Something is Brewing

The TEA PARTY, will sink Liberals, everywhere ....... I know that there are some of y'all who eschew Labels or Tags of any kind ... and My Respects to you ... but as the Meskins around here say ....... S O C K S ... Eso Si Que Es !!!   Thats Just The Way It Is .......

Everyone fears what they don't understand. I'm just as guilty. But what is happening with the Tea Party is not about the right left paradigm. It's about the average American finally waking up. Getting off the couch and getting on the street. My wife and I took our granddaughter to a Tea Party rally in our town last summer. It was civic's 101...Americans on the courthouse square wanting redress of their grievances. Every stripe was in attendance...black, white, left, right etc. Mechanics to country club members, all there in one accord. We all know something is wrong. The banks are simply running amok and need to be stopped. The power brokers in the smoke filled rooms that give us tainted vaccines and sodium fluoride in our water supply. The media telling us we need to give up our Bill of Rights in order to have security. TV shows telling us if we don't believe in global warming we are terrorists. So now, the Tea Party gets some traction and all of a sudden we need a New World Banking order to save defaulting countries. Oil rigs blow up out of the blue. Korea is a time bomb, Jamacia is in full meltdown. A Mexican despot has the audacity to address a joint session of Congress and tells us we need to give up our guns. Worse, we let the idiot have the forum. Something is very rotten in Denmark and I for one welcome the fresh air that the Tea Party brings. We are living in 1938 Germany. If we don't rise up now we won't be able to in the not so distant future. Bullets or the ballot box...I prefer the ballot box. 

Senate  candidate  Paul  from  Kentucky  pulverized  his  opponent  in  the  Republican  primary,   mirroring  undifferentated  anger  with  the  status  quo,  incumbents,  the  slow  &  sometimes  corrupt  "progress"  that  government  makes  in  addressing  ordinary  people's  problems.   Then,  however,  he  "melted  down"  when  interviewed  by  network  commentators.   Didn't  he  know,  or  have  reason  to  know,  that  he  would  be  asked  about  his  previous  controversial  positions  concerning  his  lack  of  support  for  the  1964  Civil  Rights  Act?   True  he  "only"  had  a  problem  with  those  provisions  dealing  with  private  sector  business  regulations,  but  the  act  was  a  package  deal.   After  waltzing  clumsily  around  anything  even  remotely  constituting  a  direct  answer,  he  then  cancelled  at  the  last  minute  his  appearance  on  NBC's  Sunday  morning  talk  show,  citing  "fatigue."  Then  his handlers  released  a  press  release,  unconvincingly  claiming  that  he  actually  meant  that  he  supported  civil  rights  for  all  Americans.   Good  grief,  concededly  the  "talking  heads"  were  looking  to  ambush  him  with  a  "gotcha  moment,"   but  dang  he  shoulda,  woulda,  coulda  seen  that  one    coming  a  mile  away.   If  he  is  successfully  categorized  as  being  representative  of  Republican  platform  politics  in  November  of  2010,   this  upcoming  election  is  already  over.....jmo.

JaxZ:    Shortly  after  moving  from  Observatory  Avenue  in  upscale  Yuppiesville  to  the  foothills  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,   I  took  several  of  my  daughter's  friends  with  her  for  an  early  dinner  on  a  weekend.   Theory  was  to  let  them  know  that  Sky's  dad,   who  she  innocently  defined  to  the  whole  class  as  a  "murder  lawyer,"   was  actually  a  nice  guy,   fun  to  be  around.   The  waiter  took  our  order  after  I  indicated  that  quiche  was  what  city  folks  often  ate  at  brunch  {after  I  first  defined  "brunch" ... lol}.    Things  were  going  fine,  then  came  the  "Kodak  moment" ...   Sky's  new  best  friend,  without  first  tasting  the  delicacy  before  her,   poured  about  6  ounces  of  catsup  over  her  entree' .....   lolololololol     

I wish I'd learned to knit or crochet so I could just sit quietly in the corner with a pretty porcelain cup of Earl Grey at my side & listen to this converstion.
Democracy (the Ideal, not the party) is a splendid thing. A bit like this page, everybody gets their fair hearing.
In the UK, we have The Monster Raving Loony Party as an alternative vote in some constituencies.
I know nothing about American Politics, so I'll go & put the kettle on & wait 'till we get off topic, as we surely will. Have a good day.

