First amendment for real now!

So Hank Williams, Jr. is important for a lot of reasons this week. One reason is to let us know that talent really does skip a generation but the other is that he was fired from his cushy gig at Monday Night Football by indicating on Fox News that "Obama and Boehner playing golf together is the equivilant to Hitler golfing with Netanyahu." First rule of internet argument is 'One who brings up Hitler, automatically loses." Now the beauty of the first amendment is that Ole dumb Hank, Jr. can believe that all he wants. He can make that statement and though it is offensive, crude and stereotypically redneck ignernt, he is entitled to said opinion.

I like many liberals in 2003 got upset over the Dixie Chicks being ostracized for their inflammatory comments of then President Bush. Fox news (not so ironically) led the uproar of how they lacked being patriotic at a time when the country needed them. I thought that people were moronic in their hyperbole. Then my brother in law brought up a point "they have that right to say that, and people have the right to not buy their albums. 

That being said, Hank, Jr. can spout off his "New Confederacy" bullshit all he wants, he can spout off that "Obama, Biden....the Three Stooges" are the 'enemy' to his heartless content, and ESPN and Monday Night Football have every right to protect their brand. We DO have free speech, but if I walk into work and say "everything on this menu is garbage I wouldn't feed to a maggot", then my boss has every right to thank me for my time working there and find a place where the menu isn't maggot worthy. ie to break it down, I can say anything I want (within certain limits) and it will have no ramification on me going to school, raising kids, preparing my marriage. I won't go to jail. I won't get stoned by the masses (at least literally); I may, however, lose my job, a certain standing I may have and depending on how vehement I am, a certain respect of my peers.

On another note, Blue is rattled by the loss of another liberal voice. Melissa Hayes, AKA 'Ginger Snaps' was killed in a tragic accident in Nebraska. I did not know Melissa that well. In fact I only friended her about 3 weeks before her passing but she held a standard of debate that is sorely lacking in this day and age. A nuanced liberal with tolerance that Blue here has lost over 30 years of Right Wing lies. If I take any lesson from her, it is to continue to listen to the republican viewpoint fully instead of jumping in with my (usually correct view) and to have a bit more class in my rebuttal. You will be missed Melissa

Wedding Cakes, Drama Class and H.L. Mencken

In my neck of the woods, I see it's overcast. But it is a good day my governor hasn't screwed things up irreparably today, Governor Goodhair hasn't stuck his foot in his mouth yet today, and BHO is still running the country. My sports team all won and sweetie and me got our cake situation sort of straightened out...all in all a good day for Blue.

It's a day to treasure. I am not foaming at the mouth at my computer...maybe because I haven't dove to deeply in yet but no one has said anything that caused my head to do that thing it does in the movie Scanners or caused my blood pressure to shoot to 235/197...YET. I enjoy these days. I can't lie. It's part of what lead Blue to becoming a bit lazy over the last 48 days. A wonderful vacation in Paradise....(literally) an engagement to the sweetest gal in the world, strong reviews in my job, classes starting to roll...Then I realized as much as I need to vent I owe it to my passionate...fans, followers, devotees....whatever conceit i allow me to continue. To be the spleen venter. To try to find sense in a nation of 5 year old children. We got plenty of them on both sides blue and red.

It was H.L. Mencken whom  I paraphrase- "It is the job of this blog to bring comfort to the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable". I have to do that. It's a compulsion of over 40 years to be the one that points out that sometimes the emporer IS wearing no clothes. I have taken that baton and ran with it and I see no reason to stop now...at the same time however, sometimes battles have to be chosen as opposed to ranting at every injustice.

That is why I enjoy the "nothing" days. Today is shaping up beautifully and maybe between my subway sandwich and drama class i can find something that will cause me to have a metaphorical apoplexy. Til then I leave one more Bon Mot from Mr. Mencken- "In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican."


Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/h_l_mencken_4.html#ixzz1Z4Ugea00

some say a man ain't happy 'less a man truly dies, oh why, sign o' the times...

what can I say. I think that 2012 may be one of the most important presidential elections in our 235 years of being a country. This is not mere hyperbole, this is a seriously wicked crossroad that we are at. When you have 300 people keeping millions out of work to put one good man out of a job, when this rendition of the "supreme" court has said corporations are people, when DADT being repealed as the equivilant of the rise of the third reich, when health care reform is less appealing than losing warS, when reasonable doubt is pissed away to put another notch on a belt when the man is African-American then a viable argument when the man is white...my country I love has lost it's way.

it is likely that within four years that our country will need a new appointment to the "supreme" court with 4 of the justices, including the liberal lioness Ruth Bader Ginsburg in their 70's, we can not have "President(s)" Perry, Bachmann, or Romney making these decisions. It was surely no mistake that John Roberts was tapped by the shrub to be the Chief Justice at the tender age of 51. If he lives as long as Rehnquist and is as stubborn, he will be Chief Justice almost as long as John Marshall. That thought is beyond terrifying to me. Unless we get idealistic liberals that know the power and the word of The Constitution, then Thomas, Alito, Roberts and the other band of thugs, will have no checks OR balances and they will continue to run roughshod over The Constitution.

The historical implications of running a primary against the sitting president has been disaster for the incumbent. Ask Jerry Ford, ask Jimmy Carter, Ask George Bush the First. Barack Obama has had an amazing first term when taken under consideration that half of congress (including you damn DINO's) fought every measure he ran out there, He got health care reform passed (no thanks to the Reich Wing and Damn DINO's) he got Osama Bin Laden, he did stimulus packages the right way, he got DADT repealed, he's attacking DOMA, he is on the verge of getting "No Child Left Behind" struck down, yet some of my liberal brethren bitch it ain't enough or he's a closet republican or i hear "Obummer"...WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? He's not a magic man like Heart sang about. He's a man trying to get 30 years of GOP fuck ups straightened out and if you thought that in two and a half years he was going have it all figured out, put down your joystick or your X-box console, pull your head out of your ass and look around he stopped a depression! It was no recession it was a depression brought about by ceding control of our country to big business. The rights for workers that Sam Gompers fought for are being slowly eroded...and some of you idiots don't see the forest for the damned trees.

So no, BHO does not "need" to be primaried, he doesn't need to "get a wake up call" he doesn't need "a lesson" he needs YOU to get a clue as to how a country is run and get your ass involved the right way. Support him, understand that he is cleaning up this mess a little at a time and remember WE'RE the change we need to be!

I can't think of a witty title

So I took a vacation in August that allowed me to take a month sabbatical. In the midst of said vacation, Ole Blue got engaged, started planning his wedding and made things happy in his life. Along the way, I went back to school for my sixth consecutive semester and started to realize the sabbatical from politics outside of the few snarky comments I make under my real name were actually more healthful and easy for my psyche. I got lazy. I almost decided to disband the Blue conceit I allow for myself.

As beautiful as reality can be it also can be a saddening, maddening kick in the balls. Yesterday everything was good I was fighting (lovingly) with sweetie over our upcoming wedding cake and nuptials then I got news that showed me how lazy I was becoming. A name to some of you, a prophet to others and an all round good guy with biting insight died of a massive heart attack at the age of 34. Quincey (Big Dog On Em) Ivey, A man who was from Detroit, who created at least 4 pages on facebook and not only had a foot in the political pond but also had great taste in music, a wonderful sense of humor and knew his sports; silenced. One moment he was arguing about Troy Davis, joking about the Lions being underrated and posting a great video....then I read he passed. I cried. His was a voice that not only I looked forward to but his acceptance of a point well made with a simple "True Dat" was a stamp of approval that a lot of his friends look forward to. I know I did.

He also created a site called "Ghettonewz America". It was held to high journalistic standards and his was the voice that made it happen. He had a page called Mr. Know it All that allowed all sides to argue, mock and never fully resolve but allowed us to show we are know it alls. One of my favorite memories has nothing to do with politics, we belong to a group called Musical Thoughts where we escaped political talk and we had a "cheese" war. We went to find the cheesiest music videos we could find. Everything from Britney Spears to Justin Bieber was used...I'm proud to say it was the one time I got the "best" of him.

But it was in politics that Q, really shined. He asked for no quarter but that damn sure meant he gave none. He didn't mind an opinion that differed from his but you better have something better than Fox News or Huffington post. He wasn't going to give you a parroted view point from MSNBC, he was going to come strong and come proper. He wouldn't let you parrot his views either, you better have your own opinions. On an unusual view point for a liberal, he did NOT consider Bradley Manning a hero. I had his back there. He took pure hell from a lot of his friends even called a teabagger by some. He held firm to his beliefs. Quincey, Big Dog or Q whatever you are called my friend, you are a true American, and come the day we finally meet  on the other side, you can tell me the truth about "Ghettonewz Heaven". I am sure I will be rapt...True Dat!

Try, Try, Try to Understand...He's a Magic Man, Mama

there ain't no pleasing some of you is there? I quote Heart here because you firebaggers/teagressives/progbaggers all believe you "hired" a magic man come november of 08. Worse, a lot of you believed because he is an African-American, you "hired" "Buck, the Wonder Pres." See there is a great movie called "Bowfinger" (as I thank you for the digression but I WILL tie it together) Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin Two great comics that are twice as funny together...Eddie plays a superstar action hero AND his dimwitted brother. The Superstar yells at his agent about how black actors can't get an oscar unless they are a slave or "retarded". The character "Kit" opines how his agent should find him a script where he's a "retarded" slave. (pp) "Go out there and look for 'Buck, The Wonder Slave"

How it chaps the hides of Jane Hamster (yes janie poo, I am one of the dumbest motherfuckers in the world) and her wanna be boy toy Cerk Uyoff (if Cenk Uygur is pronounced 'Jenk Yooger' you can imagine how Cerk Uyoff is pronounced) that as a liberal i have no use for a defaulting elf who has designs on making the country default like he did Cleveland. I also am not about a 70 year old socialist who been running up that hill for fifty years. The treads are damn near off that tire.

