If you educate all American babies, the crime rate will go down

[omega minimo]

If you provide health care for all American babies, the crime rate will go down

If you provide adequate shelter for all American babies, the crime rate will go down

If you provide child care for all American babies, the crime rate will go down

If you provide safe food for all American babies, the corporate crime rate will have to go down

If you provide safe medicine for all American babies, the corporate crime rate will have to go down

If you provide safe water for all American babies, the corporate crime rate will have to go down

If you provide safe air for all American babies, the corporate crime rate will have to go down

Thank you, Bill Bennett, for providing the Democrats with their "talking points," their "marching orders," their unifying theme for the too-many-issues-all-over-the-page, disorganized cliche thrown at them by those who don't get that:

ALL THE ISSUES ARE ONE ISSUE. HUMAN RIGHTS. LIFE. LIBERTY. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. FREE OF CORPORATE CONTROL OF OUR GOVERNMENT. FREE OF CORPORATE CONTROL OF OUR ELECTIONS.

Democrats are the now the Party of Determination.

Republicans are the Party of Extermination.

[AspenRose]

1. Excellent

America has the piss-poor infant mortality rate that it has, in large part, due to inadequate health care for those in poverty. Apparently this is something republicans could care less about.

Republicans don't think citizens of color in this country are "REAL AMERICANS."

Bumper sticker on my neighbor's car: Everyone does better when EVERYONE does better.

[lcordero2]

9. so then, according to them, Native Americans aren't

REAL Americans.

[AspenRose]

18. Probably not...ask DeLay, Ralph Reed, or Abramoff

since they were the ones trying to defraud Indian casinos for their own greedy purposes. They (the Indians) were referred to as "troglodytes" and "monkeys."

I don't think they consider anyone different from them a "REAL AMERICAN." ESPECIALLY someone of color. It doesn't matter how acculturalized someone is in this society, they will always be categorized first and foremost by their differences.

Remember when the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to meet with Bush? What did he do? He sent out Colin and Condi to talk to them. As if he couldn't be bothered with them. What, only blacks should talk to blacks when expressing a grievance? He's refused to meet with the NAACP. He's the president of the U.S., and the U.S. is diverse, whether he likes it or not. He's supposed to represent the interests of everyone in the country, not just people who look like and agree with him.

*DR, mixed raced herself and feeling like quite the second class citizen this week*

[WinkyDink]

66. That is exactly why Bush referred to New Orleans as

"that part of the world".

As opposed to, you know, HERE, the U.S.

[marmar]

2. That will require aborting...

the Republican Party.

[omega minimo]

6. Nah, they just need to be educated

and

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

17. Just go back in time and start with Barbara Bush

[Carla in Ca]

61. As we were leaving the LA march last Saturday,

There was a woman with a sign that said 'Barbara Bush had an abortion. It is now the president."

[Gronk Groks]

104. Vicious, but oh so clever...

...but it should of read, "a monstrosity" instead of, "an abortion".

After all, the idiot lived.

[Carla in Ca]

109. I know. It was unsettling.

That's why I didn't take a picture of it.

[lcordero2]

19. that would be too simple...then all corporate crime would cease

[omega minimo]

23. You guys are in the wrong place

We're starting a Radical Positivity movement over here

[AnotherMother4Peace]

3. Wouldn't it be great - I like your thinking!

[El Supremo]

4. Wonderful!

But it would be easier to abort them.

[Xipe Totec]

5. If you allow women to control their bodies,

so than only women who want to have babies, have them,

then the crime rate will go down because every child will be born to a mother who loves him.

[omega minimo]

7. and more opportunities to determine their own destiny

[FreedomAngel82]

57. Yes

Every child should be loved and adored and taken care of and not abused etc. What good is it for a child to be born into a family that is abusive in some way (whether the mother or father)?

[klook]

8. Brilliant. Recommended. (n/t)

[omega minimo]

10. Hey, if Norway can do it

We will need a way to counter "the S-word."

Providing opportunities is not Socialism.

America has lost sight of the Common Good, the commonweal.

Katrina provided the opportunity to redress that loss-- on many levels. At least TALK ABOUT IT!

[onehandle]

76. How many Billionaires does Norway have?

I bet a lot fewer than us.

If we provided for the common good for all Americans, our Billionaires and Multi-Millionaires would be severely affected. They'd be reduced to Billionaires and Multi-Millionaires.

Won't somebody think of the Rich?

