As if there weren't enough to worry about, I am reading Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath by Ted Koppel.
In light of President Obama's final State of the Union tonight, I am going to say that the parade of creeps -- and their supporters -- lined up to take charge is the stuff that nightmares are made of.
Based on the performance of the circus act known as the Republican Congress, we are in big trouble. We currently have our crazy uncle holding the purse strings to our country, their kids are all eight-year-old bullies, and because they are religious freaks who don't believe God wanted them to use birth control, there are a lot of those bullies around. They may not be smart, but they know how to riot and they are allowed to carry guns. They may not understand how the world works, but they know how to line up at the polling place and push that button that says "R."
Those right wingnuts in Congress have taken the shock of 9/11, followed by war and a "great recession" and used those horrific events to train the bullies to set their sights on a black president, a woman leader in the House, and the poor and minority people of this country. The Tea Party voters may not be good at math, but they make up for it with enthusiasm: wipe out food stamps and NPR and we can get rid of that nasty federal deficit. Build that wall and we'll have good jobs again, get rid of Muslims and all those white people carrying guns will stop shooting up theaters and churches.
I recently caught a minute of a Rand Paul event on C-Span in which one of those geniuses in the town hall crowd was railing about a government that can't control companies that pollute the environment with things like oil spills. I should have taped it, because I still don't believe I really heard it. "You idiot!" I shouted at the woman. "Don't you know who that IS?" Rand Paul, who would get rid of the EPA, who believes government regulation is bad, bad, BAD.
It takes me back to the beginning days of the Obama administration, when the Tea Party turned up to protest in DC, complaining about the poor public transportation, which had been caused by Tea Party budget cuts.
Which brings me back to cybersecurity. Because while fools like Ted Cruz are implying that "carpetbombing" our enemies will keep us safe, those who truly control the country, like Wall Street and all those companies that have their hands on the electric grid, can't be made to share their vulnerabilities with the federal government or each other in order to make them safe from cyberattack. Like Nikki Haley a couple of years ago, I imagine once our enemies attack Congress will give us a free year of credit reports.
We're holding on to our guns while the smart psychopaths are working on the capability of pulling the plug on our government and industry computers.
And our candidates for president? Clueless. What they do know is how to get the crowd riled up. Much like Barnum and Bailey, they know there is a sucker born every minute, and those suckers are happy to wave their guns and get in line at the voting booths.
And, by the way, I'd like to stop hearing that these are people who have been hurt by economic downturns. Take a look at the people turning up to cheer for Cruz and Rubio. They are teachers and small business people, they are trading in their economy cars for trucks and SUV's again, and they never have to worry about whether to see a doctor or repair the roof. They are pissed off because they have been given permission to be pissed off, and it feels good to have someone to blame, even if they aren't entirely sure what they are angry at.
And if that's how to get elected, our bunch of republican candidates are happy to point them in a convenient direction. The Stupids are not only running for president, but are waving their guns and cheering, and lining up to vote.
Looking back on it, Obamacare was inevitable, because President Obama made it so. Regardless of the hurdles, the absurdities of the Democrats, the rage of the Republicans and the dollars of the corporations, he was going to exert every ounce of his power and determination until the Affordable Care Act happened.
Likewise, I believe that at some point Planned Parenthood will be defunded. Roe v. Wade has been red meat for stupid people since it happened in 1973; politicians and corporations have been tossing it to them knowing it would guarantee power. It took little time to create the shorthand equating Planned Parenthood with abortion with baby-killing.
Until we want our reproductive freedom more than the crazy people want to deny us, we will continue to roll down that hill to the inevitable crash.
Because the fight is not about what is rational. Whoever organized the surveillance, the editing and distorting of the tapes and the gradual and cleverly planned distribution over the internet and feeding of the media, knew that facts had nothing to do with their cause. Just as the ACORN blitzkrieg was orchestrated during the 2008 election season, the Planned Parenthood demolition was scheduled for the current presidential election season. Whether PP is taken down or not, all the buzz is about the nonchalance over killing babies, and the money scandal is just the topping (the ironic cherry if you will) on the icky mess.
