This goes out to the Republicans in power. Whether they be confused, narrow-minded, blinded by greed, or just plain stupid, I’m not sure, but I found their motto while surfing the net. So here it is:
Posts Tagged ‘rants’
Barbie Dolls and Message Boards
So, with the toys, the dog food and the toothpaste, the number one problem with importing goods from China without protective tariffs is no longer just the fact that it is squashing the manufacturing jobs of Americans who have worked hard, paid their union dues, and tried to raise their families. And you wonder why I don’t shop at Wal-Mart?
I don’t mind paying a few cents or a few dollars more if it means my fellow Americans can go home at night with a little more job security. Now-a-days, I am very, very glad to pay more for products manufactured in America because I don’t want lead in my GI Joe, and I don’t want to brush my teeth with anti-freeze. ‘Nuff said.
Along the same line of socially conscious shopping, I and fellow employees where I work visited different businesses on Placerville Drive (Placerville, Ca) to see if these business would put a National Night Out flyer in their windows or their community bulletin boards. I am pleased to report that many companies put the flyer in their front windows, and a few that didn’t allow flyers in their front window, had community boards near or at the front of their stores. Unfortunately, a few could only agree to put the flyer up in their break-rooms, where only a handful of tired, hungry workers would glance at the flyer before returning to their minimum wage jobs.
I understand that in a large city, a community message board could be overwhelming and it would just be a nuisance to keep it up and maintain it. But folks, this is Placerville. Never heard of it? Of course not. It’s about 10,000 strong as far as population. A small community where a bulletin board would completely fit the slow, small town pace. And so, I’ve compiled a list of those that have agreed to post flyers in their window or message board, and a list of those that cared too much about the image of their windows to recognize the community that makes them successful:
Thank you to these companies for your support of National Night Out 2007:
Del Taco
Donut Factory
Papa Murphey’s Take n Bake
Clean n Save Cleaners
Pizza Pro’s
Sears
Rocky’s Art and Framing
Clifton and Warren Feed Store
Walkers Document Services
Foster’s Freezes (who will also add the date to their marque)
Noah’s Ark Organic Food Store
And the companies I will no longer be visiting:
Office Max
Raley’s
Wells Fargo
El Dorado Savings
Blockbuster
California Check Cashing
Home Depot (not only that, they say they are environmentally friendly, but they are oh-so-friendly to Fox News, a channel that constantly disputes climate change and global warming).
Getting it Done
The Sierra Club and Brave New Films have put the pressure on companies to stop advertising on Fox News because the network spreads a bias message to it’s viewers and undermines environmental efforts. The pressure is getting results. Lowes has agreed to pull advertising on Bill O’Reily.
Read this article on ThinkProgress.org and sign the Sierra Club’s online petition to tell Home Depot, a self-prescribed ‘green’ company, to stop advertising with Murdoch’s evil empire.
How to Bash a Neocon (Whenever You Want)
I was just wondering how easy it might be to make Ann Coulter look like an idiot. I, a college student, might not have a chance against someone who was named “one of the top 100 public intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner in 2001” (fire that guy) as it mentions in her “About the Author,” but I’ve read a couple of her articles on her website (which is the only place she has a job now, I believe) so I knew what I was up against. Not surprisingly, it was fairly simple: she does it to herself. I only had to purchase her throwaway book from a yard sale for three bucks, titled “How to talk to a Liberal (If you Must)” published in 2004, and use common sense to see just how ignorant she really is.
All the inconsistencies, all the twists of the truth, all the sources that remain a mystery, the examples of what unnamed people are saying, just in her introduction are far too extensive to list on my humble little blog. I will, however, present here a few of her inane remarks:
Freedom of Speech: “There is probably no conservative student newspaper in the country that has not been trashed or burned by liberal” (2).
