I suppose one could call people like me who have a penchant for writing, and a deep sense of frustration with the direction of our great nation, whiners.  I get that.  I know I end up doing my fair share of whining, but I also know – as I look back on many of the topics I’ve written about – that much of what is in my archives is predictatory (I think I just made up a word).  That is, I’ve predicted much of what is presently happening, in many cases well over a year ago (that is in reference to President Obama’s “changes we can believe in”).  As I drive my car around I listen to the “talkers” on the radio, and on the progressive side many of them have finally picked up on the urgency to PUSH democratically leaning voters to participate in the upcoming mid-term elections.  One of the “issues” I’ve repeatedly “warned” the president and his advisors about is their attempt at “centrist” governing was going to TURN OFF much of the base which elected Obama in the first place.

The other day, I heard Randi Rhodes – one of the more progressive of the radio talkers – pointing out, and quite accurately I might add, the problem with “progressives” staying home in November.  The alternative is almost unpalatable!  Yet, I believe without DRASTIC measures on President Obama’s part “the die is cast.”  He has – quite simply – made some UNACCEPTABLE decisions from the standpoint of his progressive base – and, the more that comes out the worse it looks.  Earlier the accusation was “Bushlite” and Obama cringed at that, but I honestly think that without significant action on the president’s part it will be hard to motivate MANY, MANY progressive voters (and, I’m one of them!) to vote this fall.   You see, for me (and I believe MILLIONS of other Americans) the “change I could believe in” wasn’t a watered down health care “reform” bill (which I still believe will end up being a “boon” for insurance companies), it wasn’t a stimulus package which was “emasculated” in order to get 3 republican votes (it could have been passed in full using reconciliation or by simply bypassing the “filibuster” due to the bill’s importance) – and, now with the actual results being similar to the predicted results of the Keynsian economic minds – those predictions made as the bill was being signed – telling us to expect a “jobless” recovery, it wasn’t  continuing the Bush policy in Iraq and a “surge” in Afganistan – not endless occupation (with “non-combat” troops – and I’m still looking for one person who can explain to me what a “non-combat” troop is in Iraq) in one Viet Nam like BLUNDER and ESCALATION of the other – AND continued BORROWING every penny to pay for both.  I, and I believe millions of others, wasn’t expecting President Obama to put “bipartisanship” ahead of the will of the people who elected him.

I’m hoping that by now our president has figured out that “negotiating” with the present day republicans is a losing proposition.  They still think the policies of George W Bush/Dick Cheney were working (well, that is – their corporate masters still think that).  Bush/Cheney were doing everything they could to destroy our government as we presently know it, and the republicans are convinced (I’m convinced they’re convinced) that President Obama is just a four year delay in their plan for a “permanent republican majority.”  When Bush/Cheney were defeated I actually thought we didn’t have to worry about that possibility anymore.  I mean, this was Karl Rove’s “wet dream.”  I was pretty sure that by the time the first mid-term elections came about Karl Rove would be either in jail or in the process of defending himself in a futile attempt to avoid jail.  Think about it, how many Americans can refuse subpoenas to Congress and get away with it, how many can participate in “outing” a CIA agent and get away with it, how many Americans can undermine our entire justice department and get away with it – and, the list goes on.  I didn’t forsee Rove as a “player” by 2010.  Well, it’s now reported that not only will Rove be a “player,” he’ll be right where he likes to be – in the shadows – managing what some have estimated as a 300 MILLION DOLLAR fund aimed at defeating progressive democrats – this will be our introduction to the effects of the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decsion of which I’m guessing 9 in 10 Americans will have no idea what “hit” them.  Do I blame Rove?  Well, yes (he’s the epitome of the political “hack” who puts money ahead of country) – but, when it gets right down to it I really blame President Obama because he’s the one who chose to “look forward and not back” – in essence letting all the alleged criminals (including Rove) off the hook from the Bush/Cheney administration.

The day President Obama made that STUPID decision the democrats lost the “war of words” with the republicans.  It was not only STUPID from a strategic political point of view – it sent a message to republicans that Obama was “weak” and, I believe, it was the decision which ENERGIZED them – almost daring them to impose their NO TO EVERYTHING strategy which many people believe is actually working.  Well, it may well be working, and the reason why is exactly what I’ve been talking about for well over the last year.  President Obama came off as taking the people who voted him into office for granted – THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE!  When his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel publicly referred to “liberals” such as myself as “f__king retards” he should have been fired.  However, by taking no action there, and in several other dicey situations President Obama has left the impression that he’s “asleep at the wheel.”

Now, I personally don’t believe that is true for a minute – and, I TOTALLY agree with Rhodes that the alternative to President Obama and the democrats is hardly palatable.  I mean, I can’t believe the American people will put these republicans back “in charge.”  What person who is a member of the work force would vote for people who voted against unemployment benefit extensions in the worst economic downturn since the GREAT DEPRESSION – in fact, a downturn of their MAKING?  However, I never imagined Obama would give us the lesser of two bad choices in the upcoming election.  The worst part of all this is we’re about to find out the true POWER of the “Citizens United” decision which I believe could be a game changer for the future of this nation.  Of course, we’re depending on the democrats to do something to mitigate its effect by November (today senate democrats failed to pass legislation forcing corporate interests to identify themselves in their political advertising), but they can’t seem to do anything but stay one step behind the republicans.  Combine the effect of “Citizens United” with the disenchantment of voters like myself – I honestly felt DEFLATED when I heard Obama say he was PARDONING Bush/Cheney (obviously, he didn’t put it in those exact words, but that was the effect of his decision – all this while BOTH Bush and Cheney were BRAGGING on NATIONAL TV that they had authorized TORTURE – and WOULD DO IT AGAIN if given the chance).  I believe that decision virtually GUARANTEES that the United States will be torturing again at some point in the future.  I’ve spent the last two years listening to one republican hack after another claiming that “torture works.”  Of course, ALL THE EVIDENCE shows they have their heads up their asses, but their arrogance is real – and, THEY WILL DO IT AGAIN GIVEN THE CHANCE.  The ONLY way to guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again would have been for Obama/Holder to hold Bush/Cheney et al accountable for their illegal actions – which they FREELY admitted to.  Set a precedent that this behavior WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!

There was plenty more that we needed (still need) to know about what was going on during Bush/Cheney.  It will eventually come out – as the shenanigans at the Minerals Management Service surfaced after the fact of the recent BP oil spill – where the oil companies (like BP) were writing their own drilling waivers – hence the deepwater horizon spill which is killing much of the Gulf of Mexico as I write this – due to faulty equipment and procedures.  There’s all the no-bid contracts in Iraq and Afganistan with the shoddy to unfinished work – who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY)  And, what about the missing BILLIONS in Iraq – money that just disappeared – who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY)  What about the lead up to the TARP bailout?  Who’s investigating that – and Hank Paulson’s role in creating the problem when he was at Goldman Sachs? (answer: NOBODY)  What about lying us into an endless occupation costing thousands of American lives and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Iraqi lives – who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY)  The justice department was totally politicized – to the point that attorneys were asked to take a loyalty oath to the republican party – they’re supposed to be NON-PARTISAN – who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY) (by the way, US Attorney’s taking “loyalty oaths” reminds me of the Germans in the 1930’s) Everyone knows that a CIA agent was “outed” and that Americans phones were listened to without warrants – who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY – in fact, I’m suspecting the illegal wiretapping is continuing under Obama)  What about the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and the other “secret” prisons?  Who’s investigating that? (answer: NOBODY – despite OVERWHELMING evidence of prisoner abuse – including several documented cases of MURDER!)

You see, this is the kind of CRAP people like myself wanted to see DEALT WITH!  The idea of just looking the other way from all this ILLEGAL activity makes me a bit sick to my stomach again as I write about it AGAIN.  President Obama evidently doesn’t care about all the people who were expecting him to put a stop to all of this – simply by getting out of the way of Justice Department and Congressional investigations of ALL of these abuses.  He said he didn’t want the distractions.  I say, just because he’s president where does Obama get off thinking he can allow lawbreaking to go on out of convenience?  What kind of message was he sending?  Well, as I stated earlier, the message to republicans was like a green light for their WORST behavior.  If Obama wasn’t going to stop the obvious abuses Bush/Cheney were caught “red handed” doing, he wasn’t going to be up for stopping their OBSTRUCTIONIST PLANS designed to destroy his presidency.  And, the message to people like me was that he had “bigger fish to fry” which I called HOGWASH (using different terms) from DAY ONE!  His first priority should have been to eliminate the possibility of the abuses of the Bush/Cheney regime from ever happening again with agressive investigations.  (it seems to me that President Obama – like most presidents before him in our recent history – is focused on the “now” and not thinking “long term”)  Not only did the American people have the right to know what Bush/Cheney were doing, President Obama had the obligation to make sure the American people knew what they were doing.  This would have been the first step in the healing process that was necessary after we endured eight years of the Bush administration.  By circumventing that process President Obama contributed to making the WOUNDS greater – instead of less.