Wait! I found their saviors!

http://www.gop.com/

[omega minimo]

85. Dunno-- but I'm sure whatever they have

they are willing to share

Bushco. is melting the glaciers and praying for nuclear winter-- Surely some Norwegian hospitality is timely.

[JanMichael]

11. If you abort ALL babies ALL crime will STOP eventually.

Bennett is talking outta his ass.

[omega minimo]

13. Fuck Bennett. THIS is radical positivism

[tinfoilinfor2005]

12. You had me at "educate"...

Thanks and nominated!

[omega minimo]

16. Very funny LOL Thank you

[Ilsa]

14. Recommended. Great Post. EOM

[jbnow]

15. Thanks

I thought those same things as that smug fool was justifying what he said, giving the kids the food and care and education they need would make quite a difference.

He irritated me earlier then that statement when he brought up single mothers but he got worse from there.

If he had said "If we abort almost all male babies and lock the ones who live up to be sperm donors then the violent crime rate will go way down, aids will go way down (and so on)" That would be truer, more ridiculous and thus less offensive and still made his point he is so proud of.

If bush's were aborted think how many more people would be alive today.

[omega minimo]

20. As if Katrina had not already revealed the brutality of this regime

As if Iraq and Afghanistan had not already revealed the brutality of this regime

As if Republican House and Senate leaders simultaneously under indictment had not already revealed the criminality of this regime

Bennett's comment reveals the immense and brutal arrogance of Republicans and anyone who would even consider eugenic exterminiation (even "hypothetically") as social policy.

Rather than argue the bastards and keep REACTING to their insane behavior and demented statements, I propose Radical Positivity.

Time for us to take back the issues of importance and demand what the American people need.

[FreedomAngel82]

59. To me the first thing I thought of

when he said that was of Harod in the Old Testament who wants to murder all the living Jewish male babies to not find the Messiah.

[TahitiNut]

21. The "Perfect Squelch."

[omega minimo]

25. "Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results."

here's to you, your sig line and Margaret Atwood

If we are always REACTING to RongWing insanity (every day a new one or two or five) they sure keep us busy-- even here on DU, involved in the evil and/or stupidity of pretending to parse out whether the Bennett outrage was About Racism and Not Abortion, or whether BB helped "us lose the Abortion Albatross."

So, thanks.


edit for stupidity

[Kazak]

22. I'm sensing the beginnings of an '06 campaign ad here...

[intheflow]

24. This is just great.

I'm a minister, and this preaches!

[omega minimo]

26. Mighty honored, Your Honor

So you would know better than I the power of standing up there and speaking to the highest good in the congregation, in each of us-- perhaps using the strife and stories of the day as a jumping off point as you tell the gathering

YOU CAN FLY

[greekspeak]

27. Once past zygote stage, they inherit the Sin of Adam and become depraved

They, then deserve nothing unless God blesses them by making them rich.

[omega minimo]

28. When they're fed, clothed, healthy, happy-- it's harder to turn them into

paranoid hypocrites

[greekspeak]

31. Fo Shizzle...I am just stating how FundiVangelicals think

I agree 100% with what you say. Go back to Mazlo's Heirarchy of needs, and get 100% of Americans actually INTO that heirarchy. This, instead of creating drug and poverty ghettos

[omega minimo]

34. They think?

Thought they jest did what they're told to do/be/say.

Re: Mazlo-- yep, looks like it's time to dust off a lot of volumes of ancient history from Ye Olden Days of the 70's aka the Pre-Reagan Era.

Another question I posed today was why the unified movement was disassembled and fractured into factions that now barely remember being unified.................

[mzmolly]

29. EXCELLENT POST!!!!

[omega minimo]

33. "The Culture of Corruption is on it's way out!!" HD

Next up:

RADICAL POSITIVITY!!!!!!!!!!

Let's tell political leaders what we want and when we want it.

Let's start by bearing witness to the inhumanity exhibited by the Republicans in NO and on hate radio.

Let's stand up for ALL Americans and say to the Repugs:

You're MAD as hell and WE'RE not gonna take it anymore.

[TankLV]

47. The "Culture of Croney Corruption".

Nice ring to it.

[omega minimo]

49. Right-- that or "The Culture of

Cro-Magnon Corruption."

[understandinglife]

30. Way, way, way down. Thank you.

Peace.

[tanyev]

32. Excellent.

[SnoopDog]

35. Excellent and beautiful post - thank you.

[jillan]

36. Air America in Phx has this to say------->

"If you abort all republican babies, Casey Sheehan would still be alive"

Touche'

[omega minimo]

37. Even recent major screwups of the RW DISTRACT US from the work

of crafting a vision, unifying factions, building a movement

DU has shown me how human it is-- even among excellent company-- to swarm to the sensational.

Now the Republicans are SENSATIONALLY SCREWED UP.

Now is the time to strike, not merely with attacks on their insanity and greed, but with OUR IDEAS AND VISIONS.

not

[omega minimo]

38. Thank you all. Let's kick some positivity up starting

now

[Left coast liberal]

39. Excellent bites. Hope someone at the DNC see it! NT

[Gregorian]

40. Yes. So obvious. And yet so brilliant.

I want to add something, but your post is sacred.



If you provide the things that parents need in order to live in dignity, the crime rate will go down.

[omega minimo]

42. When human life is dignified with adequate opportunities

minus the manipulations of Big Business

the crime rate will go down

and the corporate crime rate WILL HAVE TO go down

[sonias]

41. Amen to that!

Especially like the touches of adding "corporate crime rate" after all those are the ones that really kill.

Sonia

[omega minimo]

44. Yeah, did Bill "Mr. Morals" Bennett forget to mention CORPORATE crime?

[journalist3072]

43. Kick ass thread of the day!

[omega minimo]

46. Much obliged

and glad to see that corny old -- I mean RADICAL-- positivity can bounce to the top of the page.

[TankLV]

45. If you provide better birth control and abortions on demand and insist

that all repukes take advantage of them, you not only get a HUGE reduction of crime and war mongering, but you eventually help restore democracy, too!

[omega minimo]

48. "abortions on demand" -- sorry, yer on the wrong thread!

This one was started INSTEAD OF fighting all the stupid bullshit with the word "abortion" in it that dominates DU today.

BTW "abortion on demand" is Repukespeak.

[frankly_fedup2]

113. Just like partial birth abortions of viable babies kicking and screaming

coming out. That's murder and Sean Hannity says he had seen films of it. If he has, and he has not reported it, he is an accomplice to murder.

I worked at a local hospital in the HIM Department. I did birth certificates and death certificates. I did monthly reports that I sent to our capital, Richmond, VA, of all live births and deaths.

Now this is the law, so these so called babies screaming must have been breathing, and if someone stuck a trocan with a tube in the back of the neck to collapse the skull, they have committed murder.

The law states that if a fetus is born and breathes ONE breath, there will be a legal record of the birth of that child. The parents can name the child (legally), and they will later receive a legal birth certificate and then a death certificate.

If a fetus is born, and does not breathe one breath, there is no legal record of birth or death for the child. Let's say the parents last name is Smith. The only record of that child would be on the bottom of the "Live Birth Report" as baby boy Smith or baby girl Smith. That will be the only record that will show that child ever existed on this earth.

The parents can name the child, but they will not receive a legal birth certificate with the child's name on it nor will they receive a death certificate. It's up to them if they want to have a service for the child or have the hospital take care of the body (which would be incinerated). NO ONE can take the body of a dead infant home with them (tell Rick Santorum) Not even the parents. Either the funeral home picks up the body or the hospital keeps the body. Also, if not kept frozen, the body starts to swell and become discolored before 24 hours . . . not to mention smell.

So all those horror stories of partial birth abortions are just that, stories made up. Partial birth abortions are done to infants that no longer are progressing inutero. The woman cannot have the fetus's flesh rot inside her. Unfortunately for the woman, the doctor will induce labor and she must go through so much labor to get the fetus in the birth canal. That is when the doctor collapses the skull of the fetus because that is the biggest part of the infant. It makes the birth process less traumatic on the woman. Of course, if the parents want to spend some time with the infant, this is not done. This is only done when requested on a fetus that was no longer progressing inutero.

Also, abortion on demand does not happen. The right will say that women use abortion for birth control. I'd like to know where they do this?

[omega minimo]

120. Repuke Speak = "partial birth abortion" and "abortion on demand"

No such medical terms exist.

"Abortion on demand" is a vicious Rong Wing propaganda flash card for Dittoheads and misogynists.

Unfortunately, most of the people most vociferous and opinionated about abortion have no idea what they are talking about and no concern for the individuals who are actually affected by right to personal privacy and to abortion as an option for reproductive health.

[FizzFuzz]

129. Thank you for this dose of fact.

I knew the wingnut partial-birth abortion has always been a meme to deliberately disinform, but I didn't know these important details that further prove the lying of the fascists.

Hmmm, wonder if it could be media blasted?

[DarkTirade]

50. Wow. Just wow.

That's beautifully said. And so true.

[petron]

51. Now this is what I am talking about....

Seriously, these are the talking points I need in hand everyday.

Thanks so much for this, omega minimo.

[cynatnite]

52. Thank you for a wonderful post! n/t

[omega minimo]

53. and after we've done that, the abortion rate will go down

Glad to see all these Radical Positivists comin out of the closet. Thank YOU.

Next question is: how do we get there? After NOLA, it is quite appropriate IMHO to TELL representatives what we expect of them and not wait and whine.

Positivity in the face of the Living Hell that Bushco. is perpetrating on us, and as antidote to the daily insanity of the Doublethink barrage.

One thing's fer sure:

THE REPUBLICANS ARE GOING DOWN.

[Generic Other]

54. Well said

Can I quote you?

[omega minimo]

55. Yes. Thanks for asking.

[FreedomAngel82]

56. Of course

I get tired of the conservatives proclaiming they are pro-life by only keeping women from having abortions. I personally am both pro-life and pro-choice. I'm pro-life by the policies I believe in such as those you mentioned but I know God loved me enough to give me and my fellow human beings freewill and I should respect that. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity but how can it be without all of that? 46-49 million people in this country don't have health insurance and that is very dangerous. What if you were in an accident and didn't have health insurance? :\ What about better air for children to breathe and play in? What about a better economy for their parents to have a good job instead of three or four so they can spend time with their children and raising them? What about raising the wadge?

I guess the only thing that matters is gay people can't marry.

[omega minimo]

60. Real opportunities instead of the rigged game we have now

[0rganism]

58. and if you do these for all the World's babies, the war rate will go down

Somehow, it just seems right.

[omega minimo]

62. You betcha. So let part of our new direction be some awareness

of the impacts of (and incorporation in the procurement of ) our lifestyle on those of other countries--

(before China gives us the Even Bigger WakeUp Call)

[DemReadingDU]

63. Excellent, Thank you!

[brainshrub]

64. Damn! That's good!

[Zynx]

65. Very well put.

The fact of the matter is if we killed every single person in the US, crime would go down. We have to make lives better for our citizens and your post outlines that perfectly.

[The Doctor.]

67. Good thoughts.

Have you mailed this to Bill Bennet yet?

I maight even go so far as to wait for the heat to pass over him... maybe 2 or 3 months... and write a brief but thoughtful letter to him explaining outlining these points.

Maybe, just maybe, he'll start to wake up and realize...

[omega minimo]

71. Well, I tend to disengage from Devil's Advocates let alone

insane, homicidal "religious" "moral" hypocrites

but you're right, perhaps a genuine Thank You is in order.

The wake up part-- we ALL got a lot of waking up to do, eh?

[The Doctor.]

93. Wow... me without coffee=typos.

How insidious that would be to actually call him up and tell him;

"I was against abortion, until you made me realize that the people who probably use it the most are the people that should. Now I understand why it's a good thing and I have to thank you for that."

As for 'waking up'...

There are so many ways to do so... and everyone needs a fresh cup of perspective now and then.

I could not agree more.

[PurpleChez]

68. An elegant message!

As inspiring as Bennett's vision was chilling. BTW, Bill's "of-course-this-would-be-a-bad-thing" disclaimer is disgustingly disingenuous. (did I spell that right?) Imagine if Howard Dean got up and, with the same qualifier, said that hate crimes would disappear if we aborted the babies of all southern baptists and other fundamentalist christians. I think not.

[omega minimo]

69. "Disingenuous" and dangerous: it's Brave New World eugenics

AS IF "you" abort to tweak social policy. What a maniac.

[grannylib]

70. Well said. It's true. The reThugs like to cover up their love of death and

killing (war, the death penalty, and the slow deaths of poverty and lack of opportunity) by claiming to be "pro-life" by opposing abortion and right-to-die.
They could not possibly care less about life for poor, minority and disenfranchised, once they are born.
I am so sick of the filth running our country.

[omega minimo]

72. Well said-- and you probably represent a multiplier of 1,000 or 10,000

ya know they use em at every level of government to assess public sentiment--- 1 letter/phone call/email X a multiplier for all the others estimated to feel that way that didn't make contact.......

Yours is a very HUMAN and HUMANE statement. Crosses all boundaries, including party lines.

The Repugs have handed the Dems the public on a silver platter (minus the sliver spoons). And they continue to do so--- the Katrina (pardon me if I consider it) genocide, BOTH Repug Congressional Majority leaders under investigation/indictment simultaneously, the meaningless blatherings of hate wing radio becoming more demented and now Mr. Morals calling for MORE GENOCIDE. It doesnt matter what he "meant"-- who could even THINK such a thing? THAT is what the normal American will be thinking about. And they're thinking:

"I am so sick of the filth running our country."

Up til now a lot of middle of the road voters have been saying that "both sides do it" (corruption, lying, corporate influence, etc.) How much more obvious does the Repug party have to make it that they ARE the party of Death and Destruction?

The Democrats have to show that they are the party of Determination and Solutions.

[Nothing Without Hope]

73. Absolutely superb. THIS is the POSITIVE rebuttal we need. Thank you!!!

Recommended

[onehandle]

74. Bush was ejumacated.

If you stop ejumacating the rich, the crime rate will go down.

[dretceterini]

75. Here in Salt Lake City

education means indoctrination in the beliefs of the LDS church. I am a retired professor of theoretical physics, and have been stopped in every effort to discuss science vs ID, even in college continuing education programs!

[omega minimo]

79. In-doctrine-ation--

Wow, how do you stand it there?

[dickthegrouch]

91. Exactly what I was thinking...

Be careful what (education) you wish for.

The RW only want to educate their kids in evolution and evangelism.

If that panned out I'd like to know how in the hell * expects to put people back on the moon. There won't be enough murkan kids left who can even spell launch let alone document all the activities to make one work.

If the only math they know is how to tell when their baggies (of drugs) are short, we'll never be able to calculate a trajectory to anything.

If the only language they know makes good = bad and phat = thin; they'll send the rocket to the sun instead of the moon.

[omega minimo]

77. LOL That's how he learnt 2 Ee-nunn-see-ate

[ignatius 2]

78. Lovely thoughts all, I want to live in your world.

n/t

[omega minimo]

80. Once it was called

America

[brindis_desala]

81. Well framed omega minimo. If we care, the fear will go down.

[omega minimo]

83. The Courage to Care

The Irony of Irony

Hi BD

[virgdem]

82. Well said...

These are exactly the talking points that the Dems need going into next years election. This needs to be sent to the DNC, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid pronto tonto. We desperately need our version of their "Contract on America" (ours will be a Contract WITH America). Clear and concise talking points such as these, along with cohesion and unison among the Dems in Congress is also what is so desperately needed.

[omega minimo]

84. The "S" word will be thrown and Corporate Power in Congress will be

challenged, if these "talking points" are to be more than bumperstickers.

"Socialism" as an insult is easy-- this is a call for a RETURN to the social contract of SUPPOSED opportunity and determination that the U.S. offers-- i.e. The American Dream....

There is some willful naivete in pretending that The American Dream is still possible.... and the revised version MUST acknowledge the interdependence of the U.S. with other nations......

Then the hard part-- The American Dream has been hijacked by consolidated corporate/Congressional power and sold back to Americans as a TeeVee commercial-- an empty, evanescent soundbite.

The Congress that responds to this call for Opportunity and Determination will be forced to confront their own complicity with corporate power-- as will we.

[Nikia]

86. I agree

My husband and I went to a pro marijuana legalization event last year and saw a display about how much it costs to imprision the average drug offender. It was something like $20,000/ year. I made a comment that the government, could have paid for their college education instead. Whatever the crime, it costs a lot of money to imprision people. Even from a financial standpoint, it is better to provide people with oppurtunities to lower their chances of committing crime than to lock them up.

[mvd]

87. Great post!

And too many Republicans just want babies to be born to help make the corporations richer and victims of corporate crime.

[katinmn]

88. Well said!

[Greyhound]

89. These are the only things that have ever reduced the crime rate. n/t

[omega minimo]

90. Thank you all

My OP that was a "thought experiment" to counter Bill "Morals 'R' Us" Bennett's "thought experiment" in Brave New World eugenics-- received humbling praise and generated gratifying excitement.

Then I noticed similarities between this response and the moment at the 2000 Democratic National Convention when Barack Obama received praise and generated excitement by:

1. Stating the obvious
2. Simply and clearly
3. Making positive statements
4. Reminding people of the Commonweal-- and the days when we thought of ourselves as related by common concerns, as One Nation, interdependent as citizens and as individuals.

It was RADICAL! People were jumping up and down! And I poked some good-natured fun at the fact that Barack was simply reminding Americans of something vital that we had forgotten-- forgotten NOT THAT LONG AGO.

I ran my Radical Positivity OP up the flagpole in response to the DU GD board loading up with misguided "If you abort..." leapfrog OPs. Rather than take a reprehensible statement from the Rong Wing and work out our imaginations on the ramifications-- what if we come from another direction?

