I am in the process of learning how this site works, and some have expressed concern that the comments aren’t working. I am going to be looking into this problem this weekend.
But until then, writerealist-at-earthlink-dot-net works just fine. That’s what these commenters did - so can you! (more…)
There has been much discussion of gasoline prices lately, and the American right wing is crowing loudly about how this justifies the maintenance of Bush Administration economic policies:
On the economy, Bush knows he has argument, data, and momentum on his side. Oil and gasoline prices have plunged over the past month, taking away a big Democratic issue. And while investors are abandoning the energy sector, consumers are spending — making the retail stock index one of the hottest plays on Wall Street.
There is only one big problem with these assertions. There isn’t much support coming from the media outside the Beltway. In fact, there is much coming out that refutes these assertions of ‘conservative economic success’. (more…)
The news is full of reports that the Bush Administration is about to attack Iran over their nuclear program. But one has to ask the question - attack with what army?
Frequent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the Army and National Guard to the breaking point, and 270,000 Guard soldiers - 60 percent of the force - have already hit their limit for overseas combat. But never fear, such ‘quaint’ limitations on the Federal usage of State militias won’t be observed - at least not before the midterm election in November.
In the meantime, the Army valiantly struggles to meet the demands placed upon it by a government which never itself experienced war first-hand. (more…)
Karl Rove, Republican political strategist, is on the spot this year. He has to be faster than a speeding Diebold pull-it, more powerful than a Democratic groundswell locomotive, and able to heap tall Republican tales in a single mound.
The expectations of him are high:
Republican strategists are hoping that voter confidence in Bush’s handling of terrorism will help their party retain control of Congress. “The Bush administration lives or dies, in terms of national security, on the claim that they have indeed made America safer,” said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. “This is at the heart of the Republican rationale for continued control of government.”
There’s only one problem that Karl has to fix - the growing realization of the public that the Republican security reputation is a fabrication:
A newly disclosed intelligence assessment that contradicts President Bush’s claim that the war in Iraq has made America safer also casts doubt on the Republican campaign strategy for the November elections. The assessment came in a report known as a National Intelligence Estimate, which reflects the consensus view of 16 government intelligence services, including the CIA. [Goldford] called the report “kryptonite for Superman,” referring to the substance that disabled the comic book hero.
For those who have been paying attention to Bush Adminstration activities across their time in office, it is becoming clear that their hold on power is slipping.
“What becomes alarming is when you see bones and start counting ribs.”
- LINDA WELLS, editor of the beauty magazine Allure, on runway models.
Despite the importance to women of this issue, this isn’t going to be a post on the unhealthy appearance of clothing models, but about how a national economy can be seen as taking on an appearance similar to that of such a model.
For over thirty years now, the American economy has been in the shadow of its prodigy, Japan. After almost three decades of rebuilding from the ashes left behind by Curtis LeMay in 1945, Japan surpassed the American economy in just about every economic sector across the Seventies and Eighties, most notably in the automotive and consumer electronics categories.
I’m sure it’s JUST a coincidence that the decline of the American Dream for the working class began about the same time. (more…)
That seems to be the question that people of the world should be asking. On the one hand, the current government of the United States wants to think that it is in charge of events in the world, and yet things like this happen:
Judge Tells Hussein, ‘You Are Not a Dictator’
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
September 15, 2006
The chief judge in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein assured the defendant on Thursday that he was “not a dictator,” a day after a court prosecutor demanded the judge be removed for showing bias toward Mr. Hussein and letting him harangue witnesses.
One witness, a Kurdish farmer, testified that in 1988 he had pleaded with Mr. Hussein for the life of his wife and seven young children. He said a furious Mr. Hussein shouted, “Shut up and get out.”
In court, Mr. Hussein jumped up to defend himself. “Why did he try to see Saddam Hussein?” he asked the judge, referring to himself in the third person, as is his habit in court. “Wasn’t Saddam a dictator and an enemy to the Kurdish people, as they say?”
The judge replied: “I will answer you: you are not a dictator. Not a dictator,” he repeated. “You were not a dictator.”
Mr. Hussein, smiling, replied, “Thank you.”
The judge said: “The people or those who are around the official make him a dictator, and it is not just you. This is the case all over the world.”
Just to who the world who really is the boss, the hand manipulated the puppet.
The mid-term election this fall will prove to be the defining moment of this country’s future.
After six years of Bu$hCo demonstrating its callous disregard for anything traditional - including the Constitution - it appears that change is on the way - assuming that Diebold isn’t allowed to perform its magic vote tally trick. As an incentive to you voters who are wondering what you can do about this situation to see to it that 10 you aren’t alone and 2) the nation is aware that change is necessary, I offer, via Bill Clinton, the rallying cry of 2006:
“I am sick of Karl Rove’s bullshit.”
They can run with hidden agendas, but Al Gore says they can’t hide from them.
In an article which covers Bush’s pending ‘ecology’ speech, Gore said of Bu$hco:
“One can only attempt to create one’s own reality for so long.”
It must be torture for Bu$hCo to have to [shudder, ***GASP!*** GULP!] CHANGE!
