A Listener Writes....

Dear Professional Left Podcast:

Should I be offended much by all that people are saying about Obama being "back" ??  I find it funny and suspicious that Obama suddenly became someone we might be able to like after he announced his reelection campaign.  It's amazing to me that people can talk about how awesome he is after he continuously hits them.  He isn't a centrist.  When you look at his record, he is a Rockefeller Republican.  All of what he has actually done is very much Rockefeller Republican.  Why is no one talking about how "Gee, isn't that interesting that he is suddenly telling us what we want to hear right when he needs our money..."  Seriously.  Look at what he is doing.  He isn't fighting for the liberals/progressives.  Why should we support him?  Who should we support?

A listener to the podcast

Dear Listener:

suddenly telling us what we want to hear right when he needs our money.

He's not telling us what we want to hear, he's telling us what Sherrod Brown told him to say.  And Sherrod Brown knows that no one will vote for Medicare killers.  

This is not about us.  We're irrelevant.  

But guess what?  Obama is irrelevant, too.  

We progressives have to be careful to remember that this is not about Obama, who will be gone in six years or less.  This is about us.  Are we going to be about how no one in the White House is good enough for us, or are we building something bigger and longer lasting than one administration?

I don't focus so much on Obama because frankly, as far as Presidents go he's all we've got.  It's not that he's better than Bush -- it's that in the long run he is just one more administration we've had to hold accountable to liberal values.  That is such as it ever was.  

I know it makes a lot of people on our side feel jolly to diss Barack as some sort of massive traitor.  But they're rewriting history because saying "Obama is a centrist ahole" is just as easy as saying "Fuck Bush" and it turns out those progressives don't have much else other than a constant state of aggrieved righteousness.   Obama was my FIFTH choice for the Democratic nomination.  Hillary was SIXTH.  

Sigh.  So it's not about who should we support but WHAT.  Union issues, elder care, education, infrastructure.  Pick something, make it local, write to your paper (because old people still read tree killing stuff and they vote) write a blog, give money, shout in the streets, fight the power.  And remember that the muckrakers did all that a hundred years ago and oh, don't get me started on what a fucking corporate shill Woodrow Wilson was. 

Best, and thanks for your letter,

Fran / BG

AND honesty and civility in our discourse means honesty.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tonal Recall
www.thedailyshow.com

I hope everyone who watches Fox News for "news" watches this clip, starting at 4:50, where a comedian asks the question, "Does healthcare reform actually destroy jobs?"  Good question, and one no one else seems to want to talk about.

Had an email to the podcast this morning re health care:

You guys don't think the repubs are actually going to be successful in repealing the Affordable Care Act, do you? If that's the case - then I'm going to have to resume my plans to relocate to Canada. I have a pre-existing condition, and I refuse to suffer needlessly just to prove my patriotism....

I realize that some of my conservative friends find this hard to believe, but I like to remind them...why I have always been for Universal Healthcare. If everyone has healthcare - which I believe is a basic human right - then there will be more people that are able to work and contribute to society and add to the pot. When I put it this way, they understand why I'm for universal healthcare, even though they still oppose the idea of it.

Rigoddamneddiculous!

My response:

Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Al Franken are fighting it out as to which of them will block the so-called repeal. Not to mention the President.


'Also too', how many GOP congressmen will vote to repeal, then attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for their Bernie Sanders community health center in their district?


Don't forget that new RNC chairman Reince Priebus was on a committee in his law firm to work on getting more federal stimulus dollars. [note:  most of the links at that Google search are right wing blogs, that are understandably outraged.  Love the one titled "Reince Priebus did not have sex with that stimulus package."]  Honestly you couldn't put this stuff in a RUSSIAN novel, let alone make it a great American one. Though Christopher Buckley has made some pretty good efforts. :D


It's been a very bad week for the GOP. This was 'Constitution-reading and Health-Bill Killing week' and the shooting death of a nine year old girl born on 9/11 ruined all their plans.


PS. And I disagree with one point in your email. With universal health care there will be LESS people working, and especially willing to work full-time. That "hurts" businesses who depend on the health insurance bribe to keep employees working 60 hours a week with no overtime just to keep their insurance. Big time.


Jon Stewart answers the question in a couple sentences.  People will leave the workforce voluntarily if they have health insurance.  That's not a bad thing in an all-too-tight job losing economy.


One bright area of job growth?  Republican web site scrubber.  First Palin, now Priebus?  Betcha that's a no-bid contract Halliburton thingy.  

