I’m trying to process my frustration with “the way things are” and not allow myself to go back into intellectual hibernation because there appears to be no hope for America to “right the ship” at this time.  The biggest problem to me is the media.  It has been hijacked by some very sophisticated corporate interests and they’ve convinced, I believe, even the “journalists” who should know better that everything is the way it is because “both sides are equally to blame.”  I find that argument ludicrous and I find it very discouraging that the so-called “liberal” pundits are not able to fight back against the incredible PUSH to the right in our nation which began with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.  I’m not arguing that both political parties aren’t – well, disgusting – most people can agree on that – what I’m arguing is that the pandemic problems in America are the result of the republicans push to the right.  OK, then the question is what about the democrats?  And, to me, the answer to that one can be summed up in the old saying, “when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.”  In other words, the democrats don’t seem to be able to fight for their own fundamental values.  And, the beat goes on!

The other day I was listening to Thom Hartman, and he is a person who I often feel is “right on” and defending the “liberal” point of view.  He has a radio (and Free Speech TV – I recommend you give them your financial support – it’s listener supported media) program where he often interviews people with opposing viewpoints to his own.  The other day he was interviewing a right wing libertarian who had been a sheriff in Arizona some time back and who is evidently writing books at present.  I didn’t pick up all the details (or the guy’s name) – but, what caught my attention was this guy was the type who’s been using the infrastructure of America for his lifetime, but apparently wants to pay no taxes (well, he wants to abolish the IRS and the typical right wing proposal for some form of a flat tax – at least he used the word graduated) and he was basically espousing abolishment of much of our existing government.  As he made his argument (and the reason I’m mentioning it here) he claimed that the republicans and the democrats were equally responsible for a list of problems which seemed absurd to me and didn’t get the “blow-back” I expected to hear from Hartman.  For example, to me, it’s absurd to accuse democrats and republicans to be EQUALLY responsible for the national debt.  The statistics are clear – Reagan started the massive debt problem with the so-called “trickle down” economic philosophy, George HW Bush notched it up a level, and George W Bush put it on steroids!

Bill Clinton left “W” with a surplus of $250 BILLION annually that was projected to eliminate the deficit in 10 years (which is the Fed’s greatest nightmare – go figure) and George W Bush, with the help of Dick Cheney who famously said, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter,” turned that surplus into a waterfall of debt by the time he left office.  And, this sheriff pointed out that “Obama created the bailout” or something of that effect (which convinced me his information came directly from Fox “news”) and I didn’t hear Hartman correct him that the TARP bailout was orchestrated by Hank Paulsen and George W Bush – Obama had little choice but to implement the final stages of it – which, to his credit, he used partly to save GM and Chrysler. (and thousands of middle class jobs!)  These things shouldn’t be debatable – the only reason they are is because republicans shout louder and democrats seem to lack the courage of their own convictions.

Bush/Cheney left President Obama with an economy teetering on depression with an annual deficit in excess of $1 TRILLION, a job market that was shedding jobs at the rate of a MILLION a month, and republicans in congress whose MAIN objective was to facilitate President Obama’s FAILURE!  Despite the incredible level of OBSTRUCTION during President Obama’s first 6 years in office, the economic circumstances in America have slowly improved, and the yearly deficits have been cut more than in half.  Had there been any level of cooperation in Washington DC during this period there could have been significantly greater achievement for those of us who would love to see the government operating with a surplus again.  Obviously, with the American people (well, actually, a small minority of the American people chose to vote in the last election) empowering, unbelievably to me, the republicans to be “back in charge” of both houses of Congress, we should be headed back to another economic crisis – I’m sure they hope it’s in the next two years so they can blame it on Obama.

Everyone who’s paying any amount of attention knows that if President Obama is for it, the republicans are automatically against it.  When you look at the FACTS, the deficit is MOSTLY the result of republican “trickle up” economics, the two wars (and, what now appears to be perpetual war – the so-called war on terror) are the result of Bush/Cheney BLUNDERS – Afghanistan should have been OVER in 6 – 9 months and we all know that Iraq should have NEVER happened, the economic collapse of 2007-2008 was the direct result of republican inspired deregulation of key parts of the New Deal (Glass-Steagall in particular), and it was Bush/Cheney who ruined America’s standing as the holder of the “moral high ground” when referring to Human Rights as they threw out the “rule book” on treatment of prisoners of war and authorized a massive amount of WAR CRIMES (part of their justification came via calling the detainees “enemy combatants” which means they aren’t actually “prisoners.” – this is what I call 21st century DOUBLESPEAK!)

I’ll say it again, this spiraling toward second tier status in America is largely the result of republican policy.  (and, yes you could add, a democratic party that has little to no FIGHT in it! – I believe they lost the last election because they abandoned their leader and failed to defend their own policies that were WORKING – it’s like the tail is wagging the dog)  Our media has been hoodwinked into adopting the Fox “news” mantra of “fair and balanced” evidently failing to realize the “scale” is tipped dangerously FAR to the right – reporting is NOT balanced at all!

No one wants to talk about the opposition to President Obama on the “news” channels – at least that I’ve heard.  I was telling a friend of mine the other day that I have plenty that I’m not happy about with our president (much of which you can find in the archives) but I don’t like to dwell on it because there’s so much coming at him from what I consider racist white people (or minions of Fox who actually believe they are a “news” channel) who want him to fail simply because they don’t want a Black person in the “White House.”  One of my good friends tends toward the Tea party and, for some reason, is unable to see the racist rhetoric (and signs and code) coming from those who are the majority of that faction.  He mentioned that he had watched the movie “42” the other day (about Jackie Robinson) and I told him I feel that Obama is facing circumstances that often remind me of that movie.  I really don’t see how anyone can miss the message when right wing republicans refer to Obama, for example, as “uppity.”  I’ve heard some republicans refer to our president as “elitist” evidently with no comprehension of the barriers he overcame in order to break the national political “color barrier.”

I would feel as if there was more “hope” in politics (for those who don’t understand my spiritual side, there is always “hope” in Jesus Christ – at least that’s my firm belief) if so many others besides Fox weren’t seemingly “feeding from the same trough.”  I have a tendency to listen (on my XM radio) to MSNBC when I’m driving around (or occasionally watching it at home when I can muster the will to watch TV “news”) and, as I’ve mentioned on this site numerous times, Chris Matthews and Chuck Todd – two to the political “heavyweights” on MSNBC – seem to me way too “full of themselves.”  They portray themselves as “experts” (Todd is now the narrator on “Meet the Press”) but come across to me as unwitting tools of the “invisible cabal” that is orchestrating America’s demise.  Most of us are now fully aware of David and Charles Koch (I really recommend you read “Sons of Wichita” – a very interesting biography of the Koch family) but I don’t think we’re at all aware of the size (or the danger) of the network of wealthy (and greedy) associates they’ve put together over the past 50 years since Charles Koch’s father helped found the John Birch Society.  For some reason our national media seems disinterested in educating “we the people” regarding the Kochs and their network of “supporters.”

We’re all witnessing the HUGE amounts of money being POURED into our electoral process, the likewise HUGE amounts of money LOBBYISTS are funneling to our Senators and Representatives that makes it clear our government is CORRUPTED to the core – yet, the media’s attention seems to ALWAYS be elsewhere.  I’ve come to the conclusion that the “invisible cabal” I often refer to is much more sophisticated than us everyday Americans can even imagine and, I believe they have their “tentacles” securely wrapped around our so-called “liberal media.”  Keith Olberman was trying to open eyes – he was fired (evidently, on top of his liberal views he’s hard to work with – at least that’s what makes it seem more tolerable that his voice was removed from the “airwaves”).  Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital owns “Clear Channel” which operates almost a monopoly of “talk” radio stations and after his defeat numerous “liberal talk” stations were “shuttered.”  In the case of the station in Portland, Oregon which was replaced by a Fox “sports” station – the ratings were something like EIGHT TIMES higher with the talk show than with its replacement – leaving at least me to believe it was shuttered for totally political reasons.  In Portland, a liberal city, you can get Rush Limbaugh from multiple locations, but I had to subscribe to XM to get anything resembling “liberal” talk radio.

All of this should BOTHER everyone – including conservatives – in my view, especially when you learn what kind of person Charles Koch is and what his core beliefs are.  Anyone who believes he’s spending what amounts to BILLIONS of dollars to cram his LIBERTARIAN views down our throats for “honorable” reasons is, in my view, either being foolish or not thinking at all.  People like Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and lessor minions like Lars Larsen have proven over and over they will say whatever they’re told if the money’s right.  Sometimes I believe they have become victims of the very propaganda scheme they’re being paid to promote (the Joseph Goebbels “Big Lie Theory).  They may actually have gotten to the point where they believe the lies they’re paid to promote (despite the FACTS saying otherwise) are true.  By definition, when you get to that point we’re talking about pathological liars!

