That Tide – She is a Turning….

The New and Improved Republicans, led by their Evangelical Tea Party Darlings, may have won this battle in Wisconsin but have they fired the shot heard throughout Middle Class America? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/10/wisconsin-poll-republican_n_834252.html

Could a general strike happen here? Experts say maybe

When did you first realize a lot of it was propaganda?

So this is Christmas…………………

So this is Christmas
and what have you done
another year over
a new one just begun

and so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
the near and the dear ones
the old and the young

a very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
let’s hope its a good one
without any fear

and so this is Christmas
for weak and for strong
the rich and the poor ones
the road is so long

So Happy Christmas
for black and for white
for the yellow and red ones
let’s all stop the fight

a very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
lets hope its a good one
without any fear.

Happy X-Mas (War is Over) – John Lennon – 1971

Well, Merry Christmas, to one and all. Regardless of your religious preferences, it is almost impossible to ignore the fact that this is Christmas week. The stores have been jammed, so I hear, neighborhoods are decorated with Christmas lights, the newspaper weighs five pounds and Santa is rumored to be lurking in the shadows.

So what are you looking for from Santa under the Christmas Tree?

The other day, in a moment of reflection, I thought about what I would ask of God, should I be given one request. Well, maybe it was a moment of hallucination, but you get the idea.  Peace on Earth? Good will towards man?

I am still lusting after that 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia (Verde over Crema, please.) but I was thinking that a Ferrari wouldn’t exactly solve the problem of the world. Perhaps wishing for an end to discrimination would be more appropriate. Perhaps, with irony, an end to religion would be a better choice.  Maybe, asking that all people observe the “Golden Rule” might bring and end to much of the suffering in our nation and our world.

It is unlikely that God is going to grant me one wish or that Santa will bring anything other than lumps of coal for my stocking.  Such is reality, but I can still dream.

And you?

William Stephenson Clark

Random Thoughts 10/15/2010

(The full title is: Random Thoughts, from a Severely Twisted Mind, for October 15, 2010.)

Why do the DADT’ers think that our military men and women are not afraid to die in combat, but they will be afraid of being hit on by a gay person?

Are Angle, O’Donnell, Miller and Paul really the best of the Tea Party?

Why is “bailing out” Hawker-Beech good but bailing out GM is bad?

Who would you rather see lose, the Yankees, the Cowboys or Notre Dame?

Sarah was bad enough, so why do we have to put up with Bristol now?

“Tom and Jerry” is the best cartoon of all time.

Could Thomas Frank been any more correct?

Opinion Line comment: Cleavage is a sin. Huh? Someone has an issue.

If you had to be a horror movie character, would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire? I already have a start on the fur suit, so I’m going for werewolf.

They are thinking of doing a remake of “All in the Family.” Who should play Archie and who should play the Meathead?

An apple with salt or an apple with peanut butter?

Is Harry Reid truly the most politically clueless politician in America?

Football. Hockey. Basketball. Baseball. At this time of year, all four major professional sports are being played at the same time. This is really a tough time to be a sports junkie.

Kansas State’s football team played somebody Thursday evening. Fortunately, I missed it. Who was that other team?

Cats are crazy, especially my brood.. End of story.

I am looking forward to the end of election season just so I won’t have to see another Mike Pompeo campaign ad on television.

Any twisted thoughts of your own?

Will

Those Evil Moderates………………………

If the truth is told, I have to confess to being somewhat of a moderate. I lean to the left, hard to the left some would say, but many of my positions are decidedly more moderate than far left. On social issues, I am decidedly liberal, as if it is a “liberal” position to consider equal rights for all and “giving” women the right to decide their own medical decisions.

I believe in giving folks a hand up, not just a hand out. Most definitely a hand out is warranted at times, but it is my belief that most folks would just as soon have an opportunity to make a place for themselves and their families in this life. I believe in the intent of the Second Amendment, a pro-gun position, but I also believe in strong laws to punish those that use a gun in the act of committing a crime. I am against the Death Penalty but I believe in life without parole for those convicted of heinous crimes. I believe in fiscal responsibility but embrace Keynesian economics. I believe in low taxes, but only when they make economic sense. I believe in war, but only when it is in the (true) national interest of the United States.

So why am I “accused,” sometimes in vile terms, of being a far left socialist that is anti-American?

The positions that I have noted should be mainstream, not positions that are vilified as somehow being “fringe or radical.” Recently, I read on another blog that moderates, or independents, are cowardly and ill-informed. Eh? Somewhere, I got the “radical” idea that we are to educate ourselves on the issues and make an informed decision for ourselves. In 2010, apparently it is not enough to label liberals as evil, but moderates fall into that category as well.

