I’m just a sixth grade school teacher (I’m pointing this out just in case someone happens onto this site – believe me, I already know this :o) who has had the misfortune to start reading books about The Iraq war, the Bush administration, and our government in general. Now, it’s true that I originally was a political science major in college and have been following politics to some degree over the past 45 years or so, but not with the same intensity that was generated from my desire to understand the full effects of the Bush government (or lack thereof) on my granddaughter and soon to be grandson or granddaughter #2. They are the ones who will feel the full effect of what has been done over the past 8 years (actually, I believe the republican assault on our system of government started with Richard Millhouse Nixon – I don’t think anyone with Millhouse as part of their name in any way should ever be eligible to run for public office again!). Today, I am feeling the need to express my thoughts about the financial crisis of 2008 and where it is headed.

In regard to this crisis and Bush’s culpibility, I could probably sum up my thoughts by saying I saw the guy in Iraq throwing his shoes at Bush, which if you didn’t know this – throwing a shoe at someone in Iraq is the supreme insult, and my first thought was that I wished one of the shoes would have hit the target. Bush actually showed he still has some reflexes as he dodged the shoes. As a side note: (if you’ve read many of my posts you know that I’m not good at avoiding sidenotes) in many parts of the Arab world (and probably our “world” too) the guy is being hailed as a courageous hero. The “official” word from the Iraqi leadership is that Arabs don’t treat foreign dignitaries with disrespect. When I read that I just about gagged – I don’t have time for this sidenote here, but if you want to know how they really treat people they don’t like, read the book “Moqtada as Sadr” by I can’t remember who right now.

I’m just trying to frame what I really want to talk about today – the recession/possible depression. This thing is BAD. I don’t think the average person on the street understands how bad it is – because the “full force” has not hit yet and what I see “looming” is HUGE! Keep in mind the way our media has been working for the past 30 years or so. The republicans have been secretly gaining control of the different aspects of the so-called “mainstream media” now since the early eighties when Reagan gained the White House. It has gotten to the point where about five corporations control a vast majority of the information that is relayed to the public. The only saving grace for those of us who want to know what is REALLY going on out there is the internet. When the “BIG BOYS” clamp down on the freedom of information on the internet, that will be the time to really start to worry about what lies ahead. And as I just wrote the word “lies” in the context of what is going to happen in the future, it reminded me of the importance of the other meaning of the word – because that is what Murdoch, GE, and their surrogates like Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and so many others specialize in – lies.

The fact that it finally came out in the last couple of weeks that we’ve been in a recession since late in 2007 shouldn’t be such a surprise to those of us who have been watching carefully. In fact, I’ve been warning the young teachers in my school not to borrow money, to save money, and be prepared for a devestating economic “crunch” since mid 2007. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, I’m just trying to point out that it didn’t take an expert to figure out the economy was upside down. It’s just that a vast majority of Americans are too busy trying to get by to even take a moment to figure this out, and most of the ones I talk to aren’t interested. I often hear “I don’t want to talk about politics.” The fact that the government “discovered” we’re in a recession over a year after it started shouldn’t be too surprising either, but it’s an indictment on our nation as it is presently functioning.

The Bush administration has been throwing money at the problem since early in 2008. My thoughts regarding the different stimulus packages, from the money they gave each of the taxpayers to the incredible amounts of money they’ve been throwing at Wall Street; that should have been “red flags” to anyone paying attention. They didn’t want to use the “R” word prior to the election just in case the public was stupid enough to fail to notice everything around them standing on shaky ground. The big problem, as I see it, is that the greed of the politicians in power, and the corporations that put them there, did (does) not allow for any kind of serious attempt to actually address an economy that is failing. They were hoping that they could win another election and, I suppose, thinking that there was a bottomless pit of money for them to get their hands on. Unfortunately, the government is supposed to intervene and actually manage the economy, not facilitate their friends stealing from it – and by the time Bush is out of office the damage will be so great that it’s going to take years to recover from this. The big question I have is “Where is the bottom?”

There is an old saying that goes something like this: “When my neighbor is out of work, it’s a recession. When I’m out of work it’s a depression.” Well, a lot of people in this country, based on that saying, are feeling like we’re in a depression – and I believe you can count on this – a lot more are going to be in that category soon. Barrack Obama, in my opinion, has the right philosophical approach when he says that the solution is a “bottom up” approach to creating jobs. Essentially, the people at the bottom of the “food chain” need to have an opportunity to get financially healthy again. In a true solid economy the theory should be “trickle up” instead of the “trickle down” theory of “supply side” economics initiated under Ronald Reagan and correctly labeled as “voodoo economics” by the first President Bush during the campaign that ended up putting both he and Reagan in the White House. Unfortunately, with the exception of the eight years of Bill Clinton, we have had to endure “trickle down” economics for the past 28 years. The “bills” are finally coming due!

The rich people didn’t “trickle down” the trillions of dollars they gleaned from our economy in the form of tax reductions that have pushed our national debt over 10 trillion dollars. Early on in Bush 2’s first term, Dick Cheney, who somehow was put in charge of the economic policy of Bush’s administration, was quoted as saying “Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter.” Well, of course they don’t matter to people like him who are amassing fortunes in the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars. The problem with all this is that “We the People” are about to pay maybe the largest price in the history of our nation for their excesses. This recession/depression is a national disaster unfolding right before our eyes – and a severe threat to our national security, which these republicans are supposedly very concerned about. Obama is showing signs of retreat in regard to taxing the “rich” in this country, but if he does he, in my opinion, is making a huge mistake.

I realize that President Obama is going to have to live with some massive deficits for at least the first few years of his administration. But he needs to send a clear message to those who “have” that this is a national crisis, and them paying more in taxes is critical to generating the funds necessary to get us out of the mess created by “trickle down” economics. They will continue to be filthy rich, but they also stand to lose if we don’t get this “ship” turned around as soon as possible. I believe most Americans who have large estates will be willing to pay more in taxes to protect this nation’s position in the world. A recession of this magnitude could be, in a way, looked at as the mushroom cloud everyone was worried about when Bush was lying us into the Iraq war. If you can picture in your mind the ripple effects of each entity going “under” maybe you can see that the worst is still in front of us – I believe it will be at least two years before things actually start to turn around.