Of course, for years I have asked the reich wing have they no shame, can they look at themselves in the mirror? Can they? I think they can. Not because I have found an admiration for them, No because they see something they believe is wrong no matter how twisted their logic and they end up doing what is to be done. They vote they organize...on the left we bitch. We advocate our own "teach" Obama a lesson...now you're crying about Tea baggers and shit like that....SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!! YOU sat on your ass, YOU sipped your latte whilst Rome burned, YOU voted for a damn third party that you KNEW had less than a snowballs chance in hell...to get the fucking teabagging Rand Paul type in office...Now you want to accuse ME of drinking the koolaid?

Well guess what Firebagger/teagressive/progbagger, I'm done with you. You have joined the list of a certain half term Governor, and you beat out Bat Boy's spawn. I frankly have NO use for you and your's and If i see FIREDOGLAKE on any profile of yours I promise you will be deleted because we will no longer have a damn thing in common and the strange thing is, I have Red staters in my ring of friends. But if they ever follow the bullshit of Cerk and janiepoo hamster I am done. I need you assholes in my life like i need hemmorhoids

We are Spirits, In the Material World, Are spirits, In the Material World...

so between posts whose titles quote the Dixie Chicks, Edwyn Collins and Cee-Lo Green, I have become a pearl to a lot of my fellow lefties oyster ie an irritant. I am too mean, it almost sounds like a right wing, I am surely drinking the kool aid, no i am snorting the kool aid...good! As ole Blue stated in a response to a post I am tired of being nice, of being calm, cool and collected, and then due to lines and misinformation and piss poor press, giving the worlds greatest concession speeches.

I point at some of the old school lefties that have watched the character assassination over 40+ years and still maintain the "Pollyanna" attitude. Look I too want us to debate issues, I too am sick of ad hominem attacks, also sick of red herrings but I really am sick of hearing great ideas pissed on because "we're to nice and classy to 'go there' and be like the GOP". Ad hominems don't piss me off as bad as a lefty that sees the bullshit then continues to vomit out sunshine and unicorns, and THEY only piss me off a little less than the teagressives.

WAKE UP Lefties, this isn't a case being nice. Our president is under a siege every god damned day! If you want me to start hugging trees and laughing at these seditious republicans, then damn it get on board and understand no less than our country is at state. The time for nice should have passed at McGovern. We have heard all of our lives that "the left is soft on defense" REALLY? who won WWII? And which right winger made the ballsy move to end the war in Japan? Which Right winger made the moves needed to make in 1918 during WWI? Which Right winger crapped and pissed himself to get out of Vietnam? (Ted Nugent). Which Right winger kept us safe from terrorism? Cause if old Blues memory serves, a certain "Muslim" president called the Taliban "the moral equivilent of our founding fathers" St. Ronnie of Eureka in case i have to remind.

I don't want anyone to do anything illegal or untoward to anyone. We will do things the correct way, get legally pissed off but dammit y'all DO get mad. the debt ceiling is simply a red herring to fuck over our president and some of you are busy worried about Bernie and the elf that screwed Cleveland or you're worried about BHO being "Bushbama" or for God's sake worried about a short order cook being to mean, STOP! Stop the clueless act! My old man used to say "I didn't get to be 60 by being stupid" Well, I gotta figure that's true about us too. Stop pretending shit's fine our country is in peril and we need to pull our shit together!

I see you running on down the Pres I love, I'm like FUCK YOU!

I keep hearing how badly we need the teagressives on our side. How we need their intelligence and their views to aid us in helping PBHO to help guide us out of the Bush imposed forest of debt and war and bullshit from 2001-09. Oh, we on the left need these people because they helped PBHO get elected in the first place and they will help us in 12 retain this great and good man as president. OH the progbaggers will be so willing not to allow us to hear the grating sound of the words "President Bat Boy's Spawn"....

I call BULLSHIT! I consider progbaggers to be worse than the reich wing. I know what frankly to expect from the reich wing. I know their racist tactics. I know their history of misinformation, I know that historically we on the left have cleaned their mess and 30 years later they will put their incompetence on display and blame the president from 30 years earlier. In the 70's inflation was actually Roosevelts fault. When Bush W had his economic downfall it wasn't tax guts, stimulus' and two inflated wars...it was Clinton.

I see a current President in a thankless situation and right at the moment I also see people forgetting what was stated in November of 08 "We are the change we need to be" (pp) Nope damn near from the outset these teagressive/progbaggers have had buyers remorse and begged for an old socialist (while crying McCain was to old but they sure love them some Bernie Sanders born 8 September 1941) or an elf that screwed a major American city (Cleveland, being the first major US city to default) but he can run an entire country...RIIIIIIIIIGHT (thank you Bill Cosby)Thanks, but no thanks to Kucinich.

Yes we need the teagressives my ass. We need people to be critical and look if they have the mental ability, and have more than 22% of people that proclaim themselves liberal to get off their historically lazy ass and vote! We need Teagressives as badly as apparently we needed Pakistan to be our ally in the war on terror as they were hiding bin Laden.

I understand some Proggers will be pissed at me, I mean you're so damned smart and I am not. I am merely a middle aged college student and short order cook. I don't have the intelligence to grasp the issues with your nuanced viewpoint that you have had all of 28 months to formulate it's not like the mess hasn't been made over and over in the past say 80 years.

I'm Not Ready to Make Nice, I'm Not Ready to Back Down. I'm Mad as Hell and I Don't have Time to go Round and Round and Round

"I'm John Boehner, I am the speaker of the House of representatives" That was the only two truths spoken by Representative Boehner. Oh sure technically there was truth in his cry for bi partisan bill of course the bi partys were blue dogs that are DINO but this is a case of speaking within the letter of the law but not the spirit.

I have witnessed no great president in my life. I have no FDR to look at, I have no Truman that inspired me and I believe that BHO WILL be that man. Like any president that looks to improve the country he catches hell that idiots tend not to. It's amazing we would rather have a president we could drink a beer with or go fishing with as opposed to the smartest guy in the room. I have never seen such blatant disrespect for a president when Bush would stutter through a Presser, When St. Ronnie of Eureka would say "Well....", even while robbing us blind Nixon would say "I'm Not a Crook"....the only times you had a rebuttal of what the POTUS would say is The Weekly Radio Address or after the State of the Union address. Now, we see not only the rebuttal from the GOP on the most recent SOTU we also see the batshit crazy rebuttal from the seditious play known as the "Tea Party". Now last night POTUS states we need to work together and if we go on this facade of "shared sacrifice" then we all have to dig down deep and make it happen including the millionaires and billionaires. Then The weeper of the house demands equal time to spew his untruths and the whines "I didn't sign up to go Mano a mano with the President" NO you didn't IF you were an American you were elected to work WITH the president but since you're a neo grand wizard you expected BHO to roll over with the wonder that is you Mr. Weeper. Yes, I am going there. I know your type sir, it frosts your balls that the black man is the smartest man in the room. You can't do what daddy did in Ohio with Jim Crow oh no, you have to listen and work with the man.


As we see under the last democrat president, your party ruined the threat of impeachment and I figure whatever happens with the debt ceiling you bitches will also impeach PBHO. you've already thrown it out there. See I have to believe that there will be a justice done in 2012. So guess what bring it out GOP and all you Kochsuckers, I have been bitter but playing nice, but now me and Natalie Maines are laying it on the line

This old town's changed so much, Don't feel like I belong...

I was there. I saw the day it happened. When the news shifted from facts of the day to it's present state of tabloid sensationalizing. To the point of lazy journo ethics....yes I was there that day. Now I won't reveal myself as Lucifer as The Rolling Stones did. No no Old Blue was then Young Blue. I had just walked my dog around the block and when I had got back in the news had broken, Elvis Presley was dead. He was my favorite uncles' favorite singer. Now Uncle Jerry had passed 3 years before but before he did, he had turned Young Blue onto Elvis. To me this was actually a double blow almost like I had another death in the family. Now, every night we watched Channel 7 Action News then we switched to channel 2 to watch Walter Cronkite. There was something President Carter did, and something that the house and senate were showing the opposite of progress IS Congress....Then Mr. Cronkite mentioned Elvis. It was his third story. It was appropriate for the times. you got the hard news the news that mattered THEN did you get the celebrity obit. Well the outrage that Walter received for daring to not make Elvis his top story was unprecedented. Granted Elvis was Rock n roll to a generation but he was merely a celebrity we have real hard news to get too....

I relate that tale to get to this one. Someone went to a Norwegian government building and bombed it, then he turned around and went to a childrens camp and shot up kids. over 80 kids were killed...and for a day we never knew the name of Anders Behring Breivik. We heard he's a right wing pig, we hear he's getting his information from the unabomber, he fell in love with the rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck...but we didn't know his name or why for fucks sake would he blast away at kids. BUT we sure as hell knew what we were doing the second we heard Amy Winehouse was found dead. As a recovering soul myself I DO feel for her, I have wrote about my struggles and some I have noticed about some people but while her passing is sad Mostly for her family and perhaps some ardent fans, the weekend really should have been more about finding out about the sick fucker Anders Breivik.

I put the lazy journo ethics on...US. we no longer demand news. We have had a generation of overgrown kids that say "ohhhh the news depresses me I can't watch it" or they can't tell you one bill that Reid sponsors but because they watch Fox news keeping it "exciting" they know that it's "wrong for America".  My own pal was telling me that "you gotta admit Fox keeps news exciting"...and it is that attitude that tells you why journalists no longer exist in the US. All you have is commentators and idealogues. There are no more Journalists that dig for the truth, that do give a shit about our country. Whether they are on the right OR left, they go for the easy story instead of digging beneath the surface. In my English Comp classes they demand I go deeper than the surface, we do not hold our own journalists or politicians to that same ideal.

There is no liberal bias in the media Jon Stewart was right. There IS a sensationalistic bias,,,and i witnessed the day it happened and when young Blue heard that Cronkite caught hell, I went into my bedroom and played my old "You Can Hear It Now" albums my mother had from Edward R. Murrow to remind me who and what in life was important

it's all just a little bit of history repeating...

