I have not hidden the fact that I enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in his presidential campaign.  I have been very open with my absolute disdain for the direction the republican party has led this nation for the past 30 years.  And, I’ve been unable to hide my disappointment with our new president since before he was inaugurated.  Tonight, I’m not going to go over all of those frustrations – AGAIN – but, will probably touch on many of them in trying to make my point.  If you’ve been a frequent visitor to this site you know that Obama’s turning his back on all the wrongdoing of the (correctly labeled – in my view) “Bush crime family” was intolerable.  I suppose the underpinnings of why that was SO INTOLERABLE might come out in my vent this evening.  It is so clear in my mind, but so difficult for me to put accurately into just a few hundred words.  But, as I (along with the rest of America) watch the Gulf Coast TREASURES – which are irreplaceable – DESTROYED by the epitome of what has been wrong with America since the day Ronald Reagan took office I can’t help but think about all the situations “we the people” have simply accepted as “politics as usual” while “going about our business” of “surviving.”

The American public has been (very subtly) BRAINWASHED.  The republicans have been SHAMELESSLY pushing a lie for over 30 years – and, they’ve gotten so good at it – they often times come across as authentic – even to those who understand what they’ve been up to.  Thomas Frank puts it better than anyone else I’ve read in his great book “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”  He points out how the republicans have been exploiting the abortion issue (with no intention to prevail – it’s just a tool for them – my interpretation) to get good “blue collar” people to vote for the destruction of everything they hold dear.  These are the very people who were at the head of the line when the battle for America’s middle class was in full swing.  This is where the major labor unions were formed, the auto industry blossomed, and truly earned the right to be called America’s heartland.  Well, since the days of Reagan they’ve been voting “red” despite the fact the results are destroying everything they sacrificed so much to create in the first place.  It’s the corporate mentality which they overcame originally, which they have now succumbed to.  As Frank puts it regarding the anger that is “pent up” in places like Kansas, “Their grandstanding leaders never deliver, their fury mounts and mounts, and nevertheless they turn out every two years to return their right-wing heroes to a second, third, a twentieth try.  The trick never ages; the illusion never wears off.  Vote to stop abortion; receive a rollback in capital gains taxes.  Vote to make our country strong again; receive deindustrialization.  Vote to screw those politically correct college professors; receive electricity deregulation.  Vote to get government off our backs; receive conglomeration and monopoly everywhere from media to meatpacking.  Vote to stand tall against terrorists; receive Social Security privatization.  Vote to strike a blow against elitism; receive a social order in which wealth is more concentrated than ever before in our lifetimes, in which workers have been stripped of power and CEO’s are rewarded in a manner beyond imagining.”

One of the great ironies from Frank’s book is when one of the Kansan’s he interviewed said, “We’re tired of everything being wonderful on Wall Street and terrible on Main Street.”  Frank goes on by saying incredulously “Let me repeat that, they’re voting republican to get even with Wall Street!”  That, in a nutshell, points out how dramatic the BRAINWASHING of America has been.  And this will not be easily changed (which is the “change I can believe in”) and it WON’T be changed by anyone trying to be a “dealmaker” or someone trying to be “bipartisan.”  I can (and have, and probably will) guarantee you that the republicans won’t give up an “inch” of the ground they’ve managed to take over these thirty years without a guargantuan FIGHT.  This is a WAR for the soul of this nation – and, with the BP oil spill Obama has been given a golden opportunity to take the offensive and do what he should have been doing from day one.

I’m sure some of you have chuckled (I’m trying to be kind) as I’ve continually tried to give our sitting president advice.  Obviously, he’s not taking advice from people like me.  But, here I go again! :o)  Let’s just look at the situation in the gulf to see what a magnificent opportunity Obama has.  First off, I have to say that it grieves my heart that it had to get to a situation like this, but it’s there now and the worse thing Obama can do is continue his tepid approach to decision making and his reluctance to take on republicans – for WHATEVER reason.  That HAS TO STOP or Obama is a one term president and we’re all doomed for another Bush – or some facimilie in the White House.  And, picture another republican in the White House with “Citizen’s United” in full swing – if that’s not a scary thought to you – you’ve either drank the republican’s “coolaid” – or you’re just not paying attention.  BP is the prime example of what “Citizen’s United” is thrusting upon our political system – and, if you think they won’t be TOTALLY involved in the next U.S. election, well, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell…….

From the start of this disaster BP has been LYING (typical republican tactic) through their TEETH about what happened, about how much pollution is escaping the well head (they have to pay a fine for every barrell of oil that escapes – that fine should be in the BILLIONS by now), BP’s been bullying the fishermen who are desperate for income that has been destroyed by the oil slick – so they are trying to help contain the spill, but not allowed to wear respirators because of appearances (something like nine fishermen ended up in the hospital because of breathing the fumes of the oil and the dispersent material being dropped on the spill by BP – which is evidently only making the disaster worse), BP is creating a paperwork nightmare for impacted people along the coast who are trying to recoup lost income from the spill, they are doing everything they can to prevent news reporters and photographers from getting close to the scene, and the other day it was reported that they have “bought off” Google and Yahoo search engines to redirect searches to their website where they can – you guessed it – spew out MORE PROPAGANDA!

BP lied during the process of getting permits for this well, they had no plan WHATSOEVER of what to do if it went bad, and the people in the Minerals Management Service who signed the waiver were put there by who else? You guessed it – Dick Cheney!  So, we’re back to the “golden opportunity” President Obama has to “right the ship” as far as his leadership and his presidency.  It’s true that taking on the republican establishment will cause a major “uproar” (Obama stated he didn’t want the distraction when he orginally declined to investigate the “Bush Crime family” – maybe saving his own presidency will be enough to motivate him into action here).  You’ve heard, I’m sure, of the old saying that “all roads lead to Rome?”  Well, in today’s environment, all disasters lead to Bush/Cheney.  The problem is perception.  As long as Barack Obama continues to cower from a confrontation from the administration most people consider the worst in American history – his administration will be possibly taking their place by the time his first term is up.  I wish I could put it nicer – but, that’s the way I see it.  So, the advice?  It’s time for the advice (and if you know President Obama, why don’t you just ask him to read it once?  Maybe give Rahm Emanuel a day off)

First, admit to some mistakes.  Here’s a good one to admit to.  The Minerals Management Service should have been purged of all the Cheney cronies FROM DAY ONE!  That may have prevented the ridiculous waiver process which was clearly out of control as Obama took the oath of office.  Let’s be real here!  How many more wells are being drilled as I write this with other worthless, potentially disastrous waivers.  This is a PRIME example of what happens when the government convinces itself that these corporate CEO’s are smarter and more dedicated to the public good than the CAREER public servants who are true servants and not trying to skimp at every corner.  Then say something like: “There’s nothing more we can do about this disaster than work as hard as we can to get this well capped and clean up the mess – however long that takes.”  Next point out, “We have to find out how serious this problem is, so we’re going to investigate the process which led to this well, AND ALL OTHER WELLS, to uncover any other unsafe wells – so that relief wells can be started immediately, and we can uncover any illegal or immoral activity going on in the MMS.  Anyone found guilty of committing crimes will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law – and that includes the leadership of BP and/or any other entity wishing to drill for oil off the shores of the United States of America.”

Then bring up Google and Yahoo search engines.  Say something like, “I am authorizing Congress to subpoena the executives from both Google and Yahoo to question whether they have actually allowed themselves to be ‘bought off’ in regard to manipulation of material facts on their search engines.”  I personally don’t know if that’s illegal, but I believe the general public has a right to know how or why BP managed to get to the top of the search engines with a site showing how they’re “helping.”  President Obama, remember the transparency you were so “FOR” during the campaign?  Now’s the time to kick it into high gear.  And, take this opportunity to “hit a home run.”  Promise the American people the thorough investigation of what was going on during Bush/Cheney – or are you going to STUBBORNLY force all of America to find out all these disasters one at a time – like this oil spill – with you on your heels every step of the way?  “We the people” have been outraged by all of this crap for years.  We elected you thinking you would do something about it.  Honestly Mr. President, you didn’t come across to me as someone who was afraid of a good fight.  I still think it’s your advisors.  Take a moment to reflect on their advice – and, if it’s been them pushing you farther and farther toward the “right,” GET RID OF THEM!  And, sooner rather than later.  I’m out of school in two weeks, I’d be glad to VOLUNTEER to help for about two and a half months (you’d have to pay for my plane ticket and room and board – I am a school teacher after all).  There’s millions of other Americans who could probably give you better advice than me.  I would start by posing a question: President Obama, EVERYONE is asking the same question: “Where’s the outrage?”  And, not just toward this oil spill.  Toward the republican’s thirty years of ripping off the American taxpayer with one scam after another – as Thomas Frank puts it “blue collar workers voting republican to get back at Wall Street!”  The republicans have succeeded in that ridiculous propaganda scheme because the democrats don’t have the courage to stand up to them.  We’ve allowed illegal wiretapping without consequence, we’ve allowed torture without consequence, we’ve allowed an entire war built on lies WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE, I could go on and on – but will end by saying and now THIS!  The destruction of one of our most pristine treasures by one of the bulliest of corporations.  Mr. Obama, this crap won’t stop until you, or SOMEONE who’s in a position of influence, stands tall and says ENOUGH ALREADY!  And the outrage will be demonstrated by your actions, not your words!

The BP oil “gusher” should pretty much HOG the news cycles until August (and beyond) – unless a miracle happens and they get the spill stopped prior to finishing the “relief well” which, from everything I can surmise is the only REAL solution to the problem.  (makes one wonder – well, I should say it’s making me wonder – why the relief well wasn’t part of the REQUIREMENTS for BP when they originally drilled this nightmare.  The oil has now reached some of the “pristine” beaches of Florida – and, what I believe a lot of people don’t understand is it’s a MENACE to many more beaches than the ones already under attack.  So, I “get” that in today’s America, this is what we’ll all be talking about.  President Obama is going to do everything he can to make sure he doesn’t relive the Bush “Katrina” disaster, but, as I’ve stated many times on this site – I believe it’s time for President Obama to get some new ADVISORS!  His tepid approach to just about EVERYTHING is not “what the doctor ordered.”  And, the republicans are really good at taking advantage of this – they are going to do EVERYTHING in their power to make Obama look as bad as they can. (despite the consequences on our nation of their lack of support!)

Of course, we’ll never convince the right wing “sheep,” (or should I say “ditto heads”) that the regime of Bush/Cheney is largely to blame for ALL of the things going wrong right now – so, that shouldn’t even be part of the discussion from Obama’s quarters.  If President Obama doesn’t go AGRESSIVELY on the attack – AGAINST REPUBLICANS – soon, I believe his presidency is doomed.  (Well, that being said, I still can only think of one credible republican candidate for 2012 and his name is Bush – and, God help us if we get another one of “them” in the White House)  Bush/Cheney gutted the tax system leading to the HUGE deficits which so many “Tea Partiers” are up in arms about (blaming Obama, of course), Bush/Cheney led us into two interminable, disgustingly illegal and immoral occupations – which Obama apparently doesn’t have the “stones” to pull us out of, it was Bush/Cheney who GUTTED their regulatory system leading to WHO KNOWS HOW MANY more situations which could turn into another “Deep Horizon” disaster (I don’t know if you remember, but the regulators at the Minerals Management Service were doing drugs and having sexual orgies with the people they were supposedly regulating regarding the oil rigs – this was during the “family values” era of Bush/Cheney) – so, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out how many “requirements” were waived on this “Deep Horizon” rig, and worse than all of this is the general legacy Bush/Cheney left behind of the US as the world’s new Soviet Union – our CIA being compared to the KGB around the world – complete with our leaders authorizing TORTURE and, therefore, WAR CRIMES!