To me, the $700 billion bailout will be like throwing “good money after bad” (although I hesitate to call it good money, because I have no idea where they got it – I’m assuming a printing press somewhere) unless Obama steps in and redirects the remaining unused portion of the money in a direction that will actually stimulate the parts of the economy in stress. I work in a small school district (compared to some of the districts in big cities across this nation) and when I see talk of eliminating 148 teachers just in our district next year (that’s almost 15%) it helps me to see the gravity of the problem. And this shows how the effects of a crisis like this “mushrooms.” The 148 teachers will come from the “bottom” meaning the newest ones into the profession (for those of you who don’t support unions – you are now in even more precarious positions in your own job because businesses will not have to honor long term commitments) and probably many will find other endeavors before they can regain their positions. AND WE NEED MORE TEACHERS and these are good teachers! More importantly, without these teachers, the students are the ones who will suffer because the size of classes will go way up.

If you are not familiar with teaching, research supports the claim that the ideal class size is 18 students. As the amount goes upward the achievement goes downward because the teacher has less ability to work one-on-one with the students. AND OUR STUDENTS ARE OUR FUTURE! So while we’re throwing away money at Wall Street banks (by my calculation the $700 Billion would have been sufficient to balance almost all the state budgets in the country) public services will be slashed across the nation. Because I’m a teacher I’m trying to point out that the cut in services to our students (they will still be there no matter what the economy does) will be felt for years in the reduced performance of schools (of course the government will demand that achievement continue to grow even if we have 35 students in the classroom – that’s ridiculous!). But you can carry this over into just about any situation you want.

Health care; less people working, less people with insurance, less money for health care; the same or more demand for the services. Even someone who doesn’t spend much time thinking about these things can figure this one out. How about law enforcement; This is a good one. Let’s see; less money for “cops” means less “cops;” Less money for schools and services for kids, means more juvenile crime; Less money for jobs, means more unemployment and more crimes; Less money for prisons and more crimes means overcrowding which leads to the courts saying “release prisoners” which leads to even more crime. I could go on and on here. My point is that keeping Goldman Sachs in the black, while good for Henry Paulsen’s personal fortune, isn’t going to do much for students in my classroom whose parents already can’t afford to buy them a coat for the cold winter weather. This idea that we take care of the rich and somehow they will find it in their hearts to take care of the poor has finally come home to roost. There are thirty five days left for Bush to be inhabiting the White House, and he will probably continue to pore gas on the fire, so to speak, right up to the last day. My hope is that Obama hits the ground “running” and makes wise choices (if he doesn’t we are really in a fix)to counteract the “Bush doctrine” and that there is some accountability for those who have caused this. I’m OK with them wanting accountability for me in my classroom. I should be accountable. I also want accountability for my government. Unfortunately, the damage done by a government which succumbs to greed and corruption is far more devastating than my students not passing the state’s tests. The purpose of accountability is to prevent something like this from happening again. As far as punishment goes, I’m open to suggestions. While I believe Bush and many of his friends deserve “time” for their deeds, maybe there’s another way to get the point across that this can’t happen again. I’d like to see a poll of how many Americans would like to throw their shoes at President Bush!

OK, it’s clear now that I will probably not be able to stop writing about the Bush administration until long after they are out of office. The damage they have caused is unbelievable. And it’s like George is just passing time as we close in on the day so many of us have been anxious for since 2000, preparing to move to his new all-white neighborhood (is anyone surprised, really?) as if there’s nothing left to do but prepare the history books for the “true” story of why our country is falling apart at the seems. I think his determination to rewrite history is motivating my determination to make sure that he is unable to manipulate what he has done – and hopefully pay more of a price for his actions than to spend his remaining years with a bunch of rich white folk complaining about high government taxes. This guy, and his close associates, have chosen to break numerous laws ON PURPOSE! They didn’t just screw up a couple times and then say they were sorry, they purposefully broke laws with the intention of increasing the power of the presidency to something that resembles a monarchy (I even believe they felt Jeb was next in line – and don’t be surprised if he re-emerges in the not too distant future if GW gets away with what he’s done). The end result, considering the enormous power that has been given to the corporate heads in this country was a nation on the verge of a fascist government when the wheels finally started to fall off.

But don’t kid yourself, the wheels aren’t off all the way yet. Maybe this ridiculous display of union bashing the republicans are displaying as they attempt to destroy the United Auto Workers will have a lasting effect that will preclude ordinary Americans from voting republican for generations to come – I couldn’t be happier if that is the case. Hopefully, another group of people will emerge as the competing party to the democrats, maybe the Green party or something like that – so that there is a genuine debate as to how we “pull” ourselves out of the mess that the Bush administration (and the republican party of the last 30+ years) has created for us. Even a lot of the people I know who backed Bush are starting to realize what a baffoon he is – normally, they vote for republicans because of the abortion issue – but even they are beginning to see that “We the People” have been robbed blind by these criminals. They’ve profited off of a war (that in itself is sickening – when the whole truth about the fraud associated with Iraq comes out – people are going to be really angry – our young men and women dying while Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and their cronies are getting filthy rich on “no-bid” contracts to provide false services in an illegal occupation, ugh!!!), they’ve filtered trillions of tax revenue to the top 1% over the last 8 years while the treasury has gone essentially into bankruptcy, and to top it off – while the economy is tanking they figured out a way to give $350 billion to their buddies “to save the economy!” This is all shockingly unbelievable to me – and it’s finally getting the attention it deserves. But there’s more!

Possibly more important than the thievery, is the assault on the constitution. This is the part that I’m really going to be upset about if Bush, Cheney, Addington (Cheney’s lawyer), Gonzales, Rove, Libby, et al are allowed to walk after thumbing their collective noses at the constitution they swore to uphold when they took office in January of 2001. It has become clear to me that they had no intention of following this constitution the day they swore to do so! And the major culprits here were Cheney and Addington, although Bush was the “boss” or “decider” as he referred to himself. I’m just finishing a book called “The Shadow Factory” by James Bamford that gives the history of the NSA (National Security Administration) all the way back to WW I and leading up to the warrantless wiretapping program authorized by GW Bush and championed by Cheney and Addington, that become public knowledge in 2005 – and it’s still going on today. Every adult who votes in this country should read this book. Maybe you don’t believe in the value of the constitution, but just to make my personal biases clear, I have a sticker on my car that says, “I am a constitution voter.” After hearing of this program I donated money to the ALCU for the first time in my life. This should be a HUGE RED FLAG to all of us!

