What's in a Name? PLENTY!

I was actually hoping to give this, or some form of this a s a speech in front of an AARP group but sadly the meeting for this forum was during the morning hours of a weekday.  I work during the week and could not possibly get away so here are the thoughts that I was hoping to share with other AARP members.

We have allowed certain groups of people and politicians to define and basically ruin some good words.

One such word is Liberal.

If one has guests over and is liberal serving food and drink it is generally considered a good thing. It is certainly a nice thing to do for guests and it will be appreciated and even reciprocated should the circumstances be reversed. AT least one would hope.

Liberal tends to mean being open and caring enough for the needs of others as to try and make sure they are taken care of. And some times we may put ourselves out a little to ensure this is done.

I don’t believe it would be very nice if you were conservative with your meal should you have guests over for a dinner party, do you?

So why is the word so bad?

Why is the act so bad?

Why have we allowed a small group of greedy, selfish people to define a word that symbolizes helping others as bad?

If they don’t wish to be nice then that’s their prerogative.

We are only on this Earth for a short period of time so why look to hurt others? Why make stepping on others’ rights for personal gain your main goal?

The world would be a far better place if more people acted in a liberal manner than a conservative way.

Another word that has been usurped by a small radical group of selfish people is “Entitlement.” And not just entitlement but by simple extrapolation all forms of the word ‘entitled.’

Suppose you had some extra cash. I realize in the current economic climate that might be a stretch but allow me an indulgence.

Say you placed that money in one of our formerly bailed out banks expecting an exorbitant 0.3% interest rate.

After a year or so you decided to withdraw that money.

Would you be ‘entitled’ to do so?

OF COURSE, IT’S YOUR MONEY!

Well what do you think Social Security is?

IT’S YOUR MONEY TOO!
Every paycheck you receive during your working life has a Social Security deduction removed before you get the cash!  You know it, conservatives know it, everyone knows it!
So why should you not have it coming to you when you retire?

So the conservatives are correct, Social Security is an entitlement.
And you are entitled to it, period!

Medicare is the same type of entitlement with the same result!

For a long time now I have been arguing that we must stop allowing a few disgruntled people to define our lives and the issues of our time by naming and then vilifying them.

And if I may go off on a slight tangent the group of people who call themselves Pro Choice argue for a woman’s right to make that most awful of decisions concerning the life of her unborn child.
That fetus may be the result of incest or a rape and the conflict that would arise in the mind of the suffering woman would be mind boggling.

But for some reason the group opposing her anguish who, by their very nature admittedly have no dog in the hunt will infer that the "Pro Choice" people are against life by naming their group, “Pro Life!”

I would argue that the “Choice” people do in fact offer women and their spouses a choice in dealing with this terrible scenario while the other side does not and should therefore be renamed, “No Choice!”

So what’s in a name?

It turns out there is quite a lot in a name!

And we must not allow others to name us or our group or our lives. We decide what we wish to be called and we are allowed to be damned proud of the name we choose.

I am a Liberal who believes in Pro Choice and I love the fact that America is such a forward thinking nation as to have wonderful entitlements for all its citizens!

The Scorpion Effect Vis-a-Vie the 2012 Election

I’m sure you all know the story of the scorpion and the frog but just in case:

The scorpion must get across a river but it does not swim.

The frog is at the edge of the river and the scorpion asks for a ride.

The worried frog says, “But if I give you a ride you will sting me and I will die.”

And the scorpion points out that, “If I were to sting you then we would both die and therefore it would be silly for me to do so.”

Hearing this logic the frog relents.

But halfway across the river the scorpion indeed stings the frog and as they drown the frog asks incredulously “Why?”

“Because I’m a scorpion,” said the stinger “and that’s what scorpions do!”

The above story explains this year’s Presidential election.

How so you might ask.

How is the stinging of the poor unsuspecting naïve frog the same thing as an entire electorate voting to choose the next President?

I’m so pleased you asked.

Hop into the blogosphere time machine and I will explain.

In the year 2000 there was a close vote between former Vice President Al Gore and his Republican opponent G W Bush.

