I’ve said, or implied, this before; that if a sixth grade teacher could “get” what’s happening in America, then you would expect our leaders to be able to do so as well.  Well, wouldn’t you?  Wouldn’t that be a reasonable assumption?  If you agree (not that I’m trying to “toot” my own horn :o) go back and read some of my posts in the archives from the previous few years and I think you’ll see that some of the decisions currently being made by America’s leadership are becoming more and more curious.  We (Americans) are in a TERRIBLE “funk” and it almost seems to me that we’re operating as a “rudderless ship” when it comes to Washington DC.  Of course, if you do go back into my archives, you’ll see that I am somewhat “bipartisan” in my criticism of our leaders although the bulk of my rath is aimed at republicans.  Often times I’ve wavered as to who I’m more disappointed in – the republicans for their obvious HATE of America’s “workers,” or democrats for their mostly LESS THAN tepid response to the WAR on the middle class coming from the “right.”

Of course, I could (and probably will – I write these posts off the top of my head) list irony after irony about the “workings” of the American political system.  And, I could list hypocrisy upon hypocrisy regarding those “in charge” as I prepare myself for what looks like, at this point, to be a PAINFUL 2012 election campaign which is going to be dominated by some really WHACKO candidates who will have unlimited (Citizens United) corporate funding as the “right” attempts to unseat President Obama (remember, they have not been secretive about their NUMBER ONE goal, which is for President Obama to FAIL).  As I watch the scenario play out, it becomes clearer and clearer that without some kind of major rebellion by the working class of America, things are going to get a LOT worse before they get better.  I truly hope those of us who are disenchanted with BOTH sides have the resolve to take on this BATTLE, but I’m very skeptical that it can be WON without organized central leadership “from the top.”  (which is why I’m feeling such disappointment with President Obama)

I’m sure on a scale that would measure AT LEAST as significant as the Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s, Boehner’s, McConnell’s, Palin’s, Beck’s, Larson’s, and the other right wing authoritarian corporate shills who have access to America’s airwaves and legislative bodies and want our president to FAIL, I want him to SUCCEED.  Now, please don’t get me totally wrong, I wanted President Bush to succeed.  The way I see it, we are all Americans, and when the president succeeds, the country succeeds.  It’s just that I don’t want President Obama to succeed because he finally found favor with the corporatists who he’s seemingly trying to placate.  Yes, I listen to people like Randi Rhodes who try to justify EVERY action President Obama takes – to me, the same kind of blind loyalty which resulted in the out of control Bush administration – just, from a different “angle,” and today I even heard Ed Schultz, another of the so-called “liberal talkers,” justifying Obama’s authorization for the BOMBING of Lybia.  When I start feeling depression settling in, I think back to some of my earlier posts and wonder what is it that all these people can’t see?  They’re the ones who will have to “rally the troops” – and, President Obama has shown us on several occasions that he will not take the lead in this WAR for America’s heart and soul until he’s FORCED to do so.

The truth is, I believe, Obama actually believes that he can’t win in 2012 if he DIRECTLY takes on the right wing CABAL that is attempting to abscond with our democratic republic through a process which our founders attempted to render impossible.  Our government was initially designed with a system of “checks and balances” which were brilliantly designed to virtually guarantee there would be nothing resembling Karl Rove’s “permanent republican majority.”  Well, they (republicans) are dangerously close to achieving their dream.  I could go back and list all the prominent republicans who’ve been scheming on this plan for the past 50+ years (often I’ve said it started with Reagan, but I now believe it simply hit the accelerator under Reagan) but, if you check out my archives you’ll see MANY posts which have correctly predicted exactly what’s on the verge of happening.

The irony, or hypocrisy, or whatever you want to call it of the republican effort is mind boggling to me.  I was driving around today and looking at bumper stickers on cars.  One thing was very clear as I looked at many cars of people who were just ordinary “working folk” such as myself, the republicans have done a masterful job of dividing the very people they’re looking to SQUASH – the middle class workers of this nation.  Lot’s of anti-Obama stickers that were preposterous in what they implied.  These bumper stickers on the cars of people whom you’d think would really hope Obama succeeds – their well-being depending on it.  Yes, I find it very ironic to see everyday working folk supporting this corporatist CABAL on the “right.”  It really shows you the power of an organized propaganda campaign when you’re dealing with (yes Lars) low information voters. 

You have corporate “water carriers” such as the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, claiming that the only way to balance the budget of “his” state is to cut the benefits – and jobs – of state workers (watch the privitization in Wisconsin if Walker get’s away with his scheme) while giving MORE huge tax breaks to corporations who are already at the head of the line when it comes to welfare.  Everyone knows (or should know) about the HUGE amounts of money the government funnels to the oil industry (people like the now infamous Koch brothers – who, I believe will someday be regarded similarly to Benedict Arnold in American history) but, just today it was announced that General Electric earned a WHOPPING $14+ BILLION last year while paying NO TAXES – yes, that’s correct – ZERO TAXES – but hold on to your hat, it get’s better, they received over $3 BILLION in government CORPORATE WELFARE!  And, we can’t afford to negotiate with our workers, or provide unemployment benefits to the long term unemployed. (this is obscene!)