For those of you (here I go fantasizing that people actually read this :o) old enough to remember Richard Nixon, the first president in my lifetime with the philosophy that “If the president does it, it must be legal,” you know why the FISA court and supporting legislation came into existence. Simply put, it would be hard to have a real democracy if the party in power was able to listen in to the phone conversations and/or read the mail of those who oppose them. And, of course, then there’s the question of the right to privacy of our citizens that is guaranteed by the fourth amendment to the constitution. As Bush himself said early in his presidency (but after he had authorized this intrusive program) “The government can’t listen to your phone calls without a warrant” or something similar to that. I mean, when you find out the truth, I guess it’s just one more blatant pathalogical lie from this man – but you know that after the republicans spent years and hundreds of millions to impeach Clinton for lying about sex (I’m not defending Clinton here) – wouldn’t you expect a bit more. I mean the guy is violating the constitution, he’s committing probably millions of felonies, he knows exactly what he’s doing and he tells us that the government needs a warrant to listen to our phone calls which he’s in essence listening to without a warrant as he speaks. YES, THEY DO TAKE US FOR IDIOTS!

Not only has the government been listening in to phone calls without warrants, but they’ve been intercepting emails by the billions without warrants for years. In fact, as I read this book, there is evidence that Michael Hayden, the head of the NSA at the time began doing this prior to 9/11. The Bush administration has OKed a program that “data mined” phone conversations inside and outside the USA by the millions upon millions. They made agreements with Verizon and AT&T to collect this data and they had a budget of $60 Billion per year to run this program. And the sad truth is that they had a program in place prior to 9/11 that should have stopped the terrorist attacks and should have done so without an illegal warrantless wiretapping program. I mean they actually had phone records of the original two “plants” in the US by bin Laden, and due to regulatory bickering failed to follow through as these two terrorists made phone call after phone call that could have been legally monitored which would have uncovered the plot in plenty of time to stop it. Back to Nixon: Cheney and Addington were part of the Nixon and Ford administrations when FISA was enacted into law following the Watergate scandal which led to Richard Nixon’s resignation. They openly resented FISA from the first day it was enacted. It was during this era that the republican “dirty tricks” schemes were perfected and out of this era came Lee Atwater who was the mentor of Karl Rove (need I say more). Both Cheney and Addington carried a long standing grudge that FISA was one of the many intrusions on executive power that needed to be reversed when they finally were in a position to do something about this once GW Bush chose Cheney (actually Cheney chose himself) as Vice President. Their way of dealing with this was to just ignore the law. Addington at one time was quoted as saying our job is to “push, push, push” the limits of the law until somebody stops us. Well, as we all know there isn’t much of a democratic party in place with the gumption to stop them. This program is continuing today and will continue up until January 20th and that is where I’m a bit nervous.

I’ve heard President Elect Obama (in the interest of full disclosure – I sent him money several times during the campaign) say that one of the first things he’s going to do when he takes office is close down GITMO – Bush’s torture center in Guantanimo Cuba – but I haven’t heard much about FISA. Many of us who supported him were stunned when he voted to give retro-active immunity to Verizon and AT&T during the campaign. This almost led me to pull my support for him. In fact, I wrote a very long and direct letter to the campaign expressing my dismay at his decision to support that bill. I got a reply that assured me he would lead a charge to change the bill once in office and the NSA would be operating within the constituional and legal guidelines as set forth in the FISA provisions. However, I haven’t heard much since and I’m worried that he is going to be scared into trying to continue this intrusion on the privacy of virtually all Americans. I believe that, not only does the FISA law need to be followed, but those in the Bush administration who violated it need to be prosecuted. Keep in mind that the congress, when they passed this law – made each violation a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine – FOR EACH VIOLATION!! Bush and company have violated this law millions of times! And the telecoms got away with it because no one in congress except a few were willing to hold the executives of these companies accountable for turning over our “data” knowing it was illegal – this was no secret to them.

What makes all this worse is that the “data interception” business has flourished since (remember America alone is spending $60 Billion per year to listen into it’s citizens conversations) Bush authorized this program. They have created big data interception companies who have big data interception conventions where all the geeks who know how to tap into the internet and the phone lines show off their wares and fight for these huge government contracts. Now, other countries around the world are using these contractors and the contractors have no regard who they sell their technology to – they’re making a boatload of money. Dictatorships like in Viet Nam, China, and countries like this are using the technology developed because our market pays so well to virtually stymie all dissent in their countries. The fallout from the Bush administration’s decision to do this will be felt for probably generations – all around the world. Another BAD consequence of this program is that the two companies that have provided the technology to the NSA (via Verizon and AT&T) are from Israel and this has allowed the possibility (actually, I believe I should say the probability) for Israeli “spying” on us and our government. I mean the ramifications of all of this are beyond HUGE! And the technology has been installed into virtually every network in the world and it will be, it seems to me, much more difficult to get it out than it was to put it in.

If Obama and the new congress refuse to prosecute Bush and company for this egregious violation of mine and yours (again, just in case you might be reading this) 4th amendment rights, who knows where government intrusion will go next. As I’ve said before in previous posts, the republicans will regroup and they plan to be back – just try to picture their next “leader.” I know it’s hard to imagine, but here’s a few possibilities: as mentioned earlier – another Bush, Jeb – how about Sarah Palin, I’m sure she will really be focused on preventing the republican thugs who will still be running around if not stopped NOW from stealing our constitutional rights, or how about a resurgent Newt Gingrich – if that doesn’t get your hair to stand on end, I don’t know what will. I mean, can you see what I mean about how important it is that these people get a strong message, FINALLY! I honestly thought that no one who would enter the office of the President would ever be so brazen as to do something like this – but seeing is believing. So, if you’re reading this and you “get” what I’m saying – write a letter to Obama to encourage accountability for those who have done this. I believe that is the only way there is even a chance that the damage can be undone. KEEP IN MIND, THE LISTENING DEVICES ARE INSTALLED JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE! After 9/11 I was sure of just one thing – and that was if we succumbed to fear and started to give up the rights that have stood the test of time since the inception of our constitution, that would be the only way the terrorists could “win.” And even if Obama succeeds in capturing bin Laden, the destruction of the 4th amendment will be far worse than the destruction of the Twin Towers!

Well, if you read my last post (and believe me I understand the odds against that – I “get” that I’m writing to myself, and just so you know, it does make me feel a bit better after I write to myself) you know that I have been discouraged by the lack of “guts” on the part of Democrats as they have caved in over and over to the Bush administration since the election of 2006. I am not a fan of Harry Reid. I realize that he has a difficult challenge due to the lack of a 60 vote majority in the senate, but he acts like there is nothing he can do about this. And in the process we keep getting the Bush administration and/or republican garbage jammed down our throats – right up until January 20th, or so it appears. Considering he still won’t have 60 votes on January 20th, I’m a bit concerned as to whether we will have to continue having the republicans “molding” America’s policy as it comes out of Congress. Despite just about everyone except the Senate republicans understanding the importance of General Motors remaining a viable part of the American landscape, the “bridge loan” which is like a drop in the bucket compared to the so-called TARP bailout of wallstreet is not going to happen.

