Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Power to the People


This election season Connecticut has the perfect opportunity to start the tedious process of taking back their Government, both at the State and Federal level.

August 10th is the primary date in which Republicans can make their voice heard. This is a unique situation where in two very important races the choice is between two people who can buy their way into public office, and two tried and true public servants.

In an era where “throw the bums out” is a recurring mantra, and Congress is sure to be turned upside down, it is easy to make the decision to vote in outsiders. I mean, after all, the battle cry is to rid Government of the fat, happy, and stupid people currently running things. However, it is prudent to consider some of the talent already in place.

There are still good public servants out there. They may not be as flashy as what I refer to as “Sociopathic Politicians”, but they have the public’s interest in mind unlike their competition.

Unfortunately, like the general public, the Grand Old Party in Connecticut is not immune to flashy candidates with big bucks. This year the Connecticut Republican Party opted to go along with the flow of public discontent and endorsed two relative outsiders to politics and public service. In my opinion this was a haphazard and amateurish maneuver.

For the office of Governor of the great State of Connecticut, the GOP endorsed Tom Foley, a former Ambassador to Ireland and holder of a dubious position created by President George W. Bush whereby Foley was supposed to “help the Iraqi state economy get back on track”. This despite Foley’s comparatively dismal performance in managing his own companies and lack of candor in fessing up to the committee that appointed him as to the content of his criminal record. A criminal record, which includes charges of violence against women, as well as, the general public.


Passed over as a GOP endorsed candidate was their own Michael Fedele, current Lieutenant Governor, successful business and family man, and a proven public servant. Fedele also lacks the proverbial skeletons that haunt the closets of Foley. In other words, a man of character, sense of duty, and non-flashy kind of guy.

Fedele could be any one of us. First generation immigrant, who made good, decided to give back, and has had an exemplary run in State Government. What he doesn’t have is Foley’s dough and that is what the Republicans believe will win this election.

Which is why the GOP also endorsed Linda McMahon over Rob Simmons in the Connecticut Senate Race for Chris Dodd’s seat. While a monkey would be better than Chris Dodd, this person doesn’t even rate a monkey’s position on the evolutionary chart.

McMahon is the former CEO of the WWF. Up until two years ago she has advocated general violence, violence against women, pornography, and capitalizing on the general depravity of human nature in order to amass many millions of dollars. But, as it so often goes with Type A personalities who have made well in the business world, it is now time to for Linda McMahon to gain the acceptance of the general public as a whole, by putting on her Polly Anna routine and running for office. A routine that cost many millions of dollars to fabricate, and which has positioned McMahon as a businessperson and Washington outsider. Well, as much as someone who has given countless bucks to lobbyists can be an outsider.

This is what the GOP has chosen over Rob Simmons, a lifelong public servant who not only has an impeccable record in serving his constituents, but a personal one as well. Like Fedele, Simmons hasn’t a nasty instance in his past. Also like Fedele, he doesn’t have the means to tap the kind of money McMahon can. McMahon has dedicated $15 million just to flesh out information on her competition and has said she will allocate as much as $30 million towards this campaign.

Don’t get me wrong, Simmons can raise money, but when you are up against an unending fount such as McMahon’s, it’s hard to compete. Which is sad, and is why it is far time to show where the power really lies.

The power is in your vote, not Foley or McMahon’s pocketbooks. You can be the bastion of common sense the State and country so desperately need.

The public needs to give the GOP a good solid kick to the shins and wake them up. A vote for Foley, or McMahon is doing nothing for you or the public, all it does is give these two clowns another notch in their ego belt.

Go out on August 10th and send a message. Vote for Fedele and Simmons. Then we can get on to the real business of booting Dickie Blumenthal and Ned Lamont or Dan Malloy into the political hinterlands.









Monday, July 19, 2010

Tom Foley: Sociopathic Politician?



