BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Barack Obama has managed a rare feat: The longer he holds office, the more he diminishes in stature. BY James W. Ceaser From charisma to populism—this is the slippery slope down which Barack Obama has been sliding over the past two years. In June 2008, Obama the candidate described his nomination as “the moment when .  .  . our planet began to heal.” In June 2010, Obama the president promised his partisans he would find an “ass to kick.” With the peculiar magic of his presidential campaign now a faded memory, Obama is shoring up support by the cruder method of divisive appeals. Long before the current (already hugely extended) campaign season began, Obama made it a practice to target opposition symbols (“the insurance industry,” “speculators,” “a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” the oil companies), call out and assail individual opponents (Rush Limbaugh, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner), and refer disparagingly to the Tea Party movement and Republicans in general (“this cr...

An Excerpt from the book ( highly recommended by this blogger! ) : In Sheep's Clothing - By George K. Simon Two Basic Types of Aggression There are two basic types of aggression: overt-aggression and covert-aggression. When you're determined to have something and you're open, direct and obvious in your manner of fighting, your behavior is best labeled overtly aggressive. When you're out to "win," dominate or control, but are subtle, underhanded or deceptive enough to hide your true intentions, your behavior is most appropriately labeled covertly aggressive. Now, avoiding any overt display of aggression while simultaneously intimidating others into giving you what you want is a powerfully manipulative maneuver. That's why covert-aggression is most often the vehicle for interpersonal manipulation. Acts of Covert-Aggression vs. Covert-Aggressive Personalities Most of us have engaged in some sort of covertly aggressive behavior from time to time. P...

When I was still a devout Catholic (which I was until my late-30s) the one practice I hated and never could get the "hang" of was the Sacrament of Confession. Why should have to tell my 'sins' to some priest?, I thought. I always felt I had an intimate relationship with God, so why tell some guy with a collar? And the hypocrisy of behavior I saw in the priests I knew was enough to send me running. Besides, that dark booth - where the little screen slides open and then you pour your heart out? No way. When I got older and little more worldly it reminded me of some disgusting peep-show booth on the old 42nd Street. Creepy. But now you can CONFESS online. Sorry, but in the first place I don't think confession clears anyone. The person you should be dialoging with is the person you harmed. Not projection, not smearing and certainly not telling asking a priest to give you absolution -- but the person you used, abused, crapped all over or lied to. Yes, THAT pers...

by Karen Northon In Hollywood, it all comes down to how well you can deliver a line, which is perhaps why so many in the land of make-believe adore the dictatorial drama queen Hugo Chavez. The whole world truly is a stage. The man is a compelling orator to those whose ideological cataracts prevent them from seeing through Chavez’s persuasive rhetoric to the underlying persecution complex that directs his every move. Hollywood is flooded with such visually-impaired, self-proclaimed foreign policy experts who believe Chavez just wants to hold hands with everyone and sing We Are the World. Socialist-dictator groupie Sean Penn spent some quality time with Chavez in 2007 and again in 2008, calling him “a fascinating guy.” In Penn’s defense, I will admit I find documentaries about serial killers fascinating – though I don’t think I’d care to spend time cozying up with one and waxing intellectual about the politics of their brutality. Then we have everyone’s favorite conspiracy-theory movie d...

The old name for this was scapegoating... and it continues on, unabated. In fact, we only need to look at those closest to us and at our elected politicians to see this unfortunate tactic is still in full force everyday. Right, - how about the 'flag' list BARRY? by Kathy Krajco Something all abusers, destructive narcissists or bullies do. And are all too often believed. Projection is a new name for an old thing, scapegoating. In this section I just explain it in general terms, with examples. In the next section, we zero-in on how narcissists project and what is unique about the way they do it. Projection. We find it everywhere. Which should be no surprise. It's actually the oldest trick in The Book. Really. The Serpent pulled it on Eve in the Book of Genesis when, in the very act of lying to Eve, he accused God of being the liar. Here's how the story goes. The serpent had just suggested that Eve eat the Forbidden Fruit, and she replied that God told them not to becau...

from the great Deadenders: Obama is a lying sack of crap! I hope no one is surprised that Mr. Present Vote is falling like a stone in the polls. His days of being able to say “hope and change”, and everyone just going along with whatever he says are coming to an end. Every bill that he’s rammed through congress because we “have to do it now or the world will explode”, have been a disaster. They look really bad if you read them too. With all that bad news and blaming Bush doesn’t quite have the cache it once did. It’s time to come up with a new plan, so here it is. Transparency be damned, that would be more funny if the oilsoc Administration was actually transparent. It’s time to start hiding things. oilsoc: I never said anything about closing Gitmo President Obama on Monday extended by six months a task force charged with determining how terrorism suspects should be interrogated, held in custody or handed over to other countries, putting in jeopardy his promise to close the military ...

If this isn't PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE BLAME SHIFTING then I don't know what is. I'm no Gingrich fan but in this case he is SPOT ON! Gag me! Thwarting Iran hinges on Israeli-Palestinian talks Thwarting Iran's nuclear program is conditional on progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Israeli TV reports said Monday that Emanuel made the comments in a closed-door meeting the previous day with 300 major AIPAC donors. Last month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Israel that it risks losing Arab support for combating threats from Iran if it rejects peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Clinton said Arab nations had conditioned helping Israel counter Iran on Jerusalem's commitment to the peace process. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post Sunday, former US House speaker Newt Gingrich blasted the Obama administration for setting itself on a collision course with Israel a...