A challenge for all Bush-Haters

[Cain]

Cheers, will do.

[Hoshiko]

Mmmm, eggplant.

Food of idealists.

Enjoy  :P

[chaosgraves:agentoferis]

I'm just getting real tired of all of this "lesser of two evils" bullshit. I want to do something about it. But I don't know where to start and Im impatient. Maybe I'll just move to a monestary...

Well, you can't go wrong with a Mannlicher-Carcano...

TGRR,
Is DEFINITELY going to Gitmo, now.

those things are ok if you don't have a giant tree in your way and you scored decently on the target shooting test for the military. like the guy on the knoll.

otherwise stay away from any windows above the first floor when the presidents in town... stupid oswald.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Cheers, will do.

Start here:  http://subgenius.com/bigfist/classic/classic.html

[Cain]

Cheers, will do.

Start here:  http://subgenius.com/bigfist/classic/classic.html

Funnily enough, I had just got to that page!

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I'm just getting real tired of all of this "lesser of two evils" bullshit. I want to do something about it. But I don't know where to start and Im impatient. Maybe I'll just move to a monestary...

Well, you can't go wrong with a Mannlicher-Carcano...

TGRR,
Is DEFINITELY going to Gitmo, now.

those things are ok if you don't have a giant tree in your way and you scored decently on the target shooting test for the military. like the guy on the knoll.

otherwise stay away from any windows above the first floor when the presidents in town... stupid oswald.

ONE of the Oswalds acted alone.

[chaosgraves:agentoferis]

Well, the last guy to try it was Jesus.

And you saw what happened to HIM...and what they twisted his words into, later.

The answer, historically, is "no".

Yes, yes, and there were many others. Siddhartha Gautama (actually got somewhere but only in asia) and the bodhisattvas that followed after. The dali lama (got booted from his own country), Mahatmas Ghandi (was hated by the very people he loved, mainly the untouchables) and mother teresa (held back by the CC).

But I've got to do something. Something big. Something big that will be peaceful, but won't be seen as weak. Something strong, but humble. Something that would turn the eyes of the leaders of the world, but not because they can make a profit.

<...grasping at the air...>

fuck that If I can come uo with something that will push for more peace int he world your damn right I'm going to present it so that those with the cash flow will make a profit... I want my idea to work don't I?!?!?

[chaosgraves:agentoferis]

So, then, is there no hope, nothing that can be done, just waiting until we are nothing but shell, no compassion, no humility, no understanding, just hate and greed and ignorance, where the world is cold and I won't care about the suffering of others? Is this what we are headed towards?

Greeds the one on that list I'm glad exists... it's easy to manipulate those assholes if you show them how their profit margin will go up.

[chaosgraves:agentoferis]

No. That's where we ARE.

No, you are wrong. Because I still care. The thought of not caring scares me, but I still care. It is not here yet, but it is close. This is why I am so desperate.

care all you want... but while you do don't discout viable alternatives... use the greed. thats the weak link.

[Ignatz Ratskiwatski]

I'd like to craft Luciferian Ceremonial Magick tools from the bones of George W. Bush's broken rib cage.

[Ignatz Ratskiwatski]

Why align yourself with a political party when you can align yourself with the state of Wisconsin...?

[Scytano]

Agent Compassion--- I had a nice long reply that just got eaten...  In a nutshell I was disagreeing with the notion that only the rich benefitted from Bush's tax cuts, as I benefitted from them, and I am not rich. There are many people like me as well, and if Bush had screwed everyone so throughly he would not have gotten the votes he received. People heard that mantra from the left for months, looked at their own situation, and disagreed. Now, I am not about to argue that Bush has been good for the country on the whole, or that he didn't deserve to be cast out in 2004. My contention is that the other options simply weren't any better. I wish that wasn't true but that's the way it is.

I don't pay taxes, but I do know that this year, the cut my parents got from Bush was less than what NY raised their state taxes by, because the economy's been totally fucked.

I know this happened to people, but not to me (I live in Louisiana) nor my mother (who lives in North Carolina). The economy in my area is booming.

[agent compassion]

I know this happened to people, but not to me (I live in Louisiana) nor my mother (who lives in North Carolina). The economy in my area is booming.

See, that's the conservative mentality right there, in a nutshell - "If it doesn't happen to me, it's not actually a problem."

I'm in a state that's been seeing high unemployment for the past 5 years, it's even hard to get TEMP jobs. So I'm not a fan of his tax cuts that don't reach down to the level where they would actually benefit a truly poor person.

[agent compassion]

This is a post from another board I'm on...thought it was interesting. Turd/Commie/Goat/Bastard, feel free to ignore and/or dis this one, since it was written by a Kucinich supporter.

On another board a Republican is arguing in favor of utility companies denying people power or water based on their "credit history" and preaching the usual "self reliance" and "personal responsibility" stuff.

Finally, after he made 10 provocative taunting liberal-bashing posts, I saw an opportunity to define what liberalism means and to un-hijack the thread.
the guy had this to say:
By the way, how many people to you work for free for?


And I responded:

I can't speak for any one else, but this question is so provocative that I felt compelled to answer.

I am a performer. How many people have I worked for without pay? Thousands. Gladly. Thankfully. Cheerfully.

