America: Loving it and trusting it two different things

In the musical “Oliver” Fagin, one of the characters, sings a song, “I’m reviewing the situation” wherein he looks at a problem he has from different points of views. With the thrust of that song in mind, I would like to look at my feelings regarding the Healthcare Reform Bill from another point of view. That is, what I think is the point of view of the people disrupting the Town Hall Meetings.

If you have never been in a classroom that erupts due to the fact the students think the teacher is unfair about something, I beg of you to take my word it is not pleasant. The students going crazy is a polite understatement. They are truly and sincerely angry as hell and they hold nothing back -nothing, you hear- letting you know exactly how they feel. From the “A” student to the already disruptive student who just came back from his fourth suspension of the school year for fighting, “… and it’s only the middle of October” you murmur to yourself, you have a problem!

It is my opinion, the “disrupters” at Town Hall Meetings know America will do anything to gain control of a country for financial reasons. On the contemporary level, they know about Iraq for its oil, desires to take over Iran for the same reason. Trying to conquer Afghanistan to take over the drug trade and nefarious workings with the Columbian and Mexican drug cartel. This is on the contemporary level excluding the workings of the *Hawaiian Pineapple Company and the rubber plantations in Brazil and Liberia, the Vietnam and Korean wars lining the pockets of the Military Industrial Complex.

And there is the looting of our treasury with no one being held accountable, the trashing of our constitution with little more than a yawn and with talk about detention camps being prepared here in America for Americans as part of Homeland Security is public knowledge in some circles. To be sure, there are people who may not articulate their feelings very well but that does not in any way negate a situation wherein they feel something is not right. When people have feelings of being duped, manipulated, bamboozled and otherwise pushed around, I repeat, there is a problem. These people will laugh in your face when you tell them you have decided to do something nice for them; something that will help them; something for their own good; unselfish you want to give them a gift; “Trust me!” you say. We are witnessing their reactions to these “benevolent” overtures at our Town Hall Meetings. Rolling over playing dead in not their style. They did that during the last administration to their peril. I guess that is why so many of us are confused. In any case, they do love America but trusting it is another can of worms.

A basic tenet of teaching: Go from the known to the unknown. If health care is to be changed for the good of the many, start building their trust on Medicare. Medicare for all! Who in America does not know the benefits of being on Medicare? I feel the situation can be turned around. It may be late but not too late for positives to inject themselves into the fray. Most people like to be positive, have positive thoughts and participate in positive issues.

At this point, however, egg droppings have to be wiped and cleaned off faces, foot-print damages to asses have to be attended to and generous heapings of crow ingested in communal settings have to be encouraged. The man said, “I never (ever) told you the road would be easy….”
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
P.S. Rachel is a saint! She also does not mind working hard. (Smile)

*Historically, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company had a hand in the hostile overthrow of Hawaii's last queen, Lili?uokalani, and the establishment of Hawai?i as a U.S. territory. Sanford Dole, the cousin of James Dole, was briefly president of the Republic of Hawai?i in the years immediately following the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, in 1893. [5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dole_Food_Company

Is the President’s silence fanning flames of discontent? (Update)

In my opinion, CNN is doing a yeoman’s job in efforts to educate the villagers regarding the myths and folk tales that have seized and is holding the pending Healthcare Reform Bill hostage. In the tallest tower of the castle all day and throughout the night, one can hear the weeping and wailing of the pending bill. The villagers have become nervous and upset due to lack of sleep and not knowing what is going on. Who will save the fair and balanced Healthcare Reform Bill and bring peace to their beloved kingdom? Who would dare confront and slay the bill’s captors? “Who?” they plead.

Enter the hansom Sir Obama riding on his white horse, Justice and Liberty, stopping in the middle of the square, sitting tall in full armor dress, he speaks to the enthralled and swooning villagers: “Let me be perfectly clear. I come to praise the Republicans, the Blue Dogs and the good Sen. Grassley of Iowa” he says, “not to bury them….” The End.

I have gotten down right disgusted with the President keeping so many people confused regarding the Healthcare Reform Bill. He and only he can bring a screeching halt to this madness sweeping the country. At this time, I see no political gain whatsoever him darting from one Town Hall Meeting to another. It is becoming increasingly counter productive for him at this point and things are not comin’ up rosy. I struggle to remain optimistic.

Update:  And it happens again....with video X2
by princss6
Share this on Twitter - Update:  And it happens again....with video X2 //
Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 12:29:17 PM PDT
Excerpt:
So I am sure you are all aware of the townhall where an African American woman was ejected for apparently getting into a fight with another attendee.  MSNBC just showed another angle of the video.  Apparently, the AA woman was sitting in her seat and placed a sign in the chair in front of her.  A photographer took a picture of the AA woman and then walked over to her to ask her about the poster.  The AA woman unfolded the poster for the photographer.  The poster was of revered Civil Rights legend Rosa Parks.  At that point, a white woman walks over to the photographer and AA woman, grabs the poster, walks away and rips it up!  

