The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    wws's picture

    To Whom it May Concern

    The printer hummed and clicked, smoothly sucking in blank paper and spitting out the carefully-crafted letters Susan had written during the past week. Letters she had considered writing, depending on the Addressee, for a long time. Letters she had avoided writing, much less mailing, until ....until not writing/mailing them seemed more self-sabotaging than facing the risk of sounding: a) loony/whiny/desperate/pitiful or .... b) other.

     The printer stopped. Susan retrieved the letters, methodically matching them, one by one, to the pre-addressed envelopes she had already printed. Matched sets were accumulating as a stack on her desk so that she might sign them in cobalt blue ink flowing from her grandfather's fountain pen with its left-handed nib -- just because.

    When the last letters were matched to their envelopes, Susan sat down at her desk to proofread the lot before adding her signature. When they were complete she would fold them in thirds and then insert them into their envelopes which she would seal by moistening the glue strip with a damp sponge she had placed on a saucer within reach, next to a box of paper clips. The whole process felt quite ceremonial, if a bit compulsive, she thought.... 

    Perhaps this is what it felt like to be the President when an important bill crossed his desk for signature - when all the "compromises" had been made, when every parsed line item "i" had been dotted and every "t" had been crossed  so that - let the chips fall where they might -- nothing remained but to officially enact the legislation to which the documents before him pertained and, thereafter, call it - without a blush -- a win.

     But at the thought of her President, Susan sighed. She had procrastinated about this letter to President Obama - although in truth, among all of them, it was the most recent of those needing to be written and the easiest among them to write.  After all-- a letter to a President did not involve a personal relationship, even when the decisions the president was taking affected her, quite personally. Nonetheless, the tone of a letter to the president was important: it must be direct, but also respectful. The office mattered, more than the man, or the woman who might one day occupy the office. And manners mattered, always, although apparently, in the age of the blogosphere, that consideration was becoming less important than it had once been ....

     Had she succeeded in establishing the right tone, the appropriate degree of deference, without obsequiousness, due the president of a democratic union of states? 

    Susan picked up the letter, adjusted her glasses and began to read:

    ********************************************************************

     The Right Honorable, Barack Obama

    President of the United States

    The White House

    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

    Washington, D.C. 2010-1600 

    Sir:

    I will not waste your time with frivolities - you are a busy man. Therefore, please note that, in addition to the cover letter you are reading, there are only two more pages attached, although both of them will require your immediate attention:

    The first is a one-page "to do" list which I trust you will read carefully -- perhaps even repeatedly -- as I took great care to cull it down to only those shifts in strategy/policy/legislative action that really are absolutely necessary, Sir -- right now. 

    I  am aware, Sir, that the list may hit some hot buttons for you. Getting rid of Geithner and Summers, while hiring Elizabeth Warren and re-instating Glass--Steagall will be.... embarrassing. While closing Gitmo, withdrawing from both Iraq and Afghanistan immediately and cutting back on the defense budget by at least 50% will .... set the Right crazy and perhaps, in consequence, put you in increased personal danger. (I do worry about that, Sir, but you did, after all, sign up for the job and the risk that goes with it. So, in for a penny, in for a pound, eh?)

    Moving along: it is also necessary that you shut down off-shore drilling completely, despite the oil  industry's hue and cry. Never mind - with all the money you've just saved from warmongering and oil despoliation enabling, a similar amount of money can be invested in job stimulus, green energies and renewed infrastructure...  It's OK if you start small by doing something small for the little people; for example, Sir, how about caps on medical insurance policy rates that go into effect, right now?

    I know.... I really do know, Sir - that implementing this list will be REALLY HARD. But you knew this job would be difficult when you signed up for it. Just as you expect us to be realists, so we expect you to get real: the Republicans, Sir, aren't buying into your bipartisan approach and the result is that we are buying the farm. And that is going to have an impact on you in 2012.  You need to trust me in this, Sir -- in the end implementing the line items on this list will be a major time and angst saver for you. Your base will be appeased and therefore supportive of you when you will, in fact, really need their support, in 2012.  Because, no matter your wooing of them, Sir, the Right and the confused will not be there for you in 2012. So it behooves you to marshall your base, whatever it takes.

    Just sayin'. 

    Therefore, following this handy list to the letter (no pun intended) will give you far more time - after the hue and cry quiets down - to devote to your re-election campaign.  Personally, Sir, unless you implement this list, I would advise you to give up re-election as a pipe dream. But hope springs eternal  and you do seem to be a true believer in the audacity of hope (which has taken on a new meaning for some of us, Sir) ... as well as in you and in your team.... so --  far be it from me to try to dissuade you from pursuing whatever.  All I'm saying is that, if you're going there, do give yourself the maximum time possible, and leave the governing of the country, in the meantime, to those of us who are actually affected by the outcome, in the interim. Capiche?

    Now, about money:

    2) The second page, Mr. President,  is, as you will observe, an invoice.

    The amount due represents my request for a complete refund of all the money I contributed to your '08 election campaign.

     I believe this to be a fair request, Sir, as I did without myself over a prolonged period of time so that I could contribute every month to your "Change We Can Believe In" campaign. Without dwelling on it, Sir, a more accurate slogan, given your affinities and priorties to date -- might have been, if Truth in Advertising had real meaning to you:  Plus Ca Change, Plus C'est la Meme Chose .....

    But, rather than listening to me run on about the FUNDAMENTAL SENSE OF DISAPPOINTMENT, if not BETRAYAL that many of us feel about you, Sir, please just add your John Hancock to this invoice, and be prepared to do the same for others who may contact you with the same request. Rubber stamp mine today, if you will, Sir, remembering the advice of efficiency experts who say never handle a piece of paper twice. Your secretary can then send it on to Accounting in General Services, with a personal note to EXPEDITE.

     For their convenience, I have included my bank account information so that I may be paid by wire transfer, as waiting for a check by snail mail is, among other things, so yesterday. Also, I am thinking of your best interests --  if, due to any unforeseen delay -- for example, like the one I am experiencing waiting for my tax refund -- I had to phone you repeatedly in a collection mode, it would be embarrassing for you. Heavens - that scenario would put you in  the embarrassing position of saying "The check is in the mail." 

    Anyway -- best regards and good luck in all your endeavors, Sir,

     

     Susan  Rutledge Ravenel

    5 ½ Tradd Street

    Charleston, SC 29401

    PPS -- So that we're all on the same page, as it were, you might ask your secretary to copy my "honeydo" list for distribution to the Vice President,  to each Senator and member of the House, to each Supreme Court Justice and to every leading anchor of the MSM. Just to "keep it simple" not that I would ever call you Stupid; maybe other things, but never that.

    Comments

    ROFLMAO!

    I love this voice. You are a genius.


    Very, very uncomfortble. It leaves a mark, Wendy! By the way, in the name of accuracy, and correctness, the apostrophe generally stands in for the missing letter. Er, just sayin'

    =D


    Ha! Bwak:
    Point -- and apostrophe -- not only well-taken but better placed.
    Thank you.


    "I will not waste time with frivolities; you are a busy man."

    Killing! Southern gentille, and Right to the Point!
    But would you really send you account info? I'm not so sure about *that one*! Ha ha!

    Nice to hear from you; been wondering where you were... ;-)


    I'd like to add that the voice of this character reminds me of the voice of the character in the Prologue to your novel (first version) that I love so much. Perfect pitch.


    Food for Thought.

    The economic meltdown in 2008 just before the election caught Congress completely by surprise, especially when Berneke told them if them didn't do something quickly the economic would go down the tubes first thing Monday morning...we have the republicans to thank for their rigorous oversight before they were voted out of power in 2006.

    However ...

    A lot of what Obama promised during the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the public seems to be more fluff than substance and that has got me wondering.

    This article just stab it in the heart.

    What if ...

    Since no one had the slightest clue the economy was running on empty and just about to go over the cliff, I'm wondering ... if ... there may be more dangers we are unaware of?

    Could it be that once Obama took over he found out there's even more economic carnage that has yet seen the light of day? Such that if the public were made known of the situation, the morale fabric of the Nation would be torn asunder?

    And still ...

