Archive for the Elections Category

“Legs Network” Is Big Brother (October 27, 2014)

Posted in Amazon, Consumerism, Elections, Facebook, Google, Internet, Journalism, Markets, Press/Media, Technology, Television on October 27, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “While watching late last night, it dawned on me.  Big Brother is now privatized and outsourced.  The ‘Legs Network’ is Big Brother.”

2          “I like it.  The name, that is.  The Network provides ideological programming punctuated by ideological advertising.  Spin reality and repeat it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and . . . .”

1          “A vile message grounded in fear and repeated and repeated and repeated to advance the interests of the corporate sponsors.”

2          “Over and over and over and over.”

. . .

1          “Female applicants are required to submit photographs of their legs.  They know what they are foisting.”

2          “Shoes?  Restorative varicose vein surgery?  And all of the propagandists are graduates of the Edward L. Bernays School of Disinformation.”

1          “One was a Joe Goebbels Fellow.”

2          “Josephina Goebbels Fellow?”

. . .

1          “A higher percentage of the indoctrinees of the ‘Legs Network’ are living on government assistance than the viewers of public television.”

2          “The governments – federal, state and local – are also even bigger Big Brothers than in the past.”

1          “Every new social media spawns its own monopoly and gestates another Big Brother.  Amazon, Google, Facebook, you name it, are all Big Brothers.  We need a protective and independent ‘Big Brother’ to protect or at least to inform us.  Instead we get a bevy of Orwellian ‘Big Brothers’ that monitor and manipulate us.”

2          “Everyone is in our corner and no one is in our corner.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Big Brothers abound

“Legs Network” is Big Brother

Facebook is Big Brother

Google is Big Brother

Twitter is Big Brother

Amazon is Big Brother

ebay is Big Brother

Zillow is Big Brother

_____ is Big Brother

Are Big Sisters more benign?

[A Pawel Kuczynski sketch of a video camera on a wall focused (and fixated) on a second video camera on the same wall also focused (and fixated) on the first camera.]

“Lame Duck” (November 26, 2012)

Posted in Elections, O'Bama, Politics, Presidency on November 26, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “O’Bama was a lame duck on November 4, 2008 because he was only in office for one term at that time.  He had to start campaigning and make decisions with an eye toward re-election.”

2          “Single-term Presidents are often regarded as place holders and almost disregarded or faintly regarded by historians.”

1          “Now he has another four years and is free from the need to campaign or stand for re-election.  He is only as lame as he wants to be.  He still deals pork, appoints federal judges and can get a kid into Harvard.”

2          “A politician who lost the election last week is a lame duck.”

1          “If you are not coming back, you are lame.”

2          “O’Bama needs to make his come back and find his groove.  The next six months will determine the next four years.”

. . .   

[See the “e-ssay” titled Immanentize The Eschaton: Move To Sunny Somalia (December 20, 2010).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

If O’Bama is re-elected, I am moving to Somalia

Centrist-Conservative Beats Corporatist-Culture Warrior (November 12, 2012)

Posted in Blue States / Red States, China, Elections, Iran, Journalism, Newspapers, O'Bama, Political Parties, Presidency, Press/Media, Romney, Russia, Southern Strategy, Spending on November 12, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1        “Or should the headline read ‘Black And Browns Outwit Whites And Green (Paper).’”

C2       “Or ‘Ascetic Triumphs Over Bully.’  The election was a ‘campaign’ conducted in ‘battleground’ states by ‘operatives’ operating in a ‘war room’ who unwittingly are continuing to prosecute the ‘Great American Civil War.’”

C1        “The ‘Republican Southern Strategy’ is the ‘Republican National Strategy’, yet the Republicans were not able to conquer more than the ‘Contemporary Confederacy.’”

C2       “For two score or perhaps two score and four years since Nixon patented the policy, the ‘Southern Strategy’ was the go to play in the Republican playbook but may now need to be revisited.”

