Yes, we all know the long list of candidates that did not make it. Was Obama my preferred candidate? NO... for that matter was Clinton? No. Both of them are centrists... as much as the other side tries to paint Obama as a fascist, nazi, communist, marxist 'xtremist... who wants to kill grand ma, and eat your kittens... (the caricature is not that far off by the way, that is what the other side THINKS)

So we have certain folks here on DU, and in other places, that cannot be pleased by what Obama (or the rest of the party does) What is funny is that some of these folks don't like it becuase he is not Centrist enough... and a few because he is not liberal enough... (For the record I am quite to the left of most people here... so no I am not happy, but I'm realistic)

Now what I am seeing is that some folks are STILL stuck in the primaries. I promise you, the way US Politics work in the modern period, the chances of a primary challenge to Obama in 2012 are low... let alone by a certain Secretary of State...

So here is the point... what we are getting out of the Senate and the House is not that liberal... but neither was Medicare in 1965, or S-Chip back in the 1990s. This is a point of departure, not the end.

Oh and yes, I wish I was a graduate student in about ten years... the goings on behind the scenes in the Senate will make for a fascinating research project... and yes, I think we may have under estimated Harry Reid... or this was just coincidence. But this is the beginning of the fight, not the end.

But the point is... the primaries are over.

ed for clarity

Yep, from the teabagger event today...

Now I will say something rather controversial but the data supports.

Liberals don't read, and neither do conservatives... for pleasure that is. We have a pretty illiterate population, and leaders on BOTH sides take advantage of it.

Oh and when both sides do read, they read two very different realities. This does not have at all to do with the truth... forget the truth. This is a perceived reality. They are 180 from each other, and having been to more than one anti war rally, where I heard some things that had me going... WHHAAAA... and today hearing plenty of things that had me going WHAAAAAA... I can say that both sides have that problem.

Oh and it is so dramatic, that it is almost dealing with mirror images of reality. Why you cannot have a talk with a true radical on the other side. As one put it today, liberals have their ears plugged and don't want to hear.... well we have experienced the same.

So if we are to break this pattern, actually things like today, where we can mingle and not scream at each other... perhaps will start to break down the cartoon image we have of each other. If not, I was truly convinced that something ugly will happen.

Oh and yes. today the speakers were talking to the converted. and true believers. Funny thing so do ours at our rallies...

And of course speakers in the speaker circuit have also reported this. And this is a very dangerous pattern...

That is all, and this is your food for thought.

Now for the next event I NEED A HAT, and a bag to carry the Evian in... yes it has to be EVIAN... no other water would do...



And of course, that was the wrong tea party. Would you believe it? NO Earl Gray, with cream of course, and crumpets or at least scones and jelly...

well, my hubby and I went to the tea bagger event with the Billionaires from Wealth Care. We got separated early on, after a few confrontations with a few assholes... the woman kept shoving me, and decided to quit once I told her I'd file charges for assault. So we moved into the crowd and made our way to the front.

Well, we had a few interesting non violent confrontations. One guy told a woman to quit it since we had the right to be there just as she did, First Amendment. One guy said, you may have the first but I have the second. I told him, gee I also have the Second and are you making threats? He walked away.

Hubby had one tell him he served in Nam, and hubby went through his military career, and even told him lets compare IDs. So the guy said, most be medical retirement. So hubby pointed out he was diminishing somebody else's service...

We had a gal from France come and tell us she came form a SOCIALIST country... and got really aggressive once Tom told her that Patriots STAY and FIGHT, and don't run... for what they believe. Oh that didn't go very well with her. I mean being called a cut n'runner French... the stereotype worked.

My two favorites were though the old lady that started to sway. I asked her if she was OK. It was HOT, and she looked not good. She said she was. So I stood, with her permission, behind her to catch her if need be. Near the end she turns... didn't know libs cared for my health.

We have Ma'am, since oh 1935. Now that is a seed.

Now one guy got into a discussion over wealth with us... and hubby told him that he didn't know where the investments were, since the broker does that... it was funny. A group started going, well More profits for Microsoft and Apple... Oh sure, we are all for that, better for my portfolio! You could see wheels freezing.

Oh and the lady that took 45 minutes to figure out we were NOT on their side. Though you should know George Soros and Acorn paid for my signs.

Now most of the group was told to leave... as I said we were separated, after a few violent confrontations (there is video of that)... but I can say we have a friendly spy here. Yep, in the middle they said, we have a GROUP FROM DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND here... so we cheered. So whoever you are, thank you... my portfolio loves you.


Oh and here is the truth, I was trained at one point to count crowds... so they were probably able to draw about 1200 people, I am high balling it a little ... promise you this, they will say much more... and more than just a few were not Tea Baggers.

Oh and to end here, there was also the line that we DU'ers were like the Brown shirts, at which point we both went yeah, Jews for Hitler... that got a chuckle from a few as they realized the contradiction.

Oh and pointing does help... while laughing.

Just remember to be respectful and not interrupt speakers ok.

Oh and I hate to do this...

Four African American in that crowd and perhaps three hispanics. Two of the African Americns were on the stage by the way. It was mostly white and older... oh five kids.

Oh and they kept insisting they were not racists...

Damn should have taken more notes.

I pointed out that we lack the organzation that labor once had. We lack the drive that the American people once had. We also lack the sense of WE and class consciousness. Regardless of what you think of Marx or the implementation of his theories in the USSR (which were a disaster) he got the analysis right...

So today I went to Borders. Originally my mission was to find a tasty scone recipe in any of the cooking magazines on the shelf. I do not bake or cook enough to justify a subscription... but that is another rant. So I decided... ok lets go see what they have on the history of labor...

In the history section I found Zihn's work... the more general books though. Under sociology I find Stud Terkel's essays on work and some of Eirenbach's books, such as nickel and dimed. So I walked over to current affairs, poli sci and ok there is Hartmann. Overall though there wasn't much.

So between the allergy that the American people have to labor and the history of labor... and the lack of material in a borders... no wonder people read this call for ORGANIZATION with all kinds of excuses.

Hey I did get Jacoby's book on anti-intellectualism. I wanted it when it came out, but decided to wait for the soft cover... which has been updated to cover the after election environment. So I guess... I should do some research and some writing and put a comprehensive history of labor... and then find a University Press to print that... assuming outside the Journals anybody is interested. After all all this silliness about class consciousness or how much we are WORKERS not middle class flies in the face of American Myth, and lord knows we need to preserve the myth as long as the empire lives.

we have had yet again another call for a national strike... don't worry, unless you listened to Malloy who mentioned it on the way out of his show... you have good reasons to have missed it.

So here is the deal.

I am peachy keen that people are calling for them. This is the third after all... but there is a problem...

Oh and at this point I am going to reach for this little thing called organizational theory and history.

The last one was in 1952 and that one was organized in such a way that the UNIONS got involved, not only in the actual day, but in things such as organizing the pesky thing and the logistics.

Just calling for a strike... and I have said we need one... (that works) is not enough. People who are your targets of a strike, aka the strikers... NEED TO KNOW that you have one in the works. In other words, you need a MOVEMENT... with a clear organization, and as much as people hate it, a clear command chain (and that includes the IRS looking over everything you do, as well as the FBI and all that ok. After all organizing in this way can be hazardous to your health... or at least the leader's health... don't care how many times you cite the First Amendment... history is on my side on this one. )

So I am peachy keen that this is the third one to be called... means at least some people in the "fringe" have realized something has to be done... but there is much more to a movement than just a call to action...

For those of you curious about it... here you go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...

Just I figured it was time to point out that until there is a MOVEMENT that is more organized than a bunch of cats in a sack on to the river... well they will not work.

So here are the components that need to be worked on.

1.- Organization... an organizing committee is not out of the question.