Here is what bugs me probably more than the republicans who, quite predictably due to their quest to destroy the labor movement which was put into high gear during the first term of Ronald Reagan, got the bill stopped with a threat of a filibuster. WHERE WAS THE FILIBUSTER????? Let these guys talk all they want!!! We’re talking about our national economy here. C’mon Harry, is going home for Christmas more important to you than our national economy. If that is the case then please resign your position so that we can find someone with the courage to face up to the obstructionists on the “other side of the isle.” Let these guys talk until they can’t talk anymore and then have the vote. If they want to talk until it’s time for the new congress, let them do it. Let them make a spectacle of themselves before the American people. YOU KEEP LETTING THEM OFF THE HOOK, HARRY!!! The public will never “get” this unless you will commit the time necessary to actually get their attention. I have educated co-workers who still think the blue-collar auto workers are being paid $70 per hour. In combination with the republican propaganda machine these senate republicans want to destroy every union they can while they still have a semblance of power.

If you think they will stop this obstructionist behavior when they only have 41 or 42 seats in the senate, you’re kidding yourself. They move en mass, according to whoever is giving the instructions. If you don’t force them to actually filibuster, they’ll just keep threatening this and nothing will ever happen. This is how they got the FISA bill through with “retro-active immunity” for the tele-comms who have been in cahoots with our government for years, collecting our emails and phone conversations by the millions without legal warrants. This is how they pushed through legislation that abandoned habeas corpus, a basic right that was afforded Jesus prior to his execution over 2000 years ago. This is how they managed to pass legislation that has attempted to say that torture is legal. This is how they prevented any rational attempt to end our illegal involvement as occupiers of Iraq. And I could go on, the republicans keep manipulating the democrats in Congress because neither Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi are up for the challenge of putting these people where they belong – IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!!!

Today, even Dick Cheney was quoted as saying that without a “bailout,” (remember, the auto industry is asking for a low interest loan to get them through this financial crisis which has been created by republican fiscal irresponsibility) times reminicent of “Hoover” will be upon us. If you’ve been paying any attention at all to national politics at all lately you have to be aware that the Bush administration is fully involved in “rewriting history” in an attempt to “guide” their legacy in a favorable direction as their time in office is set to expire. Well, not to be patting myself on the back (OK, that’s what I’m doing :o) I pointed out in this blog well over a month ago that if the Bush administration lets GM go down they will make Herbert Hoover look like an economic genius, or something close to those words. Normally, I don’t want to be compared to anything that Cheney does or says, but in this case, as they are working on this re-arrangement of history I believe reality is setting in and Cheney is finally getting it (maybe he read my post!). They’ve been trying to blame the economic woes they have inflicted on the rest of us on Obama, Clinton, and even Jimmy Carter. In fact, if you look closely at what GW actually said about a week ago in an interview with Charles Gibson, he’s even blaming it on his Dad! Try as they might, this aint going to work! And they know it – of course they will never stop lying, but this is so bad that even they know they’ve screwed things up royally. Based on Cheney’s own words, they are now trying to minimize the damage, even at the expense of going against the wishes of their own party which wants to destroy probably the most powerful union left in this country.

The republican party just can’t help itself. They’ve given their “true supporters” about half of the $700 billion and they’ve gotten away with doing so in a manner in which the CEO’s are still able to skim multi-million dollar bonuses right off the top of the money. In fact, I listened in horror the other day to the person in charge of “overseeing” the handing out of this money answer a direct question in congressional testimony by saying “I can’t answer that” to “Is it reasonable for an executive of one of the companies receiving this TARP bailout money to give himself a $30 million bonus?” I couldn’t believe it! And, of course, it then came out that the democrats put the stingingly stringent language in the bailout bill that executive compensation MUST BE REASONABLE! Obviously they haven’t picked up on what reasonable is to these republicans. In spite of all this, now with the opportunity to destroy the United Auto Workers, the republicans are “fired up.” They could care less about what happens to the people of this great nation. WE HAVE GIVEN THEM CONTROL AND THEY’RE GOING TO GET AS MUCH OUT OF THIS CONTROL AS THEY CAN,WHILE THEY CAN!!

I’m not sure if this vendetta is payback because they know that the organized labor movement has seen past their lies for years or if there is even a bigger reason. Keep in mind that the leader of the “pack” is Richard Shelby of Alabama. Alabama, with Shelby’s blessing, has spent upwards of $175,000 per job in tax incentives to lure foreign auto makers like Toyota and Mercedes to build plants in their state. Worker for worker, these “gifts” dwarf what GM, Chrysler, and Ford are asking for (in fact Ford may not need any help, although if GM goes down, Ford will be dragged down as well). If Shelby gets his way, not only will the United Auto Workers be potentially destroyed, but these foreign auto makers are the likely entities to come in and pick up the pieces in any bankruptcy proceeding. I don’t know about you, but I will never forgive our national leaders if we end up with no “domestic” auto industry. I, for one, don’t want Toyota and Mercedes to own GM and Ford. Our auto industry is among the remnants of what used to be an industrial society that actually produced things. Beginning with Reagan and now with Bush II and including all presidents in between (yes, including Clinton – maybe even more so) we have seen a push for a “service economy.” I have never been comfortable with this. We need to be producing things here!!!

The result of this is we are over $10 trillion in debt (doesn’t even include the trillion or so already borrowed for the occupation of Iraq or the trillion + in bailouts since last summer), we are importing most of the goods sold in this nation, we are exporting raw materials and then importing the resulting finished products which are produced under inhumane labor practices, and our trade deficit is horrifically negative and getting worse every month. Essentially, the United States of America is bankrupt. I look at it as if we are in Chapter 11. If the republicans have their way and GM goes down, with Chrysler and Ford close behind, we will be in Chapter 7 and it will be foreigners buying up what assets remain – they are the ones with all of our money due to these insane economic policies that began almost 30 years ago with Ronald Reagan. Republicans do not care if we have a domestic auto industry – what they care about is power, and I can guarantee you that the foreign car companies that have built plants in Alabama and elsewhere in the American South will be a huge source of income for the republicans as we go forward. There won’t be union workers in these plants, and unfortunately, any profits from these plants will go to the corporations based in other countries. In fact, the republicans will probably continue to give them favorable tax treatment to keep them in the US. This whole topic is making me sick as I write about it.

