Thanks, Republicans and wishy washy Dems

Thank god you clarified that!

Here's another instances of "let's play chicken" to see who wins!



What is it called when the republicans threaten the president with "abuse of power" suit?

As I've expressed for awhile, our governments are broken. Sue each other; that'll get them to work for the people!

Edgar is feeling down about the world in general and America in particular and is just singing the blues in photos. Of course Republicans and Democrats to the right of edgar are to blame for all of the nation's problems (and most of the world's too, if you must know). I don't know if this is too far from my point of view (in reverse of course), although I don't blame all Democrats and I certainly don't give a free pass to anyone to the right of me. Maybe it's just a matter of degree.

We'll have to ask edgar if there are any politicians out there who meet his standards, but I've seen a few posts where he seemed to express favor for Elizabeth Warren. We'll also have to ask him if he thinks electing Warren, or someone like her, and putting control of the Senate, House and the SC in the hands of legislators and justices who share Warren's ideology would solve all of these problems.

(Cue John Lennon’s “Imagine.”)

A NATION where there are no homeless people because, first of all, the government will make certain no one finds peanuts in their pay envelope (We’ll also have to ask edgar what the elusive “Living Wage” is) but if misfortune drives them out of their homes, the government will have set up public housing to provide them with shelter that doesn’t rob them of their dignity. It will be temporary, of course, because under President Warren, everyone will want to contribute their fair share of labor for their fair share of the benefits of this great country. If they can’t find a job suited to the free education they’ve received from the government, it will find them one, and you can be damn sure it won’t rob them of their dignity. This is very important because, as we are often reminded, homelessness can happen to anyone; even to couples who have had good jobs all their lives. We all live on the razor’s edge, don’t you know; one untimely expression of support for gay marriage away from sleeping on a park bench. Of course the government will make sure corporations no longer can capriciously rob us of our jobs and our dignity, and government healthcare will make sure disease and unhealthy life choices can no longer rob us of our savings and our dignity, so homelessness will be prevented from ever striking. I’m sure President Warren will come up with a good idea for redeployment of the temporary shelters that will no longer be needed.

A NATION that runs on abundant clean energy that satisfies all of our needs and has no unpleasant side-effects what-so-ever: No chemicals will be needed to extract it or to manufacture the devices that generate it or the batteries that store it. No angry housewives will need to hold up signs declaring that the new energy source is killing children, eagles, trees, marine life or the natural beauty of this big blue marble in space, we call the earth. Of course we’ll all have to give up our profligate ways and live in much smaller, earth friendly homes and drive much smaller, earth friendly cars and motor scooters, but this will not only be good for the planet, it will be good for our souls. We’re all too obsessed with material possessions and comfort. Who needs a house with a dining room or more than one bathroom? Why does anyone need a swimming pool of their own when they can use the one in their community and jeeze, what’s so wrong with opening up a fire hydrant on the street (providing it has a government approved regulator attachment). We used to do that in the good old days and it brought neighbors closer together. We’ll ,at most, need only one garage, and hey, what’s wrong with one big bedroom in which all the members of the family sleep? They do that in so-called primitive places where the so-called primitive people know it takes a village to raise a child. We’re too obsessed with individuality to begin with. People like Barbara Streisand, Michael Moore, Leo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, Al Gore and Warren Buffet will probably have a tough time downsizing, but we know how committed they are to solving the problems of the nation and the world so I'm sure we can count on them be good sports and give up their mansions, auto fleets and private planes. Maybe they can get an extra bathroom in recognition of all they've done for the planet in the past

A NATION where discrimination of any sort is eliminated. No more Trayvon Martins or Michael Browns. No more bullying of the LGBT Community. Women on campuses throughout the land will be able to leave their padlocked dorm rooms at night without fear of the near certainty of being raped or sexually assaulted. And with racism finally eradicated, there will be no need for demonstrators to demonstrate their rage and hopelessness by looting their neighbor’s produce market or liquor store. Well, we’ll still have to treat some people differently than others: The ones who just don’t get it, and keep trying to muck it up for the rest of us. But we’ll be nice about it. We’ll send them out into the country where they’ll receive the counselling they need to overcome their anti-social behavior. It’s just a matter of re-educating them. We won’t rob them of their dignity. We’ll give them plenty of character building labor to perform, and three hearty square meals a day. After all, it’s more than they’ve been willing to give to poor children for most of their lives.

A NATION which never asks anything of any other nation except “How can we help you?” “Do you have any children you need us to care for and educate?" “Do you have any poor people who have been robbed of their dignity and who need to get it back?” “Would you like us to share with you the new clean energy technology we’re going to invent?” This simple rule will keep us from ever having to fight another war or to divert our riches from helping people to hurting them. No more Military Industrial Complex, no more war profiteering or meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. No more financing the apartheid policies of peoples who build their nations on stolen land who couldn’t even learn a good lesson from past attempts to exterminate them (and hey, we’re not so sure those attempts were really as bad as everyone says anyway). Keeping our government’s nose out of everyone’s business but that of the American people’s; where it belongs, will eliminate the need for “intelligence agencies” like the NSA and CIA. Heroes like Eric Snowden and Bradley/Chelsea Manning will no longer be persecuted because we won’t need them to sacrifice their lives to reveal the dark secrets of our government. Our new government won’t have any secrets, dark or otherwise, because it will be the most transparent in US history! Sure, pulling back within our borders might lead to more localized conflicts around the globe, but for the most part these people have been fighting one another for thousands of years. They like it. It preserves their dignity. Besides, there’s nothing we can do to stop them. We always just make things worse. You can’t expect these people to produce an Elizabeth Warren overnight.

