The other day I was driving around listening to the Randi Rhodes talk show on the radio, she being to Barack Obama what the right wing “talkers” were to George W Bush – that is, no matter what he does, “fall in line.”  On her show she was playing tape of Obama giving a speech in San Francisco last week poking fun at “liberals” who Rhodes called “whiners.”  I didn’t hear Obama use that term, although he may have, I only heard a small portion of his speech, but the words of Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel calling “liberals” “f___ing retards” is as vivid in my mind as if he said it yesterday and Obama’s words reminded me of that comment.  And, I never doubted that Emanuel was just putting what Obama couldn’t say on the “public record.”  President Obama was sarcastically criticizing those on the left who were unhappy with his signature legislative “achievements” – the health care legislation, and the bills to “regulate” Wall Street. (of course, he continues to solicit money from those very same “liberals”)

Honestly, I just have to shake my head when I hear this stuff coming from our “progressive” president and his most ardent supporters.  I’m just guessing now, but those of us who REALLY were counting on the “change we can believe in” are simply idealists in the minds of the president and his closest allies.  I don’t question that Obama and his “contingent” are much smarter than I am, and I believe Rhodes is doing what she feels is best for the country – she always said, prior to Obama’s nomination that once the democrats made their choice the “rest of us” were obligated to “fall in line.”  Well, I was an ardent supporter of Obama, although I started noticing what I called the “red flags” well before he was elected, but I’m simply not “cut out” to “fall in line.”  I had minimal expectations and, to be honest, when I hear Obama sarcastically putting people like me “down” it makes me less inclined to care whether he gets reelected or not.

I say that knowing that I’m still likely to vote for him again, if for no other reason than I can’t imagine more republican nominations to the Supreme Court anytime soon.  John Roberts and Samuel Alito are going to be “thorns” in the side of those of us who are opposed to a corporatocracy for many years to come.  Listening to Obama for those few minutes the other day, I came away feeling that he still doesn’t “get” the urgency of what’s happening to this great nation.  He continues to surround himself with the “Wall Street crowd,” he seems as determined as ever to be some kind of “level head” in the face of all the partisan “bickering” – which would be a good thing if he wasn’t continually caving in to the republicans on virtually EVERY issue of significance.  I heard him just over a week ago, claim that Medicare and Medicaid (and by inference Social Security) wouldn’t be dismantled while he’s president.  The problem is that I just don’t believe him.  He keeps getting maneuvered into “corners” by the repubicans, and I don’t see anything that causes me to believe that’s going to change.  Remember, there was “no way” the “Bush Tax Cuts” would be extended.

President Obama has made some of the worst decisions I can remember in my lifetime since he took office.  I won’t dwell on the worst one, you can read all about it in the archives to this site, but when Obama pardoned Bush/Cheney he opened the “floodgates” to the partisan bullying we’ve seen from the republicans since that time.  He essentially said to them, if I (Obama) won’t stand up against TORTURE, lying the U.S. into war, illegal wiretapping of U.S. citizens, lying to congress, refusing subpoenas from congress, and what was tantamount to treason – outing a CIA agent, you (republicans) can essentially get away with ANYTHING!  And, just to prove that point, the (at the time) minority whip in the House, Eric Cantor, violated the Logan Act – CLEARLY – by making promises that the “republicans would have the Israeli’s backs” if they chose to “disagree” with the Obama administration.  That is a FELONY!  Was there even ANY investigation?  As John Boehner so aptly described democrats – HELL NO there wasn’t!

I had just about come to the conclusion that I needed to quit my criticism of Obama until I heard him sarcastically “put down” all us idealists who actually believed he was going to attempt to CHANGE the atmosphere in Washington.  It reminded me of many of the reasons I’m disenchanted with him – including the one mentioned above.  It made me think, how many more “compromises” with republicans will myself and the rest of America be “saddled” with?  I mean, just agreeing to extend the afroementioned “Bush Tax Cuts” has made the suddenly important deficit (I don’t know if you remember, but Dick Cheney proclaimed “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” as he and the republicans were creating the foundation for all this deficit spending back in the early days of the Bush II administration) $400 BILLION more difficult to deal with – EACH YEAR!  And, this is far from the only place Obama is “siding” with the despicable republicans who “we the people” elected him to DEFEAT.

Some of this is my speculation, some of it is the result of all the reading I’ve done lately, but here’s a list of areas that I believe those (including me) WHINING liberals see as failures of Obama’s administration which he continues to defend:  Let’s start with the stimulus which was his initial “big accomplishment.”  Even I was able to understand that the stimulus was too small and that it was directed in the wrong direction – what was needed then, and, unfortunately is still needed was JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!  Yes, the stimulus saved many jobs, but it didn’t create anywhere near the amount of jobs the economy needed to move things back toward “full employment.”  I don’t even know what full employment would be, but I do know it’s WAY less than the 9% or so unemployment is at now which only represents a portion of those out of work – people who want to work and can’t find work.  Instead of FIGHTING for additional stimulus, Obama caved – I’m assuming he just figured the republicans would “filibuster” any program in the Senate – this seems to be the democratic “mantra” of late – if they’re not sure they can get legislation “through” they don’t even deal with it. (do you remember when “impeachment was ‘off the table’?”) 

The “compromise” over the tax cuts simply fueled the republicans into thinking they could not only get them made “permanent,” but they could get even LOWER taxes for their rich benefactors.  I guess my mind came up with this “frustration” now because of how recent it is – but, also as the “Ryan budget” was recently passed in the house, we were given ANOTHER glimpse from where these right wing fanatics are coming from and that made me feel even more insecure as to whether the democrats have the right man at the “top” to defend what’s left of the “New Deal” values I grew up believing in.  Ryan’s budget is clearly to me, setting up the future confrontation over making Bush’s tax cuts permanent by proposing even LOWER tax rates for those at the “top” of America’s earners.  By the time the next confrontation comes around, Obama will be bragging that he got the tax cuts made permanent as opposed to the lower rates Ryan was pushing for – making the tax cuts “permanent” will be declared a victory!

 I could have mentioned Iraq when it comes to disenchantment – nobody seems to be mentioning Iraq anymore, despite the FACT the U.S. is still spending BILLIONS there and there are STILL over 50,000 U.S. troops stationed there (non-combat troops, ha ha, wink wink).  I guess, if there are fewer casualities we can place however many soldiers we want anywhere in the world we want to put them – we ALWAYS can afford that!  And, I’m not convinced those troops are coming “home” from Iraq in July.  If you read Thomas Ricks’ book “The Gamble” you’ll see that generals like David Patreaus and others are pushing for American troops in Iraq for a “generation.” (20 years or so – do you remember John McCain comparing Iraq to Korea?)  We can’t afford domestic social programs in America, but we can damn well afford them in places like Iraq.  When people say to me there’s no difference between republicans and democrats – I want to argue with them – because there is a difference – but, crap like this makes them sound prophetic.

Obama has proved to be a poor match for America’s generals and the “military industrial complex” as we’ve witnessed him being “bullied” by the very people he’s supposed to be commander in chief of – all the while trying to look “strong.”  When the negotiations over the troop increase in Afganistan was happening, Obama should have FIRED all the generals involved – including Patreaus.  Now they’ve got us MIRED  in two disastrous occupations for the foreseeable future.  Hence, we recently had Vice President Biden being quoted (this was a month or two ago) saying our troops will still be in Afganistan in 2014!  And, America’s “liberal media” really noticed that, didn’t they?  Hardly a whimper. 

What about all the illegal wiretapping done by the Bush administration?  Do you honestly think it has ended?  If it had, I believe the Obama administration would have said something.  Do you think they’re being quiet on that “front” to make the “terrorists” think “big brother” is still “listening?”  Does President Obama really believe we need to be “data mining” the email and phone conversations of regular Americans to keep us “safe?”  Has he bought into the “fear card” used to prefection by the previous administration?  Does “extraordinary rendition” ring a bell with you?  That’s where America’s military turn over the so-called “enemy combatants” to other countries so that they can do the torturing for us.  That program is alive and well under Obama’s guidance.  Guantanamo is still open and will remain so, the “black hole” at the Bagram Air Base is still open and “doing business,” as is much more of the hated Bush activity that we voted Obama in to change.  President Obama is even defending some of the worst of Bush’s abuses in court – including the illegal wiretapping.

