In Honor of "Hard Work"

For those who are currently wavering or wondering about the issue of Iraq, here is a piece "Why Iraq Withdrawal Makes Sense" by Norman Solomon , which I recommend for the courage needed to do the hard work that must come before war becomes the only "hard work" worth doing.

For those who may have missed it, President Bush used these words "hard work" several times in one of his most inspiring speeches. But it is not too much to ask as in (House Concurrent Resolution 35) to develop and implement a plan for "immediate withdrawal". Then we, the Iraqis, and the rest of the world, can get back to the "hard work" we will always have and should have done before the "war as a last resort".

While I would not encourage too much reliance on polls, it is part of a democracy. While Bush disavowed polls, he did say he trusts "the people not the government". Despite the embedded nature of government in journalism both here and in Iraq it is ironic and fortunate that polls do not reflect what the President wishes and what many, even progressives fall for: which is that in the current case, we and a continued military presence are the solution.

At least we must begin the "hard work" of discussion and hope that democracy here and abroad, and a trust of the people will mean the government will do the "hard work" of being open to debate. We got into this war with less than ideal candor. We will not end it without a greater degree of open mindedness and real "hard work".

WARNING: Nuclear Diplomacy is "hard work".

McCain claimed that Clinton was too much carrot and no stick.
But Bush is all stick and no carrots.

In fact they are getting fat on both the sticks and the carrots. Feasting on the products of their failure to do the "hard work" to preempt wars and WMD proliferation.
[My above thoughts were from two days ago, but all links are thanks to the Center for American Progress and Eric Alterman's Think Again: Blaming Success, Upholding Failure]

The success and failure of the Clinton and Bush administrations are in that order.

As Bush has said "war is hard work", but as I have said, that is why they should have done the "hard work" needed before war was "a last resort".
Now there is even more "hard work",not just to change the course but fill the holes that have been dug.

[Finally, I am not sure where I expressed the concern quite some time ago, but the recent balking by China on "punitive" sanctions reflects the idea that some countries will not make even preemptive diplomatic "hard work" any easier. SEE above link even more "hard work" in the form of an MP3 discussion to Stop North Korea Now]

Blame to go around?

Taking off from a Stephanie Miller topic in the background as I check the news on the internet, the topic of always having someone to blame was noted. From a Larry King show, Dennis Prager jumped on a question about the difference between Republicans and Democrats. His answer resulted in laughter, and so near the end of the show. Republicans he said are the party of "American Exceptionalism", and Democrats are the party of (blah, blah, blah...) something about "old Europe" or the French. What I am saying is that his definition of Democrats was not too clear or important, unless you take it to mean OUR ROOTS, OUR PRINCIPLES!

Now "American Exeptionalism" is not a bad thing, unless you forget that just what he forgot is important. We do have an exceptional history, and we do have exceptional potential, but we also have an exceptionally hard job, not to forget where we came from. But unfortunately by forgetting that, only the idea that we have some exceptional authority remains. That is probably where the laughter resulted. We know that for the administration and it’s defenders, they are the exception to every rule but theirs. [see footnote later]*

Whatever Stephanie Miller was talking about, sent me on the tangent and I will try to revisit the show, but it seems that the above can be tied in somehow. Always having someone to blame when things just do not go the way they are decreed. I had more to go on this, but maybe already got there. Something about the "hard work" that remains. We know that war is "hard work" and they said, "War is a last resort", but the hardest work is not getting there.

That is the irony, that there is always a last resort to resort to, if things don‘t go your way. But for us there will always we hard work, because that is what makes us exceptional.

And if I may depart on the note of an ancient comedian, "take my wife"...She might say: "Right, there is always hard work Left."

[ I was actually going to go into a more logical tit for tat on the difference between who had what to blame, but maybe I present a better demonstration of someone getting where they don’t know their going. Some just don’t want to say. Then they can declare victory when they finally define the mission.]

* [I know this seems loopy, but "I am the uniter, not the divider" said Bush. Now we know what is unified and he is the decider.]

