Five Before Chaos

Chris at Open Left has a good one today, achingly obvious, yet still worth the read, So-called “Moderates” Have Become the Problem:

These so-called moderates are the real barrier to the progressive change that the country needs right now. As such, we should be directing our fire at them, rather that at the right-wing. Currently, the right-wing has no power whatsoever unless the moderates in Congress choose to side with them. And yet, it is the right-wing that progressive media keep aiming most of their attacks…

Wingnuttery is a tempting and easy target. Further, after eight eyars of the bush administration, attacking it has also grown into a real habit for progressives. However, after the electoral successes of 2008, the political reality has changed, and we need to change with it. Now, we have to direct our ire at the so-called moderates impeding real change, until such point as the congressional leadership and Obama administration have delivered more of what they promised during those long years when we all worked our asses off to get them elected.

He’s right; wingnuttery is a pathetically easy target – if it weren’t, this blog would’ve gone the way of OJ Simpson’s career a long time ago. It is so easy to mock them, due to the outlandish, ridiculous, reality-challenged, Rapture-ready outlook they have.  It’s not so easy to mock the moderate corporate sell-outs -what is going on is a bit more nuanced, and there’s no Joe the Plumber/Sarah Palin level of glaring mental deficiency to continually poke fun at and make silly photoshops of. It takes a more measured “this is how they’re fucking up progress” approach, which obviously requires a higher level of discourse (and persuasion).

It’s often easy to say that if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing, which is how I tend to characterize a lot of  so-called “moderate” positions. Real change comes from the die-hards, whether it be left or right, to use that tired dichotomy for a second. These moderates apparently do stand for something – the preservation of corporate power, nothing more, which is not change by any stretch of teh imagination.

We need more primary challenges. I was talking to Jack about this at the BBQ this weekend. As one who only nominally buys in to the “more, and better Dems” thing (in actuality, I just want more better people there in general, and believe that the Dem party structure is part of the problem, not the solution), I believe there needs to be some serious Stalinist purges challenges to the Dem status quo. We’ve seen glimmers of that with people like Donna Edwards and such, but it needs to go much, much further than it has. And no, I don’t put any hope or faith in the Dems, I’m just realistic that our options are truly limited at this particular point in time, with the way the system is currently structured.

One thing I don’t talk about much is my graphic arts doings. I’ve been using Photoshop, in prticular for a long time, and it started off just by making flyers for shows and events, but over the last few years, I’ve actually gotten some real paying work… ads, brochures, a few websites here and there. Given I’m going to be a single-income household again come fall, I’ve been trying to find new sources of income. I’m hoping to start playing music out again, not necessarily at the frantic level I did a few years back in the early 00′s, and I’ve also decided to start putting my graphic arts skills out there a bit more. I designed my business card yesterday, so if you’re looking for some ads, flyers, whatever, at reasonable rates, get in touch with me.

So, Obama’s been a mixed bag so far for me. I never had high expectations to begin with, so there’s not some huge disappointment like there seems to be from those who bought into all the “hope and change” nonsense. He’s handled some things extraordinarily well, and others (namely war and secrecy) not much better that his braindead predecessor. Now, of course, it may just all be talk, as many of these things seem to pan out to be, but I was pleased about his statement about insurance companies yesterday:

“Why would it drive private insurance out of business?” he said of the proposed public option. If private insurers “tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”

I will say this. The guy does have a knack sometimes for saying what needs to be said. It’d just be nice if he would do better on the actual follow-through. A big vat of vomit mixed with dead squirrels and rat feces is more popular than the GOP right now; fuck them – give them nothing. If we’re not going to have a public option in healthcare reform, and I mean a real one with teeth, don’t even bother. One “conventional wisdom” that needs to be attacked is this notion that somehow private industry has exclusive rights to providing healthcare. They don’t. Period.

