For me angry is not a strong enough word.

[angrycarpenter]

I do not want handouts I want a job.

If I had a job I could pay my bills, buy more food, pay my rent, pay my taxes, go out to eat a couple of times a month, buy gas for my car, give a little to charity, and hold my head up high knowing that I am making my own way. Multiply that by a couple of million, Republicans voted against it because it will work.

Republicans want us to suffer for voting them out, I say screw them. When I see that they voted against putting people back to work I know for a fact that they do not care for working people one bit.

I actually read the economic stimulus bill, If nothing else it will put some people back to work, it could not possibly fail on that point. What it fails to do is put money directly in rich peoples pockets without accountability, we have already seen how that works. What they really hate is the strict oversight written into it. Every dollar is to be accountable to the public on a website. No chance to funnel a couple of million into a country club or a private, exclusive, upscale anything. This is for the working man and they are showing the same concern for us they always have by voting no.

I am done crying about my personal life, Unemployment, late notices, no jobs to be had, the sheer impossibility of getting unemployment are all problems that many are facing right now. Now I am just angry.

I am angry at those who let our jobs evaporate in the name of "free trade".

I am angry at those who sold a bunch of unethical loans and then leveraged them a hundred times and then blamed the victims for being stupid enough to fall for them.

I am angry at those who started an incredibly costly war just make money off of it.

I am angry at the people who actually thought the economy would be so much better if no one ever did anything to protect it.

I am angry at people who say they love America but hate most of the people who live here.

I am pissed at EVERYONE who puts party before country.

I am totally livid at the banks who took our bailout money and loaned none of it out.

I am almost in a blind rage at Cheney and Bush for slashing taxes on rich people and running huge deficits for the rest of us to pay for.

Finally I am about to stroke out at the thought of the house republicans trying to stand in the way of putting me and millions of others back to work. How could these people think they are helping America by doing nothing? NOTHING! These people are monsters. They want Obama to fail even if it means a years long depression. They intend to stand in the way of anything that might make Obama look good and by extension put me and many others back to work.

I merely disliked republican policies before and saved my anger for the the ones who led them like the selfish sheep they are. But now I totally hate every last one of the bastards who in the face of a crisis like we have never known in our lifetimes still cling to partisanship in the hopes that our president will fail.

And most of all I hate Rush Limbaugh. More than any other American I hate him. Even more than Bush. I hate him and he hates me because I work for a living.

I am normally a forgiving person but there will never come a day when I will feel any different.

[Idealism]

1. Well said K & R

[lenegal]

57. dp

nt

[tabatha]

2. I feel for you.

Whenever I think of the last 8 years, I feel sick.

After the Iraq war started, I used to wake up in the morning and think of what the Iraqis were going through, and feeling totally helpless at not being able to do anything.

You should write a book about what you have been through. A ton of books should be written about what the Republicans have wrought. So that people never forget. Ever.

[nxylas]

41. Great idea

I have a title for you: "R is for Republican, R is for Recession". And I don't just mean the Bush recession, I mean the Hoover and Reagan ones too. The message needs to be hammered home that whenever Republican foxes are put in charge of the economic henhouse, the chorus of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" starts up.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

3. My you are angry.

Just trying to lighten the mood, I hope things improve for you and everyone else who is struggling.

David

[GetTheRightVote]

4. I could not have said it better myself and so many of us should be thinking

along the same lines. They do not care what happens to this public or it's nation and that is just a fact they have shown us for many years now.

:kick:

[rusty quoin]

5. From one carpenter to another...a big K&R.

[Arctic Dave]

6. I feel like the Emperor on Star Wars

"Let your anger flow..."

[The Traveler]

7. Don't be so pissed off

Anger drives men to foolish things. Cool down. Get frigid skulled. Stay frosty.

Things are going to get bad. Let's face it ... class war has been going on for a long time and we have been on the receiving end of it. We need to be strategic in our thought, and when victorious (because WE WILL BE) we must be both realistic and merciful.

For now, we still have a small but blessed chance to avoid blood in the streets. We have to work these issues with images of Gaza in mind ... if things get too bad for too many people, our streets could wind up looking like that. We don't wanna go there. In fact, we don't want to let things get so bad for so many people that such a scene becomes a probability, because that long precursor is every bit as horrible as the catharsis.

So we have to stick together. We have to work for every step forward we can make. We have to back Barak's play right now. The plan ain't perfect but, my friend, the unattainable ideal of perfection is indeed the enemy of the good. We have to **show** our support.

It is time to make noise.

Trav

[tabatha]

8. It is better that he express his anger in words than....

It was an angry electorate that threw the bumbs out.

Angry is good, if it is channeled properly.

[The Traveler]

10. Yes

But anger can also trigger some very nasty reactions in the body that are downright unhealthful.

Dealing with anger ... using it and not being abused by it ... is a delicate task, and each of us must find our own way of doing that.

Trav

[angrycarpenter]

9. I thought this post would be cathartic.

I am not a violent man under any circumstances but the frustration of wanting to work and not being able to find any kind of job preys on my mind. What makes it worse is knowing that it all could have been prevented if the people in charge would have had some foresight or at least some oversight. The party is over and like always it is up to everyday people to foot the bill and clean up the mess.

[The Traveler]

11. It was a great post

And it really moved me ... because I feel so similarly. F**k. I feel EXACTLY the same way. It WAS preventable. It DIDN'T have to go down like this. Yeah. I feel ya.

And these times scare me, because there is a lot of anger out there, and people have a right to be angry. When too many people get too angry ... well, we humans have a depressing tendency towards violence.

Anger can motivate to action ... but it can also elevate blood pressure and cloud reason. Our purpose is clear ... we are definitely on the same side ... but to achieve it we must remain clear in our minds.

I read you post and was concerned for you. I did not mean to sound critical. Please forgive me if I expressed my purposes poorly ...

Trav

[bvar22]

42. It wasn't just "preventable".

It was predictable and inevitable.

Thousands of knowledgeable people from Ross Perot to Dennis Kucinich predicted this outcome from:

Free Trade

Outsourcing

Privatization

De-Regulation

Conglomeration

[Two Americas]

66. nonsense

(This may sound more harsh than I intend it to be, The Traveler, but I am venting too.)

The danger is from complacency and immobility and silence, not from anger getting out of control.

Please stop counseling complacency and patience and child-like trust in leaders. The emergency calls for exactly the opposite.

Gaza happened because if aggression, not anger. Whether or not there is violence here is in the hands of those with wealth and power, not our hands. All-out war is already being waged against us. We must band together, fight back and protect ourselves.

Submitting and passively waiting for relief is not "peace," it is suicide.

"Don't get angry" is what the Abolitionists were told, the slaves were told, and the early Labor leaders were told, what the poor have always been told, what everyone throughout history who was fighting for justice was told.

People have good reason to be angry, and we need to express that anger more, not less. People need to know that their anger is legitimate and that they are not alone. "Chilling" is for the privileged few who are relatively immune from the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, or think they are, and who can indulge in the luxury of analyzing their own personal emotional states as though that was all that mattered.

[The Traveler]

67. No worries, mate.

And you are definitely right about this ... we must band together. Or we will surely be separately thrown under the bus at the earliest convenience.

[Two Americas]

69. embalmed

Americans are emotionally embalmed. That is the problem.

Who is served by a public that is "balanced" and patient and focused on their own personal emotional blandness and passivity? Why is that sort of disconnected and unresponsive flat emotional state to be valued and sought?

[The Traveler]

99. We are either miscommunicating

or you see rage as the only valid response. I think we are miscommunicating.

Anger can motivate, but it also can cloud judgment, devalue reason, and trigger a whole lot of bad stuff in the body. I spent a lot of time over the years studying martial arts. I've learned that if during a fight I can really piss you off, I am more than halfway to defeating you.

I understand why people are angry ... do you think I am immune? But I choose not to live from anger, nor to become its instrument. My anger is MY song, to played at a time and tempo of MY choosing. My opponents will not get to make that choice for me.

I propose discipline, not apathy. This is not turning it inward ... that leads to depression, or exploding rage down the line. It is learning to live with it and not being ruled by it ... to keep company with it and use it as an ally, rather than suppress it or allow it to drive me into a half cocked action.

The conservatives, too are angry ... and more than this they are afraid. Have you heard Rush lately? The fear and rage in that fat bastard's voice is palpable. He lashes out, with ill chosen words that in an unintended fashion reveal to all who have ears that the Conservative agenda has absolutely nothing to do with the general welfare of this nation. You and I already knew that ... but now, there are many others who have gotten the message. Keep talkin', Rush. You win us new Democrats every time you open your foul mouth.