NOTE: It is the opinion of many that Wikipedia is not necessarily the authoritative source, and I agree, but that does mean it is without a value that may just be academic. NOT!** Another little loop here that is closed by their own admission. Which is what is in dispute: authoritarianism.
LSS:[Long Story Short] We are the decider as in a government of by and for the people, with three equal branches, each having their own hard work, separate and related to others.

** Another little demostrative irony here is that "academic" has it's own loopy history, in that one can almost see, how others may be getting it. It is the process not the end all. [Epitomized by the dispute between practical and authoritative not to mention reality.]

"Thank You VETERANS!" DAY

I was going to say happy Veteran's Day,
but that has always been awkward,
no matter the times.

HONOR OUR VETS!
The Living! The dead have their own day.

Thank you for your "hard work"
and the best tribute would be
to do our "hard work" at home.
If this sounds redundant or political,
that is becaus it is.

They have fought for our rights and
what better way to honor them than
to use them. Our rights not the troops.
Before there is neither left.

OK... enough of my ramble.
Thank You for your particular combination of "hard work": 1st Lt. Ehren Watada

Thank you Parade? That is really hard work.
But some are jeered.

More Hard Work?

Speaking of veterans, Thank You Major General Paul Eaton(retired) for speaking up. I have yet to comment on the events of Saturday, but continuing on the Ray of Hope theme, Admiral Fallon is speaking out and General Eaton expressed confidence in Secretary of Defense Gates, and while this report(link) is not too informative, it agrees with the General's emphasis on diplomatic and economic approaches and some hope.

Thank you Vets! And those who serve.

$hotgun! $abbatical.

I don't know if I will hold to my own word, but I will put it here:

FROM A SUMMARY EMAIL TITLED "Shotgun! Sabbatical".

Violent metaphor aside, I may have said enough. Time to put down my book(s) and take a breather, as well as deal with some local realities.

Now violence has it's place, "as a last resort" (Bush), but what I suggest is more "hard work" (Byrd). I also suggest that I have had enough words and links, (Byrd/Bush or two?)

But as I tried to reincorporate my lines, a few things popped up.

Was this a March or April Fool. Is this just more hot water? Hotsoup.com
Interesting source/watch though.
Or just Hot Air? [Matthew Dowd: Lost Faith]
And this Unity08 : just more doodoo,
or the voodoo that y$$ do?
Speaking of YOU, the soup's on, or Tag "the hard work" *is on you.

* no apologies needed: this link is to someone else's miss take, but it is too early apparently to find a link to Senator Byrd's words last week. "hard work, hard work, hard work..." Get it? That's what he said, in thanks to the staff, after the Emergency Supplemental passed.

Emergency (Iraq) Supplemental Passes Senate: 51-47

Others call it War Supplemental. NOT!

Library of Congress Records (Thomas) defines:

S.965
Title: An original bill making emergency supplemental appropriations...

The Knot for Naught Dance may be NOT as well.
Will the president veto? Will the president compromise?
To will or not to will? That is the question.
The choice to dance is in the president's hands, the congress may still have the last foot down.

The Senate delivered the amount that the president wanted and then some.

[at this moment(posting within seconds of original post): Sen. Robert Byrd Senate Appropriations Committee Chair is calling for working together on a "responsible plan" for Iraq and not demonizing "democracy". The latter was my word, he said "congress".]
More later: below unread. [See MyDD.]

[8:33 update: Actually the more later will likely be a separate post. But Sen. Bryd just concluded, in thanks to the staff for their hard work on this bill.

"the hard work, the hard work"..."did you get that?"...

if not a third "the hard work" evoked (at his usual eloquent pace). I knew that this would be a memorable speech.]

Lessons of War

From a less than left writer David S. Broder no less:
The costs of carrying on in Iraq and Lebanon
"The point is that history and economics have their own logic".

As noted before(I will have to find where)economics may be more a factor in history and war than winning. (Well, I never put it that way exactly.) There are those that ignore the importance of economics in reality(as in all the various fields or disciplines of study), but do tend to focus on just a winning economy. That may be a little closer to the point, and if not even less understood.

Here are two examples: a.) We are now doing business with Vietnam. Versus not with North Korea. b.) Reagan's words tore down the Berlin Wall, or Afghanistan broke the Soviet Union.

Again it may not be clear to those that see winning a military war as the only way to win. Money is power, but not everybody wins.