    Congress is still going toe-to-toe...Party-to-Party...seeking the higher political ground all while not paying attention to the fact the ground isn't solid anymore...it's turned to swamp and we're up to our asses with alligators because no one in Congress knows whose it's their responsibility to keep the swamp drained.

    I was weary of Bu$h when he expanded Posse comitatus as if he was expecting the financial meltdown much earlier ... I suspect he breathed a sigh of relief it happened when it did and all the blame is on Obama's shoulders, not his.

    I always wondered why he felt the need to reinforce it? There had to be a reason why. Could it be they expected the downturn to be far worst than it was? Does that means there are still components of it still out there and in play and could still reek havoc over what little bit of a recovery has been eeked out of all their efforts?

    Could that explain why Obama doesn't seem to be so responsive?

    Just wondering.


    "...So it behooves you to marshall your base, whatever it takes."

    This is the main point.

    I have felt that Obama has wasted much too much time ths far trying in vain to court the right, whom has from day one not one single ounce of respect nor help-in-store for any one of THIS president's many well-deserving priorities, even those they might personally agree with, or could even be politically popular.

    Indeed, Mr. President--it behooves you to marshall, adhere to, keep promises with, follow--your base. End wars, stop DADT, and help to create jobs for the unemployed.


    ...and mine will say,

    Dear President Obama, Sir,

    You will be gettin' a letter from a friend of mine askin' for a refund of her donations to your campaign. See, she apparently thought you were running for dictator, not President, and that you would just waltz into office and presto-change-o, we would have a new America.

    I tried to explain to her that you are just one man, and that you are unable to make all those changes by yourself. But, she's not havin' any part of it. Somehow she thinks that if only you had gone with universal health care instead of the mess we ended up with, why those pesky republicans and blue-dog dems would have just withered up and voted right along with you.

    As for re-instating Glass-Steagall...she thinks you can just use that little ol' executive somethin' to do that, can't you? You don't really need the congress, do you? In fact, if you were really the man she thought you were, you would just abolish Congress!

    And oil drilling? My goodness. I'm sure it just seems like there are conflicting interests where that is concerned. It's only a bunch of people in Lou'siana and red states like that that will lose all the jobs associated with off-shore drilling. I'm sure she's done the math and all that money you save when you pull all the troops out of the Middle East that GW broke and you've been tryin' your darndest to fix will more than cover the cost of figurin' out some other job to give them, along with all the other things on her list, right?

    I mean, all those alternative energy sources that right now cost so much more than oil...everyone is just goin' to be doin' so well when you start spreadin' all that extra money around that they won't mind a bit when their energy bills go up to the equivalent of spending $5.00 a gallon for gas.

    And apparently she thinks you have lots of high paying jobs tucked into your pocket just waitin' to pass out...you don't need that silly old private sector to do a thing, now do you?

    Well, Mr. President, I suspicion things have been just a little different for you than you thought they were goin' to be when you were campaignin'. I mean, I didn't realize the economy was goin' to get so much worse than anyone thought, but I guess you were supposed to. I mean bein' a candidate an all makes you clairvoyant doesn't it?

    An whodda thought the repubs would dig in and say no to everything, and the American people would just sit back and let them get away with it? Well, except my friend, I guess she mustuv known it, because if she didn't surely she'd cut you a little slack for that wouldn't she?

    Now, I can't let you completely off the hook. You have made some pretty dumb mistakes (but then, I seem to remember you tellin' us you would.) But mostly, I think your heart is in the right place. Nominating Elizabeth Warren would go a long ways towards showing that, plus, it would just be the right thing to do, bein' as it was her idea an all. And, it is something the liberals want that you have the power to give them without it costin' you a dime.

    Anyway, I don't mean to be ramblin'. I just wanted to let you know the letter was comin' so you'd have a little time to think about your response. She's had a really hard time lately. She's one of those who have been hit the hardest by the economic downturn, and she seems to think blamin' you instead of those rotten republicans is the right thing to do. She really is a good person, but her letter might not reflect that, so I wanted you to know.

    Sincerely, Someone who understands...


    Why, I DO declare, Miss Stilli. This here is one *wonderful* comeback, mah deah.


    Thank you, Gasket. As a woman of letters, your opinion matters to me. I was just searching for the element of humor, here -- there has to be one, right?


    In this hypothetical situation, why not send them the account info Wendy? They know everything they want to know about "Susan" already, eh?
    (In answer to your whereabout question -- I've been in stitches so thought I would try to share the other, better kind.)


    Well it worked it's magic on me! First thing as I woke this morning different images from it got me grinning.
    Miss Manners at her writing desk, anally taking care of her difficult 'personal correspondence'; then moving on to the Easy and Impersonal letter to her President. Her no-nonsense to-do list buttressed by compelling reasons for him to get them done: Do these things so your base will be 'appeased and supportive' (deliberately low-balling the enthusiasm that would ensue) was both practical and ideological at the same time.
    Given that the Obama folks seem to have been better at 'campaigning' than 'governing', she laid out her list as a Re-election Strategy, not just some pie-in-the-sky Good for America Wish List!
    By the time we get to The Invoice, it becomes, of course, *very personal*; money sacrificed during her economic hard times; money she actually saw as an investment in her future, and those of all others' whose futures she cared for. And she touches on feelings of betrayal, but does not over-play that.

    Goooooooooooooallll!


    Wonderful response, Stilli -- loved that you did so by "letter."
    Thanks for playing.

    " Susan" would like to respond to the following points "Someone..." made:
    1) Someone" was obviously annoyed with "Susan" and it showed. Never mind. Susan will give Someone a pass on the repeated denigrating characterizations of Susan's intelligence, maturity and degree of political savvy -- her suggestion, for example, that Susan thought Obama was running for "dictator" etc.. Hey -- Susan has tried to explain to Someone before that it is not so much what Obama has accomplished or not accomplished that is the source of her disappointment in him; rather, it is the fact that he has serially failed to TRY for issues he knows would benefit all of us, rather than just his Wall Street base ..... Someone and Susan are friends, but they simply don't agree on what expectations of a president are reasonable and which are not. But what are friends for if not to give their honest opinions to, and occasionally about each other?
    2) Even as impoverished as she is, Susan believes that gas should cost $5 a gallon, or more -- whatever it takes to create a demand for alternative energy development before our oceans, lakes and rivers are polluted beyond reclamation. Susan thinks that Someone should be thinking about this issue more personally than she does; after all, where is the protected water source that will keep her grandchildren alive and well, if the oceans, lakes and rivers cannot support human use?
    3) Susan believes that the people on the Gulf and elsewhere who would lose their nuts and bolts jobs in the oil industry are the very people who could be hired to build, run and maintain windmill farms and solar panel collection centers...without endangering their lives to collect a paycheck, and without watching the desecration of the land, water and creatures they love. She's willing to bet -- because she knows the people of the Gulf -- that as desperate as they are, today, they themselves are not just concerned about today; rather, they want to be part of a world in which economic opportunity for themselves, and for their children and their children's children, does not depend on continuing to risk total chaos and carnage of their environment.
    4) Susan doesn't think Obama has jobs up his sleeve that he is purposely withholding, nor does she believe the private sector is silly. On the contrary, she thinks: a) that it is Obama who needs to do the math on war versus job creation, so that jobs can be created that do not require throwing people to throw themselves into the war machine to have a job; and, b) far from thinking the private sector silly, Susan thinks it's downright dangerous -- because she is not a child, but a realist, even a cynic, she has no illusions about human nature left unchecked, and corporate "persons," unregulated, will and do run rampant.
    5) Unlike OBama, Susan has never imagined that the Republicans, or even some of his own Democrats, to play along with Obama's dream of bipartisanship, everyone working for the common good.And she clearly doesn't think Obama was clairvoyant, or he would have seen, in advance, that that dog wouldn't hunt.
    Susan doesn't want miracles, or a pony; she just wants the man she supported, worked for and voted for to attempt to do the job he was elected to do.

    PS to Someone: maybe she should avoid using a dialect that isn't part of her experience or at least current experience --- not even redneck southerners say "I suspicion," nor does anyone, anymore, say "little ol'" anything.