2.- Reach to Unions... yes they are far from the union movement of 1952 and you can bet your sweet potatoes that they will be called commies et al... but that is a statement all on its own.

3.- Media... trust me, if oh 50% of the nation's workers staged a blue flu that lasted for more than one day... it would be a story. Oh and after a certain point firing people becomes not practical.

4.- It is not just about staying home... that is easy to ignore. People need to get out and protest during those strikes... make sure that people know why you are out there.

Now I am happy that this is the THIRD call for one... I know why it will fail...not being negative just realistic... so perhaps now people will realize it takes a little more than just going on the web and posting a call to action for that to happen.

That is all.

Oh and I am ready for the flame throwers...

PS: If we are going to actually go there, and as a nation we might have to... time to study both MLK and Gandhi... and ahem, see how exactly you use this, and to create and EFFECTIVE movement... against things such as NAFTA... oh and it takes more than posting on the web. At times I wonder if the American people have forgotten how to organize (yes) and if the web serves as a convenient binky (yes).

Ok folks, I have been doing a lot of readying into the culture... and there are several things that began to strike me, as a pattern.

Gun control has been hijacked... no, not by the liberals, the NRA... wait for it... 99% of gun owners will agree to the kind of controls most people who are reasonable about this want. Things like ... if you served time in jail, aka a felon, or you have mental issues, you don't get to own a gun.

That said the NRA has run a very successful campaign to scare gun owners that them liberals are coming to take their guns away.

And partly the fears may not be unfounded... since gun control has also been hijacked by some politicos who use fear as well.

Here is the truth... many gun laws are about the other and keeping them from those we fear. For some city dwellers, who have never used a gun in their lives... well the other are them country hicks... or for the most part blacks and other minorities. Yes, you read right, the current spate goes back to the riots. Never mind there were mostly no guns used at the time, and the high profile murders of the 1960s... which led to gun laws, not rifles laws... funny thing.

There is more, the reality is that you cannot ban guns in a country where we have over 260 million guns, last time anybody tried to run a check. That is more than two guns per person in the country.

Now some folks have bought this idea that they are coming to take their guns away since this is is an idea also rooted in the other...

SO if we are going to have a conversation about this... forget the second amendment... and let's get back to basics, and see what we can all agree with. (And I expect plenty of second amendment, and rights and all that... which was NOT part of the conversation at one time, it was more like... ok we can all agree that felons should not have them, that's a bad idea, or the mentally insane)

And the truth is some people should not be able to LEGALLY obtain a gun... we, at least the reasonable ones, will realize yes it is the same folks... felons, mentally sick... I also realize that those well motivated to get a gun will get a Saturday Night Special... not delusional about this.

Now I would like to see certain guns not in the hands of civilians, realize those would be long arms designed to kill people, but that ain't gonna happen...

It is also a reality that a small group of gun owners are concerned quite a bit with the mechanics of ballistics and all of that. For the record, my interest in ballistics came from seeing what the rounds from certain weapons can do to the human body, for real... and of course for silly shit like what is good cover when those bullets are traveling out of the muzzle... yes they have right of way.

Now there is more... one of the great misunderstandings is as to who has guns in this country. Yep, some are country hicks, with few formal education... but that is SOME... most folks who own guns are well educated... and even have college degrees, and are responsible owners. Oh and them country hicks have the best gun safety training ever, and their guns in some cases go back to the Civil War and they still use them for hunting... ah to use a Martini Henry ... now that would be fun.

So lets get down to basics... ok...

Oh and gun control has been part of US history... it is not new, but the term has been hijacked. It truly is about certain groups being able to buy a gun or not, and certain places we all agree you should not be able to carry a gun... like the court house. or the US House.

Oh and those thinking we will get rid of guns in our culture... no way in hell. What I'd like to get rid off is the violent culture where guns are but one of many symptoms... now that is a project I can get behind.

Oh and for you hunters, good luck, make sure you eat what you kill.