I am addressing Mr. John Peterman.                                                                                                                                                      Sir,  Most days you present an Honor Award for an uncommonly good comment.  I know this is done impartially and without and undue outside influence.  I can't say that I speak for anyone else in the village, but if I do, I am certain they will add their voice to mine (consider it a tea party event).  In my humble opinion you should bestow yesterday's honor roll, well just give a listen... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzaLEC7kDdE&feature=related                                                                                                               I won't bother you again.          
 

As the lone member of the Greenbacks Party, This Capitalist Pig appreciates the Libertarian movement and agree with many of the arguments, but practically the power of the Two Party System is not to be underestimated. It is nice to see folks energized and have some real passion about Civics and the Constitution. I tire of the namecalling on all sides and the generalizations about complex issues. You have to exist with people who think differently. My grandparents were on both ends of the political spectrum but at night they put away the swords and slept together. After all, they had to go to work in the morning and working people need their sleep. 

KY Curm -- you said "We are living in 1938 Germany."

If that be true, we'd better be VERY afraid of the Tea Party. It was the disgruntled, angry masses that were drawn to the the Nazi message.

But I don't believe that the situations are that similar. PostI/preII-war Germany was in a lot worse shape than we currently are. And we are simply not at a boiling point. Hispanic immigrants are being made the villains by some, but they have defenders that are willing to stand up for them (as human beings, at least) that the Jews of Germany did not. Witness the current Arizona flap, no matter which side of it you stand. Hitler had an angry populace, but they were angry at "others," not themselves as we are. It is not a recent defeat in war that got us where were are, it was our own greed. Or the greed of other citizens of THIS country.

Radical voices have their place in American politics. They are needed to nudge this giant boat one way or the other. Unfortunately, the Tea Party is so unfocused at this point that I believe they will prove to be very effective in slowing down the ship, but steering? Anger alone doesn't move anybody forward. Anger with a purpose, THAT can make a difference.

Let's just hope we listen to the "better angels of our nature" -- to quote Mr. Lincoln.

Zenvelo’s, Bert’s, and Kristina’s comments are on the
mark.  Ditto is all I will add.

As for Jolopkin, Once again you have not done your
homework.  All the poles indicate that
the Tea Party is strongest in the reddest states and most of its members are coming
from the Republican and Republican leaning ranks.  This means that come the general elections
the only road to victory for the Republicans and Tea Party candidates is to not
only to unite but gather from the political middle. The Tea Party must stay
away from Libertarianism or they are toast.  America will not embrace
Libertarianism which includes the right to use what ever drugs you enjoy.  That just won’t fly in Oklahoma. 

Those of us from the liberal left are disgruntled with lack
of progress in some areas as well and are impacting the primaries, such as in Arkansas, but we are not
splitting the Democratic Party over it.

    
thr~

Sure, "all the Poles" indicate one thing but have you checked with the Czechs?

I totally agree with thr -- and I'm not sure how the Republicans think they can win back Congress in November if their votes are split between the traditional party and the Tea Party people.  They're already in the minority, and the split makes it worse.

As someone that is a political independant that doesn't trust parties and very few political types ,and my friends know how I feel ,I keep getting a lot of messages from them  on both the right and left to try to get me to think their way . It isn't going to happen. Most of the time I scan the offerings and delete without finishing the articles. I am able to and will think for myself and make my own desicions about how to vote
 
A short time ago I got as e-mail statement that was interesting and seemed worth keeping.
 
A message to the Tea Party
  
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney,now you get mad!?
 You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legel recount and appointed a President.
 
You did't get mad when Cheney allowed energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
 
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA opetative got outed'
 
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
 
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
 
You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
 
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
 
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
 
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wire tapping Americans.
 
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
 
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
 
Tou didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
 
You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
 
You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
 
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.
 
 Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing ypur tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans.... oh hell no.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well said, rwh1!