War is hard work. Peace is hard work. Facing realities is hard work.
Enough from me, before I give you more hard work.

By the way. "You break it, you bought it." comes to mind. Besides that fact that pottery bard[*] does not have that policy, I don't know if a point has been made that it is misquoted as "You break it, you own it".
{Use Ctrl f to find each quote in each article) Many do not want to face who pays.

[* 8-19-10] Noting typo

AM PC

Angela Merkel
Press Conference:


It seemed that President Obama was trying hard, not to use the words "hard work".
Hard work is like the American Dream and Exceptionalism.  The likes of Republicans in general, and Bolton and McCain in particular, would prefer to keep them hard work and a dream.


[RF Daily continues subject.]

Hard Work? Sludge this!

Was it Buzzflash?
Was it a Bush speech?
Or this sludge* from The Drudge Report? Of course, it may not link, but it got the ball rolling. And Obama's reaction. Lost or not found yet, in this is where the story came from or rather how it came to the Drudge Report, apparently a Clinton volunteer.
The "volunteer":

"Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?" questioned one campaign staffer, in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.

The "manager":

Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams responds: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."

All I can say is, "Lame!" to both of them.

AND RESORTING TO THIS:
[moments after the "moments later": Is this better context "Obamba in Muslim Garb" or is this a redress "The Meaning of Obama's Robes.", as in the real addressing of the issue?. And to "the volunteer" from me: Apparently your question is as hard to address as the Health care issue, since it would be in so many places if HRC were to dress as a nomadic man, but not so many apparently as a "Muslim" woman? Again more hard work may be needed to flesh this out, but that is a horrid choice of words, yet not intended to be indelicate on my part. In this case more research as to whether there are apples and oranges being compared and whether reliable sources can tell a Muslim from a nomad.]
[moments later: Not read yet! Is Nader any better at the hard work that should be sorting the issues out? I will tackle Nader after the issues are settle about the Democratic candidate, I have before.]

* It just rhymes, but the muck is in the follow through, which if you look at the images which along with the difficulty in finding the Drudge that started this, were apparently added later, may have put better original context to the irony, and which I did not sort out in an even manner either.

The Air We Breathe...

The Information Horizon: OK, I mixed metaphors which I will let others complete, as I thought of the air waves and the information highway and the rising tide and being in the same boat. Well, maybe I took it one thread too far.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

TO THE FCC and CONGRESS
Take Action! [**] <<== CLICK HERE And for more action ==>HERE

The FCC must not further deregulate the air waves. It is bad enough that the public airwaves are controlled by conglomerations already, that should be remedied. But to allow the expanded ownership by the print media should be prohibited. The whole purpose of the FCC should be to regulate something that is supposed to be free, but is limited. It turns out to be quite profitable, and the print media is not on hard times, except for the competition which arises from the same conglomeration. If these cannot be regulated to be serving the public good, then they should be making a profit for the public good.

This is not just an economic issue, it is a power issue. You will use yours for good, or you will use it for power and profit. If it is the latter, you should have neither.

I was not going to make a major production out of this, and I suppose I could have included of few statistics rather than just seemingly pull this out of the air waves, but here is an example I stumbled upon today. In doing a background check (google) on Joseph Stiglitz, "Making Globalization Work",
I came across a review in my local paper by Bruce Ramsey and embedded in that piece is the following:

His book is flavored with a deep distaste for inequality. "Those who are concerned about inequality see much of it arising out of luck -- the luck of being born with good genes or rich parents or the luck of buying a piece of real estate at the right time," he writes. "Those who are less concerned feel that wealth is a reward for hard work."

It is, of course, a combination of the two. Free-traders would give freer rein to luck in order to maximize overall economic gain. Stiglitz would not.

While this may seem "fair and balanced" [*], or at least I feel that Ramsey believes he is being so, his conclusion is slanted to the freeing up of the luck, after admitting it is a combination of the two. You, ladies and gentlemen, should be working hard to make sure not only hard work is rewarded, but that you are not making it easier for those getting something for free (the air waves) while making it harder work and harder luck to compete.

