“We must match our rhetoric with action.”

(Bobby Jindal’s Twitter feed at roughly 1am)

I encourage Bobby Jindal to match rhetoric with action. His rhetoric was nonsensical and of absolutely no use, whatsoever, to the American people. If his actions mimic the wisdom of his speaking, the Republicans pose no political threat to the majority party.

PS: Jindal is Twittering at 1am? I’m calling him Bobby Digital from now on… RZA take note.

Barack Obama is an important man, and we are lucky to have him as our President in these turbulent times.  He is a great communicator, seems to believe in diplomacy and conflict resolution, and appears to be an honest man.

Obama, however, is not nearly as important as the movement that elected him. A growing number of Americans, many of them young people, realize that the United States is destroying itself. As a nation, we have been ignorant too long. We have refused to see both sides of the story for too long. We have repeated the same violent, hard-headed, bloody mistakes FOR TOO LONG. In recognition of this, the people of this country made a loud statement demanding a new course.

It is hard for me to understand how further inflaming the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan reflects the change the people of this country have clearly demanded. It is hard for me to understand how keeping 50,000 troops garrisoned in Iraq until the Rapture or whatever reflects the change the people of this country have clearly demanded. We are worse than broke, we are severely in debt and spiraling out of control, and yet we perpetuate the follies that have broken us!

Leaving aside the popular demands for change, our foreign policy is self-defeating as currently executed. As long as American foreign policy employs imperial violence, we fan the flames of extremism across the globe. We cannot defeat terrorism with terrorism. And make no mistake: airstrikes that scare the shit out of innocent people and leave them missing limbs, children, homes, and jobs amounts to the same thing as terrorism. We cannot defeat Al-Qaeda, or the Shadow Army, or the Council of United Mujahideen, or the Taleban, or Hamas, etc, militarily alone!

Success against terrorism will only come when the conditions that facilitate violent extremism are addressed, the roots of the problem. Violent extremism is a symptom of poverty, oppression, and hopelessness. We cannot blow up terrorism. We cannot blow up poverty, oppression, and hopelessness. I understand that many of you, especially those who favor soundbites and seductively simple “solutions,” think that we can blow these things up. You are wrong, and your stubbornness is dragging us all down with you. We are paying for your ignorance, dearly.

So what can America do? Obviously we cannot ignore the proliferation of violent extremism. To repeat myself, the first thing we can do is stop fueling it. Another thing we can do is build roads and schools, feed and clothe the poor, and act as an HONEST broker for peace in the world. Dust off those bibles, Torahs, and other holy books you are all so fond of: there’s lots of helpful hints in there! Skip over the fire and brimstone, we’ve got enough of that already.

Mr. Obama, I do not envy anyone who stands up to or threatens the priorities of the Military Industrial Security Establishment. It is dangerous to stand up to such powerful people, whose capabilities are so advanced that we probably would not understand them even if we were aware of them. It is, however, your job. You took an oath to protect the Constitution and the American people, from all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC. Did you mean it?

If we still live in a democracy then the people tell the government what to do, not the other way around. For far too long the government of this country has been dictating to its people what we will do, as a nation. How well has that turned out? Take a look around you.

I will be writing a more thorough piece on this shortly. For now, I’ll leave you where we began: Mr. Obama, end these wars. End. These. Wars.

@status Ummm has anyone seen my bank card?

@status smooth karaoke at yachtrockbellhouse turning strange- feels/looks like surreal video art… Boating attire is prevalent…

@status i’m the fucking face of yacht rock you bitch!

@status mmm getting my daily dose of partially caffeinated coffee at ‘pret a manger’…

@status Budos band is destroying like a swarm of funk!

@state Chinchin is smoothing it up

@status At le poisson rouge for budos band and chinchin!

Watch David Letterman press a stuttering, stammering John McCain about his associations with G. Gordon Liddy. Once again, entertainment shows are picking up slack from mainstream media in regards to asking hard questions of the Republican candidates. A little background on Liddy:

A protege of notorious former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Liddy participated in the burglaries that led to the Watergate Scandal and President Nixon’s resignation. He said that listening to Hitler speak “made [him] feel a strength inside [he] had never known before.” He has despicably given tips on how to kill law enforcement agents who wear body armor (“Head shots, head shots…. Kill the sons of bitches.”) He has plotted to assassinate journalists. Liddy also planned to kidnap anti-war protesters at the 1972 Republican National Convention.

As recently as last November, McCain went on Liddy’s radio show. Liddy greeted him as “an old friend,” and McCain said “I’m proud of you, I’m proud of your family.” “It’s always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.” (This paragraph from Wikipedia)

Watch McCain squirm.

A couple points I’ll make. First off, why haven’t most of you heard about this guy and McCain’s connection with him? Because the Obama campaign, commendably, has been focusing on the issues that matter to Americans. In stark contrast to McCain’s desperate, shallow tactics, Obama’s campaign knows that fitness for the presidency is more important than McCarthyist witch hunts.

Next point. McCain’s connection to Liddy is actually much worse than Obama’s to Ayers. Obama and Ayers served on a bipartisan board of a foundation together. Obama has never been shown to have praised Ayers, while McCain recently praised Liddy’s “adherence to the principles and philosophies that make our nation great.” Which principles are those, John McCain? Subverting democracy with political burglaries? Repressing dissent? A total, Cheney-esque lack of respect for the rule of law?

That’s hardly what makes this country great, and I dare you to defend such a man. If I was a McCain supporter, I’d be very concerned about my candidate. He seems to be reverting to a childlike emotional state. He is frequently at a loss for words (“Zero?”), exerts much of his effort attempting to conceal his bubbling rage, and is unable even to deliver a coherent response to Letterman’s inquiry.

What are the Republicans’ best hopes for winning this election?
1) Economic, Natural, or Terrorism-Related Disaster that leads to the institution of Martial Law after the declaration of a National Emergency.

2) Barack Obama is captured in Iran having gay relations with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

3) The success of tried-and-true Republican voter-suppression tactics and electronic election theft, like that of the Bush Administration in Florida 2000 or Ohio 2004.

Personally, I believe it will be a Herculean task for Obama to beat the electoral fix. Obama will need resounding victories to overcome GOP vote manipulation that has successfully (illegally) delivered two Presidential elections and effectively suspended Democracy in America. But he can do it. He can do it because WE can do it. We can give Obama such an honest, huge margin of victory that the fix won’t work. Let’s do it!