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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ve waited a few days after the election, which ended up following the general polling, to attempt to put my thoughts to paper.  I have to say that the emotions I’m presently feeling in regards to American politics reminds me of the day Ronald Reagan was elected president back in 1980.  In fact, I’m pretty much feeling as if the “force” that brought Reagan to power is not going away any time soon.  I’m coming to the conclusion that it will take something along the lines of another Depression to wake up those Americans who’ve evidently “bought in” to “trickle down economics,” “climate denial,” and – maybe worst of all – denial of Dwight Eisenhower’s warning against the “military industrial complex.”  I’ve written ad nauseum about the importance of “un-electing” the present day republicans, but this past election pointed out very clearly that the problem with that is the present day democrats!  It’s as if the democrats are actually watching Fox “news” and scurrying around trying to figure out how to “outsmart” their pundits.  OMG – this is all very depressing!

Just a little reminder: The republican goal is what Karl Rove calls the “permanent republican majority.”  They thought they had achieved this with the election of GW Bush (I should say the appointment – by the [less than] Supreme Court) and Dick Cheney – but, Bush was such a bumbler that their plan was (temporarily) foiled.  However, the forces behind Bush/Cheney weren’t going to allow two failed wars and a “Great Recession” to stop them.  They have a stranglehold on the court system, now they have both houses of Congress, and if you’ve been paying any attention at all they’ve been focused on defeating Hillary Clinton (the supposed Democratic nominee for president in 2016) for at least two years now! (The sad reality, at least by my predictions for the past 4 years, is they will attempt to do this with another Bush! Yuck!)  If they succeed again, the result is likely to be the same – although, for people my age (approaching 70) we may not be able to endure this long enough to see a return to true “bottom up” progressive government before we “check out” – because the list of republican presidential “hopefuls” is like a who’s who list of right wing wacko’s who could make GW Bush appear to be an intellectual.  (which is exactly why I’ve been predicting another Bush)  In addition to the three branches of government, they also have a stranglehold on the “message” that proliferates on our 24/7 Cable network empire – the so-called (and miss-named) “liberal media.”

And, it’s the control of the media’s message in combination with the Citizens United unleashing of corporate mega-spending on elections which gives the republicans a great chance to gain a stranglehold on the very government they claim to despise – for the foreseeable future.  Let me give you a quick example of what “progressives” are up against.  Supposedly, MSNBC is the “liberal counterweight” to Fox “news.”  All I can think of is “with friends like this, who needs enemies.”  I’ve written before several times about Chris Matthews, former speech writer for Jimmy Carter and the largest MOUTH on MSNBC (who should know better), and he, along with Chuck Todd (who’s now the moderator of “Meet the Press”), the political “head” of MSNBC, make me shudder at the thought that “we the people” are depending on people like this to make a fair representation of what’s going on in America.  Now, Allison Lundergan Grimes probably was never going to unseat Mitch McConnell for Kentucky’s Senate seat that was up for election.  However, because Ms. Grimes refused to disclose who she voted for in the previous two presidential elections Matthews attacked her credibility and Todd actually allowed himself to be part of a Mitch McConnell add where he claimed her refusal to do this “disqualified her.”  I get angry every time I think of what these two nimwhits are doing!

Without getting into the absurdity of their position any more than to say that NO ONE should be asked who they voted for – Lundergan Grimes was absolutely correct – the vote SHOULD BE a private matter!  However, compare her refusal to disclose she (probably) voted for President Obama with the deeds of Mitch McConnell.  The man has shown himself to be a racist OVER AND OVER, he’s spent 6 YEARS putting the destruction of a sitting United States president ahead of the needs of “we the people,” he’s a puppet for large corporate donors, plus he was the driving force behind the Citizens United decision.  And, he hasn’t been shy about any of this! Of course, it would be too much to expect from “experts” like Matthews and Todd to call McConnell’s actions “disqualifying.”  Honestly, that’s a lot of what is so depressing about what “we the people” are facing.  People like Matthews and Todd being put in places of supposed “expertise” and then allowing themselves to be used by the right wing puppeteers in an almost more disgusting way than the minions on Fox.  At least on Fox, you don’t have to be very sophisticated to understand their message –  they are GOP TV.  The damage being done by people like Matthews and Todd is much more “under the radar.”  I have no idea how many “progressive” Kentuckians saw the McConnell add with Todd (the liberal) claiming that Lundergan Grimes was “disqualified” and then either didn’t vote or voted against her – but, when supposed journalists are stooping to that level, we’ve got BIG PROBLEMS in America!