Oh and stay safe, you know the drill.

and yes, it takes work... and I admit MONEY and some know how.

Well we have seen leading research that suggests one of the multi-facets to obesity is what our lovely food industry puts in our food, as well as our chemical industry puts in our containers. Yes, there is the PRC crowd, so for the moment lets assume that those doing research into hormones have a clue and have found one of the many causes that may lead to silly shit like increased insulin resistance and low thyroid function.

So there are several things I have started doing.

1.- I am now baking my own bread. Still learning... it is an art. Why? You find breads without the usual crap like HFCS... yes, they do exist, but still they are few and far between and less every year. So found some solid recipes and taking the time to do that. Mind you, I think that baking them is not that time consuming... but getting it right in a small oven is a little more challenging than I expected. Still, we now enjoy fresh baked breads.

2.- We, well I cook every day, and I use fresh ingredients, and organic when possible. I know a lot of people do not have time for this.

3.- I also have moved on to going out a lot less than we used to... and we are selective of where we go out, for the most part.

Now I realize that what I am doing is very difficult for many people, There are many reasons and I will list them.

a.- For the working poor, having to work two and even three jobs a day doing this is like asking for the moon. Why we should have HEALTHIER choices available for people who cannot do this, AT PRICES THEY CAN AFFORD.

b.- Americans are far removed from a culture where people know what to do with food. I am serious, now we know that many of the working poor and lower middle class have no clue what to do with basic things like oh carrots and potatoes, as in the raw kind ok. So we may need to have outreach programs to teach the coming generations what mothers used to teach daughters, how to cook.

c.- Mostly I am able to do this since I have the time and the resources... I want this available to all. If indeed BPA is part of the crisis and we know food is engineered to be addictive... then the only way some of this crap will change is by as many of us NOT buying. But to do this people need information and available resources.

Now to the PRC I wish you would just shut up and LISTEN to some of the working poor around these parts that will tell you the following, There is no Whole Foods in the inner city, or for that matter a grocery store. You want to get a fresh anything, you need to take public transportation away from the inner city. Also the working poor do not have the time to do this, or the knowledge, and it is NOT their fault. It is the first time in human history that the thin pretty people are wealthy and the working poor, shall we say surviving poor are obese. That alone should offer a clue but it seems every one of these posts is received with derision by the PRC.

Anyway I am doing what I can to protect my husband, myself and yes, the birds from much of the crap I know is in our food supply... and why I am taking the time to do some things that I know take time. I am not going to judge others for not doing this, but if I am asked how... yes I am willing to tell somebody how to clean a carrot, yes some folks don't know what to do with carrots, or prepare a potato for the stew... or use cheaper cuts of meat for food to be prepared at home. Every little step you can take you do your body a favor...

Oh and the corporations and sadly our government are not on our side... so stop thinking that.

you see folks the US has a caste system. The poor are not supposed to get out of poverty. Though in THEORY the idea of an OPT OUT of the Public Option is a good idea, it will not be and will further balkanize the country between the haves and the have nots... aka the blue and the red states.

Now you say, but, but they will surely vote their republican politicians out... that is your urban, mostly blue state, liberal talking. I mean that is common sense RIGHT? WRONG.

All it takes is for the local member of the chamber of commerce holding court at the local watering hall, where all them poor whites gather for a drink after work. She or he is a member of the republican party, and a local foot soldier. There is more, SHE\HE HAS MONEY. Wealth is all the authority these folks need to accept whatever this person says as gospel.

Or it could be the local doctor... talking of the horrors of the Public Option and how HE cannot afford to take more patients and government intervention.

You think I am kidding?

You 'splain to me how the hell unions are bad and right to work is good... all logic sayz that unions should be good and they should be fighting for that... right? WRONG. Them unions are a bunch of commies and we have what we have oh prayze you JEESUS...