Yes, this oil disaster is HUGE – but, it will be stopped at least by August.  The Bush/Cheney legacy will continue on for untold years and Obama’s reaction to it will FOREVER stain his presidency.  I’ve been pointing this out since the first day I heard of the “we’re looking forward instead of back” policy of President Obama and Eric Holder.  In fact, I couldn’t help be turned off by the incredible hypocrisy watching Holder last week pointing out that the justice department was holding a thorough civil and criminal investigation of the BP oil spill and “if laws were broken, there will be prosecutions ‘TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW!'”  That is EXACTLY what Obama PROMISED on the campaign trail – regarding TORTURE – and, Holder, in his confirmation hearings certainly led me to believe he would not turn his back on TORTURE!  I guess the FACT it was AUTHORIZED by the highest leaders in our land made Obama and Holder a bit nervous.  Well, now it’s all coming back to haunt them – AGAIN – and, it will continue to do so FOREVER – if they don’t do something about it!

I usually have a lot of respect for Keith Olberman, but the other day when he brought up the subject of GW Bush admitting that he had authorized TORTURE he said something like “now that he’s admitted it, shouldn’t we do something?”  Well, earth to Keith – go ahead and have someone check the records – both Bush and Cheney admitted to authorizing WATERBOARDING shortly after leaving office – and both said the same thing Bush said again the other evening – “I’d do it again!”  (as far as I’m concerned, the media has been part of the problem because NO ONE’S complaining that our leaders were allowed to break innumerable laws with not even an investigation)That’s precisely my point – Mr. President!  If you don’t get with it and “take the bull by the horns” here – we’re going to have a republican in the White House again – sooner rather than later – and, when they start torturing again – it’s going to be YOUR FAULT!

Do you remember Iran/Contra?  Bill Clinton chose to “look forward” (maybe that’s where Obama got that HORRIBLE idea) letting people like Oliver North, George HW Bush, and even Ronald Reagan (Oh yes, and Clinton himself very possibly) “off the hook” for sanctioning an illegal “war” which involved drugs, guns, and lots of OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!  Well, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many of the “culprits” in the Bush 43 “crowd” were part of the Iran/Contra affair.  These people clearly believe the laws are made for us “little people.”  And, President Obama has forever (unless he comes to his wits – now that he has a second opportunity) sanctioned not only Nixon’s RIDICULOUS claim “if the president does it, it must be legal” which so many people spent so much energy to prove wrong, but also Bush/Cheney’s assumption that the laws don’t apply to them.  The saying goes, it’s MUCH easier to give up rights than to get them back – and, we’re seeing that with President Obama.  He is so reluctant to give back the abuses of the Bush/Cheney White House that he’s actually been “seen” in court defending them – like regarding illegal wiretapping and, just recently, refusing habeous corpus rights to “detainees” at Bagram Air Base in Afganistan.  And, for those of you who are not following this – the rest of the world – especially the Muslin portion of it – sees Bagram in the same light as Abu Ghraib and GITMO.  Obama’s lack of decisiveness is fueling the resurgence of the republican party and deflating the “left” which went to so much trouble to get him elected. 

I’m honestly feeling that President Obama is going out of his way to prove to the “right” that he’s not “weak.”  The problem with that “strategy” is that Obama needn’t prove anything to them.  And, they are salivating at his attempts to do this.  I can only imagine what is being said in the republican “caucus” meetings on capital hill.  By attempting to show that he’s not weak, President Obama is coming across exactly as that – WEAK!  And, the democratic congress isn’t helping him much.  I don’t believe President Obama has the time that FDR had to “get it together” in relation to the FIGHT against America’s “right wing” and the corporatocracy which is threatening to set this nation back almost 100 years.  It’s time for our president to LEAD!  As I’ve said many times on this site (if you don’t believe me I’ve archived every post) the REAL WAR is right here in America.  It’s the war for the direction of this nation.  Are we going to just let the corporations and the republicans who support them “have their way” with us?  When Obama was elected I, for some reason, thought that he understood that all too well.  “The change we can believe in” wasn’t just switching from a republican to a democrat in the White House.  I just assumed that all the “liberties” Bush/Cheney took with the executive branch of our government would be reversed.  That has certainly not been the case, and to make matters worse, we still have Bush/Cheney going around BRAGGING about committing WAR CRIMES knowing that our new president doesn’t have the guts to hold them accountable!

Obama gets plenty of “flack” from the “right.”  I really wish I didn’t feel compelled to write stuff like this.  However, I continue to hold out a slim hope that maybe President Obama will see what’s happening to his presidency, and as a result, to the rest of us who so willingly supported him in 2008.  Yes, it’s a tough spot to be in.  The challenges are overwhelming.  But, Obama keeps making one tepid decision after another – all, seemingly with the desire to make peace with the “right,” and it’s  NOT “what the doctor ordered.”  If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time, you know how I feel about the Bush/Cheney regime.  I had pretty much given up on Obama’s opportunity to hold Bush/Cheney accountable for the OBVIOUS lawbreaking they were responsible for.  However, George W Bush’s recent remarks supporting TORTURE should be enough to get President Obama to start the investigations of EVERYTHING they did which is suspect!  I don’t even care if Bush/Cheney end up in jail – I just want The United States of America to be able to say – with conviction – WE DON’T TORTURE!  If a whole bunch of government officials need to be convicted of this crime to make this point – then, SO BE IT!

We all know (or should know) that to be a successful president in America one has to be “presidential.”  And, who determines what “presidential” is?  Well, as far as I can tell, it’s the media.  Now, we could have a discussion all day long as to whether or not our “liberal media” is really liberal, but the reality for President Obama is that perception becomes reality.  This is where the republicans are “light years” ahead of the democrats – and, if they (the democrats) don’t wake up soon, we’re all going to find ourselves in a mess far worse than the one we’re dealing with today – and, I’m not necessarily talking about the BP oil spill here.

I have tried to point out many times how the “right wing” instituted a plan, by my best calculations during the Reagan years – but, possibly prior to then, for a “permanent republican majority.”  Karl Rove, in all his arrogance, went public with this plan during the miserable years of the Bush/Cheney administration.  In fact, the Bush/Cheney administration should have been enough to put an end to such a diabolical plan forever, except for one part of the plan which most people won’t be talking about – and there’s a good reason they won’t.  Our “liberal media” – which is controlled by the likes of GE (not your liberal bastion), Fox (need I say more), Disney (if you don’t think they are tilted STRONGLY to the right – look up a bit of political history on Walt Disney), and a very few others who ALL depend on the corporate “advertising” dollars which often times leave me scratching my head – won’t bring it up.  As a quick example, take BP’s advertising that they are an environmentally “friendly” company.  On one ad after another I end up wondering what on earth are they trying to sell me?  Then it sinks in – NOTHING!  They are providing DOLLARS for the very media outlets which they need “on their side” during “times like these.”  Still not sure what I’m talking about?  Well, if a “news” network becomes dependent on the advertising dollars of  a company like BP, are they going to REALLY do “investigative” reporting on a spill like the “Deepwater Horizon” GUSHER?  You’ve heard the saying I’m sure, “don’t cut off the hand that feeds you.”  It’s like the government collecting taxes on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol.  They depend on the revenue so they have to make it look like they’re encouraging people to stop smoking and drinking, but they really need that MONEY!  It’s the same with the broadcasting outlets.  They depend on the advertising of the corporations who are buying “protection” from intrusive reporters telling the rest of us what is actually going on “out there.”

I really do understand that I sometimes am very awkward in making my point (I guess that’s why I’m still a school teacher and not a journalist).  However, the point here is that our “liberal media” is not liberal at all!  And, our democratic (and democratically elected) president is on the wrong side of the “fence” as far as the media is concerned.  Yes, I realize the “right” wing pundits keep cramming the thought into our collective minds that President Obama is getting a “pass” from the “liberal media,” but when you take a closer look at things that doesn’t appear to be the case.  For example, as far as I can tell, this “tea party” movement who portray our president in very insulting ways, is the result of all facits of the media giving them credibility when they have deserved virtually none (led, of course, by Fox).  I mean, why all the attention when less than a thousand people showed up at their “national convention.”  There’s Elks club meetings I can remember going to with my father with more people attending than that!  The common theme among these “tea partiers” is “we want our country back” – and, as I’ve said many times here – back from what?

These people don’t deserve page eighteen let alone page one of any responsible news outlet – but, our “liberal media” seems to have pushed them right up to the front of the national political debate.  I haven’t heard much outrage either that their “darling” candidate for the Senate from the great state of Kentucky, Rand Paul, is in favor of repealing parts of the civil rights act of 1964, or that his response to the deep horizon “gusher” was “accidents happen.”  (and, of course, this deepwater horizon DISASTER hasn’t slowed down Sarah Palin’s cries of “drill baby drill” hardly at all)  As I see it, the only way people like this and the other fringe candidates the republicans will be “throwing” at us en masse this coming November might win, would be if the press looks the other way (as Obama did with Bush/Cheney – I have to “throw” that comment in because it bugs me just as much as what our “liberal” media is doing) or if we get the same voting machines we had in 2000.

Getting back to being “presidential” and President Obama, he took office at a time when any reasonable person would have said “NO THANK YOU.”  I mean, the economy was headed for a possible second run at a Great Depression, we were entrenched in two endless occupations that the previous president made as difficult to extract from as possible, we were looking at a TRILLION plus deficit for the forseeable future, and the very government Obama was elected to “head” had been GUTTED by the Bush/Cheney regime who prefer NO GOVERNMENT to even limited government.  Can you imagine what these guys would be up to if there was no government?  They tried to get our social security trust fund (and, trust me, they’re not through trying to get their hands on ALL that money) but had to settle for about HALF of all the invested retirement income Americans had trusted into their care – OK, they (we) trusted it into the care of Wall Street, but they (we) assumed our government was OVERSEEING Wall Street to prevent the banks from stealing our money.  I mean, do you think the TRILLIONS “lost” in 2007 -2009 went up in smoke?  Awe, come on now, SOMEBODY ended up with all of it!  It’s just that us peons will NEVER know who it was.  We’re still depending on our government to PROTECT us from these predators – but, they either seem terrified to do so or they’re the predators!  (Don’t forget, both Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney – just to name a couple of the worst – reaped profits in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS from the Iraq fiasco – and Hank Paulsen, the Treasury Secretary who did the TARP bailout of Goldman Sachs et al, was the CEO of Goldman Sachs when they were running amok!)

President Obama is in this very difficult situation.  He’s the calm, reserved, passive type – or that is what it seems – at a time when “we the people” need a LEADER!  We need someone to call “ENOUGH ALREADY” on Wall Street, on the republican party (as it exists today), and on the media conglomerates who are threatening to bring down the very government that has lasted for well over 200 years.  Yes, the BP oil GUSHER is a good place to start for Obama.  But, the bottom line is that the “right” wing is trying to portray him as some kind of WEAK indecisive person who’s overmatched by the job he is holding.  As stated above, I’m not sure ANYONE could handle the job he was given.  But, I’ll try to give him some advice AGAIN!

