I read this play in college, and we studied the period of when it was written, and real political freedom did not exist in England.  Religion was controlled, and so were written texts.  Authors had to shape their stories to please their rulers, and that knowledge posed a potential threat to rulers,  they had to control it, and they had to demonize it by associating it with sin and burning in Hell.  This tactic worked well, and the people bought it, knowing too much was bad for you.  Knowing was evil.

Of course, these people did not simply wake one day thinking this way, the government played a large role in creating this fear in the people; it was a massive effort being spread throughout Europe - plays and books were filled with moral teachings.  And the reason for that, we all know, was really about maintaining civil order and controlling the masses.  Hey, it was easier to scare folks into behaving and shaping their ideas to benefit the government rather than having to be held accountable by citizens with minds of their own. 

And hundreds of years later, somehow, this ancient technique and attitude still works in America; not all over America (thank God) but in rural America, and in small towns, where new ideas are judged as “evil,” and where everyone, except for simple hicks, will be burn in Hell for their sophistication.  Incredible.

I’ve always had some notion that this attitude was out there, out there in small town U.S.A., but it was never more clear to me than it was last night.  I found a documentary on demand, it was called “So Goes The Nation,” and this film documented Ohio in 2004 prior to the presidential election; being interested in politics, I ordered it, and I was struck and atonished by the attitudes of some of the voters out there. 

Some actors from Hollywood went to campaign for Democrats in poverty-stricken Ohio, where unemployment and poverty were so high that it was almost criminal.   Yet, somehow, many of these voters decided that gay marriage was more important than anything else; even if Bush had deserted them economically, they were happy to ignore that for the sake of “values.”  And one man commented on the actors that “we’re not like that,” as if he were offened by their sophistication.  Once again, knowledge and ideas were cast in a negative light, and outsiders with fancier lives seemed like aliens to these people, a thing kept better at a distance in lieu of preserving their uncomplicated way of life.  And then one man said “They think we’re hicks…”  I never heard ONE of these people call ANY of them “hicks,” but they allowed their own perception of what they thought others thought of them to cloud their judgement.  Typical of stupid people.  Typical of the kind of people that’d vote for Bush.  Typical that they call Democrats “elite,” when theirs is the party of the true elite.  Bush is no small-town boy.  Bush didn’t always live Crawford, and Bush, like old world rulers, lived in style while those in Ohio lived in poverty, but the brainswashed inhabitants bought his “values” and stupidly missed his hypocrisy.  What kind of “values” does one have when he can send young men and women to die in Iraq for no apparent reason?  What kind of “values” allows Americans to struggle and starve but make non-issues issues?  And what kind of voter doesn’t see the spin? 

The kind of voter that we’d be better off without.  I think the rest of us who live in a world that embraces diversity and freedom are SICK AND TIRED of rural American voters imposing their uneducated and limited views upon the rest of America.  Clearly, they don’t like us, but now, I don’t like them.  I really don’t like them.   They are what is destroying America, yet they project this destruction onto “liberals,” yet they vote without their brains, and they voted to send an idiot to the White House for four more years.  It is their hate and their jealousy of people from outside their neck of the woods that drives their madness.  It is their unfounded fear of new ideas that Bush has instilled and they have embraced, without analysis; it is their ”values” that are dividing this country.  And we all know that the politics of divide and conquer exist.  But hicks don’t understand that.  They only know that non-hicks are smarter, sometimes dress better, are stylish and sharp in ways they can only dream of ever becoming.  Therefore, they reject us because they feel inferior, and because the Republicans want them too.

They equate many things with sin, yet they sin in that they know no kindness and have forsaken the virtue of acceptance.  They are ungenerous and cruel, and the Repbulicans know their base well.  They never campaign on the real issues, because simple slogans work better with their crowd “flip-flop,” or some other simple two-word concept will sum up their hate and tap into their fears.  Since their voters aren’t that bright, they can continue to sell “values” and to villanize non-hicks.