A NATION where we solved the greatest problem any country can face: Crumbling infrastructure! It won’t cost us too much either. Once President Warren gets the job done, our infrastructure will remain intact for a good long while. Our little cars and scooters won’t cause a tenth of the wear & tear of big SUV’s and 18 Wheelers.

(Cue Steely Dan’s “IGY” )

To tick off a laundry list about the assholes giving the country a black eye is not to dislike my country or to be angry with it, although people feeling the bite of criticism would hope to make it so. Shoot the messenger if you dislike his news. A liberal is the most optimistic and realistic of citizens and I am a bona fidee liberal. When I see people attempting to lead us in the wrong direction, I will speak out.

Spoken like a true patriot!

Hooray for the red white and blue
For a duck may be somebody's mother
Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;

On what basis do you claim liberals are so optimistic and realistic? I find most of them (including yourself) paranoid and depressed. As for realism one only has to consider the crisp efficiency of the execution of the execution of the "illegally amend it on the run" rollout of the 11,000 page Obamacare law that Nancy Pelosi never read.

In a world in which startups like Facebook and Uber quickly capture markets with efficient novel products that do new things, the lamentable fiasco attendant to the website for ACA enrollment was a stark contrast. Worse, no one is counting (or revealing ) the real cost to an already debt-ridden government.

In my view what passes for liberals in this country are a bunch of neurotic, depressed people who are convinced that they and others cannot manage their lives without the aid of a government with limitless resources and taxpayers willing to pay for whatever they want. Worse, despite their already demonstrated incompetence in government managed subsidies ranging from ethanol to student loans and government managed medical care (VA and others) they imagine they alone know how to solve problems that have plagued mankind since the dawn of history.

I would describe all that as mental and emotional derangement of a fairly high order.

I find the people I am complaining about paranoid and depressed. The fact that you people continually attack the messenger more than anything else is pretty good proof.

I'm not "you people", I'm just one person, myself.

I have see very little restraint on your part in criticizing a large number of "messengers" as well as other people of all kinds. You are quick to pin sweeping labels of praise on "liberals" and equally quick to condemn all others as the creators of the ills you describe at such great length.

You appear to have strong feelings about the failures of government and other people to provide solutions to the problems you list, but, are, in my view, slow to describe in a realistic way how these should be solved and how the solutions would be actually paid for and delivered.

You cite the assumed evils of fracking, but fail to note that the private sector energy boom has been the chief source of new jobs in this counter since 2007. You display signs suggesting that benzene and toluene are routine significant components of fracking fluids, when, in fact, that is a lie. In short you appear to demand sustenance as you wish from an unnamed infinite source that will unquestioningly respond to your wishes. Such a source doesn't exist. What then does that make you?

If you haven't noticed any solutions, it's because you can only read negatively. If I complain about oligarchy, for instance, it should be pretty easy to see that I favor congress doing its job and putting a brake on it. If I complain about low wages for the working folks, give them a raise. It's not that hard.

I wrote "congress." I actually meant all three branches of government.

The negatives here appear to be concentrated in your posts.

Do you believe the Congress can simply give everyone a raise without any side or secondary effects? If so I know of a bridge you can buy.

Our government has done a good job in "putting a brake on" several industries in this country, and rising prices and lost jobs are the main result. The energy industry is a good example.

Government doesn't create wealth, food or the products we use. It consumes and redistributes them - and usually does so rather wastefully and inefficiently. Moreover most actions by government diminish the availability and raise the prices of these goods and services.

More of your infinite and willing source of all you want stuff. It doesn't exist.

The people of Greece are finding out the real cost of relying on government to sustain the illusion of productivity and wealth on borrowed money and government corruption.

You are against minimum wage legislation?

I'm against the proposals recently being pushed by the president. They are too high and in most areas of the country the bad effects attendant to the lost jobs and economic activity that will inevitably result, as well as the higher prices that will follow, will far exceed the benefits to those getting a raise.

Additionally many union contracts have labor rates keyed to the minimum wage. While this makes the proposal attractive to unions, it significantly expands the adverse economic effects of the raise.

Some liberals are fond of claiming that raising wages by government fiat is a good way to increase economic activity. However, if that was really true then Greece, Argentina and Venezuela wouldn't be broke.

If you can convincingly demonstrate a different outcome with factual arguments, I would be willing to read them.

George, you lucky devil, you. California is just now wrapping up legislation giving everyone three paid days of sick leave per year. I said "give", but you know what I mean.