Justice DeLay(ed)

EXTRA!
THE HAMMER GETS NAILED!!!

Finally! Justice has been handed down for the most overtly corrupt politician of my lifetime - and I was born when Eisenhower was in the White House. The very idea of watching a disgusting little parasite like Tom Delay being marched off to federal prison in one of those orange jumpsuits is a dream come true. He pissed on our Constitution, cynically flaunted the law, and now he is going to pay the price. Oh, thank you, fate! This unexpected bolt of happy news made me a bit more thankful this Thanksgiving.

The followinng day when I posted a sampling of my glee on the Washington DC Craigslist political page, I was chastised by a reader for my schadenfreude. I should be ashamed of myself, this person suggested, for my calumny - expressing joy at the downfall of another human being. I'm sorry but whenever a criminal is punished for his crimes, it tends to put me in a pretty good humor - sort of like when they finally caught the Unabomber. I'm kind of funny that way.
`
When he was first indicted in 2006, he smiled when his mug shot was taken because, as he told reporters, “I wanted people to see Christ in my face”. I won’t tell you who I saw in that photograph but - trust me on this one, folks - it definitely wasn’t Jesus Christ. What has always enraged me about right wing politicians like DeLay is their exploitation of the Prince of Peace in order to inflict on people the most un-Christian policies imaginable. Quoting Christ while advocating a tax cut for a class of people who have more money than they will ever be able to spend is beyond grotesque, it's sacrilegious. They love to quote the Ten Commandments but, for some strange reason, they always steer clear of the Sermon on the Mount. Gee, I wonder why?

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

Oh, right. That's why. Never mind.

It might take some time for old Tommy boy to be thrown in the slammer - if he's ever thrown in at all. He is sure to exhaust the appeals process to the limit and there's no reason to believe that some sympathetic, half-witted judge down in Travis County won't overturn the entire case. This will certainly happen if they can bring it before the Supremes. There is no doubt that the five reactionary assholes who voted in favor of Citizens United vs FEC last January will decide to spring the Hammer - as he was known in Washington back in the day. Technically at least, he is looking at a possible sentence of one-hundred years, which is not likely to happen - nor should it happen. As much as I detest the man, I do believe that a century in prison for violating Texas election laws is just a wee bit extreme if you ask me. I dunno, I guess I'm just an old bleeding heart, soft-on-crime kinda guy. Two to four years will teach the hideous little thug a lesson or two.

The irony of it all is the fact that the Supreme Court case of which I spoke earlier made the crime DeLay was convicted of pretty much legal, which is another reason to think that it might be overturned on appeal. Some brilliant legal "scholar" will decide that Citizens United vs FEC should be retroactive.

Oh, shit! Let's just admit the nasty truth. There are two sets of rules: One for them and one for us. He'll walk before he serves a day. Why am I forced to admit this? Because my luck has never gotten that good. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are the worst (though hardly the only) war criminals in American history. If there was any justice on this side of the eternal void, they both would be rotting in two separate eight-by-ten cells in Leavenworth, or (better yet) the same cell! But this is not a perfect world. Only the underprivileged are punished for their crimes. As Woody Guthrie once said, "Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you a king." Today both Bush and Cheney live in comfortable retirement.

"Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes."

-Tom DeLay

Therein lies the philosophical dysfunction of Tom DeLay and the party that he represents. They have never been able to comprehend the fact that it is a regulated system of progressive taxation that funds a healthy and vibrant society. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a movement of crackpots who wanted to do away with all forms of government and taxation. One of their numbers, a man named Leon Czolgosz, would assassinate a president of the United States (William McKinley). Back in the day they were called "Anarchists". Today we call them "Conservatives". The more things change the more they stay the same.

Whether or not he ever serves a day in prison is irrelevant in the long run. The important thing to remember is that the political career of Tom DeLay is over. A major cancer has been removed from the body politic. We must grab our little blessings where we find them.

Tom Degan
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress

It's available for purchase on Amazon.com. Highly recommended.

AFTERTHOUGHT:

HEY, KIDS! Here are some more jaw-droppingly stupid quotations from the distinguished convicted felon from Texas!