The White House and the Rong Wing have made themselves look SOOOOOOOOO bad-- We can only hope that more and more people are resisting the brainwashing of the TeeVee and are WAKING UP!

So-- what are Democrats offering to fill in the enormous gaps in ideas, values and leadership? Does it make Democrats-- from the leadership to the grassroots-- LOOK BAD if all we do is REACT to reprehensible Repug behavior? Yes.

I propose that we have the spine to be Radically Positive. To be unafraid of The S-Word as we call for Democratic commitment to rebuild our disassembled nation.

I propose that we quit reacting by playing off Republican gaffes (homicidal or otherwise) and be unafraid to state the obvious-- Republicans are offering the nation nothing but Death and Destruction.

I propose that the Democratic Party and Leadership announce, sooner rather than later, their Plan for Opportunity and Determination. Give us the Opportunites-- we will determine our Future. Guaranteed that the non-voters, the Independents, the "true Conservatives," the not-insane Republicans will JOIN A MOVEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY AND DETERMINATION.

I propose that we do this in a new spirit of positivity and interdependence, with each other, with the nations of the world, with the planet; unashamed of Radical Positivity, unafraid to whistle in the dark, unafraid to say:

We'll take hope and affirmation over death and destruction ANY DAY!

[Minnesota_Lib]

92. RNC: "Baby, if you survive childhood....

If you survive the malnourishment you suffer because we don't care..

If you survive the sub-standard schooling we decree upon you just because your parents aren't well-schooled enough to be wealthy...

If you get over the social stigma we adorn upon you just because you are born of poor parents...

And if you manage to be fruitful despite everything we do in our power to ensure that you follow in your parents' foot-steps; if you happen to overcome our social engineering and succeed--and break-out.—and then still dare to have enough social conscience to want to help those you left behind, you will need to survive our accusations of reverse-discrimination and our implication that you only got to where you are because you stole an opportunity from some better qualified white guy..

And finally--if you manage to survive all of this--by way of thanks, we demand that you and yours don uniforms and fight and suffer and die unquestionably for our nonsensical causes...

Feel assured that we will sit safely in our recliners and watch you die on the nightly news. We will watch and praise your sacrifice for us...well, unless there is a game on...

And if you survive to come home in one piece, well baby, just wait for what we have in store for you next...."

Thank you,
The RNC

[donheld]

94. This post should be top of the heap

It is right on the mark.

[omega minimo]

96. How do they get away with the corporate crime in the eyes of the public?

Why isn't there more outcry about Halliburton cannibalizing in Iraq and New Orleans-- DIRECTED FROM THE BLOODY WHITE HOUSE?

Americans notice-- are they too isolated/disenfranchised to know what to do about it (including simply bear witness?)

The gruesome illustration in post #92 (Minnesota Lib) depends on the BIG LIE that rich bloodsuckers got rich without corporate welfare, corporate cronyism, corporate Congress......

How do we get the hooks of the corporate bloodsuckers out of the Congress?

How do we command representation from our officials in Congress if they are corporately compromised?

How do we get corporations out of the voting booths?

[DesertRat]

95. Great post...Thank you

[liberalhistorian]

97. AMEN!

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[liberalhistorian]

98. Well, I say that if you abort

all Republican babies, the country's IQ rate would drastically rise!

[mzteris]

99. Platform! PLATFORM!

This sounds like an excellent start for the Democratic Platform, don't you think?

[omega minimo]

101. Sure, if it's bigger than a soapbox, we can all get on top of it

What do you think of the questions I posed in #96?

We need to find the non-conflicted "real" Democrats. And un-fix the fixed elections.

[yurbud]

100. that's SOCIALISM!

But what the hell, let's do it.

[omega minimo]

102. CORPORATE WELFARE IS ANTI-SOCIAL-ISM

The mythical "level playing field"-- Opportunity.

We don't expect a Big Brother "You" to provide-- and more than a supposed "You" would abort.

We don't want a Brave New World. We don't want a new Hitler.

Opportunity. Determination.

Simple.

[liberal N proud]

103. Perfect! - This underlines why Democrats are right for America and

the republicans are wrong for America

[DirtyDawg]

105. You might as well say...

...and you can say this about any group that has a higher crime index rate than the population as a whole...if you abort all high school dropouts...if you abort all low incomers...if you abort all that have a combination of less education, low income AND are black or hispanic, then you've got one of geedubya's trifectas. Of course identifying them in the womb would be difficult at best - after all they can't ignore the good old American dream, they might get lucky - so why not start culling them out at, say, puberty. That ought to give 'em a good enough idea of who's worth keeping and who needs to be 'culled'. Then there's the difficult and messy job of what to do with all of 'them'...a final solution, as it were...let's see, does history give us any clues on how to handle that?