America’s corporations earned $1.7 + TRILLION in the last quarter ALONE!  And, they will continue to use that money to creatively make MORE MONEY on Wall Street, while they thumb their collective noses at the “lazy” long term umemployed MIDDLE CLASS workers who will have to work for minimum wage or less if they ever want to get back into America’s work force.  I mentioned the word hypocrisy – well, let’s look at the behavior of the potential republican leaders.  I’ll start with Newt Gingrich who’s one of the few announced candidates for the republican nomination for president – and, a definite possibility.  I guess old Newt figures if McCain could pull it off, why can’t he?  Honestly, I kind of hope he does.  Now, I’m not a fan of Bill Clinton – especially, Clinton’s lying about his affair with an intern while in office (even though I pretty much believe our politicians private lives should be their own – Clinton did go over the line) – but, who was leading the impeachment charge but Newt Gingrich himself.  A man who probably outcheated Clinton – but, who was certainly “throwing stones from a glass house” while working for Clinton’s impeachment.  Gingrich was CHEATING on his second wife (the one he was cheating on his first wife with) with a staffer at the same time he was impeaching Clinton for doing the same thing (this was a repeat performance for Gingrich).  Gingrich is evidently now claiming that since he “converted” to Catholicism we should “forgive and forget.”  And, come to think of it, wasn’t the leader of the “tea party” – Dick Armey – having his own sexual harrrassment issues as well while claiming the “moral highground” during the Clinton impeachment?  This crap goes on and on with these people.

The Fox “news” syndrome will someday be looked upon as a SIEGE on this nation from what was supposed to be the “fourth estate.”  Newspapers are drying up all across America and (thanks to the Telecommunications Act of 1996) America’s media is being “gobbled up” by a few corporations who are all “on the same page” when it comes to the support of a corporate takeover of our government (which is in possibly the “final throes”).  Our “liberal media” isn’t liberal at all, but organizations such as Fox will continue to BASH America’s viewing public with that “line” because they have all bought into the Goebbell’s “big lie” theory of propaganda (again, several previous posts with details).  I run into educated adult after educated adult who know NOTHING of what’s happening to this country.  They don’t know what Citizens United is, they don’t know that Fox “news” is run by a republican “operative” (Roger Ailes), they don’t know that our CIA has been abusing people and countries for MANY DECADES, they don’t understand the level of CORRUPTION in Washington DC, and they don’t understand that seemingly leaders of both political parties enable the illegal behavior of the other because, evidently, they’re ALL doing it!

Right now we’re watching state after state in America attacking public sector workers as people who need to be vilified.  School teachers for God’s sake!  Are you kidding me?!  Yes, I’m a school teacher, but I’ve been many things in my lifetime.  I started teaching school very late in my working lifetime, but I’m watching the effect of this “TEACHER BASHING” on a group of young BRILLIANT teachers who’ve mostly been teaching for less than 10 years, and I feel very bad for them.  I’ll give you one example (which I hope will demonstate, despite the accusation to the contrary by Michigan’s governor, that these teacher’s are not part of the “privileged elite”); A young lady I know who is a MARVELOUS science and math teacher, has been teaching less than 10 years, is still paying lot’s of MONEY to get her graduate degree, is paying back something like what was originally (when she started teaching) $30 – 50,000 in school loans – so she could get through school and TEACH, and makes around $40,000 – I’m worried she will find the outside induced STRESS to be too much and will pursue more lucrative employment elsewhere.  I work in a high poverty school where the students really need teachers like this and it makes me angry that people who have no idea what they’re talking about – they have their own private political agenda’s – are attacking outstanding individuals (albeit through stereotyping – but, their attacks are effective) and turning them away from this honorable profession.  Believe me, TEACHERS are not the problem in America and the people who are vilifying them are ignorant!

So, what are we to do?  And, here I’m talking about those in America who feel as I do that the very fabric of this nation is being destroyed by a group of GREEDY corporate executives who feel as if the rest of us can’t exist without them.  As long as I live I won’t forget all the Wall Street bankers taking HUGE bailout BONUSES and claiming the bonuses were designed to keep them on the job as if what they do is so important that it would be a bigger disaster for America for them to suffer financially for all the ruin their misbehavior put on others around the world.  What a BAD joke!  These people make money by gambling with other people’s money.  Honestly, what are they producing that we can’t do without?  The problem is that they make so MUCH money that they can afford to spend a lot of it to convince the unsuspecting public that they really are that important.  And, here’s the rub – these corporate exec’s have put the fear of God in our national legislatures to the point that one thing “bipartisan” in Washington DC is a government afraid to take on the corporations.  They (national politicians and corporate executives) are now at a place where they are “working together” – which is the recipe for fascism! (Don’t believe me? The CEO of the above mentioned General Electric – one of America’s largest corporations and a leader in offshoring profits and receiving CORPORATE WELFARE – is one of the leading economic advisors to President Obama – and those of us fighting this corporatocracy were planning on Obama leading the “charge” against this very kind of partnership)

“We the people” are going to have to defend the rights that our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents fought so valiantly to obtain witout this president as the leader.  The forces who opposed the New Deal at its inception have “trudged” along all these years and have never given up their hope to “turn back the clock.”  Since the days of Reagan, the shareholder has become far more important than the worker.  Despite their claims of being the party of “family values,” the republican agenda has slowly led to the demise of the traditional American family.  This eating away of the benefits of the New Deal has finally gotten to the point where if we don’t put a stop to it, we’re going to have to relive another “Great Depression.”  We were close in 2008 and people like me felt that President Obama was going to lead the way for a “New New Deal.”  Instead, what many of us think we got was a republican “lite” administration.  An attempt to make things look better from the “left,” but with a clear agenda to protect the corporate interests who caused the 2008 meltdown in the first place, with all their excesses.

I finally realized why President Obama didn’t allow investigations of the Bush administration – he had no intention of reversing the power grab that took place during GW Bush’s two terms in the White House and which was orchestrated by Dick Cheney.  The evidence of this continues to mount – and gives us a clearer picture of how severe the problem really is.  Take the bombing of Libya, for example.  Whether or not you agree or disagree with the notion that the United States needed to intervene in another middle eastern country – our president did so without even consulting Congress.  I’m guessing he thought this would please the “right” who have continually claimed he’s a weak “commander in chief,” but the way I see it, President Obama very likely committed an impeachable offense by authorizing America’s military to attack another soveriegn nation without the consent of congress.  I’m almost thinking his thought process is like that of my sixth graders (if they (republicans) can do it, then I must be able to do it).  The fact that I voted for Obama makes all this much more discouraging to me.

I’ll end this rant by encouraging anyone who reads this post to get involved in an American “protest.”  I’m in my mid 60’s and I recently participated in a protest designed to show solidarity to those in Wisconsin fighting for workers’ rights to collectively bargain.  It felt great!  I’ve given as much as I can to the recall effort in Wisconsin, and will continue to look to give more for “grassroots” efforts designed to fight the corporatists.  I encourage anyone who’s a “working class” American to participate.  As stated above President Obama is “tight” with the corporate welfare recipients, and – I might add – he’s carrying on the tradition of allowing torture as a means to an end in America. (don’t believe me, Google Bradley Manning, and I hope you’re as disgusted as I am with our president’s unwillingness to reign in our military industrial complex) 

I wrote before how it’s hard for me to believe that Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder could “look the other way” at all the republican lying, cheating, and lawbreaking during the Bush years and then aggressively try to prosecute Julian Assange of “Wiki Leaks” for publishing the TRUTH about America’s diplomatic “mission” in this world.  If those of us on the “left” want a leader who’s a true social progressive, we’re going to have to look for someone besides Barack Obama!  Bob Herbert of the “New York Times” put it best when he ended a recent column (you can read it by clicking here) with, “New ideas and new leadership have seldom been more urgently needed.”  I couldn’t agree with him more! 

I was watching TV the other day as the “March Madness” of the NCAA basketball tourney was getting under way and an announcer for ESPN was interviewing President Obama who was making his picks for the tournament.  In the process the interviewer apologized because of the president’s busy schedule and President Obama made an impassioned, and very appropriate, plea for those interested in supporting the earthquake victims in Japan to log into a web address (I believe it was USAID.gov) to find charities which are helping with the recovery effort.  I laud the president for that, I appreciate many of the things that he’s doing which indicate where his heart is at, but I continue to be frustrated by his seeming lack of will to confront the very REAL issues that threaten the very fabric of this nation.  I’m still trying to understand whether he just doesn’t “get it,” whether he simply believes that in the end “good” will prevail, or whether he’s part of the corporate mentality which is attempting to override over 70 years of the New Deal.

Why am I struggling with this?  Why do I even care?  Well, then Senator Obama got me excited about the prospects of turning around what was so obvious to so many of us – the abuses of the republicans over the past 30+ years which were magnified to what SHOULD have been unmistakeable levels under George W Bush and Dick Cheney – and started the PUSHBACK toward the New Deal type government which originally empowered so many ordinary Americans AND turned this nation into the envy of the rest of the world.  When I started writing this blog I was convinced that the downward spiral started under the tutelage of Ronald Reagan and began in 1980.  The more I read (mainly history books), the more I realize that this RIGHT WING agenda has been simmering since Franklin Roosevelt originally put it in its place in the 1930’s.  There has been a right wing CABAL conspiring to overturn EVERY advancement for working people that was made under Roosevelt’s New Deal since Roosevelt put the first reform in place.  Roosevelt himself was part of the privileged class which has spawned this conspiracy – as was JFK – and he was (as was JFK) considered a traitor by the wealthy elite who have been chipping away at the Roosevelt advancements ever since.

One thing that should be clear to anyone who’s researching this is that this “cabal” will do anything to get what they want.  They’ve proven over and over that they believe in the saying, “The end justifies the means.”  One of their main weapons is pathological LYING!  As I’ve pointed out on this site several times there is a secretive group behind the push for a “permanent republican ‘majority'” that is to a large extent connected to a group called “The Family” (They call themselves “The Fellowship”) who ostensibly profess a belief in Jesus, although they compare Jesus with World leaders such as Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, and even bin Laden – authoritarian personalities who have significantly “changed the world.”  Believe me, they’re not talking about the Jesus I know who said, “What you do for the least of these, you do for me.”  This “cabal” has discovered that there’s a large group of Americans who will blindly follow just about anyone who professes to be a “Christian.”  (although, I profess to be a Christian, and I’m sure they wouldn’t follow me)  And, they clearly missed the scripture which condemns giving “false testimony.”

