Then there are all the political commentators and pundits.  I am not sure what exactly makes them experts in the first place, but they are kind of fun to watch.  I especially like the experts who talk first and think second.   Jon Stewart will keep most of the under 35 crowd laughing and cynical through this entire election cycle.

It is easy to become apathetic towards the democratic process and wish for something different or someone different to lead us.  Sir Winston Churchill famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Looking to scripture for a preferred system of politics is not terribly helpful.   At best scripture warns against trusting the powers of this world, which would include democratically elected leaders.  That said, democracy, in its purest form, grounds itself in equality, preserving the rights of even the weakest members of society and the seeking the welfare of all.  These ideas seem Christian.

In addition democracies, at a philosophical level, are committed to non-violence.  Change occurs through voting, not military coups.  Influence finds its expression in the legislative debate process not in street brawls.  Differences can be openly expressed in the media, public debates and non-violent protest rather than through warfare.

Is our system perfect?  Is it God ordained?  The answer to both of these questions is a resounding no.  Our system is the best option in an imperfect world.

Don’t forget to vote and don’t forget to enjoy the process!

Welcome back dear reader. I hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday.

This is an older post from the “archives”. I went through a political phase in many of my early posts. This is one of the first dealing with the subject of politics…well, sort of. Enjoy!

I have one thing to say. I think everyone has a voice, and believe that every individual’s voice should be heard. That being said…what the fuck is up with political commentator, Ann Coulter?

I’ve listened to her in the past…mainly because for an old broad, she’s not that bad looking. But this is one crazy bitch!

One thing she has said is this, “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.” That’s some hardcore American History X shit right there. (I know…she said this two days after the 9/11 attacks…but, she could have said it at Christmastime, sitting with the family around the tree passing out gifts to everyone. Bitch is crazy!)

So, since everyone else is willing to allow her to drool her crazy shit all over the place, I vow to take it upon myself to take the bull by the horns. That’s right America, I am willing to bone her into submission for you. After all, she was in Playboy a few years ago (She was on the cover, anyway. That’s conservative behavior for ya’.). That’s the best antidote for crazy. (Well, even if it’s not…sex with crazy people can be extremely fun!) I just need to go to my doctor and make sure all of my vaccinations are current and up to date (Crazy folks like to bite and scratch. More than normal folk.).

Oh well, maybe I’ll go to the library, pick up one of her books, stare at the cover and wack off (I’m sure her books are at least good for that.)

Until next time dear reader,

Have a great day!
Garr MacPharquar

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney went after each other at the debate over this term “Ponzi scheme.”

Janet M. LaRue  

Romney’s Ponzi Phobia

When it comes to Social Security, Republicans should stop treating seniors like the feeble-minded demographic portrayed in commercials written by 13-year-olds on Madison Avenue.

It’s like the home security commercial targeting seniors for a medical alert pendant to be worn around the neck. White-haired “Mom” didn’t want one because “it was for “some old person.” But daughter, seen patting Mom’s hand, “talked Mom into it.” Next we see “Mom” carrying a basket of laundry down a flight of uncarpeted stairs without holding the handrail. Sure enough, Mom’s lying at the bottom of the staircase pressing her alert button because she’s fallen, broken her hip and can’t get up because “the pain was terrible.” “Mom” and daughter are so glad that she was wearing her alert and could summon help.

You expect to see a disclaimer at the end: “Don’t try this at home. These are actors who are paid to behave stupidly. You could hurt yourself.”

Madison Avenue convinced the marketing geniuses at the security company that they can sell more medical alerts by scaring seniors even if it insults them. I don’t patronize a company run by upstarts who think senior is synonymous with senile. I doubt that many seniors do.

Gov. Mitt Romney and political commentators, such as Karl Rove and Dick Morris, are treating seniors as condescendingly as the commercial. To hear them tell it, if Gov. Rick Perry calls Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme,” seniors will have a seizure, and press a political alert hanging around our neck, which will connect us to the Obama campaign.

Not likely, unless we fall down the stairs and land on our head.

Seniors didn’t put Barack Hussein Obama in the White House. Those of us 65 and over are the only voting bloc who chose McCain over Obama—and by eight percentage points.