C1        “America is divided between the ‘Educated States’ that vote Blue and the ‘Uneducated States’ that vote Red.  States such as Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia, New Hampshire, New York and Minnesota are the ‘Educated States’ that vote Blue.  States such as West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Nevada, Indiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma are the ‘Uneducated States’ that vote Red.  Those who are less educated are motivated by and respond to fear.”

C2       “Nevada is the only exception in that group.  The citizens may not sport as much formal education, but Nevadans are a spunky group of transplants.”

C1        “And O’Bama and Reid also ran a great ground game in Nevada and in all the other battleground states.”

C2       “The residents of the upper Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and the pivotal Ohio do not sport as many sheep skins, but they exercise horse sense in abundance.”

C1        “Wherever you find oil and gas, you find racism and corruption.  Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Alaska.  With the discovery of oil, Alaska transitioned from Minnesota to Mississippi.  Astute pollsters note that these states tend to vote Red.  And then along comes North Dakota that elects to elect Heidi Heitkamp as a Senator.  Dead dinosaurs are destiny.”

C2       “Demographics are destiny.  Demo-graphics versus Republica-graphics.  And the outcome is graphic.  The Last Great White Hope is hopeless.  The rich White boys who want power are facing a reality that even the Red States are becoming Browner and Blacker.”

C1        “A strategic planner who seeks to locate a business that exploits the workers and despoils the land migrates to a Red State.  An enterprise that requires an educated populace searching for a sustainable quality of life migrates to a Blue State.  There are exceptions in pockets like Austin and a thousand other havens and oases, yet the general rule is true.”

C2       “Virginia’s senatorial contest between the Klan and Confederate Party candidate George Allen and the Centrist Party candidate Tim Kaine reveals the schism in many states that are described as Purple.  North Virginia went with Kaine and South Virginia went with Allen in a state where there are now more North Virginians than South Virginians.”

C1        “The educated electorate in North Carolina did not do it this year because it is so desperately small.  Curious that Bank of America’s decision to locate in Charlotte years before the 2008 election may have provided enough additional voters to provide the margin for O’Bama in the state in 2008 but not in 2012.”

C2       “South Florida is populated by transplanted Northerners who voted for O’Bama and North Florida is an appendage of Georgia and voted for Romney, but there are more Northern voters in South Florida than South voters in North Florida.”

C1        “And a few Browns.”

C2       “And a few Browns.  In an election that looked like it would be bought by a few faceless billionaires showering money from above and using Anger Mongering radio, billions of ordinary citizens on the ground really did made the difference for O’Bama.”

C1        “And two candidates shot themselves in the foot and then put the foot in their mouths and proclaimed that rape is akin to a sprained ankle or a trick knee.  New Hampshire was in play until Tuesday night and after the smoke and mirrors cleared on Wednesday morning, the smarter gender is in control in the first all-women delegation.  And the neighboring Bay Staters are banking on Elizabeth Warren.”

C2       “Brown did not do well in Massachusetts.  Tammy Baldwin, an openly gay female Senator-elect from Wisconsin, and Krysten Sinema, an openly bisexual Representative-elect from Arizona of all places, were not the pick of the billionaires.”

C1        “Tammy Duckworth, a wounded veteran from Illinois, finally made it.  Unfortunate that Pete Stark, the lone atheist, lost his seat.” 

C2       “The first Hindu member of Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, and a combat veteran.”

C1        “With Pete Stark gone, someone else must take up the Carbon Tax effort.  God voted under the name ‘Sandy’ as a single issue voter this year.”

C2       “Without showing any photo id.  The place is going to look like America.  Blue States such as Washington and Colorado have declared peace in the war on drugs and legalized the recreational use of marijuana.  Chalk up another win for freedom and liberty.”

C1        “And Washington, Maine and Maryland now allow an individual to decide if he or she wants to get married.”

C2       “Another win for freedom and liberty.  And Minnesota voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality.”

C1        “Washington state is awfully pushy.  All the talented folks will migrate there.”

C2       “When the Nobel Committee signals that it will reward the conclusion, someone will connect the dots between freedom and liberty in a state and clean and green growth and development.  The Blue States vote for freedom and liberty.”