Many people, quite possibly including our current president of the US, have gone to Washington with fond hopes and big ideas and have been forced to recognizedthat they are not necessarily smart or strong or even right enough ( as in correct) to drive the money changers from the temple.  If, in fact, the Tea Party candidates go to Washington in any numbers, they will find that, like the  Progressives, the Liberals, the Moderate Democrats, the Centrist Republicans, and the NeoCons, (Not to mention the Been Hyahs) they are going to have to get into bed with people to get things done- and those people may not be their ideological twins.  Many a man has wandered in front of a parade and thought he was leading it.

It's  interesting  bordering  on hilarious  to listen  to  BBC  reporting  events  involving  Tea  Party  candidates.  They  have  a  slightly  less  warm  place  in  their  hearts  for  the  metaphor  of  colonists  throwing  perfectly  good  boxes  of  tea  into  Boston harbor......   The  pronunciation  of  the  words  is  similar  to  that  you  might  expect  if  they  had  been  asked  to  describe  subtle  nuiances  of  untreated  infection  with  sexually  transmitted  diseases.....

I don't know the number of Tea Party supporters in the US, but a quick check on Facebook showed just under a quarter million. Add to that those who do not use Facebook or have chosen not to join and there is a sizeable number indeed. That said, the number shrinks by leaps and bounds if the question is how many agree on the best way to proceed or even what the goals are exactly. That's their biggest weakness and possibly their danger. As for covering the political spectrum, that doesn't seem to be the case in my state. The Tea Party candidates I've seen here tend to fall somewhere to the right of Ghengis Khan.  On an aside, this is my first post after lurking for a couple of weeks and finally joining yesterday. I'm in love with this blog and its posters already. Thank you for the refreshing mental stimulation!

 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5p-qIq32m8

And this from the decidedly not Bush leaning Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/12/politics/12VOTE.html

Unchecked, uninformed hatred of Bush and Cheney does not a reasonable argument make.

And this to show that the poor and the un-rich already pay nothing or very little in Federal taxes, they hire no one and every government protection and service that they enjoy is paid for by someone who does.

http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html

I make a point of avoiding this guy but when he's right, he's right: Bill Maher " I don't want my government back, I want my government forward."

Willie~

Very thoughtful.

rapidgirl,

Welcome to the village. Nice offering... I just enjoy watching for the light more than the heat... too.


 

thr:  I just love it when you talk that way .......

As disheartening as it is to find out that everything I have learned in the last Seventy-Three years is totally wrong, I want to Thank You for pointing out the error of my ways ...


May You Have a Long Life .......

Thanks, Stoney, for the kind words and the interesting links. And welcome Rapidgirl. I look forward to more of the same from you.  My own triangular state is awash in a strange little s-e-x scandal, even by our own recent standards.  Bear in mind that we have elected two women to statewide office, no three, in the last half century, all of them Democrats : a lieutenant governor (the job is largely ceremonial) and two Secretaries of Education.  We now have a Republican woman, presently a member of the house of representatives, running in a wide field for Governor.  As nearly as anybody could tell, she was in the Lieberman position- a three way tie for second.  Suddenly, a poll comes out ( Of roughly 600 people, as I remember) putting her in front, with nearly 40%. The next guys back were closer to 20.  And the same day, out came a blog from a guy who is mostly an adolescent rumormonger, but a fairly reliable one, saying that he had "an inappropriate physical relationship " with her. Whiule she was married and he was not.  At this point, I have to admit that he is, like me, fat and balding, though he is considerably younger and balder. She is fairly attractive- a Methodist Sikh whose parents came to rural SC before she was born. And she denies the whole story, as anybody would when confronted by the physical disparity.  Remember, as the NY Times likes to point out, SC is the state with the intercontinental governonr affair from last year. We are also the home of both Mr. Colbert and Josh Lieb, who writes all of that funny stuff about SC for Jon Stewart.  Oddly enough, we feel like mpost other states have s-e-x scandals, too, and toothless morons, and assorted other nuts, but somehow, we are recently more famous for them.   Flannery O'Connor was from Georgia, but she was the one who pointed out that Southerners at least recognize a freak when they see one.  And the primary is just 10 days away.

