Often times I hope that I don’t come across as arrogant as it sometimes feels.  Yes, I find myself constantly criticizing our national leaders and, yes, I’m just a sixth grade school teacher – but, I’ve had several “real world” “careers” prior to going into education and I’m often times amazed and dismayed as I watch my government leaders making the same kind of, what appear to me as, gutless decisions OVER and OVER again.  The other day I heard the rough details of President Obama’s budget proposal and the first thing that came to my mind was “Why do Democrats always start a negotiation at a place that would aggravate the “troops” if that’s where it ended?  Did Obama negotiate out this budget in his mind before presenting it?  Honestly, what on earth is going on here?  And, final question: “What’s the next compromise going to cost progressives?”

When you really sit down and think about things, the reason you vote someone into office is to change the course of “events” and to make GAINS for your “side.”  However, just as President Obama came away from granting HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of WASTED tax cuts in his “compromise” with republicans last December as if he had “WON” something, he’s starting the budget debate from a position of defeat – yes, I said that right – he’s STARTING from that position.  God help us with what he ends up with!

We’ve just had BOTH parties agree that Americans shouldn’t have to pay higher taxes in an attempt to balance the federal budget (and, for people who think as I do, start paying down the accumulated debt).  We’re looking at the Wall Street bankers, the hedge fund managers, the corporate CEO’s who continue to THRIVE in this financially driven economy still finding ways to make MORE money and pay LESS taxes while producing products which do NOTHING for the betterment of our society.  Corporations which are willingly accepting lucrative (and sometimes “no-bid”) contracts from the GOVERNMENT moving their corporate headquarters overseas to avoid ANY taxes – yes, that’s correct, many of America’s (well, actually NOW “the world’s”) leading corporations PAY NO taxes at all – yet, they gain large portions of their incomes from government contracts!  And, what’s even more disturbing to me is that they want even MORE yet!

So, who can “we the people” depend on?  Well, I read an article in “The Nation” this morning which gives me hope and also gives me the answer to that question.  It is US that “we the people” can depend on!  In Wisconsin, the new REPUBLICAN governor is essentially pushing through legislation which would ELIMINATE collective bargaining rights (yes, you heard – OK read – that right, I’ve been telling you if you’ve been reading this blog that the republicans HATE unions, and that public employees are “next”) for all public employees with the exception of firefighters and policemen.  The Washington Post reported “The bill is expected to pass.”  Well, what would you expect the Washington Post to report?  The “Nation” (that pesky “liberal” publication which has been around since the days of the New Deal) reported that there were in excess of 10,000 protestors at the capital and their support was spreading.  This is what it’s going to come down to.  Are the workers of America going to stand together and stop this corporate siege of their rights?

Note:  I started this post last week and then left for a few days.  While I was gone, the “protests” in Wisconsin have grown in numbers – not only in Wisconsin, but presumably around the country (of course, the “liberal media” isn’t saying much about any “groundswell” – but, at least I can hope, can’t I?) and, on my return, I even read that President Obama had joined in solidarity with the protestors and FINALLY pointed out the obvious – THIS IS AN ATTACK ON UNIONS!  For those of you who tend toward the “tea party” who are evidently the major instigators of this recent PUSH to wipe the few remaining union workers in America into the ranks of the UNREPRESENTED at the bargaining table – in fact, I believe these people won’t rest until there is NO bargaining table – a little history lesson:  Thanks to unions – we have child labor laws, we have a minimum wage, we have a 40 hour work week, we have overtime pay, we have vacation pay, we have sick pay, we have (obviously, this is one of the things the opponents of unions wish to defeat) health benefits, we have maternity benefits, we have (in some instances) pension benefits, we have the RIGHT TO BARGAIN, and we have many other protections which those who represent the GREEDY corporate BEHEMOTH which is attempting to HIJACK America would love to ELIMINATE.

Close to where I live, in Oregon, the previous gubernatorial election was probably swung to the democratic candidate because the republican candidate (a former pro basketball player who was paid in the tens of millions when he was playing in the NBA) accidently spoke the TRUTH about his intentions to repeal the minimum wage in the vacinity of a microphone.  Kind of like the MaCaca mistake of George Allen in the 2006 Senate Campaign in Viginia.  Of course, he tried to double talk his way out of the statement, but the truth is that he (Chris Dudley) and the rest of the republican party are trying to push the workforce of this nation down as far as they can get them.  This has been going on for the past 30+ years, but with the “tea party’s” enthusiasm – plus leaders such as Sarah Palin and Scott Walker (the governor of Wisconsin who’s trying to essentially decertify the public employee unions in his state legislatively) who are willing to say ANYTHING the corporate MASTERS command, it’s definitely time for a counterattack.

I was encouraged that Obama got involved on the side of the protestors, but given his previous two years of pandering to the “right,” I refuse to get any more than cautiously optimistic that he’ll be an encouragement to these workers and the others around the country who are under assault.  Honestly, you’d think he’d intervene more directly.  These union benefits were won by our fathers and their fathers during the Great Depression and the Great War that followed it.  The union movement in America brought the middle class of this nation together into one of the greatest forces of WORKERS the world has ever seen.  Of course, that hasn’t affected these “right wing” corporatists who lost this battle in the 30’s and 40’s and have been trying to REPLAY it ever since.  When you look at the scenario that has unfolded, creating the mass unemployment in America today with the resulting HUGE number of Americans who are underemployed – you have to wonder what are the people who voted these “tea partiers” into office thinking?  They are republicans, and it has been republicans who have created this economy that is now based on Wall Street financiers making money with money.  They produce NOTHING of value to this country.  Meanwhile the middle class continues to dwindle in size to the point where there is an acute crisis going on in America and we have to wonder whether our “leaders” have noticed.  To them, Wall Street is healthy again!

Well, Main Street is falling apart – the people are losing their homes by the MILLIONS, the hiways are crumbling, the bridges are threatening to collapse every day during rush hour, and our government wants to CUT spending on things like the working poor, women (Oh my gosh – I’ll write something soon on the cuts that affect women – but, as a school teacher, I see directly the affect of cuts to womens’ health for the working poor, benefits like Head Start, benefits to homeless shelters, health benefits for children, etc. – this is unbelievable – and, I’m talking about Obama’s proposals – the republicans are FAR WORSE – hence my comment above on the absurdity of Obama starting the negotiation from a defeated position from the standpoint of the people who need the help the most – the result is the BIG LOSERS are – our low income children), Medicare and Medicaid, and education – we’re not even talking about spending on infrastructure any more.

It has been the republicans who have led the assault on what’s good in America.  They’ve been enabling those who would pilfer the wealth of this nation (I call them the greedy corporatists) at the expense of those at the “bottom.”  It’s as if they’re saying to those at the bottom, “You got yourself into that situation, YOU figure out how to get out of it!  It’s not the government’s job to help.”  That attitude wouldn’t be so absurd if they weren’t, at the same time, providing CORPORATE WELFARE in the TRILLIONS to the sugar daddies who continue to fund their campaigns.  What’s really bothering me is that the American people in sufficient numbers haven’t seemed to notice this.  However, what’s happening in Wisconsin may be the BIRTH of the kind of response these republican thieves deserve – and that’s the collective RATH of the middle class Americans who’ve been the victims of their PILFERING!  No one needs to get shot, there needn’t be any violent riots – the American middle class simply needs to let their leaders know that they have HAD ENOUGH!  In large enough numbers to get the “liberal media” to notice.

President Obama still has the oppportunity to be the LEADER who those of us who proudly call ourselves LIBERALS (I was a conservative in the early 70’s – that’s how far the “pendulum” has swung) worked to get elected in 2008.  However, this isn’t going to be a battle that is won or lost in the Wisconsin state legislature.  IT IS, HOWEVER,  a great starting point.  So, I hope Obama joins the BATTLE, but even if he chooses to continue on his frustratingly timid pandering of the same republicans who are attacking the very fabric of America’s middle class – the rest of us have HUGE power in numbers.  Hopefully, the “SEEDS” have been planted in Wisconsin.  I have a few suggestions – for whatever they’re worth.  Win or lose in the Wisconsin legislature – it would be great to see a RECALL movement of the governor and the state legislators behind this push to decertify the state workers’ union.  EVERY working person in America has a stake in that battle.  I would certainly donate what few dollars I have to their cause.  That would be a good start.  it would send the PROPPER message to the “tea party” who apparently hate unions more than the “classic” republicans (if that’s possible).