The mindset of these people are pretty predictable - be it racist, homophobic, class snobbery, whatever, they all simply practice that age old fundamental difference in a people - human rights versus property rights, or as has been said, the Lords of the Realm.

[omega minimo]

107. This is the ANTI "you could abort" thread

[Deja Q]

106. Um, excuse me, but with this concern over energy supplies,

our entire slap-dashed hamfisted joke of a "society" (aka the economy) is about to fall apart because of the unsustainable nature of its very core. It was built upon the concept that nothing we would do would eliminate the energy resources or hamper the environment.

Whomever survives the upcoming tragedy has to remember your viewpoints.

Most of us will not survive.

[omega minimo]

108. That's why it's Radical Positivity

It seems self-indulgent to bemoan a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom when we still have any chance of doing something about it.

Let's not lay down in front of the steamroller.

[bos1]

110. www.FIREBENNETT.cjb.net ... nt

[The Animator]

111. If you abort all republican adults... the national debt will go down.

It's just a proven fact, but somehow evolution is still "just a theory".

[omega minimo]

112. If you think for two seconds about the "if you abort" phrase

you wouldn't reiterate it.

[MrBenchley]

114. I want to borrow this!

Excellent!!

[RevDev]

115. Government has declared war on lower class...

The truth of the matter is that our government is not at war with "terrorism" or "evil" in the world. Our government (along with the corporate powers that control our government) are at war with the lower class, the poverty stricken, and the racial minorities in the world. Bill Bennett's comment is just an extension of what we saw take place during the aftermath of Katrina and the mindset that permeates our government up to the highest levels.

But we are all just as much to blame for what is happening because we refuse to demand that our government be held accountable for their actions. Things like the Katrina aftermath occur, the continued war in Iraq and the constant lies coming from the White House, and yet, we still refuse to speak up and demand the removal of these thugs from our government. Sure we march every now and then, and we hit our blogs and message boards and vent our frustrations...but then, at the end of the day, we go right back to our lives as if everything is fine and dandy...and I am just as guilty of this as the next guy.

This is what the government counts on. This is why they continually get away with their lies and criminal behavior. And when one of our government (or ex-government) officials says things like Bennett did, it really doesn't shock us all that much because we've become so used to the fact that our government is run by right-wing hate mongerers.

So don't worry...in a couple of weeks, we'll have all forgotten about Bennett's comments and will have moved on to the next scandal, once again having forgotten the real issues that we need to be focusing on: the fact that our "democracy" quit being a democracy the moment we stopped holding our government officials accountable for their failures.

[omega minimo]

118. Yep-- practicing "Radical Positivity" since Ollie North became a "Hero"

"...once again having forgotten the real issues that we need to be focusing on: the fact that our "democracy" quit being a democracy the moment we stopped holding our government officials accountable for their failures."

Given the truths you have stated so clearly, how do you manage the knife's edge of living-in-the-bubble (with integrity, knowing what you know) yourself?

"This is what the government counts on. This is why they continually get away with their lies and criminal behavior. And when one of our government (or ex-government) officials says things like Bennett did, it really doesn't shock us all that much because we've become so used to the fact that our government is run by right-wing hate mongerers."

This, it seems, is the definition of the Big Lie.

And this thread was a "thought experiment" (isn't that what Bennett called his insane spewings?) in coming at the issue from another angle. The remarkable response is encouraging.

Where do we go from here? As I answered another poster, I don't choose to lay down in front of the steamroller. Can we DO more than merely HOPE that the bamboozled will Wake Up?

Katrina was a gigantic wakeup call courtesy of Mother Natiure-- I would have expected more of an outraged outcry at the Bush Administration. Even so, it has provided the opportunity to insist on ACCOUNTABILITY and insist that our Congress proceed with independent investigations.

WELCOME TO DU!!!!!!

[RevDev]

132. Do Americans remember what accountability is?

Sometimes I wonder if the American public has forgotten the meaning of the word accountability. In recent times it seems as if we are more and more concerned with blaming the guys across the ocean, or the "evil" in the world instead of taking a long hard look in the mirror and questioning our own accountability with what is happening in the world.

The White House must answer for its failures both in the botched war overseas and with the appalling "response" to the Katrina disaster (or lack thereof). BUT we cannot for a second forget that we as American citizens are equally responsible for what is happening in our country right now.

