Enough of "compromise." There comes a time when making nice and "compromising" is to compromise one's integrity. Look at Alan Grayson's calling a spade a spade, insulting Republicans—we loved it! And they backed down. It's the only way to deal with bullies. The insurance industry has been the bully on the block for far too long.

Yup. Notice how Ralph always turns out to be correct? I am so grateful for his steadfast adherence to uncontaminated truth. I need to remind myself of this, the next time I find myself buying into Obamamania.

I came to votenader.org this morning to see if Ralph had anything to say yet about Obama's probable choice for Attorney General, Eric Holder, and found Ralph's apt thoughts on relevant things, but nothing on Holder. It seems to me that choice is especially emblematic of what we can expect from Obama's presidency, besides the ones Ralph mentioned. After all, the guy negotiated a sweetheart deal for Chiquita Brands, allowing them to slither away from accountability for the crime of funding death squads in Columbia. (anyway, this is my take on it, for what it's worth: http://thomasinapaine.blogspot.com/2008/11/eric-c...)

I also TOTALLY enjoyed seeing Ralph at the La Paloma Theater in Oceanside...whenever it was. I loved seeing his funny side, so much. He's a national treasure, for sure.

—L'eau

You know, I think it's a good idea to just ignore the labeling, the ad hominem crap. If there's no rational defense, there will be name-calling...except when I do it—then it's totally reasonable. (kidding) I don't worry about myself being "anti-semitic;" and the whole idea that any criticism of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians is ipso-facto anti-semitic is beyond chutzpah...I mean, as long as it is taboo to criticize Israel, well, they can do pretty much anything they like to the Palestinians! But maybe that's the whole idea. On the other hand, I'm sure the deep wound of the Holocaust, which is present for many still, makes for a sensitivity and defensiveness. But I do think it is dirty pool to use it in a knee jerk manner.

I haven't read Carter's book, but, of course, I respect him for his fairness, in general. I know he has enraged many with his book, but somebody had to speak up. I'm sure he sees both sides and could be a big help, if only people would listen. But when religion is involved, watch out!

I can't tell if you're in Israel or in America. If you have lived in Israel you may have a more informed view of the situation.

Yes, good points. You have the better credibility, given your religious and social affiliations. I'm just me, a gentile here in San Diego. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been pissing me off for quite awhile. I just don't get why Israel gets a pass from America for the human rights abuses of Palestinians. I wish somebody would explain it to me. The question now is whether Obama will manage to address those abuses, or will he kowtow to the Rahm Emanuel faction on his Cabinet?

p.s. http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com looks like a great resource for information of conscience and consciousness. Thanks so much for that.

"Corporate whore" is good, though maybe it's an insult to whores everywhere.

Yes, I couldn't watch for long either. And, no, I am not particularly interested in celebrity gossip. I do think the trend toward uniformity in the looks of American women is interesting, however.

I wonder if my outrage fatigue itself is putting my health at risk? I wonder if we can take any more of this, the endless saturation of bad news about bad people doing bad things to us and our world. I wonder what Ralph's solution is to outrage fatigue—perhaps action and resistance would be his cure. As for me, I need a break! http://thomasinapaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/yum-m-...

Thanks to Ralph for being our best hero. Just seeing his wonderful face is a healing thing.

L.

Where to begin...? First, for me, the notion that it is okay for one group of people to move into an area and destroy lives and homes based on goofy teachings written in a goofy book by goofy folks thousands of years ago is just plain goofy. You might consider exercising your critical thinking skills. Think about how YOU would feel to have your home bulldozed to make room for somebody who thinks you don't have a right to be there, based on the Koran, for example. And if your children, your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers are killed in the process, based on their religion, how would you react?

Religion and government are never a good mix, and that's where the wisdom of the First Amendment to our Constitution works for us. Unfortunately, the formation of Israel left out that bit of wisdom, thus we have the disaster that is the Israel/Palestine conflict.

The shameful thing is that candidates cannot speak about the plight of Palestinians without being dismissed in the most hateful terms as "anti-Semitic." Of course, it is entirely fallacious and idiotic to try to invalidate the compassionate concerns of those whose objectivity has led them to an opinion they could not ignore without sacrificing conscience. Everyone, except the most vile among us, despises, in solidarity with all Jews, what happened in WWII—the holocaust. But the terrible truth is that those in Israel who deny the humanity of Palestinians, through innumerable human rights violations, simply HAVE BECOME WHAT THEY DESPISE. It is a sad truth—huge suffering sometimes creates righteous monsters in turn. They need to take stock of how they have become what they have despised and just put a stop to it.

We can put pressure on the candidates, on the media, and on the Israeli government to stop human rights abuse against the Palestinian people. It's what I intend to do, regardless.