C1        “In 2004, O’Bama came to national attention aspiring for one United States of America, but only a little more than half of America will ever give him a chance.”

C2       “And now that petty pernicious pol Mitch McConnell is committed to making O’Bama a two-term President.”

C1        “We are the Red States of America and the Blue States of America.  There is no shame in candid self-awareness.” 

C2       “And yet the two countries confront many common concerns.  Iran is still Iran, China is still China, Russia is still Russia, and the fiscal fiasco is straight out of Wile E. Coyote.”

C1        “Europe may implode; the Middle East may explode.  Someone may want to take a look at the numbers that underpin entitlements and unnecessary defense/offense spending.  They still don’t add up.”

C2       “For decades, the Blue States have subsidized the Red States, yet we may see Illinois, California and/or New York, three small Blue countries in America, in need of major subsidies.”

C1        “Someone will say something about immigration.”  

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled America Recycles Day, November 15 (November 15, 2010).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Women are people too.

The odds for the election of the first gay Buddhist Brown woman to the White House should be available soon.

George Will:             Romney:         331;    Obama:        217

Michael Barone:      Romney:          315;    Obama:        223

Glenn Beck:               Romney:          321;    Obama:        217

Dick Morris:              Romney:          325

Carl Rove:                   Romney:          279

“I have been assured that everything is in place for a Romney sweep of the Electoral College and the popular vote.  Talk is cheap.  Are you man enough to put your money where your mouth is.  $100 that Romney takes it.”  “I don’t have any assurances.  There is $1000 where my mouth is.  If you are man enough.” 

“I have been assured that everything is in place for a Romney sweep of the Electoral College and the popular vote.  Talk is cheap.  Are you man enough to put your money where your mouth is.  $100 that Romney takes it.”  “I don’t have any assurances.  There is $1000 where my mouth is.  If you are man enough.” 

The Choice (November 5, 2012)

Posted in Elections, O'Bama, Presidency, Romney on November 5, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “In the land of the red, white and blue, a White man is striving to turn states red and a Black man is striving to turn them blue.”

B          “Some of the ads have left the citizens red-faced and feeling blue.”

A          “Just turn on the television in a battleground state or listen to Anger Mongering (AM) radio.  Strip the thin veneer of reluctant tolerance in America and we are a vicious people who manage to restrain our violent tendencies most of the time.”

B          “Romney does not do it.  He is the candidate who is still part of the problem, yet he suggests that he has a solution.”

A          “A careful tally of comments leads one to the clear conclusion that O’Bama tells fewer lies than Romney.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

Vote.  This election is about one party trying to get out the vote and the other party trying to suppress the vote.

Flip Flop and Flim Flam v. NObama and Smokin’ Jo? (September 10, 2012)

Posted in China, Elections, Iran, Iraq, O'Bama, Political Parties, Politics, Presidency, Romney on September 10, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

I1          “I wish that I had been the first one to coin it.  Flip Flop and Flim Flam fits on a sticker.”

I2          “Fading NObama stickers still adorn many bumpers.”

I1          “Lyin’ Ryan is resonating.”

I2         “Smokin’ Joe puts on a smokin’ show.”

I1          “What do we do now?”

I2         “Choose between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.”

. . .

I1          “Yet there is a difference between the two candidates.  I hold O’Bama to the high standards he has set, although he has not met them.  Romney does not have any standards other than the acquisition of money and the pursuit of power at any cost.  He already acquired one and is now pursuing the other.”

I2         “If he runs the country the way he ran the company Bain Capital, then he will run the country into the ground.  He will fire 40 percent of the American workers, leave the country burdened with unmanageable debt, claim that he increased employment by the 60 percent of the population that remains employed, and walk away with all the money.”

I1          “What if China refuses to fund Romney’s desire to invade China.”  

I2         “Dredging up the ‘neo-cons’ who instigated the Iraq travesty is a disturbing development.  Those treasonous chickenhawks are itching to start a war with Iran, even though America may have already committed acts of war against Iran that justify Iran attacking America.”