Then, let’s take this BATTLE to the other states who are part of the same conspiracy.  Somehow Ohio (that’s where my family originally came from before they moved west) voted John Kasich in as governor.  The guy is a true “right wing” whacko.  Ohio is a blue collar state which has been devastated by the jobs being sent to China and elsewhere outside the U.S.  For some reason they’re taking out their frustrations on democrats by electing people like Kasich and John Boehner as their main leaders.  A true, massive, revolt by the working folk of Ohio to Kasich’s attempt to do the same thing governor Walker of Wisconsin is doing would be truly inspirational to the rest of blue collar America!  Hopefully, our national democratic leaders will have the courage to join the BATTLE and take these people (the “tea party” and the republicans) on.  We will see whether democrats are cowering in the “face” of all the money which will undoubtedly be spent in 2012 as a direct result of “Citizens United,” or whether they will join those of us who are CRAVING for leaders who will take on this corporate TAKEOVER straight up.

To me, Wisconsin probably is “Ground Zero” in the fight to save the labor unions of America.  It’s definitely “you know what or get off the pot” time for the working class of America.  It had begun to feel hopeless as we watched Obama extend the Bush Tax Cuts, refuse to end the two disastrous occupations – thus, continuing the BRUTAL treatment of our troops by sending them into Iraq and Afganistan OVER AND OVER again, and cave in TIME AND AGAIN to what should have been an impotent republican minority during his first two years as president.  Despite the “mess” Obama inherited, no one was confused as to who caused it when he took office.  His pandering to republicans and his lack of will to hold them accountable for ANYTHING they did during the Bush administration created a lot of confusion in the mind’s of many Americans who simply pay attention to the sound bites and the headlines.  Plus, this timidness reenergized the republican party into what is now something far more dangerous than when Bush was president.  As far as I’m concerned, Obama allowed the republicans to get out of control, and it’s up to him to lead the fight to put them back where they belong (in the minority) 

If President Obama doesn’t “step up” during this next few months, he will have a minority of democrats in both the house and the senate in 2012 – if he’s reelected.  I think the question is becoming, does President Obama simply want to be president, or does he want to be a great and courageous president.  Well, he won’t have a better opportunity than the impending battle for worker’s rights (and, I can guarantee you, Social Security is on these “tea partiers'” horizon).  And, it’s very apparent that “we the people” have to push him in the “right” direction.  The protestors in Wisconsin have made a good start.  The rest of us need to support them financially and spiritually.  And, then, when it’s our turn to fight the republican onslaught against the workers of America – we need to do the same thing (I live in Washington, and anticipate something similar happening here).  Shut the schools down, close the government offices down, and gather in numbers at the state houses to not only protest these draconian attacks on worker’s rights, but to protect those rights for those Americans who will come after us.  The protestors in Wisconsin are walking in solidarity not only for their own cause, but for the cause that was first fought for in the 1930’s.  Ironically, it’s the SAME greedy corporate thugs who are on the other side of the picket line today as who were there at the height of the Great Depression.  What’s the saying?  “The more things change, the more they stay the same!”

I’m always confused as to whether or not I should focus my thoughts on the “plan” of the republican party to usher in a corporatocracy in America or on the democrats who are either complicit in the “plan” or are simply incapable of banding together to put up a good FIGHT!  And, of course, then there’s the dilemma of either supporting President Obama who’s hard at work trying to make deals with these republicans who are trending farther and FARTHER to the “RIGHT,” or taking the “high road” and finding some unelectable candidate to support who tells it like it is – sort of like the Ralph Nader dilemma of 2000.  The end result of the second of those two choices could be something like a Sarah Palin, or Paul Ryan, or – as I’ve been predicting for two years and now seems more plausible – a Jeb Bush as our next president – with the resulting disaster of MAJOR PROPORTIONS, not the least of which would be their choices to the Supreme Court.  To put it mildly, almost all the “thrill” of President Obama’s election has turned sour.  I feel as if I’m back in that place – where, honestly I think I’ve spent my life – looking to support the least bad of two choices.

Recently, a couple friends of mine who are in their 70’s (and watch Fox – unfortunately) asked me how happy I am now with President Obama “the socialist?”  I hadn’t seen them since before the mid term election and they were apparently gloating, because they are life long republicans without a clue as to what the republican party has become since their working days (again, they watch Fox – that should explain it all).  They, and all the other people around them (I was at a golf course) were quite surprised when I announced that President Obama was too conservative for me!  I’m pointing this out because I believe that one thing that is truly bipartisan in America right now is an uninformed public.  Now, I’m not trying to suggest that I’m informed and all these other people aren’t, because a few years ago I realized how “fooled” I’ve been over my lifetime.  I have tried to keep up with “what’s happening” but, like the rest of America, I always felt I could trust the “liberal media” to be somewhat unbiased and working as the “fourth estate” of our government which was the intention of the founders.

In my mind, what America’s media has evolved into is simply more entertainment.  From my perspective, I saw this happening beginning in the days of Ronald Reagan.  Recently, Reagan fans were celebrating his 100th birthday as if he was some sort of national icon.  It’s really hard for me to understand that.  This “celebration” does give, however, one good example of what I’m trying to say in this post.  Ronald Reagan was a good orator, there’s no question about that.  However, he wasn’t a good president – there can be little question about that either.  The people who support him simply ignore all the negative accomplishments and dwell on the “myths.”  For instance, Reagan was not responsible for the demise of the Soviet Union.  I could write an entire post (or posts) on that subject, but it’s the OPINION of many that he was.  However, if you look at the facts, it’s hard to connect them with that reality.  (Unfortunately, the United States – as I’m typing this – is embroiled in Afghanistan, much to the “glee” of people like Osama bin Laden – the same place which helped bankrupt the Soviets – this could end up being the “mother” of all examples of the saying “those who ignore history are destined to repeat it)  Now, it’s true that Reagan’s administration armed and supported bin Laden and the other “mujahadeen” in the 10 year struggle to get the Soviets out of Afghanistan (along with the Saudi’s and other Arab nations), and that Afghanistan accelerated the Soviet’s demise, so if you follow the original argument that Reagan was responsible for the demise of the Soviets, and if this Afghanistan fiasco America is now MIRED in ends with the same result (America goes broke – that’s a joke isn’t it, America’s already broke for all intents and purposes) I guess you could then say Reagan was responsible for the demise of America, too.  That’s because, it was Reagan and his admistration which armed bin Laden and they’re still using weapons supplied by us – now, against Americans – to this day.

Well, actually, I do believe Ronald Reagan is largely responsible for the demise of America.  But in a far different way than simply looking at the horror of Afghanistan.  Honestly, I don’t even recognize this country that I’ve grown up in.  And, I guess I’m saying that from the perspective that logic tells me a nation as blessed as the United States should continue to progress and, given the responsibility we EARNED after World War II, you’d think we would embrace that role as non-negotiable.  Additionally, considering what the United States proved it was capable of during the second World War, it’s hard for me to understand how the American public could be so susceptible to FEAR.  When you think about that, terrorists rely on FEAR to gain success.  If that really is true, then why would our government be complicit by virtually encouraging the American public to FEAR a small band of radical terrorists located thousands of miles from our shores?  Since 9/11 we’ve been slowly allowing the basic tenets of our society to erode in some kind of strange attempt to protect us from a few thousand fanatics located in Pakistan or other far away lands. I’m digressing.

