A Triumph of Hope (and Employment)

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Saturday March 07, 2009 · 3:54 PM PST

2009/03/07 · 15:54

Being unemployed is an awful feeling. It is a confluence of stress and mood swings that can make an otherwise happy and positive person seem bipolar. I fought the mood swings and depression as best I could. I increased my exercise regimen, since good health is something that cannot be taken from you, and since it is free. I began watching a lot more comedy, on TV and online, to escape and to laugh, since laughter is such great medicine. I even did my best to stay frugal and productive by writing more often, cleaning more often, and cooking more often. I spent countless hours fine tuning my résumé and submitting it online and in person to various places. On Craigslist, I was like a starving hawk looking for prey, watching every job posting as if it could be the one to rescue me. I even landed a couple of interviews that didn't pan out. But despite all of this, despite that I am a strong willed and independent person, and despite that I never lost hope, I was not able to fully avoid feelings of depression and despair. I can only imagine how much worse it is for others who have bigger obligations and more responsibility than I do, like providing for a family...

Sand in Florida

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Friday February 27, 2009 · 3:20 AM PST

2009/02/27 · 03:20

We are just over a month into this new administration and already an all out war of rhetoric is breaking out between the mainstream media and the administration. Looks like they have come out of hibernation folks, and are taking a confrontational attitude with the White House.

Where were these people when we were being lied to? Why did they not do their jobs when Americans were being sent to their deaths in an unnecessary war?

Within the last few weeks the White House, and by extension those of us who support them, have been bombarded with criticism and a sort of scrutiny that would make Nixon blush. Could it be that the mainstream media has its own agenda?

Sand in Florida

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Sunday February 22, 2009 · 10:35 AM PST

2009/02/22 · 10:35

Remember when Meet the Press was a respectable news program that asked tough questions? If you didn't like Tim Russert, it was probably because of the fact that his questions were aggressively confrontational, and the instance he felt he was getting the run around or a dodge, he would pounce on the interviewee. He was respected as a journalist and feared as an interviewer. Those that did not prepare for his questions ultimately paid the price of national embarrassment.

Now Meet the Press has become a joke. It has become just another megaphone for politicians to spout their talking points like broken records with not so much as a whimper from the host. David Gregory lobs softball after softball hoping to win brownie points with politicians, rather than doing the work of journalism.

Nonetheless, due to the tradition of the program and the people who appear on it, I find myself giving it the attention that it no longer deserves. Today, as I suffered through Gregory sticking his nose up Jindal's ass, I couldn't help but wonder if Russert would have let these blatant lies and ignorant self-contradictions go without being pointed out or clarified with follow up questions.

Let's examine Jindal's answers.

Sand in Florida

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Friday February 06, 2009 · 1:18 PM PST

2009/02/06 · 13:18

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

"I think the president looks forward to getting out of town for a few hours and talk directly with people that are affected. Given today’s numbers its important to go directly to where people are hurting and discuss directly with them the price of inaction and what he thinks we can do to put people back to work and invest long-term."

Like he did in the campaign, President Obama is traveling deep into the heart of right-wing territory: Elkhart, Indiana on Monday and in Fort Myers, Florida on Tuesday, both of which are blood red Republican districts, for town halls.

I'm feeling nostalgic:

Sand in Florida

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Wednesday February 04, 2009 · 5:20 AM PST

2009/02/04 · 05:20

cross-posted from Progressive Junction

When the monkey rings the bell, it gets a pellet. It doesn't care how it got the pellet, it just enjoys the pellet.

Imagine you have a mental illness. Your illness convinces you that you are a John Galt or a Howard Roark, a Randian hero whose morality is so clear, whose proficiency is so divine that no amount of compensation could possibly be worthy of your effort. You have to be pleaded with, begged, and showered with gifts for merely doing your job. And despite the results of your work, whether you brought fame and success or shame and extinction to your company, you are entitled to riches for merely performing, and not necessarily for producing.

This disease exists, and it compels its bearer to deny their own or sometimes others' replaceablity. It compels them to believe, like Pavlovian monkeys, that the mere act of ringing the bell earns them the pellet, and we have been feeding them for decades.

It's time to shock the monkey.

Sand in Florida

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Wednesday January 28, 2009 · 11:55 AM PST

2009/01/28 · 11:55

cross posted from Progressive Junction

A CIA official stationed in Algeria, where an Al Qaeda cell is actively operating, has been accused of raping two or more Muslim women, both in that location and possibly at his previous assignment in Egypt.

According to the report from ABC News, officials discovered more than a dozen video tapes of sex acts with other women. The women claim that the official mixed their drinks with a date rape drug and proceeded to record the activity.

Sand in Florida

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Monday January 26, 2009 · 7:51 PM PST

2009/01/26 · 19:51

What I saw in this video has left me pretty speechless. It is an excerpt from a new documentary called OUTLAWED. I caught this over at Andrew Sullivan's blog, and I felt obligated to re-post it here to get it the exposure it deserves. The man's name is Binyam Ahmed Mohamed.

Sand in Florida

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Sunday January 25, 2009 · 5:40 PM PST

2009/01/25 · 17:40

Tonight 60 minutes did a story on the Israel/Palestine conflict, which explores the reasons why peace in that region may be just a fantasy. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, please take the time to do so now.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Sand in Florida

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Saturday January 24, 2009 · 3:30 PM PST

2009/01/24 · 15:30

cross-posted from Progressive Junction

Rachel Maddow's first segment last night dealt with the economic stimulus package, and it is a must see for those of you who missed it.

Look, I'm no economic expert, but you know who is?

Sand in Florida

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Saturday January 17, 2009 · 7:29 PM PST

2009/01/17 · 19:29

cross-posted from Progressive Junction

The right wing is up. in. arms. about this -

They call it flag desecration, a very important matter...

What's not important to them?

Sand in Florida

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Thursday January 15, 2009 · 10:31 PM PST

2009/01/15 · 22:31

Republicans have said constantly over the past few years that by virtue of having become president, George W. Bush deserves a modicum of respect from us, that the title of president itself demands loyalty, faith, and trust. But sadly, no human is perfect, and when imperfections shine with the radiance of a midnight bomb over Baghdad, it is impossible not to notice them. It is impossible to overlook the tribulations and tragedies that have saturated the last eight years.

Sand in Florida

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Tuesday January 13, 2009 · 11:57 AM PST

2009/01/13 · 11:57

cross-posted from Progressive Junction

From Media Matters:

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A Triumph of Hope (and Employment)

Mainstream Media Declares War on the White House

Bobby Jindal on Meet the Press: How is Stimulus Stimulative?

Obama to Campaign in Indiana, Florida 3 Weeks After Inauguration

Shock the Monkey: Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation

Breaking: American CIA Official Accused of Raping Women in Muslim Countries

OUTLAWED: Interview of a Tortured Man

Tzipi Livni Brings Hope for a Two-State Solution and Peace

Tax Cuts Don't Create Jobs Like Infrastructure Does

Misplaced Priorities

Every Kid Who Participates Gets A Trophy

The United States Has Only "Raped" Three People