Saturday, November 18, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Pelosi---Anything BUT a San Francisco Democrat
"Anybody who's ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me." – Nancy Pelosi
First of all when Republicans first started using the term "San Francisco Decmocrat" it was shorthand to their base of hate. It meant, "I like gay people," and all that goes with it.
As years went by it grew to mean, "soft on everything," "weak," "and everything the Republican base, in all it's bigoted splendor, hated.
More than one Republican called Nancy Pelosi a "San Francisco Democrat." Typical of Republican lies, she is anything but. Yes, she lives in the San Francisco Bay area, and has for a long time, but she learned her politics in Baltimore, Maryland, in an old-time city machine headed up by her dad, Mayor Thomas J. D'Allesandro, Jr., known in Baltimore as Old Tommy. He was Mayor from 1947 to 1959, having also served in Congress from 1939 to 1937. He is still fondly remembered for having brought the Orioles to Baltimore from St. Louis. He is also revered by the Italian-American community in Baltimore.
Old Tommy was tough as nails.
Her brother is Thomas J. D'Allesandro III, known as Young Tommy in Baltimore. He was Mayor from 1967 to 1971.
So rather than growing up in the laid-back west coast culture, she was schooled in the cauldron of tough East Coast big city politics. One of her first jobs was on her brother's staff. Some say she was one of the most influential members of that staff, keeping track of favors and who owed what to whom.
Politics is in her blood, as the foes she has defeated over the years will tell you.
She's Old Tommy's daughter and about as much a "San Francisco Democrat" as Rudy Giuliani.
She is the tough Democrat we've always been looking for.
First of all when Republicans first started using the term "San Francisco Decmocrat" it was shorthand to their base of hate. It meant, "I like gay people," and all that goes with it.
As years went by it grew to mean, "soft on everything," "weak," "and everything the Republican base, in all it's bigoted splendor, hated.
More than one Republican called Nancy Pelosi a "San Francisco Democrat." Typical of Republican lies, she is anything but. Yes, she lives in the San Francisco Bay area, and has for a long time, but she learned her politics in Baltimore, Maryland, in an old-time city machine headed up by her dad, Mayor Thomas J. D'Allesandro, Jr., known in Baltimore as Old Tommy. He was Mayor from 1947 to 1959, having also served in Congress from 1939 to 1937. He is still fondly remembered for having brought the Orioles to Baltimore from St. Louis. He is also revered by the Italian-American community in Baltimore.
Old Tommy was tough as nails.
Her brother is Thomas J. D'Allesandro III, known as Young Tommy in Baltimore. He was Mayor from 1967 to 1971.
So rather than growing up in the laid-back west coast culture, she was schooled in the cauldron of tough East Coast big city politics. One of her first jobs was on her brother's staff. Some say she was one of the most influential members of that staff, keeping track of favors and who owed what to whom.
Politics is in her blood, as the foes she has defeated over the years will tell you.
She's Old Tommy's daughter and about as much a "San Francisco Democrat" as Rudy Giuliani.
She is the tough Democrat we've always been looking for.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
41's Crew--Didn't we throw them out in '92?
The smirk has begun returning to W's face. That's probably because he can't help it, but also because he's about to be bailed out by daddy again. Among the many problems with that, the biggest is that these are the same people with the same philosophies that we turned out of office in 1992.
That we welcome them back to power is a measure of the level of incompetence and evil in 43's administration. That 41's people are seen as "pragmatic" and "reasonable" just underlines how dogmatic and unreasonable the current administration has been.
They aren't back to save 43's presidency, they're back because their interests are threatened by the past six years worth of disaster. I never thought I'd ever be glad to see Brent Scowcroft again. I'm not, but you know what I mean.
The best we can hope for? A couple of years of better intentions from the Democrats in Congress which pries the levers of power from the cold dead hands of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove.
I think we haven't gotten over the disbelief that America agreed with us. I may be speaking for myself, but I don't think so. Didn't you feel a sense of unreality as the returns came in? We never wavered in our beliefs, fighting against what seemed to be an unyielding avalanche of Republican evil, but there was a fatalism as election day approached.
We really thought they were going to steal the election.
As the old 41 crew attempts to establish some order in 43's unraveled presidency, we can stop and smell the flowers, but only for a moment. You can be sure that Rove and the Boehner's of the world are planning more and better ways of regaining power, keeping happy the corporations who own them, and spreading bigotry.
On the other hand, those same corporations are most likely the ones who have sent 41s people into the breach. Oh wait, 41's people ARE the corporations.
