Fact is, They Can't Have Their Country Back

David Mixner nails down the The anti progressive Right : Constantly On The Wrong Side Of History
Mar 29 2010

The time has come for the American right wing to pack it up, stop its hatred and end its disruption of American society. They have proven time and time again that they are almost always on the wrong side of history. Time to end the 'lock and load' mentality, lawmakers who have 'targets' semi-imposed over their faces and the new code word for racism and homophobia of "We want our country back." Back to where and to whom?

The extreme right record of utter and total failure to stop the march to progress is the reason we should not have to bear their craziness anymore. The record is numbingly clear: They were wrong about Social Security. They were wrong on integrating the military forces under President Truman. They were wrong about McCarthyism in the early 1950's. They were wrong about passing civil rights legislation in the 1960's. They were wrong on Medicare. They were wrong about women rights. They were wrong about 'trickle down economics.' They were wrong about tax breaks for the rich. They were wrong about the war in Iraq. They were wrong about climate change. They were wrong about LGBT rights and they are wrong about healthcare reform.

Can you imagine our world if they had been successful in stopping any of the forces for change above? We would have a world with our seniors poor and unable to have healthcare. We would have African-Americans unable to vote. We would see women relegated to being housewives and not leading our nation. All homosexuals would still be in the closet with many having lobotomies, committing suicide and being arrested. The world has become and is still becoming a better place because of progressive legislation and ignoring the calls, shouts and anger to protect the narrow-minded status quo.

Fact is, they can't have their country back. Their country is moving forward into a greatness with a richly diverse and exciting population. Their country is still a place that still believes individual freedom and equality for all its people no matter if they are popular or not. As Frank Rich pointed out in his column this week in the New York Times, their country now has an African-American President, a woman as Speaker of the House, a Hispanic on the Supreme Court and a gay man as head of the Banking Committee in the House. Those who seek to end this march into the 21st century simply can't turn back the tides of time.

All they can do is make us more divided, pay a higher price to protect the people of this nation, fill the air with anger and make the march of progress a heavier burden. Time for them to realize that for the last 100 years they have been on the wrong side of history. I say to them: Give it up and enjoy your new healthcare and make sure your children are at last getting adequate care. I am willing to bet that in five years every single mindlessly angry voice will be using this new healthcare system and many of them will be saved economically by it. Progress is good. Generosity is appreciated. Intelligence is revered. Get used to it.

It really is a pretty big deal

What a wonderful day ! Major health system reform for all. Our Vice- President's " This is a big fucking deal", somehow made it joyful. One thing for sure is that the phrase is going to get a lot of attention in the the next few days. I'm think it's great. That's our Joe, he's a gift. This image comes from 2 Political Junkies, one of Pittsburgh's best blogs.

If Fonts Were Dogs

I found this at momoko mashups. Happy National Puppy Day, remember there are a lot of puppies in shelters who just want to go home and love you.

Reagan on a fifty dollar bill ? Ok , but only if we can have KISS on a twenty

And maybe Otis Redding on a tenner ? WC Fields on a fin ? Charles Bukowski on a single ?

Grey skies are gonna clear up, sit on a happy face !

Yes.......................spread sunshine all over the place.....when you ....sit .....on .....a ......happy faaaaaaaaaaaaaace !
Thats my word now. After three separate health incidents so far this year, I am looking for things to get at least back to normal. I would settle for normal.
Seven new inches of snow last night covered all the dirty snow piles, creating again that kind of icy moonscape that is winter here in western Pennsylvania. The birds seem as fat as ever so they must be getting enough to eat.
They seem very busy around the creek in my backyard. The Cardinals and the huge Blue Jays add the only color found other than the drab browns and greens. Animation is provided by the the small flocks of gold flecked Grackles, who can pick an area clean of half a loaf of old bread in about 6 minutes. I watched a young woodpecker on the wooden electric pole, pecking around. Poor deluded thing, what do the polite ladies say down south ? " Bless your heart."




















Obama and the Democrats seem to me to be finally growing a set of Cojonies in their dealings with the lunatic fringe currently operating the Republican party. This and the fact that the infighting / power grabbing going on in that party continues to weaken them and their party of No is finally being recognized for what it is. They show their ass so often and in so many ways. I am encouraged.





































