When you try to surround yourself with people who believe what you believe, you end up with groupthink, which is how Bush and his neoconservative handlers managed to get the country into two unnecessary wars and nation building projects. They were so right and so smart that there wasn't any way that things could go really wrong. Now, a trillion or so dollars later, the lid is still off these Pandora's boxes. The following negative outcomes of groupthnk pretty much sum up Bush's administrations and would be the hallmark of any neo-Republican (see: Beck and Palin) administration.
Examining few alternatives
Not being critical of each other's ideas
Not examining early alternatives
Not seeking expert opinion
Being highly selective in gathering information
Not having contingency plans
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
From Twitter - Just In
When Ron Paul rhetorically asked at CPAC 10 what the Republican Party should stand for, someone yelled out, "White power!"
CPAC = Conservative Political Action Committee.
WOW just WOW. The negative karma rolls on.
CPAC = Conservative Political Action Committee.
WOW just WOW. The negative karma rolls on.
True Store - Debbie Taylor Cooke
True Story by Debbie Taylor Cooke
Someone who I am honored to call a friend
The other day I was out walking when I was approached by a familiar face. His mom, brother and a friend where in the distance. I had seen and spoken to all of them many times. I knew he looked annoyed, but I figured I would ignore it. He started voicing his unhappiness until he sounded violent. His family and friend heard him and they ran over and started getting really mad and violent also. His mother is usually the nicest lady, but she figured if her son was upset that she should be upset also. I did not understand their anger and I tried to walk on. They all started grabbing at me to get my attention and I slipped. They got even angrier and grabbed at by coat and legs, ripping my coat. I am a person that doesn't believe in fighting, but knew I had to get up and away. I had a bag with a box in my hand and started swinging it at them to get them to leave me alone and called for help. They backed off ......when their owner my friend came out and they all calmed down immediately . They are dogs. How many times do we do the same thing? Getting upset without even knowing why, following a crowd or friends. Getting caught up in others fear, to the point we could do and say what is not in our human nature. Think before we lash out at others whether it is a political party, or someone else's drama. I am lucky that it only took a kind voice to shift the situation I was in, and bring everyone back to the moment. The next time you hear someone in anger, maybe your voice is the voice to bring them back into the moment. The moment to feel compassion.
Someone who I am honored to call a friend
The other day I was out walking when I was approached by a familiar face. His mom, brother and a friend where in the distance. I had seen and spoken to all of them many times. I knew he looked annoyed, but I figured I would ignore it. He started voicing his unhappiness until he sounded violent. His family and friend heard him and they ran over and started getting really mad and violent also. His mother is usually the nicest lady, but she figured if her son was upset that she should be upset also. I did not understand their anger and I tried to walk on. They all started grabbing at me to get my attention and I slipped. They got even angrier and grabbed at by coat and legs, ripping my coat. I am a person that doesn't believe in fighting, but knew I had to get up and away. I had a bag with a box in my hand and started swinging it at them to get them to leave me alone and called for help. They backed off ......when their owner my friend came out and they all calmed down immediately . They are dogs. How many times do we do the same thing? Getting upset without even knowing why, following a crowd or friends. Getting caught up in others fear, to the point we could do and say what is not in our human nature. Think before we lash out at others whether it is a political party, or someone else's drama. I am lucky that it only took a kind voice to shift the situation I was in, and bring everyone back to the moment. The next time you hear someone in anger, maybe your voice is the voice to bring them back into the moment. The moment to feel compassion.
The anti-Crist comes to CPA-- info taken from, Washington Post
Do not elect this man, please.
When will there be a progressive, liberal, Cuban in politics?
These conservative Cubans are ruled by fear & anger. Being a Cuban myself this makes me sad, but I continue to work at making more people aware that fear & anger produce only negativity and despair. The hatred stated by this young person below is a reflection of this and you can palpate it as you read his quotes.
- Margarita
Republican Marco Rubio is anti-Crist challenging Florida governor in Senate The anti-Crist came to Washington on Thursday.
In the ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park, they acted as if he were the Messiah. His name: Marco Rubio, the far-right challenger to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in that state's Republican Senate primary. He was the kickoff speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and he delivered just the message they wanted to hear: anti-taxes, pro Gitmo, anti-Obama, pro-waterboarding.
The 38-year-old Cuban American vowed to fight "every step of the way" against President Obama and Democrats who want to "abandon America's free enterprise economy" and "convert America into a submissive member of the international community."
The audience erupted in cheers of "Marco! Marco!"
"That 'Marco' cheer always worries me, because I'm always afraid that someone is going to starting screaming, 'Polo,' " he joked, referring to the swimming-pool game.
Moments later, he was talking about the need to kill terrorists and capture survivors.
"Waterboard them!" an audience member shouted.
The anti-Crist smiled. "Remember the Marco Polo thing I told you?" His audience howled. "We will get useful information from them," Rubio went on, to more cheers, "and then we will bring them to justice in front of a military tribunal in Guantanamo!"
The house went wild.
Celebrating the infamous military prison once would have been extraordinary -- even President George W. Bush said he wanted to close it -- but the delight about waterboarding and Gitmo served as a reminder of where the conservative movement has gone.
Rubio and the other CPAC speakers positioned themselves as outsiders to the political establishment -- Rubio derided the "political class," while others condemned the "Washington establishment" and the "political establishment" -- but in reality conservatives have become the political establishment, or at least the Republican establishment.
The chairman of the Republican National Committee describes himself as a "tea partier." Republican lawmakers in both houses of Congress have voted with near unanimity against every item Obama has proposed, and even the few moderates remaining have been forced to march in unison out of fear of a conservative primary challenger. The Republican Party has quit the country club for CPAC.
"I've been criticized by some of my Republican colleagues for saying I'd rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who believe in the principles of freedom than 60 who don't believe in anything," Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) boasted to Thursday's crowd. "Let me make myself even clearer: I'd rather have 30 Marco Rubios in the Senate than 60 Arlen Specters."
As the huge crowd was still streaming in, Cleta Mitchell of the American Conservative Union Foundation opened the conference with the words, "Welcome to the vast right-wing conspiracy." Later, former vice president Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance, joining his daughter Liz and delivering his forecast that Obama will be "a one-term president." Mitt Romney pronounced the Democrats "liberal neo-monarchists."
DeMint treated the assembly to accusations that the Democrats are sponsoring "discredited socialist policies that have been the enemy of freedom for centuries." He warned that the nation is "teetering toward tyranny," made reference to his famous quote that Obama would meet his "Waterloo," and said of the president: "Just because you are good on TV doesn't mean you can sell socialism to freedom-loving Americans."
But the real star was the Florida Senate candidate. Even before Rubio took the stage, the crowd booed Crist's name when DeMint mentioned it in his introduction. The devil may wear Prada, but the anti-Crist wore a flag pin on his lapel, a Bush-blue tie and a boyish smile. He flashed a victory sign and then began a speech that had so much red meat it was raw.
The blizzards in Washington may have been "the best thing to happen to the American economy in 12 months," Rubio said, because "Congress couldn't meet to vote," the "regulatory agencies couldn't meet to set any regulations" and Obama "couldn't find anywhere to set up a teleprompter to announce new taxes."
He described Obama and the Democrats' worldview: opposing capitalism, blaming the United States for terrorists, and using "a severe recession as an excuse to implement the statist policies that they have longed for."
But no more. "From tea parties to the election in Massachusetts, we are witnessing the single greatest political pushback in American history," he exulted, adding that "2010 is a referendum on the very identity of our nation."
The anti-Crist took a shot at his rival and the shrinking band of Republican moderates. "America already has a Democrat party; it doesn't need two Democrat parties," he said. Rubio's agenda: across-the-board tax cuts, lower corporate tax rates, and abolishing taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest and inheritance. Oh, and reducing the debt, too.
The crowd reacted as if the anti-Crist had preached the gospel. A man wearing a tricorn hat and carrying a Don't Tread On Me flag repeatedly shouted "Amen!" A woman yelled "Praise God!" And the others leapt to their feet in waves of ovations.
"I was standing backstage with tears," DeMint told the crowd after Rubio's speech. "What a treasure."
When will there be a progressive, liberal, Cuban in politics?
These conservative Cubans are ruled by fear & anger. Being a Cuban myself this makes me sad, but I continue to work at making more people aware that fear & anger produce only negativity and despair. The hatred stated by this young person below is a reflection of this and you can palpate it as you read his quotes.
- Margarita
Republican Marco Rubio is anti-Crist challenging Florida governor in Senate The anti-Crist came to Washington on Thursday.
In the ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park, they acted as if he were the Messiah. His name: Marco Rubio, the far-right challenger to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in that state's Republican Senate primary. He was the kickoff speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and he delivered just the message they wanted to hear: anti-taxes, pro Gitmo, anti-Obama, pro-waterboarding.
The 38-year-old Cuban American vowed to fight "every step of the way" against President Obama and Democrats who want to "abandon America's free enterprise economy" and "convert America into a submissive member of the international community."
The audience erupted in cheers of "Marco! Marco!"
"That 'Marco' cheer always worries me, because I'm always afraid that someone is going to starting screaming, 'Polo,' " he joked, referring to the swimming-pool game.
Moments later, he was talking about the need to kill terrorists and capture survivors.
"Waterboard them!" an audience member shouted.
The anti-Crist smiled. "Remember the Marco Polo thing I told you?" His audience howled. "We will get useful information from them," Rubio went on, to more cheers, "and then we will bring them to justice in front of a military tribunal in Guantanamo!"
The house went wild.
Celebrating the infamous military prison once would have been extraordinary -- even President George W. Bush said he wanted to close it -- but the delight about waterboarding and Gitmo served as a reminder of where the conservative movement has gone.
Rubio and the other CPAC speakers positioned themselves as outsiders to the political establishment -- Rubio derided the "political class," while others condemned the "Washington establishment" and the "political establishment" -- but in reality conservatives have become the political establishment, or at least the Republican establishment.
The chairman of the Republican National Committee describes himself as a "tea partier." Republican lawmakers in both houses of Congress have voted with near unanimity against every item Obama has proposed, and even the few moderates remaining have been forced to march in unison out of fear of a conservative primary challenger. The Republican Party has quit the country club for CPAC.
"I've been criticized by some of my Republican colleagues for saying I'd rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who believe in the principles of freedom than 60 who don't believe in anything," Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) boasted to Thursday's crowd. "Let me make myself even clearer: I'd rather have 30 Marco Rubios in the Senate than 60 Arlen Specters."
As the huge crowd was still streaming in, Cleta Mitchell of the American Conservative Union Foundation opened the conference with the words, "Welcome to the vast right-wing conspiracy." Later, former vice president Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance, joining his daughter Liz and delivering his forecast that Obama will be "a one-term president." Mitt Romney pronounced the Democrats "liberal neo-monarchists."
DeMint treated the assembly to accusations that the Democrats are sponsoring "discredited socialist policies that have been the enemy of freedom for centuries." He warned that the nation is "teetering toward tyranny," made reference to his famous quote that Obama would meet his "Waterloo," and said of the president: "Just because you are good on TV doesn't mean you can sell socialism to freedom-loving Americans."
But the real star was the Florida Senate candidate. Even before Rubio took the stage, the crowd booed Crist's name when DeMint mentioned it in his introduction. The devil may wear Prada, but the anti-Crist wore a flag pin on his lapel, a Bush-blue tie and a boyish smile. He flashed a victory sign and then began a speech that had so much red meat it was raw.
The blizzards in Washington may have been "the best thing to happen to the American economy in 12 months," Rubio said, because "Congress couldn't meet to vote," the "regulatory agencies couldn't meet to set any regulations" and Obama "couldn't find anywhere to set up a teleprompter to announce new taxes."
He described Obama and the Democrats' worldview: opposing capitalism, blaming the United States for terrorists, and using "a severe recession as an excuse to implement the statist policies that they have longed for."
But no more. "From tea parties to the election in Massachusetts, we are witnessing the single greatest political pushback in American history," he exulted, adding that "2010 is a referendum on the very identity of our nation."
The anti-Crist took a shot at his rival and the shrinking band of Republican moderates. "America already has a Democrat party; it doesn't need two Democrat parties," he said. Rubio's agenda: across-the-board tax cuts, lower corporate tax rates, and abolishing taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest and inheritance. Oh, and reducing the debt, too.
The crowd reacted as if the anti-Crist had preached the gospel. A man wearing a tricorn hat and carrying a Don't Tread On Me flag repeatedly shouted "Amen!" A woman yelled "Praise God!" And the others leapt to their feet in waves of ovations.
"I was standing backstage with tears," DeMint told the crowd after Rubio's speech. "What a treasure."
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