So yes I do think those making this case from them Red States, have a clue of what they speak. You think the local board or country board wants them folks on that wrong side of tracks to have ... public health care? You NUTS????? Oh and by the way, this caste system is not just critical for them EEEVIIIILLL Republicans... it includes plenty of our own Bourbon Democrats.

So no, this is not a good idea, and I intend to try to 'splain this to my urban liberal representative... we need a good PO... with no triggers, and no opt in or opt out... we want real change in this country, well we need to start chipping in at the caste system that makes sure certain good working, god fearing folk are kept down and out...

what are we gonna do about healthcare?

I suspect not much.

Me, will place my obligatory calls to congress... not that it does a whit of difference.

Will talk about it, not that it makes a whit of difference.

You know why? We need to do something far more radical than calling congress. they don't work for us, and we need more than just talk.

Oh go march... nope.

That will not be enough either...

I have advocated before and I will again, what we need in this country, and that is just the beginning, are national strikes... and I mean the NATIONAL part.

We need far more than just that...

And we need to decide. Are we willing to die for what we need? If not, go back to the slumber.

That is all...

we were just given our marching orders from that health care insider.

Yep, they think they can do whatever they want, because THEY CAN. And there is nothing we can do about it...

There is, and no, it is not overseeing them... trying to find what they do wrong, and all those freedom of information... and lawsuits. That was what Nader did at one time... no boys and girls. That you heard was a call for revolution against the corporate state.

I am not at a loss as to know what is the first thing we need to do... recognize it is us the WORKING CLASS against them, the PLUTONOMY. That is the first step. DLC be damned by the way, blue dogs, bourbon democrats, they are the same thing, they are THEM.

After that... it is much harder... but national strikes come to mind.

But that boys and girls were your marching orders.

I am sure that as usual, after the outrage dies, nothing will happen... I have no idea what they put in the water. But if you care to listen... those were your marching orders.

You all eat bread right? Find out where that bread company in Capitalism sells their bread. Here is the website...

http://www.alvaradostreetbakery.com /

FYI try to buy on Mondays...

Here is more you can do...

TRY HARD to buy American and ONLY buy what you need... I mean that... BUY WHAT YOU NEED... not what you want. Reduce your consumption, save. Yes I know our economy is based on consumerism... but you want change, well if it is only me... forget it... but if millions of us do that.

Get involved in your local and state politics, as well as federal. Become so familiar to staffers that you are on a first name basis.

We need to remove the money from the electoral system.

Oh and if need be, vote the bastards out... no matter what theoretical party they belong to. With a few exceptions... they are not part of us.

To use an old fashioned term... we need solidarity among us workers.

Oh and understand, we also need to engage the bottom feeder knuckle draggers who vote them republicans in because them are good christian folks and believe in them pull by your bootstrap...

In other words, learn the code, translate the code and fight the code.

Realize we are workers... and there is a class war. Well damn it, are you gonna join the front lines? If we don't, well the other side is winning... partly by the sweet use of propaganda. But as distasteful as this is, we need to engage those who believe one day they too will be rich and have all them luxuries them rich boys have... time to beat this (with words) out of them folk, and realize that we are at war.

Oh and to those of you who believe you to will be part of them elites... hate to break it to yah. but unless you were born with them silver spoons... no siree, you are destined to remain poor and if we can keep you uneducated even better.

But there are things you can start doing right now... find local businesses, and SUPPORT them...

Oh and do call your delegation... become a gnat on the side and demand things.

And be prepared to do much more than that...

If you are not ready to DIE for these things nothing will change. So here is my question, are you ready to die? Your forefathers among the working folk were... are you?

If not, why bother having this discussion?

Well since some insist on using this wonderful talking point. they do exist. Oh and they don't drive a Cadillac either... that is too low brow for them. I mean why drive a Cadillac when a Mercedes, a Lexus or a Bentley will do? Hell the real ones may even go for the Maserati.

In case you wonder, no, they don't live on the wrong side of the tracks, but they are taking quite a bit of the gov'ment tit. They are the leaders of companies like Citibank, and they want to remain as the leaders of the Plotonomy, and they come up with crap like welfare queens.

