Tuesday, October 11, 2005
This is no way to run a blog!
Maybe it's just that nobody except the most extreme ideologue likes Bush anymore, so throwing stones at him now seems cheap and gratuitous, like kicking a dead mule. Maybe the conservative movement seems equally pathetic these days, undone by its own arrogance, hubris and venality. Or maybe it's just that I've gotten pretty damned lazy. Whatever the case, I haven't made a posting in something like nine days, and that's no way to run a blog.
It's not as if the world has vanished, and there's nothing to write about. In fact there are many ideas germinating in my mind, so why don't I just get them all out into cyberspace now and be done with it?
1) It's been great fun watching the conservative movement imploding in recent weeks taking the GOP down with it. It appears the Republican big tent has lost a lot of its hot air and it's coming down around their heads. In fact, the right-wingers have now turned on their sugar daddy in the White House over the Harriet Miers nomination. The likes of Robert Bork, George Will, William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer are red-faced with rage, and they do have a point. I mean, who the hell is this woman? I lived in Dallas for many years and I never heard of Miers; her two years there on the City Council completely escaped my notice. Of course, I'm far from the first to point out the laughable White House cronyism this nominatin illustrates. Maybe if it fails, Bush should check to see if his dentist or accountant are looking for a career change.
2) Meanwhile, some conservatives support the nomination, making me wonder what these folks are up to. "I can't reveal it all," James Dobson said last week in an attempt to assuage the fears of fellow conservatives, "because I do know things that I'm privy to that I can't describe because of confidentiality." Yikes! Should we be scared by this?
3) Remember those hopes for a silver lining after Hurricane Katrina that might bring a worldwide focus to social justice and renewed effort to fight poverty. Even President Bush suggested it was time that we all turned to these goals. According to today's New York Times, that was perhaps a lot of hot air from our president. Instead, the White House is focusing its efforts on right-wing social engineering down on the Gulf, something I reported on a couple of weeks ago. "This is not the time to expand the programs that were failing anyway," said some guy at the kneejerk right-wing Heritage Foundation. As if furthering failed right-wing trickle-down economic policies will do anybody any good. Yet another squandered opportunity from the Bush White House. Read all about it here.
4) David Brooks, every liberal's favorite conservative, writes here about how tiresome this left-right debate has become for the vast majority of Americans, even for many liberals and conservatives. It was tiresome 10 years ago, and it's become practically intolerable. Yet, we have two parties that continue to fan the flames. Both are too bankrupt of ideas and too lazy to try to unite Americans, so instead they spread outrage like so much manure, hoping to nurture weeds of discontent. (Sigh. I can't believe I just said that) I'm not an ideologue, although I am pretty darned liberal. I've cast my lot with the Democrats, knowing they've badly failed America, but seeing them as a dim hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Like most Americans I just want someone to help us save our country.
5) And it's sure not Hillary Clinton. I don't think she's the devil incarnate. But I do see her as a supremely divisive figure, and after eight years of Clinton and eight years of Bush, Americans are tired of the divisiveness. Most of us are looking for plain vanilla, hopefully plain vanilla who solves problems like the budget deficit and the cost of health care. I wonder if a seance will bring Eisenhower back from the dead.
6) Here's a slogan I read in The Nation magazine: "Make levees, not war."
7) After spending $30 for the first time ever to fill up my car last week (and I know that's a fraction of what some are paying), I was thinking about how these days the image of Jimmy Carter wearing a cardigan doesn't look so silly anymore. Too bad we chose not to listen to him.
It's not as if the world has vanished, and there's nothing to write about. In fact there are many ideas germinating in my mind, so why don't I just get them all out into cyberspace now and be done with it?