For me, I’m a proud city girl, and that I live in a city where I won’t be judged, demonized and hated for my brains means the world to me.  And that Marlowe lived in a time where his brilliant observations of human behavior and political evils has to be written with restrictions was a real shame; but that some in America want to create the restrictions once seen in England,  is an even bigger shame. 

I encourage everyone to see this documentary, it was a real eye-opener, and I’m sure you’ll understand this even better if you watch it.

There are some who have been speculating about Mrs. Clinton for quite some time.  God bless her, our former First Lady and current Senator.  She is class act in so many ways.  Hillary is smart and experienced.  I can imagine her being in charge and being able to analyze a situation from in every single place to consider the consequences before she acts.  She is a better woman than me, afraid I’m a little more rash than that.  But, the fact remains, she is a woman.

Now a lot of people talk the talk and say how great it’d be for a female to be president.  I wonder, while they may say that, would they actually vote that?  I don’t think so.  And so, while I think Senator Clinton is an awesome candidate, I worry that her running means we’d (the Democrats) be losing.

I don’t think that we can afford to lose.  In my opinion, this is too big a gamble for the current climate in America.  And I do suspect that voters will not take risks and will want to play it safe, meaning, they will vote for a man.

I do wish that Gore would run again, there is some part of me that still wants him to run and to win, like he did in 2000, but this time, I’d like to see him sworn in and not cheated.

According to various sources, Gore has stated that he would not run.  But then there was the time he stated that it wasn’t totally off the table either.  So, we’ll see, in time.

And all talk about Obama, well, it’s fun to listen too, but I doubt he could win.  He needs more time.

Overall, if Gore doesn’t run, my choice would be John Edwards.

He has been making himself very visable lately.  And I was thrilled when he ran as VP in 2004.  In fact, I had wished they had chosen him as President and Kerry as VO, but that’s another story.  Regardless, Edwards brings an understand of the people that many other candidates seem to lack.  He comes across as a real person with some old-fashioned logic and good values.  I think anyone and everyone finds that appealing.  Besides that, he is self-made.  I have a deeper respect for any person that made it on their own and had to struggle to get somewhere.  It says a lot about a person.  

We will see whether or not Edwards announces anything about a run in 2008 on his website sooner or later.  And if/when he does, I’ll be ready to support him.  I think he’d make a fine president and I think he is what America needs.

I was here.

They weren’t.

I was here when the attacks took place.  And it was outside my window that a thick, black plume of smoke rose into the sky.  I shut my windows and worried about taking my child outdoors for a long time.  I heard fighter jets flying over my house.  The attacks took place only ten minutes away from where I lived.  The phones were not working properly, the roads were closed and chaos was everywhere – surrounding buildings also fell by The World Trade Center – thousands were missing/dead.  This was not a good day for New York or its residents to say the least. 

My sister-in-law’s brother worked in the city.  He was there when it happened.  Body parts were falling from the sky to the ground before his eyes.  He now takes medications for a panic disorder that did not exist prior to 9/11.

I also met a beautiful little girl, about 5 or 6 years-old at the time.  Her father was killed in The World Trade Center.  Her mother told us that the child took on, or tried to take on, the role of her father in the wake of his death. 

Our city had changed.  Gone were the Twin Towers that we were all used to seeing.  Our skyline was different.  Our residents, thousands, had died.   This is not to say that the deaths of others from all over on 9/11 meant any less to me.  But somehow, my impression is that those outside of New York (or Washington) had a different experience on 9/11.  It didn’t happen near their homes, it didn’t change thier skyline, it didn’t kill their neighbors.  Maybe it was more “real” for those of us living here, maybe it hurt us more deeply because it happened so close to home.  Maybe this is why they fail to see how I can say that we should have launched a nuclear weapon and hit Afghanistan.  Yes, it is irrational, and it is cruel, and to say that killing the innocent in harming our enemy is something I’d be happy about is wrong.  But to know that the terrorists and those that aided Bin laden and his crew would have been incincerated the same way that our people were incinerated in the World Trade Center would have given me some comfort.

