I've had it. Absolutely had it. I've had it with McCain, and I've had it with the Democrats' fighting among themselves. I've had it with Kossacks fighting among ourselves. Last night I went on DailyKos and the Rec List was way too full of diaries either promoting Obama or bashing Hillary. That needs to stop.
While we're busy telling ourselves that Obama totally rocked Texas and Hillary's poll numbers are down, the media's got its tongue stuffed all the way down John McCain's throat. It is going to take a LOT of work to get this media to stop French kissing McSame and start reporting on how unfit the man is to serve in any sort of political office at all, let alone President.
This week, McCain's been out ranting on how successfully the occupation of Iraq is going. What's the man smoking? He was just there. He couldn't visit the same market he went to on his last trip because it's too dangerous now.
We just passed the horrible milestone of 4000 American troops dead. I doubt that includes suicides. I know it doesn't includes contractors, reporters, etc - let alone all of the Iraqis who have died. How can anything that has resulted in the deaths of so many young men and women be a success on any level? At best it's a grave sacrifice.
Shouldn't someone who has experienced war know better than to blow sunshine up our collective ass over a failed occupation of a foreign country where our brave men and women are dying? But McCain sings "Bomb bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of "Barbara Ann." I am sure our troops think their 3rd and 4th deployments are just as fun as a Beach Boys song.
Beyond McCain's absolute hallucinations over the current state of Iraq, he's shown us that he doesn't even have an elementary understanding of politics in the Middle East. I am pretty sure that a second grader could understand that if al Qaeda are radical Sunnis and Iranians are Shia, then Iran doesn't support al Qaeda. Yet McCain needed Joe Lieberman to tell him.
Can I show you what's most at stake for me?
Those are all pictures I took while hiking this past weekend. The part of my week I cherish most is when I'm able to escape society and spend a few hours alone with the native plants and animals in the Southern California chaparral. I've never been religious, but I imagine that what I get out of my time hiking is what a religious person might experience in church.
Bush has been continuing the work of Rep. Pombo in gutting our ability to protect endangered species. We can't elect McBush for a third term to allow this to continue. We can't keep sending our tax dollars overseas to bring destruction and violence upon other countries instead of using them to do the work we need at home.
We need to fund all of the agencies that enforce environmental regulations and fund grant programs and scientific research needed to bring us into the next generation of technology and allow us to phase out coal and oil. We need to fund education so that our children gain the scientific background necessary to continue progressing towards green technology.
We need a society where our kids are safe and healthy so they can go outside and develop an appreciation for nature. We need schools that are funded well and that aren't forced to simplify their curricula down to teaching to a one-size-fits-all test. After this generation finishes raping the environment, we need to ensure that future generations will have the foresight to be good stewards of the natural world - not just for the sake of the spotted owl and the polar bear but for the sake of humanity. Without a healthy natural world, we can't thrive as a species either. It's a moral obligation to future generations that we leave them a world that can provide for their needs and that isn't toxic.
I listened to the March 24 podcast of Thom Hartmann this weekend and he went over how Bush and his political appointees have made it harder for new species to be added to the endangered species list. While Bush is denying these species protection, they are going extinct. When Obama is sworn in next January, how many fewer species will be left for him to even protect?
Meanwhile, what does the media cover? The Hillary vs. Obama controversy. We don't have to join them. As far as I'm concerned Obama's already won and we can move on into the next phase of attacking John McCain. If for some reason Hillary becomes the nominee I'll vote for her, but until I hear otherwise, I consider it a settled matter that Obama's our guy. Let's move on.
One point of view I heard on Air America recently is that when other candidates screw up, the media uses it to draw conclusions about their character and then they come back to those screw-ups again and again. When McCain screws up, it may get reported but then after a news cycle or two, it goes away.
We've got an outlet here where we can tell the truth about McCain. He's Bush's 3rd term. He flip flops on torture. He wants to be in Iraq for 100 years. He wants to bomb Iran. He doesn't understand the economy. He loooooves lobbyists. He's violating campaign finance rules in a BIG way. There's a lot to say about McCain that won't get into the popular consciousness if we don't get started now.
I've got a rather silly anecdote that illustrates my idea very well. I don't watch TV. People who do watch it have Tivo. Advertisers are going nuts trying to figure out how to reach us. So how do they do it? Well you know those little bins in the airport security line where you put your shoes to go through the X-ray? They've got ads in them now.
In other words, advertising pros are looking around for any available surface that we will look at during the day and they are putting ads there. Why can't we do the same? Get the truth out about McCain anywhere we can. The Internets is a good place to start. Bumper stickers and yard signs are a given. We need to plaster society with enough information to make all of the semi-paying-attention independents wonder whether he's really a maverick like the media says.
I can tell you what I'm going to do. I found a great little T-shirt shop next door to my apartment and they can make organic cotton shirts at a good price. I am making myself a shirt that says:
McSame 2008
Four More Wars
And on the back:
HERBERT HOOVER+
DICK CHENEY=
JOHN MCCAIN
Then I'm sending one to Rachel Maddow. Anyone else want one? Email me. If we get enough people they will be $10 apiece plus shipping. All shirts will be organic cotton. I will try to accommodate requests for styles/colors/sizes.
I'd like to do more designs, and I'll be happy to take suggestions - particularly if you can email me the graphic in a PDF that is at least 300 dpi (up to 600 dpi) and no larger than 14"x16".