Just a week ago it seems like such a long time ago but that was before the whole News Corp mess came up where it looks like Rupert Murdoch was ready to join his kindred soul William Randolph Hearst in Hell. It appears that News of the World was taking phone messages from a poor dead murder victim and clearing messages so they could get that scoop and that is the tip of the iceberg. Hugh Grant, Jude Law have come out and it appears that it will stretch to 9/11 victims and all the way to Australia. Halllelujah! We caught the rat bastard Murdoch....

But, let's put that champagne back on ice. Going back almost 40 years, the republican party was fighting for it's very survival after the Watergate scandal. Nixon had to actually resign the presidency, Ford was the guy you liked as your neighbor to share a beer and talk sports and work on your car with...but was he really entrusted to run the country? All it took was Jimmy Carter to be a little to forward thinking for the country and the republican party came back in a sick reinvention and it culminated with the reign of error that was the shrub.

Just a week ago i mentioned the sad story of Lynddie England and her disgusting photos at Abu Ghraib...Terrell Prior at Ohio State and Mark McGwire and Major League Baseball...Murdoch has his flunkie now. Given the interpretation of the Patriot Act and some slick lawyering, what makes anyone think that Murdoch is in any fear whatsoever? He has all but renounced his Australian citizenship so he really doesn't give a shit about what happens there. Like I stated last week, ALL the above mentioned should bare their crosses in these various messes. England is no saint for taking pictures of prisoners in vulnerable positions, McGwire, Bonds, Clemens et al, need to be accountable for their steroid intake, Prior needs to be accountable for his actions at THE Ohio State University and Rebekkah Brooks needs to take her medicine in this News Corp scandal.

But if you think Murdoch, who has his grubby fucking claw in the worlds number one media market, with the number one station, preaching his very special brand of hate harm and discontent is worried? Recent history is on the side of him crying all the way to the bank.

Here we are, born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe...

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/07/13/267791/mcconnell-hates-democracy/

Open the link. I dare you. After 30+ years of setting themselves up as the defender of the Constitution, the end of be all of American Liberty and Freedom, finally proof that the Reich wing really thinks of the Constitution as the words of George W. Bush says...."A Goddamn piece of paper". Toilet tissue to be more precise.

See it IS easy to swear to uphold the Constitution when your party has raped it and left it for dead. Did Blue just go there? Hell yes. I am aware that usage of the term rape is a powerful one and disgusting and violent and crude. The thing is it is also factual.

Yertle the turtle (as Mitch McConnell is known from this day forward) is suggesting that we the American people, who put his sorry ass into office, who elected his alleged icon St. Ronnie of Eureka, whose ancestors put in the greatest president in history FDR are now incapable of making the simple decision of who we want to run this country. Now to Blue it has been obvious since 1980 that a lot of his fellow citizens are horses asses that don't read and need their news and history in small bite sized morsels so they can continue feeding their fat asses with McDonalds and Taco Bell but to see this and know that there are still some idiots that will back Yertle and i will lay good money get this asshole re-elected baffles the ever loving shit out of me. HEY RED, Yertle told you you're an idiot and his infinite wisdom in re writing the Constitution is all that will save you! He claims "Elections don't work" Well if you're using 2000 as a barometer, we sure as HELL know it didn't work then. I mean that was a clusterfuck from the word go. 2004 was shady but as much we knew in our guts something was up there wasn't clear cut proof that Cheney and Rove stole that election, yet in 2008, with a clear majority (not quite a landslide but sizable enough that John McBush er Cain conceded before midnight eastern time) BHO was elected president...NOW elections don't work you know yertle fuck you! seriously fuck you and the horse you rode in on!

The Constitution has worked just fine for 222 years in spite of you bastards and guess what, it will outlive you! You want a balanced budget amendment? Fine, stop fucking your country and get a workable budget. this is the Bluest Blue has been in a long time. You want to play your reindeer games with my money, you want to misinform the public? Fine, that's the outhouse that is USA politics. You want to further use MY Constitution as your personal shit paper...well sir, that's one hornet's nest that is not a wise one to stir.

You can tell everyone i'm a down disgrace, drag my name all over the place I don't care anymore!

The more I know the less I want to. My fellow liberals are all tied up over the fact that BHO called the GOP on their bluff about the debt ceiling. It was a calculated gamble but he knows that to make our president look bad they will on the right stick to their agenda. He even knew some dyed to the wool lefties would crap their drawers over just mentioning the words he mentioned. He offered cuts to social security. IN RETURN, the bush cuts to the higher income people have to be ceded. Knowing what he knew he took the republicans, bent them over his knee and spanked their ass candy apple red.

of course panicky liberals even lead by moveon.org, wet themselves over this game of chicken. "I will never contribute to Obama's campaign again!" "How could you Mr. President?" are about the two nicer things I heard about Obama's "audacity". Comparing him to the shrub and of course the general racist crap the worst. Some of you "disheartened" liberals KNEW that Obama was the smartest man in the room yet when the chips were down...you scurried like rats. Hasn't living more than say 30 years taught some of you morons to look under the shiny surface? NO you heard "SACRED COW TOUCHED EEEEEK!"  and when some of you idiots saw what he did, did you cowards apologize for the inflammatory shit you wrote? NO! None of you even acknowledged that he played a low risk, high reward move to show what dicks the republicans have been over this whole budget crisis. Again, Progbaggers or teagressives (take your pick tools) i have no use for you, you sold out to the kochsuckers in december of 08 and you bore me, but some good libs that panicked in a heartbeat YOU disappoint me. I know 'who the hell is Blue?" and I concede I AM nobody but another US liberal that understands yes politics is politics and to make a point you have to 'double dog dare' and I thought we on the left were the smart ones, the non reactionary ones. No we are as knee jerk as the insult of the 70's implies and I am a left winger pointer this out to you.

Again, as move on says move on, understand that BHO knows what he's doing and either get on board or don't but stop the knee jerk overreaction and like BHO said...be the change we need to be!

Show Me a Hero, I'll Show You a Bum

I apologize for the delay of about 3 weeks. Life outside of the blog has interfered with me and I will try to be more diligent.

Terrell Pryor formerly of THE Ohio State University broke some rules and in Columbus, Ohio he is treated as a criminal. Jim Tressel the former coach of THE Ohio State University broke rules and lied to the NCAA and in Columbus, Ohio he's a conquering hero. Maybe it was his 9-1 record versus the University of Michigan, maybe it was his Number 1 in the Bowl Championship series in 2001 who knows...

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa allegedly took steroids and enhanced their performance. With their bobblehead looks and sometimes questionable attitudes, it's tough to argue against that allegation...Yet in 1998 the commissioner of baseball Bud Selig, okayed a baseball promotional ad that claimed "Chicks dig the long ball". One of the effects of steroids is that one can continue to work out when their bodies should be resting. This is due to artificial testosterone being replaced into ones body. Now why the head grows it's a mystery to me, but while the testicles shrink makes perfect sense but that's neither here nor there. Bonds, McGwire, Clemens and Sosa while greats of their era won't be able to get to the  Hall Of Fame without a ticket, while the architect of the proliferation of the Steroid Era will be forever immortalized by...doing nothing!

Lyndie Englund and many of her cohorts were pictured putting Muslim prisoners in positions that were insulting to their faith. They were put into humiliating positions and had those pictures taken for posterity or a friggin joke. Englund and her lower level ilk caught hell...Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush live off their retirement funds.

Do I excuse Pryor and the rest? No, they did do wrong and of course my point in this blog is accountability. But the way Blue was raised by his old man (a Roosevelt democrat thank you) You have to accept your errors because whatever punishment you get trust me the person above you is getting deeper shit than you are. Sorry Dad, from what it has been proven for a while, what with Golden Parachutes for failed financial executives and coaches and commissioners playing dumb and chief executives never hearing of "Abu Ghraib" tells me that you were sadly wrong. It makes a middle aged guy wonder how one day he will tell his future charges the happy horseshit of being accountable when it appears that if you're middle class or below you get screwed and your boss just because he (and lets not kid ourselves it will be HE) gets a pat on the back and maybe keys to the city.

It isn't a race or gender thing, it's a perceived class thing. Them that got, gets. Until some of my red friends that do have a lick of sense realize that things they were taught ain't being put into practice then its only gonna get worse.

they subjugate the meek, but it's the rhetoric of failure

Okay, let me tell ya what I envision the press is. They get the information, they research the information, they write out the information and we disseminate said information. I am old enough to remember Cronkite, Reynolds, Huntley/Brinkley. They had the idea down. Joe Wershba who recently passed took on the McCarthy machine knowing Friendly and Murrow had his back. Even back then Paley believed in a well informed populace and backed Murrow. We have no one standing up like that now. Maybe its the proliferation of news and our desire to hear our view parroted that prevents us from getting news, perhaps it's all we can do to stomach our news in little bite sized morsels for our feeble brains to process...perhaps we're to lazy with all of the information out there at our own hands to dig and look and see what IS going on. I know our parents and grandparents had to have their news handed out by reputable newsfolks. Now, we look to the celebrity to spoon feed our news to us.


The blame for the growth of O'Reilly, Hannity, even Olbermann  and O'Donnell lies not with them they merely are conduits. No it's OUR fault. We have allowed them to form all of our views and repeat the things we want to hear. Well folks all of us Blues, Purples and Reds have to stand up and demand real news and real context given to us. A week after his monumental fail with Jon Stewart, Chris Wallace actually stood up and asked Bat Boy's Spawn if she was a "Flake". He has since been "asked" to apologize to the flavor of the month and even though we know she's bat guano insane if Fox tells it's sheeple to capitulate to the Government whore that she is, they do...that's not journalism folks, this is glorified cheerleading. we're as guilty on the left, waiting with bated breath the return of Olbermann, we cried over the suspension of Schultz, and we wait for Rachel's reaction to find out if we should be mortified...We have the ability to know what's up. We have the net, we have the brain power, we have great capabilities than our parents...it is now up to us to really do the hard work and dig and truly form OUR opinions.

Jon Stewart- The Filet Mignon of Bulls**t?