I1         “Are they ‘old-cons’?  They should be cons, but as always the ruling class escapes indictment and incarceration in public housing.”

I2         “So they are not cons.  With a subtext of racism, this election revives the debate whether America should start World War III or not.”

I1          “World War III still strikes me as a bad idea.”

. . .

[I1 = Independent Voter; I2 = . . . ]

Bumper stickers of the week:

10 percent of those who are allowed to vote in 10 states will dictate the next President

Snipers for O’Bama

LGBTs For Romney

My vote cancels your vote

The Race Is About Race: The (Last) Great White Hope (September 3, 2012)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Elections, McCain, O'Bama, Political Parties, Politics, Presidency, Race, Romney, Society, Southern Strategy on September 3, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “The election of 2008 was not the dawn of a post-racial America.  In 2008, few knew how to attack an African-Irish-American Presidential candidate without appearing to be racists.  In 2012, America is still torn by racial issues.  Now the attack is focused on race because they are not willing to lose this race this time.  The race is about race.”

B          “So they want us to take back America.  To when?  Prior to 1965 and the Voting Rights Act?  To 1964 and the Civil Rights Act?  To 1956 and Brown v. Board of Education?  To 1868 and the Fourteenth Amendment?  To 1865 and the Thirteenth Amendment?  To 1864 and the Emancipation Proclamation?”

A          “To when Whites ruled.  The message is subtle.  Everyone communicates in code and dog whistles.” 

B          “Forty-five percent of the population responds to fear.  They know how to stoke and marshal fear.”

A          “The Republican Southern Strategy attracts White voters by appealing to racist fears and anxieties.  The Southern Strategy is now the National Strategy.”

B          “This will be the last race that is controlled by White voters.”

. . .

AB          “O’Bama declined public financing of his campaign and spent twice as much as McCain.  Romney may spend twice as much as O’Bama this go round.  Follow the money.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Take back America = Bring back Jim Crow.”

White using green to defeat Black.

“Do you hate him because he is Irish or because he is Black?”  “Both.  Plus he was born in Niger-ia.  Get it.”

Breaking News: Supreme Court Elects To Decide 2012 Presidential Election (January 16, 2012)

Posted in Constitution, Courts, Elections, Health Care, O'Bama, Presidency, Supreme Court on January 16, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L1          “It really is so much easier.”

L2          “And they are so smart.  . . . .  Right.”

L1          “The outspoken opponents of judicial activism are awfully active judicially.”

L2          “And their actions and decisions are actively awful.”

L1          “In Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court held that it has the authority to appoint the President.”

L2          “Nothing is inconceivable today.  Laugh at me if you will, but I still maintain that allowing the Supremes to select the President is an ill-advised practice and a terrible precedent.”

L1          “The Five Lobbyists – our friends Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, and Alito – announced that they will decide who wins the Presidency in 2012.  They will issue their decision in the context of the health care hullaballoo.”

L2          “Seems so.  When they review the constitutionality of ‘Romney – O’Bama Care,’ they may be confused by Romney’s ever changing positions.”

L1          “From what I hear, first Romney is in favor of Romney Care and then against Romney Care and then in favor and then against and then in favor and then against and then in favor.”

L2          “And then against.  I’m telling you, he is giving flip-flopping a bad name.”

L1          “What if the Five Lobbyists uphold ‘Romney – O’Bama Care’ and don’t taint the campaign?”   

L2          “You mean because ‘Romney – O’Bama Care’ is constitutional, albeit not the most sound public policy.”

L1          “That really should be a relevant consideration.  At least I think so.”

L2          “When do you think they will issue their decision?”

L1          “June.  Before heading off to the beach.”

L2          “They would need to hijack another case to select the President.”

L1          “They come back from the beach in October and could distort any old case lying around to declare the winner in November.”

L2          “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

. . .

