title can be debated) presidents.Abraham Lincoln - Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, served as an attorney in Illinois, then a member of the State Legislature, then the U.S. House of Representatives. He never headed an executive agency, had even less foreign policy than Governor Palin does, yet micromanaged the Union through a civil war.John F. Kennedy - President Kennedy, while a war hero who commanded a PT Boat in World War II, had no political executive experience. Kennedy served three terms in the House of Representatives, and then one term in the Senate before being elected president, and all he did was stare down the Soviet Union in the closest the U.S. has ever come to a full-scale nuclear war.Harry S. Truman - The man that saw the U.S. to the end of World War II, and had to make the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan, though an officer in World War I, served as a county judge, Senator, and then served less than a year and a half as Vice President before ascending to the Presidency with the death of Roosevelt.Despite what John McCain would like, the experience factor is not nearly as important as common sense and good judgment. Common sense and good judgment do not come from executive experience, they come from humanity.Now, do not get me wrong, I am in no way stating that Senator McCain or Governor Palin have poor judgment or lack common sense, I am saying that their claims that Senator Obama will somehow fold under the pressure of an international crisis, or will inexplicably cause the end of the world are unfounded, and meant to question Senator Obama's common sense and good judgment. And that is unfair.TransparencyFor the last eight years, mum has been the name of the game. Since September 11, 2001, the date in which the Bush administration decided that it could do whatever it wanted and had to answer to no one. Its secrecy and lack of transparency have been one of its greatest detriments, and it will inevitably go down in history as the most secretive and closed presidential administration in history... Yes, even moreso than that of Richard Nixon.And it appears that the McCain/Palin team is headed down that same route. Senator McCain has done many press conferences and interviews with the media, and has answered reporters' questions on the trail. Senator Obama has done so as well. Senator Biden, since joining the Democratic ticket, has done a high number of Q&As, interviews and has otherwise interacted with the press. Governor Palin, in a nod to Vice President Cheney, has done a grand total of two interviews, and regularly ducks away from the press.The lack of transparency in the last eight years has hurt the institution of the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. Only when the President acts as the employee of the people that he/she is, does the job itself mean anything. Secrecy for secrecy's sake is wrong. Senator Obama and Senator Biden have made themselves available like a President and Vice President should, while Senator McCain and Governor Palin are not.As I said in the beginning of this article, this is the most important election that our generation has yet faced. It will not be the last important decision, but every important decision that will come has to start with this one catalyst. The Republicans have failed us all, and to surrender the Presidency back to them so that they may continue the country into the freefall that it has been in is basically shooting ourselves in the collective foot, and further hindering our progress as a society.Senators Obama and Biden are running on a platform of change. Change can be a scary thing. But in this day, change is the only hope for millions of Americans. 47 million Americans have no health insurance, or not enough health insurance. Unemployment is at 6.1%. A thousand homes are foreclosed upon every day. The failure of major financial companies threaten to bring the global economic system to its knees. The deficit is at record-breaking levels. 10billiongoestoIraqeverymonth.Gaspricesarehoveringaround10 billion goes to Iraq every month. Gas prices are hovering around 10billiongoestoIraqeverymonth.Gaspricesarehoveringaround4/gallon. Change may be scary. But staying the course - now that is true terror.Governor Palin's pick as a Vice Presidential candidate was intended not to secure a strong president should Senator McCain, hardly a spring chicken, die or become incapacitated in office, but to further isolate those Hillary Clinton supporters who still think that the supporters of Obama are somehow womanizers who simply don't want to see a woman in the White House.But Hillary Clinton herself said it best - this election is too important. The election is not about her, it was never about her. It was about taking the country in the right direction, a direction that we have not seen for eight long years.Crossposted to  _liberal_, newliberal_army, cynicaliberal, and my personal LJ. Please feel free to link to it. I ask that you do not lift from the article, but rather link directly to it. Current Mood:  cold (Comment on this) |
| Thursday, June 12th, 2008 | |
| _11:05 am_[jreilly4261] |
Supreme Court Restores Rule Of Law To Guantánamo http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/35635prs20080612.html satisfied (Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | |
| _1:26 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
The end is .... not nigh? I got all excited this morning. While in a break from BarBRI class, I looked on my iPod at the CNN front page, and it said that Hillary was going to concede. I got excited, thinking "finally this madness is over."Then when I got out of class, the headline was that Terry McAuliffe had said that she was NOT conceding, and that she had three days to convince enough Superdelegates to abandon Obama and come to her side.WTF?Seriously, it is time. You've done enough damage to this fall's campaign, Senator Clinton. Let it go. In a democracy, sometimes the other guy wins, and you lost. It's time for all Democrats to get behind the winner.Did you see John Edwards threatening to take the 2004 primary to the convention when he didn't win? You lost, and if you persist you will look more and more like a sore loser, and you will threaten any chance you have of being a player in the future of the Democratic Party.Please for everyone's sake just let it go. You ran a good campaign. You brought it down to the wire. But despite bringing the score within a touchdown, when the whistle blew your score was still lower than Senator Obama's. Current Mood:  annoyed (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 | |
| _9:08 am_[insertnamehere2] |
If I were a CIA agent... ...I would resign in protest.President Bush's communtation of Scooter Libby's prison term means that this whole affair is solidified as it was intended: A warning shot to everyone who works in government, particularly to those in intelligence and in defense of this country he purportedly loves and swore an oath to defend. The warning is simple: Do not cross me, for I will punish you and your family. While lying to the country to invade Iraq to depose a dictator who regularly punished the family members of dissenters and enemies, President Bush and/or his underlings outed an undercover CIA agent as an act of political retribution. Instead of discrediting Joe Wilson, whose report started this whole thing, they decided to put his wife, a loyal servant of the Central Intelligence Agency, in mortal danger. What if she had been undercover in Iran, or Syria, or Pakistan? She would have been tortured and executed as a spy.This is how we treat those who put their lives on the line for our country?Why yes it is.The troops fighting the war were sent there as agents of an economic agenda. They were poorly equipped, poorly led, and now that they are coming back injured in droves, their post-tour care is shoddy at best.But opposition to the President is dealt with swiftly and harshly. No, not as harshly as Saddam Houssein would have dealt with it... But I think in that realm Valerie Plame Wilson just got lucky.So let this be the warning it was intended to be, all of you who are considering a life of service to your country: Dissent will not be tolerated. And now you don't just have to fear for yourselves, now you have to fear for your loved ones, for they, too, shall suffer the wrath of the cynicaliberal, _liberal_, newliberal_army, and my personal LJ. Current Mood: infuriated (Comment on this) |
| Friday, April 6th, 2007 | |
| _1:09 pm_[gregorysparr] |
With a keyboard on loan from God, I am the Independent Blogger of the Office of the Independent Blogger. Allow me to introduce you to my site if you haven't heard of it before. I do hope you visit and stay -- add it to a Feed, bookmark it.My latest post is a satire of Mitt Romney, who is more Elmer Fudd than John Wayne, more Michael Dukakis than George H.W. Bush. It's a look at his -- and his state's -- Looney Toon Politics.Earlier today, I wrote about Disney recognizing gay relationships, which is good news, and Florida law forbidding people from feeding homeless people, which makes even a sane man wish himself Libertarian!A couple of days ago I looked at Newt Gingrich's comments about bilingual education and the whole ugly matter of textbooks being censored or neglecting portions of history. For those of you interested in Congressional politics, I looked at portions of the Democratic agenda and outline the potential pitfalls and my own opinions on these ideas. A small excerpt, in response to Price's warning of the price Democrats might pay for going too far with certain things: "I’ll buy that. If the Democrats, say, pass a bill legalizing gay marriage and pledge to give money to terrorists, they’d be homosexual Ronald Reagans — and out of work come 2008." And then I took a serious look at their agenda. The Democratic Agenda.Here I chide Bush's chief policy strategist in 2004 for now saying Bush is wrong. (Of course he's wrong -- my argument is that Dowd is not someone to appreciate in any sense of the term because his whole behavior suggests he's an idiot.)Here, at OkayStupid, I Got It! we've got a look at Online Politics and the recent announcement that Barack Obama raised more money than Hillary did...on the Internet, and the dishonest, ridiculous manner the whole situation was covered in by the media and on the Internets. (And here we've got a deep apology to Barack Obama's intern...who I told that I was a Republican because I can't possibly donate to his campaign on principal or prudence.) (And here, on a final note on