So clearly Jon Stewart continues the tradition began by Will Rogers and carried by the legends like Bruce, Carlin, Hicks, et al. The jester who cites that the emperor is nude whilst he carries on as though he were wearing fancy duds.

Mr. Stewart went to the den of thieves and actually got one to admit that yes they were thieves. Stewart wasn't even callous about it. He called it effective and that they have a niche. Granted it is a disgusting niche. It's Goebbelesque in its deception, but it is a niche that speaks to it's viewer. He gave the host Chris Wallace a credit that must make his father cringe but still he gave him that credit. Mr. Wallace came out and admitted that Fox News does indeed cater to the right.  Stewart even admitted to Wallace that BHO was a disappointment to him. He even clearly stated that there is no left wing bias in the media. It IS more a bias toward laziness and sensationalism. Jon Stewart carried himself well in the interview. He made the point that he IS a comedian and when Wallace brought up "proof" that Stewart uses it as a shield Stewart in essence told him "Yeah, and...?"

No here's where Mr Stewart "proves" himself to be a liar. He told Wallace that Fox Viewers are constantly rating last in every poll in information received. They constantly misinform their viewer and that they are not above a lie to further their agenda.

Politifact.com. A watchdog for pundits I generally agree with, claimed that his statement was false. They even went so far as to show that Fox viewers were given better information than "The Daily Show". Of course it's not meant to be news!. It's not as slapsticky as it was when Lizz Winstead created it and Craig Kilbourne was the host. It has more (and it's hard to believe that this is the right word) gravitas than it did then, but at it's core it is a satire of news shows. If you get something out of it, good for you, but by no means is the daily show a true comprehensive "news" show. Though Jon Stewart has some earned journalistic credibility by showing all sides and even addressed the politifact "scandal".

Look all Jon Stewart is not the "news". Blue here isn't even news. I am clearly partisan. But what he has done shows more journalistic integrity than all the talking heads combined and perhaps that can be lesson if it is wanted to be applied by all the wanna be "news" shows.

My Life Has Been a Poor Attempt To Imitate the Man. I'm Just a Living Legacy to the Leader of the Band

It would be trite to boil down our father's influence to mere pop culture references. "Some dad's are like Archie Bunker and others are like Ward Cleaver..." It makes for a nice Hallmark moment, but it doesn't offer what our fathers offer us.

My solid liberal beliefs and by extension my sisters solid conservative beliefs extend from our fathers no nonsense, no bullshit attitude. My father was a WWII vet. Hence, my reverence toward the "greatest generation" that I DO believe in. He was awarded three bronze stars in the European theater. Should have been awarded a purple heart but refused to have his commanding officer put in for one because his injury "wasn't that bad". He would never tell a 'blood and guts' story. He took all that he saw and lived and died with it. He would regale us with humorous stories that made the world on the brink seem like a "crazy day at work".

He also worked for the local fire department for 25 years. He was a driver which means he was pretty damned good at his job. He loved listening to his Hank Williams albums and singing along (badly). He was surprisingly a good cook and it was always the attention to details he paid heed to. When big stuff went wrong, it was water off a ducks back...but God Forbid little Blue or little Red sis forgot to take out the trash.

I never took the opportunity to tell my father in his life what he meant to me but I have spent the rest of my life understanding his lessons. Thank you Dad and Happy Fathers day to you, and to all fathers out there.

I Hear the Thunder, from Three Miles Away. The Island is Leaking Into the Bay

A young Blue listened to Dan Fogelberg when he was a teenage romantic and bought the album "Phoenix". So imagine when he heard a great rocking tune by this wonderful sensitive poet. It was called "Face the Fire" and it lends some lyrics to this title. Fast Forward some thirty two years. Mr. Fogelberg has passed, (much, much to early) young Blue has become Ole Blue, romance has given way to reality...But Nuclear power was becoming relevant in a positive way. Some of us liberals were realizing that when ran right, it's a clean energy, ways are even being conceived to make nuclear waste and meltdowns a thing of the past...Then a massive earthquake ravages the country of Japan. The Fukushima nuclear plant is affected. Of course the nuclear powers there are scared so they fudge some facts but sadly it seems we may be paying the price in our country for that fudging. When it became known that some facts were being hidden, we, in the States,  raised holy hell with them. Many tales of bravery are coming out like seniors volunteering their time to see damage and be guinea pigs for the future generations, skeleton crews volunteering their time in the plants again, in essence, dooming themselves...But boy are we pissed at the Japanese Government for not telling us the full story...


Folks we can get off our soapbox. How many of us in the states now that in Nebraska there is a level 4 nuclear emergency in their power plant? It isn't just the "lamestream media" or "liberal media" not covering this. We only hear about this from the Salem times or Hawaii times. No Fox looking to capitalize on a mistake happening in the Obama Administration (his fault or no), no NPR to calmly tell us that two or three states away that serious shit is going down, No CNN having Anderson Cooper tell us in his heartfelt, touching voice how brave people are in Nebraska...we get nothing.

I do understand the concept of top secret. If we know the truth about some things we will be scared shitless or definitely lack some judgement that better trained minds than ours, but if I at 14 was smart enough to catch on to the serious issue that was Three Mile Island, don't we think, media outlets, there's some 14 year old say maybe in Nebraska, that would like to know what the fucks up?

through our sorrow, all through our splendour, don't take offence at my innuendo

another thing baffles Ole Blue, it's about our nations way of cleaning up presidents or famous figures that foul up or worse yet do nothing and making them into "honored" statesmen. It never fails to amaze me that under his watch, Eisenhower allowed the mad man named Joe McCarthy drunkenly ramble on about all the "commanists" in Washington, D.C. Then Ike went and played golf, like Dick Cheney went and had a heart attack or ten, like Wilson, had a stroke in office (not nearly as severe) and because three days before his term ended tells us about the vast "military industrial complex" and all of us Blue, Red and Purple wet themselves like he was a prophet warning us that it would take over and giving us this grand warning. To me especially looking back it was more like "I got mine and I'm screwing y'all over but thanks for blaming the Catholic" Yet when I see polls looking back at the Eisenhower presidency I see many that have him considered a top ten president? QUICK name one accomplishment?...okay take your time and name one accomplishment...yeah that's what I thought. Civil rights were being fought for in SPITE of Ike. He did the one good thing in his term of naming Warren his chief justice of the Supreme Court but unlike the Shrub, Ike felt that Warren was the worst thing that happened to the country...there's our war hero for us. Disappointed that his nominee was surpassed only by John Marshall bravo Ike!

And then there's St Ronnie of Eureka. the ole Gipper, Dutch who would smile as he twisted the knife in your middle classed back. The former union leader who decimated air travel, the man who embraced the trickle down theory of economics that in essence tries to build a country from the top down. I am no carpenter but I know that if i build my entertainment unit from the top down, well I will be working on that sucker until I have no idea what to use it for. The man who when elected set civil rights back thirty years and then like American sheeple that we are, RE-ELECT a man riddled with Alzeimers disease when he's 45 feet from the button. I must stand and applaud my fellow americans. some of them not a brain in their head!

Yet with Reagan some worship at the altar of Ronnie and claim great miracles of healing and wait for Benny the Nazi to beatify him. I think some red stater found an image of Ronnie burnt into toast. After all he IS the model for republican Jesus...what bugs me is some lefties eat that image up too. We don't need to vilify these guys anymore because their dead which means in the same measure we sure as hell don't have to burnish their legacy. Their dead, they luckily didn't kill the country with their mismanagement but they surely left a bad dent in it. Once we understand the true damage these two "patriots" did there will be no parade just a simultaneous head slap of about 60 million strong saying "what WAS in that kool-aid?"

i said upside down you're turning me...

Baffled. Pure baffled. If you would tell me how to destroy the republican party from within I would tell you this is how. First sneak a Democratic adviser in and tell them to: Go bat shit crazy on religion, Americans love their religion but get everything wrong and make Jesus out to be a capitolist pig....then I would tell them alienate half the voting base by telling them a man will define what rape is, then go out and attack health care, when you fully have the people on that side then run the economy into the ground (screaming America, America, America the ENTIRE time) then when a democrat comes in blame him or her for your mess. After you completely have the voting populace on your side further castigate public workers by bullying them into giving up their unions then go to middle town America and do one of these two things (both would be ideal) either tell the people that who they voted for were idiots and your can't be trusted so your friendly neighborhood republican will take over the city with one emergency financial manager OR during a city council meeting tell the people they must give their keys to their houses to the city so they can drop on by anytime.

another thing I would do, is have nothing but hypocritical asses pass judgment on people to stain them and then be caught in these same peccadilloes. Or similarly have the whoremonger run on a family values platform then have him caught with his diaper down. Perhaps i would tell people how important civil rights  then would run with question "was our president born here?" and run with the show us your papers routine. Yes if I infiltrated the republican party I would tell them to do this and more because surely this would destroy them.

Then I would gather every person with less than 100 working brain cells and pump them up with false historical information and say the bat shit craziest things I could and tell them spell the sign any way you want you're mad! and tell them it's exactly what sam adams fought for then made his beer! I would get a vapid congressperson to spout this same shit over and over. Until finally the citizens would understand that these people are fucking nuts. That they would screw over their own mother to get elected, that they don't give a damn about you.


Then how would I feel if the bat shit insanity took hold? Nahhhhh that's impossible, this is America and like the great comedian/philosopher Bill Hicks "Here's your 56 channels of American Gladiators, Be free America, You are free to do what we tell you"

And Now For Something Completely Different...

I will talk about politics all day long. I will breath fire and brimstone and raise holy hell at any right winger and even my vitriol will hit some of my lefty brethren. Today is not that day. Today I harken back to a more innocent time when I never heard of the "Woodstock" that hadn't happened yet or was still to new in our consciousness, to a time when astronauts and going to the moon was a huge bit of news in our culture. Richard Nixon was president. William Milliken was the new governor in the State of Michigan. The Internet was just about to have computer scientists wetting their pants and even Sesame Street was an idea not yet brought to fruition. At the risk of sounding condescending or remembering things the way they weren't it WAS a simpler time.