[Update: A New Optimism - -A New Pre-emption - - An old Foundation]

[Update: Pre-Empting Crimes ]

[*] And not in the FOX way, but here is a fairly powerful and balanced take on the media and democracy: The Proper Imbalance ]

[**] SEE COMMENT regarding Senate Bill 2332, the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007.

Time for us to go

TO WORKThe new Un-Frame for Them?
Republicans would actually want to lose so that they can blame the Democrats so that they can return to fight at a later date? Now that is courage. NOT!

But this is the unspin. Would they really risk possible impeachment of Bush for the sake of their own power? Not that Democrats or the people would have the guts. Maybe they want the Dog to wag. But this puts a spin on politics that I have been trying to halt. My point is that governing is hard work, which Republicans do not believe in, and would rather let Democrats carry the load, while they run away to fight another day. How is that good for the country?

Is this just more to talk about, to keep us from the "hard work"? It also distracts from and should raise questions of which came first, the strategy or the words of regret (or coming to their senses) which some conservatives express. Another question: do they put themselves before facing the issues?

AND MORE: it will be TIME FOR US TO GO TO WORK.
Will they work with Democrats for those two years?
Will the Democrats be finished even reviewing let alone correcting the last six?
Will the Democrats even play "the game" that it has been for Republicans? If they play it as well, they would cut them out of it all. Demostrate that we can handle debate and division and bring issues to the fore for the coming two years not just for the next four, but for the people, our country and the world.

I must thank The Thom Hartmann Show for sending me on this tangent, or search: "Time for us to Go". We should agree, it is time for Republicans to go, and for any that survive, not to go back to the politics of either nine words or sixteen. Thanks to Garrison Keillor as well. But I would say (to Reagan's nine)
Let them not be in the government for they are there to help themselves.

And I must make reference to my earlier posts.
A Pre-emptive Comment 11-15-05
Politics 11-24-05
Speaking of Running 3-18-06
Hold of Course 3-17-06

[Tangents are the nature of how things connect,
when every point is in context of the whole.] Not incidentally, quantummatter.com

Cost of Course

From no less than David S. Broder, no lefty
The costs of carrying on in Iraq and Lebanon
"The point is that history and economics have their own logic."

As Reagan would say: "There you go again." Well I use this to refer to my post which I just lost as time expired.
[NOTE: After doing all this work, a second time, I then notice that the lost post is up. LESSONS OF WAR. Sorry for the redundancy, and it is unedited, but I will leave it up as I must go off in another reality or discipline.] [a navigation aid: use CTRL F in these links to save "hard work".]

My point: Reality is about many disciplines, not just discipline. Hmmm, I've never been to the point before, maybe there is something to beginning from scratch.

In this case economics over just the economy. Work not just hard work.

Well this does not mean that I won't have tangents, in fact that is what linking the fields implies.

My second or original point, is that economics has more to do with history than winning. Actually I may be getting farther from the course I took in the lost post. But two examples are Vietnam and Afghanistan. We lost one and are losing the other. We are doing business with one and the other beat the Soviet Union, and we are still losing.

Then there is the "pottery store" or simple minded advice that still is in play and not fully understood.

This is where I have more experience that I even knew, forgetting that my first job was printing store signs. I also have wandered a few shops or two and feel that it was "You break it, you bought it." Doesn't that flow better both literally and economically. Despite the fact that it is not the Pottery Barn policy, it is ironic or not that Thomas Friedman is involved in this. Only a sloppy or slanted writer would confuse the credit to his words. As far as I can tell, the course often depends on reading signs. and getting their meaning straight. Owning something is a whole lot better sounding than whatever work it takes to get it.

I don't know if you get this sign but the post was a whole lot shorter and straighter than the one lost.

Maybe Woodward and Russert got it, but Powell probably used too many words for Bush. See Wikipedia
[8-19-10: labels and link added]

The Undisclosed Bunker Branch of the Government.

Cheney's place as "Angler" has now been disclosed in a four-part series in the Washington Post, where "understanding" is the key word.
[note that there is a lot of hard work here, by others *]

What does the Vice-President's claim that he is not part of the Executive Branch do to earlier claims of executive privilege? I think it would fall under Unitary theory that Cheney and Bush have whatever powers Cheney has decided for them and Bush understands only that, not that it puts Cheney in charge of the whole ball of wax.