In my mind there are two types of politicians. The ones cut out to be public servants and the ones who enjoy the spotlight and act from a pseudo political pulpit enjoying the recognition whilst staying safely away from getting their hands dirty.

The former are usually thrust into politics at the behest of people who have been impressed with the future candidates verve, intelligence, and ability to lead. This normally occurs after a successful career that showed real tenants of leadership. Unfortunately, few politicians of this genre exist in government today.

The second type of politician is your basic sociopath of which we have in abundance in this country. (Just check out the White House, Congress, & the Senate)

The sociopathic candidate does whatever they can to get into office typically without actually knowing what the job really entails, because the job doesn’t matter. What matters to these whack-jobs is to feel accepted by a large number of people (usually duped by their glib charm) who by their votes give the candidate the feeling of self worth they so desperately clamor to attain.

To me, the perfect politician and public servant has done their time in a job or business that has flourished due to their leadership abilities and not just because they had a blank check from Daddy and Mommy. A person who has worked their way up through the primordial slime and are now able to give back to the public.

This year Connecticut has provided a perfect example of both types of politicians in a couple of races. The most prominent of which is the Connecticut Gubernatorial.

Connecticut is fortunate to have enjoyed the reign of M. Jodi Rell, in my book, the gold standard of public servant. Jodi is the type of person who never forgets who she just talked to 30 seconds ago whether they are a janitor or possible big campaign contributor. And, if the conversation called for some kind of action, you can bet she will get it done and tell you about it either with a card or a phone call.

Jodi got her job when she was Lieutenant Governor and Former Governor John G. Rowland got carted off to the pokey after a colossal witch-hunt, which really didn’t turn up anything significant. However, Jodi was faced with a mess of a public relations nightmare to deal with and had to regain the State’s trust, which she did so well, she got elected in her own right for a second full term. Unfortunately, for Connecticut, she is not running again.

Enter about a dozen candidates for Governor as would be expected, especially in this political climate of throw the bums out.

After some card shuffling and soul searching by potential candidates the deck has shaken out to two top runners for the Republican ticket, (I think there are actually 3 or 4 candidates from the R side, but these are the only two I care about) who will face off in a primary in August.

Mike Fedele is the current Lieutenant Governor of the State of Connecticut under Jodi Rell and he is of the good variety of politician I spoke of earlier. I would vote for him on the sole fact that Jodi picked him as her running mate. Her endorsement is enough for me, but I am biased, I know Jodi and I personally know how great she is.

For those who don’t know her and would require a more comprehensive bio of Fedele, here is a quick run down. Fedele is a first generation immigrant who is self made, spent time in the CT legislature and has never been a spot light seeking kind of guy. He is a family man who happened to adjust very well to public service and has done a top quality job wherever he goes. He is unburdened by any skeletons in his closet and has chosen, admirably, to run his campaign with public funds.

His opponent? Egads, if ever there was the perfect example of the sociopathic variety of politician this dude is it. I believe this to be one of those guys who probably talks to himself in the car, shower, hyperbolic chamber, whatever, just to enjoy his own rhetoric. (He is also probably the type most often found at 2am in a dark corner, naked in the fetal position, sucking his thumb, while shaking and crying.)

Tom Foley is one of those pieces of junk you can watch on TV, hear on the radio, see in the paper or a brochure and feel like you need to not just take a shower, but douse yourself with gasoline like a Buddhist Monk, in order to forever rid yourself of the ridiculous tripe that comes out of his mouth.

Foley has some impressive achievements under his belt; he has bankrupted a company, smacked his wife around, spent time in jail (let’s be fair though only a night) and is an impressive storyteller. The man is an amazing master of hyperbole and is able to manipulate the truth like a Kennedy or a Clinton. (Read that: liar)

His time spent in politics and Government consists of being Ambassador to Ireland, which allows him the title of diplomat, and some ambiguous gig in Iraq that has lead to great (albeit embellished) stories about his war service. I imagine he and Dickie Blumenthal must have great convos at Veteran cocktail parties.  


