Why I cried

By GottaLaff

I don't know if it was due to feeling weakened and vulnerable from a week of having the flu, or a legitimate emotional response to what has occurred over the past few weeks, but at 7:30 this morning, I broke down in tears. I sobbed. It was way too early in the day to feel much of anything, let alone an avalanche of despair. But I did.

Or was I mourning? With each L.A. Times page that I turned, my eyes filled with more tears, no matter how hard I tried to talk myself out of them.

With each report on the Supreme Court's decision, with every sentence about the current Prop 8 court battle, with every photo of the devastation of Haiti, with every twist and turn in the health care "debate", with each postmortem of the uncanny Coakley loss to a former centerfold whose policy positions frustrate me no end, with every military death, with each inept, biased piece of news reporting, I found myself succumbing to tears that I tried like crazy to resist.

My sons are facing a world of things I can't even fathom. Where I had hopes, I now have anxiety. Where I thought the world would be safer for them, I see growing dangers that I thought would dissipate over time, not intensify. Health care hurdles, hatred, financial roadblocks, discrimination, wars, political obstruction, you name it.

Who do they turn to for justice? How can fairness be achieved? What happened to judicial objectivity? Who can provide that for them? Certainly not the highest court in the land.

Five people have changed my kids' futures. Five people have made voting seem nearly meaningless. Five people who should be standing up for fairness and democracy have instead slammed a whole lot of doors in my children's faces. And mine. And yours.

And so I cried. I cried because I, along with so many of you, continue to fight, and continue to lose to irrationality. We do what we can, both individually and collectively. Speaking for myself, I donate, I tweet, I post, I Facebook, I try to get a message out, I vote, I scream, I explain, I quip. But it hasn't been enough.

I feel smaller than I've ever felt, more insignificant even though I'm reaching thousands on a daily basis. I fight as hard as I can, and give as much as I can give, but this latest body blow from SCOTUS really hurt.

And so today I finally broke down and cried.

However...

As impotent as I feel, and I suspect many of you are feeling the same way, I have no intention of giving up. None.

I'll continue to donate, tweet, post, Facebook, vote, scream, explain, quip. But just like you, I need to vent sometimes in order to unload the negative and start all over again with the positive.

I hope you understand, I'm not whining. I'm not surrendering. I'm not walking away. I haven't lost my resolve. I'm simply sharing the overwhelming rush of emotion I had this morning, because if I didn't, my head would explode.

And having done that, it's time to start over, breathe, and do everything in my power to make the world better for my kids, myself, and anyone who wants to join me.

Sheriff Arpaio Watch: Activist's Letter of Disgust to Eric Holder's DOJ Investigators

By GottaLaff

Additional footage from KPHO's fine job on this is available: http://www.kpho.com/news/21470567/det...

If you are a victim of Sheriff Arpaio's harassment or abuse or any of his deputies call the FBI at 602 279-5511.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona has been bringing prosecutions against political enemies, and now a judge. Why? Because he didn't like the way he ruled. No, I'm not kidding.

Sheriff Joe is bananas. And dangerous.

And now one activist is wondering why our own Justice Department has been so negligent:

Like a lot of anti-Arpaio activists in town, videographer Dennis Gilman has been helping the U.S. Department of Justice gather evidence of abuse of power and racial profiling by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. [...] But like many who've been patiently waiting for the feds to act, he's fed up with their dithering.

And so he wrote a letter. Here it is, in part. Please go read the whole thing, because I left out a lot:

Dear Department of Justice,

I cannot express how disappointed people I speak with are and how disillusioned I have become.

What once was hope that human rights would be a concern in this County has turned into a forgotten memory. [...]

How many more broken arms, women torn from their children, deaths in Arpaio's Jails will it take? Should we care? They are just poor people. They have no money or power. Many are used to the abuse. They will never cost you your careers. [...]

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias states there is more than enough evidence. But what could he possibly know? [Laffy Note: See video]

What is it really going to take? How many more Judges need to be harassed? How many will dare question the Almighty Sheriff or any actions of his deputies for fear they will not be allowed to conduct normal court business? (Look it up. If you think I'm exaggerating I'll prove you wrong in a heartbeat). [...]

How many politicians do you think will speak up against the abuse when to do so surely means they will be investigated, indicted, harassed and have their lives turned into a living hell and their careers ruined at a minimum? How many more of us have to wind up in jail while you desert us here?

Who is in charge? The FBI, DOJ, Obama or Arpaio? [...]

I can tell you in no uncertain terms that many activists are abandoning any hope of conventional justice and turning to the Anarchist movement in alarming numbers in this area.I can no longer try to convince them they should work with you or the FBI.[...]

Arpaio's faithful followers have become more violent toward Day Laborers and those that speak out against Arpaio at the protests and on the streets. It's only a matter of time before blood will start spilling. [...]

Dennis Gilman

Truly unbelievable.

David Iglesias: "I can't believe this is happening in the United States."

H/t: Tiggrr1

VIDEO: Harry Reid on (and on) President Obama's visit to Capitol Hill

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"Great progress," sez Reid. "Change," sez Reid. "Ha!" sez Laffy.

