As I continue to observe the political evolution in America I can’t help but think that Josheph Goebbels would be exceedingly proud of  today’s  republicans.  If you’re not clear on what that sentence is implying, Google Goebbels and you’ll find out how the Nazi’s came to power in the 1930’s.  Goebbels was the “architect” of the “big lie” theory of propaganda – so efficiently used by the republican party (who are in cahoots with the “Family” which I’ve referenced on previous posts – check the archive) – and it is based on the philosophy that if you repeat a lie often enough with enough voices the “masses” will believe it’s true.  Well, unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The republicans have been doing this since the reign of Ronald Reagan and the introduction of Rush Limbaugh in the 1980’s.  Limbaugh is even so arrogant as to call his listeners “ditto heads” and his listeners are so naive (or stupid – take your choice) to be OK with being “ditto heads.”  The republicans use the term “talking points” to “hide” what they’re doing from us unsuspecting citizens, but what they’re doing is effective for that reason – we’re unsuspecting.  By nature we want to trust our “leaders.”

 George W Bush, who I’m sure the “Family” – or whomever is behind this republican takeover of our nation – regrets choosing as president (and, remember, it wasn’t the American people who chose him) said it best when he said, “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”  (astonishingly, he was speaking to high school students when he said this) Our so-called “liberal media” (this moniker “liberal media” another result of this very theory) never gave so much as a whimper to that quote – and, either they are now totally in cahoots with the “rascals” or they’re just not paying attention.

Compare Bush’s quote to one from Goebbels (especially if you think I’m “blowing smoke” here), “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”  All of this gets me to the reason I’ve decided to write today.  I opened my email this morning and one of the places which send information to me (because, for example, I have to give my email address when I do things like sign a petition to save Social Security, or for the public option, or more recently to show support for Gabriel Giffords) sent a notice that Keith Olberman did his last show yesterday January 21, 2011.  It didn’t take long to find out that he had been fired because MSNBC is being purchased by Comcast and they are part of the right wing conspiracy that is referenced in the above mentioned quotes.  To me (and, I rarely watch Olberman – or anyone else for that matter – anymore) this is the outrage that should get the attention of anyone – including the so-called “tea partiers” – who value freedom in this nation.

At the same “sit down” where I came across the information regarding Olberman, I saw another email which read as follows “The new Republican leaders in the House have received millions of dollars in contributions from banks, health insurers and other major business interests, which are pressing for broad reversals of Democratic policies that affect corporations, according to disclosure records and interviews.”  Really people, it’s not hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together – that is, the puzzle of what is happening to this great nation that I (and probably you) love.  There is a right wing FORCE which is STEALTH – that is, we can’t officially identify it – it’s “flying under the radar” – which is in the process of gaining a STRANGLEHOLD on the American government (all the while claiming to be anti-government) and it’s purpose is to drain this nation of as much of its wealth as possible before “we the people” catch on.  I’m convinced that many of the main CULPRITS have situated themselves in foreign locations so that once their plan is detected and the American public comes to their senses, these people will simply relocate with as much money and wealth as they can get their GREEDY hands on. 

So, if you need a refresher, go back and read the quote from Geobbels – the “right” wing in America is BLASTING us with propaganda which are PURE LIES over and over to the point where enough people are believing them that this is a HUGE problem.  And, what is the best way for them to continue their success – it’s to get rid of the dissent.  Are you getting my point?  Now, Keith Olberman – whom I admire, although (as with anyone) I’m not always in agreement with, was definitely one of the leading voices of dissent.  The thing I admired most about Olberman’s show was that he was critical of democrats (when necessary) as well as republicans.  The truth is that republicans don’t have a monopoly on politicians who’ve been bought and paid for by corporate America.  However, just one move like this is far more significant than just worrying about the loss of Keith Olberman from the airwaves.  It sends a LOUD message to EVERYONE else!

I listened the other day to Alan Grayson being interviewed on the radio.  If you don’t know who he is, he WAS – at least in my view – one of the most HONORABLE members of the House of Representatives – coming from a mostly republican district in Florida (the state where the voters – a large portion being retired persons – elected a governor who had to plead the “fifth” over 70 times in a trial where his corporation was fined almost 2 BILLION dollars for MEDICARE fraud – the largest Medicare FRAUD in America’s history – go figure) who was willing to stand up in Congress and challenge these liars and tell the TRUTH about health care and other issues of importance in today’s world (like unemployment, two intractable wars, etc.).  Grayson was defeated because the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision allowed unlimited corporate funds to be funneled into his district paying for DISHONEST advertising designed to quiet his voice of dissent – and they were SUCCESSFUL.  Now, Comcast has done the same thing by purchasing MSNBC and summarily FIRING Keith Olberman – quieting (hopefully, only temporarily) another voice of dissent.

What is Rachel Maddow to do now?  Is she going to continue to challenge the liars on the “right?”  Will Comcast simply fire her as well to gain a little more silence?  What about the “fat redhead” as he calls himself?  I don’t watch the “Ed Show” on MSNBC (mostly because I don’t watch hardly anything anymore), but what is Ed Schultz going to do? Will he continue calling out the republicans or will he “tone it down” in order to stay on the air?  Do you get my point?  The only legitimate reason for Comcast to FIRE Keith Olberman would have been if his ratings were down to the point where they were losing money with his show or if he made an inappropriate comment (you know, like one of the routine racist comments by Limbaugh or Beck).  The reality, the ratings for Olberman were BY FAR the highest ratings for MSNBC.  His show was the MAJOR challenge to all the PROPAGANDA coming from the “right.”  And, to make matters worse (for those of us who don’t want to live in a right wing corporatocracy) the competition he was “creeping up” on, Bill O’Reilly, is a “card carrying” member of the propaganda machine I’m referencing here.  He WAS the alternative voice!  These thugs don’t want ANY alternative voices!  Now, if that doesn’t give you “pause” well, I don’t know what to say for you.

Even if you listen to and watch (and somehow believe) people like O’Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck, and the others, you should understand the grave significance of Comcast’s move here.  This is CENSORSHIP pure and simple!  Do they have the legal right to do this?  Well, I don’t think anyone could argue against that.  In America, if you’ve got the money, you can do almost anything you want (I could write volumes on that topic alone) – but, the bottom line here is how much do “we the people” want to preserve the nation that emerged from World War II as the example of freedom and opportunity for the rest of the world?  To me, it’s almost as if the German’s failed to take over this land militarily during the war, but they (or people following their philosophy) have been busy since then in a prolonged conspiracy which is now bearing fruit.  And, if Comcast gets away with this DEPLORABLE move, well, all I can say is “hold onto your hats.”  The “you know what” is hitting the fan, and the results could go in any direction at this point.  In my mind, it should be the “tea party” themselves, if they really stand for what they claim to stand for, who would be leading the PROTEST against this move by Comcast.  Ideally, there should be a NATIONWIDE boycott of Comcast IMMEDIATELY!