And
Update 2 - Upon receiving information, I would like to say that incident still upsets me.  However, I am relieved that the Hillsboro police acted justly and fairly by arresting the perpetrator.  It seems strange to me that none of this was reported.  The video of the AA woman has been on constant loop, so it would seem that all of the details would be revealed.  It is a relief believe me that this man was not left unmolested and will be taken to task (we hope) in the court system.

Comment:
 STOP Town Halls now, (15+ / 0-)
before someone gets hurt. Nothing is being accomplished. Bring the Dem's back and vote on this bill now!
They crazies on the right will stop screaming when they see the real benefits the  healthcare bill will bring. In two years you will not be able to take it away from them, just like Medicare.
Everyone should right their congress person and tell them to end he recess and vote the bill now.
My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. Benjamin Disraeli
by pvmuse on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 01:45:45 PM PDT

And
 I am rapidly beginnning to agree with you. (5+ / 0-)
It seems that the meetings have done nothing but embolden the wingnuts and they have become the focus of the medias reporting on the meetings.  This is exactly what the wingnuts wanted.  I thought that this might backfire and some attention would be given to the actual subject being debated.  I have yet to see this happen.  What is keeping me dangling on the fence is that I don't want to see the democrats give in to this cheap shot strategy.  But they might as well throw in the towel if they cannot come up with and effective counter punch.  Not to mention increasing potential for serious violence.  I don't know?
"Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out." - George Carlin
by duckhunter on Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 02:26:37 PM PDT
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/12/765690/-Update:-And-it-happens-again....with-video-X2

Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
(Update)
How to Fight Healthcare Fearmongers and Demagogues
Excerpt:
But why are they getting away with it? Why aren't progressives -- indeed, why aren't ordinary citizens -- taking the meetings back?
Mainly because there's still no healthcare plan. All we have are some initial markups from several congressional committees, which differ from one another in significant ways. The White House's is waiting to see what emerges from the House and Senate before insisting on what it wants, maybe in conference committee.

And
- Being the one public plan, it will have large economies of scale that will enable it to negotiate more favorable terms with pharmaceutical companies and other providers. (Here, he must clear up any confusion about any deal made with Big Pharma.) But this won't lead to a government takeover of health care. The whole point of cost containment is to provide the public with health care on more favorable terms. If the public plan negotiates better terms -- thereby demonstrating that drug companies and other providers can meet them -- private plans can seek similar deals.

And
Etc.,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/how-to-fight-heathcare-fe_b_257825.html

Glen Beck and Red Lobster Restaurant (Update)

Damn! When the oldest lady friend I have was in the hospital last month, I promised her lunch at Red Lobster when she got out. She is out now and just last Friday I called her to tell her I could take her out now and to call me back giving me the day to meet her.

Now with the Glen Beck situation and knowing Red Lobster is one of his sponsors, I don’t want to go! My friend is not into politics like I am and it is going to be a hard sell to change restaurants on her. We have been going to Red Lobster for years for which ever one of us considered a special occasion. I was looking forward to the lobster lunch and a martini or two since I have not had one since I treated my daughter to lunch there on her 38th birthday last year. Where is Miss Manners when you need her?

Glenn Beck, brought to you by...
by Jed Lewison
Media Matters presents Glenn Beck’s corporate sponsors:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/11/765236/-Glenn-Beck,-brought-to-you-by...
As always,
BB
P.S. If Proctor and Gambles had not withdrawn their support of Glen Beck, I looked over my recent receipt from the grocery store with full intentions of returning any of their products telling the manager I was a dis-satisfied customer. No joke! I was glad to hear P&G made the decision they did. I was with GEICO for thirty four years before I stopped driving. They always treated me fairly. I was never with another car insurance company. Color me lucky.

(Update)
Men's Wearhouse pulls Glenn Beck ads
by ThatTallGuy
Excerpt:

Dear [TTG],
Thank you for contacting Men’s Wearhouse and bringing to our attention your concerns with the Glenn Beck program on Fox News. While we support free speech and do not make advertising decisions based on our own personal ideologies, after reviewing his recent incendiary comments we have decided to remove our advertising from his program. We hope that this decision will allow you to continue to patronize Men’s Wearhouse. I would encourage you to please share our decision with anyone else who may have expressed a similar concern.
Thank you again for contact Men’s Wearhouse.
Sincerely,
Matt Stringer
vp marketing/creative services
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/11/765336/-Mens-Wearhouse-pulls-Glenn-Beck-ads

“Mr. Matt Stringer, thanks for pulling your support for the Glen Beck Show. A Dkos reader.” Modified for Sarganto, Geico.