It was also a time lil Blue would be taught by a teacher that was nearly the perfect Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Marjorie Gauntlett understood what the word "Kindergarten" is Childrens Garden. She gave many young kids a chance to grow. Gave them a gentle hand to do the things the right way. Constant teaching of how to do things the correct way. Repeating the good lessons our parents gave us to do things the correct way. She taught us to stand for ourselves. Mrs. Gauntlett was known for her yearly circus of kindergartners. The 5 year old princesses, the ringmaster, I remember being an "Emmett Kelly" style sad clown. She also gave many a student teachers the same helpful, gentle guidance toward their career in primary
education.

As you can see this is a hail and farewell to a fine person. Mrs. Gauntlett though you did not know it you helped create "Ole Blue" and I thank you for all your kind teachings and like my parents (and as you were my first teacher you had that much sway back then) you helped me do the right things and allowed me to stand up for me and for that and any of us that were taught by you this is how you will live forever. Thank you.

And So We Dance Into the Fire, That Fatal Kiss Is All We Need

It is said you can tell an awful lot about a people by how they as a whole treat their less fortunate. I would, in a word chafe if I lived in Orlando, Florida right now. As of this AM, eight people have been arrested for the heinous crime of, are you ready...feeding the homeless. These bastards fed the homeless? String them up they may end up volunteering for some whacky environmental issue next and we surely can't have that.




Well, okay lets not go that far. What we can do to set it right is engage in 3 wars, fight the very program that people have allegedly focused efforts on for at least 40 years, become seditious toward our president in a way we haven't seen in 150 years...oh wait we already have seditioners that would make John C. Calhoun and Jeff Davis proud, lets see then aw to hell with it hang the people that would dare be Christ like and aid their fellow brethren because according to St. Ronnie of Eureka that IS what Jesus would REALLY do.


To my one or two reich wing readers; is this what you really think Heaven is like? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. As you hold on Earth, I will hold in Heaven (pp) Do you think God wants your little seditious tea soiree? Do you think God wants your signs calling Him A 'lyin' African'? Do you really think GOD wants your hate filled rhetoric? Complete with crosshairs? How many slaveholders do you really think are in Heaven? How many KKK members? How many members of the Westboro Bastard Cult? These are your brethren that you stand there and court their votes, their pseudo love. I am not a 'holy roller'. I do have my belief and for God's sake from what I know of spirituality, your clear hatred of poverty has already eliminated you from His Kingdom....but I suspect from your actions, you already know this as you continue your dance into the fire. So remember this your reckless power grab will render all that you sow...enjoy it as you inherit the wind

Every Drop of Rain That Falls In Sahara Desert Says it All, It's A Miracle

I could go on and rant as I am really good about it, but I find the more I rant the more stupid shit the Reich Wing does, but if Ole Blue Stays silent, they raise my blood pressure. Now at 46 with a pretty sedentary lifestyle, that is one of the payments the piper wants over a lifetime. I have high blood pressure. As Ole Blue also found he weighs 271.9 pounds and smokes now less than a pack a day but still smokes made him do a little introspection.

I am now taking in laymans term a water pill which over the last week has lead to a minor dehydration incident and the "Chantix" is leading to a bit of depression. However, I am down to 11 cigarettes a day, I have lost about 8 pounds of bloat thanks to the sweating and the other facet of taking a water pill. I have not been paying to much attention to politics the last week and for that I apologize to my loyal followers. I have found that my health for the time being is more important than this little journal I make about 5 times a week.

I have always been transparent with everyone and this shall be no exception. I will still be biting but I may write this 3-4 times a week as opposed to 5 days a week. I am still working behind the scenes in my local Democrat headquarters. handing flyers, raising hell and still blogging.

With School and work and a society that doesn't understand how good our president IS it is a lot on my plate. I am up for it but i need to scale it back a bit. I am with all of us and I suggest that if you have a borderline HBP, monitor it. Take care of yourself. Stroke or painful heart disease is no way to check out. Neither is dehydration. Man, even a minor case of it knocked me out for the rest of the day. So again, take care of your body folks because as i state at the beginning from Freddie Mercury and Queen "Every drop of rain that falls in Sahara Desert says it all, It's a miracle" embrace the miracle

The Last Thing I Will Say About "Weinergate"

So I spent most of the past week decrying how wrong Breitbart was in hacking Anthony Weiner's twitter account and I got into a lather because Rep Weiner is doing great things on the left side of the ledger. In fact he has been the bulldog that our side has needed to show we're not all about being soft. Sometimes we bark and sometimes we bite.


Well, roll me in powdered sugar and call me a doughnut. Weiner's weiner wasn't a hack, it wasn't a bad fifth grade joke, he really did twitter the pic. Now Nancy Pelosi wants an investigation, the party that brought us David Vitter, Larry Craig and Newt Gingrich demand for his resignation.

I come not to praise OR bury him. I think he's an effective voice. I think we on the left need him. The fact that we are so disappointed shows why we are doing the right things. He's effective. If he were Bart Stupak or Heath Ledger or another DINO or another typical republican (Craigs list anyone?) that run on what we know is their false "Family Values" pretense, then we figure "yup knew it!" Anthony Weiner made no family value claim. He made no pretenses about being a good Christian (yes I know he's Jewish) he never pretended to be anything other than what he is. A good but flawed man who fights the good fight for good, but flawed people in his district. His issue with cybering legal aged younger ladies is not for us right or left to judge. There are only two factions this issue truly has to matter to. His wife, and his constituents.

So I apologize to my readers for drinking the Weiner kool aid. I saw a potential president and given our sound bite society he still may be one  but he has to be forthcoming if he wants the trust of the American People at least on our side. See, Mr. Weiner, we get it, you're human and you have fought the good fight and like all of us you're flawed. Just be accountable for what happened and most of us are still cool.

I Can't Go On, Saying the Same Things

In the book I have been planning for about two years I have this opening line "I don't claim to know the truth; but I know MY truth." I don't claim to have any inside knowledge of Washington D.C. nor it's inner mechinations. However, I do know that things appear right or wrong. It appears that a lot of my fellow citizens are so blinded by a myriad of things in regards to Barack Obama that they would just as soon have things the 'way they are' as opposed to what the will of 60,000,000 Americans did say in that we want change. What are these things? Well the name scares some. I mean we had a 15 year war with Osama bin Laden...and the majority of us in these United States (a name become more ironic than factual) elected a man named Barack Hussein Obama. Grow up folks this is almost as bad is giggling over the movie title "Mr. Woodcock".

Now, if I was simple minded or if I were a reich winger but again I repeat myself (thanks Mark Twain) I wouldn't know what BHO was. Is he a Kenyan? Is he a Socialist? Is he a Fascist? Is he playing Heath Ledger as the Joker on weekends? OR, is he the right man for the right time? Some on the left have argued against our own president. Have they been willfully ignorant of the uphill battle our president has faced? I mean he has stared down reich wingers, holy rollers, teabaggers, progbaggers, and we have heard he's soft on terror, we have been told he's going to send this country to third world status, he has been a puppet of big business...DAMN this must BE the most dangerous man in America; or even worse, the most ineffectual president we have ever had. I know if we go into the ancient history of 2008 we see what true ineffectuality is, but that is forgotten in light of the fact this man DID get health care passed (with NO help from the reich wing and precious little from blue dogs) he did take out OBL, he did get money for the infrastructure and has created more jobs in two and a half years than the shrub did in 8, but reich wingers and both baggers don't want to hear this. The teabaggers love them some irritable Paul system, the progbaggers love the little elf that couldn't handle a city (cleveland) but want HIM to run the country....and the reich wingers want the pizza man to run the country...amazing.

Well sadly for some of you folks it appears BHO will get re-election because I and other lefties are seeing that we are appreciating the drubbing we took in November. On a promise of jobs, jobs, jobs and smaller government, the GOP has attacked women, the poor, medicare, social security and of course worked on EXPANDING the government...keep marching GOP. Your Faustian bargain you have made with the tea party will hasten your demise, and I will stand by as you continue your self immolation...love, blue

RIP Jack Kevorkian 1928-2011

Normally I don't do two blogs, but that was before I heard the news that Dr. Jack Kevorkian had passed away at the age of 83. Now Dr. Jack had a unique view of being a doctor. he held the Hippocratic oath close to him in it's first tenet "first, do no harm." Part of his responsibility as a doctor he felt was to demistify the spectre of death. It is something that generally scares the shit out of us. We don't like to think of it, but we also hate to think that we will go from being dynamic life loving human beings to becoming a burden on those we care deeply about. 

Dr. Jack didn't accept "emo kids" that wanted to die, or people that had the sniffles. These people that the good doctor aided were people that had ALS, Alzheimer's disease, long term debilitating diseases that kill a person long before they stop breathing. People that knew that they were dying and wanted that one degree of dignity that said "dammit, I still have control and while I do I make this decision." His biggest misstep was going on National TV for his crusade in this puritanical country and he paid his price for it. He did so however sans regret. His belief was rewarded in Oregon with an assisted suicide act but in his home state of Michigan still no movement. 

I watched many loved ones die agonizing deaths and they dealt with it gracefully and with honor. But I can't help but think if there was perhaps someone who could have aided in the passing with grace, comfort and dignity if they may not have chosen that route. Dr. Jack offered that route. Hospice is a logical extension of Dr. Jack's labor and it's a good step but all in all, a man who meant well and was persecuted (and prosecuted) for this movement passed today. I hope that we can evolve as a people and take his lessons and move forward as a people who retain some control as to how we are remembered. Thank you for your bravery Dr. Jack. I know some of us didn't agree with you but maybe all of us can benefit from your willingness to take your belief and run with it. RIP Doctor.

Just When I thought I was Out...THEY PULL ME BACK IN!

So for most of us who think. I believe as humbly as possible, I have disseminated some of the field of the GOP and have found them sorely lacking in content. What's worse is that for years we on the left have made the statement of style over substance being the GOP mantra and frankly the style has also worn out. They haven't even tried to hide their hatred for their country and most of her citizens. Focusing instead in how to make their rich pals richer and along the way making a dollar (or billion) themselves.