And, then there’s the democratic party itself.  Now, I’ve stated on this site numerous times my objections with President Obama, but I’ve also said he’s so much BETTER than the alternative.  And, the claim he’s some kind of socialist (I wish he was more-so) is absurd.  (although you’ll never hear that unless you delve into the internet “news” sources)  The democrats “ran away” from the leader of their party during this entire election – which was unbelievable to me.  And, I’m guessing they’ll fall in line with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, McConnell, John Boehner, and the rest of the republicans in blaming the defeats on the president.  Just writing this increases my level of political depression. I must have received THOUSANDS of emails asking for money during the election period – with virtually NONE representing anything positive – it was almost all “beware of the Koch brothers.”  What ticked me off the most about that is when people like me were warning democrats to beware of the “Koch Brothers” and also warning about “Citizens United” the democrats weren’t listening.  It’s almost as if situations have to be at the crisis stage before it gets their attention.  There were MANY positive achievements for democrats to run on, but they chose to disassociate themselves from the president, and by extension, from their own actions.  Truly, this is not my recommended way to succeed in the American political process.

The greatest irony of this election, to me, was watching the democrats abandon the first African American President and then find themselves PANDERING to the African American community in a last ditch effort to pull “victory from the jaws of defeat.”  That, in itself, was so disgusting to me.  Is it any wonder that the African American community in America must feel totally isolated.  I’m talking about the people who live in places like Ferguson Missouri, where Michael Brown was brutally murdered by police, or Florida where the killer of Trayvon Martin was allowed to go free using an ALEC written “stand your ground” law as his excuse, or all the places in America where African American unemployment figures are depressingly elevated and they are profiled by police, and I could go on.  Additionally, if it’s offending to me to see/hear/listen to continual racist “code” regarding President Obama – with little backlash from the White community – imagine how that must turn off African Americans from the political process.  I can tell you this, democrats had better do more than TALK about the racial divide in this country if they want African Americans to continue to support them at the polls.

There’s no where to turn for those of us who would like to avoid the calamity that is assured (like in, “it’s just a matter of time”) with an extended dose of “republicanism,” “privatization,” and “trickle down” economics.  It’s like, to me, the American people have already FORGOTTEN the Bush/Cheney fiasco’s of the “new millennium.”  (As the theory goes:  Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it!)  And, on that note, I’m reading (another) book about the New Deal and the Great Depression.  The time preceding the “crash” of 1929 and the general political environment of the years leading up to it is eerily similar to what we’re experiencing today. Corporate GREED brought America to its knees back then and it will do so again, if we allow it.  (which appears probable at this point in time)  I won’t belabor the point, but President Obama’s greatest failure was letting those who caused the “Great Recession” – including Bush/Cheney et al – to go “Scott free.”  The lesson: evidently we’ll have to experience the “real deal” before the American public gets the idea that “trickle down” really means “trickle up.”

One thing I thought about the other day was that the “faces” I looked at as I watched many of the republican acceptance speeches looked as if the Reagan nightmare (they call it a revolution) is still alive and well in America.  Many of the people standing with the candidates appeared to be what I would refer to as 40 somethings.  These would be people who “came of age” during the Reagan years and have been enjoying the BENEFITS of the “New Deal” and the progressives who followed (Eisenhower, Kennedy, and LBJ), but have been brainwashed to believe (and I believe their belief is “real”) that government is the problem.  They have been convinced that private business can do EVERYTHING better!  So, now we have private prisons, they’re pushing for more private schools (with censored textbooks – as a retired teacher, I shudder), private armies (Blackwater – which had to relocate over seas to avoid legal ramifications to their misbehavior), and more plus a plan for elimination of government agencies which oversee private business and the environment.

I’ll end this by saying, what I’ve heard coming from the mouths of the victorious republicans is they are going to continue their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and they are going to pass a bill allowing the Keystone XL Pipeline.  I guess we’re going to see if there are any democrats with some spine – and, they had better figure out how to work with our Black President – or the republicans will have their way.  Maybe with a little support from his own party President Obama will sharpen his “veto pen.”  That is the last hope for those of us who wish to see this assault on our nation by the right wing of the republican party stopped.  I stated this several years ago on this site – this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America – and, from my point of view, the democrats still haven’t figure this out.  (The Keystone XL Pipeline could be a disaster that is difficult to overcome if it’s allowed to happen – and, if you don’t think it’s HIGH on the republican “to do” list – just keep in mind that the infamous Koch Brothers are major players in bringing this DIRTY Tar Sands oil to their refineries – they’ll get the profits, “we the people” will have to clean up the mess)

After posting this I saw a snippet from “The Daily Show” which puts my thoughts about the stupidity of the democrats MUCH better than I can – click here if you ‘d like to see it.

Well, today’s election day and if you’ve been reading many of my posts you already know that I will be disappointed if the republicans retake control of the Senate (albeit for just the next two years).  I consider myself an independent, but have grown to the point where I feel those who LEAD the republican party are like a reincarnation of the so-called “robber barons” of days gone by.  I spend a lot of time (probably too much) trying to understand why any working class American would vote for republicans like Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, and I could go on and on.  Obviously, there are many Americans who have no idea what these people REALLY stand for.  Yet, in my mind, the truth is that the republicans have figured out how to DOMINATE the discussion in American politics and they are almost completely driving the conversations.