I’m a school teacher and I’m also close to retirement age, so the vilifying of teachers and teacher unions will have a minimal effect on me, but what it’s doing to America’s public school system could end up being tragic.  I knew from day one that George W Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” legislation was ultimately aimed at destroying public education.  Not only did it create an IMPOSSIBLE goal – remember, NO goal is reasonable if it’s unattainable – but, it FORCED virtually EVERY state in the Union to implement the so-called “high stakes testing” that is turning schools into testing factories.  It also has made Bush’s younger brother Neil rich as he’s managed to “cash in” on the testing craze created by his brother the former president.  I bring this up, because I don’t see much difference in Obama’s “Race to the Top.”  It still appears to me that President Obama is way to friendly with the “corporatists” – including the ones who would “kill” public education as it exists today in favor of charter schools which are non-union and are not saddled with the “unfunded mandates” that are making public education so frustratingly difficult.  I haven’t seen ANYONE who’s a national leader talking about backing off on all the federal requirements that are forcing schools to spend inordinate amounts of money in places that have minimal impact on the LARGE majority of students.  I’m actually not opposed to many of those programs, what I’m opposed to is passing legislation and then not paying for the outcome of the legislation – and then “blasting” the schools and the teachers (who work so hard for children) as being the problem.  And, I can tell you, it’s not just the schools and the teachers who expected more from Obama, it’s – in my view – a large percentage of the general public.

If you haven’t been following what’s going on in Wisconsin, you should be.  There is a great example of the pent up frustration spilling over from “we the people.”  I fully believe many of those walking in the protests in Wisconsin – where Scott Walker, the “tea party” governor – puppet of the Koch brothers – stripped teachers (and other public workers) of collective bargaining rights – after they had agreed to double digit cuts to their compensation to help solve the fiscal “crisis” in Wisconsin – many of the protestors are republicans and independents.  You don’t have to be a democrat to appreciate how hard teachers are working for the children in America.  President Obama had another “GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY” to show “progressives” whose side he’s on by joining in the protests in Wisconsin on the side of the everyday public workers.  Yet, he AGAIN, chose the “safe” side by staying completely out of it.  Instead of trying to mobilize a national response to the right wing ATTACK on working people and their rights to organize and collectively bargain – Obama chose to speak LOUDLY with his SILENCE.  I’ll leave that one at that, other than to say this was not surprising to me.

Recently it was reported that GE had profits of $14.2 BILLION last year and paid ZERO corporate taxes.  To make matters worse, GE received $3.2 BILLION in tax credits which amounted to the American taxpayers GIVING BILLIONS to one of America’s largest corporations in the midst of a budget crisis fueled by the huge deficits.  I didn’t hear a single word of meaningful outrage (that is, more than a publicity stunt – outrage that could ultimately amount to something happening to counteract America’s corporations from ripping off America’s taxpayers) coming from ANY member of congress or the administration – plus, it was then reported that the CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, is one of President Obama’s leading economic advisors, the head of his advisory board on “jobs and competitiveness.”  Seriously, I hope Immelt does a great job helping Obama figure out how to best get people back to work, and I would agree that there should be a long term approach to this problem as well as dealing with the “here and now.”  I just think associating with people who represent the problem, continually, is making it more and more difficult for us liberals (“f___ing retards”) to support the president.  Why would you choose the CEO of a company making HUGE profits while exporting hundreds of thousands of jobs to other countries and specializing in collecting CORPORATE WELFARE, to chair an advisory board on job creation?  It might work out, I hope it does – but it LOOKS BAD!

“Citizens United” was not Obama’s or the democrat’s fault, but they had two years to do something about it before the elections of 2010 – and, they acted as if it was nothing special.  Well, we’ve already seen the effect it’s having on money being funneled into elections with no accountability as to where it’s coming from, we’re seeing large corporations now attempting to “brainwash” their employees on how to vote (it should be no surprise to anyone that Koch Industries is in the forefront of that campaign – setting the new standard of intimidating workers in their workforce into voting republican), and the lobbying “industry” is STILL growing at an alarming rate.  It appears to me that the long term democrats in congress and this president have taken the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach to the problem of lobbying and corporate money in congress.  If Obama and what’s left of his democratic congress don’t SOON “get” what’s happening, 2012 will look more like 1912 when it comes to America as a corporate behemoth – and 1929 can’t be too far behind!

I continue to believe that Obama and the democrats still don’t understand why “we the people” are so upset with them.  They had close to a supermajority in Congress for the first two years President Obama was in office – they didn’t change the “atmosphere” in Washington when they had the opportunity.  The democrats failed to act responsibly in the senate – allowing the arcane filibuster rule to allow republicans to control the debate and continuing with the “backroom dealing” that so many people are tired of.  Democrats didn’t lose the house in 2010 because they went too far, they lost the house because of the discontent at how they FAILED to use the MANDATE of the voters of 2008 to begin to reverse the abuses of the Bush/Cheney administration. 

I have no doubt that “we the people” will prevail in the long run – as I stated a few posts ago, “there’s more of us than there are of them.”  I’m just TOTALLY puzzled at how the democrats are seemingly incapable of fighting this corporate re-takover of America (yes, this is reminiscent of the early part of the 20th century).  It gained a “foothold” with the election of Reagan in 1980, and the corporatists have been “inching” along – dismantling the New Deal – piece by piece since.  They now, I’m sure, are feeling that their TOTAL success is “right around the corner.”  They can see “the light at the end of the tunnel” (And, for anyone not paying attention, “total success” to these corporatists includes the privatization of Social Security and Medicare and the elimination of Medicaid, the minimum wage, the 40 hour work week, and I could go on) 

In response to President Obama’s sarcastic putdown of the “liberals” who actually EXPECT him to be putting up an “FDR” type fight for the rights of the working class and poor in this nation, I have two questions.  First, I wonder: Have President Obama and the democrats heard the saying, “Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it?”  and, second – are “we the people” going to band together and actually put the control of this great nation back into the hands of leaders who believe in the principals of the New Deal?  I’ll finish by saying that I write these posts spontaneously, I could have pulled out some of the books I’ve read and brought up other issues of discontent with our president.  And, I “get” that I’m not going to agree with everything he does or every decision he makes.  Contrary to the republicans, I WANT the president to succeed!  (for the record, I wanted Bush to succeed as well) The most troubling aspect of ALL of this to me is not only the discontent, but Obama and his surrogates attacking the people who supported him while cozying up to the “ENEMY.”  To me, that’s the most disconcerting part of this “corporate assault on America’s workers” scenario which is unfolding right before our eyes.

As I watch the conflict which is imploding the United States of America internally play itself out, superficially it appears to be a conflict between republicans and democrats.  I’ve been watching the evolution of this for years, closely since especially in 2006 “we the people” voted for democrats in order to end the “war” in Iraq.  Of course, that “war” is still alive and well and who knows when it’s going to come to an end.  Then we voted in 2008 to reverse the abuses of the Bush administration and what we got was a continuation of the worst ones.  In the process of all this I’ve come to realize what the true conflict is and it’s the corporate interests of America vs. the aforementioned “we the people.”  Now, if you’ve been reading any of my many posts on the subject this would come as no surprise.  It’s just that the more I read about “what’s going on” the more I realize how many Americans DON’T understand the source of the actual conflict.

Over the past few days I’ve been thinking about why is it that I feel this is so important – that I keep writing about it.  And, the “it” is the corporate takeover of the American system of government.  Of course, the end result if “we the people” don’t “wake up” – and soon – will be what myself, and I’m sure almost every other American who has grown up in this great nation, thought (and thinks, for many) impossible, and that is the evolution of America into a fascist state.  Honestly, it feels to me as if we have one leg in the “pants,” so to speak already.  I think the reason this has become so profound an issue to me of late is because I’ve struggled over the past few years in my feelings of disgust for the republicans which go along with my feelings of disappointment with the democrats.  I mean, realistically, those are your options if you want to participate in the American political process – at least nationally. 

The republicans certainly make no secrets about where they’re coming from – it started back when I was in my 30’s with the “Reagan revolution” and it has hit it’s extreme level of absurdity with the recently passed republican budget, the so-called “Ryan budget,” by the “tea party” manipulated House of Representatives.  As I’ve been saying for years, they (republicans) have their sights set on destroying Medicare and Medicaid (at the moment) with the ultimate target being Social Security.  They won’t rest until they’ve reversed EVERY benefit the middle class received from Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”  The corporate elite don’t want “middle class” workers, they wan’t workers who are grovelling for every cent they can get and they want a workforce that exceeds the demands for available work – they want to push wages down to the point where we can be competitive with the OTHER second tier countries – and, even then, I don’t expect them to bring jobs back to America unless there’s a “bottom line” reason for them to do so.  Plus, they want a stranglehold on the government they “hate” so that true competition will never derail their ambitions.  Yes, you could sum all this up as MONUMENTAL greed!