I thought since I ripped the three front runners into shreds anything odd from them I found could be just dismissed as so much garbage...Thank you Tim "Gomer Pyle" Pawlenty. You must want to run the country like Gomer Pyle. While you and your reich wing pals focus on Weiner's weiner or Edwards peccadillos, you hoped sir, that the news of you giving a full pardon to a child molester would be swept away like so much crap the GOP does...

WELL, GOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE! Some of us here on the left noticed it. Come on! We turned on John Edwards for being merely a slimebag and he cheated on a dying adult. Did you think that you could hide the fact you pardoned a REPEAT child molester? The kicker? You pardoned him so his wife could open a day care center. I would love to see how Bartelby and Loki from the movie "Dogma" would react to that! I mean they almost blasted that one person in the boardroom for not blessing Loki when he sneezed. (sure it's an obscure reference but if you saw the movie wasn't it funny?) Get 'em while they're young  may work for keeping kids off drugs  or on the straight and narrow, not for a child molester's wife to have a day care center.

So Private Pyle (look at him Jim Nabors long lost offshoot) please do the one honorable thing you can sir...withdraw and please Shut up and let the adults run the country thank you

Me-Shell...aw Hell...

Politics is funny. Lets all concede right now that "Weinergate" is all about Breitbart being so scared of Anthony Weiner that he's pissing himself (a little pun intended). No I am going to another show that the Reich wing is performing. In as she's one of my favorite targets, lets delve into the psyche of Bat Boy's Spawn shall we?

Bat Boy's Spawn, known to most people as Representative Michelle Bachmann has been a near daily topic for me to talk about because as we know when one applies the bat guano, insanity is an unfortunate side effect. I won't assume she's dumb, much as the concept that "Barney Greenwald" said to "Captain Queeg" in the Caine Mutiny; "it is assumed that there is no possible way Captain Queeg is a coward. One does not raise to the level of Captain in the Navy if he is a coward. So the questionable actions he displayed must lie elsewhere" (pp) Well as my own "Barney Greenwald" I give the representative the same back handed compliment. She is not stupid. She couldn't possibly fool so many people over and over in the great state of Minnesota and be stupid. So the questionable actions she displays must lie elsewhere.

Is it in "religion?" Well I know that if ole blue runs down the street saying "God told me to do it!" No one is assuming I am running for president. Oh, no, officers of the law are looking for bodies or some other remnant of my insanity. Is it level headed thinking? Well, I know that she was challenged by a 16 year old to a debate. Now instead of doing one of the two things most would do; write a letter (even a damned form letter Madame Representative) or acknowledge that due to time constraints it isn't feasible, or something that shows the elevator DOES go to the top floor...you allow your lackeys to threaten the poor child. THEN less than a month later you say "you would love to debate Barack Obama." Madame, though I do not question your intelligence (though  I may start to) you from Minnesota via Iowa, can not begin to grasp what this President who is a Harvard law professor, internationally traveled, Nobel Prize winning, knows. It would be like ole blue going up with my community college learnings and challenging the University of Michigan's valedictorian on a debate in his or her strength. Unless it's US history, i don't stand a snowballs chance...and even with US history the deck is stacked against me for I too am intelligent but like most I realize my limits.

So no Madame Representative, I don't believe you're stupid, you're smart enough to pander to your base. I look forward to the day most of the Reich wing and my fellow blues see you for the empty suit you truly are. then you will join her who shall remain nameless in my no longer mentioned list in my blog. Take care Bat Boy's Spawn...your day is setting on your day in the sun :-)

What If God Was One of Us?

about 15 years or so ago, Joan Osborne took heat for that song. Not for the reason she should have in that it was a slow droning painful song to listen to in a monotone, no she took the heat because she "dared" presume God may have been a "slob". He may have been an average mensch trying to get by and was silently watching our trials instead of say, making republicans richer.

Yet though I stated that i thought the song a painful listen, it was earnest. She shot out a few ideas and it hit home with some listeners. She did not attempt to use God or her perception or her entertainment or whatever to say that He told her to write this song. It seems God knows his strength. He isn't a songwriter or He may not even be He, but i digress and that is a different claim at a different time.

One of my favorite targets, Bat Boy's Spawn (see here http://lynnrockets.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/bachmann-batboy.jpg for reference) has now said from God's mouth to her ears that she should run for president. Really? I must ask when did God get into political punditry? I can't imagine anything that would bore Him more. I mean if He is the creator, isn't He tired of all the fighting among his kids? If He is, then why is BBS standing there screaming "look at me Daddy I'm the favorite."

See to me, it seems as political pundit, God has missed the boat a couple times. I mean Reagan? I know that the Reich wing has appointed him St. Ronnie of Eureka, but it sure seems when some of God's children got sick with AIDS or God's less fortunate kids were slipping into drugs or homelessness, St Ronnie kinda dropped the ball there. Eisenhower...Okay, Great general, but by the time he got his head out of his ass and decided to "warn" the American public about the military/industrial complex, to me there was a hint of "I got mine and screw you." and God as pundit...really? George W. Bush was the best You could do?

Or how about this, God doesn't give a big rats ass about our silly little political games. It's like the football player who gets the game winning touchdown and says "I'd like to thank God..." Does this mean He screwed over the tackler trying to stop you? No for all that God provides for people in an ideation, Comfort, support, a way to live..He really could care less about sports and politics and once we as a society get through through our thick skulls, the far better off we will be

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

It is a cliche of war. It is the purpose of war. We can wax poetic about it. "Once more into the breach dear friend." or "The purpose of war is not to die for your country; it's to make the other poor son of a bitch die for his." Any way it is cut, some poor sucker will die for his or her country. A family will be torn apart and a fabric of our nation is strengthened allegedly.

Make no mistake, Blue loves his country, Blue's Dad and grandparents loved their country. We all entered into the military. Dad was infantry and Gramps was a medic in the army. Blue was a Boatswains (pronounced Bosuns) mate in the navy. we allo served with honor, we were all medaled and we were all lucky enough to have seen serious shit and try to make a normal life afterwards.

Blue's Red half Sis (only call her half because though she is we have a good bond) Had a mom who was a "Rosie the Riveter" we all returned from our wars not TOO badly worse for the wear but leaving a permanent mark on all 4 of us.

Now after the death of bin Laden and almost ten years after our entry in Afghanistan and 8 into our foray into Iraq, we're getting ready to celebrate Memorial Day. There is no guilt trip, there is no resentment, there's not even a little self righteousness. What  I will say though is I do understand the resentment of constant wars in places we usually have no right to stick our nose, remember that the troop, sailor, grunt or flyboy (or girl) is taking orders and they are doing their best. Some will not come home to their loved ones. Understanding that please enjoy the parades, the barbecues, the closeness of families. Blue will, but remember that there were a few lives lost for us to enjoy these simple pleasures that we may just take for granted.

Save A Prayer for the Morning After

I have held off on this post for a while because it's tough to address the severity and magnitude of the horrid weather we have experienced in our country with a blog like mine where levity, smarm and righteous anger are the norm. That being said I realize how important getting aid to our friends in Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama et al is.

I contacted my friends in Missouri and thankfully, they are fine. Not everyone is as lucky as I. There is serious loss of life and possessions in these areas and for you who may follow me and have had that loss in your life know that you're in my prayers and praises for keeping on surviving.

That being said to hear Eric Cantor politicize the aid is infuriating. Again, you may say how I turned my anger at Texas into an anti aid tirade, and I say I don't recall any Missourians, Arkansans, Alabamans etc talking about secession or publicly questioning the POTUS in the crazy way that Governor Goodhair did OR get the aid, pocket it and still bitch. To see Mr. Cantor hold the good folks of Joplin, MO hostage in the budget argument to merely score points with the other Koch Suckers infuriates me. I know this is more measured than any of my other posts and as I write it I realize that it is not very good.  That being said also, When fellow Americans are in need we don't hold these people in NEED hostage to score your political points. I know that hurricane season is going to occur any day, and while I personally feel one thing, our government is far to good to let fellow Americans no matter where they're from die off for shits and giggles. I know that Virginia will get hit, and Mr. Cantor will be there hand out begging...is he going to want to hear from Nancy Pelosi, "for Virginians to get aid, we have to look at 'Serious cuts' to the budget?" I wouldn't expect her to say that, I wouldn't expect that from John Dingell, I wouldn't expect that from any elected official. Mr Cantor needs to search within himself and find out what the right answer is.

Right now, we need to focus our prayers, good wishes, positive thoughts, whatever it is we do in these situations on the folks hardest hit by these multiple tragedies. If you can, volunteer at your local Red Cross I have the link handy http://www.redcross.org/ it is that simple. Volunteer for local food drives, just continue doing the right things that I know as a rule that we on the left do. We already know that without oil or politicos in high places our states will be also held hostage by the GOP so again, as historically is shown the Reich Wing makes or exacerbates a mess and the left cleans it up...lets get to work

You'll see your problems multiply if you continually decide to follow the policy of "truth"

The day after I mention the cult of personality that is tearing at the fabric of our nation, we are all pissing ourselves silly about Ed Schultz and Laura Ingraham. Schultz tries to be hard hitting and funny and he used an unfortunate slur toward Ingraham. He issued a sincere apology and has been suspended without pay until further notice.

It's hard to feel bad for Ingraham. She's divisive and not above slurs herself however we on the left pride ourselves on being above that type of talk...we are not as events turn. Even this author let out a few ad hominems and red herrings in light of the Giffords shooting, we are rapidly disintegrating into what we despise. If we hold the mirror up to Big Ed we see ourselves. "If it's okay for them, it's okay for us"

It's okay if we're Sam Kinison or George Carlin or even "Blue" to observe things that are not right and holler the emperor HAS no clothes, it is disturbing when a congressperson or the president says "you lie" or "the Constitution is just a God damned sheet of paper". When you get to gender or orientation or race issues, one better have their ducks in a row. If the best thing I can say to someone of difference than I, is to point out said difference, it speaks ill of me. Laura Ingraham is not vile because she's a woman, she's vile because she's a disgusting shill. Herman Cain is not disgusting because he wants to run against BHO, he's disgusting because he likes to play fast and loose with his concept of the Constitution and his idea of Foreign Policy. Rush Limbaugh is not divisive because he's a fat drug addict, he's divisive because he "wants America to fail."