So we need to ask... are the real welfare queens projecting?

Just a thought.

That said, time for people to call anybody who uses this misnomer to talk of the poor, for their RIGHT WING talking points. Don't let them get away with it. Make them smell the crap they are spreading...

1.- We do not live in a Capitalist country... perhaps after you all watch Capitalism: A Love Story you will finally get it. We live in a corporatist state... a fascist state.

2.- Most of you are not MIDDLE CLASS, but working class. Period.

Once you get these two things through the haze of propaganda, then you will realize the other sacred cow that needs to die...

3.- WE ARE NOT a first world country. I repeat, WE ARE NOT a first world country. First world countries have health care, education, housing and other things that are a right. We don't. We have far more in common with the Mexico I grew up in than we do with oh Canada.

Oh and there is a final one. You want to live in a country where you will not starve, be thrown to the street, or struggle to pay the bills... well guess what? It is high time that you realize working people around the world have had to fight for it. It is time to stop identifying with the man and identify with your fellow workers. Yes Viriginia, there is a class war, and damn it we are losing.

Now go watch the movie, and start breaking away from the haze... get angry and get ready for a fight.

Oh and one last canard that needs to die... the politicians are not there to protect you or me... with a few... as in the fingers of one hand, exceptions.

so I have been feeling quite under the weather over the last few days. Got a bad cold two weeks ago and the coughing really hasn't stopped.

So this morning, after two days of bad back pain and hacking I called the doctor. I talked to a triage nurse, nice lady and the doctor saw me today during her lunch hour.

We spend a good half an hour together going over history, got an order to dismiss pneumonia (what was on my mind) and said our good byes.

I paid my deductible, got the X-ray, went to pick some meds and came home.

So why is this a remarkable story? This happened in the US... I carry government insurance. In other FIRST WORLD countries this is a non story. But in the US this is remarkable. There are people who get a bad cold, that at times does not go away, and pneumonia does develop. These are the folks who end up at your local urgent care center when lucky, or your local ER going to the ICU... because they could not afford to take up the phone and call their doctor. Hell, they don't have a doctor.

This is one more reason why I say we aren't a first world country. When 48 million don't have the insurance, and a few more cannot afford this simple, at the doctor's, checkup at the lowest level of intervention... because they are under insured, there is a problem. Oh and realize... today's cost, not my deductible, the cost, was probably around 500 bucks at the upscale, due to the X-Ray... ICU... we are talking 3,000 day, on a minimum. An ER visit, 3,000 would not be over the top.

So I got lucky. I got insurance, guv'ment insurance, through my hubby. So I could do what I knew needs to be done.

Oh and it is not pneumonia... just my asthma kicking my ass. Either way, no access to care, would have meant a visit to the ER... and a few thousand dollars that I know we could not afford.

So this is the story... and it is remarkable, that this is even a story.

Think about it, why we need REAL health care reform. I want the rest of you to be able to pick up the phone, and call the triage nurse. I want this story to be very unremarkable... and in fact, common... Enough of the shit sandwich we are told to eat every day, and twice on Sunday.

there is one thing those people in that club don't realize. People where I live are angry. They do not understand why with these majorities they cannot do what the people want.

So expect 2010 to be very interesting. After all the GOP has a base that is somewhat dishearteened, and the base for the dems may just stay home. Why bother voting? Yes I can hear it.

Me, I said it before, to them. They don't get a PO out... I will NOT vote for a democrat, or a republican ever again. It is that simple. I am done playing the game. Yes, so I will "waste" my vote on a third party... well the Granger movement is part of US history and the anger is deep, and as they say, history does repeat itself as the parties have refused to learn history.

No, it is not dead yet... but the moment it does... well come 2010 I will not be voting for the two faced party of the US... I will not willingly participate in this very American form of fascism.

Now if they get a PO out... that means I keep voting for dems... just the progressive kind.