Letters From Home

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In the aftermath of the election, I have seen people who normally are even-tempered and courteous writing messages that ought to be labeled with a skull and crossbones or a Mr. Yuk symbol.  These folks are livid that Obama won the election and they are predicting dire consequences for pretty much the entire universe.

Where on earth do they get this sour point of view?  Judging by what I’ve seen, Fox News is a primary culprit, but there are other “conservative” news sources contributing to the flow of bile as well.  When Chris Wallace appeared on the Daily Show the other night, they played some clips of his Fox News colleages snickering about Obama’s aunt, the alleged illegal immigrant, and cattily wondering if she’s registered to vote.  Chris Wallace had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Many of these same people greeted Dubya as a newfound saviour and gloated that their guy won, and told those of us who predicted he’d be a disaster to suck it up and get with the program.  Now that the predictions have come true, they’re telling us Obama will be worse.  Buh?

Oh, if Molly Ivins were only still with us.  She’d set them straight in short order.

Last year, I wrote a series of posts titled “Ten ways to take a stand against ignorance.”  There is a prologue of sorts here, and the main series starts here. One of the things I suggested was that we learn something new every day. In today’s Productivity 501 blog, one that I read every day precisely because it’s a good way to learn new things, author Mark Shead says much the same thing: Stretch yourself.

We now have an opportunity to make progress and rectify some of the wrongs of the past.  It won’t happen overnight, but if we-the-people pull together, we can prove to the naysayers that it’s long past time they pulled the plug on Fox News.

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Last year sometime I idly put one of my maternal great-great-grandfathers’ names into a Google search, just to see what turned up. What turned up was Barack Obama’s family tree.

No, we don’t share a relative that close.  I did some figuring, though, and as it turns out, Barack Obama’s mother and I are tenth cousins, whch means my kids are Obama’s 11th cousins.  That’s good enough for me!  We are all descendants of Nathaniel FitzRandolph, who lived in the mid 17th century.

My branch of the FitzRandolph family scooted across the border from New Jersey to New Brunswick come the Revolution, and left behind lands on which Princeton University (and the FitzRandolph Gate) sit today.  They were Canadian forever more, or at least until my grandmother re-crossed the border during WWII and became an American citizen, when my mother was 16.

My mother was delighted to hear about this relationship and I know she would have voted enthusiastically for Cousin Barack had she lived.  My mother took great delight in politics and in activism and she was, for the most part, a progressive.   She would have loathed Sarah Palin, you betcha.

I expect my grandmother would have felt the same way.  I bet she’s already bustled up to Obama’s grandmother and welcomed her long-lost cousin to a happy afterlife.

My dad’s parents had many good and admirable qualities, but they were Republicans to the core and racists to boot.  The thought of them spinning in their graves right now makes me happy.

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Today marks the 39th anniversary of my husband’s and my first date and I could think of no better way to celebrate it than to say we need to stand up to the bigotry of religious groups who wouldn’t know Jesus if he came back tomorrow and kicked them in the butt.

Which, come to think of it, he really needs to do.

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To the tune of “Second Hand Rose”

Once there was a party that was old and grand,
Voter registrations were in high demand,
Even though their platform came from Calvin C.
Forcing back the clock to how things used to be.
No one asking why the status quo,
Or why they never let an old gripe go.

They’re pushing yesterday’s views,
Yesterday’s news,
That’s why they’re singing GOP blues.
Women in the modern world are scary,
These guys barely trust the Virgin Mary!
Trickle-down dreams,
They’re losing their pensions, it seems,
But voting like they’ll still be rich some day.
Even Joe the Plumber, he’s the guy John adores,
He couldn’t seem to pay his income taxes before.
Ain’t it a shame, but it’s just more of the same
On re-run avenue.

They’re still second place,
Yesterday’s race,
Praying Obama will fall on his face.
Sarah’s out there dancing with a shotgun,
Posing as a reader when she’s not one.
GOP blues,
They’re focused on yesterday’s news,
They’ve been that way since 1932.
Even Colin Powell, he’s the guy Bush adored,
Had the nerve to shove their guy McCain out the door.
Now everyone knows the GOP blows
On re-run avenue!!

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I haven’t written a political song parody in a long time. Probably because today’s politicians are parodies themselves,  right from the get-go.  This afternoon I was organizing my archives and came across these two from the 1992 election.  I know there’s one about Clinton somewhere too, to the tune of “Bye Bye Blackbird,” but I haven’t located that one yet. I’ll save it for a future post.

Perot-noia (to the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas”)

There’s a little guy from Texas
Who’s talking on TV;
An oversized chihuhahua
Is what he seems to be.
He said he drew those pictures
And numbers on the chart,
So good ole boys and rednecks
Will think Perot looks smart.