When words are bandied about to elicit reaction, we can not be surprised by a reaction. Perhaps Ed was channeling his inner Dan Aykroyd a one time employee of NBC, But what a comedian says and what a person of a certain respect says IS two different things. When Ed bandies that word that he used about Ingraham, it doesn't only hit Ingraham or Megyn Kelly or any reich wing woman, it implies he thinks that of Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Mika Brzinski (sp) et al.

You're better than slurs Ed. We get the gist that Ingraham is a vile creature and your apology does sound sincere. You're the one though that has to reign it in because a situation like this gives the reich wing pause to say "SEE! They are just as bad". Enjoy your vacation and think twice before you bandy slurs about

Look In My Eyes, What Do You See? The Cult of Personality

I go to a community college. I am aware that my blog is laden with ad hominems and the occasional straw man. However, growing up with the legend of Edward R. Murrow, and Walter Cronkite, I still hold news and journalism to a standard that requires a little research and a lot of middle of the road assessment. Since 1980 I have been sorely disappointed. Since 2008, I have been holding a wake for journalism. Yes journalism is dead. My blog is not journalism it is rather a journal so I can have my views and thank you if you like it, screw you if you don't.

It appears that all the issues this country has had since 1950 are all stemming from actors named Fonda. Henry was gray listed by his involvement in his dissent of the House Unamerican Activities Committee. He battled known Hollywood conservatives like Ward Bond, Jimmy Stewart and stood for what he believed and lost some income for his beliefs. We all know about his daughter Jane. Sitting on the anti aircraft missile launcher in Vietnam. She was called a traitor and for us on the left to deny that there is a real concern among our Vietnam vets with her is whistling past the graveyard. She was wrong. I would rather believe that she was a spoiled woman of privilege who tried to exercise her first amendment rights and failed miserably. Now Peter the least talented of the three needs attention (being the spoiled old man of privilege) and says he is training his grandchildren to use a gun against the president.

Though admirable (Henry), deplorable(Peter) or somewhere in between (Jane) these are all red herrings. To me the worst argument to make. Throw something out there and fight over that while the real sinister shit is happening over "here". Are the Fonda's really helping national discourse? No. Hank's been dead almost 30 years, Jane hasn't done anti war statements in 40 years, and Pete...poor Pete is only in the news because he is having a temper tantrum.

Let's focus on this instead; War in Afghanistan, drawdown but still a war in Iraq, piss poor regulations on business but massive regulations on our citizenry. How about telling the inspiring story of Kathy Hochul. ran as a liberal democrat in massively conservative district 26 in New York and winning. How about Snyder, Walker and the Koch suckers running roughshod over the Constitution. The economy is still in the crapper though getting better. These are far more in our interest than: Casey Anthony, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Dancing with the Stars, the newest American Idol and yes even Peter or any other Fonda. The cult of personality is becoming more important to our daily lives  and it only shows our frivolity about life and our country. If we continue down this path, welcome to third world status.

Caught between the scylla and Charibdes

The proverbial Scylla and Charibdes I speak of is the elephant in the room to a lot of my liberal pals. "If we got Osama, why the hell are we still in Afghanistan?" It is a valid question. I hope to illuminate a little bit here as to why, although the morality is dicey and the main target is taken out, we need to stay in Afghanistan for the time being.

In 2001 we ran into Afghanistan after 9/11 to show the world that this is just not done to the United States of America. It has been a constant in our history when shoved, we do shove back and generally twice as hard and damn near dare folks to get up. We were fighting a type of war different than any other in our nation's history but we felt up to the challenge. But sadly, Afghanistan was merely a decoy for the US to pick apart and lie about another country's involvement in 9/11. Things were left behind and others were focused on the red herring that was Saddam Hussein. In the meantime, things lagged so bad in what alledgedly was our number one priority of Afghanistan that while the reich wing of us were crying support the troops, they were conveniently forgetting that the main cause of this war on terror was setting up shop in one of our allies backyard. But we got Saddam Hussein and of course we knew by then that he had nothing to do with 9/11 even Cheney was admitting this. Yet, as we got Saddam, Afghanistan was festering, we had lost Pat Tillman and the Army and The Shrub wasted no time spinning that into God, Justice and the Reich Wing American way. But that is another blog for another day. Afghanistan lost a lot of luster in the short attention span theater that is the US of A once Jessica Lynch and "her cute self" was rescued after protecting herself and her crew "Rambo' Style (again another lie for G, J, And the RWA Way) and again once Tillman was killed in a friendly fire again made out to be Tillman stood there like John Wayne (another draft dodging Republican BUT I digress)

Short point, there was NO plan in Afghanistan. We had no freaking clue what to do in that country, Our soldiers did their damnedest of that I have NO doubt. But they were ill prepared for what to expect in this country that is thousands of miles away from their lives, they were ill prepared to come back into civilian life afterwards, they were just sent to a place and in essence told to figure it out.

I choose to believe that BHO is being deliberate because we don't want to pull out as fast and sloppily as we entered this quagmire. I know my bluer than blue pals will say "keep drinking that Kool aid" and the red of our citizenry will twist this into an endorsement of Shrub's (lack of) action. It is neither. It is common sense. We can not change a mind set overnight. We can not change a flawed policy overnight, we fought with blue dogs and reich wingers. Instead of wishing for instant gratification, let's let the President do his job. I believe in the man that got bin Laden in 2 years where Clinton and Bush failed after 13. We WILL get out of Afghanistan. I believe Barack Obama is the right man at the right time.

Because Hell, Hell is for Children

I think that we see the complete dumbing down of our congress. Now Blue won't go to the old chestnut about "Congress-Progress" but suffice to say that if one can say something stupid it will garner attention and about 200 trolls that will tell you how correct it is. UNLESS a child calls one on your bullshit then instead of pandering to the future voter (and trust me 'Candidate Bachmann' in two years this IS a voter you're pissing off) your minions come out and offer to to rape her and call her a whore.

I speak of Amy Myers. A 16 year old class president that noticed that it seems that Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) or as I call her "Bat-Boys" spawn, is playing fast and loose with the Constitution. Now for Blue and some of his more intelligent pals this is a no brainer but for the 16 year old to notice calls for a wake up to our country I would believe. Instead this group of 'Manchurian Candidates' and it's followers are turning to their standard argument go to move. Threats. Of course, Representative Bachmann is standing tall saying this is not what we want to do to prove our views are correct right? NO. She's notable for being silent for the only time in her worthless life.

Amy Myers has been called a "whore" and threatened with being raped and having her address put out for all to see. Why? Because she actually believes that she can be anything she wants because she has the American can do spirit? I get it Madame Representative, you're in the no win position. You debate her and IF you win you were supposed to and when you lose it's humiliating, I understand. But for you to stand silent  while your minions try to terrify a 16 year old adolescent speaks to what your character really is. You are one of the many reasons that this old liberal will stay that way and the thing is, you probably aided in solidifying  another young idealist to cement her views on the left wing...keep marching to the sea you will eventually get there...

Give Me Something to Believe In, Cause I Don't Believe In You Anymore, Anymore

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels witrh a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

—Matthew 24:23-31 

This should have told anyone who profess knowledge of the Word of God or who flaunt their "holiness" to all that Reverend (and I use that term loosely) Camping was a holy rolling nutbag. However, he used his "authority" and duped some poor saps while the vast majority of us took the "rapture'' as a joke. 

As some of my other poor misguided citizenry used the 'rapture' as God's clear anger at Obama, wouldn't it stand to reason his failure to not take any of us (except Maybe Randy Savage) would tell us that He thinks BHO is doing just fine. See the losers in this faux rapture are none other than followers of "Republican Jesus". This Jesus' patron saint is St. Ronnie of Eureka and they have not only looked forward to it but prayed for it so badly they have taken the Word of God and perverted it (which I believe is ALSO a sin) to the point where if I wasn't a Christian already (albeit fairly weak but a Christian nonetheless) I would pretty much be an atheist due to the wild inconsistencies trumpeted by these nutbags. The consistent Bearing of false witness, the coveting of other men's wives, the constant adultery, and the failure to hate the sin and love the sinner gives constant mixed messages in something that in actuality is stated pretty clearly. 

Let me remind my fellow Americans again of a few simple truths. One, When Jesus returns we won't know shit about shit about it. It's not like Gabriel or Peter will turn to us and say "Christ is coming, look busy!" and even if they did, the words would be in Aramaic so we wouldn't understand what they were saying. Another, JC will NOT look like Ted Nugent ca. 1975. If He looks like He would coming out of the region of the world He did, well frankly some of the more conservative folks would not feel comfortable riding on a plane with Him AND his gang of 12. In fact IF Christ returns to this place and time, and made his wild promises of turning water to wine and feeding 40 with a loaf of bread and a fish most would call Him a snake oil salesman. 

So, can we drop the pretense of the 'close, personal relationship' with your God. It's really tiring and frankly 2/3 of the citizenry really has not a clue about of which they talk

Spend each night in rapture...

Well, if the fundies are correct this is the last blog Blue will write. It's not that I'm about to be raptured but if the rapture as sponsored by the Koch Brothers happens well then I won't have much to say. See all of heaven will be laden with these reich wingers and then with any bad (read sane) republicans left down here, we can settle our differences over a trip to Starbucks. So color ole blue as someone who is looking forward to it. It's not that I believe what is being said I mean it says in the Bible (pp) that man will not know when Christ will return. It makes sense I mean if/when Christ comes and he lets His followers know "I'm coming, look busy" and if he gives the date how much you want to bet some will be bastards up to about three days before and change their song at the pivotal point. But, hey the fundies need to believe they control everything but you gotta figure that if/when Christ returns, He will have a say in the agenda.

