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Comments Posted By choicelady

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Will Ukraine Be Putin’s Iraq?

funk – I think MSM observations are so ill thought out that they have almost no relationship to reality. Most of what I’ve read has been superficial at best, but too much aimed at our president NOT Putin. They still hold to the belief that Putin “won” in Syria instead of capitulating.

I think those who look at the internal actions of Putin with respect to Russia, see Putin’s drive for power and appearance of wanting to reunify the Soviet albeit with free market drives, are correct. This is not about a nation’s policy. This is about one man’s tyrannical drive for his OWN power in Russia. That’s fair analysis I think.

» Posted By choicelady On March 3, 2014 @ 11:29 pm

Excellent article, AdLib. Love the photo, too – though if I were Putin I’d watch out for the bemedaled military guy behind him. Wow.

My assessment, NY Time Op Ed notwithstanding, is that besides Putin’s megalomania, this is payback for having gotten played by PBO. When President Obama turned the issue of Syria over to Congress, it signaled that it was a bargaining chip NOT a coveted act. But by even putting it on the table, he forced Putin TO the table, and Putin found himself pressing his ally, Syria, to give up chemical weapons, open up to inspectors, and basically cave to the West. Humiliation for Syria and fury for Putin.

He thinks he’s pushing Obama to the wall. He is not. By enlisting the EU that responded immediately by rejecting the G8 meeting, shutting off credit and cutting support for Russia financially, risking the loss of gas and oil and finding alternatives, Putin has seen that there is a united front against him. I don’t think he cares – he is delusional as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said to the president. Putin wants to be Tsar. His slavering desire for global power is not a whit less rabid than that of any tyrant.

I don’t think the US is hypocritical for condemning what this administration has already condemned about our own actions in Iraq. What lines up in Putin’s sights is the very long history of the US not opposing the USSR and Stalin or successors in the long, brutal history of invasions. The US never did much in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia (1968 is vivid in my memory – nothing stopped the Russinas there), and concessions on withdrawing missiles in Turkey that ended the Cuban crisis without a shot being fired. So why would he believe anything could be done to Russia?

Problems arise for Putin in the fragile conditions of his own country, a massive resistance to him and the corruption he has allowed to ferment and sweep the nation. He has a much smaller national base – the split of the soviet union left him without the power and authority of those very recalcitrant republics that once were part of the national strength. Chechnya is only one visible sign of that unrest – much more is simmering waiting for an opening.

The invasion of Crimea may be meant as the frontal assault on all of the Ukraine, but the world will defend the Ukraine. Now that we have learned of the massive oppression they endured under Stalin, it’s not going to be ignored under Putin. Yes there is a significant fascist presence – but it is NOT the government and NOT the majority. Putin is the tyrant, and other republics may quickly rise up to block his aggression against them. He may have opened a MAJOR can of worms with this stupid and ill-considered move. If the Ukraine wants to be part of the EU, military force will make that MORE, not less likely.

He has overplayed his hand. President Obama has huge political capital and enormous good will with the European nations. Putin has met his match in the very man he dreadfully “misunderestimated”. Obama is no soft pushover as was Bush who ‘looked into Putin’s soul’ and gave him no reason to fear the US. With Obama, Putin should be afraid – very afraid – because this president has a will of iron.

There may be regime change. It won’t be in the Ukraine.

» Posted By choicelady On March 3, 2014 @ 11:24 pm

The Republican Charm Offensive…Less Charm, More Offensive

Working on it incrementally as fast as we can!

I’m so sorry you’re muzzled there. Are you permitted to BECOME a citizen even? Not that you’d necessarily want to be, but is it even possible?

Must be INCREDIBLY frustrating often! So sorry that is happening to you!

» Posted By choicelady On February 25, 2014 @ 6:44 pm

Truer words were never on a bumper before that!

» Posted By choicelady On February 25, 2014 @ 6:42 pm

It’s kind of a false data set – quite a number of churches in the mainline progressive denominations are growing. Oh, not rapidly, no megachurch phenomenon, but growing nonetheless. But even the newest members don’t go to church weekly. As you know, I work for a large faith organization, and I don’t go to church much at ALL. But the loyalty to those progressive congregations and to the teachings is very real. That said, I do know that Pew found that “The Nones” are the fastest growing group meaning that yes, truly unaffiliated to utterly alienated are the real core. And yet the RW extremists cling to the belief that they’re the majority and that they set the American values in play. They think anything they say or do is acceptable because their sycophants tell them so.

I seriously hope they’re in for a very rude awakening. I’d love to see the turned out in all states and have hopes that we can do that. It would be lovely never to hear from these nasty minded evil doers again.

