a new day has dawned
if you are unsure about barrack obama for president i urge you to sit down and, by yourself, watch his speech from last night. it was one of the best speeches i have ever heard and could very well be the best speech since dr. king's "i have a dream" of 63. the symbolism of his speech on the anniversary of dr. king's is compelling.
i went to my first civil rights protest in 1957 in little rock, arkansas when those 9 little girls were escorted into central high by national guard troops. i and two of my friends had hitchhiked from subiaco to l.r. now, 51 years later, a man of mixed race could very well be our next president.
in the army my best friend was black and i and he lived in harlem for 6 months while we attended a specialized school at fort momouth, n.j. i had a torrid affair with a black woman (who sang back up for james brown...how "soul" is that?) and have, over the years, counted many black men and women as close friends. i know that they today are filled with pride and gratitude.
i see where the republicans are thinking about moving their convention back because of gustav threatening new orleans; they don't want those images, so reminiscent of katrina, to be shown while they are trying to convince americans that they, the republicans, care about them.
mc cain choosing a woman, and an unknown one at that, is quite a move on his part but will open up an argument for the democrats: that if the republicans say that obama doesn't have the experience to be president and yet, a 73 year old man with cancer choses a woman who has only 2 years of experience at running a state and a state unlike any other in oh so many ways. regardless of the outcome, we will have a man of mixed race or a woman in the excutive branch and that is quite a milestone for our country. old barriers are coming down and that is good for all of us.
rhonda is still quite stiff from the accident and the nerve that runs from the butt down the leg is still bothering her. she says that at times it is like a knife going down her leg. she is going to rehab and it is working to a degree....i will keep you.
i look forward to the debates and in those, mc same is going to look so bad in comparison to obama that it could be laughable. gov. palin is going to have a hard time with joe biden who is the best democrat to have in a rough and tumble campaign.
as i incorporate all this new material my shows have been some of the best, if not the best shows i have ever done. another s.o. last night from a fairly small crowd.
i am working on a t-shirt for a tour next year that has the theme of "peace is a shock to the system." we have such a war economy that peace would be so different as to change american society. politicians, especially on the right but not inclusive to them, want us to fear others, to fight nefarious wars to "protect us" from vaguely defined dangers. you want to stop islamic terrorism? get our troops out of the middle east. quit threatening nations. quit invading nations. (it is wrong when russia does it but not we do it? what level of hypocracy is that?) let us try to leave in peace for a while and see how we like it.
hot and humid in sacramento but will be in atlantic city next week for boardwalk people watching. the weather there should be just about right.
off to breakfast, peace to all.
i went to my first civil rights protest in 1957 in little rock, arkansas when those 9 little girls were escorted into central high by national guard troops. i and two of my friends had hitchhiked from subiaco to l.r. now, 51 years later, a man of mixed race could very well be our next president.
in the army my best friend was black and i and he lived in harlem for 6 months while we attended a specialized school at fort momouth, n.j. i had a torrid affair with a black woman (who sang back up for james brown...how "soul" is that?) and have, over the years, counted many black men and women as close friends. i know that they today are filled with pride and gratitude.
i see where the republicans are thinking about moving their convention back because of gustav threatening new orleans; they don't want those images, so reminiscent of katrina, to be shown while they are trying to convince americans that they, the republicans, care about them.
mc cain choosing a woman, and an unknown one at that, is quite a move on his part but will open up an argument for the democrats: that if the republicans say that obama doesn't have the experience to be president and yet, a 73 year old man with cancer choses a woman who has only 2 years of experience at running a state and a state unlike any other in oh so many ways. regardless of the outcome, we will have a man of mixed race or a woman in the excutive branch and that is quite a milestone for our country. old barriers are coming down and that is good for all of us.
rhonda is still quite stiff from the accident and the nerve that runs from the butt down the leg is still bothering her. she says that at times it is like a knife going down her leg. she is going to rehab and it is working to a degree....i will keep you.
i look forward to the debates and in those, mc same is going to look so bad in comparison to obama that it could be laughable. gov. palin is going to have a hard time with joe biden who is the best democrat to have in a rough and tumble campaign.
as i incorporate all this new material my shows have been some of the best, if not the best shows i have ever done. another s.o. last night from a fairly small crowd.
i am working on a t-shirt for a tour next year that has the theme of "peace is a shock to the system." we have such a war economy that peace would be so different as to change american society. politicians, especially on the right but not inclusive to them, want us to fear others, to fight nefarious wars to "protect us" from vaguely defined dangers. you want to stop islamic terrorism? get our troops out of the middle east. quit threatening nations. quit invading nations. (it is wrong when russia does it but not we do it? what level of hypocracy is that?) let us try to leave in peace for a while and see how we like it.
hot and humid in sacramento but will be in atlantic city next week for boardwalk people watching. the weather there should be just about right.
off to breakfast, peace to all.
posted by Ron Shock | 10:51 AM
4 Comments:
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Hi, R the R... aka L or E or whichever you're personality disorder your personality is embracing today. It is good to know you are still alive - but distressing to know just how angry and sad you are these days. Please get some help. I know Vegas isn't the greatest place for someone that has busted out to get help, but I think if you devoted just half of the energy you have spent on harassing Ron, you could find some treatment. Good luck to you... I know you need it.