As I say it's not that I don't believe like many of my fellow liberals, I DO believe. I choose to think though that my God is more compassionate than this nutty control freak that hates His creation, that created everyone different so they better act the same, I mean what truly separates Christianity, radical Islam and orthodox Judaism from a cult? Is God some pathetic, needy Marshall Applewhite that needs control so much that He creates something merely to destroy it? Shouldn't God be the one that comforts me when I have questions? When we hear that there is a down factor in our life, shouldn't God be our comfort as opposed to some giant parental figure in the sky wagging a finger saying "if you listened to Me this wouldn't happen here's My punishment".

As I stated last week I am a recovering alcoholic, I do not normally bring this up and I have twice in a week I apologize but it is germane to the blog at this point. I was at one of my first AA meetings and a person turned to me and asked if I had a relationship with God, I was struggling and I said something along the line of it doesn't matter I'm going to Hell anyway. He said that it wasn't going to help me if I didn't have a higher power. then he said these magic words to me "If your God isn't working for you, fire that motherfucker and get a new one". From that point on almost instantly I realized. at least my God, doesn't want me or my brethren to suffer. So if Heaven truly is a Reich wingers wet dream then please at the rapture, keep me here. I will forage for food or I will suffer for my liberal beliefs in Hell. If I'm lucky I meet FDR and Bob LaFollette.

to the left, to the left my politics will lean, to the left, to the left

In 1980 the Dukes of Hazard was the number one show in America. The United States Hockey Team defeated the dreaded Soviet Union Hockey Team 4-3 in one of the great 'sports as political statement' games, ranking up there with Jesse Owens and Joe Louis. It was also the time that a young adolescent felt a shift in political viewpoints. The proverbial pendulum took a hard right turn. Perhaps US hostages being held in Iran, a perceived weak president and a guy who promised America would be back was just what this country needed. I raised holy Hell as a young liberal. "He's only gonna lead us to WWIII and this time there will be no turning back!" St. Ronald of Eureka did not lead us to WWIII but his logical extension the Shrub sure did. But, as i love to do I digress, (and before anyone gets upset I know the war on terror is not technically World War III)

Twenty-eight years later we see that the 'conservative' agenda has run it's course. It has not shrunk government in fact, it has exacerbated it for the average person. It shrunk it for CEO's and banks making them less accountable but for ole Blue, Purple and even average Red, it has given folks like us more red tape, more red tape, more work to get our fingers into the ever shrinking American Pie. George Carlin (RIP) said that "It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it." I am almost that cynical but due to the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, I maintain a shred of hope that the citizenry of the country I love will do the proper thing.

November of '08 we did. We elected Barack Hussein Obama as President of the United States. It was momentous. It was groundbreaking, we went from a campaign of fear and in a direct slap in the face we stood and said NO let's go in this direction.

BHO has maintained that we would have to be the change we want to be and we has the people that elected him have done shockingly little to aid him. That being said I think that we have to remember BHO though doing an amazing job in a thankless time, is only the first step toward the US becoming the country she can be. Grand, sweeping changes will not occur during his presidency. He has done great things already including saving what used to be the symbol of America, GM. I being from Michigan was not fond of the move. but less than two years later, GM was paying off it's debt and going back and becoming in a tough time slowly profitable again. We knew that change wasn't going to come easy, there would be resistance and there would be some for whom, the change wasn't fast enough. People like me wax nostalgic over FDR, thinking if he waved his cigarette holder in the air, magic happened. Well it just wasn't so, No one had a bigger majority to work with than FDR this is why he could pass his legislation through and no Republican could stop him. I think that if we stop, take a breath and look around we on the left will realize, some of us old enough to realize it, the proverbial pendulum swung hard to the left in November, 2008. BHO is the start and a great start he is. I look forward to the next 14-22 years with excitement and hope for our nation

Rigorous honesty

I read today that Jeff Conaway who played Bobby Wheeler on 'Taxi' and Kenickie in 'Grease' had an overdose of pain pills and is in an Encino, California hospital in a coma. I know "so blue does this mean you're gonna rail about the Health care initiative?" No. It means that it gives me a pause to reflect. I have been in recovery for over 20 years. I used to drink like a fish for lack of a better term and i wouldn't stop until I passed out. The next morning waking up in pain and just continuing to move forward that was my pattern for my young adult life. I slipped my last time in 1993. I was angered about work, angered about a girl, in general an angry guy. So I pounded about 8 beers in a 30 minute time frame and kept it up. I kept up that pace of wake up, shower, work, drink, pass out, repeat for about 3 months until August 17, 1993. I realized that drinking at that pace I would not see 30 much less 46 as I am now. I stopped. AA was a great step to aid me then I realized that I had tools and I get words out to others and try to help out in my little ways. I am one of the lucky ones that it took with. Why? Because though I believe in God, I am not at all religious but rather spiritual (that handy 90's copout of an answer) and I believed in the tenet of AA that with rigorous honesty and taking of a continuing moral inventory and when we are wrong, admitting it, has saved my life and my sanity far more than it has hindered it. For 18 years i have continually taken this inventory and realized that while I was powerless over the alcohol, WE are not . It is up to me though, to not give into the temptation, to not be afraid to admit I may be wrong, to stand tall and say I am an alcoholic.

I'm a winner because I am one of the few that can look in the mirror and say I have been alcohol free for almost 18 years. I may very well have a drink tomorrow. I do not plan to. I have other coping mechanisms in my arsenal that i do not have to embrace substances (except caffeine) to get me through the day. As of now however, I have been sober for years and thank God that I was given this well of knowledge to learn and grow from. It is my prayer that Jeff Conaway, Charlie Sheen and all the others who names we do not know find that reserve that allows them to tap that rigorous honesty and that it is not to late

...and with Newt B. Gingrich as Alice...

An homage (which is French for stealing) to the Brady Bunch intro as I saw on one of the Facebook pages I follow showed all of the potential GOP candidates running for president but the middle was empty (much like these suits the GOP is parading but I digress) and the first thing that popped in Ole Blue's mind was the title of this piece. So shall we study Newt Gingrich and see what new and exciting things he has to offer The US of A if most of our brethren swallows amnesia pills and votes for this troll?

(you can imagine the 'Jeopardy' theme playing if you desire. Art Fleming OR Alex Trebek. Pays me no never mind)

Yeah, I got the same thing too fellow libbies. NOTHING! The Newtered one offers nothing new to political understanding, discourse or even tactics. I understand his fervent is to draw Rove off his ass or plunder the grave of Lee Atwater to burnish his out of control campaign. He tried the Catholic route and frankly that only worked for JFK and to paraphrase the late Lloyd Bentsen, "I read about Jack Kennedy, My parents voted for Jack Kennedy, you, Sir, are no Jack Kennedy". He tries to draw on his experience as Speaker of the House and that was a stepping stone to the White House for....James Knox Polk in 1845. His legacy is one of getting Bill Clinton impeached over an affair with an intern, whilst he was carrying on with another person to get rid of his wife who contracted MS. Then telling people that he was so patriotic he just HAD to cheat on his wife. Maybe Bill Clinton isn't as intelligent as we thought, I mean couldn't he have said that and clearly the republicans would have given him a free pass.

Two divorces from ill wives, impeaching a president for the same sex issue that he, in essence, was having. the fact his name is "Newt" like a wanna be salamander, the attempt to shut down the government...how did that work bud? I give you merely some of the legitimate (and face it one totally superficial) reasons to dismiss Newt Gingrich like that bad boy in elementary school. See dismissing Gingrich isn't to difficult in my book. The 'newt' is superficial, pandering, divisive and of course the worst choice our country could make after the disaster that was Bush and the hope that is PBHO. But as always Blue leaves you to your conscience and thought patterns. Have a wonderful day and see you again

This is it...

I stated on my facebook page that I would make this announcement, and it's sad that it has to be done in an announcement fashion. It used to be that someone would get their inevitable Warholian fifteen minutes, then disappear and be left with a feeling of 'didn't they use to...." Yet in this day and age of internet trolls and instant crap that passes for news, these people that we would leave behind like so much excreta and we would feel so relieved, are given a certain gravitas and we are forced to take their words as Gospel. Rush Limbaugh is the reich wing version of Aimee Semple MacPherson, Glenn Beck is Billy Sunday, and the failed list goes on. 

No I am actually helping to aid the republicans to help save themselves in this case and helping my fellow liberals get passed the sizzle and look at the steak. Why does any person with any shred of what we call ourselves as Americans give a lick about what is stated by one Sarah Louise Palin? She's nothing more than a vapid gaseous vacuum of hate. She offers nothing to political discourse, her husband belonged to a group in Alaska that wants to leave the union, she equated living 800 miles from Russia into seeing the kremlin from her back yard. She is ill prepared to talk to any news agency that is not lead by Roger Ailes. Explain how a secretive, lying, half term governor with no real history of governing deserves your praise or even your scorn? She is unlikable don't get me wrong, I wouldn't walk across the street to hear her give away free caribou jerky. That being said however, she is the political equivilant of nothing. There is nothing like Sarah Palin in my following of US history. John C. Calhoun who I have almost no historical respect for, at least in his way tried to do the best he could for his state. James Buchanan served honorably as Polk's secretary of state in the 1840's before he screwed up the presidency. James Garfield was a general in the civil war and was a senator from Ohio before he became president. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, tried to govern the US least populous state and only succeeded in showing us that Alaskans may be the singularly easiest people on earth to dupe. 

I suspect that the republicans see her as attractive and some democrats may harbor a secret feeling of "if i tilt my head this way, I can see how Tina Fey looks in 15 years" but there is more to governing than being pretty. it's amazing though that when I see her open her mouth, any attractiveness she may have, spews out in a volcanic magma of vile hatred detracting any physical attributes. So I implore anyone that follows me, supports me in my labor of love/ stroking of ego, to please, please, please, put Sarah Palin on your 'pay no mind' list. She's not Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito. She won't whack you. She will hopefully with a concentrated effort go back to her little hilla in Wasilla and remember how she had an opportunity to matter and either was unwilling or perhaps unable to.

Welcome to the "unoffcial first" Palin free zone starting...NOW!