Frank Apisa's Open Salon Blog

TIME FOR THE FRINGE LEFT TO WAKE UP!

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:05:43 -0400

Barack Obama is the first president ever to get a comprehensive medical care bill passed and signed…yet the reaction of much of the far left was to complain that the plan did not go far enough and lacked a “single payer” feature.

Now he becomes the first president to publicly state that he supports the rights of gays to marry same sex partners…and he ended “don’t ask; don’t tell”…yet the reaction of much of the far left is to complain that he took too long in doing both.

The far left has become as nutty and unrealistic as the far right…and instead of helping to stop our nation’s lurch to the right, they are inadvertently accelerating the move.

Time for the folk on the fringe left to wake up and smell the coffee. Progress is made one step at a time…and demanding teleportation instead is the stuff of science fiction, not reality.

ENTERPRISE COMES INTO NEW YORK CITY!

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:04:40 -0400

I was in the City to see the arrival of Enterprise; which came piggyback on a 747.

I did my viewing from the upper deck of the Frying Pan...my favorite Big Apple watering hole...a pier jutting out into the Hudson.

Here are some pictures I took.

You can bearly see the plane in this first shot, but it is directly above the two center poles. They were coming up the river from the Statue of Liberty, which can be seen in the background. Lots of people on the Chelsea Piers Park.

This shot is of Enterprise heading up river. It will pass Intrepid, the WWII aircraft carrier that is a aviation and space museum docked at the Hell's Kitchen waterfront. Sometime in June, Enterprise, which is now on the tarmac at JFK, will be loaded onto a barge and delivered to Intrepid, which will be its permanent home.

Here is a shot of the birds coming back down river. They had flown up to the Tappan Zee Bridge (perhaps as far up river to West Point)...and were coming back to the Statue of Liberty.

In the bottom picture, you can see the chase plane in the background.

This was a once-in-a-life time event. I was thrilled to have been there to see it.

COULD WE ACCIDENTALLY WORK OURSELVES INTO ANOTHER CIVIL WAR?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:03:46 -0400

I was writing a reply to a comment in another thread of mine—and the notion of another Civil War worked its way into the response. I considered it an acceptable bit of hyperbole when I wrote it, but it got me to thinking.

The ingredients are there—we have become so politically polarized lately the differences are no longer the stuff of energetic discussion, but rather have taken on the flavor of hatred. We no long have a party in power being contained by a loyal opposition, but instead we have a party trying to govern and a party in bitter, unyielding opposition.

And the Republican primary fiasco is highlighting the regional characteristics of the separation and alienation. We have areas…states…where the messages have to be structured to suit a super reactionary audience that broaches little talk of negotiation or compromise.

I recall a discussion I had with my sister back when the Supreme Court was deciding Bush v. Gore in 2000. Although we both hoped for a Gore victory, we also acknowledged that we had fears about that outcome…worries about how the conservatives would react. Both of us, at some point, suggested it might be better for our side to lose that battle—in a not-completely-facetious concession that doing so might be the only way to insure that the Union remain intact.

I wonder about that now. I don’t think it unrealistic to suppose that if Barack Obama were to be re-elected, there would be lots more talk about secession in places like Alaska, Texas, and South Carolina, to name just a few.

Any thoughts? Is it far-fetched in your opinion?

Screeching talk about envy and greed and class warfare...

Mon, 5 Mar 2012 11:03:08 -0500

In a blog earlier today, conservative blogger, Stephen Guy Hardin, wrote:

“Listen carefully when you hear screeching accusations about fairness. Just below the surface, you’ll hear an appeal to greed and envy totally inconsistent with the American spirit.”

— Ronald Reagan, 2/20/1984

A few conservatives showed up to compliment Stephen on his post.

My opinion is that what Stephen was trying to say--and what those conservatives were applauding--is nonsense, so I replied:

“Listen carefully when you hear talk about greed, envy, and class warfare. Just below the surface, you’ll hear an attempt to justify appalling and unnecessary expansion of inequality in a pretence of consistency with the American spirit.”— Frank Apisa, 5/5/2012

Way too often conservatives want to paint progressive attempts to slow the ever-widening disparity of wealth as class-warfare motivated by greed, envy.

I don’t think it is.

And since I don’t want that side of the argument to get lost, I decided to start a separate thread devoted to discussing the subject.

NEWT GINGRICH WILL…

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:02:41 -0500

…be elected president in November. Or at least, that is my opinion—and my prediction.

Mitt Romney, with his huge war chest, is toast. His people think he cannot be elected…and although I think they are wrong, I am convinced he will be dumped.

Rick Santorum will do well in the next few battles, but Gingrich will do better overall…and when convention times comes, the Republicans will “hold their collective noses” and give the nomination to Newt.

Newt will overcome his considerable baggage, just as Bill Clinton overcame his…and win the election based mostly on the worsening economy, which I suspect will tank big-time during the next six months. (By the way, the similarity in styles, intellect, and ability to charm people, between Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton are substantial. Both could sell air conditioners to Eskimos…and get referrals from their clients.)

Obama is toast—his upticks in the latest polls are ephemeral—about as durable and sustainable as the latest upticks in national economic news. His base is in abysmal condition—and thoughts from Democratic Party optimists that the disillusioned, disheartened left wing will come to its senses and vote for him are little more than wishful thinking. I predict the disenchanted WILL vote for third party candidates or not vote at all...with either choice having devastating consequences for Obama's re-election bid.

The bases of both parties are influencing the uncommitted, and although the Republicans are temporarily in disarray, compared with the Democratic left, they are spiffy as Prussian Corsairs. The “uncommitted” will break for the Republicans.

As a result, we are all fucked, but as I have said on many occasions in the past, “We are begging for the shit we are getting—and we deserve every shovelful."