» Posted By choicelady On February 24, 2014 @ 11:36 pm

I agree, Kalima. Their tin ears for their own idiotic gibberish is appalling, too. Do they not think before they run their mouths? Women are “hosts”? I hope the nitwit has no daughters because is he going to tell them they have no value other than as empty vessels?

Having dealt recently with self congratulatory Emos, I know that self delusion exists on all sides, but the sheer nastiness of the Tea Party exceeds belief. If they have thirty followers screaming for their words of wisdom, they think it’s a landslide approval from all of us.

They need to be called out then they need to be turned out. They are the first legislators I’ve ever met who seriously are unfit to govern.

Even conservatives deserve a whole lot better than what they’re getting. And the rest of us sure do, too.

» Posted By choicelady On February 24, 2014 @ 11:31 pm

The American Political System and Accommodating Evil

Back in 1975 when the first ‘blueprint’ for a global capitalist world was published, “The Crisis of Democracy”, the most important directive was eradicating unions.

And we’ve moved on from there.

The new Robber Barons want a world free from people with equal power. If we don’t wake folks up soon, we will all envy Oliver Twist.

» Posted By choicelady On February 20, 2014 @ 8:54 pm

Nirek – thrilled to learn you were IBEW! Our late and much loved bito was a union guy, carpenters I believe, and he and I shared a common event, picketing for the IAM during the Eastern Airlines strike. Always glad to see a union person give reflection on this topic.

I am wondering since VW is so peeved whether it might not come down to an NLRB hearing charging Corker with unfair labor practices. It’s not impossible since with the union AND the company on the same side, he clearly meddled with threats and lies – a serious no no under fair bargaining laws. Hmmm. That will be interesting…

VW might very well place people at the table through stock ownership. That actually strengthens the union’s position since Taft Hartley forbade unions to strike or bargain on investment decisions but stock ownership permits them to be engaged. This will cause Corker to blow his cork if it occurs! It will be fascinating to watch – blue collar people making investment and production decisions??? How can people who make slimy references to the ‘ownership society’ possibly refuse that now?

All very intriguing thinking how it could play out. Corker may actually have done more good for the union movement in a new way – promoting ownership and decision making – than he could ever have predicted. I’m smiling as I write this. Rock on, auto workers. Rock on!

» Posted By choicelady On February 19, 2014 @ 9:48 pm

A PlanetPOV Collection of Chris Christie Nursery Rhymes

Perfect sign for a perfect twit.

» Posted By choicelady On February 11, 2014 @ 1:11 pm

OMG – just occurred to me that if Boehner ever got sent to prison, he’d disappear. Orange on orange! Wow.

» Posted By choicelady On February 10, 2014 @ 8:08 pm

Well done, PPO!!!

» Posted By choicelady On February 10, 2014 @ 8:07 pm

Huzzah! All sterling entries and contributions to the wild world of political satire! Although these are words, Thomas Nast would be SO proud.

Coming as I do from a city that honed corruption to its finest – Buffalo, NY – without actually attracting much notice (it IS Buffalo) these bits of political doggerel are right up there with those about our Native Son Grover Cleveland who apparently spawned a child out of wedlock while he was IN wedlock with someone else. The chant that often greeted him was

“Ma! Ma! Where’s my Pa?
“Went to the White House, hah, hah, hah!”

I think we have been long overdue for such bits of folk humor, and kudos to all who contributed. You are keeping a fine and (ig)noble populist tradition alive! Thank you!

» Posted By choicelady On February 10, 2014 @ 8:06 pm

The Weekend Music Thread-Beatlemania

At last! A thread I actually recognize! Thanks, KT – always did love their music. Have to admit I forgot they did “Good Day Sunshine”. Oh, well.

I had the distinct pleasure of staying in an apartment on Abbey Road directly next to the studio where much of their work was recorded. To get to the Tube, I had to tread on the famous Zebra Crossing that is where the Abbey Road photo was taken. It was a hilarious experience with tourists being led by “tour guides” with boom boxes, and snapping photos of me, well, crossing. Anything to get close to the Beatles, however incongruous. At night wails could be heard from mostly women showing up at the studio wall mourning the Beatles as a group and John as an individual. In the morning fresh graffiti would be discovered with yet a new fan leaving a message. All pretty fun overall.

Their music will live forever. They are deeply embedded in all that will come later, and they shine as part of many of our lives. Thanks KT for all the good memories!

» Posted By choicelady On February 8, 2014 @ 3:26 pm

Republicans Have The Answer to Poverty: The Poor Need to Be Poorer to Stop Being Poor

Right on the money, AdLib. Jails ARE the camps for ‘those people’.