A few earlier post of mine on the loop as long as we are into geometry.
The Truth Apparent: A Mobius Lap
Running with Rhetoric
Unreasonable Proof of/or Reality
Original Intent

Sorry for my own little four-part review(much shorter than the WaPo though, of which only three are out yet, and I've only read a few paragraphs), but as opposed to the "Angler" who approaches "the levers of power obliquely, skirting orderly lines of debate he once enforced as chief of staff to President Gerald R. Ford.", I must brink up my ealier tangents that have already visited the subjects but only touch a point on a curve.


From Randi's cite:*
House Democrats to cut funds for VP from Executive Branch. Raw Story
Senate challenge understanding as well. NY Times
Bush thinking (see above) "the law"
Press conference on "non issue" of oversight
On wire-taps by Judge
CIA of the going back to Nixon Era released.
Condemned or chosen to repeat.
GITMO A & B
HALLIBURTON A & B
Prosecutor Purge
Vote Caging: speaking of returns and locked up.

And off of AM1090 Seattle cite:
Democracy Now has Rocky Anderson as guest on the impeachment process.

Thanks to Randi Rhodes for the real "hard work", which I have not done yet by reading these, but getting them together is a start, and for you to continue the "hard work" as well. Of which, the first post indicates that Bush does not read much of what he signs from Cheney.

* This stems from a few days ago when this broke(the first link) and I was probably listening to Randi Rhodes and I thought, that if there is an EO (executive order)that Bush has signed and given their pattern of behavior, it does probably not apply to the President or whomever he choose not to appy it to, and probably didn't need to include a signing statement on his own EO as his privileges include that only he knows what he means. If that. And that is another imagined out or bunker of their mind. (I believe David Bender or Ring of Fire or a guest deserves note for the last reference.)

Real Hard Work

Not to suggest that reading is hard work.  Real hard work is done by those struggling to survive and make a living, not to mention those that fight our wars and are first responders.  Not that I intended to preempt.

Being a Blank "is Hard Work".

Meaning found in file folder:
Being a Heretic is Hard Work.
Or maybe it is the difference between being and getting 'er done.

[OWS verse the 1%?]
[Getting 'er* done?]


*apologies to*** whom[!]?

[Speaking** of Labels...U.N? Not to mention fair and balanced.]

** a, b, c, d (thin blue line ?) Or Re:U.N.

*** LOL: Laughter Occupy Lawyers (not to make light, but...)

[Note Labels U.N.(Unhate, Nuance), G'Ribble(or D'Ribble?)]
[Bottom line? See commenT and lede, and found'ers: Being a Blank "is Hard Work".]
[Super Stick: Debt Deal or Leverage: One thing about the Debt Ceiling deal and the Super Committee is that its failure is a not really that crucial. If it gets something done, the next congress can undo it. If it doesn't get anything done, the next congress will handle the cuts. Heck, I am not even certain it would be binding. Either way the next election will be telling. But anything balanced from the committee will not only be unlikely, but will not balance the history of Republican obstructionism since Obama game into office, nor balance the Republican debt.(See saw)]

Yesterday was a nice round number: 02-04-08

Today is the day for the tide to turn.
For Change!
The day before was a Super Bowl,
today is a Super Tuesday!
The Giants beat the Patriots. Hmmm.
Post Prophetic? Or just luck?
It was "hard work", but they play by rules,
a season ends and another begins.

But today we can take this ground swell for change,
for the underdog, and for hard work
and work the force for change.
Freedom is not a force.
History does not blaze a trail.
People and leaders do,
by passing laws and making sure they are followed.
I knew I was going somewhere, I hope you can see now.

Let impeachment process begin
RICHARD W. BEHAN GUEST COLUMNIST
Seattle PI

The above link supports much of what I have noted in this blog in the last 7 years, and a few I missed. It follows a pattern of preemption that if leaked, actually caused a preemption cycle of its own. An important question is, how long has this been the policy of this ship of state, and how long has it been leaking. These are not mountains out of mole hills, but trickle down by passing the buck. Investigations must begin, while shoring up the process of accountability. It is not too early to begin the work of transition. But never too late to join a tide of change. And if this metophor seems to imply a washing away, or just another cycle... true. Things will wash a away, but people will still be the point, not the boats and the driftwood.