The pendulum always swings right when the left is in control politically, and visa versa. This election season the pendulum is not swinging right, it seems to be stuck on far right. The Tea Baggers are purging RINO’s while attempting to win state-wide general elections without moderates and independents.

There is certainly something strange tainting the waters these days.

William Stephenson Clark

Monday, Monday………………………………

“Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.

Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way.

Oh, Monday mornin’, you gave me no warnin’ of what was to be.

Oh, Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me?”

(“Monday, Monday” – the Mamas and Papas – 1966 – John Phillips)

Ah, Monday, the traditional start of the work week for millions of Americans. The song says, in its condemnation of Mondays, “every other day of the week is fine.” In popular nomenclature, it is known as “Blue Monday,” the day that marks the end of the weekend and the beginning of the drudgery of just another workweek.

In years past, that drudgery was something that the “working man” endured, week after week, so that he could make it to the weekend and spend sometime with his family. If he was lucky, he got a two-week vacation in the summer and took a road trip with the wife and kids to the mountains or the lake. That was his life, week after week, working for the same old company, until he earned his retirement and hung up his lunch pail. If he was relatively healthy, he might look forward to ten or twelve years of retirement before being laid to rest.

Life is no longer like that. For millions of Americans, there is no job to go to on Monday morning. Working for the same company for years is very unusual, given the plant closings and migration of jobs south and east. The company’s loyalty to the worker no longer exists and the worker’s loyalty to the company has faded over the years.

America is no longer home to the “working man.” It now takes two incomes to support a family and to guard against layoffs and job eliminations. The drudgery of the work week has been replaced, for so many, by the drudgery of endless and fruitless searching for a job.

America’s greatness has been the strength of our working class – men and women toiling in our factories and fields, putting food on the tables of their families and gold in the pockets of their employers. Now, the gap between the rich and poor is as great as it has been in  decades and job security is a distant memory.

Where do we go from here? Are America’s best days behind her?

What is the next chapter for the American “working man?”

William Stephenson Clark

The Games People Play

“Playing the mind guerrilla.

Chanting the mantra,

Peace on earth

We all been playing those mind games forever.”

(“Mind Games” – 1973 – John Lennon – from the album of the same name.)

Seems these days, everyone is all about playing games. Little kids, bigger kids, adults, Hell even senior citizens are playing games. From Play Station to Wii to your phone; you can never be more than a minute or two from your favorite game. It is truly amazing to consider the amount of time and money that Americans spend to play games. And like every other technologically driven pursuit, there is always the newest, biggest, fastest device, console or game to lust after. Your PS3 is obsolete before you can get the box home to set up your new toy.

So, what came first, the Gamer Society or the mindset that produced that society?

The Gamer Society is not an American phenomenon – my son regularly plays “Call of Duty” against Australian,  Dutch and German opponents, to name a few countries – along with players from all over North America. So what do we make of this worldwide pastime that takes relatively normal people with varied interests and turns them into obsessed game junkies?

I suppose that I could be called an old, behind-the-times, SOB due to my disdain for gaming. The last game I played regularly was one of the pinball machines down at the Pool Hall when I was in High School. For me, I see gaming as the intellectual equivalent of cotton candy – all sugar and no substance.

Behind the intellectual wasteland that is gaming, however, there is perhaps a darker issue – a collective divorce from the realities of the world we inhabit. The issues of daily life and the complexities of global challenges are easily escaped through an activity that demands all your attention – attention that could be directed more productively.

Does this all come down to mind games – games that we play on ourselves? Losing one’s self in a world of make-believe, faux competitiveness and faceless opponents rather than challenging ourselves to better ourselves and the world around us.

Mind games – have we fooled ourselves into thinking that the world will just go away and leave us alone if we can just get to the next level on our favorite game?

