Speaking of gas prices & the Wall St. Journal...some chick from the Wall St. Journal was on Jon Stewart last night. She was misinforming on behalf of BIG OIL, saying that it is not their fault, it's just supply and demand. With summer coming up, there's more demand. Jon Stewart kept saying, "Then how come their profits are soaring? And they weren't previous summers? And then how come gas isn't $3/gallon EVERY summer?" She just kept blabbing and avoiding the question, and Jon Stewart kept asking it, until she literally couldn't talk correctly, and started fumbling. Then, the classy Jon Stewart, saved her (because she was actually a well-mannered GOP misinformer, not that that's OK), by saying, "Well, I'm not an expert and you are...while she couldn't talk.

Jon Stewart does what the cheerleading MSM does not do: he keeps asking unanswered questions, calling them on it, and telling them they're not answering the question. She just fumbled because she wasn't a belligerent loud mouth, but that's still no excuse, because she was still a corporate-controlled misinformer, spreading misinformation on TV.

OT

Here they go again-whoopie!

Let's see - I use 10 gallons a week to get to work and back - at $3.25/gallon this amounts to a 6% savings over a one year period.

Taken together, these polls prove one point above all others. The two-party system is a complete failure.

If a president is this low (the eminence grise president, Cheney, is even lower), yet Congress has lower ratings still than Bush, it means Democrats are considered as bad as Republicans.

Yet no third-party of significance has emerged, because the two major parties control all the $$$$.
That's what it is, folks...money. The media won't give Greens or Libertarians or Independents the time of day, which means they can't raise money, which in turn means only Republicans and Democrats can. And because the two major parties dominate Capitol Hill, the lobbyists and corporate money men climb into bed with them and with the party power structure.

Is it any wonder the Democratic National Committee won't acknowledge Republican fraud in the last two elections? It would make the Greens and Libertarians look like heroes for challenging Ohio in 2004. Which is what they were...and why they deserve our votes in 2006 and 2008.

The two-party system is a hopeless dinosaur. If it ever served us well, it doesn't now. Students of history know that George Washington hated all political parties; thought they were dangerous. Somewhere in the heaven above Mt. Vernon, he's looking down on us now and nodding his head.

"Jon Stewart does what the cheerleading MSM does not do: he keeps asking unanswered questions, calling them on it, and telling them they're not answering the question."

Cartman has raised some interesting points as well.

Cartman is better than the MSM...AGREED!

Off topic..forgive. Anyone but me notice Air America never talks about voter fraud? Susan Serandon even called RR and asked her to make it an issue. Yesterday Al Fanken started talking about it. Like he knew all along. I expect to see more dems. talking now. I think they have had some sort of wimp agreement not to discuss it. Now since Bush's numbers are tanked, it's o.k. Would be o.k. with me too except for the people who have been killed and maimed for life using the "strategy."

Here's a question: If the Jon Stewart show has no credibity because it's on Comedy Central, why do Republicans go on his show? You know, the show with no credibility, because it's on Comedy Central???

So, it has no credibility, but they are lining up on a year-long waiting list, to get on it, right?

Molly, I fully agree!!! I've been saying this about Huffington Post & other progressive blogs. Why is this??? And Democrats don't talk about it either. Why?

Not quite so bad news for Democrats here:

From the Washington Post: an opening for Democrats in regards to high gasoline prices.

I am wondering if this is the trigger that causes the electorate to "throw the bums out."

If you recall, that is ultimately what got the GOP in charge in the first place.... and what was missing from our movement this year.

#6 Molly,
Not too long ago two familiar, progressive guests on Air America (I think one of them was Norm Ornstein) stated they were convinced the '04 election had not been stolen. No explanations, no follow-up questions.
I was listening to Al Franken yesterday too. I remember being extremely frustrated at Franken's comments right after the election, saying he didn't believe it was stolen. I sent him an email at the time.

As I've said so many times to anyone who will listen: coming to a conclusion BEFORE investigating makes NO SENSE. The analogy I use is:
A friend comes to you very upset & says "My wife was assaulted!" Would you
A. Call police & let them investigate, dust for prints, do interviews, etcetera to determine IF an assault really took place & if so, search for the culprit; or
B. Say to your friend "Don't be ridiculous! Hahaha! You silly man, why are you wasting my time!"

Obviously our government, the media & even people like Franken chose B, and it is absurd & criminal. Bill Clinton declared very early on that bush "won the election fair & square". Every democrat who spoke in tepid "support" of Boxer & Tubbs Jones on January 6th re contesting the Ohio electoral votes said some variation of "this is NOT about overturning the election."

Randi talks about it & Mike Malloy of course; the rest still do not get it. It's amazing. They have computers & staffs to do research. I think they have to be led to it like a horse to water, relentlessly.

The same with impeachment. If I hear one more time how impeachment would be "bad for the country".....!!

Joan, we are a nation of arrogant fools. It's perfectly OK (even diplomatically correct) to talk about election fraud in the Ukraine or Belarus. Election fraud in the Philippines was what brought Marcos down, with the United States leading the way.

But here? Not even worth talking about! "Oh no, we're not trying to overturn the election. No, no! We're only making sure everyone get a chance to vote next time."

Bullshit squared. Without acknowledging that the last election was stolen, there's no way to prevent the next one from being stolen. Al Franken is smoking pot if he doesn't realize that.

RLM #3

If any other party (Independents, etc.) were to take over each and every current democratic seat in the Senate and the House, and the republicans kept each seat they now have:

1) How many chairmanships of committees would those newly elected parties replacing the democrats get?

2) How many votes would the newly elected party (which replaced each and every democrat) have in each of the committees?

The answer is ZERO chairmanships, and ZERO majority votes on any committee in the Senate or the House.

The net change is likewise ZERO.

Your basic argument comes across to me, then, as an argument that certain people (your politicians) are better than other people (your party is better than the democrats and/or the republicans), and there is no relevance to the structure of congress.

That is not accurate nor real as I understand the structure of congress. Your argument, therefore, seems fanciful to me.

There is NO TWO PARTY system in the congress.

There is, instead, the majority party, which gets all committee chairmanships and the majority of votes on each and every committee in the Senate and the House.

The majority party also gets exclusive subpoena power, jurisdiction of all initial legislative proposals, hearing scheduling, the conduct thereof, and therefore control.

The minority party on the other hand gets none of that on any committee anywhere in the Senate or House.

It has absolutely nothing to do with what the party is called during the campaign or election, what matters, instead, is whether in the end the party is the majority party or not.

You were talking about the US Senate and the US House weren't you?

I am as dissatisfied as anyone else with the failure of congress, however, I am not going to let that blind me to the realities of how the congress structure necessitates certain strategies over others.

Don't shoot the messenger ...

Mother Jones just came out with an explanation of what's going on with this country.

Here's a shortenend version of their article by James K. Galbraith called "The Predator State. Enron, Tyco, WorldCom..&the US government?"

(The picture that goes with this is one of a big, overly fat government eating citizens.)