If America is to return to the middle class ideals fought for and won during the New Deal and the Great Society (FDR, JFK, and LBJ) she will need a media that is actually educating “we the people” to the reality of this sophisticated PUSH to the right.  The Koch’s (Charles and David) Libertarian philosophy has morphed into something that is more in line with the philosophy of the Third Reich or Mussolini’s Italy.  As I read “Sons of Wichita” I can see glaring examples of the Kochs pushing in the very direction they (and their father) railed against as their “empire” was forming.  There is a group known as “The Family” that the Kochs are almost certainly part of (if you get the chance, read the book “The Family” by Jeff Sharlett and you’ll get a better picture of what I’m trying to say here) which makes me worry that the “invisible cabal” is much larger than even I can imagine.  This gets back to my point – AGAIN – If America’s “liberal media” doesn’t soon educate our people FACTUALLY about this push to the right, the damage could last a generation. (or more)

If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time you know that I’ve been writing about my DISAPPOINTMENT that President Obama chose to “look forward instead of back” regarding TORTURE from the beginning days of his administration.  In fact, I’ve stated MANY times that I believe President Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder, were (are) LEGALLY required to have pushed for legal ACCOUNTABILITY regarding what transpired under the Bush/Cheney regime from 2002 until they left office (in disgrace) in early 2009.  Since leaving office BOTH George W Bush and Dick Cheney have ARROGANTLY acknowledged that they AUTHORIZED TORTURE (water boarding among other hideous acts) and would DO IT AGAIN!  That certainly doesn’t feel like regret or remorse to me – and, President Obama’s “pledge” that “we” (America) wont do it again borders on the absurd.  Obama will no longer be president as of the end of 2016 and what if the American people (who just voted in a republican Senate to go along with the republican House) should vote for someone like Ted Cruz or John Kasich or (God forbid) another BUSH (Jeb).

I stated (many times) in the early days of Obama’s administration that his decision to essentially PARDON those in the Bush administration who not only AUTHORIZED TORTURE but actually PUSHED the idea of “enhanced interrogation” was one of the WORST political decision in my lifetime.  While I’ve acknowledged that “Citizens United” conceivably could destroy our democratic republic from the inside out, I believed (and still believe) that President Obama’s decision to “look the other way” – in a different way – could end up being every bit as devastating.  The ramifications of that decision are certainly apparent to me virtually every day as I witness this nation I love spiraling toward second tier status in the eyes of the world.  And, for people like me who feel the “world” is teetering on DISASTER in so many ways – the idea that the United States of America has lost its “moral high ground” is one of the main reasons I see even more disaster on the world’s horizon.  Thanks to Bush/Cheney and the subsequent enabling they received from President Obama the rest of the world is no longer looking up to America.  This all is mind numbing bad in so many ways.

I’ll list some of the “ramifications” here – but, they certainly fall into the “I could go on and on” category – so, I’ll try to limit myself to something that ends up being readable in less than an entire evening.  First, the effect this decision (to look the other way) has had on the legal system itself.  I don’t believe there’s much doubt among those who are turned off by how our government is functioning that our legal system is RIGGED for those at the top.  Not only were the members of Bush/Cheney et al allowed to “skate” after publicly admitting to authorizing WAR CRIMES and/or carrying them (the crimes) out – but, at the same time this all came down, the Wall Street bankers were bludgeoning the retirement accounts of MILLIONS of working Americans and, to this day – six + years later – not a SINGLE Wall Street “bankster” has face accountability for their reckless actions.  In fact, the common perception is that it didn’t take Wall Street long to pass out the bailout money in the form of bonuses for the bad behavior – and, then start right back up again with “business as usual.”  It didn’t seem as if “we the people” even got a “slap on the wrist” in.  I’m bringing the Wall Street stuff up – because, the so-called “Tea Party” movement was spawned by this fiasco which led to the republican controlled House – controlled by some extreme “right wingers” and the relentless attacks that have followed – many seeming to me to be racist – at our sitting president.  (and, by the way, in the “category” of irony of ironies – this same Tea Party republican party is now responsible for RE-ENABLING the “too big to fail” banks, in the pending “omnibus spending bill” before the Senate as I’m writing this which would roll back the provision passed in the “Dodd-Frank” bill of the “Great Recession” that would prevent the government from bailing out the “banksters” when their gambling goes bad.  Unbelievable!  This move falls into the category of typical Washington DC political blackmail)