This nation was built into the greatest nation on earth on the backs of the blue collar workers who had the courage to risk their lives to form unions and collectively put workers in a position where companies fairly shared the successes they enjoyed with the workers who made it all possible. We have a nation which has eliminated cruel child labor, untennable labor practices for workers – in fact even many non-union workers today have benefits that would have been unimagineable without the sacrifices of the union movement of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Things like the 40 hour work week, overtime pay, vacation pay, sick leave, and I could go on and on, were all the result of collective bargaining. It was this movement and these workers that made this nation what it was before Reagan started dismantling it and what it can still be if the republicans don’t totally destroy it before President elect Obama gets into office. I find it interesting that Dick Cheney finally “gets it.” Bush, who’s really focused in on his legacy gets it – but essentially, the republicans in the senate have become the rogues that are aiming to sink the whole ship. Obviously, they have separated themselves completely from Bush – it would be a laughable site if this one issue wasn’t so important (the rest of the damage is with us already and there’s not much we can do except hope that Obama makes wise decisions once in office). Obama’s task is almost beyond “daunting” even with a viable domestic auto industry, but I believe he has the right philosophy, a bottom up approach to solving the problems. However, the US car industry in bankruptcy will increase the challenge of recovery exponentially. So I say to Harry Reid, don’t let the threat of a filibuster cause you to retreat and “tank” the legislation. Harry, let the republicans talk until they can’t talk anymore!

I was listening to the radio on the way home from work tonight and the list of people who have been ripped off by our government’s folly in the last 8 or so years seems endless and many are finally figuring it out and calling the talk shows to complain. It seems like too many of these people are Americans who bought into the lies of the republicans over the last 30 years in general, but particularly the last 8 years. I think that is how greed works. Some economists figured out how to “game” the system about 40 or 50 years ago (The Milton Friedman crowd – if you’re interested in their philosophy read “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein for a real eye opener) and the Reagan administration instituted their “free market” ideas in the 80’s (last night, while watching Keith Olberman I saw a rerun of Reagan firing the Air Traffic Controllers in 1981, who he had made campaign pledges to, which was the catalyst to the republican party’s ideas that unions are bad) ultimately leading to the financial mess we now find ourselves in.

And there is incredible hope that Barrack Obama is going to wave a magic wand and everything is going to be better. Well, I’ve got bad news for people thinking along those lines: I don’t think you understand how bad things really are. And, of course, the republicans would just as soon have them be even worse – which is why they are trying to insure the demise of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford Motor company. They could care less about these companies and they know that ultimately cars will be produced and, if the “crisis” gets bad enough, they are going to make even more money than they could have ever imagined. THEY FEED OFF OF THESE CRISIS SITUATIONS! The demise of the United Auto Workers Union would be like an orgasm for the leaders of the republican party. They care ZERO about the average working person in this country. We are nothing more than the people who pay for their corporate welfare!

What is really interesting is that many of the people who are suffering the most are the ones who were tricked into voting for these thugs for the very reasons that President Elect Obama was raked over the coals when he CORRECTLY pointed out that people are vulnerable to the so-called “wedge issues” like guns, religion, abortion and are sucked into voting against their own self-interests – and then feel totally frustrated when their government is not something they even can recognize. I have a friend that, unfortunately, gets his info from FOX news and people like Limbaugh and Hannity – and appears to be clueless as to the fact that they stand for everything he’s against. Even abortion, while they profess to be anti-abortion, they’ve been using this issue for close to thirty years to get people to vote for republicans who have no intention of getting rid of abortion. They need abortion to be a continuing “wedge issue” to keep about a third of the population voting for them despite the fact these same republicans are committing murder all over the world, they are stealing money by the trillions now (I used to think it’s by the billions – but these “bailouts” which have gone to the Bush cronies has pushed the total over a trillion – UNBELIEVABLE – but true!), and they are pushing for endless war because it makes them even richer. Also, the fact these republicans have no regard for the constitution matters not to my friend and millions of other Americans because they believe the garbage that they hear from Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Savage (? I’ve not listened to this one, just heard of him), and other right wing propogandists.

The fact the Democrats are not “united” is a bit reassuring to me. That tells me that they aren’t attempting to create the Democratic version of the brainwashing we have experienced during the last eight years. However, the problems that the next congress and President will face are more than daunting. As I watch the stock market, it is fairly obvious they are just hoping that Obama will be able to wave some kind of magic wand, as mentioned earlier, and we can get back to normal. However, I believe that “normal” is something that most of us can’t even imagine at this point. Bush has succeeded in virtually destroying the government. It will need to be purged of his loyalists – these people aren’t going to change their way of thinking and become “moralists” over night. I believe when you’ve been stealing to the level that these people have and in this manner, which is about as arrogant as one could fathom (I mean, this bailout – Henry Paulsen has basically given $350 billion to his buddies – without strings just as he originally intended – and of course how congress said it wouldn’t happen – and I’m absolutely certain that he’ll try to get his grubby little hands on the other $350 billion before Bush is shoved out of the White House – and unfortunately I don’t have a lot of confidence that congress will say NO!!!), they are not going to stop until they are stopped!

We have a long way to go before we are back on the upswing – and that’s if Obama makes wise choices once he gets into office. There is going to have to be a lot of straight talk and people are going to have to change the way they do things. These republicans have been borrowing for prosperity for at least 30 years. Those of us who have been complaining have been ridiculed often (I know I have – about the deficit spending and the Iraq war in particular – as a Christian the people I know supported all this because Bush says he’s opposed to abortion!) and even when Clinton was in office – the government started to function within its “means” but Clinton sabotaged everything with his personal behavior (which I, for one, still have a hard time accepting). These republicans, as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, are going into attack mode already. My biggest fear with Obama is that he’s going to try to be a great “uniter” and fail to heed history. First, he can’t let these people off the hook for their actions – I’ve said this many times and I blieve it with all my heart – the reason Bush is “pushing the limits” right up to the last day he’s in office is because he’s so certain that the Democrats don’t have the guts to call him on anything. HE HAS TO BE PROSECUTED!! Along with everyone in his administration who broke the laws of this great nation. THE FACT THE PRESIDENT DOES IT, DOESN’T MAKE IT LEGAL!!! And secondly, based on the laws of nature (for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction) Obama needs to act without regard for the republican “platform.” These guys have created this unbelievable problem and we don’t need to cozy up to them while a solution is devised. The solution really is from the bottom up and you’ll never get the republicans to agree to an approach like this – there is not enough money in our treasury to satisfy them – they need to be a bad memory and Democrats need to ignore any republican that won’t totally repudiate the policies of the last 8 years!!! It’s time for the Democrats to act with some guts!!!

