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Comments Posted By LITU

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MORALE

Figure of speech.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:27 pm

You are a good person! Thank you for not beating me up.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:03 pm

Hi again!

You know the saying, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

A Palin/Pawlenty/Huckabee executive would be devastating. But we expect that of them. They are, after all, quasi-despotic.

How then do we view the Democrat executive when they fail to act in a more righteous manner? Who has committed the greater (perceived) grievance against the citizens?

Perhaps Dems are not exactly the same as Repubs, but we hold them to a higher standard because of the hope that is bound up in them, and when they fail, the light dims the more.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 7:36 pm

BTW, Chernynkaya: so glad to see you’re posting here! 🙂 The HuffingtonPost has become intolerable.

Sorry if I sound so put off.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

I am often confused by the fixation on democratic qualities, since upon review, very few actual democratic values have been implemented in the past 29 years.

Clinton was, by and large, a corporatist, and outside of a few scant environmental issues, he was exactly as one would expect from a conservative, i.e. pro business, anti citizen. The standard that is usually representative of his two terms is monetary gain. But that does not define progressivism. On the contrary, it is nearly the very definition of corporatism.

President Obama is exactly as I perceived him to be a year-and-a-half ago: the should, woulda, coulda candidate. He is doing just as Clinton did. Dangle a carrot or two in front of our faces, while catering to the corporate interests. I didn’t expect miracles, but I most certainly did not expect capitulation. I read Mother Jones and the Lowdown, and those two publications nearly always hit the nail on the head when it comes to pointing out deficiencies in this government. President Obama has staffed his administration with the very people who’ve brought down the house, so expecting a different result is borderline insanity.

And Congress? Come on! The two Houses should be moved to Nevada, where they can do their whoring legally. That is not likely to change because a couple of progressive-minded representatives pound their shoe on the podium.

In general, our lives have not been improved these past three decades. Our standard of living has declined. Our standing in the world, in every category of substance, is lowered. We continue to violate our citizenry by means of one war after another, be they internal or otherwise. Our hope for a better future lies in a perpetual state of delusion, as we’re fed one line of BS after another.

So if it’s just a matter of semantics, i.e. demoralized versus depressed, I’d say either/or. And as far as progressive ideals is concerned, I don’t believe our numbers are as significant as we’d like to believe. The Democratic party is heavily polluted with right-leaning (oxymoronic) Democrats.

Democrats in Congress are generally far removed from progressive ideals; polluted by the Blues, the centrists, the moderates, the anything-but-progressive representatives. Compared to Europeans, they’re all bloody conservatives, or at the very least, bought and sold (excepting of course Kucinich, Sanders, Waters, Grayson, and a scant few others). Those individuals have been so marginalized as to be impotent.

I’m rambling, but in my opinion, both parties ARE one and the same to the extent that the few exceptions are rendered irrelevant.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 6:41 pm

To be, or not to be.

The frustration. 🙂

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:30 pm

Gomenasai! 😐

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:20 pm

The short answer – No you’re not!

As a matter of fact, I’m not much of a fan of the Senate. Started out as a good-old-boys-club, and I don’t see that much has changed over time.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:00 pm

I refuse to insert links, because I prefer to remain disingenuous! :-))

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 7:58 pm

Thank you for that, and Chernynkaya, too. 🙂

As regards the blog, I guess the good news for many of us is that we’ll be eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage when the need arises. But once upon a time I managed a large clinic, and experienced the deliberate tactic of swamping the appointment schedules in order to prevent Medicaid patients from being seen. I imagine that is a broad practice, and adding several million more to the rolls is not likely to improve the situation. I see it as a lose/lose. Another reason why I argue against the present proposals with the assumed default to a Medicaid-type of coverage for those who can’t afford private coverage.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 7:55 pm

This is not an exercise in self-aggrandizement, but a true story, and one which has formed the basis of my belief-set on this issue.

In 1971, while living and working in England, I developed acute nephritis, due (believe it or not) to atmospheric pollution. I spent 13 weeks as an in-patient at a hospital, undergoing every treatment possible by specialists brought in from all over the country, because my case was so unusual. Bear in mind, I’m a Yank, not a Brit.

