can you tell how furious i was in the last post?
i had to get away from the computer as soon as i posted.
as most of you know from stuff here or at third or that elaine or c.i. have written at their sites, the palestinians' plight was the issue that really hit home with me in college.
and i cannot believe that all this time later, the slaughter still continues.
on the plus side, in 2003 or 2004, c.i. pointed out that the outrage over the mistreatment and abuse of and attacks on the palestinians would be greater than ever as a result of the u.s. occupying iraq. and that is correct. the outrage today is immediate. and it doesn't matter that we have 1 of the most biased (towards the israeli government) press systems, the outrage is immediate.
it will continue growing, i know that.
and some day it will make a difference.
thus far it still has not happened. and i'm not in the mood for little lying whores like sarah van who think today is the perfect today to sing barack's praises again.
what a useless piece of crap that woman is.
for those wanting to avoid crap, i suggest you check out the following:
Mikey Likes It!
Gaza, Janis Ian, more
45 minutes ago
Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude
the truth versus the whoring liar
45 minutes ago
SICKOFITRADLZ
2008, 2009
45 minutes ago
Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Weekend
45 minutes ago
Ruth's Report
UNAMI, Bill Moyers, Janis Ian, Michael Winship
45 minutes ago
Trina's Kitchen
Green Beans and Tomatoes Casserole in the Kitchen
45 minutes ago
Like Maria Said Paz
Quick thoughts
45 minutes ago
Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
2009
45 minutes ago
The Common Ills
Iraq snapshot
5 hours ago
The Daily Jot
THIS JUST IN! THE UNITY TRAIN KEEPS ROLLING
1 day ago
Cedric's Big Mix
Unity train keeps on rolling . . .
1 day ago
Third Estate Sunday Review
Truest statement of the week
5 days ago
i just pulled that from stan's site and he's the only 1 not listed. c.i. and i have an idea on how to change that by the way. but in the meantime, stan posted 'Michael Winship and Bill Moyers stumble upon the truth' tonight.
c.i.'s "2008: The Year of Living Hormonally (Year in Review)" went up thursday and i was supposed to note that in my previous post. we were all trying to. i forgot. (i might not be the only 1.) why were we noting it? because c.i. wrote a f**king epic and we don't want our favorite parts to be looked over. here's my favorite section and i'll explain why after the excerpt:
It's hypocrisy and it's appalling. It's not going to end the illegal war and it's not going to accomplish a damn thing.
Nor is, "Oh, Barack's website is taking a poll! Everyone go vote right now!" That's not political action. It's not even mature action. It's believing that Barack Obama is sooooooo stupid that, without you voting in an online poll, he won't know, for example, that single-payer health care is supported by many Americans.
Yeah, that's been the problem. There's never been a poll that's explained the intense support for single-payer. (That was sarcasm.)
It's busy work, a make-work project, that allows you to kid yourself that (a) you're doing something and (b) it's holding Barack's feet to the fire! No president ever acts out of the goodness of heart. They act because they're forced to. Pressure does not come from being an 'insider' and rubbing shoulders with the administration. (That does, however, weaken movements -- see NARAL, NOW and assorted others.) Pressure is not now or ever, "I really, really like you and, golly, if you could please advocate for ____ -- but, you know, I love you so much, it's okay if you don't."
He hit me and it felt like a kiss
He hit me but it didn't hurt me
He couldn't stand to hear me say
That I had been with someone new
And when I told him I had been untrue
He hit me and it felt like a kiss
He hit me and I knew he loved me
-- "He Hit Me And It Felt Like A Kiss," written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King
That sort of behavior is a sickness. 2008 saw that sickness over and over as Barack repeatedly tossed population segments under the bus, repeatedly caved and sold out and was never, ever held accountable. But, hey!, he might have a liaison to the 'progressive' community!
Many years ago, John Lennon -- a huge fan of the girl group songs and co-author of similar ones in the early days of the Beatles -- noted that it was not only impossible to maintain the heightened reality at the core of so many of the songs due to energy levels, it was also impossible because, at some point, you grew up and grasped that the end of a love affair was not, in fact, the end of your life. You added your second or third lover and grasped that the "WOW!"s of that first affair were not exclusive to that one relationship. John noted that, as the bulk of the population (baby boomers) left their teens, the music had to grow up with them because no one was going to be rushing to hear 800 different versions of "Chains" in 1967. Likewise, the Barack groupies will have to grow up at some point. Whether they do so in 2009 or after he's on his way out of office will determine whether the people force the change they need or spend the next years cheerleading blindly out of fear that they might hurt their Dream Lover.
The Girl Group Era lasted a very brief time (The Supremes or Diana Ross & the Supremes are not technically part of that era -- they hit after the British invasion and the Girl Group Era ends with the British invasion). And, as John Lennon pointed out, they couldn't last forever or even for long. A 14-year-old may identify with "Not Too Young To Get Married" (written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Bary), but a 24-year-old screaming "Yes! True that!" will look pretty stupid. 2008 was when the left and 'left' made like hormonally charged adolescents screeching "BARRY!" at the top of their lungs and having fainting spells. Every day was Ed Sullivan. Generally speaking, the frenzy usually dies out at some point. Those who think I'm wrong (and I could be) would be wise to invest in pimple cream because you could make a killing in 2009.
i love the above for many, many reasons. but chief among them is that c.i. knew john lennon. c.i. knew john and george (and still knows ringo and paul). elaine and c.i. begged me to go england with them 1 summer during college. it was just a couple of weeks but i had so much to do. they came back and they'd had the time of their lives. i'm looking at all the photos and saying, 'how did you meet!' and of course 1 or the other (or both) would know pretty much every 1. that's what happens when you're from wealthy and connected families.
so i have always kicked myself for not going. i did meet george harrison in the 80s and he was a very cool person. i met paul around the same time and wasn't impressed, sorry. i'm sure ringo is fun but i've never met him and, sadly, never met john.
i should have said something to c.i. when john was alive. i could kick myself for that.
i have met yoko and i think she's wonderful, smart and so funny. my biggest surprise about yoko? she's smaller than i expected. also she's got a very sensual type personality. it draws you in and is very comforting. some people try to imply she's cold and nothing could be further from the truth.
back to what c.i. wrote, the perfect song was chosen to describe how the barack cult acts ('he hit me and it felt like a kiss').
so anyway. have a good weekend.