If you’ve been around my site much, you probably know that just thinking about this topic can get me started.  It’s, obviously, a REAL sore spot with me – and, I believe as stated earlier, with millions of other Americans.  It gets me back to my original point and that is the projected low voter turnout by “progressives” in November.  I, like Randi Rhodes, hope that progressives DON’T stay home from the polls – but, I’ve been predicting this problem since the day Obama chose to “look forward.”  Honestly, that decision was almost as hard for me to stomach as some of the worst decisions of the Bush/Cheney years – simply because I felt so BETRAYED.  And, that in a nutshell, might be the undoing of President Obama.  There are other areas where his decisions have been in TOTAL contrast to the expectations coming from his campaign.  That is one of the “changes” most of us wanted to believe in – if he said it, he would stick to it (like the “public option” for example – abandoning that cost our president MANY votes – I’m sure).  I’ll end by pointing out that I heard President Obama say that “Waterboarding is torture.”  I also heard him (with my own ears – watching his lips move as he said it) say “no one is above the law.”  Finally, I heard both Obama and his AG Eric Holder say, “if there’s evidence of a crime, we’ll follow the evidence and it will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”  They were speaking to people who wanted assurances that the Bush/Cheney crew would not get off “scott free.”  They left a clear impression that “War Crimes” were unacceptable and would be prosecuted – all while Bush/Cheney – as stated earlier, were admitting to authorizing “WAR CRIMES” – yet, NOTHING was done.   To be clear – that is not the way to excite people to go to the polls!

Note: I wrote the above last night before I heard about the “leaked” files coming from “WikiLeaks,” which I haven’t read but have heard much comment about.  Let me just add that everything I’ve heard “leaked” simply verifies much of what I’ve been saying – including in this post.  However, not much of what I’ve heard should be surprising to most people.  The information has been available if you want to get it.  Let me suggest a couple books for anyone who would like to get a better idean on Iraq or Afganistan.  Thomas E Ricks’ “The Gamble,” gives a great explanation of why many are predicting an indefinite presence in Iraq – for maybe a generation.  “Descent into Chaos” by Ahmad Rashid and “Ghost Wars” by Steven Coll are two really good books which will help you understand the futility of what Bush – and now Obama – are trying to accomplish in Afganistan.  What I’m implying is that not much of the information is new (maybe some of the finer details – names of individuals, etc.) so it’s kind of an example of how our news media has been “asleep at the switch” for the previous 10+ years.

This country (The United States of America) is, presently, MESSED UP!  As much as it grieves me to say that, from everything I read and see there can be no other conclusion.  A good example to support this contention is the recent episode in which Shirley Sherrod of the USDA was summarily FIRED by Tom Vilsack (and presumably with a “nudging” from President Obama’s White House) – Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa, now director of the USDA – because of a PARTIAL video released by one of the “right wing” blogs and – OF COURSE – picked up by Fox “news” and played without the slightest attempt at verifying its authenticity.  Of course (again), the video was EDITED, but it fit the purposes of those on the right who have no answer to the NAACP’s request for the “Tea Party” – and, by association, the republican party – to purge their “ranks” of racist people – as evidenced by all the racist signs carried at “Tea Party” events (and racist comments by those associated with the republicans).

Well, it was just a matter of time until this touchy subject, RACISM, showed up at the top of the news.  I mean, even racists are sensitive to being called racists because they know that in today’s America that is one of the unacceptable areas for leaders to tread.  I’m often humored (in a sick kind of way) as I listen to people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and other right wing “talkers” defend themselves against charges of racism.  Some of the stuff that flows from their lips is so vile that it’s hard to imagine how they get any credibility with their audiences – except for the people who feel the same way.  Hence, you’ve got Sean Hannity last week claiming that he hadn’t seen any racist signs at “Tea Party” events.  Well, I personally watched clips of a rally in Washington DC – shown on Hannity’s own TV program – that had one racist sign after another depicting our sitting president as a monkey, or pictured with a bone through his nose, or another one that I still remember said something like, “There are lions in Africa, there’s a lying African in the White House.”  That sign was right in the front as Jim Demint, senator from South Carolina (republican, of course), urged the crowd on and claimed, at the time, that if they could defeat health care reform (which would benefit most in the audience he was speaking to) it would be “Obama’s Waterloo.”  If you are interested in some of the racist comments from Limbaugh, Beck, and some of the others check my archive because I’ve been calling them out on this garbage since day one of Obama’s declaration of his candidacy.  Suffice it to say that it’s interesting to me the republicans (and “Tea Partiers”) get any traction at all when they defend themselves against the charge of racism.  In fact, sadly, the way they defend themselves is by doing what they did to Shirley Sherrod.

From what I’ve seen and heard, Shirley Sherrod is an exemplary woman.  She’s been dedicated to helping poor people for well over 20 years.  She’s a reliable, trustworthy worker that the USDA should have been proud of.  Now, she’s a victim of the “right wing” vitriol – their attempt to “counter” the NAACP claims that there are racists in the “Tea Party.”  (of course, it makes sense to me that there are racists in every party – this is a HUGE country with only a few political parties – but, that’s a story for another day)  Before I get into the details of what happened to this woman and the implications for ALL of us (Americans) let me just add that this is another example of the mean spirited nature of those who call themselves leaders of the “conservative” movement in America.  To me, this kind of behavior has nothing to do with “conservative” or “liberal” – it’s just awful and it’s insensitive to people and it’s JUST PLAIN MEAN!  Hopefully, this good woman will get her job back – but, at this point I believe her experience represents what is tearing this great nation apart at the seems.

Let’s start with the republicans and the “liberal media” – you know, places like Fox “news” and all the outlets they funnel information from – without vetting anything – if it meets their needs (meaning, makes their “point”) they run it.  This video of Ms Sherrod was edited to show her making a statement – to the NAACP (remember, it was the NAACP which asked for the “Tea Party” to remove the racists from their midst – therefore, they’re the target, Ms Sherrod is just the convenient victim – in their wars in Iraq and Afganistan they’d call her “collateral damage”) – a statement which appeared to suggest she would provide more assistance to black farmers than to white farmers when doing her job.  The tape was edited in such a way that once it hit the Fox “news” airwaves (Oh my gosh, as I’m writing this I’m wondering, “do we have another White House which watches Fox?”) director Vilsack had her fired.  In fact, it was reported that she received calls while she was driving somewhere and urged to text in a resignation because “this was going to be on Glenn Beck’s show.”  I honestly hope that last statement is not true – but, if it is it would pretty much verify everything I’ve been saying (and complaining) about the Obama administration for the past year and a half.

All of this (naturally) was done “on the fly” with apparently NO ONE taking the time to verify what these people with the VIAL history of manipulating the “news” were saying.  I believe the guy who put this EDITED tape up on the internet is the SAME GUY who used an EDITED tape to take down ACORN, another situation where helping the poor was “torpedoed” by republicans!  How many times is this guy going to get away with this type of libelous, vile stuff?  And worse yet, and I’m very serious here, is Glenn Beck now so powerful that our White House makes decisions based on what is going to be reported on that NUT JOB’S TV show?  If so, we’re ALL in big trouble! 

Once the entire video of Sherrod’s speech was made public it was apparent that her message was EXACTLY the OPPOSITE of what Fox “news” was reporting.  Now, for me, the surprise would be if anyone is surprised by that.  Certainly, Vilsack, the NAACP (who blasted Sherrod – despite the FACT the speech was given to THEM!), and the White House should step back and take a good look at their decision making process if they’re at all being influenced by Fox.  If that is the case, those of us who consider ourselves “progressive” (liberal) – and were called “f__king retards” by President Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel – we’re all in BIG trouble!  The battle for the HEART of this great nation is still RAGING, and – as I’ve stated MANY TIMES on this blog – President Obama and the democrats are TOTALLY risking TURNING OFF so many progressive voters that they open the door to republicans in November.  I can hear Rahm Emanuel right now blaming the “progressives” when it is him who needs to take a good look in the mirror to see where the direction he’s pushing this president is leading us.  I mean – worried about something showing up on Glenn Beck’s show – YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

I believe it’s way past time for President Obama to purge some of these “Washington regulars” from his inner circle.  To me, this is a WAR – and, there’s nothing more important to the future of this nation than that the republicans are defeated.  Yes, we need two parties – and, historically it’s been republicans and democrats – but, these people have gone past the point of reason.  They (republicans) are so beholden to the right wing special interests that there’s no going back for most of them.  You never hear of ONE republican standing up against the vile racist rhetoric (or signs) coming from one republican “leader” after another.  And, why President Obama continues to “kiss up” to them is beyond me.  CONFRONT THEM!  Cause them to have to say NO to everything in a way that there can be no question to the American people who’s causing the problems.  The fact that we’ve got a political party that has PUBLICLY stated their MAIN GOAL is that the President of the United States would FAIL – is not only beyond my ability to comprehend (if the president “fails” – don’t we all fail with him?  shouldn’t we want our president to succeed?) – this is also UNPRECEDENTED! (at least in my lifetime)  I’ve been watching politics in America closely since the early sixties and I’ve never seen a situation where the other party wanted a president to fail.  Yes, Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment, but there were republicans as well as democrats who considered his behavior unacceptable.

