bracken's Comments (23)

“Yes, and women wish men would step up to the plate and clean the ranks! It's always been "the love of a good woman" that's supposed to make everything all right with the Y chromosome. Men haven't been asked to use their leverage on other men. No, you put it all on the shoulders of women--women as mothers, as teachers, as girlfriends, as wives. We're heartily sick of carrying your emotional water for you and sick of trying to get men to shape up.

Men behave the way they do because other men condone, ignore, accept, encourage, and abet it.”

“Yes, but some men would prefer a woman who's obsessed with Nine West and a Japanese press and the perfect set of nails--to the exclusion of concerns or topics about which SHE might know more than HE does. That could get uncomfortable. No--much better to date an airhead with a shopping addiction. That way the guy can always settle smugly back and revel in how much smarter he is than this stupid-but-hot chick he's dating. And anyway, most of the time they're just out to impress other guys with this or that babelicious dingbat, and if you can express a cavalier cockhound scorn because she's an airhead, that's even better. So they WANT a clotheshorse who talks about nothing but her colorist. No challenges, no problems, you're always The Smart One.”

“Schuler's claim that the vodka bottle was kept in the camper or van may be true. It's also a good place for an alcoholic to keep a bottle to drink from and replenish.”

“Vaccines--and Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Ativan, Valium, Ambien, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, ad infinitum. SSRIs are known to have side effects that include increased suicidal ideation, irritability, insomnia, nausea, akathisia intolerable restlessness), paranoia, hostility, aggression, nervousness . . . such that young adults (like soldiers) are advised NOT to take them.

And yet THIS is the best treatment we say we can give returning soldiers. We give them these things practically by the handful, don't do any followup, and send signals that say Take these and suck it up.

I say that's what's killing them. And I think the continued deaths of returning Iraq/Afghanistan soldiers is an overall positive for CheneyCo. They're no good to him anymore, so "hurry up and die and help decrease the excess population!"”

“I'll second, or third that one. Why enable the mind-killers?”

“They'll say, "YES, I'm proud, we freed Iraq, we've got al-Qaeda on the run, victory is just around the corner, you gay liberals should all be in prison!"

Been there, done that.”

“Perhaps, but it's still old white people who vote most reliably and regularly, and it's WAY easier to turn on an AM radio than it is to log on to the "whadja call it? The Intermet?" find a site called "what? The U-boat?" and enter a search item in the "huh? What's a field?" and then click to play.

I work with senior populations, and the vast majority DON'T use the Internet, DO listen to the radio, and DO vote. They trust the radio. The Internet is that weird thing that is of no practical value, is hard to use without motivation and instruction, and has little tiny words and flickering distracting visuals.

Here's how you access the radio: finger and thumb, twist the knob.”

“I don't recall the world grinding to a halt when Clinton was impeached.

And as for the Golub/Pelosi primary, I hold that it's a mistake to believe that defeating Pelosi in the NEXT election is going to get Bush impeached. "Yeah, if we can just get [name] elected NEXT TIME, all our problems will be solved.

Yeah, I thought that about Claire McCaskill, too. And Obama. Yeah. We thought the 2006 elections would clean everything up right good, didn't we? Bring the troops home, impeach Bush. Seems so simple. Just wind up our elected representatives, let them go back to DC, problem solved. THIS time the problem will be solved. And if not, we'll just slog through yet another Congressional election, and THEN our problem will be solved.

I think it's ridiculous for Sheehan to run. Her campaign is freighted with all kinds of baggage, she's utterly inexperienced, and her name recognition is based on her stand at . . . what was the name of that camp she had in Crawford? She's a bloody-shirt candidate for those who think they're in a movie and see this as a strikingly dramatic, romantic campaign. Sally Field will star in the movie, extras supplied by CodePink--another garish publicity-seeking group of fashion statements. (Oh, get off my back, Pinkies--what exactly has pre-transsexual Midge Potts achieved except to tie peace activism to cross-dressing? Nothing like a five o'clock shadow and a Jackie hat for getting your point across.)”

“I think exposing the Democratic leaders who could impeach and won't would be more fruitful. I mean, how much more Bush evil needs to be exposed and spluttered over? Why aren't the blogs and news sites talking about Pelosi? I frankly think she's the target, not Bush. Why isn't there a big article on "off the table, the who, the what, the why?" Maybe we need to make THOSE people, Waxman, Pelosi, et al., sweat a little more,

Right now they're basking in their righteousness and lookng forward to easy election victories on their "principled" stand against, um, corruption and crime. And we are letting them slide. No good can come of that.”

“Oh, come on. You know this will be spun as, "Yes, but didn't you see that this month's fatality total was the LOWEST IN A YEAR? Why do you hate our soldiers?"

What's more, this story hasn't even come up on Yahoo's news headlines. I don't have TV, but on the major broadcast news I predict it will be a single sentence right before a commercial. A tsk, tsk--but we're WINNING! Freedom isn't free, noble sacrifice, our heart goes out, Iraqis released from the chains of tyranny,blah blah blah. Little regretful wince on the face of the blonde babe with cleavage.”

“The media doesn't care what you think of their output. If you watch and are outraged, you're still making money for them. There's nothing that says you have to watch to protest, either.

I won't even consider reinstalling my TV software until after January 2009--and probably not even then. But some folks just can't do without their cable, their FX and E!, their H&G and Animal Planet and "news."

If living without episodes of CSI or American Idol or The L-Word make you cringe and whine, you're their bitch.

But: people won't give you amazed looks when you say you don't watch TV. Your children won't terrorize you. Besides you need to plug in and zone out, so get off my back and get out of the way, I'm watching something here!

