Same as the old boss...
We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the foe, that' all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!
I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
~ Wont Get Fooled Again – the Who
I highly recommend agnostic’s excellent diary, When in the Course of Human events.
I just as highly recommend theyrereal’s outstanding diary, How I learned to stop being angry.
So today we learned that the Democratic Party doesn't really work for us. That they are not loyal to us. Most importantly, that they don't fear us.
They fear others. They are loyal to others. And they work for others.
To me, this comes as a relief. After years of wondering why they seemed so spineless, and so stupid, and so intent on constantly losing, I am now finding myself in the calm eye of the emotional storm that only the truth can bring.
How I learned to stop being angry
See also kidneystones’ Dem Leaders: Insipid Suckholes or Closet Neo-Cons?
Then there is this from our friend David Sirota:
Not surprisingly, Democrats are reacting to questions about why they are trying to secretly defy the will of the public and disrespecting their Election 2006 campaign in the same way they always do: Like wailing infants.
~ from David Sirota’s diary, House Dems Vote For Iraq Blank Check; Is There A Mr. Smith In the Senate?
I join David in encouraging everyone to watch this clip from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
And talk about great minds (he said in complete modesty), as I was composing this diary I came across LithiumCola’s excellent Meet the New Crazies, Same as the Old Crazies, though it has a slightly different focus the bottom line is...you guessed it...same as the old bottom line.
So what are we to do? Our options are: 1) Give Up, 2) Fight Back. I recommend option 2.
The question then becomes how best to do that? The one thing that is most obvious is that our government and our political system are broken. The Founding Fathers knew this day would come, and they provided for our circumstances.
I refer you back to agnostic’s excellent diary, When in the Course of Human events.
There is only one question left, will 21st century fascism kill the American Dream (and the planet shortly thereafter), or will the smart people, a ragtag band of citizen heroes pull it out at the last moment and restore freedom, justice and integrity to the United States of America? Well, I think you know how I want it to turn out.
In the 230 years that we have been a nation we have never known a more perilous time. We stand at the threshold of losing this great Republic to an internal enemy more insidious and more dangerous than any external threat we now or have ever faced. The noble dreams of our founding fathers and the struggles of our ancestors may soon come to naught if we don’t do something to stop it. We may presently see all the blood, tears, and mortal sacrifice of millions upon millions of American patriots and heroes turned to dust and ashes.
A message for all true patriots...
We have done too little to restrain our government’s excesses, we have failed to demand accountability from our representatives, and we have allowed our precious nation to fall into the hands of corrupt and evil men who are destroying the grand principles upon which she was founded.
I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. ~ Thomas Jefferson
We are guilty of timidity in the face of tyranny. When confronted by evil we blanched and turned away. We stood down when we should have stood up.
Great Americans are calling from our past for the preservation of freedom and democracy. Will we not hear them? Will we not heed their call?
It is up to us to wrest our country from the bloody grip of the greedheads, warmongers, and war profiteers who have hijacked our government, invaded foreign lands for empire, pillaged the U.S. Treasury, savaged the Constitution, and raped the American people.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Martin Luther King
If you’ve had enough of the theft, corruption, torture, and violence - if you like me are fed-the-fuck-up and beside yourself with grief and frustration, take a moment to consider the courage and determination of which a small boy is capable.
Stand up for America!
Here are a few thoughts on going forward:
We need to harden our resolve and step up our efforts.
We need to focus less on supporting candidates (who never seem to return the favor) and more on supporting causes such as peace, human rights, free speech, open (non-secret) governance, ecological sanity, honesty and integrity in government, and so on.
We need to end:
- the
war occupation in Iraq
1a) the irrational denial of global warming (and take immediate bold steps toward solving the climate crisis)
- the war on science
-
the war on drugs prohibition
- the war on the poor
- the war on the middleclass
- the deathgrip that the Military Industrial Congressional Complex has on our nation and our world
- the assault on reason
- the reign of the war profiteers
- the reign of corporate America
- the foolish and self-destructive privatization of important services such as health and medicine
- the wholesale corruption in our system
- the supremacy of Big Money
- politics as usual
We ignore these things or fail to tackle them head-on to our great peril. Now is the time to save our country. We will have to step outside of the system to do so...Just as we did in the 60s. We need to learn all we can from those days, and apply lessons learned to amplify our effectiveness and to allow for our unique circumstances with respect to technology, the bought-and-paid-for media, loss of our civil rights, etc.
Memorial Day is for honoring the sacrifices of those who fought to preserve our freedom. That freedom is now imperiled as never before. And the hell of it is that the threat now comes from our own government. We have come to a time when our elected representatives serve only the uber-wealthy and the Military Industrial Congressional Complex while ignoring the will and the welfare of the people. Democracy, liberty and justice have been torn asunder - and we all have a duty to fight and sacrifice to save it. To do otherwise would dishonor the memory of those who have fought to keep us free. To honor them we must now take up their cause. We must now cease to cooperate with those who oppress us.
We must now resist. We have everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Not to change direction at this point in history spells doom for the entire planet due to climate disruption and the madness and evil of perpetual war.
We can’t let them do this to us unopposed.
They Fought for Our Freedom – Now We Must Too!
If you have thoughts on these matters, please share them.
Some action links for those who, like me, are newly energized to stand up to the thugs on both sides of the aisle and make them give us our country back.
Go to World Can’t Wait and sign the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime, supported by Mark Crispin Miller, Gore Vidal, and Howard Zinn.
And check out United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee’s Wage Peace Campaign, Gold Star Families for Peace, and Iraq Veterans Against the War.
There is a mighty tsunami building brothers and sisters. Catch the wave and join the struggle. By ending the abomination in Iraq and standing up to the fascists and their enablers we will truly support our troops and genuinely honor our fallen heroes.
Email me if you want to be on the list of Volunteers of America!
They Fought for Our Freedom – Now We Must Too
We can’t afford to do what we’ve always done. It’s time to dig deep. We need to be creative and smart...but most of all we need to be unwilling to continue to accept what we’re being shoveled.
Iraq Moratorium Day