Rapid  Girl:    Jump  right  in,   the  water's  fine,   glad  you  mustered  up  the  courage  to  dive  right  in.....and  better  yet,   on  a  day  when  we  discuss  politics,   the  proverbial   minefield,  destroyer  of  lifelong  friendships.    Speaking  just  for  myself,  I  don't  really  give  a  rat's  arse  what  your  background  or  politics  happen  to  be,   as  long  as  you're  civil  in  tone,  and  willing  to  listen  to  counter  points.....

I find the whole "Rand Paul" thing hilarious. Did anybody else look at the returns of that particular election? Rand Paul won more votes than his Republican opponent. But EACH of the Democrats on the other ballot received more votes than Paul did. Both of them. By quite a bit, actually.

I don't quite buy the argument that the Tea Party represents the average American. By any polls, the Tea Party consists of or is approved of by about 20% of the population.

And it is an interesting coincidence that almost the same percentage of the population has a long history of anti-government sentiment. I am starting to suspect that the Tea Party is just a public stage for a group of people who, before, simply didn't get the media coverage they wanted. When the national news had to be condensed to 26 minutes per day, there simply wasn't room. But now that we have 3 major, 24-hour-News-Cycle networks, there is room for all sorts of things.

Wonderful comments, all!  Some are better informed than others, but they show thought and emotion, which is, after all, what politics is all about.  "Politics" is the art--and science--of people interacting with other people.  My personal views are somewhat to the right of the political spectrum, but are not inflexible.  I cast my ballot for the person I feel will best do the job.  Yes, the Tea Party seems to be "unfocused" at the moment, not agreeing on what course our nation should take.  Consider this though, that in any group of ten people, you will find no less than 10 differing opinions on a course of action, and that politics is the art of choosing one that will least offend the majority.  ALL politicians are negotiators and compromisers.  It's what they do.  Best to all.

In other news, I saw a recent article on a new political party in Iceland. It was started by one of their best known comedians, as a way to show disapproval for the inaction and lack of intelligence in their government. That party now has about 40% approval, and is scaring the crap out of their government. The difference between them and our tea-party down here is, they are laughing at themselves. Part of their party platform is to get a polar bear for their zoo.

Thank you for that, bert.  I'm sure somebody somewhere needed it. 
 
Now:
 
WT:  I liked what you said way up there...11:17 am.  Makes lots of sense.  Well put.
 
 

You all know, we're not going to agree on politics until we find a pizza topping we can all agree upon.

I'll become hopeful and energized about politics of any flavor when there is a 'Common Sense and Integrity Party' that demonstrates it's ability to make decisions based on logic and not just curb appeal...... otherwise its just a bad case of SSDD with an overdose of hateful rhetoric and divisiveness instead of unity fueled by a common goal.

This is nothing more than my thoughts on the topic. It's not an attempt to be persuasive.

There  you  are,  Park4,   sitting  in  wait  on  the  sidelines,   like  a  motorcycle  cop.....

Peter Lake: You've persuaded me.

Here I am, indeed.  But not like a cop. As an adult who resents your relentlessly condescending tone.
 
We're all over the legal age here bert.  And you're not our daddy, anyway.
 
 
 
 

Michael and PeterLake:  I agree with the both of you, and I'd vote both of you into office, if I didn't know you'd be awfully unhappy at the prospect.
 
Politics is disheartening to think about because it seems to change anything we need to go to the heart of men, the "money changers" as WT called them -- and how do you do that?  Change the heart of men, make honest men out of dishonest, make caring men out of those who care only for themselves?
 
Seems like changing the motives of men might be just as difficult as deciding on one pizza topping, Michael.  Maybe even harder.
 
 

 
If congressional approval ratings were socks, we'd all have bare ankles.

Who cares which party benefits from a fresh political movement? Both have demonstrated that they cannot govern satisfactorily even with majorities in both houses.

As far as polls go, the only one that matters will take place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. What if we all just wait and see?

Hello all!
Ortho intervention has kept me away and I see the discussions are just as vibrant as when i lelft.....keep it up --this community is definitely an interesting place to be.
 

