cynicism relieved; obama draws 45,000 in albuquerque...

many of you know me for my cynical nature. some of you know that hidden beneath is a romantic idealist that just will not die. unfortunately, throughout my life, that idealist has been trampled again and again by the hard reality that the true america was being dismantled by our leaders. I've wanted so badly to believe in the american myth that I grew up with, that this was a nation where anything was possible and all peoples came together for the common good, where we commit to upholding the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness above all else. four years ago, I sat on the couch and felt that idealism being stoked by a state senator from my home state.

over the last few years, that idealist has battled that cynic, trying desperately to convince him that this time was different, that this was a leader, that this was a movement, this was the movement I had been pining for...give them a true progressive and the american people will come together in an astounding fashion to announce that the american creed is not dead. saturday night...he finally won.

I woke up saturday and made my way over to johnson field where a handful of people had already sat down at the front of the line for an obama visit rumored to be drawing upwards of 20,000.

as the gates opened and we gathered near the stage, I had no idea that a line wrapped around the campus, I had no idea just how many people had been as desperate as I was. we tried in vain to get an idea of the size of the crowd, holding cameras above our heads and bringing back photographs showing a sea of people disappearing into the darkness behind us. turns out, 45,000 arrived because a leader had finally inspired them to be bigger than our differences, to be better than this.

most remarkably, within a five foot radius I was surrounded by children as young as five and men and women as old as my grandparents, by people of every ethnicity and background. a woman next to me had traveled from out of state to be there. her view blocked, I asked if she wanted to swap locations with me so that she would have a better vantage point. she declined, patted me on the shoulder and told me "thanks, but that's ok. I am here for you."

it was a beautiful moment, and I hope she knows the profound effect that simple gesture had on me. at that moment, the cynic within me faded away as I looked upon the little girl on her mother's shoulders in front of me and thought to myself how we were all there for her. and as I realized this was the time I had dreamed of I began to get emotional, and as 45,000 roared si se puede, I actually believed those words.

the destiny of a nation...yes we can.

under seige, gun control, and defining americans...

the other day I was driving around albuquerque and noticed a billboard doing its best to convince me to join the local police force so that I could be "in step with my community." (side note - you will never see current episodes of COPS in albuquerque because mayor marty decided it made the city look bad and won't let them come back). the thing is, the whole "in step with our community" slogan did not quite fit in with the character on the board, literally ready for combat. reminded me of the night a head popped up in my window and told me to turn off all my lights before setting up shop with a high powered rifle on my porch. I know it is not exactly kosher to ever question law enforcement or the "war on drugs" or getting "tough on crime" and all the other bullshit used an excuse to control joe q. public...but when are we going to seriously examine ourselves and consider whether we truly want to live in a nation where police roll down the street in tanks and position snipers on rooftops. there is something frighteningly unamerican about that picture...but is a reality in every metropolitan area in the country. your local police have at least a wing that are basically para-military. perhaps that is why nobody noticed when the actual military was notified it would be stationed and ready for action in the united states. seriously people...something is very, very wrong here.

and I know many will claim it is necessary because "the bad guys" have arsenals to shoot up the local sheriff with and so they need to counter with ungodly firepower. which begs the question...why do we allow so many guns of such power into our communities? which leads me to a recent dilemna I am having over gun control. I am a firm believer in the constitution of the united states. call me a homer, but I believe it to be the single greatest political advancement of modern history. if you read it, and I mean really read it, and put it in context of the times...it is incredible in its audacity and beautiful in the framework it lays out to push the people towards the ideals embodied in the declaration. and I cannot imagine that when it says no infringing on my right to speak and assemble, it meant anything but none. or when it says no unreasonable searches and seizures it means none. or when it says no mixing of church and state, it means none. which is my problem, I support gun control...but the second amendment says no infringing on my right to arm myself to the teeth, and would it not mean none? now, I've typically read the text to mean you get a gun if you are in a militia, and used that as an excuse to try and tweek the document to modern times. but then I have to admit that there is just as strong an argument that not only am I parsing the text wrong, but even if I am not, it is just as logical that you get a gun in case you ever need to join a militia - you'll have some handy. and if I fall back upon the evolving standards of the document&183;does that not also provide fodder for those that would curtail my write to speech, press and assembly? so what is one to do?