Smirk or no smirk. 41's crew or no, it's nice to breathe again.
That we welcome them back to power is a measure of the level of incompetence and evil in 43's administration. That 41's people are seen as "pragmatic" and "reasonable" just underlines how dogmatic and unreasonable the current administration has been.
They aren't back to save 43's presidency, they're back because their interests are threatened by the past six years worth of disaster. I never thought I'd ever be glad to see Brent Scowcroft again. I'm not, but you know what I mean.
The best we can hope for? A couple of years of better intentions from the Democrats in Congress which pries the levers of power from the cold dead hands of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove.
I think we haven't gotten over the disbelief that America agreed with us. I may be speaking for myself, but I don't think so. Didn't you feel a sense of unreality as the returns came in? We never wavered in our beliefs, fighting against what seemed to be an unyielding avalanche of Republican evil, but there was a fatalism as election day approached.
We really thought they were going to steal the election.
As the old 41 crew attempts to establish some order in 43's unraveled presidency, we can stop and smell the flowers, but only for a moment. You can be sure that Rove and the Boehner's of the world are planning more and better ways of regaining power, keeping happy the corporations who own them, and spreading bigotry.
On the other hand, those same corporations are most likely the ones who have sent 41s people into the breach. Oh wait, 41's people ARE the corporations.
Smirk or no smirk. 41's crew or no, it's nice to breathe again.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
America to Bush: STFU
Yesterday America stood up and told Bush, "Stop it. Shut up. We think you're an idiot. We think you're a moron. We're sorry you got the job. You are not the king. You are a dumb jock frat boy, and you always will be. You will now stop all this shit, immeditately. We voted yesterday and threw your boys out of Congress. If you don't want us coming after your own ass, you will sign what we pass and change your ways."
Yesterday we spoke. We reduced the Universal Presdient to the Little Boy President. A slap in the face. A kick in the ass. A rejection. A repudiation of a President who has embarassed us before the world, put our safety at great risk, and perverted the constitution he swore to uphold.
You wouldn't listen to reason, Bush. You behaved like a crazy person. You allowed yourself to be led around by the nose by dangerous lunatics. You're to be pitied.
We have spoken.
Get out of our face, we have adult work to do.
Yesterday we spoke. We reduced the Universal Presdient to the Little Boy President. A slap in the face. A kick in the ass. A rejection. A repudiation of a President who has embarassed us before the world, put our safety at great risk, and perverted the constitution he swore to uphold.
You wouldn't listen to reason, Bush. You behaved like a crazy person. You allowed yourself to be led around by the nose by dangerous lunatics. You're to be pitied.
We have spoken.
Get out of our face, we have adult work to do.
Friday, November 03, 2006
A Victory Speech for November 9
As the Republicans continue to try to scare us into losing, I thought it would be beneficial to write a potential victory speech one of us might give on November 8:
My fellow Americans, as we celebrate our victories and regaining the control of both houses of Congress, we must stop for a moment before we move on to the job of cleaning up the mess, and taking new steps to make laws that benefit most Americans, rather than the few.
Before we take those steps we must pause to consider the recent past. It is our responsibility to attach responsibility for the state of the nation. While we were out of power our nation was taken to war under false pretenses. And once at war, those in positions of responsibility, although they dislodged Saddam from power, did not heed the words of the Iraqi people when they said, before the war, to many journalists, "Depose Saddam, but leave quickly or face the consequences. We are a complex nation, made of many groups who have been kept from each other's throats by the dictatorship of Saddam. But the one thing we Iraqis hate worse than one another, is the invader. Have you not read our history?"
The Republicans did not hear them. As the bodies of our military men and women were coming home, hidden from us, the Republicans were sending their corporate benefactors, their pockets filled with our money, and money borrowed in our names, into Iraq to "rebuild." They did not rebuild. They profited from the blood of our children, brothers, sisters, fathers, husbands and wives. Many Iraqis feel they are worse off now than under Saddam.
Meanwhile the Republicans tortured in our names, broke the Geneva Conventions, spied illegally on us, subjected our military people to death from all sides in a civil war, and breached the U.S. Constitution when they monkeyed with habeas corpus.
Our first pledge to you is to find out what happened and why, who is responsible, and how they can be held accountable. We now have subpoena power. The Republicans can no longer block Congressional oversight. We promise to conduct fair but tough investigations into why we went to war, how we went to war, and who profited from the war and what laws we can pass to make sure this never happens again.
The Constitutional questions are difficult. There are still three branches of government and the current President is of a mind to continue these outrageous acts of aggression on traditional American values. We pledge to fight for the Constitution and for the freedoms and privacy we have always come to expect.
