Last of Our Kind

Manipulations of the American People:

1. The politics of fear. The attempt by the Bush administration to convince the American people and its leaders that they must support and hastily approve a $700 billion bailout. (Who’s the Socialist now?) The Bush administration is trying to scare us all into signing a blank check for Wall Street. They are trying to scare us into this in the same exact way they scared us into a war in Iraq under false pretenses. This financial crisis was created by the Bush administration, and now we are supposed to trust them to fix the problem? McCain represents, and has supported, the same failed policies of this administration and we are supposed to elect him to office? We are supposed to believe he is going to bring change to Washington? If that is not manipulation, I have no idea what is.
   



2. McBush’s decision to suspend his campaign, postpone the presidential debate, and “put country first” in this time of financial crisis. This is the most thinly veiled political move I have seen since…well…the last mass distraction concoction of the McBush campaign. This political move was purely designed to either cast Obama as a follower of the “true” leadership of McBush if he agreed, or cast him as the candidate that does not put country first if he does not agree. Fortunately for us all, Obama refused to interject presidential politics to the proceedings at Capitol Hill. He held a short press conference and refused to create yet another distraction from the issues. McBush has suddenly decided that this financial crisis is serious enough to suspend his campaign. Quite the erratic shift from “the fundamentals of our economy our strong.” And where is his running mate in all of this? Desperately attempting to add foreign policy and international relations credentials to her resume.
   


3. Proposing the use of taxpayer money to bailout corporations whose CEO’s make more in a month than the average American. Need I say more?
   


4. The No-Talk Express. The continued media isolation of Sarah Palin by the McBush campaign. Finally, the mass media is beginning to show some anger over the refusal of interviews. They are finally starting to question exactly what it is that Palin is hiding. Could it be her complete and utter lack of experience? Perhaps it is her lack of interview experience (spectacularly showcased in her interview with Charlie Gibson)? Or maybe, just maybe, McBush realized that his campaign should have more thoroughly vetted this purely political choice for VP. Maybe he realized that Palin is actually more like Bush than himself. Maybe McBush realized that his running mate is thoroughly unprepared to stand up to real media questioning, and in so doing, would expose herself as evidence of his irresponsible and erratic behavior.
   

Road to Nowhere:




5. The No-Talk Express using sexism to prevent any and all questioning of Palin’s qualifications. Never you mind the actual Alaskan road to nowhere in Ketchikan that actually leads to a non-existent bridge, is used by no one, and was built while she was governor, yet she still claims to have opposed the bridge to nowhere. Never you mind the trooper-gate scandal she is refusing to cooperate with. Never you mind her not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is. Never you mind that she has no foreign policy experience. But for some reason, if we ask these questions, if we examine these issues, we are sexist. Never you mind…you sexist.
   


6. McBush’s continued insistence that he is a change agent and a maverick. Erratic and irresponsible behavior does not make you a maverick; it makes you a bad leader. McBush has proven time and again that his reckless behavior does not put country first…it places politics first. Politics as usual. Pick the running mate that will create the most buzz and surprise. Suspend a campaign to appear “presidential.” Distract everyone from the issues using bona fide lies.
   


7. Claiming to put “country first,” and then choosing a highly unqualified running mate. Claiming to put “country first,” but refusing to attend a debate and inform the public of your policies. Claiming to put the “country first,” but distracting us all from the financial crisis to discuss your political acrobatics. Claiming to put “country first,” but hiding your running mate from the media, and flat out refusing interviews. I could go on forever…
   


8. The attempt to convince us that drilling for oil will make a difference in the price of gas and energy in the short term. This is preying on the American need for instant gratification. If you convince enough people that drilling will ease the strain on their pocketbooks two years from now, of course they will jump on the bandwagon. The crude oil from drilling on US oil will not reach refineries and become actual fuel for at least ten years. This is a ploy by big oil companies and corporations to get you to agree to destroy our planet so they can reap the profits.
   


9. The American Express Business credit card commercials that imply you are a threat, and will be apprehended by airport security if you do no use their card.
   


10. My use of the name McBush to remind you all that McCain will continue to enact and carry out the same failed policies of the Bush administration.

Still pissed off...still paying attention,
-LoOk

I am officially disgusted with Congressional Democrats.

Recently, in case you didn’t hear, congress passed legislation that allows offshore drilling. That’s right, the majority crumbled to the minority. To the crazy people who chant "DRILL BABY DRILL.” The party in power succumbed to the powerless. When they should have showed strength and stood for something they believe in, they buckled at the knees and showed how weak they are.

I'm mad because they tried to sugar coat this legislation with rules surrounding the drilling. One rule states that all drilling has to be beyond 50 miles of the shore. I suppose this won’t harm the ocean and sea life and everything else in the water because after 50 miles, there is nothing to harm…?

Another rule says the each state has to approve their want to drill. This sounds like a great idea. Suppose a drill project, let’s say done by Florida causes pollution and/or damage to the environment around Florida. What happens when that damage and or pollution moves towards Georgia, who doesn’t want offshore drilling? Who fixes that problem?

Congress also included in this bill the repealing of oil companies’ tax breaks, in order to use that money for renewable energy resources. That’s great, but couldn’t this have been the focus of the law without allowing off shore drilling?

I am angry because I truly believe that drilling is not the answer. It is the problem. For years now we (including President Bush) have talked about our addiction to oil. I know Bush doesn’t care about this (since he in fact wants more drilling) but I thought that the Democrats (including Obama, who is even for drilling now) were against drilling as a part of their platform. I thought they truly wanted to break our addiction and FOCUS on more important, renewable energies.

And are we supposed to just forget the fact that the oil companies already have acres and acres of land both offshore and on land that they are free to drill, but don’t. They want MORE because they truly believe they will be able to get enough out of our shores to make a difference.

They won’t.

Drilling will not lower the price of gas. Drilling will not lower the cost of a barrel of oil, and everyone knows that. Not using oil will lower the price of gas and the price of a barrel of oil. What drilling does do is affect the environment. Offshore drilling will also waste money that (if the oil companies are right in their commercials I see) should be spent on solar, wind, and other renewable energies.

If we want to build energy rigs in the ocean why not use the power of the waves. Where is that in this legislation? Where is the opposition against a party that is in the pocket of big oil? Where is the stand that opposes the raping of the earth, the stand that I thought my party stood for?

Remember this day as the day the crazies started winning.

Somehow the leaders I have rooted for have let me down.