Let me start off by saying that although I'm not familiar with your entire catalogue, I've enjoyed the majority of the material I've heard from you. I came to the site to learn a little more about you and possibly purchase a thing or two. You have certainly led an extraordinary life, and as a human being, I can admire the gifts that you have. That being said, I think there is alot that we do not agree on politically.
Before I say anything, let me say that I'm a right-wing libertarian...just so you know where I'm coming from. I will not be voting for anyone in the upcoming election as none of the candidates come close to meeting the criteria for a vote from me as far as I see it. That being said, I'm no apologist for McCain...in fact the only thing I really see eye to eye on him with is the war. But I'd like to refute some of the comments you made, not so much to try to change your mind, but to possibly point out some inconsistencies.
"they don't want those images, so reminiscent of katrina, to be shown while they are trying to convince americans that they, the republicans, care about them."
Let me be blunt here. I'm tired of hearing criticism about the federal response to a natural disaster that was four years ago. I don't know if it's the failure of public education, or just a modal shift in average IQ, but Americans have apparently opted, over the last few decades, to give up personal soveriegnty, property, and freedom and have instead looked at the government as an adopted parent...a provider. But historically, philosophically, and constitutionally speaking, that has never been the case in America. Ever since FDR threw the SS snowball down the hill it has been picking up speed and mass ever since...and now we are at a point where we have given up our rights and property in the exchange of government-backed safety. We now believe that the purpose of government is to provide food, shelter, medicine, and relief to its people. Take a look at the writings of our founding fathers, and you will be assured, that is the antithesis of the American system...or at least it used to be.
So now that more hurricanes are devestating the gulf, as they have
for thousands of years, we can have the critics running wondering where the federal response is. What we've seen over the years is as federal funds have been released to help states suffering from disasters, people have come to view this not as an auxillery force, but as the primary means of combatting natural disasters. We completely bypass state officials, where if there was any neglegence on the part of any body of government in natural disasters, it would be a local body, and instead look at how the president of our nation issued FEMA (whom I will remind you is an agency set up to deal with the aftermath of nuclear attacks....not storms in LA). Less than 50 years ago, the federal government bore about 1% of the financial burden of such disasters. In New Orleans, it shouldered over 50% of the burden, and that still isn't enough.
Frankly, my criticism of the Republican party is that they even considered delaying their convention because of a storm on the coast. I hate to tell you, but natural disasters happen. Are we going to halt the political process every time our nation faces a disaster? What about when tornadoes wipe out midwest towns, or earthquakes or fires kill hundreds on the wst coast, or blizzards bury entire cities in the northeast? They don't blame FEMA for such destruction. And they don't get bent just because the president might have something better to do than appearing at a two-day publicity stunt in Oklahoma just because tornadoes toppled some houses...that is NOT a federal issue and it is certainly not a federal emergency.
"that if the republicans say that obama doesn't have the experience to be president and yet, a 73 year old man with cancer"
I notice that democrats always bring up the fact that he had cancer...what is about people with cancer or people over the age of 70that makes them unherently unable to be president exactly? To me, this isn't much better than a racist who keeps referring to Obama as "some black guy"...it's funny that you don't hear that so much from the conservative side. I always thought democrats were the politically correct party of compassion....so much for that.
"choses a woman who has only 2 years of experience at running a state and a state unlike any other in oh so many ways."
Democrats are putting their feet in their mouth on this one. Now, I personally don't care how much experience ANYONE has...it's about what they bring to the table. The fact that McCain has spent more years in congress than Obama has months has little relevance to me when choosing a candidate, but if democrats are going to try to use experience here, they're going ot lose every time. If experience did matter politically, I would think it would work just as it does in the private sector...you're generally looking for relative experience. If I'm looking for an experienced truck driver at UPS, I'm not going to hire a guy just because he works in the UPS warehouse. However, I am likely to hire a truck driver from FedEx. The political analogy is similar. IF you're going to compare Palin to Obama, you're going to find quickly that there's a huge difference between congressional and administrative experience. Obama has never had to meet a budget, enforce legislation, or manage an executive administration. Palin, although having only about a decade of administrative experience (she was a mayor for 8 years too although no one seems to remember that) has. And if ANY experience counts in the presidential race, it's administrative experience. And if you don't believe me, look no further than our past presidents. GWB, Governor. Clinton, Governor. GHB, Governor. Reagan, Governor. It's not a coincidence. That is another reason why this race is so historical. It's very rare that two candidates with solely congressional experience are running against one another. Which brings up the point that although Palin is criticized for her lack of experience, which is still clearly more than Obama has, she's not even in the top slot...unlike the person she's being compared to.