» Posted By choicelady On February 13, 2014 @ 8:44 pm

I’d like us all to keep the distinction – Christianity is nothing to do with these people. They are DOMINIONISTS – seeking their own power over all, a theocracy dedicated to bringing the End Times.

They use ‘Christianity’ as their cover, but for them Jesus is just the ‘get out of jail free’ card they hope will be played at death. They are heretics, and they do not remotely resemble REAL Christians such as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. That is a very important distinction.

» Posted By choicelady On February 13, 2014 @ 8:43 pm

Dbos – I think actually they are not. Their acme was 2010, and they’ve lost ground ever since. Passing both the Farm Bill that restored food stamp cuts (the cuts came in November 2013) and the recent vote on the debt ceiling shows that even internally within the Capitol, they cannot prevail.

This has been 35 years in the making since Reagan. Even back then some of us who’d studied history could see that the Tea Party was the logical outgrowth of the virulent, racist anti-democratic nature of the GOP. Undoing it will take some time, but people are finally galvanized. One has only to look at the Moral Mondays marches in NC, the sweep of localism across the nation, the pushback from millionaires such as Warren Buffet, Nick Hanauer and Tom Steyer among quite a number of others to see that even the well to do know that these things are very wrong.

The Kochs through hundreds of millions into the pot to elect Mitt and lost. They lost several key Congressional races. They will throw MORE money – but it’s counterbalanced by a growing activism. VOTES by us, the people, count AS MUCH as the money they toss around.

it may not be obvious at the moment, depending on where you live, but people are no longer passive. It’s not the Occupy flame outs – it’s the wresting of local control that matters, and that’s happening across the nation.

We are pushing back. As long as we do -and don’t give up as we did in the 80s and 90s- we will make huge changes that matter. President Obama is correct – democracy is not about him. It is about us.

» Posted By choicelady On February 13, 2014 @ 8:41 pm

Riiiiiight.

» Posted By choicelady On February 13, 2014 @ 8:32 pm

Excellent analysis, AdLib! This is the rebirth of Social Darwinism that began with Reagan. It’s covered with a religious pastiche born of the ‘sheep v goats’ assessment that if you’re part of The Elect, you will prosper, and if you fail, well you didn’t love Jesus enough.

Yes, they have tarred and feathered social supports, rationalized that people don’t deserve to be self sufficient by being paid decently, and posited that social equality removes the motivation to ‘Come to Jesus’ who will make you wealthy but without whom you should starve.

Back in about 1982 Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman wrote of Reagan’s new ruthless dismissal of the poor, “Why do the rich need incentives but the poor need desperation?” It’s because of this attitude – the rich are different and better because, well, they just ARE.

Democracy and political ‘Affluenza’ are totally incompatible. We are in a war to see whether the founding principles of equal opportunity survive. The Tea Party’s win will usher in both massive and growing poverty AND theocracy that shores up that breech. We cannot tolerate any of this within a democratic republic founded on he principles that every human being is equal. It’s a fight to the death. The Tea Party or America.

» Posted By choicelady On February 13, 2014 @ 8:31 pm

WATCH & CHAT LIVE: President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address – 6:00pm PST

Same here – apparently the system overloaded. But it was a very wonderful and rousing speech. You could tell by the VERY grim faces of the GOP!!!

» Posted By choicelady On January 28, 2014 @ 7:29 pm

Statistically it was a deep plunge in Dem voting by those who listened to the likes of Ed Schultz who said,”Don’t vote and send the Dems a message.” The “too good to vote” crowd is totally responsible for this mess.

I’m not convinced Indies did vote GOP so much as Dems refused to vote AT ALL. In Ohio, ONE VOTE per precinct would have changed EVERYTHING. That’s true elsewhere as well.

We have to vote wisely because control of the PARTY is as important as any individual.

» Posted By choicelady On January 28, 2014 @ 5:45 pm

Beatlex – today the compromise Farm Bill restoring full funding on SNAP the “food stamp” program – passed the conference agreement. There will be a monetary reduction made up by ending fraud and waste, and NOT cutting anyone out.

However, some people will get reductions in allotments because they will have eligibility amounts recalculated based on reworking formulae on energy costs to any given family in 17 states with generous provisions. By reducing the assumption of utility costs, the amount for food stamps will likely be lowered.

So despite this rather remarkable accomplishment of bi partisan agreement, now advocates for food and nutrition are calling to “kill the bill”. Never mind there is nothing but MASSIVE cuts to ALL SNAP families in any other version of the bill likely to pass. REMOTELY likely to pass. It’s liberals doing this.

President Obama will do what he can, but unless the American people wake up and understand the process, we are doomed to stalemate.

And I am tearing out my hair.

See you tonight I hope – there is no sanity other than here.

