ulfdog
11-05-2004, 02:26 PM
Paddy Mac's Election 2004 Commentary Broadcast on November 4 on KTAO
World Famous Solar Radio, Taos N.M
(Note from Paddy Mac: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The many calls, e-mails and faxes I received provided a catharsis for me that I had previously been unable to obtain. I am very proud to be a part of our community.")
Well, election 2004 has come to an end. No long recounts, no major lawsuits, no serious questions of voter fraud or disenfranchisement,…for now,…and , most importantly, no change in the leadership of this great country. I can't hide my disappointment, and I'm trying to suppress my general disgust that a majority of voting Americans have decided that this country is indeed headed in the right direction. I respectfully disagree, but as a citizen, I must accept this.
I spent the day yesterday shielding my emotions from the world, utilizing my tried and true method of acceptance by "micro-ing" my world. When the weight becomes too much for me to deal with, I tend to back off. I shut out the world. I step away from the rest of the country. I leave the state behind. I embrace my immediate world---Taos. On occasions like yesterday, I carry it a couple of steps further. I left Taos, I left work, I left even my household and retired to the fortress of my bedroom………..Just me and my faithful dog JaBooty…..contemplating the greater problems of the world together. Between the two of us, we decided that the only problems we faced in our reduced world were the basics---food, shelter, and a warm place to lay our weary head. Mission accomplished.
I overheard a couple of guys talking about the election today, one said he had spoken to a couple of Bush voters who claimed to have voted for the president only to see him re-elected in order to give him enough rope to hang himself some time in the next four years. I shuddered at this backwards logic and wondered if this could be true. If so, the cynicism in this divided country runs much deeper than I ever imagined.
Most of the exit-poll interviews I watched on the tube suggested that voters were still shaken from the 9-11 tragedy. They trusted the president to keep them safe, and rejected the argument that perhaps his war of choice in Iraq indeed encouraged even more young militants to take up arms against us. It struck me as strange that the three areas that were hit on 9-11, New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania all voted for Kerry, while the vast area of middle America and the deep south went for Bush. The politics of fear were utilized with great effectiveness by this administration.
That and some distracting non-issues like gay marriage that were trotted out to secure the religious base. As usual, the right demonized the label "liberal" to great effect. As usual, the cowering left, played right along. John Kerry decided for some idiotic reason that his brief Vietnam War experience was just the right tactic to use to prove that he was just as tough as the combat-shy faux Texan. A big mistake that bogged down his campaign for two crucial months and opened the door for a shameless fringe group called the "Swift Boat Veterans For Something Other Than Real Issues". A horrible decision on Kerry's part that may have cost him the presidency. Two months of garbage. When he finally snapped out of it, he began to make real gains in the polls and made it a close race. Too late Mr. Kerry. Again, an idiotic mistake.
Well, I'm here to proudly proclaim that I AM A LIBERAL.
I am a liberal because I believe that the greatest country in the world has the capability to provide dignity and protection to the least among us.
I am a liberal because I believe that it is more important to provide helpless children with basic healthcare than it is to give that money to, say, the governor of California, because, after all, what is four humvees, when you could have five?
I am a liberal because I am curious. I want to know WHY the World Trade towers fell down. I want to explore the root of terrorism rather than lash out almost blindly at a general region of the world.
I am a liberal because I cherish the freedoms this progressive country provides. I heard the president say on countless occasions that the terrorists struck because they hate our freedom. I, once again, disagree. But even if that WERE the case, why would we reduce our freedoms with the Orwellian-named Patriot Act? Wouldn't that be a form of appeasement to the terrorists, and isn't that exactly what the president said we would NOT do at any cost?
I am a liberal because I value human life. I cringe at the thought of almost 3000 dead Americans in New York City. However, in the process of revenge, about 12-hundred Americans have already died in Iraq and there is no end in sight. In addition, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis have perished. But hey, "Mission Accomplished". We captured a cowering, lice-infested paranoid old man hiding from the world in a hole filled with rats in a barn. He had an unloaded pistol with him. If that's what passes for Weapons of Mass Destruction, I want my tax dollars back.
I am a liberal because believe in fairness and equality. I believe that if you break the law you should be punished appropriately. I feel very strongly that were I to be arrested, I would be prosecuted. I wonder why we don't hear of many prosecutions in the Enron/Anderson Accounting scandal. I feel that if I were to do my job poorly, I would be fired and forced to reconsider my acumen. I resent that CEO's in this country who defraud their companies and leave their workers destitute are rewarded with multi-million dollar compensation.
I am a liberal because I believe this should be forcefully addressed, NOT window-dressed just because they happen to fill my campaign with cash to purchase television ads that predominantly distort my opponent's record and say very little about my own.
I am a liberal because I treasure the idea that there are areas of this country that I can visit knowing that they will be unspoiled by the touch of human hand. I am willing to sacrifice a few commerce dollars to make sure that my children have that same opportunity.
I am a liberal because I believe that the human brain can arrive at solutions to bring us closer to the reality that we needn't sacrifice the ecology for the opportunity to travel America's highways.
I am a liberal because I believe decisions should be made from the heart, not from the wallet.
You may disparage any of these things as you see fit. But I will not be ashamed of them, and I will not sacrifice them to cynicism.
I am a liberal and today I am thankful for my friends, my family, and my co-workers here at K-Taos. And I am thankful for my JaBooty and our shared quest for food, shelter and a warm place to lay our head.