This is Tom DeLay explaining the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999:

"Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids in daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills."

This is Tom DeLay explaining why he didn't fight in Vietnam:

"So many minority youths volunteered....that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself."

This is Tom DeLay on his job description:

"I am not a federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is the Constitution of the United States. I am not a government employee. I am the Constitution."

This is Tom DeLay on why America had to invade Iraq:

"We're no longer a superpower. We're a super-duper power."

This is Tom DeLay talking to three young Katrina evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston:

"Now tell me the truth, boys. Is this kind of fun?"

Now tell me the truth, folks. Isn't Tom DeLay a hoot-and-a-half? Come to think of it, I'm gonna miss him!

Serious Tax Problems

I hate America for what it has become. I love America for what it was. I adore America for what it could be.

Right wing interpretation: TOM DEGAN HATES AMERICA!!!

Are you a Republican? Did you vote the straight GOP line in the last election? Then please read the following offering. Or could it be that you've never voted for that hideous party in your life? Good for you! You should feel proud! You're obviously a whole hell-of-a-lot smarter than I am! I voted for Ronald Reagan thirty years ago this month. But at least I have an excuse for my civic irresponsibly - lame as it may sound three decades after the horrible fact. You see, on Election Night of that year - November 4, 1980 - I was extremely - devastatingly - intoxicated. Reagan was such an idiot I thought it might be amusing to watch him running the country for four years. They'll never reelect him in '84, I thought. The moral of this story?

DON'T DRINK AND VOTE.

I have been stone-cold sober every election day since. Heed my tragic example, boys and girls.

Please, e-mail this piece to any and all of your Conservative friends. I'm about to give a them a valuable little lesson in reality and remedial mathematics. I have a sneaky feeling that many of them haven't a clue as to the dreadful seriousness of our present situation. How did I arrive at this conclusion you may ask? Well, the fact that they just handed the House of Representatives back to the party mostly (though not entirely) responsible for this mess is a pretty good indicator of their essential cluelessness. As a matter of fact it was a dead giveaway. There will be a quiz immediately following. Tell 'em to put their thinking caps on!

SIDE NOTE:
The nice folks over at Spell Check are gently but firmly informing me that "cluelessness" is not a proper word. I am chastised and humbled by this knowledge.

Here's the dirty little secret that NOBODY is talking about: The debt that the United States has incurred in the last ten years is now at a level where it's probably insurmountable. The only solution (and that's assuming there is a viable solution) will involve taxes - decades of serious taxation. This is the ugly little reality facing us. Now the big question: On whose shoulders should the burden of getting out of this mess fall - the poor and middle classes? I've got a better idea: How 'bout a class of people who already have more money than they know what to do with? How 'bout the people who benefited the most from the thirty-year financial binge that this country engaged in? Am I waging class warfare? You'd better believe it, Buster. The plutocracy has been waging class warfare against us since the nineteenth century. I don't know about you but I'm fightin' back, baby!

`

The anti-tax paranoia in this country is beyond being out-of-hand. It's gotten downright ludicrous. Montana is now the bat-shit extremist capital of the United States (Sorry South Carolina, you had a nice, long run). In an excellent article that was posted on AlterNet this morning, the writer David Neiwert told of how some elected representatives in that state's legislature are now advocating secession from the union. This raises the musical question: What the hell is in Montana's water?

It kind of makes you wonder, huh? So what if Montana demanded secession from the union? What then? I say let them secede. The next time Rick Perry brings up the subject of removing Texas from the union, we ought to call his bluff. I was tempted to suggest giving that state back to the Mexicans but - what the hell - they have enough problems as it is. Why add to their burden?

Let's allow these twits to create the right wing Valhalla they yearn for - and then sit back and watch their "countries" implode from within. It may very well turn out to be a valuable lesson which the "limited-government" types living within the rest of the forty-eight states need to learn. It would also be loads of fun to watch - from afar that is.

Let's allow these silly bastards to secede. In fact, we ought to encourage it. Seriously.

Here is what the Tea Party freaks have never been able to figure out. We're either going to have one of two things in this country: We will have a society where our children receive decent educations; where crime is relatively low; where jobs are abundant; where the middle class is thriving, and the infrastructure is nurtured....or we'll have a society where the people who already have more money than they know what to do with do not pay their fair share of taxes. We cannot - we will not - have both. Our politicians won't tell you that. I just did. Isn't the truth a neat thing?

As I stated above, this is class warfare.

Then again, even with a fair, progressive tax system put back into place, it is now unlikely that we will be able to give American's infrastructure the kick in the pants that it so desperately needs. Remember, we are thirteen-trillion dollars in the hole. The decades of serious taxation I spoke of earlier will go to paying that debt. Under these nasty circumstances, how will we be able to invest in us? The solution is a lot simpler than you might imagine.

You and I will be paying more in taxes in the years to come. That is unavoidable. Come to grips with the idea. Here's the good news: We'll be paying a bit more. The rich will be paying a lot more. Here is the ONLY way out of the mess that the Republicans and more-than-a-few Democrats have gotten us into: We absolutely need to bring back the ninety percent tax bracket for the uber wealthy. That is the only way out. The only way. It amazes me that after all these years, the Republicans still want us to buy into the myth that says glad tidings will "trickle down" on the rest of us. Is that really true? Well, yeah. If you like getting pissed on, it's very true indeed.

Here is that little quiz that I promised at the beginning of this piece. Truth be told, it's not a quiz but a single rhetorical question:

How is it mathematically possible to maintain things as they presently are?

Any takers?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tom Degan
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

AFTERTHOUGHT:

Here is a link to the piece that I mentioned from this morning's edition of AlterNet:

http://www.alternet.org/news/148946/%22we_are_at_war%22:_how_militias,_racists_and_anti-semites_found_a_home_in_the_tea_party_?page=entire

If this valuable website is not part of your daily ritual, it ought to be. It doesn't get any better than AlterNet. HEY! Have I ever lied to you??? Here is a link to their home page:

http://www.alternet.org/

SUGGESTED READING:

The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Krugman

Post #318: Random Thoughts

I'm a bit burned-out this evening. I have been up for almost twenty-four hours, and I'm not even close to a decent night's sleep. There is so much to say - and not nearly enough time to say it. I'm not in any condition to put it all down here. To quote Mr. Lennon, "Strange days indeed". I am of the opinion that what is about to happen to this once-great nation is too fucking horrible to articulate. I may need a few days, at the very least, to come to grips with it all. Goodnight, America.

In the mean time, here are a few assorted observations that I had scribbled in my notebook, or posted on other naughty, LEFT WING websites. This is nothing more than a cut and paste job. I'm not trying to portray myself as an astute observer of the human tragedy. This is merely what I feel at this particular moment in our weird and twisted history. Happy reading, folks!

THE KEITH RICHARDS MEMOIRS
`

Not Fade Away….I always loved the Stones – and Richards was always my favorite. I met Mick Jagger in 1985. I would gladly trade that opportunity to have met “Keef”.

But it has to be stated – with all due respect to the man – that the Stones pretty much died decades ago. For the last twenty years they have merely been a nostalgia band - nothing more. The last recording of theirs that made any impact on me was Harlem Shuffle, and that was back in the eighties! Their last LP of any merit (and mind you, this is only my humble opinion) was “Emotional Rescue” nearly three decades ago.

In 1970, the Beatles broke up leaving the world wanting more. Begging for more in fact. The Rolling Stones just faded away. Sad.

THE "CONTROVERSY" REGARDING THAT OTHER KEITH

So, Keith Olbermann donated some cash to a couple of Democratic candidates? I am shocked. SHOCKED!

Conflict of interest? Please. He should have donated to the candidacies of Michelle Bachmann or Rand Paul. Now THAT would have constituted a conflict of interest!

Could it be that the suits at MSNBC thought they had finally found the excuse they needed in order to silence the most lethal progressive voice broadcasting in the main stream media today? Remember, that network didn’t “go left” a few years ago out of any ideological conviction. It was purely a business decision on their part. After all, they had at one time given a forum to Michael Wiener Savage among other people…

“Alan Keyes Is Making Sense”. Remember that little early evening atrocity from about a decade ago?

“Watch It with Laura Ingram”. Who among us can forget that monumental, televised train wreck?

MSNBC eventually realized that they couldn’t outfox FOX Noise so they went to the left out of sheer desperation. It turned out to be a damned good move on their part. Maybe they thought they could finally afford to dump the most visible thorn in the side of the right wing plutocracy. The joke is on them They couldn't! Nyah!

MORE MEMOIRS: GEORGE W. BUSH

So, George W. Bush has written his memoirs, huh? One could only expect a pop-up book from this knucklehead.

At one point in the new book Bush tells us that in 2004 he considered removing Cheney from the ticket to prove that he was the one in charge. I suspect he changed his mind when the vice-president told him not to.

Recently I received an e-mail from the Bush/Cheney Alumni Association. Yeah, I admit it - I subscribe. It is an amusing thing indeed to watch these nitwits try to rewrite history. I suggest you all subscribe. There is so much entertainment value to be gotten from this site - and SCADS of unintentional humor!

The e-mail contained a link to a video of Dubyah promoting his new book. When I attempted to click it on, instead of the Bush's image, the following words appeared on the screen:

"An Unexpected Error Has Occurred"

Those are the only true words I have ever received from the Bush/Cheney Alumni Association.

POT SHOTS

DISCLAIMER: I don't smoke pot. Nor do I advocate its usage. I haven't touched the stuff since my nineteenth birthday - August 16, 1977 - which, coincidentally, was the day that Elvis Presley died. I always tell people that Elvis and I quit drugs at the very same time, the only difference being that I did so voluntarily.

Having said that, let me say this:

Nearly three-quarters-of-a-century after it was made illegal; half-a-century after it was proven to be practically harmless - why is it still a crime to possess and smoke marijuana?

Here is a list of ten famous people - heavy smokers all - who died of lung cancer:

Humphrey Bogart
Edward R. Murrow
Nat King Cole
George Harrison
John Huston
Noel Coward
Betty Grable
Walt Disney
Gary Cooper
Peter Jennings

Here is another list. Ten famous alcoholics who drank themselves to death:

W.C. Fields
Jack Kerouac
Truman Capote
Robert Benchley
Keith Moon
Bix Beiderbecke
Montgomery Clift
Dylan Thomas
John Barrymore
Errol Flynn

Now I'm going to ask you to name for me one celebrity who has died from too much grass.

Go on, I'm waiting.....

You couldn't do it, could you? Don't feel bad. Neither could I. Not only have I never heard of anyone dying in that matter, I am not aware of it happening in all recorded human history! How could it possibly be that in 2010, are we still having this stupid conversation?

Is it a "gateway drug" as they never tire of reminding us? Yeah, it probably is. But so is Miller High Life - the Champagne of Bottled Beer . Let's get a grip here, okay?

THE PARTY'S OVER

The twentieth century was the American Century. The twenty-first will be the Chinese Century. Our representatives (from both sides of the aisle) will see to that. Get used to the idea.

AND FINALLY, MY FAVORITE SUBJECT

Regarding Sarah Plain: To paraphrase the late, great Molly Ivins in a slightly different context:

If that woman's IQ slips any lower we're gonna have to start watering her twice a day.

Cheerio! Pip! Pip!

Tom Degan
Goshen NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

AFTERTHOUGHT:

The photograph at the top of this piece is of little ol' me. It was taken on May 18 of this year inside Studio Number Three at the Abbey Road recording facilities in London, England. At the moment the photo was taken, I was listening to the master tape of John Lennon's "Imagine" in surround sound. What can I tell you? It was one of those mountaintop moments.

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood [and sisterhood] of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

Goddammit, I miss John Lennon.

Obama Can Learn From FDR

I was recently reading the biography, "The Three Roosevelts" by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn - when I was almost knocked senseless by the following paragraph which appeared at the top of page 310:

"[N]ot only had the president [Franklin Roosevelt] attacked the motives of the financial and industrial elite, assailing 'a decade of debauch, of group selfishness,' he had also battered the foundations of their self esteem. Following in the footsteps of [Theodore Roosevelt], FDR had exploded one of the most popular and deeply entrenched myths in America, he had dissociated the concept of wealth from the concept of virtue. Not only did he refuse to portray business leaders as virtuous men, he compared them to the fascist menace abroad. While countries dominated by 'aristocracy and aggression' threatened the United states from without, he charged that the nation was threatened by its own 'resplendent economic autocracy' from within - economic autocrats who wanted nothing but 'power for themselves, enslavement for the public.'"

Therein lies the tragedy of Barack Obama. He has tried to maintain the appearance of being "above it all". He has tried to be too much of an amiable gentleman - when he should have been fighting these plutocratic thugs with all the rhetorical thunder he could muster. The lesson that the thirty-second president learned over seventy-five years ago seems to have been lost on the forty-fourth. Pity.

Late in campaign of 2008, Senator Obama's handlers made much of the fact that he was in the process of reading "Team of Rivals", the biography of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin that was published around that period. He was reading the right author but the wrong book. The book he should have been reading was her bio of President and Mrs. Roosevelt, "No Ordinary Time". Let's just hope that he is able to spare the time to read her upcoming book on Franklin's distant cousin Theodore.

Is the president serious when he tells us that he plans on "working with" the opposition party in the next two years? Part of me has to believe that he's not, that he's merely taking on the guise of the good loser, holding his cards close to his vest. The last thing in the world he wants to do at this stage in the game is to even think about "working with" these reactionary assholes. As history tells us, that's impossible. He must realize this by now. Or does he? If he doesn't he is about to make the same fatal mistake made by Bill Clinton in 1994.

When the Republicans took back the House that year for the first time since the 1950s, Clinton naively decided that if he couldn't beat the hideous bastards, he would join them, so to speak. In the process he moved the Democratic party far enough to the right that by the early spring of 1998, "the party if Franklin Delano Roosevelt" was virtually unrecognizable. That was the year I bolted the Dems forever and never looked back. If Clinton was expecting a fair shake from the GOP for his appeasement he was tragically mistaken. Later on that same year they impeached him for lying about a fling with a half-witted intern. Wasn't that a time? Isn't this as well?

Should Obama expect the same type of treatment from the one-hundred and twelfth congress? The answer to that question is, quite simply: DUH!!! As they did twelve years ago, they plan on bringing the executive branch of our government to a screeching halt. These people are morally bankrupt and they are decades past the time when they could rely on the quaint concept of "reasoned discoursed". All they have going for them at this point in their weird and twisted history is their ability to obfuscate and their power to obstruct. The following two years will see the persecution of Barack Obama. The wheels are already in motion.

MESSAGE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:

Dear President Obama;

First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read my blog. I am truly and indescribably humbled. [Hey, I can dream, can't I? Cut me some slack!] Mr. President, now is not the time for humility. Now is the time to fight. As weird as the opposition was during the last congressional session, they're only going to be worse in the next. Remember that there are a lot more of them now. For you to even attempt to find common cause with these jackasses is beyond naive - it is politically suicidal. Given what happened to Bill Clinton, and taking into consideration their disgusting behavior during the first two years of your administration, by now it should be obvious to you that they want to destroy you. And they will destroy you - if you allow them to. Hell, most of these nitwits refuse to concede that you were born in the United States! They're not rational people, Mr. President. You cannot - you will not - be able to "meet them half way". Don't be an idiot.

There. I said it. Forgive my harsh tone, Mr. President, but it needed to be said. Give Sasha and Malia and hug for me, will you? And send my love to Michelle. I've got a wicked crush on that gal. Seriously!

Here are some instructive quotations:

"I should like to have it said of my first administration that in it, the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second administration that in it, these forces met their master."

"Those newspapers of the nation which most loudly cried "dictatorship" against me would have been the first to justify the beginnings of a dictatorship by somebody else."

"Whoever seeks to set one religion against the other seeks to destroy all religion."

"Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate of me - and I welcome their hatred."

"There is nothing I love as much as a good fight."

-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Them's fightin' words, pardner! Man! I feel like wagin' a little class warfare, baby! (Nonviolently, of course).

As the title of this little ditty of mine suggests, the forty-fourth president of the United States could learn a hell-of-a-lot from the actions of the thirty-second. As I write these words, a discussion is taking place on the Morning Joe program. Mike Barnacle has just wondered aloud whether or not Obama has Clinton's ability to "sit down with the Republicans." Mike!!! You're completely missing the point! What good did Clinton's "sitting down" with the GOP do us in the long run? What are the positive results all these years later? NAFTA? Have another sip. Sixty-five years after his death, we still benefit from FDR's New Deal - or what's left of it. What are the present-day benefits of Bubbah's so-called "New Covenant"? On second thought, don't ask, don't tell.

Let's give Bill Clinton credit. He was in many ways an able and intelligent chief executive. But ultimately he was a bitter disappointment because of his tendency to cave in to the right wing. We can only hope that Barack Obama doesn't make the same mistake.

There are a lot of good reasons why Franklin D. Roosevelt is usually rated by historians as one of the three greatest presidents in the history of this country. One of those reasons is because the guy loved a good fight - and never shied away from one. He never tried to appear "above it all". He loved to say, "We must take action. NOW!" And he took action, Buster - you'd better believe it. That is why most people hold him in such high regard today. FDR was a fighter.

Are you listening, Mr. President?

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

SUGGESTED READING:

The Three Roosevelts
by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn

If it is not available at your local, independently owned bookstore (go there first), you can probably pick it up on Amazon.com. It's a page-turner.

********************

For more recent postings on this cesspool of left wing propaganda, please go to the link below:

"The Rant" by Tom Degan

Happy reading, kiddies!

Was This a Great Country or What?

Fantastic news! Harry Reid has defeated Sharon Angle!

Other than that juicy tidbit the news is pretty bleak across the political landscape. The American people's lack of understanding with regard to the history of their country has always been frustrating enough. But their complete inability to even remember the last ten years makes you want to pull your hair out. Have they been asleep for the last decade? Apparently they have! Yesterday they pointed the proverbial pistol at their heads - AGAIN. Shit Mountain is about to undergo a massive mudslide - and we're all gonna get buried, baby! The political cataclysm is upon us. Welcome to the United States of Amnesia! Enjoy your stay!

Perhaps "amnesia" is not the proper diagnosis. Maybe "insanity" is the better term. "Insane" is what they call people who repeat the same mistake over and over, expecting a different result with each repetition. That works for me. Americans ees dah craziest peepole!

I have been silently (and shamefully) celebrating all night long. In fact I have no recollection of what happened after 10PM - the alcohol-induced buzz was that strong. And I have every reason to celebrate, thank you very much! I am, after all, one of the few people in this once-great nation that earns under two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars a year who will benefit from the electoral tragedy that occurred last evening. I have had delivered to my doorstep - gift wrapped, no less - at least two years of dynamite material. For someone who makes his or her name commenting on the train-wreck of American politics, this is a great time to be alive. The more pathetically dumbed-down this country becomes, the higher my stock rises. Thank you, America. Your utter fucking stupidity is my ultimate reward. I am humbled and grateful.

NOTE TO MY REPUBLICAN FRIENDS:
Now, folks, please try not to take that last paragraph too personally. I know every one of you are very intelligent, decent human beings. I wouldn't choose you as my friends were that not the case. But, given all that we now know about the nutty party you're registered with, a vote for the GOP yesterday was (and I say this without an ounce of equivocation) a monumentally, mind-numbingly stupid vote. Please, you need to turn off FOX Noise. There. I said it. Love ya!

Still it has to be conceded that the Democrats got exactly what they deserved on Election Day 2010. So many of them have spent the last two years running like frightened rats from the legacy of their party. Most of them refused to embrace the ideals of traditional liberalism - or even explain them - to their clueless constituency. In fact they ran from those ideals. If you happen to be driving down Route 9W in the vicinity of Hyde Park, NY this morning, a distinct rumbling can be clearly heard. If you're traveling north, the noise is coming from the rose garden of a mansion on your left. It is the sound of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt doing somersaults in their graves. They wouldn't recognize that worthless party today. The Dems have one thing to be thankful for, though. The carnage that was inflicted on them last night would have been much greater had Republican voters not foolishly nominated so many certified kooks during the primary season. Isn't life wonderful?

All across the board the results were too grim to even contemplate. A reactionary twit named Rand Paul will be representing Kentucky in the United States senate until at least the year 2017. Isn't that a lovely thought? This is the same jackass who came out against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I am a descendant of generations of Kentuckians. My maternal grandfather Walter Clements was a native of Louisville. That's a photograph of him on the left, taken when he was a young man. I've always been proud of my ancestral connection with that state. I'm not proud anymore. In fact I'm embarrassed by the association. Besides, their bourbon is overrated. Screw those people.

A special tip of the hat is due to the good folks of the great state of Wisconsin. Last night they tossed out one of the two greatest senators of my lifetime "for a pompous, lying, tea-sippin idiot who has stated his admiration for working conditions in friggin' China!" Those are the words of a correspondent of mine named Eloise Bradley. That's okay, Eloise. Russ Feingold was too good for those heartland hillbillies anyway. I have a funny feeling that they're going to miss him when he's gone. Assholes.

Wait! It gets worse! The people of Minnesota have re-elected Michelle Bachman. How a state that gave us Bob Dylan and Judy Garland can produce something as disgusting as that is a mystery that historians will be pondering down the ages, I'm sure.

The biggest disappointment last night (for me at least) occurred in New York state's nineteenth district. Two term congressman John Hall has been given the boot. Back in the seventies he was the lead singer and guitarist for the group Orleans. It was John who wrote and sang the soft rock standard Dance With Me ("Night is falling and I am calling - Dance with meeeee"). His defeat last night was cosmic payback for that little musical atrocity, I suppose. Still he was a good congressman and a smart guy. He got seriously stomped by a Tea Party robot and uber dingbat named Nan Hayworth. Nice.

Another local disappointment was the defeat of the candidate for NY State Senate, David Sager. He came close to ousting a twelve-year Republican incumbent named John Bonacic. It's a shame because he would have made an outstanding senator. Perhaps some day he shall. Sager won't be fading away anytime soon, that's for sure. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was about the outcome of this particular race. As far as local politics go, my candidates never win. The Hudson Valley/Catskill area of New York is one of the most beautiful places in the country. It has been the inspiration of generations of artists, writers, poets, and painters. The people who reside here are lovely. Just as nice as can be! But they're a bit dense - obviously.

"We have met the enemy and he is us."

-Walt Kelly

The voters were manipulated like silly putty this year. They actually believe that the mess their country finds itself in was created by Barack Obama - when in fact it wasn't. They think that Obama is a radical socialist - when in fact he's nothing of the sort. They even believe they're being taxed more by this president - when in fact ninety-five percent of them are being taxed less. Most of the people who describe themselves as "conservative" refuse to even acknowledge that the guy is an American citizen. When a citizenry find themselves as massively ill-informed as this, societal disaster is all-but-inevitable. Expect the same kind of persecution of this administration that dogged the Clinton White House twelve years ago. Count on it.

The results of last night's electoral disaster can be summed up very handily: On the second of November 2010, the American people committed economic suicide. They sent a message that they are upset at what has happened to their country. Their solution? Handing the House of Representatives back to the political party that is mostly responsible for the financial catastrophe they are now experiencing. I wish I were making this up. I'm not. They deserve everything that is going to happen to them. Everything.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

AFTERTHOUGHT:

Special thanks to cousin Jeremy Hook Degan for the photograph at the top of this piece. It speaks volumes. That's Jeremy on the right, eloquently expressing what I'm feeling at the moment. One picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Standing next to him in the photo is his brother Nick Degan. Don't I have the coolest family? Seriously!

SUGGESTED READING:

Fear and Loathing in America
by Hunter S. Thompson