To me, the damage done by George W Bush was FAR more serious than what was done under Richard Nixon.  Nixon did some good stuff and was not a man who couldn’t work with democrats (despite his “enemies list”).  George W Bush dismantled the government while funneling jobs and contracts to his “friends,” he lied America into a disastrous occupation of Iraq, he allowed the perpetrator of 9/11 to escape, his vice president “outed” a CIA agent (think about that one – to me, doubly despicable!), he led the destruction of our economy (including causing the HUGE deficits that everyone seems to be so upset about and republicans are trying to “stick” on Obama – like everything else), and – speaking af doubly despicable – he, along with his VP authorized WAR CRIMES!  (plus, both Cheney and Rumsfelf PROFITED from an occupation that cost our military almost 5000 lives and countless debilitating injuries).  And, now you’re hearing republicans wanting to return to that tax-cutting for the RICH approach to government.  Let’s bolster the RICH so that money will “trickle down” to the rest of us.  If Americans buy into the “trickle down” theory again, they deserve the results!  As I stated earlier, the situation with Shirley Sherrod says it all as far as what’s wrong with America these days.  The republicans will create their own “facts” in order to manipulate their “low information” audience into blindly voting for them and believing falsehoods about “liberals,” and the democrats seem to be afraid to actually CONFRONT them!

Some time back Lars Larson, one of the “enemy” as I see it – the “right” wing talkers who put money ahead of principle – who are willing to spout the “talking points” of the corporate masters to the point that I suspect they actually begin to believe their own lies – called me an “elitist” for making a reference to “low information voters.”  I was pointing out who their target audience was (the right wing talkers, that is), and instead of challenging the premise of my argument Larson did the usual character assasination ploy.  I responded to his charge trying to draw him into a debate without success – I’m sure because my little spot in cyberspace is REALLY SMALL and because people like Larson seem to have no response to any rational challenge of their made up “facts.”  I’m pointing this out because, unfortunately, many of the so-called “low information voters” are friends of mine.  I’m a school teacher and most of the people I work with you would have to refer to as “educated.”  However, that being said, they are also mostly caught up in the new “American way” of scrambling from month to month just to get the bills paid and take care of the children and/or grandchildren.  Also, many of my teacher friends are so focused on TEACHING that they don’t even want to get caught up in political discourse.

I’m not trying to defend that at all – I’m just saying that seems to be the way it is in America.  We are a nation with the longest history of self rule the world has ever known.  We have a representative democracy that was brilliantly set up by a group of “founders” who attempted to make it nearly impossible for any one group of people to CONTROL the government – hence, the system of “checks and balances.”  This system has worked for over two hundred years and it’s my contention that a large majority of Americans just assume it will continue to work as it has indefinitely.  I have to say that I truly hope they’re correct.  However, it feels to me that the very foundation of that system is under attack – and, one of the vulnerabilities is the “low information voters” I seem to talk about occasionally.  The problem is certainly more complicated than that – there is a clear partisan divide in America right now – but, when the actual fabric of the “system” is under assault I contend that it’s the people who’ve been educated to know what the founding principles of the nation are who we have to rely on to prevent a destruction of that fabric from “within.”

As a Christian I find that I’ve had to learn the true meaning of the word complacency to keep myself focused on growing in my faith.  Being a Christian has also exposed me to many people who I consider good friends who consider themselves republicans.  (for the sake of disclosure, I have given money to democratic candidates in the past 4 years and I gave money to the democratic party during the 2008 campaign – they think I’m a democrat – but, I’ve been an independent voter for over 40 years – I just refuse to vote for ANY republicans under the present circumstances – this is the result of the Bush tax cuts and the invasion of Iraq – for starters)  I’m saying all this because I believe complacency by the electorate is a dangerous impediment to our democracy – albeit in a different sense – just as it is to one’s spirituality.  It allows the “enemy” to take hold.  And, in America right now, I feel that corporate power is the enemy of “we the people.”  This is one of the main reasons for my TOTAL distrust of ALL republicans, because they are in lock step support of what appears to be a “melding” of corporate power and government.  If you’re not aware of where this potentially leads, well, the answer is fascism.

How do we end up with a large group of “low information voters?”  Well, the free press was always referred to as the “fourth estate.”  We have the executive branch of government, the judicial branch, and the legislative branch – the three original branches of government set up by our “founders.”  The “fourth  estate” was designed to keep the public informed as to what is going on in the three main branches of government.  Initially, they chose to insure a “free press” – hence the FIRST amendment to the constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of the press.  Without those two guarantees everything else is on shaky grounds.  Well, it seems to me that this is the first indication that “we the people” are on shaky grounds.  Our “free press” seems to be on shaky grounds.  Many of the nation’s newspapers are shutting down because they cannot compete financially and many of the “news” outlets which remain are questionable as far as being news outlets.  Yes, information is available for those who want to find it – but, in my view, the level of trust with the so-called “news media” is getting lower and lower all the time.  Most people I talk to feel that none of the media outlets can be trusted.  The “right” has gone to great lengths to vilify the media as “liberal” all the while as various components of their philosophy have been buying up most of the media outlets.  It is rare anymore, from what I see, to watch, listen to, or read “news” that doesn’t appear to be biased – purposely biased that is (I believe we’re all biased whether we want to admit to that or not – but, slanting “facts” on purpose is another matter).  So, one has to “fact check” all information, and that is where I believe most Americans fall short.  They either don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to fact check what they hear – plus, many of us inherently grew up believing members of the “press” were honor bound to ALWAYS tell the truth.  So voters are making voting decisions based on sound bites and dishonest information (and, yes, I believe this is a bipartisan problem if Lars or any other “right” winger happens onto this post).  Hence, “low information voters.”

A good example of this phenomenom is my belief that many of my “republican” friends wouldn’t have anything to do with the republican party if they really knew what the party was doing.  Most of them have been voting republican for years because they believe the republicans are going to get Roe v Wade reversed – they HATE the idea of all the abortions which have happenend in America over the last 30+ years and they blame the democrats for this.  Without getting into the abortion issue here, what I find interesting is that most of them – if they knew the depth of racism in the republican party – would have nothing to do with republicans – similar to me.  If they understood the torturing which has been authorized by republican leaders they would be repulsed – just as me.  If they really stopped to think about who has caused the HUGE national debt which is bothering just about everyone – they’d be turned off to the republican “trickle down” theory – just as me.  And, I could go on – these people vote based on their belief that by voting republican they’re opposing abortion and they feel morally obligated to do so.  Not one of them that I’ve been able to strike up a conversation with on the subject has EVER researched why the republicans have supposedly had this on their agenda for over 30 years, yet nothing has ever been done about it – they fail to understand that as long as they continue to BLINDLY vote for republicans on this one issue – nothing will be done about in the next 30 years either.  It doesn’t make sense to them that if Roe v Wade was overturned, then the republicans would have to find another way to enlist their BLIND loyalty. (although Sarah Palin lately has been making a good effort at convincing the “right” that democrats are after their guns – maybe that’s the new “wedge” issue)

The “block” of voters who vote republican based on the abortion issue is what gives republicans any chance in elections.  The other thing which gives them a chance is the disfunction in the democratic party – and, essentially, whether we like it or not we are still a nation which is governed by one of the two major parties.  The republicans have been scheming about a “permanent republican majority” since the days of Ronald Reagan and I think they would have succeeded had Bush/Cheney not been so incredibly incompetent (which could be a problem going forward because so far there hasn’t appeared a republican “leader” who is much different than Bush – In fact, I still contend the most likely candidate for 2012 is the other Bush – Jeb).  Just imagine what the Supreme Court would look like today had McCain/Palin prevailed in 2008.  The republicans have figured out the importance of controlling the Courts and the “fourth estate” – which allows them to “sneak” their way into a tight “grip” on the entire government – kind of like flying under the radar.

The thought of this possibility still existing brings me right back to the “low information voters” I’ve mentioned tonight and on other occasions.  Since the Court decided that corporations should have the “free speech” rights of individuals with an unlimited ability to influence our political process through advertising I’ve been polling people who I believe should know what “Citizens United” means.  So far, I haven’t found a single person who knows what I’m talking about.  The other day I asked a friend of mine who is a high level computer programmer and he had no idea what I was talking about – until I started to explain it to him.  He had heard of it, but not to the extent that he understood any of the possible ramifications of the decision.  A week ago, I was out with some teacher friends of mine – people who pride themselves on being informed – including two prinicpals – and NONE of them had any idea what I was talking about when I asked them what they thought of the “Citizens United” decision.  I have come up with the same result OVER AND OVER again since the decision itself.  And, worst of all, none of the people I asked wanted to talk about it because they’re “sick of politics.”

