This blog was originally published on my Facebook on 30 September 2008...
The Presidential debate held in Mississippi hosted by Jim Lehrer had my eyes rolling. Though Jim Lehrer tried to get things rolling, McCain's scripted theatrics had me dumbfounded. Ole' Sleepy looked like Bush more then ever especially when he softened and deepened his voice in a sympathetic tone and told of the mother he met who had lost a son in Iraq. She told Ole' Sleepy, "Blah, Blah, Blah." It was the same mannerisms, story, and shit that Bush used. Of course, that's no surprise since Ole' Sleepy is now directed by the same campaign advisers that sunk him in 2000. What is SO frustrating is that voters fall for this humanistic ACT and theatrics. The media plays it up while hammering Obama's intelligence by saying that he doesn’t seem to connect with the audience, and he is standoffish. That came from the talking heads of PBS. Wonder how Thursday's VP debate will be scripted. I read that Palin is training hard which translates to memorizing how to deflect questions, use the sympathetic tone to connect with voters and present personal stories to show she's of the people. God, I pray that Bidden lets loose and smears her! Screw this nice guy shit.
The Republicans love to bring up 9-11. I was living in a little town, Gila Hot Springs, surrounded by the Gila National Forest (population 10 or so) living in a 5th wheel camper volunteering for the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument while my husband spent 8 days at a time out in the wilderness building trails for the Forest Service. I was sitting in my hammock having coffee after my morning run when the maintenance guys from the visitor's center rolled by to tell me the news. They knew that I had no TV or radio. It was 9:30 am MST. I thought, "Oh, Fuck. There is going to be a war."
Oh course, I had been predicting war since September 2000 before the elections even happened. We were living in Panama way out in the campo doing PeaceCorps. Our host family was very interested in the US elections. I told them over and over, "If Bush wins, there will be war." We listened on the shortwave radio for days as the saga went on and on. (Subsequently, my husband's name is Chad as in hanging...) When Bush was finally declared "winner", I shook my head knowing that war was imminent. Our host family told us that the elections were rigged which they judged from their own election experiences in Panama, and of course, they were right. I still can't believe that the Republicans pulled it off. Democrats are too fucking nice.
I know exactly where I was when the bombs burst in Afghanistan.
I know exactly where I was when the bombs showered Iraq, a war that I protested while pregnant. I protested not only because I knew WMD's were a farce, but also because I knew one day, when my son was old enough to understand and ask, "Mom, why didn't you DO anything?" I'd be able to respond, "Baby, I did." I won't let him, nor myself, wear the sins of this administration. The CRS report for Congress, dated 27 August 2008, estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths as a result from military action during Operation Iraqi Freedom range from 86,661 to 113,616. The WHO study reports 151,000.
So where to now? I don't always know, but I keep fighting the best way I know how. I continue to educate myself, link-up with others and spread knowledge any way possible.
I decided to figure out how much the possible 700 billion dollar bailout would have cost me and every single US citizen had it passed Congress. Of course, I had to do the math by long hand since my calculator doesn't have space for that many zeros. It would have cost each US citizen $2293.00. ($700,000,000,000 divided by 305,300,000 people which I got from the US Census Bureau's POPclock). It doesn't seem like a lot of money when presented in such a manner. But I feel infuriated and my intelligence insulted to see my government, with my money, bailing out Wall Street and rewarding ludicrous behavior. Gee, can I get that for my student loans? No! And Fuck you very much.
I would like to give my $2293.00 and use it towards building community gardens so people can grow their own food and eat after the shit really hits the fan.
Okay, enough for one diatribe. Get back to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment