Occasional Planet - Latest Comments

Re: Van Jones: “If Obama believes Keystone is a good thing, he should call it the Obama Tar Sands Pipeline.”

Stacy Mergenthal — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:45:46 -0000

Thank you for laying it all out so articulately; this article speaks to me. I too have noticed the disconnect and I feel betrayed by this president more so than any other. He made us believe him--against all odds due to the nature of politics--and has consistently let us down on the issues we care about, from climate change and social justice, to equality and the growing police state. The failed (and expensive) war on drugs, an end to war, and all those unconstitutional abilities granted to our security agencies under former president Bush (and continued/escalated under Obama). In my opinion, Obama has failed us. At the very least, he cannot be trusted. In my mind, and contrary to his infamous campaign slogan, he will always be remembered as the president who destroyed any hope of change.

Re: Pro Publica: 5 basic things we still don’t know about NSA data-mining

ladyofspain — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:16:27 -0000

No one should be surprised that the U.S. govt is using all the new technology available to it. When Alexander G. Bell first tried out his long distance talking thingy, he supposedly said "What hath god wrought?" Some folks thought his invention was the work of the devil. I'm sure someone in the upper circles of govt right away figured out how to listen to those messages zinging across those lines. Spying on its citizens is not the worst thing the American govt has done. The stories they make up to try to justify their actions, both here and abroad, have been so absurd at times that some of it should have been nominated for top fiction and drama prizes. Moving all the Native Americans to Oklahoma was for their own good. That's my favorite. Shall we continue?

Re: Lincoln and the socialist roots of the Republican Party

David — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:52:41 -0000

P.S. to the author: Stick to articles on "mind, body, spirit" and leave the historical analysis to historians.

Re: Lincoln and the socialist roots of the Republican Party

David — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:51:28 -0000

I stumbled onto this website/article and thought I'd give it a read (I like points of view from all perspectives). What a load of tripe! But then, the conclusions of this author, in this forum, is hardly surprising, is it? By the way, I could pick and choose selective Lincoln quotations that would prove almost any point I want to make--that wouldn't make what I say true. Nice try, lib.

Re: Memoirs may be the best thing that Barack Obama can give us now

James Archer Abbott — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:42:07 -0000

I think President Obama's value as a former president - and his ability to serve as a true voice beyond the WH years - will be in the hands of the next leader of the Democratic Party. His voice - and its value - will be as much defined by that next national candidate as it will by his own convictions...beware of Mid-Atlantic pretty boys bearing little more than a Pepsodent smile...

Re: We ended the military draft. Maybe we need it again. Or something like it.

TJ — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:18:52 -0000

I am a Vietnam veteran. And I belong to Veterans for Peace. And I favor re-instating the draft; more specifically, Universal Conscription. All 18 year olds (with some exceptions for disabilities) would serve for 18 or 24 months with no exemptions. The first two months would be basic training (haircut, uniforms, physical training, weapons training, hand to hand combat, military orientation, etc.). Then four months of Military Occupational training (everything from infantry to artillery to engineering, mechanics, cooks, clerks, computers, etc.). Then the final 12 - 18 months could be spent in the military or another government assignment such as Americorp. Upon discharge you would be required to keep and maintain your uniforms for another 4 years, just in case you are needed. Then our leaders might not be so quick to pull the trigger on wars of aggression or to protect corporate interests. We would also have a more physically fit citizenry with various vocational skills and a sense of discipline and duty. And everyone now has skin in the game.

Re: We ended the military draft. Maybe we need it again. Or something like it.

joetheiceman — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:09:02 -0000

In the years of the draft, the Army looked like much of America. All political and religious points of view were part of the Army due to the draft. Today's all-volunteer Army is self-selecting, and mostly conservative and Christian in outlook. There are preachers who tell their flock to join the Army to become paid government missionaries. The Army no longer looks like America.
Some liberals would be drafted and might like the Army, become officers. The more conservative element of the Army would have to make compromises to work with more liberal elements.
I believe that if we do not impose a draft, in the future the Army may be so conservative that they will consider themselves a separate arm of the United States. I can remember during recent campaigns being told that the Army would have to approve the person who became president. We need to combat this mindset.