It’s probably too late to start the investigations of Bush/Cheney – so, we’re likely to have to “file” that MISTAKE as one of the ALL TIME blunders of an American President.  If there’s any way Obama could manage to turn that one around, it could certainly “change” the conversation – but, even I’m thinking it’s too late (makes me sick to say that – worse yet, tonight I watched Eric Holder in Louisiana talking about the deep horizon spill saying “anyone who committed a crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law” – where the hell was he when Bush/Cheney were admitting to authorizing WAR CRIMES after leaving office?).  That “off my chest,” the situation with BP opens other opportunities.  Now, I realize that President Obama must be careful here because BP supposedly has the equipment and expertise (that was really hard to write) to at least get the relief well drilled by AUGUST!  So, DRASTIC clean up measures MUST be taken – whether they work or not.  I mean this oil could be in the South Pacific if they don’t get a handle on it soon (boy, can you imagine how angry the BP shareholders must be – a few cheap “fail safe” devices and they’d be reaping profits from a reservoir that conservatively holds 100 MILLION barrels of oil!)  Mr. President, call in every available POSSIBLE mitigating force (aren’t there huge tankers that can syphon the oil right out of the sea?) and FIRE some people in the Mineral Management Service!  FORCE Congress to pass a bill that will allow citizens to hold BP accountable for the damages – ALL OF THEM – from this spill which is the direct result of their negligence.  And, include Halliburton in all of that!

That’s just for starters.  Next, BRING THE TROOPS HOME!  Get us out of Iraq and then Afganistan!  Stop spending 200 BILLION dollars per year in those endless occupations which have NOTHING to offer us except more casualties and more stress to our military.  Make a case to spend the money to keep our long term unemployed from the homeless shelters, a “New” New Deal to create more jobs, and money to the states which will keep teachers, firefighters, policemen, etc. working (Yes, I’m a teacher – but, I’ve been at it long enough that it won’t be me that loses his/her job – sadly, it’s the young, vibrant, energetic teachers fresh out of college who will be taking the brunt of all these layoffs).  Take on the republicans (and your own “blue dog” democrats) regarding Wall Street.  We desperately need Glass Steagall restored.  The more I read about the “meltdown” and these unscrupulous bankers (including those innocuous “credit default swaps”) the more I’m bothered by our government’s seeming inability to “reel” them in.  I’ll have more to say about this soon, but these people are greedy, selfish, and they serve no redeaming value to our economy – they simply MAKE MONEY!  And, that’s about it!  Tax these hedge fund manager’s profits as ordinary income, place a small tax (.0025) on each stock transaction, increase the income tax rate for income in excess of 5 MILLION to 50%, and in general let these people know that they are not in charge of this nation.

There’s many other things I could throw out tonight, but the last one is to reverse the telecommunications act of 1996.  Break up all these media conglomerates.  I can’t think of anything that is more UNHEALTHY for this nation than to have 8 or 9 corporations controlling the vast majority of “news” sources.  Plus, many of the “owners” aren’t even Americans!  Where’s the “tea party” outrage over the FACT that their “sugar daddy” corporation – Fox “news” – is owned by foriegners (including a Saudi prince)?  They’re so damned worried about “immigration” that they have turned their back on one of America’s leading cable TV outlets being owned by foriegners.  That makes ZERO sense to me.  I’d like to see THOUSANDS of smaller broadcasting companies competing in the marketplace than what we have – NOBODY I know trusts the media – at all!  They are supposed to be our FOURTH ESTATE – after the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.  The republicans figured out a plan to take that part of our “system” over 30+ years ago, and it’s been like a STEALTH bomber flying over enemy territory – people have hardly noticed what’s happening.  The end result is that Fox “news” will be doing everything it can in the coming weeks to portray President Obama as “unpresidential” because they are committed to him failing.  The disasters, ALL OF WHICH were the result of Bush/Cheney, are becoming overwhelming – and, the way out of this MESS isn’t by coddling republicans in an attempt to gain “bipartisanship.”  The bipartisan “ship” won’t sail until the republican party is exposed for the greedy, corrupt, mean spirited bunch they are!  The sooner President Obama realizes this, the better his chances of mobilizing America behind the challenges we now face which could either make or break us in the immediate future and the more he looks “presidential.”

I keep thinking the time to stop writing is near, but there never seems to be a shortage of things to “discuss.”  Today, for example, as I was driving to school (for anyone new around here, I’m a sixth grade school teacher) I listened to a newscast where it was pointed out in one breath that Congress was voting down legislation aimed at continuing unemployment (and other) benefits for longterm unemployed people in America and, in the next breath, the broadcaster calmly said something like, “and, Congress has passed another 60 BILLION DOLLARS for suplemental funding of the “wars” in Iraq and Afganistan.  Doesn’t that tell it all as to where we are as a nation?  It honestly makes me ashamed when I think of the priorities of my own government!  I ALWAYS VOTE – so, therefore, some of this is on me.  The members of Congress I get to vote for are IN Congress (that means the ones I voted for won their elections) and, I voted for President Obama.  So, I’ve got to rethink my own priorities – because I’m in such disagreement with those of my government!

I almost don’t know where to start with all of this.  Something like 15 MILLION Americans are without work – thanks, in large part, to the policies of previous administrations who allowed large corporations to run ruff shod over them.  And, the “nirvana” for these corporations was the Bush/Cheney adminstration which not only allowed an increase in the gutting of regulations, they installed “managers” into government oversight departments who had no intention of fulfilling their obligations.  For example, putting “oil people” in the Mineral Management Service who had no intention of overseeing offshore drilling, coal mining, or anything else which might interfere with the profits of the large MULTI-NATIONAL corporations involved – our environment be damned.  The “multi-national” part of that last sentence is the worst part.  We’re allowing the endangerment of our WORKERS (remember 29 WORKERS died in the recent coal mining disaster, and 11 WORKERS died in the deep water oil disaster) and our environment to protect the profits of companies which AREN’T EVEN AMERICAN COMPANIES!

How far are we going to let the so-called “free market” thugs push this before we start pushing back?  And, of course, it’s entirely possible that we won’t see any pushing back until there is a thorough “house cleaning” in Congress.  However, I can virtually guarantee you that the “housecleaning” had better not result in the election of candidates from the “tea party,” unless you believe the best way to put out a fire is to throw gas on it.  Those people think Bush/Cheney were leftists!  We’d not only get MORE DEREGULATION with the Rand Paul’s of this world, but we’d take a GIANT step BACKWARD in the fight to end racism in America once and for all and, while they’re claiming to be “constitutionalists” we’d be giving up even more of our “inalienable rights.”  Just take a moment to think about what it means that we, as a nation, won’t spend money for our long term unemployed, but there’s no questions asked when it comes time to keep our military entrenched in two unwinnable occupations in Arab countries who absolutely don’t want them there. 

The day is fast approaching when the price tag for Afganistan and Iraq (combined) will reach ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!  Now, if that doesn’t have any meaning to you, let me put it this way.  The state I live in is laying off thousands of teachers and other public servants because of a 2 BILLION dollar shortfall.  Now, for all you people who hate state employees, I’ll just tell you that I find it sickening that there are so many who are willing to stack the deck MORE against success for our children’s education.  It also makes me sick when I listen to someone who has his/her education complaining about that of today’s children in school (the “I’ve got mine, screw you” syndrome).  And, the other public servants we’re talking about that are expendable?  Policemen, Firemen, social workers, mental health workers, people working to help the MILLIONS who are unemployed – essentially, people working with “the least of these” to quote a phrase from my main advisor – Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at this from another direction.  (and, keep in mind that I believe the ONE TRILLION DOLLARS for the two occupations doesn’t include the cost of treating the sick and wounded who come home from their multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afganistan – those multiple tours being another disgusting reality which is cause for a post on another day)  One TRILLION DOLLARS was the estimate of what it would have cost to implement a health care plan that included a ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION over a TEN YEAR PERIOD!  Are you kidding me?  We are so willing to keep throwing BILLIONS down the “drain” in Iraq and Afganistan to the point where it will possibly BANKRUPT our nation, but we can’t provide health care for our own people (health care reform which would arguably be a MAJOR FORCE in rejuvenating our economy).  What is wrong with us?  We’ve got these right wing WACKOS on the radio airwaves spewing the same lies of Bush/Cheney OR WORSE suggesting that BLOWING all this money is keeping us safe.  Osama bin Laden couldn’t ask for more!  When he attacked us on 9/11 his wish was to get America ENTRENCHED in Afganistan like the Soviets in the 1980’s.  Bush/Cheney did him one better and LIED us into Iraq – with a new president, now, who seems unwilling or unable to take decisive action to end these FIASCOS!

Of course, it would be too much to expect people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and the also ran “talkers” on the “right” like Lars Larson and Michael Savage to understand that the very people they support are playing right into the hands of our enemy – bin Laden.  I didn’t hear one of them complain when the Bush administration let bin Laden go free at Tora Bora so that they could justify their invasion of Iraq.  No, and why not you might ask?  Well, we’re getting right back to this “free market” economy those nimwits are so proud to boast about.  It’s a free market for corporations like Haliburton, GE, McDonald Douglas/Boeing, Blackwater (now Xe), Bechtel, Kellog Brown and Root (KBR), and – you guessed it – BP plus other corporations who either cut off continual FAT HOGS from their PLUSH no bid contracts from the US government’s seemingly constant intrusions into foreign lands or from “waivers” allowing them to plunder our natural resources on the “cheap” as with BP.  Who do you suppose is giving these right wing “talkers” (propogandists) their “talking points?”  Who do you think is supporting them?  Beck has lost something like 100 – 200 sponsors since some insensitive racist remarks a few months ago – but, there’s plenty of DEEP POCKETED “sponsors” who want to keep the likes of him and the others on the air.  To them, as long as people continue to fall for their pathalogical lying, Beck, Limbaugh, Larson, et al are good investments.  And, these “talkers” apparently have no consciences!

Believe me – these corporations aren’t going to give up that “FAT HOG” easily.  The FACT we just lost our 1000th service person in Afganistan means NOTHING to them.  The ONLY thing that has meaning is that we continue to spend the money without any oversight.  I’m sure they’re right with bin Laden on this one – they’d like to see this war go on forever!  You have to remember that George W Bush wanted to be remembered as the “War President.”  Well, I seriously hope he gets his wish!  I truly wish for the history books to be clear about the lying, bumbling, and incompetently ignorant miscalculations of the Bush/Cheney “war machine.” (although, I believe he miscalculated by thinking perpetual war would be a “boon” for our economy – it should be an eye opener to Americans that bin Laden outsmarted the supposed “most powerful person in the world.”)  The REALLY disappointing part of all of this for me is that President Obama has been in office going on a year and a half now and the democratically controlled congress has been “in charge” since 2006, AND WE’RE STILL IN IRAQ AND AFGANISTAN!  Just a little reminder to Obama and the democrats, Viet Nam was “owned” by Nixon by the time we got out – and Obama is precariously close to “owning” both Iraq and Afganistan.  At the point that happens, I don’t anticipate the above mentioned corporations complaining, but I can’t wait to hear the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Larson, and the others.  We’ll have thought Bush/Cheney never existed.