[MLK – getting his words right is right and a nice birthday present.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Who says one vote does not matter?  5-4 was enough

The SCOTUS determining the POTUS is decidedly FUBAR

Incite, Sarah, Indict? (January 10, 2011)

Posted in Courts, Crime/Punishment, Elections, First Amendment, Guns, Health Care, Law, Press/Media, Society, Supreme Court, Tea Party on January 10, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R          “You cannot get out of bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code, the federal criminal code.  In fact, and as a matter of law, you cannot stay in bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code.”

S          “So why not indict her?  She incited and directed others to kill and targeted the targets by first and last name and address.  She created a mindset and a market for death.  She legitimized killing.  The specific nature of the killer’s mind and his motives are still emerging.  Maybe he did not do it for her or for some specific political purpose.  Nonetheless, he took her specific message and tactics to heart.”

R          “Perhaps her twisted comments about death panels and the like confused a twisted and confused mind.  Others stridently proclaim they have not heard anything inflammatory, yet he heard the shrill dog whistle.”

S          “Her comments were one of the legal, moral and proximate causes of the death and maiming in Arizona.  Look, she took down the targets on her website recently which is an admission of guilt.”

R          “A subsequent remedial measure?”

S          “What about the bull’s eyes?  Listen to others who now opine that political discourse has taken a turn for the worse.  The political discourse has not changed course one degree in recent years.  The entreaties to kill have simply reached their predictable and inevitable outcome.  Why is everyone now so shocked and stupefied?  What happened was intended.  It was only a matter of time.”

R          “During the 2008 and 2010 elections, a few commentators noticed that she promoted and encouraged violence against specific candidates.  Her threats of violence against specific candidates were and are not protected by the First Amendment and were and are clear violations of provisions of Title 18 when they target federal officials or occur on federal property.”

S          “She is white and connected, so she will be given a pass.  U.S. Attorneys expend considerable tax dollars prosecuting some harmless jaywalker on federal property who has the misfortune to be non-white and unconnected.”

R          “The Supreme Court decreed that corporations are legal persons.  The nattering news network is a legal person.  Persons can be indicted.  Another option is to indict the network, the president, the board of directors and the pitch men and women on tv.  We need to return to personal responsibility as a governor of behavior.  Law plays a role.”

S          “White.  Extraordinarily well connected.  And capable of getting a U.S. Attorney fired.  Same story.  Same outcome.  Those in power get a pass.  Carte blanc, the White Card.”

R          “Her vitriolic rants against a sitting President may be her undoing.  Title 18 criminalizes threats against a sitting President.  The grand irony would be to watch on YouTube after one of her tirades as her Secret Service protective detail turns and cuffs her for direct threats against the President.”

S          “That might go viral.”

R          “America sports a billion laws and yet has become such a lawless nation.  In the absence of personal responsibility and without some rules and the rule of law, affairs can and will get worse.”

S          “So why not simply allow a dozen jurors to decide?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “In The Land Of Fury And The Home Of The Fearful (November 1, 2010).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Incite, Sarah, Indict

Incite, Sarah, Indict Sarah

There oughta be a law; no, there are laws but there oughta be some law enforcement.

What happens when you take an arrow out of the quiver, nock it with care, draw back purposefully, release while slowly exhaling and then look up to see that you have hit the bull’s eye?

I was walking across a bridge one day and saw a man standing on the edge and about to jump off.  So I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”  “Why shouldn’t I?” he said.  I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”  He said, “Like what?”  I said, “Well, are you religious or atheist?”  He said, “Religious.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Christian or Buddhist?”  He said, “Christian.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Catholic or Protestant?”  He said, “Protestant.”  I said, “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”  He said, “Baptist!”  I said, “Wow!  Me too!  Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”  He said, “Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!”  I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him over the edge.

The First Look At The “Second Political Party” (January 3, 2011)

Posted in Abortion, Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Drugs, Economics, Elections, Gay Politics, Government Regulation, Kleptocracy, Political Parties, Politics, Society on January 3, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R         “I’ve been shut out by the venal and feral nut cases in my party.”