13 weeks! Imagine that happening in this country? As an employee, though a foreigner, I paid my taxes like everyone else. Those taxes proved to be the best dime I ever spent.

The cost to me for those 3 months under hospital care? ZERO! My outpatient cost for the ensuing months – ZERO.

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in the current Senate proposal. I don’t support it, and here’s why.

Rightly or wrongly I believe that once any bill is signed into law it will take an act of God to improve upon it. Elected reps who oppose reform will be emboldened by its failure to bring about real change, and the industries will put even more energy into preventing further reform. I see this matter stagnating for many, many years. That is not acceptable.

That’s my two-cents.

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 7:11 pm

Rashomon 3: Eleven views of Copenhagen deal

I started writing comments in Hindi, to get past moderation, but then realized, crap!, I was working against my better interest, because it happened to be the moderators’ native language. Ha!

There’s an old saying, “A leopard can’t change its spots.”

Mrs. Huffington was and is a conservative, as evidenced by the protection afforded conservative personalities in the articles. I am never allowed to comment on the likes of Limbaugh, O’Reilly, or Ingraham even when attempting to be deliberately benign.

As they say in France, “Fuck ’em.”

» Posted By LITU On December 19, 2009 @ 8:16 pm

Your Economy Has Been Disconnected

Thank you for that. I’ve read it before, and came away encouraged.

However, the powers that be are a formidable wall.

» Posted By LITU On December 3, 2009 @ 3:23 pm

I’ve already stated, in a roundabout way, that I don’t believe this Congress is up to the task of legislating us out of the fix (they) got us into.

Though I don’t believe there is a political remedy for our ails, I do hold a flicker of optimism that there remains a possibility for a legal remedy. The Supreme Court must rule that corporations are not entitled to individual rights as prescribed in the Constitution. And, of course, that won’t happen until the issue comes before them in the form of law. And there I am, back to square one.

It’s the old chicken and the egg analogy. We can’t move forward until corporations are subordinated and the citizenry bolstered in the eyes of the law.

» Posted By LITU On December 3, 2009 @ 9:01 am

I don’t spend a lot of time memorizing who did what when, nor am I inclined to gather a stack of notes to support or refute a point, but I do read quite a lot every day, and am at least intelligent enough to get the drift of things.

It saddens me greatly to conclude that there can be no political solution that might overcome the depth of corruption and collusion that permeates every cell of government and industry. The lobbyists will continue to buy favor, though possibly more covertly, the Supreme Court will continue to rule in favor of the corporate entity over the individual. And the electorate will dumbly follow the easiest road to our destruction.

The threat of revolution has been bandied about of late. Armchair warriors are often the most vociferous combatants. I certainly don’t know what it might entail. But I do know with a feeling of certainty that eventually the threshold of tolerance will be breached, and at that point the country we have worked so hard to love and cherish will become unrecognizable.

And it will not just be a struggle against the visible system, but also the shadow puppeteers; the real power behind the throne.

I thought your article was spot on. And I apologize if I sound like a doomsayer. Now you all may proceed to beat me up.

» Posted By LITU On December 2, 2009 @ 9:32 pm

Healthcare Reform: What’s in it for Me?

What I find interesting is the ease at which east Europeans are able to get entitlements, using resident family members as their leverage. Theirs is a culture of graft. That’s how they survived before coming to this country. They bring that model with them and then scam the entitlements system, and there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it. It’s rampant in Washington State.

They are an incredible burden on the system.

» Posted By LITU On December 2, 2009 @ 9:56 pm

Polling Justice: 6 in 10 Americans Disagree with Adhering to U.S. Rule of Law

“a military trial over a criminal trial”

“if he

» Posted By LITU On November 18, 2009 @ 11:14 am

SHANNYN MOORE: Palin’s Oily Lies Drip from the Pages of Going Rogue…

Good luck with that! I’ve done that sort of complaining in the past, to no avail. And believe me, in this neo-con town, dissent is deemed evil.

As an afterthought, my favorite newsletter is Hightower Lowdown, followed closely by Mother Jones.

» Posted By LITU On November 18, 2009 @ 11:54 am

“The Family” is also a worthwhile read.

» Posted By LITU On November 18, 2009 @ 11:50 am

Channel 6 News, Boise, yesterday evening encouraged viewers to watch the Oprah interview, where the newscaster (female) said, “Sarah doesn’t pull any punches.”