Here’s some “things” that can be traced back to the Reagan administration.  For starters, the “trickle down” or “supply side” theory of economics – called “voodoo economics” by George HW Bush (one of the few times I agreed with him) – unquestionably began with Reagan.  Even his original budget director, David Stockman, calls the tax cutting which has been the MANTRA of the republican party since Reagan, IMMORAL.  His reasoning is sound.  All we are doing is putting off the inevitable – we’re telling our children and grandchildren we’ll let them pay for our excesses!  It is obscene and it’s been going on for over 30 years now, and recently, even President Obama claimed that extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” would create “millions of jobs.”  That is PURE HOGWASH, and, in my view, NONE of the “leaders” of our country have the guts to face up to the reality of the mounting debt situation.  (The “tea partiers” hate the debt, but they don’t want to pay for anything besides the military either!)  The national debt was less than ONE TRILLION dollars when Reagan took office, and after 30+ years of his economic policy “ruling the day” it is now up to over FOURTEEN TRILLION dollars!  Republicans will blame that on democrats SPENDING too much, but if you check out that reality, you’ll find that republicans are the big spenders as well (the only thing resembling sound fiscal policy in my lifetime has come from democrats – well, I barely remember Eisenhower) This should be enough to convince people Reagan was no saint, but there’s plenty more.

Reagan and his administration secretly, and in direct defiance of Congress, sold arms to America’s “sworn enemy” Iran, ostensibly to gain the release of hostages held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, but covertly to generate secret funds which were sent to Nicaragua in support of the RIGHT WING Contras who were attempting to overthrow the left wing, ELECTED, Sandanista Junta which had overthrown the Samoza regime that had controlled Nicaragua for over 40 years.  Take a breath :o) (Samoza was removed during Carter’s presidency, some 5 years before the Sandinista’s were elected) I know little of the history of Nicaragua, but I clearly remember the arrogance of the Reagan administration as they defied the will of Congress and then repeatedly lied in the hearings which were intended to uncover their misdeeds (to a large degree, these are the same people involved in ramping up the invasion of Iraq).  Reagan was never indicted, but the simple conclusion would have to be that he was complicit in clearly ILLEGAL activity, or he was totally INCOMPETENT and had no idea what those in his “inner circle” were up to.  The latter option, which was conveniently the one publicly “accepted,” was never believable for me. (The great irony of all this is that after releasing the “hostages” through the agreement with Iran, Hezbollah simply took more hostages – for a “net gain” of ZERO for the Reagan administration in “negotiating with terrorists”)

Yes, there’s more.  In the late 1940’s Reagan was a bold supporter of the New Deal and Harry Truman and democrats like Hubert Humphrey.  Obviously, something very major happened.  Recently, I heard a speech he gave in 1948 which would imply that Reagan was a strong supporter of the American worker and unions.  Yet, one of the first significant things he accomplished in his first term was to publicly decertify the Air Traffic Controller’s union – leading to the attack on unions which is still in force today.  And, this attack has been quite successful – from the perspective of the anti-union employers, but very devastating to the American workforce.  America’s workers have seen a steady decline in real income from the day Reagan took office.  And, American’s who are members of a union have dropped from around a third of the workforce in 1980 to approaching 10% today.  With the help of a media which has allowed itself to be totally manipulated by politicians and corporations many of America’s voters are still voting for republicans while their job has gone “overseas” or their paycheck has gone “south.”  All the while Wall Street is “booming” and America’s corporations are sitting on a cash reserve in the trillions as millions of Americans are either unemployed or under employed.  Yet, republicans continue their quest to wipe ALL unions from the face of America’s economy.  Next, it’s the public employees unions (including police, firefighters, teachers, etc.)  I’ve already seen articles and ads suggesting that, for example, NOW teachers are making too much money! (I’m a teacher – for many years I’ve listened to people say teachers are underpaid [I didn’t agree with that either] but, now that we’re looking at a LENGTHY recession, those that “have” are looking for whatever “target” is still “standing” – and that includes police and firefighters who routinely risk their lives for public safety.  These union members PAY for the benefits they receive) Following Reagan’s lead, today’s republicans are leading the “race to the bottom” – although, it doesn’t include them!

In my view, Ronald Reagan ushered in what I’ve always called the “me generation.”  I even started predicting in the 1980’s that this problem would continue to “mount” until we somehow reached a breaking point if it wasn’t stopped in it’s tracks.  This is when the “privatization” started.  Reagan claimed that “government was the problem.”  Since his time I’ve marvelled at how republicans have continually complained that government is the problem while they want to control it and when they do control it they FLEECE the taxpayers of every cent they can get.  Reagan placed, essentially,  the “tax and spend” label on democrats – and, either the democrats are just inept at fighting back, or the media has helped them (republicans) pull this off – but, just looking at Reagan himself should bring some light on how ridiculous this is.  Reagan actually raised taxes more than any president I can remember in my lifetime.  His tax increases on people like me offset the tax cuts for the upper income Americans.  Plus, during Reagan’s term, spending actually INCREASED.  The bottom line was that the “rich” benefitted from his tax cutting, and the middle class were the losers.  This was the time when the deterioration of America’s middle class gained it’s “roots.”  Also, GREED became “politically correct” – an attitude which continues to survive.  “Welfare” was replaced with “corporate Welfare!”

Reagan’s legacy has lived on in subsequent administrations.  George HW Bush went from criticizing Reagan when running against him in 1980 to embracing the “voodoo economics” to the tune of a couple TRILLION added to the deficit in his one term of office.  So, the deficit went from less than a TRILLION when Reagan started to something over 6 or 7 Trillion by the time Clinton became president.  Despite Clinton getting the economy back under control, he was BLASTED by the media which was, again, being manipulated by republicans (they have continually gotten better at this, until now they are experts!) for his entire 8 years in office.  Yes, he messed up with his personal choices, but the onslaught of unfounded charges was unprecedented.  And, then along came the Supreme Court’s choice for president George W Bush.  How will we ever forget him and his right hand man Dick Cheney.  This gave a startling viewpoint of the bias of our “liberal media.”  Bush/Cheney undermined the debt problem with the economy by putting “trickle down” economic theory on steroids.  Cheney’s famous quote, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” will live in infamy – possibly as “the straw the broke the camel’s back” as far as America’s standing as world leaders.  Bush/Cheney evidently intimidated the press to the point where they could “get away” with almost anything.  There was hardly a whimper (at least that made national news for any period of time) at the FACT that Bush/Cheney turned a $250 BILLION surplus into a $300+ BILLION deficit in a matter of months.  Corporations such as Enron were fleecing America by the BILLIONS and Bush/Cheney were presumably complicit – although I can’t remember a single investigation of them after Enron’s demise which depleted retirement accounts of millions of Americans.  Contrast that with EIGHT years of coverage of the failed Whitewater land deal in which the Clinton’s lost $10 THOUSAND and nobody else was harmed.

Cheney outed a CIA agent, “enemy combatants” were tortured by the droves (some murdered), Americans were illegally wiretapped by the scores (or more – who knows), the Justice Department was turned into a partisan arm of the republican party, regulatory agencies ignored their duties and allegedly were even partying and MORE with the very people they were supposed to be regulating (leading to incidents like the Massey Mine disaster and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill which has polluted the Gulf of Mexico – and, now the gas fracture extracting in the Northeast which is polluting large aquifers),  and companies like Halliburton and Blackwater are relocating to places like Dubai in order to avoid investigations of their misdeeds and PAYING taxes.  Again, where is the so-called “liberal media?”

Additionally, with the help of the news media’s lack of willingness to challenge our republican “leaders,” the Bush/Cheney administration were not only allowed to abandon the “hunt” for bin Laden and the shift of America’s “military might” into Iraq, they were almost encouraged to do this.  Few people I talk to have any clue that people like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, Eric Prince, and others connected with the Bush/Cheney crew profited in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars from the Iraq invasion.  I’ve seen not ONE story reporting the WAR PROFITEERING that has gone on (and is still going on) in, not only Iraq, but Afghanistan as well.  Just to be perfectly clear, WAR PROFITEERING is about as low as it gets in my view.  We had soldiers DYING in Iraq for a lack of armour, yet the people who put them there were making HUGE profits and showing NO REMORSE for the tragic loss of life (and, in many cases, limb).  If you remember, Bush/Cheney let the coffins come home with not even a representative there to show the deserved respect, and troops languished in sordid conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital – sometimes rat infested rooms – with NO ONE from the administration even having a clue to what they were enduring – because, no one even visited the wounded troops!