finally, the modern GOP has informed me that I am not a real american. the irony of this is apparently lost on them. afterall, thirty years ago, it was people like me that brought the GOP into power..."middle" class white men. see, I was born in the suburbs...not rural virginia, hence, I am not a "real" american. I do not go out of my way "worshiping" the christian god...not a "real" american. I spend my days defending the bill of rights...not a "real" american. my father was born in a small farm town along the mississippi...one would think he was a "real" american, but then one must remember his family came from "old" europe and german americans were rounded up by mobs in the early days, and especially during WWI. my mother was from red wing...too similar to "un-american" virginia to be classified as "real" america. so here I am, a white male, raised on the bible and home cooking, college educated, professional degree, and deeply in touch with the history of my nation. and I am called "un-american" because I think...

that is a frightening prospect. this is where the party of lincoln has come...the man would cringe if he were alive. he once told americans that millions of their sons were being slaughtered on the battlefield because every drop of blood drawn by the lash was being repaid with one drawn by the sword. his blistering attack on the modern GOP would make colin's appearance on meet the press seem like a slap on the wrist. and he would be right...and it is the reason the GOP is in for a long few decades. they have lost the next generation of politically active americans...enjoy the wilderness asshole.

we were born to fuck each other one way or another...

three cheers for friedman-omics!

historians everywhere are looking smug as of late. it has never worked we said. the rising stock market is a sign of trouble ahead we said. financialization and "free" market worship always lead to decline we said. they told you it would be unlimited and never-ending prosperity. they told you it was patriotic to buy shit you didn't need and couldn't afford. and now...it is all collapsing. just as we said it would.

mr. friedman, legitimate economics called...they want their nobel prize back.

glam dog mocked joe biden for declaring it was patriotic to pay taxes. where she comes from it apparently is not patriotic to do anything for the common good...or to make any effort to pay for the equipment that the troops (which she proudly proclaims her support for) require to avoid needlessly dying. I understand that the university of idaho school of journalism probably is not a bastion of intellectualism...but you'd think a simple term like patriotism would not be so difficult to understand.

so I'm wondering...if it isn't patriotic to sacrifice a little bit financially for your nation when it so badly needs it then why did previous leaders request that during past wars?

eight years of the same republican president and his free market ideology in the 1980's and it ends in the savings and loan collapse and black monday. eight years of the same republican president and his free market ideology in the 2000's and it ends in an all out market collapse and black october. coincidence?

not that the eight years under the same democratic president were as bill wishes we would see them. anyone with half a brain understood that it was simply setting the stage for utter disaster...guess what. the curtain just raised.

remember when the boy king was telling us all how wonderful it would be if we could put all our retirements into the stock market and rely solely on the market and not social security to pay the bills in our old age? now do you understand why that is such a horrible idea?

speaking of social security...tom brokaw is a fucking moron. I am sick of so-called journalists (please bring back mr. russert) telling us social security is going under. the far right has been saying for 30 years that social security was within days of going under...and yet it is still projected to be full our lifetimes. when did objectivity become synonimous with repeating lies? edward murrow wherefore art thou?

anyone else find it highly amusing that some lady threw obama a softball question about whether health care was a right or a commodity and he needed tom brokaw to save him? although it was even more amusing to have mccain proudly declare that it is a commodity to be traded across state lines. yup...that is exactly what we need...forum shopping by insurance companies.

hurry hurry hurry! we must pass a bailout bill yesterday! the bill passes...the president then comes out and says to be patient because it will take months. things that make you go hmmmm...

the boy king in a wharehouse talking to people that likely won't have a job too much longer was smiling and laughing. seriously...this has been this asshole's m.o. for the last 8 years. has there ever been a president that has ordered so many young men and women to die that has laughed and joked so much? even about the decision and bullshit stories that he used to send them to their deaths? has there ever been a president watch the economy tank and laugh and joke so much? then again...the child has had more vacation time in his years in the white house than most of us will see in our entire careers.

well, I take that back...once we are all laid off and quit looking for work we will have plenty of vacation time.

speaking of all of us getting laid off...how incredibly stupid is mccain's idea of a governmental spending freeze right now? FDR puts the country back to work on public works and infrastructure development. the modern republican party says if you want a job you better sign up for never-ending combat.

which reminds me...all those earmarks the man has been foaming at the mouth over...most of them keep a hell of a lot of people at work. since the "less is more" bullshit theology of the republican party has taken hold, earmarks are the only way we have to maintain the infrastructure.

I'm sick of the great depression analogies. this country is in an entirely different position. we don't manufacture anything anymore. as a nation we make nothing of tangible value. all we have to offer is financial slight of hand. only the world is rejecting financial slight of hand. I guess what I'm trying to say is...you should wish this were the great depression. at least then we would have a way to get out of it.

when the dust clears, if russia and china are stronger than the united states thanks to three decades of deregulation and financialization...who won the cold war?

bottles on the windowsill...