Don’t get me wrong here.  I won’t be blaming the repuplicans and their “talking heads” at that point.  Obama will deserve the criticism if he continues to show a lack of leadership in extricating us from these RIDICULOUS occupations.  I’m just pointing out that these “thugs” will be gladly taking the money but will continue with their plan to make sure our president “fails.”  It’s called the “have your cake and eat it too” plan.  I’m sure the next stage of their “plan,” in that regard, (to make sure that our Black president doesn’t succeed) will be to pin the BP oil disaster on Obama.  Of course, if you looked at it from his (Obama’s) point of view, he was definitely in a no win situation with these ambassadors of hate.  And, I hope he’s finally realizing this.  Taking the reasoned pragmatic course that he’s taken has required him to “trust” BP to stop the oil leak and clean up the mess in the gulf.  Of course, as all the evidence pours out, BP shouldn’t be trusted for anything.  Every indication is they were trying to reap the harvest of a HUGE oil reservoir (estimated at 100 MILLION barrels) on the CHEAP – with ABSOLUTELY no plan B!  Ultimately, I believe the problem will trace back to the bludgeoning of the Mineral Management Service by the Bush administration – and, it will highlight the FOLLY of Obama’s seemingly endless patronizing of republicans.  These agencies are still filled with people who shouldn’t be there – they need to be PURGED!  Just as I’ve advocated for Obama to PURGE the justice department of all the politically appointed Bush/Cheney holdovers, so should these other regulatory agencies be purged of the people who were hired to cause the agency they worked for to fail – to give ALL the benefits to the private corporations.

In fact, in all too many cases, government oversight has been actually “contracted” to private FOR PROFIT businesses.  To me, that’s one of the scams of the century.  The republican party convincing the American public that government is evil and we should be trusting these private corporations, many of which are run by our own enemies.  Let me give you one good example.  Fox “news.”  The two largest share holders in Fox are not Americans.   Rupert Murdoch is an Australian (right winger) and the second largest shareholder in Fox is a Saudi Arabian.  (If you don’t remember, most of the hijackers on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia – bin Laden is from Saudi Arabia – and where do you think his money comes from? Seriously!)  The same Saudi Prince owns a huge “stake” in Citicorp and Halliburton, for good measure, is now located in Dubai.  Then there’s IBM’s computer division which was sold to a Chinese corporation – Lenovo (just think of the possibilities with that one).  It wouldn’t take a lot of time on Google to add many examples to this list.  So, this is what our present government seems so desperate to continue supporting – these multinational corporations while the millions of long term unemployed face loss of benefits.  It would take a small fraction of the money going to Iraq and Afganistan to not only continue the unemployment benefits, but to prevent the layoffs of all the teachers, cops, firemen, social workers, and others who care about the basic needs of our own people.  The question becomes, how much of America’s future are we willing to sacrifice to save face in Afganistan and Iraq?  Additionally, who’s more important?  The American people? or the multinational corporations who are buying off our politicians and intruding on our democracy MORE and MORE every day? (need more proof as to America becoming a total corporatocracy?  click here or Google: “Citizen’s United” – read the Supreme Court decision)

For some reason I always like to preface “patting myself on the back” with saying “I’m not trying to pat myself on my back” when it’s obvious I am.  I mean, why else would I leave all these posts in the “archive” if I didn’t want there to be evidence at the “I told you so” moments.  It didn’t take me long after President Obama was elected (let alone inaugurated) to start posting the “red flags.”  And, there’s been one BAD decision after another which should have – and slowly has – put the “progressives” on “red alert.”  (does that qualify as a pun?)  It all started, as far as I was concerned when I heard that Rahm Emanuel was hired to be Obama’s chief of staff.  What was Rahm Emanuel famous for?  He was famous, at least as far as I could tell, for being the consummate “Washington insider.”  Of course, he’s from Chicago so President Obama must have taken some solace from that and it must have given him a level of trust – which, in my mind, was totally MISGUIDED. 

How has Emanuel screwed up?  Well, you have to assume that many of the major decisions coming from the White House which put “getting anything” done above principle emanated from Emanuel.  It will be a long time until I forget that Emanuel called myself and those who think like me “f__king retards.”  Not really the way to win friends or INFLUENCE VOTERS!  (I said at the time that “time” could throw that statement right back at him) I don’t doubt for a minute that it was Emanuel behind the strategy on health care which threw the “public option” under the bus in return for something that NEVER MATERIALIZED – which was support from republicans.  The end result was a bill that benefits insurance companies FOR SURE, and MIGHT benefit the rest of us, although that verdict is yet to be rendered.  (Plus, the bill included lot’s of “deals” like the ones people are thoroughly sick of on “both sides of the isle”) The fact these people (Obama, Emanuel, the democrats in congress) are “promising” the bill is “just a starting point” and that they are going to make it better rings HOLLOW with millions more besides myself.  EVERYTHING it seems the Obama administration does, or so it looks to me, is predicated on looking “progressive” with the least possible political risk – that is at the same time placating the “right.”  Evidently, Rahm Emanuel hasn’t taken the course titled “if you try to make everyone happy you end up making no one happy.”

Kissing up to republicans is such a HORRIBLE strategy that I still can’t believe President Obama has allowed himself to be convinced to follow that for almost the first year and a half in office.  Now we have the Wall Street regulation which is sufficiently watered down to make sure the Wall Street bankers can tolerate it.  OK, I “get” that “Citizen’s United” has made these “moneychangers” even more powerful, but is indecisive action the solution to such a severe problem.  This leads me to the second “wave” of concern I had when President Obama started choosing his advisors and cabinet.  He surrounded himself with Tim Geithner, Larry Summers, and for good measure was taking advice from Robert Rubin.  Now, if you’re not too familiar with why those characters would raise “red flags” give me a moment.  Geithner was the head of the New York Fed as the Wall Street gluttony was hitting high gear – I can see no evidence he was attempting to put a stop to their excess GAMBLING.  And, the gambling with depositors money was literally enabled by Summers who was Clinton’s chief economic advisor when Clinton signed Gramm-Leach-Bliley – the bill which repealed Glass Steagall.  And, of course Rubin was Clinton’s Treasury Secretary at the time and he leveraged his support for the repeal of Glass Steagall into the CEO”ship” of Citicorp – one of the “too big to fail” mega financial institutions which became an investment bank, commercial bank, insurance company, et more – ALL WRAPPED IN ONE huge corporation – thanks to Glass Steagall’s repeal AND with the mega paydays that go with such a job!  These three at the top of the economic “food chain” in Obama’s administration didn’t come across to me as the “change I could believe in.”

Ah, but there’s more – MUCH MORE.  Let’s talk about Iraq and Afganistan.  I was predicting what ultimately would happen there long before it became “public knowledge.”  That’s not because I’m some kind of sixth grade teacher genius – but because I like to read and I read a bunch of books on Iraq and saw Obama’s unwillingness to “stand tall” against the American generals almost from day one.  (Also, Thomas Ricks pretty much predicted what was going to happen in “The Gamble”) It appeared to me that President Obama was bound and determined to prove that he’s qualified to be “commander in chief.”  One of the things that really bugs me is watching him climb down off of Air Force one with the same demeanor as George W Bush – with the same salute, that just seems too phony to me coming from someone who’s never served in the military.  Maybe this is just me still recovering from the eight long years of watching GW bungle everything he did – while our best young men and women were dying and getting maimed needlessly in Iraq and Afganistan for the same reason this happened years ago in Viet Nam – TO SAVE AMERICA’S “FACE.”  Makes me sick to even write this – and to think that President Obama has so MAJORLY violated his pledge (to me, a pledge is a promise) to bring ALL the troops home in 16 months.  Not only has he failed to do this, but he’s leaving something like 50 – 75,000 “non-combat” troops in Iraq for (at least) another 15 months from the end of this summer!  I guess his plan is to be finally getting them out right before the 2012 election thinking that will be a political plus for him.  This one has Rahm Emanuel written all over it as well!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

What is it going to take for them to “get” that we’ll never kill all the “terrorists” by stationing our troops indefinitely in Iraq and Afganistan.  When are they going to understand that every month we still have more troops there, we’re helping al Qaeda recruit more fanatics to their cause.  Iraq was the “gift that keeps on giving” to Osama bin Laden, and I really thought that Obama understood that – which was one of the main reasons I voted for him.  Does he (Obama) really think that as we draw down our troop levels in Iraq that the violence is going to subside with the drawdown?  Here’s the deal.  Bin Laden hates the Shia.  Iraq is majority Shia and Iran is Shia and the two countries are close to being “joined at the hip.”  Bin Laden doesn’t want that to happen and he doesn’t want America to withdraw – he wants us mired in Iraq until we have bankrupted our government – just as the Soviet Union bankrupted themselves in Afganistan in the 1980’s.  However, Obama has given bin Laden a double bonus with the “surge” in Afganistan where we’re now BLOWING more resources each month than in Iraq.  Between the two fiasco’s we’re still WASTING something in the neighborhood of a couple hundred BILLION each year – and, that’s not counting the miserable treatment (the expense of it) that we’re providing for our wounded and damaged vets once they return (many from 6,7, or more deployments).  This is all DISGUSTING and Obama is taking ownership of both fiascos at this point in time – due to a total lack of leadership. (I call this Bush-lite) And, to bin Laden’s delight, there’s really NO END IN SIGHT!

And, speaking of “Bush-lite,” what about the warrantless eavesdropping?  Now, I  can’t prove that Obama’s still doing it, but I’ve heard people with close ties to his administration quoted as saying he didn’t want to give up this “power.”  Of course, any power that he’s talking about would be illegally usurped power which was the result of eight years of Dick Cheney and George W Bush.  The saying goes, it’s much easier to give our rights away than it is to get them back – and this is a good example of this.  The “red flag” on this one came when Obama voted for the “FISA” bill that gave “retroactive immunity” to ATT&T, Verizon, and any other “Telecom” who participated in this illegal wiretapping activity while he was a senator running for the presidency.  I actually wrote Obama after that vote (it almost cost him my vote) and got a response saying that once he was President he would work to “FIX” this bill as a top priority.  Well, not only has the bill not been “fixed,” but Obama and his attorney general Eric Holder have taken up the “torch” for Bush/Cheney in court trying to defend the legality of their illegal activity (they lost the case and I haven’t heard if they appealed – which would just tick me off more if they have)

So, why am I so busy patting myself on the back?  Well, when Obama committed the gravest sin of them all and pardoned (for all intents and purposes) George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Don Rumsfeld, and all the others I not only pointed out what a grave mistake that was for the future of our nation, but I pointed out that I could no longer support him.  There’s no way I can vote for a president who violates his pledge to defend the constitution.  I don’t know if that was a sign of cowardice, a total political maneuver (on advice from the likes of Emanuel), a general act of stupidity, or some kind of collusion – kind of like doctors don’t testify against doctors, etc – but, what I’m certain of is it was the one major blunder Obama made which energized the republican party into even thinking they could wrestle power back from the democrats in 2012.   It had “weakness” written all over it!

Not only is the political debate switched away from the torture, the illegal wars (of course, again, I was expecting Obama to actually bring the troops home), the politicization of the justice department, the outing of a CIA agent, the HUGE deficit and who REALLY is responsible for it, the deregulation which led to TARP, TARP itself (and Hank Paulsen’s role in creating the problem), the bludgeoning of virtually every government department (ie – the Minerals Management Service – who’s corruption contributed to the present BP oil disaster), the no-bid contracts in Iraq and Afganistan and the war profiterring by the highest of government officials – including Cheney and Rumsfeld, and the virtual ruination of our nation’s economy from the perspective of the blue collar worker, but Obama is turning OFF progressives by the droves.  The only way the “tea party” and the republican party has any chance of success is if Obama can encourage MILLIONS of voters to “opt out” of the next couple of elections because of their disappointment in his lack of leadership.  The great speeches only go so far!