Under the Bush administration, until the democrats took control of congress, veterans benefits were actually being cut – while the troops were doing EXTENDED tours in Afghanistan and/or Iraq.  That was unbelievable to me.  Some of these vets have been over there close to TEN times at this point.  All the while, the rest of us are squabbling over the size of the TAX CUTS!  And, the democrats don’t get a pass here – the extension of the “Bush Tax Cuts” was UNTHINKABLE!  Just the FACT that the Bush administration cut taxes at the same time they were sending troops into “harms way” was beyond belief.  That sent a message to the American public that the cost of this war they were CAUSING was to be borne totally by the TROOPS – I’ll never forget Bush’s answer to the question, “How can the American public best support the troops?”  He simply said, “Keep shopping.”  It makes my stomach queezy to this day to even think about that.  EVERY CENT of the cost of these two HORRIFIC occupations has been BORROWED.  Yet, where is the public response?  From what I can tell, there is no response anymore.  The public has evidently accepted that we’ll be in Afghanistan at least until 2014 and who knows how long we’ll be entrenched in Iraq.  (I’m guessing we’ll stay in Iraq until someone like Moqtada al Sadr leads an Iran type revolt similar to the “hostage crisis” of 1979. 

I’ve shut off my TV as far as the news is concerned – I’m reading books.  Anything I can find that is written by a good investigative reporter.  As an educator (albeit 6th graders) I’m trying to teach my students to think for themselves and to find information from multiple sources before making judgements.  When I practice that myself, I continually come to the conclusion that the press in America should no longer be considered the “fourth estate.”  I keep thinking of the time when I actually watched Fox “news,” before it dawned on my what they were doing.  They have HAMMERED the term “fair and balanced” down our collective throats (if you haven’t read any of my posts linking their propaganda philosophy with that of Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda – check out the archives – it really is interesting to see the similarities).  I’ve come to the conclusion “Fair and Balanced” really means offsetting the truth with an equal number of lies!  And, it’s true the media can’t change policy – but, as far as I’m concerned they’re – at best – cowering in the face of an out of control government.  It’s clear to me that President Obama will not “lead” us toward the “change we can believe in” if he’s not forced.  I don’t see “we the people” demanding it until the press reports the TRUTH about what America is “up to.” (Egypt policy would be a good starting point – now that the “torturer in chief” is in charge there)  Obama’s Attorney General is agressively going after Wiki Leaks for publishing the TRUTH about American diplomacy and they TOTALLY ignored the misdeeds of Bush/Cheney et al.  The FIRING of Keith Olberman, I’m sure, has embedded the message into journalists’ minds that the “corporate masters” will tolerate only so much reporting of what is actually happening in America! (you didn’t see any outrage from the political “left” over Olberman’s FIRING because he was critical of them as well as critical of the “right”)

I was reading the financial news this weekend and saw that Comcast’s “takeover” of NBC Universal (now NBCUniversal – to signify the “unity” between the two corporations) has been completed.  So, we now have an even more contracted “media” since Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  And, the “whimper” we heard for a day or so about Comcast FIRING Keith Olberman died as quickly as I’m sure the executives from both companies figured it would die.  And, “the beat goes on.”  They even did this in what has become the usual “way,” – by firing Olberman on Friday – he announced it himself on his show which airs at prime time on Friday evening – let me correct that – it aired – so one more notch has now been firmly established on the measuring stick of those who are attempting to facilitate the takeover of this nation by purely right wing corporate interests.  I’ve been watching this privitization for over 30 years – and, it’s getting to the point where I have to force myself to think about other things because I’m not seeing much of a clamoring by the American public about what is being lost.

The great irony to me is that the people behind this “takeover” – and, now I’m not talking about Comcast – specifically – but, the corporate execs who appear to be in cahoots to destroy this nation’s government as it evolved after the “crash” of 1929 – use the very principles they are attacking to defend their attack!  That is, they claim to be “taking our nation back” (whatever that means – or should I say, from whomever that means – very confusing to me) and fighting for the freedoms set forth by the founding fathers.  And, honestly, about the only freedom I can see them fighting for set forth by the “founding fathers” would be the right to own slaves – seriously, what else could they be talking about?  I mean, it can’t be freedom of speech – despite the willingness of those on the left to ignore the vitriol – this act by Comcast to fire Olberman is just one example in a long line of the “right wing” slowly gaining a STRANGLEHOLD on America’s media.  The results of the Olberman issue remains to be seen – that is, how it affects the content coming from others who are critical of this corporate vendetta on America’s government.  But, the sad reality is that right wing or right leaning corporations control essentially 90% or more of the media outlets in America.  Newspapers are dying, and the “4th estate” is getting to the point where it is so politicized that it’s important function as the watchdog of the government is fast becoming non-existent.  I mean, where was the media questioning Bush/Cheney during the ramping up of the Iraq invasion.  There was plenty of evidence showing the faulty intelligence – and plenty of people opposed to the invasion – but, the media was intimidated (or something) from reporting it.

Where was the media when Bush/Cheney abandoned the fight against Osama bin Laden and ACTUALLY allowed his escape from Tora Bora into Pakistan – in fact, I’ve read several accounts that claim the CIA actually helped facilitate bin Laden’s and his al Qaeda followers’ escape into Pakistan – with the blessing of Tommy Franks and the American military.  Why do we have to read this in books written by Pakistani journalists?  What has happened to America’s media?  And, what is to happen to America if this problem isn’t addressed?

If you’ve read anything about Karl Marx’s theories of “socialism” you might recognize that he predicts capitalism will essentially self destruct through GREED of the “bourgeoisie.”  There becomes more and more “proletariat” (poor people) as the “bourgeoisie” (rich people) gain more wealth and “The industrial and political supremacy of the bourgeoisie threatens it (capitalism – my insertion) with certain destruction” – “on the one hand through the concentration of capital and on the other through the rise of a revolutionary proletariat” (is anyone paying attention to what’s happening in Egypt?)  I read this with the understanding the working class (or people without employment) will only take the “crap” from the “bourgeoisie” for so long.  In the United States, for some reason, we’ve been almost encouraging a shifting UPWARD of wealth since the days of Ronald Reagan.  What is going to have to happen to wake up our “leaders?”

Corporate interests continue to conspire about ways in which they can gain even MORE control over the electorate in America.  As I’ve stated many times on this website, they are using the classic Goebbels propaganda techniques to FOOL working class Americans to vote for their own self destruction.  And, the reality is that the American workers, African Americans, Americans of Latino descent, and basically the unemployed and underemployed are only going to “take” so much.  That stands to reason.  Anyone who believes an uprising can’t take place in America is fooling him/herself.  Now, don’t get me wrong here – I believe we’re a long way from something such as what’s happening in Egypt – but, not necessarily that far from MAJOR unrest in America’s cities similar to the 1960’s.  There are a lot of people feeling a sense of frustration at what appears to be a hopeless situation regarding the “change we can believe in.”

We are now hearing many of the “progressive” voices in America speaking more “nicely” about our president than they were prior to the mid term election.  Do you wonder why that is?  I believe that there are many, such as myself, who continue to hope that President Obama will somehow morph into the progressive “champion” we thought we were voting for in 2008.  But, a close look at reality gives a much different view – and, I believe many people are no longer looking at him in that “light” but, instead, are comparing him to the alternative.  Because the reality of 2012 is going to be upon us before we know it.  My view of President Obama has evolved to thinking of him trying to be the democratic version of Ronald Reagan.  He seems to have an obsession with bridging the civility gap between the “right” and the “left.”  And, I’m not going to claim that isn’t something which is important.  However, I keep reminding myself of the saying “don’t put the cart before the horse.”  Some of the consequences of this obsession of his could prove to be immense – and, very difficult to recover from – for “we the people.”

