What started as an innocent protest by a stock trader in February 2009, asking folks to ship a tea bag to Congress for bailing those good-for-nothing-don't care-bonus gauging-electionbuying-loanlending-moneyhoarding financial institutions, is now - a bonafide phenonmenon. Tea party is here to stay and influence GOP politics for years to come, much like the arrival of Lord Ronald Reagan thirty years ago.
Tea party manifesto relies on constitutionfollowing-healthcarehating-prorich-antienvironmenal-simpletaxation-balancedbudget-controlled spending manifesto. Parts of them noble, parts of them just pot crazy. But as in life, nothing is perfect. But they have struck a nerve, people just have had it from everybidy, nobody seems to listen to them. Congress does what the lobbies who got them there tell them, people seem to not get it. Well, they do, they are just not sending the useless reps back. But would the new breed be truly faithful or power and influence and the soft money that comes with it change them? Initially no, but eventually absolutely yes. Mass Senator Brown is one example, great in the initial days, but he does take much of his directions from whoever care to provide it to him. Fill in your influence blank. That said, he is being a maverick and thats what makes him cool for now.
Eventually a balance budget and reduced deficit would be nice, but then taxes have to go up, they cant both be at logger heads. Right now, people just want to work, and poverty is at a 30 year high, what were we expecting after all that blood bath. Now the really painful news is that $780 Billion of the Govt gave (our money) to Banks is still sitting there. That is a $2300 per person, we could have all used, spent some of it and brought the economy back, single handedly...but that did not happen.
Sarah Palin, on the other hand, has also shown that resignation from her post, having all the personal issues, and lack of any good grasp of anything, does not have to effect anything-it infact is a plus! Many americans have come to see her as themselves, and thats a sad state of affairs for the country. But Palin is here to stay and nothing really sticks to her. One has to be as whacky as Glenn Beck to get some attention around here. Common sense? What common sense. Patience? What patience? Middle ground? That does not exists. Consensus, compromise, bipartisonship - all new four letter obscenities.
We care about us, we want it now...and we will remove whoever is in our path...we are not watching, and we don't care.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Koran and September 11
A crazy preacher in Florida wants to burn a Koran on Sept 11 on the 9th anniversary of the terrorist strikes in America. It was when 19 completely deranged people decided to administer a medicine to a superpower, that collateral damage is not just confined to the Middle East. America woke up, and a trillion dollars have been spent in misdirected wars. A lot more than 3000 have been killed since, another 4000 of brave Americans, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, Afghanis have died as part of the collateral damage. Yes, the hard core elements have died too in that process, but innocent lives came with it.
That brings us back to the Koran. It was interesting when the whole world was commenting on an action of a crazy preacher wanting to get his 15 minutes of fame, a disgrace to the cloth he wears. Just two years back hundreds of Bibles were burnt in Jerusalem by Palestinians, where was the American outrage and world outrage then? No one screamed, no one asked for peace.
The reason is simple: the imam has a megaphone 5 times a days, and can stir up emotions as no one else can. Most Christians do not even go to their churches, even if they do its once a week. Therein lies the difference. Emotions can be whipped up easily one way. Hence the fear.
When a bunch of un or under employed people, with no or poor family ties, living in extreme poverty, get together they are look for a goal - any goal, to find purpose (which comes with food and money), you have them to do anything. They know living such a life, unheard, is no life at all. Dying young in glory is another matter. Koran binds them that way...its the way of life...so even one book burned goes a long way.
On the flip side, unless better employment conditions are not created (a la Dubai, Abu Dhabhi), talking to this crowd is pointless, force is everything. Inspite of all the aid poured in from United States, Pakistanis will always hate Americans...nothing positive we do matters. All they want is their money, and then go away. In many movies in Bollywood, the explicit dialogue is to do whatever to "get money from that white man (gora)", then make fun of all their ways behind their back.
In other words, every bird cares about itself first. If burning a Koran endangers our birds, then we should not encourage it. But don't expect the other flock of bird to understand. They only care about themselves.
That brings us back to the Koran. It was interesting when the whole world was commenting on an action of a crazy preacher wanting to get his 15 minutes of fame, a disgrace to the cloth he wears. Just two years back hundreds of Bibles were burnt in Jerusalem by Palestinians, where was the American outrage and world outrage then? No one screamed, no one asked for peace.
The reason is simple: the imam has a megaphone 5 times a days, and can stir up emotions as no one else can. Most Christians do not even go to their churches, even if they do its once a week. Therein lies the difference. Emotions can be whipped up easily one way. Hence the fear.
When a bunch of un or under employed people, with no or poor family ties, living in extreme poverty, get together they are look for a goal - any goal, to find purpose (which comes with food and money), you have them to do anything. They know living such a life, unheard, is no life at all. Dying young in glory is another matter. Koran binds them that way...its the way of life...so even one book burned goes a long way.
On the flip side, unless better employment conditions are not created (a la Dubai, Abu Dhabhi), talking to this crowd is pointless, force is everything. Inspite of all the aid poured in from United States, Pakistanis will always hate Americans...nothing positive we do matters. All they want is their money, and then go away. In many movies in Bollywood, the explicit dialogue is to do whatever to "get money from that white man (gora)", then make fun of all their ways behind their back.
In other words, every bird cares about itself first. If burning a Koran endangers our birds, then we should not encourage it. But don't expect the other flock of bird to understand. They only care about themselves.
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