Our New America

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Monday June 30, 2008 · 4:47 PM PDT

2008/06/30 · 16:47

This is an edited repost of a rant I wrote as a comment in another diary, but I presumptuously fancied that it merited it's own diary posting, simply for the purposes of advancing discussion. There are more erudite and authoritative voices in the community who can address the science and the ethics behind each of these suggestions, so I am only offering a precis of my pet peeves about the toys which have characterized the American lifestyle for the past forty years which I find to be completely indefensible today.

And please note that I recognize my own hypocrisy. My generation is responsible for the bulk of the mess we currently must remediate, as my twenty-four year old son is so keen to point out often and repeatedly.

Poll

46 votes Show Results

What Would You Miss Most About Today's Lifestyle?

46 votes Vote Now!

What Would You Miss Most About Today's Lifestyle?

Running water on demand and unrationed.

30 votes

Fast food.

1 vote

Drive-In businesses.

0 votes

Weekend jet travel.

1 vote

Discretionary personal travel.

1 vote

Fresh fruit and vegetable out of season.

4 votes

Daily portions of meat and dairy products.

3 votes

Green lawns and freshly mown grass.

1 vote

ATVs, jet skis, snowmobiles,recreational vehicles.

0 votes

Cross country single family road trips.

3 votes

Lawn care and gardening products.

2 votes

One More Funerary Wreath Of Roses

terry2wa

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Friday June 27, 2008 · 4:22 PM PDT

2008/06/27 · 16:22

The boards here today seem to belie an undercurrent of sadness and disillusionment. Olbermann feels hurt. Obama supporters feel betrayed or compromised. Long-time bloggers feel unloved. It's just a sorry place to be on a Friday of the first full week of Summer.

But, in a larger sense, we are grieving about the very real possibility that our way of life is changing completely and forever, and even though our society and our world have reached the point of critical mass where such change is not only inevitable but preferable, this does not help to mitigate the fear which accompanies any journey into terra incognita. After all, most living Americans cannot remember a time when travel was anything but discretionary and distance was no obstacle. Nor can we envision a world where most families rent their homes or spend most of their household income merely feeding themselves.

As our security ebbs away, so too do the icons of the old world, human symbols of comfort and order and a stable world outside ourselves: Carlin, Russert, and a parade of faces both solid and familiar and seemingly eternal.

And so we grieve.

terry2wa

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Wednesday June 04, 2008 · 5:01 AM PDT

2008/06/04 · 05:01

This morning I am asking you to indulge me in a point of personal privilege. The events of yesterday were, at least so far as I am concerned, every bit as momentous and as significant as the fall of the Berlin Wall or VE Day. What occurred was the culmination of an historical wave and the consummation of multi-generational imperative which changed everything forever for the better. It was the occasion for jubilation, thanksgiving and sincere, heartfelt reflection with grateful, uplifted hearts for the privilege of bearing witness to such a moment.

And it was dampened, almost cheapened, by the recalcitrance of a few attention-junkies hell-bent on maintaining their precarious stake on temporal power.

So this morning I am angry, and I doubt that I'm alone.

terry2wa

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Tuesday June 03, 2008 · 5:47 AM PDT

2008/06/03 · 05:47

In the twilight hours of a West Coast dawn, anticipating the penultimate moments of a long and sometimes insufferable primary season, I find my thoughts turning now toward Denver and the consummation of our compact between the new wave of Democrats and the old party of The New Deal. It inspires almost giddy thoughts in this old man, yet there is one piece of unfinished business which I earnestly hope will not be overlooked during that fateful week in August.

This convention must take note, as the torch is passed to a new generation, of its old lions now in Winter, while they still battle beside us. It is just and right so to do.

terry2wa

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Thursday May 22, 2008 · 12:01 PM PDT

2008/05/22 · 12:01

The history of the Clinton campaign suggests that there will be no "Gentleman's Agreement", as the armistice negotiated between Generals Grant and Lee is styled by historians. So, in lieu of any sign of a graceful capitulation by the Clinton, Obama needs to take decisive and proactive steps now to begin his stewardship of the Party, making peace with Clinton supporters on his terms.

It is essential for our success in the Fall.

terry2wa

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Wednesday May 14, 2008 · 2:54 PM PDT

2008/05/14 · 14:54

This diary expands upon a comment I wrote last night in response to the Clinton win in West Virginia. I am a son of Appalachia, born and bred to a line of subsistence farmers and coal miners which goes back in the hills of Tennessee to, at least, the beginning of the 18th century.

And I spent the first nineteen years of my life trying to get away, and the next forty years trying to forget. While the Clinton people were humming victory to the tune of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads, I was reliving my frustration as I find myself singing the chorus from the John Denver cover of that classic John Prine tune, Paradise:

And daddy wont you take me back to muhlenberg county
Down by the green river where paradise lay
Well, Im sorry, my son, but youre too late in asking
Mister peabody's coal train has hauled it away

terry2wa

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Tuesday April 29, 2008 · 4:42 AM PDT

2008/04/29 · 04:42

I have sworn to indulge myself in a MSM-free day. It's a luxury, I know, and I'm feeling just a wee bit guilty. But I owe it to myself, damn it. I've earned it. And what's the harm in giving into temptation occasionally.