"i look forward to the debates and in those, mc same is going to look so bad in comparison to obama that it could be laughable."
Although I think Obama will take this election, I don't think McCain looks that bad to alot of Americans. In fact, if he does, and I think he will, lose, I think it will be because he will have lost the conservative base. Which brings up the brilliantly devoid idea of calling McCain "Mc Same." In case you've been asleep for the last 25 years, the last thing you'd do would be associate McCain with a conservative, although Bush is not as conservative as he could be. McCain is one of the most liberal members of the party and has constantly been a stick in the eye of the GOP. That's why he's been called a "Maverick." Say what you will about him, outside of the war he's not on the same page at all. On most issues he's only about halfway there or if not, completely against most of Bush's policies...which is why I laugh every time I hear that term. Saying McCain and Bush are one in the same is like comparing Lieberman to Ted Kennedy...not close by a longshot.
"gov. palin is going to have a hard time with joe biden who is the best democrat to have in a rough and tumble campaign."
Actually I'm looking more forward to this than the debates between McCain and Obama themselves. If she's as well-versed in her core-values as she's rumored to be, it's not going to be hard to whack some antiquated liberal socialist blowhard out of the water...ticket of change indeed (That Joe Biden guy must be new to politics!).
"politicians, especially on the right but not inclusive to them, want us to fear others, to fight nefarious wars to "protect us" from vaguely defined dangers."
By vaguely defined would you mean a group of people who killed 3000 Americans within 20 minutes a few years back? I seem to remember that.
And I'm sorry but I had to laugh at the idea that any Obama supporter could criticize someone for using fear to give the government power....can we say "welfare, social security, medicare, medicaid, healthcare, education." I wouldn't argue that many war-hawks use fear to capitalize on votes, but to think it's exclusive to them is laughable...to say the least.
"you want to stop islamic terrorism? get our troops out of the middle east.quit threatening nations."
What part of Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia were we in again on 2001? I'm just trying to imagine back a couple of years after Pearl Harbor what people would have said if someone said, "We just need to get out of Japan...you want to stop attacks on free nations? Quit threatening Japan."
"quit invading nations. (it is wrong when russia does it but not we do it? what level of hypocracy is that?)"
This is pretty rich too. As if all military force that has ever been exerted supposed equal intentions. That's interesting. Hitler invaded France and then we did shortly after...what kind of hypocrites are we? The fact is, if you're going to have a grown-up conversation about world-affairs, you have to get in the minutia of detail in the debate...not this silliness of seeing every country, philosphy, and the intentions therein of being equal. I don't even think Russia was neccesarily in the wrong (and many other conservatives didn't either). But if you're really going to equate their invasion of Georgia with our invasion of Iraq, which had completely different reasons for action, different complications, and different histories leading up to the conflicts, then you're just going to have to throw out reason altogether.
"let us try to leave in peace for a while and see how we like it."
I'm all for peace...but as adults I think we both understand that the world operates by force...and as long as there is someone out there who doesn't see the karmic vision you do, you're going to pay a price for laying down your arms. I think for a country that has a relative power, historically, greater than even ancient Rome's we're amazingly docile and peaceful. Every single war in which we've faught and spent countless amounts of treasure and blood, we've never re-colonized or reorganized those lands as an empire....for conquest...and we certainly could have done those things...as we could now. But we will hand back Iraq to its people...just as we did Japan and Europe. I think we can disagree on war and still shake hands...but it's hard for me to admire anyone who sees our history, specifically in the last century, and sees a war-mongering people...I couldn't disagree more.
your comment would be more accurate if iraq had done anything to us.
we have bases all over the middle east including saudi arabia. that is the main point that al qaida makes over and over.
no, we don't make them colonies but we do install governments that then give preferential treatment to american corporations.
we won't "hand iraq" back to them, we want, and will get if mc cain is elected, permenant bases in iraq.
the 3,000 people were killed by a criminal gang of fewer than a thousand people. there were no iraqis on those planes. there were no afghanis on those planes. we have attacked two countries and yet we have not gone after osama bin laden because we don't want to offend pakistan. and your explanation for this is....?
and what did afghanastan do to us? refuse to hand over osama bin laden? is that it? then pakistan, by not handing over osama bin laden to us, is ....?
we have military bases in over 100 countries. more than russia and china combined. we have invaded small countries from panama to haiti to grenda, we have overthrown governments is iran and chile and installed american puppets. we invaded vietnam. we bombed cambodia. we bombed laos. gee, i don't know where i got that warmongering thing from.
do we do good? sure. are we hated and feared around the world? bet your sweet ass we are.
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