1) It's been great fun watching the conservative movement imploding in recent weeks taking the GOP down with it. It appears the Republican big tent has lost a lot of its hot air and it's coming down around their heads. In fact, the right-wingers have now turned on their sugar daddy in the White House over the Harriet Miers nomination. The likes of Robert Bork, George Will, William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer are red-faced with rage, and they do have a point. I mean, who the hell is this woman? I lived in Dallas for many years and I never heard of Miers; her two years there on the City Council completely escaped my notice. Of course, I'm far from the first to point out the laughable White House cronyism this nominatin illustrates. Maybe if it fails, Bush should check to see if his dentist or accountant are looking for a career change.
2) Meanwhile, some conservatives support the nomination, making me wonder what these folks are up to. "I can't reveal it all," James Dobson said last week in an attempt to assuage the fears of fellow conservatives, "because I do know things that I'm privy to that I can't describe because of confidentiality." Yikes! Should we be scared by this?
3) Remember those hopes for a silver lining after Hurricane Katrina that might bring a worldwide focus to social justice and renewed effort to fight poverty. Even President Bush suggested it was time that we all turned to these goals. According to today's New York Times, that was perhaps a lot of hot air from our president. Instead, the White House is focusing its efforts on right-wing social engineering down on the Gulf, something I reported on a couple of weeks ago. "This is not the time to expand the programs that were failing anyway," said some guy at the kneejerk right-wing Heritage Foundation. As if furthering failed right-wing trickle-down economic policies will do anybody any good. Yet another squandered opportunity from the Bush White House. Read all about it here.
4) David Brooks, every liberal's favorite conservative, writes here about how tiresome this left-right debate has become for the vast majority of Americans, even for many liberals and conservatives. It was tiresome 10 years ago, and it's become practically intolerable. Yet, we have two parties that continue to fan the flames. Both are too bankrupt of ideas and too lazy to try to unite Americans, so instead they spread outrage like so much manure, hoping to nurture weeds of discontent. (Sigh. I can't believe I just said that) I'm not an ideologue, although I am pretty darned liberal. I've cast my lot with the Democrats, knowing they've badly failed America, but seeing them as a dim hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Like most Americans I just want someone to help us save our country.
5) And it's sure not Hillary Clinton. I don't think she's the devil incarnate. But I do see her as a supremely divisive figure, and after eight years of Clinton and eight years of Bush, Americans are tired of the divisiveness. Most of us are looking for plain vanilla, hopefully plain vanilla who solves problems like the budget deficit and the cost of health care. I wonder if a seance will bring Eisenhower back from the dead.
6) Here's a slogan I read in The Nation magazine: "Make levees, not war."
7) After spending $30 for the first time ever to fill up my car last week (and I know that's a fraction of what some are paying), I was thinking about how these days the image of Jimmy Carter wearing a cardigan doesn't look so silly anymore. Too bad we chose not to listen to him.
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Dear Mouth, its Brian, your sole conservative responder (except for an occasional stray). I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties in gaining the strength to post on the blog. I too tried a blog, and was steimied by my job (making a living gets in the way of so many things). I thought I'd chime in, so as to irritate, frustrate, and move you towards your best footing in carrying the liberal tourch of hate and delusion (some of you are good hearted and hate because you are deluded).
First, let me compliment you on your likeness to William F. Buckley. I had to look up hubris and venality, and I have a pretty good vocabulary.
Now, on to #1. Its funny that you should say that. I was listening to just a minute of Rush Limbaugh this afternoon (I don't get to listen to him often), and he predicted with utter certainty that that was exactly what you libs were thinking and gloating over. He pointed out, with his keen mind, that the last time this happened was 1980, when conservatives voted Ronald Reagan into office in two consecutive landfall elections.
Now, I am an evangelical conservative, and live in the Dallas area now. Am I happy about Miers? Well, no. I don't think she was the best choice, despite the fact that she's an evangelical, and appears to be conservative, on some level. I just think that there were some very qualified evangelical conservative judges out there that we KNEW would not turn out to be a David Souter (sp?). I'm sure the President figured that she'd be a stealth candidate that HE knew would be good. However, I am for the national debate that would have followed the appointment of an Edith Jones. By the way, Ms. Miers lives near Royal and Inwood, and actually has the support of former liberal councilman Al Lipscomb, who called her "conservative, but fair."