Ambassador to Ireland? I’d like to be rich enough to buy that job too! Foley’s job in Iraq was some hare-brained thing where he was tasked by Bush to help develop plans for State owned businesses to re-establish and strengthen their economy. Uh…yeah…

Then there are his legal wranglings. When it came to light Foley may have had an er, uh, disagreement with his ex-wife that involved the local gendarmerie, he came forward and said he would allow full disclosure of the case to the public. Likewise, some vehicular malfeasance in which he “rammed” another vehicle completely freaking out the occupants, and resulting in an attempted assault charge.
Now, watch the shiny ball people… He never really fessed up the details and there were apparently some efforts to expunge the records or otherwise “lose the files” so to speak.

This is kind of a fun factoid. In 2002, Governor John Rowland appointed Foley as co-chair of some special committee on divorce and custody. Foley’s ex-wife wrote a letter against the appointment. That insolent cow! How dare she, you know, after the guy beat her and everything!

Now check THIS out. As I mentioned, Fedele has chosen to use public funding for his campaign. This disallows any special interest groups or any one contributor the ability to donate boatloads of money with the idea there may be some favors to repay. THAT my friends, is a sign of integrity.

Foley has challenged the Constitutionality of Connecticut’s Campaign Finance Rules not once, but three times all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to keep Fedele from collecting the money he is entitled to in order to campaign for the primary. Luckily, this hat trick failed miserably. He has lost (thankfully) all three times. The guy isn’t even elected yet and he is spending tons of taxpayer money on frivolous lawsuits!

These are the forensics of the sociopathic politician. Someone who buys their way into political posts without the burden of having to serve at any quantifiable capacity, a person who uses their purchased, not earned, political capitol to satisfy their own need to be recognized. It is actually pretty sad, not just for Tom, but for the public as well.

So, I beg you CT GOPers to please vote for Fedele in the Primary on August 10th. I would much rather be writing posts on those other two sociopathic politicians Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy.





Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Revolution? Yes We Can!





This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their Constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.

--Abraham Lincoln


Not a huge fan of using quotes usually. I think it’s kind of hacky. If you are going to write something and can’t illustrate the point effectively yourself; don’t write at all! (Some of you just said…well then stop typing!)

Once in a while however, a good quote can really knock your thinking from one of myopic indoctrination to one of clarity.

Americans have become so influenced by the deluge of information and misinformation thrown down at us like so much offal over the last 150 years, that we have lost sight of who we are and how this country is supposed to work. The bulk of Americans no longer see themselves as We the People, but as Us the Powerless.

Think about it hard. The last time you got screwed by Bank of America, or the DMV or Wal-Mart, etc; what did you do? You probably screamed like hell up to a certain level of management and then gave up regardless of how truly pissed you were; chalking up whatever egregious indignation you suffered to the inability to fight such a behemoth of an organization. Of course, it’s true that for one individual it is virtually impossible to “fight City Hall” as it were.

But with a coalition, Americans can “fight City Hall”, or Bank of America, or Wal-Mart or whomever. That’s how our country was built. We are not powerless unless we make ourselves powerless and that is exactly what we have done.

This is why when I hear someone scoff at the idea of revolution my blood boils over.

Talk of revolution usually elicits two responses:

1. Abject revulsion; as the word Revolution to most liberals has become synonymous to drunken, inbred ramblings of racist redneck hicks propagated by a love of hell raising and hatred for authority in general. Liberals believe that anyone who even thinks of revolution to be clearly devoid of any semblance of intellect whatsoever. Revolutionists are in effect, dangerous ignorant extremists to most Liberals.
2. To conservatives and moderates, the idea seems fantastic, but impossible to achieve given the size and ingrained infrastructure of our current Government. The prospect just seems so damn daunting.

To the first group, my response would be: you are the truly ignorant amongst us.

Are you implying that Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Washington, Ben Franklin et al, were extremist dolts? Is it because you have become so fat and happy given the liberties these revolutionists fought for that you couldn’t possibly fathom any other mode of operation? Are we now to be a country that merely opines rather than takes action towards the betterment of their own people’s destinies? Or, shall we allow the Government to do that for us?

Liberals are not patriots. Oh, not by a long shot. They have no problem taking and taking and bitching about how little they receive for doing nothing and how stupid everyone else is. They offer solutions in which they have no intention of helping to achieve. Their raison d’ĂȘtre is perpetuating cradle to grave government reliance.

These are the same people who have labeled the Tea Party folks an ignorant mob of predominantly white-faced miscreants looking to shore up their 2nd Amendment rights. Clear and utter bullshit. Tea Partiers are not the problem, they are doing what they can to showcase a growing viewpoint: American Government as we know it does not work!

To Conservatives and Moderates: I would beg look back to the beginning when Britain’s Goliath-like grip was broken by a rag tag, ill equipped group of patriots who were short on resources but long on belief in the power of regular people and the desire for a good quality of life unencumbered by Government. This should be the very inspiration we need to begin a real change, not the crap Lord Falderal sold the nation last year. The first American Revolution was a seemingly impossible undertaking: fighting the formidable British Empire. But they did it and so can we. Any nay saying on the subject is bilge.

The difference between now and Revolutionary times is there were real leaders then. Now, we have nothing but trained rhetoric specialists and lawyers with aspirations and personal agendas. Any idiot with a team of newly minted college English majors sporting laptops and a teleprompter can get into office regardless of their experience in real life.

There was also a more pure distribution of information; no Internet, or biased media poisoning the minds of voters into thinking things are not what they really are and that the citizenry are in essence controlled by the Government and not vice versa. Sure, there were fewer people to get the word out to, but at least the voting public could be confident that information looked something like the Truth.

Today, the well has been poisoned. I know very intelligent people who take the word of CNN, MSNBC and even FOX as gospel and vote accordingly. Mindless. There is no initiative to seek the real truth since it is just easier to take the word of whoever the flavor of the week media correspondent is and go with that.

Seldom will you find me agreeing with Sarah Palin, but she is right on point with the media. Amazing things can be done through editing and camera angles as well as selective choices of dialog to use in any media package be it audio or video. They have the power to make an idiot look like a genius and a genius look like an idiot. Ask John Stewart, that’s how he makes a living. We have become a sound bite society and we use these clever edits to choose our so-called leaders.

We have let this system run on autopilot for way too long and are paying the piper for it now. The United States Government and Capitalism as a whole is a rudderless ship careening towards the reefs of destruction. The near miss of Lord Falderal’s hapless healthcare reform is the perfect example. Despite an overwhelming amount of people who were against it, it would have passed both Houses because our leaders have no clue what their constituents really want. And, for those of you who see some sort of conspiracy by the right wing that claim Falderal is tinkering with Socialism; here’s a clue, he is and it is no conspiracy.

This collective legislative scum could care less about the people they represent. They care only about their own careers and their places in history.

Thankfully the people of Massachusetts spoke, sending a shot across the bow of rank and file legislators all over the Nation. Now the House healthcare plans will have to be scrapped and retooled. The message is clear; the people are angry and will not be pushed around any longer.

Massachusetts was indeed a game changer, and it should be used as an example of what can be accomplished when people get together, express how they are feeling and turn those feelings into action. If the aforementioned topics in addition to the Massachusetts election don’t get you fired up, how about this: the Supreme Court's latest ruling on Campaign Finance? It not only lets the foxes into the henhouse, it also filets and breads the chickens.

It’s time to find real leaders regardless of what party they come from; strong leaders that can speak directly to the people at their own levels. We haven’t had a real leader since Teddy Roosevelt was President. In short, we need a real revolution. Not the kind where we forcefully take over the government, but the kind with a long-term strategy devised to dump this President and the entire legislature. We the people must take over the government and get back to where we came from.

