The Uncomfortable Truth

Republican Or Christian? Now You Don't Have To Choose!

2010-03-11T18:48:49Z

I have often said that you cannot be a Republican and hold to Christian tenets. Christians agree with me, Republicans do not (go figure).
It's tough to vote Republican and call yourself a Christian.
I mean, when Jesus says to "Love your neighbor," how do you reconcile that with denying health care to others?
When Jesus says, "Judge not," how can a good Republican go out and demonstrate in favor of the death penalty?
Well now you don't have to worry if your conscience has been nagging at you.
There is no need to lose any more sleep over your glaring hypocrisy.
We have the latest advice from that nutty neocon Glenn Beck:
Tell Jesus to take a hike!!!
That's right!
Send that bearded hippie;
that peacenik,
that,
that,
that,
LIBERAL packing!!!!!!!
Just go out a find a church that doesn't teach Christianity!
Here is a clip of it.
I wish it were longer, but it is enough to see Beck compare the teachings of Jesus to Communism AND Nazism!

As hilarious as this is, I am not laughing.
Precisely because there are plenty of churches that don't teach Christ's teachings.

Big Bird Is A TEABagger?

2010-02-28T01:37:53Z

Who Knew?

You Mean, Sarah Misled Us?

2010-02-22T06:40:08Z

Remember when Sarah said government health care might kill her grandson?
Thank you, Sarah.
The laughs just keep on coming!

Slave Revolt

2010-02-19T06:50:43Z

Today, the revolt to take America back for the people began.
Joseph Andrew Stack, of Texas, in a kamikaze attack, flew his plane into the IRS offices in Austin, Texas.
Apparently Mr. Stack was upset with American Corporatism. He was upset with just how unfair it has gotten in a country where money talks and morals walk. And of course he was upset with the IRS.
Mr. Stack had legitimate complaints.
Did he go overboard?
What was his freedom worth to him?
I think there will be copycats for Mr. Stack was far from alone in his frustrations.
It seems everybody is rushing to say that violence solves nothing, but I would beg to differ.
The United States was BORN of violence. This country did not happen because Thomas Paine published a pamphlet. America was not wrought from a letter to the editor. This country happened because men were willing to die for her. They were willing to KILL for her.
Mr. Stack has shown that the revolutionary spirit still lives.
Would that we all had such courage.
Allow me to be clear here. I do not advocate the breaking of our laws.
However, America has already been taken over. Using violence to secure our freedoms--again--would not be a crime.
For years, I naively hoped it could be done peacefully. Mr. Stack has proven that JFK was right when he said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable."

Article The XXVIII

2010-02-04T20:49:55Z

The US Supreme Court--SCOTUS--ruled that Corporations have a first amendment right to buy as much political advertising as they want. A blind man can see what this will do to elections in the future.
While not always true, it happens often enough that we can accept as axiomatic, "the most money wins the election."
I find it ironic that "free" speech has a price!
The ruling has been blasted by President Obama and many others. There have been claims of "Judicial activism" on the part of the Conservative majority--the ironies abound!
Sadly, the ruling was correct.
It has been over a century-and-a-half since the Supreme court, under Chief Justice Roger Taney, ruled that "corporations are people too." As 'people' they would then have every right afforded to us under The Constitution, so it makes sense. (They do not have the requisite obligations, however.)
It is also grossly unfair.
Fortunately, there is an easy remedy. Yes, easy.
SCOTUS ruled that slaves were not people. That was fixed.
SCOTUS ruled an income tax was unconstitutional. That was changed.
The job of SCOTUS is to interpret The Constitution. If we don't like the ruling, we change The Constitution. And it is NOT that hard to do!
So, why don't we?

Article The XXVIII
The civil rights referred to within this document pertain to human beings only.

Easy!

That's My Special Boy!

