There have been a few occasions where I’ve started posts by saying something like “I’m not trying to ‘pat myself on the back,'” when clearly that’s exactly what I’m doing, and this could be another of those occasions.  Today, as I was driving around I heard the news that our WONDERFUL Supreme Court has decided to “gut” the Voting Rights Act that was the result of so much sacrifice from so many back when I was a “youth.”  This (like the recent reports of our government “surveilling” we the people) came as no surprise to me because this is the same Court “makeup” as the 2000 Court which chose to “crown” George W Bush as president despite the FACT he was not the choice of “we the people” and which managed to “upend” over 100 years of campaign finance laws with the absurd “Citizens United” decision, “judicial activism” in its purest form from the very people who decry “judicial activism.”  Seriously, this is getting SERIOUS!  I have been pointing out the sophisticated ways the “right wing” of the republican party have been slowly CREEPING toward their “permanent republican majority” and this is another vital step in their strategy.  It has long been on the “public record” that republicans believe the fewer the number of people voting the better their chances for success, and this is a key component of that strategy.

In the 2012 election cycle there were numerous attempts by various states in the union to disenfranchise voters.  Their targets:  Blacks, students, poor people, Hispanics, etc. – basically the portion of the voting public that would tend to vote in favor of democrats.  Just last night I watched a portion of the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC (I rarely watch anything on TV that’s considered “news” anymore – it’s ALL biased, although Maddow generally appeals to me as we seem to see things through the same “lens”) and she pointed out a plan being proposed in a section around Houston Texas to reduce the number of polling places from 80 something to around 12.  The interesting part of the plan is that in the sections of that area of the country where people are “affluent” (white)  there would be something like 6500 voters per polling place.  In the poor (Black/Hispanic) areas the ratio would be 67,000 “voters” to one polling place.  This is just one example of the methods republicans are using to make it more difficult for “minority” and/or poor voters to participate in the electoral process.  Almost as soon as today’s decision was rendered you could hear the “conservative” secretaries of state around the nation (especially in the South) proposing new voter ID laws designed to disenfranchise the very voters this law was designed to protect.

If you’ve been following politics for the past 30 or so years (or longer) you know this is the republican plan that’s “coming together.”  I can hear Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, Roger Ailes, and I could go on and on,  on the sidelines saying “I love it when a plan comes together.”  As I said in a recent post, losing an election doesn’t slow these people down at all.  They have clearly been proponents of “the end justifies the means” theory for years and they’ve finally got to the point where they’re getting a grip on our political “system” from virtually EVERY angle.  And, they’ve got unlimited capital which they’re willing to use to accomplish their goals.   Let me remind you, what the republicans are doing is EXACTLY what the “founding fathers” of this great nation were trying to PREVENT!  The system of “Checks and Balances” was put into our constitution to prevent specific “factions” from being able to control the government.  In this case, it’s a “faction” (the fringe right of the republican party) that publicly professes to HATE government – yet, they (people like the Kochs and other wealthy “elites”) are spending BILLIONS in order to gain a stranglehold on that government they HATE!  It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why they’re doing this.  It’s all about the POWER and the MONEY!

There’s not enough space on this post for me to go back over the entire history of the process of what’s “HAPPENING,” but let me just summarize by saying they ( this right wing fringe element of the republican party) already have control of two of the most important parts of the “wheels” of government – that is, they control the Supreme Court and they control the “liberal media.”  (something “unbelievable” to me is that two of the Supreme Court justices, Scalia and Thomas, regularly meet with Koch affiliated support groups – and, this is hardly mentioned by our “liberal media” – just think of the ramifications of them doing this) This process has been going on for years and, through their (republicans) control of America’s media (both print and broadcast), they’ve brainwashed “we the people” in a way that’s actually quite clever (and, from my perspective, scary), but also is designed to be destructive to our representative democracy (I guess the correct term for our form of government is “republic”).  I can’t tell you, for example, the number of supposedly educated Americans I’ve met who actually believe our media is “liberal.”  This is the classic “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels in its finest form. (for anyone not paying attention, Goebbels was the head of Nazi propaganda during the Third Reich)  If you look at who controls the VAST majority of America’s media it becomes obvious there’s not much “liberal” about any of it.  large corporate interests “own” the airwaves and CONTROL the messaging.  We the people are continually getting our brains “POUNDED” by the messaging that is intended to enrich and enable the corporatocracy that seeks TOTAL control of America’s government.

I could try to explain this in detail, but I’ll trust you to “infer” ( the same skill I teach my 6th graders) from one example.  Have you ever wondered why BP is always putting adds on TV that claim the “Gulf is better than ever?”  Especially, when – if you do a little research – you know that the damage from the huge OIL SPILL of a couple of years ago has left HUGE (under water) columns of oil in the Gulf of Mexico that will be an environmental hazard for years to come.  Why the adds then, “informing” us that the Gulf is “better than ever?”  Well, let me just say, the media outlets would prefer the money generated from BP’s adds to doing actual investigative journalism to expose the realities of the aftermath of the oil spill.  I’m just giving one example, using BP, but think of all the commercials you’ve seen on TV from companies that are selling nothing.  I know I said just one example, but have you ever wondered why Monsanto advertises on TV?  Such a wonderful company.  Well, as a former small “family farmer,” pay attention to the process that produces America’s “Farm bills.”  Again, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand corporations like Monsanto have a corrupt “grip” on our national legislature and they don’t want anyone in the “liberal media” exposing what they’re doing to the general public.  The corporate TV interests are more interested in their advertising (to whom?) dollars than the truth about their seeds and their corporate practices.

Back to the issue of the Voting Rights Act (of 1965 – re-authorized 4 times since, upheld many times before this by previous Courts) so I make sure you understand the significance of this Court action.  When I look at the map of the states involved – that is, the ones affected by section 5 of the Act which is the heart of the Act and was the section “gutted” by the Court, most of those states are what are termed “Red” states already.  (do you find it interesting that the color associated with republicans is “red states?”)  That means they’re already voting republican.  So, you might think, what’s the difference? What matter does it make?  Well, if we can get beyond the issue of how important it is in America that EVERYONE has access to the polls, that our government is not making it more difficult for ANYONE to VOTE and, you can get past “Well, they vote republican already” you will be able to see why this court decision is so significant.  It’s really hard for me to put these reasons in a sequential order because they’re all so significant, so I’ll just list them as they come off the top of my head: First, as is the norm now with republicans, while they complain about “judicial activism” (which is very dangerous) this decision, along with Bush v Gore and Citizens United, take judicial activism to really scary heights.  Instead of being the arbiters of America’s “agenda” this court is setting the agenda!   Second, this vote clearly brings into focus the republican’s fears about the “color line” in America and how it’s changing.  Those of us who are “white” will soon no longer be a majority, and with the election of Barrack Obama it’s clear (I”m sure to the republicans) that too many “white minions” are willing to vote for people of color.  These people (the Kochs, Rupert Murdoch, and all the others who are funding this right wing republican party) are planning ahead in an attempt to keep their “majorities” in these mostly southern “bastions” of their WHITE “Christian” base.  For example, in Texas, the Hispanic population is growing rapidly and they vote predominantly democratic.  Here’s a way to “keep them down.” And, finally, (I’m sure I’ll think of other reasons later) when you have the appearance of justices who are not impartial, the very foundation of our system of government is called into question.  In my view, Justices Scalia and Thomas should be removed from the Court for their partisan political activities.  I pointed this out during the Bush/Cheney regime that Bush/Cheney were undermining the foundation of our government through “loyalty oaths” from members of the Justice Department (some who are presumably still there) and the association of Scalia and Thomas with people like the Koch brothers at public functions is just as BAD and should be UNACCEPTABLE.  This whole episode is further evidence that UNACCEPTABLE is no longer an obstacle to members of our nation’s government. (ie – do you remember Bush/Cheney being war criminals and nary an investigation)

Additionally, this Court decision opens the door to political shenanigans in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and other places where Koch brothers (Tea party) funded “conservatives” have assumed control of state and local governments.  Just last year (2012) the Justice Department had to intervene in Pennsylvania (for one example) to block an attempt to disenfranchise poor and/or Black voters during the presidential election.  Had the republicans been able to keep enough “minority” voters from the polls in Pennsylvania and Ohio we’d be forced to stomach Mitt Romney (and his hundreds of Cayman Island Tax haven accounts) and Paul Ryan (he of privatizing Social Security and Medicare).  I’ve stated this many times on this site – people like the Koch’s, Rush Limbaugh (the de facto head of the republican party), Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Ron and Rand Paul, John Boehner, and the list goes on of right wing republicans, HATE the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt.  All of the “rights” that came with the New Deal, the Civil Rights movement, and the “Great Society” of Lyndon Johnson, to name some of the “liberal” movements in America’s history, took years of toil to accomplish.  The American people need to understand that this right wing cabal will be able to dismantle these advances in a matter of months and days if they succeed in gaining their “permanent republican majority.”  And, this action by our Supreme Court is another crucial step in this republican attempt to sidestep the intentions of our founders.  They only need about 4 more seats in the Senate and the White House and, should that happen, I guarantee you that if you think like a “liberal” you will be very, very disappointed.

I’m going to end this by referencing the NSA “eavesdropping” that was divulged by the so-called “traitor” Edward Snowden. (He was actually charged with espionage – I’ll have more to say about that on another day)  Many people I’ve talked to give the unnerving response to being spied upon by our government by saying “I don’t have anything to hide, I don’t care if they’re listening to my phone calls.”  (OK, I know “they” aren’t listening to phone calls, they’re just collecting the data from EVERY phone call and email and ????? you/we do)  It’s this attitude that really makes me nervous.  My parents went through the “Great Depression” and I had great conversations with my grand parents about what it was like.  It was during that era that many of the advances the republicans are trying to reverse took place.  And, in reality, we’re not far from that (the Great Depression) situation today – with nearly 100 MILLION  Americans near or under the “poverty line.”  (This makes me even angrier as I watch and observe the objectives of this right wing republican party – they’re cutting food stamps, meals on wheels [for the elderly], Head Start, unemployment insurance, and other parts of the “safety net” that was the signature of the New Deal and Great Society)  My point is this:  The American public needs to understand, it’s much easier to give up rights than to get them back!  The same attitude that is willing to allow government eavesdropping (despite the fourth amendment to the constitution) is one that looks the other way when the Court “guts’ the Voting Rights Act – our most fundamental “right.”  (And, very curiously to me, is outraged at the thought of any “gun laws” they believe – incorrectly in most instances – will infringe on the second amendment) When the people behind this right wing movement gain a stranglehold on our government, getting rid of them will be much more difficult than if “we the people” band together NOW and say ENOUGH ALREADY!

I’ve been watching (and listening) with curiosity as the “liberal media” “processes” the news that a “leaker” has spilled the beans on the NSA’s (National Security Agency’s) secret spying (with compliance from the major communications corporations) that’s been presumably going on under “Obama’s watch.”  Here’s the rub for me; if you check my archives (and, I’m not going to look up all the times I’ve written about this) we shouldn’t have needed a “leaker” to point this sad reality out to all of us (meaning “we the people”) – I’ve been writing about the abuses of the original FISA law since the “dog days” of the GW Bush/Cheney regime when the abuses of the 4th amendment went all “Nixon” on  us (again).  I’m just a 6th grade school teacher – if I was able to put two plus two together, why is this such a surprise to so many Americans?  And, I’ve (even though I’m one of those strange Americans who want our president to succeed) not been too gracious to President Obama on all of this.  If you check, you’ll see that I actually wrote him back in 2008 when he was still a US Senator and he committed one of his first “red flag” events by voting for the FISA bill which, for all intents and purposes, gave corporations like Verizon, AT&T, etc. exoneration for succumbing to government pressure which led to illegal surveillance without the benefit of a warrant.