the matter, we've got a better look at the media's coverage of Obama/Clinton and a casual look at billionaires v. government when it comes to newspapers.)A short post here, pithy, that would be longer in summary than whole!Small post here, too, about Thompson's Presidential announcement. An excerpt: _I didn’t know that the Department of Health and Human Services was a launchpad for Presidential ambitions, but I suppose it is now with Tommy Thompson’s announcement that he’s running for President. I, for one, am not sure what to make of it. He’s angling himself as a reliable Conservative but that’s what Senator Brownback is in the race for. Perhaps he’ll catch fire if Brownback’s big mouth catches up to him, but otherwise I don’t think he’s got much of a chance to make waves._Of course, there are hundreds of posts beyond that, and I update daily. I'd like to think I have a good idea what I'm talking about and an excellent sense of humor, but I'll leave that up to you, and I hope you agree to stay at the Office of the Independent Blogger, open daily for business! (Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 | |
| _9:39 pm_[gregorysparr] |
I am the Independent Blogger of the Office of the Independent Blogger. I took a hiatus of about a week and a half and returned to blogging today. I thought I'd refer you all to my blog, and sample it for you as well. As I gloated in my latest political entry, I called the Rumsfeld resignation on October first and I called it for either today or January. To quote,On October first, I wrote, The more I read of the new Woodward book, State of Denial, the more apparent it becomes to me that Donald Rumsfeld will finally lose his job. Either the day after the Midterm Elections, or in January. That’s how George Walker works. He won’t want to give anything up to the Defeatocrats before the Elections, but I reckon Rumsfeld’s done for.A few times I’ve waivered slightly, wondering if Bush just might really be dumb enough to allow Rumsfeld’s further presence at the Department of Defense, but I always believed that the writing was on the wall and I do believe myself a Boy who can read the President, whoever it may be. Needless to say, Rumsfeld has stepped down, and now it’s up to a new man to try and wipe Baghdad clean, something that I think is all too possible. Wars don’t end overnight and however dramatic losses may be (and Iraq’s aren’t that bad, in perspective) there is always prospect for Victory. If this new man means that George Bush is serious about changing course in Iraq (which it seems he is, in a roundabout, Bushian way, as he said today, to that same question, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon”) then that is nothing but a good thing.The President’s committment, and vision, remains dubious, however. Bush has defeated Rumsfeld; now can he defeat their collective mistakes of the last four years? This is the sort of change that gives old supporters of the War new hope — cautious, tempered hope, but hope all the same. Yes, I am, as an old but hesitant supporter of the Iraq War, take new hope from this event but I genuinely fear that it's far too little too late. Here, on this page, titled Inevitabilities are Inevitable, I write about Tuesday's election results, _Today’s Chicago Tribune led off with the headline, Democrats’ Day! but I feel that the New York Times did the public one better when they wrote, a Loud Message for Bush. The truth is that yesterday’s election was a message to Bush rather than a reaffirmation of Liberalism, and it is also a Finally Election, meaning that it’s The One that Shouldn’t Have Gotten Away Like the Others Did. That is, 2002 should’ve been a good year to be a Democrat and 2004 was not an election that Bush should’ve won. This year was similar in circumstance and for once, the Democratic Party was able to capitalize without ruining its own prospects, and the credit should go, as far as organizing the rout, to Chuck Schumer in the Senate and Rahm Emmanuel in the House for not Shrumming up a sure thing.All through the year I was sure of three things: the Republicans would lose seats, Rick Santorum would be handily defeated and Rod Blagojevich would be re-elected Governor of Illinois. Whether or not the Democrats would take the House was something I was leaning Yes on but wasn’t confident enough to declare because of the Mathematics of Redistricting. I’m glad, enough, that the Democrats have taken the House and might still take the Senate, but I must say I feel bad for the President.King George can’t govern with a Republican Congress. Imagine how he’ll fail with a Divided Government!_and here, I noted the irony of the GOP defeat being fueled by Iraq. Check it out and read it often. It's updated daily, and it's updated quite well, I must say in my unbiased and wholly independent way. (Comment on this) |
| Saturday, October 14th, 2006 | |
| _2:49 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