2010-01-24T00:33:25Z

My Son, Winston, was bitten by the theater bug at an early age. I believe it has been about ten years since he first took to the stage. You may have seen him at Laxson Auditorium playing Willa Wonka or Harold Hill.
Not every actor wants to direct, But Winston has dreamed of directing for some time. His dream came true this week at the Blue Room Theatre. One of his actors had to drop out and he had to take on a principal character in addition to his directing duties, so the dream has been at times like a nightmare.
Ah!
Show biz!
The play is called "Babylon Heights." Most people have heard the urban legend regarding a munchkin that hanged himself on the set of "The Wizard of Oz." This play, by the author of "Trainspotting," imagines with scabrous humor and pathos what might drive someone to suicide.
It is an intelligent, thought provoking play, although it is quite profane, and deals with adult matter.
It is not recommended for children.
The Blue Room Theatre is located above Collier's Hardware.
Show dates are January 23,28,29,30; and February 4,5,6, and 7.
Doors open at 7pm, the show is at 7:30.

The Eighty Percent Solution

2010-01-07T22:04:35Z

In case you didn't know, the TEA party movement sprung up last year at the urging of Australian Rupert Murdoch--the owner of FOX News. Since then, there are now at least five separate organizations claiming to be TEA parties.
Last July, I attended the Chico party. I am not sure who they are allied with, but I warrant it is the FOX News wing.
There I learned of the goals of these folks: they oppose deficits and earmarks and other things--like taxes--as well. They say they support The Constitution. They claim to be non-partisan.
As the meeting progressed, I caught a distinctly partisan whiff as the "solutions" to current problems were all Republican solutions.
So, I asked, "Will you be supporting our incumbent Congressman who supported five trillion in deficits?" Will you support the man who brags about the earmarks he gets? Will you support the man who did not follow The Constitution in the case of the Iraq war?
I was told, "Well, while we cannot expect to get 100% of what we ask for; we would be happy with eighty percent.
In other words they would be willing to sacrifice twenty percent of what they believe in. In other words there are willing to sacrifice twenty percent of their principles. In other words, how can anyone be sure what those principles are?
Others are simply clueless. One of them wrote me this morning and said,
"Belonging to a party and supporting it in favor of the other party is not partisanship."
NO, REALLY!!!
That's what she said!
Apparently she is unable to find or look up the definition of non-partisan.
And this is why I despair.
Ignorant, unprincipled people cannot save America. Ignorant, unprincipled people have allowed America to be destroyed!
Indeed, politics IS the art of the compromise, but when you come to the table having already abandoned twenty percent of what you're asking for, there isn't much hope anyone will respect you enough to give you ANYof what you ask.
Eighty percent of a solution is NO solution!

Forgive Them Father, They Know Not What They Say

2010-01-07T20:35:25Z

A woman I know who pens a hate-filled, so-called conservative blog sent this to me this morning:

Belonging to a party and supporting it in favor of the other party is not partisanship

There is nothing to add!

Guest Comment

2010-01-04T17:30:56Z

I take pride in the fact that what appears in this blog is original thought. Wasting time by posting what others' post seems to be an efficient way to clog the Internet.
I saw this commentary though, and I had to share it.
It is a very close reflection of my own thoughts.
I shall leave the author's name off of it for now.

About the first decade of what was to be the Second American Century, the pessimists have been proven right.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States began the century producing 32 percent of the world's gross domestic product. We ended the decade producing 24 percent. No nation in modern history, save for the late Soviet Union, has seen so precipitous a decline in relative power in a single decade.

The United States began the century with a budget surplus. We ended with a deficit of 10 percent of gross domestic product, which will be repeated in 2010. Where the economy was at full employment in 2000, 10 percent of the labor force is out of work today and another 7 percent is underemployed or has given up looking for a job.

Between one-fourth and one-third of all U.S. manufacturing jobs have disappeared in 10 years, the fruits of a free-trade ideology that has proven anything but free for this country. Our future is being outsourced -- to China.

While the median income of American families was stagnant, the national debt doubled.

The dollar lost half its value against the euro. Once the most self-sufficient republic in history, which produced 96 percent of all it consumed, the U.S.A. is almost as dependent on foreign nations today for manufactured goods, and the loans to pay for them, as we were in the early years of the republic.