The original founder of “The Family,” Abraham Vereide, who was motivated by his hate of Roosevelt and the emerging union movement in America, was followed by a man named Doug Coe as their leader and both of these men professed, according to Jeff Sharlett in his book “The Family” (he infiltrated the group as an intern), an admiration of the authoritarian nature of the Nazi’s in Germany.  In fact, after World War II, they even recruited a few of the remnants of the Third Reich who managed to avoid prosecution for war crimes into their group.  “The Family” has included murderous dictators like Suharto of Indonesia who ordered the murder of up to half a MILLION of his citizens and the imprisonment of another MILLION and a half after he took over the country.  Evidently, “The Family” was impressed by the level of his authoritarianism and even invited him to prayer breakfasts in Washington DC.  (I’ve often wondered what they prayed with him about)  These people took to the “big lie” theory of Josheph Goebbels (head of propaganda for Hitler) like a duck takes to water – and, they’ve been practicing it for as long as I can remember.  You’ve probably seen the so-called “talking heads” of the republican party on TV repeating the SAME LIE over and over again, drilling it into the heads of the people who think they must be telling the truth because they say they believe in Jesus.  Makes me better understand why Jesus himself cautioned believers from being influenced by “false prophets.”

And, these republicans and the people behind them (The Family, the Koch brothers, the US Chamber of Congress, the big oil money, Wall Street, etc.) are really GOOD at LYING, and they are succeeding in their “task” of undoing the New Deal.  They even managed to pass some of the most strategic legislation during the one democratic presidency between Reagan and Obama.  Yes, it was during the Clinton years that the so-called “free trade” agreements were passed, the Telecommunications Act – which allowed the consolidation of America’s media into a “conservative” nightmare – was passed, and maybe worst of all the Glass Steagall act was repealed.  All three of those setbacks were MAJOR to the undoing of Roosevelt’s great accomplishments.  Now we have “tea party” governors all over the country along with their republican legislatures passing bills which are clearly aimed at undermining what are left of the unions that people such as Vereide, Coe, the Koch’s, and the rest of the right wing “cabal” I’m writing about hate.  This invisible group of republican supporters have managed to appoint Supreme Court Justices who somehow decided corporations have “free speech rights as if they were individuals” and can therefore spend unlimited amounts of cash in elections, and putting all these “advances” together you get Karl Rove’s “permanent republican majority.”  I guarantee you the next target they have their sights squarely set on is the Social Security Trust fund.  They hate the minimum wage, they hate the 40 hour work week, they hate maternity leave, and I could go on – I’m sure you get my point.  (the Koch’s are reportedly worth close to 50 BILLION dollars, so we know what they love – and that’s MONEY – I’m convinced they can’t get enough of it)

So, at this point of my rant, you are probably wondering how does President Obama fit into all of this (he does go to “The Family’s ‘National Prayer Breakfast'”) and, I’m wondering the same thing.  As I’ve said on MANY occasions on this site, I’m very discouraged by President Obama’s willingness to push for the status quo.  He has shown little resolve to put up a fight against these forces – in fact, in many instances he’s simply continuing the Bush/Cheney policies that so many of us HATED.  That begins to get me to my point of the evening.  The people of Wisconsin have energized me just as Obama did in 2008.  My hope is that they continue their fight against the power grab of Scott Walker, their “tea party” governor, who I’m sure believes that the outrage will die down against him by the time they can legally start a RECALL campaign.  My hope is that by the time he CAN be RECALLED, several of the republican state senators who went along with his scheme will have already been recalled and he will just be the next Wisconsin politician in the line of true democracy at work.  Here’s the MAJOR problem I’m having with what’s happening in Wisconsin.  Where is the President?

I wrote a post about this a while back and I continue to struggle to understand why President Obama wouldn’t have been front and center in Wisconsin standing firm with the workers of the state fighting to keep their collective bargaining rights.  Wisconsinites also gave their governor unbelievable powers in deciding to whom and for what to sell Wisconsin’s public utilities.  To me, that could be where the real long term damage from Walker’s abusive power grab will lie (the union busting can be reversed, but once the Kochs take over the municipal utilities and gain title, it might be too late to reverse that).  But, what is wrong with our president that he can’t make a stand that is clearly pro union and pro worker?  This does not bode well for the future of this great nation and the democratic party.  “We the people” are under assault – from within – and our president, who should be leading the charge to turn back this assault, seems more inclined to want to make some kind of deal with the opposition.  Any deal – as long as there’s a deal.  That’s how the health care bill got convoluted, that’s how the Wall Street regulation overhaul got whittled down, that’s how the original “stimulus” package got cut to the point that it was far less effective than what was needed, that’s how the “Bush tax cuts” UNBELIEVABLY got extended, that’s how the 16 month exit from Iraq got forgotten, and I could go on and on.  I originally thought “if Obama can’t make a stand on the tax cuts we’re in BIG trouble” – well, we are in big trouble – I just didn’t know how big.  The FACT that the president couldn’t bring himself to show solidarity with a BUNCH of everyday working class people who were braving below freezing temperatures to express their outrage at a BLATANT anti-union republican power grab is BEYOND my ability to understand.

Yes, President Obama is much better than anything I can imagine coming from the “right” as far as the White House is concerned – but, it looks to me that the focus of what he’s doing is getting re-elected.  I think there’s a good chance he will – only because the alternative is so bad.  But, where is America going to be in ten years if we don’t start drawing some lines with our expectations of our government?  We have a government that is so CORRUPT that it appears to be incorrigible.  I honestly thought Obama would be up to the task of “fixing” that.  Do you remember his promises about purging “lobbyists” from his administration?  How far did that one go?  What about the transparency?  What about holding the abusers of power accountable?  I believe one of the reasons President Obama failed to act as he should have regarding the investigations of the Bush administration was to protect the CIA from all the TORTURING it was doing during the Iraq FIASCO and years gone by – who knows how many “secrets” would be unveiled with an election?  Also, it appears Obama has no stomach for turning back some of the abuses – hence we’re attacking Lybia on “his watch.”  Based on books I’ve read since Obama’s inauguration, I’m beginning to wonder “what’s up” with this?  Is there some kind of “secret rules” in our capital that says you leave “them” (meaning CIA, and others with unseen MAJOR power) alone or they will “get you?”