William Stephenson Clark

A Republic of Mediocrity

The right wing is very fond of stressing the term “Republic” in reference to our country lately. They like to lecture us heathen liberals about the intent of the Founding Fathers, who, they are quick to point out, built our system of government based on representative democracy, not direct democracy, where the majority rules. Since they are not in the majority, it is understandable that they would cling to a view which legitimizes minority rule.
Wikipedia defines the term Republic as “a form of government in which the people or some portion thereof retain supreme control over the government, and in which the head of government is not a monarch. The word “republic” is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as “a public affair”.”
The Merriam Webster definition for “mediocrity” lies below:
Mediocrity:
a : the quality or state of being mediocre
b : moderate ability or value
And since there is some circular reasoning there, the Merriam Webster definition of “mediocre”-
Mediocre:
of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : Ordinary; So-so
The citizens that follow Beck like to paint themselves as ordinary folk; humble, hard-working. They seem to resent anyone that possesses a higher intelligence or more knowledge on a subject than they do. Yet, they also seem to resent the suggestion that they take the time to get themselves informed rather than letting others inform them. It seems to me that they would like to pull the whole society down to their level. Do you think that is what Beck means by “Restoring Honor?” Is it now somehow deemed honorable to be mediocre and uninformed?
Following are some quotes on the subject of mediocrity:
“A talent somewhat above mediocrity, shrewd and not too sensitive, is more likely to rise in the world than genius.” -Charles Horton Cooley

“All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity.” -James F. Cooper
“In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous.” -Robert Green Ingersoll
America, it seems to me, is on the precipice of entering a dark age. If we allow mediocrity to become the measuring stick, we are aiming too low and dooming our future.
A recent attendee at Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally said of America, “This is the last bastion of hope. And right now we’re on very shaky ground.”
We are indeed, on very shaky ground, especially if the country has to depend on mediocre people to lead the way out. But I wonder what we are the last bastion of hope FOR? Freedom—already gone. Unfettered Capitalism—proven failure. Mediocrity—we are headed there like an out-of -control freight train.
Another attendee, a woman this time, said this of Barack Obama, “I can’t believe this country would elect someone so anti-progress and pride of America, that would that would willfully destroy the country and divide us so sharply again on the issue of race.”
Geez. I thought Bush already did that. But what do I know? If the facts are whatever the common man believes, I guess I don’t know anything. And I am one of them already.

Is America Doomed to a Future of Institutionalized Mediocrity?

“In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous.” –Robert Green Ingersoll

Recently I watched the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Though no ONE entity was singled out as the murderer, it was evident that the car companies, in collusion with the gas and oil industry were mostly to blame. GM designed and produced viable electric cars that were found to be extremely satisfactory to those few people who were lucky enough to be allowed to lease and drive them. They were called EV 1. If you haven’t seen this documentary, I recommend it. In a period of about five years, GM went from making a viable electric car for which demand was building to collecting them all and sending them to the scrap yards.

The Chevrolet EV 1

After watching this movie, my husband and I recalled two other movies, both of which were fiction, but told similar stories. Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) and Flash of Genius (2008) were two films about inventors that were crushed by the automobile industry, sometimes with the help of government. In Tucker, a man reinvented the automobile with visionary safety features and a stylish design. Before he could even get the car on the market, the SEC shut him down, for all intents and purposes. Tucker was brought to trial and eventually found Not Guilty of charges of fraud and misuse of funds. In Flash, a man invents a motor that will allow windshield wipers to run intermittently and the invention is stolen by Ford Motor Company. After years of fighting Ford in court, the inventor, Bob Kearns, was finally vindicated and received a settlement. Both of these films were based on actual events.
Thinking about both of these stories also brought to mind the arrest of John DeLorean in 1982. DeLorean, in case you don’t know or recall, was an automobile engineer responsible for developing the Pontiac GTO and the Pontiac Firebird. He left GM to start his own car company in 1973. The DeLorean Motor Company produced a single vehicle, the DMC 12, before the company went bankrupt. Though DeLorean was struggling, the bankruptcy became fait accompli when the Federal Government entrapped John DeLorean in a drug sting in 1982. Though it took years, DeLorean cleared his name in the end.
All of this made me wonder if any new company can be successful in this sort of climate. Growing up I was taught that if you worked hard and applied yourself, our society would reward your ingenuity. It appears as though our corporations have gotten so powerful that they use governmental agencies to squash ingenuity and steal it. The case I make here is based on the automotive industry, but I wonder if there are other stories like this from other industries.
And I wonder if America is doomed to a future of institutionalized mediocrity enforced by governmental agencies to maintain the status quo for powerful corporate interests.
I also see mediocrity rewarded daily in businesses in this country. I have spoken with co-workers at length and everyone has a story of their own and many of their relatives have also spoken of how mediocrity is rewarded and ingenuity is crushed. I wonder how many of you here have your own stories? Perhaps we as Americans should start to compile these stories in order to get a better grip on the magnitude of the problem.

Role Reversal

Well some one masquerading as Will Clark, busted in on Pop Blog and wrote a column that appeared last Friday entitled “Women are cats, men are dogs.” That got a few folks, mostly of the feline persuasion worked up. Yes, your pets do blog, also, usually while you are sleeping.