Obama’s disapproval rating is at 55 percent and his approval rating is 44 percent. It means that other voting blocs are beginning to wise up to what seniors knew in 2008. Seniors are the least likely group to vote for Obama in 2012.

For one thing, we rejected Obama’s outrageous and vague promise to fundamentally transform the greatest nation in history. And certainly not by a community organizer with a resume thinner than our hair who thinks voting “absent” is leadership and that America should repent for its greatness.

Our sight and hearing may be diminished, but we still know bovine scatology when we smell it.

Seniors deal with hard truth every day. Many of us handle it without our beloved spouse at our side. Health and financial concerns are more pressing. We live on a fixed income and still know the checkbook has to balance. We’re not the demographic maxing out credit cards and living beyond our means. Many dear old friends reside only in our memories. We know that our days dwindle down to a precious few. But it doesn’t mean that our minds have departed.

We certainly can handle the truth that Social Security isn’t sustainable for our children and grandchildren. We know that without a major restructuring, it will remain a pyramid scheme deficient of funds and contributors, a sham promise of retirement security for future generations.

The Social Security trustees released a 244-page report on Monday revealing the gravity of the situation. Page 13 states that payroll tax contributions for 2010 were $544.8 billion; total expenditures were $584.9 billion. That’s a $40 billion deficit. The Department of Labor released a report on Monday stating that there are only 1.5 workers supporting Social Security for every one recipient.

During the Republican debate on Monday night, Romney again accused Perry of scaring seniors by calling Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme.” Where does Romney get the idea that we were clueless until Perry mentioned it?

What is over the top is Romney’s pretense or delusion that Perry coined the term. Stanley Kurtz of National Review cites scores of uses of the term by Republicans and Democrats, academics, and journalists, long enough for Romney to have heard it long before Perry said it. Kurtz concludes in “Perry and the Ponzis”:

Our historical tour of the claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme confirms what we already knew: Rick Perry’s remarks are uncharacteristically bold for a politician, most especially a candidate in the midst of a presidential race. Yet Perry’s Ponzi-scheme claim is in no way unprecedented. On the contrary, the Ponzi comparison has been a staple of conservative warnings about Social Security’s financial soundness for decades.

So the question today is not simply whether Rick Perry will be punished or rewarded for showing the honesty even many liberal commentators once pined for. The more interesting issue raised by this historical investigation may be the fate of the Democratic Party and the media. Where today are the liberal and centrist Democrats who only yesterday called Social Security a Ponzi scheme and supported bold reforms? Where now are the columnists and editors at Newsweek and the New York Times willing to reward truth-tellers and to criticize reporters who cover for cowardly politicians? The fate of Rick Perry’s blunt talk may tell us more than we want to know, not only about Social Security, but also about who we are and what we have become.

What scares most seniors is that our country will be lying at the bottom of the stairs, broken and unable to get up if it remains in the hands of Barack Obama.

Related posts:

IF YOU BELIEVE “THERE’S NO WAY FOR EVERYONE TO WIN” … READ THIS!

AND IF YOU BELIEVE “THERE IS A WAY FOR EVERYONE TO WIN” … READ THIS!

Recently, a well-known news commentator* – remarking on a comment by Bill Clinton that the only way for us to go is to make sure everyone wins – emphatically stated, “THERE IS NO WAY FOR EVERYONE TO WIN!” 
 
Would you, or do you, follow someone who made a decision that in life there’s no way for everyone to win?

And, whether or not you follow a commentator who believes this…do you wonder where a belief like this comes from…and how it can affect our lives and our world?

When I heard this comment from Glenn Beck,* it struck me so . . . as something so familiar. It sounded just like things I’ve heard from my clients so many times over the years. This statement – There is no way for everyone to win – is a classic example of what I call an “early decision.” 

I’ll explain .  .  .
When we are children, and we suffer pain or trauma that’s too much for a child to bear, we bury the pain and defend against it by making unconscious decisions about ourselves, others, our world, and life in general.  Now when we are children, an “early decision” may be a life-saver . . . it saves us from agonizing pain, perhaps emotionally, perhaps also physically. But as we grow, if we are unaware of this unconscious decision, and if we haven’t healed it, it can haunt us from our own underground, affecting our feelings, thoughts, attitudes, behavior, and choices.  The important thing to remember is that this is unconscious. We are unaware this is happening inside us, and unaware that early decisions like this are driving our lives.

