A COUP BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS BAD!

When is a coup not a coup? Apparently it is when the President won't say the word. I know it's a complicated business. Israel is worried about its security if Egypt were to descend further into chaos, Our own military contractors are worried about future sales to Egypt should we declare it a coup and have to stop military aid. The Saudi Royal  Family and various other of our allied Kings, Sheiks and Dictators in the region are probably a little nervous too. Then there is that whole democracy thing, you remember, our supposed support of fairly elected governments but maybe that's only when they turn out the way we want them to. No Islamic fundamentalist need participate! Can you imagine the message this is sending to the Muslim  world? 

I think we should at least be honest about the situation and admit that the Egyptian Army has executed a "Coup D'etat", deposed Egypt's first democratically elected government which we were more than a little nervous about and we are standing by and letting them do it. Our President won't even say the word.

BP: DON'T GET MAD, DON'T GET EVEN, GET SMART!

This cartoon was inspired by one of those warm and fuzzy BP commercials that talks about how much British Petroleum is doing to cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico and take care of all the folks along the Gulf Coast. At the same time I was reading about the considerable efforts BP is making in court to shirk it's responsibility in the matter. It just made me mad! Hence the cartoon you see above but that got me thinking. 

There is an old political saying that goes: "Don't Get Mad, Get Even!" As dumb as getting mad and doing something rash is, plotting revenge is probably worse. So what are we to do when something like a BP or Walmart commercial or price gouging at the gas pump makes us really mad? You know you are being lied to or cheated or both but what to do? Most of us just get cynical, learn to live with the situation and develop high blood pressure but there is another path you can take. Get Smart! Use your brain and figure out how you can change the situation. For instance, I won't shop at Walmart because of their labor practices and by doing some research I found that CostCo and WinCo have just as low of prices and they treat their employees fairly. I'm as upset as anyone about the manipulation of gas prices so I've decided that our next car is going to be either a plug in hybrid or an electric car. I'm doing my research now and I'm finding that prices are finally coming down into my price range. I know that there aren't easy solutions for every injustice but there are probably more options out there than you are aware of. 

As Progressives, we need to find these new solutions not just nationally but on an individual and community level, that's going to take some serious creative thought! So, like I say if you don't like the way things are going "Don't Get Mad, Don't Get Even, Get Smart!"