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.”

Armstrong (August 27, 2012)

Posted in On [Traits/Characteristics], Pogo Plight, Sports, Supreme Court, Technology on August 27, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “Legstrong is not sexy.”

2          “Walk on moon, pedal a bike.  More leg than arm.”

1          “Some members of the public will opine that he did not receive a de novo trial before the United States Supreme Court, yet the court of public opinion may do a clearer job of determining truth.  Something did not seem right about him and so many of the other riders who were too superhuman.”

2          “Where is the line?  What is the rule?  Photos can be photo shopped.  Songs can be synthesized.  With the intervention of editors and the involvement of focus groups, a book is about as individual an accomplishment as winning the Tour de France is a singular achievement.  Athletes are as much a product of technology as of training.  Who is the real thing?  What is real?”

1          “Neil was real.  He did it with skill, sang-froid, integrity and humility.”

. . .

(Neil Armstrong – 1930 – 2012)

Bumper stickers of the week:

One small step . . .; one giant leap . . .

Girls like guys on bikes

Men In Pink: Today’s Sensitive New SWAT Togs (August 20, 2012)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Crime/Punishment, Pogo Plight, Privacy, Society on August 20, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1          “Conventions will soon convene in the fashion capitals of Charlotte and Tampa.  Rather than adorning the security and SWAT teams in Darth Vader storm trooper assault gear, they should sport pink outfits.”

C2          “The same level of personal protection without the swagger.  The attire is part of a negative attitude and a threat to those citizens they . . .  serve and protect.”

C1          “The Darth Vader togs are part of the in-kind payment in lieu of higher wages or more leave.”

C2          “Yet they don’t act any kinder in practice.”

C1          “The black gear does not blend into the landscape.  Look around, we are becoming a society of cops and cameras.  And while you are looking around, some camera is recording your retinal image.”

C2          “And rather than beating their breasts or ours, they can show support for those seeking a cure to breast cancer.”

. . .

C_          “Some of the police types ensconced in black Kevlar carapaces are sympathetic types just trying to get through the day.”

. . .

[C1 = Citizen 1; C2 = . . . ]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Fight more, smile less

“You’re fired. Sue me.” (August 13, 2012)

Posted in Judges, Pogo Plight, Political Parties, Politics on August 13, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

Er           “104 degrees and you are listening to that fiery crap on Anger Mongering radio.  That poison only makes you hot under the blue collar.  On my time and on my dollar.”

Ee          “Listening to what?”

Er          “AM radio.  Anger Mongering radio.  You know, radio that stokes hate and provokes rage.  So that is your politics.  What if I cut your pay to a dollar an hour?”

Ee          “I’d sue you.”

Er          “What if you were stuck with a Republican judge who tossed you out of court and assessed you for fees and costs?”

Ee          “Then I would demand a Democratic judge.”

Er          “You elect a Republican judge and then you select a Democratic judge.  How does that work?”

Ee          “Because I’m a Republican.”

Er          “That might not work and you might not work.  What if only Republican judges get elected?”

. . .

[Er = Employer; Ee = Employee]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.”  Friedrich Nietzsche

Plastic Pirates (August 6, 2012)

Posted in Boycott Series, Environment, Global Climate Change, Plastic, Water on August 6, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

WS         “We were promised yellow rubber ducks, plastic bottles, sneakers and other debris and detritus.  Gyres of the stuff haunt and ply the waters.  And we were not disappointed.  The engine stalling in clear blue water with no visible junk was the great mystery.  After looking at the intake, we scooped up and strained some of the water and discovered very small plastic particles that blocked the intake.  Plastic has saved many trees and other living things, yet plastic does not revert to its elements in an environmentally friendly way.  The plastic particles are getting into everything.  Plastic pirates plying the Pacific.” 

. . .