I’ve heard it said that President Obama hates to be compared to President Bush – but, he’s brought this on himself.  While the idea of “bipartisanship” is a nice idealistic notion – NOT WITH THESE REPUBLICANS!  They’ve got to go – and, we elected President Obama because we thought he would have the GUTS to stand up to them.  The question becomes, why isn’t he doing this.  Now, the president has backed himself into a corner – and, I believe he’s going to have to get different advice to get out of it.  And, the transparency he promised us is going to have to be part of the solution.  LOTS OF MISTAKES HAVE BEEN MADE – and, one thing Bush/Cheney should have proved was the futility of refusing to admit to mistakes.  If you’re only goal is to stay in office – maybe that makes sense.  But, if you’re trying to mobilize this nation into returning to our “roots” (at least our post WW II roots – “New Deal roots”) then the course has got to change – and FAST!  Every day the oil from the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico creeps farther inland in the marshes, wetlands and estuaries of Louisiana – while Obama (and Emanuel) remain in Washington DC doing what appears to be business as usual – this disaster becomes closer to being Obama’s “Katrina.”  (and, all of the other blunders are magnified)  Well, what can he do? you might ask.  I’ll tell you what I think he should do.  Get his butt down to Louisiana and get his hands dirty helping to fight the fight.  Become part of the fight.  Show some guts in holding BP accountable – and the people in the MMS (Minerals Management Service) – for their blunders, mismanagement, and their lying.  Treat this as the national disaster which it is!  Show the people of Louisiana that the full force of our nation’s government is going to attempt to save their way of life.  Prove to these people who wanted nothing to do with the government stimulus money that the government is there for them FULL FORCE.  In other words, drop everything and make it look as if you REALLY CARE ABOUT THIS MONUMENTAL DISASTER!   There’s only a couple hundred people each day who read my blog (that, in itself, I find incredibly amazing because I have no idea how one of you found this) and, President Obama has proven to me that he cares little (or nothing) about what I think.  But, I do find it interesting that a sixth grade school teacher’s advice would have conceivably been better than Obama’s own advisors!  (OK, that is a bit arrogant, but, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard since last year – either in person, or “talkers” on the radio – saying there’s no way they are voting for either Obama or a republican in the next two elections – which is exactly what I’ve been predicting on and off for the past year and a half.  If the “tea party” actually succeeds, it will be Obama’s own fault)

When I got home this evening there was a “furor” on the “news” I was watching as it seems the WHOLE WORLD had discovered the “tea party” candidate who won the nomination for the US Senate from Kentucky (as a republican), Rand Paul, is racially insensative (I’m being polite here) as shown by recently made statements WHICH BROUGHT ATTENTION TO numerous public statements made over the past few years.  In fact, the viewers of the several shows I watched were left to surmise (or, should I say infer?) that Paul is a racist.  And, I can tell you for a certainty that I was shocked as I watched these “news” broadcasts.  Not by the revelation that Rand Paul has racist tendencies (there I go being “nice” again), but by how absurd the “news” media is to act like this is some kind of surprise!

Let’s just focus on the MSNBC “Keith Olberman” show which I’m most likely to watch (if I watch anything).  I’ve seen countless RACIST signs, and heard countless RACIST remarks from “tea party” participants (at rallies) while watching Olberman’s show – enough in fact to be able to say definitively tonight that it’s NO SURPRISE to me that someone who would rise to the top of that movement would have racist tendencies.  How could you not?  I mean, how could you look at all the signs they carry at their rallies and continue to be associated with their “movement” without being at a minimum RACIALLY INSENSITIVE?  How else could you explain all their complaints about Barack Obama after being TOTALLY SILENT during the eight LONG years of George W Bush and Dick Cheney – the two MOST RESPONSIBLE for all the ILLS these “tea partiers” are CONSTANTLY bickering about.  And, that’s not to mention the pictures of Barack Obama with a bone through his nose, or being depicted as a monkey, or with words such as “The zoo has an African lion, the White House has a ‘lying African.'”  It’s true that Olberman takes these people on, but his “surprise” at the RACIST remarks of Dr. Paul seemed a bit disengenuous to me.  (these remarks have been part of the public record for months)

Come on, I’m just a sixth grade school teacher and I can figure all this out – and, RATHER EASILY!  Think I’m nuts?  Take a listen to Rush Limbaugh once in a while.  Or the other water carriers for the extreme “right” of this nation.  The thought to them of a Black president succeeding is just not acceptable.  And, they’re willing to take this nation down in an attempt to make sure that Obama “FAILS” as Limbaugh so UNelequently puts it.  Why would all these people want Obama to fail so much as to appear to want it almost desperately?  It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure this out.  If Obama succeeds, it will be like every other aspect of American life that these people figure is “lost;” and that is we will have other future presidents and national leaders of color.  I mean, if you don’t remember, Limbaugh’s stint on Monday Night Football only lasted one night because he just couldn’t keep his racist thoughts to himself.  It was too much, even for ESPN (which is owned by Disney) to allow someone to be berating a quarterback on the air (and, a great one at that) because he’s black.  (I’m guessing that, in private, Limbaugh is still angry that Jackie Robinson was allowed to play major league baseball)

So, what’s the big surprise with Rand Paul.  Of course he’s a racist – he’s the darling of the “tea party” movement and he’s right out of the heartland of Kentucky which managed to give us Mitch McConnell (the master of the code words) and Jim Bunning – two republicans who have shown they are more than willing to ruin this country in an epic “patriotic” attempt to “save our county.”  I’m still wondering if anyone has asked any of these people who they want to “take our country back” from when they spew those words.  Are they meaning they want to take it back from the 53% of the people who voted for Obama?  I mean, they (the “tea partiers”) seem to be supporting the republicans who created the economic, military, and legal mess we’re all suffering through – so, are they saying they want more of the Bush doctrine?  Personally, I’d like to see more of the “fourth estate” stand up and be counted here.  Do some serious reporting so that when “flaps” like this one with Rand Paul show up it’s not such an apparent surprise to so many people.  Have the media been intimidated right out of their much needed duty to report the actual news by the corporate masters who are pulling the “strings” for people like Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Lars Larson?

Why are what’s left of our media outlets so timid about reporting the truth about people?  I mean Rand Paul seemed so surprised when his words started coming back to haunt him.  I’m sure he felt it was some kind of witch hunt – which maybe it was (although, these were his ACTUAL words).  Of course, the only way I could see that as being true would be if there was some plan to wait for him to win the primary before he got the “magnifying glass” treatment – when people should have known the truth about him long before the primary.  In fact, I have no idea whether the voters of Kentucky knew Paul to be a racist or not.  My good side wants to trust that they didn’t know and that now that they do know he will have a difficult time winning in November.  However, my instincts are telling me that he’s a republican, he’s running in Kentucky, and that’s all we need to know – he’s in.  Can he cause more harm than Jim Bunning?  Well, I believe he’ll manage to stay awake during hearings, and he’ll be every bit as beholden to the corporate masters as Bunning was – meaning he’ll be another sure member of the republican no squad – voting lock step in whatever direction McConnell points him.

All that being said, the reality is that I find it interesting that it’s Kentucky which has an opportunity to put the present trend of the republican party to rest (and, to prove my instincts wrong).  Should Jack Conway, the democratic candidate (who would make a good senator from what I can find out) win the seat, it will send a strong message to Washington – which will be different from the one they’re perceiving at this moment.  Most of the talk is about the anti-incumbent fervor in the country, but the “fervor” should be about an anti republican (as the party exists today) movement.  They are the ones, after all, who are responsible for almost ALL of what “ails” us.  Of course, you’d never guess that to listen to them – they’re still spouting the “lower taxes” line, they’re still claiming torture is an effective deterrent to terrorism, and they’re still claiming the democrats are the “big spenders.”  They don’t want to talk about Iraq or Afganistan (and, Obama’s done them a favor here by continuing the Bush policies – putting the democrats in an awkward position on the two occupations themselves) and, it won’t be long until the republicans are blaming the Gulf oil spill on Obama while the republican governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have their hands out requesting federal aid – despite pretending to decline “stimulus” funds while telling the “feds” to “mind their own business.”  (of course, it wasn’t too long after that when these same governors started taking credit for the job creation from those same stimulus dollars they ended up “reluctantly” accepting)

Here’s the thing that’s bugging me tonight.  I’m leaning toward the position that it doesn’t matter one way or the other who wins these upcoming elections because of the impending effect of the “Citizen’s United” decision from the Roberts’ Supreme Court.  It’s the multi-national corporations who have their collective “hands in the cookie jar.”  They are the ones who are buying off people like Limbaugh, Beck, Larson, and the other right wing water carriers.  I know those people probably have been spewing so many lies that they actually are believing their own lies are true,  but the reality is they’re following directions given to them from “on high.” (and, I’m not talking about anything remotely spiritual here)  The “assault on reason” will continue – in fact, it’s going to increase exponentially based on my interpretation of “Citizen’s” – so, the battle is about to be cinched up a notch – and, that’s the battle for the heart and soul of this nation.  My concern is that the democrats will figure this out too late – the senate appears to be like a fraternity house – there’s little chance the democrats will “rock the boat” sufficiently to turn the present state of affairs in America back on the republicans where it belongs.  As I’ve stated many times, the prime opportunity to do that was at the beginning of the Obama adminstration and President Obama chose (inexplicably) to “look forward, instead of back.”  If my (and many others) worst fears regarding “Citizen’s United” come true, Obama’s decision to pardon Bush/Cheney will be exposed as a MAJOR BLUNDER comparable to some of Bush’s worst miscues.  Either way, this ludicrous corporate led debate over the future of America needn’t even have had to take place.  Had the republicans been totally exposed for their crimes against the American people, we wouldn’t be facing the possibility of a US Senate with the likes of someone with Rand Paul’s extreme racist views. 

Normally when I’m driving home from work I listen to “progressive” talk on my car radio and it’s usually Randi Rhodes whose show is on at that time.  Most of the time I find her show very entertaining and, at times, enlightening.  It’s mostly the days when I tune in to Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage or Lars Larson or the likes of them that I get worked up to write.  However, the one thing about Randi Rhodes that bothers me is her willingness to defend Barack Obama, even when to do so is a direct contradiction of what she’s been saying. 

Today, for example, the topic on Rhodes’ show was the Iraq war and the Bush/Cheney “legacy” regarding the lies to get us into the war all the way to the war crimes that were never prosecuted which both Bush and Cheney admitted to prior to leaving office (and, again after leaving office – both of them!).  Rhodes quite accurately portrayed the “Bush lies” regarding the WMD’s, the the lie regarding Saddam’s supposed “link” to al Qaeda, the false accusation of “yellow cake uranium” coming from Niger to Iraq, and even the “coincidence” regarding the “spike” in oil prices after Bush/Cheney effectively kept Iraq’s oil off the market (which is still true today).  The people in the audience – well, save a couple republicans who called in to feebly attempt a defense of the indefensible (Bush/Cheney) – were creating this great conversation which was tending toward the enlightening side when a man from Southern California called in and brought up the FACT that we all know that MAJOR CRIMES were committed by Bush/Cheney et al, yet the present administration has stifled any investigation of this – therefore giving the American people effectively ZERO REDRESS of these issues.

