It's time we get back to being Americans and live up to our Constitution

Stories like this highlight the vast dividing line between rich and poor.

I've been fortunate to grow up middle class. I've had every opportunity to succeed. My parents were not so lucky. Both came from poor country stock and both carry the attitudes and proclivities of the poor.

Those attitudes impacted me in a significant way--making me sensitive the the plight of the poor and downtrodden. These lessons, more than anything, explain my tendency to support the many over the few--the weak over the strong. Essentially, growing up with middle class resources, but a lower class mindset shaped my political values.

For many decades now, a scary, class-ist, and ultimately aristocratic attitude has governed our society. Hopefully, its final expression in the Bush administration and their mouthpieces in the press (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck to name a few..) will be nothing more than a death shudder of a narrow and mean view of society.

Policies enacted over decades make it easier to exploit those with little social power. Greed--encouraged by an ideology of self-reliance and a laissez-faire agenda reminiscent of pre-Depression era government and country, has resulted in an exploitative society that is nothing less than predatory.

It's time we own up to meanness. It's time we live united as a people. Too long have self-interest and the narcissism of certain self-satisfaction governed our land.

We should begin by treating the poor as people instead of like peasants to be abused for our own gain.

If we fail, then it won't be too long before our aristocratic tendencies lead to our undoing.

Williamson County Tennessee--Home of Right-Wing Douchebags

People amaze me. Rarely am I astounded by depth, intellect, wisdom, or grace. Usually, people astound me by their utter stupidity and willingness to expend precious energy being assholes.

While roving the aisles of a bookstore in Brentwood, Tennessee (Brentwood is in Williamson County--home of Marsha Blackburn (R)), an employee mentioned that he and his fellow workers devote many man-hours to fixing the displays when right-wing bozos mess them up.

How? You may ask.

This guy, whose name is Evan and is nicknamed "McLovin" (a bit of humor to this story..) mentioned that some cretins enter his establishment and cover or hide any book with Obama on it.

I suppose this small gesture, or little rebellion on the part of Williamson County and it's mass of rich, Republican, idiots passes for "counting coup" on the Right. What else is a Limbaugh sycophant, Glenn Beck fan, or Bill O'Reilly nimrod supposed to do when their ideology, their whole raison d'etre is repudiated by a majority?

For those of you unaware: Williamson County Tennessee is one of the richest counties in the country. It's offers exceedingly large homes, expensive shopping, Land Rover driving housewives whose only work involves keeping up with the Joneses and who lack any capacity to yield while in traffic (why should they? It's all about them anyway...), and predominantly white, Republicans who believe Reaganism is still a viable political ideology (if it ever was one).

Sometimes, it's the little douchebaggeries that stick in my craw.

Rather than examine their own failings, these nitwits make life harder for the low-paid employees of a bookstore.

Suppose that's the price paid by a business that caters to the educated and well-informed. God knows no self-respecting right-winger would be caught in a bookstore that wasn't LifeWay unless they were up to mischief.

Racist groups make racism more palatable by using innocuous names. Trouble.

I came across this hate group website and thought it important to point out one simple thing common to bigots and morons.

They engage in conflation so as to gain the benefits of ticking people off while denying what they're doing. Bunch of pussies if you ask me.

Specifically, this group calls itself the innocuous sounding Council of Conservative Citizens. The Southern Poverty Law Center keeps tabs on them, especially since Obama was elected.

Sounds benign until you read their racist bullshit. They're entitled to their opinion, but there's no escaping the racist aspects of their views. It's even worse if you go to their state Chapters, viz., Alabama.

Their view is that all problems stem from Marxists, Left-wing, elitist (read: educated) whites and the non-whites who support them.

Despite the obvious conflation of Communism with Liberalism (They're not the same unless you're trying to deceive people..), these bozos, do everything but wear white robes and salute Hitler.

Everything but open association with traditional racist groups is what distinguishes these groups. By a process of gradual habituation, they make racism more palatable.

If that weren't the case, then they'd have the balls to be honest with their name and their agenda.