Obama, in a response to my letter to his campaign complaining about his vote, (OK, I know the response didn’t come directly from him) assured me that once in office he would “fix” the FISA bill.  As he’s done nothing of the sort, it didn’t take a lot of logic to figure out the reason he wasn’t eager to “fix” this rotten bill was because he was doing the same thing (probably, at this point, more-so) that Bush/Cheney were doing.  And, anyone who thinks he’s not aware of what’s been going on, well, I’ve “got a bridge I’d like to sell you.”  This is kind of like “we don’t torture” – yet we have Bradley Manning sitting in solitary confinement in clearly “torture” conditions for almost a year (or more) – right in front of everyone’s noses, yet the only push-back comes from a few internet “watch dogs” who are not part of that “liberal media” I so often refer to.  You know, like Fox “news” (GOP TV), CNN, ABC, CBS (the outfit that fired Dan Rather in a classic case of the “liberal media” being intimidated by the conservatives who run it) etc.  Now there’s congressional leaders calling for the guy who did the leaking (Edward Snowden) to be extradited from China (or wherever he chose to seek asylum from America’s “anti-leaking” police).

My response to these congressional thugs is “huh?”  The guy just told the truth.  If this isn’t a problem, then why all the secrecy?  I’ll tell you why all the secrecy – it’s because this “data mining” is very likely a violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution.  All these “important” officials who believe that our “safety” is contingent on throwing our constitution “under the bus” are, to me, short sighted dimwits.   I mentioned this in a previous post (again, I can’t remember which one – I’m getting up there in years) that our “leaders” are totally doing what Osama bin Laden hoped they would do when he orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on America.  Those who “rule the roost” in Washington DC have been operating via the fear factor ever since that fateful day.  And, this will continue until “we the people” put a stop to it – through the ballot box.  Now, I’ve got plenty of disappointment in President Obama, but I’ll just throw out AGAIN, for anyone paying attention, that I believe step number one in “taking back our country” as the Washington politicians like to put it to us, is purging Washington DC of EVERY republican who is walking in lockstep to lead our nation to failure under President Obama.

I have no problem with their disagreeing with Obama’s philosophy of government.  What really is annoying (actually, I should come up with a more severe word there) is their obstructionism that has caused Washington to be in TOTAL gridlock since the day Obama was elected.  Even what legislation does get through is substandard because of all the hoops that have to be gone through to get ANYTHING passed.  This is while our nation is in a virtual depression that is the result of corporate and Wall Street excesses initiated during the years of Bush/Cheney (OK, and prior).  The tax cuts, the deregulation (much of that damage done in the Clinton presidency – ie repeal of Glass Steagall, Telecommunications Act of 1996, NAFTA, GATT), the unfunded (and illegal) wars, the TARP bailouts, etc. all put America “behind the eight ball” when Obama was originally elected.  The obstruction since then has been unconscionable.  However, to me, that does not excuse the Obama administration for the illegal wiretapping, the torturing that’s continued (Guantanamo is still alive and well), and the secrecy surrounding an administration that CLEARLY PROMISED transparency in their original campaign.

Do you remember when guys like me originally started to question the “path” of President Obama?  Do you remember Rahm Emanuel?  He called “liberals” “f—ing retards.”  With little to no backlash from the president that I remember.  The problem that they don’t seem to understand is that it’s the LIBERALS who got them elected into office!  One of the many dangerous precedents President Obama may be committing is patronizing liberals to get elected and then abandoning them once the election is over.  Now, I realize that is somewhat a bit of a “reach” because President Obama is FAR BETTER than the alternative.  But starting his second term with a proposal to “cut” Social Security and Medicare (to even put them “on the table”) and now to be defending the NSA’s “data mining” – Obama seems to think they’re not really doing this (based on part of an interview I heard him give) – is not the way to mobilize “liberals” for the 2014 election which is President Obama’s only hope for “getting things done” during his second term.  I can guarantee you that there’s no way for the democrats to take back the house without strong support from liberals.  And, I’ve seen this many times before, liberals will “sit out the election” if they don’t believe the president is going to FIGHT for the issues that matter to them.