    PPS to LisB: there is not a person I know under the age of eighty who still says: "I do declare."


    Daer Mr. President, Sir, Boss, Hero, Genius, Savior, and O YOU LOVELY MAN!

    Since one of us (stillidealistic) couldn't pack enough insults and condescension to wwstaebler into her letter, we are now collaborating to make wwstaebler look even more stupid and pathetic!

    Not only does that patheric idiot ("She's one of those who have been hit the hardest by the economic downturn...) think you're a "dictator," she actually expected you to stand up for the principles you mouthed endlessly during your campaign!

    Tee hee! What a fool!

    But stilli and Lis... We don't care about no stinking principles! We're your local cult of personality!

    OBAMA! That says it all!

    OBAMA! Is he right or is he right?

    OBAMA! HURRAH! OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA! HURRAH! HURRAH! OBAMAOBAMAOBAMAOBAMAOBAMAOBAMAEEEEEOOOOOEEEEEOOOOEEEE!

    Wow! That was a good one!

    But stilli and Lis... We have one tiny little request for you, Mr. President, Sir, Boss, Hero, Genius, Savior, and O YOU LOVELY MAN!

    It would make it a whole lot easier for your local cult of personality if you actually had a personality!

    Because, after all, what kind of person would force Shirley Sherrod to resign over a fabricated racial controversy?

    What kind of person would humiliate that honest public servant and kick her out the back door like a bag of trash?

    Without even looking at the "evidence! Without even watching the whole video!

    So please Mr. President, Sir, Boss, Hero, Genius, Savior, and O YOU LOVELY MAN!

    Tell us what kind of person you are!

    Because it's really hard for stilli and Lis to be a cult of personality unless we have some kind of recognizable person to be a cult of!

    Sincerely,

    The mostest devoted devotees of YOU, Mr. President, Sir, Boss, Hero, Genius, Savior, and O YOU LOVELY MAN!

    LisB and stillidealistic


    Wow.
    You recently wrote a blog about being hurt, hurt, hurt, that 'someone' had wondered in a comment whether a couple of you 'former Republicans' might not be more used to Republican lock-step unity, therefore less able to understand or enjoy that Dems aren't monolithic, and feel free and almost duty-bound to struggle for what we think is Right for America.

    (Late insert after Previewing):

    Oopsie; I almost forgot to say that it was *Wendy* who asked the helpful comment; wonder if this stuff you wrote might mean you're still a mite peeved with her?

    Now here you go and fill up paragraph after paragraph with rebuttal to her's dream-letter with *exactly* what seem to be Republican talking points.
    My stars.
    And LisB comes in to applaud you, and 'Get Wendy' by Proxy, which is also her wont.
    Good grief.


    Rats; I forgot another thing, Stilli:
    This video from the President, asking us to hold him accountable:

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/obama-in-surprise-message-to-netroots-consider-what-weve-accomplished.php?ref=fpblg

    And I *know* you've been invited to watch, maybe even *did watch*, because I saw you on that TPM-DC comments thread AND on Rotwang's comments thread.


    "That Ruta is really mean, Lis. Maybe we should sic our thugs on him!"

    "Yes, stilli! Let's sic our thugs on him! Tell them to drive their motorcycles into McDonald's in Malibu and run him over!"

    "Maybe they should also shoot him with their guns, Lis!"

    "That's a wonderful idea, stilli! You're the bestest co-President of the Obama Fan Club ever!"


    LOL!

    When I lived in the South I learned very quickly to avoid a Southern smackdown at all costs. No one knows the beautiful utility of language like a Southerner.

    But non-Southerners persist in stereotyping and ghettoizing based entirely on accent.

    Sigh.


    Hee. You're so cute. AND predictable!

    Har har har har.


    ;)


    Do they still say "fiddle dee dee"? Or is that only at Tara? Never mind -- I'll think about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.

    ;)


    I was just searching for the element of humor, here -- there has to be one, right?

    Has to be.

    In fact, that was the life lesson I learned from 9/11, believe it or not. Living in Manhattan at the time, I was pretty traumatized, naturally. When a very dear friend emailed me something that finally made me laugh, I could move beyond the trauma. Before that point, however, I was stuck.

    Thanks for the reminder of that lesson, wendy.


    You meant Scarlett, of course.


    Ha! Good one, LisB.


    Thanks for dropping by, Ruta, and weighing in with your own letter to Obama. I hope others will add their own letters -- we might end up with a political "class action" suit(e) of letters.


    I'll be interested to hear what others more informed than I am about the recession/recovery have to say about the speculations you raised, Beetlejuice. Thank you for adding them in.


    When I read Gone With the Wind, I didn't expect to like it. But I did. Have you ever read the book, Lis? If not, check it out. Great summer reading, and I'm not being sarcastic or insincere, fwiw.


    Hey, Joe: thanks for adding in DADT. Anything else, while we're at it?


    I've read it twice.


    Well, Friends -- I'm leaving for a bit to have coffee at The Lost Dog Cafe and to go for a walk, before its unbearably hot, on Folly Beach. Wish you were here:
    http://lostdogfollybeach.com/menu2.html
    http://www.yelp.com/biz/lost-dog-cafe-folly-beach


    Sorry for the messy modifer -- as YOU are a woman of letters, your opinion matters to me.;-)


    Having read it twice, Lis, you are now entitled to refer to it the southern way -- by instantly understood acronym: GWTW.


    Maybe I'll read it again myself, to help me ride out this stunning Southern heat wave in the Northeast.


    All my favorites on this, the back of the menu; you can see why:
    http://lostdogfollybeach.com/menu3.html


    ...your own letter to Obama

    What letter? I was only quoting an unwritten letter from Lis and stilli, thanks to my telepathic connection with the ummah of Obamabots!

    And besides, writing a letter to Obama would be just like writing a letter to myself!


    Loved this.


    HA! I must have missed that post, Ruta. It's grand. Now -- how about a short summary memo to the president? Your list.


    I owe you an apology, Stilli; it was LisB who wrote the 'Lockstep' blog, not you; I shouldn't have trusted my Crap Memory. But the rest still holds.

    http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/l/i/lisb/2010/07/lock-step.php


    I do hope Susan gets favorable replies to all her letters.


    Cut, but kinda sad as you create a fantasy scenario that completely distorts the clear and obvious point of this post.

    You fantasy of WW desiring a dictator simply demonstrates your willingness and affirmative desire to be misled. Instead of getting a clue and waking up about what is going on it's just more denial from you and more refusal to open your eyes and see what is going on. While I admire your quaint devotion to the idea that this guy isn't the used car salesman he so obviously is, I am amazed at the naivete of your continued hope against all evidence that he's something else. How many lies will it take for you stilli? How many betrayals and flip flops? How many times does Obama have to champion the interests of the rich and the corporations over the people before you finally figure out that the goodly King is out for himself and doesn't give a rat's ass about you or any of the rest of us?


    STANDING OVATION!!!!!


    Pass EFCA, end the privatization of war and intelligence operations. Rewrite trade treaties for the workers of America, not American Overlords; *don't pass new ones with Colombia and othernations in which majorities of their populations don't want them.


    /snicker


    Occam's razor would indicate that your theory (not uncommonly proposed) is not the answer. The simplest and most obvious and sensible answer is that the man lied through his teeth during the campaign, never had any intention of bringing the change he promised and used that marketing slogan to win and has since been carrying out the pro-corporate, pro-status quo, pro-rich people agenda he always intended. The absurd idea that he knows something we don't know is simply unsupportable. Please remember that it is the common people who have jobs at the top of the list of national priorities and not our political leaders. We have known from before the collapse that things have been going to hell in a handbasket. It was about a year ago that Biden was in the news admitting that he and Obama had not realized how bad the economic situation was for months after taking office. They are still struggling to admit this is a full blown depression and not merely "the deepest recession since the 1930's". The political, economic, social and other leadership of this nation has wrecked the US, threatened our position in the world and is refusing to change course as the people demanded they do in the election of 08. So no, not only does he not know something we don't, it is we who know more than he.


    Wendy, this post was simply brilliant. Bravo!