The man was frustrated.  In fact, as I listened to him it sounded as if my twin brother (which I don’t have) was on the line with Randi expressing my exact thoughts.  The man shared his frustration over this and then asked something like, “what can we do when we elect someone into office and they don’t perform the basic duties you elect them to perform?”  This is where I lose patience with Randi Rhodes.  The man was clearly wanting her to comment on the refusal of Barack Obama to allow even investigations of the wrongdoing of the Bush/Cheney administration and how it reeks of collusion.  His “what can we do” question, meaning all us “progressives” who feel “left out,” is about what I’ve been writing in this blog for almost a year now.  And, apparently Rhodes and evidently Obama still don’t “get” this. 

Randi’s suggestion was that until all the different “factions” in America come together nothing will happen to address this type of issue.  She included democrats, republicans, and even “tea partiers” in this comment – which, to use her own term, was unbelievable to me.   Well, the type of issue we’re talking about here is the fundamental issue that I thought we ANSWERED during Watergate as Richard Nixon was being thrown out of office – which is – the FACT the Preisdent does it, DOESN’T make it legal!  We (meaning “we the people”) went through a lot to make that point – and, just as “Citizen’s United” overturned 100 years of campaign finance precedence – so to did Obama/Holder turn over nearly 40 YEARS of HARD FOUGHT (by progressives – OK, I’ll say it – LIBERALS!) legal precedence that the president is NOT above the law.  The ONLY way I can interpret Obama’s actions is to think that he AGREES with Richard Nixon now that he’s president.  The problem I have with that is this issue was ONE of the main REASONS I voted for Obama  – he SPECIFICALLY promised, during the campaign, that the president isn’t above the law – in fact, he CLEARLY said – NO ONE’S ABOVE THE LAW! (He also said, “Waterboarding is torture” and “If I see evidence of torture, it will be prosecuted” – I heard him say that with my own ears Randi, so please don’t tell me something different)

Earth to Randi – You could have all the factions in the world come together on this one – but, the ultimate responsibility would STILL lie with the president.  If you’re suggesting that the reason Obama didn’t allow these investigations is because there wasn’t enough public support for them – to me, that’s even worse.  That’s either total abdication of responsibility, lack of leadership, or just plain cowardice.  I don’t know which one of those you want to call it, but none are flattering!  Randi, please don’t tell me that before George W Bush and Dick Cheney (and the others) can be held accountable for their illegal activity we have to have some kind of “unity” in this nation.  On those terms, no one will ever have to face accountability for their actions again.  I mean, the first time I heard Barack Obama claim he was going to “look forward instead of back” I just about puked!  Based on that logic, there will never be another crime prosecuted in America(I know I’ve said that before, but it’s time to say it again, evidently).  Randi, tonight you were explaining how dumb (that’s my term for whatever word you actually used) many American voters are, but I personally know a WHOLE BUNCH who are not dumb enough to buy that logic.

And, the ulitmate price the democrats pay for this – and, I believe what the caller to Rhodes’ show was trying to point out before she overwhelmed him – is that “progressives” are going to stay home from the elections in DROVES!  So Randi, what are you and President Obama going to do if that prediction holds true?  Are you going to blame all the progressives who feel it doesn’t matter who they vote for, we still get politicians CORRUPTED by money?  And, PLLLLEASE don’t try to tell me that President Obama is free from the “money issue.”  Obviously, the few pitiful $25 donations I managed to throw into his campaign didn’t buy me any influence, but I’m guessing some of the “big boys” are having their say.  Actually, I’ve watched American politics long enough that I can “take” that – I’m sorry to say that I understand it’s part of the “game.”  However, ignoring the laws of the land by our top government officials falls into a similar category to me as the “Citizen’s United” decision thrust upon us by the Roberts Court.

Yes, that decision (Citizen’s) is bound to have an enormous – possibly fatal – influence on our democracy as we know it (OK, I realize we have a democratic republic – I’m just trying to make a point) – but, no more so than allowing Bush/Cheney and the others to walk away “scott free” after all the damage they’ve done to this country.  If they can’t be called “onto the carpet” then who will possibly ever have to answer for their actions.  The message sent to future administrations is potentially staggering.  In fact, if you’re paying attention, these ridiculous republicans are still spouting the “merits” of all the torture – as if they kept us safe!  The time to put all their lying, scandulous rhetoric and actions to rest was right after Obama took office.  And, in my view, this is but one of many terrible decisions he’s made as he continues to kiss up to republicans.  Randi Rhodes, we watched republicans cover up for Bush/Cheney for years, let’s not do the same for President Obama!   The proper answer to the caller who was upset by this lack of accountability was that YOU, Randi Rhodes, could be the uniting force that would allow people like us to pressure the White House into fulfilling their obligation of upholding our nation’s laws.  Not only would it send a strong message to America and the rest of the world that we really are a nation of laws and not men, but it would re-energize the “left” in time to salvage additional gains in November.  We could then further marginalize these extremists in the republican party and begin the process of bringing America back toward a political system with two parties that can talk to and work with each other.  Randi, you played a huge role in getting people mobilized to get Obama elected, I believe you have an even more important role now in helping us FORCE him to take the progressive approach he promised us when he was on the campaign trail.  It might be too late to investigate Bush/Cheney, but it’s not too late to send a message to the president that we voted for a leader and a statesman, not another money driven deal maker politician!

Make no mistake about this bickering, partisan atmosphere which has engulfed the political landscape in the United States of America – it is part of a larger plan.  The “attack” on liberalism has been no accident.  This was part of the larger plan which was spawned during the 1980’s under the guise of the “Reagan revolution.”  And, make no mistake about this either, “these guys are good.”  Whoever is behind this move for a “permanent republican ‘majority'” knows how to control the media – and, they FULLY understand the word PROPAGANDA!  They also understand the word PATIENCE.  They’ve been at this for over 30 years and were OH SO CLOSE until they screwed up and chose George W Bush as their “ringleader.”

As much as the progressives such as myself despised Bush (and Cheney) I’m convinced, at this point in time, that the financiers of this “republican revolution” – who choose to remain anonymous for all intents and purposes – despise Bush even more.  I’m guessing these people were among the cheerleaders, for example, when Bush/Cheney virtually destabilized the entire world by intruding into Iraq – only, they too expected the American troops to be “greeted as liberators.”  I’m guessing what they would have preferred to avoid was all the publicity surrounding the inhumane torture America became notorious for under the Bush/Cheney regime.  Additionally, I believe they just assumed that Bush/Cheney would have had at least a modicum of a post-Saddam strategy for keeping order in Iraq – something that would have appeared as if it was well thought out.  Something which would have headed off the barrage of books – both from “liberal” and “conservative” reporters all saying the same thing – the Iraq invasion was an incompetent, ill-advised, STUPID mess!

And, of course, whoever these people are, I don’t doubt for a minute they were in favor of the so-called “Bush taxcuts.”  I mean, it saved them TRILLIONS of dollars over the ensuing 10 years (well, it’ll be 10 years soon).  Also, I don’t think they were all that upset with ANY of the deregulation OR the MELTDOWN that followed.  It’s just the timing of it all.  I’m sure they feel Bush should have been able to put off the crash until a democrat had taken office – at least, as long as they had to “temporarily” give up the White House.  In fact, I believe they think to this day that had the “meltdown” come 6 months later, we’d be looking at a McCain/Palin administration – which would be even MORE MONEY for whoever these people are!

I don’t question that these people blame Bush’s incompetence on the FACT they couldn’t get Social Security “privatized.”  That would have created even a greater opportunity to FLEECE America than they had during the 2008 meltdown where they only had the non-social security funds to abscond with.  It’s still not clear in my mind if these people realize the American public isn’t going to fall for privatizing social security, or if they simply think it didn’t happen because Bush’s bumbling nature was becoming more readily apparent by the time he took on that endeavor.  However, despite his weaknesses, Bush did come through in some important ways for these people.

For example, despite the FACT Bush/Cheney was the result of a Supreme Court 5-4 decision these “unknown” people were still very concerned about the makeup of the court.  GW came through in a mighty way!  I really don’t think “Citizen’s United” (If your head’s been in the sand, that’s the recent Supreme Court 5-4 decision which has opened the “floodgates” to corporate money’s dominance of our future elections) would have made it without the STRONG RIGHT WING leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.  Both justices violated their pledge not to be “activist” judges in a decision that can only be described as the result of careful planning by – again – whoever is behind this push for the “permanent republican majority.”  (Can you even picture Sarah Palin in the White House?)  These guys knocked over 100 years of judicial precedence in one felled swoop – and, getting that decision overturned is going to be more difficult over time because of the very nature of the decision.  Come on now, do you think the large corporate board rooms are going to spend their money trying to overturn the decision which gives them extraordinary influence on the politics of this nation?  That’s like expecting our members of Congress to vote in term limits which would put themselves out of jobs.  It just aint gonna happen!

I honestly believe the part of all this that causes these “behind the scenes” people to despise Bush the most is the fact that his blundering led to a BLACK president.  And, one who is a formidable opponent.  Barrack Obama goes about his job completely different from Bush/Cheney (I put those names together because I was never certain who was really in charge).  For one thing, not only can Obama put a complete sentence together, he can give one heck of a good speech.  Also, he can do a press conference where the press actually asks him intelligent and relevent questions.  I’m not sure if the American public has picked up on this difference yet, but despite my differences with Obama, I find that just a bit refreshing.  A President with a high level of intelligence.  I realize Clinton had a high intellect, I just had issues with his personal behavior – which I agree has little to do with the job – unless you’re spending countless hours answering republican accusations. (most of them false)  So, Bush/Cheney opened the door to a Black president who might succeed – despite every effort these republicans and their “secret admirers” will “throw” his way in an effort to make sure he doesn’t – and, that – I believe – will be the lasting legacy of disgust these people put on Bush/Cheney.  Had they shown any level of competence at all, the republicans would have been in for good!

Just think of this.  President Obama has already nominated TWO Supreme Court justices.  Now, most people are thinking that the two he nominated will keep the court at its present right wing 5-4 majority.  But, just think where we’d be for the next 30 years had McCain/Palin prevailed.  You’d be at a 7-2 majority – which is what I believe all these republican “secret admirers” were counting on.  Most people have no idea what that would have meant for this country.  And, if Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires – that would have led to an 8-1 majority.  I guarantee you if a republican was in the White House, neither Elena Kagan nor Sonja Sotomayer would have been considered for a spot on the court.  We’d probably be looking at someone like David Addington or John Yoo!

Bush/Cheney were systematically politicizing the justice department during their administration – they just weren’t subtle enough with the process to get away with it sans negative publicity.  What they were counting on, however – and the democrats came through for them – was a weak democratic party.  The republicans have figured out how much more power they can wield by uniting like a bunch of thoughtless robots (and taking their directions from this invisible force I’m trying to get my mind around tonight) while the democrats squabble amongst themselves over how much corporate money they can take before it starts to look as if they are on the take like their right wing brethren.  The problem, as I see it, is that the democrats don’t “get” that they’re not very good at playing both sides of the fence.  I’m sure they spend moments watching these republicans in admiration as they take money from special interests in one hand and then proclaim they are against the same special interests with the other (of course, with their fingers crossed!)