Because it's not the boob tube when YOU'RE watching, is it?”

“Yeah . . . like Bush's military record or drug use that forced him out of the campaign in 2000.

All we need are more skeletons to come out of the closet and rattle real loud. Yeah, that'll do it. The perfect skeleton will arrive any time now and then, POW, problem solved and impeachment lands on the table with a Liberty Bell clang. Roll credits, I'm going back to bed.”

“Bigger than Bush. Bigger ambitions. Bigger liar, bigger lies. McCain probably hasn't told his biggest one yet. See what floats, what sticks, what passes. Keep using stick-on words like facts, truth, honest, straight talk.

Keep lying--it makes the other guy crazy when he can't keep up. You have complete freedom of speech as long as you never let 'em see you sweat. You CAN doublethink! "It's not a lie if you believe it!"”

“Young men (and old) are doing their usual mating display--instead of pickups and SUVs it's all loud flashy motorcycles with flame decals, matching leather chaps and gloves and hard shiny Alienoid helmets. The gloves are the thing, man, make your hands look huge. And when you gun the motor everyone knows you're there. Rrun rrun!

My Midwest city is starting to sound like Naples.
.”

“One hopes there will be fuel subsidies available to you in a someday-somehow American society. Or a van running on biodiesel made possible. Good luck.”

“From Free Republic:

"Estimates of 150 or 200 and higher for the Israeli nuclear arsenal are found open-source from a wide variety of analysts and sources and have been for years.

This is a non-story, and I have as much contempt for Carter as the next guy, but there’s nothing to get remotely offended about here."

This is the storyline that will be echoed from right wing to right wing, thence to more mainstream media, until the story is kicked out the back door.”

“Look for the scramble in the right-wing press: Sure, sure, Israel has nukes. We knew all along. This isn't new news--this is old news. Why wouldn't they have nukes? Don't they have a right to have nukes? [Poor little Israel, that jewel of democracy, that bastion of freedom, America's only friend in the region, etc., etc. See American Center For Law & Justice and Jay Sekulow].

And if they have a right to have nukes, why are we having this discussion? We should be talking about IRANIAN nukes, shouldn't we, people?

To wrap up: we already knew this, sensible people aren't going to raise a fuss, get over it. Real men aren't upset by this revelation.”

“The Outrageous Lies of McCain sideshow will continue, a dripping red herring for the pelicans to cackle and fight over.

Watch for a vote against McCain to be characterized simultaneously as a vote against Our Elders, a vote against Our Soldiers, a vote against Our People, a vote against Our Religion, and a vote against Our Party. How dare you!

Watch for appeals to party loyalty mixed with fear and a hard bone of bigotry. If you choose Obama over McCain--sorry, you're not One Of Us. And there could be consequences.

Meanwhile, after two elections of soft vote fraud, CheneyCo is quietly planning for some hard-fisted hard-wired vote fraud for this one. Count on it. Third time's the charm.”

“Forget the nipple--it's her scrawny neck that's unattractive, and the ugly line of her bumpy bony upper frame. Somehow I just can't understand why looking like an underfed refugee, with skin stretched over clavicles and sternum, is considered attractive. Bring back soft shoulders!”

“I'm of the opinion that Democrats and "Democrats" are being voted into office to provide a counterbalance for McCain as President. The idea is to weight the Congress with Democrats so as to provide some illusion of a veto-proof majority against McCain's crazier ideas, whatever they may be, while allowing them to vote for him as the pro-gun, anti-abortion, pro-military President they've already demonstrated they feel much more comfortable with (does McCain drink beer?). Obama is too different--Congress is for differents. For a President, they'll choose the familiar brand. But they voted for a Democrat for Congress, so it's not like they're, you know, prejudiced.”

“Some people will vote for McCain. Others will vote against Obama. Doesn't matter to them, really, what will happen to America. They just aren't going to allow a colored boy into the White House. That, to their way of thinking, is the ultimate danger. Far more dangerous than letting an old white guy with a bad temper in there. Old white guy with bad temper isn't scary-different. And they can't learn to say Obama.”

“Don't y'all get your knickers in a twist.

In the first place, anyone who says they're free of any taint of bigotry (Nope! Not me! I'm pure! Not a racist bone in my body! Etc., etc.) is lying--to themselves if not the world. We ALL got it, black or white, Obamian or McCainiac.

Second, asserting that there's enough race bigotry and stupidity in this country to elect John McCain (among Appalachian supporters, his bad temper is seen as a sign of strength--anyone surprised?) is hardly even news.

I feel for Obama supporters. You're going to go through hell between now and November--and then lose the White House, again.

Fear, race-mongering, and soldier-worship (and maybe a smidgen of vote fraud) will put McCain in the White House. And I'm even going to vote--for Obama, does that satisfy all you hysterical scum slingers?

I'd be HAPPY to be wrong about this, but I'm not the only one holding this opinion, and it doesn't make me a racist to say so.

I know y'all are upset about all the racists coming out of the woodwork now that we have an AA candidate, but don't blame me. I just call it as I see it.”

“That's what the frustrated owner of a 9 mpg SUV and a $350K ARM has, too: temper.

Don't underestimate the power of bigotry and stupidity, combined with frustration and a sense of entitlement, to elect a mad-dog President. "So McCain's mad? I AM TOO."

McCain can ride the rage better than Obama--whose name, color and background evoke a reflexive rage reaction all on their own, with no help needed from a tanking economy and soaring gas prices.

(Please note I do not endorse McCain. I do not endorse Obama. I think we're completely screwed, Republican or Democrat.)”