For years now, and VERY apparent since 2006, the democrats have shown that they are “owned” by the corporate interests as well as the republicans.  This “battle” never should have gotten to the point it has – which, I might add appears at a critical stage to me, had the democrats been the “counter” force to the corporate ONSLAUGHT wrought upon us by the republican party since the days of Reagan.  And, they’ve (republicans) managed to brainwash the American public into believing their ABSURD argument about how “cutting taxes” for the rich and for corporations “creates jobs” and how “cutting spending” (in social programs, of course) will “balance the budget.”  Ryan’s proposed budget continues to do just that, CUT TAXES (even more than the “Bush tax cuts” – I tried to tell President Obama this is what would happen if he agreed to extend those tax cuts – you can NEVER “give” these republicans enough) for the wealthiest corporations and individuals, and attack the “safety net” for the average American that so many of our forefathers fought so hard to get in the first place – PLUS – as per usual with republican budgets – ADD TRILLIONS to the national debt.  Believe me, it will be much easier to lose these benefits they’re going after than is was to get them or than it will be to get them back if the republicans succeed.  It is for this reason that I believe my MAJOR disappointment is with the democrats – because, even though I’ve always been an independent, I’ve always figured that there was NO WAY they (democrats) would ever allow what is happening today in America to actually HAPPEN!  They (democrats) were supposed to be the “backstop.”

I’ve been trying to tell Barack Obama for over two years now that the republicans will keep PUSHING until he PUSHES back HARDER! :o)  I realize President Obama will NEVER know what I’m proposing – but, I’m going to keep speaking out in the hopes that someone is influenced and encouraged to speak out and so on – until the “wave” of unrest that has started in Wisconsin becomes a national phenomenom.  I also realize that “we the people” can’t wait for Obama to figure out what’s going on (I’m giving the president the benefit of the doubt and assuming he really is a “progressive” and doesn’t want to be the democratic president who was in office when the final nail was driven into the “coffin” of the New Deal) – one by one, those of us who are members of the working class in America need to encourage each other to participate in the process of “taking this country back.”  Doesn’t that sound like the “tea party?”  Well, if they weren’t funded by the corporate interests who are the “enemy” of “we the people” I could see a lot of room for discussion with many members of that “movement.” (Not the ones who are motivated by racism)

For example, I don’t believe dealing with the budget deficit and the national debt is a partisan issue.  And, saving Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security for the “long haul” wouldn’t be so difficult a problem that well meaning people couldn’t sit down and discuss the issues and “fix” them without the BILLIONS in lobbyists cramming the corporate “way” down everyone’s throats.  I mean, simply raise the limit on Social Security taxes to even $130,000 solves that problem.  And, I might add, raising taxes is not ALWAYS a bad idea.  Barack Obama would have done himself and every other working class person a favor had he done what I expected him to do and cancelled the “Bush Tax cuts” the day he was inaugurated.  There have been several opportunities to raise revenue that would have mitigated the present nightmare that almost every state in the union is dealing with as I type.  And, the result would be more people working and there wouldn’t be a big “fight” looming over “raising the debt ceiling.”

I’m not for a minute suggesting that there aren’t significant ways to cut the spending of our federal government.  But, is anyone else out there amazed that our leaders continue EVERY discussion of “cutting spending” with this phrase, “Everything but the defense budget is on the table.”  You’ve got to be kidding me!  That’s where MOST of the WASTE occurs and our leaders continue to look the other way as the lobbyists keep funneling unlimited amounts of CASH into their campaign coffers so that they continue this militaristically absurd philosophy.  And, it’s going to get FAR WORSE now that the republicans have managed to get John Roberts and Sam Alito on the Supreme Court to make decisions like “Citizens United.”  That’s the WORST Supreme Court decision in my lifetime and I believe it may ultimately be regarded as the worst decision in the history of the court.  I’ll never forget Samuel Alito shaking his head as President Obama was pointing out that the decision would allow FOREIGN MONEY to FLOW into our election process.  Seriously, is Alito that DUMB to actually think there won’t be foreign money involved in all the non-traceable TV adds we’re going to be BOMBARDED with in the elctions to come?  GE, which now has $14 BILLION (plus the $3.2 BILLION in tax credits) to spend in upcoming elections in order to continue policies which allow large corporate interests to make BILLIONS and pay NO TAXES – gained over half of their income “overseas.”  Is Alito trying to tell us that multinational corporations aren’t “foreign?” 

Do you remember Rupert Murdoch – who owns NewsCorp (Fox “news,” Wall Street Journal, NY Post, etc.) – paying over $1 MILLION to the republican party in 2010?  Well, he’s an Australian and the second most prominent shareholder in his company is a Saudi Prince who helped fund Osama bin Laden pre 9/11 (and probably since).  Do you really want Aussies and Saudi’s influencing our elections?  If we really knew how many of America’s corporations had been bought up by foreign interests it would, I’m sure, make those of us who are “Mad as Hell” about this even MADDER!  Karl Rove alone was entrusted with something approaching half a BILLION dollars for the MID TERM election through “secret” corporate “donations.”  I’ve heard estimates that Barack Obama is planning on raising over ONE BILLION dollars for the 2012 campaign.  Where do you think all this money is coming from?  And, is it any wonder that the legislation that does make it out of congress is continually slanted toward the corporate interests and away from “we the people.”  I didn’t think it would take long for BOTH parties to be sucked in by “Citizens United” and it didn’t – I believe that politicians who want to succeed in 2012 will believe they HAVE to take the corporate money to have a chance.  That is, unless …………

Unless, “we the people” rise up and DEMAND “the change we can all believe in!”  Sound familiar?  Isn’t that what we thought we were voting for in 2008?  I’m hoping that Wisconsin will be ALWAYS remembered as the place where the “push back” started.  I believe that if somehow we can overcome the propaganda campaign that’s been levied on the American public for the past 30+ years we can get more and more people every day to realize that the problem is the takeover of our government by the corporate interests.  I urge anyone reading this to send what you can to “Wisdems” to help with the recalls in Wisconsin.  We ALL need to keep the momentum going – until Scott Walker himself is recalled after the first of next year (he can’t be recalled until he’s been in office at least one year – so after January 6th, all “bets” are off :o)  Call me idealistic, but I believe “conservatives” and “liberals” could sit down and figure out the best way to solve the problems of today if we could somehow get rid of the lobbyists and the corporate “shills” (like Walker) in addition to overcomomg our “need” to have enough of EVERY weapon ever designed to kill EVERYONE in the world several times over.

The democrats of Wisconsin have shown the rest of us that there are still people out there who are willing to stand up for what’s in the best interests of our fundamental middle class values – the values that permeated America for most of my lifetime.  Even under George W Bush I didn’t imagine how far the republicans were willing to push “things.”  However, Scott Walker and the other right wing governors who are taking their dismantling agenda from state to state have demonstrated that the “gloves” are truly off.  While I’m angry at the democratic leadership in Washington DC (mainly in the Senate) and in President Obama’s “caving” into republicans and the military on issue after issue, I’ve been re-energized by those Wisconsinites.  And, I believe it’s not just Wisconsin democrats who are opposed to Scott Walker and his hijacking plan for their state – I believe when “push comes to shove” there will be plenty of republicans lined up against him as well.  I’m pretty old, but not so old that I can’t remember a day when republicans and democrats could come to agreement on important legislation.  Unfortunately, today’s republican party has shown itself to be nothing more than a “middleman” to a HUGE corporate RAID on America’s treasury!

I have been clear from day one of this site that I will not be a cheerleader for any politician based on what “party” they belong to.  I’ve repeatedly pointed out that I eagerly voted for and supported President Obama during the 2008 campaign – despite a few concerns that “popped up” during the process. (like his vote for the FISA bill and his seemingly enthusiastic support for the TARP bailout plan of the Bush/Paulson administration)  I mean, even with my disappointment with Obama, can you imagine John McCain and Sarah Palin tackling the issues of today?  And, what if McCain had a heart attack or something debilitating?  Sarah Palin as President of the United States.  I’m just pointing this out because I feel it’s my obligation to participate in any discussion regarding the issues (of course, I “get” that my participation in this discussion moves it NOWHERE, it only makes me feel better) and, I’m not encouraging anyone else who’s unhappy with Obama to vote third party, don’t vote, or worse yet – vote republican, I’m just sharing my disappointment that the status quo is continuing to rule the day in Washington DC.  I think Obama has succumbed to that “evil” force (DC’s “status quo”) to the point where we have to accept he won’t be able to get out from under the weight of some of his more curious decisions while still in office.  Just the same, the alternative is repulsive and Americans need to realize the stakes in the upcoming 2012 election.

Before I delve into that topic, a quick history lesson.  When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office he immediately went on the attack against the corporate powers who were willing to sacrifice the well-being of the average American for their own greedy economic self interest.  (and, the reality proved that Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was better for “them” in the long run anyway)  Even with the “radical” approach Roosevelt took to the “Great Depression” it took years to pull America out of its funk with the help of World War II which really was the “glue” which pulled people together.  In the end, after the war, America’s middle class grew to be the envy of the rest of the world and the “target” of the right wing “CABAL” which was formed from the privileged elite that had driven America into depression in the first place.  It’s the same thing we’re facing today, a group of wealthy individuals who rule major corporations which are “too big to fail” and who have a sense of GREED beyond the average person’s comprehension which allows them to think that if there’s more out “there” for them to “get” then they should have the “right” to get it.  They are smart, they are powerful, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.  Additionally, they feel no sense of obligation to the “commons” that they so willingly use with an astonishing unwillingness to pay for.  Roosevelt knew these people would fight him and “hate” him, and he “welcomed their hate.”  That’s where I believe President Obama has “missed the boat.”

