« Hannity, O'Reilly, Cavuto, Barnes to Prez: "Happy Talk, keep talkin' happy talk" | jollyroger's Blog | "You're talking about running over the minority, putting them in cement and throwing them in the Chicago River...."Well, Thank You Jesus! »
I bear orders from the captain, make you ready, quick and soon...
Let the Blue Dogs bay. Let the ethnic lobbies lob choriza blintzes. Their flicker of efficacy is dying.
To quote one 28 year old lass, as heard on NPR just after the election:
"I'm ready to do whatever my president asks of me".
Today, he asks us only to pledge.
And to prepare.
For the pikes must be together by the rising of the moon.
Advertisement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg9QekmZ-iM
Not sure how some of my other choices along these lines would be received...
March 10, 2009 3:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've been all over the web looking for a version of
Unrepentant Fenian Bastard ("Pump your fist if you love culture!"--you can't beat that line)
by Black 47, with zero luck.
March 10, 2009 4:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
.
Yo Ho Yo Ho . . .
A sailor's life for me . . .
To the sea ... to the sea ...
To the call of the wind on the sea...
~OGD~
March 10, 2009 4:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
call of the wind on the sea
Once the fastest thing around--(love the festive salmon colored sails)
March 10, 2009 5:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Pledged.
Prepared.
But pike? Will any other fish do? (Otherwise, all I can muster are words.)
March 10, 2009 5:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Will any other fish do
Well, me sainted *mither always favored pike, but I believe that carp and whitefish are acceptable alternatives.
*"Sonny" she would say to me, "niv'r say no to booze, sex or drugs. If you do, someday you'll come to regret it; maybe not right away, but someday for sure"
March 10, 2009 7:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Pledged.
Prepared.
But pike? Will any other fish do? (Otherwise, all I can muster are words.)
March 10, 2009 5:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, JR, I hit "refresh" not realizing...
March 10, 2009 5:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Brrrrr!
It's kind of creepy to be asked to pledge to the President. It's wreaks of Monica, {No!, not not that Monica, Monica Goodling}.
There does need to be some credit given, however, for Obama to have realized he won because of the people and he will have a successful Presidency because of the people as well. He is keeping the people engaged which makes it very difficult for the Reich to get away with their evil deeds. I do like that. He did not go to DC and forget who sent him there. He has brought them with him in a very real way.
March 10, 2009 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
He has brought them
There are some things you can fake, and some you cannot.
If your first job choice out of college involves valuing the welfare of the people over your own exceedingly high job market negotiability, you might be a once in a generation real thing.
March 10, 2009 11:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great post!
My only concern is that he asks the millions who are ready to do as he asks to support a genuine and sharp change all round.
On some things I'm satisified he is on the right course. I am not so satisfied on others. The card check legislation for unionizing is one thing I see him saying he supports, but if the legislation fails we will know he didn't do much to make sure it would pass. He could easily have millions bombarding members of the Senate to support that legislation. I hope he uses the database for that and much more and goes as far left as possible.
March 10, 2009 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe one of the most telling things about all of this is that "the millions" need a nudge from Obama. Having to be pushed by the President into speaking up on behalf of themselves doesn't say much good about the public at large, does it?
Obama's a very smart, very practical-minded guy. He understands that people who are making a better living will do more to help the economy - and more to the point, this broken society - than all the investment bakers in New York.
That said, we can't look at him as the "silver bullet". We are the silver BB's, and contacting representatives and senators isn't something to leave to others. Write, call, or fax - don't bother emailing, and forget petitions - they're useless. Millions of voters speaking up carries far more weight than lobbying efforts - if, and only if, people bother.
March 10, 2009 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course you are right. It doesn't say a whole lot about the public. On the other hand, you have to play the hand you are dealt and the fact is people will not, on their own, contact their members of Congress. They need to be led.
At this point in time I think most of them would be willing to do just about anything Obama asked them to do if it werein their power so my hope is that he exerts his leadership wisely and to push the agenda to the left as far as possible. If he uses the power he can harness in the population simply to obtain a huge subsidy for the insurance companies for example and call that health care reform I believe it to be a misuse and a waste.
If, on the other hand, he uses this power to call people to act by not only contacting their congress people but also by converging on the capitol and demanding an ongoing progressive budget agenda reflecting the priorities Obama has put in his proposed budget, to demand health care for all that includes (at minimum) a fully operational "government alternative" that will kick the asses of the insurance parasites, that will demand restoration of progressive taxation, dramatic reductions in military spending, etc... then Obama would have used his power well.
March 10, 2009 6:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
the priorities Obama has put in his proposed budget
This is, after all, where the rubber meets the road, and is why at bottom I trust Prez not to sell us out to advance the interests of flatterers.