    The biggest shame of it all is that Obama is such a cynical, dishonest, unprincipled and uncaring egotist he will never read anything like this and will never care either.


    Hm.....

    YouTube - GONE WITH THE WOMEN



    Thanks, Bwak, when she finds out I'll let you know.


    Don't worry. They'll do DADT just before the election. It costs the corporatists nothing, helps only the smallest sliver of the smallest sliver of Americans and is wildly popular with the base. IMO, the only reason it hasn't been done yet is because they're holding it for later - maximum political gain and all. They even upped the ante axing Choi just in time for Netroots ... now there will be a nice dramatic photo-op where Reid gives Choi his ring back.

    I fucking hate Democrats. (sorry to those Democrats who don't suck ... your party is a cynical piece of shit).


    EFCA .... now THAT'S something they promised right out of the gate that would help TONS of people and really strengthen labor. Not much talk about that anymore, eh?

    Card Check? What's card check?


    You will be gettin' a letter from a friend of mine askin' for a refund of her donations to your campaign. See, she apparently thought you were running for dictator, not President, and that you would just waltz into office and presto-change-o, we would have a new America.
    Way to attack the messenger. Nice. Fuck you.

    And you still suck.


    I especially loved this part:
    "She really is a good person, but her letter might not reflect that, so I wanted you to know."

    Wow. Expecting the President to be better than he's been and be true to who he said he would be during the campaign makes one a bad person! But the author is absolved because stilli knows her personally. What an asshat thing to say.


    Great post, Wendy. I'm a Noo Yawka so my letter will be much less genteel (and gentle). Running out for a bit, but I'll be back later.


    And Immigration Reform he at least *pretended* to promise, then recently just made a speech, passed the whole enchilda off to Congress, and snooze...ZZZZZ.
    Don't think La Raza didn't notice, either; and they are pissed!
    A DOJ suit against Arizona is thought by many to be the wrong thing at the wrong time.
    The DATD business is more about $$$ contributions than votes, though, IMO. As you say, not many votes there.


    Mmmmm...read it again, Dij; not so much on the 'absolved' part, IMO. 'Susan' is an idiot, remember? She hasn't the political savvy to get incrementalism. Jobs in pockets, $5 gas, *public optiuon* for Godssake? Republican talking points.


    True. But we all do know stilli and LisB and if we can't give them the benefit of the doubt, then perhaps the fault lies in ourselves.

    Or something.

    This rift hurts me so very much, because what I see are a lot of good, honest, well intentioned people forgetting about things they know are true.

    That is very sad. How can we fix this Dija? KGB? LisB? Stilli?

    Oh... fuck me. I take everything too seriously.

    =D

    Back to the time warp again.

    Time is fleeting
    Madness takes its toll


    Hey, hey, hey kgb... it's all good except that last remark. Just unnecessary to go there bud.


    Once I read a news brief about a redneck in No. Georgia who apparently outdid outdid all other rednecks. After offending a couple of guys in a bar, he wound up dead on the floor. The reporter interviewed a bystander who expressed the general feeling held by the locals this way:

    Some folks just need killin'. He was one of 'em.

    It's my favorite Southernism.


    I hear you. Just disagree a little. I'm done trying to be nice. Doesn't suit me. If this is the game folks want to play ... fine. Let's play.


    I was responding this morning to a very hopeful comment about our President on a blog I wrote a couple days ago.
    The poster was waxing hopeful about Obama being seen in the future as the bridge that healed the rift between the races, etc. There were other hopeful comments as well.
    It reminded me of a thing Wanda Sykes said recently, and I'll have to paraphrase a little:

    "You know I love you Mr. President; but if you don't get a huge jobs bill passed soon, and get us out of these wars right now, and let gays serve openly in the military, then people just aren't going to vote for the *next black candidate*....IN 2065!"

    Think about it.


    As between Emanuel, Geithner and Summers I've been trying to decide which one is the Scarecrow, which one the Tin Man, and which one the Cowardly Lion.

    My latest take on that:

    Emanuel is The Cowardly Lion. He is a coward in that he coddles his financial industry backers, and has for many years now, while demonstrating his "toughness" on those who are most vulnerable, whose voices are not being heard in Washington today. He is in this sense a gutless wonder, a classic bully. He is also a top candidate for the scarecrow, showing little or no sense of the consequences for his and his boss' future effectiveness and eventual legacy of his highly successful efforts to de-activate his party's base.

    Geither is the Tin Man. If he has a heart, that is, if he has any sense of the suffering he turns a blind eye to, it does not come through.

    And Summers, Summers is the Scarecrow. Interesting to award him this role, as a former Harvard president. If he realizes that his ability to implement economic policy will be seriously eroded if the House goes Republican he gives no hint of that.

    As for me I would walk through fire for Nancy Pelosi. I am giving as much as I can to whomever she asks me to give me money to and I will join with her and fight, fight, fight until the last votes are in in November to keep her Speaker of the House.

    She is by far the most committed progressive--by that in the current context I mean a person who visibly and through her actions demonstrates that she gets it, that she cares and will put everything on the line to try to help those suffering the most in our society--occupying a position of great power in our country today.

    She has what Summers, Geithner and Emanuel so lamentably lack--brains, a heart, a courage.


    Oh so telling lisb she still sucks is okay, just the fuck you is no good. And this from a guy who recently said he'd be happy to slit Obama's throat -- before his charming sentiments were reported and taken down of course.

    Way to go Oleeb. Stay classy, all of you.

    Now pardon me while I go have a hot flash.


    Well, it's hardly classy to poke fun at Wendy with simpering, disrespectful south baiting. That was unnecessary, I think. Hurtful.

    I can understand that other folks here found that anything but classy. When you start like that it isn't much of a leap to "you suck" or "fuck you."

    I give Oleeb credit for calling out someone that mostly agreed with his take there. I think we can all agree that Wendy has shown forbearance, humor, and gentle restraint in the face of some hostile ridicule.

    Maybe take this to another blog, folks. Like DC. This kind of stuff plays better over there then it does in the Cafe.


    That wasn't a comment on Wendy. It was a comment n the stupid catfighting that's been going on here on her blog since this morning.

    WSS has been quite gracious, even to those with opposing points of view like beetlejuice. But there's been no end of meowing around her good manners.


    Heh. Among the more difficult things I ever tried to track down on vinyl (found it on picture disc EP with "Sweet Transvestite" on the B side ... AWESOME).

    Dunno what to tell you about the "can't we all just get along" thing. Whatever. Don't take the internets *too* seriously.


    Though I do understand how you clicked into simply Scarlet O'Hara.

    But look at the title of the piece, Bwakfat.


    LoL

    Well said.

    I shall retire to my litterbox in da closet.


    Oh and by the way, bwak, in the post where kgb talked about killing Obama, when Brew came back at him to say his comment was so offensive he for one would gladly kill kgb instead, people actually rushed in to tell Brew he didn't understand what kgb really meant. This clown is talking about gladly killing Obama but Brew didn't get the larger picture.

    May be. I'm not going to call that one. But if there is a larger picture involved with this kind of thing, I'm not sure I'm interested in it.

    Not just right wing wackos like Glenn Beck feed hatred.


    I'm not sayin ya have to be nice okay? Just civil is all. You can go after a person all day long and quite harshly and still not go there. That's all I'm sayin. Argue till the cows come home, but just keep it civil.

    I strongly disagree with Stilli too, but for all our disagreements (which are many and often... and almost always on this topic)neither of us fires those kinds of salvos (certainly not that I can recall). This is just my viewpoint of course and you're free to ignore it or disagree, etc., but vigorous, even extreme disagreement can happen and people can engage one another full force and remain civil. Once you hurl basic insults then it necessarily ends civil exchange and degenerates into something a great deal closer to hate in rapid fashion.

    You can convey your thoughts very well without that kinda stuff. Isee ya do it all the time and often with a razor sharp wit and sense of humor. I don't like being in a position of school marm which this feels a bit like, but I appreciate your voice and also that of stilli and others with whom I disagree and just would like to appeal to your sense of restraint as well as to the same sense in others. My apologies for the sermonizing. It is done with nothing but the friendliest of intentions. I will now endeth the preaching, beg your forgiveness for it once again and may "The Force" be with you!