What the British were to us then, China is today.

Beijing holds the mortgage and grows impatient as we endlessly borrow on equity and refuse to begin paying it down. The possibility exists of an eventual run on the dollar or even a U.S. debt default.

Who did this to us? We did it to ourselves.

We sold ourselves a lot of snake oil about the Global Economy, interdependence, free trade and "it doesn't make any difference where goods are produced." The George W. Bush Republicans ran up the deficit with tax cuts, two wars and a splurge in social spending to rival the guns-and-butter of the Great Society.

Abandoning its role as the fellow who comes and takes away the punch bowl when the party's getting good, the Fed kept the money flowing fast and free, creating the tech bubble that burst in Y2K and the stock and housing bubble that burst at decade's end.

To pull us back from the cliff's edge, over which we were headed a year ago, the Fed doubled the money supply, while the administration ran up deficit spending to the highest level since World War II.

Unlike World War II, however, there is no end in sight to these deficits.

The stock market, which flat-lined over the decade, had to surge 50 percent in 2009 to retrieve the worst losses since the Depression.

Everyone, it seems, except for Washington bureaucrats and Wall Street, for whom the bonuses never seem to stop, has been hammered by the sinking home values and shrinking portfolios.

After Sept. 11, the nation was united behind a president as it had not been since Pearl Harbor. But instead of focusing on the enemies who did this to us, we took Osama bin Laden's bait and plunged into a war in Iraq that bled and divided us, alienated Europe and the Arab world, and destroyed the Republican Party's reputation as the reliable custodian of national security and foreign policy.

The party paid -- with the loss of both houses in 2006 and the presidency in 2008 -- but the nation has not stopped paying.

With nearly 200,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and another 30,000 more on the way, al-Qaida is now in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa, while the huge U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq serves as its recruiting poster.

Again, it is not a malevolent fate that has done this to us. We did it to ourselves. We believed all that hubristic blather about our being the "greatest empire since Rome," the "indispensable nation" and "unipolar power" advancing to "benevolent global hegemony" in a series of "cakewalk" wars to "end tyranny in our world."

After a decade of self-delusion and self-indulgence, we must stop deceiving ourselves. As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated, the "can-do" nation that won World War II in Europe and the Pacific in less than four years, that put a man on the moon in the same decade JFK said we would, is history.

We have a government that cannot balance its books, defend its borders or win its wars. And what is it now doing? Drafting another entitlement program as we are informed that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds have unfunded liabilities in the trillions.

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the question is not whether we will preside over the creation of a New World Order, but whether America's decline is irreversible.

On His Birthday, An Homage To My father

2009-12-30T01:07:01Z

On December twenty-ninth 1924, my father, George Colgan, was born. He was the twentieth child of twenty-one born to William and Celia Colgan of Brooklyn, New york. He was the tenth of eleven to survive to adulthood.
Sixty-seven years ago today, my dad joined the Marines. He was sent to Quantico, Virginia for his basic training. Being good with math--though he quit school in eighth grade--he was eventually made commander of a 105mm Howitzer and sent off to fight the Japanese.
When he landed on Iwo Jima, my father was two months past twenty years of age--much younger than my youngest son is now--which meant he was not yet old enough to vote.
It takes four men to operate the 105. The commander stands up forward--but back of a line even with the muzzle. My father could not say if an enemy round came in and hit the muzzle (unlikely) or if one of his rounds exploded as it left the barrel (not unheard of). He recalls turning to the guy closest him and saying, "[Expletive]! That was close!" The guy next to him was no longer next to him. He had been blown apart.
My father ran back to check on the other two guys. One was laying there "with no chest," and the other was seriously injured in the legs. My dad throws this guy over his shoulder and schlepps him two miles to aid, saving his life. He was able to do this as he was untouched(!) by the round. This is as my father told it to me in the Spring of 1974. I believe him. When we buried him I pinned the medals to his tunic myself.
Many nights, he would drink himself insensate and relive the horrors he must have faced. But my dad never filled in the details, and I never asked.
My parents had divorced years earlier. I had gone to live with my father that year. We went out to Quantico every Saturday to the commissary and PX. Many times we would drive around--I learned to drive out there--and my dad would relive his youth, pointing out the exact spots where he had learned the individual skills needed to be one of the best.
Anyway, this particular Saturday he asked if I wanted to see the museum. Of course I did. I am a geek for museums. Back then, you came in the entrance on an East wall; you then turn right into the exhibits. On my right, I saw a flag. This is the first flag raised on Mt. Suribachi.
If you know the story of the Marines on Iwo Jima, you know that Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson ordered a patrol to run a flag to the top of Mt. Suribachi to 'rally the troops.' Later, Joe Rosenthal of UPI took his famous photograph of those six men raising a second, much larger flag on the top of the mountain; one that was easier to see.
The larger, more famous flag ended up in a larger, more famous museum, I'm sure.
This one ended up in Quantico.
Next to the flag was a newspaper clipping with a photograph of a young man getting off of an airplane. I bent to read the caption.
"Sgt. George Colgan, of Brooklyn, is shown exiting the [whatever that plane was] carrying the first flag raised on Mt. Suribachi. . . .