But let’s face it, there are two different standards for men and women. A man, while being a bit on the less than buff side, with sagging jowls and grey hair, can still be considered “sexy.” For that matter, he can be on the wrong side of the “ugly meter” and still be considered mildly “sexy.”

(Dang, if I were any uglier, they’d put me in a Zoo, but I do all right.)

Women, on the other hand, have to meet “standards.” God-forbid that a woman, especially a public figure, have a muffin top or a wide behind.

But let’s reverse the roles. What if Brad Pitt or the Old Spice Guy were the MINIMUM standard for men, and women could get by looking and acting like Betty White.

Now, I love Betty White, but she isn’t exactly my ideal fantasy for a woman. There are no restraining orders keeping me from ringing up Betty. What if Rosie O’Donnell was considered to be a “hot babe” in a role reversed world? What about Kelly Osbourne? Male Teen pin up?

In a Role Reversed world, George Clooney would be out until he touched up the grey. Matt Damon, close but still second tier. The same goes for Will Smith. Jon Mayer. Gone.

The rich and powerful men of the world? Bill Gates? Yikes! Joe Biden? Whoa, what a comb-over! The original world’s worst comb over, “the Donald?” Reduced to personal ads in the Village voice. Bono? Singing in the shower – alone. Newt Gingrich? What can you say?

Oh, and Barack? A little advice………………………………..

“Just for Men” and “www.BeachBody.com.”

And, for God’s sake, do something about the ears!

William Stephenson Clark

Imagine……………. Part III.

Your’e not happy. I’m not happy. Most us are not happy. The only ones that seem happy are those on the far right that see our current struggles as a means of returning to power without having to admit to previous failures.

Imagine a world if the progressives and liberals, the rights activists and supporters, the liberal commentators and bloggers were to concede to the right.  Imagine, if you will, if we were to give up the fight – the daily fight – and allow the other side to win.

Has Barack Obama been a perfect president? Of course not. For starters, he begin Day One with most daunting set of circumstances of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Add to that mix a politically inept Senate Majority Leader, the worst environmental disaster imaginable and an attack dog mentality opposition.

It’s difficult to be a liberal these days, but it is not impossible. It is difficult because it is just so easy to say “no” and critcize those that say “yes.”

Spending? Of course it looks bad, and it is difficult to explain to the “Tea Party” mentality why the spending is necessary, even though it has not produced many jobs.

The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? We are pulling out of Iraq on schedule, but you would have a hard time getting the GOP to admit that. Afghanistan? Obama listened to his Generals – COIN was their plan – yet the “armchair generals” have a better idea since they got “anti-war religion.”

The list goes on. McCain wanted the administration to listen to the military leaders regarding “DADT” right up to the point when they expressed an opinion that it should be repealed. Cut taxes? Obama did cut taxes for a great number of us, yet the right wing machine insists that he has raised taxes and is doing in again in January, despite the “sunset” provision in the original Republican bill.

We have to imagine a better world than this one, but that means will have to be willing to stand up and be counted as a progressive that is willing to fight for our principles.

Politics is a full contact sport – it’s not for the faint of heart or the easily discouraged. “It could be worse” is scant consolation for those hit hard by the Great Recession or the lack of progress on social issues, but the fact is, it could be much worse.

Just allow yourself to imagine it.

William Stephenson Clark

Imagine…………… Part II.

So, you wanted an alternative to Barack Obama? Hillary Clinton? Well, in my not so humble view, she couldn’t have been elected President – not that she wasn’t/isn’t qualified – but she carries considerable baggage from the “Clinton Years.” The General Election campaign against her would have made “Swiftboat” look like an elementary schoolyard spat.

But let’s imagine, the Democrats won and now we have President Clinton, Part II. Now what? Would Hillary have done better? Would she have done better, with all the ” Clinton Baggage” than Barack Obama?

Hillary Clinton is a smart, dedicated, knowledgeable woman who has served admirably as US Senator and as Secretary of State, but she carries huge negative ratings.  Obama entered the Oval Office with relatively high approval numbers, but that did not lessen the opposition that he received from the GOP. The Republican attack machine was in full swing before the last vote was counted.

Let’s look at a few positions where she would be attacked:

Gay Rights:

“Her husband signed “DADT” and DOMA.” Did she come out and disagree with him? Did she stand up for gay and lesbian Americans at that time?”

The War on Iraq:

“You voted for the War, and you and your husband himself stated that Saddam had WMD!”

The economy:

“The only reason that the economy was better is the Nineties was there was a Republican majority in Congress!  All the credit goes to the GOP!”