When we cannot be bothered to go to the polls because we don't think it will make a difference. When we refuse to speak up for fear of not being "politically correct" or because the guy next to us might look at us funny. When we throw our money away on overpriced gas-guzzling SUVs and other useless junk instead of using that money to help the environment or give to the needy in our communities. When we refuse to demand that our government quit bending over to the corporate beast that is swallowing us all whole. All of these things that we DON'T do makes each and every one of us equally responsible for the stuff that is going wrong in our country today.

Of course we don't like to think that we could have something to do with any of this. Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you...but we do. I've watched the people of several South American countries in the last 10 years take to the streets in mass numbers and shut down their governments because they decided that their governments had quit working for the people. Those people understand that they have the power to change the way things work. It's not an easy task and things don't always work out the way people expect...but the fact of the matter is that the people (not the rich elite, but the average working class citizen) are what makes a democracy work.

Somehow, the American public has forgotten that. Somehow we have forgotten what it really means to be accountable. Democracy doesn't work unless we make it work...and right now, we're not making it work. And whether you accept it or not, that is exactly why Bush and his cronies are still sitting up on top after 5 years of one failure after another. They know that we the people are too damn lazy and apathetic to do anything about it.

Think about it.

[cpamomfromtexas]

116. Good points, so are we to assume

that if all white babies were aborted that corporate crime 30 years from now would also go down?

[PegDAC]

117. Great Post!

It made me think of FDR's Second Bill of Rights:

"We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens."

For the entire address, go here: http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/econrights/fdr-...

[omega minimo]

119. Back to the Future-- the FDR Legacy the RW wants to destroy

THANK YOU for that!

Among these are:
........
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

Oh, you mean DOMINATION BY MONOPOLIES IS A BAD THING? (do I really need ?)

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.



Too bad that those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.

[Independent_Liberal]

121. Ahhhh.... How sweet!

You can make a difference. One baby at a time.

[omega minimo]

122. Well how else is it gonna happen? :sheesh:

The Theory of Evolution

[tomg]

123. Omega Minimo, what a great post,

and PegDAC is right. This has the ring of FDR to it. Dems don't need talking points. They need convictions and you have a damn good list of them: the rights to food, clothing, shelter, health care, equal treatment under the law, education, job safety, child care, care for the elderly, freedom of choice. Works for me because it works for everybody. I'm at over 30% taxes now and getting war, corruption and insane corporate welfare. I would pay 50% without batting an eye for what you propose. Thanks. This made my day, and I was having a good one already.

[omega minimo]

124. So nice of you. I appreciate PagDAC's FDR post--

unaware that I was paraphrasing his vision.

We are talking about opportunity to provide for ourselves, determine our futures. The false god of "Free Markets" has presided over the hijacking of our media, our government, our resources, our planet and our future.

Sounds like YOU have hit on the beginning of a 2006 campaign:

" I'm at over 30% taxes now and getting war, corruption and insane corporate welfare. "

No more: WAR
CORRUPTION
CORPORATE WELFARE

No more CORRUPTION to make WAR for CORPORATE WELFARE

(oh yeah, insanity fits in their somewhere)

Thank you for making my day

[USA_1]

125. ...

"Democrats are the now the Party of Determination.
Republicans are the Party of Extermination"



On several occasions I have posted on this forum issues related to Democrats having the higher moral ground. Unfortunately, writers here in DU have chosen to disregard this fact. Perhaps you may now awaken to this truth and make this the hallmark of the Democratic Party's campaigns.

[bleedingheart]

126. Do you mind if I pull some of your points for our newsletter?

I think you have a great post!!!!

[omega minimo]

127. Intriguing

Tell me more

[omega minimo]

128. Let the Radical Postivity begin!

If you educate all Americans, the corporate crime rate will be
exposed
examined
excised

Excellent!

[FizzFuzz]

130. You stated it perfectly, omega. Can this get MEDIA BLASTED?

This really hits home. And you are SO damn right about stopping the continuous reacting to the relentless spew of lies. Anyone who has learned about dealing with difficult people knows that you have to stop reacting to the warped person's ravings.

The only way to stay connected to reality is to disengage from their unreality.

I wasn't able to put the concept into words--you really got it dead on.

Media Blast!!

saving this in my "Must Print Out" file.

[omega minimo]

131. Tom Hartman made these points on air this morning--

"If you want to reduce crime..."

Comparing corporate crime costs and consequences to ALL of other common crime