It is also important to realize that revolution is not about throwing out the party in control and replacing it with the other party. It’s about rethinking the whole structure. It’s about replacing the morons who are running things from the Executive Branch down. They no longer represent real people; they represent party hacks and special interest groups. If Massachusetts didn’t illustrate that point, I don’t know what else would.

Can we do it in the next three years? Yes, we can; only this time for real.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
--Thomas Jefferso
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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Upside Down Flag? Appropriate for the Times?

Is the United States really in enough distress to fly the flag upside down?

Dr. Thomas Byrd an eye doctor from Downriver, MI chose to fly his flag upside down in front of his offices over the July 4th weekend. As you can imagine the act caused a bit of a furor. Most people interpreted upside down Old Glory as a sign of disrespect to veterans, our current serving military personnel, and anyone else who loves this country.

The thing is Dr. Byrd did not flip the flag to express some kind of anti-American sentiment, quite the contrary. Dr. Byrd himself is a veteran and is aware that in accordance with the United States Flag Code, the inversion of the flag is a signal of distress. The flag in the upside down position is supposed to indicate that American citizens are in extreme danger to life and property.  Dr. Byrd believes this is the case of the country at this time and wanted to draw some attention to his concerns. He believes that awareness is what we need in this time of peril.

I couldn’t agree more and although it may be extreme, I think we should have a movement to get everyone who believes the country is going the way of Rome to fly their flags upside down until we take a 90 degree turn to the positive. It would be like the yellow ribbons or any of a number of the symbolic movements we have had in this country when trying to show solidarity.

We need to show these pig-fucking Government shills that it is still the people running this game and that the people are pissed.

It is time for everyone who voted for all of these jackasses (not just the one in the White House) to come together and reach a common ground. Ok, I got carried away there, we’ll never reach a common ground, but anything is better than this.

We need to act like this Presidency is the equivalent to 9/11 in that we need to come together as a country then throw the bums out and start over. This country needs an enema and it is the people who should deliver it. November is not going to be enough. We need to keep the momentum going. Obama is toast in 2012; that is a forgone conclusion, so it is now time to decide what we want in a leader as a country and get to work.

This little trick with the flag is just a symbol, but a lot of movements start with a symbol. It’s something to bring people together, no different than a slogan, like, oh I don’t know, Hope and Change, maybe?

Everyone is hurting and everyday there is more and more dissent. It is no longer productive. The dissent is not productive and the Government is not productive and something has to break. The American people need to rely on themselves and get cracking with some real candidates who have the country’s best interests in mind. Unlikely candidates. People who never even considered running for public office now need to step up to the plate.

I have argued with my Mother, a devout Lord Falderal supporter, that she could do a better job than this President. She thinks I am nuts and just gets pissed when I bring it up. But, you know what? She could. Just like millions of other Americans, she knows how to run a budget, she knows how to protect her family, she knows how to care for her loved ones and those less fortunate than herself. Mom knows what works and what doesn’t. She doesn’t have any airs; she is selfless and puts the needs of others in front of her own. As much as I love Mom, she is not unique, there are plenty of people just like her all over this country.

We don’t need anymore lawyers who do nothing but interpret and interpret laws until no one remembers what the hell they were for in the first place. We need people who act. We need to take chances again, be pioneers. It’s a whole new world and we are quickly going the way of Rome. This country has become so dependant on the Government that we have gotten fat, soft, and apathetic. And, what happens when you become fat, soft, and apathetic? You get fucked. And, THAT is what your Government is doing to you right now.

Cheers, Dr. Byrd.


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Missed Opportunity: The Gulf





Just imagine if Lord Falderal had actually taken the reigns on the Gulf Disaster.

All that hyperbole during the election of creating jobs and becoming a new age de facto FDR, all that Hope and Change crap that the Obama-zombies bought hook, line and sinker could all be legitimized if only our feckless President had done his job and taken control.