After the voting was complete there was no clear winner. And although it appeared that some irregularities were involved that could have far reaching implications the process of recounting votes was halted and the decision of who would be the President of the United States was taken out of the hands of the voters and given to the courts.

But not just any court.

It was handed over to a conservative think tank organization also known as the Supreme Court of the United States.

This particular political action group of robed ‘deciders’ was stocked with supporters hand picked for just this type of situation. But they could not do a thing unless they were called into action. And that was as unprecedented as, well as blatantly stopping a recount to appoint a winner.

Luckily they were handed the task by a woman, ONE WOMAN who was not-so-secretly in love with her boss who just so happened to be Jeb Bush, brother of Georgie and the eventual recipient of the crown.

The president in 2000 was decided not by the majority of the 105 million plus voters but by a 5 to 4 predetermined vote of conservative supporters nullifying and circumventing the wishes of nearly an entire nation.

Granted the vote was close but Mr. Gore with 48.4% did in fact beat his opponent who garnered only 47.8% but in America as in our Congress it is not always the majority that rules.

Now let’s travel ahead four years and two wars later and review what transpired in the next major election.

In 2004 the conservatives were somewhat afraid to do the same thing as they did in 2000 so they started using voting models more seriously and found what are now quite commonly known as ‘swing states.’

These are electoral gold mines that above all can ‘swing’ a national election in favor of one guy, or gal over another.

And they found Ohio.

History and a keen eye will show how they once again circumvented rules and fair political action (now there’s an oxymoron for you) and stole yet another election for the inept war mongering criminal team of Dubya & Darth Cheney.

So now we are back home in good old 2012 and are heading into another Presidential election that could very well decide the make up of that formerly fair and balanced Supreme Court for many years to come.

But the scorpion has now become so secure in its tactic of stinging America and stealing elections that it is brazenly and openly doing so with every slimy step.

It seems to have figured out how to kill off the middle class while not drowning itself.

And to prove how secure they are in their winning ways if they can pull it off this time they will have placed a President in the White House who is, by their own words the worst candidate ever to run for the Oval Office.

So how can they do this?

Will they bring back Katherine Harris?

Could they possibly hypnotize an entire nation into believing that suddenly Willard is not a rat?

No this time it’s in your face and personal!

The stinger is out and they have no intention of hiding it at all!

If you are or have shown yourself to be a Democrat or are merely leaning in the direction of voting for a Democrat you will have obstacles thrown in front of you every step of the way to the voting booth.

Voter suppression is such an anathema to our country and its tenet of freedom as to be considered a terrorist act and yet the Republican Party, their Governors and their fringe groups are all conspiring to do just that!

And doing it while admitting what their plan is!

Veterans of foreign wars who volunteered and risked their lives to secure freedom for America are being thrown off the voter roles after voting continuously for 60 years merely because they are registered; admitted; or in a demographic that assumes they are Democrats.
In some Republican controlled states such as Texas, Bush's former 'clearing brush stomping grounds,' the unabashed BS of the RW goes as far as to disallow valid student ID cards from colleges and universities but accept gun permits as legitimate identification for voting!
Obviously the right wing has figured out that intelligent students are more likely to vote Democratic than their gun toting beer drinking low life neighbors with tattoos touting second amendment rights.
Of course none of the fears these champions of concealed weapons have been shown to be true under President Obama but since when did truth and logic enter into a right winger's brain.

If Willard Mitt Romney were a better candidate; or even just a man of the people with a sense of what the country needs; or if he even gave a damn about the plight of the majority of Americans then he would have a chance in a fair election of taking the brass ring that is the Presidency.

But he is not!

And as much a puppet as W was Mitt is not even worthy of that insulting label. He is merely a front; an empty shirt; a figurehead to place in the office to do the bidding of his owners of the corporate world.

But the fact that he is undeserving of being on the same ballot as President Obama is not the point of this post.

The point of THIS post is the scorpions that are Karl Rove and the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson and all the rest of the individuals who for their own personal reasons need to have their hand picked stooge as the leader of the free world are fixing to fix yet another American election.

This must not be allowed!

Please Remember in November and do not give the scorpion another ride!