    Pardon me. Would complete silence be better? I spoke for myself. You can speak for yourself okay? I think that's pretty equitable.


    But please don't retire to a litterbox anywhere. You're good people.


    Just noting that both you and anna am responded to my comment with violent imagery. All I can do is note that, however, because I don't know what to do with examples of violence, because it's not what I meant by smackdown.

    So before I get any more violent examples, I just want to point out that not all Southerners are white.

    And here's one of those Southerners who was a genius with language:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA


    Consider all these addition line items added, Wendy, and thank you for your more comprehensive perspective.


    And now that we're talking about Superstar Viva, it's time for a visit to the Nude Restaurant!

    Julian Burroughs: "Would you take a deserter into your house and hide him from the law?... If I can get your address perhaps I could talk to draft dodgers and other groups and tell them that you'll give them hospitality."

    Taylor: "Oh, I won't give just anybody..."

    Julian: "We need people who care... We want people who take an interest in our society and want to change it."

    Taylor: "I want someone beautiful to live with."

    Julian: "Well, anyone who doesn't like war must be beautiful."

    Taylor: "Not necessarily."

    Julian: "Well, I mean, perhaps we can send you pictures...."


    Wendy, thanks for getting that I was "playing" as in-artful as it was! BTW, the "I suspicion" was drawn from a friend from Kentucky (Kentucky is still part of the south isn't it?) whose voice I drew on in my mind as I wrote, since I have never actually "heard" my friend Susan's.

    My "letter" was not meant as a smackdown, southern or otherwise, merely another point of view, but playing on your original idea. I thought it was kinda cute, myself, but that's just me.

    Many forget that EVERYONE has a voice around here, not just those who agree with us. Just as you have the right to speak your piece (or is it peace?), which you did in a funny and out-of-the-ordinary fashion, I have the right to offer a contrary view. Never did I suggest that you not complain, nor would I, something the other Wendy missed!

    For every Wendy, or oleeb, or other Wendy, or blue veg, or blow, and others, who speak their minds in opposition to the president, there is a Stilli or a lis, or a whywait and others who hold a different view, and are entitled to speak theirs, as well.

    If all you folks in the opposition wing of the party here at TPM are doing is posting to speak to each other, then maybe a heads up that we in the other wing are not welcome on your posts, would be in order. If, on the other hand you are posting in order to have an across the board dialog, then please don't expect us to shut up. I don't expect y'all to avoid my posts because you disagree with me, and I won't avoid yours.

    I admit that all of this back and forth is redundant, and not accomplishing much. I am probably not going to change your mind and get you to see him the way I do, and you are probably not going to change my mind and get me to see him the way you do. We just flat out disagree, and probably always will. So, we can either stop doing posts about Obama, or we can expect to continue on the way we are. We will continue to post our ideas, you will continue to post yours.

    Would you really rather have it any other way? Do you really want me to go away, or keep silent when I disagree with you? Because I know I don't want you to go away or keep silent when you disagree with me.

    Please remember, that politics is not cut and dried, there is just one way to look at it. It is subjective, and views are largely based on life experiences, which run all across the board. I am JUST as frustrated that y'all are so hard on our pres, as you are that you don't think I am hard enough. But ultimately we all want close to the same things in the end. We just have differing tolerance levels for how we get there. I happen to believe mine are more earth based than yours are, and you believe just the opposite. How we meld that to get where we want to be, when we face opponents who are united in their hatred of us, is the trick. And I'm afraid they will run off with the spoils of victory while we quibble, but that terrifies many of y'all less than it does me, since many of those same y'alls think we already have a repub in the White House...

    I'm still having problems understanding how the rebubs think he's a socialist, and the far left thinks he's a repub...


    Anna?
    The relevant point of this disturbing video?


    oleeb, are you an economist? And if not, can you please cite a credible source that says we are, right now, in the midst of a full blown depression? I do pay attention to economics because our livelihood is greatly dependent on how well the economy is going, and although some think we are in for a double dip, and some don't, I have not heard anyone on CNBC or Bloomberg say we are in a depression.


    I addressed the violence here, although I couldn't see the relevance of the video myself.


    Apology accepted! :-) I wondered what the heck you were talking about!


    You forgot the main premise of Occumm's Razor...
    When competing hypotheses are equal in respect to one another, the theory with the fewest new assumptions is usually the correct one.

    When you say it is absurd that Obama knows something we don't know is simply unsupportable...how do you explain the financial meltdown, especially the Berneke moment we were at the Gates of Economic and Financial Hell? No one but a few people in the entire government knew how close we were to going over into the abyss. It caught everyone by their shorthairs and when people realized what it meant...it was already too late. And those few individuals knew well in advance what was going on and where it would end up.As I said, Bu$h knew and was holding those cards tightly in his hand hoping he could sit it out and finish his second term before the shit hit the fan. It broke at the very end and Obama got all the blame.

    So does Obama play the same game as Bu$h and hope he can get through at least his first term before the bottom falls completely out this time or is he working hard behind the curtain, like the Wizard of Oz, doing whatever he can without raising too many red flags there's a serious problem pending that all the best efforts the government has at it's disposal can't stem.


    Thank you, Destor. So glad you enjoyed it. Care to add to the "to do" list?


    This is a rebuttal to oleeb's reply to my initial post at the very top of the blog.


    To Oleeb and Dijamo:

    I respect both of you more than I can say. So I thank you both for your favorable comments. Especially from you, Dij, as I was a total asshat to you when I first arrived. We seem to have come full circle and that makes me genuinely glad.

    Now -- what items do you think must be added to the list?


    In your first comment you said:

    She really is a good person, but her letter might not reflect that

    So what's the opposite of "good person"?


    Here, here, American Dreamer. I will grieve if Nancy Pelosi is not Speaker any longer. She has been an inspiration -- hardworking, tough talking if soft-spoken, and always gentle, but relentless in her determination.
    Love the Oz analogies -- very insightful and apt.


    We cannot even discuss this, oleeb, because we can't even agree on terms...you insist that he is telling lies and betraying. I look at it as him saying things and intending things based on what he thought he knew, and now finds that some of those things are not how he thought they were, or can't be fixed in the way he thought they could.

    You see him as intentionally and with malice of forethought, lying, distorting, and fabricating his way into the White House, with absolutely no intention of leaving Washington a better place than it was when he found it.

    I just don't buy that. You call me naive, I don't call you anything. We believe differently. That makes us different, it doesn't make either of us "less than," even though you seem to spend a fair amount of time trying to make me feel like I am.


    If that is an attack, we don't have nearly the same definition...

    I am one of the gentlest people on these boards and I get fuck you? Assshat? What's wrong with you people?


    Thanks for your reply, Stilli.
    I welcome you on my posts and I believe you when you say that I am welcome on yours.
    I was wounded by a few people on TPM during my first year. Fair enough, in hindsight -- I wounded a few people myself; never mind that that was not my conscious intention.
    I decided, sometime in the last year, that the only person who was "suffering" from jabs at wwstaebler was -- well me, and there was no point in that -- that I could see. So, since then, when I've been tempted to be stung, I've refused the invitation. I think it's working; after all, Marius recently called me the C-word, which in the past would have felled me; I loathe that word used that way for all its misogynistic intentions... but even that rolled off me, I'm glad to say.
    So. Stilli -- have at it, or me -- I'm seasoned now and I know that you are a good person, albeit one with whom I strongly disagree on certain subjects.
    I still have a vulnerability when the "boys" go all locker room. And I will call them on that, whether they care or not.
    Otherwise, it's all good here, with the regrettable caveat that too many interesting, informed people who once participated here have GWTW. ;-)


    I am aware of it, dij, and no where at anytime did I suggest that anyone should not criticize the president.

    My beef has been primarily with tone, and viciousness, and sometime I offer alternative ways at looking at things, rather than 24/7 Obama wrong!

    I have as much right to state my opinions as anyone else, and calling me names won't make me stop. And it won't make me call you names back...not my style.


    If violent imagery is "wound up dead on the floor", then I apologize. I can't find any racism, am mostly living in Atlanta and only posted because the phrase utility of language made me think of it. Apparently, the phrase means what it means to you and I'm outta here.