How dare liberals burn Dartmouth student newspapers in protest! My god! First amendment! All the conservative student press wanted to do is make light of date rape, racism, and poke fun at Native Americans! After all that hard work, I’m sure these righteous young minds are up for a get together, probably keeping themselves warm over a bonfire of Harry Potter books, like any good Christian.
On Torture: “Torturing the guy you know for a fact is withholding information actually works quite well” (7).
Of course! No one admits to a crime they haven’t really committed! We can be sure the people we torture are guilty! Look how many inmates have been put on death row with the solid evidence of a signed confession obtained after hours of interrogation! They weren’t even being physically harmed when they started talking! Let’s just never mind how many confessors have been exonerated through DNA evidence.
Page 8: “Al Gore couldn’t say ‘pass the salt’ without claiming to have invented salt.”
That Al Gore. I’m sure this is in reference to a quote of him saying, “I invented the internet.” Wait, where is that quote? I can’t seem to find it anywhere! Could it be that this is the actual quote, as I found on CNN.com? “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” This website makes an excellent point about why Al Gore wasn’t that far off.
Page 10: [Regarding her first rule for talking to a liberal] “Come to think of it, since our side does not accept Klansmen [Senator Bryd], murderers [Ted Kennedy], or rapists [William Jefferson Clinton], this rule may be simplified to: Don’t be defensive.”
That’s right! Because when the Democrats made it clear in 1964 that racism and discrimination were not part of the core values held by that party, a certain segregationist Mr. Strom Thurmond, then a Democrat (Dixiecrat, really), had no where to go but the party that would accept such a man: The Republicans.
As far as rape and murder, good thing justice was served. –Oh, what was that you said Voice of Reason? What do you mean not convicted? What do you mean not even charged? Are there any politicians that have been convicted or charged with sex crimes? Maybe these ones?
The ‘F’ Word: “On the bright side, you know you’ve arrived when liberals start calling you a fag. Curiously, these proponents of tolerance always choose ‘gay’ as their most searing epithet” (15).
Do I need to go here? I can’t even sarcastically address this one! Really, Google “Ann Coulter calls (Take a pick: Clinton, Gore, or Edwards) a fag” and you get all kinds of websites! Including YouTube, where you can hear her say the very word! What a nut! How many liberals did she name that use the word fag? Nought! Because she’s got monopoly on it!
The best part is, she thinks she can say “It was a joke” and everything is ok. We’ll forgive her without an apology because she was only poking fun. And now for a personal antidote just to prove a point: When I reached the ripe age of seven, I realized I could hurt my little sister’s feelings calling her names and get away with it by shouting, “Just kidding! I was only joking with you!” Fortunately, my parents are smarter than Coulter’s (who should have left her at the hospital in whatever year she says she was born-it changes all the time). They realized quickly my scheme and put a stop to it right away.
Ok, one more and then I’m done.
How to Beat up on a Republican: Page 11 and 12 the right-wingnut tells her minions never to compliment a Democrat because “compliments to Democrats are always returned with insults.” She then describes an epidode of “Larry King Live” from May 7, 2004. As evidence of Democrats returning insults to the compliments of conservatives, she uses the first statement of each senator featured on the show.
Senator John Warner (Republican of Virginia): “First, If I may say of my colleagues on the committee, and twenty-four senators out of twenty-five were present at that hearing, I think we comported ourselves individually and collectively as best I’ve seen it in the Senate….”
Senator Jon Kyl (Republican of Arizona): “I agree with Senator Warner that the senators comported themselves well for the most part….”
Senator Tom Harkin (Democrat of Iowa): “Well, [Rumsfeld should resign] for a couple of reasons.”
Sure sounds to me like Democrat beating up on Republicans that was just trying to give out kudos for the great job that was done! As soon as the Republican senators give out compliments, that Harkin belligerently tries to dispute them!
In reality, the second and third quotes are much further in the transcript than the first. Harkin is not replying to Kyl and Warner’s compliments of a job well-done. He is answering a question posed by the host of the show, Larry King.
King: “Senator Harkin, why do you think he should resign?”