Here’s an example.  .  .
Let’s say you’re a child. Your father files for divorce because of your mother’s alcoholism. However it unfolds, you and your sister end up living with your mother. When you are 15, your mother commits suicide by drowning. Then your step brother commits suicide. You and your sister move to live with your father . . . the same father who divorced your mother and moved away. Without even realizing it, out of each of your traumas or out of the accumulation of your multiple traumatic experiences comes an early decision: There is no way for everyone to win!

Without even realizing it, you make that decision again and again at each painful incident. You also come to use that decision to defend against your pain. And you use everything you can . . . not only to defend against your pain, but also to hold onto that early decision for dear life!

You believe you are proving that decision every time you have a painful incident in your life. Your first daughter is born with cerebral palsy . . . and you prove it again.  You struggle with substance abuse and ADHD . . . and you prove it again. As an adult you use your power to prove to yourself over and over that there is no way for everyone to win.**

And then you draw people to you who also decided as children in their families that there is no way for everyone to win. You use your power and your following to make choices and take actions based on that early decision.  If you have decided there is no way for everyone to win . . . what kinds of choices will you make and what kinds of actions will you take? Likely those that will make you and your following win . . . and everyone else lose. And if your following is filled with people who also made that early decision, how much chance is there that anyone you would listen to can pierce that decision?

Can you see how this would affect all of us? And our world? If our leaders, politicians, celebrities, and media don’t become aware of and heal their early decisions? And if each of us doesn’t become aware of and heal our early decisions . . . we could end up following the cause of someone who decided as a little boy, just like we did, that there is no way for everyone to win.

Remember, you are fighting for dear life to hold onto that early decision, and so are all those around you . . . Because when you let go of that early decision, you will be right back at the scene of the very first trauma out of which you decided There is no way for everyone to win. And back at that first scene, you will be feeling all the feelings you have been defending against ever since . . . which is exactly what we all need to do purposefully, safely, for healing. For once we have gone through and felt the pain we were so relentlessly trying to avoid, we will never have to hold it at bay again, and we can free up our precious life energy for constructive, creative, life sustaining changes for ourselves and everybody else.

Can you see how this would affect all of us? And our world? If our leaders, politicians, celebrities, and media do become aware of and heal their early decisions? And if each of us does the same?

*The well known news commentator was Glenn Beck. My intention for choosing to talk with you about his comment is not a way to comment on his politics, per se, but rather to utilize a perfect example to help us really comprehend the relationship of a child’s painful experiences to not only his adult life, but also his politics, the politics of our nation, the politics of our world and the well being of all involved. And how many times do we get to hear such a public figure, who is a leader in his arena, say one of his/her early decisions aloud and so publicly?

**This example has been created from some of the events in Glenn Beck’s life, beginning with his childhood.

UPDATE

“Thank you, Judith.  That was another enlightening essay.  It made me think of my grandchildren, two of whom are boys who really like to “win” in games and who are learning, little by little, that it doesn’t have to mean something is wrong with them if they lose a game.  But generally, that is what happens, there is some serious loss of self-esteem when there is a loss of a game, yes? . . . One time my grandson went into a huge crying fit when playing chess with his Dad, my son, and lost.  He was mad at my son for playing too hard; he expected him to somehow let him win or at least have a better chance at winning.”
 
When someone loses a game, yes, there may be loss of self esteem. But I think it depends upon the person what the loss is.
And how young the experience.
It could feel like loss of self. There is no me.
It could feel like loss of sanity.  Nothing makes sense . I feel crazy. Everthing’s getting bigger, I’m
getting smaller.
It could even feel like loss of life. I’m not going to survive this. I’m dying. I’m disappearing. I’m falling through the cracks into nowhere.
This is why people’s reactions can be so extreme when they lose.
When they lose a game. When they lose an argument. When they lose a job. When they lose a friend.
When they lose someone they love.
When they lose an early decision . . . 

This is why people will fight tooth and nail to hold onto their early decisions . . .
both the leaders who have the early decision
and the followers who have the same early decision.
This is why the followers are so easily enlisted in the cause and kept enlisted. 