We promise to spare not a single penny in caring for the Americans who fought in Iraq and were injured. Full medical care. Proper respect. Our thanks and a promise that America will never again fight a war for the wrong reasons.
So there is a lot to clean up in that regard.
There is so much more to clean up. Curing the cancer of incompetence and neglect and of the fox watching the hen house when it comes to industry regulations, environmental safeguards and scientific research, will take time. We wish we could stop it today, but that's not realistic. The Republicans still control the Executive branch of government, but the days of their running roughshod over the health and safety of the American people so that corporations can make obscene amounts of money are over.
This is going to take time. There has been much damage done. The United States Government is in tatters thanks to the perfect storm of greed and incompetence of those who have held power these past years.
You have given us a direct message. Work in the interests of the American people, not corporations. Make decisions based on what is the right choice, not on what will play to the worst in us.
Most of all, the best thing we can do from this day forward is to replace the climate of fear with one of hope. This can't be done overnight. Fear will give way slowly. When we implement all of the recommendations of the 911 Commission … that will be a first step. But what you can expect from us is that we will confront our problems with confidence, not fake bravado; that we will, as we always have, include everyone in the actions of government, not demonizing one group or another in order to build hate.
We're not about hate. We never have been.
Give us some time. This is the first step, but it's a new day. Let's go to work.
This is also on huffingtonpost.com
My fellow Americans, as we celebrate our victories and regaining the control of both houses of Congress, we must stop for a moment before we move on to the job of cleaning up the mess, and taking new steps to make laws that benefit most Americans, rather than the few.
Before we take those steps we must pause to consider the recent past. It is our responsibility to attach responsibility for the state of the nation. While we were out of power our nation was taken to war under false pretenses. And once at war, those in positions of responsibility, although they dislodged Saddam from power, did not heed the words of the Iraqi people when they said, before the war, to many journalists, "Depose Saddam, but leave quickly or face the consequences. We are a complex nation, made of many groups who have been kept from each other's throats by the dictatorship of Saddam. But the one thing we Iraqis hate worse than one another, is the invader. Have you not read our history?"
The Republicans did not hear them. As the bodies of our military men and women were coming home, hidden from us, the Republicans were sending their corporate benefactors, their pockets filled with our money, and money borrowed in our names, into Iraq to "rebuild." They did not rebuild. They profited from the blood of our children, brothers, sisters, fathers, husbands and wives. Many Iraqis feel they are worse off now than under Saddam.
Meanwhile the Republicans tortured in our names, broke the Geneva Conventions, spied illegally on us, subjected our military people to death from all sides in a civil war, and breached the U.S. Constitution when they monkeyed with habeas corpus.
Our first pledge to you is to find out what happened and why, who is responsible, and how they can be held accountable. We now have subpoena power. The Republicans can no longer block Congressional oversight. We promise to conduct fair but tough investigations into why we went to war, how we went to war, and who profited from the war and what laws we can pass to make sure this never happens again.
The Constitutional questions are difficult. There are still three branches of government and the current President is of a mind to continue these outrageous acts of aggression on traditional American values. We pledge to fight for the Constitution and for the freedoms and privacy we have always come to expect.
We promise to spare not a single penny in caring for the Americans who fought in Iraq and were injured. Full medical care. Proper respect. Our thanks and a promise that America will never again fight a war for the wrong reasons.
So there is a lot to clean up in that regard.
There is so much more to clean up. Curing the cancer of incompetence and neglect and of the fox watching the hen house when it comes to industry regulations, environmental safeguards and scientific research, will take time. We wish we could stop it today, but that's not realistic. The Republicans still control the Executive branch of government, but the days of their running roughshod over the health and safety of the American people so that corporations can make obscene amounts of money are over.
This is going to take time. There has been much damage done. The United States Government is in tatters thanks to the perfect storm of greed and incompetence of those who have held power these past years.
You have given us a direct message. Work in the interests of the American people, not corporations. Make decisions based on what is the right choice, not on what will play to the worst in us.
Most of all, the best thing we can do from this day forward is to replace the climate of fear with one of hope. This can't be done overnight. Fear will give way slowly. When we implement all of the recommendations of the 911 Commission … that will be a first step. But what you can expect from us is that we will confront our problems with confidence, not fake bravado; that we will, as we always have, include everyone in the actions of government, not demonizing one group or another in order to build hate.
We're not about hate. We never have been.
Give us some time. This is the first step, but it's a new day. Let's go to work.
This is also on huffingtonpost.com
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