» Posted By choicelady On January 28, 2014 @ 12:51 pm

What Will Be The Focus of President Obama’s SOTU Speech Tomorrow?

Just saw that the ‘generic’ vote is 42 Republican, 40 Dem. This is ENTIRELY due to faux lefties sitting it out. So you can kiss both the cap and the CCPI goodbye if the RWNJs win because the Left cannot get itself together.

Case in point – the conference committee Farm Bill just ENDED cuts to food stamps.

To achieve that, the House bill will require the 17 states that inflate energy costs – in other words give SOME people at upper levels of eligibility a pass to get food stamps – to reduce that calculation. In sum, everyone in all 50 states will have the SAME eligibility where before 800,000 families in those 17 states got MORE at the same income levels.

Yes – those 800,000 families will get less – the same as their exact peers – than they have been.

BUT NO ONE WILL GET ANY CUTS AT ALL TO THEIR FOOD STAMP ALLOWANCES other than this adjustment.

AND THE LEFT IS OUTRAGED. We just SAVED the tens of millions on food stamps from cuts – but they are outraged some people will now be equal to others.

This is making me nuts. Center for Budget and Policy Priorities is very pleased at this amazing save of food stamps but there’s no pleasing people when those who have gotten MORE now have to get the SAME.

Same with CCPI – the lower income levels will not be affected. I will be affected. I could NOT care less because some years I will get MORE and some LESS based on inflation. It’s not a fixed issue.

We should take the lid off and provide MORE so retirement is secure – no question about it – but it will NEVER come to pass if the sulky Left allow the Baggers to stay in power.

I have met the enemy. He is US.

» Posted By choicelady On January 28, 2014 @ 3:31 pm

Then it is on us to elect a Congress that will do this, make SS and Medicare funds locked out of the general use funds, and keep commitments to us and future generations.

We don’t change Congress, we have to live with the results.

» Posted By choicelady On January 28, 2014 @ 8:39 am

What time are we starting the live chat tomorrow?

» Posted By choicelady On January 27, 2014 @ 8:04 pm

I LOVE it when you talk rough!

LOL!!

Totally agree with everything you said. Let ‘er rip!

» Posted By choicelady On January 27, 2014 @ 8:03 pm

I think, just on average, that if we used CCPI, it would lower our COLA by $3 per month. I can live with that, and so can friends for whom SS is their ONLY income. After all, in 2009 and 2010, there was NO Cost of Living Increase at ALL. It’s never a sure thing, so NOT getting $3 MORE would not kill anyone so long as they got something when it was warranted.

The obvious better plan is raising the cap so that those earning whatever they earn would pay on all their income – but until we get the House and make sure we keep the Senate, that ain’t gonna happen. So OLD PEOPLE? Freaking VOTE and do so for those helping you out.

» Posted By choicelady On January 27, 2014 @ 7:49 pm

Hi KT – yes, and I am unendingly peeved that ACLU supported it and continues to defend it – but think about this: they did great in 2010 but NOT in 2012. For the $400 MILLION they threw at so many campaigns, they lost the White House, several House seats, and lost the Senate outright.

VOTE folks. Money cannot trump democratic engagement. It never has. Only thing that ruins democracy is our passivity and failure to vote. GOTV is THE issue in 2014 as it was in 2012. We cannot be indifferent. EVER.

» Posted By choicelady On January 27, 2014 @ 7:45 pm

Parody Song For Chris Christie: “Bridge Into Troubled Waters”

PPO – that’s wonderful, too! I’m going to be humming all these songs all day long.

» Posted By choicelady On January 24, 2014 @ 9:10 am

Perfect lyrics for an incredible event presided over by someone who thought he walked on that water.

Thanks, Ad Lib. And thanks for the Lt.Gov’s speech – I saw it when it ran on the news and was whomperjawed at her “performance” that, yes, was clearly scripted and untrue.

Scandal after scandal on the Right, all of them federal charges so they’re not just walking away unscathed as state charges might allow. These folks are taking their medicine, and to quote another song, no “Spoonful of Sugar” will help them.

Hubris is a terrible thing.

» Posted By choicelady On January 23, 2014 @ 8:49 pm

Remembering Martin Luther King – 2014

I was in Tennessee and think of it always as the day hope died and all the Black people disappeared. We did not see one single Black person for a week. It was that dangerous. I was terrified – a Yankee and pro civil rights person in the middle of the state – not because of the riots but because of the white people. The open delight at Kings’ murder terrified me.

I’m glad I experienced that, but I still remember the sorrow, guilt, and emptiness that came that horrible day. I fell asleep after exhausting the news and woke up crying. Horrid, horrid time after so much accomplished by this amazing man.

» Posted By choicelady On January 21, 2014 @ 10:35 pm