HUH??

I don't remember anything else in that museum.

My dad wanted me to note that one of the brass rings--where you tie the halyard for raising--was missing. When we got home, he showed it to me. I got to touch it; I got to hold it! Wow! He told me it had fallen off and he temporarily put it in the pocket of his trousers. With all the excitement--meeting the Commandant of The Corps and whatnot--he forgot about it. He also showed me the Navy Cross he had won that day on Iwo Jima.
That afternoon I learned a great deal about my father.

Many men served in World War II.
Many of them were genuine heroes.
My father was one of them.
On this, the eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth, I wanted the world to know.

Nobody Is THAT Crazy!

2009-12-19T02:13:51Z

Here we are in the middle of December.
The days are the shortest they can get.
The sun cannot hardly get lower in the sky.
It's cold--well, not so much in Chico anymore, but there's a HUGE snow storm racing up the East Coast. Last week it snowed in Texas, and we experienced record lows in the Sacramento Valley.
Do you think someone will try to make the case that the Earth is NOT warming and use these incidents as proof?
Nah.

The Annointed One Part II

2009-12-05T21:38:08Z

Recently, I received a comment from a gentleman who was quite fond of President Reagan. He lamented the "real" media did not mention Reagan at all during the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's demolition.
For the record, m'honey, the ever-lovely Keitha Mashaw, listens to NPR religiously. She assures me that President Reagan was given his due.
Is NPR "real" media? M'honey thinks so!

Thanks to an organization known as The Heritage Foundation, President Reagan walks on water for many people.
"Reagan lowered taxes."
He did.
"Reagan's tax cuts doubled revenue."
Did they?
According to this opinion-piece in Time magazine it wasn't his tax cuts that raised revenues.
"But since deficits do matter -- and since Reagan's so-called supply-side cuts blasted an enormous hole in the budget -- the President had to come back in 1982 with the largest peacetime tax increase in American history: the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which raised $37.5 billion, or 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), per year. He also signed a $3.3 billion gasoline-tax increase. The next year, he signed another whopping tax hike, designed to save Social Security. "
Is this true?
Wouldn't matter to Ronny's fans!
It's a religion.
Try telling someone their Messiah is a phony. G'head! See how far that gets you.
"Time magazine is a liberal rag."
"Who cares what the MSM says, I only watch Fox."
If someone tells you the sky is blue, apparently their religion is a deciding factor in whether or not you should believe them.