So, what can be done to “move things forward?”  Well, in my mind – even though it’s getting dangerously late to do this, President Obama needs to lead a strong fight to STRENGTHEN Social Security and Medicare (and Medicaid), re-institute the need for the “public option” in regards to the roll out of “Obamacare,” FIGHT for a major “jobs bill” that addresses the needs of America’s crumbling infrastructure, make a major push for relief to America’s inner cities and the high unemployment there, get our troops out of Afghanistan and CUT the defense budget, make a concerted effort for education reform (without trying to destroy public education), break up the “too big to fail” Wall Street conglomerates (re-institute Glass Steagall), PUSH for accelerated advances in alternative energy, and I could go on.  Essentially, Obama should take a FDR (or was it really Eleanor Roosevelt who instigated the New Deal? – I’m reading a biography of her right now and we need another ER) approach to his last 3 1/2 years as president.  The right wing corporatists who are fighting him now are descendents of the same people who fought FDR (If you remember his famous quote, “I welcome their hate”) during the implementation of the New Deal and Obama needs that same attitude toward them.  Unfortunately, from where I sit, it has appeared that our president has been constantly “reaching out” to them, and the sad reality is there’s NO CHANCE they are going to agree to anything “progressive” while President Obama is in office.

Oh yes!  One last thing.  In 1996 Bill Clinton signed the aforementioned Telecommunications Act of 1996 which has allowed the takeover of America’s media by a few right wing corporations.  That particular “Act” needs to be repealed.  It is unthinkable to me that people like Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers can gain a stranglehold on the print and broadcast media because of their great wealth.  This is exactly what the “founders” were trying to prevent when they came up with the system of “checks and balances.”  This, along with the suggestions mentioned above, to name a few things that would ignite liberals, would be the way for our president to have a FIGHTING chance to get that democratic congress he needs to be able to enact any of these “progressive” initiatives.  The “status quo” is not what people like me expected when President Obama took office.  We’re chomping at the bit to FIGHT for the values we believe made this nation great, and there’s a LOT of work to be done, but I don’t see cutting Social Security and Medicare and now, being exposed as a “data miner,” as the way to create a “catalyst” for “the change we can believe in.”  I’ll end by saying, if the “surveillance” being done by the NSA is legal, then why on earth all the secrecy?  They don’t have to tell me who they’re surveilling, they just need to be up front about doing it!

I was reading my email this morning and got a good taste of why, as a sixth grade teacher, I try to teach my students the importance of “comparing and contrasting” as you process information.  First, there was the email from Alan Grayson which included the “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” written 50 years ago by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – to say the least a “profound” read (I posted the letter if you want to read it) – and then an internet petition to sign (they’re coming fast and furious these days – and, thankfully, there’s a lot of “activists” out there “fighting the good fight”) From Credo to oppose the Koch Brothers acquiring the Tribune Company, which includes several major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times.  What an interesting combination!  Dr. King is a hero to many like myself in America and yet people like the Kochs are, and have been for years, doing everything they can to make sure King’s dream is never fully a reality.  The election of a Black president put the Kochs and their “ilk” on “red alert” and they’ve been throwing everything, including, seemingly, “the kitchen sink,” at making sure President Obama FAILS and that they have such a stranglehold on the “message” that they don’t have to worry about a repeat of what, in their minds I’m sure, is a real tragedy.  You have to remember that the Koch’s father was an original member of the John Birch Society, and if you don’t understand what that means in relation to Black presidents, “Google it.”

The first reason this “comparison” has rung a “bell” with me is that I live in the radio market of Portland, Oregon.  Over the previous 8 (or so) years, prior to Obama’s initial election there was a “liberal” talk radio station in Portland that was kind of a prototype for what amounts to a miniscule opposition to the right wing messaging “machine” that has evolved on “talk radio” since the first days Rush Limbaugh started his right wing racist ranting during the Reagan years.  I have believed all along that it’s (right wing talk radio) part of the larger plan to form what Karl Rove calls the “permanent republican ‘majority'” (the additional quotes are mine – if it happens it will be a “majority” similar to Hitler’s “majority” in the 1930’s Germany).  After Limbaugh was established, along came Fox “news” and “think tanks” like the Heritage Institute of the Kochs both of which have worked in tandem with the right wing talkers like Limbaugh to “cement” the right wing propaganda “machine.”  Portland’s liberal talk station was a push-back, albeit a minor push-back because the “conservatives” control over 90% of the radio airspace.  So, it was no surprise to me when, shortly after Obama’s second election Portland’s (KPOJ) was replaced by (surprise surprise) a “wing” of the Fox network.  I was angry, but not surprised – for anyone not paying attention, this is just further evidence of the FACT the “conservatives” have a stranglehold on our “liberal media.” (seems like an oxymoron, huh?)

That gets me back to this morning’s emails.  I’ve known for weeks that the Kochs are attempting to purchase the Tribune company and that it will be a travesty if it happens.  I’m also very aware that Koch Industries generates over 100 BILLION dollars in revenue per year and the Kochs themselves are worth well over 50 BILLION dollars.  If they want to buy the Tribune company, they have the funds to do so.  The question then becomes how much of a stranglehold of our media are “we the people” willing to allow this right wing message machine to control?  I can’t even watch Fox “news” because I’ve read too much to allow me to NOT understand that they are purely and simply a right wing propaganda organization (as long as you’re “googling” things, Google the holdings of Rupert Murdoch – the owner of Fox “news,” the Wall Street Journal, and many other media outlets – and “Google” his political leanings).  They are run by a republican operative of the 70’s and 80’s – back in the days of Watergate (Roger Ailes).  They have “both barrels” aimed at Barrack Obama and anyone who might be considered “liberal” and they care only about POWER and nothing about the average and below American (their ONLY concern with the “average and below” Americans is keeping them IGNORANT of their REAL motive – ie – keeping them as “low information voters” – that’s the term that got Lars Larsen to call me an “elitist liberal” :o).  Their “talkers” (Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Limbaugh, along with the small time voices like Larsen’s, etc.) are willing to say anything for their large paychecks.  And, they are the epitome of liars who lie so much that they get to the point where they’re believing their own lies as the lies come out of their lips!  (the term is pathological)

Losing elections doesn’t slow this right wing cabal hardly at all.  That’s the problem I see with those of us “liberals” – and, that is we seem to think once we win an election the message has been “sent.”  For example, the previous election of 2012 was focused on the “social safety net” – programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment insurance, Head Start, etc. along with the so-called “roll-out” of “Obamacare” ie – “The Affordable Care Act.”  Since that election we’ve seen republicans in the House voting AGAIN (something like the 38th time) to repeal “Obamacare.”  There’s no shame with these people.  Instead of trying to figure out how to make the legislation better for “we the people” they’re focused – STILL – on undermining our president.  And, of course, he’s playing into their hands by seemingly an endless attempt to get them to agree to something – which led to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid being put “on the table” in the ill advised budget negotiations (which aren’t really negotiations at all because there’s no way the republicans will agree to anything Obama will sign).  Liberals like me have only to hope that the democrats will AGGRESSIVELY work to gain enough control in congress by 2014 to be able to pass some progressive legislation.  That hope was dealt a severe blow by Obama putting the foundation of the “New Deal” and “Great Society” signature achievements “on the table.”  And, sadly, many democrats are so concerned with their reelection that they’ve become intimidated by the power of the right wing media.  I can guarantee you, there will be no let up from the “right” until “we the people” vote them out (along with the wishy washy dems) en mass!

Additionally, the other day I listened to parts of a speech President Obama gave to the graduating class of Morehead State University in which he AGAIN chose to “lecture” an audience of Blacks – this time newly graduated Morehead seniors and their faculty and families about the importance of being responsible men in our society.  I guess because our president is Black he feels comfortable broaching this subject (over and over) with Black audiences – but, I find this a bit disconcerting.  While there’s validity, I’m sure, to what he’s saying – I can guarantee you the problem is “bipartisan” – or whatever the correct word would be for there not being a “color line” for irresponsible men and fathers.  So far, I haven’t heard the same subject being “preached” to a white audience – not that it’s impossible that he has.  My point in bringing this up is that I don’t see Obama as a great leader for the Black community.  Again, I realize he’s up against a congress which is NOT going to agree to ANYTHING he wants – and this suffocating “liberal media” – controlled by conservatives is bent on his “failure” – but, he MUST put up a fight for the basic values that made the democratic party the representatives of the average Americans, the workers, the Blacks, the Hispanics, the unions, etc.  Liberals feel as if they’re fighting a losing battle if they work to elect people who then turn around and push republican values in their faces.  As I’ve written before, if I wanted Social Security and Medicare cut, I would have voted for Romney/Ryan.  If I wanted to hear my leaders attacking the Black community, I would vote for republicans.  President Obama seems unaware of the magnitude of the WAR that’s going on right now internally in America.

As I stated above, despite losing elections (including the last one) republicans continue to try to cram the same CRAP down our throats we’ve been getting since the day Ronald Reagan gained the White House.  Only, now it’s the fringe “right” who are “guiding the ship.”  Most people I know, many of them with graduate degrees from top universities, don’t even know who Charles and David Koch are.  They have no idea how much power they’ve managed to gain in the last 30+ years and they have no idea how “out there” their philosophy is.  The Kochs are the money behind the so-called “Tea Party” which they managed to work up into a frothing lather in 2010 (after Obama’s first “victory”) that resulted in all the “Tea Party” freshmen republicans who took over the House in that 2010 election (if you watched any of their “rallies” during the 2010 election or listened to the speeches you know how overtly RACIST the “Tea Party” is).  What many of us didn’t understand at the time, was that they also gained control of many legislative bodies and governorships across the nation and managed to “gerrymander” countless congressional districts (this happens every 10 years – next time it’s possible will be 2020) making it more difficult for democrats to unseat some extremely radical republican members of the House.  Now, I’m hearing reports of the same type of aggressive, anti-government, anti-Obama rallies as they are evidently going to make the same “push” in the 2014 election with the objective of taking control of both the House and the Senate.

That’s obviously where the battle lines are presently drawn.  For those of us who are “liberals” (or progressives if you’ve “bought” the right wing “cool aid” that “liberal” is a dirty word) recognize that unless democrats can take back control of the House of Representatives the republicans will continue to block any kind of progressive legislation for the remainder of Obama’s term in office (and presumably going forward – they are trying to convince the American public that the “only” way to get anything “done” will be to elect a republican president (which would give them their “permanent majority – that is, control of the House, the Senate, the courts, and the media – and, in reality, they are correct – it will be hard to unseat them)  On the other hand, the liberals who are fighting back recognize the same problem and are (hopefully) intent on gaining control of the House while retaining control of the Senate (and removing the filibuster rule) so that we can move this nation back in the direction that created our great middle class in the first place – toward the New Deal and Great Society.  These “Tea Party” rallies should energize the “liberals” in America if they will only pay attention to what is being said there and how these people are carrying themselves.

