To begin, let's get some definitions straight. In the current political atmosphere, a lot of big words are being thrown around in order to sway public perception. McCain has been calling Obama a socialist, because Obama believes that the tax structure needs some work. Regardless of the details, the intention here has nothing to do with taxes. McCain's strategists know that the average, misinformed American doesn't know what words like socialism mean. This is an attempt to paint Obama as anti-American, because the public associates the word "socialist" with regimes such as the Union of Soviet Socialist Repulics, or (heaven forbid) the French! From there, it is not much of a stretch, in the misinformed mind to the word communism. So let's just get this all straight, shall we?
Socialism is not Communism, just like Communism is not Totalitarianism!
Totalitarian governments arise for a great many reasons world wide. Some are assumed by ancestral lineage. Some are created by military coup. The ones that America has been most concerned with since WWII have been born under the guise of Communism, which is usually forced upon the ruled by shows of military strength. "Communism", as a word, has largely been a misnomer. The modern world has never seen an honest attempt to create such a government, although it was commonly practiced by pre-historic cultures on a very small scale.
This word "communism" is based upon the ideals of ,François-Noël Babeuf who was an advocate for the French Revolution. The word was coined by Karl Marx in his "Manifesto". Communism is an extreme form of socialism, wherein the government abolishes all social classes and assumes control of any and all markets. A communist government is still based upon the opinions and needs of all its citizens by abolishing the class system, and distributing wealth evenly among all citizens.
Socialism was a result of the perceived unequal distribution of power and wealth among social classes due to the industrial revolution...Thus, the existence of labor unions. Socialism is communism light. It recognizes the fact that social classes will always exist, so regulations upon them are necessary.
Both communism and socialism, not to mention capitalism are supposed to rely on an elected government to implement their principles. This means that there is nothing to fear as long as the public votes...right???
NO!! The voting public is often deceived in many ways, and in America they have stopped even trying to educate themselves. Most people pick an issue and vote according to which candidate wants to keep Teri Schiavo alive, or which candidate takes his religion more seriously. In short, Americans have not been paying attention to anything beyond the 10:00 news on their local TV stations, or what their pastor says on Sunday morning. They are force-fed media talking points, and call it being informed. That is not to say that people should stop watching the news, but they should try to find other sources and other opinions on the same issues. That is why our government is supposed to provide education to all citizens...so that we are smart enough not to be fooled by our own government!!!
The USSR controlled public opinions with news propaganda, forced endorsements, exploitation of mistakes in previous administrations (who were also totalitarian), and after the communists gained power; their government was able to infiltrate the educational system to further convince new generations of citizens of the need for such a regime. The same was true of Nazi Germany, although they never claimed to be anything but a totalitarian government. In America, disinformation is spread by all of the above, but we (so far) have maintained the idea that we are still a republic...
WE ARE NOT a republic any longer!!! Nearly 30% of eligible voters don't even register; and those who do register may not even show up to the polls depending upon, among many other factors, the weather! Our government has begun to buy pieces of the "free market" under a REPUBLICAN REGIME!!!! For those who have forgotten, the Republican party is supposed to believe that the markets (and the people vested in them) transcend governmental intervention. They are to ebb and flow depending on their own needs, thus taking care of the "marketable" corporations; while eliminating those that have become laden with debt. THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S AMERICA!!!! We have become a socialist country, virtually overnight...and without the blessing of the voting public. The word that best describes our current regime is: Totalitarian! Get off your asses voters!
The voting public has proven itself inept! It is time to WAKE UP!!! We have to start paying attention, and start being responsible for ourselves. These past eight years have put us in a nearly irreversible hole! America has jeopardized its place in the world, and we can't possibly recover without looking for answers within ourselves. We have no one else to blame!
It is time to start paying our own way! If you can't get a loan for the house you want, then SUCK IT UP! Accept your station in life until you have the MEANS to change it! We have become a nation of fat, wallowing, babies who constantly cry for more milk! GET OVER YOURSELVES!!! No one deserves to own a $50000 car! No one deserves to have anything they didn't pay for of their own volition! As a person who pays his own way, I am disgusted at the state that we now find ourselves in!
In the words of H.L. Mencken:
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."
No politician can save us from ourselves. It is time for America's people to start worrying about themselves, instead of what someone else may have! If you want something, then you will just have to work for it!!!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
She has said it all!
Okay...let's just talk a little about this year's Cubs team.
I had no doubt that this would be an extraordinary year. Fukudome hit a homer on opening day! We loved it!!! Kosuke continued to be streaky, but better than we had ever seen from a rookie from Japan in the past. Things really fell off for him after the All Star Break, but his defense remained sound.
