katmeyster's Comments (575)

“No one cares. I live just a few miles from Ciudad Juarez, across the border in New Mexico. The cartels are killing in the bloodiest and most disgusting ways in order to send a message that they are in charge. They kill rivals, they kill innocents, they kill police officers, they kill soldiers, they kill children, they kill reporters -- anyone and everyone. They have huge networks in the United States, but we see it more as local gang violence. They have a huge kidnapping ring in Phoenix. Much of the Mexican government is corrupt, but mostly it is the United States' huge demand for drugs that is fueling this violence. We are funding the killing with our drug money and our weaponss. We will not take responsibility. And we do not care.”

“I'm pretty sure you can answer that question regardless of who asks it. Not answering makes you appear racist, or stupid, or both.”

“Geeze mom, we don't know how the dirt got out of the planter. And we don't know how the dish broke, or how those marks got on the chair legs, or why every rug is turned upside down. We sleep all day!”

“Scarily true.”

“My cats would be upset at the thought that you could calculate their behavior. I know they purposely change things up to keep me guessing. I don't know what they do all day, but I'm pretty sure it changes on a regular basis. Once you think you know their favorite sleeping place, they switch with another cat. For months they pretend they do not like one another, and then one day they are licking each other's heads. Once they have you trained, they move on to a greater challenge in your training. They do not want to be considered predictable -- how pedestrian. They are much too curious and too smart to want to stick to any particular routine (although they could have a routine, but find ways to make you think they don't).”

“Can we hang Lou Dobbs and his ilk for treason?”

“He's the best of all the mainstream, corporate-driven, status-quo, media stiffs.”

“It's time for a new civil rights movement. And a large-scale war protest would be good too.”

“You can be bitter, cynical, and correct.”

“What is scary is how many people probably sat and listened to Glenn Beck without seeing the fallacy of his logic. I know these people contradict themselves, but it is amazing to see it happen in the same breath. And his co-hosts should have re-stated what he said to make him look less ridiculous, unless of course they weren't listening or they're not smart enough to hear it.

PS: Whats with all the trolling right now? It is a new season?”

“Welcome, oh welcome, fellow citizens of the Nation of Comcastia. Yee will see what we want you to see, yee will hear what we want you to hear, and yee will be happy -- very, very, happy. All hail Comcastia!”

“Everyone needs to watch (or re-watch) the Enron movie. The taped conversations of the traders showed the depth of avarice and greed -- without shame -- that pervades the sense of doing business. These people are almost sociopathic in their lack of concern for any possible consequences to their actions -- it does not matter who gets destroyed. They are short-term risk-takers who have no qualms about taking us all out with them. Shame means nothing here.

Of course maybe we, the American people, should be ashamed for not noticing, not participating, not investigating, not holding Congress accountable when they did NOTHING after Enron. Or we should be ashamed, while we were feeding at the trough, and we knew about the tendency toward greed, and we did not demand regulation because it might impinge on our potential for wealth. I think all thinking people are culpable in some way.”

“So you fix the fraud -- you don't make innocent children go hungry. This is a specious argument.”

“Each day they push their heads out of their little turtle shells as if the world started anew. And then they see a Democrat, blame everything on them, and go back into their shell. Nothing before, nothing after.”

“People who are poor spend 100% of their disposable income. In states where there is sales tax on food, as well as everything else, all of the money they earn is taxed.

The wealthy can hide great swaths of their wealth offshore, in tax relief instruments, and deregulation schemes set-up just for this reason.

I agree the middle class is also probably screwed.”

“The only people "gaming" the system are the wealthy. The laws, the regulations, the tax policies --- everything -- is made to benefit them. The poor, on the other hand, are systematically and organizationally fighting against a system meant to keep them right where they are. The poor pay more of a percentage of their income on taxes, they pay more fees and fines, they have less access to education, loans, housing, and even decent food. Who do you think the war on drugs was against? We continually fight wars so that we can sink poor people's tax payers money into the contractor's coffers -- this is not an accident.

And, specifically for those of you here who don't believe in the rigging, the system is set up to create a class system so that there is always someone on a lower rung for you to blame for their own position in life (at least there is someone below you). Do not look up the ladder and blame those ahead of you, because maybe, someday, somehow, you might be up there yourself. It is a doomed and mythical scenario that you buy into and blame those that do not deserve it.

The system is gamed to make you believe the opposite of what it actually is.”

“It's a start. But only kicking the money out completely will be effective. Public financing of campaigns is essential for any kind of reform.”

“No kidding. And in the US they are not criminally prosecuted, they are rewarded with participation in our political decisions, and do not pay taxes. Child molesters should be in prison and the statute of limitations thrown out. I am glad I am an atheist -- these people are sick f**ks.”

“Coconut Lime -- is that Daiquiri evolution?”

“Be careful with that rational, logical, thought -- it's not in vogue anymore.”

“My local television channel referred to Charles Darwin's controversial book. It may have been controversial at the time, but now? It just shows how some of our species have not evolved.”

“This is a huge loss. Only Bill Moyers constantly reminds us of the direct connection between a strong, independent media and democracy.

When the muckraking ends, when there are no longer journalists to investigate, when the accountability for inept and corrupt actions is gone, we lose our democracy.

It is a sad day.”

“Very well said.”

“What I really want is a mac netbook. I guess that would include a real keyboard so I can use Word and Excel as effectively as I do at home. Something that automatically syncs my documents when I get home. Oh, and also works as as an ipod. I'm not so sure about the phone. Anything in the works like that? I would buy it. Not sure about a Tablet since I already have an ipod Touch.”

“I have been making this point for awhile now, but some people here to not want to hear it. Definitely go to

www.ssa.gov/history

-- an incredible resource that I use in my government classes.

For those who say single-payer or nothing, they will get nothing. And more people will go without health care, and more people will go bankrupt, and more people will die. With nothing.

Of course I do not like the current legislation, of course I believe there will be attempts at watering it down further, and of course there will be attacks by conservatives on a continual basis. But we do need something to work with as soon as possible. Something to fix, something to revise, something to strengthen. Re-read this post -- something IS better than nothing. We can continue the pressure, continue the hard work, and get at least some people the health care they deserve.

Don't be such an ideologue that you can't see the very important message of Chris Weigant's post. Thank you.”