Looking back to my posts during the 2008 election campaign, I'm reminded that I was once a Hillary supporter - after Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards had disappeared from view that is. My post headed Hopes fade...but... is a good example. Hey...maybe that Bible code thingie is going to come true after all - apart from the date. Oh joy (not)!
Below are a few cartoons of 2008 vintage, some bear an uncanny resemblance to 2016's dramas, one member of the cast being different, of course. Clicking on images might bring up clearer versions.
As 2016 rolled around - this one turned out to be spot on:
I noticed this comment yesterday, under a thread at Common Dreams, and thought it a good fit to add here:
Below are a few cartoons of 2008 vintage, some bear an uncanny resemblance to 2016's dramas, one member of the cast being different, of course. Clicking on images might bring up clearer versions.
As 2016 rolled around - this one turned out to be spot on:
I noticed this comment yesterday, under a thread at Common Dreams, and thought it a good fit to add here:
R.Merriman:
The day that Obama received his first nomination as the official candidate of the Democratic Party for the national election I told a co-worker, "Well, the fix is in. Obama will become the next President. Let's hope he fulfills some of those campaign promises he made. When Obama leaves the White House at the end of his eight year residence there, Hillary Clinton will be moving in. She's stepped aside for now, but only after she was promised she would be the candidate and nominee in 2016."
She's followed a career path designed to persuade the Public she has "experience" that counts when it comes to serving as President of the United States. Experience is important in many fields of endeavor. When it comes to the office of President however, character is a much more important qualification to bring to the table. Of the two Democratic candidates running today, which has character? When it comes to experience, Sanders has as much as Clinton, though his experience tends to have been gained by listening to Citizens and Residents, and by advocating for the needs of the People. Clinton ... let's just say that her expertise lays in the field of basking in the lime light, and leave it at that.
Clinton resigned as Secretary of State to enter into an intensive period of preparation to handle questions about policy issues, and to make the rounds of executives and boards of directors and so-called super delegates to assure them she would not upset the apple cart once "elected."
Get ready for the velvet glove, America. It's nearly made its way around your neck.
The 2000 election ushered a period of eight anomalous years of the lil' Bush administration, replete with two declared wars and the one on terrorism, and unfettered control wrought by fear mongering not seen for many decades. 2008, still under Bush, delivered the economic collapse caused by shameful, arrogant, financial practices condoned via the purchased-by-the-highest-bidder congress. Constitutional, personal liberties forfeited in the name of security. Obama's breath-of-fresh-air “Change we can believe in” over-powered Hillary's spurious “Ready for change, ready to lead”.
ReplyDelete2016 brings "Make America great again" versus Hillary's (take your pick) "Hillary For America", "Fighting for us", and-or "I'm With Her". Of course, I like The Bern's "A Future To Believe In".
The simple fact that Trump and Clinton are the presumptive nominees of their respective parties is a glaring, red flag, cross-bones-and-skull indication of our fickle electorate and what lies ahead. The moment encountered in a grade-B horror movie where a person in the darkened hallway is about to open the door of the room with the faint sounds of gasping, murmuring, and something electrical.
I've learned more than I wanted in this 2016 election season. I've never been fond of politics, but increasingly so now. I've never been endeared to Hillary, but my tolerance for her has turned to contempt and disdain, right along with the Democratic Party. Oddly, I always thought of Trump as a gaseous blow-hard, obnoxious, belligerent, sexist jerk...I still do...but I have more respect for him than I do for Hillary. On a scale of 0 to 10, I put Hillary at 0.01 and Trump at 0.2. How to escape the madness...emigrate to Canada?...lobotomy?...learn meditation and journey inward?...LOL.
mike ~ Thanks, as always for your take on the current political scene.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised, but pleased, to read today that Nancy Pelosi is defending Bernie:
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/nancy-pelosi-defends-bernie-sanders-amid-suggestions-hes-damaging-party
I mentioned Pelosi in blog posts back in the 2007/8 go-around - after having been pleased about her appointment as first woman Speaker, I was disappointed in her perfomance.
This is better though! Lots better! Maybe it's her Aries responding to his Aries Moon?
My old posts:
http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2007/11/disappointment.html
http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2008/08/conventionally-speaking.html
Re - Pelosi...hmmmmm...I smell conciliatory remarks as a means to soothe the Bernie supporters. If the DNC isn't careful, there is a large voting pool that will abstain their support and forfeit their vote rather than casting for Hillary, because of the DNC's treatment of Bernie. I'm one of the pool. The DNC is currently making themselves out to be victims of Bernie's errant refusal to graciously call it quits. The DNC has to be acutely aware that Bernie not only has a lot of Democratic Party supporters, but he also has a very large independent voter audience that did not partake in the primaries, due to exclusion.