When the Republicans gutted the state budgets and destroyed the arts councils around the country in the 90's, one valuable type of program hit the chopping block - music for the elderly warehoused in various facilities. After giving up on the Democratic politicians to fight this, I went ahead and started working the nursing homes on my own. The need is so great that I was soon working dozens of places every month. After being in hundreds of facilities, 3-4 hours at a time at all hours and all days of the week for years I can still count on two hands the number of times I saw family visiting. These people are forgotten and abandoned.

Another group for whom I play for free - involuntarily - is wealthy Republicans who stiff me for the check, figuring correctly that their lawyer is bigger than mine.

Another group for whom I offer to play for free is poor urban parishes and churches - "Mike, we are having our Wednesday spaghetti dinner, and people really love your music. I know we probably can't afford you......" to which I reply, "Ed, I will be there. Don't say another word." Even though I offer to do those for free, invariably "Ed" or "Mabel" or "Gloria" takes up a collection and stuffs an envelope in my pocket as I am leaving. Those envelopes sometimes contain hundreds of dollars.

The cash in those envelopes allows me to not stress out too much over the way the wealthy Republicans, corporations and music industry sharks treat me and other artists, and allows me to continue to help the forgotten and neglected. Welfare for the wealthy is what it is really. Those who can least afford it are holding the society together so that a handful of arrogant and self-serving people can strut around and bully the rest of us.

That is the real world that I live in and there is much joy and meaning there. I feel very fortunate and I am grateful.

Tell me about the world that you live in that led you to make your statements.

I am flying somewhat blind here, as your posts are provocative but your points not very clearly presented. I strongly suspect that the reason that you imply what you are thinking without honestly and forthrightly stating your positions is a matter of debate tactics. Since we don't know where you stand except by implication, I will answer a fictitious "Mr. Generic Republican" and you can chose whether or not anything I have to say applies to you. That seems fair.

I am no saint. I do a little, but not much, and I get so much in return. I know many eldercare workers, and they are the real saints in my book. I know many of them who struggle to maintain their electricity and other basic utilities, yet who do not qualify for any kind of assistance. Nor would I wish to see them endure the humiliation of asking for assistance. They are among those whom Mr. Generic Republican is advocating throwing to the wolves.

Now, Mr. Generic Republican likes to talk about "self-reliance" and prides himself on his accomplishments and claims that no one is having any trouble except that for which they themselves are to blame.

The value of the nursing home example, is this - someday Mr. Generic Republican will be crippled up, perhaps drooling and incontinent, and in need of care. He will probably be lonely and frightened. When that day comes, all of his achievements, all of his tough guy "realist" posturing, will amount to nothing. It won't matter how frugal he was nor how clever he was with his investments. There is an entire de-regulated "free market" nursing home industry that is set up for the express purpose of parting him from his assets, and playing on his relatives emotions to gain their compliance with the scam. The first question your relatives will be asked is "how much has he got?" so they can "tailor" your care to your resources. If I were he I would pray that I were flat broke at that point, since only the most dedicated and caring people work in the hell holes where the unfortunate elderly live, and Mr. Generic Republican will be much more concerned about the compassion of the person changing his diapers than he will be with how fancy the landscaping or interior decoration of the facility is, nor how drugged he is. This is because the more expensive nursing homes spend the money on making the joint "look nice" for the sake of his relatives and on drugging him so that he seems "happy" or is at least manageable. The poor houses struggle to buy toilet paper, but they attract saints as workers - those who go where they are needed most.

Speaking of landscaping, there are nursing homes everywhere, but they are landscaped in such a way that you probably drive by dozens of them all the time without noticing them. This is all part of the "out of sight out of mind" attitude that we have towards an increasing number of our citizens. All of us will be anonymous, alone and frightened some day, so there is no "us" and "them" - we are them.

Mr. Generic Republican preached "self-reliance, by God!" all his life to all of his friends and relatives. That is why his friends and relatives will be less likely to be visiting him in the nursing home, and more likely to have him declared incompetent so they can more quickly run through his savings to keep him out of sight and to ease any guilt they may feel. Some of them may even have a hostile thought or two pass through their minds - "the bastard always said stand on your own two feet when we needed help. Let's see him stand on his own two feet now!"

But someone will care. That someone wiping the shit off of Mr. Generic Republican's legs and showing him gentleness and compassion when he needs it most - when it means more to him than anything he ever achieved in his life - will probably be a lib'rul. That someone will probably be a person living on poverty wages, unable to unionize, working without benefits - all part of the "free market" and "personal responsibility" ideas that Mr. Generic Republican trumpeted his whole life. They may well have "bad credit histories" from struggling for years to make rent, keep a car running, pay utilities and meet emergencies.

That is the bad news for Mr. Generic Republican. Here is the good news. Everything that Mr. Generic Republican needs to know about society, community, relationships, government, and liberalism is contained in this story. It is the most valuable thing I could give him now - until the day comes when the simple act of taking his hand in mine will get him through one more pain-wracked day of despair and terror.

I give this valuable life-saving gift to Mr. Generic Republican completely free of charge, regardless of his credit history. He earned it by virtue of his being a fellow human being. Recognition of that truth - and attempting to honor it - is what is meant by people when they say "I am a liberal."

[agent compassion]

Mmmm, eggplant.

Food of idealists.

Enjoy

Ye want the recipe?