More Than One Kind Of Liberal

Actually the question is why.

I listen to the podcasts of a number of talk shows. I was listening to Ed Schultz the other day. Ed ,if you aren't familiar with him, is I believe, the most widely circulated liberal show on the radio. He, at the point of this broadcast, is set to have Nancy Pelosi on so this may have been some of his motivation in framing it this way. I was somewhat bothered by what he said non the less.

He said he wasn't going to spend much time on the torture memos. Wait for it ...Because impeachment is off the table. His point was that no matter what Bush did or what memos came out, impeachment is off the table. Bush can do what ever he wants. He said we might as well talk about sports or something because nothing mattered. Impeachment is off the table.

I certainly understand and agree with his point...to a point. I must though admit to a lot of outrage about the way he talked about this. He totally missed the most essential point.

For me impeachment should be done. The main reason it should be done goes deeper though. We want to maintain law and order. We want to preserve a system of democracy that uses all three branches. We want to be seen as a moral and civilized leader. In other words because IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. That people in the rest of the world see that someone in this country stands up for what is right. That we mess up our country but when it goes wrong we fix it.

That would do more to regain our credibility in the world than anything. It would also give the people of the United States a position that we could be far more proud of than the one we currently have. It's about values and morals. While I appreciate what Ed is saying it is not what is most important to me. People absolutely understand the reasons this is being done. What is important to me is that we all understand the morals and values of what we are doing. Are we enhancing the life of citizens or diminishing it. I like people that frame it like that. Mike Malloy is my favorite. Mike regularly goes over the line gets a little nutso. The thing is, what is important to him are the values that are involved in what we are doing. In that fact we are true breathern.

Tom Hartmann has a little different approach but does a great job. A not real well known guy by the name of Peter Collins is pretty good too. Yes I listen to the right every now and then. For as long as I can stand being stupid. Mike is the only one that is everyday. Check him out sometime. He is here. His hours are 7 til 10 mountain time. That means you might miss Dancing With The Stars.

Robbing Us (while) Blind

Well, I would bet you have seen this story. Combine this with the Blackwater deal this is starting to reveal the crooks for who they are. May the providence of comeupance be dealt to all deserving.

QUINCY - Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don’t let it go without an investigation.Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.Fiona Canavan, Durkin’s older sister, said today that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told family members that she had come across some things that concerned her and had raised objections to others at the base.‘‘She was in the finance unit and she said, ‘I discovered some things I don’t like and I made some enemies because of it.’ Then she said, in her light-hearted way, ‘If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,’’’ Canavan said. ‘‘But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke.’’The family did not know what she was referring to, said Canavan, who lives in Quincy.Canavan said that her sister was openly gay, but that the family had no specific reasons to think that had anything to do with her death. Canavan vehemently denied a published report attributing to her a statement that the family was concerned that Durkin’s lesbianism was the reason for her death.When her sister told the family three weeks ago about her concerns over her safety at the base, due to whatever information she had found out, Canavan said, ‘‘we reported it to the Army.’’

Well, we certainly don't have all the facts yet but this is highly suspicious. I think a good portion of the population would not find it below this corporate cabal to kill to protect the fortune we are sending them. Ya know, it's just one more soldier. When the United States light bulb comes on I will be curious to see the few that are still left defending it. There are some true authoritarians out there that really believe in this stuff. I think most are just being bamboozled. I hope they wake up in time.

Rush, The Phony Solider(s) and Patriotism

If one was to be rational about this, one might think that the soldiers might somewhat resemble the population as a whole. Certain restrictions keep out the worst of the worst. Other than that it is likely there are some excellent wonderful people in among the troops. Quite likely there are many that resemble what you might consider your average American, and yes even those that are probably less than respectable. Our soliders are us, good and bad. As a Liberal I respect the fact that they are willing to do a job that is a service to the community as a whole. I respect that it might involve death. That said, it is likely that there was more involved in their decision to join than that. The recruiters sure seem to think so.

My problem with the rightists comes from their desire, over the last several years especially, to use "support the troops" as a bludgen to attack my patriotism. To worship them as an unapproachable icon. To twist and spin things so sadly that I have been turned into an enemy of my country. To negate my opinion with spin and lies. I find it beyond the pail.

What is happening here is people trying to point out that patriotism or lack of it is not party selective....or even political philosophy selective. It's pretty much a judgement call for everyone. Unfortunately the rightists never get the hint. Never evolve. They are so self absorbed in how horrible the left is that they, to coin a term, miss the forest for the trees. Listen to Rush or Sean or any of them and you will clearly hear who the enemy is. It's about people not about ideas or solutions. It is non stop divison of this country using not ideas but people. It's easier for the slow ones to grasp. If the jahidist is mentioned at all it is almost always in connection with an American they don't like or an American group they don't like. We are using talk shows and blogs to snark. We are raising an entire generation that confuse this with political discourse. We are falling apart not coming together. We need to quit saying America so much and start saying the United States. Just maybe the reminder might help. I honestly feel we are in the most literal sense moving toward two countries instead of one.I've even had positive thoughts about that myself. It's likely not what should happen to a civilized society though.

Coffee Table

Talk about what you want. I am working on some new ideas for the blog, hopefully to happen soon.