Good grief! Just had a read through todays offerings. Think I need something stronger than Earl Grey. Lapsang Souchong, maybe.
rwh1~ your contribution raised a smile- different shopping list of gripes over here, & mostly, people don't get mad- with 24hr rolling news, the most dreadful scandals & injustices slither by along with the man bites dog story.
Having recently endured a recent UK General Election, with endless air time devoted from weeks before the event to discussions about what might happen, big hug to Stoney who said "Wait & See"
It's 8.25pm here, so I just changed my mind about the tea. I have a nice bottle of single malt tucked away. That will do niceley.

Hazel -- off question, of course, what is your take on BP?
 

Stoney: Hush you, with your logical thinking!

sanspoulet~ What BP are we talking about here, before I open my mouth & put my foot in it?
Blood Pressure?
British Petroleum ? (likely suspect!)
Some blend of tea I never heard of?
 
BTW- my Birth Certificate states my father's occupation as Assistant manager, tea plantation.

 
Peter Lake~

BLUE DUB CUBS!

hazel leese~

Love your take on things and hug back at you.

Michael~

Must be that bimp on the head.

I don't think this will surprise y'all but I have a somewhat different take on some of this.  I don't think we have had an honest president since Dwight David Eisenhower.  Anyone since was a politician first and a citizen second.  I don't think that is any better than we can expect, but that should not keep us from aiming higher.                                                     When he warned of the military congressional industrial complex he was not joking and had no reason to say what was said if it wasn't true.  I can't say that I am complaining, as much of my income came out of that massive spending as went into it.  Bert, I think it was, mentioned some days ago that the interstate system was built under the justification of national defense.  I think this misstates the President's intent, the country needed a highway system for commerce more so than defense.  The massive defense budget was a huge and useful pot to dip into. The interstate system is our economy's most useful tool.  Unless he was planning on invading or being invaded by Mexico or Canada  I can't really believe he saw the highways as a defense item.                                           We put too much credit and too much blame on the shoulders of one man. If illegal immigration bothers you, write your Congressman.  Our economy needs immigrants to grow and if you really expect Congress to regulate the number of immigrants required to work our economy, then tell them.  Tell them exactly how many you need and when. I think it a bit disingenuous to ask Congress to regulate immigration and then talk about a free market economy.  Open the borders or issue work permits, just don't subsidize the immigrants.   If there are jobs, they will stay; if not, they will go home.                                                                                                    The tea party will be taken over by politicians.  I don't advocate term limits.  I advocate vigilance and education.                                            I thought it was hot in Atlanta this afternoon, but this page is off the scale.      

Bring Back Teddy Roosevelt!

THR..... me thinks you must be someone already on the site who burns red hot w/ jealousy over IVAN. Surely you have a hobby, a partner, a DICTIONARY, or a snack that can occupy you. On the other hand you are kind of amusing in that way that dullards are amusing.......
 
Libertarians...... John Stossel creeps me out, I don't quite know why, but he does look exactly like the policeman in The Village People and his neck does not match his face. In the end Libertarians are interesting, but they have that dazzled little girl enthusaiasm, "When I grow up I want to be a princess, drive a Barbie dream car, be a doctor,be the president and have some diamonds."........ They don't think through the big picture; it's one giant, bedazzled Barbie dream house of a government.

Paolos- A logical argument. Unless we increase the work force we do not have enough people to pay for the ever increasing SS and Medicare/Medicaid costs of this generation. We have to have more producers than takers. Everyone that works here does not have to become a citizen -just pay for the benefits they use and a tax for the right to work here. One's political needle wavers betwen Hobbes and Locke based upon a wide variety of circumstances.                                                                                                                             

  
As a young teenager, I worked along with a pal, on a truck farm just north of town.

We picked berries, cucumbers, corn and more. The money was nice and it was not unusual for me to be asleep before dark.

If we have arrived at the point where we are too grand to harvest the food we eat, then, maybe it is time to look at what kind of hothouse culture we have become and think about reordering it.

Sure, it would cost more to eat as we do but hundreds of millions of dollars now draining southward and hundreds of millions more in social services and law enforcement would remain in circulation within our own economy.

I was never ashamed.

In the absence of a response from sanspoulet re: BP, I always wondered, it being hard work to get honey from bees, how they managed to extract enough bee pee to fuel cars.