And I dare wonder why Idaho is still living in the 50’s?

» Posted By LITU On November 18, 2009 @ 11:44 am

Any foodies out there?

Visited a friend umpteen years ago. He was cooking a roast and suggested we go mushroom picking in his woods. Found a good lot of chanterelles.

The guy had no class; didn’t even clean the humus from them.

Best damn roast gravy I’ve ever tasted, dirt and all.

» Posted By LITU On November 13, 2009 @ 5:53 pm

I sold my landscape design company in 1998. I’ve enjoyed reading your experiences.

BTW, I started building elevated beds specifically for seniors and the infirmed over 25 years ago. The geometry always drove me. the combination of linear and radial is intriguing.

My moniker is an acronym for my business name if you wanted to try to guess it.

» Posted By LITU On November 13, 2009 @ 5:47 pm

Have you ever tried basmati rice? Very tasty stuff.

» Posted By LITU On November 13, 2009 @ 5:37 pm

The wife’s away for the weekend, so I’m baching (sp) it. Made myself a nice pile of ras el hanout shrimp with angel hair pasta and fresh green beans. Yummy.

Where’s my beer?

» Posted By LITU On November 13, 2009 @ 5:36 pm

Veterans Day the hard way

I arrived stateside in Burbank 1967, after surviving several days of incoming artillery (such was Cua Viet), several delayed helo-evacs, and the need to repair impact zones under fire, that made rescue impossible.

Stories were circulating amongst those of us who’d just come back in-country from stateside about mothers who were taking out their sorrow on returning vets; shooting them as they stepped onto the tarmac. After several months of daily incoming, I was never so afraid as the day I stepped foot out onto the tarmac of Burbank Airport.

» Posted By LITU On November 11, 2009 @ 9:42 pm

Yeah, I came home when Vietnam Vets were most hated, the end of 1968. People looked but they didn’t engage.

My wife really pisses me off! Two more pancakes please, Honey!

» Posted By LITU On November 11, 2009 @ 8:00 pm

I’m a Vietnam Vet and this is what I recall: If you were to shed a tear for those who gave it all for a cause, you’d reconsider ‘ere it fell to earth. For most of the fallen were despised by the people they thought they represented, though knowledge of that perversion would not have diminished their strident purpose. That is the strength of your defenders, and an omen for those who’ve never known the weariness of such purpose.

No one is at fault here! People take a stand; that’s what we do. Those stands differ. It is not a matter of right and wrong. It’s often a result of circumstance. No more, no less.

As a combat veteran, I am grateful for the display of honor my family bestows upon me. Any more is gaudy; any less an abhorrence.

» Posted By LITU On November 11, 2009 @ 7:53 pm

My wife is just the sweetest person! Every Veterans’ Day she makes me a special breakfast, and goes out of her way throughout the day to make this a special day for me.

She really pisses me off! How the hell am I supposed to carry a grudge after such a display? And worst of all, I remember her gratuities the next day!

Yeah, she really pisses me off!

I love you, Honey!

» Posted By LITU On November 11, 2009 @ 7:41 pm

Happy Veteran’s Day

Whenever someone posts a comment about Korean War veterans I sort of shrink within myself.

The Korean War! What an enigma! And what an effort by the resilient servicemen and women, who battled against insurmountable odds, with the worst goddamn support imaginable. I always come away from hearing about this “police action” with a feeling like, these are the unrespected heroes of our country!

I’m a vet. It wasn’t fun! But I take my hat off to my predecessors; the veterans of the Korean War. Thanks to all!!

» Posted By LITU On November 11, 2009 @ 8:21 pm

Respecting Cry-Babies

I asked the transient troll, on three or four separate posts, to provide something tangible to support his conservative views so we could engage in a real discussion, which he kept implying was his purpose in life. But he didn’t bother to respond to my prodding. Not once.

Perhaps I’m not the kind of commenter who elicits a response. My lack of edu-ma-cation no doubt! But IMO this guy represented the bulk of the troll population (at HuffPo), who rant about wanting to discuss issues, yet go out of their way to avoid it.

I have found that to be a sure-fire way to shut them up.

» Posted By LITU On November 9, 2009 @ 12:09 pm