Green Mass Group - Recent Comments

WOW - that was really bad music Eli. Really bad.

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:39:28 GMT

And however much I want to be swayed by your "real pain" argument, I think it is exposed as a red herring by the pointed words of none other than Fidel Castro:

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:58:52 GMT

WOW! Eli just called Horan a fricken Communist!

It's on! It's on everyone! IT'S FRICKEN ON!!!

even the (mis)perception of a safe states strategy...

eli_beckerman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:30:16 GMT

back in 2004 was enough to hurt the Green presidential campaign. That was the source for so much of the distracting infighting.

And however much I want to be swayed by your "real pain" argument, I think it is exposed as a red herring by the pointed words of none other than Fidel Castro:

The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is - and I mean this seriously - the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been.

When you look behind the curtain of U.S. political theater, that's where you see the real strings being pulled, the real bloodsport that now has Barack Obama presiding over the same disastrous, deadly (real, real fucking pain, my friend) ship of state we call America. And you have liberals stuck like deer in headlights, trying to make sense of the whole thing and whitewashing the worst parts of it.

I no longer see a Barack Obama presidency as a "better" thing than a George W. Bush presidency. This Glenn Greenwald article on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sealed the deal on that one for me. There are surely ways in which it is better, and just as surely ways in which it is worse. But the real pain this system has enacted under his "leadership" will only accelerate with his re-election.

In this system, you don't gain respect by being cautious and self-silencing. You gain respect by leading the charge for justice at a time when justice has been so turned upon its head (even with an articulate, constitutional law scholar at the helm) as to render the word meaningless (see Wall Street, Occupy). You find whatever leverage you can to break through weak spots, to amplify your voice, to energize new supporters. If you happen to find yourself in a battleground state that happens to hold the balance of power with a large, self-organizing force of justice behind you, then you turn up the heat, sharpen the strategic razor, and make the impossible possible... or at least negotiate some visible practical victory and build from there.

well you can see the URL when you hover over it

eli_beckerman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:42:17 GMT

but it makes me kinda wish I was thinking more clearly and told you this is where I really was.

a message to our esteemed House Speaker...

eli_beckerman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:36:52 GMT

... from MA's own Juliana Hatfield (and a young Jon Stewart):

Yes, this is the SOTU we should have heard (but delivered by a real 99%er)

michael horan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:09:54 GMT

It's really good. I've read it over, fact-checked a number of things--and reposted.
(One thing missing--you thank the troops serving overseas. Whether you approve of the mission or not. This is a glaring omission and it does not speak well of either the candidate or the campaign).

Oh, and NOT a good idea to make Election Day a national holiday. Half the country will take an out-of-state vacation and the other half will be wasted by noon. Nice concept, bad practice.

I'd be actively supporting this candidate if she adopted a safe-state strategy. Having already admitted that she can't win, she's running a symbolic race. But in the real world, a whole lotta real people are gonna feel a whole lot more real pain if a Republican wins the Presidency--one reason why we desperately need more low-income people running, and need to stop allowing millionnaires in every party, Greens included, to be speaking for us. They don't fucking understand and they have the luxury of speaking from places where they quite simply will not feel our pain. Romney, Gingrich, Obama, Stein, Nader. It's too goddamn easy to say all-or-nothing when you have plenty.

And from a strategic Green standpouint--the fewer places in which she ran (safe states), the more support she'd wind up with--people would respect that, would understand that the canddiate understand that's what good for the Green Party (and it won't be good)isn't necessarily what's best for the people.

But it doesn't fit into the GRP scorched-earth policy.

I'll click the link Eli! I fricken better not get Rick Rolled!!

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:06:39 GMT

ya hear me Eli !!!!

I said I fricken better not get Rick Rolled!!!

"the experience myth"

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:44:46 GMT

Oye - one of these guys . . .

Eli, that's crazy. That's completely flippin crazy. DeFranco, A LAWYER, thinks it's OK to break SOME laws as long as you're a peaceful protestor (BTW - This is code speak for 'go ahead and break some laws I won't look ... AS LONG AS YOU AGREE WITH ME) WOW - LET'S MAKE HER A LAWMAKER!

It's because of people like DeFranco that we must never hand someone a seat in the US Senate without first seeing how they handle power. Same with Elizabeth 'I throw rocks at people I disagree with' Warren. Neither of these women has ever served a day in the lege ... any lege. They've never made a law, never maneuvered a bill through congress and have never represented people that they disagree with. They are dangerous even to the people who think she will do their evil bidding.

Did your 70 friends living at the church collect $20 from everyone to replace the stolen laptop yet? It's been a while now.

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:29:22 GMT

Also i'm surprised you guys don't leave the church and make room for real homeless people to stay there. Anything to say for yourself, Pavlov?

the "experience" myth

eli_beckerman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:21:20 GMT

Oh Ram Rod, if you took all the collective experience of all of our fantastic elected officials, and put it to the test, you'd get exactly what we've got right now -- a big, stinking mess.

Now don't get me wrong, I think experience counts for something. But it's really just one factor in a relatively complex equation. Feel free to oversimplify it -- but your partisan allegiances will just have you cherrypicking other oversimplified excuses to support your choices as you go forward. Do you really think Scott Brown's experience in the Massachusetts State House made him qualified to be a U.S. Senator? Do you think he was a real heavyweight and that he is now? Do you think he is up for solving the enormous problems that confront our country, our Commonwealth, and our communities?

