There Is No "Center" Between Right and Wrong

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Saturday September 04, 2010 · 9:56 AM PDT

2010/09/04 · 09:56

There is a constant attempt, usually in the establishment media, to frame our politics along a left-right-center spectrum. This is convenient code in some respects. Like shorthand, it prevents us from having to spell out every single position on every single issue every time we discuss someone's politics. But unfortunately, that shorthand is inaccurate.

One of the consequences of this spectrum frame, however, is that it creates the impression that both sides have merit and by finding a happy medium, the magical center, one make stake out the most sensible position. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We progressives have been cowed by a constant barrage of messaging that tries to tell us that our views are extreme and outside the norm of mainstream America. Like our counter-part of the radical right, they say, we should not be taken seriously because, again, the center is where sensibility resides.

workingmansblues

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Friday September 03, 2010 · 12:50 PM PDT

2010/09/03 · 12:50

I can only assume that Obama's loyal defenders just don't share my values.

It mattered to me when Obama campaigned against drill baby drill, and then turned 180 degrees and launched his own drill baby drill policies.

And it really mattered to me when the Obama White House then went about facilitating the coverup of how severe the oil spill was by repeatedly allowing those under his command to lie, suppress information, deny journalists access to their own country's beaches and wetlands.

It also mattered to me when Obama discarded his "public option" health care plan and then lied about whether it was even a part of his campaign.

It mattered to me when Obama campaigned on bringing people together and then proceeded, through the thugs in his administration, to vilify and divide the very people who got him elected.

And it really mattered to me when time after time he, from war crimes, to war profiteering, to US attorney gate, to illegal spying on American citizens, the president and his attorney general have refused to simply enforce the laws of the United States of America.

workingmansblues

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Wednesday September 01, 2010 · 10:43 AM PDT

2010/09/01 · 10:43

At some point one has to step back and look at the big picture. And when you see the Obama presidency in its current totality, one can only conclude that it is a disaster.

Barack Obama has now called George Bush a "patriot", a man who has never cared about anything but enriching his oil buddies and corporate cronies, a war criminal who lied to drag our country into a war that has murdered over 1 million Iraqis, and killed and maimed thousands of American soldiers, who facilitated the looting of Americans' hard earned wealth by criminally funneling untold millions to his friend's and contributor's pockets with no-bid contracts, who sanctioned torture, illegally violated the 4th Amendment of the constitution and criminal law by authorizing the tapping of American's phone including those of journalists, who drummed up false terror scares that horrified millions of Americans for the sole purpose of political manipulation.

George Bush is not a patriot. He is a traitor.

workingmansblues

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Tuesday August 31, 2010 · 8:41 PM PDT

2010/08/31 · 20:41

When I was a kid growing up in the late 60s and on through the 70s, I always saw Democrats as the good guys. Every time I saw someone doing the right thing, fighting for justice, fairness, or just trying to make life decent for everyone, it was pretty much always a Democrat.

On the other hand, when I saw someone fighting against justice, trying to hord things for themselves instead of making sure we all got a piece of the pie, it was almost always a Republican.

Democrats were for helping the poor and working classes have a decent life by using our democratically elected government to correct the inherent flaws in capitalism that always tended to accumulate wealth in the hands of the few and spread it around a bit so that everyone could have a decent life for their families. Republicans opposed that.

workingmansblues

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Sunday August 29, 2010 · 3:46 PM PDT

2010/08/29 · 15:46

If you survey right wing media outlets as I have done since the Gulf oil disaster began, you will notice a striking difference to similar outlets on the left. Mostly the coverage is blame and defend: "the environmentalist did it" or "Obama is incompetent, see? Government doesn't work".

What you won't find is any significant degree of outrage from the damage. Few are the photos of dead or dying animals, or any expressions of hurt or loss for the natural ecosystems affected. There are exceptions. But quite rare they are.