The War on “Terror.”

“Your husband did nothing about terrorism! Aspirin factory! He did nothing about the al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole!”

And so on.

I don’t agree with the Republican attack points at all. Some of them are outright lies and some are massive distortions, but those would be just some of the daily talking points from the right-wing machine. The machine already has a large file on the Clintons.

Hillary, in general, is loved by the Left and hated by the Right. Public condemnation of her exceeds even that of Obama. Most of it has no basis in fact, but facts seem quite unimportant to the opposition. The Kenneth Starr “investigation” into the Clintons came up with nothing except a blue dress, yet the majority of Republicans and many independents believe that they were guilty of multitudes of crimes. Fair? No, but life and politics are rarely fair.

Do I agree with the scenario that I have painted? Of course not, but in my view, it is a realistic portrayal of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

William Stephenson Clark

Imagine……….. Part I.

Well, I have heard the continual banging of the drum from the Left, saying that President Obama hasn’t done this, hasn’t done that, isn’t committed to this, isn’t committed to that.

Imagine that the Democrats had not taken control of Congress in 2006. Imagine that they had not extended their margins in 2008.

Imagine President McClain and Vice President Palin.

Well, some of you think that we would be better off, since President Obama hasn’t done enough. The reality is that a continuation of Bush II policies would have led is to destruction, economically and socially.

Let’s look at a world if the Republicans had won the Congressional and Presidential elections.

Start with the Supreme Court nominees under President McClain? Sotomayer and Kagan? More likely twins of Scalia and Thomas. Seven to two – every SCOTUS decision.

Wanna go there?

Do you really want to go there? Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?” Not only would “DADT” not be repealed, it would be reinforced under a McClain administration. Gay rights would be, at best, a fleeting memory – a “wish list” for gays and lesbians. The hostility of Republicans towards gays and lesbians would be the law of the land, with no exceptions. One of the central planks of the GOP is opposition to gay rights.

Wanna go there?

Under President Obama there is hope for the gay and lesbian community. Under President McClain, there would be no hope, but a high probability of government sanctioned, continued discrimination against gays and lesbians, in the military, in the government, in business and in their private lives.

Wanna go there?

Let’s go back to 1987. The SCOTUS ruled that sodomy laws were constitutional and that average Americans, homosexual and heterosexual, could be arrested and prosecuted and jailed for those crimes. Under a conservative president, the rightward slat of the Court would be even more pronounced and laws such as that might pass “constitutional” muster.

Wanna go there?

Well, the question is rhetorical – the election was won – but it could have happened in 2008, and it may happen in 2012.

Before the progressives of America turn our backs on President Barack Obama, think about what could have been and what yet may be.

William Stephenson Clark

Cats are women, men are dogs.

Ya, think? Mind you, this is not a bad thing. Cats are wonderful little creatures, full of mischievous, always getting into trouble but lovable  anyway. Dogs, on the other hand, can be trained, unlike cats, and they generally follow commands and are obedient.

Kind of like men and women.

Now, before the “Angels” come for me – “Charlie’s, not Hell’s” – I should say that I respect women and have always supported equal rights for women.

That statement should give me at least a five-minute head start on the posse.

But men and women are different. Truly. Men will spend three hours watching Timbuktu U. v Bumfart College battle it out on the gridiron, while women will still bring a fifty pound bale of tissue while they watch “Beaches” for the twenty-ninth time.

Women will stop and ask directions from a stranger on the street, while men will drive around aimlessly before even thinking about asking the guy at QT “where is Main Street?”

Women want an oil filter. Men want a FRAM oil filter. Men know what 10W40 means, women think they “might” need oil in the engine. Men will pull over and pee on a tree. Women will hold it until their eyeballs explode before using a bathroom that is not clean.

Women want clean sheets. Men want to get between the sheets. Women “work” in the kitchen, but men “cook!” Women leave a clean kitchen, but men are fine with it looking like an explosion in a tomato sauce factory.

Men clip their fingernails, sometimes using the In-Sink-Erator, while women get their nails “done.” Men shop around to find the $5.00 haircut, while women get their hair “done.”

What does “done” mean? You mean, like “done” forever, or just for today?

Women shave their legs. Men, well shaving is something we avoid like watching Beaches one more time. Men fart, women toot. Women “need to go,” while men “Damn, I need to piss!”

Men are dogs, no doubt. Women, well they will never admit it, but they are cats!

So, from my “undisclosed location,” in a fortified bunker surrounded by armed guards, I ask you:

Cat or dog?

William Stephenson Clark