Consider this situation from the other point of view.  Glenn Beck, due to something he said which was more RACIST than usual – I don’t even know what it was because I can’t bring myself to listen to the guy for more than a minute or so – lost over 100 sponsors to his program.  That, in itself, should put the program deeply in the red (I’ve seen it reported that his salary is something like 32 MILLION dollars) – but, the man is still on the air and has the freedom to say whatever he wants – including rhetoric which openly encourages violence against political leaders because he’s part of the “plan.”  Yes, you guessed it – Beck is one of the water carriers for the Goebbels like propaganda machine coming from the “right” while Olberman would represent the “dissent” which is “spewing” the “truth” that Goebbels (and the republicans) are so determined to quiet.

This is getting serious people!  I’ve been writing on this “blog” (honestly, I’m of that age that I really don’t know for sure if this is really a “blog” – hardly anyone “comments” on my posts) for around four years or so.  Since the U.S. invaded Iraq I’ve read over 50 books in an attempt to find that elusive “TRUTH” about what MY government is up to (it really is a bit depressing to find out)  and in the limited time I watch TV I can attest that KEITH OLBERMAN has come the closest BY FAR of any of the cable news commentators – who profess to be speaking about the “news” – to be concurring with what I’ve been reading.  I’ve read books written by people obviously with a left leaning perspective, a right leaning perspective, and many who profess to be “independent.”  As I teach my students (I’m a 6th grade teacher) to cross reference their sources (when I can get them to research something :o) I try to practice what I preach.  I don’t read the books written by the Beck’s, O’Reilly’s, and Palin’s of this world because I feel I already know what they’re going to say (remember, they say the same things over and over – it’s part of the plan) and the history books I read are written by historians, not politicians.  My point is that I do try to get multiple viewpoints on topics in order to gain better understanding myself – and, when I then listen to the “news” I have found Olberman to be the most intellectual and relevent.  To the “right” and their plan, that is a problem.  The best way to solve that problem is to do what Comcast did – and that’s to simply remove the voice from the air – which EXPOSES the bigger PROBLEM for those of us who don’t want to lose this great nation to the corporate interests who almost have a stranglehold on our government as I’m typing.

Well, what are we to do?  While I’m not sure what we can do, I do feel it’s time to do something.  Many “progressives” have fallen to the “sidelines” in their disappointment with the centrist approach to issues by President Obama.  I myself have been very disappointed in him – I was offended when Rham Emanuel (then his chief of staff) referred to liberals as “f___ing retards” and was allowed to get away with it.  There has been disappointment after disappointment with the Obama administration for me – not the least of which is the FACT we seem to be headed for indefinite occupations of BOTH Iraq and Afganistan.  Our president seems unwilling to “rock the boat” when he was elected to do just that.  He pardoned the misdeeds of his predecessor, he’s defending some of Bush/Cheney’s illegal activities in court, and the “tax cuts for the rich” are as good as “permanent.”  The republican party has remained in control of the agenda despite their minority position for the previous 4 years and now that they are moving toward majority positions – those of us who are “f___ing retards” are really in for more grief (I didn’t think it could get worse than Bush/Cheney – but, I’m definitely rethinking that position).  I’ve mentioned many times how, for example, Obama’s decision to “look forward and not back” will lead to the repeating of illegal activity that should have been STOPPED through investigations and prosecutions where appropriate once Obama took office and now the possible ramifications of pandering to these people has become even greater.  So, it’s time to act.  Of course, me going down to my courthouse and protesting Olberman’s dissmissal would be fruitless – and, I realize only (now it’s 200 – 400 people per day – wow!) a small number of people read this “blog,” but somehow a national movement needs to get underway.

I believe the first thing that needs to happen is that as many people as possible need to cancel their COMCAST service, ASAP!  And, they need to make sure that Comcast knows why they’re doing it.  There needs to be a protest to your (my) political representatives about this move on Comcast’s part – and the government needs to check their licensing regulations (is Comcast getting too big? Are they squelching dissent?) The part I can play is that I will no longer watch MSNBC.  Yes, that’s only one viewer and yes, that creates a problem for people like Maddow and Schultz – and, YES there are only a small number of “progressive” voices on the air – but, I for one will not watch a channel which is operated by a corporation who is openly promoting censorship.  The TRUTH is to me, by FIRING Keith Olberman, Comcast has taken the republican “buyin” of Joseph Goebbels’ Nazi philosophy, the “big lie” theory, public!  My hope is that “we the people” FINALLY do something to stop this!

I eagerly supported President Obama’s campaign to be the president of the United States in 2008 and the archives on this site explicitly show that I’ve had disappointment after disappointment with his administration which began with the choices he made for his senior advisors before the inauguration and became intense when he pardoned George W Bush and Dick Cheney (plus many others) for their illegal behavior in the eight years of the Bush administration.  I believe that mistake, on its own, has played a large part in the deterioration of civility in this nation as the line between those who face accountability in our system of laws has been (possibly) irretrievably blurred.  NO ONE in America should be above the law and when “we the people” aren’t completely SURE of that, it brings instability to the very foundation of this nation.

As Obama’s term has “matured” I’ve honestly come to the point where I’ve somewhat resented his rhetorical skills as just “hot air.”  I’ve tired of the speeches because I believe the actions and the words, in so many instances, have been dissonant.   I won’t belabor the point further, I just say this to preface the FACT that I was tremendously MOVED by Obama’s words at the memorial for the victims of Jared Loughner’s senseless murder rampage in Tuscon last week.  And, his speech provided me with a clear contrast between what we “have” and what we could “get” in the future, because I had read Sarah Palin’s words relating to her rebuttal of all the criticism to her inflammatory rhetoric right before I heard Obama speaking (I only heard the last portion of his eulogy – he was speaking about the little girl killed in the rampage).  The contrast caused me to feel a sense of thanks for our president’s seeming obsession with bridging “divides” which, at times, has driven me to MAJOR frustration.  On many occasions I’ve said, “I hope I’m wrong” in my criticism of this president, and I continue to feel that way.

So, let’s compare the two styles – and, before I “go there,” I read this morning that Palin is receiving “death threats” and I have to be clear that this, what I’ve termed “vile rhetoric,” is deplorable and unacceptable no matter who’s mouth it comes from.  While I want her to stop with the references to violence in her speeches and communication, we need to be clear that we ARE a nation of laws and not “men,” and threats to her are no different from threats to anyone else – UNACCEPTABLE!  I listened the other day to Rush Limbaugh (it’s really hard for me to do this) justifying right wing vitriol by using an obscure example of someone on the “left” doing the same thing.  Come on everyone, nothing reminds me more of the sixth graders I deal with than comments like that from Limbaugh – can we at least agree on that?  As a nation, we need to reject the rhetoric which gins up violence as well as the enablers of those who are putting it “out there.”  Civil debate over issues should be the 21st century approach to solving the many problems we face as a nation – a nation which is falling apart due to internal “fractures.”  I struggled to put up with the Bush administration for eight years, but never advocated violence to either George W or Dick Cheney, although I believe they – like anyone else – should have faced investigations for their questionable actions.  The truth is – we should examine the results of their decisions and learn from that as we go forward making future decisions.  It seems we, as a nation, keep repeating mistakes because our rhetoric is focused on division and power instead of issues and solutions, leading to an inexplicable disregard for the history which should be guiding our decisionmaking.

