In Memoriam Senator Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009

Here’s to remembering Senator Ted Kennedy, who stood up for worthy and humane causes several decades running and who, confronted with deep personal loss, made a real difference in American life. He lived a long time, but I’m sorry he passed away before he got a chance to see the conclusion of the health-care reform now in progress. Senator Kennedy, one of the country’s strongest progressive voices, went out of his way to back Barack Obama during the primary season last year. He put a lot of faith in the younger politician’s talent and integrity -- something I believe every American interested in social justice and the alleviation of suffering should keep in mind in the coming months. Stay optimistic, and speak out in a dignified but spirited manner about the prospects and the need for genuine improvement in health care and other areas. Perhaps that's how best to remember "the Lion of the Senate."

Burn baby burn

Teddy Roosevelt was a Socialist; so was Adam Smith, Adolph Hitler and FDR. Anyone in fact who thinks there ought to be a government is a Socialist unless there's " a war on." At that point everything changes and anyone who thinks there's too much government, too intrusive and abusive in it's powers becomes the Socialist villain. That's the simple version. Of course people who wonder why, when half the e-mail screeds one gets from Republican sources begin with a picture of the World Trade Center in flames and exhortations never to forget, we can also call an official day of Remembrance and Service "Socialist." Is it the service that sours the remembrance? Perhaps a national day of insulting France would have been less Socialist. Perhaps burning the UN would have been more "conservative."

“The plan is to turn a ‘day of fear’ that helps Republicans into a day of activism called the National Day of Service that helps the left,”

writes Matthew Vadum in The Spectator. What could be more Socialist that interfering with the fear level Republicans promote in concert with international terrorists to keep authoritarianism alive in America.

"Nihilistic liberals are planning to drain 9/11 of all meaning.”

Or at least the meaning that can be interpreted to demand bigger, more militaristic government and an attack on Constitutional Government. That's "desecration" howls Vadum. I'm sure that all the police, fire, public safety, paramedics and others who died on that day were Socialists as well - and desecrators as well. And what about all the Socialists who volunteered afterwards? You can see the danger!

So when you see the inevitable burning towers picture, remember to preserve the fear, promote the panic and for heaven's sake don't do anything to get in the way of ever increasing government power and defense contractor profit. That would be nothing but Nihilism and Socialism (if your doublethink capacity is great enough to tie those two together.)

While your doublethink module is engaged, please remember that it wasn't Socialism to support a national day of service when George Bush promoted the idea or when it got Bipartisan support this Spring. It's Socialism because Barack Obama is President.

Damn, these socialist/nihilist Liberals are insidious! Promoting positive outcomes and reducing fear is the first step down the slippery slope toward Socialism and if that is difficult for you to understand, Raw Story has all the reasons all the Republican opinion shouters give us to support "conservative" fear mongering, xenophobia, divisiveness, totalitarianism, Chauvinism and military aggression instead of that goddamn e pluribus unum constructivism those nihilist homosexual, far-left Socialists, want to sell us.

Resistance is NOT Futile - Though it May Seem So

Arguing with conservatives (usually republicans, but also a few straying democrats) is most often tantamount to talking to a wall. A very TALL wall. A tall CONCRETE wall that echoes back to oneself what one is saying. A tall, concrete wall that is, thus, incapable of absorbing sound – or anything intelligible.

In other words – arguing with conservatives AND ESPECIALLY the conservative media and its hacks is like arguing with THE BORG or the walls of one of their cubes. (Yes, the Borg of Star Trek fame.)

The Borg are infamous for being an impenetrable group – a group of beings aligned mentally by collective thought that is programmed into their brains via a central computer nervous system that does their thinking for them. A group of brainwashed beings from other worlds that have been assimilated into a collective hive that is hell bent on growing ever bigger by assimilating yet more weaker beings. And they WILL succeed. Why? Because . . .

