I got started writing on this blog (if that is what it is) during the dreadful years of Bush/Cheney as they abused their position (granted them by the Supreme Court) as the leaders of this nation.  After 9/11 I, like most Americans (and the rest of the world), was all in favor of going into Afganistan and taking out or capturing Osama bin Laden and as many of his al Qaeda thugs as possible.  What happened instead was an unbelievable shock to me and has turned out according to my worst fears – and that is the neo-con invasion of Iraq (of which the planning began long before the Supreme Court’s now infamous Bush v Gore ruling).  Now, we could argue endlessly over why the Bush administration decided on this course of action – for example, oil – but, the reality is that for people like me it brought back Viet Nam memories all over again.  Of course, most of America’s “leadership” have been shying away from the comparison ever since – however, the reality of the situation is like, as I just stated, Viet Nam all over again.  And, to make matters worse, the Bush administration allowed Afganistan to be sucked into a Viet Nam all over again scenario as well – so, Bush/Cheney managed to “one-up” Lyndon Johnson.  To compound these blunders we’re still MIRED in each occupation and the pathetic economy (also a gift from Bush/Cheney – and their republican brethren) is allowing these fiascos to continue “under the radar.”

If you remember, we voted to end the Iraq blunder in 2006 only to be greated by an UNBELIEVABLY ARROGANT president and a spineless democratic congress.  I gurarantee you that time will validate all the Americans who’ve been PLEADING for our leaders to bring the troops home for the past 4 – 5 years – only to have their pleading fall on deaf ears.  I included in my previous post that I actually confronted (at a town hall – and to rousing cheers from the audience I might add) my own DEMOCRATIC congressperson (Brian Baird) who chose to vote for Bush’s surge because he felt “an obligation to the Iraqi people.”  Thank God, the man has chosen not to run for office again – although, I’m not convinced the potential replacements have any more backbone than he had.  Here’s the real rub for me – which, I guess, is what keeps me writing.  The republicans are hell bent on totally destroying America as it was shaped after the “New Deal” of FDR – and, they’re not secretive about it – so, it can’t be a big surprise to the democrats.  “We the people” have only the democrats to depend on to stop these people and they’re either “feeding from the same trough” or they just don’t have the guts to deal with all of this garbage.

What am I calling garbage you might ask?  Well, let’s break it down.  First of all let’s talk about the economy and the disaster of 2008 which was the direct result of GREED on Wall Street beyond imagination.  These Wall Street bankers produce NOTHING of consequence for our nation – yet, they control something like 60+ percent of the money in the economy.  And, clearly – to them, that is not enough.  They want MORE!  I won’t go over how obscene these people were (and still are) in their need for MULTI MILLION DOLLAR BONUSES and salaries any more than to say that (paying HUGE bonuses after receiving the TARP bailout) was about as good a slap in the face of America’s “Main Street” as you could get.  I’ve watched our government change from a “bottom up” enterprise in the 60’s and 70’s (my youth) to a “top down” enterprise since the days of Ronald Reagan.  Bill Clinton put a temporary slowdown on the trend, although many of the decisions where he “gave in” and “compromised” with republicans actually accelerated the trend toward the corporatocracy which is looming for all of us at this point in time.  In fact, it was under Clinton that the Telecommunication companies were allowed to “consolidate” – which was a MAJOR blunder, and it was also under Clinton that the Glass Steagall act was repealed opening the doors to the “too big to fail” Wall Street banks (I’m not going to get into NAFTA and other “free trade” agreements passed under Clinton – a topic for another day).  These “too big to fail” companies “TANKED” our economy by recklessly encouraging banks to make foolish home mortgages and then both trading them as “AAA” investments while at the same time betting against them with the so-called “credit default swaps” – all the while making BILLIONS on the fees from both sides of the transaction while secretly saying “screw you” to the investors (many of them Americans with 401-K retirement accounts).  In fact, there was a group of bankers from Goldman Sachs called before congress to explain why they were eagerly selling investments they secretly labled “shitty” in interoffice emails to investors who believed they were buying “conservative” securities!

So, you might think that this was about all they did to hurt Americans on Wall Street.  However, Wall Street is much bigger than just the banks – although the “banks” (they are also investment brokerages) do control most of the money.  But, since the days of Reagan (and, for sure, Clinton gets no pass here) America’s corporations have been outsourcing jobs at an alarming rate.  And, with the help of the republican congress during the period from the “Contract for (on) America” in 1994 (enter Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay) until the republicans lost control of congress in 2006 “we the people” actually were PAYING many large corporations to move their manufacturing facilities to other countries.  Of course, they received “cheaper” labor and we allowed them to bring the products back and sell them without tariffs of any kind – contributing to record trade deficits and record job losses.  The job losses during the Bush/Cheney era are staggering when you look at the statistics.  America was losing close to a MILLION jobs a month when George W Bush’s term FINALLY expired.  (do you find it as curious as me that the republicans are still spouting the same absurd policies which will just make the rich richer to this day?  And, even more curious to me is the ignorance of the people who believe them – I often wonder how many Americans NEVER fact check ANYTHING)

