I'm trying my hand at being an advice columnist. Since so many people are always asking: Dear Velveeta My 4 year old has horrible temper tantrums and I have read several books on how to control his outbursts, but still have trouble on a daily basis. I can't take him grocery shopping for fear of his crying and "I wants..." or even to our Unitarian Universalist services because he fusses so much. I've tried redirection techniques, time-outs, ignoring them, even therapy. I am at my wits end, please help. Signed, Desperate Liberal Dear Pansy Here is what you'll need, write this down: Whiskey, Xanax prescription, leather belt, cookies. When your little rug-rat throws a tantrum, take 2 shots of whiskey and apply the leather belt forcefully to his butt. Follow with a Xanax to calm your nerves. Every time he doesn't act up, reward his behavior with a cookie(s). At your "church" don't they teach "spare the rod, spoil the child"? If not, I advise you try your local First Baptist Church. Until then, keep the cookies coming for him and the whiskey for you. Be liberal with both.
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Freedom of Religion
Author: TriSec
Date: 11/15/2008 13:20:23
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The very first sentence of the first ammendment states Congress shall make no law establishing religion. So far, in 232 years of America...Congress hasn't flatly come out and said "The Religion of the land is Christianity". But they may as well have long ago. The United States has established many laws that attempted to legislate morality....from restricting certain medical procedures, removing the rights of certain people to marry, and indeed even our darkest sorrow, legalizing chattel slavery. Many of these things are allowed and even encouraged in certain religious texts. But in all my dealings with so-called Christians, or religious fundamentalists of any stripe, the one question none of them has been able to answer is "Why should your belief system be the law of the land?" I won't get into an argument on abortion, or polygamy, or child marriage, or any one of the thousand or so other things religions around the world practice as a matter of course. Today it's about stripping the rights of a particular group of people in the name of a specific interpretation of "morality". Of course, I'm talking about California's Proposition 8, which is brutal in its simplicity:
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We've had a lot of reasons to hate Bush and the Right-wing noise machine (RWNM) over the last 8 years, including (but not limited to) war, dehumanizing whole sectors of society, and greed. Greed makes people do bad things: they push aside ethical behavior, they trample on other people in their path, and they put the concerns of business over everything else. That "else" would include the air we breathe and the water we drink. The Bush Administration (with the help of the RWNM) has spewed enough truthiness into the debate, that any real progress has been effectively quelled. The result has been an acceleration of global warming to a point where we are poised on the precipice of disaster, if we haven't gone over the edge already.
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I have to be honest. I woke up and realized, I have nothing today. It's not that I don't have any ideas, I have so many. I want to talk about the bailout, the auto industry, the basic economic mess we still have. I can't, because I really do not understand it. Everyone seems to agree that the bailout has been a colossal failure, heck, even Hank Paulson decided to switch gears yesterday, claiming that the 'facts on the ground' had changed. What? Continue reading...
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So now it's all over but for the recounts and the runoffs. The Senate count stands at 40 Republicans and 57 Democrats, with three races left to be decided. All three represent a Republican senator that the Democrats won't have to win over to break a filibuster. All three are Democrats in tight races with the worst of the worst Republicans.
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Veteran's Day 2008
Author: TriSec
Date: 11/11/2008 11:23:43
Good Morning. Today is our 2,064th day in Iraq. We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualties from the warron terra, courtesy of antiwar.com:American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 4193 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4054 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3732 Since Handover (6/29/04): 3335 Since Election (1/31/05): 2756 Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 314 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 626 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 379 Contractor Deaths - Iraq: 445 We find this morning's cost of war passing through: $ 570, 208, 000, 000 .00 Our friends at IAVA are celebrating veteran's day this year by launching a new ad campaign. Apparently, despite getting a new GI Bill in this last session of congress, the Pentagon is doing a terrible job publicizing it, so once again it falls to the veteran's groups to make sure the soldiers get everything they're entitled to. We all hope this will stop under President Obama.
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Monday. A week ago we were all nervous and happy and concerned. About every emotion one could feel was probably pulsing through our veins. Tuesday night, it happened. A great weight was removed from the collective shoulders of most of America. It felt jubilant wonderful and thrilling. .. at least in most of the United States of America. States like Arizona, Arkansas, California and Florida joined in the backwards advance of states like Mississippi to strip away rights from our GLBT brothers and sisters. We must work to regain the rights that are slowly being taken away from our citizens. We still have work to do.
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After Hope: Faith
Author: velveeta jones
Date: 11/09/2008 13:39:43
“Faith without works is dead” Why is Velveeta quoting the bible (James: 2 something or other), you ask? This quote is attributed to Jesus – and it’s a powerful statement. The premise is that just believing alone, will not ensure your salvation in the kingdom of God. (I think that’s what it means; I was kicked out of Baptist Bible School). In the past year, we have all been about “hope”. Hoping that Barack Obama will beat Hillary in the primary, hoping that he can win the debates, hoping that his message will resonate with “middle America” or “red state America” or even change the mind of a few PUMA’s. We hoped that one day we would have an America where the Government would work with the People - not against the People. We hoped that Americans would once again be seen has good people, caring people, as opposed to a country that invades and occupies other countries based on lies. There were so MANY things to hope for. Not the least of which: will he, can he, possibly win the election! And so we worked hard to get Barack Obama elected. We knocked on doors and made phone calls, despite our adherence and sheer horror at the thought of being so presumptuous. We spoke to our family and friends and neighbors to plead our case for a President Obama and why he would be a better choice. We spoke to our peers and tried to encourage them to work for change – or in some cases, to give up on that wasted vote for a third party candidate, just this year. Our work has paid off. We now have a President-elect Obama, and, he’s already accomplished more in one week than our lame duck president has accomplished in a year! We can take this time to be proud and to relax after all the hard work, but only for a moment. Now the real work begins! And now we must move from HOPE to FAITH.
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Good Morning! Well....I feel a little strange writing this column today. For a number of years now, I've been presenting this little corner of the internets with some alternate political views, and maybe just a wee alternative to the power structure in Washington. I don't think I need to do that anymore. Nevertheless, I think we should take a swing through and see what's happening. Bob Barr, without a hint of irony, has stated that post-election "This is just the beginning" of a new Libertarian party. Of course, Libertarians have been saying that since the party was founded in 1971. Curious that they've never been able to poll out of single digits in any election, especially given the golden opportunities over the last 8 years.
"This is just the beginning of the new Libertarian Party," says Bob Barr, the 2008 Libertarian Party nominee for president. "In these next four years, there will be an even greater need for a political party fully dedicated to lower taxes, smaller government and more individual freedom—a voice for liberty."
"This year, we set a solid foundation for freedom, on which we will build a strong and united political organization that advances freedom and liberty in the United States," says Barr. "I, and all Americans who support true liberty, owe a great debt of gratitude to our staff, donors, volunteers and voters who helped support this campaign."
Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. Congressman Barr was the 2008 Libertarian Party Nominee for President.
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The past couple days have truly been amazing. As I've gone about my daily business (such as it is), the sun has seemed a little brighter, the air a little cleaner, the smiles on people's faces a little easier. There seems to be an overwhelming feeling of goodwill, not unlike that warm and fuzzy feeling you find around Christmastime. This is what Democracy feels like, when the people speak and end up with the government they want (of the people, by the people, and for the people). Barack Obama is bring change to Washington, DC, and it already shows. He is opening the blinds and letting the sun shine in; he is opening the doors and letting us all see what he's doing.
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