What is the nature of American capitalism today? Is it a grand national adventure.. in which markets provide the framework for benign competition, from which emerges the greatest good for the greatest number? Or is it the domain of a class struggle, even a "global class war"...in which the monied elite outmaneuver the remnants of the organized working class?..
Today, the signature of modern American capitalism is neither benign competition, nor an inclusive middle-class utopia. Instead, predation has become the dominant feature--a system wherein the rich have come to feast on decaying systems built for the middle class. AND THE AGENTS OF THE PREDATORY CLASS ARE IN FULL CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT UNDER WHICH WE LIVE.
Our rulers deliver favors to their clients...Everywhere you look, public decisions yield gains to specific private entities.
For in a predatory regime, nothing is done for public reasons. Indeed, THE MEN IN CHARGE DO NOT RECOGNIZE THAT 'PUBLIC PURPOSES' EXIST. THEY HAVE FRIENDS, & ENEMIES, & AS FOR THE REST OF US---WE'RE THE PREY. Hurricane Katrina illustrated this perfectly, as Halliburton scooped up contracts & Bush hamstrung Kathleen Blanco, the Democratic governor of Louisiana. The population of New Orleans was, at best, an afterthought; once dispersed, it was quickly forgotten.
The predator-prey model exlains some things other models cannot: in particular, cycles of prosperity & depression. Growth among the prey stimulates predation. The two populations grow together at first, but when the balance of power shifts toward the predators (through rising interest rates, utility rates, oil prices, or embezzlement) both can crash abruptly. When they do, it takes a long time for either to recover.
The predatory model can also help us understand why many rich people have come to hate the Bush administration. For predation is the enemy of honest business. In a world where the winners are all connected, it's not only the prey who lose out. It's everyone who hasn't licked the appropriate boots. Predatory regimes are like protection rackets: powerful & feared, but neither loved nor respected. They do not enjoy a broad political base.
In a predatory economy, the rules imagined by the law & economics crowd don't apply. There's no market discipline. Predators compete not by following rules but by breaking them. A predatory economy is criminogenic: It fosters & rewards criminal behavior.
Why don't markets provide the discipline?. Why don't "reputation effects" secure good behavior?.. A CEO uses his company as a "weapon" of fraud & a "shield" against prosecution--a situation with which law & economics cannot cope. (The best way to rob a bank is to own one)
For instance, law & economics argues that top accounting firms will protect their own reputations by ferreting out fraud in their clients. But, as with Enron, Tyco, & WorldCom, at every major S&L control fraud was protected by clean audits from top accountants: You hire the top firm to get the clean opinion... And there is another thing about predatory institutions. They invariably fail in the end. They fail because they are meant to fail. Predators suck the life from the businesses they command, concealing the fact for as long s possible behind fraudulent accounting & hugely complex transactions; that's the looter's point.
That a government run by people rooted in this culture should also be predatory isn't surprising--& the link between George H.W. Bush, who led the dergulation of the S&Ls, his son Neil, who ran a corrupt S&L, & Neil's brother George, for whom Ken Lay sent thugs to Florida in 2000 on the Enron plane, could hardly be any closer. But economic opinion has been slow to recognize this aside from occasional references to "kleptocracy". Thinking wistfully, we assume that government wants to do good, & it's failure to do so is a matter of incompetence.
But since our government is a predator it WILL fail: not merely politically, but in every substantial way. Government will not cope with global warming, or Hurrican Katrina, or Iraq--not because it is incompetent but because it is willfully indifferent...The questions are, in what ways will the failure hit the population? And what mechanisms survive for calling the predators to account? Unfortunatley, at the highest levels, one cannot rely on the justice system, thanks to the power of the pardon. It's politics or nothing, recognizing that in a world of predators, ALL ESTABLISHED PARTIES ARE CORRUPTED IN PART.
So, how can the political system reform itself? Until we can answer this question, the predators will continue to run wild.

I wonder if the mob, Cosa Nostra, still exists in this country?--Is Abramoff one of them?--Bush would have to show "respect" to the Godfather (cut him in), or be off'd.

Maybe Cheney IS the Godfather.

The above summary is an explanation of why THE DEMS WILL NOT SOLVE ANY OF OUR PROBLEMS--they are part of the problem.
Their function is to give the masses a bone here or there--give us hope--so we won't hunt them all down like the dogs they are & murder them one by one.

Recent poll numbers.

LIMBAUGH 141,700
HANNITY 118,200
GAMBLING 108,400
CURTIS/KUBY 101,500
IMUS 94,100
LEVIN 80,700
JOY BROWNE 69,500
O'REILLY 64,200
SAVAGE 62,900
BATCHELOR 43,300
INGRAHAM 37,500
FRANKEN 35,600
RANDI RHODES 27,900
LIONEL 27,100

Doing good libs!

Thanks Charlene --- That's just what's happening, IMO.

...predation has become the dominant feature--a system wherein the rich have come to feast on decaying systems built for the middle class.

Put very well and succintly, that's what's happening. It's to nobody's long-term benefit, and it shows clearly what a systemic mess this nation is in. It's too bad we have to put most of our energies into overthrowing King George and the gangsters (we do have to, of course) because our country is going down the drain and it is difficult to see how how to slow or stop the process given growing the inequalities of wealth. Wealth and political power must be, in some way, redistributed in the country or we can kiss our nation goodbye. We're not supposed to say that, but there will have to be many of "leaps" in our perceptions in order to think and act realistically.

A lot of "free-market" fanatics convince themselves that the ancient art of robbery and predation is new - the "end of history" and so on. It's not.

We have a few weapons. The Bill of Rights, for example. (Or do we?) The main thing is to break through hypocrisy because that's what papers over the predation.

A lot of "free-market" fanatics convince themselves that the ancient art of robbery and predation is new - the "end of history" and so on. It's not.

They also convince themselves that this is America, therefore robbery and predation must have some other meaning here. Big problem.

The Dem poll numbers. What does anyone expect when, for example, impeachment of a president richly deserving it and widely unpopular, is fearfully looked upon as likely to "mobilize the Republican base" (from Missouri Dems recently as an impeachment resolution was proposed. DNC thinking, most likely, too). Am I wrong? Wouldn't it be more politically healthy and strong to "mobilize the Democratic base"?

But I'm a Green...

LIMBAUGH WINS RICKY'S POLL
AND GETS NEW HOME

AFTER NOVEMBER ELECTION

Ricky #15, you're doin a heckuva job.

Ricky, sweety, numbers mean nothing if you don't make them relative to something.

Does your post mean that Rush Limbaugh said he ate 141,700 M&Ms since Bush has been President, as opposed to Franken's 35,600?

Or that 118,200 men in state prisons said that they'd rather share a cell with Jeff Gannon than with Sean Hannity?

You have to set up a context, and you have to give the total number of people polled, else your numbers are meaningless. Understand?

Also, as Brad has pointed out so often, attribution matters. Please post your source (unless, of course, you're just pulling numbers out of your a**)

We should start calling this the "LIMBO" administration -

Limbo lower now
Limbo lower now
How low can you go...

Don't move that limbo bar
You'll be a limbo star
How low can you go

(apologies to Chubby Checker)

pRicky -

If 141,700 people do a stupid thing...

it is still a stupid thing.

So what's your point?

molly #6

I too was blown away when Stephanie Miller totally blew off a phone caller as soon as he mentioned 9/11. She hung up on him instantly and changed the subject.

Charlene and Arry -

Now they are trying to appease us with $100 gas rebates as though the $100 comes out of thin air. It has to come from somewhere - can you say "TAXES"? Who will be affected most by those taxes? Certainly not oil company heads with their $400,000,000 retirement bonuses!

#19
Dredd You're a Real Gentleman to use a that View! . . . . . Instead of the rear View with the Famous Cyst . . .

Civil disobedience is the answer. In large masses.

Dredd, if there's a MAJORITY party and a MINORITY party, that's a two-party system, isn't it? Forgive me, but I think you've proved my point.

My argument is that under this system (regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats are in the majority) the country hasn't done well. It's less bad when the party in control of Congress is opposite from the president's party...but still less than ideal.

When Democrats controlled Congress with a Democrat president (as in the 1960s) it led to runaway inflation (and Vietnam). Now that Republicans control both Congress and the White House, we have unending war. out-of-control deficits, and the scandal du jour.