Let their anger and fear gnaw at them and drive them to stupid words and deeds. I propose that we remain cool and purposeful. We are in this together. The righteous fight is not over just because we won a few elections. And the best way we can bring the conservatives that which they have most feared is to band together, work it together, and make a little progress. And then, make a little more ...

Trav

[Two Americas]

102. we see things differently

"I choose not to live from anger, nor to become its instrument. My anger is MY song, to played at a time and tempo of MY choosing. My opponents will not get to make that choice for me."

This is the modern self-actualization, individualized doctrine, promoted as an approach to effecting social change.

I see that as the liberal version of Reagan bootstrap rugged individualism and libertarianism, and utterly reject it.

Of course "the Conservative agenda has absolutely nothing to do with the general welfare of this nation." The Republicans represent the wealthy and powerful few, work for them, answer to them, and always have.

The people know this. It is the activists in the party and the liberal organizations who haven't quite gotten the message yet.

We are in an emergency. There is no time for the weak and compromising "baby steps" and "these things take time" political finessing and game playing.

Strive to be a cool, calm, collected, balanced, and centered individual, if you like. I am one angry and resolute mf-er from here on out.

I don't think we lack or need cleverness or urbane sophistication or suave maneuvers. I think we lack guts and determination and clarity.

...

[davekriss]

160. An aside: I love it that Olberman...

...refers to Rush as "the commedian Rush Limbaugh". When I hear that I think of his audience, too, with round red noses pasted to their faces, garish makup, tufts of hair sticking out sideways over oversized ruffled collars, heads capped with a little green hats with plastic garish flowers sticking out of the hat bands. All the while knowing that underneath the collective mask they are stewing with perverse and dangerous rage toward everyone not them. THAT represents, to me, the internal Spirit of Rush and his audience. There is no hope for any of them.

[Fire1]

118. Trav, I "ll tell you this and I'm not trying to be facetious, but if they

start laying off postal workers (talk of mail delivery down to five days a week,) don't be surprised if that 'sets it off' for many around the country, if you know what I mean.

[PassingFair]

65. I loved it so much I printed it out for my husband to read.

I am this angry every day.

As a poster down thread so eloquently
states, this situation was both
"predictable
and avoidable".

And yet I still have idiots at my office
complaining about how much union workers
make.

:puke:

[earcandle]

130. I hear you angrycarpenter! And I feel the same way.

It is hard to experience.

Maybe we need to do what the French are doing.  Just do a
massive walk out.  Plan it so we have enough food and the rent
is paid for a month.  And if they retaliate, then we start our
own economy on a trade basis.  

Obama should create nationalized banks who can buy our debt
and charge us 5% interest, and give us jobs to pay it off.  Or
credits if we do service until we can find jobs.  

He also should be doing more than reprimanding the theft of
TARP money.  He should be prosecuting and taking the money
back.  The banks obviously scammed us.  Let us put the Federal
Reserve under the Treasury Dept as Kucinich suggests.

We got to take a stand against the Machiavellian crap and
don't buy into any ideas that "class" makes any
difference at all.  I have never been impressed with those I
have met who have money. They seem no different than anyone
else, except when times are hard they are more greedy.  We on
the other hand tend to be way more generous.  

We really need middle and lower class people in government. 
We keep them honest. 

[The Wielding Truth]

39. I think it takes anger to spark true correction. Repub's are trying to

finish off what is left of our country!!!They waited to long missed and make every wrong decision,now they want to take away any chance to save us. Anger should be our cry!

[Two Americas]

68. of course

This obsession people have with their own personal emotional state, and their commitment to achieving some sort of bland and disconnected and passive mental stance, is itself dysfunctional.

Anger, sadness, and other "bad" emotions are the sane human response to what is going on.

[Enthusiast]

12. K&R Millions of us agree

with you. Now if we could only have a voice (like yours) in the media.

[1776Forever]

13. Yes Yes Yes! If it wasn't so damn cold right now we should go to D.C. & protest these AHs!

They don't give a crap about the little guy out here - they are only speaking to their "base". Who are their base? Those sheepish people who follow the greed and lower human species like Rush Limbaugh!

[HamdenRice]

14. "These people are monsters." That says it all. They want a collapse to blame Obama

And if the recovery plan works, that's a catastrophe for them. Just like the New Deal put the Repugs out of power for a generation.

They would rather the country experience a collapse and complete misery for their partisan purposes.

They are monsters, more precisely traitors, and there's no way of logically explaining the behavior of monsters.

[Waiting For Everyman]

15. I am so right there with you on every point.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Don't forget to include those idiot working class morons who continue to vote

against their own best financial interest, simply because they believe their leaders who tell them that if they just work hard enough, one day they will be among the top 1% in this country. Never mind that all the policies their leaders enact goes against that bull crap lie! Those people are who I hate. Morans!

[Ishoutandscream2]

80. Totally, totally agree

and don't forget Joe Middle Class, or his hero, Joe the Fucking Plumber. They will benefit from an Obama administration, yet they still vote Republican. I'm surrounded by these neanderthals.

[Two Americas]

114. don't blame the people

The Democrats have repeatedly failed to take leadership, fight for the people, and communicate a clear, powerful, and comprehensible alternative.

The wealthy and powerful few, and their agents in politics, have always been there and have always promoted the same program. That never changes. You might as well blame the rain for the failure to repair your own roof. But something has changed, hasn't it? What might that be?

To this day, there are far too many among us who are reluctant to tell the truth, side with the working people, and fight back. Were we to do that the people would be right there with us.

No Democrat should ever say "idiot working class morons." That contradicts every traditional principle and ideal of the party, the political Left, and the organized Labor movement.

"Idiotic upscale gentrified white collar liberal and Democratic party activists, selling out the working class" would be a far more accurate statement. But were I to say that, there would be a chorus of outrage expressed by people here.

How come?

[bobbolink]

126. One quibble...........

"To this day, there are far too many among us who are reluctant to tell the truth, side with the working people, and fight back."

For those of us unable or too old to work, this stings.

EVERY TIME.

[Two Americas]

127. it shouldn't

But I can see that it does. You are right and thanks for bringing my attention to it.

By "working people" I mean those who are not independently wealthy, working or not.

When we say "poor people" many here cannot relate to that.

What do you think, Bobbie? What do you recommend? We are all in the same boat - how do we convey that in a powerful and clear way?

[leftstreet]

143. An interesting discussion

I've always been fascinated by how, throughout history, MANY and varied are the terms to describe the lower and middle classes.

Sadly, nothing but a labeling war among those with the most in common.

[bobbolink]

151. Yes, it's a "labeling war". And those of us left out SUFFER.

When "progressives" add to our invisibility, it HURTS.

I shortchanged us when I said it was a "quibble".

It is anything BUT.

[bobbolink]

150. It "shouldn't"? Why "shouldn't" I feel what I am feeling?

When humans who are hurting and suffering are left out of the equation, of COURSE it bothers them and hurts them.

We are NOT working, and you know that in this society that is a great discount. Only working people have any worth.

And, no, we are NOT all in the same boat. Working people have a lot of standing over us bums.

You know one DUer who was injured in a word accident, and can't work now. You know how much that has taken from his sense of being, ESPECIALLY as a man, who now can't provide for his family. You know what this things do to people, especially MEN, who are taught that their only value is in what they "DO". People KILL themselves for things like this.

Another way this ignoring non-working people can cause death is in the same "divide and conquer" that I keep trying to get people to be aware of. "House children first". "House vets first" "House working poor first". Dividing poor people in this way not only plays right into the hands of the power people, but it ALWAYS leaves out disabled people. Do you EVER hear "House disabled people first?" NO???? Isn't that strange... we are left out of EVERYTHING.

There have been two attempts to create low-income housing in the area where I am... and BOTH of them were ONLY for "the working poor". The rest of us can stay homeless until we die. And do you think it doesn't affect the lives of those of us who are left out of this equation? Of course we are affected because we know we don't count... we are passed over. But what does it do to us physically to continue to be homeless while others are served first? Do you not know that our health suffers? Do you not know that people DIE waiting for housing?

As long as you continue to verbally leave me out of the equation, I will bring it to your attention.

To paraphrase another woman, "Ain't I a person?"

[Two Americas]

155. I agree

It shouldn't because I didn't intend to separate out working class people who are actually working from working class people who are not. It shouldn't, because we should all be on the same team, and because the most vulnerable among us need to be helped first. But it does, and I appreciate you pointing out my mistake to me.

You are right on everything you are saying here.

[davekriss]

161. The times demand a million man March on Washington

We should converge on DC singing

We Want Peace!
When do we want it?
We want it now!

