despite all my rage i’m still just a rat in a cage
just finished watching bill maher’s last show… probably the best thing out there right now, but apparently the last episode. i guess he only has to do 6 a year or something.
anyway, it was great, as great as the one demanding rioting the in the streets of new york during the republican convention. he had andrew sullivan on, and that really just depressed me. i mean, here’s a guy who actually did vote for kerry this time around… but still, he just doesn’t seem to get it. or, truth be told, we just don’t get him. i don’t see a solution… we’re a very split country and that ain’t gonna change. chomsky was on and was rational and very pragmatic, tell it like it is and depress the hell out of us as usual and sullivan, who actually seems reasonable and intelligent and capable of thinking outside of the box, was going off about how he was an american hating bastard. whatever.
So i don’t know how this ended up being a political thing instead of discussing how much i drank last night, but there you go. i still don’t support the democrats anymore, and i still think we need a third party system, but the bottom line is the dems have gotta stop walking the line and pushing themselves to the right in an attempt to get votes. fuck ‘em, you aren’t ever going to win that way.
they have got to stand up for what we all believe, and get the people that think the same to come out and vote in droves. don’t got after their marginals, go after your base… the ones too lazy to vote. be strong, be convincing. look at bush - he stood there and said “at least you know where i stand”. And we do. And most polls show a majority of people think his stands are wrong, and STILL FUCKING VOTED FOR HIM.
So there you go. Learn from them. They know how to win. One comment from a day or so ago was about Michael Moore, and how he ostracized people. I completely disagree. I’m sure he did, but I’m willing to bet he fired up more people than he pissed off. And that’s what the dems need. Maybe if Kerry would have recognized the pissed off left there might be a different outcome right now, instead of toadying to the centrics and giving the republicans the flip flop chant.
That comment also went on to talk a bit about the supposed inaccuracies in Farenheit 9-11. I’m not going to attempt to defend the movie - for every pointed out inaccuracy and documentation, he’s got documentation showing how he’s right. Pick and choose, but at least read his defense, particularly if you’re leaning liberal. That’s also part of the problem - why are we trying to distance ourselves from people like Moore who take up the rallying cry? The republicans circle the fucking wagons, and protect their own - we leave ours out to dry.
But even more important than that - Ok, let’s assume Moore’s lied, shall we? What did it cost you? 10 bucks for the movie? 30 if you bought the DVD?
Now, let’s talk about how Bush/Cheney/Rice/et al might have lied. I’m pretty sure they did. No weapons of mass destruction. Saddam didn’t seem to be an imminent threat to us (while that pesky north korean could be). So, let’s just go ahead and assume he lied as well, just like we assumed Michael Moore did. Mikey cost you 10 bucks. Bush cost your children’s future, with a stratospheric debt and tax cuts in a time of war (thanks for that $300! Wait, that corporation got 5 billion in tax credits?). I’ll admit that Mike’s movie might have possibly caused some 80 year old die-hard republican to have a heart attack somewhere in Georgia after he saw the movie. But that’d still be 1 to how many US soldiers, for no reason? Not to even mention innocent civilian causalties.
So I think you need to balance things a bit here. Michael Moore made a movie; George Bush is the leader of the free world. One’s (supposed) lies seems to have a bit more weight than the other’s (supposed) lies.
Or something like that. Anyway, at the end of the day it doesn’t seem to matter. I have no chance of convincing the red states, and they have no chance of convincing me. Us blues just need someone to really stand up and put up next time around. And the way things are going, I seriously doubt it’s going to be a democrat.
November 6th, 2004 at 2:58 pm
I liked your comments and for the most part agree. Perhaps I used the wrong word in saying he lied. More like he presented the facts in a way that led you to concluded certain things (ie The whole bin laden family thing). Prior to the movie, I would say I was a semi-fan and liked what I knew of him. I was deeply touched by the movie and left the theater in tears. I felt he was someone who was here to tell us like it is. No hidden agenda…just the facts. After finding out he put a spin on the facts, I felt a bit betrayed. Like “who do you trust?” I still feel he is doing good, opening people’s eyes to things…I was just hoping that his movie was the total real deal, one that no one could shoot holes in. Of course, there will always be ones to shoot holes in things but I thought it would be without merit. So, I do still support him, as I said in my first comment. I just wish he had not manipulated the facts. Maybe the reality is there are no saviors and you are right, we do need to stick together.
Enough political talk…hand me a beer.