If Democrats get control of half or all of Congress this year, that will be an improvement, because it will return us to the 1980s (Republican president, Democrat Congress). But it won't be great, because the 1980s saw huge deficits, Iran-Contra, and the Savings & Loan debacle. The 1990s were better (Democrat president, Republican Congress), but it led to a stock market bubble. Can anyone say, "NASDAQ 5000?"

I agree that the two-party system is a one-party system in disguise. Where you and I differ is that I think we can do better than settling for what we've had. Just imagine a presidential candidate who owed nothing to Corporate America, nothing to the corporate media, nothing to lobbyists and Washington power brokers, and most importantly, nothing to a party power structure. Just imagine it, Dredd...we might actually have a government that represented the people for a change!

RLM #6

I concede that I thought you were talking about the names of the parties in the context of Green, Libertarian, Democrat, Republican, etc.

And I concede that it does not matter if the "majority" in congress is Green, Libertarian, Democrat, Republican, etc., they will have dictatorial powers when they establish the majority status by having the most members in either the Senate or the House.

And I concede that it does not matter if the "minority" is Green, Libertarian, Democrat, Republican, etc., they will have zero powers when they have the minority status (fewer members in the House or Senate than the majority party).

That dictates strategy, therefore, in my opinion. That is my point. The strategy to replace democrats with Green, Libertarian, etc. is ill fated because the net effect will be zero. They will still be the minority party in that ill fated scenario.

And tactically, it is easier to gain 15 seats by replacing republicans with democrats, giving the majority to the democrats, and taking it from the republicans ... than it is to replace several hundred seats with Green, Libertarian, etc. Orders of magnitude easier.

And that is the reason I support democrats in the November election. The only reason, in that context. However, I agree things will be better only in the sense we are talking about.

We must also take the state of the union into consideration, and this is not the time to try getting "jiggy wid it".

Things will never get good enough, however, unless and until the majority party system is revamped to a system that allows all parties who have elected officials in congress to have a real presence.

This could be chairmanship of a committee or the majority vote on a committee chaired by another party.

The idea is to follow our tradition of diluting power so that any one party is not drowned in the toxins of power (power corrupts) and therefore corrupted as any and all parties are bound to be if they are soaked in the toxins of power.

Further, it would give all parties a say in government and some experience toward becoming real participants in American government.

typo ... I intended to type RLM #26 in my post #28 ...

Personaly I think all Presidents are curropt, and evry one in polotics. I hope when we get our NEW president he/she will take our military, out of Iraq.

I agree with all those people! Gas prices are getting WAY to high! I am about to start driving soon, and I will have to pay for my car, insurance and gas! I dont make enough money of of baby sitting and yard work to pay that much in gas! Evry week, gas goes up 20 to 30 cents. Plus, evry one thinks Bush went into Iraq for gas and oil, not nculear weapons. My life gets drawn back big time from gas prices. An avreage amarican doesnt make enough to pay that and to get evrything there kids want. Being a teen with a single Mom, and an abusive Dad who pays as little child support as possible, makes it ruff. I have not been to a mall, in a month! I ran out of eyeliner 2 months ago. I spend my money on gas to help my mom. I live out in the country. Our gas prices just went up to $3.20 We cant get a new car to save on gas. We have to spend all our money on gas. The President is soposed to be helping our country. I wonder how much HE pays for gas!!!!! :angry:
I dont know how much longer we can last paying this much for gas. I have had to stop most of my afterschool activities, quit the yearbook and dance commity, all of my volunter jobs. I dont even get to go to any of my GirlScout meetings, much less the brownies troop, I helped with. Sorry I'm venting. Plus my schools totaly messed up!

OT -

A Raw Story link says 5 democratic congress members arrested for protesting genocide (link here).