Hazel -- so sorry to be tardy here --did not mean to make you wonder -- I was referring to British Petroleum....

The bebe is back in town!  And with a very excellent bebe-worthy post, I will add.  YAY, school's out for summer....
 
 

Oh, and by the by, sanspoulet has ben retired in favor of the true .....

OK, Susan B. Wilson, LCSW~ I use my own name as well. Nothing to hide. My take on BP? Just another oil company taking the P out of the lanet. Don't think they have an exculusive on this one.

add-on, sorry, what's LCSW? 

Jalopkin and all----Since I needs must retire much, much earlier than the rest of you and don't get to get back in touch again 'til after dinner......I am way derailed from Thesepia's train route today, but am welcoming you wholeheartedly to Sunday brunch, my place as per last night's discussion.  See?  I told you I was off the track, but......I am sincere, anyway.  Now, I promise I will go ahead and review today's routing and see if I can get back on track.  Over & out.

Hazel and Susan, Have you read my latest book Delubricating the Earth, The True Cause of a Plethora of Earthquakes in the 21st Century?  Subtitled Things that go Squeak in the Night. Coauthored by Al Gore. 

Tommy, I do not understand why no one asked one simple question before the last Presidential election...do we really need a lawyer (sorry Bert) in our executive office?  I'd like to see Thomas Sowell in the White House at least he understands basic economics.

Don't be sorry, Hazel -- it's Licensed Clinical Social worker  -- I work with kids who are abundantly concerned about the NOW

Paolos --not yet, but I will certainly add it to my library!  Thank you for your message!

Ah, what do I think?  I think reading all these posts from wherever is an exciting and energizing exercise (y'all know what that just was!).....begins with "a"...
l

Susan B. Wison, LCSW~ I'm falling about with laughter here, me, Hazel Leese Dip.SW, as in Diploma in Social Work. Done Hospital Social Work, Mental Health, young adults with challenging behaviour, elderly people with dementias etc. Nice to meet you. And I still think BP are a bucket of p***s!

paolos~ on my book list too.

Hazel--my arms are around you!!!

 For your early evening listening pleasure, just a touch of Texas music...
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBjJahiZwVw&feature=related

Well.  it's early here, but I need my "tens unit"for my legs and then sleep.......
May you all rest and arise re-enenergized!.

Susan B. Wilson, LCSW~  "tens unit"?  You hurting?  Sorry to see that.  Hope you get a good sleep. I'm off too, I hope, or it's all night BBC World Service.

Hazel and Susan -- I was a foster parent (still got the kid, although she's in college now), can I get on your social worker band wagon?

Stoney~ I've done , in my student days, burger-flipping, petrol pumping, arse-wiping in old folks homes, soft fruit picking, & all those things enriched me, even if the pay was crap. And I was never ashamed.

Stoney, my take is a bit different for this reason.  There are billions going South and billions more going west or very far east.   Bernanke showed that in 2005. He also posits that in his opinion, the new born Fed caused the great depression.  The numbers he shared in 2005, calling it a global savings glut are very close to the numbers the last TWO administrations are feeding back into the economy.                                                                                              I am still trying to wrap my head around it.  Give me some help here.

Kristina~ Welcome on board! The wagon has wobbly wheels- as you have probably learned.

Paolos:    Not  a  problem,   my  virtual  friend.      For  the  record,   I   don't  much  like  most  lawyers.    Like  most  doctors,   for  them  it  has  now  become  just  a  job,   cashing  out.    I  have  this  old - fashioned  concept,   since  we  screw  with  people's  lives,   we  therefore  need  to  promote  holistic  approaches  to  solving  what's  wrong.   By  the  time  I  get  clients,   the  damage  has  already  been  done.   I'm  trying  to  pick  up  the  pieces  after  the  train  wreck,   not  preventing  train  wrecks  by  helping  facilitate  a  system  that  treats  children  as  priorities.
One  more  thing,   I  like  very  few  politicians  as  well.    They're  often  lawyers  only  to  transition  easily  to  their  civilian  jobs,   which  they  "earned"  by   promoting  the  agendas  of  the  same   corporations.   Bipartisian  comment.  
That's  my  story.....and  I'm  sticking  to  it. 