When the Borg chant incessantly to their prey “Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated” – they are not belligerent. They are not argumentative. They are not surly. They are not even determined. All of these qualities would imply that they had hearts. Souls. Individuality of thought. They don’t have any of these things. When they utter their dire words they are simply stating facts as they know them. End of argument. In fact, there is no argument to begin with. Resistance in any form, such as argument, is futile. They are stronger. You aren’t.

Unless, that is, you are a member of the crew under either Captain Jean-Luc Picard or Captain Katherine Janeway. Then you might have a fighting chance.

Now where am I headed with this? Jean-Luc once found himself up against The Borg. He resisted. It was futile.

He was assimilated.

For a time.

Now Jean-Luc is a Captain of the Federation which is part of the United Federation of Planets. The Federation is a really hip, liberal-minded group of folks who, after countless years of useless warring both at home and abroad (ahem – cough - that would be us now), have come together with other species and planets to strive to create a peaceful universe within which they can all comfortably live as they individually see fit while honoring both their differences and their opposing cultural values. Yes – somehow the peace-nik earthlings and the grumpy Klingons and brainy Vulcans and wily Romulans and brutal Cardasians and greedy Ferengi etc etc etc etc etc etc manage to live at peace (or a close proximity thereof – depending on that pesky neutral zone . . . but I digress . . .)

Anyway – my point is – that this hippy dippy tree-hugging peace-signing, no doubt all organic, smiling group of politically liberal thinkers (esp those federation folk with their prime directive) find themselves up against THE BORG – a group of mindless drones to whom they can not talk. With whom they can not reason. THE BORG represent everything The Federation and the United Federation of Planets isn’t.

After all – how can one possible argue with a collective that is so technologically powerful and advanced that they can soar through space faster than any other species in a SQUARE space ship!! The arrogance!! It ain't even remotely aerodynamic!!! While silly humans such as Jean Luc are raised to think of the putting of square pegs in round holes as the stuff of children’s folly – there are then the arrogant as all hell Borg who defy the laws of aerodynamics and build square pegs that sail effortlessly through space. The nerve!

When Jean-Luc is assimilated and his crew must fight to retrieve his mind from the collective clutches of the Borg drones – it becomes the ultimate fight between individuality of thought and collective mindlessness. The ultimate showdown between liberal-mindedness and closed-mindedness. The power of those of closed, controlled minds – The Borg – is awesome. Frightening. Intimidating. But eventually – Jean-Luc – the poster-boy for liberal thought, for open-mindedness – wins.

Years later Captain Katherine Janeway will fight her own battle of wits with The Borg – and survive – but just barely. And let us not forget Seven of Nine - the former Borg turned Federation citizen. Yes, the tide can turn.

Yes, THE BORG will terrify the Federation and its allies for generations. They will assimilate many for whom resistance was futile. But they are NOT always successful. Resistance, then, it would seem, is not futile. As long as a few escape collective brainwashing – there is hope. THE BORG may always be “on message.” They may always chant the party line. They are the ultimate, loyal foot-soldiers. But they are NOT always successful. They may adapt easily to suit each new form of resistance. They may seem invulnerable. But they are not.

We are up against a conservative media blitz and mind-control effort that has been going full steam ahead ever since Bill Clinton dared to take office. It gloated during the Bush years. Now its furor has increased since Obama dared to take office. It is getting shriller. It is beginning to all sound the same. It is so sanctimoniously certain that it is right and that it will assimilate those still astray into its way of thinking. It seems to grow more powerful every day.

BUT! Remember Jean-Luc, Katherine and Seven of Nine – resistance is not futile. And even great big square things that may seem like impenetrable walls aren’t.

At least I hope not

Wild Wild West

If you see someone standing on your front lawn taking pictures of your house and you stick your head out the door to ask what the hell he's doing, maybe you'd better find out if he's a Republican first.

Robert Lutes, a resident of Boise, Idaho suburb, Meridian, probably wishes he had done that. Asking the man on the lawn to tell him what it was about, his question was answered with a .357 magnum revolver pointed at him by the Republican Party chairman of Boise County, Charles McAffee, a "tea-party" activist. No, it wasn't high noon, it was just before dinner time.

