Thursday, February 25, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Hillary Clinton cites 'constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'
'right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happines' is NOT in the US Constitution.
It is in the Declaration of Independence.
It is in the Declaration of Independence.
A big Bayou endorsement for Ted Cruz
By Mouser the King Cat
Tucked into the political calendar is the Louisiana Primary on March 5. Personal relationships mean a lot in bayou country, and GOP establishment darling Marco Rubio has the endorsement of Bobby Jindal, the former governor who has returned to his convenience store empire. (Just kidding!)
But we all know the gold standard in Louisiana is to be endorsed by a Robertson who appears on “Duck Dynasty,” still the hottest reality show on cable. Family scion Phil Robertson expressed his admiration for Ted Cruz in a hunting video.
“My qualifications for president of the United States are rather narrow. Is he or she godly, does he or she love us, can he or she do the job and finally – would they kill a duck and put him in a pot and make him a good duck gumbo? I’ve looked at the candidates. Ted Cruz is my man. He fits the bill.”
Mr. Cruz returned the compliment, suggesting Mr. Robertson might be a good U.N. ambassador.
“There is a reason he terrifies the mainstream media. He says things you’re not supposed to say. He actually remembers who we are as Americans and he speaks it with a joy. Not with an anger, not with a hatred – with a joy in who we are.”
That “terrifies” reference stems from when Mr. Robertson was quoted in GQ magazine as saying he considered same-sex marriage “evil” and “wicked.” The media pounced; his network suspended him, then un-caved. It took 10 days for “Duck Dynasty” fans to restore order, and the shows went on, every episode ending with a prayer and a family meal.
In other family news, Willie (Phil’s son) went on Fox News and pronounced his admiration for Donald Trump. CEOs can’t afford to be caught on the wrong side of the fence.
Cruz Was Trump Before Trump
By J.R. Holmsted
"Say whaaaaat? Have you lost your mind?"
No. Bear with me. The supposed GOP constituency has latched onto Trump, when we really already had all we needed in Cruz. We sacrificed the familiar and eloquent, for the new and bombastic.
But at what price?
I explain further in this series of tweets I unloaded yesterday.
"Say whaaaaat? Have you lost your mind?"
No. Bear with me. The supposed GOP constituency has latched onto Trump, when we really already had all we needed in Cruz. We sacrificed the familiar and eloquent, for the new and bombastic.
But at what price?
I explain further in this series of tweets I unloaded yesterday.
Cruz repeatedly bucked the system. He said things DC didn't want to hear. They tried to shut him up. He refused to be silenced. 1/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
He kept FIGHTING. He went against GOPe like it was his job, b/c it was. He was beholden to his constituents, not big interests. 2/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Yet somehow, that was not enough. It is obvious that our instant gratification, Reality TV obsessed populace do not want a statesman. 3/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Cruz isn't loud enough or crass enough to satisfy the citizenry that would rather drown in entertainment news & reality TV competitions. 4/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Now we scoff a man who shut down the govt fighting for us. So we throw values out the window. Principles are "adjusted." Cruz abandoned. 5/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Because Donald Trump is larger than life. He gets away w/ abhorrent behavior. He lashes out at small criticisms or perceived slights. 6/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
"But he's not a politician!!!"— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
If you buy that I've got a ski resort to sell you in San Antone.
"BUT HE'S NOT PC!!! HE FIGHTS!!!" 7/
Yet in order to support this "fighter," we've sacrificed the groundwork people like Cruz worked so hard to lay. 8/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Put us in the position to FINALLY win the presidency w/ the first true conservative in decades. A couple people could fit that bill. 9/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Cruz probably most of all. Still, we'll be left w/ a "fighter." Not the one who fought big government, Dems, GOPe, FOR us. 10/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
No, the fighter we'll be left w/ is the one that fights for himself. Fought to reelect Democrats. Fights anyone that criticizes him.11/— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
We turned our backs on the real fighter of the establishment in favor of an exciting, entertaining show. We will reap what we sow. /endrant— J.R. Holmsted (@JHolmsted) February 23, 2016
Primaries Matter So VOTE!
By J. R. Holmsted
Super Tuesday is coming. Far too quickly and with more dire stakes than I ever imagined. I’ve been thinking on this for a while. Maybe I should have written this sooner, maybe none of it matters anyway, but let me just get this off my chest.
Super Tuesday is coming. Far too quickly and with more dire stakes than I ever imagined. I’ve been thinking on this for a while. Maybe I should have written this sooner, maybe none of it matters anyway, but let me just get this off my chest.
Here’s the deal. I get going with the lesser evil. I’ve
voted that way a few times. But we are not there yet. These are primaries. Don’t
think about how you should vote because of popularity that is the “lesser evil” compared to
Hillary Clinton.
Vote for your ideal candidate. Nobody has to know but you.
Go with your gut, your heart, your head, but don’t go with the polls. Don’t go
with what your mom wants or even your best Tweeps tell you. Vote for YOU.