Re: We ended the military draft. Maybe we need it again. Or something like it.

Cthulhu0818 — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:01:45 -0000

The best way to get rid of the need for a large standing army is to make it impossible for the scions of the rich and powerful to avoid service.
If the 1% want to start another war for profit, not only do ALL of their of age children get drafted and sent to the front lines FIRST, so do the member of the 1%, if they're still of service age.
When they have their skin in the game, they won't want any wars.

Re: We ended the military draft. Maybe we need it again. Or something like it.

glen_tomkins — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:05:31 -0000

The easiest way to avoid a military that develops its own culture inimical to the civilian culture of our society, is to not have significant standing military forces at all. That's what this nation did between wars, disband its military back to a corporal's guard, all the way up until the Cold War.
The very fact that we don't adopt that easy way to avoid this problem -- plus all the other problems entailed by standing forces (the huge price tag, the systematic incompetence bred by maintaining forces that have no real mission, the draw towards unnecessary, even destructive, fake missions created by the absence of any real need) -- is the best demonstration of the danger posed by the solutions you entertain, which all amount to attempts to keep our military tamed by keeping it civilianized. We're currently living the failure of that approach. We mass-mobilized to fight WWII, and all those former civilians brought back to civilian life after the war a militarism the war inculcated in them. Re-mobilizing, despite the lack of need and despite all the downside, was the consensus response to the ginned up "threat" of world Communism, because so many had become conditioned by fighting the good fight in uniform in WWII that a military response was the unquestioned knee-jerk response.
We don't need a military in peacetime, not beyond a corporal's guard. We don't need to force anyone into uniform in peacetime to maintain a military we don't need. We don't need to civilianize the military, we need to de-militarize the wider society. That cannot happen until you and the conventional wisdom stop your unthinking acceptance of the idea that we need a large peacetime military.

Re: How not to upgrade a public bus system: Bogotá, Colombia

Matt — Fri, 31 May 2013 12:24:01 -0000

While the Trans often gets a bad rap (only sometimes, deservedly so), this is a spot on assessment of the SITP. I have been staring at these empty buses for a year now and I have a friend who does utilize them because he jumped through the requisite hoops and he often has the bus entirely or near entirely to himself. Somehow squandered resources hurts worse then outright neglect. Get it together!

http://goinggringo.wordpress.c...

Re: Hating Bush vs. Hating Obama

heatherGirl — Fri, 31 May 2013 12:09:30 -0000

Wow are you really this stupid?
You hated Bush because he was a conservative with a conservative agenda. So why can't a conservative hate Obama because he is a liberal with a liberal agenda?
Seems you think your free to hate someone whose politics you don't like....... but no one else is allowed to do the same.
Why does not liking Obama's agenda have anything to do with his skin color? You hated Bush, you said so yourself. So do you hate him because he is white?
Or do you get to hate Bush for his poltics? If so why is it someone else can not hate Obama for his politics.
Your the only one making it racism! Seems that makes you the person with the problem!
Bush was a racist? His sec. of State was not only black, but also a women. His Attorney general was Hispanic.

Re: Benghazi: Political cartoonists have their say

andy — Wed, 29 May 2013 12:35:56 -0000

Thanks for your perspective. Doubly thanks, since it's one that I agree with.

Your inclusion of political cartoons was very helpful and reminds me that there are ways to clearly communicate that don't involve piles of fancy words and fancy arguments.

Re: Scary: Legislators want states to print their own money

Shenonymous — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:07:55 -0000

Yeowie Kazowie, for a post I made two years ago! Fantastico! Way....elll socialism does seem to work well in the Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden. It is not strictly communistic! It is economically socialistic, egalitarian politically. Some collectivist banks in America are thriving and credit unions based on a membership ownership are really the best.

There are several websites that explain what happened to the stimulus if you google Where did the 2008-2010 U.S. Stimulus go? The webaddress is way too long to print here.

Your question about OWS is a good one. It was a movement but it didn't really make any huge difference with the Wall Street vulture culture, but it did wake the country up that mass movements can happen. Occupy was not organized well enough and too naive and didn't really understand the dynamics of mass movements. Eric Hoffer's "True Believer" is the seminal revelation of that kind of human collective action. I think every American ought to read it particularly Chapter 14. See for yourself. But if you want some excerpts, check out http://www.fourthwaycult.net/t...