It’s the toxic atmosphere that exists in America today when average people discuss politics that turns people off – for the very reasons I’ve outlined above.  If I have a conversation with a “ditto head” (for anyone who might not know what that means – it’s a Rush Limbaugh devotee) who actually believes Limbaugh’s CRAP I have no patience with them – in fact, I’ve chosen to end a couple relationships with friends because I just got tired of trying to even get them to listen to another perspective – both of them would start yelling ugly things about “liberals.”  I believe all of this – the toxic atmosphere, the control of the media outlets, the talking “heads” with the “talking points” which have NO basis in truth, along with a Supreme Court willing to make decisions like “Citizens United” – is all part of a larger scheme for a “right wing” takeover of our government which will be EXTREMELY difficult to overcome should it succeed.   Expecting some kind of repeal of “Citizens United” after it’s had an election or two to have an impact is, in my view, worse than naive – it’s stupid.

Therefore, I certainly feel compelled to continue writing – even though only a few hundred people view each of my posts.  My hope is that if enough Americans try to find out what is REALLY going on in our politics we have a better chance of stopping this SCHEME – not knowing who’s totally behind it.  It seems that in America we don’t act until things get to the desperate stage.  Scientists are claiming in unison that climate change is a potentially devestating problem – yet we have a political party standing in the way of any action to diffuse it – under the guise that acting to head off “global warming” is “anti-business.”  I’m thinking New York or Los Angeles under water will finally get some people’s attention.  We’ve allowed the two “occupations” of Iraq and Afganistan to just go on and on and on – all with borrowed money.  Maybe, our country will have to go bankrupt before we decide we’ve had enough in the middle east.  And, the energy crisis.  Sometimes I wonder whether the politicians in Washington have even noticed.  Is it going to take long lines at the pump, rationing, and shortages to get the point across to them?  And, as far as our political system itself, the “low information voter” problem, to me, is real.  Do republicans REALLY want corporations to be controlling our elections?  I honestly don’t believe the rank and file republicans want that at all.  But the Mitch McConnell’s and John Boehner’s are jumping for joy because in their minds the Citizens United decision means a greater chance for them to gain what is most important to them – and that is power.  Many people are predicting the republicans will retake the House of Representatives in November.  To me, that would be like hiring a demolition firm to remodel my house.  It’s the republicans who created the deficit, the intractable occupations, the collapsed economy, the entire mess we’re all dealing with.  Why would the voters choose them to fix it?  (Under Bush/Cheney eight million people lost their jobs – now republicans don’t want them to receive unemployment benefits – what’s up with that? – come on Lars, explain yourself here!)

If you’ve been around this site much you would understand that I have a penchant for the “blue collar” Americans – the people who made this nation the greatest nation on earth during the period of the thirties through the sixties as the union movement built a MIDDLE CLASS that was the envy of the world.  By the sixties something approaching 40% of America’s workforce was unionized, American’s mostly had access to health care and other benefits which unions brought to the bargaining table, we got the 40 hour work week, overtime pay, sick leave, vacation pay, and ultimately – for women – maternity benefits – to name some of the achievements of America’s great union movement.  Somehow, the appreciation of that has been lost, and it’s like we’ve got caught up in a “race to the bottom” in regard to wages.  Labor is cheaper in other places around the world and somewhere along the line we, as a nation, allowed ourselves to buy into the idea of “free trade” thus losing most of our manufacturing base.  In fact, we still make some cars – although based on what I observed during the “TARP” bailout process – the “right wing” of America’s political system was more than willing to allow our auto industry to FAIL (probably thinking that would help make sure President Obama would fail as well)  – but, other than cars we don’t make much in America unless it’s related to WAR.

If you’re as old as me, or if you’ve read a bit about American history, you know that President Eisenhower warned us all about the danger of the “military industrial complex” getting out of control back in the 1950’s.  His words are ringing truer than ever these days as our military budget dwarfs the military budgets of every other nation – in fact, I’ve heard that it is more than the combined military budgets of all the other nations in the world put together.  Is it any wonder that people around the world are afraid of the US?  I’m presently reading a book titled “Ghost Wars” by Steve Coll (I’m not half way through with it yet, but already thinking it should be “must reading” for American voters) which is detailing the history of the CIA in Afganistan and Pakistan during the years of the Soviet invasion of Afganistan.  Another book which details activities of our CIA is called “The Shock Doctrine” which I read sometime back, but it also points out why people around the world might view our CIA in the same way they previously viewed the KGB of the Soviets – in their “heyday.”  It appears the CIA has been much more active in pushing America’s military “machine” than most of us are aware.  It appears to me that Eisenhower was “right on” and our nation is relying on our military “might” as the foundation of our economy.

Sure, America – supreficially – has evolved into a nation with a “consumer” economy – except for a few cars and the MILITARY stuff.  However, we spend something approaching 600 BILLION DOLLARS per year on the military budget – and, I don’t think that includes the occupations of Afganistan and Iraq.  Do you think one of the reasons our “leaders” keep us entrenched in those two hapless occupations is because it keeps our military contractors busy?  On top of all of that, we’ve got a bunch of “private contractors” such as “Blackwater” – now called Xe Services (by changing their name it pretty much got the horrible stuff they do out of the headlines) – Bechtel, KBR, and Haliburton (Dick Cheney’s former company which moved it’s headquarters to Dubai in order to avoid US taxes and oversight).  These companies are HUGE corporations and they’re powerful, but what do they do for the general “good” of our society?  From what I can tell, they suck money out of our economy with the intent of putting as little back in as possible.  I don’t think ANY of these WAR companies feel a real sense of patriotism to America.  They are bilking us for BILLIONS of dollars and we seem to be helpless to do anything about it – in fact, it is rare when I’m able to find information about what they’re doing – our “liberal” media seems to be “looking the other way.”  The biggest problem here is, it appears to me, that the more we spend on the military the less “safe” we are.  Ask anyone you know who travels overseas how Americans are greeted.  The people I know say they tell people they’re from Canada.

What does all this have to do with America’s workforce?  Well, I believe these WAR companies represent the accepted NORM in America these days.  Everything that represents success for them refers to their “bottom line.”  The workers are just the workers.   This is not how it was in this nation when I was young, and – in my view – it’s what is eating America alive from the inside out.  The biggest frustration for me is that there seems to be no one to carry the “torch” politically for the workers.  When I voted for President Obama I believed with all my heart that he was going to “change” the culture of Washington – or go down “fighting” to do so.  I’ve heard many people say that the president is just one man and he can only do “so much.”  Well, I can’t argue with that, to a degree – but, he can set the agenda and he can LEAD in the battle to FORCE change on Washington DC.  And, when I say FORCE change – that is exactly what I think has to happen.  Money has so corrupted our nation’s capital that it is going to take a major BATTLE to really change the “culture.”  Are we seeing less lobbying?  Are you kidding me – what kind of a message was it when A BILLION DOLLARS was spent by special interests to defeat the health care bill – and, then to have our government abandon the so-called “public option” which was supported by 3 in 4 Americans?  This lack of will on the part of democrats has been more discouraging to me than the frustration I suffered under the disastrous tenure of Bush/Cheney.

And, it’s not that President Obama’s administration isn’t doing anything – they are attempting to get things done – with some accomplishments.  But, it just doesn’t appear to me they understand the gravity of the “WAR.”  I still remember when Bill Clinton allowed the republicans to bring the government to a standstill.  He called their bluff.  Didn’t anyone learn anything from that?  The public reaction forced the republicans to back off.  President Obama had a solid majority of Americans backing him when he took office.  What did he do?  He started of with possibly one of the biggest “gaffs” in presidential history by pardoning Bush/Cheney – OK, I know he didn’t really pardon them, but that was the effect of his “looking forward instead of back” policy and that “pardon” is the only explanation why there hasn’t  been even one congressional investigation into the criminal behavior of the Bush/Cheney regime – Obama stopped them – that pardon essentially gave the discussion parameters of the political dialogue to the republicans.  It sent a message that what the republicans did was OK – just the usual disagreement over policy.  Republicans immediately “smelled blood” because it was Obama’s first sign of “weakness.”  The next sign was the stimulus bill.  That bill should have been at least half again as large (something over 1 TRILLION) without the tax cuts.  That amount of job stimulus would be well into the “kicking in” stage by now, and – again – the democrats would be able to take the debate away from the republicans.  And, by giving the republicans “room” to turn the deficit debate around and point it at Obama, there will be no further stimulus at this point.  You have to keep in mind that the republicans don’t want a lot of job creation because their interests aren’t that the country would be succeeding and the economy would be recovering – that would be BAD for them because all they care about is getting back in power so they can continue their great heist from the American taxpayers.  Heck, the democrats couldn’t even get an extention of benefits for the long term unemployed before they left for vacation – demostrating how important those people were to them.  Nothing seems to get in the way of congressional vacations.  I can tell you, had I been in Harry Reid’s shoes, there would have been no vacation without that bill being passed – PERIOD!  That was the perfect time for the CONFRONTATION!