We may have candidates like Bernie and Hillary that can win despite this mammoth publicity stunt, but Planned Parenthood will have to continue to fight until the day our not-so-mighty Congress glady (republican) or timidly (democrat) vote to defund. Possibly even worse, Democrats will give in to budget cuts, destroying Planned Parenthood with a death by a thousand cuts. Which has already begun.
When you Google Planned Parenthood, today the news headline is that "due to the increased questions" about PP, a major human tissue firm has cut ties. After the Wikipedia entry and PP's own Stand with Planned Parenthood page comes "Planned Parenthood Exposed". Then our own NPR, itself under constant siege, grabs readers with Ben Carson's accusation on for-god's-sake Fox News that Planned Parenthood is an attempt to control the poor black population. Like he cares. But if Fox News can play the "Fair and Balanced" game, so can NPR.
While Planned Parenthood is fighting for its life, and trying to fight while appearing not to lose its head, why are the rest of us debating this bullshit? I've heard Democrats calmly talk about the indiscretion of the PP employees caught on the doctored tape, or wondering why opponents just don't understand the importance of fetal tissue in health research, or defending PP because of course they are not "selling" fetal tissue for profit. And then there is the fact that abortion is a legal procedure, which at this point in our fragile existence is the staunches defense being presented.
Bullshit. The reason the anti-abortion brigade is not swayed by reason is because this is not about reason. Some holding the pitchforks are screaming "god" and "faith." Others are outraged about tax dollars whether or not they are being used on abortions because, well, they are being used for poor people. And then of course there are those who spit out "Planned Parenthood" the way they mutter "Obama."
Fact is, we should leave the rational arguments to Planned Parenthood. What we should be fighting about is the sneaking, spying, lying and conniving being done to this organization. If the government was doing it, it would be considered entrapment and thrown out. But because it is not a government investigation which would theoretically have to follow rules of ethics, this campaign of deceit is allowed to proceed, unquestioned and unchecked, cheered on by right-wing politicians, to annihilate another lifeline to women.
And we can count on the media to lead with the headlines provided by this sleazy front, without wasting time or money to investigate this attack on this women's health care organization.
So we are left with nonsense, but nonsense filled with incendiary words and accusations that will be repeated throughout the coming year. The threat of losing Planned Parenthood will be another of those battles we must waste time chasing rather than attacking the corporations that have bought our politicians and our country.
This fight is ugly. There are no rules. As long as we attempt to be reasonable we are going to slowly but inevitably lose. We should be outraged. Men should be outraged that their families are being assaulted. Women should be in a fury over the attempt to control their bodies; the attempt to end Planned Parenthood is a symbol, because once that goes the battle to end not just abortion but birth control will proceed with full speed, the warriors vitalized. And that tool Ben Carson has it half right: it is about poor African Americans, but it is his side that is destroying their lives and livelihoods. It is about women -- and men -- being unable to determine their financial security, to care for themselves and their families, to pursue college and career without fear of disruption. It is about a woman not having to cower when she is attacked, but being able to fight back and take back control of her life. It is about not having to hide in the shadows, living hand to mouth, and it is about not having to go back to the back-alley abortions, coat hangers and poisons of the days before Roe v. Wade.
It is about unlawful surveillance, it is about lying and misrepresentation, the weasels responsible for it and the media that repeats the lies. We have let our legislators get away with proposing to invade our privacy at a time when those same legislators are defending the right to carry a gun without restriction. We have been moving toward ever greater surveillance and threats to a woman's right to live in her body without interference while guns can be carried without fear of reprisal.
I am not going to be arguing about whether those conversations should have happened, doctored or not. It is the surveillance and lying that should not have happened. These are the crimes that should be investigated and prosecuted.
We lost ACORN and the enemies of our freedom said, "Job well done." We may not lose Planned Parenthood right away. Hillary may be defending it today. But over time, when the screams and threats of the attackers get louder rather than subside, even Hillary will make concessions to the rage and the hatred. Because it is scary and it doesn't stop.
I hope I am wrong, but I am not seeing the outrage and passion we need to win this war. Our elected officials need to join us in getting as apoplectic about the invasion of privacy in affairs of women's reproduction as republicans throwing red meat out at those voyeurs who harass women in front of abortion clinics.
Some time ago, I stopped watching TV news when I was on vacation. I left my laptop at home, and wasn't even tempted to turn the radio on. Too much bad stuff going on, and after all, I was going on vacation to get away from it for awhile. But every now and then I give in and turn on NPR when I'm in the car, mostly after a few days away from it all.
This is how it went this past week:
After four days without news, sometime around noon, the woman on NPR was excitedly telling us about what she was seeing at a real ISIS training camp. She was breathlessly describing what an amazing, high-tech, state-of-the-art facility these horrifying murderers (my words) had built. After a couple of minutes, I turned it off.
A couple of hours later, I was headed back to the resort, and I tried it again. It sounded like the same woman (Do all NPR commentators sound alike?) explaining how to use cell phones as explosive devices. Martha Stewart of the jihad.
On my way to breakfast before heading home this morning, and I gave it one more try. This time it was an article about Wyoming's legislative efforts to get guns in schools. Of course there were those who advocate that if everyone has a gun -- problem solved. They ended, however, with a more moderate voice. This voice of sanity suggested that it wasn't feasible to have armed officers in all the schools, but that the bill should allow anyone with a carry permit to carry into a school only with the permission of the school.
He then continued, "Of course, in an ideal world..."
Okay folks, complete that sentence. Because I would have filled in, "... in an ideal world, we wouldn't need guns in schools." Or, "...in an ideal world, guns would be kept out of dangerous hands."
But NO.
"In an ideal world, we could afford to have armed officers in every school."
It truly felt like I was living in an episode of the Twilight Zone, where I was on vacation in one world, and another bizarro world kept trying to break through.
Then I went to breakfast. It is a lovely little place that has outdoor deck seating with huge outdoor heaters by each table and a lap blanket over each chair for those nippy mornings. I overheard pleasant conversation about real estate and vacation weeks and golf and entertainment packages. I thought about how far most of us are removed from the reality of war and weapons. Just as none of us sitting there with blankets over our laps eating our eggs benedict really felt the cold of inadequate food or shelter, or what starving really feels like.
Or of a child caught in gunfire at school or at home watching his mother try to defend herself from his violent father.
No, we don't. And that's why we find all this talk about ISIS technology and Second Amendment glory days so damned exciting.
Out of touch, and in charge. Now that's the real story.
Apparently, the folks at Sesame Workshop have asked the Obama campaign to take down the hilarious ad featuring Big Bird. But it needs to be seen, so here it is:
It needs to be seen because it's a rare funny moment in a really grim political season.
Of course, we all know that neither Big Bird nor Jim Lehrer are allowed to defend their jobs from the likes of Mitt Romney, because they are funded by the government. And the minute either of them indicated that they even had an opinion, the Republicans in Congress would descend on them, well, like a flock of angry birds. There goes your funding, Big Bird. There goes your job, Jim.
Because it is not about the funding of public broadcasting and the national debt. It is about the funding of any public program, no matter how much it has already been depleted and how miniscule it's budget, and especially no matter how much it contributes to the public good. And it is certainly not about the debt, not when billionaires are clutching every penny they ever earned, or hiding it in offshore accounts.
It is about the mythical 47%. The actually 99%. Those are the ones that are driving the one percent up the wall. The nerve, expecting millionaires who have come up the hard way, or whose parents have come up the hard way, or, uh, whose grandparents have come up the hard way, whatever, to pay for something someone else is enjoying for free.