Economic and political reality dictates we can’t just do away with the private insurers overnight – it’s huge. If you believe that we can, you’re an idiot. But a strong public option is like a cannon blast to that ship. And that brings me to a great commentary today from the Rude Pundit about patience:

Or, in even other words, it’s gonna take a fuck of a lot of work to get us back to zero, to the way things were before George W. Bush came in and pissed on our beds, raped our dogs, tied us up, set the house on fire, and left without calling 911. And then, once it’s back to zero, we can talk about how it gets better. Doesn’t make any of us less impatient and it doesn’t excuse some of the shit Obama’s doing (like continuing to argue the Bush administration side on cases left over from it), but we gotta recognize that the circumstances are: “We’re fucked – can we be un-fucked?”

So at his news conference today, we got the Obama we elected, the cool, can’t-be-fucked-with man who has answers up his sleeve that will make you wonder how the fuck he did that. To listen to his takedown of whiny ass insurance companies is to think that the man really does want to trick Americans into universal health care. And his exchange with Major Garrett of Fox “news” was a model for anyone going on that network: reject the premise and tell them how and where they can go fuck themselves.

Stuff’s not going to change overnight, and yes, they’re only going to change so much given the political realities of both Washington and the citizenry itself. It’s no excuse for complacency, and the many Obamamatons out there need their asses handed to them as much as the wingers do. But things are a bit less worse than they are five months ago.

I’ve always been a fan of Richard Nixon. Not the politics of the man, of course, but more as a character study of a complex, and fatally flawed, insecure man. I even slogged through Oliver Stone’s almost 4-hour biopic a few months ago.  And Joe McGuiness’ The Selling of the President is a must-read, as it really is a document of the first modern divide-deceive-and-conquer presidential campaign that has more or less been the model ever since 1968.

So of course, whenever a new batch of Nixon tapes is released, it’s always a lot of fun. I remember when a batch in 2002 came out, and gave us a new insight about “America’s Preacher”, Billy Graham:

But this conversation with Billy Graham is something else again. Here is the most admired and influential religious leader in America complaining to the president of the United States about the Jews and their “stranglehold” on the media, and blaming them for “all the pornography.”

Even when Nixon replies that he agrees but “can’t say that” in public, Graham presses the point: Yes, right, but if you get elected to a second term, then we could do something about the problem.

Graham adds that while many Jews are friendly to him, “they don’t know how I really feel about what they are doing to this country.”

And the latest batch to be released yesterday doesn’t fail to disappoint, either. Apparently, Nixon, reacting to the Roe v. Wade ruling, was rather ambivalent about abortion. But he did find it a necessity in some cases:

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding, “Or a rape.”

Class act, that Nixon fella.

(crossposted on Green Mountain Daily)

and that would be… Glenn Beck. Yeah, that Glenn Beck, he of the hysterics, teabagging, hatemongering, and America’s most high-profile purveyor of right-wing bullshit conspiracy theories. And of course, you know the other guy, Thomas “Obviously a Good Confederate” Naylor, of the punchline known as Second Vermont Republic, the Vermont secessionist group that GMD brought to your attention two years ago of having lots of friends in the Neo-Confederate movement.

So, anyways, fact-checking (oh, who am I kidding, reality) has never been one of Beck’s strong suits, so of course he has Naylor on his show for an interview. Given that Naylor’s completely lost the support of the left in Vermont due to his love of the Stars n’ Bars and all it stands for, he must figure, what the hell, why not shoot for the paranoid right? Beck heaps tons of praise on him, of course, and unquestionably accepts Naylor’s ridiculous claim that a whopping 60,000 registered Vermont voters support secession (yet SVR, oddly enough, has about 1,000 supporters), and I’ve yet to meet anyone who takes Naylor seriously at this point. Well, I can think of one person… I’ll get to him in a minute.

You can read the very cordial interview between Beck and Naylor here. Naylor starts off by thanking Beck for “stirring the pot” (would that be those rabidly succesful tea parties, perhaps?) , and then imparts such wisdom as:

The movement rolls on, in spite of the fact that Vermont is probably the most left-wing state in the country and voted very strongly for Barack Obama. This poses a challenge for us. But people are beginning to see that, really, there’s not much difference between his policies and those of George W. Bush…. People were more angry at George W. Bush, but now, under Obama with the economic meltdown, there’s genuine fear.

Yes, Unreconstrcted Confederates such as Naylor have a lot to fear from Obama, at least in their warped world view. As for this “movement rolling on”, well, Dr. Naylor, that train left the station two years ago.

Beck, like Naylor’s organization, also has the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the exemplary hate-watch group which released a report last year on SVR, with this beautiful quote from Naylor himself that really shows the essence of what the man is all about:

In the face of these criticisms, Naylor remains defiant. “I don’t give a shit what you write,” he told the Report. “If someone tells me that I shouldn’t associate with the League of the South, it guarantees that I will associate with the League of the South.”

Beck is on record as saying how the far-right, racist John Birchers are “starting to make more and more sense to him.”

Tommy Reb doesn’t have too many friends left in these parts, but he can always count on Rob “Is he a racist? I dont know. And frankly, it is none of my damn business, at a personal level,” Williams of Vermont Commons, whose integrity lies flapping in the wind like a noose from a magnolia tree, posts the Beck video with with this brief, insightful commentary:

And Mr. Beck seems surprisingly lucid and thoughtful this evening

Indeed. These people never seem to learn, PhD’s notwithstanding.

Those of you who spend a lot of passive recreation time in the forest  (skiing, hiking, biking) probably think ATV”s are a big pain in the ass. There’s nothing better than enjoying a quiet sunny day out in the woods, only to have a family of fatasses suddenly appear out of nowhere tearin’ up the trail (and yes, I know damn well that’s not all of them, but I do seem to see quite a lot in that mold in my area of the woods). For those who profess it to be a “sport”, I can’t think of any other sports where one can be obese and an athlete at the same time. And let me be clear, ATV’s do have a purpose, pulling out big game, firewood, etc. I don’t really have a problem with that. I do have a problem with the recreational aspect on state lands. It’s the one place we can go to get away from this kind of shit. There are respectful drivers, I know, but there’s also plenty of private land they can go tear up, if they’d like.

So anyways, they’ve extended the public comment period, and if you think similarly, then you need to let them know. I’m gonna just steal from Mike at Broadsides, who’s been on top of this issue:

About that ATV thing: The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has extended its deadline for public comments on its new proposed rule to allow ATVs on state land. You now have until July 6th to let them know that it is an absurd idea. You know, almost as absurd as firing up a chainsaw in a public building.

Comments should be directed to: Warren Coleman, ANR, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671. Email your comments to: ATVRULE@state.vt.us.

A simple message (“do not open up state land to ATVs”) is all it takes. Do. It. Now. And, better yet, make your friends and family members do it too.

Ah, Monday. I am blown-out, worn-down and still rather braindead from a busy-as-hell exciting weekend, so expect no major insights from me today. Or minor ones, for that matter. Instead, pop over to Unreasonable Faith this morning for two good reads.

First up is a rather surreal one about a woman dude in England who went to apply for an IT position at a drug rehab center… run by Scientologists: I Needed a Job, and Xenu Was Hiring. Did you know Kirstie Alley is an “Operating Thetan Level 7?” You go, girl! And have another Twinkie, while you’re at it.

Also, although a day late I’m posting it a day late, Daniel has the ultimate Father’s Day post: The Worst Father Ever Imagined:

Later he decided it was time to shake things up, so he impregnated a young women named Mary. He did this so he could have a demigod son that he could kill horribly, in order that a small group of people called RealChristians™ could escape hell, a place he created to torture those damned rebellious angels he screwed up on.

The people, as planned, rejected his demigod son and killed him. The Heavenly Father watched with excitement and forsook his son as he died, but to make it up he raised him from the dead a few days later.

