Podcast #2 - Dec. 2nd, 2009

Warning: Some explicit language.

A Podcast I Made

I Know, I Know

This is no way to run a blog. Sorry about that. Have been busy with my radio show, my music projects, etc. Trying to come up with a decent podcast, too - and trying to learn how to allow for the podcast I create to actually be heard on line. Will be back shortly.

Soda Tax - I'm All For It.

I'm hating the ads about the possible sales tax on sodas and "fruit" drinks. I'm very much in favor of taxing them. But I'm also in favor of using that tax to subsidize drinks that are actually healthy for you. It should not be cheaper to buy fizzy flavored corn syrup than it is to buy carrot juice. Have you priced carrot juice lately? Carrot Juice is one of the best things for you but for the price of a small bottle you can buy a six pack of crap. Or, even a 12 pack of the cheaper non name brand crap. This is one of the reasons America is in such poor health. It's expensive to eat healthy. It's expensive to drink healthy. It's expensive to get basic human nutrition.

Can we change it? Do we have the will? Where there's a will there's a way. Without a vision... the people perish. Literally.

There are Death Panels Now!

Democrats need to stress that we already HAVE "Death Panels" right now. Insurance Companies RIGHT NOW decide the fates of their "insured" people. They are RIGHT NOW deciding who will live, who will die. They are RIGHT NOW deciding on whether or not to pay for needed operations or not. This is what needs reformed. The ONLY way to reform the industry is to present it with a formidable OPTION, aka ALTERNATIVE that is not based on profit.



The other 'frame' of this health care reform issue, which Democrats are not stressing yet but should be, is that there's absolutely NO reason why America should be 38th in the world when it comes to health & longevity. France is #1 in the world. FRANCE? Republicans hate France! Dems should play into their irrational hatred. We should be BETTER than France and not so far down on the list that we are basically an irrelevant laughing stock.

What's the worse that can happen? Republicans, always more than willing to oppose the Democratic Party at the drop of a dime, start defending France? That'd be hilarious!

ACORN: Obama's Watergate?

Rightwing world is in a tizzy over ACORN, saying it could be Obama's Watergate. Seems to me, since most of them believe Watergate was simply a baseless liberal/Democratic Party hit job against Nixon, it'd probably be natural for them to think of ACORN as a Watergate type situation. They know in their heart of hearts there's nothing behind ACORN. They're just salivating over the idea that something, anything might chip away at Obama's popularity.

So when you hear them talking about how ACORN is Obama's Watergate, they are - whether they know it or not - admitting that the ACORN "scandal" is merely a trumped up, baseless hit job.

That Crazy Liberal Media

It's not that I don't have time to blog, it's just that so much of what goes into blogging is eluding me. I'm keeping up with the news but it's draining. There's just so much stupid out there. I have the same complaints about the media everyone does.

So much striving for balance - which obscures truth.

There is either true or false - there is no "well that's your opinion and this is my opinion." There is only truth. The ongoing, never-ending, mainly manufactured ideological struggle between "right" and "left" is infuriating.

I try and stick to Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann - Chris Matthews on Hardball if I have the time. But I get so very tired of the fake outrage debates.

Now that the older ones are dying off, MSNBC seems to be trying to grow their own new rightwing pundits, They have rightwing pundits in training on their various "news"/talk shows. They have to keep the shit stirring. It's what pays the bills.

It's not really news. It's just something to keep our attention in between commercial breaks. I'm sure there's no nobility behind MSNBC allowing Rachel Maddow to host a show there. They recognized a financial hole and they filled it, that's all. It's like in the 90s when Michael Moore had a show on the Fox network. It made them some money for a while. Rachel and Keith are making MSNBC some cash, for now. More power to 'em. May it continue. But I remember 8 years ago when people were afraid to speak out against Bush Cheney war plans for fear of being called unpatriotic or worse, MSNBC's Dan Abrams would have someone like Margaret Cho on to interview her about the peace movement. And he'd look into the camera and roll his eyes, as if to say, "...What a loon! Can you believe I found someone who doesn't agree with President Bush? She must be fucking high." We were all just a joke to you then, MSNBC. I'm sure we still are today.

No, I don't have much faith that MSNBC has any more scruples than Fox News Network or CNN. Happy to see they're pandering to my liberal bias in order to sell Tide detergent, though.

Al Franken Reasons with the Anti-Obamacare Crowd - and they Listen!