Speaking of those revenues:
It cannot be denied that the total US National Debt was less than one trillion dollars when Reagan took office. There is no denying it was three times higher when he left office.
Do these mere facts matter when you are speaking of The Anointed One?
Forgetting for a moment who was responsible for actually signing the bills that spent the money, we need to ask:
If receipts double (2X) and the debt triples (3X), does that mean actual dollars spent increased SIX-FOLD?
No.
It does mean Reagan's increases in spending are larger than Obama's. More than any peacetime president in history.
Does it matter?
Nope.
This bankrupting of our children's future is excused by the Kool-Aid drinkers because it was done to "Defeat the Evil Empire" of the Soviet Union.
I will wager that when Reagan's 30-year treasuries come due in 2012--with the attendant surge in the deficit at that time--the Right will blame it on Obama.
What are you going to do?

Erecting a False God of your own is no way to defeat the False Gods of the opposition.

CORRECTION

2009-12-03T06:08:54Z

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The site is having problems with this damned CVS ad!
This repost may get around that.

I have written in the past that the demise of the Republican party would be a good thing.
I was wrong.
Of course I was wrong.
While I agree with George Washington that factions are not good for America, one-party rule would lead us to fascism--quicker. And, although neither party has the our interests at heart, we need the Republicans--if only as a check on the Democrats.
I fell victim to the belief that the Republican party was being overtaken by the wingnuts/teabaggers who worship Sarah Palin, and truly, 'that' Republican Party we could certainly do without.
However, the Republican party has not devolved to that extremist mindset.
Yet.
In the 23d Congressional District of New York, the wingnut candidate lost a seat the Republicans had held for nearly a century. No matter how it gets spun, this is a huge defeat for the extremists.
On the other hand, and unfortunately for us, our local representative, Wally Herger, has embraced the teabaggers and they have embraced him. This is most worrisome.
I attended a TEA party meeting and was exhorted to carry a sign saying "Thank You, Wally!" I saw that locally, teabaggers embrace the extremist Republican plan--what there is of it--regarding health care. So does Wally.
I see also, that Wally embraces other, extremist viewpoints.
When a gentleman from Redding--a teabagger?--facetiously described himself as a terrorist, Wally "blessed" him and called him a "Great American."
Scary stuff.
Wally says that government is ineffective, that it "doesn't work."

HUH??

Wally IS government!

I stand corrected.
We need "The Party of Lincoln."
We need Republicans.
We don't need extremists.

Now Sarah Has REALLY Gone And Done It!

2009-11-21T21:46:52Z

It seems that when Sarah resigned the governorship last July, it was not only the simpletons who got upset. She angered the upper echelons of the Party!

Hitler Finds Out Sarah Palin Resigns - watch more funny videos

Enjoy!

Putting the FAUX in FOX News

2009-11-20T07:19:26Z

Last week, Jon Stewart called Sean Hannity to task for lying. That is to say that Hannity showed footage of one thing and claimed it to be footage of another thing.
In other words, Hannity lied.
Hannity apologized for the 'mistake.'
But, apparently, it wasn't a mistake. It was intentional.
People, to whom the Truth is important have been saying for years that Fox news isn't news, but propaganda. If a politician screws up, Fox will put a little "D" next to the miscreant's picture, even if the politician is an "R."
"An honest mistake," they insist EVERY SINGLE TIME it happens.

Well, after Hannity's non-apology, Fox news has done it again.
They just don't care about the truth.
According to this article Fox News is using old campaign footage of Sarah Palin to illustrate the crowds lining up to buy her book.

"What about the little details?"

You mean, the 2008 campaign signs? Who cares?
A FAUX News spokesperson was quoted as saying, "Our viewers aren't too discerning."
The way Fox news works is that for seventeen hours out of every twenty-four, they are an OPINION network. They only do "news" seven hours per day. From 9am to 2pm, and 6-8 pm.
So, Let's say the president announces some new initiative--call it "The Whatever Initiative."
For three-fourths of the day you will hear pundits--on the Fox News Channel--ripping a new one in the Whatever Initiative. When you turn on the "news" at 6pm, the first thing you will hear is "The President's Whatever Initiative was savaged by . . . . . "
This is technically the truth, but where most of us come from, it's bullshit. Pure bullshit.
But, like their spokesperson tells us . . . . . . .

Why people will listen to a foreign-owned network badmouth America is beyond me.