He produced this infomercial
That we have come to see;
He’s got five billion dollars
So he’s just like you and me.
Watch him flourish with the pointer;
He hopes with all his heart
That the guys who build the rockets
Will think Ross Perot looks smart.

He’s bought all these half-an-hours
Of time on NBC,
So we can’t watch Fred and Wilma,
Who’s the Boss or Mr. T.
So we’ve found this revelation
And we’ve taken it to heart:
We know compared to Gilligan
Ole Ross Perot looks smart.

An Ash-Can Farewell (starring GHW Bush, to the tune of “Hello, Dolly”)

Goodbye, Georgie, yes goodbye, Georgie,
It’s such fun to see you bumble on TV.
You look like hell, Georgie,
We can tell, Georgie,
That back home in Kennebunkport’s where you’re gonna be.
We see the swell growing
For your out-going;
Pack your bags and pick up Millie at the door,
OH! Golly gee, Georgie,
Put on your sneaks and flee, Georgie,
You can’t get elected any more!

So say goodbye, Georgie, yes goodbye, Georgie!
Are you sorry now you’ve trashed the GOP?
Your tactics smelled, Georgie,
You got shelled, Georgie,
Which just proves that things worked out the way they oughta be!
We hear the band playing
For your not-staying,
Start your new hotel-room life in ‘93,
OH! Hidy ho, Georgie,
Pack up the van and go, Georgie,
Clinton’s won a glor’ious victory!

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Today’s Los Angeles Daily News had an opinion piece in what remains of their editorial pages, headlined “Propositions boost odds for bottom of GOP ticket” and subtitled “In California, the defense of marriage ban could prove very useful to the Republican minority.”  (They don’t really mean “defense of marriage ban,” they mean either “defense of marriage” or “gay marriage ban,” but that’s a separate issue.)

The gist of the article is that in California, many Republicans feel that they’re not going to be able to carry the state for McCain, so “state political leaders” are trying to pump up the conservative voter turnout by using ballot propositions instead.

In this election, the hot-button propositions for energizing discouraged conservatives are #4 and #8.  Proposition 4 is yet another attempt to force young girls to get parental (or judicial) permission before getting an abortion, and Proposition 8 is aimed at amending the state constitution to overturn the recent legalization of same-sex marriage.

Similar abortion propositions have failed multiple times in the past.  The anti-gay-marriage proposition has already spawned extremely toxic TV ads playing to the worst fears of the religious right.  I favor no political party (a pox on all their houses) but it seems to me that any intelligent conservative voter by rights should be insulted by this strategy, which appears to portray them as terrified troglodytes.

Conservatives, at least on paper, are in favor of less government intrusion.  They are for free enterprise and free markets and free will.  And yet what their “leaders” are cynically trying to do is use the power of the government to force back the tide of human progress.  Are conservatives so incredibly fearful of the reality of the 21st century?  It certainly appears that a lot of them are.  They want children to be the sole property of their parents (regardless of how abusive those parents might be) and they want to write their religion into law despite the First Amendment’s explicit prohibition against doing so.

I hope this strategy backfires as loudly as it deserves to, by energizing the people who oppose these measures to turn out in record numbers.  The constant fearmongering and attempts to shout back the tide of human progress have to be answered by the voice of We The People.  The reactionaries won’t give up easily, but the more often their proposals are voted down, the more likely they’ll get the message.

Over a century ago (how appropriate) Elizabeth Allen wrote a poem that seems to personify the GOP strategy of today.  “Backward, turn backward, Oh time, in your flight, Make me a child again, just for to-night!”  (You can read the entire poem here.)  Let’s hope that plenty of California voters make it clear that the past is not such a lovely place that we need to return to it.

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At the end of last year, I wrote a series called “Ten ways to take a stand against ignorance.” Many of the suggestions there are especially important during election years.  An informed electorate is the best defense against political claptrap of all kinds.

After seeing some of the idiotic finger-pointing and “yes you did, no I didn’t” carryings-on from this current United States presidential election campaign, I offer the following suggestions (in conjunction with the other ten) for anyone who wants to become a better informed voter.

1.  Do not rely on one source for most, or all, of your news.

It is essential to pay attention to multiple viewpoints, because no one source has a lock on the facts.  If you see a comment that intrigues or annoys you, go see what some other news source (preferably one that leans toward “the other side”) has to say on the matter.  There’s guaranteed to be more to it than any one news source offers.

2.  Do not take one side’s word for what the other side thinks or does.

If you didn’t see the original, make it your business to find out what it was, before you form an opinion.  Filtering all your information through someone else’s biases leaves you no option but to think like they do.  Make up your own mind.

3.  As an adjunct to items 1 and 2, become a fact checker.

There are many web sites available to help you, such as snopes.com and factcheck.org.   Don’t just nod at things that sound plausible.  The people we agree with can slip hogwash past us faster than anything.