I'm so proud of Al Franken. He's someone I've followed and seriously loved since about 1975 when I first became aware of him through Saturday Night Live. The Franken and Davis Show, remember? Excellent.

This past month it seems every time I turn on the TV I see Larry the Cable Guy wannabes hollering at Congressmen and shouting down and mocking brave, disabled people fighting for their right to health care. I don't know what's worse - the redneck assholes parroting their - in my humble opinion - lunatic, paranoid messiahs in the rightwing punditry game or the Senators and House members sweating bullets, thinking they might actually represent "real" America.

Al Franken shows us all how it can be done. "Come let us reason together." Politely. Find common ground. Discuss. Without malice.

Tom Clay - What The World Needs Now

Tom Clay - What The World Needs Now

If you haven't heard this - or if you haven't heard it in a while - this would be the day to hear it.

The song arrangements of "What the World Needs Now" and "Abraham, Martin and John" are dated and kind of corny now but this recording, put together by midwestern Deejay Tom Clay, is very moving. There are clips of JFK, RFK, MLK and Ted Kennedy giving that horribly sad and breathtakingly beautiful eulogy at Bobby's funeral. Gets to me every time. The songs may be dated but the editing on here is still pretty amazing - long before digital. Tom Clay had a way with a blade and a reel-to-reel.

RIP Ted Kennedy. The most effective Senator America has ever seen. America will not be the same without you.

But we can try.

Thanks A Lot, Tom Ridge

Tell me something I don't know.

Tom Ridge, head of Homeland Security under GWB, says he suspected - at the time Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were playing political games with the terror alerts. It's not something he's spent years wrestling with in his mind. No. In his book he says - at the time he suspected the color alert threat levels were being manipulated for Bush's political gain. He says that his office of Homeland Security had no reason to feel that the colors needed changing. Apparently, his hands were tied. And everyone played along.

I'm pretty sure most people who were paying attention at the time were not shocked by Ridge's come to Jesus moment. All I'm left wondering is, why now? Oh yeah, there's no mystery. He's selling a book. So much for Mr. Integrity.

This angered me so much when I heard the news. Watching Chris Matthews on Hardball last night I was amazed - not at Ridge's confession but at Chris' amazement. Did someone as politically astute as the MSNBC Hardball host not have the same suspicions? Maybe he, like many a good American, was only trying to be patriotic, consciously or unconsciously suppressing such conspiratorial thoughts about the Bush administration.

A lot of good you do us now, Mr. Ridge. You could have been a stand up guy at the time and expressed your concerns openly and honestly with the American people. You could have resigned when it mattered.

Color me disgusted.

Also, color me "right all along".

The Rush L., G. Beck, S. Palin, Teabag, Birther Conspiracy to Kill the GOP

It must be a liberal conspiracy, right? The more some of these people carry on with their crazy fake outrage about that mythical "other America" that's supposedly destroying the equally mythical "real America" - the less powerful and less relevant the Republican Party becomes. This attack-anything-that-moves political grandstanding by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc, etc, etc... is only serving to devalue the party of which they claim to be staunch defenders.

So, my new theory, which I will believe until proven wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that all these and other such characters are merely plants. They aren't really conservatives or Republicans. They are undercover liberals and Democrats, sent to destroy the Republican Party from within. Fear not, my fellow Dems and Libs - these people are on our side! They're on a secret mission and it .... IS ..... Working!

Last I checked there were only 5 states solidly in the corner of the Republican party. 37 States are leaning toward or solidly backing the Democrats. Only a few are undecideds. Even Texas is going to be a swing state in 2010.

So, good work, Comrade Rush. Good work, Sarah Palin. Good work Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck. And to all of you. You are bringing down the GOP. The more you spout your insane drivel the more you drive people away from the party of Nixon and Reagan and I give you a standing ovation for that. Thanks. Godspeed.

On Arresting Scholars in their Own Homes

Once upon a time I was outside my first floor apartment trying to clear some gunk out of the window sill - this one window had been shut for so long and I wanted to get some natural air into the room. I was out there with a small knife for a while, trying to remove all this sealant crap, when I noticed that weird feeling; that tingly feeling like you're being watched, you know? I turned toward the parking area and, sure enough, some well intentioned neighbor had called the cops on me. Uh, oh. Well, I just went about what I was doing. They saw me see them.

After a while of watching me and my pathetic non handyman ways, they ... just ... left. Not a word. No questioning me about my suspicious activities. No tasering. Nothing.