There is a controversy of course about whether Lutes was engaged in heated discussion or argument about his delinquent mortgage payments before McCaffee drew on him, but McCaffee, working for collection agency used by Wells Fargo, says he pulled the gun on the unarmed homeowner to "de-escalate" the conflict. No, really.

I am unable to establish Idaho's policy on such use of a concealed weapon, but I know that in Florida, it is illegal to display or "brandish" even a legally carried gun to gain advantage in or "de-escalate" a dispute or argument. Since McAffee was arrested for aggravated assault, I would assume a similarity in the laws. Again, I don't know if Idaho is a "castle doctrine" state, but I suspect it is and under that philosophy, Lutes would have been justified in shooting a Republican Party County Chairman and tax protester like any other armed home invader.

The more civilized part of my nature is glad he didn't, but the little demon on my shoulder sort of wishes the idiot Mr. Teabags had been dealt a little bit of old fashioned Republican justice.

WE’RE MAD AS HELL!

A funny thing happened on my way to reading more of HR 3200. I found a link in my email to the Mad As Hell Doctors of Oregon. They have put up some of their own money to fund a cross country trip in a message wrapped motor home promoting universal health care in the form of HR 676, calling for single payer health insurance.

Here is what they have to say:

"We're mad as hell because our health care system is run by people who profit from illness" says Dr. Paul Hochfeld, lead Mad As Hell Doctor and producer of the documentary '

Health, Money and Fear.' "The rest of the civilized world has test driven single payer and it works. But elected officials in America won't even allow a discussion."
"The public option is a trap." Hochfeld continues. "It sounds very reasonable, but the problem with it, no matter what the final bill looks like, is that it will continue to allow private medical insurance companies to dictate America's public health policies. And that's just plain wrong."

The rest of the story is HERE.

So,I decided to check out HR 676. First, it has only 30 pages, a definite improvement over the 1017 pages of HR 3200. Next, the contents are laid out in an orderly and logical fashion and include how it will be funded.

Everyone is covered, period. You will fill out a form and then get a card. You will be able to go to any doctor anywhere in the country. Doctors and medical facilities will remain privately owned but must be nonprofit and cannot be investor owned. All necessary medical procedures are covered, including eye care and dental care. There are no deductibles and no co-pays. Anything not covered by the universal plan can be offered in coverage by a private insurance company which would be things like plastic surgery.

There would be an operating budget that would be divided to cover actual medical costs and then capital improvement costs to ensure a high level of health care delivery. Physicians will be offered payment options to best suit their needs.

Long term care needs will be provided for and it is calling for what should have been part of Medicare long ago; to focus on providing coverage for in-home care or community based care as opposed to institutional care.

The only thing I would criticize in this bill is in the prescription drug provisions. I have personally had a problem with the issue I’m about to discuss in regard to my private insurance (when I had it) as I’m sure others have had. There have also been comments about the same problem with public health entities like Medicare.

The problem is the formularies used that lean heavily toward generics. While this works fine in most cases, there are certain people, certain drugs and certain conditions that require this plan to be flexible enough to make medically necessary exceptions for patient safety and well-being. These include thyroid conditions, seizure disorders and heart conditions. I think I’ll send an email to one of the bill’s co sponors about this issue.

A downloadable version of this bill can be found HERE and I promise you, you don’t need a law degree or a medical degree to read it.
And when you have doctors backing it, well, I’ll give the last word to another of the Mad As Hell Docs:

"People need to understand what single-payer is--and isn't," says Dr. Mike Huntington, a radiologist from Corvallis, Oregon and fellow Mad As Hell Doctor. "It isn't Socialism, any more than police and fire are Socialism. And it doesn't require any more money. Simply put, single-payer is a way to take current premium payments that go to a thousand different private insurance companies, and redirect them into a single, public fund that insures everyone. That's all it is. But when we do this, lots of wonderful things happen, not the least of which is to save Americans 500 billion dollars a year starting day one. That's billion - with a 'b.' America needs this information. That's why we're taking the tour."