When children respond this way . . . they have little choice.
The loss is too much for a little child to bear.
But when adults respond this way,
in effect, they are using their power to defend against the loss.
In the case of the people in this month’s article, the people who have an early decision
There is no way for everyone to win . . .
they are using their power en masse
to defend, each of them, against the losses they experienced in their respective childhoods –
the losses that led them to decide
There is no way for everyone to win.

How crucial it is for each of us adults to do the inner work
to discover, heal, dissolve, and transform our early decisions
and feel the pain of the losses from long, long ago.
That way we will no longer need to use our power to defend against those losses.
Instead, we can use our power creatively and fruitfully for living fully today and tomorrow.

© Judith Barr, 2010

There’s claims out there that the Democrats are thrusting Rush Limbaugh into the spotlight,as reported by The Guardian:

“Last week, Limbaugh said:

If I wanted Obama to succeed, I’d be happy the Republicans have laid down. I don’t want this to work. So I’m thinking of replying to this guy, say ‘okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: ‘I hope he fails’.

Obama brought this on himself by making Limbaugh his debating partner. Last week he told congressional Republicans that they need to quit listening to Limbaugh if they want to get along with him.

Limbaugh clearly leaped at an off-hand remark. The man has hours and hours of airtime to fill each day, and this is a boon for him. Obama was telling the Republicans they need to move beyond the movement-conservative ideology that has shaped their politics since the Reagan years and seek a more pragmatic approach to opposition. But he could have chosen a way to make his point that didn’t elevate Limbaugh’s stature.”(End of Excerpt) Read the entire article here:(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2009/jan/28/obama-white-house-democrats

But, Rush Limbaugh has been a part of the political discourse for almost two decades! Unfortunately,his ideology is shared by countless Americans. So, the ignorance that he spews must be addressed. Words are powerful weapons & he knows how to wield them! Just look how Phil Gingrey has thrown himself onto the mercy of the court. Here’s more on his pitiful apology to Rush Limbaugh from the Huffington Post:

“Following statements made to Politico yesterday telling Rush Limbaugh to “back off,” Republican congressman Phil Gingrey now has his tail between his legs. In a groveling call to Limbaugh’s conservative radio program this afternoon, Gingrey offered a humble apology and described Limbaugh as a “conservative giant” who plays an integral role in maintaining the ever-decreasing Republican base.

Here’s the meat of it, via Think Progress:

Rush, thank you so much. I thank you for the opportunity, of course this is not exactly the way to I wanted to come on. … Mainly, I want to express to you and all your listeners my very sincere regret for those comments I made yesterday to Politico. … I clearly ended up putting my foot in my mouth on some of those comments. … I regret those stupid comments.”(End of Excerpt) Follow this link to read more & see the video:(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/phil-gingrey-gop-congress_n_161964.html

I just don’t understand how someone like Rush Limbaugh is receiving such reverence from the Republican party. Like I said, he has made baseless remarks & represents belligerence to the fullest! A pill-popping drug-addict is the lord of the Republican party! Good luck with having him as your decider! Here’s more on why you’re going to need it from fair.org:

“This kind of sloppiness, ignorance and/or fabrication is run of the mill in Limbaugh’s commentary, both broadcast and print. From dioxin to Whitewater, from Rodney King to Reaganomics, Rush Limbaugh has a finely honed ability to twist and distort reality.

Limbaugh’s facts are almost never challenged on his programs. A hostile caller hardly ever gets through the screeners on his radio show, and his TV show is just him doing a monologue in front of his cheering audience. No one in the history of national television has had such a political platform. He has almost never corrected anything he’s said–although he did apologize once to the aerosol industry for implying that spray cans still had CFCs in them. (CFCs were removed in 1978.)

Limbaugh’s chronic inaccuracy, and his lack of accountability, wouldn’t be such a problem if Limbaugh were just a cranky entertainer, like Howard Stern. But Limbaugh is taken seriously by “serious” media–in addition to Nightline, he’s been an “expert” on such chat shows as Charlie Rose and Meet the Press. The New York Times (10/15/92) and Newsweek (1/24/94) have published his writings. A U.S. News & World Report piece (8/16/93) by Steven Roberts declared, “The information Mr. Limbaugh provides is generally accurate.”

He’s also taken seriously as a political figure. A National Review cover story (9/6/93) declared him the “Leader of the Opposition.” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who recently officiated at Limbaugh’s wedding, says he tapes Limbaugh’s radio show and listens to it as he works out (USA Today, 5/13/94).