I guess that's what happens in America when you're not a respected University scholar. You can look suspicious, look as though you're breaking into your own home, and the cops just ...leave you alone! Good thing I never really aspired to scholar-hood. They'd have arrested me, for sure.

Side note: When the President says that police acted stupidly for arresting a black man in his own home, because a neighbor suspected he was a thief - that doesn't mean the President thinks all cops are stupid. It doesn't even mean that the President thinks the particular cops who arrested Professor Gates in his own home were stupid. It means, in this isolated incident, they acted stupidly. Is that so hard to understand?

I guess it is - for some of my fellow non-scholars.

Off the Reservation: Pat Buchanan vs. John McCain

John McCain says something perfectly reasonable in regards to Sonia Sotomayer; implying that she's not at all the monster that some on the rabid-right have made her out to be. The media speculates: "Has John McCain gone off the reservation!?" ~ implying that if McCain says something 'out of line', not in agreement with the Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh crowd, he's somehow less of a Republican.

Meanwhile, about 8 days later, Pat Buchanan, while guesting on the Rachel Maddow show, suggests that America was built by white males and therefore white males have deserved to be the bulk of the Supreme Court ever since the Court's founding.

Where's the outcry about "good old Uncle Pat"? Sure, a lot of Democrats and Liberals are outraged. But why aren't the people who feign umbrage when John McCain says something calm and reasonable calling for Pat Buchanan's head when he says something so asinine, so moronic, so hideous? Why is it the Republican Party allows for someone like Buchanan to be a complete racist, never suggesting for a minute that he's "off the reservation" or out of step with mainstream Republican ideas?

I do have a theory.

The Sotomayer Hearings

You'd think I'd be blogging more. The Sonia Sotomayer confirmation hearings would probably be my big topic - if I was at all interested in the process. I'm not, really. But it's really cool to see Al Franken in the Senate - finally. It's wonderful that a Latin female is going to sit on the Supreme Court. Though, I'm way ahead of you. I'd personally like to see a couple of Rastafarians, an Asian Tranny and at least one American Indian up there.

The only angle I can think to write about is how much she was attacked from the right, even though she has no real record of being a leftist or a Liberal. And I wonder if there's manipulation going on. Does the right now get the left so worked up defending someone they really don't have a problem with in the first place? I mean, is it a part of their "strategery" (as GWB would put it)? She was appointed to a post by George Herbert Walker Bush, of all people, who says that the attacks by "some people" (he doesn't mention they're his own friends, like Rush Limbaugh) have been unfair. It's interesting to me that the Left has been so busy defending her from ridiculous attacks by those very same "some people" on the Right - that the conversation from the Left never managed to be about if she'd be a Progressive or mainstream or Conservative. My guess is she will be very mainstream and agree with the Conservatives in the Supreme Court more often than the Liberals - if you can call them Liberal.

Liberal these days seems to mean: anyone who doesn't agree with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. And other "some people". What? John McCain said something positive about Sotomayer? He's off the reservation! A Liberal sympathizer! And the Left is dragged even further to the Right to the point where there's only a few Liberals in public office, in any branch of Government.

The Family: Fundamentalist Cult in D.C. with Undo Influence on Congress

I'm pretty sure there was once a guy named Charles Manson who called his little cult "the family". That might be a red flag, you know? If you're looking to join a church (or a house church you can live at) and they refer to themselves as "the family" - yeah, I'd stay clear.

I'm hoping a more mellow church can have some influence over Congress in the near future. Unity? The Unitarian Universalists? Something's got to give. Why should hardcore fundamentalists, drunk with images of power and might, be the only people allowed to influence our leaders in D.C.? Give me someone who believed, like Thomas Jefferson, in the principles of The Sermon on the Mount any day.

Side note: Any church caught on video advocating for one party over another should not be tax exempt. Left or right. Either way. That's not to say a religious person or even a minister can't have a party affiliation but when you're speaking from the pulpit (or a stage in front of your own church members) you have to abide by certain standards in order to keep your tax exempt status. Shouldn't that be obvious?

I'm wondering if I should move to D.C. in hopes of deprogramming Congressmen who have fallen victim to these fundamentalist cults. Hey, I'm available for consultation if anyone up there in Washington needs me.

Tech Problems seem to be Over for Now

Will get back to more serious blogation in a few days. I missed blogging the Sarah Palin resignation. I wanted to mention that even though, yes, her speech was a rambling mess - chock full of self-victimization references - she made one point that seemed right on the money: she is passing the ball so her team can win. She knows the GOP can't win anything if she's the leader of the party so she's passing the ball to someone else. Romney? Likely. I'm no fan of Palins but she certainly does seem to know that she's a liability to her team.