Here we are still losing hundreds of thousands of jobs every week, yet we have an extraordinary opportunity to create thousands of jobs down in the Gulf. Yes, it’s jobs created out of tragedy, but its jobs all the same. The BP oil spill has been called the largest environmental disaster to ever come along in this country. Well, if I remember correctly, true capitalists can take the worst situations and create something great out of them. Think both World Wars and 9/11 for starters. Problem is our President is a complete idiot and apparently doesn’t recognize both the obvious pragmatic as well as political solutions to the problem.

Let’s think about the economics for a minute.

Last I checked there was still some of that outrageous stimulus money kicking around. (Which apparently we aren’t allowed to use to extend unemployment benefits.) Wouldn’t the remainder of that dough be best used trying to save all we possibly can of our Gulf ecosystem as well as salvage the remnants of the lives of the people effected by this horrific circumstance?

We are not talking about a one hit deal here either. Pouring money into the Gulf situation just makes good sound economic sense. It’s so obvious I can’t believe I just typed that line. Could there possibly be anyone out there who wouldn’t rather see their tax dollars going into saving our own countrymen’s livelihoods, our environment, and help give a kick start to the National economy as a whole, than pouring it into ridiculous social programs that have no long term positive effects? That supremely stupid Obamacare Legislation is a good example. Talk about many billions gone to waste when they finally realize they can’t administrate that abortion.

This is a national emergency, has been since day 1, and Lord Falderal has done everything in his power not to deal with it. This moron and his cadre of amateurs in knee pants haven’t got the memo that the election is over and it is time to GOVERN. Talk is cheap Falderal, and even your talk isn’t saving your ass now.

He wants to be FDR? Here was the perfect opportunity. Unlike a lot of the uselessness that went along with FDR’s job creation programs, Falderal was in the unique position of being able to create legitimate jobs for the actual good. You know, real, needed stuff that could have made him a hero. Hell, if he had jumped on this from the start, a second term would have been a non-issue.

Falderal didn’t even respond when the Ragin’ Cagin’ James Carville bitched him out.  Talk about a clear queue to take some action. When a guy like Carville says to jump to and you are a Democrat, well sir, jump to! Nope. Nothing.

That’s not fair though. Falderal has worked hard on the Gulf situation in between vacations, meeting with rock stars, and tossing the Israeli/Palestinian situation back into the dark ages. He has worked very hard placing blame and throwing stones. He has done the best he possibly could to make BP the ultimate evil empire, which is fine, but let’s do that later on after we fix the problem, eh?

There are fisherman, trades people, divers, and all manner of working folk being destroyed by this catastrophe. Why isn’t the government seeking the use of their specific knowledge of the area, their equipment, and their passion to help with the problem. How hard would that be? Assign tasks, pay per diems and I assure you this thing would disappear a lot faster than it ultimately will. Instead, our government sits around mentally masturbating every angle (mostly from a political stand point) instead of taking action. It’s despicable.

The psychological effect of tasking those worst hit and paying them for their contribution is huge as well. It brings everyone together and there is nothing this country can’t do when brought together. Think 9/11. Did you ever think New Yorkers could be cuddly before that date?

What really, really, REALLY kills me is that even if Falderal wanted to continue playing politics instead of actually dealing with the situation, he could have and still would have been a hero. All he had to do was say “we’re sending as many people down to the Gulf as needed, we will hire private contractors and work day and night until the leak is stopped and clean up is finished.” But, no. His way of dealing with it was to immediately declare there would be justice. BP would pay.

Well, BP didn’t bomb a building or take out an airplane or plant a dirty bomb in a subway. BP was drilling for oil to satisfy OUR greedy demands. Justice can wait. Falderal’s “just plug the damn hole” statement shows how out of touch he really was right from the start.

It’s sickening, disheartening, and just adds to the insults this President has brought this country.

But, you know, he isn’t worried because somehow this is George Bush’s fault anyway!


Check this out:



http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/01/revolution-yes-we-can.html