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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:24 PM
Original message
SO WHAT?
Edited on Sun Nov-04-07 08:32 PM by NanceGreggs
Is It Really THAT Bad?

Yeah, I know – I know! It seems we have a lot to complain about. But are things really as bad as they seem?

So what if toys full of lead and other contaminants are allowed to be sold in our country? The worst that could happen is thousands of kids will grow up with brain-damage, which means they’ll vote for Republicans when they grow up, which means allowing more lead-based toys to be sold to their kids, which means a lot of kids will never be smart enough to recognize how dumb their parents actually were.

So what if the current administration’s policies are fostering hatred against Americans around the world? That just means future generations won’t have to ask Who’s with us and who’s against us, because the answer will be clear: Everyone is against us. That will really cut down on having to comb the earth for countries that will participate in any Coalition of the Willing the next time we decide to invade a country for their oil – we’ll know from the get-go that we’re strictly on our own.

So what if we wind up having only talking heads on TV, and no actual journalists willing to investigate the truth and tell it like it is? Don’t you look forward to hearing how well things are still going in Iraq ten years from now, instead of seeing that 10,000 US Troops Now Dead headline on the bottom-screen crawl? Besides, that insurgency has got to be in its last throes sometime in the next century.

So what if the government declares anyone they don’t approve of as enemy combatants, and hauls them off to the newly opened Gitmo VII? At least when the TV announcer says, ”It’s eleven o’clock, do you know where your children are?”, you can honestly say that you know where they are.

So what if the Constitution winds up being disposed of after being declared a piece of subversive literature? That will free up display space at the National Archives for a copy of The Pet Goat, complete with photo-shopped pictures of G.W. Bush rushing to action upon hearing that the country is under attack.

So what if we lose a city to natural disaster? Come on, we’re a big country – can’t we afford to lose a couple of cities now and then? Besides, who’s going to live in those already-paid-for contaminated FEMA trailers if we don’t let a hurricane or a flood render tens of thousands of citizens homeless every now and again?

So what if the country continues to outsource American jobs to cheaper labor markets? It just means more leisure time for out-of-work Americans – not to mention the fact that with less commuters on the highways and byways, we won’t have to waste tax dollars maintaining roads and bridges that won’t be used as frequently as they are now.

So what if your kids are getting a lousy education thanks to programs like No Child Left Behind? It’s not like there are going to be any jobs left that call for an education anyway – unless they are smart enough to apply for a passport, in which case they can move to the countries all the American jobs have gone to.

So what if the president is an incoherent idiot, and the VP can’t doesn’t know the difference between Venezuela and Peru? Do you really want the late-night show monologue writers to have to scramble for laugh-worthy material, night after night?

So what if the president’s entire tenure in office is based on photo-ops, smoke ‘n mirrors, props, sets and costumes? Are you prejudiced against illusionists? Don’t like magic shows? Never been dazzled by watching an elephant disappear right before your eyes?

So what if the national debt is rising to unprecedented heights, accruing interest on a daily basis? What did your grandchildren ever do for you? Let them worry about it.

So what if you can’t afford decent health care coverage for yourself and your family? A smaller population due to deaths caused by lack of health care means more time for insurance companies to find ways to disallow the benefits of the hangers-on who are still alive.

So what if e-coli is contaminating everything from hamburgers to pizza toppings? Are you too much of a wuss to try new food products? Wouldn't your ever-shrinking paycheck go a lot further if you had less family members to support? Are you some kind of communist who thinks the government should keep your food safe, when you can easily buy your own chemical testing lab on-line for only $7,400,083,002?

So what if the entire country is going down the toilet? There are many cleaning products from China (containing lead and other lethal chemicals) that will keep that toilet sparklin’ – and they’re on sale now at your favorite flag-waving, fightin’ the War-on-Christmas, union-bustin’, good-for-America discount store!

Really, people - so what?


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JeffR Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:28 PM
Response to Original message
1. watching an elephant disappear right before my eyes...
I like the sound of that one a lot!

K & R!

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Mira Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:31 PM
Response to Original message
2. So what -is that I remember really well WHEN WE WERE THE G OOD GUYS - and I sorely am ashamed now
Proudly being one of the first to Kick and Recommend this post
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TomInTib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:38 PM
Response to Original message
3. So what...
are we gonna do when we finally wake up and realize that the last train has left the depot?
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:45 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Catch a ride with a friend ...
... who's Drivin' Across America, and won't take we're done for an answer?

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truedelphi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:50 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. The article is juicy
Edited on Sun Nov-04-07 08:53 PM by truedelphi
But your current sig line is Priceless Juicy

I have SO-O wanted to know what to say to some of the overbearing born-again crowd that preach to me night and day.

On edit I add: the husband asks "But why does she HATE Jesus!!")
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 09:27 PM
Response to Reply #5
11. Don't hate Jesus ...
... just hate the people who turned his message into a political soundbyte that translates "Do Unto Others" as meaning "You got Yours - Fuck the Other Guy".

Sorry for being blunt - but that's pretty much the way it is.



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truedelphi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #11
19. Hey we knew you weren't hating Jesus
Sorry if you didn't get that we were kidding.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. Sorry - that comeback wasn't meant for you ...
... but for the lurkers here who parse my every word as 'proof' that I hate Christianity(!), and then 'discuss' it on another site. Figured I'd give 'em something to chew on ...

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truedelphi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 01:01 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. Oh I bet the lurkers have fun with you
Edited on Mon Nov-05-07 01:02 PM by truedelphi
I wrote this several years ago
www.coastalpost.com/05/07/index.html -

And freeper land tried to come for me.