Off Due to Tech Problems but Congratulations AL FRANKEN (FINALLY)

OK, I really, really wanted to include a pic of myself here with the finally newly crowned Senator from Minnesota, Mr. Al Franken (!!!) but my mac mini has given up the ghost. My pix are safe in another contraption but I can't access them at the moment so I'll just say congratulations to one of my favorite people for making the transition from comic to political pundit to Senator. What an amazing life Franken has led. I've seen him perform live on 3 occasions and was able to shake his hand once. Minnesota is lucky to have him. I wish him all the best.

Riveting Coverage on MS-NBC Until

After hearing the news that Michael Jackson had, indeed, passed away, I was glued to the TV for several hours. Keith Olbermann was on earlier, instead of the usual Hardball replay and I watched most of Keith's coverage - up until the helicopter carried MJ's body to the 2nd hospital, the one with the coroner. MS-NBC's cameras were there to get the money shot, the corpse being carried from the chopper to the hospital door. As much as I like Keith and his news-commentary, there was something very unseemly about it, wasn't there? When they started showing that same shot over and over and over, well, I gave up. What had seemed like genuine sharing of a human interest story had become trash tv. It was the 90's all over again. It didn't help that Keith had Diane Dimond there to fake some kind of empathic humanity when she, perhaps more than any other psuedo-journalist, had doggedly pursued the Jackson story for so long. Even before trials which found MJ to be not guilty, and in fact exonerated him as a victim of extortion plots, she had pronounced him guilty. For you younger people who missed the Diane Dimond stuff from the 90's, think of Nancy Grace with a darker hairdo. And, somehow, less charm. Keith, I still like ya, but there's a reason Rachel Maddow is seen as a more serious journalist.

Sad, Bewildering Day

I wasn't a fan of the Charlie's Angels series and I didn't watch The Burning Bed or any of Farrah's other movies. I knew her from talk show appearances, mainly on the Johnny Carson version of the Tonight Show and later on Letterman's late night talk shows. So, it's kind of odd that my most vivid memory of Farrah is that of her sitting on the couch with Ed McMahon - who, of course, also passed away this week.

At this writing, things don't look good for Michael Jackson who was rushed, not breathing, to the hospital after an apparent heart attack. My first album - the first album I ever wanted - was The Jackson 5's ABC. In spite of his weirdness through the years I was always a fan of his work. The J5 song "Stop, the love you save may be your own...." has been running around in my brain the past few days. Less than a month ago I had the most vivid dream that MJ was on a talk show, kind of like a Merv Griffin show, and he was just a normal guy. No sign of plastic surgery. In my dream he looked more like Christopher 'Kid' Reid (of Kid n' Play) than Wacko Jacko - and he was just ... well, normal. Fun. Easy going. I don't know. Maybe it means nothing. But I wonder if I had accidentally picked up on something MJ was hoping he could get to again. Some reports this hour have said it was a suicide, overdose of pills. Others say it was a strain on his heart from working out, getting in shape for a comeback tour. In spite of everything, in spite of all the weirdness, the man brought a lot of joy into a lot of people's lives.

Star Power: Nurse Jackie to the Rescue

WASHINGTON (AP) — Award-winning actress Edie Falco, cable television's no-nonsense "Nurse Jackie," delivered a stern message to lawmakers Thursday: fix health care.

"I'm here because I've traveled through the health care system and there are some holes," Falco, a breast cancer survivor, told a Capitol Hill rally for health care overhaul. "I'm here because I care about the people in this country and I know that we can do better, that we must do better." ... full story HERE.

I've watched the new Showtime series "Nurse Jackie" starring Edie Falco - mixed emotions about it. I'm a long time "E.R." watcher and it's tough for me getting into this show with no real heroes to root for. It's entertaining but I hate thinking about Doctors and Nurses as people who are either too busy to care too much or just too uninterested in their patients to worry about caring. People tell me it's more true to life than "E.R." which, frankly, scares the hell out of me - especially knowing they're probably right.

All that being said, it's good Edie Falco is out there in the real world trying to make a difference. I just hope we don't wind up with a system like the one President Obama campaigned against before he won the election. You know, the system where you get fined if you're not buying your own health insurance. If people could afford it, they'd already be buying it. And yes, the goal is to lower costs so it's affordable to more people - but fining people for not having it seems counter-productive. It seemed so to Candidate Obama, as well, didn't it? That's how I remember it, anyway. It's one of the reasons I was for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton.