I’d like to start writing on the Democrats, and President Elect Obama, but the republicans and their water carriers just won’t seem to quit. There is a pretty incredible “blame game” going on with them that pretty much sums up, in my mind, where these people are at. I suppose the most curious thing about all this is that I have a lot of friends who are republicans and they just don’t seem to be picking up on how ridiculous these people are. Most of these friends that I occasionally mention on this site are Christians and you would think that pathological lying would not appeal to them – but I just think they don’t pay close attention to what is going on and they get their info from Limbaugh, Hannity, and some of the Christian leaders who are inescapably culpable along with Bush/Cheney and the rest of them.

I have heard the republicans passing blame among themselves and trying to pass it to democrats and anyone else who might be convenient so that they can feel better about watching our nation crumble at the knees under their watch. Now, don’t get me wrong, the democrats aren’t putting up much of a fight and I am genuinely concerned about the direction that lies ahead based on what I’ve seen post election. But when the republicans like Hannity and Limbaugh are blaming the recession on Barrack Obama and then I hear people repeating such an absurdity – I don’t know who to be more disgusted with – the so-called water carriers or the people who are stupid enough to believe such ridiculous nonsense (my apologies to anyone I know who actually has bought into this lie – but, really, stop and think about how stupid this is! Obama won’t be president for another 45+ days – tell your republican buddies to face up to the fact that they have virtually destroyed our economy through massive deregulation and an illegal war fought using credit – of course they won’t understand this last point because the republicans use credit for everything).

I’ll say this about the republicans; they’ve got guts. President Bush continues to pass executive orders that are gutting environmental regulations as payback for his corporate donors while blaming democrats for stifling business, and I’m sure similar orders are coming down in other areas as well; I’ve just heard about the environmental abuses he’s committing. I’m convinced that he is going to do this right up until the last minute because he knows that the democrats do not have the kahonas to stop him or hold him accountable. He’s going to walk away and create his presidential library that will point out what a great president he’s been and the democrats will just stand aside and worry about “uniting.” While they’re uniting everyone, the republicans will be doing everything they can to undermine everything that Obama and company want to do. They have managed to get their 41st senate seat, and along with Joe Leiberman (and I don’t care about the caucus, the democrats unwillingness to hold him accountable for his disgusting actions during the last election – not only campaigning against Obama, but financially supporting republican senate candidates – makes me almost as sick to my stomach as the republicans do) the republicans are already talking about how they can stop any legislation in the senate. The gist of this post is the republican blame game – and I can virtually assure you that it will be full attack mode in the senate as they try to derail Obama’s presidency. They could care less about this country – they just want all the money and the power and will do anything to get it.

I’ve heard Bush blame the CIA and other intelligence agencies for the failure in Iraq – although he wouldn’t go so far as to say, in response to a direct question, he wouldn’t have invaded had he known that there were no WMD’s (of course there is ample proof that he did know there weren’t WMD’s and he disregarded the evidence because that isn’t why he went in there in the first place). Bush is also blaming the economic collapse on decisions that were made “as much as a decade” before he took office. The list goes on and it’s all absurd. What Bush is actually saying is that the buck stops somewhere else but here. I’ve even heard someone in his administration blame Jimmy Carter for the economic collapse – which is almost as absurd as blaming Obama. Now if you want to blame Ronald Reagan – you know the guy that they try to mention at every republican gathering – then maybe you’re making more sense. When the truth finally settles in about Reagan and the long term damage that was done under his watch – we might be placing him as a close second to GW Bush on the list of lousy US Presidents. He had a better grasp of the English language than Bush, but he didn’t have a better grasp of what his surrogates were doing than GW. And, as I’ve stated before, Clinton’s “looking the other way” from Iran/Contra in 1992 led to the last 8 years (it was the same criminals robbing us blind) and I’m deathly afraid that Obama is going to make the same mistake.

Right after the election the republicans in McCain’s campaign were blaming Sarah Palin for their loss. Of course they selected her in the first place so I found that a bit curious. But, after giving this more thought, as bad a candidate as Sarah Palin was – I believe that McCain would have lost by a lot more had she not been part of the campaign. He was a far worse candidate on his own. She did energize all of the so-called “base” who don’t look past what Hannity or Limbaugh tell them is the “truth.” Of course Hannity, Limbaugh, Dobson, Robertson, Falwell (while he was still with us) and the rest of the republican pundits (I really hate to call religious leaders “pundits” but that’s how low these guys have fallen) are lying pathologically. The saying: “If their lips are moving, they’re lying” really applies here! And they have become so good at it that they actually look as if they believe what they’re saying is true. And now republicans are blaming Palin for the victory of Saxbie Chambliss down in Georgia in the runoff for Senate as if a democrat even had a chance in that state – this really is a bit confusing – but that tells me I’m going to have to be listening to her for the next 4 years (although – don’t be surprised if the republicans are arrogant enough to come up with another Bush for 2012 or 2016).

A big part of the problem is that there is no one to call them on the lies. The democrats are too worried about how it would look if they actually put up a fight for what is right. The republicans are lying and breaking laws at a record pace, but the democrats don’t want to call them on it because it might prevent “unity.” THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS, I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE I’M WRITING THIS!!! And by the time the democrats figure out what Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are doing to their party, they might be on the same path as the republicans, extinction. I can tell you that I’m about to look elsewhere. I gave money for the first time in my life during the 2006 election and was bitterly disappointed at the performance of the democrats once they had control of congress. I would have preferred stopping the government to caving in to Bush over and over again. And I gave money to Obama, more than I thought I would, based on promises that his vote on FISA would be rectified once he’s in office and that his attorney general would aggressively investigate the wrongdoings of the Bushies. I don’t think it’s going to happen.

And because of the yellow streak down the backs of the democratic leaders in congress they will be the brunt of exactly what they’re afraid of – the republican “attack machine.” Republicans control 90% or more of talk radio and a significant percentage of the broadcast industry along with the print media – and it won’t take them long to kick it into high gear. WE SHOULD GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT! Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, Rove, Addington, Feith, and anyone else who has violated our constitution and the rule of law should be prosecuted. Gonzales made a public spectacle of their willingness to lie and there hasn’t been more than a whimper – despite his clear perjuring himself on national TV – OVER AND OVER. Rove and others have thumbed their noses at congressional subpoenas, with no consequences. Cheney outed a CIA agent which is treasonous, with no consequences (his underling took the hit for him and had his sentence “commuted” and I can virtually guarantee that Bush will pardon “Scooter” Libby prior to leaving office). Cheney also instigated (along with Bush) the warrantless wiretapping program that has violated the rights of millions of Americans, still with not even the slightest hint that there will be prosecutions – even though each violation is a felony subject to five years in prison. And, of course, the number one topic of conversation on a lot of minds is the torturing that has gone on in this administration that makes us look like the people we are supposedly liberating the Iraqi’s from. There will probably be no accountability here either – other than to close down Guantanimo and maybe have a “commission” look into the abuses. The more I think about all this stuff and how the republicans are likely to get away with all this, I am starting to agree with them to some degree – there is a lot to blame the democrats for!