That gets me back to my main thought for the evening.  America’s workforce.  We have allowed ourselves to accept this notion that corporate profits are to everyone’s benefit, and loyalty to workers is a thing of the past.  Unions are bad – they cost companies too much money – make them uncompetitive, or whatever.  Well, that is all BUNK!  As I noted earlier it was America’s Unions which made this the great nation that it is – and based on how we’re treating our workers these days we could be saying was to that last statement soon.  America’s strength was built from the bottom up and since the days of Ronald Reagan we’ve accepted the “top down” philosophy which simply doesn’t work – long term.  In businesses, the “top down” approach to management results in poor moral and less production.  In our country now, businesses counter that problem by creating circumstances where workers are constantly fearing for their jobs – job stability seems to be a thing of the past, plus there’s a shortage of jobs – and corporations have succeeded in reducing the union workforce in America to something less than 10% to make matters worse for working people.  Unions not only represented stability in the workplace but they fostered a sense of justice and solidarity for working people nationwide (I’m sure republicans would call “justice and solidarity” “socialism”).  Bob Herbert, the great Op Ed columinst at the New York Times put it best in a column the other day which you can read by clicking here.  He does a much better job than me of explaining the importance of America’s labor unions and America’s workers.

The major frustration for me is that it seems almost all of our politicians are “corporatists” – democrats and republicans – they are separated only by the degree in which they’ve allowed corporate interests to “buy them.”  That is why the other day when I was thinking about the people who referred to President Obama as “Bush lite,” I thought there is a ring of truth to that.  Yes, the policies are noticeably different on the surface, but the bottom line is the special interests still seem to be in charge and the chances for changing that seem almost remote to me as I’m anticipating the “outcome” of the “Citizen’s United” Supreme Court decision.  If the democrats won’t cancel a vacation to fight for the rights of our most severely unemployed workers what are they going to do when the republicans filibuster every attempt to mitigate the “Citizen’s United” problem – which I’m sure the politicians are seeing coming at them like a huge frieght train – at least if you’re someone like Dennis Kucinich, or Alan Grayson, or Barack Obama.  Unfortunately, it seems to me the jobs our congressional leaders are most concerned about are their own.  And, the way the democrats are going about their business it’s going to take a different crew of legislators to “get” the importance to ALL OF US that our middle class needs to be healthy and, until it is, we are all going to continue suffering economically.  The damage done over the past 30+ years by the Reaganites to our economy is immense, and the worse thing I can think of is putting them back in power to continue their carnage, but it appears to me that the thing that turns American voters off more than anything else is the sign of weakness.  President Obama is being termed “weak” in many circles – despite his efforts to appear strong (I believe he’s thinking his continuing of the occupations in Iraq and Afganistan make him appear to be a strong “commander in chief”).   It is my opinion that every time he tries to “reach out” to republicans it makes him look weaker – understanding that is the first step in changing that image.  Turning this “carnage” around will be a “war” and, the middle of the road, pragmatic, democrats don’t appear to be up to the challenge!

I really wish there were two alternatives out there for people to consider voting for – and, let me try to get Lars Larson into the dialogue again – I’m talking about the people who are educated voters.  By “educated voters” I’m not implying some form of higher education separating one voter from the next – I’m talking about people who actually research out what the different candidates are saying and don’t make decisions based on the signs they see along the highways, or the soundbites they hear in the advertisements, or the propaganda put forth by right wing “water carriers” such as Larson – and, for that matter, they don’t just blindly follow the “urgings” on the other side as well – they look for candidates who will truly represent them (is that even possible anymore?).  In fact, there are now reports out about candidates who won primary elections and then actually TOTALLY changing their websites to reflect more “moderate” positions to give themselves a better chance in the general election.  Of course, this is just more of what American voters seem to be willing to tolerate – politicians telling them what they want to hear.  Today, I heard a clip of John McCain proposing to send ALL the “illegals” we can “round up” back to their countries of origin – this, the same John McCain who just a few short years ago “partnered” with Teddy Kennedy on a moderate “immigration reform” bill which would have given “illegals” a “pathway to citizenship.”  Oh, how a “tea party” opponent in the general election will get you to revisit what you REALLY believe!

Most of the people who I talk to about politics these days think I’m a democrat.  Well, the truth is, I refuse to vote for any republicans under the present “make-up” of the republican party but I’ve been a proud independent voter for over 40 years.  I have voted for republicans in the past and I hope to do so again in the future – it just won’t be one of the republicans who is willing to go along with the racist bigots who are in charge of the party today.  And, I have to add here that it’s a big disappointment to me that there isn’t one republican willing to come out and forcefully denounce some of the UNBELIEVABLE racist comments being made routinely these days  by republicans – with nary a whimper from inside the party.  (I do have to say that I heard a tape of Lindsay Graham commenting on Michael Steele’s incredible Afganistan comments, accurately pointing out that Steele calling Afganistan “Obama’s War” is ludicrous (my word) and urging unity in the “battle.”  Graham referred to Afganistan as “America’s War – despite my disagreements with his premise – it was a bit refreshing to hear a republican making even the slightest comment suggesting the need for unity with Obama in our “war” efforts)  However, what I heard the other night was simply OVER THE EDGE and, I’m anticipating there isn’t a republican out there with the “balls” to call Mr. Rush Limbaugh out on his latest venture into TOTALLY RACIST rhetoric!  If you haven’t heard, Limbaugh made the incredible claim – along the lines of some of his others – in fact, this is “right up there” with the “best” – that the only reason Barack Obama was elected president was because he’s Black!  He included in his rant that the reason Oprah Winfrey is successful and rich is because she’s Black.  I forget Limbaugh’s exact words, but he suggested that if President Obama wasn’t Black he’d be waiting tables in some Honolulu restaurant or teaching law in Chicago – the inference from his comments was that there is some mysterious conspiracy in America to make some Black people rich and successful so that we won’t appear to be racist – and, whoever is behind this scheme are the true racists.  You would have thought that Limbaugh would be able to tell when his mouth is getting TOTALLY out of control after his experience of getting “booted” from ESPN for saying something along the same lines regarding Donovan McNabb, then of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team – something like the media was making McNabb out to be a better quarterback than he actually was because he was Black.

It’s not that the venom never stops flowing from Limbaugh’s mouth – he’s been saying CRAP like that since the 80’s when he first hit the airwaves.  And, it doesn’t surprise me that the so-called “ditto heads” listen to this CRAP and just take it with a grain of salt – many of them, whom I know, actually expressing similar things as they also claim they too aren’t racists.  (Lars, these are some of what I call the “low information voters”)  It’s the republicans who are involved in the national political process who don’t have the GUTS to call Rush out on his racist CRAP (there’s a bunch more CRAP he needs to be called out on – but, allowing this to go on is beyond me – it’s one of the main reasons I wouldn’t consider voting for ANY republican at this point in time – PERIOD!)  Now, we’ve seen people like Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and other republicans in action enough to know that covert racism (all experts with the code words, etc) is alive and well in republican circles.  Maybe these people simply admire Limbaugh because he just comes out and puts it on the table – HE’S AN OVERT RACIST!  Glenn Beck – my understanding is that he lost quite a few of his sponsors due to some of his racist comments – let’s wait and see if something like that happens to Limbaugh.  However, Beck’s still on the air – and, there seems to be plenty of support coming from somewhere for his show – and, I suspect that there would be no shortage of support for Limbaugh should some of his sponsors take a stand on principle (does that even happen anymore in America?)  So, their shows will continue – but, when is there going to be a republican who emerges and refuses to be identified with this GARBAGE?

The FACT that both Limbaugh and Beck can continue flooding hundreds – maybe thousands – of radio stations with this vile rhetoric is an indictment of America and a sign that the progress made during the sixties is UNDER ATTACK and is on shaky ground.  Most people have no idea how “shaky” the ground is.  Today, I spent the afternoon with a retired teacher friend of mine and two elementary school principals – one recently retired.  In the course of our interaction – keep in mind that all three of these people have Master’s Degrees and 30+ years teaching or administrative experience – I brought up “Citizen’s United.”  I simply asked if they knew what it was?  Shockingly, to me, none of them had a clue as to what “Citizen’s United” was/is.  When I explained it was a recent Supreme Court decision, before I could give any of the details, the Supreme Court topic went in an entirely different direction, I surmised it wasn’t the right time or place to bring this up, and I realized NONE of the three had the slightest interest in knowing anything about “Citizen’s United.”  The reason I’m pointing that out here is it’s my belief that the damage from the Citizen’s decision is already well under way.  How else can it be explained that people like Beck can lose 60 or so sponsors and just move right along?  Some entity out there is willing to fork out the dough to keep him on the air – because he’s spewing the corporatocracy message that has manifested itself in the “Citizen’s United” decision.  And, now we have Rush Limbaugh claiming our president is only president because he’s Black – using twisted logic to imply he should be waiting tables – this why Obama is trying to extract us from two occupations Limbaugh, Beck, and those they’re carrying the water for got us MIRED into, along with salvaging a ruined economy – the ruination which was championed by the likes of Limbaugh and Beck, and saving what’s left of our federal government which was dismantled under Bush/Cheney with Limbaugh and Beck leading the chears.  What are they doing now?  They’re trying to INSURE that President Obama FAILS – at EVERY turn, and, at least, they’re honest about this wish (although they’re not honest about much else) – even at the expense of the health of our nation.  To the likes of Limbaugh and Beck – a Black President succeeding would be far worse than the country falling apart during the Black President’s term – because if they play their “cards” right – and, if enough Americans are too busy to be paying attention – they will be able to “pin” the failure of America on our Black President.  And, I guarantee you, much of the rationale they will then be using is that Obama failed because he’s Black!