World Famous Solar Radio, Taos N.M
(Note from Paddy Mac: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The many calls, e-mails and faxes I received provided a catharsis for me that I had previously been unable to obtain. I am very proud to be a part of our community.")
Well, election 2004 has come to an end. No long recounts, no major lawsuits, no serious questions of voter fraud or disenfranchisement,…for now,…and , most importantly, no change in the leadership of this great country. I can't hide my disappointment, and I'm trying to suppress my general disgust that a majority of voting Americans have decided that this country is indeed headed in the right direction. I respectfully disagree, but as a citizen, I must accept this.
I spent the day yesterday shielding my emotions from the world, utilizing my tried and true method of acceptance by "micro-ing" my world. When the weight becomes too much for me to deal with, I tend to back off. I shut out the world. I step away from the rest of the country. I leave the state behind. I embrace my immediate world---Taos. On occasions like yesterday, I carry it a couple of steps further. I left Taos, I left work, I left even my household and retired to the fortress of my bedroom………..Just me and my faithful dog JaBooty…..contemplating the greater problems of the world together. Between the two of us, we decided that the only problems we faced in our reduced world were the basics---food, shelter, and a warm place to lay our weary head. Mission accomplished.
I overheard a couple of guys talking about the election today, one said he had spoken to a couple of Bush voters who claimed to have voted for the president only to see him re-elected in order to give him enough rope to hang himself some time in the next four years. I shuddered at this backwards logic and wondered if this could be true. If so, the cynicism in this divided country runs much deeper than I ever imagined.
Most of the exit-poll interviews I watched on the tube suggested that voters were still shaken from the 9-11 tragedy. They trusted the president to keep them safe, and rejected the argument that perhaps his war of choice in Iraq indeed encouraged even more young militants to take up arms against us. It struck me as strange that the three areas that were hit on 9-11, New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania all voted for Kerry, while the vast area of middle America and the deep south went for Bush. The politics of fear were utilized with great effectiveness by this administration.
That and some distracting non-issues like gay marriage that were trotted out to secure the religious base. As usual, the right demonized the label "liberal" to great effect. As usual, the cowering left, played right along. John Kerry decided for some idiotic reason that his brief Vietnam War experience was just the right tactic to use to prove that he was just as tough as the combat-shy faux Texan. A big mistake that bogged down his campaign for two crucial months and opened the door for a shameless fringe group called the "Swift Boat Veterans For Something Other Than Real Issues". A horrible decision on Kerry's part that may have cost him the presidency. Two months of garbage. When he finally snapped out of it, he began to make real gains in the polls and made it a close race. Too late Mr. Kerry. Again, an idiotic mistake.
Well, I'm here to proudly proclaim that I AM A LIBERAL.
I am a liberal because I believe that the greatest country in the world has the capability to provide dignity and protection to the least among us.
I am a liberal because I believe that it is more important to provide helpless children with basic healthcare than it is to give that money to, say, the governor of California, because, after all, what is four humvees, when you could have five?
I am a liberal because I am curious. I want to know WHY the World Trade towers fell down. I want to explore the root of terrorism rather than lash out almost blindly at a general region of the world.
I am a liberal because I cherish the freedoms this progressive country provides. I heard the president say on countless occasions that the terrorists struck because they hate our freedom. I, once again, disagree. But even if that WERE the case, why would we reduce our freedoms with the Orwellian-named Patriot Act? Wouldn't that be a form of appeasement to the terrorists, and isn't that exactly what the president said we would NOT do at any cost?
I am a liberal because I value human life. I cringe at the thought of almost 3000 dead Americans in New York City. However, in the process of revenge, about 12-hundred Americans have already died in Iraq and there is no end in sight. In addition, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis have perished. But hey, "Mission Accomplished". We captured a cowering, lice-infested paranoid old man hiding from the world in a hole filled with rats in a barn. He had an unloaded pistol with him. If that's what passes for Weapons of Mass Destruction, I want my tax dollars back.
I am a liberal because believe in fairness and equality. I believe that if you break the law you should be punished appropriately. I feel very strongly that were I to be arrested, I would be prosecuted. I wonder why we don't hear of many prosecutions in the Enron/Anderson Accounting scandal. I feel that if I were to do my job poorly, I would be fired and forced to reconsider my acumen. I resent that CEO's in this country who defraud their companies and leave their workers destitute are rewarded with multi-million dollar compensation.
I am a liberal because I believe this should be forcefully addressed, NOT window-dressed just because they happen to fill my campaign with cash to purchase television ads that predominantly distort my opponent's record and say very little about my own.
I am a liberal because I treasure the idea that there are areas of this country that I can visit knowing that they will be unspoiled by the touch of human hand. I am willing to sacrifice a few commerce dollars to make sure that my children have that same opportunity.
I am a liberal because I believe that the human brain can arrive at solutions to bring us closer to the reality that we needn't sacrifice the ecology for the opportunity to travel America's highways.
I am a liberal because I believe decisions should be made from the heart, not from the wallet.
You may disparage any of these things as you see fit. But I will not be ashamed of them, and I will not sacrifice them to cynicism.
I am a liberal and today I am thankful for my friends, my family, and my co-workers here at K-Taos. And I am thankful for my JaBooty and our shared quest for food, shelter and a warm place to lay our head.