And (getting back to the TORTURE issue), where did this looking the other way get President Obama?  He stated he didn’t want the distraction of the investigations (and presumably the prosecutions) to get in the way of his proposed agenda. (which included the Affordable Care Act, Wall Street Reform (now being gutted as mentioned above), and a stimulus bill (among other first term goals).  To me, what was accomplished was the republicans took this reluctance to hold them accountable kind of like a shark takes to blood in the water.  It was like a HUGE “go” sign to them in the plan to disrupt and obstruct EVERYTHING the president was/is for!  As Rush Limbaugh said, “I want this president to FAIL!” – or as Mitch McConnell stated, “Our (republicans) number one goals is to make President Obama a one term president.”  What I’m saying is that I believe President Obama got WAY MORE distraction by failing to seek accountability for an administration that had OBVIOUSLY broken MANY laws!  Not only was it common knowledge that Bush/Cheney et al had committed WAR CRIMES, but anyone paying attention knew they had violated the FISA law, that someone (presumably Cheney) had outed a CIA agent, they had politicized the Justice Department and one of their surrogates had ILLEGALLY required “loyalty oaths” (to the republican party) for new hires there, several had LIED directly to Congress, agencies were being undermined from the inside leaving consumers and workers at risk, and I could go on and on.  When President Obama publicly demonstrated he did not have the WILL to address these illegal overreaches of the Bush/Cheney regime he invited what he’s been getting from republicans for the past 6 years.

Looking the other way sent the EXACT wrong message around the world.  In fact, the government of Spain, at one point, began their own investigation into the War Crimes of Bush/Cheney et al – presumably stopping at the behest of the Obama administration.  This indifference to the seriousness of these deplorable actions (the Torture) sent the absolute wrong message around the world.  Maybe the American people were brainwashed to believe that these actions were justified and “useful” (despite ALL the evidence showing that torture doesn’t produce “actionable intelligence”) but the people outside of the United States – around the world and especially in the Middle East – knew/know better!  Personally, I don’t excuse anyone in America for not knowing what was going on.  The Senate now has published a highly redacted “summary” of a 6000 page investigation into America’s TORTURE program – and, based on what I’ve heard it says that things were “worse than we thought” – but, we all saw the images from Abu Ghraib and we’ve all heard for years about the “enhanced interrogations,” Guantanamo, “extraordinary rendition,” and how Americans were transporting “enemy combatants” to countries around the world notorious for TORTURE.  None of this has been a secret and, from my own experience, I can attest to the FACT there have been MANY books written that detail the CRIMES committed by our CIA along with the “private contractors” they worked with based on authorization that came directly from the White House and the Secretary of Defense’s office.  Seriously, shame on us!

Here’s some examples of some of the TORTURE I was familiar with LONG before the Senate report was published.  For starters, early in the “war on terror” there were corroborated reports of Americans randomly picking up “enemy combatants” based on the “word” of personal enemies of the so-called combatants AND the Americans were PAYING the informants.  I’ll let you put 2 + 2 together on that one.  Subsequently, scores of “enemy combatants” were jammed into vans that had no ventilation and were “transported” to various “black holes” presumably to face the now infamous “enhanced interrogation” only to discover that many of the “combatants” died en route via suffocation.  I haven’t heard much reporting on this deplorable fact for several years.

We all were exposed to Abu Ghraib – and, the atrocious conditions and treatment prisoners received there (and, to make matters worst, this was where Saddam Hussein was torturing Iraqi’s).  I read a book that specifically was about Abu Ghraib (and, the information in that book was corroborated in other publications I read subsequently) and there is little doubt in my mind that the directions for the treatment of prisoners came directly from Donald Rumsfeld’s office of the Secretary of Defense (or higher).  The book clearly explained (in detail) how at least one prisoner was interrogated by some “specialist” and ended up DEAD.  There was an attempt to cover up this MURDER, but the bottom line with Abu Ghraib was that the “grunts” who were “in charge” – none of them trained even to be prison guards and all of them thinking they were following orders (well, I should say most of them) were sent to prison and the American public was led to believe these lower level Army personnel devised this terrible treatment on their own.  “Dirty Wars” by Jeremy Scahill was a book I read years after the Abu Ghraib book that really spelled out how disgusting our “war on terror” became!