Sen. Harking: “Well, for a couple of reasons”.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the whole point of a talk show to feature two different opinions?
Her next example of Democrats beating up on Republicans is a transcript from “Meet the Press” that I found dated on May 9, 2004
A few days later, Republican senator Lindsey Graham used about half his allotted time on Meet the Press to make clear he had absolutely no criticisms of the Democrats: “I didn’t come here to beat on Senator Kerry or to defend any political position. This is not about Republican and Democratic politics….[Let’s] show the world that Republicans and Democrats may disagree on policy and the war in Iraq, but we have the ability to make sure those accountable are going to be held accountable….Republicans and Democrats need to come together to prove to the world that our system works.”
The Democrats on the panel returned the love by accusing President Bush of responsibility for Abu Ghraib prison abuse (Senator Carl Levin: “I think he helped to create the atmosphere,” saying the mission in Iraq would probably fail (General Wesley Clark: “I think there is a greater than 50/50 chance, let’s say 2:1 chance, of a catastrophic early end to this mission”).
I found the transcript on NBC.com. They ask that any use of their material be cited as NBCNews’ Meet the Press©2004. They are so nice. Random House (the shrew’s publisher) will probably take me away in the middle of the night for all the material I’m using against- I mean from- Coulter, even if I do cite it.
First of all, Levin does not say, “I think he helped to create the atmosphere” in response to Graham’s statement. Graham’s statement comes much later in the transcript. In fact, Levin is responding to the host, who had asked, “You believe the president then is ultimately responsible?” Levin answers, “I think he helped to create the atmosphere by the way in which he called the Geneva Convention discussion relative to Afghanistan a matter of legalism. It’s not legalism. It goes right to the heart of this matter.”
Not only does Coulter include incomplete quotes and position them in such a way as to mislead her faithful readers, but she leaves context out as well. Graham didn’t appear on Meet the Press to talk about uniting parties. The point of the show was to find out who was responsible for the torture that occurred at Abu Ghraib. Again, aren’t talk shows supposed to feature different points of view? Unless you are Fox News, the point of these debates is to show both sides of an issue.
So, after all 18 pages of the introductory chapter, I have one of the longest blogs I’ve ever written, and I even left a lot of her screw-ups out. You should really read the one about liberals “getting drunk and having unprotected public sex with Colin Farrell” (page 11, regarding her feelings toward public apologies). If you can find a free copy, pick it up and see for yourself. However, don’t spend any money on it because I can honestly say I want my three dollars back.
Now for the boring stuff:
Sources:
CNN Larry King Live. “Analysis of Donald Rumsfeld’s Congressional Testimony.” CNN.com © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Coulter, Ann. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): the world according to Ann Coulter. New York: Crown Forum, 2004.
NBC News’ Meet the Press Copyright © 2004, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Text: The New Verb
Text messaging has become very popular, very fast. In fact, the word text is now used as a verb by nearly everyone in my generation, as in, “Text me later,” or, “I’ll text you when I’m out of class.”
I sat in my Political Science class a few weeks ago and watched a couple pass notes to eachother while the teacher was lecturing. That’s right folks, their parents were paying for their education and they were using the time to write love letters to eachother. I could see at their hips that they were carrying mighty nice motorolas that their parents in El Dorado Hills had bought for them (I know they are from El Dorado Hills because they shared this information at a prior date). The boy was busy pretending to be busy on his spiffy new MacBook (probably just checking his myspace). I thought to myself, “Well, why don’t they just use those cell phones to text eachother? That way they wouldn’t have to wait for the teacher to turn around before throwing their notes over their shoulders.”
Then it hit me. I came up with the best text message promo slogan this side of the Mississip’! Here it is folks:
Text messaging: It’s like passing notes in class!
Ok. So maybe I’m exaggerating over the whole Mississip’ thing, but I really like it and that is all that matters.