Well, I’m going to try to make this one short. It’s time to go to bed, but this thought just won’t rest, and I won’t be able to do so either until I get it “out.” If you’ve been reading any of my recent posts you know that I’m a bit concerned that President elect Obama is going to let the Bush administration off the hook, so to speak, for the lawbreaking that has been rampant over the previous 8 years. I’m presently reading a book titled “The Shadow Factory” by James Bamford which is just furthering my personal need to see those in this out of control administration who violated the law be held accountable. This book is about the NSA spying program that is the backbone of US intelligence and I’m just in the first section, but it is clear that before the illegal activity began after 9/11 the government had sufficient info to stop the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks (The White House was also a target) but due to bickering among the CIA, NSA, and FBI along with an incredible disinterest from the Bush “people” (including Bush) 3000 people died – the result of which has been a continuing rash of bad and incompetent decisions that have further weakened every aspect of this nation and shown a total disdain for the constitution and general rule of law that has allowed the United States of America to flourish as the longest standing democracy in the history of the world. This administration has threatened all of that and the thought of them walking away “scott free” repulses me – and, worse yet, creates a sense of apprehension knowing letting them “walk” will make it possible for their return to power – similarly to what happened after Iran/Contra in the late 1980’s. Most of the “lawbreakers” in Bush 2’s administration were also lawbreakers in Bush 1’s administration. Clinton let them “walk” and I’m sure that they are confident that Obama is going to do the same – AND THEY’LL BE BACK!

Well, that is not what I want to “get off of my chest” tonight, but I needed to preface my thoughts to create the proper frame for this sense of frustration that is already setting in (and I truly hope I’m wrong – because I see a lot that I like about what Obama is doing as he prepares to launch his first term in office). Tonight, after an especially long day, I came home and plopped down on the couch with the idea of watching a couple “news” programs (it’s hard to call anything a news program anymore – because it seems that all of them have an agenda, whether from the right or the left). I kind of zoned off, but I remember one thing in particular. George W. Bush was being interviewed by Charles Gibson (he must be the choice of the republicans – I believe he was the first to have the “privilege” of interviewing Sarah Palin). At first what I heard was a bit astonishing – but after a little thought I actually wondered why I would be astonished at all. George Bush was beginning the process of blaming all that has gone wrong with his presidency on others. While Obama is making it clear that in his administration – the “buck” will stop with him, GW Bush is making it clear that he’s trying to figure out how to “pass the buck” somehow, I guess, thinking it’s time to work on “saving” his legacy.

The problem I see with this is that George’s legacy is pretty much in the toilet – and it is going to continue to go down, if you know what I mean. While he’s trying to blame others for all the disasters that have occurred under his watch, he’s still implementing executive orders, as fast as he can and in a way that he hopes will cause the most difficulty for Obama to reverse, that go directly against the “will” of the people as expressed in the last two national elections. It appears to me that THIS GUY JUST DOESN’T GET IT. He really thinks we are stupid – and I think that even the so-called “liberal media” (which is controlled by conservative republicans and has been brainwashing America for the last 15 years or more) is going to get the message that this guy is “loony” and they are going to stop “enabling” him and his cronies. Either they will do this, or the “people” will find other ways to get their “news,” which is happening as I’m writing this post.

George must think that we all have virtually no memory at all. He was blaming the economic problems on decisions made “10 years before I took office.” Are you kidding me??? I guess he thinks that no one remembers that the government had a $250 billion surplus as he assumed office with predictions that the national debt could be “cut in half” during his two terms had he continued the fiscally conservative policies of the Clinton administration – most prominently “pay as you go.” Bush’s tax cuts (Dick Cheney was put in charge of the fiscal policy and he was quoted as saying “Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter”) and his war of choice in Iraq – paid for 100% with borrowed money – along with a policy of deregulation and virtual “stealing” from the US treasury by the large corporations has virtually bankrupted our nation. Some of Bush’s associates are already blaming the recession on Barack Obama – I couldn’t even believe that a “news” agency would repeat such an absurd statement, but I’ve heard it twice already and Obama won’t be President for almost two months yet! The deregulation of the banking industry and the promoting of sub-prime lending pracitces has destroyed the one area of our economy that has provided security to the average working class family – our home values – and I firmly believe that Bush’s associates are waiting patiently in the “wings” to pick up the pieces, so to speak, after the end of the foreclosure crisis. There are going to be millions of prime properties for sale – and Bush has just finished doling out $350 billion to his friends on Wall Street, which I believe will be used to buy up “Main Street” not save it as was initially intended.

And then Bush started talking about Iraq. I almost threw up! First he blamed the Iraq fiasco on “failed intelligence.” This is so absurd on it’s face. This guy, and everyone around him are pathological liars. People who lie without a second thought, like Bush and his associates, actually start believing their own lies – and I’m always a bit shocked that the “news” people either haven’t done their homework, or dont’ have the courage, to call them on the lies. This was a war of choice – a war that was planned even before the Supreme Court over-ruled the will of the people and installed Bush as president. The so-called “neo-conservatives” who made up the bulk of Bush’s original White House national security team were all part of the group who were planning the over-throw of Saddam Hussein well before the 2000 election. And the intelligence was totally manipulated by Bush/Cheney right from the start. During this interview Bush was asked what he would have done had he known there weren’t weapons of mass destruction before the invasion, would it have changed anything. He responded by only saying that he couldn’t answer a hypothetical question like that. THE TRUTH IS THAT HE KNEW THERE WEREN’T WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WELL BEFORE THE INVASION.

The Brits had come up with a “snitch” who was Iraq’s equivalent of our National Security Advisor to the president. He clearly told them that there were no weapons of mass destruction. All of Saddam Hussein’s remaining cache of weapons had been destroyed in bombing raids during 1998 – ironically raids that led republicans to accuse then President Clinton of carrying them out to take the news focus off of the Lewinsky affair – and Bush’s response was “That’s not what we want to hear – get this guy out of here” (they then paid the guy $5 million and found him a secret place in Jordan to protect him from retribution from Saddam). The White House even went so far as to forge a document trying to “connect” Saddam with al Qaeda and Muhammed Atta – a document that was eventually proved to be bogus – but a document that shows to what extreme Bush and company was willing to go to justify this war of choice.