Iran, Peru

As I mentioned in the earlier post, I feel for the people of Iran. I really do. But I'm fearful that some of the outpouring of sympathy for their nation is being manufactured by certain powerful people who want the US to go to war with Iran. I'm hoping this doesn't happen. The US and Britain have tried "regime change" in Iran many times and it's always blown up (sometimes literally) in our faces.

A part of my suspicion of manufactured sympathy is that there seems to be absolutely no attention to the atrocities in Peru. Is it because Peruvians haven't mastered the art of Twitter? Does Iran make a better news story? I hate to sound like a paranoid conspiracy guy but sometimes it's good to ask questions. At least while it's still legal to ask questions.

Update: Here's another excellent article about the Peru situation.

More thoughts on the "Fire Letterman" controversy

I've been watching Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show a lot since he and Andy took over the reigns. One of the recurring funny themes of the show is that they portray Max Weinberg, their drummer (also drummer for Bruce Springsteen's band) as a sex crazed pedo. It's a funny gag. No one really believes Max is this way. They've been doing the bit for many, many years now. If this crowd of people is so, so outraged at Letterman for telling jokes about sex with minors, as they claim to be, why aren't they protesting over at Conan's house? I think they need to own up to the fact that they're only doing this to Dave because Sarah Palin was involved in the joke. Stop lying, people. It's not about morals, it's not about a joke involving young girls and sex. It's because Sarah's not in the White House. And you're just whiny, phony, lying, crybaby brats.

Sam Seder with the "Fire Letterman" crowd

Here ya go, Olive Garden. These are the people you caved to, in all their Palin-lovin' glory.



Watch Sam Seder and Marc Maron on their Breakroom Live internet show, weekdays 3pm Eastern.

Coulter jokes about Dr. Tiller's Murder

I'm not going to embed the youTube video here but if you go to this link you can see Ann Coulter on Bill O'Reilly yucking it up about Dr. Tiller's murder. "He died in his 203rd semester". Gee, golly. I love how these folks cherish and respect every life. Nice example for self described pro-lifers to set.

Judge Chastises U.S. over Gitmo Detainee: Orders Release

Story found here.

The discovery of suicide martyr videos seemed certain proof that Abd al Rahim Abdul Rassak was part of al-Qaida. A closer look at his video, though, showed he was actually being tortured by al-Qaida.

The confusion over the video collection found in an al-Qaida safehouse is one of the stranger twists in the unusual case of Rassak, a Guantanamo detainee. On Monday, a federal judge ordered Rassak released, chastising the government for claiming he was still part of the same terror network that tortured, imprisoned and abandoned him.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon emphatically rejected the government's claims against Rassak, even going so far as to add punctuation to get his point across.

Federal prosecutors had argued that even though Rassak was tortured by al-Qaida as a suspected Western spy and imprisoned by the Taliban for a year and a half, he still maintained some kind of allegiance to his tormentors.

"I disagree!" wrote the judge, adding that U.S. officials are "taking a position that defies common sense."

The judge said the government and the U.S. media initially mistook Rassak as one of a number of suicide martyrs, based on a videotape captured at an al-Qaida safehouse. Further investigation found the tape actually showed al-Qaida torturing him.
In a 13-page written decision, the judge heaped scorn on the suggestion that Rassak could be part of the same terrorist organizations that had abused him.

Haliburton Workers Alleged to have Raped & Terrorized nearly 40 women

The Bush/Cheney administration's favorite "no bid contract" company, Haliburton, seems to have some really horrible skeletons in their closet as women are coming out to testify that they were raped and terrorized by employees of the company so they wouldn't become "whistle blowers". Well, the sh#t is starting to hit the fan .

Ultimate power corrupts ultimately. Can we, once and for all, do away with no-bid government contracts? More oversight would be in order, too. Is that too much to ask?

And speaking of Neocons...

Andrew Sullivan says they're not "all" bad...

Some, he says were "appalled" by torture, for instance.

Oy.

What is a Neocon?