ReplyDelete"Although the number of self-identified independents has fallen slightly in the 1990s and 2000s, about 30 percent of American voters still say they are independents (as measured by self-identification)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_%28voter%29
The Bern hasn't fallen flat on his face by any means during the states' primary elections. He's typically come in close to 50-50, with a few Southern states less. On top of that, even with Hillary and the DNC giving the victory to Hillary, The Bern is still a major contender, as we keep seeing. This must be very annoying to the DNC...the DNC-proclaimed-loser performing well. Should The Bern decide to run as an independent, even though he has said he wouldn't, he would be a major contender to both Hillary and Trump, particularly with the independent voters thrown-in.
I think Pelosi is the harbinger of the DNC shift in attitude, lest they get burned playing with their matches near a flammable Bernie-electorate.
BTW - I've been watching Mars in the night sky and it's been brilliant, very orange-red, and dazzling. Here, it rises about 9 PM and is almost overhead at midnight to 1 AM, when I take GiGi out for her last duties. Saturn is just east, with Antares slightly below. Tonight's full Moon may obscure the spectacle somewhat, as the Moon will be conjunct by degree of sign, but not latitude. Mars in perihelion to the Earth:
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/05/21/mars-hasnt-been-this-close-to-earth-in-over-a-decade/21381246/
I'll rephrase my comment (above):
ReplyDeleteThe DNC has been accusatory of Bernie causing a disruption and not going with the flow. Roberta Lange, et al, of the recent Nevada state convention showed the Bernie supporters how far the DNC is willing to push for Hillary, even if that means not following the rules of their own convention. This on top of all the other Hillary shenanigans to ensure her reign. Pelosi is attempting to placate.
I saw Dianne Feinstein on the national news last night saying Bernie should get out of the race now, as she didn't want to see another 1968-DNC catastrophe. She was blaming Bernie for the potentiality!
The 1968-DNC was a mess:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity
mike (again) ~ We are never safe taking anything at face value now - so, yes, this IS likely to be the first sign of a tentative reach-out.
ReplyDeleteLOL - I can just imagine DNC big guns and friends sitting around sipping iced tea, clutching their pearls, saying, "Well, it's not looking good - who's left who could say something non-abrasive to 'em all...can't be Debbie, can't be Roberta, can't be Madeleine, can't be Dianne, or... or ... or... or...Sigh. What about the boys?
Can't be Eugene, can't be Chuck, can't be any of the MSNBC crowd or Comcast will complain.......What's that you say Nancy? Alrighty then! Good girl!"
Noticed the very bright Moon last night through kitchen window - haven't noticed Mars - will look after the weekend Moonglow.
Clutching their pearls as they read about their brethren making headlines for bully-pulpit cronyism, wondering who will be the next to take some heat for their obsequious Hillary-fawning at Bernie's expense. There is a surge in awareness, thanks to the media and internet, that if the 2016 DNC convention is a repeat of 1968, the blame is on the DNC, not Bernie.
ReplyDelete"Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Worst Week in Washington"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/21/debbie-wasserman-schultzs-worst-week-in-washington/
Feinstein: "I don't want to go back to the '68 convention."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euh0bjGW990
“Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.”
Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Vol. 1
"Democrats Can’t Unite Unless Wasserman Schultz Goes!"
ReplyDeletehttp://billmoyers.com/story/democrats-cant-unite-unless-wasserman-schultz-goes/
Referring to your cartoon (4th down), I would suggest it will be the American people who are between a rock and a hard place come election time 2016.
ReplyDeletemike (again) ~ Dylan's song was never more appropriate! Debbie Wasserman Schultz deserves to lose her own seat as well as to be booted unceremoniously off the DNC. Unlikely if Hillary is crowned though. :-(
ReplyDeleteDo these women realise how badly they are reflecting on their gender????? I am angry about this as well as the politics. DANG!!
RJ Adams ~ Yes indeed, especially if it's a choice of Clinton or Trump!
ReplyDeletemike (again) ~ Re the Moyer's article you mentioned above, I've just come across a commenter at truthdig who has a tale to tell.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.truthdig.com/report/item/democrats_cant_unite_unless_wasserman_schultz_goes_20160521
Scroll down comment thread to a short comment by ChaCha Degregorio with a long response by greghilbert that begins:
Excellent analogy, and I hope readers incl Sanders supporters will also take in the excellent comments of Iowablackbird, JohnT. Qimountain, Cloudchopper and AliceX.
The purpose of this wealthy-funded propaganda article is to distract readers from the corrupt bankruptcy of the global capitalist Dem Party and con readers into thinking removal of DWS would make a difference.
MOYERS' ORG IS ONE OF HUNDREDS OF WEALTHY-FUNDED DEM FRONTS, AND HERE ARE IRREFUTABLE FACTS THAT PROVE IT........................