#31 Kristen
Don't worry about your eyeliner & not getting to the mall--when you're young, you're cute anyway.
I'm sorry to hear how upset you are with your circumstances.
When you focus on what you DO have, instead of what you don't, the possibilities begin to appear.
It's in your best interests to keep your focus on what you do have all your life if you want to be happy & successful, because that's what you have to work with.
Maybe you can get a ride with girlfriends to some of these activities.
Are you too far out to ride a bicycle? My boys ride their bicycles 2 miles into town, see their friends, shoot hoops, play video games etc & ride 2 miles back. They enjoy it--DON'T EVER WALK OR RIDE ALONE ON COUNTRY ROADS. Is there a girlfriend to go with you? Get your friends to explain your situation to their parents & ask them for help by getting a ride.
Can you get a ride with the girl scout or brownie troop mothers?
If you don't have a bike, can you borrow one? Maybe a neighbor has a child that went off to college & left his bike home.
Do any of the wives of neighboring farmers go into town regularly to catch a ride with them? Explain your situation to them & ask them for help.
They may even have odd jobs you can do to increase your income.
Are you charging what you're worth at babysitting?
Advertise your babysitting by making a nice flyer with everything parents need to know (to do this, pretend you are a parent needing a babysitter & ask yourself what would you want to see on a flyer)--& copy it at school if possible. Send one home with each student, post your flyers at local businesses & leave them on local car windshields. (Be VERY careful when you gently lift the windshield wiper so you do no harm)
Don't let yourself dwell on the negative.
Your path to success & happiness lies working with what you have.

Arry, you're right.
The problem all over the world, as even ex-President Jimmy Carter has been saying, is that too few have too much.

You know, Robert Lockwood Mills, if we did have a President that represented the people--(which will never happen unless there's a true revolt by Americans in huge angry masses like the original American Revolution)--the predatory cabal would assassinate him or her. The predators count on us to be good little citizens, & continue to be the "silent majority".

It's getting difficult for the government to hide how little it cares about it's citizens, & how little it cares about the Constitution.
That weasel Gonzales is so glad he got to be a somebody up there in government, he has no morals or backbone at all. He's there to "bend it like Beckam"--meaning the law. He's an embarrassment to his people=they finally got up there in government, but he ain't representin, he's using his education to aide & abet the criminals & if he weren't, he wouldn't be up there. I guess no other lawyers wanted his disgraceful position--Bush had to pick someone who would be so grateful, he'd do anything with no questions asked.
Same with Condi Rice. She got up there at cabinet level only because Bush knew she'd do anything she was told--with no qualms about conscience--because that's how bad she wanted to be up there. She ain't representin either--she's an oreo, aiding & abeting criminals, Bush's slave, a disgrace to her people. She's smart enough to know she's lying for Bush only so he can rip us off. Shame on her.
Same with that damn Colin Powell. He had potential. He could have been President. Instead, he uses his abilities only to be Bush's slave at the United Nations--he knew he was lying about the WMD thing when he was saying it, they say he's since admitted it even! I noticed Powell & his crooked fat little son, who somehow, because of who his daddy was, got to be head of the FCC & help make rules that ruined our free press & news in this country, have both already cut & run from their positions, just exactly like all the naked, drunk people on "bad boys" cut & run too, before they get caught. Shame on them both.

Shame on all of them. Selling their souls & turning on their own country--just so they could "move on up".
They've got no class.

Uh if the Corporate Media was saying last week Bush/Cheney/Congress were in the teens and twenties last week they must really be in the single digits, remember when Bush's approval rating was 2% for Blacks! That was six months ago, and 2% is a lynching #, just saying! Americans are so god damn lazy and stupid though, its a mess!

Wasn't his approval rating below 30 last week? MSM cannot get their story straight. MSM is being run by big government. The same big government that forced Amazon and B&N to ban "America Deceived" by E.A. Blayre III. Here's the last link before Google Books gets in line:

http://www.iuniverse.com...?&isbn=0-595-38523-0

Ho-Hum, another fabrication by the corporate media... then they wonder why no one believes any thing thay report...guess some of us are not that stupid, after all

Conservatives hate our freedoms