FAIR is publishing a compilation of some of Limbaugh’s more obvious whoppers in order to convince journalists and political leaders alike that when Limbaugh says, “I’m not making this up, folks,” it’s time to duck and cover.

Journalists, in particular, have an obligation to challenge Limbaugh’s brand of hysteria. Someone who has amassed a powerful political following through the regular use of half-truth and distortion is begging for tough media scrutiny. In 1954, Edward R. Murrow confronted another demagogue who had a similar allergy to facts and documentation. Today’s TV networks don’t ask themselves how they can challenge Limbaugh’s reign of error–but how they can profit from him. CBS News, the platform from which Murrow denounced Joe McCarthy, has been seeking to hire Limbaugh as a political commentator.

Real democracy is built on debate. But Limbaugh has little use for debates; he has forged a media empire largely on unchallenged monologues. The following confrontation–Limbaugh vs. Reality–is an attempt at stimulating (or at least simulating) a debate.

The list of fallacies compiled here is not exhaustive. It was assembled from easily available sources–Limbaugh’s books, The Way Things Ought to Be and See, I Told You So; transcripts of several weeks’ worth of his TV show; gleanings from as much of his radio show as we could take; and other published evaluations of Limbaugh’s accuracy. (There’s a publication, the Flush Rush Quarterly (FRQ), largely devoted to chronicling Limbaugh’s falsehoods, and a book, The Bum’s Rush, by Don Trent Jacobs, that debunks his environmental rhetoric.) As Josh Shenk showed in the New Republic (“Limbaugh’s Lies”, 5/23/94), scrutinizing the TV show for a month results in errors too numerous to count.

“There’s a pathology here, folks,” is a phrase Limbaugh likes to use when discussing President Clinton’s alleged inability to tell the truth. A psychiatrist might agree–and label it projection. “(End of Excerpt) Read the rest here:(http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1895

Is this the guy who represents conservative values? Really?! Rush Limbaugh,the blithering village idiot, is the voice of the GOP?! Wow, you guys are in big trouble because you’re regressing not progressing! Get behind Sarah Palin again! She was much smarter than him. And a hell of a lot better to look at!  That’s not a distortion of reality. It’s the damn truth!

Dan Walters is one of the most knowledgeable writers that covers the State political scene, and combines the serious “business of the State” with humor and candid opinions. He is an under demand speaker for he “calls it as he sees it”, which can bother many political figures.

This Thursday at 3 PM…..Hope to see you.

Ron Largent   The Largent Team     www.ronlargent.com     ronlargent@kw.com

Your Commercial Real Estate Connection in the Redding Area

It is time for the U.S. to move ahead to the future. Barack Obama is not a savior. But he is a change that properly represents America’s sentiment that the direction of this country has GOT TO CHANGE! The old hands have used our tax money to surely benefit the few (the upper class).

Whites voting for Obama has nothing to do with them being liberal. It’s like hearing someone scratch a chalkboard when I hear white political commentators like Pat Buchannon tell blacks how they should “see things”. However, my take on why whites have voted for Obama (besides the fact that not all of them are racists or even have a problem with people of color) is that I believe whites are feed up with:

• The high costs of gas as a result of Dick Chaney inviting the leaders of big oil to white house at the beginning of the Dupya Presidency.
• The mis-leading of American People in lying (not misusing intelligence) to the American public about intelligence he used to justify the war in Iraq-for the benefit of attendees of Dick Chaney’s energy policy invite to big oil at the beginning of the Dupya Presidency.
• The falling value of the dollar world wide- caused directly by Dupya Administration economic policies from “trusted, conservative minds”.
• The housing crisis caused by Dupya and his administrations policy to not push for stiff enforcement of housing regulatory laws THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS!
• The home owner who was not a participant in the “sub prime debacle”, but who is being affected by it- Due to horrendous Dupya fiscal policys
• The rising cost of food at the result of Dupya’s policy of allowing the Big Oil constituencys agenda to override all others.

These are just a few of the issue’s that white folk have a problem with the regular old beltway players in Washington.

What better way to send the message to their hardcore conservative neighbor then by putting an “OBAMA” sign in their front yard.

Revolution comes in all shades and colors…