Bert, I know those guys.  I could name names and you would know them too. Many years ago I walked those seven hills.  I have a great respect for a few and none for some.  I would reserve judgment on all others if I were appointed judge.                                      Hazel, I hope you don't google the book.  I am afraid I did a bad, bad thing and not everyone understood the title for what it was..a joke gone bad, okay, a joke started bad to stay that way.     

Paolos. if you think a joke won't take on a life of its own, you should talk to my parents...  Speaking of, I visited my sainted mother tonight at the converted plantation where she lives ( If we didn't give y'all these stereotypes, you'd just make them up anyway) and heard a wonderful quote from a lady who grew up in the early 20th century before becoming a physician. She said"Of all of the may gifts I have enjoyed, the gift of a country childhood is one of the most precious." Ain't it the truth. 

MANY gifts, not just May Gifts...  The former garden is now a CVS, by the way.

I know I'm nowhere near as active here as I used to be and I feel strange jumping into a political debate (of all things) when it would be more likely for me to wait until we're talkin' movies or theatre or some such.  But, as the resident Libertarian (I adore John Stossel and I definitely support the right to indulge in whatever drugs you enjoy, and do not think of my vision of appropriate government as in any way Barbie Dollish), I feel the need to chime in.
 
I was raised by the right wing nutcases of Joplin, Missouri and am now surrounded by the left wing nutcases of New York City.  I have discovered that many are capable of being very loving, decent people, helpful neighbors, good cooks, and fun conversationalists.  But if these two cultures have taught me anything, it's that political extremists of any stripe are batshit crazy.
 
This brings me to today's topic of Tea Partiers.  As far as I can tell, calling the Tea Party "unfocused" is an understatement.  It appears to me that the only thing the Tea Partiers have in common with each other is that they are anti-President Obama.  Some of them are Birthers, some objected to the Health Bill, some find him too inexperienced, and some feel he doesn't play well with others.  A very few may be racist and some are likely to object to any democrat in office.  But the only thing that binds the party together is that they want the guy out.  This simply isn't enough for a political party to survive, let alone thrive.
 
It's strange to me, however, that so many people (not on this forum, thankfully) are fond of charging the Tea Party with racism.  While there are - as previously stated - always a few such rotten apples around, the vast majority have bigger fish to fry.  But what strikes me as even odder is that people care.  When a party is populated with such silliness as the Birther movement and the people who like to claim Obama is a Socialist, the absurdity is so clear that the question of whether they are racially motivated becomes irrelevant.  It's like watching a Nuremberg rally with everyone shouting "Zieg Heil!  Death to the Jews!" and wondering how many are secretly child molesters.

DPR, I was going to say " guilty as charged" but I meant batshit crazy, not a molester.  I don't even LIKE moles.

 
DPR~

Screams from that tortured metaphor carried across four of the five Great Lakes.

Apart from that, it is good to hear from you.

DPR... I am also in favor of legalization of all drugs. "The war on drugs"...... a huge oxymoron.
Your third paragraph is well written, but I would disagree w/ the thought that it isn't enough to keep a party going. They seem to be gaining more steam everyday. Time will tell though......

DPR..... What I meant is that your third paragraph crystallized many ideas & brought them together better than I have seen it stated. "Your third paragraph is well written," sounds patronizing & that was NOT my intention.

Hazel -- oh, yes, the "tens" relaxes all those old muscles and my eyes are about to close wafter watching CNN and the oil mess  continuum......my hear goes out to those whose livelihoods depend upon fishing/tourism and fresh air w/o the toxins!...
Have a good evening!

Well, all that goes to show I can't type, dontcha know ( to quote "Sarah".;)!!

Kristina -- I would welcome any stories of your F.P experiences ---seriously --
Now it really is night time for me.

PL, The 'Common Sense and Integrity Party'  now there's a political soapbox I could super-glue my feet to.