I love my country and I respect that those in charge must know better than me when it comes to all of this.  Well, I sure hope they do.  But, I’ve been reading Woodward’s book, State of Denial, and that doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what is going on with the war in Iraq.   But keeping a focus on Afghanistan for now, I have to say that we blew it.   We had the one and only chance to wipe out this vicious group of people that attacked us on 9/11.   We also blew it in that we did not show other terrorists what we’d do to them had they messed with us again.  So, if our response in Afgahanistan was weak, well then there is the logic behind the insurgency in Iraq.  This may be why the problems continue.  And now things with Iran are getting ugly too.   And for a White House that makes “cut and run” look weak, I have to question their smarts on how they’ve handled this from Day One.   Personally, I think we could have done better, and the manner in which we responded in Afghanistan may have created some of the tensions we are experiencing all over the Middle East today.

It seems that the current administration is content to blame it all on Bill Clinton.  Well, Bill Clinton was not in the White House on 9/11.  Bill Clinton did not call the shots on 9/11 and during the aftermath.  Bill Clinton did not execute the poor strategy seen today in Iraq, and Bill Clinton did not let Bin laden get away when we had him cornered in Tora Bora.  These disasters were done on Bush’s watch.  Suffice it to say, Bush’s response to 9/11 was too weak.

So, for those that think my logic is somewhat crazy and somewhat cruel, and for those who are against fighting back with force to put a stop to a growing threat that gets uglier by the minute, I was here.  And perhaps it is that alone that gives me a different perspective. 

New York still remains the Number One target for terrorists.

You see, first there was all that stuff about Monica Lewinsky, and while Clinton was not an angel, I still think that Ken Starr’s actions were nothing less than a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”  It was wrong to humiliate any human being in that manner, let alone the president.  So, shame on you Ken Starr, but also, thank you Ken Starr, for planting the seeds of protest.  You alone sparked outrage among the people, and made them cherish what real public servants were – patriotic people that brought justice, not dirty little weasels who wasted millions to smear and humilate our president.  Your sick and hateful personal agenda had no justification to be made public.  Yet, you did it anyway, and in doing so, you let the world know what you and your party were really about. 

Next, the 2000 election and Al Gore.  Another Republican public relations disaster.  I can’t even talk about this without getting upset, six years later and it STILL makes me furious.  Not just the outcome, but all the steps taken prior to.   And the actions of Bush and his team were just plain ugly.  It said a lot about who the Republicans really were – preaching “values” but violating them in the same breath.  Not exactly the type of people I wanted to vote for.  But, once again, shame on you all for acting that way, but thank you all for making me sick with your lack of morals, because wihtout feeling that disgust for your party, I may have never cared enough to vote against you.

Fast forward to 2006.   Iraq war a huge disaster, corruption galore; Foley, Rumsfeld, no WMD, no real leadership, just a bunch of posers who can talk the talk but can’t walk the walk.   Enough was enough, so I got out there and I worked HARD to get Dems back into office.   But it wasn’t only me that felt this way, there were MANY.  Many Americans that were as fed as as me and stood up to make a difference.  We did it, and we have only you – the Republican party- to thank.  It was you and only you that sparked so much outrage we all took action to get you back into the majority. 

Novemeber 5th was a 10 hour day for me, and I got  home late but had to be up by 5:30AM to get ready, get out and vote and head for the office by 6:30AM.  I voted roughly after 6:00AM and got into the office about fifteen minutes later.  

Chaos immediately.  Campaign workers started calling my cell while I was still home actually.  Phones ringing, people in and out, questions to answer; flyers to be delivered, press calling and one nervous pacing man also known as the candidate right there making me even crazier.  The pace was fast, but my coffee kicked in.