First of all, and I won’t dwell on this anymore than I already have (check the archives if you’re interested) – the act of (for all intents and purposes) pardoning George W Bush and Dick Cheney from their illegal actions and those of their cohorts was UNTHINKABLE to me.  Not only did it send the WRONG message to everyone, especially the republicans, but I believe it has allowed people in Obama’s administration to feel comfortable in “crossing the lines” of civility themselves.  Take for example soldier Bradley Manning who was accused of turning over the classified information to “Wiki Leaks” which led to the disclosure of the TRUTH about American diplomacy around the world and other information.  For almost a year now he’s been held in conditions which can only be described as “cruel and unusual” and really amount to TORTURE.  So President Obama’s claim that we don’t “TORTURE” was simply more hot air coming from his mouth.  The “black hole” at Bagram Air base in Afghanistan is still alive and well and essentially taking the place of Guantanamo’s detention facility for U.S. “enemy combatants.”  And, interestingly (at least to me) the person the US is attempting to “broker” as the “interim” leader of Egypt’s “transition” to “democracy” (do you get my cynicism?) is the same person who was in charge of TORTURING all the “enemy combatants” who the United States transferred to Egypt under the “extraordinary rendition” policy of GW Bush – and, evidently a program continuing even today.

Further, after the cave-in on tax cuts the democrats were able to get some “token” legislation passed in the recently past “lame duck” congressional session – like the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military.  However, the price was HIGH and possibly much HIGHER than most people think.  We’ll find out a lot more about President Obama in the upcoming clashes, which are CERTAIN to happen, with the rejuvenated republicans in congress.  Start with the debt limit.  What is Obama going to give up in this next “compromise.”  Keep in mind the last “compromise” over the tax cuts ended with the repulbicans getting EVERYTHING they wanted and Obama and the democrats getting a few “scraps.”  (trust me, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s” days were numbered either way – and the 13 month “extension” of unemployment benefits did nothing for the “99ers”).  What’s amazing to me is how the democrats always come away bragging about the “scraps.”  I’m honestly nervous about the next “compromise.”

In the process, President Obama came out of the “negotiations” claiming that these tax cuts were going to create “millions of jobs.”  Sound familiar, I still remember Reagan making that claim and at the same time saying he was going to “balance the budget.”  I’ve stopped wondering when the politicians will stop dreaming about this theory (“trickel down” or “supply side” if you will), I just keep wondering when the American public is going to come to their senses and are they going to do it before things get so bad for those at the “bottom” that we have our streets ablaze in violent reaction to greedy politics.  Why do these people keep getting voted into office?  Now, I realize I’m not the only one who was fooled by President Obama – but, to be honest about this, I still remember him drawing reference to Reagan at one of the debates so I shouldn’t be so surprised.  Democrats took offense to it at the time, but no one thought he was really thinking about being the democratic version of Reagan – at least I didn’t think that.  The other day I heard him tout the stock market’s recovery as a sign that the economy is “recovering.”  Well, to all my friends who are “99ers,” who are skilled workers, who’ve been members of the workforce for over 30 years, who WANT to work (sorry Sharron Angle and the other tea partiers – they’re not lazy), wall street’s success while, at the same time, they can’t even get an interview doesn’t cut it!  And, when we read that America’s corporations are sitting on TRILLIONS in cash reserves and are still not hiring people because, presumably, of a lack of demand – I hope you can see the problem here.

Obama and the democrats had the opportunity when he took office to REALLY change the environment in Washington DC.  Yes, they passed some legislation which was much different than what would have come from a republican administration and congress.  But, they did a HORRIBLE job of meeting the challenge of the “JUST SAY NO” republican senate.  The democrats in the senate not only couldn’t get good legislation through, they – in the process – undermined their supposed “colleagues” in the House – helping to dissuade the liberal “base” from voting in the mid-term elections and causing many members of the democratic caucus in the house (and some in the senate) to lose their seats.  The theory that came across – any legislation is better than nothing – allowed the republicans to TOTALLY manipulate the situation and now we’re stuck with a republican led House which is going to do everything it can to fulfill the wishes of Mitch McConnell, Rush Limbaugh, and John Boehner (among others on the “right”) and that is to make sure President Obama fails.

Additionally, what’s next on the horizon for these “right wingers?” I’m certain it’s Social Security!  Will they go after it as the price for an extension of the debt “ceiling?”  Will Obama “cave” again?  These are the questions I have for the almost immediate future.  I can say this – and I don’t get out of my corner of the nation much – but, I have friends who are surviving on Social Security and who are die hard right wingers who’ve bought the Limbaugh and Beck medicine and they will be very ANGRY if Social Security becomes the victim of today’s political “wars.”  I talked to a couple of them yesterday and even they can’t understand why the limit on income which is taxed isn’t raised to easily “fix” any potential problem that could occur in 30+ years.   So, President Obama will get another opportunity to make a stand, this time over Social Security.  The question becomes, will he cave and allow wall street to get their seemingly insastiable greedy hands on at least a portion of the trust fund (which republicans have already borrowed – ughhh!)  Without Keith Olberman, the number of “reporters” who will even dissect this issue has diminished to the point where if any “change” happens on a Friday – possibly the only people who will find out will be the ones looking at issues beyond what they see on Fox “news.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are you old enough to remember when those on the “right” referred to the “New Deal” and the subsequent direction of the democratic party as “creeping socialism?”  I can still vividly remember all the naysayers complaining about Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, “welfare,” and on and on as if it was to be the end of the United States of America – when, in reality, these measures led to what may end up being the high point of this great republic’s history.  I’ve been writing on this blog now for about 4+ years and slowly – as I consume book after book exposing what’s REALLY going on with my government – my conception of “what’s wrong” is becoming clearer.  The truth, as I look inward, is that I’ve been a victim of the brainwashing our government has been putting out just as the rest of Americans who watch television, listen to the radio, read the newspapers, etc.  I, personally, have never had a problem with the word socialism and have always been a bit curious as to why our “liberal media” portrays the word with such a negative connotation.  What I’m finally coming to grips with is that the multinational corporations which are slowly taking over this great nation HATE socialism because it empowers the working class of people and limits the ability of the RICH to get RICHER!  In my mind, the REAL threat to the America I’m growing old in is CREEPING FASCISM!

I know many will consider such a “claim” as being preposterous, but I believe I can back the claim up with “facts” that make it difficult to come to any other conclusion.  As I’ve watched this nation I feel so connected to slowly unravel over the past 30+ years I’ve known something is drastically wrong, I’ve never doubted that its origin is in the republican party, but I’ve struggled to manage a sense of clarity in my mind which would allow me to grasp the reality of what’s happening.  I believe that reality is finally setting in and it’s not a “pretty sight.”  The more I learn combined with reminiscing over the political observations I’ve been focused on since the 60’s are making this “reality” much, much clearer.  The first thing I needed to do in order to gain this clarity was to stop thinking that “Fascism could never happen in America – we have a democracy.”  The next thing I needed to do was understand what fascism really is – when I think of fascism I could only muster the thought of Hitler’s Germany.  Well, the definition of fascism is: “a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology.  Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy.”  I’ve read several definitions of fascism and they all come back to a collaboration between corporations and government.

Before I go any further I must remind anyone reading here about my posts regarding the book “The Family” by Jeff Sharlet.  This book chronicles a secret “cache” of fundamentalist “Christians” who have been traveling over the globe since the days of FDR organizing “cells” of business leaders and political power brokers in a right wing push to repeal the legislation of the New Deal.  These people have grown exponentially since the 30’s, they have a firm grip on legislators in both houses of our Congress, and – most significantly to me – they structured their philosophy on that of Hitler and the Third Reich!  Now, if that doesn’t get your attention, I’m not sure what will – but, I’ll keep trying.  Jim DeMint, John Ensign, Tom Coburn, John Kyl, just to name a few of the members of this group.  They are the ones behind the “National Prayer Breakfast” which draws almost EVERY US politician who wants a national “stage” each year in Washington DC.  Their immense power is totally UNKNOWN to us “little people” and they are fully intent on keeping it that way.  How significant their “tentacles” are on this “creeping fascism” I’m seeing is not clear to me – but, reading that book helped me to see that there REALLY is an organized group planning to make Karl Rove’s “permanent republican ‘majority'” a reality.  But, I digress……….