    Thanks, backatcha. I meant retire from this discussion.


    Now this is one of the reasons I absolutely admire you, Dijamo....How do you do this -- pulling up the link to the absolutely germane post in what seems to be milliseconds?
    I am lost in admiration for this skill, which I clearly do not have. What's the secret to it?


    stilli, you wrote: "Many forget that EVERYONE has a voice around here, not just those who agree with us."

    I agree and think nastiness that is personal and directed towards fellow denizens who don't agree with us is unfortunate.

    Some of those who think some of us are too hard on this President emphasize a similar point, writ large, that the President has to be the President of all the people, not just those with views often articulated here.

    I agree with that as well--but my interpretation of how that principle should apply is that the President has to be the President of all the people--including the unemployed, under-employed and the discouraged who have stopped looking for work. Right now those people do not have a friend in the White House, much to my astonishment and dismay. I don't understand is why this President, who I continue to want to believe has humane instincts, has exerted himself so little on behalf of these evidently forgotten Americans.

    I had thought that one of the reasons we have a Democratic party is so that, when the voters choose to put them in power, these otherwise forgotten Americans will have some chance of not being forgotten.

    The modern-era national Republican approach is to wish them well, or perhaps not, but remind them, and all the rest of us who might prefer not to be troubled, they are on their own. No, thanks. I don't think that outlook gets either the disenfranchised, or our country, anywhere helpful.

    We can see matters differently in some respects and respect one another. I have great respect, as well as affection, for you, stilli.


    That's a scary thought Wendy, that a President who cannot do any of those things on his own, who has more to think about in regards to all these issues, than just what one segment of this population wants (afterall, what happens in the Middle East when we leave effects more people than just Americans,) has not only all of this on his shoulders, but the political future of the whole black race, as well. And you query if he might be afraid? The unfairness of it all brings me to tears.


    GWTW = Gone with the wind? Just guessing...


    Good work, Wendy. You and Dijamo have what seems to me to be that unfathomable knack of finding the relevant link that either substantiates your own point, or refutes the point of the person to whom you are replying.
    It's a gift, as far as my opinion is concerned. Too many dead brain cells for me to learn that skill, as I was not naturally given that gift....but I am awed by it, truly.


    Good work, Wendy. You and Dijamo have what seems to me to be that unfathomable knack of finding the relevant link that either substantiates your own point, or refutes the point of the person to whom you are replying.
    It's a gift, as far as my opinion is concerned. Too many dead brain cells for me to learn that skill, as I was not naturally given that gift....but I am awed by it, truly.


    Could have been stated better, Blow...If there is one word I could change, "good," that would be it.
    Perhaps "empathetic" would have been a better choice...


    Exactly right, American Dreamer. You must be southern?


    BTW, Wendy -- if you are laughing at my assertion that I choose not to be offended, I understand. I accused you, off TPM, of various offenses against wwstaebler, as I saw them at the time; therefore, you would be within your rights to say: "Ha!" Glad we made it through that, for which I am thankful.


    Okay, well, I "thought" you got me. I wasn't trying to "have at you." I was using your template to express an opposing view, and obviously not as cutely as was my intent.

    We disagree, no doubt about that. But that does not change my admiration for you, or others here with whom I cannot reach consensus, or cause me to be less empathetic to your plight. There is no doubt that you have suffered through this crisis, and I have not even come close. It is one of the injustices of our system that I most dislike.

    I still contend that the vast majority of us want the same things, but disagree mostly on both how to get there, and whether or not the President is "with us."

    As long as anyone does posts on this subject, we should expect that those with differing views will make those views known, as it should be. Much is made of the "echo chamber," but when it is NOT an echo chamber, someone comes unglued.

    You made a point. I made an opposing point. Why that turned into a shit fire of name-calling is beyond me.


    I didn't say a word about racism.

    1. You told a story about "rednecks."
    2. Anna posted a violent video clip of Scarlett O'Hara.
    3. I saw a pattern and didn't want that pattern to generate more free associations along those (violent Southerner) lines, so I decided to steer the discussion in a totally different direction. That's all.


    Fuck you, stilli!

    (I'M JOKING!)


    Because you rewrote Wendy's entire post! You obliterated the shit out of it, LOL!

    Wendy may not see it that way, but other people apparently do.


    Northern Virginia since 2002. Does that count? Some Virginians not from these parts of the Commonwealth seem not to think so. Many of us are relatively recent arrivals from parts other than the South, it is true.

    More to the point: I know that you are!


    I think words matter. ;-)


    said the vacuum...


    Not sure he'll see it. No one can even get down this far in the thread.


    Thank you, Dreamer, and I you, as well.

    I am as frustrated as anyone that more is not being done for those whose lives have been trashed in this economic disaster. It makes no sense to me whatsoever that all Americans are not screaming bloody murder that the people who caused this mess are going on about their merry little lives while so many suffer.

    My son is one of those who is about to lose his house, even though he and his wife are poster children for the program to help those who have done everything right, but are still unable to keep the house they could afford when they bought it. The President came up with the program, but the banks are dragging their feet. So do I blame the President? How can I?

    Can the President be blamed because congress doesn't want to extend unemployment benefits? Can the President be blamed because getting out of Iraq and Afpakistan isn't as easy as packing up and saying bye-bye?

    I have often referred to the running of this country as a big ol' spider web...whatever you do in one part of it, effects things over on the other side, that you may not even notice at first. Many changes cannot be just DONE and it's done. You have to look into what the effects will be in other places, then you have to figure out how to get a bunch of people who have developed an irrational hatred of ANYTHING you want, even if it is something they wanted before you wanted it.

    This President has, by far, a much more difficult job than any before him, just because of the times in which we live. Yet many seem to think he should be able to do things the way they have been done in the past, or in ways they only dream of, but have no basis in today's reality.

    Some have decided he is a malevolent liar and opportunist who will do whatever is best for him and screw the country...

    I just can't buy any of it, and I will defend him whenever and wherever I can, if I think he is being unfairly shat upon. I expect to take heat for it, and I do. My choice. It would be easier to just keep my mouth shut. But then I wouldn't be me.


    He cannot do any of those things on his own? He has complete control over the deployment of US troops. Re jobs, yes, he would need for Congress to act.

    He can propose. He has a better bully pulpit than anyone else in the country. He can fight for what he thinks is needed and right at this time, enlisting the public in that effort if and where he so chooses.

    No?

    I honestly think he would not be receiving nearly as much grief from so many of his erstwhile fans and supporters if he were doing what *is* in his power to do, with heart and spirit and conviction. Harry Truman came around to this way of looking at things, not a moment too soon in 1948.

    Nothing I want this President to do for our country is beyond his powers. And I do not fault him for that which he does not have the power to accomplish on his own.


    It's hard to think you can't read your 'letter' and understand that it treats Wendy's alter-ego Susan as naive, foolish, and unrealistic about politics and the President's powers. The tone most resembles passive-aggressive, IMO. It might look different to you today than it did last night, but playful wouldn't be a good way to describe it.
    Wendy *was* a class act, choosing to answer you as though you were playing; she did you a great service, and along the way answered each and every one of your charges of 'Susan's* political idiocy. Really.


    I agree that is a scary thought, and a most unfair one. This President has, I think, been at pains since he entered public life asking to be judged for who he is as an individual, not as some representative of what some see as "his people". If I judge his presidency a success, a failure, or something else, what exactly does this have to do with the merits of the future candidacy of some other person of color?

    I get that there are some Americans who see things exactly that way, and, what is more, may have made up their minds before he took office that he was not just a failure, but an interloper. I really have to hope that is a minority of the US public that thinks that way.


    I get it, man. Far from being offensive, your comment is rather flattering. As you note, this isn't how I always (or even usually) present an argument. I'm making an intentional point ... not losing control.

    In my opinion what Stilli did here tries to tear down someone on a deeply personal level. I disagree the "salvo" is somehow less offensive because it was wrapped in passive-aggressive bullshit instead of honestly just coming out and saying "fuck you". It's a totally different issue from why I'm doing what I'm doing, but as long as were assessing these things ... it's something to think about.