There was another report that came out a few years ago regarding the “suicide” of three detainees in Guantanamo.  Our government classified the deaths as “suicide,” but there was never a public investigation and the guards, who were supposed to be watching the cells every 10 minutes or so, were never allowed to testify why the bodies had been hanging for two hours before being discovered.  Additionally, “we the people” are expected to believe that these were suicides despite the FACT all three were found hanging with sheets turned into nooses, each body had his hands tied behind his back, his feet were bound together, and each prisoner had a wad of cloth crammed so far down his throat it was difficult to get out after they were dead.  I’ve been puzzled since I heard this how a person could do all that.  It would be difficult enough to cram a wad of cloth down your own throat (to the point where breathing was impossible), but how does a person do that and then bind their feet, tie their hands behind their own back, and put a noose around their own neck?  I don’t get it.  If you would like to read another account, click here.

This topic is FINALLY back in the news because (miraculously, I thought it’d never happen) a summary (redacted) of a 6000 page Senate Intelligence committee investigation – the summary is reportedly about 600 pages – was published by Senate Democrats getting it out before the republicans take control of the Senate in January.  As you might imagine, had the democrats waited this report would have never seen the light of day.  The report is DAMNING and, supposedly, things were much worst than even someone like me (who’s read as much as I can find on this travesty) was led to understand.  For example, I’m still trying to understand what is “rectal feeding?”

All it should have required for these investigations to have been undertaken years ago, and publicly, was the admission (on national TV no less) by both GW Bush and Dick Cheney that they had authorized WAR CRIMES!  Even worse, to me, is that they both still maintain, despite the evidence saying otherwise, that they gained useful information and they both have said they’d “do it again.”  People around the world are now demanding accountability.  If I were George W Bush or Dick Cheney I would be careful about vacationing in Europe or other parts of the world.  This all violates our own laws and the international laws represented by the Geneva Conventions.  I believe it was Ronald Reagan who signed the international pledge that America would not commit TORTURE in 1988.   GW Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others are allegedly guilty of WAR CRIMES.

As one would expect in today’s America the report on TORTURE has been met with partisan rancor – as is usual with just about any issue that comes to the fore these days.  I’ve listened to as much Fox “news” (I call it GOP TV) as I can stand, and the same minions that are always defending the “right” no matter the issue are lining up in support – mainly of Dick Cheney – I believe he’s refuting the report because he is now in SERIOUS legal jeopardy.  I’ve heard Sean Hannity throwing “softballs” Cheney’s way, Bill O’Reilly giving his usual “I’m a puppet for the ‘right'” response – and Fox giving Cheney every opportunity to continue his absurd arguments that TORTURE “kept us safe” after 9/11.  In Cheney’s case it’s called “CYA!”  In the case of the Fox “pundits” it’s called participating in the “Big Lie Theory” – pure propaganda!  And, unfortunately, there’s way too many Americans who believe Fox is actually a “news channel.”

The one republican who I’ve heard speaking out about this issue in a straight forward manner is John McCain.  Of course, as most Americans know, McCain was a victim of TORTURE as a POW in Viet Nam for 5 1/2 years.  I find it interesting (it tells all we need to know about the media in today’s America) that McCain (at least when I heard his comments) was on MSNBC.  Normally, I would expect to hear McCain speaking on Fox – I don’t know if he has on this subject, but I doubt they would allow his thoughts on their network.  I have heard Cheney, several times and his response to the report is nothing less than COMBATANT and ARROGANT!  He called the findings during one of the interviews I heard, “a bunch of crap.”  (his exact words) – of course, one of the methods he authorized was handcuffing prisoners to bars attached to the ceiling of their cells so that their arms were extended above their heads for entire days (and nights – like 22 hours at a time) with no clothing except a diaper and no ability to relieve themselves except into the diaper.  Do you think that’s why he called this report “a bunch of crap?”  I’m finding it hard to believe that Dick Cheney gets a “say” ANYTHING anywhere anymore.  As far as I’m concerned, the only “say” Dick Cheney should have regarding TORTURE, is defending himself before the Hague!

I really don’t know where to start.  Everyday I come up with ideas to write about, but I think it’s hard to actually sit down and do it because the reality of what is happening in America is so depressing.  I’m always reading and the present book is titled, “The New Deal” by Michael Hiltzik.  This book looks at the New Deal from a perspective I haven’t read before (I’ve read MANY books about this time period in American history) because Eleanor Roosevelt is barely mentioned.  Hiltzik gives a good account to those who opposed the New Deal right from the beginning and it is very prescient of what seems to be a “re-run” of the “Robber Baron” era in 21st Century America.

I’m constantly reminding those who end up reading my posts of the saying, “Those who choose to ignore history are bound to repeat it.”  This “reality” (that “we the people” are ignoring history) is what I believe makes American politics seems so depressing.  Nothing that is happening makes any sense for anyone like myself who grew up as beneficiaries of the New Deal and want to pass on the great traditions that were spawned in those troubling times to our children and grandchildren.  However, what looks to me to be “sitting on the horizon” is nothing to be proud to hand down to “future generations.”

The income inequality in America which is widening as I type this is reminiscent of the pre-depression years, America’s military is spinning out of control (as predicted by Dwight Eisenhower), and – in my view – there are FAR too many Americans willing to give up their rights in the name of “national security.”  (Of course, we’re not talking about gun owners – it’s like their right to bear arms is more important to them than their right to privacy)  Tens of millions of Americans are still without health insurance and republicans have “promised” to increase the amount by another ten million by repealing the Affordable Health Care law.  Millions of Americans are going to bed hungry at night, yet we’re cutting programs like food stamps.  Hiltzik’s book accurately portrays FDR’s reluctance to address the needs of the African American community, and, if you’re paying attention, things haven’t changed much.  African Americans are certainly better off today than they were back then, but the election of our first African American President (actually 1/2 African American), in my view, has helped to clarify there’s MUCH left to do in order to truly make America stand up to her ideals.  Honestly, to me, I believe the increase in overt racism since President Obama’s election is the most depressing part of the entire “reality” we the people are facing.

What’s interesting (and, to me, a bit confusing) about the most recent “mid-term” election which allowed republicans to gain control of both houses of Congress was the FACT that American voters were in favor of progressive policies in their “exit poll” interviews (raising the minimum wage, net neutrality, a woman’s “right to choose,” etc.) but voted in some incredibly right wing candidates to the senate (and probably the House as well, I just wasn’t able to follow those races as close).  People like Joni Ernst, who won Tom Harkin’s seat in Iowa, are so far to the right they are scary.  I actually saw her speaking where she claimed she has the right to use her hand gun on government employees if “they” don’t respect her “rights.”  She, at the time, was applying for a pretty significant government position (the Senate).  I’ve wondered since I heard that, does she give the same rights to someone who might disagree with her interpretation of their rights?  A majority of Iowans actually voted for this woman (in my mind, shame on Iowa) knowing that she was a byproduct of Koch Industries and the money that group was funneling into her “race.”  I’ll give her credit for transparency as she was one of the FEW “puppets” of the Koch “empire” willing to acknowledge her allegiance publicly.

What we’re apparently going to have as a Congress is a majority which believes in repealing the Affordable Care Act (with no alternative), privatizing Social Security, voucherizing Medicare and eliminating Medicaid, cutting programs like Food Stamps, unemployment “insurance,” the EPA, the Food and Drug administration, the CDC (they’ve already managed to cut it back significantly without a majority in the Senate), and INCREASE the funding of our MILITARY and the “complex” that BENEFITS from America’s plan (instituted so expertly by Bush/Cheney) for “perpetual WAR.”  I firmly believe many republicans vote for them while unknowingly supporting much of this agenda that they might otherwise oppose.  I’ll give one quick example:  Republicans used the Ebola crisis to successfully criticize President Obama (who didn’t get much support from his own party regarding his leadership in attempting to halt this epidemic while it’s still centered in West Africa), yet they were instrumental in cutting funds for the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the NIH (National  Institutes of Health – where the fight against Ebola would logically be centered) with NO accountability for their actions.  Many let the republican claims about Obama and Ebola influence their vote (or non-vote) AGAINST democrats and NOW, that the election is past (and, President Obama’s reassurances have been realized – as opposed to the knee jerk reactions of politicians like Chris Christie) I haven’t heard more than a “whisper” about Ebola since the election.  (And, the crisis is continuing in West Africa – with some hope thanks in large part to the actions of our president).

