Friday, December 6, 2013

Mandela: Our long walk to freedom

For the last couple of years, we knew this day was rapidly approaching.

We braced our hearts to accept that this man -- giant among giants -- would be called home.

Our long good bye to our dear Madiba didn't make our sorrow any easier to bare.



What can one say?

He was all things:

Warrior, both determined and militant;
unswayable in his quest for human rights and dignity;
calmly resolute in the face of danger and detainment.

He was:

Touched by the hand of god;
bestowed insight into the hearts
and mind of all mankind.

He became:

A wise older sage;
his weapon of choice, compassion;
he walked with kings, presidents
and common folks with the same grace.

After all:

He was our Madiba;
and now he walks with god
and belongs to the ages.

RIP

GOP Tea Party Battle Cry: "Let's impeach the Muslim Marxist"


The poor, poor, poor GOP:

Totally bereft of any substantive ideas to help move forward a plan to help our economy and the average American;

Deep into an intra-party civil war between the rough and ready Tea Party folks and the Republican established leaders;

Acutely suffering from Obama derangement syndrome -- they will scuttle their own ideas if Obama adopts them -- the delusional GOP is now holding meetings to discuss presidential impeachment.

This move is somewhat predictable -- similar to a NFL QB checking off covered receivers -- the impeachment move came to the table after several failed counter-Obama attempts:

  • Failed to beat him in 2008 election
  • Obstructionism failed to stop Obamacare
  • The SCOTUS ruled Obamacare constitutional
  • 2012 the American re-elected the author of Obamacare
  • 2013 fiscal debt cliff hostage maneuver and government stoppage was unsuccessful in stopping Obamacare

What's a party to do?

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reports:

History will record that on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary met to consider the impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama.

They didn’t use that word, of course. Republican leaders frown on such labeling because it makes the House majority look, well, crazy.

It is, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said from the dais, “the word that we don’t like to say in this committee, and I’m not about to utter here in this particular hearing.”

One of the majority’s witnesses, Georgetown law professor Nicholas Rosenkranz, encouraged the Republicans not to be so shy. “I don’t think you should be hesitant to speak the word in this room,” he said. “A check on executive lawlessness is impeachment.”   source

To borrow from the Joe McCarthy hearings:

"Until this moment, GOP/Tea Party Congressmen , I think we have not fully gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Let us not character assassinate this president any further, Legislators. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency gentlemen, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"  source


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Bob Dylan: Slavery ruined America

When asked about parallels he sees between Civil War-era America and today, Bob Dylan offered his frank opinion.

 His Dylanesque response reminded me of the Pulp Fiction scene when Samuel Jackson's character (Jules) rebuked John Travolta's character (Vincent) by stating:

If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.

Pope: ’Not to share wealth with poor is to steal’

In a scathing report on European and American style capitalism -- calling it the "new tyranny" -- Pope Francis bluntly stated:

Pope Francis has taken aim at capitalism as "a new tyranny" and is urging world leaders to step up their efforts against poverty and inequality, saying "thou shall not kill" the economy. Francis calls on rich people to share their wealth.