    I have a different objective. It shouldn't take forever, just for a bit. Again, thanks for the attempted intervention. I hear you and generally agree. Don't take it as a sign of disrespect if I ignore the admonishment occasionally over the next couple of weeks.


    Look, I don't want to fight with you or be in a snit or whatever. And you can have the last word and the one after that if you want. However, the association of redneck and violence is pretty much yours alone. The majority of definitions (if not all) probably do not include it.

    When the line "So before I get any more violent examples, I just want to point out that not all Southerners are white," came up out of nowhere that I could see, I had no clue what such an obvious, un-obvious statement could mean except that somebody was perceiving something racist somewhere. What did you mean then?

    Whatever you focused on was so far removed from my intent, that we are probably on parallel tracks at this point.

    Again, I apologize.

    Peace.


    Good grief! I wasn't mocking her! I took her template and ran with it. WW may be a fine southern lady in real life, but she doesn't normally speak the way Susan did... I played off her portrayal of Susan's exaggerated southern drawl.

    I wasn't necessarily endeavoring to make a comment that would be seen as "classy," just a playful one, but "lacks class?" Aren't we callin' it just a bit close, today?


    The economic meltdown caught everyone by surprise? I'm sorry but there were plenty of people worried about the economy well before the November 2008 election. What happened to Bear Stearns in the earlier part of 2008 was certainly an issue which people were worried would ripple through the economy. Since the spring of 2008 we knew that there were other potential Bears out there. We watched Lehman, Merrill and Morgan Stanley teeter for months. Many financial markets also experienced significant dislocation in the second half of 2007 after the subprime mortgage sector experienced significant turmoil and it rippled through other markets.. Lots of people for years had been saying that we were in a credit and housing bubble.


    I'm not trying to fight with you or have the last word. I'm trying to explain myself, and clearly failing. Sometimes that happens. Regardless of my failure, I am in a good mood.

    So here's my idea: Let's blame anna.


    I said *IF* it would stop the oil spill in the gulf immediately, as I recall. Wish I hadn't gotten busy ... sounds like a saucy debate ensued.

    Assuming Brew said he would gladly kill me to save Obama ... that seems fair. Although on his side, there must be a moral quandary from the hypothetical scenario in that by doing so he would doom the Gulf of Mexico. Differing priorities I guess. A single man vs. an entire ecosystem ... but that was the intellectual dichotomy I was trying to invoke in the first place. Sounds like I was successful.

    I don't see the problem. The whole thing was in the hyperbolic imaginary tense. I'd have totally backed Brew up. Unless he was saying he'd gladly kill me for just posting the comment. In which case ... what a dick.


    So, not true...KGB. I wasn't trying to tear down anyone. I was playing with Wendy's exaggerated southern personna letter. I have a pretty long history here on TPM, and tearing people down is not part of that history.

    It would have been easy to just make my case in regular language, as it would have been easy for Wendy to make her point in regular language. She took her point and presented in a cute, and novel way, and I responded in kind. My bad...do I need to sit in the corner, or what?


    You always could make me laugh! Maybe I need to! (get F****d, that is!)


    When I find that I have offended someone, I apologize.

    So I am very sorry, Still. However, I found your response and the resulting subthread thoughtless and hurtful. Do please keep in mind, that I also attempted todefend you, even though I didn't agree.

    That said, I really am done here.



    By the troops, part, Dreamer, I meant that he has to be concerned about more than just what we want...we broke a country, he needs to leave it in a way that doesn't break it worse...


    I'm not laughing, Wendy, but that so many of us chose to object to some of the crap here serves to allow you to be more sanguine, at least that's been my experience with help I've received from Cafe denizens who choose to *read the words people write* and assess them in, hopefully, critical but fair ways. I think you got plenty of *able assists* here today.
    I, for one, and many others, evidently, have had it up to our eyeballs with bogus charges about our roles critiquing many or any, for that matter, Presidential inadequacies. ;-)


    Or wendy davis, if you prefer.


    They do, and thanks for pointing that out.


    LOL! Thanks for returning the favor. ;-)


    Wendy, Loved your letter. Seems things got off-track again, and here we are, WAY at the bottom of the page and your letter is barely being discussed. So let me just highlight these few paragraphs, because they say it all for me:

    I am aware, Sir, that the list may hit some hot buttons for you. Getting rid of Geithner and Summers, while hiring Elizabeth Warren and re-instating Glass--Steagall will be.... embarrassing. While closing Gitmo, withdrawing from both Iraq and Afghanistan immediately and cutting back on the defense budget by at least 50% will .... set the Right crazy and perhaps, in consequence, put you in increased personal danger. (I do worry about that, Sir, but you did, after all, sign up for the job and the risk that goes with it. So, in for a penny, in for a pound, eh?)

    Moving along: it is also necessary that you shut down off-shore drilling completely, despite the oil industry's hue and cry. Never mind - with all the money you've just saved from warmongering and oil despoliation enabling, a similar amount of money can be invested in job stimulus, green energies and renewed infrastructure... It's OK if you start small by doing something small for the little people; for example, Sir, how about caps on medical insurance policy rates that go into effect, right now?

    I know.... I really do know, Sir - that implementing this list will be REALLY HARD. But you knew this job would be difficult when you signed up for it. Just as you expect us to be realists, so we expect you to get real: the Republicans, Sir, aren't buying into your bipartisan approach and the result is that we are buying the farm. And that is going to have an impact on you in 2012. You need to trust me in this, Sir -- in the end implementing the line items on this list will be a major time and angst saver for you. Your base will be appeased and therefore supportive of you when you will, in fact, really need their support, in 2012. Because, no matter your wooing of them, Sir, the Right and the confused will not be there for you in 2012. So it behooves you to marshall your base, whatever it takes.

    I want to add, too, that I do love Stilli's optimism and loyalty, and thought her letter was, in fact, clever--if a might condescending. It certainly didn't require the entire shift from your clever letter to the usual caterwauling. That is getting so very tiresome. . .


    The economic meltdown caught everyone by surprise? I'm sorry but there were plenty of people worried about the economy well before the November 2008 election. What happened to Bear Stearns in the earlier part of 2008 was certainly an issue which people were worried would ripple through the economy. Since the spring of 2008 we knew that there were other potential Bears out there. We watched Lehman, Merrill and Morgan Stanley teeter for months. Many financial markets also experienced significant dislocation in the second half of 2007 after the subprime mortgage sector experienced significant turmoil and it rippled through other markets.. Lots of people for years had been saying that we were in a credit and housing bubble.


    I did get many assists today, Wendy, and I appreciate each and every one. Maybe that doesn't show properly, as I tend to get tongue-tied and awkward when I receive a gift I don't expect. That doesn't mean, however, that I failed to notice; it only means that replying sincerely, thankfully, in real time, still sometimes eludes me.


    Ya did fine, Wendy.


    Grow up.


    Lovely to see you, Ramona -- I do wish you were here as often as you once were. We really need you to continue to be "fired up and ready to go."


    It would have been even easier to write your very own letter to Obama telling him all the reasons why he rocks ... using the exact same motif and style.

    Sit wherever you want. That's not the point. Notice, I get where Oleeb is coming from with his criticism of my response. And acknowledge it. He's right. But I did it on purpose.

    You pretend as if you don't see what the hell anyone is talking about. Whatever.


    Congress is the problem on closing Guantanamo, not Obama, though I see you've cc'ed them, which on that point is good.

    Thank you for keeping good humor about something as serious as what you're expressing.


    Thanks, Wendy. Summers are so busy with family and visitors who want to hit the north woods and get away from the sticky heat, so I'm lucky to find a few hours to think out a blog once a week or so. I "lurk" now and then and comment when the mood hits me, but I'm here in spirit!


    Wow. Breitbart much?


    I think we would be really naive to believe that many people won't see his Presidency as indicative of 'Black Presidents' for some time, successful or not. It will be iconic for many.
    We may not like it, or *we* may not think it matters, but my unofficial polling says it's likely so.