So, back to what Palin said and what Obama said.  As everyone who’s paying attention knows by now, Palin essentially attacked her attackers, unwilling to take any responsibility for the “crosshairs” over the legislative district of the victimized congresswoman which Palin had put on a website during the campaign.  In fact, Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot, even had mentioned at the time that she was uncomfortable with that depiction and said, “actions have consequences” hinting of what eventually was going to happen.  And, of course, to this point in time (and maybe never) we don’t know the motive of the shooter, but Palin – like Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing “water carriers” – refused to even consider there could be a connection between the inflammatory rhetoric and the upsurge in violence toward the “left” since Obama’s election.  It bothered me that Palin followed her usual routine of blaming the “liberal media” for the attacks against her vitriol, but the really unfortunate part of her “attack” was when she used the term “blood libel” to describe the actions of those who wish her to tone it down.

The definition of “blood libels” is; “Blood libels are false and sensationalized allegations that a person or group engages in human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim that the blood of the victims is used in various rituals and/or acts of cannibalism.” The alleged victims are often children – and this usually refers to accusations of Jews killing Christian children and using the blood in religious rituals.  Yes, on top of all the racist comments Palin has to live with, she now has a MAJOR anti-semitic comment to answer for as she pushes herself into the “ring” in the next presidential election.  2012 could really demonstrate where the American people are coming from – to me, this woman is unbelievable.  Yet, there she was sitting with an American flag pin on her lapel, and an America flag off her left shoulder as if she was giving a presidential address from the Oval Office.  Are you kidding me?  These people, whoever they are behind this woman’s political future, are about as arrogant as they come.  Despite all the money they’re going to be able to raise with the help of our Supreme Court and “Citizens United” she – and they – must remember that someone, somewhere is keeping track of all these blunders.  Do they really think they can gin up enough hate to give this woman a chance.  If so, I will have lived long enough to see the United States implode from the inside out.

Contrast Palin’s words with those of President Obama.  His words were thoughtful, they were the opposite of divisive, he avoided being judgemental TOTALLY, and he spoke specifically about his desire that the words people speak would be intended to promote healing instead of “wounds.”  He compared the innocent political ambition of the nine year old girl killed (Christina Green) to the ideal “climate” he would wish for America’s politcal debates.  I looked, and there in the front row of the auditorium (I believe it was the McHale Center on the University of Arizona’s campus) was Jan Brewer – the republican governor of Arizona who gained fame by signing the unconstitutional immigration bill in Arizona which has created so much division in a state that has many many residents of Latino descent.  Right behind her was John Kyl, the Arizona Republican Senator who has a history of some of the rhetoric which people are so tired of, and – essentially – Obama was in a heavily republican state as he spoke (oh yes, John McCain was there as well) to a heavily republican audience.  And, you wouldn’t expect a lot of applause during what amounted to a eulogy for 6 people, but the president’s words were so moving to the people in this auditorium that he was interupted several times by spontaneous applause – ending with an extended standing ovation that actually looked to me as if it embarrassed the president because he was not expecting that type of reaction.  (What I gathered from that was maybe republicans, when you get beyond all the “No’s,” want civilized debate on issues as well.)

Idealistically, the words Obama spoke that evening were words that we all should take to heart.  Yet, it wasn’t even 24 hours until reality swept in.  The Limbaughs and Palins of this world were quick to be on the attack, finding one lie after another to insert into the dialogue in a way to undermine any “good” that might come from Obama’s speach.  I’m not going to quote any of Limbaugh’s comments, you can easily find examples of what he was saying, but the FACT the right wing is obsessed with defeating President Obama – at the expense of this nation if necessary – was even more clear after this speech than it was before – and, it was REAL CLEAR before!  Here’s the problem I’m having with all of this.  As I’ve stated many times around here, it seems to me that our “leaders” simply ignore history – or they’re ignorant of it, which – to me falls into the category of when I get stopped for making an illegal turn by the police at an intersection where I believe it to be allowed – ignorance is no excuse – and, our history suggests that the republican party and/or “conservatives” in general have been fighting against government supporting social justice since the beginning of this nation.  These people are pulling out ALL the stops to make sure this BLACK president FAILS!  My point, the democratic leadership needs to address this straight up – quit “soft shoeing” the subject because it’s too controversial and seemingly being afraid that FOX will lead the backlash.  We need that backlash – we need to have this discussion – the American people need to be presented with the FACTS regarding our racial history!

I’ve read almost 50 non-fiction books since the point in time following the invasion of Iraq by Bush/Cheney that I realized I HAD to start speaking out – even in this small way (I have children and grandchildren).  To feel somewhat responsible for my words while speaking out, I decided I needed to re-educate myself about contemporary government, politics, AND American history.  I’m finding this REAL American history to be quite a bit different from the image I got while reading the textbooks while I was in school.  In fact, I’m just finishing Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book on the Roosevelts during World War II and one of the most significant things I’m learning from that book is the role Eleanor Roosevelt played in the challenge to “Jim Crow” during the war and the Civil Rights movement which followed the “New Deal.”  The more I read about American history, the more disgusted I get with the treatment of African Americans from the days of slavery right up to what is happening today.  In today’s world, the “conservative” politicians have learned to be much more subtle about their prejudices and how they manifest them – although their constituents are sometimes not nearly as subtle.  In the last few years I’ve learned about “code words” used to assure the racists that certain candidates are “on their side.”  Do you remember John McCain referring to Barack Obama during one of the debates as “that one?”  Well, what message do you think he was trying to send to all the voters out there who can’t stand the idea of a Black man as the Commander in Chief?  (I’m totally certain that McCain is one of those voters)

What’s really sick to me is how they also use the Bible to rile up “Christian Conservatives” to do and support things that are totally antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.  Yes, I realize there are those out there who manage to twist what He said into something virtually opposite of the TRUTH, but we’re all going to have to figure that out on “judgement day” for ourselves what that TRUTH is – that is, just because Ted Haggard, or James Dobson, or Chuck Colson, (or me for that matter) or anyone else makes a claim, doesn’t make it so – ultimately, none of us can justify our actions by blaming them on someone else’s interpretation of God’s Word.  In my case, I’m determined not to allow Palin or Beck or anyone else to convince me that Jesus was for the “rich” and that he was in favor of violence – I’ve read the Bible several times and that just isn’t the case!  It just makes me cringe when members of the “tea party” claim to be Christians while holding racist signs depicting our president as a monkey – and joking about it with their children (I’ve seen this exact thing more than once).  These same “Christians” have been bringing guns to political rallies and are at the forefront of the vile rhetoric which many think is destablizing this country.