All of this leaves us voters (at least the ones who are thinking along progressive – or LIBERAL lines) with an “issue.”  We know how bad Bush/Cheney were and that the arrogant republicans are still proposing the same CRAP that got us in this economic, militaristic, diplomatic, industrial, and on and on MESS that we’re presently stuck in.  We also are seeing more and more how many democratic lawmakers in the senate and the house of the Untited States of America are on the take.  OK, I know what you’re thinking – but, just for a moment, let’s not say that because all the republicans are bought and sold by the corporate special interests that means the democrats have to do the same to “keep up.”  In fact, the “tea party” idea of getting rid of ALL OF THEM is sounding better and better all the time.  However, the problem with that is the people the “tea party” (I was going to say “nut-jobs” here, but let’s just say I have a problem with all the racist rhetoric – and SIGNS – I’ve seen and heard from “tea partiers” – despite that I “get” their frustration) would replace them with – are even further to the right than these republicans who’ve already nearly sunken the ship.

Here’s the quandry – at least for me.  There’s a LOT I like about President Obama.  However, there’s some decisions he’s made which I believe are almost un-American.  For starters, he looked the other way from OBVIOUS, PROVABLE War Crimes – simply because they were authorized by our previous president and vice president and carried out by our CIA!  To me, THAT’S NO EXCUSE!  In fact, it’s my belief that when we start saying our leaders, who take an oath to defend the laws of the land, are above the laws of the land – we are in danger of losing our civilization as we know it.  That was a dangerous and UNACCEPTABLE precedent to take!  There are other decisions which have been “weak” – just as republicans would describe democrats – because the democrats can’t get it together to stand for something.  For example, regarding health care – 70+% of the population wanted a “robust public option,” – with 53% (or more by some polls) favoring a SINGLE PAYER insurance system and our democratic congress could come up with neither.  And, in the process, they turned off millions of would be “progressive” voters with their back-room antics.

I could go on, but the sad reality of all of this is it’s bound to lead to a lower turn out at the polls for the “progressives.”  There are more than myself saying, “why keep supporting these people when they’re going to do the bidding of their corporate masters anyway.”  And, I believe that is a legit complaint – despite the FACT that President Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called people like myself “f___ing retards.”  That’s more a compliment I’d expect to come from someone like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, or Lars Larson, but I still take it with pride.  At some point Obama and his entourage will wake up and realize that they can’t win by turning off the people who voted for them.  THERE’S NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO GET THOSE RIGHT WING VOTES THEY’RE PANDERING FOR!  I really don’t see the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Savage, or Larson joining the Obama “bandwagon” anytime soon.

Just as Osama bin Laden must have celebrated when Bush/Cheney chose to allow him and his followers to go free and to reconstitute themselves while the US was invading Iraq so must the republicans celebrate every time President Obama “throws” an overture their way.  Not only does it give them another opportunity to STIFF HIM but it gives them another opportunity to create dissention in the democratic ranks.  And, as a famous republican once said (I can’t remember his name right off the top of my head) “the fewer the number of American voters, the better chance for repulbican success.”  So based on that theory the Obama administration is playing right into the hands of the republicans.

The republican’s benefactors (those secret minions I’m struggling to identify) are out in great force these days.  “Citizen’s United” has opened the doors for a barrage of “swift boating” which will make what happened to John Kerry in 2004 look like child’s play.  And, the democrats will probably be trying to decide whether their best course of action is to solicit the available funds (and support) from the corporate “donors” themselves or to stand up like courageous leaders and put a stop to this deplorable, corrupt, course our government is on which has led to the two indefinite occupations in Iraq and Afganistan, the economic meltdown which we may or may not be recovering from, the reputation of a nation which tortures, a coastline bathed in oil while “right wingers” like Sarah Palin keep shouting “drill baby drill,” the reality of a globe with melting polar ice caps which we are apparently content watching melt, and a democratic president and democratic party which is dead set on creating an atmosphere of bipartisanship with people who should be thrown out of office. 

This all fits neatly into the “master plan” of the “right wing machine” which is dead set on that aforementioned “permanent republican majority.”  Yes, Bush/Cheney has set them back – but, they’ve got lots of money, and as I said earlier in this post – they’re very patient.  They’ve been after this for over thirty years for heaven’s sake!  The “minions” pushing  this permanent republican majority?  Take a look at the United States Chamber of Commerce!  I believe by looking there you might find a group of corporations who are willing to undermine the fabric of this nation to increase their bottom lines!  They have a HUGE investment in this last thirty years of corporate greed being accepted as “normal,” while they’ve been breaking unions, shipping jobs overseas, and making GIANT profits while paying NO TAXES!  Until we have an opposing party to the republicans willing to say ENOUGH ALREADY – and FIGHT BACK – matters will get worse.  As of now, it’s the democrats we’re depending on to “carry the torch,” but it’s really looking as if too many of them have succumbed to the money for this to happen.  All I can say is that it seems to me if the democrats don’t figure this out by Novemeber it might be too late.

A few posts back (and in others as well) I posited that all Congress need do to fix the “too big to fail” problem with the Wall Street Banks was to reinstitute the Glass Steagall legislation which was repealed with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.  As I said at the time, it was put together (the bill that is) by republicans, but it was signed into law by Bill Clinton.  Well, so much for wishful thinking with the present “reform” that is heading through the senate.  There won’t be any Glass Steagall type legislation involved and we won’t be able to blame this on the republicans this time.  Last week an amendment was put before the US Senate to the bill designed to re-regulate Wall Street (from the deregulation which began under Ronald Reagan) which would have broken up the “too big to fail” banks and the amendment was defeated with the help of something like 27 democratic votes.  This bill, presumably, would have prevented Bank of America from also being Merrill Lynch – it would have prevented Citibank from being a bank, an investment brokerage house, and an insurance company (among other things).  It would have, as I understand it, required banks to be banks – which was one of the important regulations coming out of the Great Depression that led to many years of prosperity for the middle class of America.

I really want to say here, “with the help of republicans” the middle class is being “hammered” by government policies which favor the “rich.”  The problem that’s becoming more and more apparent as time goes by is that the democrats are complicit in this “attack” as well.  Yes, there are many in the democratic party who seem to be acting as if they are traditional democrats – favoring the blue collar working class of America – but, the problem is there are many in the democratic party – enough to offset the others – who have not only enabled this deregulating frenzy of the republicans, but gone along with it.  And, along with the policies themselves has come a vicious propoganda campaign which, along with the recent “Citizen’s United” decision by the Supreme Court, has made and will continue to make a “change in direction” IMPROBABLE at best. 

Last week President Obama was whining and dining Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, CEO of one of the 6 Wall Street Banks that control, essentially, over 60% of America’s GDP – a frightening statistic in itself.  Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, Obama’s top economic advisors, are right out of the culture of Wall Street.  Eric Holder, Obama’s Attorney General spent eight years at a prestigious corporate law firm (handling cases for the major corporations which will be peddling even more influence now, thanks to the aforementioned Supreme Court case), and one by one as Obama’s administration comes under the “microscope” I keep seeing politics as usual instead of “the change I can believe in.”  I keep remembering the slogan “yes we can,” and feel a bit embarrassed that I allowed myself to get sucked in.  “Yes we can” what?  I forgot to ask – or to make sure I understood what that meant.  I still remember all the “pundits” bringing up the first hundred days of FDR with the obvious reference to the difficult situation Obama inherited – and, that he was going to bring an FDR type response to the republican nightmare inflicted on all of us.  I also remember telling myself that if I continued writing (this blog started as a response to Bush’s absurd Iraq policies) I would not “rubber stamp” President Obama as the republicans had done to Bush should he come up “short” of my perception of his promises.

Not that my opinion means much in the big picture, but, if you get enough people thinking in the same direction who knows, maybe that can influence the “machine” in Washington DC.  One thing’s very clear after watching Obama’s first year and a half in office (well, not quite) is that it’s very difficult to steer the ship in a different direction.  And, the reason for that seems quite clear in my mind.  MONEY!  The “chaps” back in D.C. have been corrupted by corporate money almost beyond hope.  The “Tea Party” solution?  Get rid of government – or, at least, reduce it even more than was done during the Bush/Cheney fiasco.  My solution?  Clean up government.  Get rid of the lobbyists who are throwing good money around in order to create bad!  I still remember Ronald Reagan turning up the “heat” on government, as if it was government that was causing all our problems.

You have to keep in mind some of the reasons Reagan was unhappy with government.  On the surface he railed against deficits (that proved to be quite the joke, didn’t it?) but what he was really angry with was the “New Deal” phenomenom which had brought prosperity to so many “ordinary” Americans.  Reagan claimed that Medicare would be the end of us – something like it would be the beginning of the end of our freedom, just as the republicans before him pronounced Social Security as socialism which would destroy our nation.  Reagan HATED the fact that people making MILLIONS were being taxed at a higher rate than those of us down near the bottom.  That led to the massive assault on the New Deal regulations which were designed to prevent the very problems we’re all experiencing today – including the tax cuts on the “rich” which have led this nation into or near the “poor house.”  Additionally, Reagan opposed the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s to the point that he announced his candidacy for president in Philadelphia, Mississippi – the place made “famous” by the deaths of three civil rights workers in 1964.  Reagan was unhappy with the role of government because it was empowering “ordinary people” – and, I’ll let you surmise what that means.

And, what’s wrong with taking the “lid” off what people can earn?  Why is it wrong to claim, as the republicans do, that the rich people know better what to do with their money – and that, ultimately, when they are “richer” the excess will “trickle down” to the rest of us?  I suppose that theory comes from people who believe we’re all saints (of course, it’s being pushed by many who profess to be Christians, people who suposedly believe we’re “fallen”) and will share any excess they earn with the less advantaged.  We see evidence of that type of thinking all over the world, with the resultant unrest among the “haves not” that seems to be “flying below the radar screen” of those at the “top.”

For example, I’m presently reading a (very interesting) book, titled “Search for Al Qaeda” by Bruce Riedell, a former CIA agent and national security advisor to two presidents, and he points out that the “heart” of the problem in the middle east is that Palestinian refugee camps have been holding people in untennable situations for decades.  It is from these camps that many of the terrorists are coming, and the rest of us seem to be turning a “blind eye” to the fact that so many people are living in these deplorable conditions.  As I wrote recently, in our own American cities, we have ultra high levels of unemployment and children are being gunned down, due to similarly deplorable conditions,  regularly with hardly a “whimper” from those of us fortunate enough to be in better circumstances.  At the same time, the headlines are full of stories about people at the “top” raking in BILLIONS gambling on stocks and commodities using other people’s money – and paying little to no taxes on the “bounty.”  And, then our leaders claim we can’t “stimulate” the weaker parts of the economy because of lack of money.  Or, you have the “tea partiers” out there clamoring for laws that order cops to pull over “suspected illegals,” ask for papers, and if they’re not produced the person goes to jail!  For God’s sake, how many of those inner city Chicagoans I talked about in my previous post do you think carry their “papers” around with them?  (now that I think about it – what about me? What papers am I supposed to have?)