See link below, in particular.

Apples and Oranges and Cherry Picking.

[UNITY MODEL? Or Filtering Will?]
One of the comments after the ISGR (Iraq Study Group Report) release was that it is not a fruit salad. Well, what could be said for the presidents speech? Going beyond the metaphor that he is still mixing apples and oranges when it comes to what got us into Iraq, congress must be the taster that stirs the juices from the bottom of the mix and even adds a fruit or more to the mix. I don’t know if this is just another way of straddling the fence of will and hope, but it means that while the president has a habit of cherry picking that has not changed, the fence may have tumbled under the weight of the fruit trees. Congress must call apples, apples, and oranges, oranges, and any other fruit, just what they are. The cherry here is that while it is not called a time table, there is a time frame that he is aware of. (November?) Congress much verify all the fruit in this salad, and add some that the ISGR have recommended.

Fruit salad metaphor aside, I have earlier made reference to the old adage "the proof is in the pudding", but that the hard work of the mix was not done before we got in this fix, we have seen something that is a just desert. While Bush’s admission that "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me" is not an accounting of what his will has wrought, the following sentence "It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq" is a sign of hope. Congress must verify all the ingredients in any recipes, add their own and toss the nuts. They have complete control of the pantry.

Metaphor aside, and it was not easy to stay away from the salad for the pudding, I would like to clarify more hope than just the two lines. This may tread more into cynicism as I fight the urge to indulge in it, it should be noted that the president seemed more subdued, and paced and did not resort to the patronizing act of speaking slowly. It was a very well delivered speech, delivered in a more realistic tone. Now it is our job to check that reality and work on it together. It should not be too much to ask that after six years he has made some progress, but that must not be only in the ability to more humbly deliver a speech or to conceal his recognition that someone else is in charge and that his will has a part in who soon will be.

Falling fruit trees and fence crushing aside, I will address a more subtle irony and a more specific branch. It has been said that we will fight them over there so that we won’t have to fight them over here. Now it is being said that we must clear and hold, and today the president implied that the enemy is likely to move on. That contradiction should be a big concern in the world of rhetoric but in the world of reality, it is a very big world that already has battles unmentioned, or unrealistically referred to; Afghanistan and Somalia, just two. Diplomacy was only referenced in where "We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East." Diplomacy is not a pep rally held by cheerleaders. I think that as General Pace, (I believe) today called this a pivot point, a focal point must be considered. The irony is that it does not fit into a world of metaphors. It only fits in a world of balance that is much more hard work, rather than a world of spin and counter-balance. I really don’t know if it is too contradictory but just the idea that the Department of Defense such as it is, is rather ironically labeled, you can see where this takes us. Maybe a Department of Peace is little out of focus as a counter balance, but that is a matter that Politics should look at. Every time Politics is noted as a matter that must be avoided, it must be looked at as a form of denial of reality, as much as the denial of Physics, Philosophy and Psychology are. Now where does this fit into our picture of what a society or civilization should be? Politics is about the balance of power, and the balance of nature that Will is a part if we picture it.

Between Iraq and a Hard Work!

Democracy is a Hard Place!  Shock and Awe are not tools, they are weapons.  Hume or Mill will be part of the hard work.  Not to mention Kant we all get along without going to Hegel.
Pardon my aphorismal heading or mangling [!]  

THE GAME

SEE STAY THE COURSE or
HELP NAVIGATION
See Bottom Line there.
[UPDATE same day]

[5-15-08: Review - The Game is not supposed to be taken lightly, nor always meant a reference to Hard Work required of the readers. The troops are the ones that politics has bearing on most, and the reference to the media troops of ABC seems to take more credit for hard work than they actually do at times.]

[4-17-09: Update Patients for Change reminds me of Sabbatical and other Reviews.]

Deja Voodoo

The Republican Party sues Monty Python for their copyright infringement of their policy. [Anachronyism] C3
[Not to mention "hard work *" ]

*(like not read yet reading of link, but a connection to the spirit of hard work.)