These people are blaming President Obama for EVERYTHING that they perceive to be wrong – this is TOTALLY irrational.  It was George W Bush who lied us into the Iraq war and who abandoned the chase of Osama bin Laden in order to justify the Iraq War.  It was George W Bush who was instrumental in the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens and instigated the “Patriot” act along with the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which attempted to eliminate the right of Habeas Corpus – one of the most basic of human rights (yes, Obama has inexplicably sided with Bush on this one, but that’s a story for another day), and most importantly to most of the people who are HATING Obama, it was Bush/Cheney who led the calamatous economic policies which resulted in the loss of 8 MILLION jobs and what is being called the “Great Recession” and could still, in my view, become the “Great Depression #2.”  It was Dick Cheney who said, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” while helping to create the largest deficit in American history.  While I want our government to “live within its means” now is not the time to be worrying about the budget deficit – the government is the “spender of last resort” – but what is really RIDICULOUS are republicans blaming the deficit on President Obama.  You’d think that if our “liberal media” was really “liberal” they’d be pointing out the truth about deficits and how the economy really works.  It was Bush/Cheney who funneled TRILLIONS to Wall Street preventing them from feeling the impact of the deplorable decisions they were making during Bush’s reign which led to the collapse of the real estate market and the financial system as well.  TARP was a result of George W Bush’s economic policies and his treasury secretary Hank Paulsen not President Obama (in fact, Obama used the TARP “bailout” funds to save General Motors and Chrysler – and 3+ MILLION jobs).  OK, back to my point – there is no logical reason for all the HATE aimed at our president – except RACISM!  These conservatives, and their parents and grandparents, and great grandparents, have been doing this (racism) for generations.  Let’s quit pretending some other force is at work here.

After first listening to Palin and then to Obama, the contrast makes the above point even more clearly.  How could any American voter, with the exception of the totally partisan and loyal republican, choose Palin over Obama?  I’ve been, as stated above, very disappointed in President Obama on several occasions (he’s what I call republican-lite in his decisionmaking).  He’s been allowing himself to be pulled farther and farther to the “right” since his election, culminating in the “tax cut compromise” which I fear is the first breakthrough for the republicans in their 70 year quest to undermine Social Security.  Obama’s lack of will to fight back against the republican onslaught only encourages it to get worse (this brings me back to the “original sin” of pardoning Bush/Cheney – which was like a shot of adrenalin to republicans)  But, with all his reaching out to republicans, what other explanation can you come up with for people like Limbaugh, McConnell, Boehner, Palin, and others being willing to ignore the real needs of the struggling workforce in this country and instead have, as their STATED number ONE goal, the defeat of the president in 2012.  Everyone knows what the problem is, but no one wants to say it because being a racist is not “nice” in America anymore!

Reality tells me that Obama may continue to get “run over” in his “negotiations” with republicans as we move ahead – I’m just not sure he has the gumption to take a firm stand with them and they will keep pushing until he does (I hope it’s not too late if and when that happens) – but, on this one day, the constrast between Obama’s message of unity versus Palin’s message of DIVISION was abundantly clear!  It’s not my nature to “fall in line” and I will continue to monitor the decisions which are made by the leaders of this great nation and speak out.  And, I will try to practice what I preach to my sixth grade students and that is to explain the “why” regarding my conclusions.  I will also continue to hope that President Obama succeeds in creating an atmosphere of respectful debate over serious issues with the desire on BOTH sides to find the best solutions for the most people – while strictly upholding the rule of law.  Yet, I’ve spent almost 50 years following my instincts as I observe politics in America, and things don’t look promising to me.  Soon, I will be commenting again on the decisions of our president – and, those comments will be critical I’m afraid (once again, I hope I’m wrong) – but, as stated – on this one day – January 12, 2011, he came across as the type of leader which spurred me to feel a sense of hope during the 2008 campaign – and, I continue to wish nothing more than that he would succeed.

I really wanted to go to bed tonight, and it will probably take me a day or two to finish this rant – but, the events of the shooting in Tuscon, Arizona are still reverberating in my mind and the commentary is still coming from all directions (including here).  Tonight, what has motivated me to write AGAIN was reading a column in the New York Times by David Brooks (you can read it yourself by clicking here).  Brooks is the republican apologist who is at it again.  Now, I’m not claiming that I know anything about the motives of the “shooter” in the Arizona tragedy – but, I can tell you that it’s totally illogical to even attempt to place the blame totally on this guy’s mental health or lack thereof.  Yes, it may be true that he really is suffering from schizophrenia, but – no matter how Brooks wants to “spin” things – the vile republican (and “tea party”) rhetoric should be part of the “mainstream” media’s look at what happened.

Brooks writes his article in a way that attempts to place some kind of intellectual superiority on his knowledge of mental illness and what it’s doing to people in America.  He uses the fact (and, we don’t – and may never – know the true motives of the killer) that the evidence is still out when he makes the claim “We have a news media that is psychologically ill informed but politically inflamed, so it naturally leans toward political explanations. We have a news media with a strong distaste for Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement, and this seemed like a golden opportunity to tarnish them.”  This is beyond ABSURD to me!  This is the same CRAP that I’ve been witnessing and listening to for the past 30+ years.  David Brooks, a Fox type columnist claiming that the media – which is dominated by Fox – “has a strong distaste for Sarah Palin.”  Let me just be clear about this – if the media had a strong “distaste” for Palin, she wouldn’t be the rising star of the republican party and “tea party” movement.  She has little of the intellect that his readers would have us believe Brooks possesses.  In the entirety of his argument, Brooks fails to mention that this MADMAN, Jared Loughner, committed, by all accounts, a premeditated MURDER – that is, he targeted Ms. Giffords at the additional expense of the crowd which had turned out to hear her.

I’m just wondering where Brooks thinks someone as mentally ill as the shooter in this instance got the idea that he should attempt to kill this particular congressperson?  He, like EVERYONE else I’ve seen on the “right,” are doing everything they can to dismiss all the rhetoric they’ve been SPEWING as having nothing to do with this violence or any of the other violent attacks on “liberal” targets since the election of Barack Obama (or going back generations in America for that matter).  Is it going to take an actual attack on Obama himself before these people wake up?  Or would we be listening to the same rationalizations if that happened?  These people make me sick.

Brooks actually makes my point for me when he says, “We have a segmented news media, so there is nobody in most newsrooms to stand apart from the prevailing assumptions. We have a news media market in which the rewards go to anybody who can stroke the audience’s pleasure buttons.”  The problem with his assumptions, in my view, is that he’s dismissing the FACT that 90% of the “liberal” news media is controlled by right wing corporations and that Fox is the “kingpin” that we’re all forced to deal with (a company owned by a right wing Australian and whose number one shareholder is a Saudi Prince who supported bin Laden prior to 9/11 – which seems to avoid Brooks’ attention as with the rest of the “liberal” media).  What he’s claiming – “there is nobody in most newsrooms to stand apart from the prevailing assumptions” is EXACTLY what has allowed this vitriol to continue unabated since Barack Obama became president.  Actually, if you’re old enough to remember, this is the identical CRAP that we were inundated with in the Bill Clinton years – and, the response from the “right” including Brooks’ column – is like deja vu all over again regarding the bombing in Oklahoma City.

When Brooks states, “We have a news media market in which the rewards go to anybody who can stroke the audience’s pleasure buttons” he’s doing the classic republican projectionist strategy – accusing the “other side” of exactly what his own brethren are doing.  Yes, that is EXACTLY what the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Wiener, Lars Larsen, and the host of other “right wing” talkers have been doing for as long as I can remember.  (well, at least back into the 80’s when Limbaugh was thrust onto the scene – and, I’m sure before that, I just wasn’t paying as close attention)  These guys have been “stroking the audience’s buttons” for years.  They play to the “dark side” of the people they are assaulting with their propaganda, turning unsuspecting schizophrenics – or people with other mental illnesses – into political assassins.  Brooks actually also makes the argument for a national single payer health plan in America, albeit inadvertently, when he says, “If the evidence continues as it has, the obvious questions are these: How can we more aggressively treat mentally ill people who are becoming increasingly disruptive? How can we prevent them from getting guns? Do we need to make involuntary treatment easier for authorities to invoke?”  Let me just remind you that it’s the very people who think like Brooks who have prevented this nation from considering health care a “right” instead of a “privilege” – a privilege becoming available to less and less of the public including people like Jared Loughner, the KILLER in this case.  And, Brooks himself in this article is pointing our there are 4 MILLION mentally ill people in America!  How many of them do you think are getting treatment with over 50 MILLION Americans lacking health insurance?

The “right wing” is agressively “covering their tracks” and people like Brooks, who in his column states, “I have no love for Sarah Palin, and I like to think I’m committed to civil discourse. But the political opportunism occasioned by this tragedy has ranged from the completely irrelevant to the shamelessly irresponsible” are desperately attempting to keep the Palin candidacy on track – while trying to convince us, the unsuspecting public, otherwise.  Just as people like Mike Huckabee on the “right” have made comments that SHOULD disqualify them from being a national leader, Sarah Palin’s vile rhetoric and racist history should preclude her from consideration of any further public office by any person who believes in the public discourse that Brooks is apparently appealing for.  How can you “bash” political opportunism while defending the people who’ve taken political opportunism to new heights – when their words come back to haunt them.  David Brooks, stop making excuses for the expressions of violence and hate that have been coming from the republican party for the past several years.  Practice what you preach!  I’m still waiting for the first “conservative” to speak out against today’s republican agenda.

I’m going to end this with one final quote from Brooks’ article claiming, “In short, the evidence before us suggests that Loughner was locked in a world far removed from politics as we normally understand it.”  For argument’s sake, let’s accept that premise.  I believe that the politics which most “pundits” are pointing to as they desperately try to understand such a senseless act are politics “far removed from politics as we normally understand it.”  That is precisely my point – we’ve ALL (well, now I have to backtrack a bit due to what happened and say most of us) filtered the absurd out of the speeches of people like Palin and the broadcasts of people like Limbaugh, Beck and the others.  But, as Brooks himself points out, the 1% of mentally ill people in the U.S. who are capable of violence totals 40,000!  That’s a pretty large audience for people like Palin and the others (and, believe me, when vitriol comes from the “left” it’s just as bad!) to be addressing.  And as Jared Loughner proved, it only takes one “crazy” to “hear” things the wrong way and we end up with another tragedy. 

 I’m not suggesting there wouldn’t be tragedies if this type of rhetoric didn’t happen, but we could then dispense with all this discussion and try to get to the real root of the problem – and, I believe, the occurences would be much less frequent.  I listened to a guy who has a radio program called “NorMan GoldMan” on the way home from work tonight and he made a valid point that I think is cause for thought – when condemning the reaction of the “left” as Brooks has done.  What would the reaction have been had it been a republican congressperson shot, or if the shooter had been a Muslim?  The bottom line here, in my view, is that people like David Brooks need to stop defending vile public rhetoric simply because it comes from conservatives! 

All I can say is “What is wrong with this country I love?” (The United States of America)  Yesterday I read in horror about the Congresswoman from Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat, who was senselessly shot through her brain by a madman who also killed 6 other people and wounded more than 10 at a gathering where Giffords was listening to her constituents outside a Safeway store in Tuscon Arizona.  The sad reality is that for many of us “liberals” we’ve been saying it’s just a matter of time before the vile rhetoric coming from the “right” causes some nutjob to “go off.”  Of course, this isn’t the first crazy result of all the ginning up of the so-called right wing “base” – a guard was shot at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, another “radical” flew a plane into an IRS building (which actually received the blessing of many on the “right”), and there have been other incidents – this, however, is the most profound example of the Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, Palin (and others) effect on this great nation.

I’m going to give some examples to back up my contention that these right wing thugs – who are already backpedalling from their disgusting rhetoric – are out of control, and – as I’ve been saying since President Obama took over the White House – when are the democrats going to stand up and say ENOUGH already?!!!!  In this incident a sitting District Judge was murdered, one of the aides to the Congresswoman was murdered, three elderly citizens were murdered, and a little 3rd grade girl was MURDERED!  I feel compelled to remind anyone who reads this what people like John McCain, Sarah Palin, Sharon Angle, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and these “tea party” fanatics have been spewing out of their collective mouths.  For some reason it appears they believe “freedom of speech” has no consequences.  I don’t know if Sarah Palin posting a picture of Congresswoman Gifford’s district on her website with the image of the crosshairs of a rifle scope supreimposed over it bothered anyone when it happened – but, it certainly should now.  (The districts right next to this one were “targeted” by Palin as well)  Sarah Palin is a disgrace to the political dialogue of this great nation, she’s an illegitimate national leader thrust upon us by that pathetic OLD MAN John McCain in his desperate attempt to prevent Barack Obama from winning the White House.  And, I doubt that our “liberal media” will hardly mention what Palin had done – despite the FACT Giffords is lying in a hospital fighting for her life – and probably, even if she survives, destined to be a shadow of her former self.  I am praying for a miracle from God that her wounds would somehow be totally healed and that the other victims would survive this deplorable act.

Before I get back to Palin (I’m having a difficult time controlling my disgust and anger – hence, this “rant” will probably be more disjointed than usual) – I read the comments from the guy who founded the “tea party,” Jason Phillips who immediately started urging his tea party supporters to “blame liberals for the attack on centrist Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.”  This is the same guy who founded the “tea party” convention where Sarah Palin famously said, “America is ready for another revolution” to a standing ovation.  This is the same guy who supported Sharron Angle – as did the republican party, Fox “news,” Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, and others who claimed that if they don’t win at the ballot box “we still have our second amendment rights” – again insinuating revolution.  Phillips, in an incredible lack of compassion and defensive selfishness, went on to say to his followers, “The left is coming and will hit us hard on this. We need to push back harder with the simple truth. The shooter was a liberal lunatic. Emphasis on both words.”  No matter what the motive of the “shooter,” this thug showed where he’s coming from.  The judge who was MURDERED was a “leftist,” The Sheriff at the scene was a “leftist,” as was Giffords according to this unconscienable human being Phillips.  All I can say, I hope that “we the people” aren’t going to put up with these thugs for the next two years.  Let’s hope there are enough decent people in the republican side of congress to put an end to this “tea party” movement NOW!  The RACIST signs and threats at their rallies weren’t enough, but this should be!