And now he’s chilling in heaven with Jesus, until he decides it’s time for Jesus to come back. That’s when he’ll send plagues and famine to kill most of the earth’s inhabitants, and then Jesus will come down “with a sword coming out of his mouth” to “strike down the nations” and fill the earth with blood “up to a horses bridle.”

In the meantime, he only appears to crazy people, yet demands everyone believe in him. He doesn’t protect the orphans and widows that he commanded his followers to care for. He watches as innocent people are starved, raped and murdered. He sits back as his followers starts wars, molest children, and kill “witches” in the name of Jesus.

If that’s not the worst, most abusive father ever imagined, I don’t know who is.

Our congressman, Peter Welch, made a promise way back when not to sign on to any Iraq funding bill that doesn’t have some sort of timetable, and there was another one that was up for a vote yesterday. Welch was wavering (lots of pressure cming from above, although that’s not an excuse – he works for us, not them). Alas, he got some pressure from below as well, with a little help from the national blogosphere, and he did the right thing and voted no, at the last minute. Now I know a lot of us don’t agree with Peter on some things, but he deserves a thanks for doing the right thing here. You can call at (802) 652-2450 or (202) 225-4115 if you feel so inclined.

Yep, they’re still around. Just a few quickies regarding the latest from the Rapture-ready crowd.

Funny how we always hear conservatives piss and moan about frivolous lawsuits. I wonder what they’ll say about this one (h/t Pharyngula), regarding some rather uptight Wisconsin folks who have their panties in a wad (and lawyers hired) about a book in the local library about teen sexuality:

One particular target of their fury is a book by Francesca Lia Block, Baby Be-Bop, which commits the sin of writing positively about young gay men and negatively about gay bashing. A group called the Christian Civil Liberties Union has filed suit over the book, since it exists at the library, and they don’t like it.

The plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, say their mental and emotional well-being were damaged by the book at the Library, the claim states.

PZ goes on to describe how this magical book is doing so, it’s quite funny, go have a look.

One more from the “Uptight People Who Think About Gay Sex More Than Gay People Do®” dept;, this time from Ed Brayton. It’s about an article on WorldNutDaily about a school in Boston who held a prom for gay youth, and a guy from a Christian wingnut group who went to observe:

And he was horrified – horrified – to find out that kids at a gay prom do the same kinds of things kids at a straight prom do.

But being anti-gay nuts, they tell this story with all the requisite hysteria and even call it the “prom from sexual hell.” Some of this stuff is really funny:

“I remained in the building for an hour and a half and found the events inside disturbing, depraved and outright criminal,” Max reported. “The line included kids wearing the rainbow regalia of the gay movement, teenage boys wearing dresses and high heels, hugging their ‘boyfriends,’ extremely young looking girls, not much older than 14 or 15, with ‘Out and Proud’ inscribed in rainbow letters on the front of their T-shirts.”

Imagine that. A group that specifically advocates for the rights of gays, lesbians and the transgendered kids has – gasp – gays, lesbians and transgendered kids in it that wear t-shirts and rainbows. How disturbing, depraved and outright criminal.

Max continued, “On the flower pots and stairs leading up to the subway entrance, I saw dozens of kids aged 12-17 smoking cigarettes and making out with each other.”

Yeah, that would never happen at a straight prom. No straight kids would ever smoke cigarettes, only those evil gay kids do that.

More outrage in the rest of the article. Enjoy.

Someone needs to tell Ahmadinejad that he needs to budget a bit more money for the propaganda department. Or at the very least, stop hiring kids who just learned how to use the clone stamp in Photoshop.

From a diarist over at the Big Evil Orange, from one of the many Twitters coming out of Iran, a photo of a pro-Ahmadinehad rally, with some poorly photoshopped extra crowds:

Jeez, almost makes what Bush did look competent, fer chrissakes.