You can call me selfish. There are some desperate and pressing issues which reasonable adult people simply must address without delay. After all, our young people are being corrupted at this very moment because Miley Cyrus bared her back for Annie Liebowitz. And how could a responsible citizen and a good Christian possibly rest when our whole social fabric is being undermined by a retired preacher from Chicago's South Side, who has taken a hiatus from his subversive agitation of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked in order to ridicule our ideal system of social justice in America. And surely only a simpleton could avert his gaze from our desperate need to declare a moratorium on that absolutely onerous twenty-cent Federal gasoline tax which is the only obstacle standing between our happy populus and their imminent prosperity.

Indeed, now that you mention it, I'm just an absolute scoundrel!

terry2wa

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Monday April 28, 2008 · 3:15 PM PDT

2008/04/28 · 15:15

Like so many of my recent diaries, this one was born as a comment I posted in another person's diary. In the process of gathering my thoughts, I discovered a point or two which, for better or worse, I felt merited further discussion.

I'm starting to despise Mondays. It seems that almost every Monday for the past month, I have awakened to find that the center of political debate has experienced yet another Art Bell-style polar shift. And today was no exception.

I thought that Rev. Wright's masterful interview with Bill Moyers would help to diffuse the controversy which has so preoccupied us for the past two months. But, my hope simply proved the truth behind the old saw, "There's no fool like an old fool." The fact that Jeremiah Wright is a decent, honorable and GOOD man makes no difference to those forces at work in our society which are fundamentally elitist, racist and authoritarian.

terry2wa

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Saturday April 26, 2008 · 2:56 PM PDT

2008/04/26 · 14:56

The Clinton people are now proposing an unmoderated Lincoln-Douglas style debate in advance of the May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana. Senator Clinton lobbied for the debate herself at a speech in South Bend today, the AP reported:

Just the two of us, going for 90 minutes, asking and answering questions, we'll set whatever rules seem fair

From first glance, this seems like an excellent opportunity to advance the level of political discourse in the nomination campaign, but a careful analysis of the proposal leads me to believe that it's a diabolical and insidious trap, a "win-win" for Senator Clinton and a potential minefield for Senator Obama.

This is an offer he can AND SHOULD refuse!

Poll

372 votes Show Results

Should Obama Debate Clinton One More Time?

372 votes Vote Now!

Should Obama Debate Clinton One More Time?

Yes

26 votes

73 votes

Hell No!

273 votes

This Fight Is For The Soul Of The Party

terry2wa

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Thursday April 24, 2008 · 2:37 PM PDT

2008/04/24 · 14:37

The politick thing for smarmy pundits and wannabe peacemakers alike to spout off sanctimoniously these days is, "Well, Democrats have the poverty of riches -- two superlative candidates!" Most often, this is offered up as an apologia for the protracted bloodletting or the vicious, personal attacks emanating from the spin machine of a particular camp. Not only is this an insidious, if not downright cheeky, argument which is most often proffered gratuitously by those with a material interest in maintaining the status quo, but it is simply wrong-headed.

The current conflict in our Party is not about policy and it is not about personality. It is more profound than that.

terry2wa

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Wednesday April 23, 2008 · 11:56 AM PDT

2008/04/23 · 11:56

Last night in my household was difficult. The Pennsylvania results sent me into a state of virtual despondency, and a pall descended over an otherwise frenetic and vibrant family normally quickened by the optimism of the two young college-aged adults in residence. We were indeed a sad lot, until a most extraordinary thing occurred.

As I sat licking my wounds and despairing for the future of our Republic, my son and I suddenly found ourselves completely transfixed by a late-night PBS airing of David Haig's excellent anti-war drama, My Boy Jack.

Quite by happenstance, and perhaps even by grace, two generations experienced simultaneously a reminder of exactly why we are joined together in this battle and why we will see it through to the finish.

terry2wa

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Monday April 14, 2008 · 5:32 PM PDT

2008/04/14 · 17:32

I am not prone to flights of paranoia. As a matter of fact, much of my life I have viewed conspiratorial theorists with skepticism and amusement. However, the events of the past seventy-two hours have convinced me that there is more to the whole "Bittergate" episode than meet the eye, and I find myself wondering exactly why we aren't asking ourselves the obvious question!

Poll

104 votes Show Results

What Is Your Assessment Of "Bittergate"?

104 votes Vote Now!

What Is Your Assessment Of "Bittergate"?

Typical Media Frenzy

22 votes

Innocent Candidate Misstatement Skillfully Exploited

29 votes

Diabolical Dirty Trick By Ruthless Operators

53 votes

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Our New America

One More Funerary Wreath Of Roses

The Corpse At Every Funeral

It's A Colorado Rocky Mountain High!

The Day After Appomattox

Mr. Peabody's Coal Train Has Hauled It Away.

We Have Some Real Problems, Folks...

Would They Love Him Down In Shreveport Today?

Don't Take The Bait, Barack!

This Fight Is For The Soul Of The Party

A "Reality Check"

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much