Uncontrollable urges to create chaos and mayhem

Listening to Keith Oberman tonight in his opinion segment said to me that there are people craving chaos just as a person would crave a cigarette, a drink or a shot of heroin.

What his segment said to me was not earth shaking with “Oh, my God!” responses or knee slapping moments and most definitely not the heavens opening up having Barack tumbling down. Not at all! It was nothing like that! It was more like finding the missing piece to a puzzle that you had not considered a puzzle; an epiphany, so to speak.

In my perception, Keith Oberman was talking about people who peddle mis-information for the purpose of producing chaos and mayhem and do it with the zeal and accelerated cravings of a drug addict. A person possessed, if you will, and these people are different than the people who love to tell lies; in my opinion, the motivation is different. These addicted driven people are a different breed of people. A people who can not help themselves perhaps due to a chemical imbalance or something; a Rush Limbaugh, a Sarah Palin, a Glen Beck, a Michele Malkin. These are people paid for their love and addictions to producing chaos. "Hired guns" as Keith called them. They do the equivalent of standing on the corners hustling their drugs (chaos and mayhem) to the weak and already addicted but they do it via the media. There is very little difference. And there is a saying, “Go into a profession that makes you feel as if you are not working due to the fact what you are doing is also your passion, your hobby and your first love”.

Thanks to Keith there is a group of people introduced to me I never thought of this way and in those terms. I am sure those kind of people are in every society but why in hell do they have to be in ours’ and so many of’em? BTW, Keith also talked about the people who, in the comforts of their penthouses, hire these guys. I wonder just how many of them have visited their employers in their homes, being embraced by their family, friends and other servants like themselves?

-Mr. Murdock, a Ms. Malkin is ringing from downstairs? She says she’s got to talk to you? She says it’s important and the doorman will not let her come up?
-Tell her I’m not here. How did she find out where I live? Tell her I’ve gone to the opera or something. Tell her whatever you told Rush and that ass hole Glen Bess or whatever his name is.
As always,
BB

Sen. Claire McCaskill “Town Hall Meeting”

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Ms. McCaskill is giving a Town Hall meeting at this time. CNN has shown a brief segment. I did not see the meeting running on C-Span nor any live bloging. Here is what I heard:
1. In one of the Healthcare Reform Bills already written, (I did not get the name of the committee) the Republicans added approximately 140 amendments far exceeding those of the Democrats and ended up not voting for the bill in the end.

2. There was a request from a member of the audience for a list of the various amendments proposed (and I would suspect who wrote them). Ms. McCaskill replied “…give me a week to make the list available.” She loved the request.

3. (Author: Conspirator theorist) Did the Republicans put poison pen amendments in the bill knowing they would not vote for the bill anyway? Has this happened in other committees writing the Healthcare Reform Bill? I am mindful of the radio show, "The Shadow Knows".
As always,
BB

My teachable moment with the President: A fantasy.

I was very disappointed with the speech Pres. Obama gave to the public on Saturday. In my opinion, there was not a genuine effort to explain the Healthcare Reform Bill. There was much to much meandering.

Scene: The Washington D.C. Mall is packed. People are hollering, chanting with raised fist yelling and screaming for the President’s head. They feel he has mishandled the Healthcare Reform Bill. I feel I must do something before things really get out of hand.
-Mr. President, may I?

-Be my guest, Mr. BB.

-Thank you, Sir. Ladies and gentlemen, as your President and the one who vowed to bring about Healthcare Reform to America, I instructed the two bodies of Congress to caucus and write what they thought should be in a Healthcare Reform Bill. What has been written by the various committees has been erroneously consider “a bill” or “the bill” for Healthcare Reform. Technically nothing could be further from the truth. What the various committees are writing and what some have already written are drafts to be considered. They are drafts and not bills in the full legal sense of the word. What each individual committee has submitted to me has not been voted on by the entire Congress nor signed into law by me. How am I doing so far, Mr. President?

-I’m listening. Please continue.

-What you are objecting to and complaining about are issues from the draft of one committee or another. For example, take the drift that has a part in it that has been interpreted as saying that the government is going to kill you. That interpretation is from the committee chaired by Sen. XYZ and I want to remind you it is only a draft. And the disruptions regarding the taking away of all your existing medical benefits arose from the draft submitted by the committee chaired by Sen. ABC and I hasten to add it is only in the form of a draft and I tell you again, there is no bill validating that statement voted on by the entire Congress and signed into law by me.

-G’wan with your bad self, Mr. BB.