Let’s go back to the days of Ronald Reagan for starters – because, that’s where I believe this “push” managed to get into “high gear.”  When you look with 20/20 hindsight to the statistics this doesn’t seem so far fetched.  Reagan took office after the budget deficit had been reduced by Jimmy Carter around 50% during his four years as president from about $70 BILLION to $35 BILLION – I’m going strictly by memory here, but I believe those figures are pretty accurate.  Of course, Reagan’s great BS Claim was that he was going to “reduce taxes and balance the budget!”  The ONLY time I ever agreed with a Bush was when George HW Bush called Reagan’s plan “voodoo economics.”  Of course, Reagan won – with the help of the republican dirty tricksters (I don’t think we’ll ever know the full extent of what went on in that campaign because Carter was weakened by the Iran Hostage crisis – but, Reagan was too “out there” to win without some shenanigans – including the candidacy of John Anderson which drew disheartened democrats away from Carter.  As a warning to liberals – Reagan was about as much a “fringe” candidate in the 70’s as Sarah Palin is today).  Since the day Ronald Reagan moved into the White House the middle class in America has been on a down hill slide and corporate POWER has been on the RISE.  Let me lay it out for you (I’m sure there are books out there that do this much better, as I’m working from memory, but I think you’ll get the point).

First, Reagan went right after the unions.  I’ll never forget watching him, on national TV, break the PATCO Union which was the bargaining agent for the Air Traffic Controllers.  At the time Reagan took office the United States’ workforce was approximately one third unionized.  The middle class in America was thriving.  Much of what happened during the Reagan years, as I look back, was very subtle – but, when putting it all together as part of this long term “movement” which was being spearheaded by the “Family,” it was also very calculated.  For example, the union busting – those in the Family and those on the “right” during the “New Deal” HATED the unions.  Ever since the day Reagan broke the Air Traffic Controllers the percentage of our workforce that is unionized has been dwindling – and, they’re still trying to defeat those unions which still exist (I’m in one of them – the teacher’s union – and proudly so).  As of this writing, I believe the total percentage of America’s workforce which is unionized has dropped to something less than 10%!  The republican party – in conjunction with groups such as the “Family” – have convinced America’s middle class (there’s where most of the votes are) to vote against their own self interest – as unions bargain for the rights of the workers themselves – ie America’s middle class!  Then the question becomes, “how did they manage to pull this off?” Getting millions of Americans to vote against their own self interest.

Have you ever listened to Rush Limbaugh?  Sean Hannity?  Glenn Beck?  Bill O’Reilly?  Michael Savage? (Weiner) Lars Larson?  John Boehner?  Mitch McConnell?  Sarah Palin?  John McCain? any of these right wing water carriers for whomever is providing the “message?”  These people are participating in one of the greatest brainwashing schemes, in my mind, the world has ever witnessed.  I’m sure people around the world are wondering what on earth is happening to the United States of America which just 30 short years ago was the “leader of the free world.”  Well, all you have to do is listen to some of these people – for just a few moments – and FACT CHECK what they’re “spewing” and you start to get a picture of “what’s going on.”  This “brainwashing” started during the Reagan years with Limbaugh.  Since that day we’ve been hearing the term “republican talking points” and not too many people have called them (the republicans) on what that (talking points) means.  George W Bush put it best when he said he had to say things “over and over again sort of to catapult the propaganda” which is what they’ve been up to for over 30 years. 

The other day I did a little experiment.  I happened to be driving during the day and heard a conversation Thom Hartmann had with a republican regarding the impending battle over the “tax cuts for the rich.”  (Hartmann, if you don’t know, is a “progressive talker” on the radio – and, this was prior to Obama “caving” on the issue)  The other person, I never knew his name, kept using the term “uncertainty” when referring to why republicans wanted the tax cuts extended.  His claim was that corporations weren’t hiring due to the “uncertainty” of not knowing if these cuts would be extended or not (has there been a lot of hiring since they were exteneded? I’m digressing again….).  Hartmann, to his credit, saw right through the guy and called him out on the ludicrousness of his claim – but, it all made sense to me about 5 hours later.  On my way home from work that evening I tuned into a couple “conservative” talk shows and heard the term “uncertainty” in regards to why the tax cuts needed to be extended from both sources.  Once home I turned on Fox “news” (I really hate doing that) and guess what term was coming out of EVERY mouth on their channel that evening?  Yup, you’re correct, UNCERTAINTY!  That’s a small example of what the republicans have been doing since the first day they put Limbaugh on the airwaves.  In the process they’ve managed to turn the words “liberal” and “socialism” into politically incorrect terms and they’ve convinced their unsuspecting audiences that the media is truly “liberal.”

Limbaugh reportedly makes $400 MILLION per year, Beck something approaching $100 MILLION, and who knows (or cares) how much the rest of them make – we, just know that they’re well paid to give the “message” to the unsuspecting public.  So, if you’re wondering (like I did for so long) why so many good Americans continually vote against their best interests – take a look at Fox and a listen to some of these right wing blow hards who have no sense of honor whatsoever.  Should this nation vote in an autocratic, corporatist regime all these people will continue to flourish – in fact, they’ll have even more reason to participate in the propaganda “machine” because they’ve proven that their wealth is more important than their conscience.  The frustration most Americans feel regarding our political leaders is that most of them are “corporatists.”  Well, with the direction we’ve taken in the last ten years, it’s becoming more and more difficult to imagine the process which will overcome that tendency.

But wait, there’s more.  These people – due to me not knowing for sure I’m going to say they’re PROBABLY the “Family” – seemingly have a grip on more than just the republicans.  Yes, much of the deregulation which was aimed at dismantling the “New Deal” originated during the Reagan presidency, yet voting in democrats hasn’t really helped all that much.  There were things I liked about Bill Clinton and he was surely much better in many ways than any republican alternative, but the bottom line is that it was during Clinton’s “watch” that NAFTA was enacted, the Glass Steagall act was repealed, and worst than everything else (in my view) the telecommunications act of 1996 was passed.   Combining that MAJOR blunder with the propaganda scheme being put into place by Limbaugh and the republicans, Clinton had “opened the door” for about 8 or 9 RIGHT WING corporations to take over about 90% of America’s so-called “liberal media.”  Just the FACT the republicans have spent so much time convincing America’s public that the media – which they control – is “liberal” simply goes to the sophistication of their scheme.  It’s like people such as Beck and Limbaugh calling President Obama a fascist – when it is them who are espousing the fascist principles.  Unfortunately, America’s voting public is still “unsuspecting” and many – maybe even most – still think people like Beck and Limbaugh (OK, you too Lars) are actually telling the truth – when, in reality, they’re closer to being like wind up dolls which have been pre-programmed from the “source.”  I realize this is getting involved, but I’m going to continue.  (I put this in bold in case you want to bookmark and come back later :o)

So, you have this “source” (probably the “Family”) leading the republicans in their takeover of the media (America’s fourth estate – the “free press” which was designed by the founders to keep our politicians “honest”) and then combine that with a planned takeover of the courts and hopefully you can see the same trouble on the “horizon” that I do.  Make no mistake that the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision was NO ACCIDENT!  I have no doubt what the Bush “people” had in mind when they put John Roberts and Sam Alito on the Supreme Court.  When I think back to Alito’s disgusting response to President Obama’s (accurate) prediction that “Citizens United” would open the “floodgates” to foreign corporate money influencing our elections it makes me wonder if he can even visualize the damage he’s done to this great nation.  Both Roberts and Alito directly contradicted their sworn testimony before Congress when they participated in that decision which overturned 100 + years of American campaign law (talk about your legislating from the bench!) and further empowered the corporate interests which I’m essentially claiming are taking over our government – with the help of a select few participants in and around the congress of the United States.  It was bad enough to have a Supreme Court which felt at all comfortable determining the outcome of a presidential election – especially against the clear will of the people – but, this decision was the “icing on the cake.”  If “Citizens United” doesn’t get people’s attention, whatever it’s going to take might be too late (I guess that’s why I’m still writing).

In partial summary, you should be able to see that “we the people” are facing a sophisticated propaganda “machine,” the “right wing” has garnered control of the media to the point where they’re convincing good Americans to vote against their own self interests, and the Supreme Court is tilted strongly to the “right” and has created a monstrosity in “Citizens United” which could give multinational corporations unlimited power in our future elections.  These people (whoever they are) have marginalized unions, have eliminated a large percentage of the “New Deal” regulations which prevented corporate overreach, they still HATE programs like Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, etc., and I haven’t even mentioned how they support the imperialistic and militaristic policies of the Bush doctrine and how they’ve so handsomely profited from America’s “war machine.”  Hopefully, you’re starting to get my “drift.”

Let me conclude by pointing out, from the prespective of I guess what you’d have to call the “Christian left,” the part of all this that really made it start to come together in my head was when I read about the “Family” – a fundamentalist “Christian” right wing group – who have been basing their philosophy on Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and other authoritarian figures since the demise of the Germans after WW II – and putting the name of Jesus on it.  These people call themselves Christians, but their actions go against everything I’ve learned since I committed my life to Jesus Christ.  Their idea of “free will” is them deciding on what is “free” and the rest of us going along – or else.  Instead of focusing on the poor they focus on the rich.  It’s almost as if the “poor” don’t matter.  I don’t know if you remember, but when George W Bush got the Military Commissions Act through Congress in 2006 – an act which included an attempt to end Habeas Corpus – he had the presumed “right” to determine at will that ANY American citizen was an “enemy combatant” and they could be locked up in a Guantanamo type prison presumably indefinitely.  Well, the Supreme Court did overturn the ABSURD revoking of the basic human right – Habeas Corpus – BUT not the Military Commissions Act itself.  Think about that!

It’s time to refresh you on the definition of fascism:  “a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology.  Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy.”   I believe I’ve shown that the push for the “permanent republican majority” is radical and authoritarian by inference.  To me, there is no doubt that the republicans are the vehicles for a scheme based on “corporatist perspectives, values, and systems,” and they are in the process of a long term project aimed at undermining our political system and economy.  For them, it’s all about POWER!  (and money) I always thought that it would be impossible for America to evolve into a fascist state until I looked closer at what the republican party’s been up to for the past 30+ years.  Is it too far fetched to think that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and “The Family” could be part of a fascist conspiracy in America?  To me, the evidence strongly implies this is so!  If “We the People” continue to be complacent and take our democracy for granted, these people may very well succeed – that’s what the baby boomers who voted for the “tea party” will be leaving to their children and grandchildren!  Ughhhhh!!!

It will be interesting to see if the passing of the DADT repeal squelches all the disdain from the “left” aimed at President Obama.  To me, the next two years should be extremely interesting, if nothing else.  I took a quick peek at Paul Krugman’s blog today and got a glimpse at several issues, which are upcoming, and which continue my sense of “pause.”  Additionally, I just finished a book on the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression and it made me “long” for courageous leadership all the more.  The really interesting thing in reading that book was the parallels to what is happening today.  In my previous post I was reminded of the saying “Those who choose to ingnore history are destined to repeat it,” and repeating history is what contemporary politics feels like.  As far as President Obama is concerned, I really don’t know what to think.

 I stated in my last posting that I don’t believe I could vote for him again.  Then last evening I was pondering on the FACT that when Bill Clinton (another republican-lite democrat, in my view) left office – despite the repeal of Glass-Steagall, despite the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (which opened the door to the right wing takeover of the media), and despite the trade agreements such as NAFTA, there was a budget surplus of a quarter of a BILLION dollars/year with projections that our deficit could be wiped out in something like 10 years.  The US Supreme Court changed all that when they chose George W Bush as president in 2000.  The ensuing damage can’t be underestimated – it was HUGE!  Honestly, I’m still at a loss trying to figure out how “we the people” could allow our courts to decide who the president is – but, its now “water under the bridge.”  The question continually coming to my mind in my disenchantment with democrats is “what is the alternative?”

If you’re reading this I know you understand the Bush/Cheney “damage,” and the democratic “alternative” but, I’m going to relist some of it, just to make myself feel better and refresh my own memory as I draw out my thoughts for this evening (Plus, I firmly believe that people should be reminded of the REAL republican agenda as often as possible, because it appears to me there are a lot of Americans suffering from amnesia.  One of the things which “bugs” me the most about republicans is the right wing media either ignoring history or revising it – to the point where they’re again convincing America’s vulnerable voters that tax cuts create jobs and “deficits don’t matter”) Let’s start with the tax cuts.  Of course, this is still a raw spot for me – and, as stated in my last posting – possibly the final straw in my disappointment with Bush’s successor – whom I supported vigorously – when Obama “compromised” to extend them.  So, instead of something approaching a minimal deficit we’re looking at a MAJOR BATTLE over increasing the debt limit (in a couple of months) above FOURTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS and a possible stealth attack on Social Security! Ouchee!  And, I just have to slip this in – I believe this battle is going to lead to even more BAD “compromises” by President Obama.  Not only did the Bush administration push through massive tax cuts RIGHT OFF THE BAT after taking over the White House in 2001, but, they did it again a couple years later when Dick Cheney made one of his infamous quotes, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Somehow, ALL the republicans who went along with him then are now “singing” a different tune. (The deficit “matters” except when it comes to tax cuts!)

Of course, there’s a lot more.  Iraq and Afganistan are probably exponentially worse “sore spots” for me as I look back on the Bush administration (and now the Obama administration – if you want to try to understand why we’re probably going to be in both places indefinitely read Andrew Bacevich’s “Washington Rules” and Thomas Ricks “The Gamble”).  George W Bush envisioned himself as the “War President” – and, I believe it’s safe to say he was the WORST “War President” in the history of this great nation.  Talk about your deja vu’s all over again – that would be BOTH Iraq and Afganistan.  What’s worse for me in all of this, BOTH Bush and Cheney used their status and knowledge of the “system” to avoid service during the Viet Nam war – which was the Iraq or Afganistan of their era.  Neither one had the GUTS to fight in that war, but they didn’t hesitate to send thousands of young Americans to their deaths or dismemberment in these two senseless US adventures.  Yes, Afganistan was justified up to the point where Bush/Cheney proved that it was nothing more than a reason to invade Iraq (when they let bin Laden go) which they had been contemplating for several years prior to Bush moving into the White House.  Read Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” if you’d like to understand the twisted logic Bush/Cheney were relying on to “open the door” to their adventure in Iraq. 

Just try to imagine how different EVERYTHING in America would be right now had Bush/Cheney simply OK’d the capture of Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora within months of invading Afganistan and then bringing America’s troops home.  Of course, people like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, and all the others who made HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars profiting from America’s folly in Iraq would not be too happy, but just think how much more “safe” America would be right now.  Instead, we have become the flashpoint recruiting tool of Al Qaeda and every other radical terrorist organization in the world, we empowered Iran, and we’ve basically turned the entire world against the United States.  Instead of making us more safe, Bush’s “war on terror” has made America EXTREMELY more vulnerable, is leading us toward national insolvency, and has spread our military so thin that should an actual emergency arise we could be in BIG TROUBLE.  Are we going to continue to rely on members of our armed services who’ve been deployed upwards of 7 or 8 – or more in some cases – times in the past 10 years to “keep us safe.”  Have you ever wondered how many of America’s troops – who are actively and dutifully following the orders of our GUTLESS civilian leaders – have PTSD?  I mean, how many times can you deploy to Iraq or Afgansistan without having MAJOR issues?  And, where is our so-called “liberal media” on all of this?  We hear virtually NOTHING regarding these two occupations anymore – as if they don’t exist.  Evidently, TAX CUTS are of more significance!

The saying FDR was probably most famous for was “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  Well, the United States’ politicians have been exploiting fear for as long as I can remember, but since 9/11 – it’s been off the charts.  And, what is the result?  For starters, you’ve got the “Patriot Act” which opened the doors to surveillance abuses by Bush/Cheney et al and to Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other rendition facilities which let to the blatant TORTURE authorized by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others in their administration.  I’ll never forget watching C-SPAN during the congressional testimony of John Yoo, the Bush lawyer who enabled TORTURE to be “legal,” when he responded to the question “Would burying someone alive and then digging them up be torture?” by saying, “it depends on the circumstances and whether or not they die.”  I couldn’t believe what I had heard, but after researching what was really going on in the name of my country, I realized this Yoo guy had a lot of influence on the destruction of America’s traditional values (I’m not so naive to think that the CIA hadn’t been involved in torture for years – and, I’m sure that’s the reason for the coverup of what happend at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and elsewhere – but, just the same, it’s all “chilling”).  Somehow, I got the feeling that Bush, Cheney and the others – when learning that Khalid Sheik Mohammed was claustraphobic and afraid of bugs – felt that, after waterboarding him 183, times putting him in a “mini” sized casket filled with ants and bugs was sufficient retribution for 9/11.  So much, I guess, for the country I love, standing tall for the protection of human rights.  Bush/Cheney even went so far as to attempt a repeal of one of the most basic of human rights guarantees, Habeous Corpus. 

Bush and Cheney both admitted to warrantlessly wiretapping American citizens – and, the presumption is that it was done MANY times – but, of course, Obama in all his wisdom chose to “look forward instead of back” – so blatant felonious violations of the FISA law and our fourth amendment right to privacy have been compromised in the name of “keeping us safe.”  When Bush/Cheney were “called” on this illegal behavior they simply abused the “States Secrets Privilege” to prevent any court from investigating their wrongdoing and they lobbied congress (with Obama’s help, by the way) to indemnify the telecommunications companies who were complicit in their warrantless wiretaps.  When anyone objects to this illegal activity, those in charge (including Obama) pull out the “fear card.”  Now, we’ve gone so far as to enable Bush’s head of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, to make HIS major windfall by requiring x-ray machines at airports (of course, he’s the middleman collecting the “commission”) which will make sure you have absolutely NO secrets from the officials manning the screen.  We’ve traded our privacy for their profits based on fear – and, of course, a continued American military presence in virtually every location in the world.

I’m still angry about Dick Cheney walking away “scott free” after “outing a CIA agent.”  Presonally, I considered that one treason.  This man comes after those who “cross” him – in this case, it was the husband of a covert CIA agent – who was leading the secret investigation of Iran’s nuclear capability by the way – VICIOUSLY!  Joe Wilson (the husband) simply told the truth about a phony document claiming Sadam Hussein had purchased 500 tons of yellow cake uranium from Niger, a tiny African nation which Wilson had previously been an ambassador to and still had enough connections with to verify whether or not the claim was true (Bush/Cheney used this lie to imply Hussein had a nuclear program that endangered America – the infamous “mushroom cloud”).  The irony is that Wilson was sent to Niger at the request of someone coming from the Vice President’s office.  Evidently, they didn’t want him to make a report unless it coincided with the twisted logic Cheney was using to justify the invasion of Iraq.  The truth is that once 9/11 happened there was no way to stop the Bush/Cheney administration from invading Iraq.

The legacy of Bush/Cheney (along with Reagan and Bush the first) when it comes to the Justice Department is disgusting as well.  I’ve said this many times on this site that if the American people ever lose faith in the fairness of the Justice Department we are on our way to chaos.  During the Bush/Cheney regime new hires at the Justice Department were required to take loyalty oaths to the republican party – HIGHLY ILLEGAL – yet, never prosecuted.  Karl Rove, and others associated with the White House, were allowed to make republican propaganda presentations to various departments in our government, clear violations of law, without consequence.  Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General himself, took the oath before congress and proceeded to perjure himself OVER and OVER again – likewise, without consequence.  Bush appointees on several occasions simply refused to answer subpoenas to congress – AGAIN with NO consequence – all of this, to me, very disgusting and undermining the premise that the United States is a “nation of laws and not men.”  This was all bad enough, but soon after President Obama took over it became clear that he also had no will to hold the lawbreakers of the Bush/Cheney administration to account for their actions – including Bush and Cheney themselves –  both of whom should have been impeached!  Obama apparently believes Nixon’s claim that “if the president does it, it must be legal.”  A GREAT hard earned victory won after Watergate was essentially thrown out the window with one CURIOUS decision by Barack Obama.

There’s more!  Getting back to my point about the Supreme Court choosing Bush/Cheney in the first place, here comes the rub as I ponder my EXTREME disappointment in President Obama.  The truth is that not all is bad – despite my disappointment in his pandering to the republican thugs – he did make two Supreme Court choices which I found extremely positive.  And, I think that when 2012 comes around, no matter how bad things are in the economy, or even if the two Bush (now Obama) wars are continuing – which I believe will be the case (I hope I’m wrong) – the difference between the Obama choices for the Supreme Court and anything a republican might choose would be strataspheric!  George W Bush chose both John Roberts and Sam Alito – and the result was “Citizens United” – in my mind, the worst Supreme Court decision of my lifetime.  If we end up with some kind of fascist corporatocracy – Citizens United will be the reason why and you can put it on the “lap” of Roberts and Alito – both of whom contradicted their confirmation testimony in making that decision.  And, there will be more nominations in the next six years – most probably for what’s left of the “liberal” side of the court.  If the republicans get a couple more “Alito’s” on that court – progressives in this country are SCREWED for a generation at least.  So, in my major disappointment with Obama – and my sense that I must keep reminding people about the misdeeds of the Bush administration so that the right wing media does not get away with “rewriting” history – practically speaking, it is likely that the only option to prevent a further deterioration of the Supreme Court in 2012 will be a vote for President Obama!

These past few days (the “lame duck” session of 2010) have been somewhat encouraging.  It actually felt as if Harry Reid was showing some spine as he forced the republicans to stay in session until they dealt with the 9/11 first responders legislation (which, in itself – their opposition to this – should render them as unworthy of governing in this nation – but, I guess, that’s a story for another evening) and the START treaty – which was equally as difficult to understand why republicans would oppose something so fundamental to our national security.  Listening to John Kyl complain about Reid “ruining his Christmas” was heartwarming to me – made me wonder if Kyl ever wonders how many Christmas’s he and his colleagues have ruined.  I hope that is a sign of things to come – I don’t really expect much in the next two years, but it would be nice to see democrats forcing the republicans to openly vote for or against policy which is supported by “we the people.”  If you remember, the “public option” had the support of 75% of the American public, but was never brought to a vote in the Senate – in my mind, the government should have STOPPED until that vote was publicly taken – let them have a real filibuster! 

I’m going to end this by saying I ABSOLUTELY don’t trust ANY republicans in congress (with the possible exception of Ron Paul – who I simply disagree with on many fronts) and, I’m nervous about Obama’s willingness to “cave”on important issues.  I see a full out attack on Social Security on the horizon (by republicans) – and, I hope to see the Harry Reid of the past couple weeks as opposed to the Harry Reid of the past two years (Reid is going to be a marked man now that the House is controlled by republicans) – otherwise this bastion of the Great American Middle Class could be in danger.  Remember, the republicans have been on a 70 year mission to dismantle the New Deal – and, they’re slowly and surely making progress.  They think much farther into the future than democrats.  I firmly believe they have their sights set on Social Security and Medicare – this tax cut deal was the most significant step in TOTALLY undermining the funding for the programs.  If the democrats don’t begin FIGHTING back in these next two years the republicans will succeed in their “mission.”  They HATE any social safety net unless it protects their big business interests.  I’ve said this many times – the real war being fought in America is right here at home and it’s for the heart and soul of this country.  I truly hope the few successes of the past two weeks don’t lull the democrats into a false sense of goodwill – because the republicans real goal still lies ahead!