To find out when they’ll be in a city near you, go HERE.

Of Civility and Satirists: Style and Substance

Just a quick thought or two about Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. Have been watching his show lately with a view to analyzing what he does best. I think his strong point is something that runs deeper than the obvious wit and the various parodic characters who add silly-serious variety: it's the host's civility. More particularly, it's the fact that with regard to civility, Stewart acts upon the insight that this quality need not, and should not, entail compromise on one's principles. Civility doesn't consist in abandoning your core beliefs – or indeed any beliefs – merely to ingratiate yourself with someone who thinks differently. Doing that is weakness, not civility, and it is consistently and justly rewarded with contempt.

What civility entails is a willingness to listen – at least to the extent tolerable to a rational person – and to treat one's opponents like human beings rather than propagating lies about them or demonizing them and the entire view they stand for. I think the August 20, 2009 interview Stewart conducted with Betsy McCaughey is a fine example of the method that flows from this understanding. A lot of commentators simply describe this woman as "the originator of the death-panel canard," and she may or may not in fact deserve the appellation, but Stewart was able to hold a substantive and polite conversation with her without ceding anything of substance on the argument in favor of health care reform. Now that is truly impressive.

What I solicit by this brief run-down of one major program generally associated with a liberal or progressive viewpoint (Stewart himself might not agree with the link between his name and such terms, and I see no reason why he should) is some thoughtful commentary about the style and substance of other such programs and hosts – Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Bill Maher, and others may come to mind. Any Keithers, Rachelites, or Maherians out there have something better than silence to opine? Say it here on Swash Zone, or be square.

One toke over the line

Porque no tiene,
Porque le falta,
Marijuana que fumar.

I wonder how long we'll be able to keep the US/Mexico border under control with the number of crossings sure to increase by a factor of a hundred at any moment now. I have a feeling millions of Americans will be on their way south now that Mexico has decriminalized Heroin, Cocaine, LSD, methamphetimines and Marijuana.

Andale! Arriba!

Raw Story reported this morning that small amounts of these drugs would now be tolerated.

"Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check."

It won't do much to hurt tourism either. It remains to be seen whether they will see the same influx of foreign stoners that the Netherlands has had to deal with and the same problems with petty crime, but it is an indication that Mexico at least, is tired of doing the same thing that's been making the situation worse and worse for nearly a century and trying to do something that won't feed the plague of violence and corruption.

"The new law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution"

said Mexican attorney general Bernardo Espino del Castillo. Thanks Bernie and seeya all south of the border.
Down Mexico way.


*Disclaimer -- the above post does not necessarily reflect the views of Capt. Fogg or anyone in particular and is intended to be a farcical and sophomoric attempt to get some laughs -- and you can put that in your pipe and smoke it.

LIGHTER FARE

An assortment of political cartoons from a contentious week:

H/T: Joan from South Florida

H/T to "democommie" at Southern Beale’s blog for this:

Satan has a meeting with the entire GOP leadership. He shows them a Powerpoint presentation of a world gone amok: War, pestilence, famine, endlessly proliferating TV reality shows, and says:

"All this can be yours -- and it can be very, very profitable. The only thing I require is the blood sacrifice of your entire base of useful idiots -- AND your souls."

Suddenly Newt Gingrich pipes in: "What's the catch?"

Threat level orange

Well it certainly won't be a surprise to anyone who thought the Bush administration was using Tom Ridge's color coded threat levels to keep his poll ratings up every time they needed a boost - like right before an election. even though he was quoted in 2004 as saying

"We don’t do politics in the Department of Homeland Security."

Ridge's new book contains at least one bombshell of a revelation according to MSNBC's Chris Matthews - yes indeed Ridge was pressured to raise the level days before the 2004 election even though there was no threat. He refused.