-Thank you Mr. President. And now ladies and gentlemen, if you want to be angry at someone, if you truly have anger it should be directed to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck for withholding information that could lead to jail time for some or loss of life, perhaps your own. It’s that serious. Withholding information is always serious and especially so if it is being done deliberately for whatever reason or reasons. They are not telling you the legislative process. They are not telling you that the drafts have to be consolidated, presented to Congress, consolidated yet another time and presented for a vote and then and only then will it be presented to me, your President, to be signed into law. As you can see, we have a long way to go before there is anything you can lawfully call a Healthcare Reform Bill. And finally let me remind you that up to this point we are only dealing with drafts. Thank you and God bless America.

-That was good, Mr. BB. I understand you were a teacher. Do you have a philosophy?

-Funny you would ask, Mr. President. I believe when teaching you never assume the people you are teaching know anything about what you are talking about. Always go from the known, regardless how small, to the unknown. It’s easier to make adjustments that way and you will immediately know when you are losing your audience. If the known is nothing, you have your work cut out for you and your teaching skills are challenged. As an example, watch how Rachel Maddow sets up her lessons. It is masterful and takes a lot of work. A lot! Good-bye, Mr. President and good luck. I have tried my best. Sorry I can’t shake your hand, Sir, or give you a hug. My cardiologist would never forgive me for being so stupid.
As always,
BB
P.S. Is Hitler really the Jewish communities' cash cow? I've heard rumors. Something to do with the State of Israel. Is that why they are so upset with Pres. Obama being called Hitler?

Look what I found!

I heard long ago when the media gives you a steady diet of trifles, you can bet your mortgage payment they are trying to push something under the radar screen. In my opinion, here it is and I note at the time of this posting, there are no comments to the article:

Government Asks Supreme Court to Hear Torture Photos Case
Posted by Rachel Myers, ACLU at 6:13 pm (August 7)
Excerpt:
Today the Obama Justice Department petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a federal court ruling that they must turn over photos depicting the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas.
And
These photos would provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib. As disturbing as the photos may be, it is critical that the American people know the full truth about the abuse that occurred in their name.
And
The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of the photos with all individual identifying information deleted, to protect the identity of those pictured. The courts have ordered them released in that form.
http://blog.aclu.org/
And
Real Time: Obama's Former Doctor David Scheiner on the Benefits of Single Payer
By Heather Sunday Aug 09, 2009 8:15am
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/real-time-obamas-former-doctor-david-schei

As always,
BB

A few “Off the cuffs”

1. Rahm Emanuel
This diary by blueintheface has only motivated me to send another small check to Democracy for America.
Writing a message to read between the lines, it was about two weeks ago I told my nephew I feel there is a serious historical relationship between Rahm Emanuel (Brutus) and Pres. Obama ( Julius Caesar). He gasped!

Progressive activists are being "f^cking stupid"? Hey Rahm, kiss my f^cking uninsured ass
by blueintheface
Excerpt:
Which is why I think I think it's fucking stupid to let the poster child for healthcare industry greed and sleaze frame the healthcare reform debate. Rick Scott's company paid out almost $2Billion in fines for over-billing and defrauding the government and his story isn't blasted after every Conservatives for Patients Rights ad? Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight. Why is it that we have to rely on Rick Sanchez to take this asshole down, and why wasn't Scott's past and motivation exposed by the White House and their allies months ago?
Ignoring his own playbook, a knife is all Emanuel is bringing to this fight. And he's using it to threaten the wrong people. Talk about being fucking stupid. How smart is it to throw your support behind the Democratic representatives who brag about killing healthcare reform while leaving your allies who have been working diligently to face violent mobs spewing lies and hyperbole fomented by the well-monied anti-reform insurance company insiders?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/8/763589/-Progressive-activists-are-being-f%5Ecking-stupid-Hey-Rahm,-kiss-my-f%5Ecking-uninsured-ass

2. America, a brave new world
This amazing diary “So you wanna talk about Hitler...
by citisven” is without a parallel in the history of the blogosphere that I have read. In my opinion, it’s a first with equal ratings along with the first Black President in America. Kudos to diarist citisven. A very brave and wonderful writer.
http://citisven.dailykos.com/

3. New book, “After America” by Paul Starobins came today.
I ordered the book from Amazon on Aug. 6 for $21.34 including shipping and did not request next business day delivery. Color me impressed.
Re: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/2/760206/-Book-review:-Paul-Starobins-After-America

4. Coming up to the last pages of current reading
I have less than 100 pages to go on “An Unbroken Agony” by Randall Robinson. Oooo, Voodoo, Hoodoo the things he writes about the Bush and Clinton administrations and Ron Dillums and the mulattos in Haiti and the Blacks in America and, my God, all those things about Colin Powell leaving Pres. Arisitide to fin for himself amidst a brewing military coup around pgs. 170! WOW!

I will probably start reading “After America” in the morning. I have always admired people who say they are reading more than one book at a time. It sounds so impressive! So elitist and if you are Black like me, it sounds so “Uppity and arrogant!!” I am not a Black man searching for his identity. (Smile)
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB