Perhaps it`s my age...mid-sixties, or fatigue from decades-long fights for civil rights, women`s rights, social and economic justice. Maybe it`s the sickening occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan after the heartbreak of Vietnam. Maybe it`s knowing that so many Americans willingly overlook homeless children and veterans while they name every single American Idol winner. Whatever it is, I honestly can`t take any more of it. My feet are sore from marching and my heart is sick from watching.

This human, wildlife and environmental catastrophe in the Gulf is nothing short of a crime against nature and the responsibility rests on the shoulders of not only greedy, callous BP executives but every single Washington enabler and governmental "leader" that voted for, worked for, or supported deregulation in exchange for campaign backing or contributions. How the hell many more times are we going to dredge up excuses for gluttonous, shallow "leaders"? When every shrimper fisherman, and oysterman is sitting on the curb with a tin cup? When every textile worker ends up in a soup kitchen? We take real, good care of the fat cats (and other people that matter) in this country. Just check out some of the loopholes Congress designed. There may not be enough cash to repair the falling-down ceiling in an inner city school but there is always plenty for another bronze statue in a gerrymandered district or another load of clusterbombs.

As the oil-coated wildlife pile up down in Louisiana and elsewhere (like the dead soldiers and maimed children piled up in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the drowning victims piled up in New Orleans) we should ask ourselves how much lower we`ll allow the bar to go. How many more excuses will we come up with? How many more principles will we be willing to sacrifice?

I am one old liberal sickened and saddened by the state of my country. If we keep making excuses for the corporate takeover of our country then we should forgo the outrage when the big boys get their way and there's another disaster to deal with. Although there are many leaders that claim to be "for the working people" they almost always figure out a back room deal that favors anyone but the little people (aka middle class....aka us.)

Hey!,.. buck up Star,.. snap out of it...

No one can fix the world,... but everyone can do what they can...

Who is it here, has the tagline,..."Tryin' to be as good a man, as my dog thinks I am"?...
I love that...

The key to getting out of this will be to truly understand
our interconnectivity with every single person and living
being on earth and beyond, and the causes and implications
of all our actions, desires and aspirations and how each of
us is greatly responsible for all this mess mainly because of
1) our


I disagree.
I believe the way out is to get rid of the majority of the govt( You know, the parts not supported by the Constitution).
We need to say NO to the debt the criminals have hung around our collective necks. People need to quit worrying about whether or not someone is wearing a seatbelt & they need to be concerned with whether or not Monsanto is gonna have us all dead or dying in the next few years. If you own Monsanto stock, you are invested in your own demise..

...we can't spare the birds...

How 'bout just tar?...

Absolutely agree with you JOG.

The thing is that this is all very complex
and most people cannot handle complexity
anymore, and that's just the way they like it.

The term "we the sheeple" is no joke, today they
have everyone addicted to instant gratification
mindlessly running after the next darn dopamine
squirt and not caring about (or even understanding)
the real issues or what's at stake. We somehow
forgot how to take care of (and think for) ourselves
and it's here where the nanny-state stepped in and
did whatever they pleased while everyone applauded,
the result are all your banks, bp's and monsantos.


* Chuck Palahniuk once wrote: “I see all this potential,
and I see squandering. God darn it, an entire generation
pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars.
Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs
we hate so we can buy sh1t we don't need. We're the middle
children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no
Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual
war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised
on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires,
and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly
learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. uckf darnation,
man! uckf redemption! We are God's unwanted children? So be it!”

there needs to be some social responsibility taken by corporations, when it's not, the government should be allowed to step in. the argument is what social responsibilities we can all agree on. is the environment something we all agree on, and the answer is a clear no, there are plenty of corporations and people that would gladly pillage and plunder the environment  for profit, and there are states like Texas that would love to let them, Texas if fighting the EPA now for even less control over "Texas Air"  I breathe that air dang it, when I drive by a refinery, I wish I had a gas mask in the car or bike half the time, guess who's the main contributor of over the legal limit of air pollution? yep, bp.  bp should be marked as a clear enemy of the environment and safety, all they care about is their profit. period. should they care about profit, yes, should it be their only concern, no. they are killing people and the environment for profit, period. I wonder how many other corporations are doing the same thing, as long as they can buy us all out with cheap products and buying votes and politicians with campaign donations and lobbyists, there needs to be a change in how politicians are allowed to get their money while in office AND after they get out of office.

There needs to be some social responsibility taken by corporations,

Agreed!
Plus, we all need to take responsibility for our own actions as well.

This is good stuff & I believe it's a step in the right direction if we ever want to make a difference. We've all gotta learn to stand together for the good we wish to accomplish.


Side note, since BP was brought up... There's been a lot of talk about boycotting BP. They also own Castrol oil, which USED TO BE my oil of choice. No more BP for me!

Yeah, I knew you were quoting LostArtist. I don't necessarily agree with what he posted about the government being allowed to step in, but I fully agree that corporations need to take responsibility. You're right, it would be nice... You're also right that it's not likely to happen without us punishing them. That's why I added the little blurb about boycotting BP. The sad part is we don't have a well educated & informed population. I think Starlifter stated something about the general public knows more about who won American Idol then the current state of affairs... That is so true & makes me sick! Ever seen Jay Leno do the Jaywalking? Those idiots don't even know who the vice president is!! And we expect these people to vote? Let alone make ethical decisions in the world??

I was merely touching on something I thought we all could agreed on... Was I that far off?