LIBERADIO(!)

You want to talk about bitter? OK, let’s talk about bitter.

• I’m bitter that the news most people watch and the news most people read chooses to report on ill-chosen words of one presidential candidate rather than the disastrous foreign policy views of another (Oh, really, John McCain, Sadr’s “influence has been on the wane for a long time?” And is he a Sunni or a Shia, sir?).
• I’m bitter that the news most people watch and the news most people read chooses to report on ill-chosen words of one presidential candidate rather than the Bush administration’s deliberate attempt to cover their torture-monkey asses with legal briefs.
• I’m bitter that my government chooses torture over moral superiority.
• I’m bitter that five years ago “major combat operations” were declared over.
• I’m bitter that only 28 percent of Americans know the number of American casualties in Iraq.
• I’m bitter that no one knows the real number of Iraqi civilian casualties.
• I’m bitter that as the war in Iraq rages on, the guys in charge choose to represent “significant progress” with charts and graphs while ignoring the carnage on the ground.
• I’m bitter that 17 of the nation’s 50 largest cities have high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent.
• I’m bitter that 1 in every 100 Americans is incarcerated.
• I’m bitter that we spend $435 million a day, $3 billion a week, $12 billion a month, on the Iraq war and nothing to improve the education or the lives of our citizens.
• I’m bitter that I can’t be critical of our government’s policies and leaders – you know, the people that work for us – without being told that I should love my country more or move to Cuba.
• I’m bitter that I can’t get close enough to Dick Cheney to wag my finger in his face in response to “So?”
• I’m bitter that more people in Tennessee, including some legislators, choose to care about the integrity of the lottery instead of the integrity of our elections.
• I’m bitter that we’re still lagging behind (“studying the science?) instead of leading on global climate change.
• I’m bitter that there are still some adults in this country who believe it better to attack those who ask the hard questions about race rather than have meaningful conversations.
• I’m bitter that these adults have radio and televisions shows where they get to spew their nonsense to millions of people.
• I’m bitter that people have such short memories that Fox News can get away with this s**t.

And so, is it surprising then that I cling to my martinis and my Constitution and my antipathy towards a government who doesn’t represent my values as a way to deal with my frustrations?

UPDATE: Thank you, Robert Reich (and hat tip to Freddie), for being more eloquent than I and spot on with your blog post, “Obama, Bitterness, Meet the Press, and the Old Politics.”