Reed Johnson was a mid-season trade; and, as my good friend John has stated, he is half man/half baseball...some kind of major league cyborg! He remained a major player despite his decreased involvement in the starting, post-allstar-line-up.
Soriano was streaky, as expected; and his hand injury was not a deciding factor.
Aramis Ramirez had a great season, though it was not his best.
Derek Lee's season was probably sub-par considering his talent as a hitter.
Mike Fontenot was a top-notch triple-A Iowa recruit, and nothing more could have been expected of him.
The same could be said for Ryan Theriot, who was our go-to base-runner/stealer all year.
Rookie-of-the-Year: Geo Soto!!!...nuff said!!!
Mark DeRosa was, and is, a fantastic all-around baseball player; not unlike Reed Johnson. Both men come through in a clutch situation, and rarely do they commit an error.
Honorable mentions should go to the following: Felix Pie, Casey McGehee (hope that's spelled correctly), Micah Hoffpauir, Henry Blanco, and Koyie Hill. These were minor league players who played like they should have been in "the show" all season.
In hindsight, though I dislike his continued presence on the Chi Cubs' roster, Daryle Ward even got on base a few times by hitting the ball!...rather than walking.
On to pitching:
I have threatened to burn my Mark Prior jersey all season long, but I didn't think the Cubs needed that kind of B.S. mixing with their mojo. I still own the jersey, but am reluctant to remove it from the hanger it has occupied for three seasons. Prior is old hat!!! The Cubs' pitching staff was top-notch throughout the regular season. Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly tied for 17 wins, and Carlos Zambrano was close behind. Jason Marquis, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall were solid starters this season. Later came many a starter, turned reliever!
As for relief pitching:
This was the best I can remember seeing in my lifetime for this team. There were middle relievers such as Samardzija, Wuertz, Marshall(again), and of course Carlos Marmol(who was almost always lights-out). As closers Marmol and Wood shared the role well.
As a closer: Kerry Wood still frightens me! I expect my closer to have command of his pitches from the moment he takes the mound, and Wood seems to need a few balls (and sometimes base-hits) to find it...and there are times when he doesn't find the command at all!
As long as I am alive I will be a Chicago Cubs fan! This was the best Cubs team I have ever seen, and I think the statistics will prove them among the finest, ever! That being said, I want to remind everyone of the significance of this winning season. The deck is stacked against the Cubs. Though I am not a believer in goats, black cats, gods, Bill Buckner's passed ball, or even Steve Bartman's caught ball; I think the pressure that a team faces when it is expected to win the first World Series in 100 years is beyond the capacity of the average fan to comprehend. Boston had their day, but their drought was only 84 years. Though this is a significant number, humanity puts a lot more emphasis on lengths of time that end in two zeros.
The 2008 Cubs were, if not the finest team ever assembled, certainly among the top five! I loved them all, and will love them next year as though this season never happened. I was there in '03; and I also remember celebrating the final game of a season with a win, just because it was the difference between 99 and 100 losses! Bruce Kimm was brought up from AAA Iowa that season, and he sucked...and we loved it!!!
This is the epitome of the Cubs' legacy. We rally around the mystique. We wonder what could have been....And there is always next year. We have had our Ron Santos, Andre Dawsons, our Ryne Sandbergs, our Sammy Sosas, and our Derek Lees. I think that what binds us is our suffering. We love to dream beyond realistic bounds...and we pay dearly for it!
I wonder what we will think when it does finally happen. What will all of us do? We are already the country's most devoted fans! What will become of us if the Cubbies answer our prayers? How could we possibly handle that kind of fortune? We work day-to-day for attainable goals. How could we ever survive on top?
I had no doubt that this would be an extraordinary year. Fukudome hit a homer on opening day! We loved it!!! Kosuke continued to be streaky, but better than we had ever seen from a rookie from Japan in the past. Things really fell off for him after the All Star Break, but his defense remained sound.
Reed Johnson was a mid-season trade; and, as my good friend John has stated, he is half man/half baseball...some kind of major league cyborg! He remained a major player despite his decreased involvement in the starting, post-allstar-line-up.
Soriano was streaky, as expected; and his hand injury was not a deciding factor.
Aramis Ramirez had a great season, though it was not his best.
Derek Lee's season was probably sub-par considering his talent as a hitter.
Mike Fontenot was a top-notch triple-A Iowa recruit, and nothing more could have been expected of him.
The same could be said for Ryan Theriot, who was our go-to base-runner/stealer all year.
Rookie-of-the-Year: Geo Soto!!!...nuff said!!!
Mark DeRosa was, and is, a fantastic all-around baseball player; not unlike Reed Johnson. Both men come through in a clutch situation, and rarely do they commit an error.
