Equal Rights Party (Loco-Focos)

The immediate cause of all the mischief of misrule is, that the men and women acting as the representatives of the people have a private and sinister interest, producing a constant sacrifice of the interest of the people. William Leggett

Name:
Location: United States

In my damned beloved universe I would like to be a lonely weed, but not a delicate Narcissus kissing his own mug in the mirror. I would like to be any of God’s creatures right down to the last mangy hyena--but never a tyrant or even the cat of a tyrant. I would not like to be in the elite, nor, of course, in the cowardly herd, nor be a guard dog of that herd, nor a shepherd, sheltered by that herd. And I would like happiness, but not at the expense of the unhappy, and I would like freedom, but not at the expense of the unfree. Yevgenii Yevtushenko

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Why Are Democrats Wondering What They Stand For?

I am posting this post directly, not because I am lazy, but because I cannot improve on it in any way; I am merely shifting the focus. So rather than reinventing the wheel, I post it as it appears in http://blogolodeon.blogspot.com/2006/05/when-democrats-ruled-earth.html

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It's kind of funny (except that it isn't) to see Republicans and media whores hyperventilating over the dire consequences to ensue if Democrats take over the House or Senate after November's election. I know what the Bushies are afraid of -- and it's not jail. It's losing out on all those future Halliburton and Carlyle Group government contracts. I don't understand the media types, though, unless it's just they've all realized they really do work for General Electric, not the public interest.Anyway, pondering this great issue, my mind wandered over to the area of "What would it be like if the Democrats were in charge again?" Thinking of the DLC and pols like Joe Lieberman and Chuck Shumer, I couldn't imagine anything much different. So I slipped backward mentally to the past, to my childhood, an ancient time When Democrats Ruled the Earth. And I remembered:

On minimum wage, you could rent an apartment and go to a state college without going into debt.

A family could support themselves on one income.

Workers did not live in fear of their jobs being shipped overseas.

You could buy toys for children, confident of their safety.

Food and drugs were less likely to kill you.

You didn't have to sit through as many minutes of commercials in your television-watching hour.

You didn't have to sit through ANY erectile dysfunction commercials.

People who wanted the government in charge of women's bodies were considered crackpots.

People who wanted the church making political decisions were considered crackpots.

People who wanted schools to teach that God made the world in seven days were considered crackpots.

People who thought the government should be able to spy on citizens without a warrant were considered loony bird crackpots.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency was someone who cared about protecting the environment.

The president spoke intelligently and in complete sentences on a variety of subjects.

Americans who traveled abroad were not ashamed of their country's government.

American sports teams who traveled abroad were not afraid to put the Stars and Stripes on their vehicles.

Libraries were open seven days a week.

You could eat the fish you caught without getting sick.

Sheesh, I'm so depressed, I have to stop. I hope, with all my heart, there is a strong and unfaltering basis for the freaking out of the Republicans and their cheerleaders. Because, you know what? There are still real Democrats in the world. People like Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold, Howard Dean. New candidates like Ned Lamont, Charlie Brown -- a whole crop of them who hold progressive, traditional Democratic ideas in their heads. There is a chance.Will the sun come out in America in November?

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My answer to the last question is NO if Democrats continue to talk and act like Republicans.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Equality for All Under the Law?

They [the poor] have to labor in the face of the majestic equality of the law, which forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

Anatole France in Le Lys Rouse