It’s won’t to be Ebola, ISIS, AIDS, illegal immigration, or gay marriage that destroys America.
It’s going to be the culture of fear and intolerance that’s being cultivated by the politicians, the media, and the churches.
Hopefully we can turn things around before it’s too late.
I suspect that Anthony Weiner (AKA Carlos Danger) is secretly a fan of the Hives’ drummer, Chris Dangerous. Then again, who the hell isn’t?
Robert Mecklenborg is a conservative Republican who represents much of western Hamilton County, Ohio.
Check out his mugshot, here.
Investigators say Mecklenborg had viagra in his system and a woman in the car with him. There are reports that she is connected to a Lawrenceburg strip club called Concepts Showgirls.
Man! Talk about burying the lede! How is that not the headline?
Back in 2003 I went to see the “Tell Us The Truth” tour. Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello), Boots Riley, Lester Chambers, and Mike Mills joining forces to raise awareness about the dangers of media consolidation and the FCC’s recently increased “media ownership cap” which allowed individual networks to control a larger percentage of the national market.
Flash forward to today. Media giant Comcast buys control of MSNBC, which then promptly fires Olbermann, their highest rated host.
Tom Morello’s words from 2003 seem particularly prophetic today.
A few massive corporations will soon control all we see on TV and print and radio, there’s a very narrow number of gatekeepers, and that can be very destabilizing for a democracy. Ten years ago, 50 corporations controlled the major media outlets. Now it’s down to six, and everybody loses except the super-rich at the top.
So, the groundhog saw his shadow, which supposedly means six more weeks of winter. Bah!
At least the New York groundhog (Chuck) fulfilled a long-time wish of mine and bit someone (not just anyone, New York’s Mayor Bloomburg!)
Remember when I said that I didn’t much care about the snow and ice that was forecast for us? Well, I lied. We got it, it’s still around, and I hate it. But I am still taking some solace in my cheerful little Shamrock’s reemergence.
Regular readers may recall a prediction that I made on November, 28 2004.
I said, in part, that I thought Barack Obama might very well be our first “African-American” Vice President, perhaps even President.
That was nearly 4 years ago!
In the name of full-disclosure, I had also picked Wesley Clark as our next president prior to the 2004 DNC and we all know how that panned out.
The Obama-Biden team’s Presidential Transition Project already has a website up which documents their transition into power and solicits ideas from the public.
I submitted the letter from my previous post.
Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.
President-Elect Barack Obama
Like many folks out there, I found myself more engaged in the political process this year than I’ve ever been in my 24 years of (off and on) voting. When I woke up today, something felt different, at the risk of sounding cliché, I actually have hope for the future and believe that things are going to get better. If President Obama can just undo the damage that the Bush administration has done to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, that would cement his legacy in my mind.
Dear President-elect Obama,
Please bring back Habeas Corpus. Stop the government, our government, from spying on us without just cause and without a warrant. I want to live in a nation that doesn’t torture, that doesn’t rush to war under false pretenses. I want a nation that holds its politicians, and indeed each of its citizens, accountable. Mr. Obama, you’ve talked a lot about “change” and we listened. Now show us the change. Repeal the Patriot Act. Position us, as a nation, to be at the vanguard of the coming wave of “green” technology and alternative energy. This is our “Space Race” and its implications for our future are even more profound. Give us back our freedoms and lead us to the future. That is how we, as a nation, can reaffirm our title as the greatest and most powerful nation on earth. Please, Mr. Obama, lead us there.Sincerely,
Greg Evans
Some of you may recall me mentioning back in February 2007 that one of my people from work had passed away.
Well she (and her elderly parents) were mentioned on the local news, apparently she voted in the March 4th primary.
Click here for the full story.
Here’s an excerpt:
In the Miami Valley alone, we found 3,856 dead voters still registered. Approximately 22 of them voted from beyond the grave.
Ahh… Democracy in action.
The day after Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate, I found myself involved in a conversation about his choice.
The person I was chatting with could have been a co-worker, an acquaintance, or a stranger on the street, it really doesn’t matter to the story so, in the name of anonymity, you can select whichever you prefer.
Anyway, this person says to me, quite contemptuously (about Joe Biden):
“That man looks more like a Republican than he does a Democrat.”
I walked away from the conversation at this point, shaking my head and thinking:
“Jesus! And your vote counts just as much as mine does.”
Nothing like having an informed opinion. Honestly! S/he doesn’t like him because he “looks like a Republican.”
Wow.