There was one crisis after another to fix all day and night, but we all got through it and lived.

Finally, the polls closed by 9:00PM, and the numbers started rolling in.  Now this was the fun part.  Very exciting.  Calls were coming in like crazy and they were all asking what we knew about the outcome, but we wanted to know the same thing that they wanted to know.   The place was packed.  No where to stand barely.  Paychecks to campaign workers to cut, at a time like that!  Somehow, the secretary managed to pay some 35 people amid the chaos; some of those people, I later learned, went upstairs and found booze stored and started drinking, without me mind you.

Then, we has some sneaky Republican from the opponent’s side barge in.  What the hell was that about?  Because at this point, my guy was winning, and we were all dying to get some closure.  Did this strange man with the funny tie know something that made him come over? Should I sneak near the back office and listen?  Can’t I just ask him directly?  Of course not.

Hmmm.  Call the local news station, they are posting results online too slow for me.  “Uh, nothing on your district yet.”  Call the opposing side and pose as a supporter from outside so they won’t hear the noise and catch on – they are clueless as well.

Call the news station again.  Some bitch answers that doesn’t want to tell me anything.  Hey, I want the nice guy back on the phone!  No use, she’s cold and she’s staying cold.

Put someone else to call this time, someone with a different voice, a man, and YES, the nice guy picks up! I talk to him.  Still close, nothing new or final yet.

It is midnight.  I am delirious.  I am hungry.  I need a shower, a pillow, and my bed.   I have a child at home that will not sleep until I get back. Finally, without knowing the outcome, I leave the office.    In the taxi, I realize that in 6 more hours, I will have been awake for 24 hours.

About an hour later, I see the results online.  They are some 600 or 700 votes apart with my candidate losing.  It is two days later, and paper ballots have not been counted yet.  I do believe he will be seeking a recount. 

What an experience.  It was hard, but I knew I wanted to support my party, and it felt GREAT to be a part of it.  I think that we all did good, we being Democrats, this year.  We had all had enough of Bush and the Republicans, so we fought back.  And we DID IT!  One by one,  step by step.  I think it was a massive effort made on the part of so many people across the country that worked even harder than me.

I don’t know all of these people individually, but how can I thank them?  To all of you that got out there and invested of yourself to make this change happen, feel proud of yourself.  Feel proud that we’ve restored faith in checks and balances; we’ve put Bush and company in their place at last.  I don’t know anything else – at the moment - that can make any of us more proud.  We made it happen!  And now the real work begins.

The Republicans have hit hard with labeling Democrats the party of “cut and run,” yet haven’t seen that they’ve labeled themselves the party of “stay and die.” 

I think that we all understand the point of not making ourselves look weak in the eyes of the world, so it seems the Republicans deem this public relations issue bigger than everything else.   I am an American.  I do not want us to come off as deserting the Iraqi people.  I also do not suggest that we make it easier for terrorists to prevail in Iraq or anywhere else.  But, I do object to staying in Iraq to fight a war that we never needed to fight in the first place.  I do object to our troops dying and being injured daily with no end in sight.  I do object to spending billions of dollars for no apparent reason.  It has come to light that our presence in Iraq is NOT making us safer.  So much for “mission accomplished.”

The fact that Bush and his staff presist to defend this illegitmate war of his is pretty disgusting.  But what also disgusts me is their attitude that we have to emerge victorious in THEIR definition of it.  I have not heard not ONE soultion to this whole mess in Iraq from Bush,  he just keeps on repeating that we have to stay there.  And after that, we get the blame game from Republicans; Clinton didn’t do enough, Democrats don’t support our troops, and other lies.  

On the part of the Democrats, they do voice the popular opinion of the people.  Few Americans are for us staying in Iraq.   But why is that my party stops short of calling for peace?  World peace.  Where has that concept gone?  And why has this concept become so obscure in a time when it is so badly needed?  The Republicans seem to have painted peace as a bad thing, a dirty word, a desire for chickens only.  Not so, it is with peace and peace only that people can thrive and make the world a better place. 