I have always been convinced that republicans, along with the CIA, were involved in a conspiracy to murder John F Kennedy – I teach my students to make inferences – and the evidence I’ve read is overwhelming for this inference.  In the book I’m now reading, “Family of Secrets” about the Bush family, the case was persuasively made that President Nixon was a victim of a CIA setup himself when he was president.  The CIA and the large oil barons were unhappy with Nixon’s “liberal” accomplishments and the threat he posed to their sacred “oil depletion allowance” which was making many of them (including the Koch’s I’m sure) FILTHY RICH.  I’ve posed the question many times on this site as to why one democratic president after another virtually refused to investigate fully republican misdeeds.  Even the Warren commission, for heaven’s sake, had Allen Dulles as one of the “main men” after he had been FIRED as CIA chief following the Bay of Pigs fiasco by JFK himself.  Our government has example after example of the “tail wagging the dog” and our media does a good job in making sure that “we the people” have to uncover this on our own.  I hardly know a single adult who is trying to figure out what our government is “up to.”  Most people I know simply believe that the US government is still the “beacon of the free world.”  That’s certainly what I hope for, but the more I read about what has gone on in the last 60 years (basically, since the inception of the CIA in the early 50’s) the more disgusted I get. 

While the actions of the people of Wisconsin are inspiring, I continue to believe that it will take a NATIONAL leader to stem the tide of this assault on America’s middle class and her character.  As I pondered President Obama’s willingness to get the United States bogged down in yet another Mid East quagmire – with the “no-fly” zone in Libya – I just had to take a deep breath and say another prayer for my children and grandchildren.  I’m partly responsible for this because I voted for the man.  I read the book “Washington Rules” (I highly recommend it) and the premise of that book is so true.  The “military industrial complex” does rule this nation.  Dwight D Eisenhower warned us about what has come to pass.  When will we listen?

All I can surmise is President Obama is trying to make it clear that he’s a “real” commander in chief as he ostensibly violates our constitution by sending American military force against another soveriegn nation by choice.  At least President Bush buffaloed Congress into rubber stamping his venture into Iraq.  I’ll end tonight by asking, will all the unions be gone before we expect more from our leaders?  Are we so arrogant to think that we should be resolving the problems of EVERY nation around the world?  (or is it just the nations where we get our oil?)  Are our leaders trying to tell us that we can’t afford our public servants, but we can afford to throw a couple BILLION dollars worth of bombs toward Libya to protect their protestors?  Honestly, it appears to me that President Obama is more invested in the Libyan and Egyptian protestors than the ones in Wisconsin?  What’s up with that?

I’ve been writing for years that the real war going on in America is for the heart and soul of this nation.  The question is becoming stark; are “we the people” willing to stand up and fight for the rights our parents and grandparents (in some instances great grandparents) sacrificed to provide for us?  Have those of us in the middle class become so complacent with the great benefits that have gone with being “an American” that we’re willing to allow those benefits to go away?  Have we become a society that can’t see past the propaganda of the Fox “news” people, the corporate “raiders” such as the Koch brothers, and the others who are hell bent on transferring the wealth of America into the hands of a smaller and smaller conglomerate?  They are on the precipice of Karl Rove’s “permanent republican majority” and all I can say is that I sincerely hope the incredible POWER GRAB by the newly elected “tea party” governors of Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and so many other states awakens the working middle class of America to what is really going on.

I guarantee you that you won’t be able to trust the “liberal media” to clue you in on what’s “really” happening out there.  I still remember all the publicity for the “tea party” convention which had something like 600 people attending, while crowds in excess of 100,000 in Madison Wisconsin seem to go almost unnoticed – as if it’s no “big deal” to those who are at the helm.  Well, all I can say is that I sincerely hope those people have a surprise in store.  Yes, I’m a school teacher and no, I’m not personally offended when the governor of Indiana calls me part of the “privileged elite,” (in fact, when I thought about it a bit, I wished he was right :o) and, yes, if it takes attacks on school teachers to wake people up to what’s happening in America – I say; “Bring em on!”

To President Obama;  What you’re witnessing from the democratic senators in Wisconsin is what so many Americans were hoping to see from you.  Yet, as every day passes, what we see tells us that this fight against the takeover of America by the monied interests of Wall Street will have to be won without you!  I knew something was up when you chose Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers to head your economic team and Rahm Emanuel to be your chief of staff.  The day you pardoned George W Bush and Dick Cheney, along with all the other lawbreakers they had in their administration, I knew we progressives were in BIG TROUBLE.  “Democrats” have been pardoning republicans for as long as I can remember.  When Bill Clinton took office we didn’t see any kind of willingness to finish the investigation of the Iran/Contra fiasco which almost certainly should have implicated George HW Bush (and, by the way, I’m in the middle of a book right now which is giving a compelling case that HW was right in the middle of the JFK assasination, along with a bunch of other republican leaning CIA types – very interesting to say the least – believe me, there’s SO MUCH we the people don’t know that’s going on in our names) and then we put up with countless pointless investigations of Bill and Hillary Clinton – for EIGHT years! 