In rather dry and understated language he explains that he now had proof that the main concern of the administration was politics and not national security and this was the moment he decided he had to get out.

The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again is due to be released September first. That should give the Republicans enough time to launch a smear campaign.

Queen Michelle

Almost within hours after Sarah Palin became the Republican VP candidate, Fox news began a preemptive assault on critics, falsely alleging ( it had appeared in the Washington Post as a joke) that planeloads of lawyers had already arrived in Wasilla to "dig up dirt" about her family and that the widespread and stunned reaction to selecting a person of such mediocre and unhinged mind was some kind of smokescreen covering up the true objective of defaming her daughter.

So why am I bringing up such old news? It's possible that I may attract more viral e-mails than anyone else, but I doubt it and in fact you may also have seen the one titled Queen Michelle in your own mailbox recently.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but the theatrical display of shock and offense certainly is a one way thing, because I'm hearing none of it on the subject of Republicans openly calling for the murder of Mrs. Obama and her "Stupid children." I am hearing crap about how Democrats are playing some kind of "race card" to defend against valid criticism, but incitement to riot, incitement to murder and deadly threats against a President are a felony, not a playing card. Where's the protest from Republicans?

Our former First Lady was treated with a great deal of respect and bipartisan praise. Very little was made of her history or background or of having been the first and only First Lady to have killed someone. Nothing whatever was made of her large staff and payroll.

It's true that Michelle's is not an elected office but there are traditional duties that have long required the services of people from hairdressers to personal secretaries and assistants. Nobody worries much about it since in a great many instances she has to represent the United States here and abroad.

So deep is the desperation of the lunatic fringe that now makes up most of the Republican party that all prior restraints have evaporated in the lust to defame, smear, degrade, insult, intimidate, threaten and humiliate president Obama's family, and the giggling cowards can't turn out the propaganda fast enough.

Queen Michelle is the title, and it begins:

"First Lady Requires More Than Twenty Attendants

July 7, 2009 - Dr. Paul L. Williams"

There is of course, a real Dr. Williams, who writes books about how Islam is plotting to kill us all and about the need for another Crusade and who, like Joe McCarthy uses accusations of harboring Islamic terrorists and nuclear attack plots to throw his weight and his books around.

I don't know that Dr. Paul L. Williams wrote this, but I doubt that the perpetrator of this would ever identify himself or the PAC that employs him. The e-mail goes on to list 22 ( 20 or 26 in some versions) White House staff that Mrs. Obama "employs" at our expense while others of us poor Liberal dominated serfs have to stock shelves at Wal-Mart. Nothing is said about the people who own Wal-Mart or their lifestlye or whether we elected them. Indeed nothing is said of the dodgy Doctor either.

It portrays her as someone much like Marie Antoinette, haughty and disdainful of lesser people, which of course is a confection more airy than the cake Marie legendarily Suggested the French poor should eat.

She has no official duties, it's misleadingly stressed, although it seems that every First Lady since and including Martha Washington has indeed served in many capacities as a diplomat at large, good will ambassador and hostess. Laura Bush was widely praised in that role.

What's not pointed out is that her budget and number of "attendants" is just about the same as Laura Bush had. Nobody called her Queen Laura or threatened to kill her and her children. Only the mind of a Republican could dream up such such ugliness and dare to disseminate it -- and don't expect them to take responsibility or apologize. The best we can hope for is some rhetoric about "Liberals" "whining" about Bush and some foul, rancid, reeking attempt to equate and justify their disgusting behavior because after all "Liberals criticized Bush."

Don't believe it? I politely refuted the claims and replied. My answer from the person who sent my my copy was exactly that - seething fury about how I will

"just have to get used to it and suck it up because you damn communist bastards have been preaching hate for years."

These are your "conservative" values, your family values. This is your party of morality and personal responsibility. Good, Christian folk from small towns in the heartland where all the good Christian values come from. What costume will they put on after someone finally acts out their Satanic passion play? I don't want to think about it. God damn them one and all.