alamantra's Comments (60)

“I recall hearing Beck on the radio at a time he was saying that people who receive any kind of welfare should not be allowed to vote, and that they should all be subject to drug screening. Those who live in any housing project should be subject to routine inspections. Though he was calling himself a Libertarian, these are the thoughts and words of a fascist. Such thoughts and words do not advocate a Democracy where "everyone has a voice." ...And this was before he was pundit on FOX.”

“I didn't think Chicago stood much of a chance in the first place. This is mainly because the United States has had so many of the Olympic games: Since 1900: St. Louis, L.A. (twice), Atlanta, Lake Placid (twice), Squaw Valley, Salt Lake City.
It doesn't really have ANYTHING to do with President Obama, President Bush or Republicans vs Democrats. The rest of the world isn't under the same illusion that Americans are ...that EVERYTHING has to necessarily be about the U.S. and its "opera politico" coming first and foremost. NEXT!”

“The people who demand that there be radical change ...instant karma... as it were, are living in fantasy land. I've seen other posts on here that try to belittle the significant changes that has been brought as being "not that important." The person who dismissed the Lilly Ledbetter Act by saying, "we were already doing that," couldn't be more wrong. Those who hurl tomatoes because President Obama hasn't completely revolutionized Washington in less than a year are exhibiting symptoms of the Ugly American Syndrome. After all, it wasn't so long ago that we had the most incompetent administration in our nation's history. Those who say that there isn't time for incremental change and insist that we make sudden, sharp moves fail to grasp the precarious nature of our collective situation. The president is doing a whole lot with the little he has been given to work with. If you want real health care reform, or any other big change, you're going to have to do your part and put the proper pressure in the proper places. We the people are working against powerful insurance interests with large war chests and they are willing to say or do ANYTHING to keep the status-quo right where it is. If you just stand around belly-aching, then it isn't the President who is the problem, it is you. Keep it up you will wind up deserving the very system that you already have ...one that everybody agrees is unsustainable.”

“Let's see... Rachel Maddow has a PhD ...and Glenn Beck ?...He took a college class one time.”

“The date isn't until Sept. 26th. If three people are protesting this far in advance, I'd say its safe to suppose there will be more.”

“Today I wrote my two Republican Senators: Sessions and Shelby and stated that I want them to use the opportunity of the health-care debate to introduce legislation that would get rid of Medicare because it is government run healthcare and is socialism. I await their form-letter responses. Since I know they won't support Health Insurance Reform, I at least want them to take their premise to its "logical" conclusions. I suggest that others who live in 'red states' do the same.”

“If the "common people" really don't want the government involved in their health care then it is their patriotic duty to inform their representatives to pass legislation getting rid of, once and for all, medicare and medicaid immediately. If I don't see them doing this at these town hall meetings then I just won't be able to take them seriously.

Those who DO want Health Care Reform need to DEMAND that those who don't take their premise to its 'logical' conclusion and support it with everything they've got.

JUST SAY NO TO MEDICAID & MEDICARE, NOW!!!

Can I get an agreement from all the right-wingers on this?”

“No, she doesn't understand her job. The answer she needed to hear for her repeated question was : "See Article 1: Sections 1, 7 and 8 of U.S. Constitution. Next."”

“No, I don't look for the stock market to guide me. However, when the economy and the markets have been tanking for months on end ...not just Wall Street but the Asian Markets, the European Markets etc, it isn't far fetched to consider that a two week uptick may be an indicator ...not a guide, especially when we're seeing the same kind of gains in the Asian markets. One of the problems that Americans seem to have, as your comment about the Iraq War indicates, is being too myopic and not seeing their economy as part of an overall global process. The Iraq War has a very large portion of blame in our current global economic woes.”

“In my reply to the reply above, I spelled want as won't ...I have the flu and huffpo doesn't have an edit feature. My apologies.”

“Yes, I can read ...and my point still stands. Under the Bush administration people who were given the tasks of management were disabled ...not enabled. If anything, Geithner's insight due to his perch in that administration is exactly what is needed to untangle all of this
The Republicans complain loudly ..about everything... and offer no solutions. When they were at the helm they wrecked the ship. Now some of my fellow citizens won't to crucify those who are trying to pump out the water and get us on the right track. The bottom line is do you think Obama is sincere in his desire to fix things or do you think he's just some playboy out to blow the rest of dough. Some things he tries may not work. I believe when this is the case, he'll try something else. As for the rest us, we should offer something positve if we want a positive result.”

“Sure are a lot of harpies around here, and now it seems that Arianna has decided to lead them in the chorus. I couldn't disagree more. Let's just remember that the whole TARP pt. 1 fiasco was another brilliantly idiotic encounter by the ever mismanaging Bush administration. Geithner wasn't in charge and, at that time, had to do what he was told. Now, Team Obama is working every day to dig us out of this mess ...and the stocks are finally starting to go in the right direction; the first sign that some of what Team Obama is doing must be right. Let's just back off a bit and give them a chance. The American media, including HuffPo is screaming like a struggling drowning victim who's panic endangers the lifeguard trying to save us. Ask the Republicans if they have any ideas ...more tax cuts... sure.”

“I agree with the central point that this is an equal rights issue, not just for the LGBT community but for everyone who has a partner and is denied basic rights given to those 'who marry.' The most the State should be allowed to do is recognize and offer equal benefits for civil unions for purposes of taxation and the distribution of benefits, services and resources. In doing so, it cannot be allowed to discriminate between any one citizen and any other: not on the basis of gender, race, disabilities or sexual orientation. When it does so it denies one of the cornerstones of its foundation, being the notion of "equal protection under the law." By defining what the 'union' of marriage represents the State intrudes upon the idea of freedom of religion, much as it does when it recognizes a 'religious' affiliation by its discriminatory tax policies. Government should stay out of marriage and churches, synagogues, mosques etc. should not be tax exempt. The IRS doesn't have the right to determine what constitutes a religious entity any more than the State should be able to define marriage.”

“You've got that right, Keith52. Its the media who shout for drama. The rest of us just want to see our economy fixed, our foriegn policy fixed, our infrastructure fixed. We don't care about the media's need for a drama "fix."

Junk is no good baby!

Obama knows what he's doing. Hillary is a definite improvement over what we have. I'm FOR this administration.”

“We've elected Obama as our leader, and now, just as he must lead, we must allow him the opportunity. He's run a brilliant campaign and I'd advise that we put our fears and prejudices to the background and trust that he will be thorough and do the thing that is best for this country. If the Clintons clear his vetting process and this is part of his plan, then we should at least be as accomodating as we were when we elected W ...twice. Let's not keep second guessing him in our ambitions to be armchair quarterbacks.”

“This next week, they should get Tina to do SP going on SNL ...portray what she was like to them first hand and up close. That could have an edge.”

“I thought that SNL was fun ...not the best show of the season, but it was worth watching to see Alec call her a horrible person to her face and then take her on his arm. ,,,delightful... They got to make SP "raise the roof" while they capped a moose in front of her; then, to top it, Amy Poehler stepped up to where SP was sitting and squeezed off two more rounds. ...But people don't notice subtle things, even when they're not that subtle. Meanwhile SP had a minimum of lines.. One thing I'd like to know, Alec: Did she have to read THOSE lines from a prompter or did she get to review the material first? Getting her to say that she wasn't going to answer questions in her intro was great in that it got her to do Tina Fey's job for her. At that moment, she was a living, breathing parody of a parody.
Someone had said that it made her seem like she's "ok". What's wrong with this? Her politics are wrong, but that doesn't mean that she's evil, she's just wrong. We should render the verdict of a casual association, casually ...something the GOP hasn't been able to do. We don't have to throw stones at her anymore than we have to vote for her.
Also, it became apparent that Tina Fey is better at being SP than SP is. That's just weird.”

“The way you see the world would have the rich not being taxed because they will punish the rest of us through pricing if we don't let them have a free ride. So we either have to GIVE them the money or they'll TAKE the money? I find anyone thinking that this sort of thinking is ok to be extremely disturbing. It illustrates a minimum of conscience. I'd say, in that case, make them TAKE it.
This is a really simple issue for me:
The people who make most of the money are exploiting the collective resources of the planet to do so and getting the most benefit from things that are not easily replaced. They pollute my air, my drinking water and enclose the land so that my children aren't even as free upon it as I was at their age. The corporations also get all of the benefit of the time their employees lose in the form of labor. Your time cannot be replaced and is finite. It is the most valuable resource any of us possess. They who get the most benefit should therefore be required to pay the most. Its simply a matter of justice.”

“Obama needs to be Obama. ...Period. He needs to talk about what Americans care about and let McCain fail to address America's needs; much like he is currently doing.
Arianna, we have to take to heart what Obama has said repeatedly: This campaign is not about him, it's about us. This is your campaign as much as it is his. You have have the creds to go out on these TV shows, Arianna. You have the right kind of poise and the right kind of rage. Go on these shows and shred these sleezy, neo-con talking points. Go on Morning Joe, and don't let him or Mika talk over you. It is outrageous that the MSM is willingly playing into this kind of gutter politics. If I could get on those shows I would sure say so. You can, so please, please DO!

Bliss:
Alamantra
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/special_operations_unit”

“The Kids are Alright. They will vote. They're already on the ground registering voters. This isn't 2000 or 2004. It's 2008.

Alamantra

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/special_operations_unit”

“You ROCK, Alec!
My own question about Scientologists:
Why do Scientologists...? Period.
L.Ron wrote some of the worst sci-fi to be found. In fact, he defines the bottom of the genre. The infamous Aleister Crowley once described L. Ron as a common huckster and con-man after L. Ron stole Jack Parson's money and ran off with Jack's girl. In any event, most people need to understand that Diuretics will bring you more spiritual relief and levity than Dianetics.
As for Gov. Palin... Thus far she appears to be quite the petty tyrannt, to borrow a phrase from Carlos Castaneda. Thus far we have seen that she tried to have books removed from the library. When the librarian refused, she tried to use her power to have that librarian fired. When the people of the town sided with the librarian, the ones who did were added to Palin's "enemies list." Now, she's trying to squash an investigation on potential abuse of power, by using Republican operatives to the Democrat in charge of the investigation removed. They claim that the Democrat is affected partisanship ...I'd say, in a way, she's less like Bush and more like Nixon.”

“The only thing the polls mean, at this point, is to determine who is perceived to have an advantage at the start of the race ...which hasn't even begun yet. Neither McCain nor Obama are the nominees, but are only presumptive. Also, these polls really have no way to predict the Obama Effect. This is to say, that they aren't measuring the mind-boggling grass-roots, get out the vote network that Obama has organized over the past year. (Whereas McCains "advantage" is POW 'war hero', Obama's is as a "community organizer" Organize is exactly what he has done, and organization is one of the most needed qualities in Washington, right now.) His is the first campaign to use the MSM as an auxillary rather than THE primary medium, whereas his 'on the ground' network, his my.barackobama site etc, are the primary components of his strategy. Because of this, the polls are only showing the tip of the iceburg. The sheer number of people who have contributed financially to his campaign vs those contributing to McCain, is one important indicator, as people who are fired up enough to give their money in these tough times are twice as likely to back up their donations with votes.”

“It's the same here in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alabama is supposed to be one of McCain's "safe states," ...It doesn't even figure in the media's considerations. However, with our former Dem governor, Don Siegelman , raising allegations about Karl Rove orchestrating his trip to the pokey ...and Karl Rove refusing a congressional subpoena to answer for it, ...not to disregard the fact that Alabama has been screwed out of oil and gas revenues for a number of years while people are paying what they have to pay at the pump, Alabama is anything BUT a safe bet for McCain. There is strong and enthusiastic support for Obama. I see Obama stickers and signs everywhere and have yet to see ANYTHING endorsing McCain. Even Ron Paul still has more presence.
Over 10,000 turned out the last time Obama spoke in Birmingham. I was there. It's true that rural Alabama will lean McCain, but the turnout won't be heavy as he isn't liked by the hardline fundigelical crowd that dominates the rural areas. The urban areas like Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville will turn out for Obama and turn out hard. Even cities like Hoover, which are old bastions of conservatism, have had their populations modified by a considerableinflux of Mexicans, who I don't imagine will vote for John McCain, either.”

“It is a shame that the United States pre-emptive invasion of Iraq has undermined its credibility and its military and diplomatic abilities to help one of its allies. It is a greater shame that we allowed one of our allies to try to re-annex those who wanted to either have independence or be part of the Russian federation. No doubt that the U.S. had promised some sort of support or tacit approval to Georgia's aggressions in South Ossetia. I am reminded of the U.S. tacit approval for the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the consequences of its failure to actually provide support at the appointed hour of its own making. At the same time, now Georgia has withdrawn from S. Ossetia, and Russia keeps pushing forward into Georgia in what appears to be an attempt to reannex a democratic country. Regardless of the United States' diplomatic blunders and its establishment of a precedent for pre-emptive invasions of soveriegn nations, it CANNOT allow Russia to re-annex Georgia. It has to honor its alliance or the other countries with which the U.S. is allied will have reason to believe that the U.S. will not or cannot honor its obligations to them. Such a perception will mean ruin for the West.”

“Senator Obama has been straightforward about his approach to government, all along. People have been pinning their "hopes" on him and such projections are bound to be interrupted by reality. Its funny that people think that "Change" can occur in politics without them having to bother to "change" their own ideas as part of that process. Read his books. Sen. Obama believes in problem solving, not ideological domination. Senator Obama is clear, many of the American populace are not.
"Left" and "Right" values do not hold a comprehensive solution to every problem we face. We need someone who can see that answers aren't found in TV dinner packages.”