We need real leaders right now, and Scott Brown is a disingenuous, uninspired political hack. Elizabeth Warren has made real waves in a political and economic landscape that have largely shut out the voices of We, The People. But she is clearly showing that she has learned to play the type of insiders game that has destroyed our democracy. DeFranco is the ONLY candidate for Senate that I've seen that has demonstrated genuine leadership in her campaign. I don't know for certain whether she's up to the task of helping to turn things around in Massachusetts and beyond, but I've got more confidence in her than anyone else. Sadly, I think her chances of beating Warren are slim. But that's up to us to change.

Ram Rod for Wall Street

eli_beckerman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:08:48 GMT

I'm glad you're so enthralled with Wall Street, Ram Rod. Or Rod Radio? Republican Ram? Really, what should I call you?

I'm glad you care about following the law. I'm sure you're an upstanding citizen. But do you think Wall Street is? What about the people who run our state and federal governments?

Civil disobedience is the principled breaking of laws to stand up for the greater good, and without it, we'd have to erase so much social progress that even you would probably be appalled by the regression.

Our history, especially in Massachusetts, is a revolutionary one, and without that, we'd still be servants to our British masters. Sadly, our history is also one of colonization, which continues to this day. Which "occupation" do you find to be just or unjust, necessary or superfluous?

To answer your questions:

1) I think they absolutely should have been allowed to winterize their encampment.

2) I think the first amendment protects a broad amount of activity, and more importantly, our natural rights protect the resistance of tyranny. I do not believe that ANY group should be allowed to build winterized structures on public land for ANY purpose. But yes, I believe that the homeless have EVERY right to build winterized structures on public land, and our "Christian nation" should have already taken care of that act. It is shameful, absolutely shameful, that we have not.

3) I think that municipalities have the right to enforce their laws -- whether zoning, public health, trespassing, etc. I don't think the squatters or occupiers should pay additional property tax unless they are given title to the land. I'd love to see a more fair distribution of the tax burden in general, so that those who reap the biggest benefits are paying back proportionately.

Actually, I was...

eli_beckerman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:20:54 GMT

HERE. I'm glad you care, Ram Rod.

Where was Eli and his sidekick Pavlov on Friday 1/20/2012 ?????

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:20:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) - An elaborate plan to occupy courthouses in cities across the nation started off quietly on Friday, with only a few dozen demonstrators turning out to protest a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that removed most limits on corporate and labor spending in U.S. elections.Move to Amend, the grassroots coalition that organized the event, said protesters in more than 100 cities would launch petition drives to gain support for a constitutional amendment that would overturn a 2010 court ruling.
Occupy Wall Street activists have joined forces with the group.In Washington, D.C., just 150 protesters made an appearance Friday morning outside the U.S. Supreme Court, a small crowd compared with the average protest in the nation's capital.
In Baltimore, about two dozen protesters drew occasional honks from passing drivers as they stood outside the federal courthouse with signs that read: "Corporations are not people, Money is not speech," and "B-heard: Corporate money out of politics."
A demonstration of about 100 people outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis included chants and street theater. One skit involved a judge who performed a marriage ceremony between a person and a corporation.
In San Francisco, several protesters chained themselves to the front doors of Wells Fargo's corporate headquarters and linked arms to prevent people from going inside a Bank of America branch. No arrests have been reported so far.
But in St. Louis, just four people showed up for a planned gathering outside of City Hall. They hung around for several minutes before leaving without a rally.It was a far cry from Occupy protests in the fall, when hundreds gathered around the clock at a small downtown park near Busch Stadium.
"Back in October it was easy to find out what was going on," said 51-year-old Don Higgins of St. Louis. "You just went down to Kiener Plaza and asked somebody."

http://news.yahoo.com/proteste...

Maybe Eli and Pavlov were too busy turning over trashcans and steel barricades to show up and do something constructive with their time. Or Maybe they were organizing a march somewhere. Anyway - I can't wait to hear the excuse.

"sober" reality began to settle in...Obama signed the bill on the 31st. Now anyone can be picked up for any reason...and held indefinitely.

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:30:41 GMT

Hey Pavlov since you are somewhat sober what do you think about supporting a candidate to run against Obama? Or would you and your friends rather knock trash cans over and sleep in churches pretending to be real homeless people?

Thank god you survived Pavlov!

Republican Ram Rod Radio — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:13:08 GMT

Thursday night a few of us were on the A train when five cops got on. - Pavlov

Doh shit! Really Pavlov? What were they doing? What were they doing?

They stood together for a few stops, then took up positions at different doors for a few more stops. - Pavlov

Ah - I see ... they were probably trying to block your escape Pavlov!

They got off the train right behind us and seemed to follow us a way down the platform. - Pavlov

They probably wanted to arrest you for being totally awesome Pavlov!

It wasn't until we started up the steps that we noticed they were gone. I don't think they knew we were OWS. I think it's more likely that we looked freaky or poor, that we didn't fit in with Bloomberg and Company's vision of the new New York, and were letting us know. - Pavlov

Yup - just like all the spy thrillers that I've read, the cops probably tried the old "Let's make it look like we are cops riding the T and ensuring public safety, when really we are here to follow poor freaks around per order of Mayor Bloomberg" routine.