Likewise, I am inclined to trust his judgement of the possible (as in, politics is the art of) to be more acute then mine.
You go to Washington (as it were) with the electorate you have, not the one you might want...We have to create the space in which Prez operate. The Alinsky principles work. They worked for Saul Alinsky, they worked in the last campaign, and they will work as the foundation of a 13,000,000 strong cadre--not simply themselves sources of political pressure (call congress, write editor, blah blah blah) but nodes of organization.
Volunteers for America, as it were.
March 10, 2009 11:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
.
Yup! It takes a very savvy leader . . .
To handle and wield his weapon wisely.
~ODD~
March 11, 2009 12:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
his weapon
It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest
my claim to fame:hung out in high school with the
Fugs Bass Player (he wasn't the Fugs bass player yet, though, if you know what I mean.)
March 11, 2009 4:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's entirely possible to get too far to the left for the majority of the population. Shifting the center leftward will take time. (I know you don't like that basic truth, even though it's a fact of life.)
Look at it this way: Every step forward is one we have made, and the thing to do is consolidate and move forward from there. Building a lasting future will always take time.
It's the same reason I don't take Greens nearly as seriously as they take themselves - who builds a house beginning with the roof? Get legislative victories so there's a base for a mayor, governor, or president, then talk to me about those offices.
I'm moving a bit sideways here, but the fact remains - the public will only go as far as it's prepared to, and to get them to go farther they will have to be led by steps. Lasting progress takes time - it does not happen instantly.
March 11, 2009 12:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
to the left for the majority of the population
Class consciousness is hard to come by in the USA
March 11, 2009 1:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I dont see that as a historic problem we have to be terribly concerned with. Why take adult sized steps when baby steps can hold you back longer than necessary eh?
You worry about a problem we have never experienced. Personally, I'd like to give it a whirl just once and if we do experience the problem you seem to be worried about we can deal with it at that time. Fear and a defeatist mentality masquerading as "realism" is something I'm awfully tired of.
March 11, 2009 1:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Millions of voters speaking up
I think there's gonna be some marching, also, only not necessarily the normal confrontational demo--the inauguration may be the model for hell-a parties.
I can imagine, for instance, this year's labor day being something along the lines of a Coast to Coast Burning Man...
March 10, 2009 11:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
That would be nice.
March 11, 2009 1:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
nice
Well, for one thing, a Prez who can shake it down is a terrible thing to waste.
On Burning the Man, I will only say that there's a bunch of anarchists looking at serious time for the St. Paul set-up who probably would have stayed out of trouble if they kept their clothes off.
Plot naked, plot safe, I say.
March 11, 2009 3:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
JR -- I have a very strong sense that I know you from another blog. ;)
March 10, 2009 11:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
from another blog
As a commenter, or content producer?
March 10, 2009 11:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
content producer. If you are the same person (the sense of the ridiculous is very similar...), I still read that blog. Just saying. :)
March 11, 2009 12:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I still read that blog
Well, since you put it that way, I would be a fool to deny it...however, I am obliged to confess that currently I pretty much only post original stuff here, tho I used to like the Straight Dope Board because it is structured (unlike this one) to enhance real time interaction by bumping threads that show the most recent posts. (Most fora do this as well, except ours...)
March 11, 2009 1:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
tho I used to like the Straight Dope Board
LOL. No. Not that one. Anyways, thnkx for the response.
March 11, 2009 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Roger. I missed this for some reason. Steve Katz made me pledge yesterday, I think. But good blog to spread the message. And of course, comments always funny.
March 11, 2009 1:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
I missed this for some reason
I have been blaming jet lag secondary to daylight savings time (just knowing that the clock says an hour later discombobulates me--that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Anyway that's what I told the Dentist's Appointment Lady when she reproached me for, well, you know.
March 11, 2009 3:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
.
Hey sailor . . .
What's wigglin'? I dropped another comment up thread here that you may have missed.
I've been scouring your earlier archived posts just now and have found you to be quite astute in your observations of the sublime to the ridiculous. Great work.
~OGD~
*Paddlin' aimlessly thru the Cafe yet with a purpose since June 2005*
March 11, 2009 2:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
may have missed
Indeed I did--heard Fogerty on N(ot) P(rogressive) R(adio), maybe two or three years ago. He had a hellish time with his label to the point that he basically stood to get sued if he sang like John Fogerty.
Thanks for the reads and *nods.
*I fear that it's gonna be tough to get anything like the head-slapping incredulity out of the antics of the rump repugnants that G-dub used to provide with terrifying regularity...
March 11, 2009 3:42 AM | Reply | Permalink