D         “I’ve been sold out by the effete and craven fruits in my party.”

R         “My team is fraudulent; yours is feckless.”

D         “Your team markets fear; mine peddles hope.  No one addresses problems or provides answers.”

. . .

D         “Your team caters to the very rich; you’re not very rich.”

R         “But I can be.”

D         “Not any longer.  They let you nourish that delusion to string you along.”

R         “But I could have been.”

. . .

R         “We need a third party.”

D         “We already have a third party, but it is a rabid and toxic mix of nuts and fruits.  We need a fourth party.”

R         “At core, both parties are owned hook, line and over the barrel by the same corporate and financial interests.  The Repubocrats and the Demolicans.  Maybe we need a second party.”

D         “Our country has transformed from a democracy to a kleptocracy.  Each party protects and serves the kleptocrats and banksters who keep the public diverted and entertained with frivolous diversions and entertainments.”

R         “The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United was designed to promote the interests of my party and also has doomed the prospect of any other party emerging in America.”

. . .

D         “We need less government involvement in our personal lives.  No government definition of marriage.  No government regulation of abortion.  No government criminalization of marijuana.”

R         “We need government to dictate the definition of marriage.  It is what I say it is, between a man and a woman.  We need government to invade each bedroom and demand delivery of every conceivable baby.  If the little tyke steps out of line, we need capital punishment.  Remember that life begins at conception and ends at birth.  We need government to imprison people for smoking marijuana when it is still legal to drink all the alcohol they want.”

. . .

D         “So now once again what are the essential bedrock policies of the ‘Second Political Party’?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

TPTB America has abandoned the Middle Class; what is interesting to watch is how the Middle Class abandons TPTB America.

In The Land Of Fury And The Home Of The Fearful (November 1, 2010)

Posted in Elections, Politics, Race, Society, Tea Party on November 1, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “So much unfocused rage and undigested anger is raging across the countryside.”

K         “And Anger Mongering (AM) radio and Fox tv are the primary mouthpieces for the furor.  Follow the money.  A staggering amount of money is being amassed marketing hate and fear to the masses, one of the last growth industries in America.  Those inciting the masses are doing so for their own very narrow self-interest.  The cunning and the cynical are playing some voters for chumps and stooges.  Stun and cripple a person with fear and take his vote and his money.  Yet there is a perception that something is wrong grounded in the fact that something is wrong.  The frustration is magnified because it cannot be articulated.”

J          “And an articulate, informed and serene Black President who displays upper class sensibilities and syntax reminds Americans of the two underlying schisms and fissures in America – race and class.  Race is not an acknowledged issue, but race is an issue in most of the political races this year.”

K         “Confidence even devoid of arrogance and pretense threatens the insecure.  Look at the numbers.  Forty-five percent of the electorate responds to fear.  Market and exploit fear and appeal to another five percent and then get just one more vote.  Political victory.  That arithmetic really explains politics in America.  The real kicker is that the problems are far worse than all but the most informed realize and are far less likely to be resolved by current thinking.”

J          “It is all about jobs.  Ironic that some in France are rioting because they are to be given the opportunity to work an additional two years, albeit delaying their retirement, and Americans may riot to be given the opportunity to work.  When there are job openings, Americans are there hustling to get them.”

K         “True, yet Americans have not experienced any real hardship in recent decades and simply do not have the emotional software to deal with adversity with any perspective or dignity.”

J          “When the present and the future are so bleak, the past is strained through a filter to make it look far more idyllic than it ever was.”

K         “It is so much easier to hate and fear without reflection.”

. . .

Bumper stickers (signs) of the week:

45% + 5% + 1 = Victory

“The trouble with the world is the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt.”                      Bertrand Russell

At the Stewart/Colbert Rally on October 30 on the National Mall:

I don’t want my country back, I want my country forward.

Those who work for the government should want the government to work.

God hates hate.

God fears fear.

God fears hate.

God hates fear.

Use your indoor voice

Although I don’t agree with you, I don’t think you’re Hitler