Thinking about politics becomes depressing because despite our leaders (of both parties) constantly using cliches like “Hope and Change” – while continuing their connection to the corporate interests that fund their campaigns (and, if you’re not familiar what having a government which is based on a corporate/government alliance, Google it – the term is fascism) – there continues to be little hope for change.  It’s almost as if the behemoth of the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about (in the 1950’s!) has become too big to stop!  Sadly, “we the people” are being turned against each other by brilliant political strategists who understand how to manipulate public thought through the mass media and I’m constantly feeling (and amazed) that so many Americans are tricked into voting against their own best interests.  I’m an idealist who continues to hope (and pray) that CHANGE will eventually occur via the “ballot box” and not through the other, less appealing, alternatives.  (We’re seeing, as I write this, frustration boiling over in Ferguson Missouri from Black Americans who’ve “had enough” of what seems to be evolving into an oligarchy – or worse).  I continue to look for “alternatives” and ideas on how “we the people” might DEMAND our leaders behave differently.  And, often times, my ideas “sprout” from places I wouldn’t expect.

Each week I meet in a “small group” of awesome friends which originated in the Church I attend.  What’s really interesting to me is that this group is comprised of people who, politically, think much differently than me.  I would say (although I don’t talk about it with most of them) that they were originally drawn to be “republicans” by the abortion issue, many years ago.  We are connected by our belief in Christ and we study the Bible on a regular basis.  Obviously, if you’ve read many of my other posts you know that I’m not what you’d call a member of the “Christian Right” – although, I’ve been steadfast for years in not allowing what that group ostensibly stands for to cause me to waver in my belief that Jesus Christ was/is REAL!  That being said, the reason I point this out is that last night we were studying “Romans 12” –  a chapter in one of the great epistles of the New Testament.  My thought was, as we were reading it and studying it together, that it should be required reading for all Americans.  It’s full of what we call “Commands to obey” and, those commands are so relevant to what forms my own political beliefs.

Romans 12 concludes with the command: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.  If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.”  I point this out because so many of those who I disagree with politically claim that America is a “Christian nation.”  I truly wish I could agree with that, but it appears to me that America has become a nation that bombs first and asks questions later.  Instead of working from the “bottom up” – that is, focusing on “The least of these” in the words of Christ – we have become a nation that has embraced the so-called “trickle down” (I always call it “trickle up”) philosophy that was thrust upon us by Ronald Reagan and the oligarchs who were behind his ascension to the presidency.  Sadly (in my view), many of the “brains” behind the “Reagan revolution” are still lurking in the shadows of our government mechanisms and pushing our nation farther and farther to the “right.” (wrong)  The idea that the republican party is going to spend the next two years disemboweling our government of as many remnants of the New Deal (that remain), the Great Society (SCOTUS has already gutted the Voting Rights Act), and the early successes of the Obama administration is nothing for me to look forward to.

I look at the “water carriers” of this agenda – like – Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Lars Larsen, etc., etc., almost as traitors.  It’s like give me your money and I will say (on the public airwaves) whatever you (I’m talking about the invisible cabal that supplies the BILLIONS of dollars to buy these “pundits” and the politicians who do their bidding) demand.  Clearly, I don’t have a lot of confidence that the Democratic members of Congress have the SPINE to stand up to these people – in fact, there’s little doubt that the democrats are “feeding from the same trough as the republicans.”  We are already experiencing private prisons – I can’t even believe I’m writing this – private prisons would be places where corporate interests PROFIT from keeping people IN JAIL!  We are being inundated with privatized “everything” – including military “companies” like the former Blackwater (the last I knew they were calling themselves ZE services), schools (that are censoring their curriculum), and I could go on.  I’ve written many times about what has happened to America’s health care system since hospital’s and health insurance companies became focused on PROFITS and shareholder value over the health of their customers.  Only 36% of Americans voted in the last election.  That sends the message to me that America’s voters don’t see hope in either party.  The democrats brought this on themselves, but the voters who stayed home and allowed republicans to control Congress are, in many instances, the people who will lose the most from this debacle.  Evidently, 2007 – 2008 wasn’t enough to convince America’s voting public of the motives of today’s republican party.  In fact, I believe it’s worse now than it was then.  Do we need another Depression to relearn that corporate greed and political prostitution is a bad idea?