Been watching old movies during my illness (es). From Amazon came a box set ( 100 Mystery Classics, Mill Creek Entertainment, 2008 ) of 100 B movies, all mystery / whodunit type things. I love B movies from the old poverty row studios : Grand National, Producers Releasing Corp, Republic and Monogram. There are some real classics on there though including My Man Godfrey, His Girl Friday, Beat The Devil, The Stranger and Algiers. Actors mostly forgotten now but whose faces and voices were once familiar to millions of people. Many of the characters seem like a cliche now but these folks were the ones who originated the persona. The dithery society matron of Billie Burke,the elegant Franchot Tone, troubled Edmund O'Brien, William Powell who stole every scene in whatever production he was ever in ( see Life With Father or the Thin Man series ). There are many big name actors too, Bogart, Cagney, Eddy G Robinson, Charles Boyer and Cary Grant. All were mostly filmed in the 1930's - 40's, with a dozen or so from the early 50's. It took me a week to watch all of them but with the sinus infection I wasn't much good for anything else. Indeed, after 2 weeks of affliction and 1 week of taking an antibiotic the sinus malfunction still lingers behind my left eye. But hey ............pack up your cares and cheer up, sit on a happy face ............

This is bad......bad, bad, bad.....................

Bad Judgement















bad sports














bad girl

















bad moment






















bad mammy jammy
























bad flower






















bad Catholic















bad duck















bad santa
















bad sign















bad roomba

















bad kitty















bad dog

























bad seed























bad boys

























bad girls


bad boy

Don't get sick or hurt yourself or get old !

Don't get sick ! Don't get sick....or old ....or hurt yourself. At best it's a major inconvenience and at worst it will scare you so badly you will do-do in your pantaloons. I blacked out in a public place,yes, it was a bar and yes, it was two o'clock in the afternoon though to be fair I was on my third drink ( my blood alcohol was .03 ). I got an ambulance ride to the Washington Hospital. At the hospital, they offered me no food or water and very little sleep but I had me some tests.........EEG, EKG, stress test, carotid Doppler, some other Doppler, nuclear fluid injected in my blood, CAT Scan and others. They found nothing out of the ordinary. My family doctor said it might have been just food poisoning, something that is much more common than we realize. He says if it happens again though, then there is a problem for him to solve. It's sure not something that I want to happen again and I am still freaked by the whole process. I don't even want to think about it deeply at this point. Be careful out there my friends.

Closed Temporarily

Closed Temporarily, sick since Christmas Day, Happy New Year !

pics

These old trucks are in Brownsville Pa. near the railroad yards and an old distillery.








About a dozen trains a day run down the main street of West Brownsville as they have done every day for over a hundred years.









Kid as kid with first electric. This was a Fender knock off which I soon traded for a Hagstrom. I still have the Hag, it has a neck as thin as a straw and plays like butter.










The Monongahela River at Brownsville. Tye dyed nature show courtesy of God.








Random living room window.















My son's yard, garden needs thinned out.










Summers gone around here, lest we forget.














When I was in the blues band years ago we opened for Jack " The Oil Man " Johnson from Mississippi at Price's Tavern in Washington Pa. Here's me and his lead guitar player, Roger Montgomery.

Last Day Of Zappadan - Happy Birthday Frank

In the fall of 1969 I was a freshman at Penn State University at State College Pa. Long known accurately as Happy Valley, and was probably never before or afterwards as happy as it was at that time. It was a wonderful place and time in the world. I bought this print on cardboard in town at a hippie store called People's Nation. Most of my stuff has gone by the wayside due to various moves around the country, thieves, two failed marriages and another lady who really took me to the cleaners during her slow slide into the abyss. Somehow this print has always been around, forty years now.
My friend Gary was a grad student at PSU having graduated from Rutgers. We used to make trips back to Jersey to visit his friends and conduct his business. His business was trading 1000 capsule jars of " black beauty " meth-amphetamines for pot and opium which were taken back to our school for Gary to sell at retail. The speed was provided by a guy called Altoona Mack who broke into pharmacies ( I suppose ) to obtain these pharmaceutical treats so coveted by the sleepy scholars on the banks of the old Raritan. Since it was so close we would go into New York City and do the Fillmore East shows. We saw the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Ten Years After, Pink Floyd ( in Quad with speakers around the theater), Santana, and some others I have never heard of since, like Ballin Jack, Great Jones, Illinois Speed Press ( two brothers played harmonizing lead guitars) and others. I don't remember all, it's a bit hazy now. I do remember that one time we had to turn around on the turnpike and return due to a big snow. The concerts we planned on seeing on that aborted trip were the Who and the Mothers of Invention. I've always regretted missing both of those shows. My old head friends here in southwestern Pennsylvania speak in awed and reverent tones of a concert Frank and the Mothers gave at nearby California State Teachers College in 1972. I think it was 1972, as I said, it's all a little hazy.
Happy Birthday Frank and thanks again for everything you gave us.

On the Sixth Day Of Zappadan Frank Gave To me ...

Fifteen words of wisdom......