Too bad about the Garden, Willie, I think all our gardens are about overgrown with CVesses.  I saw a peacock loose, running across a four lane the other day.  Reminded me of Flannery.                                                     DPR I think we all have some racist and bigot within. I think most fight it, some harder than others.  I don't think the TP movement is racially motivated.  I think they want a government that is accessible and responsive.  Something that the founding fathers envisioned and let slip away.  The town hall, the small town hall was to be the seat of government.  Not Washington DC. I'm done.
  

 
Drug legalization sounds like a solution and it is to the issue of persons arrested for the manufacture, cultivation, possession, sale and/or use of drugs but it does nothing to address the fact that many people on drugs, and it is not hard to imagine that there would be more of them, are really  ****ed up and do horrible things to themselves and others.

Then what?

STONEY...... Really excellent points, but that would have to be dealt w/. I enjoy alcohol as my lubricant, my relaxant; if you will. Why should people who enjoy smoking marijuana have to be so undercover about it? It makes no sense at all. The war on drugs is a giant waste of money & resources and yet we continue to spend away on a failed program. People are going to do drugs, we might as well regulate it and stop the free for all crime that consumes this country over it.
 
I just find it completely hypocritical that I can buy alcohol all over the place and other drugs are illegal; it just makes no sense to me. When I served on jury duty almost all of the crime we heard testimony on involved drugs in some form or another.
 
I don't know the answer STONEY, but what we have isn't it.
 
Wonderful story about your early farm work, really enjoyed it.

PAOLOS..... While the TP may not be racially motivated there is much underlying racism w/in its ranks. there is also much legitimate anger over a gov't completely out of control. I read some of the posts on conservative/TP sites and the pictures of michelle as Bigfoot and some of the comments are really over the top. You just can't call it anything else other than racism. It's one thing to completely dislike and be against someone's public policy, it's quite another to make, over and over, personal and hateful cooments over the physicality of someone. I am both fascinated and disturbed. The race element is at the table like it or not. And no, I find the false race card to be the most digusting way to shut down an argument. but there is something to be said for civility. All in all I find this whole political process completely exciting and it's not going away.
 
By the way in the May 24th New Yorker there is a fascinating profile on Andrew Breitbart. The only flaw is the writer's obvious bias against him.

I'm a Liberal...there I admit it. I'm for all kinds of social programs. If I had my way, all the money being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan would be spent on Health, Education and renewable energy, which would create lots of new jobs. No one would go hungry or homeless. I'd just rather my taxes be spent on improving lives in this country.
 
As for The Tea Party. they scare me a little with the signs depicting Obama as Hitler and the like. There's plenty to be disgruntled about, but that's absurd. I have a right wing cousin who believes all that vitriol and that's what I find scary...that so many people do believe it and they're even encouraged by some members of congress. That to me is appalling....they're adding fuel to the fire. Another party is one thing, but it seems there is an awful lot of hate being spewed in the Tea Party.
 
rwh1...perfect.
 
All in all, this has been a pretty informed and lively discussion today. I wouldn't have thought that politics could be discussed in such a civil manner.... I didn't stomp my feet or raise my voice even once .

 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5W_3T2Ye4
 

Willie,
 
I like to think I know you better than that.
 
Bebe,
 
The steam the party is currently gaining is a flash in the pan.  How many centuries have the two major political parties lasted and held sway?  The Tea Party as we currently know it cannot possibly last more than eight years.  As soon as President Obama is out of office, these guys will have absolutely nothing to hold them together.  Unless they change radically (which does not appear to be their M.O.), their whole raion detre will vanish within the decade.

DPR.... I would be most appreciative if you could recommend a good book that lays out the philosophy, origins, and founding of the Libertarian movement. Am interested in learning more.
 
Thanks!

 
Who cares if the Tea Party is a flash in the pan? Maybe what we really need is a grassroots groundswell from time to time to rise up in opposition to what it see as government run amok.

Then, instead of becoming institutionalized and entrenched, it can, having served its purpose, fade away.

"The steam the party is currently gaining is a flash in the pan.  How many centuries have the two major political parties lasted and held sway?"


The Democratic Party didn't arrive on the scene until 1828 and it took until 1854 for the early "modern" Republican party to enter the game. ...


Bebe,

I agree about grass and thank you.

 
A proposed motto for the Tea Party:

“It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.”

 Robert H. Jackson