Honorable mentions should go to the following: Felix Pie, Casey McGehee (hope that's spelled correctly), Micah Hoffpauir, Henry Blanco, and Koyie Hill. These were minor league players who played like they should have been in "the show" all season.
In hindsight, though I dislike his continued presence on the Chi Cubs' roster, Daryle Ward even got on base a few times by hitting the ball!...rather than walking.
On to pitching:
I have threatened to burn my Mark Prior jersey all season long, but I didn't think the Cubs needed that kind of B.S. mixing with their mojo. I still own the jersey, but am reluctant to remove it from the hanger it has occupied for three seasons. Prior is old hat!!! The Cubs' pitching staff was top-notch throughout the regular season. Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly tied for 17 wins, and Carlos Zambrano was close behind. Jason Marquis, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall were solid starters this season. Later came many a starter, turned reliever!
As for relief pitching:
This was the best I can remember seeing in my lifetime for this team. There were middle relievers such as Samardzija, Wuertz, Marshall(again), and of course Carlos Marmol(who was almost always lights-out). As closers Marmol and Wood shared the role well.
As a closer: Kerry Wood still frightens me! I expect my closer to have command of his pitches from the moment he takes the mound, and Wood seems to need a few balls (and sometimes base-hits) to find it...and there are times when he doesn't find the command at all!
As long as I am alive I will be a Chicago Cubs fan! This was the best Cubs team I have ever seen, and I think the statistics will prove them among the finest, ever! That being said, I want to remind everyone of the significance of this winning season. The deck is stacked against the Cubs. Though I am not a believer in goats, black cats, gods, Bill Buckner's passed ball, or even Steve Bartman's caught ball; I think the pressure that a team faces when it is expected to win the first World Series in 100 years is beyond the capacity of the average fan to comprehend. Boston had their day, but their drought was only 84 years. Though this is a significant number, humanity puts a lot more emphasis on lengths of time that end in two zeros.
The 2008 Cubs were, if not the finest team ever assembled, certainly among the top five! I loved them all, and will love them next year as though this season never happened. I was there in '03; and I also remember celebrating the final game of a season with a win, just because it was the difference between 99 and 100 losses! Bruce Kimm was brought up from AAA Iowa that season, and he sucked...and we loved it!!!
This is the epitome of the Cubs' legacy. We rally around the mystique. We wonder what could have been....And there is always next year. We have had our Ron Santos, Andre Dawsons, our Ryne Sandbergs, our Sammy Sosas, and our Derek Lees. I think that what binds us is our suffering. We love to dream beyond realistic bounds...and we pay dearly for it!
I wonder what we will think when it does finally happen. What will all of us do? We are already the country's most devoted fans! What will become of us if the Cubbies answer our prayers? How could we possibly handle that kind of fortune? We work day-to-day for attainable goals. How could we ever survive on top?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Link: Shedding some light on the candidates' tax policies
I didn't know some of this myself. Thanks New York Times!
If you want to live in the "big city", then act the part!!!!!
Attention suburbanites leaving downtown Des Moines, and racing off on your white-knuckled, 15 minute commutes to your 7-foot-privacy-fenced, newly-constructed, moat-surrounded, white-picket-fenced cul-de-sacs: There are pedestrians here! We have the right-of-way...look it up!!!
To the lady whose window I pounded upon when you were looking to make a left turn on red: Yes I did it to scare you!! Maybe you will remember me tomorrow, and you will make proper stops at lights and look both ways before you pull in front someone who has a "walk" sign.
P.S. I wouldn't have knocked if you hadn't nearly run over my toes!!
To the lady whose window I pounded upon when you were looking to make a left turn on red: Yes I did it to scare you!! Maybe you will remember me tomorrow, and you will make proper stops at lights and look both ways before you pull in front someone who has a "walk" sign.
P.S. I wouldn't have knocked if you hadn't nearly run over my toes!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Chicago
I absolutely love Lincoln Park in Chicago!! I spent 2.5 days there, and I will never stay downtown again. One wants for nothing in this district! Bars, restaurants, colleges, trains, Wrigley Field, a giant lake, great bike trails...what a city! I will never stay anywhere else in Chicago again. My thanks to Nich, Shane, and Sanders for the hospitality.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Just another reason to idolize Eddie Vedder...and the Cubbies!
Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks, asked Eddie Vedder to compose a song about the cubs this year. Eddie lived in Evanston, IL as a child, and is a life-long Cubs fan. The tune is called "All the Way". It was released on Eddie's solo tour. If there were a man on earth I might sleep with, it would be Eddie Vedder!! Don't take that the wrong way Ed, I just love ya' man!
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