It would be uplifting to feel as if someone with a moral compass on the republican side of the isle was paying attention to all of this – and was as abhorred by it all as myself and millions of other Americans are.  For some strange reason it seems ALL REPUBLICANS are totally AFRAID of Rush Limbaugh – and to a lessor extent Glenn Beck.  I’m guessing the reason for this is that the republican caucus actually gives the Limbaugh’s, Beck’s, Larson’s and the rest of them their “talking points” – and, any criticism risks coming right back home to roost.  Therefore, the republicans are stuck in this endless cycle of mean spirited, self-righteous, racist, selfish interaction with their “base” – and, for some strange reason enough people are listening to give them hope of retaking both houses of Congress in November.  I find that hard to believe – but, with “Citizen’s Untied” in place, I don’t think anyone has a full grasp on how much “pull” the corporate masters will have on the next election and succeeding elections.  I can say this – if the democrats don’t get some legislation through to mitigate the effects of the decsion by November, it might be too late.  I’m already seeing signs of the large corporate interests “lining up” for November – either by how they’re spending their money or how they’re NOT spending it.  For example – it was recently reported that Wall Street is giving MUCH LESS to democrats as the result of financial reform.  Think about that – Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citibank, they’re all saying to the democrats – put in reform we don’t like and we’ll spend the money necessary to get you thrown out of office.  Just think about what kind of nation we will have if it actually gets down to that.

If there’s anyone who might happen across this post who believes that our Congress is not FOR SALE please explain it to me.  In my mind, the writing’s on the wall with “Citizen’s United.”  Candidates will NEVER be able to raise enough money privately to outspend a corporation which decides they need to be defeated.  I know I don’t fully understand how TV time is sold for advertising – but, I’m guessing BP, for example, could purchase much more air time than say a Senator or Congress person who is too harsh on them ( from their perspective) because they’ve destroyed the Gulf of Mexico recklessly.  And, keep in mind that BP is a foreign corporation, but despite the Supreme Court’s limiting these abhorent corporate “rights” only to American corporations I guarantee you they will be right in the middle of our next election.  And, as I’ve stated several times on this site, Fox “news” (which almost every “right wing” person I talk to gets their information from – that info which doesn’t come from the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Larson, et al)  is owned by foreigners.  The majority owner is from Australia (a “right winger”) and the second leading shareholder is a Saudi Prince – the land from where the 9/11 attacks originated.  So, we’re down to this – foreign corporations and racist “right” wing pundits attempting to brainwash the American people into thinking that putting corporations in charge of EVERYTHING will be “taking our country back” in the words of Sarah Palin.  One other thing that puzzles me – as I listen to these “conservatives” complain about our President who is attempting to fix the MESS he was saddled with by Bush/Cheney – How does Rush Limbaugh’s OVERT RACIST behavior seem to get continually overlooked by our “LIBERAL” media?  Are there really enough “ditto heads” out there to look the other way as Limbaugh and his “ilk” attempt to undermine the very government we all depend on?

The other day I was driving my car around doing errands when I happened on a radio talk show hosted by a man who calls himself Nor Man Gold Man (emphasis on the “Man” – I’m assuming his name is Norman Goldman).  I’ve heard him on several occassions of late – he’s been on the local “progressive” station since the demise of Air America radio.  Goldman is someone who is proud to claim he’s a LIBERAL – for that alone I give him credit – and, from what I’ve heard he unabashedly tells it as he sees it.  He’s not the “left wing” version of the people like Rush Limbaugh, Lars Larson, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and the rest on the “right” who are just regurgitating the latest republican talking points as front men for their corporate masters.  Goldman, to his credit (at least in my view), is fair in his criticism of both the “right” and the “left.”  I say that with the caveat that it is much easier to dismantle and criticize the arguments of the “leaders” on the “right.”  (not sure, Google Sharron Angle, Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, and others of the “new breed” of republican candidates)  However, as I have done here on this site, Goldman isn’t short on his criticism of the “left” – mainly in the form of the democratic party and their feeble response to the issues the voters put them in charge of “fixing” starting in 2006.  The republicans have become TOTALLY predictable; what is disappointing is the response by the democrats to their OBSTRUCTIONIST tactics – and, with that I feel a sense of “connection” with Goldman as I listen to his talk show.

That all being said, if you’ve spent much time around my site (or read many of my posts in the “archives”) you should have some idea of how frustrated I am that the United States of America is still MIRED in two UNWINNABLE occupations in the Middle East and Central Asia.  I was reading in the New York Times this morning an article which was referencing President Obama’s “timeline” for withdrawal from the Iraq “war” and – as always happens when I read stuff like this in a major publication – it just DEFLATES me.  I’ll connect my thoughts for the evening to Goldman in a moment, but first neither Iraq or Afganistan should be referred to by ANYONE as a WAR!  If either one was a war, our congress would have declared WAR!  These are both OCCUPATIONS of foreign countries where there is no clear ENEMY and no clear MISSION.  The American public has been voting since 2006 to end these occupations, and it’s like no one in Washington DC is listening – including Barack Obama.  The American taxpayers continue to pour upwards of $200 BILLION into these two FACE SAVING ventures – EACH YEAR – that are likely to save NOTHING in regards to America’s “Face.”  Both of these ventures are so “Viet Nam” it makes me sick to my stomach.  Everytime I write something like this, or even think about these two fiascos, I remember the saying; “Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.”  I honestly believed, at the end of the Viet Nam abomination, that we would never have leaders STUPID enough to get the US involved in something of this nature again.  Well, how wrong I was!

So, back to Nor Man Gold Man.  The other day he brought up a significant point that most people are totally unaware of – and that is the return of Moqtada al Sadr (Goldman pronounced his name wrong and got some of the details wrong, but to a large extent he “got” the significance of al Sadr) to Iraq.  If you’re not familiar with Moqtada al Sadr (pronounced Muk tada al sodder) he is a young Iraqi cleric who’s father was the leading Shiite cleric in the days of Saddam Hussein.  His father, and I believe his grandfather before him were murdered by Hussein, and al Sadr was, kind of by default, the leader of millions of the poorest Shiite Muslims in Iraq following the American invasion.  He formed the Mahdi Army (a Shia “militia”) during the height of the insurgency in Iraq and he is very anti-American.  I read a book about al Sadr and I will just summarize it by saying he’s not a very pleasant “fellow.”  The question here becomes, why is he significant today – as far as America is concerned?

Let’s start off with the FACT that al Sadr left Iraq at the time of the surge and went to Iran to study – planning to return as a “Grand Ayatollah” to become the religious leader of the Shiites in Iraq (I know if you’re reading this you make inferences – so, just make one here about the connection between Iraq and Iran)  The reports I read at the time he left was that al Sadr decided to “wait out” the Americans during the “surge” – he’s very smart and knew he couldn’t survive the “surge” in tact.  Despite being gone a couple of years he still has a lot of grudges with the Sunni Arabs.  In my view, the likelyhood of peace between the two sects – which has never been likely – is significantly reduced as al Sadr re-enters the “scene.”  Most Americans believe that the “surge” was some kind of miracle success from a military point of view – I take a different view.  First of all, we (America) have lost something exceeding 1500 of our best since the inception of the surge – not to mention the half  TRILLION dollars or so that has been spent (borrowed) by the American government since the “surge” began or all the American troops with debilitating injuries.  Yes, the violence eventually subsided, but most people don’t know that the Americans “bought off” many of the Sunni Sheiks (calling themselves the “Sunni Awakening”) and armed them to take the fight to al Qaeda in Iraq.  So, the resultant reduction in voiolence was more because of al Sadr’s temorary defection to Iran and the “Sunni Awakening.”  The problem with all of that:  The Shia still hate the Sunni, the Sunni still hate the Shia, and the Americans have armed the Sunnit minority in Iraq.  It’s much more complicated than this – but, I want to give an idea of why al Sadr’s return is significant.

NONE of the diplomatic “objectives” that were supposed to be resolved as the result of the surge have been achieved.  In fact, the Iraqi’s are still struggling to form a government after the last election which was something like four months ago.  There are still many MAJOR problems in Iraq which ONLY the Iraqi’s can solve.  Based on “projections” President Obama is scheduled to reduce the American troop levels in Iraq to 50,000 “non-combat” troops by the end of August.  While I’ll believe that when I see it, calling any American troops in Iraq “non-combat” is nothing more than the same “double-speak” we’ve been hearing from our “leaders” since the inception of this illegal invasion.  What’s discouraging to me is that this doublespeak is now coming from the president I voted for.  Here’s the problem for America’s “non-combat” troops who will remain (and, by the way, as I’ve said numerous times on this site – this “withdrawal” plan is nothing more than Obama following Bush’s “roadmap” to a tee.  Writing that almost makes me sick).  First, the democratic congress elected in 2006 didn’t have the “mettle” to stop the funding for the “war” then, and worse than that – for me – was President Obama reneging on his PLEDGE to bring the troops home in 16 months and instead simply buying in to the “Bush plan.” (which, by the way, is designed to have us stuck in Iraq indefinitely – some supporters of the plan use the analogy of Korea – for those of you not paying attention)  It appears to me that America’s generals have convinced President Obama that the surge worked and our troops are destined to be in Iraq indefinitely.

Well, upon closer inspection it’s easy to get a different perspective regarding the “surge.”  With the return of Moqtada al Sadr and the political impasse in Iraq, along with the continued presence of al Qaeda – the potential for an increase in the violence almost seems to me as a when and not an if.  Sadr is not going to be happy with 50,000 American troops on Iraqi soil – whether we call them “non-combat” or not – and, he controls millions of Iraqi’s who are more than willing to become “martyrs.”  Additionally, Sadr has no plans – from what I can find out – to “share” power with the Sunni’s.  In fact, from what I’ve read I tend to think he’s got a lot of “pay back” on his mind.  These people over there have a real “thing” with revenge – in a way that’s kind of hard for us Americans to understand.  And then there’s al Qaeda.  Yes, they’re still in the picture.

Without going into great detail here, suffice it to say that one of the main objectives of Osama bin Laden from 9/11 was to get the United States engaged in an intractable war in Afganistan which would lead ultimately to our bankruptcy – just as they had done with the Soviets in the eighties.  To his great surprise, bin Laden was nearly defeated – in fact, the only thing that saved him was the preplanned desire of the so-called “neo-cons” to invade Iraq on their first opportunity – which happened to be the attacks of 9/11.  Yes, the CIA and the Afgan Northern Alliance had bin Laden and his “troops” surrounded at Tora Bora just a few short months after the US invaded Afganistan and all that was needed to “finish the deal” was for Tommy Franks to bring in American troops and wipe out al Qaeda once and for all.  Well, that would have removed the reason for invading Iraq so Franks was ordered not to enter Afganistan (It’d be nice to know by who) and, with a little additional cooperation by the U.S. and help from Pakistan’s ISI al Qaeda was allowed to escape to the Northern Provinces of Pakistan.  Bin Laden was given a “bonus” by the Bush administration – he could keep the United States bogged down in TWO countries – to bin Laden, Iraq is the gift that keeps on giving.  And, do you really think that bin Laden is going to “look the other way” as America leaves 50,000 non-combat troops in Iraq.  If you really believe that, well, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to ……. you know the rest.

The end result here – and, after all this, I believe the point Nor Man Gold Man was trying to make on his radio program – is that the violence is not over in Iraq.  My question is, are all these non-combat troops just going to “hang out” if the violence increases?  Do you really think bin Laden wants the US to pull out of Iraq?  What will happen if al Qaeda increases their attacks?  What happens if al Sadr starts carrying out more of the revenge attacks against the Sunni’s?  Do you really think another year with 50,000 American troops stationed in Iraq is going to solve the diplomatic problems they haven’t been able to solve in the last 7 years?  How much more money can America BORROW to continue these two occupations before bin Laden’s dream comes true?  (one thing that’s really interesting to me is the FACT that most of my “right wing” acquaintences who suddenly HATE the deficit ALL want to continue BOTH occupations! – but, like their brethren in congress, they’re opposed to extending unemployment benefits)  In my mind, as Americans we think we are so smart – but these wayward people who seem so “backward” to those of us who’ve been brainwashed for the past 30+ years are outsmarting our leaders at every turn.  They understand America’s weaknesses and they are constantly playing them against us – and, we just seem to continue on as if eventually everything will work out as we want.  Contrary to the idea of us “saving face” it appears to me that as each day passes America becomes closer and closer to a second rate nation.  President Bush put us on this disastrous course and for some reason President Obama and the democrats don’t have the guts to change it.  It’s almost as if they want to be able to blame the failures on Bush/Cheney without the risk involved in ending this crap once and for all.  And, it’s true the failure of Iraq is Bush/Cheney’s, but with every passing day President Obama takes more and more “ownership” in the fiasco.  By following Bush’s “withdrawal plan” Obama showed a terrible lack of leadership, and now he’s stuck in what I’m sure the generals will lobby as an indefinite presence in Iraq as the only way to protect our “investment” there.  I REALLY hope I’m wrong on this – but, if you haven’t read Thomas Ricks’ “The Gamble” I would highly recommend it.  He essentially predicts the American generals want to stay in Iraq for a “generation.”

Day after day I seem to be going about my business often times simply shaking my head (those around me, I’m sure, wondering what’s wrong with him today?) as I continue to ponder the general direction of this great nation that I love.  As a school teacher I see what’s being done to public education “up close and personal,” and as an involved and concerned citizen I’m seeing the result of 30+ years of the republican party’s plan for total dominance of our country teetering on either success of failure depending on what happens in the next few months.  After listening to John Boehner on the radio as I was driving around today, and listening to Sharron Angle the other day – she being one of the “new breed” of right wing extremist candidates the republicans are cramming down our collective throats (or, trying to cram down our throats) I have to tell myself that the people I know who would even consider voting republican have either lost their senses, or they’re TOTALLY not paying attention.

Boehner compared the financial meltdown of 2008 to an ANT and said, unbelievably, that financial reform was like killing the ANT with an ATOMIC BOMB!  Shortly after that – if you don’t know, Boehner is the republican’s leader in the House of Representatives – Richard Shelby, the republican’s ranking member on the banking committee where the regulations originated AGREED with Boehner!  Now, if you’ve been paying attention AT ALL, if you’ve done the slightest bit of research into what happened to these “TO BIG TO FAIL” banks, you’ve just got to agree that these people are NUTS!  Now, I’ve been very critical of Barack Obama – but, I can tell you this; he’s a HUGE move forward from this republican type of thinking.  Yes, Obama’s been too far to the “right” himself, and he’s spent too much time coddling republicans – all of which I understand – he’s trying to create an atmosphere of actual productive dialogue in Washington DC – it’s just not time yet for such a RADICAL idea – as working together to solve problems!  (actually, republicans I know think Obama’s a “socialist” and, despite his overtures to the contrary, they don’t even recognize his attempts at bipartisanship – which, it seems to me, is further evidence that “the time’s not right” for that just yet)  These republicans are bent on only ONE THING and that is Obama’s failure.  Should that destroy our nation – well, it’s OK with them – as long as they get voted back into office.  I’ll speak more to this point shortly, but let me just interject here – I really hope the American people come to their senses and reject this right wing corporate facism. (I wish I could think of a better term – but, I just can’t – and, if you think I’m “out there” do a little research on Germany of the pre-Nazi days)

First, let me mention this Angle lady who is running to unseat Harry Reid in Nevada.  Let me say again, I haven’t been a strong supporter of Reid’s (in fact, I’ve been a bit hard on the guy over the past three or four years) – but, Angle?  You’ve seriously got to be kidding me.  This lady is off the charts “way out there.”  Aside from privatizing Social Security and Medicare – which makes me mad everytime I hear one of these nimwits even suggest it – I’d go along with the feds keeping their hands out of the trust fund – and paying back what they owe, but that’s a post for another day, this woman was quoted the other day as saying she wouldn’t even support an abortion to save the life of the mother.  “If it’s in God’s plan that the mother die in childbirth, so be it” or words to that effect.  Not for rape, not for incest, not for ANY REASON!  Now, I’m not a supporter of abortion, however, I’m also not a woman and I would hate to have the government telling me what I could or couldn’t do with my body (mine’s a bit messed up).  I agree that life begins at conception, but how do we justify FORCING imporverished Moms to have babies and then abandon them once the baby is born.  I see the results of this all the time in school – kids that don’t have enough to eat, kids without medical care, kids without parents who know how to be parents.  I don’t know what the answer is – other than for the government to attempt to promote policies which reduce the demand for abortions – but, if my wife’s life depended on her having an abortion, or my daughter was raped, there would be not a bit of hesitation.  These “right wingers” want the government out of their business – except for the things where they want the government in EVERYONE else’s business.  Are these the type of people we want running this country?