It is a worthy book to read and reread 10 times if not more.

Re: Scary: Legislators want states to print their own money

Jeremy — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:48:50 -0000

Collectivism doesn't have a very illustrious history. Where did the stimulus money go? Are we not in an environment where the rich are taking advantage and exploiting the less privileged?-What was Occupy Wall street about?

Re: Scary: Legislators want states to print their own money

Jeremy — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:42:48 -0000

Backing a currency with a commodity only makes it vulnerable to the interests who own enough of that commodity. Why do commodities need to be involved?

Re: Obama rewards billionaire Penny Pritzker for making him president

JYP — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:06:53 -0000

typical liberal denial

Re: So-called scandals are too nuanced to be investigated by Republicans

Andy — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:50:23 -0000

I found this to be a very helpful piece and I happen to agree with the author when he says that "they have forfeited the right...."

It's difficult to take the Republicans at face value and to engage in positive, creative, and productive discussions and legislation, since they haven't been serious or fair partners. This is a great loss to the Republican Party itself and of course to the Democrats and the country at large.

Get over it Republicans and go about the business of becoming positive legislators in challenging times.

Re: Oklahoma tornado survivor doesn’t “thank God.” She’s an atheist–and my hero

Andy — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:34:30 -0000

Thanks for sharing this fabulous TV moment. What a class act!

Re: Oklahoma tornado survivor doesn’t “thank God.” She’s an atheist–and my hero

Ramona — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:50 -0000

Leave it to Wolf to make such a stupid suggestion. I hate it when they call him a "journalist". He's a long way from the first gulf war, where he got his start. Now he's just coasting--piss-poorly.

I remember another interview years ago where he asked the victim, "How horrible was it?" Ugh.

Re: Maybe progressives just don’t know how responsible conservatives are

Kris Weaver — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:02:51 -0000

Problem is, progressives use regulation as one more stone in their path towards total and absolute tyranny(Totalitarian Communism). How can you negotiate with someone who will later twist and turn the words of a regulation in order to mean something radically different?

Re: Obama rewards billionaire Penny Pritzker for making him president

Barbara Finch — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:42:34 -0000

I don't want to believe this.

Re: ALEC’s “Most-Wanted” list

sarah jo — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:46:52 -0000

This is not surprising. Those of us who have been ranting about ALEC for almost a decade know how dangerous the group is. I'm especially concerned now that Missouri and lots of other states with rabid gun worshippers plan to march in Washington DC on the 4th of July with their weapons loaded and ready. I hope the National Guard meets them with tanks. In May 1970, four students were killed at Kent State U in Ohio by National Guard troops trying to keep them from protesting the Vietnam War. If those unarmed students were deemed a threat, imagine what thousands of gun "enthusiasts" will be. It's time to call a halt to this outrageous and traitorous behavior.

Re: 42: Jackie Robinson and America’s unfinished social agenda

Torthel — Sat, 04 May 2013 09:05:26 -0000

You hit it on the nail, ma'am. Time is constant. The people make history within it. Racism, Classism, Sexism, Faithism, etc. All rely on people to keep these divisive agendas alive. Our children and their demographic influences are the key. And we come full circle as it is up to the ADULTS to do something about it. All we can do is hope - with Action - as we take it upon our individual and collective selves to do what we can when we can; Say what We can When We can. The human Domino Affect. Dig-It? Peace

Re: George W. Bush’s Library: Political cartoon fodder

Mark Emsley — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:06:14 -0000

So Bush did nothing right. I am trying to remember, didn't Bush get congressional approval for both the Iraq and Afghanistan military interventions? Did Obama get congressional approve for military interventions in Egypt and Libya? I love how liberals like to rewrite history. Obama himself says to know him is to like him. Obama knows deep down G.W. is a good man and he was not as bad a president as he campaigned against. Go to GW's Library and see for yourself. You may come out a better person.

Re: Military mystery: How many bases does the US have, anyway?

jgstansell — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:55:28 -0000

There are not 71 army bases in Germany. The bean counters consider a building with 6 people, off the main base an Army base???