So, I guess now we are facing a future of listening to the republicans blaming either Clinton or Obama for the worst financial crisis since the great depression – and who knows how bad it is ultimately going to become – because we haven’t yet felt the effect of throwing about a trillion dollars away in the bailout boom. They are going to find every way they can to justify the Iraq war and I’m sure they will try to convince anyone who’s stupid enough to listen to them that it has resulted in “victory.” You’ll never hear them talk about why Iran has become such an important “player” in world politics, why al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have so easily been able to recruit new potential terrorists, why Pakistan has become such an extremely volatile place, why Osama bin Laden is back at full strength or stronger, why the US is viewed around the world as a rogue nation, and I could go on. My point is there is nothing good to say about Bush – other than hopefully he will have to answer for his actions in a court of law – but it is apparent that the propoganda machine is gearing up to high gear – and the result will be a barage of lies that will try to put the blame for all their failures at the feet of the Democratic party, Clinton, Obama, Carter, and anyone else who seems convenient at the time. I’ll say this one more time – the only way to stop the republican blame game is to investigate everything they’ve done over the past eight years and “let the cards fall where they may.” Bush wants us to believe him. Let the courts decide if Bush is telling the truth!

Oh, hurray up January 20th and get here as soon as you can, PLEASE!!!! In the last week I’ve watched the stock market a bit, and it seems that just the thought of a change of administrations is encouraging, even to Wall Street. Now, keep in mind that the Bush administration is planning to funnel as much of the taxpayer’s money as they can to their friends in the business world, but even these people (the business community) understand the enormity of the incompetence. I believe it’s just a select few that are receiving the benefit of the $700 billion bailout. And, of course, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s the friends of Henry Paulsen. The guy has a lot of nerve, as have most of the members of this administration over the past eight years. They would walk into your house and take money off of the living room table, right in front of your eyes, with a sense of arrogance that you wouldn’t have the nerve to say anything and you’d just let them get away with it.

I believe this arrogance comes from dealing with the Democrats in congress. Talk about a spineless bunch of politicians. While I truly believe that Bush will go down in history as the worst President ever, the congress will rank right up there with him as the worst congress ever. Considering the mantra of the republicans for the past 30 years it was no surprise to me that they capitulated, completely, to Bush during his first 6 years in office. And, of course, that was when most of the damage was done. However, in 2006 a lot of people went to a lot of effort to “throw the bums out,” so to speak, expecting an heroic democratically controlled congress to put a halt to the criminal activity of the Bush administration. In stead what we got was a congress that basically got hood-winked at every turn by the republicans and who were ruled by the fear that they might not win the election in 2008. What we have ended up with is a congress that will probably continue to be intimidated by the republicans and who will let these guys walk away as if nothing ever happened.

Everyone talks about what a fraternity the senate is. And I was personally sick to my stomach when I listened to all the farewell speaches in support of Ted Stevens who got voted out (barely) by the Alaskan voters after being found guilty of seven felony charges relating to corruption. The senate continues to make me feel that the direction of this country is “aimless” because they don’t have the guts to stand for what is right by any reasonable standard. GW Bush is putting into place many executive orders as he goes out the door, and I’m almost totally convinced that the congress and the new president are just going to allow him to walk away – even though he is arrogantly issuing orders that are totally in opposition to the recent mandate of November 4th – because they don’t want to make any waves. And the republican attack machine will be in full force soon after the new president takes office, and Obama and the democratic congress are going to look the other way as they try to implement their “new” ideas.

What is really bothering me is the extent of the lying by this past administration and the republican party that supported them. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have never seen a national politician who didn’t “spin” just about every issue. But these republicans, along with the Bush administration, have been implementing a concerted effort to brainwash the American public for the last 30 years, and the extent of their lying has gone way beyond the pale. It has gotten to the point where if they propose something like say, “the healthy tree initiative,” what you can count on is that they are proposing a way to harvest more trees for the large logging companies. I recently read a book titled “Cruel and Unusual” by Mark Crispin Miller where he has evidence that the Christian “right” which has been the backbone of the republican party for years, in their leadership’s inner circles (Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, etc.), have been justifying outright lying by saying “the ends justify the means.” And this philosophy has spilled into the republican inner circles and their “talking points” have long since disregarded any semblence of the truth. I’ve listened to many of my republican friends justify this by saying that all politicians lie – which is like me as a school teacher telling sixth graders that if one of them lies, then it’s OK for the rest of them to do so as well.

And these republicans, worse yet, are lying in a calculated manner – coordinated among the so-called pundits, to influence public opinion by flooding the air waves with propoganda that allows them to steal our treasury blind – and then they attack en masse anyone who calls them on their thievery as “enemy combatants” or something of that nature. The epitome of this is their pulling off this latest heist – the $700 billion, half of which has been blown already with little or nothing to show for it – on “Main Street.” At the same time, while many of us are focusing on the bailout, Bush is making one executive order after another reducing the environmental requirements on businesses that have donated large sums of money to his campaigns to dangerous levels – and I’m sure the republicans will say this is OK because every outgoing President does this. All I can say is that, if they do, it’s time to stop. And Bush’s lies and theivery is of such magnitude, that the biggest crime will be if he is allowed to get away with this. I have no idea how Bush, Cheney, Paulsen, Gonzales, Addington, Libby, Feith, and the others sleep at night. They have virtually destroyed this country’s government, yet it’s like they are going to get as much as they can “while the getting is good.”

This is because Bush and Co. are so certain that the democrats do not have the spine to do anything about it. Now think of this, $700 billion is about $2800 for every man, woman, and child in this country. The democrats allowed themselves to be scared into virtually giving this money to the “friends of Bush” with no strings attached, and maybe they are embarrassed to even look into where the money went because they were so careless in appropriating it. Do you think giving that money to the taxpayers who are going to have to pay it back would have been a better way to “jump start” the economy? I think it would be interesting to hear some of the back room conversations among the republicans as they have been pulling all of this off. I can hear the response to someone telling Bush that these actions violate his oath of office, and he would say that the oath is meaningless because the congress has totally abdicated it’s oversight role as provided in our constitution and there’s nothing to worry about. I guess what I’m saying here is that it is easier for me to understand the greed of the republicans causing them to steal from the taxpayers without conscience – it’s almost as if they are drug addicts – they’ve gotten away with so much, they have to keep “pushing” until they meet some resistence. What is disheartening is that with the democrats, there is no resistance!