I sure wish that some of the Democrats would step up to the plate and call on our leaders in Washington, those with the power, to seek out peace. 

Pulling our troops out of Iraq does NOT mean we are letting go of the war on terror, it just means that we can focus better on the REAL culprits, the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11, not their neighbors.  I have heard of guilt by association, but this new “guilt by proximity” needs to go.  We cannot blame Iraq for 9/11.  We cannot blame each and every place in the Middle East for bin Laden and his crazy followers. 

We need to find a solution, and we also need to call on our “allies” to step in and help us in Iraq.  It seems to me the whole world looks to us to help them when they need it, yet we have been deserted.  Everyone needs to come back to the table and chip in, just like we chip in and help them.

As long as the Republicans continue to remain in the dark tunnels of war, they cannot see how badly this war has wounded the spirit of this country.  These dark tunnels blind them, and it is time we helped them see.  They must see the damage to acknowledge it.  For as long as they deny it, it cannot be fixed.  And they also must hear, and listen. Listen to objections over this war, and realize that implicit in the cries of objection are the calls for peace.  

I don’t know about you, but I am just plain sick of tired of the whole PC thing and having to be sensitive to their religion while they are totally intolerant of ours.  Wait, they are intolerant of more than just our religion, they are intolerant, period.

In light of their asking for an apology, I thought about 9/11, and the Muslim reaction shown on the news of so many of them dancing in the streets over killing Americans.  So, did any Muslim leader come out and say sorry for that?  Please tell me, because it seems the apology thing goes only one way with these people.  I mean, I think an apology would be warranted for celebrating the death of Americans than over the Pope making some comments, but wait.  They go around burning churches and now I hear they found a dead Nun in response and have threatened to respond with suicide bombers against the Pope???!!!  All this for some words, but no apology for us when our feelings get hurt by them.

I think it’s just plain crazy that we have to be held to a higher standard than they do.  Further, I want to see a Muslim leader come and apologize for the reaction of Muslims in this matter with the Pope.  But I won’t go killing any old Muslim women, burn down any mosque’s or threaten anyone for the apology.  Maybe I’m just a better person.

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 40 minutes ago

BOSTON – The nation’s largest cigarette maker is disputing a study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that found nicotine in cigarettes has risen about 10 percent in the past six years.

if Philip Morris USA, which manufactures Marlboro cigarettes, said its review of nine years of data that it provided to the state found fluctuations in nicotine levels, but no steady increase.

“There are variations in the nicotine yield for different Marlboro packings, both up and down from year-to-year, but there is no general trend up or down,” the company, a unit of Altria Group Inc., said in a written response late last week.

The health department study released last month examined nicotine levels in more than 100 brands over a six-year period. The study showed a steady climb in the amount of nicotine delivered to the lungs of smokers regardless of brand, with overall nicotine yields increasing by about 10 percent, according to state health officials.

The study also found the three most popular cigarette brands with young smokers — Marlboro, Newport and Camel — delivered significantly more nicotine than they did years ago.

Massachusetts is one of three states to require tobacco companies to submit information about nicotine testing according to its specifications and the only state with data going back to 1997.

Philip Morris said when it looked at all the data they sent to the state there were only year-to-year variations that “occur as part of the normal processes of growing tobacco and manufacturing cigarettes.”

Donna Rheaume, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health, defended the report, which concluded that the higher nicotine levels made it easier to get hooked on cigarettes and harder to quit.

“We stand by our study which was based on data supplied by the tobacco companies,” Rheaume said.

• Email Story
• IM Story
• Discuss
• Printable View

 Comments from me: I find it highly suspicious that the higher levels of nicotine are found in their more popular brands.  It’s not enough they now cost nearly $7.00 per pack in some parts of NY, but now they are even more addictive.  Corporate America, fucking us even harder today than yesterday.