For more on the magic of Zappadan go to Mark Hoback's Fried Green Al Qaedas here. or Blue Gal here or Mock Paper Scissors here.
My Zappadan post from last year is here.

Zappadan

One can see, reflected in the face of this little child, that Frank's spirit lives on.....



















For more on the magic of Zappadan go to Mark Hoback's Fried Green Al Qaedas here. or Blue Gal here or Mock Paper Scissors here. Mine of last year is here.

shitmydadsays - Everyone loves a crusty old man !

I don't participate on Twitter but I do have this Twitter feed on my Google Reader. Called shitmydadsays , it is done by a guy named Justin and it is freakin' hilarious. Read some of the quotes and you might find yourself hooked.
Here is his bio:

I'm 29. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says.



“We’re banned from the dog park. Well, I guess it’s okay to hump, and it’s okay to bark, but both at the same time freaks people out."
1:07 PM Nov 21st from web

"No. Tell 'em we're not doing Christmas dinner at a casino... Don't be an ass about it, but tell them why it's a fucking stupid idea."
12:59 PM Nov 18th from web

"I don't need more friends. You got friends and all they do is ask you to help them move. Fuck that. I'm old. I'm through moving shit."
11:00 AM Nov 16th from web

"A mule kicked Uncle Bob once. Broke his ribs. He punched it in the face.. My point? You have an ingrown fucking toenail. Stop bitching."
11:26 AM Nov 13th from web

"Son, no one gives a shit about all the things your cell phone does. You didn't invent it, you just bought it. Anybody can do that."
10:40 AM Nov 4th from web

"You worry too much. Eat some bacon... What? No, I got no idea if it'll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon."
12:39 PM Oct 28th from web

"The baby will talk when he talks, relax. It ain't like he knows the cure for cancer and he just ain't spitting it out."
9:51 AM Oct 22nd from web

"You sure do like to tailgate people... Right, because it's real important you show up to the nothing you have to do on time."
10:53 AM Oct 20th from web

"Just pay the parking ticket. Don't be so outraged. You're not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked."
12:59 PM Oct 18th from web

"I like the dog. If he can't eat it, or fuck it, he pisses on it. I can get behind that."
10:11 AM Oct 16th from web

"That woman was sexy...Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won't screw you, don't do it for them."
9:10 AM Oct 12th from web

"Son, people will always try and fuck you. Don't waste your life planning for a fucking, just be alert when your pants are down."
10:41 AM Oct 10th from web

"I wanted to see Detroit win. I've been there. It's like God took a shit on a parking lot. They deserve some good news."
9:13 AM Oct 8th from web

"You're being fucking dramatic. You own a TV and an air mattress. That's not exactly what I'd call "a lot to lose."
5:57 PM Oct 3rd from web

"Jesus Christ, Just give the dog his fucking food. Why's he gotta do a trick first? YOU don't have to do shit before YOU eat."
10:28 AM Sep 30th from web

"A scar ain't 13 god damned stitches. I'll introduce you to men with REAL scars, then we'll all laugh at your fucking 13 stitches together."
10:57 AM Sep 26th from web

"I'm sitting in one of those TGI Friday's places, and everyone looks like they want to shove a shotgun in their mouth."
2:56 PM Sep 24th from web

"Sometimes life leaves a hundred dollar bill on your dresser, and you don't realize until later that it's because it fucked you."
10:38 AM Sep 19th from web

"The universe does not give a fuck about you. You are a speck in its shit."
3:00 PM Sep 17th from web

"Fucking Radio Shack. It's a wonder they even know how to use a bathroom and don't just walk around all day with shit in their pants."
12:08 PM Sep 16th from web

Shadow Brings A Gift That Keeps On Giving

Shadow's favorite place is on the lap of anyone who will sit still. I love this cat but the cute little bastard carried fleas into my house a few months back. Thank goodness I was able to get rid of them before they got out of hand.

Truck Crossing

A little excitement outside yesterday. Rain made the hill a little slick and the driver lost control. There's no way they can get that down off there without making more damage. Lucky though, it's about 25 feet straight down to the bottom of the ravine under the left front tire.

Veteran's Day

Bless our veterans. Let us honor their sacrifice by living good lives.




Remember us
we were just kids - the most of us
not militant, not warriors
and certainly not men
but trying just as hard as
any can imagine to be so
just ordinary guys
like you
and had we made it home we would be
standing where you stand,
quiet with the thoughts you think
no different
the same
just guys
........looking to be home.

- Poem on The Washington County ( Pa. ) Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial

My father was a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division . He was in the Battle of the Bulge and other actions in Belgium, Holland and Germany . His brother Alex also served in WW II as did five of my mothers' brothers. My Uncle John was a tanker with Patton and earned the Bronze Star with V, the Croix DeGuerre and four bronze battle stars. My stepfather fought at Guam and Okinawa with the army's 77th Division, US Marines on Guam nicknamed them the "77th Marine Division". Another uncle was disabled in Korea. I have several second cousins who are presently in the middle east. I hope they and all the others safely return from the madness men make.



Terry Kelly on taking a bit of time to remember the ones who served.

Reposted from 2008.

The President's Remarks At Fort Hood

Following is the prepared text of President Obama's speech Tuesday at a Fort Hood memorial service for those killed Thursday:

We come together filled with sorrow for the thirteen Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that is their legacy.

Neither this country - nor the values that we were founded upon - could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill had served in the National Guard and worked as a physician's assistant for decades. A husband and father of three, he was so committed to his patients that on the day he died, he was back at work just weeks after having a heart attack.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment. He is survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.

Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and Satellite Communications Operator. He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and father.

After retiring from the Army as a Major, John Gaffaney cared for society's most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse. He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a Captain. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008 with the support of his family. As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for. He joined the Army after high school. He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he re-enlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience. When her mother told her she couldn't take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: "Watch me."

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service - diffuse bombs - so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher. He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play. He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress. He had great respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, the daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army. When she was killed, she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman was the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans. She was a single mother who put herself through college and graduate school, and served as a nurse practitioner while raising her two daughters. She also left behind a loving husband.

Private First Class Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child. He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service. He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.

These men and women came from all parts of the country. Some had long careers in the military. Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11. Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did. Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity and the decency of those who serve, and that is how they will be remembered.

That same spirit is embodied in the community here at Fort Hood, and in the many wounded who are still recovering. In those terrible minutes during the attack, soldiers made makeshift tourniquets out of their clothes. They braved gunfire to reach the wounded, and ferried them to safety in the backs of cars and a pick-up truck.

One young soldier, Amber Bahr, was so intent on helping others that she did not realize for some time that she, herself, had been shot in the back. Two police officers - Mark Todd and Kim Munley - saved countless lives by risking their own. One medic - Francisco de la Serna - treated both Officer Munley and the gunman who shot her.

It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know - no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice - in this world, and the next.

These are trying times for our country. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis. In Iraq, we are working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon. Theirs are tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call - the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it. We saw that valor in those who braved bullets here at Fort Hood, just as surely as we see it in those who signed up knowing that they would serve in harm's way.

We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes.

We are a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses. And instead of claiming God for our side, we remember Lincoln's words, and always pray to be on the side of God.

We are a nation that is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal. We live that truth within our military, and see it in the varied backgrounds of those we lay to rest today. We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality. That is who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. It is a chance to pause, and to pay tribute - for students to learn of the struggles that preceded them; for families to honor the service of parents and grandparents; for citizens to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made in pursuit of a more perfect union.

For history is filled with heroes. You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf. But as we honor the many generations who have served, I think all of us - every single American - must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who have come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations - all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

In today's wars, there is not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops' success - no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed. But the measure of their impact is no less great - in a world of threats that no know borders, it will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that is extended abroad. And it will serve as testimony to the character of those who serve, and the example that you set for America and for the world.

Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to thirteen men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home. Later today, at Fort Lewis, one community will gather to remember so many in one Stryker Brigade who have fallen in Afghanistan.

Long after they are laid to rest - when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today's servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown - it will be said of this generation that they believed under the most trying of tests; that they persevered not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; and that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this nation, and stood up for the values that live in the hearts of all free peoples.

So we say goodbye to those who now belong to eternity. We press ahead in pursuit of the peace that guided their service. May God bless the memory of those we lost. And may God bless the United States of America.

When I Go.........

When I go .........sing me out .......with the voice of an angel..............



As each long day rolls by and falls behind me, in the lonely night, there's a peacefulness I've found
Tho' I'm weary even then
When I rise to start again
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
I have wasted all that life has laid before me, I have watched as all the green fields turn to brown But I shall not disavow
All these ties that bind me now
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
Shinning down some day I know
Brighter than all their streets of gold
When the burdens that I carry I will lay down
And the sorrows I have known
I'll see them all be overthrown
Ther'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
Through the passing of the years
I will grow stronger, just as sure as this old world keeps spinning 'round
Then the closer I will be to my sweetest victory
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown.........

Yeah ..........Why ?

Why aren't there citizens in the streets raising hell about this little (inconvenient) truth ?

H/t to Two Political Junkies, my favorite Pittsburgh political blog.

Halloween ...Ice Scream, Use Cream !