On the other hand, it is lefties expressing the most outrage. There were even candlelight vigils to mourn the disaster. Indeed, there is a great sense of loss among the left, as though something huge and important has died. This is a healthy response from a healthy, well adjusted population.

workingmansblues

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Thursday July 22, 2010 · 11:29 PM PDT

2010/07/22 · 23:29

I see a lot of people expressing feelings of disillusionment and hopelessness over the Democratic failure to pass a climate bill, or pass a meaningful banking bill, or even to just show a little backbone to the right wing noise machine for a change. One diarist, in an absolute moment of despair, exclaimed, "we have all failed."

The truth is you didn't fail. You never had a chance in the first place. Your party had been sold out long ago. Here's a little history you may not be aware of.

It was after the 1980 election, when top Democrats like Sam Nunn and Tony Coelho went to the big corporations and said, 'OK, we'll play ball'. The reason for this surrender was they saw the future - the complete destruction of the Democratic party. All through the 1970s, big business had been building a political machine to do one thing - defeat liberalism. And the culmination of their efforts came in the form of big victories for Republicans in the 1978 midterm followed by the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan.

workingmansblues

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Saturday October 21, 2006 · 2:59 PM PDT

2006/10/21 · 14:59

This is criminal. The "support the troops" Republicans show their support by letting the families of Iraq war soldiers literally go hungry.

The women and children who formed a line at Camp Pendleton last week could have been waiting for a child-care center to open or Disney on Ice tickets to go on sale.
Instead, they were waiting for day-old bread and frozen dinners packaged in slightly damaged boxes. These families are among a growing number of military households in San Diego County that regularly rely on donated food.
As the Iraq war marches toward its fourth anniversary, food lines operated by churches and other nonprofit groups are an increasingly valuable presence on military bases countywide. Leaders of the charitable groups say they're scrambling to fill a need not seen since World War II.
Too often, the supplies run out before the lines do, said Regina Hunter, who coordinates food distribution at one Camp Pendleton site.

workingmansblues

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Wednesday August 30, 2006 · 10:41 PM PDT

2006/08/30 · 22:41

One of the most pervasive beliefs among conservatives is that government is inherently flawed. Ronald Reagan, in his nomination speech before the 1980 Republican convention, stood before the nation and declared "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."Right wing talk show hosts rampage daily against the evil government and, even amongst many Democrats, government is seen as a necessary evil or a last resort.

This may be the greatest trick ever played upon the American people - to convince them that Their government, by the people, of the people, and for the people, is a bad thing. Mankind waited thousands of years for a constitution of self-governance, and these right wing millionaires have turned the people against it. You almost have to admire it. Read More

Making Us Safer - Katrina Style

workingmansblues

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Monday August 14, 2006 · 1:26 PM PDT

2006/08/14 · 13:26

How long can this charade go on? Republicans last week jumped for joy at the news of the terror plot in the UK.

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" under the circumstances.

Why? Because they think they are the party of national security. And the MSM seems plays right along - despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Let's look at the facts: Read More

I Will Not Live In Fear

workingmansblues

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Thursday August 10, 2006 · 4:20 PM PDT

2006/08/10 · 16:20

It was a Democrat who said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." The current administration has a different slogan: "Run for your lives."

Those suspicious of political considerations in this latest terror alert have every right to be skeptical. The fall of 2004 saw the most blatant abuse of the public trust in our nation's history - politically staged terror alerts, all timed coincidentally around a presidential election, only to die away after the votes had been cast. Then it was on to privatizing Social Security. Tony Blair's government, like our own, has demonstrated no reticence in sexing up threats to advance their agenda.

But whether Scotland Yard struck pay dirt, or this is just another goon squad with more ambition than brains, I don't care.

I will not live in fear of al Qaeda. I will not live in fear of Islam. And I will not live in fear of Dick Cheney.

RSS

There Is No "Center" Between Right and Wrong

Obama's Drill Baby Drill Killed My Morale

The Obama Presidency is a Disaster for Our Country

What Progressives Want

The Rise of the Sociopathic Right

Obama Can't Save You

Soldier's Families Forced to Stand in Food Lines

The Great Conservative Privatization Scam

Making Us Safer - Katrina Style

I Will Not Live In Fear