And, I hope the general public doesn’t forget that ALMOST all of the major economic, military, and other problems this nation is suffering through are the result of the Supreme Court’s appointment of the Bush/Cheney administration – anothe incredible abuse of power by the “right wing.”  The economic collapse, the high levels of unemployment, the HUGE budget deficit, the TWO UNWINNABLE WARS, the beaten down regulatory agencies, the failing infrastructure, the media monopoly (done with a little help from Bill Clinton) – all these things are the result of 30+ years of republican policies which were accentuated by the Bush/Cheney regime (many of whom should be answering to a grand jury by now).  Let’s just look at a couple of those areas – the economy’s lack of jobs, and the unemployment problem – this will give you a good idea of what republicans are really like – especially people like Sharron Angle.  For starters, I heard Angle claim that the unemployment problem was caused by providing workers who lose their jobs with unemployment compensation.  Incredible? you might be thinking – but, it gets more interesting.  Sharron Angle was quoted as saying (actually, I heard a tape of this comment) that unemployment compensation prevents people from looking for jobs because they get more on unemployment than they could get on an entry level job!  Now, I could comment on that sentence from many directions – but just take a moment or so, to let what she said sink in – and, then just picture what this nation will be like if she manages to unseat Harry Reid.  What kind of people would even vote for someone that mean spirited?  Are the people of Nevada paying attention?  I sure hope so!

Sharron Angle isn’t the only republican who apparently feels this way.  Congress just adjourned for their July 4th vacation (there’s not much which could get in the way of their vacation plans) and they left apporximately 1.4 MILLION Americans who lost their jobs in the last year to two years “in the lurch.”  That is, they failed to appropriate the funds necessary to extend these unemployed workers  “DREADED” (from Sharron Angle’s point of view – and other republicans obviously) benefits which Angle thinks prevents them from finding work.  According to my friends in this situation, the benefits were keeping them from losing their homes.  So, the result of one more MEAN SPIRITED republican maneauver – designed to get these people angry with Obama – will be EVEN MORE homes on the foreclosure market, lower home values for everyone else, and an even bigger DRAG on our economy.  Evidently, Angle and the others don’t understand that every dollar which goes out in unemployment benefits generates something around a dollar and a half benefit to the economy.  So, in the name of “fighting” deficits we’ll have over a million people suffering – while EVERY ONE of these republicans will continue voting for unlimited SPENDING – all BORROWED – on both Afganistan and Iraq!  Again, why would any thoughtful American vote for any of these people – they vote in “lock-step” in Congress?

I get that the democratic party isn’t too complete an answer at this point.  However, there are some very good members of the democratic party that don’t seem to be bought off by the corporate interests as I’m writing this.  So, what can be done?  Well, Bill Halter almost unseated Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas – in fact, without the irregularities with the polling places I believe he might have pulled it off.  That, to me is the best way to go about what needs to be done.  Selectively replace the corporate democrats with new, progressive faces – but, in the mean time, how can anyone vote for today’s version of republicans?  (although, I have to add that if republicans would vote in some actual conservatives who were willing to work in concert with democrats to find “the middle ground,” we’d all be better off)  I don’t even see how the people in the south can continue to keep doing this (voting republican – for the most part).  For one thing, isn’t it about time for the anti-abortion crowd to “get” that the republicans are just using that issue to trick a “block” of voters who are disconnected from what else is actually happening out there to blindly vote for them?  Are republicans paying attention to governors like Haley Barbour or Bobby Jindall during the BP oil spill?  They’re doing everything they can to continue supporting BP as the oil slick is virtually destroying their way of life.  Seriously, are the people in the gulf going to continue to vote for these people?  Everytime I think about the BP disaster I get a picture in my mind of Sarah Palin yelling “Drill Baby Drill” at every campaign stop during the previous presidential campaign.  In fact, Palin is a great example of a good (by today’s standard) republican.  She’s ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!  Now, I don’t condemn her for taking advantage of John McCain’s incredible stupidity and cashing in on it – but, the more I see her in action I believe she’s actually starting to picture herself as the first woman president.  Oh my God!  Can you even imagine such a thing?  I’ve seen enough of her to realize one thing: she might be qualified to be mayor of Wasilla, but – republicans – don’t even go there as far as trying to get her finger on the trigger of our nuclear stockpile of weapons.  The last I heard of Sarah, she was suggesting we find a Dutch person to help with the BP disaster “because they’ve got experience plugging up dikes.” (I’m really not kidding – she said that on Bill O’reilly’s TV show)

When President Obama “pardoned” Bush/Cheney I said that was too much for me – a deal breaker – and, it may prove to be, I really don’t know if I’ll ever be able to vote for the man after that.  I’ve been terribly disappointed in the lack of “fight” – translated, in my thought process as LEADERSHIP – since day one of his administration.  However, it would be a cruel turn of events to saddle him with another republican congress.  I’m hoping that isn’t what it would take to get “progressives” fired up again.  I’ll “toot” my own horn here – I’ve done this a bit – I’ve been predicting that the actions of Obama’s administration was going to “turn off” a large portion of his “base” and the democrats would be facing an election cycle where lack of turnout would work in the republican’s favor.  Now, I really hope I’m wrong here – but, much of the info I’ve gathered lately TOTALLY supports this “theory.”  In fact, not only are the democrats looking at “progressives” not voting, but they’re also looking at a possible mass exodus of independents (like me).  Now, I would never vote for a republican based on the present day makeup of the party – but, I might not vote (actually, as I wrote those words I realized that I must be dreaming because I’ve voted in EVERY election since 1968 – including primaries and midterms – so, I’ll probably vote – but, there’s a lot who won’t) – so, Obama and the democrats need to kick it into “high gear” to impress the “base” that they are actually FIGHTING these republicans.  The reason Obama was elected was to reverse the misdeeds of the Bush/Cheney administration.  Much of that has not happened.

There’s still two wars going on.  Obama’s justice department has been seen in court numerous times defending Bush/Cheney abuses as if he’s (Obama) going to continue them – which would include the warrantless wiretapping program.  Eric Holder has defended the “State’s Secret” privilege that Bush/Cheney so adroitly abused – in court.  The transparency that candidate Barrack Obama promised has evolved into another secretive administration which is more concerned with leaks from within than to openness to his supporters.  And, to me, worst of all, former President Bush and Vice President Cheney are still going around BRAGGING about authorizing TORTURE as if to continually point out to the American public that President Obama doesn’t have the NERVE to do anything about the FACT our previous president and vice president were quite possibly WAR CRIMINALS, along with untold other members of their staffs.  This all being said, I still believe it’s not too late (almost, however) for our president to turn things around.  Take it to the republicans – and, not in such a nice way.  Yes, the speeches may be effective to specific groups here and there, but Mr. President, it’s time to get the entire nation’s attention.  Step one?  Take the harness off of your attorney general, and open the investigations into TORTURE.

One thing the American people don’t respect is the appearance of our leaders being timid.  We don’t need the brash arrogance of George W Bush and Dick Cheney, but we need forceful leadership that is rooted in the basic tenets of our constitution.  This is a nation of laws – or supposedly so – and not men.  Today I got involved in a discussion with a gentleman who is a bit older than me (a retired businessman) and who is one of the millions of Americans who watches Fox “news” and gets his information from them.  Everytime I run into someone of that “ilk” it’s like listening to a recording – because they’ve had the information they perceive to be true hammered into their heads OVER and OVER by one “pundit” or “talking head” after another.  That has been the republican strategy since the days of Ronald Reagan (in fact, this gentleman was a bit nostalgic for Reagan – as he was lamenting budget deficits – go figure) – the republicans send out their “troops” who are all programmed with the same “key words” and they just start saying them repeatedly on every venue where they can be “heard” until the general public assumes “this must be true.”  It’s a great propaganda scheme – especially, when our media – for whatever reason – doesn’t want to even discuss the strategy.  I often wonder, “How many of them are in cahoots?”  In fact, the other day, I heard several members of the “media” blasting the reporter who “outed” General Stanley McChrystal for his insubordinate behavior in Afganistan – as if this reporter had an obligation to keep a “lid” on the story for some unexplained moral journalistic reason.  My first thought:  “it’s all the other reporters – who’ve bought into the ‘old boy’s network’ who need to check their badges at the door.”  One of the main things missing in America today is “the fourth estate” – a media that is holding our government accountable – without being in concert with them.  And, this is where we need a STRONG LEADER right now.  Not someone trying to find “the common ground,” but someone who’s trying to GROUND this nation in the very principles which made America great in the first place.  I believe it’s President Obama’s lack of willingness for confrontation which is allowing the republicans to believe they can win in November.  The republican agenda is a loser – upon close inspection, the republicans are far more corrupt than the democrats – upon closer inspection, and almost all of our serious problems can be traced right back to Bush/Cheney – upon closer inspection!  So, why are the republicans so full of themselves right now?  The main problem, as I see it, is that President Obama is what is standing in the way of closer inspection of republican misdeeds, and the resulting lack of respect is bipartisan!  As long as Obama and the democrats are going to look away from republican legal infractions (I’m sure the dems feel with full investigations, some of them would also be vulnerable) – these infractions will continue.  In fact, they’ll get worse.  As I continue pondering the ills republicans would impose on America and the FACT the rest of us are depending on democrats to stop them, all I can do is keep shaking my head.