In 2010 there was one BLATANTLY racist sign after another at the “Tea Party” rallies.  If you go back and listen to some of the speeches it was very disgusting.  Many of the remarks coming from members of congress pandering to the group.  The “code words” were “flying” hot and heavy.  Many of the speakers I heard made little attempt to hide their disgust that a person they referred to as “other” could be living in the “White House.”  Now, we’re hearing comments like “Waterboard Obama” and “Waterboard Clinton” at their rallies by people holding signs adorned with swastikas!  I’m not going to “go off” on my frustrations at Obama for not allowing the investigations into the war crimes of the Bush/Cheney regime, but if republicans gain control again, they’ve made it quite clear how they feel about torture.  And, as I’ve stated before on this site – there’s a group called the “Family” that are at the foundation of this right wing push of the last 30 plus years – and, their original affiliation was with members of the Third Reich who were not prosecuted after WW II and they’ve adopted the propaganda scheme of Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda – the so-called “Big Lie Theory.”  If you really believe our media is “liberal” then explain to me why no one seems to be pointing this out, or even investigating it?  Read the book “The Family” – I believe the author is Jeff Sharlett – it should open your eyes a bit.

One of the most blatant of the congressional speakers at 2010 “Tea Party” rallies was then senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina who was spewing out the racial “code words” in a speech I saw while the “Tea Party’ members he was speaking to had the most disgusting racist signs regarding President Obama I had, up to that point, seen.  And, of course, DeMint was encouraging them with his racist rhetoric.  Since that time he’s become the head of the Koch’s “Heritage Foundation” – a “conservative” think tank.  Other members include people like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, two of the major mouthpieces of the right wing “big lie theory” in practice.  They have unlimited funds and they have every intention of continuing this WAR for the heart and soul of America until they succeed in gaining the aforementioned “permanent republican majority.”  Of course, they’ll never have a real majority, but they might be able to pull off enough CRAP at the ballot boxes to make it appear that they do.  (remember 2000 and the Supreme Court anointing GW Bush as president – think that can’t happen again?)  The Heritage website proclaims to be wanting to take America BACK to “her founding principles” – and, make no mistake about it, they’re talking about pre New Deal!  The principles of no unions, no Social Security, no Medicare, no unemployment insurance, basically NO social safety net.  They are talking about the times when the “Robber Barons” were in charge.  They’re pushing a “race to the bottom” for wages and benefits of America’s workforce. (As I’m writing this, republicans are leading an “assault” on things like food stamps)

On the Heritage website it is written right out front for anyone to see (evidently, our “liberal press” doesn’t pay much attention to the Heritage website) – “The clock is also ticking on this historic opportunity to advance conservative reforms. As many as possible must be enacted and defended now, while liberals have their guard down and we have an opportunity to rally public opinion.”  They believe (and probably rightly so – as 2010 proved) that post election “liberals” are back to taking care of their families and “have their guard down” – this is the time to  CRAM through as much “conservative” legislation as possible.  They’re calling this a “once in a generations opportunity.”  And, I guarantee you their plan is to have a complete STRANGLEHOLD on our government that they so often say they despise.  Their plan is to turn America into a fascist state!  And, they’ve got BILLIONS of dollars to spend in order to pull this off.

That is why the contrast between the two emails I received gave me such “pause.”  There was a day, not too many years ago, when I thought we were on the cusp of achieving Martin Luther King Jr.’s “dream.”  I thought we might finally overcome the obstacles to a truly free nation that were represented in King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.”  The night President Obama was first elected president I can remember thinking how much I had believed that a Black person would not be elected president in my lifetime.  I remember calling my teaching partner at the time – a Black teacher, pastor, veteran of Viet Nam – to me, the epitome of a great American – who was literally in tears.  Little did we know at the time that Obama’s election was going to energize people like the Koch’s and those in America who believe that this is a nation that should only be led by White people – and, certainly, little did I know how many people would join the movement to attempt to make sure our first Black president FAILS.  History will judge our president against all the obstacles thrown his way – when I watched the movie “42” (the story of Jackie Robinson) I was reminded that President Obama’s situation is somewhat similar to Robinson’s.  I would love to see our president being more forceful in his battle against these republicans, but I’m constantly reminded (in my thoughts) about how I have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes.  All I can say is that those of us on the “liberal” side have our work cut out for us – the “conservatives” as is published on the Heritage website – feel we have our “guard down” and they have every intention of taking full advantage of that.