Well, I’m talking about “garbage” policies and I just mentioned Tom Delay – so, let’s talk about the Cayman Islands.  Record numbers of American corporations base their operations there in order to avoid paying something exceeding 50 – 100 BILLION in taxes each year.  These are corporations which are making huge profits doing business in America – but “want their cake and eat it too.”  Just google the Cayman Islands and Tom Delay and you’ll find several reasons why republicans with any moral compass at all should be abandoning these thugs.  And, yes – the democrats should be eliminating this option for all these corporations.  In fact, the tax evasion through corporate WELFARE that seems OK with republicans plays a HUGE part in the deficit problem that they suddenly became interested in once Bush/Cheney were out of office (they aren’t eager anymore to repeat Dick Cheney’s quote from 2003 that “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter”).  When scores of large American corporations, who are making profits in the BILLIONS, are paying NO TAXES it shouldn’t surprise you that things are messed up.  These republicans seem to me to be trying to recreate the 1929 Crash (2008 wasn’t good enough for them) and I believe there are millions such as myself waiting for a more definitive STAND to stop this fleecing of our national treasury from the democrats.

I will say that I’m starting to see signs that maybe the dems are figuring out that their “milk toast” approach was a loser.  And, President Obama seems to be more combative of late – and, less concerned with “kissing up” to republicans.  I really hope I’m right on that one – because, his behavior was a bit curious, to say the least, over his first year and a half in office.  The other day I heard a clip that was hilarious and RIGHT ON as President Obama described the idea that the republicans want to “take back the reins” of government.  If you haven’t heard it click here – I’ve chosen to take this as our president is getting a bit more “feisty,” which we are in desperate need of!  And, the senate today passed a bill to provide relief for the many states which are wallowing in the downturn created in 2008 by Wall Street (and Bush/Cheney) with Nancy Pelosi, miraculously, calling the House back from their summer vacation to vote on the bill next week.  These are positive signs from my perspective.

But, what about all the people who can’t find jobs – the so-called 99 ers?  This gets me back to what disturbs me so much about republicans.  They’re still pushing for tax cuts for the top 1  or 2% of America’s wage earners (those making over $250,000 per year) with NO POSSIBLE way of paying for it – an addition of HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS to the deficit while blocking unemployment benefits for the “99 ers” and loan guarantees for small businesses which cannot presently get access to the capital they need for expansion of their businesses.  The money invested in the “99 ers” is the most effective “stimulant” the government can produce for the economy because the dollars go right back into the economy bringing a return approaching $1.70 for every dollar spent.  To me, a NO BRAINER!  To republicans, just another NO!  Anything that might stimulate the economy and create jobs they are going to vote against because they are so hell-bent on defeating our black president.  They throw out all kinds of disengenuous rebuttals everytime someone calls them on their racist behavior, but as the saying goes “if it looks like a duck, it’s a duck.”  I mean, their argument that providing extended benefits for these long term unemployed will “increase the deficit” is beyond PHONY to me – and, the fact that there are MILLIONS of good American citizens suffering (more than they are simply because they can’t find work) due to the economy the republicans crashed in the first place – turns the hypocracy of their argument into another fresh example of their MEAN SPIRITED nature.  (Remember, their tax cuts would increase the deficit something like $750 BILLION over ten years while the extended unemployment benefits would temporarily increase the deficit in the $30 billion range with a boost to the economy shortly after the money was disbursed – the fact we’re even having this argument seems crazy to me)

Finally, I listen to one small business owner after another expressing their allegiance to the republicans.  I just have to wonder where they’re getting their information.  Are they even noticing the damage the republicans have done to their ability to do business?  And, what about this recent bill intended to open up the credit markets for America’s small businesses?  Does it bother them that the republicans are even filibustering that?  The really sad thing here is that the republicans claim that the policies of the Obama administration won’t work.  If that were the case then you’d think they would just stand aside and allow President Obama and the democratic congress to pass most of what they want to pass – and, then watch it fail.  That is, in fact, what happened during the eight years of GW Bush.  Let the policies stand on their merits.  The republicans won’t allow that to happen – presumably, in my mind, because they know that the policies will stimulate the economy and they – the republicans – will be out of office for at least a generation if President Obama “succeeds.”  They’re attempting to remove success as a possibility.  That is why they are so open about wanting our sitting president to FAIL!  I still am amazed that so many Americans will actually sit back and allow something like this to happen.  I disagreed with virtually everything Bush/Cheney did for eight long years – but, they were allowed to do it.  The policies themselves are what brought the republicans down.  However, MANY MANY corporate heads, K street lobbyists, recipient of the no-bid contracts under Bush/Cheney, and on and on “CUT OFF A FAT HOG!”  And, clearly, they want back at the trough!  That’s why they’re proposing the same old same old.  What is so sickening to me is that the republican actions have nothing to do with what’s best for America, it’s all about regaining power (and by extension – all the money) at ALL COSTS!  I truly hope that President Obama realizes before it’s too late that his administration has come up really short in combatting these people who have thrown out the “rule book” in their attempt to undermine his agenda.  This, as I’ve stated many times on this blog, is a WAR for the heart and soul of America.  We will eventually heal from the Iraq and Afganistan “adventures,” but the damage from letting these republicans back in power could leave a much deeper “wound” that might NEVER heal!