teabaggin...republican style...

nothing annoys me more than people who can't think for themselves...and more than annoying, it's a dangerous part of society, those who follow blindly...the streets of every major city in america are rampant with those who need the guidance and approval of others to feel adequate.  hell, these days, even the rural and suburban areas are filled with those who crave acceptance (and those who can't find it like to take violent revenge).

today, i was more amused than annoyed, but i was still troubled nonetheless.  thousands of people across the country decided to protest taxes a la the boston tea party of the revolutionary era...  the obvious humor aside (see urbandictionary.com for the definition of tea bagging), i have to continue to laugh at the fact that conservatives have resorted to merely becoming contrarians now that they are no longer "the establishment".  to them, government has suddenly become evil and taxes have suddenly appeared without representation. 

while those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, what is the fate of those who choose to ignore history?  today, quite a few of those people displayed public outrage, as is their right, but where were they a few years ago or even a few months ago while mr. bush was turning a $100B+ surplus into a $270B+ deficit?  they also protested the intrusion of government into states' jurisdiction but where were they when mr. bush gave the fbi and cia the right to search and seizure without a warrant.  i even saw someone call mr. obama a fascist with no facts to support his views, and wondered where that man was when mr. bush gave authority of law enforcement to snatch people off the street, hold them indefinitely and torture them.

despite my distaste for the near hatred that is espoused by fox news, i force myself to watch them to try to get an understanding of what it is that people who think for themselves have to fear.  i see commentators who use terms like socialism and communism and fascism with little regard for the fact that most of the people who are truly listening to them don't even understand what those words mean.  they only know that those things are evil because, we, as americans have been conditioned to believe that they are evil, and so anyone who is labeled with those terms must be evil too.

to the average fox viewer, minorities are evil because we benefit from welfare because we don't work and collect checks from the government at the expense of the working people.  a month or so ago i had someone tell me that and he was serious.  forget the fact that corporations and the ultra rich have been getting a form of welfare in the reduced taxes they get to pay depsite shipping jobs overseas.  what's sad is that the average fox viewer is probably a middle class working person who is glad to see the extra few bucks that's showing up in his or her paycheck thanks to the recent tax cut, but nobody is protesting that because republicans seem to have forgotten to mention it.

perhaps that's the idea of republican teabagging...dipping the truth into empty minds just long enough for only part of it to remain...

trying to rediscover my voice...

i used to be a prolific blogger, but i can't seem to figure out what to write about.  it's not for lack of topics...we're in the midst of domestic upheaval, international uncertainty and there are a host of moral and ethical issues that have gone from a simmer to boiling over.  perhaps its a matter of where to begin...what topic is the one that should be on the tip of my tongue...my fingertips...

what i keep stumbling over, however, is the fact that all of the ills of the world seem to center around a single idea: i'm better than you.

i'm better than you because i'm christian and you're muslim or hindu or buddhist or some religion other than mine.  i'm better than you because i'm heterosexual and you're homo or bisexual.  i'm better than you because i'm black and you're white or mexican or asian.  i'm better than you because i'm thin and you're fat.  i'm better than you because i'm smart and you're dumb and ignorant.  i'm better than you because i have a car and you ride the bus.

i could go on forever because we as humans seem to be able to exploit any differences between ourselves as proof that we are superior to one another.  the fact is, we all have faults that we were not born with...not skin color, not intelligence, not financial or environmental...faults that we, ourselves, created.  things like lack of integrity, lack of motivation, lack of empathy for others.  these should be the only factors that determine who is better than another, but not in a sense that one is superior, but because that shows how much progress there is to be made. 

we live in a society that promotes the idea that success is something that can be measured by things that are visible...but the things that really matter in life: love, respect, honor...where do you go to see these things?  i've found that these things are evident in the quality of relationships that you carry with you through life.  in that, i'm truly inferior because i haven't always been loving, honest or honorable...but i'm hoping that i can change that for the better...

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hilarity, hypocracy, and the NOP

hilarity, hypocracy, and the NOP

i haven't blogged much in the last couple years because there has simply been too much going on in my life and in the world to keep up.  i'm back on the grind, the world is in a financial tailspin and a dude who is only a degree or two of separation from me is in the white house.  rip van nigga winkle would have a field day.  me, i found my voice again because i'd be remiss to remain silent.

now let me preface my comments by saying that i'm an information junkie.  i read the news all day long on google reader and i google anything i don't know.  i can't stand to not know something.  unfortunately, i'm in the vast minority, and our anti-obama family members (remember, we're all citizens of the same country) don't seem to have the same desire for knowledge (e.g. truth).

i'm not even going to spend any time citing facts and figures in this blog, because what bothers me more than anything has nothing to do with facts...other than the fact that so many of the republican faction have such disdain, nigh hatred, for our president that they don't even seem to listen or hear what he has to say except to say that they oppose it.  it's actually kind of hilarious given the fact that 3 or 6 months ago when so many things were so obviously wrong with our political and economic policies they had nothing to say except that mr. bush and the republican party were doing a wonderful job.  now, less than 3 months into the obama administration i have to laugh when i hear how anti-obama people chirp at how the president has ruined the economy and will cause the country to fall into utter chaos.

i know i'm a dumb obama supporter but it seems to me that the path we are on was cleared by 8 years of an imagined mandate.  but i guess i must be drinking the koolaid.  however, if one more person brings up "welfare" to the poor as the scourge of americanism, i might have to ask that person when the last time they've even seen the benefactor of corporate tax cuts (who love to send manufacturing jobs to china and customer service jobs to india) in their local walmart.  it's so funny to see how stupid people will accept stupidity as truth.

funny thing is, we're being told that if the rich pay less taxes us poor folk will keep our jobs.  last time i checked, the rich folk are still paying less taxes and i'm still only workin 3 days a week with no benefits.  splain that lucy...but no, them there republicans must know what to do because they led us out of poverty when reagan was in office...when crack overran the cities and crime in urban areas spiraled out of control.

again...the rich like to dupe the wanna-be rich into thinking that the poor are their enemies, when in actuality, the rich are looking out for themselves.