Someone talk me down. The more I read, the more frustrated I get. I'm not giving up, but my Sick to Death of Obstructionists and Big Insurance Screwing Over America alert level is at orange.

Sidebar: This eight minute video feels more like an hour with Mr. Personality at the mic.

H/t: RealityChex

VIDEO: "I object! I object! I object!"

By GottaLaff

Since I'm out here in California, I miss a lot of the early morning newsy craziness that many of you witness on a daily basis.

This morning, Paddy called me screaming, "Turn on CSPAN! Turn on CSPAN!" Being a person who is right in tune with Paddy's subtleties and nuanced delivery, I went right over and flipped on the Tee Vee Machine, only to this jaw-dropping spectacle:



Mr. Chairman, I object to the objections. I move to remind my colleagues to STFU. I yield the rest of my time.

In an effort to delay and derail the proceedings, the Republicans continually talked over the Democratic women for half an hour. They sought to prevent the debate by calling for unnecessary “parliamentary inquiries” and requests for “expanding the debate” by an hour.

This was one of the most frustrating, embarrassing examples of Rushpublic obstruction that I can remember.

Here is one more teeth-gnashing mash-up from Media Matters:

John Conyers: Obama Is Sucking Up To The Wrong People

By GottaLaff

Via Nicole at Crooks and Liars, we hear "I've had enough!" words about suckage from a frustrated John Conyers:

President Barack Obama is “getting bad advice from… clowns” on Afghanistan and “sucking up to the wrong people” on health care, U.S. Rep. John Conyers told a Detroit radio audience this morning, according to show host Rev. Horace Sheffield. [...]

“He wasn’t angry. He was just deeply concerned that some of the issues being focused on don’t address the human reality,” said Sheffield, who hosts the program “On The Line” on WGPR-FM radio.

Conyers voiced what many of us have been screaming about here, and that is, Big Insurance and Big Pharma are benefiting from health care reform legislation more than we are... by a long shot.

While it is encouraging that there is more progress on this issue than we've seen in decades, it is also cringeworthy to see Medicare for all/single payer and a strong public option go by the wayside, at least for now.

As for Afghanistan, Americans have had it with war, especially inherited, going-nowhere-fast ones that have dragged on for 8 years.

H/t: Pigboy

"Really glad we don't have single-payer... health care... private insurance... is like totally awesome"

By GottaLaff

Chris Bowers over at Open Left tells a personal story about his brand new wife and her brand new broken foot. Oh yeah, and about the utterly frustrating, time-wasting, tail-chasing, wheel-spinning runaround a private insurance company sent them on.

Short version: Broken foot. No care.

In the end, I am really glad that we don't have single-payer government financing for health care, because the current private insurance system is like totally awesome.

In case you missed it, that was dripping with sarcasm.

Just. Go. Read

Frustrated with my party

By GottaLaff

I don't think there will be much disagreement with this:

Rush Limbaugh and his quest for ever higher ratings is not our leader, or anyone's leader. He is doing this for him. If there is harmony in the country, the need for a show like his is less. If there is chaos and discord his ratings skyrocket. His success depends on the country in turmoil. The more discord, the more bloody attacks on innocents, the more dissention among neighbors, the more extremism we have, the better he does and the richer he gets. I have no use for anyone like him. I will not give him my time or attention any longer. He is creating the atmosphere for the upswing in domestic terrorism and he is encouraging it. He is destroying us. I believe that many of his messages borderline sedition or treason.

Here's the interesting part... it's a post by a Republican:

We conservatives have a problem. We lost and we need to know why. We can't say it is because Obama was better online than the Republicans and dismiss it. There were problems with our message. We weren't focused. We were put on the defensive. We reacted. We didn't establish our goals and then go after them in an organized way. We didn't lead. We didn't put up any leaders. We put up a moderate and a dingbat. We failed to understand the problems and formulate solutions. We were so used to being in charge that we couldn't see how much trouble we were in. We still don't. Nothing has changed. We complain about the Democrats and put out distorted negative ads on You-Tube. We say outlandish things. We rail against the Democrats. We do not have a cohesive positive message yet. We cannot find a leader. We trot people out in front of a camera and see how they play and if they don't do so well, we abandon them like we have Bobby Jindal.

We are so busy posturing and saying the same talking points over and over we don't listen. We don't listen. We don't listen. We are a representative government or supposed to be. We need to listen to the people, understand their concerns and find leaders who will take their message to Washington.

There are very good people out there, but the very good people are NOT Rush Limbaugh, NOT Sarah Palin, NOT Newt Gingrich, NOT Michael Steele. These people are all jokes. They are all gimmicks. They make outlandish statements and make for interesting news cycles but they are not leaders. I want my party back. I want real conservative leaders who listen and do the right thing. I want all the hate mongering messages to stop. I want the hatred to stop. I want to work together to find solutions that are the best for the country not one side's reaction to 8 years of impotency. Our complaints are not being heard. We are not being taken seriously.

This is one Republican I would like to get to know a little better. How refreshing to hear a reasonable voice amid the usual madness.

And I'm listening.

H/t: Shoq