Just the other day the congress and President Obama reached an agreement on a budget for the rest of 2011.  Just the fact they were going through this process at this time is a testament to the timid nature of today’s democrats.  During the previous two years they had a strong majority in both houses of congress, yet we ended up with watered down bills that were the “crowning” achievements of Obama’s first two years in office to go along with no budget for 2011, the continuation of the “Bush tax cuts,” and not only the two wars Bush left Obama with, but now we’re getting sucked into a third.  Obviously, President Obama and today’s democrats haven’t paid much attention to the history books – OR – they are so afraid of the corporately controlled media that they have become unable to act on traditionaly democratic principles – OR – they’ve been bought off by the large corporations and their lobbyists as well. (unfortunately, I believe the latter is the most likely reason for the situation we find ourselves in as a country)

I haven’t seen the details of the recently agreed to budget proposal, but some of the “hidden requirements” the republicans were throwing in which had nothing to do with the budget, were repulsive.  One of them included the end of the free lunch program in the public schools.  Now, as a teacher who reads a lot of books about contemporary issues, I’ve been aware of the republican party’s attempts to undermine public education for years.  That was the main purpose of “No Child Left Behind.”  It was absurd on its face, yet I could see the schools weren’t set up to defend themselves in the political realm.  The only entities able to defend public schools are the teacher’s unions – which, if you’ve been paying attention, are directly in the “crosshairs” of republican destructionists.  If they (republicans) can destroy the teacher’s unions, the public schools will be like “sitting ducks.” So, I’ve watched for several years as this scenario has been unfolding, but when I heard that republicans were targeting the free lunch program, their heartlessness and ruthlessness became even more vivid to me.  In my school, almost 80% of the students rely on the “free lunch” program for most of their food.  They get breakfast and lunch every day – sometimes, I’m not sure of how much else they get (at least some of them).  Why would the leaders of the richest nation on earth go after the poorest of the children?  Even I thought this was beyond their parameters.

The republicans also want to eliminate health care for poor pregnant women (prenatal care), Head Start – which benefits countless poor children, Medicaid – which supplies health care for poor children, the S-Chip program – also designed to provide health care to children, yet they want to make sure NO ONE gets an abortion and the pentagon gets EVERY cent it can.  Now, please don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not a believer in abortion – I’ll save my personal opinion on that because as a male I’ll never be in the positions to have to make that choice – and, I would hope that the procedure would be rarely relied upon, but the idea that we want EVERYONE to have their babies, but we won’t support the health care of the babies born into poor families is beyond my comprehension.  This seems to be the mantra of today’s republican party – go after the most vulnerable – and, during my lifetime I’ve always counted on democrats to make sure the republicans can’t succeed at this quizzical goal.  What I’m concerned about the most these days is that I no longer feel I can depend on the democrats to put up a firewall against these republican attacks on “the least of these” as Jesus put it.

They (republicans) have succeeded in moving the “bar” of the debate in Washington so far to the right that any “compromise” accomplished by Obama and the democrats always seems to me as a “cave in.”  Take for example the “Bush Tax cuts” that, when Obama was elected I thought he would repeal immediately.  Instead, what we ended up with is their extension for another two years, and I can almost guarantee you beyond that.  President Obama has had opportunity after opportunity to say “ENOUGH” already to these right wing corporatists, but he continues to seemingly feel that any agreement he can squeeze out is better than nothing.  What continues to happen is that the republicans continue moving the above mentioned “bar” so far in their direction to the point that, as a former conservative (1975), I’ve now become “liberal.”  This latest budget proposal didn’t even consider the FACT that what this economy needs is MORE people working and how MORE government spending aimed at green energy and infrastructure would be the fastest way to employ millions of desperately unemployed workers.  Instead, what we ended up with is democrats “agreeing” to “only” something around $40 BILLION in “cuts” from social programs which will make hardly a dent in the budget deficit while leaving the MASSIVE military budget as sancrosanct – AGAIN!  This is what has been happening my entire adult life.  The military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned against is eating this nation alive, economically, from the inside out.  And, their power is now such that no one in Washington DC (save for maybe Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich) dares to “mess” with them.

Here’s the problem as I see it.  President Obama, a good man who I don’t think for a minute doesn’t mean well, right from the start of his administration (I’ve been pointing this out since day one) has signalled to the republicans that they can “tromp” all over him.  The day he blocked ALL the investigations of Bush/Cheney – stating he didn’t want the distraction – he told the republicans they could get away with anything they wanted – there would be no push back.  Honestly, I’ll never understand the thinking behind that decision, but – as I stated at the time – it was a deal breaker for me.  I have totally lost my enthusiasm for President Obama.  His words have become empty rhetoric for me.  It’s like someone totally focused on looking “presidential” without taking any risks.  And, the results of this are going to continue to get worse – unless, miraculously, there is such a groundswell of populist support for “progressives” that somehow the republicans are turned back out of power in 2012.  I’ve written before of the importance of a democrat being in office in 2012 if for no other reason than the upcoming supreme court nominations.  But, if the democrats lose the senate, I’m not sure what kind of nominations Obama would make should he be reelected.

The democrats will probably not run someone against Obama because that would increase the chances of a republican in the White House in 2012 – and, think of who that might be.  Sarah Palin?  Mike Huckabee?  Mitt Romney?  Haley Barbour?  Newt Gingrich?  Donald Trump?  Tim Pawlenty?  Scott Walker?  Are you kidding me?  Can you imagine ANY of these people running the government of the United States?  Well, I couldn’t imaging the “tea party” gaining a stranglehold of congress after the election of 2008 either.  But, the democrats took a situation – the mess left behind by Bush/Cheney – and turned it into a “gold mine” for the extreme “right” of the republican party by patronizing to the “middle.”  I predicted from the earliest days of Obama’s administration, beginning with the pardoning of Bush/Cheney, that “progressives” would be turned away from the polls – and, that’s exactly what happened in 2010.  Now, with the full force of “Citizens United” behind them, the republicans are planning on retaking the senate and the White House in 2012 and implementing the “permanent republican majority” imagined by Karl Rove during the heyday of the GW Bush administration.

If the working class of this nation doesn’t rise up and fight for its rights – and I mean during the next two years – the outlook for America’s economy and “we the people” will be bleak.  There seem to be no end of people like the Scott Walker’s, the Rush Limbaugh’s, the John Boehner’s, the Mitch McConnell’s, the Bill O’Reilly’s, etc., etc., who will do anything for money.  And, there’s no shortage of money coming from the corporate elite who are secretly planning to turn the United States into a corporate run entity.  They have control of the media, they have control of the House, they have control of the courts, they still have a strong influence in the Justice Department (remember, under Bush/Cheney the Justice department was turned into a republican “tool”), they have the funding that will come thanks to “Citizens United,” and they only need to take three seats in the senate to have control of both chambers – UNLESS, the American workers band together and vote AGAINST this republican CABAL!

For those of us who are deeply disappointed in President Obama, we need to vote against the republican opponent – the FACT that Obama is not a “change” agent as he portrayed himself aside, he’s a major improvement over ANY candidate the republicans can put up!  To me, the question seems to be how hard will I have to hold my nose to vote for him.  I can guarantee you that this year’s budget debate was only a prelude of things to come.  The republicans have their “sights” set squarely on Medicare and Medicaid and the NEXT major target, once they’ve undermined those two programs – and “privatised” them (like they try to “privatise” everything) is SOCIAL SECURITY.  They were repealed during the Bush administration, but that doesn’t stop them at all (can you imagine the blow to progressives if, after turning back Bush’s attempt to undermine Social Security, the republicans succeed while a democrat’s in office?).  And, if they can find a slimy way to accomplish their goal, they will be fine with that.  Republicans have shown what they’re about since the 2010 elections in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Idaho, Michigan, Indiana, and other states where they are trying to undermine the last bastion of progressive unity able to put up any kind of fight against their newfound financial strength from the “Citizens United” decision of the Roberts court – collective bargaining.  Destroy the unions, privatise everything (including public utilities and schools), and essentially eliminate the ability of any organized group to combat them in the future – thus the “permanent republican majority” I mentioned above (and, have written about many times in the past).  Today, I have to admit, Hillary Clinton was correct when she pointed out in the campaign that Barack Obama was not “up to” the challenge he’d be facing from the republicans.  The two things I’m hopeful of:  first, President Obama would realize that this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America and – like it or not – he’s the leader of the progressive side of the “battle” – and, he’d start drawing some “lines in the sand” with the republicans (I hope it’s not too late already) and, secondly that the groundswell of populist “BLOWBACK” that started in Wisconsin would continue to grow and that the workers of America would stop allowing the Fox “news” people and the republicans to divide them in a way that allows the wealthy elite to complete their takeover of this great nation.  I have to admit that those who are on the “other” side are relentless, they will stop at nothing to get to their goal, and they have a well thought out plan that they’ve been scheming on for years.  However, the thing I can rest on is there are more of us (middle class workers) than there are of them – once people see past their lies!