In fact, it is torture that is forcing this change - the torture of others.
What would you say if you knew that your tax dollars were going to fund a violent video game that your kids can play over the Internet - for free?
One of my major pet peeves is violent video games. Degenerate crap like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are chock full of dangerously anti-social and grossly immoral violence, which studies indicate numbs the players to the consequences of their violent game actions so much that they are more susceptible to blithely commiting violence and property crimes in real-life.
We all know of a couple of these screwed up kids for whom violence became deadly entertainment:
Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References
[D]iaries and assorted papers of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold contain a handful of video game references among the 946 pages made public by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
[I]t’s clear that Eric Harris … was an angry young man, full of hatred and contempt for many of those he knew. Of the planned massacre, Harris wrote, “It’ll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke and Doom all mixed together. … I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.”
id Software’s Doom series is well-known as a favorite of Harris and Klebold. Harris wrote a fan letter to id, which can be seen here
The “Duke” reference refers to Duke Nukem 3D, a bawdy, 1996 first-person shooter from developer 3D Realms.
How’s that old saying go? Ah - yes! Rich man wins, poor man pays!
It’s no secret that the American auto industry is on its last legs. What is secret is why. But like all good secrets, the evidence is out in plain view for all to see: the managers of American corporations have lost control of the ship and are throwing their workers overboard while their luxuriously-profitable Titanic plows ahead into the long-predicted economic iceberg.
At least they are offering life preservers for the icy conditions ahead.
It would make it easier to collect the bodies afterwards:
Ford Offering 75,000 Employees Buyout Packages
By MICHELINE MAYNARD and NICK BUNKLEY
September 15, 2006
The Ford Motor Company agreed Thursday to offer buyouts and other incentives worth as much as $140,000 each to its 75,000 hourly workers in the United States to persuade them to leave their jobs. It is also the latest sign that Detroit has decided it needs to shrink to survive.In all, Ford has about 110,000 employees in the United States.
By my rough count, that’s almost all of their US hourly workforce. The white-collar Ford executive may well be feeling some heat this morning as well, considering that Ford Motor Co. said [9/15/06] it’s cutting its salaried work force by one-third — or 14,000 jobs. (more…)
A Pessimist’s Place
Is to think worst-case
To reveal what the worst could be.
Once that is known
Then Reality’s shown
As a pleasant surprise, you see!
Allow me to introduce myself. I am, or rather was, Pessimist, late of another blog which shall remain nameless. A few of you readers who found me randomly may recognize me, and thus know of my work discussing political, economic, and social issues.
You are going to be in for a few surprises if you do know of my past work. For one thing, a couple of my long-term readers have each independently advised me that a change in my nom-de-blog is in order. After careful consideration of their reasoning, I have decided to take their advice - along with their choice: Realist.
There is a certain logic to this, for there has to be an evaluation of one’s positions when major changes occur. One has to incorporate what one has learned in order to grow beyond where one had been. It’s the realistic thing to do. The change of blog name is intended to reflect this.
So what have I learned from my previous blog incorporation? Many things. Sadly, one of them was that there are few people who really think deeply before they act. In fact, not thinking is a part of the game they play, charging in to do battle verbally, only to discover that they aren’t as well armed as they should have been prior to engaging.
Lest someone mistake this for a rejection of my former comrades, that isn’t entirely true. While such a description is now de riguer as the definition of those on the left, it can also be applied to those from the right. There are several glaring examples of this evidenced by current events - the huge deficits we face as a nation, the rise of China as the US self-destructs, global warming. Both sides do a lot of talking while the problems grow worse. Few act to do much of anything - and even fewer succeed, good or bad.
Back in 1991, in the book Generations by Strauss and Howe, the authors write:
“When history loses urgency, people tend to live at the expense of the future despite their better judgement.”
I hope to help inspire better judgement to again rule our thoughts, but I am but one person. I cannot change the world by myself. That isn’t realistic. What is?
There are a growing number of people who are disconcerted with the way things are, and who can see that what is coming is going to be worse if things don’t change. I hope to add to that growing number, for when a sufficient number of people reach a conclusion, it can be made into a reality.
Gandhi didn’t push the British Raj out of India all by himself. He merely inspired the Indian people to do that.
I don’t hope to be a Gandhi. I hope to inspire lots of Gandhis, much like the ‘V’ character in V For Vengeance - trite, illogical and lame as that movie was - who in the end inspired the people enough to see what he saw and to take the necessary action to bring about a desired change in the way their nation was governed.
My purpose, unlike the movie, isn’t to destroy the physical seat of governance to accomplish this change, but to break the hold a small cabal placed on the majority in order to capitalize on their thoughtless inactivity. I hope to get a few people thinking about the consequences of allowing that to continue. I hope to inspire these few to inspire others, and maybe enough people will begin to see that there are threats to America designed to make it something much less than it was, and that action is needed. If such a desired change comes about in America, that is the best I can hope for, and then I will have served my purpose.
For the most of you who didn’t know me when, I hope that I interest you enough to return after I have gotten organized and finish unpacking in my new home, and get back to work. I expect to have my first post up within a few days.
See you then!
R