George W then comes along, illegally wiretaps Americans (without question), authorizes TORTURE (without question) – along with his VP, plunders the economy, lies America into one war and recklessly gets us bogged down in another without finishing the job we went there for, totally politicizes the Justice Department, encourages regulators to cozy up to those they were regulating (leading to major disastors), and refuses to allow his surrogates to answer subpoenas to congress – and you, President Obama, said we’re going to “look forward” and ignore MAJOR FELONIES!  You, who said Waterboarding is torture, looked the other way as BOTH George W Bush and Dick Cheney ADMITTED to authorizing TORTURE on national TV virtually guaranteed the resurgence of the despicable republican party – showed them democrats don’t have the courage of their convictions.  (Remember Mr. President, you promised us during the campaign that NO ONE is above the law in America!)

Honestly, I don’t think President Obama will ever acknowledge the consequences of his decision to re-enable the republicans after they had virtually RUINED this country by LETTING THEM OFF THE HOOK.  I still listen to Randi Rhodes to this day complain about all the republican lawbreaking and then turn right around and blindly defend the president.  You have to give her credit – that she follows her own advice of when she said prior to Obama’s election that once a candidate is nominated, good democrats should simply “fall in line.”  Therefore, I’m not a good democrat – because I’m fairly disgusted with the underlying positions of President Obama.  Yes, he’s better than any republican by a longshot, I believe that fundamentally he’s a good, well meaning man, but the bottom line to me is that he’s trying to defend the “status quo” and, as long as that is our leadership mentality, America will continue on this dreadful path toward second rate status. 

Large corporate interests have been slowly eating away at the New Deal agenda since the days when it was enacted.  If you’re not understanding what I’m talking about, there are a bunch of privileged families in America (you guessed it, I’m really not part of the privileged elite – despite what the “tea party” is trying to convince America) like the Bush family, the Koch’s, the Rockefellors, the Mallon’s, and yes the Kennedy’s and the Roosevelt’s too – along with many others.  They continue to control the majority of wealth in this nation and some of them seem to have an insatiable appetite for money.  Honestly, from my perspective I have to wonder how much is enough for people like them.  For example, do the Koch’s really want more?  They already control BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars, a multitude of corporations, and a sizeable chunk of the media – not to mention American politicians who are beholden to them.  I use them as an example because they’ve been “outed” recently due to their unscrupulous behavior in Wisconsin which has become public knowledge.  I’ve been hearing about them for years because of their influence with the so-called right wing “think tanks” which have been so instrumental in the republican’s Geobbel’s like propaganda scheme of the past 30+ years.

I have no doubt that the Koch’s are right in the middle of the “Family” – the group influencing right wing politicians around the world with a philosophy which outwardly proclaims to be based on Jesus, but in actuality is based on the philosophy of the fascist rulers of the World War II era – like Hitler and Mussolini.  What I’m not sure of is how interconnected these people are with the CIA and also how far over the line the CIA has gone since it was formed in the 50’s.  In the book I’m presently reading titled “Family of Secrets,” by Russ Baker, there is a compelling case made that the CIA has been involved in much more than the illicit activities that are common knowlege regarding the coups and assasinations they’ve orchestrated around the world (if you need some background, read Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine”).  Not only does he imply the CIA was involved in the assasination of JFK (with daddy Bush – that is HW Bush possibly complicit) but the evidence strongly suggests that Richard Nixon was set up by the CIA in the Watergate affair.  I’m not sure what to believe, but what is certain is that democratic presidents have shown a lack of will to investigate political crimes since I can remember, and after reading the first half of Baker’s book, it all makes more sense to me.  (the possible backlash from the CIA to presidential “meddling” probably looks pretty daunting from the Oval Office)

The circle of people involved with the CIA seem to have been (this is in the 60’s and 70’s – and, probably up to now) Castro haters, the military industrial complex, and Texas oil interests.  When the true history of the fall of the American empire is written, I believe the oil lobby – the oil MONEY – and the “war machine” will be front and center in the reason for the fall.  Not only have these industries purchased our congress to the point that it can’t function in a way that would make sense in a world which is environmentally self destructing, but we continue to throw money at these industries as if there’s no tomorrow – in fact, it appears to me that our oil and war  interests will continue to push their agenda right up to the point when America has bankrupted itself into second class status.  When you look closely at the agenda being championed by the so-called conservatives in congress today (and weakly fought by the democrats) you see them AFRAID to cut money from BIG OIL and they wouldn’t think of touching money authorized for the DEFENSE department.  Have you ever wondered what enemy is out there requiring us to spend almost a TRILLION dollars this year to defend against?