Protons have mass? I didn't know they were Catholic! So those of you who don't know, Buffalo, the city of Snow where I go to Law School, had a massive, unexpected, and record-breakingly early snowstorm Thursday and Friday, that knocked power out for 260,000, and virtually shut the entire county down.This story is on the local news website (I have to check there cuz cable is out):Oct 14, 2006 - Biship Edward Kmiec has lifted the Sunday Mass obligations for Cathoics living in parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo affected by the storm. A press release from the diocese says it's up to local pastors whether or not to conduct weekend services but that CVatholics in parishes without power are not obligated to attend Mass this weekend.Source.How generous of him.Thank god I'm an atheist.Crossposted in atheism, newsmonkeys, cynicaliberal and my personal LJ. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this) |
| Monday, August 14th, 2006 | |
| _4:40 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
Mission: Accomplished II Hey look! Another job well done.**( Bush says Israel defeated HezbollahCollapse )**At least he had the courtesy not to declare this one from an Israeli Aircraft Carrier.Source.Crossposted to _liberal_ and cynicaliberal. Current Mood: cynical (Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, August 9th, 2006 | |
| _4:52 pm_[gregorysparr] |
Hello everyone, I am the Independent Blogger of the Office of the Independent Blogger. Before we talk politics, I've got a new section on my website that I'd like to quickly plug: the Office of the Independent Poet. You'll find a bunch of the poems I've written on there, and it's all in good fun, I say. Now, to politics, which.....aren't.In regard to political analysis, there's this, where I talk about Joe Lieberman's recent defeat, and I stand up for him, more or less, because I believe he deserves to be stood up for. Similarly, there's this, about Hillary Clinton's chances to run/not run in 2008. **( An Excerpt.Collapse )**Additionally, there is criticism of the Lebanese Invasion and the Bush Administration's treatment of it. On the subject of War, we have my thoughts here, specifically about the recent statements made by Generals in the military about Iraq. In response to an embarrassing story about George Bush's lack of knowledge preceding the Invasion, I write this: "I’d like to know what type of deal George Bush made with the Devil to give him the Presidency, but so far, Antonin Scalia won’t answer my phone calls, and William Rehnquist is dead!"You can read the criticisms here, as well as a look at the Ukraine's recent politics. I love Eastern Europe.Here, we have a look at Cuba and War Profiteers, and here we have one of my favorite posts, an entry looking at the "inevitability" of War with Iran, in which I look at past "inevitable conflicts." It's a good read, but then again, I believe everything on my site is, as, excuse my lack of humility, I believe that my blog is the best under-the-radar look at politics online. While I'm sure there's disagreement with that notion, my blog is very good, and I'm proud of it. Finally, on an International and more traditionally Liberal note, there's this: Cold as Ice, where we have a post about the savage beating of Seals, as well as a silly anecdote about an old project of mine involving Seal E., seal claps and Arctic Ice City. Given that we're talking about ice, let's talk about global warming.Read through, and bookmark it, please! (Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 | |
| _1:37 pm_[gleef] |
Bush Grants Self Permission To Grant More Power To Self A lovely gem from the Onion I thought y'all would appreciate:Bush Grants Self Permission To Grant More Power To SelfA couple of excerpts:"In a time of war, the president must have the power he needs to make the tough decisions, including, if need be, the decision to grant himself even more power," Bush said. "To do otherwise would be playing into the hands of our enemies."Added Bush: "And it's all under due process of the law as I see it."In addition, Republicans fearful that the president's new power undermines their ability to grant him power have proposed a new law that would allow senators to permit him to grant himself power, with or without presidential approval.[Note: The Onion is a satirical paper, Bush has not actually done this. Yet.] (Comment on this) |
| Saturday, May 13th, 2006 | |
| _5:57 pm_[gregorysparr] |
I am, as you undoubtedly already know, the Independent Blogger of the Office of the Independent Blogger, independent in the same sense that Ken Starr was meaning "not very independent" indeed. I blog with a keyboard on loan from God, and here we go.My latest post, and the first I'll direct you to, is Apples and Oranges, where the subject turns from the polling of the President to Iran's wacky letter, with a stop in front of the political fights of the week (Howard Dean v. some critics, Frist v. critics, Boehner v. critics, and Muffin Man v. Baker) before closing with the price of butter in Langley. Not bad, eh?In my next post, we talk politics, thus leading me to title the post, "Talking Politics." Reverse Federalism and State's Rights are discussed, along with the inherent seriousness of an Al Gore candidacy, followed by some points about John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. On a personal level, I have been criticized by many Liberal Democrats for two things: my support of the War and Iraq, and my timid opposition to the NSA's wiretapping. Before, I used to condemn the program but I didn't go so far as to call it an abuse of power. In light of recent revelations, however, I don't think there's a way to deny that George Bush is Richard Nixon Reloaded. A preview:**( Richard Nixon Reloaded.Collapse )**The day before that, I'd labeled President Bush Jimmy Carter With Rabies, and I think it's fair to stand by that. In that post, I discuss his human rights record and a few impressive notes, but then we get to the CIA. My view of the CIA, currently, is that it is the victim of an Honor Killing of sorts. Yes, I'm willing to say that Bush is attempting to kill the CIA for "honor."Afterward, you can look here for an analysis of the UN and the global poker games being played, including my first note on the Iranian Letter to Bush. My thoughts on it at the time? _A few more poker matches are left to talk about. The first involves Iran. First, Blair today said that any suggestion of “nuking Iran” is “absurd.” It is. I’m proud of him for saying that, as it’ll provide some level of sanity to the discourse. Next, on Iran, their President has written Bush a letter in what they’re labeling an attempt to push forward talks. The Iranians say they’ll publicly release it when Bush receives it. Here’s to hoping they knew to put enough stamps on and, you know, write it in English._To close, here there's talk of the spooky shenanigans going on in the world and at the UN, this post about the men in power who are dropping like cash at an Abramoff meeting.If you'd be so kind, check out the site and if you enjoy it (I don't see how you couldn't) then do do me a favor and forward links to it to your friends or make a post in your own blogs. I'd surely return the favor, if asked. (Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, April 25th, 2006 | |
| _12:23 pm_[gregorysparr] |
I am the Independent Blogger of the Office of the Independent Blogger, and I have a variety of posts to highlight from my blog.First we talk about Dinosaurs, Awards and Politics, specifically relating to Ted Kennedy, Bipartisanship, unauthorized leaking and Richard Nixon. An excerpt? "Pat Buchanan is out calling any leak of classified information treasonous, and bemoaning the granting of a Pulitzer Prize to the woman who ran the article on secret CIA prisons. In other news, he still thinks Richard Nixon the greatest President since Caligula."Strength in Numbers, where we talk about the military backlash against Rumsfeld as well as the effect of sagging poll numbers. The closing line, "As everyone knows, strength is something that can be found in numbers, but not always. Hundred million dollar lawsuits don’t bring strength to Maury Povich much like thirty two percent approval ratings don’t help the average President, but George Bush isn’t the average President. Charges of incompetence and lack of evidence serve as spinach to Bush’s popeye, bubba, and he wouldn’t have it any other way."Next we talk about Cursed Terms, specifically the Second Term Curse, Karl Rove's clipping, the Phone Jamming plot that's starting to become Bush's Watergate, and a ripping of Bush for his label as "the freedom President." An excerpt: "Even a few months ago, I’d have never imagined that this sort of phone-jamming incident would be occurring in today’s Washington, but I shouldn’t have given Bush that much credit, I guess. What’s the difference between Karl Rove and Chuck Colson? One of them claims to have reformed himself, while the other wants to firebomb Iran!" If you know your 1960s history, then you know Chuck Colson is notorious for wanting to firebomb the Brookings institute. More on the Watergate-sequel can be found here, along with some notes on Brent Scowcroft.Here we have a pithy post about gas prices.Next up is Carnal Congress about the oversexed Katherine Harris and the nature of Republican government today. Excerpt: "I am aware that this post is heavier with sexual entendres than Harris’ face is with makeup, but that’s okay. When you’re dealing with a carnal Congress that loves screwing people over, it’s all right to be explicit. Besides, I’m only making a point as to the nature of the Republicans we’re dealing with — people who pretend to be puritans but cuddle on the floor of the House. How do Republicans get away with this? By promising to outlaw sex toys in South Carolina. Maybe that’s Karl Rove’s next platform to run on? Or maybe it’s because we’ve got people with goals such as those listed above that our country’s wallowing in so many problems?"Here we look at politics as a game of survival, and specifically talk about Hillary Clinton and the 2008 elections, Iraq's Prime Minister, Rick Santorum and Karl Rove.Finally, there's Iran and Global Warming, including notes on Al Gore.To close, we have Brokeback Washington about the Bush White House, and it's a nifty satire, if I do say so myself. (Comment on this) |
| Sunday, April 16th, 2006 | |
| _6:28 pm_[andrewcarr] | |
| Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 | |
| _7:40 pm_[gregorysparr] |
Hi everyone. I'm Gregory Pratt, the Independent Blogger from The Office of the Independent Blogger. Since Christmas, my website was on a hiatus due to a variety of small issues but now it's back, and so am I. It's back for good, and in that regard, so, too, am I. I'm still "Independent" in the same sense that Ken Starr was. Which means "Not Very Independent" indeed. I blog from the Left side of the Political Spectrum, but I flirt with Conservatism on Iraq, and maybe one or two much smaller things. Which means that my wisecrack about being as Independent as Ken Starr is me Kidding on the Square -- kidding, but meaning it to a point. Or maybe I really am Independent like Starr, who, while a Right Wing Hatchet Man of the Worst Kind, also happens to do noble work against the Death Penalty.I share his independence, if we look at it that way, to a point. But I don't hunt after the President's penis like he does. No sir. Truth be told, some people have told me that I flirt with Conservatism, and I like to say back, "I don't. I tease Conservates." Jokes aside, I'm quite fond of my blog, both because I try to interject humor into the issues of today and because I love government. And so allow me to pique your prurient interest with a few titillating articles I've got up. First we've got the Tax Code Samba, similar to the Texas Two Step in that you'll never see me doing it. You see, I'm not much of a dancer. Or a fighter, for that matter. I play baseball instead.My favorite post of the week is (Democratic) Party Like It's 1999 about the Clintons, DeLay, Al Gore and the future of Congress, 2008 and a brief mention of Larry Flynt and The Gingrich who Shut Down the Government. Then there's "Gobble Gorba," an article refuting the recent statements of Mikhail Gorbachev who has found the time to sneak out of his grave and praise Vladimir Putin while tackling America. The premise of it is that Gorbachev is a turkey. A noble concept, to be sure.With the demise of Tom DeLay dominating the news this week, here's my take on the failed exterminator. I find it deliciously ironic that the gas man poisoned himself in his haste to wipe out his enemies.Next we talk about a stupid article and Savings. There's no further precursor to that.In the next picture, I Policy Wonk about Isolationism, the Policy Wonk Chief of Staff, and the CIA.Finally, I write about Incessant Bothers in Government and Society.That's not all on the blog, just the more recent posts. So, yes. Go visit the Office of the Independent Blogger, independent in the same sense that Ken Starr was. Enjoy yourselves. (Comment on this) |
| Thursday, March 16th, 2006 | |
| _10:56 pm_[basketcase1980] |
Hey Hey, I'm new to this group. My name is Julie and I hate Bush. Europe is so enlightened and America is going to hell in a handbasket. Anyway, in light of the stupid anti-abortion law passed in South Dakota, I'm writing (mostly for shits and giggles) a bit of satire making fun of it, in the forms of newspaper articles. Here I will post the first three I wrote (also in my live journal) and more are on the way. Not sure how many more. As many as I feel like. Probably one or two. Don't want to beat a dead horse. So here they are!1)MENSTRUATING WOMEN CAN BE CHARGED WITH MURDER(Sioux Falls, SD)April 12th, 2011Following the introduction of a new law passed last month, in South Dakota, outlawing menstruation on the basis that it "kills innocent babies," all South Dakota women were ordered to have sexual relations with their husbands, boyfriends, or male friends/acquaintances, or go to sperm banks to ensure fertilization of their next egg to be released. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to $100,000 plus up to 45 years in prison. "So many eggs... that have the potential to become human beings, are being flushed down the toilet or absorbed in sanitary napkins every month," said recently elected South Dakota Governor, Jerry Falwell. "It disgusts me that so many babies are being killed every month. Imagine that your 25-year-old daughter has been getting her period for 14 years. That's 168 babies-- at least, assuming that only one egg was released per month-- being tragically killed. This cannot go on. God will not stand for it. In fact, His purpose for making women menstruate is so they can see the blood of these poor babies being passed into the toilet."South Dakota women were given a month in which to get their latest egg or eggs fertilized, or face murder charges. "A month is more than ample time," said Falwell. "If you can't find a way to fertilize that egg in that amount of time, then you're a murderer-- plain and simple."The passing of the new law was met with outrage when pro-choice groups demanded to know why their daughters, some as young as ten, had to get pregnant."I don't want my ten-year-old daughter to have to get pregnant already," said a Sioux Falls mother, whose daughter just got her first period in February. "No kid that age should have to carry a baby around for nine months. It's bad enough this new law will require her to do it every year until menopause."When asked if masturbation and nocturnal emissions are murder, as millions of sperm are wasted at a time, Falwell said, "Yes, it is murder. Masturbation is a sin. I can do very little to outlaw it, as much as I want to. And nocturnal emissions? That can't be helped. You can't help what you do in your sleep."Many people responded in outrage at Falwell's implication that menstruation should be easy enough to prevent, whereas nocturnal emissions "can't be helped," and that he can do "very little to outlaw [masturbation].""It's a double standard enforced by a male chauvinist," said a Bismark woman who asked not to be identified. "Falwell is passing these laws at his convenience, and to control women."When this irony was brought to Falwell's attention, Falwell refused to comment. 2)Menstruating Woman Charged With Murder, Possessing Tampons(San Francisco, CA)October 21st, 2015It started with a landmark act that was passed over 4 years ago in South Dakota by Governor Jerry Falwell, a law outlawing menstruation and requiring women to fertilize every egg that they release from the onset of menarche until menopause. Just a year later, when Falwell was elected President, the law became national, and anybody menstruating could be convicted of murder.For the most part, women don't want to spend the rest of their lives in prison-- or have to submit to the death penalty, and thus they followed the law with surprisingly very little protest. Those who didn't agree moved to Canada."Good riddance," said Falwell, when asked what he thought of women who moved to Canada to avoid arrest. "We don't need vermin like that here. We're a good, God-fearing Christian nation, and I intend to keep it that way."However, Jane Smith, 25, was arrested last week on charges that she obtained illegal birth control, stopped getting pregnant, and started menstruating. Her sister, Jessica, discovered boxes of condoms, birth control pills, and tampons in the cabinet under the sink in Jane's bathroom, and immediately alerted the police.Smith, of San Francisco, is a mother of four and should have been pregnant with her fifth child by now. When questioned by police, she broke down in tears."I already have four kids, and they're hard enough to control," said Smith. "I can't handle any more, and I can't deal with postpartum depression. I just don't ever want to be pregnant again."Jane Smith's four kids were immediately placed in foster care, and Smith was ordered held without bail when she confessed that she didn't want to have any more children."If she willingly kills a defenseless little egg," said Federal Judge Hubert Jones, "Who's to say where she'll draw the line? Who's to say she won't murder her own kids if she doesn't want them anymore? This is a very dangerous situation."If convicted, Smith faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Some prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty. 3)Ten-Year-Old Girl Looking at Possible Life Sentence, Death Penalty(Corpus Christi, TX)March 25th, 2025A ten-year-old girl who got her period for the first time last week refuses to get her next egg fertilized. U.S. law, following then-President Jerry Falwell's 2012 national ban on menstruation, requires that all girls, following their first period, immediately arrange to get their next egg fertilized, and to continue fertilizing every egg they release until they reach menopause."It's a shame we can't figure out when a girl will get her first period," Falwell had said. "Otherwise we would enforce the fertilization of eggs from the onset of menarche. It's a shame to see human life get flushed down the toilet like that, even if just once in the woman's lifetime."President Pat Robertson, who has just begun his second term in office, is hoping to find a way to determine the onset of menarche so girls will waste no time in getting pregnant."There should be a way," he says. "I have faith that God will guide us towards the means of determining menarche."All other girls who have just gotten their first periods are wasting no time in getting pregnant-- the punishment for menstruation is life in prison without chance of parole, or the death penalty. Linda Stevenson, 10, of Corpus Christi, Texas, just got her first period last week, and she insists she's not ready to get pregnant."I don't want to... you know... do it with a guy. That kinda scares me," said Stevenson. "My mom didn't do it until she was in college."This particular fear instilled in girls today is of increasing concern, but President Robertson has said several times that sexual activity isn't necessary, that one can go to a sperm bank instead in order to get pregnant."That still freaks me out," said the girl. "And I don't want to have to carry a baby around for 9 months, and then have to take care of it. Why can't I just ride bikes with my friends like kids from my mom's day did?""Of course someone would say something like that," says Robertson with a shake of his head. "It's the temptation of the Devil, not the path to Christ. The path to Christ involves doing things that you don't always want to do. But that's an important lesson of Christianity, that hardship and suffering brings you closer to Christ. And one key rule in the Bible is to be fruitful and multiply.""Doesn't the Bible also say that sex before marriage is a sin?" asked Stevenson, knowing that many girls her age would be having sex in order to satisfy the anti-menstruation law.That is a question that many people were afraid to ask. Robertson declined to comment.Linda Stevenson has been ordered to go to a sperm bank in time for her next ovulation, or face life imprisonment or even the death penalty."We can't afford to lose any precious human life," Robertson said. "We need to nip this in the bud, and get on the path to Christ before judgment day, when it will be too late."(c) Me, all names (except for Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson) came out of my head. This is satire only and any resemblance to any real person, living or dead, bla bla bla, is coincidental and unintentional. Also, I realized in my first post that I put Bismark as a city in South Dakota. Brain fart. It is actually in North Dakota. Sorry! Current Mood: cynical (3 Comments |Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, March 1st, 2006 | |