Back to Palin.  The woman should be disqualified from this day forward.  The list of her abominations just goes on and on – yet, because Fox has no principles whatever, they continue to push her into the spotlight she’s TOTALLY incapable of handling.  I mean the woman was mayor of a town the size of the little suburb I grew up in and governor of a state the size of the University of Washington (population wise).  Plus, she quit her job as governor half way through her term to cash in on her notoriety – thanks to McCain.  Not what you’d call your dedicated public servant.  Palin has a history with the Alaskan Successionist movement which is connected to the overtly racist John Birch Society.  I still remember listening in horror during the 2008 presidential campaign when Palin ginned up her crowd to the point they were yelling things like “Kill him” in reference to now President Obama with nary a whimper coming from Palin’s mouth to stop the vitriol.  In fact, Palin has a history of making statements that range from stupid to really offensive to vile which eventually she has to retract – just as she’s now attempting to do regarding the “crosshairs.”  Honestly, this reminds me of Bill O’Reilly attempting to avoid any blame in the MURDER of doctor Tiller who was one of the only doctors in the nation who was willing to perform “late term abortions” – almost exclusively on fetuses which were already dead for the purpose of saving the mother’s life.  O’Reilly incessently referred to the doctor as the “baby killer” (when the truth was far different – I had to look beyond “Fox” to find what was really happening with this doctor) and then he tried to back away from his vile rhetoric once the doctor was dead.  These people all work with the same “modus operendi.”

Aside from the udder dishonesty of Palin’s claims that Barack Obama was everything from a communist to a socialist to a fascist during the campaign to her claims about the “death panels” during the health care debate and all the other misinformation she spews there is overwhelming evidence that she (and the tea party she is the torch bearer for) is an out and out racist.  The above referenced  remarks going unheeded were just one in a number of examples of Palin having no boundaries when she campaigns – for example during the campaign she was in Iowa and didn’t miss a beat as someone in the crowd yelled “N___er” while she was speaking and telling unbelievable lies that were totally ungrounded in facts.  She herself has referred to Obama as a terrorist, helped spawn the “birther” movement, and has inferred he’s a Muslim (although, that really shouldn’t matter in the “land of the free” should it?)  She was a natural to lead the “tea party” and her divisiveness has gone way past the president – hence the references to violence toward people such as Giffords and other democrats in the recently completed campaign.

I don’t know if you’ve ever listened to people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage(Wiener), Lars Larsen, and the republicans who are in concert with them – the other day I read a quote from a person who was affiliated with George W Bush who said, “We thought Fox “news” worked for us, we never realized we work for them.”  That’s the most profound statement I’ve heard coming from the mouth of a republican since I read the last Kevin Phillips book.  The republican politicians answer to the likes of Limbaugh and the rest – and, whoever is supplying the “talking points” they all are willing to regurgitate to the unsuspecting public.  But, it seems to me it’s long past time for the GOVERNMENT these people hate – yet want to control – to call an end to all this.  We need to find out if “free speech” is “unlimited” on OUR airwaves – both radio and television.  There really was a time in America when the level of civility was a lot higher.  Yes, there has been and there will always be the “fringe,” but it wasn’t that many years ago when there were much higher standards as to what was said on the airwaves of “we the people.”  Remember, companies like Fox are LICENSED.  There are supposed to be rules for them to follow – and, it seems to me, it’s time that covert groups like the “Family,” “Blackwater,” and others are publicly exposed – including the mega churches that are part of this hatred somehow claiming to be acting in the name of Christ.

And, this goes much deeper than  Palin and the “talking heads” of the “tea party” and the republican party.  There’s a large group of successful, wealthy Americans affiliated with the “Family” which I’ve written about recently (you can check the archives) who are part of this right wing conspiracy to take over power in America by any means possible.  The one example that comes right to my mind was when I heard Chuck Norris of Walker Texas Ranger fame calling for succession from the union and saying he was interested in becoming “President of Texas.”  He went on to claim that if Obama was elected there were “thousands of cells” throughout America who would prevent Obama from taking our guns – or something along those lines – I’m working from memory here – I couldn’t believe this when I heard it, might have been on Glenn Beck’s tv show.  Yet, I’ve heard about all these right wing cells from many other sources – so I believe the time is right to take these people seriously.  Norris was a strong supporter of Mike Huckabee who is one of the Fox “news” republican presidential candidates of 2012 and, who said nothing (at least that I heard) condemning Norris’ provocative remarks.

I’m going to conclude by saying that the American public need to rise up and reject the “tea party” movement, the republican party as it presently exists, and politicians (from any party) who rely on hate speeches and lies to gain power.  As I’ve said many times on this site, 35 years ago I considered myself a conservative.  I’m the type of person who just keeps “chugging” along and I haven’t changed my views that much – I am willing, at this point however, to accept that abortion is an issue which I certainly don’t have all the answers for – and, it’s not my place to condemn anyone on that or any other issue that is part of a civil debate – but, I still feel as if I should be considered a conservative – balance the budget and keep traditional values (of course, now we have to determine what they are – because the traditional values of the “tea party” are different from the ones I’m talking about).  Yet, the national debate has been PUSHED so far to the “right” in the last 30 years that I’m now considered a “liberal.” (and, proudly so at this moment in time)  When I listen to Mr. Phillips of the “tea party” call Barack Obama a “leftist” and Gabrielle Giffords a “leftist” – it becomes clear that these terms have become totally convoluted.  The “tea party” only has a forum because of the influence of “Citizens United.”  It’s time for the American public to refuse to support ANY sponsors of tv or radio personalities who spew hate along with the politicians for whom they’re doing the bidding.

Have you heard the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same?”  Well, I keep thinking of that saying as I’m reading through a second book on the Roosevelt administration, this one depicting the years of World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  What is becoming more certain to me, as I continue my obsessive reading, is that the wave of corporate GREED which is permeating America at present is nothing new.  My formative years were in the 50’s and 60’s when the blue collar working man/woman (mostly men) had a much stronger standing in American society.  And, at the time, it seemed as if the “system” was geared to make it so.  I have to say that the more I read about Roosevelt and the New Deal – it WAS how it seemed.  Shortly after graduating from high school I went to work in the local Boise Cascade paper mill making $3.19 per hour.  In those days that was a good living wage.  While I don’t have evidence in front of me to back it up, it was claimed at the time that the CEO of the company made about 40 times what the workers were making (which would have been around $100 Grand per year).  As I look back maybe that was the salary of the Plant manager – but, over time I think I’ve learned to think in 21st century mode where we’ve universally accepted the “right”of executives to make in the multiples of MILLIONS and, in some instances, more than a BILLION – PER YEAR! (hundreds if not thousands more than the “workers”) Just as they were prior to Roosevelt moving into the White House, things are terribly “out of whack” in today’s America and I’m hoping the years from WW II until Ronald Reagan won the White House won’t end up being America’s “golden years.”