The bottom line here, as I see it (at least tonight :o) is that we have a Wall Street “run amock” and we have a United States senate which has been bought and paid for by the same Wall Street.  There’s no other explanation I can come up with that would present the facts as they seem to appear.  These “gamblers” (hedge fund operators and others at places like Goldman Sachs) are paying taxes at a lessor rate than I am (I believe it’s 15% or less – and in one instance, at least, on 4 BILLION in income).  Before Reagan (and after Hoover), anyone making more than what I will call the “marginal” income paid at least 50% of that income in taxes.  In fact, during World War II the rate was 94%!  This marginal income amount, in today’s dollars compared to the $200,000 it was defined as in 1944 would be something approaching $3 MILLION.  That means, on the first $3 MILLION you would pay the same taxes as you do now.  Anything over $3 MILLION the rate goes up substantially.  The idea was – and, in my opinion, should still be – that when you start earning more than that it becomes all about the money (OK, this is getting into my philosophical thinking, I’m no economist) and we end up with a problem of SYSTEMIC GREED!  This is what Marx was talking about as he predicted the collapse, ultimately, of capitalism.  Too few at the top, and too many at the bottom.  I’m oversimplifying this, but it’s going to be more of a problem in this nation if our US Senators continue to kiss up to the ones at the “top.”  I mean, when does it stop?  How bad do things have to get for the actual people who vote them in before our US Senators figure this out?  Or, do they care?  Do the “moneychangers” just assume that anyone new to the Senate will “succumb” to the money as well?  Is the only way to fix this to have the people who are corrupted do the fixing?  That’s not very encouraging!  THIS IS GETTING DEPRESSING!

How do I connect this to the Obama administration?  Well, as I’m watching them “progress” through their first two years I’m seeing a lot of “politics as usual” from the “centrist” or “pragmatic” approach to governing.  An attempt at “consensus building,” or something that looks that way to me.  Obviously, if you’ve read many of my previous posts about President Obama, I’m not altogether that happy about what his administration is doing.  Yes, they passed a “health care reform” bill.  I see it as something that needs a LOT of fixing and is in the (hopefully) better than nothing category.  There’s now the Wall Street reform.  As stated above, without something along the lines of reinstituting Glass Steagall this reform appears to be something that will be “better than nothing” to people like me, but accpetable to people like Jamie Dimon.  There was the “stimulus” bill, which needed more stimulus – sacrificed “stimulus” for three republican votes.  Iraq?  Nothing at all new or courageous there.  Just following the “Bush” plan – all the way to the end.  Avoiding any kind of real decision regarding Iraq.  What I’m seeing is more of a return to the Bill Clinton approach to government, than a return to FDR.  I realize that it was my wishful thinking, at this point, which was expecting more.  But, I believe with all my heart that it’s the people in the above referenced “deplorable situations” which are the problem.  And, we won’t solve the problem of people in destitute situations through “trickle down” politics.  When the people at the “top” understand they are better off when the people at the “bottom” are healthy, the United States will be on the road to real recovery!  The republicans would claim “socialism,” and this will never happen without strong courageous leaders willing to take a principled stand against the greed which is destroying America like dry rot destroys a house.  As of the present time, there is a void of this type of leadership in Washington DC!

Often times I ponder what lies ahead for us (Americans) which seems to be the motivating force behind these posts.  I’m sure I’m not alone in this endeavor.  And, obviously, we Americans like to predict the future – as if we actually know something.  One of the things that is continually “hammered” home to me from my experiences is how little I know.  That being said, I don’t anticipate a change in my “need” to predict the “future” at least as I see it, anytime soon.  I have become almost obsessed with reading books which give perspectives (along with inside information) on what our leaders are doing.  I try to stay away from the books which are TOTALLY politically motivated (although, I realize they all are to some degree).  For example, I’m not going to read Sarah Palin’s book (which, I’m guessing was written by someone else), or Sean Hannity’s book, or Glenn Beck’s, or – from the other perspective – people on the “left” who are collaborating with “ghost writers” to “cash in” on their “fame.”

People like Seymour Hersh, Naomi Klein, Kevin Phillips, Thomas Ricks, John Dean, Bob Woodward (I started to lose respect for Woodward in the past couple of years), Frank Schaeffer, David Sirota, Frank Rich, Greg Pallast, George Packer, Jeremy Scahill, Thom Hartman and a long list of others look past the political expediency of the moment in an attempt to find the truth about what is really happening at the top of our political “food chain.”  The picture is not a good one.  And, for those of you into bipartisanship, from my perspective the picture is BAD from BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM!  The republican party and those affilitated with it have been consumed by GREED, and the democrats – well, where are the democrats when we need them?  The bitter truth is that you’ll find the “high rollers” in this nation feeding both political parties in an orchestrated program designed to make sure that their best interests come before everything else.

The sad reality of all of this is that we will continue facing one “BUBBLE” after another until we purge our nation of these contemptuous people who are all about MONEY.  (here I go making predictions again)  However, the people at the “top” seem to be totally removed from the rest of us – almost as if we are “collateral damage” when their actions backfire or simply don’t work.  Take Wall Street for example.  The large banks that survived the 2008 “meltdown” – Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, B of A, etc. – simply got a bit bigger after the recent crisis and their reprehesible behavior slowed down only an “instant” until the TARP bailout “righted the ship.”  It’s as if these guys will just keep grabbing for more until there’s nothing left to grab!  And, the republican party is right there with their collective hands out asking for their share of the spoils in return for fighting regulation.  All this while the democrats rig up regulations which are better than nothing, but don’t go nearly far enough to shift the direction of this nation’s wealth back toward the middle class.

That’s basically the choice “we the people” are faced with.  The republican party, as it’s constituted today, will take the GREED position (every man/woman for him/herself) right over the cliff, while the democrats are content to be “better than nothing.”  That’s the way it was for health care, that’s the way it’s looking for financial regulation, that’s pretty much the way it looks to me on just about any issue.  I mean, we’re still in Iraq and Afganistan – these occupations have been going on long enough under democratic control of congress that the blame can no longer be just aimed at Bush/Cheney (although, they are mostly to blame – their actions have just made it clear the democrats are spineless).  And while I don’t expect Sarah Palin to stop shouting “Drill Baby Drill,” I also don’t expect Barack Obama to admit that he made a HUGE mistake in agreeing to open up our shorelines to more offshore drilling.

Deflation is what happens to an economy when it begins to shrink instead of expand.  It is also what happens to citizens in a free society when they begin to realize that their voices don’t much matter.  I can hear all the Obama supporters saying that he’s doing what he said he would do.  However, the reality of ALL the things he’s doing which couldn’t be anticipated based on his election promises is GROWING – and, the lack of enthusiastic democratic voters is growing right along with it.  Obama doesn’t seem to “get” this.  Now, I’ve been voting for over 40 years and fully understand that American politicians say what they believe their audience wants to hear.  So this one’s on me.  I actually thought “change we could believe in” would be real change – and back toward the fundamental values which made this a great nation.  Much to the chagrine of those on the “right,” – at least what they would like to believe – America never reached “world power” status until the “New Deal” of FDR.  America came out of World War II as the “leader of the free world.”  And, the rest of the world is still looking to us for leadership, and instead we’ve allowed ourselves into this downward spiral caused by massive GREED.

This GREED was facilitated by Ronald Reagan when he began the propoganda scheme that claimed by reducing taxes for the “rich” the money would “trickle down” to the rest of us.  It was ridiculous when he said it, and it’s even more ridiculous today – despite the FACT people on the “right” are still trying to cram this philosophy down our throats today.  The bottom line is that our wealth has “trickled” up to the point where a smaller and smaller group of Americans control a larger and larger pool of money.  THIS IS UNHEALTHY!  I often wonder, how much do these guys need?  I’ve read the reports of the apartments in New York, the chauffeur’s, the home in the Hamptons, the two trips a year to the Carribbean or Aspen, the exclusive private schools, and the expensive country clubs as being necessary for this “lifestyle,” but, I also read today a column in the NY Times by Bob Herbert about the deteriorating conditions in America’s cities, the children being murdered in alarming numbers, and the lack of concern by society at large for the problem.

So, here’s how I see things playing out if we continue in the same direction we’ve been headed for these past 30+ years.  The wealthy in this nation will continue to get wealthier – creating the “wealth bubble.”  This will be TOTALLY supported by republicans and “accepted” by democrats (I think I’m more disgusted by the democrats as I think about this – because they’re the ones I would expect to be fighting for the “New Deal” principles).  Certain things are bound to happen as long as we continue this course – I’m just not sure in what order.  The climate will continue to change, without a concerted effort to reduce “man’s” role in that change – UNTIL A DISASTER HAPPENS!  We will continue to burn fossil fuels at an accelerating pace – UNTIL A (well, maybe I should say until more) DISASTER HAPPENS!  Who knows how many DISASTERS have to happen before we realize what a stupid course we’re on in the middle east and elsewhere? (if you read Naomi Klein’s book “The Shock Doctrine” you will see that it’s these very disasters that fuels the right wing agenda)

I could go on with this, but I want to focus on Herbert’s article a bit.  Because, it’s America’s cities which are becoming the looming DISASTER that no one seems to want to notice.  Herbert is an articulate editorial writer for the Times who is focused on the real human costs of our GREED.  And, this latest article should get people’s attention, although I’m skepticle that it will.  I guess I’m regressing back into my cynical stage based on my disappointment with President Obama’s direction (I mean, he had the head of one of Wall Street’s banks as a guest at the White House last week – for heaven’s sake!)  I suppose if I’m feeling that people won’t fully address the issue of climate change until a major city is under water, then it should be no surprise that American’s will ignore their own inner cities until they erupt in violence resulting from their “inhabitants” frustration at a general lack of concern for their problems.  In Herbert’s article he interviewed people who are afraid to go outside to “wash their cars” in inner city Chicago because of the threat of gun violence.  Yet, our congress will continue to cower to the NRA and other lobbyists who will perpetuate the situation until it erupts in a way that interferes with the “good life.”

Just the other day, speaking of the NRA and the “gun lobby,”  I saw clips of republican senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina arguing against a bill in congress which would deny suspected terrorists the right to buy guns or explosives.  Now, Graham was singled out because, on the same day, he argued that it was wrong to read someone his “Miranda rights” if he was accused of a terrorist act.  I’m pointing this out to show how absurd our entire national debate has become.  Refusing to allow guns to a suspected terrorist would violate their 2nd amendment rights – and, that would be bad.  Giving them their “Miranda rights,” (right to counsel) guarnateed by the 5th amendment, however, is bad because we should just torture them in order to get them to say whatever we want to hear!  I mean this is convoluted thinking.  It is the thinking that has allowed all the 16 year old gang members in cities like Chicago to be “bearing arms,” with the result being something like 150 children KILLED in the past year alone – with hardly a whimper from the rest of us.

Something is terribly wrong here, and as long as our leaders continue to cower to the forces of the high money rollers little will change.  What will cause change will be the DISASTERS!  In the educational world this is called being reactive instead of proactive.  The FACT we can see all this “stuff” coming, seems to have little effect on the ones who could do something about it.  That’s the people who are, unfortunately, unable to resist the temptation to take the money of the “moneychangers” in Washington DC.  It certainly wasn’t lost on me that a cool BILLION dollars was invested by the health lobby during the previous “health reform” debate – and, there’s no question in my mind that they will get their money’s worth!  Despite the proclamations of Obama and the democrats, I have no doubt that the health care industry will get every dollar back in “spades.”  This translates in so many different directions.  And, in my view, as long as the politicians keep taking the special interest money, the children being murdered in our cities will be “back page news!”