It's truly about the unconscionable greed we are seeing in 21st century America. The folk who count the pennies that are spent on food stamps, and defend the oil barons and their government handouts. Those who see a way to profit from a woman's cancer, her children's schooling and her father's retirement years. They fight to privatize the roads we drive on and the water we drink.
There is no safe hiding place for people like Jim Lehrer and big yellow birds. Because it's hunting season, folks. And these guys aren't allowed to defend themselves against the predators.
So at least we all can take a moment to laugh at the absurdity before we must reflect on the cruelty.
A Talking Points Memo article reports that a March CNN poll found that the median guess as to how much of the federal budget goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is 5%. Median, if you are rusty on your math or more recently educated in the U.S., means 1/2 above and 1/2 below. And 5% of the federal budget being 424 times larger than what actually went to CPB.
So, with that kind of misinformation floating around, what possible benefit is there for those in power to better educate the children of this country? It obviously works in the favor of the rich and powerful when we have little grasp of facts, and less understanding of logical thinking, and no resources with which to learn to do research. We have this great internet available, but no education in critical thinking.
And that's just the way our right-wing power brokers plan on keeping things.
It's not a conspiracy, just a plan. If I can afford to send my kids to the private school of my choice, making them better prepared to run the country after I'm gone (having left them every penny I've ever hoarded), why on earth would I want them to have to compete with children who might have a different view of who should have wealth and power?
So those who don't have the time or energy to try to understand the complexities of the budget will continue to tune in to whoever shouts loudest, and scares them the most.
I would like to take this opportunity to say, "Happy St. Patty's Day". I don't care how much the holiday reflects stupid stereotypes and alcohol, to me it is a day of celebration. Of anything. It is inclusive -- we all know anybody can be Irish on St. Patrick's Day. There may be St. Patrick's Day sales, but only an idiot would waste the day shopping. Any other day of the year I can complain about food coloring and other additives poisoning us for no reason other than to make food look pretty, but on St. Patty's day, I'll take my beer green.
But there is a dark shadow I need to talk about on this March 17, and that is the creepy hero of the right-wing, James O'Keefe. We liberals don't like to believe that people are evil, but I would pretty much bet that this twerp would take candy from a baby. And because we don't want to believe in this jerk, he has been getting away, not just with ruining lives, but committing criminal acts.
And then he stands up and takes a bow.
Why not? It appears he is president of a non-profit organization called Project Veritas -- I kid you not. There do not exist italics that do justice to the irony of that last sentence.
We all -- even Glenn Beck -- know that O'Keefe sets up phony situations, and then falsifies the phony interview by tampering with the tape. The kind of set-up he has become famous for may not be illegal, but then falsifying the tape and presenting it as fact is certainly libel.
And yet he was able to provide the impetus for dismantling ACORN, an organization that on a shoestring has done great work organizing the poor and disenfranchised, which, of course, is exactly the point of O'Keefe's harassment.
Even after he was charged with attempting to tamper with Senator Mary Landrieu's telephones, the media still reports his episodes as truth, not fiction.
When NPR executive Ron Schiller was framed by O'Keefe, I would think by this time the media -- especially NPR -- would have taken a closer look. But once again, it cost good people their jobs, and, given the typical lemming-like behavior of many Democrats, will no doubt result in the eventual defunding of NPR.
And James O'Keefe? He calls his reporting "powerful" and "honest". But do we laugh at this pathetic and amateurish character?
Surprisingly, Scott Baker of Glenn Beck's blog, The Blaze, decided that O'Keefe does not in fact practice journalism. That he lacks the ethical values to which journalists should aspire.
I would have liked to write this column on April Fools' Day, but it couldn't wait. However, in the spirit of April 1, I end by observing that, indeed, Beck's blog is today advertising St. Patrick's Day sales.