    Oh, I forgot to say that thanks is unnecessary; at the purest level, we should defend people or ideas *on principle*, not for appreciation. ;-)



    You are not defending Obama in your response because apparently you have no defense for him. All you do is mock those with valid criticisms, call them childish and naive, and now you up the ante with saying a critical letter is not reflecting a good person. And yet somehow you don't see that as a personal attack on his critics. I don't get it.


    Thanks, Wendy and of course you know the respect is mutual. Just seemed a little incongruous to see someone protesting she doesn't do personal attacks and only objects to unfair hyperbolic criticism of the President the very same day going into attack mode based on a hard-hitting but fair critique of the president.

    Susan's letter covers a lot of my frustrations, though I would add other failures like using the DOJ to go after whistleblowers, while letting the Bush Admin and Gonzo go free. Bailing out the companies from the real estate mess, and leaving the homeowners to fend for themselves. I could go on (and on and on).


    LOL! I'm guilty! I'm guilty! Name it, I did it! *Guilt* is my Middle Name!


    Pretty spineless, kgb, though your disingenuousness is, I'm sure, quite convincing to those who missed the event.

    But what you actually said is if it would save the life of a single pelican you'd gladly slit Obama's throat.

    I have no doubt the defenders who rushed in to say Brew had misundersood also felt that a pelican's life is worth more than Obama's anyday. You may get the same response here again within seconds from now.

    I have no doubt there are many people here who feel the same.



    Wendy, I truly am not sure what happened here. Several people have accused me of behavior that is so not me, which requires that I question whether I am seeing the situation clearly. To that end, I have read and reread my comment and I just cannot see how it can be taken as an attack. But your opinion is the only one that matters. If you FEEL attacked, then I need to see it as an attack and I owe you an apology.

    Attacking you, hurting you...both were the furthest things from my mind. But if my words did that, then, no matter what my intentions were, I am very sorry, and I'd like to ask for your forgiveness.



    e.g., see below.


    20 million unemployed Stilli. 6 million foreclosures in two years and millions more on the way. No end in sight to the official (and vastly understated)unemployment rate of 10%. Housing market in the crapper. Inventories across the board are way too high. GM and Chrysler went belly up and the negative ramifications of their contraction are only beginning to be felt particularly in the industrial midwest. Do you really need to have some economist officially tell you what is as plain as day? We are in the midst of a full blown economic collapse. Yes, they averted something even worse but only be a hair and only for the very wealthiest Americans. For the average citizen the disaster is growing with no end in sight. So, we can hide behind official designations or we can proceed with our eyes open and realize that by the time it is officially designated a depression it will be far too late to do anything about it.


    Obama doesn't have any special knowledge of what is going on that justifies his deceptive and dishonest actions. More importantly, he has no particular talent or great insight into any of the problems the nation faces and hasn't made a signle proposal on any subject that might demonstrate he has some sort of ability to be creative and find solutions that go above and beyond the typical boilerplate out of DC. The two hypothoses are not equal. The simplest is that he lied his ass off in the campaign and is now pursuing the course he always intended. Real straightforward and completely plausible.


    Wendy, I truly am not sure what happened here. Several people have accused me of behavior that is so not me, which requires that I question whether I am seeing the situation clearly. To that end, I have read and reread my comment and I just cannot see how it can be taken as an attack. But your opinion is the only one that matters. If you FEEL attacked, then I need to see it as an attack and I owe you an apology.

    Attacking you, hurting you...both were the furthest things from my mind. But if my words did that, then, no matter what my intentions were, I am very sorry, and I'd like to ask for your forgiveness.



    I'm befuddled about it, too, stilli. I took what you wrote in the spirit in which I believe you wrote it. It didn't occur to me that what I saw as an opposing viewpoint written in like manner between two people who like and respect each other, could be taken as a terrorist attack on a vulnerable victim, or vice-versa or something other than good-natured politics among mature people.

    But since I was going through a similar episode with gasket, though very minor in comparison, I figured you were way better off without me at the time.

    I'm still trying to go figure. Now I'm giving that up and going to go to bed shortly.

    Good night, stilli. Sleep well. Peace. :-)

    P.S. You too, Wendy. It was a funny Susan post!


    God, thank you Shelly, I was about to think I'd lost my mind...


    We must have had the same mother then, Wendy. Mine always said "guilty" should have been my middle name - if only she had been thinking clearly at the time. :-)


    Well, if I happen to see your mind while I'm looking for mine - should I have it phone home? :-)

    (PS. Have you looked in the refrigerator?)


    Nah...me and the fridge are mortal enemies right now! Seriously, thanks.


    Written on the bathroom wall of a bar somewhere:

    "Of all the the things I have lost in life,
    I miss my mind the most."

    I'm sure you never were in that bar, though, Stilli. In fact, I'm positive.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNkiSLSOMw4&feature=related

    The short summary of the movie/book.

    And they wanted Prissy to eat the watermelon, but she refused.


    I think you are mincing words. We are in a big economic mess right now. There have been plenty of other "doom and gloom" types on the shows you mention (CNBC and Bloomberg). Try reading Michael Panzner's book "Financial Armageddon". Professor Roubini has also been very bearish, as well as Meredith Whitney, Stephen Roach and Peter Schiff. Just because someone doesn't use the words "Great Depression" doesn't mean that they don't think we'll be in a terrible mess with unemployment, production, deflation, etc.


    Yep, know all about that, but thanks for the vid.

    Even still, I don't see the relevance of the video in relation to what I said, but it certainly isn't worth another minute of my life to decipher what anna am, of all people, really does intend.

    I was talking about language and how we ghettoize based on language because people were adopting fake Southern accents in their writing. I still think that. No one has convinced me otherwise.

    However, I now know I should have said:

    When I lived in the South I learned very quickly to avoid a Southern smackdown at all costs. No one knows the beautiful utility of language like a Southerner.

    But non-Southerners persist in stereotyping and ghettoizing based entirely on Gone With the Wind.

    I didn't realize I should think in non sequiturs.

    Clearly it was my mistake, I see now, to start a second paragraph. Totally threw my audience off.

    So now I know.


    After spending three years and $12,000 in analysis, my shrink told me our sessions were at an end.
    "This is the first time I have ever saaid this to a patient," he almost moaned.
    "The thing is, you *are guilty*, and they *are* out to get you. I can be of no further help to you."
    (Rats!)


    I can't tell you how hard that made me laugh! Had I actually gone to therapy instead of handling it myself, my therapist would have said the same thing! Thanks for the giggle in the middle of this mess.


    I dunno, I'm puzzling over Jane Austen's Fight Club -

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PM0om2El8&feature=player_embedded

    Should it have Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in Victorian female garb instead? Does it pale in comparison to Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Is there subtext in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights that I've missed all these years? Is this the new generation's Cliff Notes?


    LOL! It's TPM!


    Fascinating questions, Desidero -- maybe. Or maybe Gasket's cut-to-the-chase response is wiser than an effort to earnestly answer your questions. Because, odds are that you are just sayin' (with the apostrophe in the right place.)


    Fascinating questions, Desidero -- maybe. Or maybe Gasket's cut-to-the-chase response is wiser than an effort to earnestly answer your questions. Because, odds are that you are just sayin' (with the apostrophe in the right place.)


    Fascinating as an extemperaneous literary analysis of taking out the garbage:

    "Twixt melon rind and apple peel,
    A carton milk, a pickle jar,
    What prompts disgust where once appeal
    Shards of dreams we now discard"

    Or maybe I was just jokin'. With an apostrophe.
    Or even an asterisk.


    sorry for the repeat response, Desidero.
    Who wrought those lines? Whomever -- they're really good.


    Thanks for your awareness of that effort, Spam.
    About Gitmo -- do you think leaving Gitmo open is strictly a political calculation -- that not one Senator or Representative (much less Obama) wants to close it before the midterm and 2012 elections? Particularly if the result would be that the Senators and Representatives of the state to which detainees were moved would have to take ownership of approval for "exposing their constituents to danger"?


    I have fought them, I have wrought them, sadly i could not have bought them
    For the buggers aren't for sale
    Just stuffed between my ears, junk mail

    For if I'd taken passing glance
    to fix my words of happenstance
    I'd regret how bacchanalia's seen
    And "dreams" would strike, replace "cuisine".