I’ve been writing for MANY months about how, in my view, the most significant WAR America is “fighting” right now is the internal war at home for the very soul of this nation.  (Do you find it strange that we’ve got to analyze the importance of the DIFFERENT wars our country is engaged in?  Have you ever asked, “how many wars can we fight at once?)  Almost every person I work with in my workplace has a Master’s Degree from some university – so, I think it would be safe to call them “educated.”  However, they’re educated to be educators and they are terribly committed to what they’re doing and very busy doing it – but, many not paying close attention to politics – hence, when I ask them to explain to me what “Citizen’s United” is, one by one they have no idea what I’m talking about.  That is exactly what the corporatists who are in the process of taking over this great nation want (that’s precisely why I’ve previously used the term “creeping fascism” to describe what I’m seeing on our political front).  They’ve been working hard to create just this situation for years.  I thought the election of President Obama would stem the tide – which is why I so vocally supported him – but Obama has, in my view, committed BLUNDER after BLUNDER since the day he won the election as he is seemingly failing to see the problem – or, the other explanation would be he’s in the “camp” of the corporatists” (yes, I did see this coming prior to his inauguration -but, unfortunately AFTER the election).

Most of the people I work with (I’m a middle school teacher) don’t even want to talk about politics.  On the rare occasion I can get someone to strike up a conversation, I often can’t believe what comes out of their lips.  While we’re busy teaching students to cross check their resources as they research topics, evidently we ourselves are too busy to do so.  Too many of my associates are watching the cable news networks and believing the sound bites aimed at brainwashing them into thinking all is well (some, unbelievably to me, still believe Limbaugh and Beck are telling the truth).  And, I fully understand that due to all the books I’ve been consuming I’m personally getting very strong opinions about several topics which should (in my view) be of interest to all American adults who vote – but, I believe that we have an obligation to our children and grandchildren to educate ourselves as to what is REALLY going on with our government and the corporations who are attempting to abscond with it – and create the atmosphere for a dialogue designed to preserve our nation.  A dialogue based on reality and not on lies.

One of the ironies I’m feeling these days is, despite my significant disagreement with many of their positions, I believe the so-called “tea party” is thinking along the same lines I am.  I believe their disgust is “rooted” in similar frustrations to my own – the “backroom” dealing in Washington, the wasteful spending, the lack of integrity of our government officials, the antiquated rules protecting special interests, etc.  The reason I was so turned off by this “tea party” was because of all the racist signs carried at their events AND the FACT that people like Dick Armey and Glenn Beck are the “catalyst” of their movement while mostly hiding in the background.  That is, they are being “pushed” and funded by the very corporatist elite that I am opposed to.  It would be interesting to have a dialogue with some of them – but, I don’t think they even realize who the very people are behind the funding of their movement.  (There’s no getting around, for example, that I am diametrically opposed – fundamentally – to people like Rand Paul.  Just the same, it would be interesting to dialogue with him and others)

Even during the second World War, the “progressives” in America had to “fight” the corporate “heads” who were attempting to overly PROFIT off of the “War to end all Wars.”  (or was that the first World War?)  It took FOUR years of catastrophe in America plus a world war to pave the way for the “New Deal” and evidently, we’re going to have to experience “deja vu all over again” to swing the “pendulum” back in the New Deal’s direction.  I guess I waver back and forth between anger at the voting public for allowing itself to be brainwashed by the so-called “liberal media” and disgust with the republicans who are CRAMMING the corporatist agenda of the Wall Street Elites down our throats.  The truth is that as I’m gaining a concrete understanding of what is really happening (now that’s dangerous – to even think one is beginning to understand anything that is going on in today’s world) I have to admit that the republicans are very good at what they’re doing.  They’re taking their propaganda lessons right out of the “playbook” of Joseph Goebbels – none other than the propaganda “head” of Hitler’s Third Reich.  This certainly gets my “attention,” but, evidently, it’s not enough to get the attention of any “liberal media” outlets – because we’re still getting an increase in the pro Sarah Palin media blitz. (can you even imagine that?)

So, what’s the “same” you might ask?  Relating to my original observation.  Well, if you do a little research as to the America in the early 1930’s you would find the same divided nation with the representatives of America’s corporate culture grounded in the republican party and the “liberals” in the democratic party.  Unfortunately, as I see it, for us today the true “liberals” are all but gone.  Despite how he is portrayed in the Fox run media, Barack Obama is far from a liberal.  The best I can come up with is he’s a “pragmatist,” although – as I’ve said on this site several times – the term that comes to mind is “republican lite.”  The combative nature of FDR – yes, he was a master politician as well – but, he was more than willing to FIGHT the corporate interests who were bludgeoning America’s treasury then  – just as the same interests are doing so now.  With all the history for our “leaders” to “bone up on” it’s hard for me to understand how we can allow this to happen again.  And, this time it’s more frightening because, I believe, the republicans are bound and determined to get a “hold” on the government which will be much more difficult to remove this time.  Remember, in 1932 Roosevelt didn’t have to overcome “Citizen’s United” and the enormous amount of power the unlimited corporate wealth could unleash on the unsuspecting public.  I mean, just in the first “installment” of the ruling’s effect the republicans were able to convince the electorate that President Obama was the “culprit” responsible for the huge budget deficit.  They were also able to convince the public Obama was the reason for the high unemployment figures (they were even successful in “pinning” the TARP bailout orchestrated by Hank Paulsen, George W Bush, and THEMSELVES on Obama).  This simply shows the power of the television in concert with unlimited access to corporate funds.

Are we going to have to go through another full blown depression for the general public to figure this out?  Are the democrats going to be able to come up with an alternative to Obama if he doesn’t get his act together?  Did he “blow it” in his first two years by allowing the republicans to get back up and “running” by failing to provide ANY accountability for their past misdeeds?  (Do you really think they’re going to return the favor in the next two years?  Does anyone besides me remember what the republican congress was doing during the Clinton years?)  I continually wonder how far the republicans are willing to go in their seemingly unending quest to provide corporate welfare for their “customers,” and how timid the democrats are going to be going forward based on the FACT that they are going to have to FIGHT for what they believe in at some point in time.  I’m sure what is making many democrats nervous is the effectiveness the republicans have shown in going after the REAL liberals in congress.  Alan Grayson was defeated by Citizen’s United money, Russ Feingold – in my view one of the few GOOD senators – was inexplicably defeated (again, the only reasonable explanation would be Citizen’s United money), and republicans will try to remove Dennis Kuchinich – certainly one of the most principled democrats in America – through redistricting.  Believe me, these republicans have a game plan, and up to this point the democrats are no match.