[WS = World Sailor]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Playa Plastica / Plastic Beach (September 13, 2010).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Boycott plastic

On Uncertainty, Certainment (July 30, 2012)

Posted in Economics, Politics, Society on July 30, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

N          “Planning is impossible.  I don’t know what is happening with taxes.  I don’t know what is happening with government spending.  I don’t know what is happening with health care.  I don’t know what is happening at the office, but someone is going and no one is coming.  The gas station proclaimed that I don’t have to pay as much for the fuel that allows me to sit in a traffic jam and destroy the environment and drive up my health care costs even when I am not getting anywhere.  I remain confident that I will pay more for gas in the near future.  And I will pay more for health care in the near future to maintain health that is devastated by the fuel I am burning.  Europe is ready to implode; the Middle East is ready to explode.  O’Bama has not delivered on his promises; Romney cannot deliver on his promises.  Everyone in power is making promises, but the situation is not promising.”      

. . .

[N = Neighbor]                         

Bumper sticker of the week:

Teacher Driver

The LIBOR / LieBOR / LieMore (July 23, 2012)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Economics, Perjury, Perjury/Dishonesty on July 23, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1          “Scandal in the financial and banking arenas has become so common place that it is now more akin to daily car crashes rather than to the occasional and always well-publicized plane crash.  Who cares any longer.”

C2          “We as a society have become so inured to scandal that scandal is now the norm.”

C1          “No one at the top in economics or politics or law is not corrupt.”

C2          “And derivatives are now estimated to increase about a gazillion dollars a day.”

C1          “Be patient.  Give it a little more time.  You won’t be disappointed.  Rome did not collapse in a day, but we may be able to set a new Olympic record.” 

. . .

[See http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance/libor-was-a-criminal-conspiracy-from-the-start.html.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

 Another day, another gazillion in derivatives.

“A gazillion in derivatives here, a gazillion in derivatives there, and pretty soon you’re talking real economic devastation.”        

On Prejudice And Monotypes (July 16, 2012)

Posted in Society on July 16, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

_          “What if the Vandals actually participated in the ‘adopt-a-highway’ program and picked up trash along the road every Thursday afternoon?”

_          “What if the Philistines quietly supported the arts and often underwrote the entire table at the fund raiser?”

_          “What if the Visigoths were really a gentle, quiet people who nurtured their neighbors?”

_          “What if the Byzantines actually developed a streamlined administrative process?”

_          “What if the Samaritans were really, really bad, churlish and ill-mannered?”

_          “What if Barbara is not a distant foreigner, but rather the girl next door?”

_          “What if Satan is a SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy)?”

_          “What if God . . . .”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a Hawaiian and an Alaskan), an Argentinean, a  Dane, an Australian, a Slovak, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, an Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, a Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, a Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, a Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, an Iranian, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Syrian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a  Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Canadian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Jamaican, a Filipino, a Ukrainian, a Dutchman, an Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 2 Africans … 
… walk into a very fine restaurant.
“I’m sorry,” says the maître d’, after scrutinizing the group …
 
“You can’t come in here without a Thai.”

Mitt’s “Destructive Destruction”: The Bane of Capitalism (July 9, 2012)

Posted in Economics, Economics Nobel, Newspapers, Presidency, Press/Media, Romney on July 9, 2012 by e-commentary.org

 

 

. . .

J1          “Facts are facts.  Mitt never created jobs in America.  He destroyed jobs in America.  Mitt never created wealth.  He expropriated wealth.  Some call it ‘creative destruction.’  It is not ‘creative destruction.’  It is ‘destructive destruction.’  Let’s call it what it is.”

J2          “Seems to me that if you acquire a company with one thousand employees with borrowed money you do not intend to pay back and fire four hundred employees, you have not created six hundred jobs.  The risk-taking entrepreneur who worked late and on weekends thirty years ago to build the business and expand to one thousand employees created one thousand jobs.  Mitt is part of the problem, not part of the solution.  But journalists can’t say that.”

J1          “I know.  I understand.”

J2          “Then you are not a journalist.”

J1          “I can live with that.  But I still maintain there should be a decennial Pulitzer awarded for Truth.  And an occasional Nobel in economics awarded to someone who knows something about economics.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Bain Capital – the bane of capitalism

Eviscerating America is not building America