#2 You should only be scared by this if you're a liberal atheist. Dobson is a solid Christian guy, and may be the most respected Christian leader in America next to Billy Graham.
#3 Hmm..seems that Rush predicted your comments here too. His response was that it is crazy to think that poverty was ever out of the public eye. Was the whole Kerry campaign on "Two Americas"?
Wow, you have written a lot. I'll try to continue to spur you on tomorrow. Good night liberal readers.
First, let me compliment you on your likeness to William F. Buckley. I had to look up hubris and venality, and I have a pretty good vocabulary.
Now, on to #1. Its funny that you should say that. I was listening to just a minute of Rush Limbaugh this afternoon (I don't get to listen to him often), and he predicted with utter certainty that that was exactly what you libs were thinking and gloating over. He pointed out, with his keen mind, that the last time this happened was 1980, when conservatives voted Ronald Reagan into office in two consecutive landfall elections.
Now, I am an evangelical conservative, and live in the Dallas area now. Am I happy about Miers? Well, no. I don't think she was the best choice, despite the fact that she's an evangelical, and appears to be conservative, on some level. I just think that there were some very qualified evangelical conservative judges out there that we KNEW would not turn out to be a David Souter (sp?). I'm sure the President figured that she'd be a stealth candidate that HE knew would be good. However, I am for the national debate that would have followed the appointment of an Edith Jones. By the way, Ms. Miers lives near Royal and Inwood, and actually has the support of former liberal councilman Al Lipscomb, who called her "conservative, but fair."
#2 You should only be scared by this if you're a liberal atheist. Dobson is a solid Christian guy, and may be the most respected Christian leader in America next to Billy Graham.
#3 Hmm..seems that Rush predicted your comments here too. His response was that it is crazy to think that poverty was ever out of the public eye. Was the whole Kerry campaign on "Two Americas"?
Wow, you have written a lot. I'll try to continue to spur you on tomorrow. Good night liberal readers.
# posted by 
: 10:31 PM PDT
: 10:31 PM PDT
Let me add to #2, you may be scared of Dobson if you are a conservative athiest as well. Of course, that would make you a social liberal, but there are plenty of you out there.
# posted by : 10:33 PM PDT
: 10:33 PM PDT
Good letter! I DO need more conservative readers (or just more readers for that matter). It sometimes feels like I'm preaching to the choir.
As for your assertions:
1) Granted, I was only 12, but I don't remember anyone dancing on the conservative movement's grave in 1980. I think Rush is the one who is delusional here.
2) I do think James Dobson is a good, decent man and a good Christian. I also think it's sad that he's sold his values out to a bunch of sleazy politicians. Allowing Tom Delay to bear your torch is reaaaaaly selling out. Doing the wrong thing is always wrong, even if you're a good person.
You say liberal atheists as if only liberals are atheists. How about conservative atheists? You know, those self-deified Nietzschean, Ayn Rand, king of the universe types? I've met plenty of those. I know they weren't voting for Kerry.
3)The only reason poverty never leaves the public forum is because of some folks who insist on keeping it there. And as an issue, it often goes almost universally ignored.
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As for your assertions:
1) Granted, I was only 12, but I don't remember anyone dancing on the conservative movement's grave in 1980. I think Rush is the one who is delusional here.
2) I do think James Dobson is a good, decent man and a good Christian. I also think it's sad that he's sold his values out to a bunch of sleazy politicians. Allowing Tom Delay to bear your torch is reaaaaaly selling out. Doing the wrong thing is always wrong, even if you're a good person.
You say liberal atheists as if only liberals are atheists. How about conservative atheists? You know, those self-deified Nietzschean, Ayn Rand, king of the universe types? I've met plenty of those. I know they weren't voting for Kerry.
3)The only reason poverty never leaves the public forum is because of some folks who insist on keeping it there. And as an issue, it often goes almost universally ignored.
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