I assume you are highlighting the Bill Moyers' connection to an inferred corrupt Democratic Party. Moyers has been in the hot seat several times, his latest that I remember is the imbroglio over his wealth obtained via his associations, publications, books, and PBS series that he sold to PBS for great sums of money. He also has a nepotistic staff, further endowing his family. Read his Wiki page:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Moyers#Allegations_of_bias
Ralph Nader supported Moyers for a potential run as POTUS. He is a member of the Bilderberg Group! He's prez of the Schumann Center, a questionable Democratic front, possibly for manipulation. I don't understand the inner-workings of his associations. I do know that Moyers and his staff provide some excellent investigative reporting, which is rare to find nowadays.
In some respects, I'd put Chris Hedges, and the many like him, in this genre of liberal writing. They write about major issues that appeal to my sensibility, yet they are often members of the very same groups they critique and dismember.
Like you, I'm politically an independent. I do not have faith in the Democratic Party, but marginally better than the Republican Party. Both parties are corrupt, but the Dems are typically not bible-thumpers, less likely to advocate guns, more gay-friendly, more pro-abortion, etc. It may be pandering to the liberal voters, but I'll take it over the Ted Cruz mentality.
The call to remove Debby Wassershit is not without merit, yet it is only one small step. Bernie would provide a greater resolution toward correction of the Democratic Party. Isn't that what the fuss is all about right now? Bernie has said all along that he isn't the "ONE"...he's a moderator attempting to return governance and politics to the people.
"greghilbert"'s comment is further emphasized by this Intercept essay:
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/21/top-democrats-ally-with-oil-and-gas-industry-to-fight-colorado-anti-fracking-ballot-measures/
The passing of Obamacare, while hated by Republicans, is another example how lobbyists for the healthcare industries have persuaded many of the Democrat politicians with money. Colorado is now considering a single-payer system...I provided a link previously...and I'm sure many of the Dems mentioned in oil-and-gas link (above) are involved.
Also, the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy has:
ReplyDeleteAssets Amount: $60,963,043 AM
Assets Amount: $60,963,043 AM
Expenditures: $6,046,412
Qualifying Distribution: $5,624,699
Total Giving: $5,096,495
Grants Amount: $5,096,495 Number of Grants: 25
The Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, Inc.'s investment portfolio contains:
2000 shares of British Petroleum;
5,000 shares Columbia Gas Systems;
4,200 shares Conoco, Inc.;
3,900 shares Keyspan Energy (natural gas distribution);
10,000 shares Noble Affiliates (oil & gas exploration and development);
10,200 shares Pioneer Natural Resource Company (oil & gas exploration and development);
10,000 shares Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (Royal Dutch / Shell Oil holding company);
10,000 shares Shell Transportation and Trading Company (another Royal Dutch / Shell Oil holding company); plus
12,500 shares of Ford Motor Company.
From http://www.undueinfluence.com/schumann_foundation.htm
Does this portfolio sound like it belongs to a rabid, anti-capitalist organization????? LOL!
mike (again) ~ Thanks for all the detail. :-)
ReplyDeleteI was interested in what the truthdig commenter wrote, glad to read something that didn't treat Bill Moyers as some kind of "Great White Hat" of the Democrats. I took against him back in 2007/8 when I used to watch political stuff on TV regularly. My phoney-dar rang when, during a PBS programme when he purported to give a rundown on the careers of the then Democratic candidates. He deliberately ignored Dennis Kucinich.
Since then, whenever I've seen Moyers praised for his goody-goody doings I've been cynical - rightly so, it seems.
Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.(E.A. Poe)
Better to laugh....
ReplyDeletehttp://trofire.com/2016/05/22/snl-hillary-bernie-share-one-last-drink/
I saw part of the SNL segment on ABC national news earlier this evening...LOL.
ReplyDeleteBill Moyers was supportive of Kucinich:
"On January 4, 2008, Public Broadcasting Services [PBS] Bill Moyers will discuss what most in the press barely acknowledge; the mainstream media is counting Dennis Kucinich out. Perhaps the truer statement is they do not let him in. Perchance, if we reflect on what has occurred throughout the Presidential campaign we might realize, the moguls who own the airwaves fear true change. They trust Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich will actually work for the people, just as he has done throughout his career."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/01/05/430868/-Bill-Moyers-Asks-Is-Mainstream-Media-Counting-Kucinich-Out
The interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woyL1eDFg88
Maybe we should just cancel the presidential election.
ReplyDelete"Never in the history of the Post-ABC poll have the two major party nominees been viewed as harshly as Clinton and Trump.
Nearly 6 in 10 registered voters say they have negative impressions of both major candidates. Overall, Clinton’s net negative rating among registered voters is minus-16, while Trump’s is minus-17, though Trump’s numbers have improved since March."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-election-2016-shapes-up-as-a-contest-of-negatives/2016/05/21/8d4ccfd6-1ed3-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_poll0522-1201am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
mike (again) ~ Well....that's pretty rich! Moyers didn't help much himself - I recall what I recall - and very clearly, I've mentioned it before in comments over the years. TSK!! Maybe PBS had edited their prog. I trust none of 'em anymore, they're all snakes in the grass.
ReplyDeleteGroan...we're screwed, one way or t'other!