Occupy Philly started their occupation of city hall yesterday. Anyone that’s bringing attention to the huge inequity in wealth distribution needs to be listened to.
I thought it amusing and ironic that right after I took that picture, I see a guy riding around in a rare Ford GT ($200k new) so close to where I see people sleeping in doorways.
Tomorrow we get our chance to voice our displeasure with bad leadership. The expectation is that we will “run the bums out” it record numbers; it’s deserved. The performance of our leaders has been abysmal. But it’s not enough to just run the bastards out. We need to be careful about who we run in.
I cannot believe the candidates that have been run out there as serious candidates. And people are so anxious for change, they don’t even seem to care what the change to.
On the way home today I saw a Jon Runyan around the corner from my house. I live in Pennsylvania. Runyan is running in New Jersey. People aren’t even paying attention.
For all of the reasons there are to bring in some fresh blood, there are just as many reasons to be careful. There are some dangerous candidates out there. This Congress is the worse that we’ve ever seen – only to be surpassed by the next Congress.
Don’t run out the bums, only to replace them with newer bums.
Don’t vote based on your affinity for witches, football players, or attack ads, because you’re bound to be disappointed. Do your research; get out and vote on Tuesday, and only vote for the other guy if he’s in fact better.
With Sarah Palin’s book being released this week, get ready for the onslaught. If I could read it for free, I would, but I don’t like lining the pockets of a moron. Why would I read it; for a good laugh? Well yes – and how can I criticize the book without reading it?
Anyway – here’s your warning. Avoid the tele an the internet this week if you want to keep your sanity.
Angrier and angrier I get.
I keep hearing people saying that they’re worried about losing their health insurance. The Rethuglicans keep saying the American people are happy with their insurance providers and their doctors. Really? I’ve spent the last 3 weeks dealing with insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and whoever else I had to deal with and at no point have I thought “Wow, insurance companies are awesome.”
Isn’t it patently clear that the insurance companies need to be eliminated? How in the world has the Republican party convinced American people to argue on the behalf of the very companies that turn down our claims, cancel our health plans, and overcharge us for the privilege?
And another thing? Why aren’t we going after the pharmaceutical companies? Yesterday I received 36 boxes (72 doses) of generic Imitrex (sumitriptan succinate) at a cost of $5,200 (not my cost – what the drug costs). That is $72 per dose; for generic. There has got to be the understanding that controlling costs in the healthcare industry without reigning in the pharmaceutical industry is like losing weight while maintaing that Cheesecake Factor diet. Of course when your Chief of Staff is in the pocket of the pharmas.
Thoughts?
Today I couldn’t avoid the right-wing assholes. The Phillies happen to be on the same radio station as Limbaugh, so when I got in my car this morning who else but Limbaugh blaring his fascist drivel; quick switch to the iPod. Then when I returned home, I checked the mail and who’s on the front of Time but Glenn Beck.
Quick use of a Sharpie saved the day. Much improved, don’t you think?
For years I have disagreed with the idea of a third political party – that there were two main parties and to get things done (like elect a President) you needed to support one of the main parties. When Arlen Specter switched parties earlier this summer, it was due to the type of political expediency; he was not a Democrat, but closer to them than the current Republican party. I think that many people would have thought that that if there were a third party, would have come from the fringe edges of the liberal side of the country. What has become apparent to me is that the true need is in the Republican party as the party moves more dangerously and sociopathically to the extreme ends of conservatism. These are the conservatives that include crazies like the birthers, secessionists, teabaggers, the town hall meeting attendees, etcetera, etcetera. This is not representative of the entire membership of the Republican party and those more moderate Republicans are being pushed out and silenced. The party is represented by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. I have to believe there are more viewpoints than that. But as they hold their party hostage, even rational and fair-minded Republicans are required to heed this fringe element, even if it puts them further out of step with the general public (the public who reserves secession for Texas – that is asking Texas to secede.)
At a point when this country is divided to the point where there is no valuable debate, we are left with one side in power, the other side babbling like village idiots, and the everyone else in the middle ducking and taking cover. Does it have to be this way?
I’m not saying that the current Republican party line doesn’t have place in this discussion, what I’m saying is that we need more intelligent discourse in order to get things right, and while the Republican party is busy entertaining thoughts of revolution, teabagging, birthing, and seceding – intelligent discourse is not on their list of to dos.
*Photo by Sage Ross. Creative Commons License
Anyone who supports health care got a gift from the heavens when Joe Wilson lost his mind and called the President of the United States of America a liar to his face. So when the Republicans should be talking about health care, they’re talking about this, and the reason that I believe this is important is that it shows the Republicans to be frothing, crazy, out of touch fear mongers.
The President was brilliant tonight. He did what he needed to do, he took off the gloves, and he called these liars out. The Democrats need to fall in line and make this happen. The Republicans have been shown to be weirdos that don’t have our best interest in mind. All the talk from over the summer in those town hall meetings with those crazies is over. President Obama took the ball and now has the momentum on this issue. Waiting until now, after the end of the summer to respond was brilliant.
Now it’s time for the rest of us to make sure we let our representatives know we want this. We need to keep the momentum on this and make it happen.