A friend writes [about his dog]

Dear BG & DG:

I know you do not run an advice show, but I do not know where else to turn, and frankly you are both somewhat responsible.  Here is my problem.

My wife’s dog, Karma, is very smart.  Our son taught him to growl whenever he heard Rush Limbaugh’s name or voice.  The dog taught himself to shit anytime he heard Glenn Beck.  (Bad Karma!  No!  Not in the house!)

I am a relatively new iPod convert and only recently discovered how to download your podcasts.  I have taken to listening to your show early in the mornings while I walk the dog.  Karma and I used to go outside, he did his business, and then we’d quickly return to the warmth and comfort of home.  However, lately, I have kept him outside walking while I finish listening to your show.  Extending these walks has created significant tension between the dog and me.

I am afraid that an unintended consequence of your podcast is our formerly progressive dog is becoming more conservative.  Karma is probably already a Blue Dog Democrat.  The other day I caught him dry-humping the television when CNN showed a clip of Mitch McConnell.   For a brief moment I thought that he had devolved into a rabid Republican, but then I discovered that he had simply snatched the toothpaste off the bathroom counter, again. 

My wife and I are at a loss on how to retrain Karma.  When he’s bad, should I swat him with the Wall Street Journal?  Should I get him his own iPod so he can enjoy your show at his leisure?  Should I force him to watch Old Yeller and warn him to get back with the program or else?  Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. 

Happy Holidays and thank you for your insights, information and humor.

I believe in ipods for dogs, if they're permanently tuned to our podcast.  That said, I'm afraid I couldn't improve on Driftglass's answer:

A vexing question indeed. I know of many Rescue Dog programs that purport give new purpose and direction to older dogs who have developed bad habits.  Perhaps Karma could be trained to sniff out and retrieve Liberal values from beneath the massive piles of Centrist shit under which which they routinely get buried? Best, dg

A quick letter to my congressman

And yes, I'm printing this on paper and putting a real stamp on it (minus the panties image).

The Honorable John Shimkus
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Shimkus:

I want you to vote in favor of the stimulus package as proposed by President Obama.

I am convinced the large majority of Americans are panicked about the current state of the economy. Those millions (yes, millions) of Americans, either newly unemployed or long-term underemployed, are looking primarily to the Federal Government, to YOU, to provide relief. So are governors and mayors, many in your own (Republican) Party.

Economy is as much a result of communal belief as actual value. Taking bold action WILL help, by changing the mentality that says there isn't enough.

It's high time we invested at home, in getting the middle- and lower- classes to work, in education, and in rebuilding roads, bridges and levees.

Nitpicking and obstructionist politics makes you guys look even more pathetic than you did running with Sarah Palin on the ticket, cheering Ronald Reagan tributes at your Convention. We're in a crisis. You can continue to be the political party marked with a giant FAIL on your foreheads, or you can work with the president to get 'er done.

If you let us down, we'll remember that you did.

With all good wishes for the health and welfare of the country we both love,

BG

Wherein I write a personal, yet publick, note to My Captain.

Dear Cap'n Dyke, Lesbian Ruler of the Piratical Seas:

I were thinkin' on ye, Cap'n, this morning, as I read the blogs and discovered what is possibly the lamest article ever written at Huffington Post. I know, Cap'n, that be an astonishin' claim, but you will consider the evidence:

The "lady" writin' this, whose name be Alex Leo, sayeth that when models in advertisements appear as pirates, that is an example of "rape" being used in advertising to subjugate women.

And, well Cap'n, I hope you are sittin' down for this one...

...the same anti-women subjugation happens when advertisers portray bondage and girl-on-girl action.

I know I am just your blogmistress (and not a lesbian though I be a pirate raisin' my children t' be the same) and should probably keep my business above deck, but if you'll harbor a suggestion, I suggest you and some of your fine crew take Miss Leo (I be presumin' she is single, and who wouldn't?) below decks where the ropes and other piratical girl-on-girl paraphrenalia be, and show her a really good time away from cameras and advertising and fake feminist outrage.

And once she's had twenty or thirty bits o' fun, a warm bath and a long nap, turn her loose and she won't want to leave and you'll allow her to stay, provided she promise she won't write silly stuff like that ever again.

And while I be makin' suggestions, Cap'n? I be givin' a hat tip to Jade Gate on this one, his blog be not safe for work, but he is a master of the ropes, a true gentleman who only acts on explicit consent from women, and would be an asset to any Pirate Ship.

Love, your blogmistress, BG

PS folks too friggin cold to do a video blog my cheeks are beet red from getting the ice chipped off of my car, which took...blah blah blah. Salon tonight, though.