Final thought:  I’m reading a book on the history of the CIA and I believe more Americans should be discovering about our “secret” history that is hidden from mass view by a complacent or complicit media.  I just recently completed a book on the history of the Bush family – and it’s connections to the CIA – and, all I can say is the more I read, the more concerned I am as to the direction of this great nation.  It seems as if the easy thing to do is “look the other way” and pretend “all is well.”  If the books I’m reading (and there’s a lot of them) are anywhere close to accurate – well, all I can say is that ALL IS NOT well!

I believe that for many years now many Americans, myself included, have been taking for granted all the middle class benefits that our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents fought for and achieved following the “Great Depression.”  I still remember the stories I heard when I was a child (in the 50’s) about how my grandfather opened up a vacant lot he owned to his neighbors in Mount Gilead Ohio so they could grow a “community garden,” therefore producing much needed food for people who were “scraping by” every day of their lives.  Both my grandfather and grandmother were school teachers who graduated from Slippery Rock College (I know it exists because the University of Washington used to announce scores of their football games during halftime of the Husky games during football season) but who didn’t teach because the pay for teaching was so low at the time.  My grandfather took a job as a policeman and he was one of the fortunate few who had a job.  However, in those days, instead of beating up on those who were working, their community banded together and tried to lift up those who weren’t fortunate enough to be working.  Oh, for the good ole days.

However, as I continue my quest to read as many books as I can regarding the history of this great nation and the workings of our government (which is – or should be – “we the people”) it becomes painfully clear that the “forces” that created the terrible climate in America that was the “Great Depression” still exist today.  And, they’re REARING their UGLY head with a vengence.  These forces are mostly “invisible,” but we get glimpses of who and what they are as situations such as the UNION BASHING that has evolved to the public sector stage in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Idaho, and – if these “invisible forces” have their way – every other place in America, gain more public notoriety and, with that, public scrutiny.  For example, the Koch brothers were not even close to “household names” prior to the revelation of their financing the ruthless Scott Walker into the governorship of Wisconsin – despite the MILLIONS of dollars they’ve put into the right wing political movement in America over the past 40 – 50 years.  As I stated in my previous post, I honestly believe the Koch’s will someday go down in American history (unless they succeed in rewriting American history to their liking) in the same category as Benedict Arnold.  These people are out for themselves and they have NO INTEREST in what is the common good in this nation.

A quick “Google” search for the Koch’s gives us all we need to know.  Let’s start by saying that Fred Koch, the “Koch brothers” father founded the John Birch Society.  If you don’t know what that is, well….. look it up.  It gives a clear picture as to why they are so ADAMANT that President Obama FAIL.  The brothers David and Charles funded the CATO institute and the Heritage foundation, two “think tanks” right in the middle of the right wing PROPAGANA scheme the republicans have been drowning the airwaves with since the days of Ronald Reagan (and, yes, given a tremendous boost the day Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law).  In 2004 they funded “Americans for Prosperity” – which should be Americans for the Koch’s prosperity, but I digress – which funneled over $40 MILLION into the just completed MID TERM elections to lead the way in bamboozling the American public that if the Koch’s pay lower taxes, and if America is purged of unions and workers making a living wage, then our economy will be revitalized.  One of the “pledges” the politicians they BUY OFF  make is to oppose the regulation of greenhouse gasses.  Well, Koch Industries creates a lot of “greenhouse gasses,” so I guess this should surprise NO one.  What SURPRISES me, is the general lack of knowledge by “we the people” – the ones who SHOULD be making the decisions in our republic – about people like the Koch’s and their willingness to destroy the foundation of America for their  GREEDY self-interest. 

It is estimated that the Koch’s generate $100 BILLION per year in revenue from Koch Industries.  This is why I’ve been RAILING against the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision of a couple years ago which has given people like the Kochs unlimited access to the manipulation of our political process – we’re seeing the results as I type – with the authoritarian POWER GRAB in Wisconsin being at the forefront of the ASSAULT on workers.  I don’t see many comments on my “blog” because it’s just my own journal thrown into cyberspace as I try to help myself cope with and understand the unraveling of this great nation that I love – right before my eyes.  However, at one point Lars Larson dropped by and gave my site a “right wing” perspective with a couple comments.  If you don’t know, Lars is one of the “right wing talkers” who willingly participate in this great Goebbels like propaganda scheme the republicans have been cramming down our throats since Rush Limbaugh hit the scene in the early eighties.  I always say, these are the people who will do ANYTHING for money – even destroy the “fabric” of this nation.  One of the points of contention Lars had with me was my reference to “low information voters.”  Of course, he implied that I must be putting myself in some kind of elitist category.  Well, the more I read, the more I realize that creating “low information voters” is a MAJOR part of their plan.  (who is “their?” you ask – I’m referencing that “invisible” right wing CABAL that is orchestrating the corporate takeover of America’s government BEHIND THE SCENES)

Not only did Lars Larson tell me that I must be considering myself an elitist because I’ve chosen to find out what him and the people funding him are up to, now I’m being accused of being part of the “privileged elite” by republicans because I’m a school teacher.  I read the other day, I believe it was in the New York Times, where school teachers were referred to as “glorified babysitters.”  While I believe this movement to destroy the middle class in America is vile, I have to admit the people behind it are good at what they’re doing.  And, now I’m talking about people like the Kochs – the Lars Larsons of this world are just the paid schills.  (granted, the shills like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and maybe others are very highly paid shills)  Think about it; the Koch’s have $100 BILLION annually in revenue – it doesn’t make much of a dent in that to find the “price” of these shills and the politicians they are in concert with (I honestly shudder when I think of politicians making a pledge to oppose regulation of ANYTHING before taking office, let alone a subject as important to the future of this nation as greenhouse gasses – any politician who’ll make that pledge, well – what pledge would they not make for the right price?  You’re right, this is depressing)  The reality here, when the politicians have been so corrupted that they’re representing TEACHERS as being the problem of our economic demise, we are in a BAD WAY!  And, despite Lars Larson’s opposing view, I continue to say that the only way the Koch’s, Larson himself, and the politicians like Scott Walker can “pull this off” is to be preaching to “low information voters.”  People who do what I used to do and that is NOT fact check their dishonest words.

What logic is there in the argument that people who are BILLIONAIRES need tax breaks, we can send our military into unlimited war zones around the world, Corporations should pay NO TAXES, and teachers and other public sector workers are the reason for our budget deficits.  What kind of person would believe that argument on its face?  Well, the first thought that comes to my mind would be the person who watches Fox “news” and doesn’t vet the information they’re allowing into their heads.  In the past few weeks I’ve been doing a personal “experiment.”  I’ve asked a number of adults – mostly adults with college level educations – two questions: the first; What is “Citizens United?” and the second; “Who is Roger Ailes?”  Maybe you can guess the results, but just in case, let me give them to you.  NOT ONE person I talked to knew the answer to either question.  So, if they don’t know, for example, that the “president” of Fox “news” is a Republican operative who’s been involved in more than his share of “dirty tricks” over the years, I guess it’s more understandable that they are being “hoodwinked” by Ailes and his cohorts at Fox.  Maybe some of these people wouldn’t be bothered by having a known PARTISAN political operative leading a “news” outlet – but, just the same, none of them had to worry about that point because they don’t know who he is.  And, despite most of them expressing dismay at how our political system has been corrupted by politicians being “bought off,” none of them understood the gravity of what the “Citizens United” decision means to future elections.  Therefore, if my experiment is anywhere close to a national reality, it looks to me as if the political corruption is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  (and, the “low information voter” claim is a real problem in America right now)

In fact, managing to change the system is at the “fox guarding the henhouse” stage, it appears to me.  Our sitting president chose not to “rock the boat” upon assuming office, and every day he fails to take up the charge to implement “the change we can all believe in” the more difficult the situation gets.  The reality as I see it does not look good.  Yes President Obama has implemented a few pieces of legislation that fall into the “better than it was” category (or, at least on the surface that is what it appears) – but, on closer examination our replacement of President Bush gives me, at least, pause.  Let’s just look at a few issues that I expected Obama to “turn around.”  We can start with Guantanimo (GITMO).  I remember on his first day in office announcing that GITMO would be closed within ONE YEAR.  That was over two years ago and it’s still going “STRONG.”  (today, it was announced that the trials of Shiek Mohammed and the others which were scheduled for New York would instead proceed as the “military tribunals” originally scheduled by the Bush/Cheney administration) OK, let’s give him that one – there’s some problems he must not have anticipated (including, many people feeling that the use of TORTURE would possibly cause so much evidence to be thrown out in a “fair trial” that the accused terrorists would be declared “innocent”).  Well then, what about Iraq?  He did say he would have ALL the troops home withing 16 months, didn’t he (of course, after a few months in office we heard Obama making the distinction between “combat troops” and presumably “non-combat troops” as the justification for keeping half of the “pre-surge” numbers there)?  Well, it’s been 27 months and there’s still over 50,000 troops in Iraq and probably approaching 100,000 “contractors.”  We’re (the country that can’t afford to help our long term unemployed) dumping 2+ BILLION dollars per WEEK into this quagmire.  And, honestly, I don’t have my hopes up that the troops (and contractors) will be home by July (the latest “promise”).  What Obama said in the campaign, regarding Afghanistan, was that he was going to “finish the job” of “getting bin Laden.”  What we’ve ended up with is “surge” #2 and a fool’s attempt at nation building in the “graveyard of empires,” the nickname Afghanistan has earned over thousands of years.  The last I heard, Vice President Biden was “assuring” someone that we would be getting out of Afghanistan in 2014!  Are you kidding me? (and, unfortunately, I don’t believe even that)