The truth is we are stuck in a vicious circle of stupidity that is generated by fearmongering and results in more spending for defense – which creates more enemies in the world who see us as the new Soviet Union – which creates even more spending for defense – which creates …….  Well, I think you get my point.  The disappointment for me is that George W Bush and Dick Cheney were so blatantly abusive to our constitution that if we couldn’t draw the line with them, well, when will we draw the line?  From what I can tell our elected representatives in congress aren’t going to draw the line.  They spend all their time trying to get re-elected.  I think what is possible, as I watch (and donate to) what is happening in Wisconsin is that it’s up to “we the people” – and, one way or the other, it’s the ground swell from the BOTTOM that is going to bring change.  The “tea party” has gotten the jump on a progressive populist movement, but I’m counting on the progressives making their point in the next election through shear numbers.  The reality is that MOST Americans are part of the working class.  So, we MUST stop fighting amongst ourselves and band together to push these corporatists out of the government and back to their corporations (which MUST be re-regulated).  The problem in America isn’t workers rights or unions, the problem is GREED coming from the wealthy.  America will be healthy again when “we the people” are caring for each other instead of turning against each other.  (instead of complaining that public workers make too much, we should all be fighting for those who make too little)  Those on the right need to understand that Fox “news” is a propaganda arm of the republican party which is carrying the “water” for the corporate interests trying to abscond with our government.  I can’t think of one good reason why any working American would call themselves a republican.  (unfortunately, the only recommendation I have for the democrats is that they aren’t republicans! ughh)

I’m never short on being amazed at how ANYONE who’s not rich could support – or even believe – republican doublespeak.  Let me start off with a good example.  Once again, the republicans have magically regained control of the House of Representatives (with their sights firmly set on the Oval Office and the Senate for 2012) by railing against America’s national debt.  Of course, they NEVER get drawn into discussions about how we got to this point, but even MORE amazing is how they continue to support policies which ADD to the debt while complaining about it.  Just since the beginning of the current congressional session the republicans have proposed “cuts” of something in the range of $61 BILLION from this year’s budget – many from programs that provide benefits for low income women, or things like National Public Broadcasting (you know, Big Bird and Sesame Street – “liberal” things like that) – with virtually NONE of the cuts aimed at the Military Industrial Complex which is eating America alive from the inside out.  The curious result of their proposals – at least to me – is that, not only will their cuts have a minimal effect on the deficit, the estimate is they would cost ANOTHER 700,000 to 800,000 American jobs. (and, of course, that would further diminish government revenue – making the deficit even WORSE)

As I tell my students (6th graders) “Those who choose to ignore history are destined to repeat it,” and it seems that republicans with a bit of help from the democrats haven’t heard this saying.  For some reason, they continue to claim that “cutting spending” is the way to “balance the budget.”  Of course, they’re only talking about cutting things they don’t believe in.  Threaten to stop these wars we’ve been MIRED in for the past 10 years (can you believe we’ve allowed them to do this?) and they will scream BLOODY MURDER!  Talk about cutting back on the defense budget, or bringing troops home from the 50 or 60 countries we have them stationed in abroad and they’ll tell you we’ll be overrun by communists should we ever do that.  The only way the republicans would agree to a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia was if we spent another 40+ BILLION dollars on our own nuclear arsenal.  Are you kidding me?  How does that diminish the budget deficit.  Our nearly one TRILLION dollar military budget is sancrosanct, but for some reason we’ve got to get rid of Big Bird in an attempt to balance the budget!  Are “we the people” really as STUPID as the republicans (and by default, the dems too) take us for?

Oh yes, I mentioned the “dems” there – and, I’ve gotten to the point where I barely mention them, because – except for some awesome senators in the state of Wisconsin – the democrats seem to be just going along with “things as they are” in the hopes that the “ship” will “right itself” on its own – or at least that’s how it looks from my perspective.  Everytime I think of our president CAVING on the issue of tax cuts while listening to the proposed budget cuts – and ALL OF THEM (meaning the president and congressional “leaders”) talking about reducing the deficit – I honestly get a sick feeling in my stomach!  What are we in for in America?  What are we going to have to do to get the attention of these people?  I’ve been sending money to Wisconsin in the hopes that the people there will stay strong and outlast Governor Walker.  I continue to hope they will recall him and the republicans behind this terrible POWER GRAB as soon as legally possible.  And, the same goes for Ohio (my family originates from Ohio – what I’ve always considered a “blue collar” state – it’s shameful what the people of Ohio are doing) and the other states who’ve been overrun by these “RIGHT” wing republicans who hate unions, hate workers, and love money.  Does no one remember the sacrifices our parents and grandparents made in the depression?  Do we have to relive that experience to be able to appreciate what we once had – and, what is still close enough that we could get it again?

When are people going to stand up and point out that the problem is a lack of income.  Slashing government spending will only make the problem worse.  And, for those who’ve bought into the theory that cutting all these HARD fought for regulations on business will make things better for middle class workers, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?  Take a closer look at what the governor of Wisconsin is trying to pull off!  Not only does he want the state employees working for less money and having virtually NO say in their wages and/or benefits – really, do you trust the man to be fair with the “workers?” – he’s stealthily trying to robb the state of Wisconsin of their public utilities and presumably energy resources.  And, long after whatever happens with the state workers gets “rectified” – if people like the Koch’s get their “hands” on the Wisconsin public utilities, gas lines, and energy resources – that will be irreversible.  I would have no problem with the people of the state selling those assets if that is what they wish – but, it’s my understanding that this part of the bill (like the union busting part) is a unilateral POWER GRAB by the governor which gives him unlimited freedom to heap unbelievable benefits on the very people who paid for his campaign.  Unfortunately, that kind of behavior is becoming the NORM in America!