We want Justice!
When do we want it?
We want it now!

We want Jobs!
When do we want it?
We want it now!

We want Healthcare!
When do we want it?
We want it now!

Over and over again, the ROAR of We the People in Washington! No stopping until we get what we want.

Imagine millions coming and going for the cause so that at any moment 1 million on the Mall -- chanting, playing, listening to music, drawing constant press coverage from around the world, effectively shutting Washington down as power watches it all unfold, the masses not leaving until we get what we want. Power is indeed in people -- if we choose to act.

I can dream, can't I? :)

[Beavker]

17. Agreed

My first reply as a recent sign up. I agree with you. I feel this way every single day. I live in a Red State, work in a Red Industry, and am surrounded by blind faith Repukes. I have to listen to GOPCNBC all day long in my work area. Articles like this and this site have been a Godsend and basically an escape to reality for me and I appreciate it greatly. A person in my area, when commenting on the incredible inauguration this year, actually said, "I don't see what the big deal is". I guess if you are a bigot, then no, you would not. My son (7 mos.) will have a Black Man as his first President of the United States. It's a big deal. Another die hard GOP backer that uses the term "they" when referring to Democrats, didn't even know who Ron Paul was. I almost shit myself. I had to bite my tongue as I do everyday. I got to see Rush on CNBC today, so I was fired up and had to go to the DU for solace! Thanks for the great articles and small slice of the outside world I can find here! :)

[angrycarpenter]

18. May I be the first to welcome you to DU

I live in Ala and I know just what you saying. If not for DU I would have went crazy a long time ago.

[wolfgangmo]

23. So where do you live?

Given that most states are now not red anymore then where are you living? Alaska?

[angrycarpenter]

27. Alabama nt.

edit: sorry thought you were talking to me, I was wondering that myself.

[Two Americas]

74. good for you bama

Beautiful state, many good memories for me from visiting there over the years as a performer. Alabama is much maligned, but the toughest and most courageous leftists in the country are right there, fighting the good fight.

Mobile, Montgomery, Bessemer, Jasper, Brewton, Monroeville, Hartselle, Gadsden, Birmingham, Florence, Dothan, Troy. Lots of good folks.

[Beavker]

29. NE

Nebraska. Though I do live in the district/county where Obama did win a the single electoral vote (NE splits the electoral) despite the rest of the state's electoral going to the GOP. Probably didn't get much press, but I thought it was great!

[Broken_Hero]

105. Welcome to DU,

Cheers, :toast:

[SalviaBlue]

19. I'm right there with you angrycarpenter

recommended

[newtothegame]

20. I agree, the stimulus will put some people back to work...

but $30 billion for infrastructure out of over $800 billion? And some of that going to infrastructure like ATV trails? Did this need to be so rushed that we couldn't look over it and debate it?

[Blue_Tires]

21. wow...just wow

you add in a line about credit card debt and student loans, and I'd SWEAR you were eavesdropping on my conversations with friends...this is damn near a word-for-word copy

[angrycarpenter]

26. I could have added crimes to the list all night.

But typing is horrible tedious chore to me. My brain goes 90mph but I can only type at a snail's pace.

[HillWilliam]

22. K&R

Good to see you still here and still fighting, A/C. I'm angry as hell for the same reasons. I can't imagine all the mental gymnastics it takes for pukes to sit around and sell out their country, their fellow human beings, and everything that isn't theirs and isn't nailed down, just so they can line their own pockets. I don't know what it is about folks who'll put blind faith in snake-oil preachahs who are either in it for themselves or are GOP minions, and either way openly make a lovely work-free, sweat-free, tax-free living across the backs of fools. Yet fools go for snake-oil woo-woo GOP preachahs and purveyors of hatred and destruction, follow them right off the cliff -- and call us crazy for having a sense of history, a sense of consequences, a sense of humanity, and a healthy sense of self-preservation.

Lordy, I don't know. All I do know is how to keep putting one foot in front of the other one, since that's all I've been doing since I got on this earth. The only thing that seems different to me now is that I can't tell if the crazy bastards have really gotten crazier, or if they're just more out with it.

--Rev

[Ikonoklast]

24. Got your back, brother.

We Are Legion.


:grr:

[CitizenPatriot]

25. Brilliant -- thank you for saying it for me!

when I'm pissed, I make phone calls. Otherwise the anger burns inside of me and does nothing but harm my health (and god knows I can't afford that).

Yesterday it was the FCC. The day before that it was Rush's sponsors. Today, it was Republican Rush Limbaugh Obstructionists who are playing the blame game while people in this country are DYING.

I have a friend - single mom, three kids, no work in her state (hardest hit in the country) but she has managed to hang onto a job that pays 150 a week, dad doesn't pay child support because he is out of work -- this college educated, hard working, kind, generous woman just stole 20 in groceries and got arrested. Her first ever violation of any law. The kids were hungry. She's scared. Now they are threatening her with all kinds of crap. She stole food. She was so humiliated to tell me this.

Aside from the fact that I would have helped her if I had known (her pride got in the way), this makes me so sad and angry.

And yet....Karl Rove doesn't have to answer to his subpoena. And the Repubs sit on the side line playing the blame game while children are starving in this country -- children of hard working Americans!!!!!!! These are not lazy people!!!! People are freezing to death!!!

It's Call a Republican Senator Day in my house.


http://www.senate.gov/index.htm

over to the right, you can pick a state.

[Fire1]

50. CitizenPatriot, you must be referring to Michigan! I, too, write

letters, e-mails and make phone calls. I have posted many e-mails and blogs on Washington.gov and Change.gov before that. I have never done this much communicating with elected officials in my life, but it is the only means, thus far, by which we can be heard. It may be a temporary remedy but at least it makes you feel better for a short time.

[CitizenPatriot]

52. Yes, I refer to Michigan:-(

I have many friends there who are suffering terribly -- but nothing has made me so sad as hearing about the WWII vet, my grandfather's age, who died due to lack of heat because he couldn't pay his bills.

Meanwhile, back in kindergarten, the whining Repubs are insisting Obama wine, dine and date them before they sign anything to save American families. It wasn't enough that he listened to them and compromised.

They must be waiting for a date, is all I can think.

They sound like old, bitter, angry, rejected, white men.

Good for you for all of your activism!!

[Two Americas]

75. Detroit is dying

I traveled around the country performing for 30 years. I heard all of the remarks, all of the jokes. I always said "I am from Detroit" and never backed down. I will always be from Detroit.

I told people that when you take a couple million poor and uneducated people from villages all over the world and throw them together, work them like dogs, and then throw them all out of work, there are going to be some problems. I told them they can laugh at Detroit, but they should mark my words - if Detroit goes down, we all go down.

I can remember as a kid, the tree-lined streets, the gardens, the wash on the line, the busy commercial districts, the neighborhoods. The milk and ice wagons in the street - still horse-drawn sometimes. You could drive around town on a summer night and just roll down your window and listen to the ball game - everyone was on their porch with the radio going. You could grab your lunch pail and take the streetcar to the plant. Go fishing on the weekend and bring home a pail full of perch. Someday maybe buy your own boat and outboard. Go to the spaghetti dinner on Wednesday night at the church. Everything was kept up. We were all in it together. All of the little ethnic clubs and bars, the restaurants.

The union was the glue. Without that, it would have been every man for himself.

Now look at things. I see pictures of so many places I once knew and I can't believe what I am seeing. It does not seem possible. It can't be.

People need to understand Detroit. There was a huge blue collar middle class, more so than anywhere else. People from all over the world, living in dignity. Yes, there were the few rich auto people, but for the most part any of us could go anywhere, and did not see ourselves as peons or inferior. There was pride, autonomy. No one felt like they had to back down because of who they were or what they did, or who their parents were or where they were from.

Those fancy hotels now sitting in ruins downtown? As an auto worker, your money spent like anyone else's and you walked in there and bought that fancy dinner once a year and felt like you were just as good as anyone else.

Hard to describe. We weren't serfs. We weren't second class. We were strong. We stood tall. We couldn't be pushed around.

Now look at it.

People don't understand. Detroit is the foundation, and the UAW is the last stone in the foundation remaining.

And those UAW workers marching on sub-zero weather outside of the fancy auto show? They carried signs saying "we earned our pension" and "we built this country."

Stand up people. Fight back. Time is running out.

[Fire1]

77. Kudos, Two Americas.

[truedelphi]

82. I bought a copy of "Roger and Me" in 1989 & tried to get my affluent

Computer programming friends to watch it.

"It's the fault of the people in Michigan," came the response. "If they had gone to college and learned a thing or two, they'd be employed. Can't rely on the Gods of the Auto industry to keep you employed." Such wise guy replies!

Having had relatives who worked at the Steel Mills in Gary Indiana, I thought that the response was lame. A cousin of mine went all through the college system, and got an MBA, but ended up back at the mill because it paid more and was a more stable job than anything else he could find. (This was back in the sixties.) Once when several other friends of mine took me on a road trip to find the great poets of the MidWest, three of the poets were working in factories in Wisconsin.

Now so many of the techie jobs are outsourced. And the programmers finally get it. But too bad for our nation, it is too late.

"First they came for the union leaders, but I was not a union leader, then they came for the dissidents, but I was not a dissident, etc." Except I would need to totally re-write this parable, to put it in terms of the economy and how all of us are now worried about employment.

[Two Americas]

91. someone has to do the work

The people doing the real work in this country are invisible, starting with the women keeping the homes and raising the children.

The "liberal" and "progressive" activist community is amazingly arrogant and blind to the people. The people doing the real work may as well be invisible.

Someone is cleaning the toilets, scrubbing the floors, cleaning the offices, caring for the elderly, cooking the meals, cleaning the streets, fixing the roofs, laying the brick, mowing the lawns, repairing the plumbing, growing the food, driving truck, working the counter, stocking the warehouse, washing the windows, pouring the concrete, hauling the trash, repairing the cars, painting the buildings, digging the ditches, wiring the buildings, swinging the hammer, packing the shipments, running the lathe, digging the coal, plowing the snow, sawing the lumber, catching the fish, butchering the hogs, running the trains, cleaning the sewers, paving the roads, climbing the power lines, painting the bridges, running the cables, sweeping and mopping the floors...

[CitizenPatriot]

86. your post....made me cry.

My grandfather helped build the UAW.

I know the pride you refer to; the dignity in a days work. I know the streets you wrote so eloquently about. I've been back recently (to work on the Obama campaign) and I saw the casinos and Tiger Stadium crumbling and the trains station...

I have a friend there who is working on a project to document a lot of what's going on in Detroit. Close friends have been working for a long time trying to keep that place going.

The American Dream -- that's what Detroit stood for, and still does, even as it's dying.

[CitizenPatriot]

87. Adding this: Never was I more proud of our unions

than when the auto makers of Detroit stood up to McCain. There was a union video going around at that time that broke me into pieces. Union power. How I wish my grandfather had a computer so I could show him that video. Or that I knew how to make a dvd of it.

[Two Americas]

95. grief is what I feel

50,000 people homeless

80,000 homes abandoned

500,000 children in desperate poverty

Now people are losing access to water.

Detroit water infrastructure is crumbling; many lack access to water

By Eartha Jane Melzer 11/15/08 9:02 PM

The Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and the Sierra Club have teamed up this week over at Great Lakes Town Hall to examine the human and environmental cost of Detroit’s deteriorating water infrastructure. What they describe is not pretty.

In 2007, Maureen Taylor of MWRO reports, 45,000 Detroit households suffered water shutoffs. While some of these houses were already abandoned, many were homes to people who could not afford to pay their water bills. Children have been removed from their homes and place in foster care because their families could not afford to keep the water on, Taylor says, and the city now adds unpaid water bills to property tax bills, making it even harder for those struggling to avoid foreclosure. Taylor says her group is working on organizing a ballot proposal to create a water affordability plan that would protect low-income people, seniors and the disabled from water shut-offs.

On the macro scale, the Detroit sewer system processes up to a billion gallons of municipal and industrial waste water each day, Melissa Damaschke of the Sierra Club reports, and heavy rainfall or melting snow frequently overwhelm the system, causing sewage overflows that damage the Great Lakes. The high cost of upgrading and expanding the aging sewage system, she writes, has forced the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to raise its water rates numerous times in recent years so that water — a basic human right — has become unaffordable to many residents.

More of Detroit's aged go hungry as economy falters

Kimberly Hayes Taylor / The Detroit News

Ruby Allen can't remember the last time she went grocery shopping. Instead, she relies on whatever food her children drop off, and the five frozen Meals on Wheels dinners delivered to her home each Monday. "Without the meals, it would be hard for me to get three meals a day," the 80-year-old Detroiter said. "It would be breakfast and whatever I can get for lunch or dinner. Meals on Wheels helps me get through the week. I always tell people we were raised during the Great Depression. You learn to survive. You learn to make do with what you have."

...

But an increasing number of seniors don't have enough to make do. According to a recent national AARP survey, 59 percent of people 65 and older said rising costs and a tightening economy have made it more difficult for them to pay for essentials such as food, medicine and gas.

The United Way for Southeastern Michigan reports that 41,579 unique callers ages 50 and older telephoned its 211 helpline in 2008 for such basic needs, up from 16,702 callers in that age range in 2007. Detroit Meals on Wheels, which serves more than 1 million meals a year to people 60 and older, has a waiting list of nearly 700 hungry seniors, according to the Detroit Area Agency on Aging.

...

Sharron Newport and her husband, Willis, found themselves in similar need when devastation hit their lives.

One day in June, she worked at a dry cleaner, and Willis drove a tractor-trailer. The next, they were unemployed. Willis suffered from an inoperable brain tumor and out-of-control diabetes, and she had to quit her job to care for the 64-year-old, who within days couldn't walk or talk. His blood-sugar level became dangerously high because she couldn't properly prepare his meals. Sharron Newport was so stressed out she stopped eating.

"I cried all the time because I didn't know what to do," said Newport, 62. They try to survive on her husband's Social Security check. "He was a strong, healthy man who never sat down or watched TV. I totally depended on him. When he got sick, I fell apart. I would have committed suicide if I didn't get help."

Wayne County sheriff asks guv to declare state of emergency to address foreclosure crisis

Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans has sent a written request to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to declare a state of emergency in Wayne County because of the economy. The letter, released by Evans, who is also a candidate for mayor of Detroit, calls on Granholm to declare a state of emergency, as provided by Michigan law.

In his letter to the governor, Evans said the foreclosure crisis has caused numerous citizens to end up on the street and claims that some are committing crimes with the express intent of getting into jail.

Power outages leave people cold and on their own

High winds Sunday morning knocked over trees and power lines causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of households across the state. As of Tuedsay morning 45,000 households remain without power in the Detroit metro area according to power company officials.

...

Despite the winter conditions it appears that no additional warming stations or shelters have been set up to help those without power in the Detroit metro area. Simons said that DTE, which has received hundreds of thousands of reports of outages over the past few days, is unaware of any warming stations set up in the city of Detroit.

In power outage situations the city of Detroit or the Wayne County government is normally in communication with us about the need for shelters, Simons said, adding “We have not heard from them.”

Heather Hall, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross of Southeast Michigan says that the group has opened no shelters in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties because the county emergency management offices have not requested help. She said she is surprised that no one has called.

Fa la la la! Foreclosures

Granholm, legislature worked during holidays to evict families faster

By Diane Bukowski
The Michigan Citizen

DETROIT - Instead of working to pass a moratorium on foreclosures as families across Michigan celebrated the holidays in homes they hope to keep, the state legislature and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm nearly passed a law in the dead of the night Dec. 19 that would have forced thousands more into the streets at a faster pace.

S.B. 1666, sponsored by Senate Banking and Finance Committee Chair Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) and passed by the Senate, would have cut state homeowners' six-month foreclosure redemption period to as little as three months. The bill was the lead legislation in a package including several others.

"Richardville's bill ... would have accelerated foreclosures by reducing redemption periods, forcing quicker eviction of tenants, and creating more vacant properties to blight local communities," said Marilyn Mullane, Executive Director of Michigan Legal Services.

"Various proposed changes would eliminate one to three months of this critical period for refinancing or selling to protect equity," she explained. "In 'exchange' for the loss of these rights, homeowners would be 'given' the right, which they already have, to contact a housing counselor or attorney to resolve their problem."

[CitizenPatriot]

101. GRIEF -- you are correct

good god, that is horrific. beyond words, really.

And the water issue is just outrageous. :cry:

I hope the Meels on Wheels and other programs are able to somehow keep up the work -- but where will the money come from?

[maryf]

120. READ THIS POST!!! It should be its own thread!!

What is happening to Detroit is as bad if not worse than any natural disaster!! Spread the word about this folks, think of it like a man caused Katrina, 'cause thats what it is...

[deaniac21]

159. It should be illegal to buy anything other than American (UNION)

made cars.

[navarth]

94. 'dying'?? easy now, D Brother

everything else you said I agree with. but we ain't dying.

[Two Americas]

98. in today's news

Just today's news, just another day...

Life goes on around body found frozen in vacant Detroit warehouse

Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- This city has not always been a gentle place, but a series of events over the past few, frigid days causes one to wonder how cold the collective heart has grown. It starts with a phone call made by a man who said his friend found a dead body in the elevator shaft of an abandoned building on the city's west side. "He's encased in ice, except his legs, which are sticking out like Popsicle sticks," the caller phoned to tell this reporter.

"Why didn't your friend call the police?"

"He was trespassing and didn't want to get in trouble," the caller replied. As it happens, the caller's friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.

Before calling the police, this reporter went to check on the tip, skeptical of a hoax. Sure enough, in the well of the cargo elevator, two feet jutted out above the ice. Closer inspection revealed that the rest of the body was encased in 2-3 feet of ice, the body prostrate, suspended into the ice like a porpoising walrus.



The body of an unidentified man lies partially submerged in the ice at the bottom of an elevator shaft of the abandoned Roosevelt Warehouse, once used by the Detroit Public Schools as a book repository, Tuesday Jan. 27, 2009. Detroit News reporter Charlie LeDuff received a tip about the body and went to investigate. He reported it to the police in a 911 call. After nearly 24 hours and two more calls to 911, the Fire Department came to investigate and tried to free the corpse.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090129/METRO08/901290400

[CitizenPatriot]

103. omg. no words. nt

[Two Americas]

104. that is the old post office

Then it became the book depository for the public school system. The it burned, and was never cleaned up. Now it is filled with homeless people.

The building is owned by Matty Moroun, the billionaire trucking and real estate mogul who also owns the Ambassador Bridge and the decrepit Michigan Central Rail Depot next to the warehouse.

[CitizenPatriot]

107. so many things wrong with this...jesus

I didn't think I could feel worse about the Republicans blowing off the stimulus

But that man's feet...I know I will never get over that image.

[Two Americas]

112. photos from a few years ago

Tree Growing in Abandoned Books Building



Tree growing in rotting paper, Detroit Public Schools book depository. This is a building where a deeply-troubled public school system once stored its supplies, and then one day apparently walked away from it all, allowing everything to go to waste. The interior has been ravaged by fires and the unburnt supplies have been subjected to the weather.



The knowledge of what happened, and what will

The reaction I have received to my photos of the current state of the Detroit Public Schools book depository/Roosevelt Warehouse has generally been a great outcry of "Why did this happen?" The photos found their way onto hundreds of blogs and websites, into the pages of New York and Harper's Magazine. I have seen the photos on sites written by white supremacists declaring them "a putrid example of what becomes of a city when ni--ers are empowered." I have found my photos held up on libertarian sites as examples of why taxpayers should not have to support public schools, and objectivist sites using them to launch discussions about the failures of public education. The photos, it seems, spoke for themselves: to some they said black people couldn't be trusted to govern themselves, to others that the taxes we pay for education are inevitably wasted, and that our system public education itself is a failure. And here I just thought they were beautiful.

Reeling from the shock of seeing my photos used in this manner, I set out to answer "why did this happen?" My original inclination was, like most, to blame the school district. It seems like every slow news day here in Detroit, the Free Press rolls out another story about corruption among school administrators or schools that were shuttered throughout the city that have been vandalized, and discovered still full of supplies that could have been used by students at other schools. Teachers describe their offers to retrieve much-needed supplies from closing schools on their own time and being rebuffed by the administrators. This district is not innocent. Surely the libertarians, objectivists, and even the racists looking for evidence to support their varying Weltanschauungs can find plenty of fodder in the everyday foibles of the Detroit Public Schools without resorting to my photographs of rotting 20-year-old school supplies. This is a deeply troubled school district, and as I walked on mountains of rotting textbooks, on floors three-feet deep in shifting paper, even I could not help but think of the students, their lives, and the systemic failures of a school district crippled by both the poverty of its students and the corruption of its administrators. But still I felt compelled to find out what actually happened before I laid the blame at their feet.

The building was originally the city's main post office. A tunnel between the warehouse and the Michigan Central Station across the street shuttled mail brought in from all over the country by train. After a few decades of use, the post office moved and the Detroit Public Schools purchased the warehouse for their main depository of school supplies and records. As many as 75 to 100 people worked there at any given time. I have communicated with a woman whose father was a truck driver for the Detroit Public Schools during the 1980s; she sent me photos of a day her father brought her to work with him, delivering supplies from the warehouse to various schools. I have found distribution records that kept track of the daily delivery of food, textbooks, sporting goods, art supplies, chemicals and even elevator oil from the warehouse to schools spread throughout the 138.7 square miles of the city. I found the story of a man who was the head boiler-room engineer at the warehouse who would save any of the outdated textbooks he was instructed to incinerate and bring them home to give to his kids and grandkids, simply because he could not bear to burn a book. Good people worked for the Detroit Public Schools at this warehouse, and many wonderful people still work for the Detroit Public Schools. I know some of them personally.

More here -

http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2008/04/knowledge-of-what-happened-and-what.html

Must see photos -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetjuniper/sets/72157603302647339/

[CitizenPatriot]

123. beautiful pictures

I know those buildings...

The story re the school system was so sad. I love the picture of all of the books:-)

Great blog.

[Tindalos]

133. How sad

Those photos are hauntingly beautiful. It all seems rather tragic - so much wasted potential.

[bobbolink]

152. Yet, the "mogul" won't ever be charged with murder.

And that's what this is.

BUT... it's only a homeless man, NOT WORKING, so it doesn't matter.

[Two Americas]

156. correct

He has been thumbing his nose at the law for years with impunity.

[Two Americas]

109. in the news the last few weeks

Michigan jobless claims system overwhelmed

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Michigan's unemployment claims application system is getting swamped as the economy continues to worsen.

Callers to a Michigan statewide phone line handling applications for jobless benefits got an "all circuits are busy now" message Tuesday afternoon. The state's Internet system for unemployment claims was running but at times was slowed down by heavy volume.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090107/FREE/901079997/-1

S&P says Detroit bonds junk

Standard & Poor's has downgraded its rating of Detroit's bonds to junk status, giving holders the right to claim $400 million.

The action comes as the city struggles to close a $300 million budget deficit.

Detroit Budget Director Joe Harris tells The Detroit News bond holders have to be reasonable, and no one expects the city to come up with $400 million right away.

The recession and Detroit's shrinking tax base have cut into city tax revenues.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090107/FREE/901079993/-1

Economists project less revenue, higher deficits for Michigan

Michigan faces an approximate $300 million budget shortfall in the current year and a potential problem of $1.4 billion in fiscal 2010, based on state budget office projections that factor in new revenue estimates released Friday.

The current-year budget problem includes a $60 million to $70 million shortfall in the state School Aid Fund and a $230 million to $240 million shortfall in the general fund, said Leslee Fritz, director of communications in the state budget office.

Overall, at a Friday revenue-estimating conference in Lansing, economists and state officials said they expect current-year state revenue to be $917.2 million less than they estimated last May.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090109/FREE/901099993/-1]higher deficits

GM Foundation cuts aid to Detroit arts groups

(AP) -- The charitable foundation of struggling General Motors Corp. has told the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Symphony and other cultural groups not to expect annual support in 2009.

The General Motors Foundation says it's cutting more than $1 million from its sponsorship of the Detroit area's leading cultural institutions.

The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News say other groups losing support include Music Hall and the Michigan Opera Theatre.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090108/FREE/901089993/-1

Rate increases OK’d for Detroit Edison, Consumers Energy

State regulators on Tuesday approved an $83.6 million electric rate increase for the Detroit Edison Co., and a $22.4 million natural-gas rate increase for Consumers Energy Co.

Scott Simons, Detroit Edison senior specialist, external communications, said Tuesday afternoon that the utility had just received the order and will “need a day or two to fully assess the impact to the company and our customers.”

Simons said the company will, in working with the order, continue to identify and enact cost savings and efficiencies. He said that it’s “also important to note that the state’s struggling economy, the volatile financial markets, the high cost of addressing environmental concerns and other challenges will likely require additional electric rate increases in the near future.”

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20081224/FREE/812249997/1069

Detroit Grand Prix is canceled for 2009

Source: Detroit News

Detroit Grand Prix is canceled for 2009
David Goricki / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- There will be no open-wheel race in the Motor City in 2009.

The Indy Racing League will announce Friday the Detroit Grand Prix will not be run next year.

The final open-wheel race at Michigan International Speedway was held in 2007, the same year open-wheel racing returned to Belle Isle after a six-year absence. Now, both events are gone.

Legendary car owner Roger Penske, who leads the Detroit Grand Prix event (scheduled for Sept. 4-6) as chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, informed the Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series that the event will not be held in 2009 because of poor economic times.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081218/UPDATE/812180455/1047/SPORTS03


Detroit Papers Slash Home Delivery
9% Of Workforce To Be Cut

DETROIT -- Beset by falling revenue, Detroit's newspapers announced Tuesday that they plan to offer only three days of home delivery and will push their online editions instead, making the city the largest in the nation to have its daily papers undergo such a makeover.

The Detroit Media Partnership, which runs the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, expects to cut about 9 percent of its work force but "hopefully" less, and there will be no job reductions in the newsrooms of either paper, said David Hunke, Free Press publisher and chief executive of the partnership.

"We're here because we're fighting for our survival," Hunke said at a news conference. "We're also here because we have an absolute resolve to not only save but rethink and rebuild two of the greatest newspapers in this country."

"I'm skeptical. This is a sea change. No one has done it on this scale in North America," said Lou Mleczko, president of Local 22 of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, which represents 350 newsroom employees at the papers. Mleczko said not all readers will be able to change their habits and read the paper online.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/18288845/detail.html]link here

Economy in Turmoil

DETROIT - One measure of how tough times are in the Motor City: Some of the offenders in jail don't want to be released; some who do get out promptly re-offend to head back where there's heat, health care and three meals a day.

"For the first time, I'm seeing guys make a conscious decision they'll be better off in prison than in the community, homeless and hungry," said Joseph Williams of New Creations Community Outreach, which assists ex-offenders. "In prison they've got three hots and a cot, so they commit a crime to go back in and come out when times are better."

...

'It's a depression'

Among the worried is 81-year-old Warlena McDuell, a retired surgical technician who shares a home with her cancer-stricken daughter. On a recent weekday, she was among hundreds of Detroiters, most of them elderly, filling orange-plastic grocery carts at a food bank run by Focus: HOPE, a local nonprofit.

"It's a depression — not a recession," McDuell said, with the authority of someone who has lived through both. "It will get worse before it gets better."

Behind her in line, stocking up on canned apple juice and fruit cocktail, was Benjamin Smith, 77, who once held jobs with Uniroyal and Chrysler. Maneuvering his cart slowly, one hand gripping a cane, he was unable to muster much cheer when someone extended holiday good wishes.

...

For Mark Covington, as for many of his neighbors, there are two Detroits. One features swanky casinos, opulent hotels and two new sports stadiums, beckoning high rollers and deep-pocketed out-of-towners to a relatively vibrant downtown. Luxury condo developments are opening; an ambitious RiverWalk project is mostly completed.

Then there's the vast Detroit of decaying neighborhoods, with weedy, trash-strewn lots and vacant, burned-out houses. Some areas, even close to downtown, have a rural look because so many lots are now empty.

"It makes me want to leave," said Covington, 36. "But I figure, if I leave, who else is going to help? Who else is going to do it? People like me are what's going to turn Detroit around."

...

About 44,000 of the 67,000 homes that have gone into foreclosure since 2005 remain empty, and it costs about $10,000 to demolish each vacant house, according to Planning and Development Department director Doug Diggs.

Overall, the residential real estate market is catastrophic, with the Detroit Board of Realtors now pegging the average price of a home in the city at $18,513. Some owners can't find buyers at any price.

"If you no longer can sell your property, how can you move elsewhere?' said Robin Boyle a professor of urban planning at Wayne State University. "Some people just switch out the lights and leave — property values have gone so low, walking away is no longer such a difficult option."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28327490/

[angrycarpenter]

132. Your posts are incredible.

All I can do is speak from my own experience but I have never really been anywhere.

You, my friend have a depth of experience and sense of moral outrage that puts any of us to shame. I do not know anything about you but I know that we are the same, tired of trying to be calm and civilized while the hyenas circle, taking advantage of every perceived weakness, loathing every peaceful overture. I am tired of being nice.

[Libertyfirst]

134. Thank you for telling the truth so eloquently.

[Political_Junkie]

55. Sad story about your friend.

Le Miserables. Unfortunately I think we'll be hearing more of these stories before things get better.

[CitizenPatriot]

61. Le Mis indeed. That was my thought, too.

I meant to type 20 dollars in food, but I just typed 20. Hope you knew what I meant.

Thanks for the good thoughts -- she is indeed a wonderful person; watching this happen is devastating.

[Political_Junkie]

62. Yeah, I knew.

It's crushing, it always seems to be the good ones who pay.

[bobbolink]

154. "when I'm pissed, I make phone calls." HURRAH!! Now *that's* the PROGRESSIVE way!!

:bounce: :toast: :loveya: :bounce: :toast: :loveya: :bounce: :toast: :loveya: :bounce: :toast: :loveya: :bounce: :toast: :loveya: :bounce: :toast: :loveya:

THANK YOU!!!

[Mad_Dem_X]

28. Amen, my friend.

They don't care about the people of this country. They want Obama and his policies to fail, just because he won and they lost. It's more than sour grapes - it's un-American.

[Locrian]

30. I just posted this in another thread but it sure as hell appiles...

Remember the Film Network (1976)????

Howard Beale: I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

Howard Beale: You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell,


Howard Beale: 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:

Howard Beale: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

[angrycarpenter]

31. I remember it well.

I saw it back when I was a young teen and it was an education that should be taught in school, we would have a much harder to fool country.

[Political_Junkie]

56. Damn, had forgotten that!

Nearly brought me to tears with that one.

[Still Sensible]

32. Well said. Brighter Days Ahead. Screw Rush and the GOP.

There is every reason for you to be optimistic if this stimulus package makes it through the Senate to the President's desk. The first time home buyers provisions, the extended help to those out of work, the new jobs being created should all help the situation in your case. Between the stimulus and what it looks like the administration will do to concentrate on the mortgage crisis in the second part of the TARP funds, there are brighter days ahead.

And go ahead and hate Rush and the republicans, they've earned it.

[florida08]

33. honey

you took the words right off my heart and many others it seems. As I read the forecast from Roubini about the economy it's enough to make you want to slap them into tomorrow. Hell even Bob Corker told them it's time to tell the oountry the state we're in. What's worse is you see no remorse of any kind. It's a time we're seeing their souls laid bare and it's ugly. My hope is that the new AG will start to prosecute the CEO's like Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Bank of America and on and on. We're going to have a lot of company in the "unemployed" sector of our country as this thing progresses. Don't stroke out..keeping writing we ain't seen nuttin' yet.

[classof56]

34. Well said. What a sad state of affairs the repubs have gotten us into.

Twice recently I've read reports about murder/suicides of entire families because of parent(s) being out of work. Couple of days ago a young man in Portland OR went on a shooting spree downtown, killed two, wounded seven. Turns out he was unemployed, out of hope and while it's no excuse, of course, it illustrates the awful consequences that can result when someone is desperate, like the ones who wiped out their entire families. Shame on Bush and his minions. Shame on greedy bankers. Shame on Rush. Shame on the repubs who stand in the way of fixing the problems, and helping those who most need it. I've run out of words to express my anger. Thank you for doing it for me.

[FirstLight]

35. Hear! Hear!

:applause:

I am right there with you and could write a whole 'nother rant on "entitlements" and welfare, poverty, the plight of the single mom
AND my kids not having a normal life or even a fair shot because of my inaility to even "get there"
I don't count as one of those who over indulged in credit and the market - I was never a player to begin with.

and yea, I am pissed too.
I can't even think about the details of the bailout or the TARP money beacuse I will keel over
and the overspending and 8 years of being held hostage by my admnisttration, economically, mentally, spiritually - we have all been abused many time over by the Republican "idealogy"
and the war mentality that brought us to the brink of disaster, while ruining the lives of SO many

ack! can't. think. anymore.....I'm gonna have to go yell at the TV or something! :angry:

[angrycarpenter]

36. I never had a credit card

I never bought a house because I knew I could not afford it. I saved my money for things I wanted. I lived frugally and did well but slowly over the years it turned into just being poor and then unemployed. It is a shame that people who did not go out on a limb have to pay for the actions of people who gambled our country's future and lost.

[Skidmore]

37. Send this to a few newspapers and more than a few

congresspeople and senators.

[butterfly77]

38. Kick &Recommended!

:thumbsup: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[wroberts189]

40. How about pure RAGE? kae and ar

[Yavin4]

43. Chris Matthews Grilled Dick Armey on The Fact That Bush Got Tax Cuts for the Rich

during his presidency, and the country is in the midddle of an economic collapse. All Dick Armey could say was that Bush's tax cuts were "marginal". IOW, according to Dick Armey and his fellow conservatives, the problem with our economy is that rich people are over-taxed. I almost stroked out on that b.s.

[mother earth]

44. Amen, angrycarpenter! I too want a job, time for America to rise

again...corporate greed has had a stranglehold on the GOP & the GOP's crimes have been deliberate & calculating. The current state of our nation is what they have wrought, with each and every action in the past two stolen elections.

WE demand accountability & an end to war, our elected officials need to act upon our behalf. It is no longer optional. Corporate greed & corruption got us here, crimes against the nation...the obstructionists must be made accountable.

[Raksha]

45. K & R - GREAT rant! You speak for most if not all of us.

YOU definitely speak for me!

[mimitabby]

46. you are also a little naive

if you thought that those GOP pukes were going to start playing nice because they lost.

[infidel dog]

47. This unemployed hardwood floor man is with you 100%.

If we can be thankful for anything, Mr. Carpenter, at least the rethugs and their bloated mouthpiece Flush Slimebaugh have been revealed as the greedy, traitorous scum they are. Let's hope the American people don't forget this time.

[zingaro]

48. "I am angry at people who say they love America but hate most of the people who live here."

EXCELLENT point. One cannot love the whole to the exception of the sum of it's parts.

Well said.

[PatSeg]

49. Clearly you are not alone

As I watched TV yesterday I was furious. The republicans are just selfish game players. They met with Obama and played nicey-nice, which got them some concessions. Then they voted against the bill anyway - just one big friggin' game!

As for Rush, there are no words for what I think of him. Can't he just take his millions and retire?

[totodeinhere]

51. Amen brother. The pukes screwed all of us and now they are laughing at us working people.

Their plan is to screw things up so bad that even Obama won't be able to fix it, and then they think they will be elected again. What's really scary is that they just might pull it off too.

[happygoluckytoyou]

53. Republicans want us to suffer for voting them out...F'THAT, vote them FARTHER out!!!! Class Warfare!

THEY HAVEN'T SEEN HOW FAR OUT WE ARE GOING TO VOTE THEM..... they are like F'ing cockroaches.... VOTE THEM FARTHER OUT ! ! !

[Political_Junkie]

54. What he said.

I'm there with ya, angrycarpenter, been outta work since May. Hang in there, we'll get through this.

[lenegal]

58. I hurt for you. I am unemployed and over 55

I become depressed more than angry. Hopelessness is a horrible feeling and I hate feeling that way.

I just called Boehner's office and left a message for him to fuck himself along with the entire Republican Party. In April, my benefits will run out.

The only bright spot is that Obama is trying. This crash could have happened with Bush still in office for a year or two.

I know. I know. And I cry so hard for all of us.

[ColbertWatcher]

59. Kick and rec. n/t

[Greyhound]

60. Hear, hear! Very well said. K&R

[closeupready]

63. Amen to that, brother.

n/t

[Prophet 451]

64. Preach it brother!

Don't get depressed, get angry!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

70. I cannot tell you how MUCH I agree with you -

You have expressed my sentiments EXACTLY!!!!

[Christa]

71. K & R nt

[George II]

72. About what?

[Number23]

73. "I am pissed at EVERYONE who puts party before country."

Hear, hear, brother!! :toast:

Your entire post was beautifully written. I hope you feel better now. :)

Happy to rec

[eppur_se_muova]

76. "[Rush] hates me because I work for a living" ... spot on.

Guardians Of Plutocracy are only friends to the lazy wealthy. Being either honestly productive OR less than wealthy blinds them to your very existence.

[WV_Biker]

78. Well said n/t

[lib2DaBone]

79. Well said. I NEVER listen to Rush....

but today I happen to hear him on the radio at the garage while I was getting my oil changed.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Bold face, flat out lies and incendiary propaganda. Who is controlling this guy and why?

That fat prick is going to start a civil war in this country. (Maybe that is his goal)

[angrycarpenter]

96. I used to listen to him

We had a dittohead who could quote him line for line. I would listen during lunch just to be on top of the latest outrage. The worst thing of all is the fact that he thinks he is doing good in the world.

[blues90]

81. I am the son of a carpenter who always said you can always fall

Back on a trade and this was true and then along came the Reagan democrats. This is not to ever say there were not many problems well before this but there was a fair chance to learn on the job and have health insurance and a living wage and unions.

Now after all of this continued horror , decades of it and I'm now 60 without a hope of a trade job and I have not an idea of what there is to re-train for and this seems too late now so you become discarded.

I could see this coming through the years and really have to wonder why all our so called leaders did not or why the people did not. You cannot prepare for change when you have no idea what form the change will take and now change has accelerated to a point where many cannot keep up.

I'm angry we allowed this to happen.

[relayerbob]

83. Hear, hear!

I am with you. I'm sick of the waiting for the phone call, the hundreds of emails, the "networking" with people who don't have anything to say. Im sick of politicians who full of tak and handouts for those who already have everything. I just want to move forward, find a job and get on with life. Doesn't matter what credentials you have these days, when there are hundreds of thousands of jobs disappearing each week, the flood at the gates of every HR department is incredible.

[truthrocks]

84. Rational, articulate, focused anger is very healthy

There is a huge amount of power in this type of anger that can be translated into action for the good. Expressing it in writing, logically and coherently, is the first step.

Thank you for the inspiring post!

[burythehatchet]

85. good post

[Tommy_Carcetti]

88. Here here! nt

[pleah]

89. K&R

[neuvocat]

90. I've been in your shoes a long time ago

when Bush 41 left and Clinton took over. It took a year before things improved. My car died, half the time I was starving and my clothing stank because I couldn't afford to wash them. This was around the time Rush became a star. I lived with a brother who basically kicked me out after my unemployment dried out (he wasn't a Repuke or right leaning-hardly political in fact, just a selfish fuck). I haven't spoken to him in years and I do my best to shut him out as a result.

Not long after Rush's TV show was cancelled in disgrace, we got the same thing all over again with Newt Gingrich only it was much worse. Thanks to Gingrich millions of people couldn't leave or enter the country, process immigration paperwork to stay here, and senior citizens and others didn't get paid. I lived on my GI bill benefits and saw the end of some bad times.

At some point the anger subsides and the overall atmosphere improves. It takes time though just like it did for me when Clinton took over. Even with the rapid-movement reforms Obama undertakes in D.C., it will take time. However it will.

The reasons for your anger of course are well justified. Don't let anyone tell you to just lighten up and get over it. You suffer terribly and no one has a right to judge you in your position. Do however your best to take care of yourself. Perhaps if you watch TV then you should stop. Just get your news from the internet. Trust me on that because you get away from all the spin and all the BS. Hope that helps.

[lonestarnot]

92. You speak for me you angry fucking carpenter!

K & R!

[AllyCat]

93. Hope you don't mind. I borrowed a little of this for a LTTE

Here's my letter:

In November, Americans resoundingly rejected the conservative ideals of tax cuts and trickle-down economics as ineffective and harmful. Jobs are leaving the state and country in huge numbers. Fewer and fewer people have health care, and our roads and schools are crumbling. President Obama has come into office with an idea that worked 70 years ago: lets put people back to work, fixing the things that need to be fixed.

He tried to bring Republicans on board by putting the tax cuts they love so much, back into the Economic Stimulus Act. But not a single House Republican voted for it. Not one.

Republicans are once again showing us that they have no interest in helping hardworking Americans. They are more interested in trying to make Obama fail, than helping America get back on track. They have put party before country.

We don't want hand-outs. We want jobs. If the Republicans are not going to help us do it, it's time for them to step aside so we can do it ourselves.

AllyCat

[angrycarpenter]

97. short,direct and to the point

It is the best way to get it printed. Good work, keep it up.

[handmade34]

100. I have been angry for so long...

at the the rules and laws and social stigmas that have kept me away from my family for almost 4 years. I have a job but only because I live in hotels and travel to do that job (but don't make enough money to go visit my kids). I am almost 60 and never imagined I would be in this position. We all need to be angry enough to work together to continue to make positive change...

[lisainmilo]

106. A reminder of my post on history...Hoover Economics to be precise..

This is a must read, it is history and we are already repeating some ot the mistakes of the past. I posted this before President Obama was elected. Please read.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/lisainmilo/25


I had NO comments last time, I wonder if any one is listening this time. ????:shrug:

[varelse]

108. You speak for me, also

Thank you for speaking out. I'm just about done with the reach-across-the-aisle, look-forward-not-back blinkered politics I'm seeing. It's dishonest, and frankly delusional, to pretend we can forgive and forget what these criminals have done, and are STILL doing, to all of us.

[Royal Sloan 09]

110. k&r eom

[taught_me_patience]

111. We should all be pissed

but isn't American Idol on tonight?

:sarcasm:

[Sancho]

113. Ways to fight back!

Be angry. Join a union - ORGANIZE!
Be angry. For every time you apply for a job, send a note or email to a representative.
Be angry. Vote.
Be angry. Ask up someone else to vote.
Be angry. Register someone else to vote.
Be angry and be active. Walk door to door for a local candidate.
Be angry. Help stop the war - tell everyone!

[liberal N proud]

115. k&r

[Zhade]

116. K/R

FUCK republicans.

[Not Sure]

117. Did I write this in my sleep last night?

No kidding, this is what I have been saying this week, this month, this past year and the years since our figurehead governor was handed the keys to the White House.

You nailed it here, friend.

[maryf]

119. Yes, yes, yes!!!

My motto is engage, enrage, inspire, act...You've done all four in one fell swoop!! thanks angry carpenter!! I get so tired of people saying, oh stop freaking out, calm down, just wait a little....argh!!

Why are so many people on prozac, zoloft, or whatever the drug du jour is??? Maybe because they were angry and had been told too many times to not be. This stopped them from recognizing anger when it occured; they repressed, supressed, internalized it. They thought they were depressed, they were!! Depression is the neutering of the emotions, anger being one that is suppressed so much by society.

The ptb don't want the people to be angry, there are too many of us!! They want us to be drugged by pharmaceuticals, alcohol, or television! throw out the drugs, kill your tv, get angry!! Thanks again for this angry carpenter!!

[valerief]

121. K&R

:kick:

[S n o w b a l l]

122. Let me join you...

The television station I work at told us to pack up our stuff today cause they were closing the doors. No notice, no severance, no nothing. I went from sending proposals this morning to being unemployed tonight. And the owners? Greedy fucking bastards with Bentley's and Rolls Royce's & homes in the Bahamas. We once had a sales meeting at their home...the decadence was disgusting. And they let us go with not even a weeks severance & no time to prepare for the loss.

The Roberts Companies of St. Louis...Mike & Steve Roberts are greedy bastards who treat their employees like little bugs they can smash on the sidewalk. And they are heralded as successful, heroic icons in the St. Louis business community.

Not only that, but Citibank raised my credit card interest rate from 13% to 18.99% for no damn reason. 10 year customer with an impeccable history and they raise my rate. After MY tax money bailed them out. Fuckers.

Yes, I'm pissed. I'm so tired of these greedy rich motherfuckers sucking the blood and life out of the rest of us.

[bertman]

124. That's righteous anger, angrycarpenter. I appreciate you telling it like it is.

Stay angry until things change.

Recommend. Everybody needs to hear what you are saying.

[maryf]

128. Absolutely everybody needs to hear from angry carpenter...

Everybody needs to hear from everybody!! we all need to use our voice, express our concerns!! Holler!!! Shout!! Make a noise!! This thread is a great indication of how the people are feeling!!

[angrycarpenter]

137. I am no evangelist and I speak for no one but myself.

It is up to every person to find the defiance that exists in us all to stand against this assault on our very way of life. This did not happen by accident, in some ways it was a calculated attempt to create a nation of frightened people. The time for fear is over. It is time for the mad doctors who created this monster to fear what they have made. They say "Let them eat food stamps." I say that their ivory towers had better have a pretty wide moat.

[maryf]

157. That was kind of my point...

We all need to speak out, each and every one of us should be ranting, afraid my subject heading muddied my intent. NO fear anymore, we gotta fight against the machine, the ivory towers better have pretty thick walls too...

[marew]

125. You speak truth.

It is hard, no impossible, to understand the selfishness and immorality of the rethug party.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

129. BRAVO!

Most excellent rant. I got in a recommend before the time limit!

Please know that there are many, many of us in this country and around the globe that know the anger you express. Peace to you and I do hope you find some work soon. :pals:

__________________

QoC

[trickyguy]

131. Once again, no excuse for the Republican vote. Disgusting, I'd say.

[Bryn]

135. Medicare and Health Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield won't pay

for a home health care nurse for my mother. She moved in with me a month ago because of dementia..her doctor said that she could no longer live alone, drive, cook, etc. She had cancer in bladder several years ago so she now wears a bag for pee. I need a home health care nurse to come in twice a week to check her vital signs, help her bath and change bags, but was told both her Medicare and Health Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield won't pay for this.

Then today I went to Walgreen to pick up patches for Mom which is medication to slow down dementia progress and discovered that both Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance won't cover the cost. $242.00 for 30 patches! I was stunned. It means that Mom would have to pay $242.00 per month for patches for her dementia which she cannot afford on her SS income. I am on SSDI income and am trying my best to help her. I can't believe that Medicare and Health insurance aren't paying. Mom pays 143.00 per month for Blue Cross/Blue Shield and 96.00 for Medicare..over $200.00 per month for something they won't pay??? Duh!

My sister just got laid off from her job in Ohio recently. My cousin is struggling to keep her business that was once successful. It is hitting everyone except for those fat cats who stole money from us like bailout money being given to banks and wall street, etc.

K & R :hug: Hope you find something soon.

[angrycarpenter]

136. I wrote this piece to try to make myself feel better

But I failed. As I read the replies I realize the depth of preventable suffering in our country and the rest of the world and it makes me all the madder. How could those people sit there in DC with nothing but scorn for the people who suffer by their hand? Just watch the local news, it is full of heartbreaking struggles by families who worked hard and did what they were supposed to do and pay a high price for buying into the lie that used to be the American dream.

We've been used and the users do not even have the decency to take care of their toys. I've said it before and I will say it again. In the long run we would be much better off if all of the rich tax dodges would just take their precious, precious money and leave the country for good and stay out of our politics.

[BirminghamExaminer]

146. Here's what I don't understand

How have the GOP managed to hoodwink so many Americans into believing the GOP has their best interests at heart? I don't get it.

Rush Limbaugh, the new GOP leader apparently, goes on and on about socialism and what he would like to do is abolish social security and medicare when half his listeners are recipients of one or the other and yet his listeners follow him like he's Christ.

Whenever I write an article about Limbaugh, I get more hate mail and hate comments than you can even imagine. Readers' response to my articles is always the greatest when I talk about Limbaugh. They love him and act like they'd lay down their lives for him. I honestly don't understand how the very people who are often hurt worst by GOP policies are the very ones who vote Republican again and again.

I actually have a friend whose parents believe Nixon was framed. They listen to Hannity and Limbaugh and hang on their every vile word. It's repulsive and bewildering.

I wrote one article called, Is Rush Limbaugh hurting the GOP? and got some pretty emphatic comments. One guy called me a "broad". I wanted to write back and ask him if he thought he was Mickey Spillane but I didn't.

My point I guess is that it's hard to fathom the people who are so stupid that they believe Limbaugh and his peers like Hannity are good for the party and good for them.

[angrycarpenter]

149. empathy is the key word.

There always has been a segment of the population who see "the other" as a subhuman bug to be squashed. They need an enemy and if they have no real ones they will make one up. They see themselves as the center of the universe and cannot imagine a world without them. They would live forever if they could. They fear death far beyond what is reasonable but have no problem wishing it on others.

[mecherosegarden]

138. Bless your heart!

I am with you !

[.... callchet ....]

139. Double New Deal " People First "

[dysfunctional press]

140. i'm guessing that you're not a walmart shopper...

well, HOPING actually.

[angrycarpenter]

142. Rarely

When it comes time to buy work boots I go there but that is about it. I go to a lot of yard sales and flea markets. At least I know that my money goes to an American who is trying to make an honest living.

[BirminghamExaminer]

141. I was just as made as you

And I wrote an article about it. The people who have commented on my article have managed to rationalize how the 0 Republican vote for the economy was bipartisan and that the Democrats are partisan. I was very disappointed in the response. If you are too, please read my article and respond to some of the neocons who are saying that it is the Democrats who are partisan. I don't know what makes me angrier, the fact that this has happened or the fact that the Republicans who have commented on my article have accused the Democrats of being partisan. Am I living in the Twilight zone?

Karen

[angrycarpenter]

144. Done

I love to post on editorial pages where conservatives lurk.

[BirminghamExaminer]

145. thank you!

[Two Americas]

158. welcome BirminghamExaminer

I hope that you stay and keep posting.

[NBachers]

147. Healter Skelter

[angrycarpenter]

153. no

[BobTheSubgenius]

148. I sometimes have trouble hanging onto some of my core values...

...when it comes to just those people you describe. Sometimes I almost ACHE to see something cruel and unusual.

I'm not sure I can single out RL so specifically, though, at least not and sustain it. There are SO many that so richly deserve contempt, rage and any other damned thing we can focus on them.