Saturday, March 06, 2004
The First and Last of Politics
I received a piece of blatant email propaganda from an acquaintance yesterday. Here's the original text with my reply spliced in, which will hopefully also stand as my opinion on this presidential contest:
On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 00:45:27 -0500 "NameDeleted" writes:
> For the past three years, George Bush has trampled upon the honor of
> the Office of the President with an unprecedented level of
> arrogance.
Perhaps.
> He has unilaterally withdrawn from multinational
> treaties. He has blatantly attempted to reverse affirmative action.
> He has deliberately dismantled the EPA.
Agreed.
> That's not even the half
> of it. He has lost 2.9 million jobs.
Oh, just him, huh? That had nothing to do with economic conditions, corporate decisionmaking, or a brand new global economy? George Bush personally fired 2.9 million people?
> He has left millions of children
> behind in education.
The federal government's contribution to education is equivalent to the peanut-seller's contribution to Major League Baseball's sales . . . yet you blame all of education's problems on the president? That's intelligent. That's thoughtful. That's fair.
> He has taken away healthcare from 200,000
> veterans. He has reduced Medicare benefits for thousands of
> elderly. He has raided the entire $2.6 Trillion Dollar Social
> Security Surplus. He has created the largest deficit in the history
> of the United States. These are undisputable facts.
Yes (except, are you sure they aren't "indisputable"?). And for those reasons, he should not be reelected. But what has Kerry done to fix those problems, which have been getting worse for years? What makes you think Kerry is the answer? Kerry's been in Congress forever. Seriously -- how can you be energized by this guy? Can you not see that he is part of the problem?
> The unfortunate consequence is that you, your family, and your
> neighbors are worse off today than you were three years ago. Not
> just from a financial perspective, but from a security perspective.
> Under Bush, Americans are killed by terrorist attacks every 30 days.
> Under Clinton, it was only every two years.
That is the biggest pile of bullshit ever emailed to me. The ads telling me they can grow my dick to two feet long contain more truth and ethical value than that statement. Your level of ignorance is appalling.
> But there is hope. And that hope is John Kerry.
Fuck that. I'll get to sleep some other way.
> John Kerry will
> help return prestige and honor to the Office of the President.
Oh, like back to the level of honor Clinton bestowed upon the presidency? Hopefully Kerry's "bestowing" won't also be a physical donation.
> He
> will make promises that are realistic and can be kept. To help
> John Kerry reach as many voters as possible I have agreed to become
> part of the Kerry Core.
News flash: he's a POLITICIAN. They only keep "promises" to the corporations that sponsor them.
> I am supporting John Kerry because America
> needs a president that will create jobs, provide affordable health
> care, protect our environment, fund our educational system, secure
> our homeland and reestablish the United States as the great country
> it was just a few short years ago.
Yes, and I'd like 365 days a year of sunshine, happiness, free pizza, and unlimited dark beer . . . but this is reality. The color of the sky in this world is blue.
> With your help we can all return this country to greatness. Please
> join my efforts to elect John Kerry President by making a
> contribution today. Thanks!
You can't send this crappy propaganda out and not expect to get a less than excited response. The truth of the matter is that we have two shitty candidates. What blows my mind is I hear all sorts of idiot conservatives on talk radio talk about how right they are, and how untouchable the president is . . . . And then I read all sorts of liberal BS, like this email, about how right the democrats are, and how they can fix everything. It blows my mind because most of the people spouting these dual shit fountains of manure are just as old, experienced, and educated as I am -- so they should know that politics is never as simple as "left beats right", or vice versa, as if life could be watered down to a simple choice between black and white, with no decisionmaking, no creative thought process, in between.
In other words, no thanks. I'll watch your bandwagon from the cheap seats . . . .
Carefully,
On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 00:45:27 -0500 "NameDeleted"
> For the past three years, George Bush has trampled upon the honor of
> the Office of the President with an unprecedented level of
> arrogance.
Perhaps.
> He has unilaterally withdrawn from multinational
> treaties. He has blatantly attempted to reverse affirmative action.
> He has deliberately dismantled the EPA.
Agreed.
> That's not even the half
> of it. He has lost 2.9 million jobs.
Oh, just him, huh? That had nothing to do with economic conditions, corporate decisionmaking, or a brand new global economy? George Bush personally fired 2.9 million people?
> He has left millions of children
> behind in education.
The federal government's contribution to education is equivalent to the peanut-seller's contribution to Major League Baseball's sales . . . yet you blame all of education's problems on the president? That's intelligent. That's thoughtful. That's fair.
> He has taken away healthcare from 200,000
> veterans. He has reduced Medicare benefits for thousands of
> elderly. He has raided the entire $2.6 Trillion Dollar Social
> Security Surplus. He has created the largest deficit in the history
> of the United States. These are undisputable facts.
Yes (except, are you sure they aren't "indisputable"?). And for those reasons, he should not be reelected. But what has Kerry done to fix those problems, which have been getting worse for years? What makes you think Kerry is the answer? Kerry's been in Congress forever. Seriously -- how can you be energized by this guy? Can you not see that he is part of the problem?
> The unfortunate consequence is that you, your family, and your
> neighbors are worse off today than you were three years ago. Not
> just from a financial perspective, but from a security perspective.
> Under Bush, Americans are killed by terrorist attacks every 30 days.
> Under Clinton, it was only every two years.
That is the biggest pile of bullshit ever emailed to me. The ads telling me they can grow my dick to two feet long contain more truth and ethical value than that statement. Your level of ignorance is appalling.
> But there is hope. And that hope is John Kerry.
Fuck that. I'll get to sleep some other way.
> John Kerry will
> help return prestige and honor to the Office of the President.
Oh, like back to the level of honor Clinton bestowed upon the presidency? Hopefully Kerry's "bestowing" won't also be a physical donation.
> He
> will make promises that are realistic and can be kept. To help
> John Kerry reach as many voters as possible I have agreed to become
> part of the Kerry Core.
News flash: he's a POLITICIAN. They only keep "promises" to the corporations that sponsor them.
> I am supporting John Kerry because America
> needs a president that will create jobs, provide affordable health
> care, protect our environment, fund our educational system, secure
> our homeland and reestablish the United States as the great country
> it was just a few short years ago.
Yes, and I'd like 365 days a year of sunshine, happiness, free pizza, and unlimited dark beer . . . but this is reality. The color of the sky in this world is blue.
> With your help we can all return this country to greatness. Please
> join my efforts to elect John Kerry President by making a
> contribution today. Thanks!
You can't send this crappy propaganda out and not expect to get a less than excited response. The truth of the matter is that we have two shitty candidates. What blows my mind is I hear all sorts of idiot conservatives on talk radio talk about how right they are, and how untouchable the president is . . . . And then I read all sorts of liberal BS, like this email, about how right the democrats are, and how they can fix everything. It blows my mind because most of the people spouting these dual shit fountains of manure are just as old, experienced, and educated as I am -- so they should know that politics is never as simple as "left beats right", or vice versa, as if life could be watered down to a simple choice between black and white, with no decisionmaking, no creative thought process, in between.
In other words, no thanks. I'll watch your bandwagon from the cheap seats . . . .
Carefully,