Child care and Safeway
They say it takes a village to raise a child (whoever “they” are), but there is such an expectation of privacy in America that this community spirit is nearly foreign. And so it should be, I say. If a person asks the village for help-well, that is one thing. However, a tired mother, a few days back to work off maternity leave, a toddler at her side and a weary husband following close behind does not need parenting advice from the cashiers at her local Safeway. Yes, that’s right folks. Two people whose job description doesn’t even require a high school diploma do not need to be giving out advice about the best way to deal with a crying two-month-old.
Take, for example, the Safeway in Cameron Park, California. You’ve probably never heard of it. But beware! Step into this store and you may just get more than you’ve bargained for!
It all started a few days ago when a dear friend of mine and her family traveled down Cameron Park Drive to pick up the groceries for the week. As I mentioned before, she had just started back at her job: a grueling, tiring retail position at a local sweatshop (aka Wal-Mart). Her seventeen-month-old toe-head was enjoying a ride in the car-shaped cart that dad was pushing while his younger brother snored away in his car seat on top of the cart. The groceries were gathered with the best economics in mind and the family trudged it’s way into the busy check-out line.
Suddenly, disaster struck. The young newborn woke up from his nap and (god-forbid) started crying! My goodness sakes! The nervous, tired parents rushed to put their groceries up on the black conveyer belt that carried their gatherings to the cashier for pricing. Eager to get out of the store to properly handle their dear, precious newborn, the parents did not pick up the crying child and instead got into the position to pay.
Suddenly, looking up into the face of the cashier, Carleen, my friend was faced with the greatest fear of every new parent: unwarrented advice. Carleen and Anne, another cashier, were looking at my friend in disgust while the father was busy with their seventeen-month-old and she was hurredly fumbling with the check-book.
“Aren’t you going to hold your baby?” said Anne, in that if-you-don’t-you’ll-hear-it-from-me tone of voice that all parents have come to dread. My friend quickly explained that she was trying to get out of the store, as her newborn had colic and she would appreciate it if the cashier would just ring her up. At that point, the two cashiers proceeded to tell her how wrong it was that she would not hold her crying baby. As the bagger was finishing up the last of the groceries and Carleen began to ring up the next customer, Anne stormed off, claiming to not be able to handle the injustice of the situation. Carleen then proceeded to tell the next customer in an obviously loud voice that parents who do not hold their children are just bad people. My friend rushed out of the store embarrassed and frustrated at the experience.
Of course, her baby was fine. As soon as she found the proper place (not a line in the supermarket) to care for her child, she calmed the boy and made him ready for the trip home. The manager of these two hags was informed immediately of the demeaning experience.
If you don’t have children, or you are on your first child and are unreasonably over-protective (as most new parents are) of your precious, you may feel an angry flare rise up in your belly at this situation. However, for the sake of your own children, continue reading.
First of all, these hatchet women had no right to treat their customer in such a manner. My friend never asked for their opinions. Miss know-it-all and her cohort should have kept their ugly mouths shut and rang my friend up in a timely fashion so the family could be on their way. Americans hate being told what to do with their own private lives.
Also, any doctor will tell you the benefits of crying. Babies wouldn’t cry if it was a mechanism that did them harm. The strength of a baby’s lungs is enhanced by a good cry. Not that they need to cry all the time, but any good parent will tell you that every so often, a good cry will help the baby grow.
Not only that, but when a child is held every time it cries, it cries everytime it wants to be held. This behavior doesn’t end when the child begans walking and talking and doing things that babies grow to do. This creates that infamous spoiled brat that we have all seen in the supermarket. You know the one: screaming and throwing a fit over the right to eat Marshmallow Goodies cereal every morning with a glass of chocolate milk. My friend had every right to handle her child in any way she saw fit and not be lectured by the crones at her local Safeway. With that, my tale ends. Next time you are at the supermarket and hear the sound of a baby crying, smile, because one more set of parents is doing the right thing for their child: raising the child their own way.