As mentioned above, the democrats don’t seem to have much of a “grasp” on history either.  I really am dumbfounded that I’ve seen no sight of a single national democrat standing strong with the sometimes 150,000 protestors in Wisconsin.  Really, why isn’t President Obama there urging them on?  Think about that.  These people, and I guarantee you they’re not all democrats, are standing up for one of the most basic rights which came from the New Deal and that is collective bargaining.  You don’t have to be a democrat to understand the importance of protecting that hard fought right.  I’ve been saying for 2 years now (actually, now that I think of it, at least 4 years – since the dems won the Congress in 2006) that the democrats continue to confirm what the republicans say about them – they are spineless.  And, the republicans are like the bully in school who will keep PUSHING until the democrats FINALLY decide to PUSH BACK!

Obviously, the people of Wisconsin have decided to push back (can you believe they had Russ Feingold as a US Senator and allowed him to be defeated by a “tea party” candidate?  I guarantee you, he would have been right at the front of the line in this debacle).  The other day I sent my 5th $20 donation (OK, I admit I’m not a big time donor) to the cause in Wisconsin.  One of the donations went to “Act Blue” a democratic affiliated group which had put an ad together for Wisconsin TV supporting the protestors.  By the time I got home from school and checked my email, then submitted my donation, they had raised over 200% of their goal – demonstrating to me the support for these Wisconsin protestors nationwide.  So, again, where are the national democratic leaders?  Are they all afraid to actually make a stand for something?  Do they really believe if they let the republicans obliterate what’s left of America’s union movement they’ll be a viable political party?  I can tell you that if the democratic leadership doesn’t enter this FIGHT I’ll be even less inclined to support them in the future.  I would love to see the two senators from my state, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, show up in support of the teachers, firefighters, policemen, nurses, social workers, etc. who are fighting for their most basic rights.  In fact, I can’t believe that these rights aren’t something legally GUARANTEED!

There’s a lot to like about President Obama, but – to me – the shortcomings are in vital areas which will leave LASTING untold damage.  He just seems as if he’s reluctant to accept that there’s a WAR going on for the SOUL of America.  It appears to me that Obama feels that he can just kind of “trudge” along and everything will work itself out for the better in the long run.  Well, I believe when it comes to governing, some guidance is in order.  Yes, some good things have happened (although, many of them were “watered down” to get some kind of superficial appearance of “bipartisanship”), but the general direction of Obama’s presidency has been alarming.  The latest issue isn’t even public yet, but I’m absolutely certain President Obama will “negotiate” the cutting of some programs that are sancrosanct to democratic constituents – and, he’ll find some way to present the LOSS as a WIN.  Just as he did after CAVING on the so-called Bush Tax cuts.  As I’ve stated on this site many times President Obama started his administration in the WORST possible way by first, hiring a crew of Wall Street insiders to fix the problem created by Wall Street insiders, and then – EVEN WORST YET – pardoning Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove/Gonzales/Addington/Yoo/Bybee (who’s now a federal judge)/Blackwater and Eric Prince/all the torturers of the CIA/those who refused to answer congressional subpoenas/ and anyone else involved in the mafia like atmosphere of the Bush/Cheney administration.  I’m always amazed as I listen to Randi Rhodes, one of America’s “progressive” talk radio hosts, as she on the one hand supports anything President Obama has done (calls people like me “stupid” for not “getting in line”) and then complains about how so many republican misdeeds have gone uninvestigated – let alone unpunished.  Well, the sad reality is that it’s Obama’s justice department now – he’s the one who didn’t want the distraction!  As I said at the beginning of his term, the distraction will ultimately be worse by empowering these thugs to believe democrats are spineless – and, now look at where we are.

I’ve been listening to people say “all politicians are liars” for almost my entire life, and I can’t make a sound argument to refute the statement.  But, the extent and the brazenous of the lying coming from republicans since the days of Richard Nixon has steadily been on the increase – which is hard to imagine after Watergate.  But, what democrats have proved is that if they don’t agressively defend their principles, the republicans will continue to erode them (the principles) and they keep coming back like a bad dream.  The resignation of Richard Nixon didn’t stop the dirty tricksters – it just caused them to be more cautious in their planning.  The huge deficits of the Reagan years didn’t stop the tax cutting hawks – they’re still claiming they’re going to “cut taxes and balance the budget” – and, they’ll continue until the democrats push back hard enough to convince the American public as to how much they’ve been DUPED!  I mean, the painfully difficult years of George W Bush didn’t stop this latest round of ASSAULT on America’s middle class – which has been at the heart of the republcan agenda since the days of FDR.

I thought the election of Barack Obama was going to be an historic turning point in the WAR on America’s middle class and the “have nots.”  I have been terribly disappointed.  I did vote in the recent 2010 election, but my enthusiasm was gone.  And, when Obama CAVED on the “Bush Tax Cuts” I realized the man has no resolve for the real FIGHT that is being waged – kind of one-sidedly.  I’m anticipating an assault on Social Security this year and don’t feel as if Obama will stand firm on that – although, maybe the protests in Wisconsin will give him a hint as to where his “base” is going to “draw the line.”  I believe the “base” is going to “draw the line” whether Obama joins the FIGHT or not.  But, make no mistake, this is a FIGHT.  If we the people allow Scott Walker (and the Koch’s) to win this battle, there will be another even more grevious one right behind it.  There are something like 20 “Right wing” governors ready to do the same thing being done in Wisconsin – Ohio has already CAVED.  As far as I’m concerned, if President Obama can’t find the time to support the protestors in Wisconsin, he shouldn’t run for a second term!  To any democratic member of congress out there; What are your chances in the future once the republicans have obliterated what’s left of America’s union movement?  Instead of letting this happen, you should be fighting to make it easier for workers to organize.