This “right wing CABAL” which I believe is taking over the United States’ government – covertly – will be perfectly happy with a PERPETUAL war in Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere else they can justify spending TRILLIONS on our military industrial complex.  Obviously, President Obama is not up to taking on this established force.  Considering the evidence (again, I’m reading a lot of books, the latest being “Family of Secrets” about the Bush clan) that the CIA was involved in the outing of JFK, the undermining of Richard Nixon’s presidency, the defeat of Jimmy Carter, and the assasination of several foreign leaders who weren’t acceptable to our corporate “CABAL” that is fiercely commited to the military and to oil – it wouldn’t be too far fetched to me to believe that President Obama decided not to take that battle on – DESPITE the reality that SOMEONE has to take it on to save this nation as it existed in the eyes of the founding fathers!  I’m still wondering; has anyone asked Barack Obama if he’s cancelled the warrantless wiretapping of the Bush administration?  He promised to “fix” the FISA bill which he curiously voted FOR when he was running for president – as I’ve said several times on this site, that was the first “red flag” I had on Obama – but, as of this writing, I’ve heard nothing to tell me that anything was done to correct the overreach allowed by that bill.  I would remind anyone reading this blog – it’s much easier to give up rights than to get them back once they’ve been given away.  The idea that it’s OK for our government to be “data mining” our emails and phone conversations without warrants is an abominable idea to me.  I really don’t understand why there hasn’t been more of an outcry.

But, there’s more.  If you were as unhappy as I was that President Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder chose to “look the other way” from the crimes of the Bush/Cheney administration (Obama called it “looking forward and not back”) there is mounting evidence suggesting that the reason for this was that Obama himself was comfortable with Cheney’s idea of the “imperial” presidency and didn’t want to give up the POWER.  EVERYONE knows that both Cheney and Bush authorized TORTURE, along with Donald Rumsfeld and with the blessing of their legal staff who chose to make ludicrous legal claims designed to justify what was clearly unacceptable behavior in the eyes of our laws and the “eyes” of the rest of the world.  Here’s another sad reality, the extraordinary rendition program of the Bush/Cheney reign of terror continues under Obama.  What happens here is that the CIA and the American military leave it for our “allies” to do the torturing of the suspected “enemy combatants.”  And, the actual torturing continues right on our own soil, as the Marines continue to hold Bradley Manning under inhumane circumstances in Quantico Virginia.  He virtually hasn’t seen the light of day for almost a year and reports now are that he’s stripped naked for seven hours a day (what would normally be sleeping time – but, when you’re in a 6 x 12 cell for 23 hours per day – when is “sleeping time?”)  President Obama is clearly aware of Manning’s treatment, that he’s been denied his habeas corpus rights, and, apparently, the US government with Obama’s blessing is going to let him “rot” in this cell until he’s broken down mentally – as they did to Jose Padilla who was accused of aiding terrorists during the peak of the Bush/Cheney fear mongering post 9/11.  I can picture the conversation I’ll be having with my grandchildren when they’re old enough for an adult discussion where I’ll be explaining to them that “we USED to be a nation of laws and not men!”

There is not a question in my mind as to how intelligent President Obama is and I can only guess as to what the CIA and the military “advised” him as he took office regarding what “might” happen if he “bucked” the status quo.  I also believe he is WAY more intertwined with the corporate elite and Wall Street than I had anticipated.  Of all the things he “caved” on I really thought he’d NEVER cave on the “Bush taxcuts,” so, obviously, I miscalculated my allegiance profoundly.  The lobbyists continue to flourish in Washington DC, the military industrial complex continues to grow while programs like Head Start, SChip, and Medicaid are cut (supposedly – and disengenously – to “balance the budget”).  The democrats and our president continue to “compromise” with their compromises leading to the republicans getting most of what they want while giving up very little.  That is, it’s like the democrats are in retreat.  Except in places like Wisconsin!

Today is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. giving his life while standing in solidarity with the garbage workers in Memphis, Tennessee.  People are gathered all around the nation to show solidarity for the workers of this nation and the movement which took hold in Wisconsin when governor Scott Walker deviously repealed the bargaining rights of public sector workers in his state – the state, ironically, where the first public worker unions were formed over 50 years ago!  This movement is what I would have pictured President Obama leading when I voted for him – but, alas, he apparently wants nothing to do with it.  It’s just another way he’s showed us he’s more of a politician than a national leader of a reform movement.  America has slid dangerously close to the conditions which fostered the “Great Depression” and apparently, our leaders need another disaster like that to happen before they realize that (as I once heard Obama say) “change comes from the bottom up.”  Well, maybe if enough everyday Americans show solidarity toward labor and laborers, our democratic leaders will “jump on the bandwagon.”  Regardless, my renewed hope is that the true middle class of America will rise up and reestablish our government as one that is focused on the general welfare of its people (not its corporations).  I’m hopeful that the worker will again become more important than the shareholder, that corporations would again pay their fare share of the tax burden needed to keep this nation strong and vibrant, and that GREED would no longer be rewarded by America’s political leaders.  It’s time to break up the too big to fail corporations, it’s time to hold those who’ve moved their operations overseas to save on taxes to account for “taking” more than they “give,” and it’s time to reverse this terrible trend toward the United States of America being a militaristic conglomerate!  The only way this will happen will be if the protests in Wisconsin continue to grow all acrooss America and “we the people” take action at the ballot box to cleanse EVERY member of congress who’s sold out to the large corporate enterprizes – republican and democrat – from office.  We need congressional leaders who are committed to reversing, repealling, whatever it takes – overturning the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision and we need to make sure we elect Presidents who will NEVER nominate justices such as John Roberts and Samuel Alito who are shills for big business (I hope you’re as uncomfortable as I am with foreign money determining who wins our elections).

Finally, we need to be working harder at creating an electorate of well informed voters – instead of “low information voters.”  That means spending more money on education and not less.  That means teaching students to think for themselves, how to find and “vet” information so that they can make informed decisions (that don’t have to agree with mine), and that means – in my view – it’s time to stop this insane test, test, test of America’s students – even in 6th grade (which I teach – 11-12 year old kids mind you) – and broaden the subjects they are exposed to.  In my school district students no longer have courses such as wood shop, metal shop, home economics, etc. because it’s so “important” that they pass the state mandated tests.  I “get” that students who are planning on going to college need to be able to pass tests, and they need to be in college prep classes – especially in high school – but, the idea that every student is going to college remains absurd to me (I always tell my students – and, this is the truth – the smartest guy I know is the man who fixes my car).  If we’re teaching students to think for themselves, how to find information and check it for its validity, and how to work hard every day I believe the rest takes care of itself – for each individual student.  If we want to have required testing let’s make it real.  How about high school students (who have to pass tests in my state to graduate) needing to pass tests related to civics and the constitution.  Require our students, at a minimum, to pass the same test immigrants need to pass to gain citizenship in America.  That would make more sense to me and might lead to less “low information voters.”  Unfortunately, at this point in time, I believe both of America’s political parties would fear a nation of well informed voters!  I’ll end this by saying that unless “we the people” stop taking all the benefits our forefathers fought to gain – for granted – we will certainly lose them.  There is a concerted effort in the U.S. which is reaching its “full steam ahead” stage, aiming to usurp the basic rights of “we the people” if middle class Americans aren’t willing to do what’s necessary to stop it.

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.

Every day I find myself shaking my head as I wonder, “What has become of this nation I love?”  I am part of the “baby boom” of the late 1940’s and have vivid memories back into the early 50’s with strong memories of the 60’s.  I graduated from high school in 1965 at about the same time as the ill-fated “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.”  The Viet Nam war took center stage for the first 8 – 10 years of my adult life.  I went from a high school graduate who had been brainwashed to think Viet Nam was a threat to America’s democracy – therefore I was temporarily a U.S. Marine (until I was given a medical discharge due to a bum knee) – to a protestor in the streets trying to get people’s attention that the war was not worth fighting (13 of my high school classmates – that I know of – paid the ultimate price for the Viet Nam fiasco).  I became turned off by the government that I realized was routinely lying to “we the people.”

As did many other of the “protestors” of the 60’s (and early 70’s) I found a job, got married, and raised a family.  Somewhat reluctantly, I got “pulled” into the middle class of America because I was in a generation of people who had a strong work ethic ingrained in our thinking.  And, America was “set up” for a population of people who were strong workers.  I’ve written about how the advancements of the 30’s and 40’s – the NEW DEAL – created an atmosphere which spawned the most remarkable middle class in the history of mankind.  Until I was in my early 40’s I hadn’t experienced unemployment, and thanks to the “Timber workers relocation act” signed by Bill Clinton in 1992, I’ve been teaching since my one encounter with being without work.

During my first stint in college, I remember working at the local paper mill during the summers and working with men and women who had been at the mill for 20 – 30 years (some probably longer).  The mill was unionized, the workers received a “family wage,” they had health benefits, and they were able to put their children through college if they were frugal in managing their budgets.  After I got out of college (the first time – in 1969) I still remember a friend of mine recruiting me to apply for a job at Hewlett Packard.  He had moved to the Northwest with the company and his respect for the way his employer treated him was immense.  At that point, I remember him telling me they had never laid ANYONE off without cause.  He told me they were a “family oriented” corporation.

I didn’t go to work for them and instead made an attempt to run a farm – therefore, I had no health insurance.  However, it was during this “season” of my life when my two daughters were born – both by C-section, and both with me not having health insurance.  The first one cost $3000 and the second (2 1/2 yrs. later) $5000 – all of which I was able to pay over time.  At the time, hospitals and insurance companies were all not for profit corporations.  Unions were strong, unemployment was reasonably low, and the middle class was flourishing.  There were issues, of course, that had their own significance, but generally – as I remember it – there was a general feeling of “we” in “we the people” at the time.  That all changed in 1980.

Ronald Reagan went from being a bad actor and a fringe political candidate to the presidency due to the expertise of the republican “operatives” which still, I’m sure, are alive and well in America’s political spectrum, the well planned support of the “liberal” republican third party candidacy of John Anderson by Reagan’s supporters (Anderson took votes from disenchanted democrats), and the Americans held hostage in Iran (coincidentally, the hostages were all released about the same time Reagan took the oath of office – some think there was a “deal” – I’ll let you figure that out on your own).  To me, this was when America exchanged an “I” for the “we” in “we the people.”  This is when “greed personified” hit the accelerator.  We could call the ensuing time in America since Reagan up to today as the revenge of the New Deal haters.

Now, I’ve been railing against this “war” on middle America since I started this blog.  However, my concerns hit high gear when I realized that President Obama wasn’t going to be the catalyst to lead the fight against this right wing push to negate ALL the benefits ushered in by the president most hated by the extreme right in America – Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Many, I’m sure, were like me and hoping Obama would usher in the “New” New Deal – I mean, the problems he inherited from Bush/Cheney were extreme enough to justify SERIOUS action.  Instead, it looks as if what we got was a democrat who somehow wishes to be remembered more like Reagan.  This is, and has been, alarming to me and has pretty much put out the “fire” I felt – the compassion I felt – that “we the people” were going to reverse the excesses of George W Bush, Dick Cheney, George HW Bush, and Reagan himself – when Obama was elected.  I totally misread what “The change we can blieve in” meant.

The disappointment I felt – which was exacerbated when Obama’s chief of staff called me a f___ing retard, and then later when Obama himself went after “liberals” as being too idealistic – caused me to want to just go to my pasture quietly (I’m getting up there in age).  Yet, I keep thinking, my children are all young adults and now I have grandchildren – who all deserve more than what’s going to be left if “we the people” continue to allow this corporate takeover of America.  Probably my major frustration is the complacency of the adults in my life – many of whom still don’t know what “Citizens United” is.  But, I have to admit, the recent events in Wisconsin have fired me up again.  Maybe “we the people” are finally going to speak up.  I’m cautiously optimistic that “the change we can believe in” will find it’s way from the streets of Madison Wisconsin to the progressives in the rest of the nation.  But, you might ask, what about the “tea party” movement?  Isn’t that a “we the people” movement?

Well, to a certain extent I guess you could make that argument.  However, the differences between what’s happening in Wisconsin right now (and, hopefully all around the nation) and the “tea party” are profound.  First of all, the “tea party” is funded by and backed by the very corporate elite that they are supposedly against (although, based on the signs I’ve seen at their rallies, I believe there are other factors driving their movement).  For example, Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin who’s trying to ram through this bill to essentially decertify (eventually) public employee unions, received the bulk of his funding from the corporations who are trying to kill unions.  I know these politicians always claim there’s no connection between their funding and their decisions – but, that is so absurd to me.  Evidently, they’ve come to the conclusion that “we the people” are stupid.  Walker is a “tea party” all star; compare that with the HUNDRED’S OF THOUSANDS of everyday people protesting his authoritarian POWER GRAB.  Some of those protestors were funded by protestors in EGYPT who sent them pizzas!!!  I quit giving money to politicians after I saw the “real” Obama, but I’ve given money to organizations which are supporting the protestors in Wisconsin – and, I’ll give more when I get the opportunity.  I realize the Koch brothers (funders of the “tea party”) dish it out in the millions and my last “gift” was $20, but if there’s enough of us, we can fight back.

What most people don’t realize about what’s happening in Wisconsin is that there’s something more hidden in the bill which is being protested because, outwardly, it robs working class people of the right to collectively bargain.  Evidently buried inside this bill is a section giving this deplorable republican governor, who’s been funded by the Koch brothers (who own energy companies) and other corporate thugs, the right to unilaterally “sell” at whatever price he deems appropriate the public utilities and energy resources of the State of Wisconsin to “private enterprise.”  I’m not sure of what all Wisconsin has to be plundered by the Koch brothers and other BILLIONAIRE corporatists, but one thing I’m sure of is that Scott Walker won’t overcharge them when he sells Milwaukie’s power plant to whomever he chooses, or Green Bay’s Public utility, or any other of the “plums” in the sights of his benefactors at whatever terms he chooses.  The republican dream, privatize everything and NO UNIONS!  This guy Scott Walker will probably be a candidate for president if he can pull this off.

And, if you’ve heard the tape of the conversation Walker had with the reporter who “punked” him on a recent phone call, you know that the republicans look at all of this as “us against them.”  He was considering “goon squads” to stir up violence at the protests, he’s planned deceitful ways to dishonestly lure the missing democratic senators who are courageously BLOCKING his power grab, he speaks of liberals as the enemy, and he’s unapologetic about wanting to CRUSH unions (he even speaks of state workers as the enemy).  If you’ve been in hybernation you’ve probably missed this, but the republicans have been at war with the middle class for years and their plan is finally hitting the final stages.  They’ve got governors stationed all over America who are waiting in the wings to do the same thing Walker is doing.  Just as the protestors are calling Wisconsin “ground zero” in the fight against the corporatists, so is Walker and his supporters calling it “ground zero” in the fight to finally finish the job Reagan started when he busted the Air Traffic Controllers – Walker even refers to that as a kind of “watershed” in the plan to crush unions in his “punked” phone conversation.

I could go on and on about these republicans (or my disappointment in the democratic response to them), but I’ll close by saying that they’ve now got workers vs workers in their propaganda scheme.  Those without are seemingly siding with the corporatists to attempt to get MORE workers to be without – just like them – instead of banding together in a demand that the government step in and spend the money necessary to rebuild this nation and provide work for the millions who are getting beyond desperate.  People like the Koch’s win if the unemployed attack those who still have jobs as being the “privileged elite” which I WAS CALLED, indirectly by the governor of Michigan when he railed against school teachers who still have some remnants of benefits with their jobs.  I find it ironic that people who are worth BILLIONS like the Koch’s and people worth multi-millions like Rush Limbaugh think that I (who have a couple thousand saved “for a rainy day”) am part of the privileged elite.  And, I find it even more ironic – maybe disappointing – that there’s a single working class American who’s stupid enough to fall for their ridiculous propaganda.

Most republicans I know are republicans mainly because of the abortion issue.  What they evidently don’t know is the republican approach to issues other than forcing women to carry pregnancies to full term.  The other day I read a column by Charles Blow which addressed their attitude with something like “Love the fetus, hate the child.”  And, I see evidence of this every day in my classroom.  Why would you push for all children to be born (actually, I’m in favor of that with the exceptions that are reasonable which I won’t get into here) and then, at the same time, be cutting funding for prenatal care for poor women, cutting health benefits for children ANYWHERE, cutting back on programs like Head Start, Planned Parenthood, and public television which helps to educate MILLIONS of children? (My own children are in their thirties and they grew up watching “Big Bird”)  The republican party calls themselves the party of “family values,” yet virtually everything they propose makes it more difficult for MILLIONS of American families.  Again, what I don’t get is how ANYONE who’s part of America’s working middle class could fall for this.  Honestly, the only way I can rationally bring myself to understand how even the ACTUAL privileged elite (the Wall Street Bankers, the CEO’s, the people who are wealthy) buy into this is that they have been so brainwashed into replacing the “we” in “we the people” with an “I” that they are blinded to the realities their fellow Americans are facing at this point.  Republicans do a great job of creating public debates that hide their REAL agenda and I believe what is going on in Wisconsin is no different.  The people in Wisconsin need to be careful that they not only defend collective bargaining rights, but that they don’t give away their public utilities to the Koch’s and others!  And, the rest of us need to continue to support them in anyway we can.  Remember, it’s likely there’s a POWER GRAB coming to where you live – especially if your state is “governed” by republicans!

Anyone out there besides me wondering when “we the people” are going to wake up?  For over thirty years (that I can remember) the republican party has taken DEAD AIM at the middle class RIGHTS instigated by the Roosevelt administration in the 30’s and 40’s commonly referred to as the “New Deal.”  This legislation led to the “birth” of the greatest middle class the world has ever known – and, the same corporatists who opposed it then (well, maybe their “offspring”) are opposing it now and have been opposing it – to varying degrees since the first bill was passed and signed by FDR.  One of the worst “advancements” from the perspective of these corporatists was the legitimizing of the labor unions.

Labor unions fought hard for benefits that workers of today take for granted – in fact, we’re seeing today’s workers showing a willingness to give up these benefits in sort of a “bits and pieces” scenario orchestrated by republicans since the days of Ronald Reagan.  It started with PATCO (the union of the Air Traffic Controllers) and their attack on unions has now evolved to where (as I’ve been predicting for the past few years) public union workers – teachers, firefighters, policemen, social workers, nurses, etc. are in the “crosshairs” of the republican corporate minions.  In the news lately has been the public workers in Wisconsin who are putting up a valiant fight against a governor who got most of his financial support from out of state interests – such as the now infamous Koch brothers who are stirring up right wing authoritarian crap all over America.  It really has boiled down to the BILLIONAIRES vs. the rest of us!

Let’s try to get a little perspective here.  Governor Walker (a “tea partier”) in Wisconsin took the state into deficit (ala GW Bush, circa 2001) by pushing through tax cuts for those who didn’t need them and now he’s attempting to not only balance Wisconsin’s state books on the backs of the middle class state workers, he wants to eliminate their bargaining rights in the future – and, for good measure, he’s thrown in a couple anti-union “nuggets” designed to eliminate the unions once and for all – like voting yearly to recertify the union by its members.  As a teacher myself, I’m not surprised to hear right wing “talkers” claiming that I make too much money.  What’s surprising to me, and a bit depressing (as one of my close friends put it), how can so many of the “ditto heads” (of course, I’m now talking about those thoughtless people who listen to Rush Limbaugh) fail to see through Limbaugh’s disengenuous rhetoric – he reportedly makes $400 MILLION per year – and is attacking teachers who average in the $40 -$50 THOUSAND range across the country.  In my case, I have enough education to have a PHD (actually, I have a Masters degree plus a lot of other professional development classes).  I don’t complain about how much I make and I’m honestly not teaching based on the money – but, I do think I deserve a living wage.  These right wing thugs seem to want everyone in America working for minimum wages – WITHOUT benefits – that is, until they can eliminate minimum wages altogether (another of the “New Deal” accomplishments).

Here’s what bugs me the most.  It was the very people who are chipping away at the middle class who created the economic mess we find ourselves in.  People like the Koch brothers have been strong supporters of the “trickle down” economic “plan” of the republican party ushered in by Reagan because it’s saved them BILLIONS in taxes.  Evidently, these people who are the BILLIONAIRES can’t get enough!  (Now, I shouldn’t be painting with a “broad brush” because I’ve heard Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and others at the “top” of the economic “ladder” calling for higher taxes on the “rich” themselves)  And, they are concentrated around Wall Street in one form or another – plus, they’re plundering the very government they say they hate for all they can get – it was Wall Street where the abuses took place which led to the present economic disaster.  What’s curious to me is how Wall Street crashes the economy, the government bails them out, they go right back to gambling with America’s treasury, and finance an onslaught on America’s middle class to avoid EVER having to pay for their own excesses!  I don’t get why this is so hard for even the “tea party” to figure out.  It’s not the union workers of America who’ve created this problem.

It’s as if the corporate “heads” are saying, we can get people to do your job in China for 1/10 of what we’re paying you – so, see you later!  And, since they can’t hire Chinese workers to “man” the public employment picture, the next best thing is to bash these people so that they can join the “race to the bottom” that was started the day Ronald Reagan took the oath of office.  Can you believe this – now, teachers are making too much money!  In my state (Washington) a teacher who is just starting out with a MASTERS DEGREE earns around $30,000.  It costs them $50,000, or more, to get that Masters degree – but, what the heck – maybe what the Koch brothers want would be teachers working for minimum wages.  Maybe teacher certification will soon be a thing of the past – the jobs will go to those who will work for the least amount of wages.  And, with governors like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, they’ll have no rights to negotiate their contracts.  Can you just picture teachers punching in on a time clock when they come to work?  Is that where we’re heading?  And, if so, who’s next?

I can tell you who’s next.  It’s the old people.  They’re costing us entirely too much (even though some might say they put money into the Social Security trust fund – we need that money to keep Iraq and Afganistan going).  These big financiers can’t get their greedy minds off of the nearly $3 TRILLION in trust for America’s aging – who – like the Wall Street bankers – no longer produce anything of significance to America’s economy.  And, Medicare really is a huge problem, because the FOR PROFIT health care system is out of control.  To keep their CEO’s and stockholders happy, the insurance companies, various health providers (devices, drugs, etc.), and hospitals will need to continue jacking up the costs of health care.  It really doesn’t seem to matter whether the care is sensible or who gets the care – it only matters how much money these companies and executives MAKE!  And, yet where else but in America would you find a grass roots “tea party” standing side by side with corporate rip off artists claiming to be “populist” while being ripped off themselves by the very people funding their movement?  Talk about confusing irony.

All I can say at this point is “yeah for those in Wisconsin” who are taking the battle to the streets.  That is the real solution to this problem.  Richard Nixon used to refer to the “silent majority” when trying to defend his indefensible malfeasance – but, I think the day for the “silent majority” to stand up has arrived.  At least I hope so.  And, I believe the first example may be in Madison Wisconsin.  Bravo to all of them – all I can say is that I hope they succeed.  Whether they stop this legislation the republicans are attempting to ram through or not, I hope they move to recall this governor (who reportedly has presidential aspirations, ughhh!) as soon as possible.  I’ve heard they have to wait at least one year (that’s probably – he has to be in office one year) before they can start a recall.  I’d support that plus the recall of the republican legislators who are supporting him as well.

The bottom line here is that the Koch brothers and the rest of the right wing conglomerate which is trying to take over this nation has an UNLIMITED supply of money.  They have a stranglehold on our “liberal media” (have you noticed how difficult it’s been to get good coverage of protests involving estimates as high as 100 THOUSHAND protestors in Wisconsin?) and they have absolutely NO SCRUPLES!  Lying comes second nature to these people.  Every time I listen to one of them I’m reminded of the psychologist who was advising me on the significance of children lying.  He told me that if they are still lying at the age of 14 it becomes part of their character, and after they’ve told enough lies, they start to believe their own lies are actually true.  Listen to Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, Lars Larson, Michael Savage, or any of the rest of them for a bit.  It won’t take long for you to understand what I just said in this post.  They are dangerous just like the Nazi’s were dangerous in the early thirties – and, if “we the people” don’t stop them they will keep on their plan until they have us by where the “hair is short!”

Ultimately, win or lose, I believe what’s happening in Wisconsin will happen again all over America in this “year of the tea party.”  The people in the streets are the first encouraging sign I’ve seen since I figured out that President Obama was rolling over to the republicans.  When you do a little research on the Koch family and on the Bush family you get a really good picture of the leadership of the republican party.  Both families built their significant wealth through the oil industry and both families have a history of trading with our enemies.  George W Bush’s grandfather was supplying weapons grade materials to Adolf Hitler in the 30’s while the patriarch of the Koch family was busy building oil refineries in Russia for Stalin, enabling Russia to gain the economic strength to carry on the 50 year “Cold War.”  These families will do anything for money and they are pushing an agenda in America where those who think like they do will control all aspects of our society.   I hope and pray that the protestors in Wisconsin “stay the course” until this right wing whacko governor is FORCED to back down.  The rest of us need to be prepared to follow suit – because these republicans have a full fledged national plan – designed to create Rove’s “permanent republican ‘majority’.”  I have a feeling I’ll be saying this a lot in the near future, “On Wisconsin!”  (I noticed the captain of the Green Bay Packers was on the picket lines with the protestors – Charles Woodson – yeahh!)