4.  Pay attention to what the candidates actually say.

Do not try to explain away or excuse statements that make no sense.  If you can find transcripts of interviews and debates, read them.  What might sound good while a candidate is saying it may turn into gibberish when you see it written down.

5.  Do not be too quick to condemn “flip-flopping.”

Intelligent people change their views if new information makes it feasible.  People who stubbornly cling to the same old views regardless of how the situation changes are living proof that Emerson was right:  A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.  The person who’s willing to keep learning and willing to change his or her opinion is light-years ahead of the person who says “I know all I need to know” or “My mind is made up, don’t confuse me with the facts.”

Help yourself, help your country

It helps to have a working knowledge of recent history, but that’s not something that is accomplished overnight.  Too many of us were bored silly in history classes in school.  Too many of our classes had to slog through ancient history for too long and never got close to the present day.

Call your local public library and ask to speak to a librarian.  Ask for a good book on 20th century history.  Make sure your preferences are clear.  Not too long?  Not too technical?  Not too focused on single issues?  Whatever will appeal to you–ask for it and listen to the recommendations.  Then, of course, read the book.  Once you have a feel for what happened in the 20th century, you can better appreciate what makes sense in the 21st.

Above all, regardless of your choice of candidate, make it a point to go and vote on Election Day.  In many states it’s not too late to register if you haven’t already.  If you think it’s too difficult for you to get to the polls, request an absentee ballot.  It’s not too late for that, either.  Let’s stop putting dimwits in office, by not being dimwits ourselves.

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Everyone seems to be having a field day skewering the McCain/Palin ticket these days. There is, after all, such a wealth of material to choose from. David Letterman’s having a field day. But then again, the Republican candidates seem to be skewering themselves as well, as any number of clips from that infamous Katie Couric interview will attest.

I often wonder where all the good politicians have gone.  Did we ever actually have any?  How many presidents in the 20th century had no slimy dealings in their political lifetimes?  They weren’t all as bad as Lyndon Johnnson and Richard Nixon, but they weren’t all that much better, either.  They associated with crooks, got involved in shady deals, cheated on their wives, tried to use the power of the presidency to form imperial fiefdoms for themselves, were obsessed with other countries who were no real threat…   the list of idiocies is a long one.

The biggest problem today is that so many people have fallen for the anti-intellectual world view, in which any kind of higher learning is suspicious in and of itself, and there’s no point in knowing anything about any history farther back than yesterday.  (George Wallace would be proud to see what he hath wrought.)  “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know,” said Harry Truman.  I think if ol’ Harry could see We The People today he’d be sick.

Too many people get all their information second hand from broadcast blowhards.  They don’t read (and undoubtedly can understand why Sarah Palin doesn’t either).  They don’t check facts.  They agree with anything that sounds logical and rings true with their biases.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the media blowhards could be compelled to defend their positions against people who do know what they’re talking about?  Live on national TV.  No rehearsals, no commercial breaks, no “lifelines.”  Let’s put Vincent Bugliosi up against Rush Limbaugh and Gore Vidal against Bill O’Reilly.  No, it wouldn’t be “fair and balanced” because the windbags couldn’t stack the deck.

Katie Couric was a softball interviewer and Sarah Palin still fell right off her spike heels and onto her face.   Isn’t it time someone took on the ignorant right-wing blowhards and knocked them off their wingtips as well?
photo credit: GregPC

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Over the years, my position on many social issues (that of someone who does know American and world history) has often been sneered at for being “liberal.”  Of course, the fact that someone would sneer in that fashion simply marks that person as uneducated to the extent that he or she accepts without question the liberal-bashing of various media blowhards.  (A thorough education in history is the best antidote for right-wing claptrap.)  It doesn’t bother me.  Thomas Jefferson was a liberal.  Benjamin Franklin was a liberal.  Teddy Roosevelt was a liberal.  Dick Cheney is a conservative.  ’nuff said.

On fiscal matters, however, I line up with the real conservatives, not the neocon poseurs.  The conservatives who are against deficit spending and in favor of zero-based budgeting for all government agencies.  The conservatives who believe that CEOs who mess up should suffer the consequences, in spades.  The conservatives who believe that just because the feeble nobody in the White House got bailed out of every single thing he ever failed at (and that IS everything he ever tried) doesn’t mean he should expect we-the-people to bail him and his cronies out this time.

Jon Stewart played back-to-back clips of Shrub saying “we need to pound Iraq” in 2003 and “we need to bail out these incompetent managers” in 2008.  They’re the same speech.  Today in Congress, according to CNN, Lloyd Doggett from Texas said “Like the Iraq war and patriot act, this bill is fueled by fear and haste.”  He’s right.  Act in haste, repent at leisure!

Hooray for Congress for voting down the bailout.  The deregulated greedheads got their companies into this mess, let them start fixing it by giving up their salaries and perks.  No golden handshake for people who have earned nothing better than a golden shower.

photo credit: Cayusa

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