| _12:28 pm_[sailorearth] |
just wanted to get some feedback on a project... http://giftofchoice.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ this seemed like a good place to get it. (Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 | |
| _1:36 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
An important announcement Dear loyal readers of Cynicaliberal:The project I had in mind, a bLogzine, has gone bust mostly due to the fact that I haven't sufficient time to put into making it a success (Law school does that to people, I guess).But since the community is here and has acquired a small, grass-roots base of cynical liberals, let us continue to exchange our ideas and promote the progressive agenda that REALLY dominates the mainstream.Therefore, I am announcing that I am taking all posting restrictions off. Let the community become a free-flowing lake of ideas and discussions.I and  papayarain will continue to moderate the community. I will be posting rules and regulations on the info page later today. Deviations from those rules will result in post deletion and potential banning of the offender.Encourage your fellow liberal friends to join us so that the conversations may be broader and more diverse. And welcome to the new Cynicaliberal LJ community. Current Mood: mellow (Comment on this) |
| Monday, February 27th, 2006 | |
| _12:25 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
Google Censorship in America I found this in newliberal_army.Google Video has censored what appears to be a video depicting the detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device by U.S. troops in Iraq.When you attempt to open the video, you are given either the message "We're sorry, but the provider of this video has not authorized Google to display this video in your location." or "This video is not playable in your country."The restriction only appears to be upon ISPs in the United States, as British, Canadian, French, German, etc. servers are allowed to see it.According to the GooglebLog (provided in the comment posts by souterrain):And yes, Chinese regulations will require us to remove some sensitive information from our search results. When we do so, we'll disclose this to users, just as we already do in those rare instances where we alter results in order to comply with local laws in France, Germany and the U.S.So what law is it that disallows American citizens to see this video clip? A UK newspaper has picked up the story, the major American news outlets have been totally silent on the matter. (Checked at 12:13 ET, nothing from the NY Times, AP, Reuters, Washington Post, etc., only the Free Internet Press and The Register has the story).This infuriates me. It's bad enough that the government will not allow cameras to be there as dead American soldiers are flown home, that their funerals are not allowed to be filmed, and that the government will decide what the American public, in general, does and does not deserve to know. But when an Internet company like Google agrees to abet the government in its censorship, it is too far.I think an organized boycott of Google might be a little too harsh at this point. Let's start by telling them what we think of this.The means of contacting Google:Google Inc.1600 Amphitheatre ParkwayMountain View, CA 94043phone: (650) 253-0000fax: (650) 253-0001Or use their Standard Contact form to send them an e-mail.I also encourage you to post this to your bLogs and spread the outrage!Crossposted to newsmonkeys, _liberal_, cynicaliberal and my personal LJ.EDIT: Apparently Google has altered the message you get indicating that, in fact, the poster of the video can and has opted to disallow American ISPs from accessing it. Current Mood: infuriated (Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006 | |
| _10:05 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
And so it begins... ( South Dakota legislature passes abortion ban.Collapse )Source.Crossposted to _liberal_, cynicaliberal and my personal LJ.And so it begins. Time to see if Roberts and Alito were just paying lip service to the moderate Republicans who backed them or if they really do believe Abortion to be the precedent. Current Mood: cranky (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
| Monday, February 20th, 2006 | |
| _5:46 pm_[insertnamehere2] |
Verges! To the list of things we are on the verge of, we can add this:President Bush claims we are on the verge of an energy breakthrough.So now, that can be added to the list, which also includes:On the verge of breaking the spirit of the Iraqi insurgency.On the verge of capturing Osama bin Laden.On the verge of peace between Israel and Palestine.On the verge of protecting the "sanctity" of marriage.On the verge of securing the homeland.And finally, on the verge of landing a man on Jupiter.Oh if we could all only live in this fantasy world our President lives in. Current Mood: cynical (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
[ << Previous 20 ]