Playapixie: We're Hosed (Excuse the bad pun)

February 25, 2004

Hose at the Ballard Locks, Canon Digital Rebel, 28-135 IS Zoom lens

I can't believe I've remained politically silent for so long, when the US is coming apart at the seams and we are an embarrassment to the rest of the world. Things are so bad right now that I have been spending a lot of time pondering all of the issues and feeling really keyed up and even depressed. For example:

President Bush, who we never elected, stands to be handed a second term. If we elect Bush, we are essentially saying to the world that the US is a rogue nation with no respect for anyone else, and we like it that way.

Ralph Nader, who I have always liked, is letting us down by insisting that his personal crusade is more important than the well-being of the country. He's going to run for president even though his doing so will practically hand Bush a second term. I am hugely disappointed in Nader's failure to do the right thing and step aside. I have lost all respect for him.

We are still at war in Iraq. Yesterday I read the quote "Last year's Iraq war" in a newspaper....last year's war? We're still there. People are still dying. Two of my friends are on their way to Bagdad within the next month. There is still a war in Iraq, and most Americans don't even know it. (After doing a Google search on "Last year's Iraq war" I found that many articles have used the phrase.)

There is a monumental battle being waged by radical fundamentalist christians to impose their values and will on the rest of America, and when it comes to the massive infusion of hate-filled christian ideals into our laws and government, they are winning. They don't seem to care that the US was built on the idea of separation between church and state, and really seem to believe that their god wants us to subjugate and kick the asses of anyone who doesn't agree with us. That fact that so many Americans are stupid enough to follow this kind of leadership is really distressing.

Politicians are blaming the sorry state of our children's education on the teachers and schools, threatening to take away funding from schools if they don't meet "standards." Bush's appointed Education Secretary called the National Education Association a "terrorist organization" for trying to get the No Child Left Behind laws revised in a way that supports school's efforts rather than punishing their shortcomings. I want to know when people are going to start holding accountable the people who are really failing our kids: their parents. Our underfunded and understaffed schools are already doing as much as they can.

On the bright side, right now homosexual men and women are waiting on the steps of the San Francisco City Hall to be justly married. At the same time, there is a hate movement in process that proposes a consituation amendment which will limit the rights of Americans (only done one other time in the history of our country, prohibition), by disallowing same-sex marriage. I think that at some point in history, we are going to look back upon our legally-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians in complete horror, but I wish that day would come sooner.

Anyhow, I have to take Pixel to the vet for his puppy shots now, so I have to end this rant. But there will be more...

Posted by Dawn at February 25, 2004 01:44 PM

Comments

Carrie (carrieon.blogspot.com) wrote:

Yes! Yes! Yes! to all you just wrote about our political situation. I am equally disgusted, and as a matter of fact, just last night, I said the same thing you did about Nader to my boyfriend, nearly word for word.

It's just a relief to see someone else thinking the same way, especially since there seems to be a frightening growth in the number of people who seem to think that all of these things are okay. And heaven forbid you say any of this in certain company, or risk being denounced as un-American. Un-American? Hold it right there, Mr. McCarthy, I thought that the Bill of Rights guaranteed freedom of speech. Or was that just for the people who agree with the current administration?

Uh, er. Sorry, I've gotten carried away here, and I didn't mean to rant on your blog. I said all that to say, "I heartily agree with you!"

P.S. Enjoy the rest of your blog, esp. the dog pictures and the multi-colored hair family. Very refreshing.

~Carrie

Posted on February 25, 2004 15:08 PST

GSeven (iam.jackswastedlife.org) wrote:

I couldn't agree more! So go vote for Kucinich...Kerry is probably going to win (for better or for worse) so we need to get Dennis some more delegates to keep the progressive message going in the Democratic party.

Just my $.02

Posted on February 26, 2004 10:13 PST

Angel (angelfiles.blogspot.com) wrote:

Sing it, sister, and sing it LOUD!

XOXO

Posted on February 26, 2004 16:48 PST

Jacqueline (JacquelinePassey.com) wrote:

I don't think you need to worry that much about Nader. He probably can't even get on the ballot in most states.

Posted on February 26, 2004 20:23 PST

Ari (iaxelrod.us) wrote:

Under the process set about in the Constitution we (collectively and through the rule of law) did in fact elect Bush (even if not by popular vote). CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post headed a vote by vote analysis of the Florida debacle and concluded that Bush would have still won Florida under the more liberal standards that the Gore campaign and other Democrats had sought.

Based upon your dislike for the way in which Bush was elected you ought to be against the Founders as well as the way in which the electoral college is used rather than making a blanket statement that is incorrect based upon our rule of law.

Posted on February 26, 2004 23:49 PST

Dawn (playapixie.org) wrote:

Oh, I don't dispute that he was legally elected, but he was not elected by a majority or by the popular vote. Based on that, I find it extremely cocky that he would make such brash moves as he has in his tenure and say he has a "mandate" from the people to do so...bullshit. I guess I feel like the rest of the world can perhaps to some small degree excuse us as a country when clearly the majority of Americans did not vote for this president, but if we elect him again, well, we have no excuse. Was he legally elected? Of course. But did he really win the presidency or the confidence of the people?

And yes, I do think the electoral college should go. It's completely archaic and was created at a time when having delegates travel to the place of voting was the only viable way run an election. Now days we have airplanes, telephones, the internet, computerized ballots, and all kinds of modern technology that allows us to cast our individual votes right from our own neighborhoods. The electoral college is a dinosaur that keeps the people one step further removed from government.

By the way, whether or not he would have won Florida isn't really the issue (and the fact that we count in such a way as to make it seem that only one state matters is a whole other issue); he could have won Florida by the more liberal standards, as you suggest, but *still* have lost the popular vote.

Posted on February 27, 2004 00:10 PST

Simon E (simonevans.co.uk) wrote:

One big problem in USA is the mainstream media. Over here in the UK we almost forget we have a truly independent media (though newspapers do 'take sides' in elections and have agendas).

It is an urgent necessity for the well-being of the USA and the rest of the world that Bush is booted out. He has done little good during his tenure, and plenty of bad. Live in hope.

Posted on March 03, 2004 03:09 PST