In the 1920’s and early 1930’s America was teetering on the edge of becoming a fuedalistic society.  That is, a society that is divided between the “rich” and the “poor.”  I realize that is an oversimplification, but my point is that the republicans are pushing us toward a society that is totally controlled by the “haves.”  Evidently, they believe in fuedalism.  The problem with this approach, of course, is that there are too many “have nots” in such a “plan” and the only possible outcome of that approach, ultimately, is discord and violence.  So, you think I’m nuts?  Well, just take a quick “peek” at the reality of America’s political spectrum of 2011.  We just finished an election cycle where the large (unexposed) corporate interests spent upwards of a BILLION dollars to influence the voters in a MID TERM election (can you imagine the onslaught in 2012?).  There were candidates all over the country who were willing to spend MILLIONS (hundreds of millions in Meg Whitman’s case) in order to gain “jobs” that pay in the hundreds of thousands/year – that they were TOTALLY unqualified for.  Honestly, that’s hard to explain rationally to me.  In the case of Rick Scott, Florida’s new governor, (I’m not sure how many millions of his own money he spent to gain office, but it was obscene) he was able to convince a state LOADED with Medicare recipients to vote for the CEO of the corporation which committed the GREATEST Medicare FRAUD in the history of the United States – almost $2 BILLION worth of FRAUD – to run their state.  Now, if that doesn’t give you a clear idea of the power of Citizen’s United I don’t know what will – evidently, his opponent was either inept at politics or simply didn’t have the funds to compete – Scott should be behind bars instead of running the state of Florida!  Do you remember the role Florida’s governor played in the election of George W Bush?  Believe me, the republicans are getting their “ducks in a row.”  (they are much more proactive than democrats – despite the fact they are so devious)

In the early 1930’s 15+ MILLION Americans were out of work (the population of America at the time was 130 million), unions were under attack, and the republicans were espousing the “free market.”  Well, I’m sure you “get” where I’m going with this – today OVER 15 MILLION are out of work (we don’t know how many because so many are no longer “statistics” – for example, it is known there are between 3 and 4 MILLION “99ers” – if you don’t know what that means, Google it) and something like 19 MILLION Americans are “underemployed” – meaning part time, working at a job they are overqualified for, two or more jobs, etc. (a few weeks ago my wife and I went to a local “Shari’s” for dinner and the guy bussing the tables was a person who had previously owned his own business which had failed due to the bad economy)  And, to be certain, I’ve been in many “transitional” periods in my own life – it happens, but the question is – who’s side is the government on when times are tough? (actually, at all times)  I honestly believe the republican party believes giving money to corporations is not welfare – but, giving assistance to people in need is.

In the 1930’s republicans fought programs like Social Security, unemployment insurance, food aid, worker’s rights, civil rights for minorities, women’s rights, farm subsidies, child work laws, and anything that was part of the “New Deal” tooth and nail.  Well, they’re still fighting these battles, long after the middle class of America have accepted the New Deal as the “real deal” in America.  The republicans are carrying the bidding of Wall Street today just as they did in the 30’s – and, unfortunately, the democrats have swung so far to the right that their opposition to these republican obominations are diminishing – seemingly as my keyboard types out this rant.  Today, the republicans are much more sophisticated in their attacks on, for example, Social Security.  In President Obama’s recent capitualtion on the “Bush Tax Cuts” – ughhh! – he set himself up for the “real” battle which will happen in the next couple of months.  Evidently, President Obama in his obsession with being bipartisan, is going to “negotiate” with these republicans for the next couple of years.  I really wish (and, actually still hope) he would have taken a cue from Roosevelt and realized he was going to have to defeat them instead of negotiate with them.  Think about this – what do you think they are going to want (besides a “pound of flesh”) when it comes time for them to “shut down the government” over the debt ceiling in the next month or two?  And, is Obama going to say he gave in on privatizing Social Security in order to keep the government from being shut down?  Who’s going to blink?

President Obama has already, in my view, set himself up to be working from a position of weakness when he agreed to the 2% cut in Social Security withholdings from “155 Million Workers” paychecks.  He’s spouting the republican mantra – tax cuts create jobs.  This is more than disturbing.  It’s as if we don’t have a politician in America who’s willing to tell the people it’s time for sacrifice.  We’ve got two wars going on at the same time (which are bankrupting the nation by themselves), both of which are major BLUNDERS, and still our politicians want us to keep on keeping on – without any sense of accepting the responsibility of what our leaders are doing.  What are they afraid of?  I guess, the answer to that is the response of all the Limbaugh’s, Beck’s, and Fox “news” types out there and the money behind Citizen’s United.

No, I don’t have all the answers, but what I do know is that “trickle down” economics don’t work and have turned the “leader of the free world” into a laughing stock – I suppose America’s “empire” had to crack at some point.  In the 1930’s the “free market” nonsense was overcome by the New Deal and America became prosperous when she pulled together during the war and put aside all the “partisan bickering” which still existed up until then.  From the end of WW II until Reagan took office, America enjoyed the greatest middle class boom in the history of the world.  Since the “free market” came back into vogue, that middle class has been steadily dwindling.  Before the New Deal there was no “work week,” there were no safety nets for the unemployed and poor, there was no help for the elderly, there were no child labor laws, and Jim Crow was the rule of the land.  Democrats have fought for all these things and need to continue doing so.  Another irony:  republicans are constantly claiming “God is on our side,” while pushing policies for the “rich.”  Just tonight I was reading in in Galatians where Paul in reference to his ministry to the Gentiles, supported by “the pillars” (Peter, John, and James – verse 10) said, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor.”  Jesus said, “What you do for the least of these, you do for me” – these republican who claim to be following Jesus are hypocrites!

I will end this by reminding anyone interested that many states in America still hold elections using electronic voting machines that have proven to be easily hacked with no means of accurately checking the results.  This was the case in Ohio in 2004, Florida in 2000, and in the primary of South Carolina’s senate race in 2010 – just to mention a few examples.  All of the companies which produce these machines are affiliated with republicans.  This is a disgrace which is, just like Iraq and Afganistan, no longer “front page news.”  I see it as part of the republican plan.  Just a couple of key states where they can assure themselves victory in 2012 will fulfill their dream of the “permanent republican majority.”  The more we allow them to be entrenched the more difficult it will be to get them out – I really think most people still are not using their imaginations as to the power of Citizens United and the FACT republicans have a stranglehold on our media and the courts (not just the Supreme Court, but the lower courts as well).  I still remember marching in the streets against Viet Nam.  It appears it’s going to come to that again.  I believe it is the responsibility of the “baby boomers” to stand up and put a halt to this corporate takeover of our nation.  Until we reverse this mentality that providing welfare for corporations is “free market economics,” the United States is headed for second class status.

Note:  I didn’t mention the impending (well, actually it’s been going on for decades – but, the intensity is going to increase dramatically) republican assault on unions – I’ll save that for another time.  But, while I’m thinking about it – here’s some republican logic.  The other day I heard a republican operative (I don’t know his name) saying that public employees unions should be broken because teachers, police officers, and firemen are making too much money and have too many benefits compared to the rest of America.  Not to give any credence to the claim – the thing that really got to me was the inference that they’ve reduced millions of people’s incomes already – but, they’re having trouble with unions – so break the unions so that we can continue to the “race to the bottom” for America’s workforce.  When I hear people like this (he was on Fox – a day when I was able to force myself to watch a few minutes) who are affiliated with the republican party I wonder when is the America public going to wake up.  Just two years after Bush/Cheney virtually had ruined the economy of this nation – not to mention our standing in the world – and American voters put these republican thugs back in charge of the tax writing House of Representatives – how STUPID are we going to get?