My editor got one threatening letter dissing me for my hating America and spelling out that the article was destroying the memory of the fallen service men and women. (??!!??)

But luckily they spelled my first and last name wrong - so they had no way to phone me or write me at home.

They really are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.
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TomInTib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:51 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. If you see 'em...
you tell 'em that Tom is ready to go.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:55 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. I knew that ...
... and I'll be waiting on the corner for my pick-up - you know the place.
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TomInTib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 09:14 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. We'll be going basic...
Fast and low, don't you know, slowing down only when we want to.

Dress simply, but do bring along that Rockin' Red Skirt.

For Molly, y' unnerstan.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 09:32 PM
Response to Reply #9
13. Anything for Molly ... n/t
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mmonk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 08:50 PM
Response to Original message
6. I loved it.
So what?
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madamesilverspurs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 09:26 PM
Response to Original message
10. Aha!
"So what if toys full of lead and other contaminants are allowed to be sold in our country? The worst that could happen is thousands of kids will grow up with brain-damage, which means they'll vote for Republicans when they grow up..." Or grow up to BE Republicans. But it does cause one to wonder what Babs and Pappy gave little Georgie to play with/chew on before he figured out how to blow up froggies just for fun.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 09:31 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Another Unsolved Mystery ...
... finally SOLVED!

Thanks, MSS! (Also explains Jenna & Barbie - guess hand-me-down toys were used to teach the young lasses the lesson of hand-me-down family money.)

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rasputin1952 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 11:07 PM
Response to Original message
14. I saw Studs Terkel on a C-SPAN interview yesterday, and I was
reminded by this million year old man, just what this country is all about.

Studs is one of our national treasures, like real journalists of the days of yore, he was never afraid to get his feet on the ground and get in the thick of things to report the truth. He and Ernie Pyle went through it all, and they told, and taught us a great deal.

But I digress...Last night Studs was talking about his books. One that I had read, The Last Good War, will be a classic someday, and in it, he gives the GI's POV during WWII. He was talking about the "greatest Generation", and made the statement that those who came up through the 50's and 60's were truly the "Greatest Generation, because of the social changes that came about after the war. He spoke of the birth of Civil Rights, the Feminist Movement and the clamor for Peace. he spoke of how those in the 60's had it right, but somehow got railroaded and many of them became today's corporate brats and minions of those that would destroy the Constitution. He spoke briefly about McCarthy, and how McCarthy was an evil man with evil intentions. He spoke candidly and wisely, and it will be a sad day when he can no longer write and discuss the problems that ail this nation.

I mention this because Studs believes we are at another turning point, one that we could mess up if we are not careful. he's seen what "outsourcing" has done to the American worker; he has seen what apathy can do to our Constitutional form of government; he has seen what greed and a public that does nothing to stop it can do to destroy the hopes and dreams of millions. But he has also walked the war torn streets and cities of Europe, and has seen first hand how resilient people can be when it looks like all is lost. He nows what people can do to rebuild, and he hasn't given up on us.

So we should not give up on ourselves and our ability to change things. We have the power to stop all of the damage that bush and his minions have wrought. I don't know who the candidate for the D's will be, anything can happen in a year, but I sure hope that at least one of the current applicants for the job of POTUS, or someone new comes in and shows us that he or she can do the job. I don't want to buy damaged and deadly Chinese products because I can save a dollar. I want people to earn good wages for good work, something this nation has moved away from. But I ramble on...

Nance, your words are inspiring. They bring a clarity that few can match, and I thank you for your wonderful insights. Perhaps when Studs leaves this plane, you can take his place...:hug:
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bhikkhu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-04-07 11:41 PM
Response to Original message
15. So what if a million are dead in Iraq, in our fictitious war
and another ten million or so are in the cross-hairs of our nightmarish terror-war future; we are all fine and safe here!

thanks for a good post!


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avrdream Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 03:21 AM
Response to Original message
16. There you go again, Nance, preaching to the choir!
Edited on Mon Nov-05-07 03:22 AM by avrdream
Could you please wrap this up with your other letters to Congress? I don't think anyone on DU is actually saying "so what" about the things you listed.

This, like so many of your other writings, belongs "out there" where non -DUers can become as informed as us.

Edited to add my thanks so you wouldn't misunderstand what I'm saying.
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democrank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 05:19 AM
Response to Original message
17. So what if we have all these problems?
The two-step solution is quite simple.

1. Get a flag pin and a yellow ribbon magnet.
2. Say, "War is peace."



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thetaoofterri Donating Member (157 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 10:46 AM
Response to Original message
18. So what?
At 61 years of age, I never EVER thought I would ever see the time when I would cry, literally shed tears, about what appears to be the hopelessness of it all. This is not the America I grew up loving and believing in.

Maybe I'm just getting old and sentimental for the good ole days.
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NanceGreggs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 12:52 PM
Response to Reply #18
21. Welcome to DU, thetaoofterri ...
I, too, am of an age where I feel I am "old and sentimental for the good ole days". I never thought our traditionally-held values would wind up being just a memory, and not what our country still stands for.

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thetaoofterri Donating Member (157 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #21
26. Thanks for the welcome
And I love your posts.
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spanone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 01:03 PM
Response to Original message
23. a lovely rant nance
recommended
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Demeter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
24. Actually, It's Worse Than That
There's no opposing force channelling the netroots. We have no opposition leadership--just a bunch of empty suits filling up the spots. We have to invent opposition from scratch, which means we are 30 years behind the foe.
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lady lib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-05-07 01:18 PM
Response to Original message
25. Nancy, it's time to send your collection off to a publisher.
I'd buy the book!
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