But most importantly VOTE! Primaries matter now more than
ever.
Beyond that I levy a challenge.
I CHALLENGE you to talk about who you’re voting for. What
you believe. What conservatism stands for in your eyes. Explain why. Get your
apathetic friends involved. Most likely they do care, they just don’t think it
matters or don’t want to be flamed for what they think. This crap line of
thinking will give us Trump. Which inevitably gives us Hillary. (Even if it does
give us Trump, then buckle up for another 8-16 years of progressive rule,
because Congress WILL turn over.)
Don’t be chicken. I understand not wanting to take a FB
stand, that’s not what I mean. Hell, I don’t. FB is reserved for family and
friend connections and photo sharing for me. You can more effectively engage
personally. People listen when you articulate your position while looking them
in the eye instead of from behind a keyboard.
“Dude! Political discussions are not polite! I was always
taught not to discuss them!”
Don’t give me that nonsense. You don’t have to be abrasive.
You don’t have to be a bully. You can inquire positions and engage in civil
discourse. Our forefathers did this all the time. More often than not, they
discussed politics around beers at a tavern until the wee hours of the morning.
Surely many of you can relate. (Don’t pretend you don’t go to the bar or have
drinks at home with friends on the reg.) They felt it was imperative. Had they
adhered to “politeness” we would not have this democratic republic or worse, our
mind-blowingly brilliant Constitution.
Encourage people to get involved. Whether you agree with
them or not. Engage, engage, engage, engage, engage!!!
Your convictions will be better for it. Your conscience will
be better for it.
America will be
better for it.
Come hell or high water, you will have done all you could.
h/t @AviWoolf, @cdpayne, @lifebythecreek for entertaining my thoughts and enriching my mind.
Come hell or high water, you will have done all you could.
h/t @AviWoolf, @cdpayne, @lifebythecreek for entertaining my thoughts and enriching my mind.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The Little Guy is right about the little guy
By Mouser the King Cat
The pundits, professors and professional blowhards who analyze politics on TV have grown increasingly tiresome. The disconnect from reality is on display every day and night.
Robert Reich, a professor at Cal-Berkeley, cuts through the clutter by calling the GOP and Democratic races what they are – a populist rebellion not likely to end soon.
Reich says:
A respected political insider recently told me most Americans are largely content. “The economy is in good shape,” he said. “Most Americans are better off than they’ve been in years. The problem has been the major candidates themselves.” I beg to differ.
Economic indicators may be up but they don’t reflect the economic insecurity most Americans still feel, nor the seeming arbitrariness and unfairness they experience. Nor do the major indicators show the linkages Americans see between wealth and power, crony capitalism, declining real wages, soaring CEO pay, and a billionaire class that’s turning our democracy into an oligarchy.
He goes on:
There’s no official definition of the “establishment” but it presumably includes all of the people and institutions that have wielded significant power over the American political economy, and are therefore deemed complicit.
At its core are the major corporations, their top executives, and Washington lobbyists and trade associations; the biggest Wall Street banks, their top officers, traders, hedge-fund and private-equity managers, and their lackeys in Washington; the billionaires who invest directly in politics; and the political leaders of both parties, their political operatives, and fundraisers.
The article cites the obvious candidates benefiting from the new prevailing mood – Trump and Sanders – but leaves out Ted Cruz, a conservative hated by the establishment.
Professor Reich has been a regular on TV since serving as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, so look for him to expand on these thoughts in the next few days. I’ll close by answering a question you were dying to ask: He stands 4 feet 11.
Good luck, Talia Jane
By Mouser the King Cat
The workplace can be crappy. It is unbearable when you make a string of poor decisions, as Talia Jane did.
Her story, in her words published at Medium:
“I left college, having majored in English literature, with a dream to work in media. It was either that or go to law school. Or become a teacher. But I didn’t want to become a cliche or drown in student loans, see. I also desperately needed to leave where I was living. … I found a job … and I put a bunch of debt on a shiny new credit card to afford the move.”
Her job was in customer service at Yelp/Eat 24, which publishes crowdsourced reviews of eateries and such. It was in San Francisco.
The operative word is WAS; her story was titled “An Open Letter To My CEO.” Shortly after it appeared, Talia Jane was fired. The CEO, Jeremy Stoppleman, went on Twitter to deny he knew of the firing before it happened. Skeptics might consider the number of yes men CEOs surround themselves with.
More from Talia Jane: “So here I am, 25, years ago, balancing all sorts of debt and trying to pave a life for myself that doesn’t involve crying in the bathtub every week. Every single one of my co-workers is struggling. They’re taking side jobs, they’re living at home. One of them started a GoFundMe because she couldn’t pay her rent. She ended up leaving the company and moving east, somewhere the minimum wage could double as a living wage.”
I’d like to know where that is, but I digress. The points here: Talia Jane holds a worthless degree; Talia Jane made a poor choice of entry-level jobs; Talia Jane insulted the company CEO.
Don’t be Talia Jane.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)