the morning after

i'm waiting to hear the sanders supporters' reactions - much like the obama supporters when they learned that their candidate could not change the world single-handedly. it must be like waking up after you've slept with someone at a party... sweet talk and too much to drink, followed by that long, angry and disappointed walk home.

it's not that the candidate is not admirable; they are always better than what we end up with. but expecting a different outcome when the other side writes the rules is folly, and naive. of course they win - they own the game.

the winning move is not to play. don't accept the lesser of any number of evils; evil is not something that should be judged by degree. do you say that the monster who eats just 1 child is better than the one that eats 10?

they are a made-up thing, like money and priests. if we all stop believing in them, they will go away.

republicans' pants on fire

politifact, a pulitzer prize-winning political fact-checking organization, has found that republicans lie more than democrats. and the gap is widening.

who owns congress?

when a member of congress votes for or against something, it's because they were paid to. the only real questions are how much and by whom. luckily for all of us, maplight has that info.

still think obama is a socialist?

then you haven't seen this: http://www.upworthy.com/the-massive-corporate-power-grab-youre-not-supposed-to-know-about?c=ufb1

(hint: it's a trade agreement that gives corporations rights that transcend international law; in effect making them above the law in every country that signs the agreement. and it was brokered in secret by the obama white house.)

are you living paycheck to paycheck?

you're not alone. 3 out of 4 americans are in the same boat. so how do you climb out of that sinking boat? there are 4 simple steps, and you can do it without spending a dime or even much time:

1. vote out any senator that voted down a jobs bill that would have helped veterans. there is just no excuse for that.

2. tell your own senator(s) that you want a jobs bill passed before they do anything else, and before justin bieber gets thrown in jail again (the clock is really ticking).

3. tell members of the house that you want a raise in the minimum wage, because that will help the economy grow, which will lift all boats - including yours.

4. vote out anyone that doesn't do those two things.

see? simple. all you have to do is act, and i promise that you'll feel better than you do right now.

10 companies that make billions from the u.s. government

the headline tells the story; it's always about the money. more after the jump.

musings on democrat & republican presidents

in our lifetime, we've seen several presidents. want to know what we remember about each?

dubya (r): the war, of course. and the fact that he appointed 99 people to regulate industries that they used to be lobbyists for. wonder how the economy crashed? consider this a big clue.

clinton (d): brought back domestic spying, which we thought we shed back in the 70's. extremely intelligent but - like kennedy - he couldn't keep it zipped.

bush (r): read his lips - no new taxes. the wimpiest pitch in history, and a wife that looked more like his mother (and acted like it, too).

reagan (r): iran contra. no amrs for hostages (while we were looking, anyway). the most indictments of presidential appointees in history. greed is good. what you feel trickling down is the wealthiest 3% pissing on you.

carter (d): a good man, but a terrible president. killer bunny. a lusting heart.

ford (r): a tripping, flavorless cypher with a good golf game. lost any hope of (re?)election by pardoning tricky dick.

nixon (r): how can you tell when nixon is lying? his lips are moving. but tricky dick established relations with china. (the fact that they now own a sizable chunk of this country is not his fault, however - its ours.)

johnson (d): a yes man from the word go. the question is, what did he really say yes to?

kennedy (d): a great president for everyone but the rich, the military, and the mafia. and a player of the first rank.