Even my most educated friends have asked me, "What is a neocon, anyway?" I found this on Craigslist, uncredited, this morning. Thought it was a good summation:

a neocon - strictly speaking - is someone who believes in pre-emptive military strikes against percieved agressors

anyone can be a neocon but the ability to look at past mistakes and not learn from them is a desirable trait

it also helps to believe that human rights are only afforded to middle aged, white, heterosexual males

no moral compass is needed to be a neocon

they are overwhelmingly conservative Republicans and are now feeling the backlash of thirty years of empire building while they and theirs abandoned the Republic

they are never wrong in their methods and belief systems and just need 'more time' to carry out their agenda to an effective end

I think the author meant to say, "they never admit to be wrong". Not "they are never wrong." Otherwise, excellent and brief summary. Anything you'd like to add to this?

- Jayson aka mystic23 on Twitter

Best "New Rules" Segment of the Season - Bill Maher

The gist of it being, something I've been saying for many, many years now. Decades, even. That the fanatics in the GOP have moved the Republican Party so far to the right they're now, officially, off the charts. But since they're so good at their own hype, their bullying tactics have moved the Democratic Party to the right, as well. So now, the Democrats are more of a "centrist right" party while the GOP is just too insane to be believed, or trusted, about much of anything. So now what do we have? One conservative party (The Democrats) and another party that's just bat-shit crazy.

That's not to say Republicans in general are this way. Most Republicans are just as reasonable & intelligent as are most Democrats - but the fringe on the right has succeeded in making both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party very conservative - leaving Liberals with no real representation.

I'm still happy Obama is President. And I'm sure I'll continue to support him and will be happy to vote for him again. But when I hear Republican and/or Conservative talking head pundits going on and on about how Liberal the Democrats are - I will continue to think, "would that it were."

- Jayson Tanner

Follow me on Twitter - mystic23

President Obama - very funny last night at the Press Dinner

Now this guy is funny! But, even without turning on the TV, I can just hear the Obama haters "OUTRAGED!!!" about many of his jokes. How DARE he?? Blah, Blah, Blah. Their constant over-the-top critiquing of this President has become one long Swift Boat ad. It got old before it started.

Oh, and P.S.:

"Socialist? He's not even a Liberal!" - Bill Maher on HBO's Real Time last night.

- Jayson aka mystic23 on Twitter

Boycotting Olive Garden

I've never been one for boycotts. I'm just not a joiner, really. But when I heard the news yesterday that Olive Garden had pulled their ads from the David Letterman "Late Night" show on CBS, I was livid. That anyone would bow to pressure from the Sarah Palin crowd, even after Dave had apologized profusely for the crime he had not committed (the jokes he told were directed more at A-Rod than Palin or her Alaskan clan), well, they just don't deserve my business.

I mentioned this on Twitter and I got a ton of response - most of it had to do with how Olive Garden sucks anyway so it'd be easy to boycott them. I kind of like Olive Garden - well - liked. No more. Sorry, folks. If you're siding with Palin you're no friend of mine. And more importantly, if you're not siding with Dave.... you can go the way of Circuit City and Linens & Things for all I care. Good riddance.

Jayson Tanner aka: mystic23 on Twitter

War from the Right? War from the Left.

Sympathy and good will to the Iranian people. We share in your disappointment if the election did not turn out the way you had hoped. We know what that's like in America, that feeling that something wonderful was going to happen but someone pulled the rug out from under the wonderful. I felt that way in 2000 when a lot of ballots in Florida seemingly destined for Al Gore were (due to a jumbled up, misguided voting page) instead marked for Pat Buchannan. And this threw our election to George W. Bush.

To my liberal and progressive friends who empathize with the plight of the Iranians who are marching for a true Democracy, please realize that there are forces at work in the world who very much want to encourage war with Iran - and will use any avenue. When they want to drag us into war from the right, they prey on our fears. They fill our heads with horrible scenarios of imminent nuclear annihilation, bloodshed, death and turmoil. They create and exploit anxiety. They say we have to go to war otherwise we'll be attacked. We cannot be made vulnerable, we must be diligent and ever on the offense.

When they feel the nation is more liberal and progressive, for instance, and under the leadership of a more thoughtful, compassionate President - they have other ways. They'll appeal to our humanitarian instincts. They'll tell us that we must go and stand by others in the world who want freedom. That we must help them in their struggle. It's the right thing to do.

When they want to drag us into war from the right, they prey on our fears. When they want to drag us into war from the left, they appeal to our higher angels. Please keep this in mind. Either way, war in Iran has been on the agenda for certain powerful people for many years now. They don't care how they get us into war - it's war they want. How it happens is no matter to them.

Sympathize with the Iranians, yes, but always remember that our own Democracy here in the USA is also very fragile, vulnerable and imprecise.

- Jayson Tanner

Follow me on the Twitter: Mystic23