Social Psychosis!

Back in the 60’s I thought there was something so terribly wrong with the folks who populate the U.S. of A. Now I am saying this as a former Republican. But when the Right came up with the “Southern Strategy” I was done.

The rhetoric surrounding the opposition to the Civil Rights Movement became increasingly dangerous. I lived in Massachusetts at the time and there were white folks stoning brown skinned children on the beaches not to mention what was going on in the South. The divide over the Vietnam War was to put it mildly equally divisive though it came to a head much later when reality was impossible to ignore. And yet the Right-Wing held on to their value-free and fact-free position.

So I was not in the least surprised by Glennzilla’s podcast with Jonathan Weiler’s interview about Authoritarianism and American Politics.

It is a great interview and you should read it here. This interview does explain our latest form of Social Psychosis where Obama and Nancy Pelosi are Hitler.

Change seems to be the correlating issue here. We now have a Black man and a White Woman in charge of the Political process. That is a change that is hard to deal with for many people.

I understand to a certain degree as I am not great with change either. I am a great believer in “If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It.” But progress and the right thing to do is another thing altogether! Because it means “IT IS BROKEN!”

So, “FIX” it already!

Or, as they say, get thee to a therapist!

Richard Engel on Afghanistan

Dylan Ratigan has him on to talk about our continuing quagmire in Afghanistan. And as we all know, Mr. Engel has spent a great deal of time in Country.

How much blood and treasure are we going to spend in the Country where “Empires Go To Die?” Why do we think that we will be better at this than the British or the Soviets or Genghis Khan for that matter?

This seems to me to be just another example of what is known as “American Exceptionalism.” Or as I think of it: Delusional Thinking.

Again With the Broken Clock!

I am agreeing with Friedman far too much recently. This is the second time in the last 30 days.

This time it is on Afghanistan and the President’s and our Country’s conundrum. Everyone is getting in on advising the Obama Administration on this dilemma. And Friedman raises some very good points.

If President Obama can find a way to balance the precise number of troops that will stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan, without tipping America into a Vietnam there, then he indeed deserves a Nobel Prize — for physics.

I have no problem with the president taking his time to figure this out. He and we are going to have to live with this decision for a long time. For my money, though, I wish there was less talk today about how many more troops to send and more focus on what kind of Afghan government we have as our partner.

Because when you are mounting a counterinsurgency campaign, the local government is the critical bridge between your troops and your goals. If that government is rotten, your whole enterprise is doomed.

I feel like I have seen this movie before and as I recall it had a very bad ending. This is sounding and looking more and more like Vietnam to me.

Rachel Explains It!

How the Nobel Peace Prize works.

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That seems pretty clear, doesn't it?

What About Bubba?

So, President Clinton must be having a “WTF” moment. First, Al Gore and now, that young upstart Obama!

What is Bill, chopped liver? Didn’t he have a very significant part in the Actual Peace in Northern Ireland?

So, if you think that the Right-Wings’ heads are exploding, just think about how Bubba feels today.

“WTF?”

P.S. Now I am not a big Bubba fan, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t feel his pain. Too bad that Bill didn’t come right after GWB. Maybe he would have had a better chance at the Prize.

Three of My Favorites!

Together: Sirota and Frank on with the Very Reverend Moyers. And don’t miss the Melissa Harris-Lacewell (who I love) segment with Pat Williams (who I don’t particularly love).