Which brings me to the other alternative (we, like it or not, have a two party system) the democrats.  I’ve been saying for years that the democratic party needs to grow a spine – and, this midterm election is giving a good example of what I’ve been talking about.  I’ll try to clarify.

Just six years ago (that’s not very long) the American public was “given” the “Great Recession” by the Bush/Cheney regime that robbed many of the very people who are likely to be voting republican as I’m writing this a significant portion of their savings/retirement income.  In response President Obama and a large majority of Congress was voted in for the democrats.  There was a succession of significant blunders right from the start of the Obama administration that turned off the liberals (like me) and led to the success of the “Tea Party” movement which was funded by the right “wingers” in America who’ve been lurking “under the surface” of politics since the days of FDR.  I’ll rehash these a bit here, just for those who might need a history lesson.  President Obama chose Rahm Emmanuel as his “chief of staff.”  Emmanuel is a great example of a corporatist politician (exactly what people like me are/were sick of).  Then he chose Larry Summers as his chief economic adviser and Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary.  Those two choices made it clear to President Obama’s “base” that the corporate greed in Washington DC would proceed virtually unabated.  (It was Emmanuel who referred to “liberals” like me as f@#%ing retards – evidently for not “rubber stamping” our President’s initial decisions)

Then Eric Holder, another with ties to corporate interests on Wall Street, not only failed to prosecute a SINGLE case of financial fraud concerning behavior of the “too big to fail” (jail?) banks but he, along with President Obama, chose to “look the other way” concerning the CRIMES of the Bush/Cheney regime.  These actions accomplished two negative things from the perspective of the democratic party.  It FUELED the outrage that led to the “Tea Party” essentially gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterms (because, as people like me predicted at the time, the “liberals” were TURNED OFF! and wouldn’t vote)  Of course, along with the blunders mentioned here, the democrats in Congress, themselves, couldn’t seem to get their act together.  The “Health Reform” bill was put together by Max Baucus, a corporatist democrat from Montana, with the help of over a BILLION dollars of lobbying money coming from, you guessed it, the health industry.  75% of Americans wanted the “public option” but the democrats couldn’t deliver on that and came up with something that could only be classified as “better than nothing.”  (They actually passed a bill that had it’s origination in the right wing Heritage Foundation – I could only surmise, at the time, the reason the republicans were against it was because President Obama was for it)

President Obama had to fight members of his own party, and eventually cave to a couple republicans, to get the financial stimulus bill passed – which was MUCH NEEDED – but it was TOO SMALL, and once he lost his large majority another “jobs bill” in the face of Mitch McConnell’s endless filibusters was impossible.  Brilliant economists like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, and MANY Americans like me understood we needed a larger stimulus with a greater emphasis on job creation, but the democrats couldn’t deliver.  As people realized what was happening – Wall Street experiencing “business as usual,” Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al facing not even an investigation into their illegal activities (including lying us into war, war profiteering, authorizing TORTURE, lying to Congress, outing a CIA agent, politicizing the Justice Department, and more), and Health Care “reform” that favors the private health insurance companies – (and, by the way, it is better than nothing), and either unemployment or stagnant wages – the result of all this based on my experience (I’ve talked to a lot of “regular” people) is that many Americans don’t see “a lick of difference” between the two parties.

OK, so where am I going with all this (my history lesson)?  Well, as I read a report today stating that Chuck Todd (I’ve written about this guy before – if you don’t know, he’s the new moderator of “Meet the Press” and the so-called political “expert” of MSNBC – he has a very serious misconception of journalism – in my view – as he’s prone to infuse his opinion in where it wouldn’t belong if he was a serious journalist – but, in today’s world?  It’s what we get) is labeling the democratic party as “Clinton’s party” because, evidently, the Clinton’s are so active attempting to support democrats – mostly in the south – where President Obama is “unwanted” as a campaigner (Do I really have to explain why this is so to you?  Seems as if I need to explain it to Mr. Todd) .  All I will add here is that you CAN give information without throwing in your opinion.  I taught the sixth grade for 20 years and I tried to prepare my students for their impending responsibility to be active members of society (which includes voting).  Not ONCE in 20 years did I EVER tell them who I voted for in an election.  I simply told them that I ALWAYS vote!  Period!

My point here is that I want to give a little advice to the democratic party – only because that’s the alternative to the republican party.  The TOTAL reason you may lose control of the Senate today is embossed in Todd’s words.  Let me put it another way.  I’ve been saying this for many years – democrats are, by and large, spineless!  Since 9/11 republicans have suffocated America with negativity and the democrats have kind of just fallen in line.  One way I’ve said it before is that both republicans and democrats seem to be “feeding from the same trough.”  It’s just that when it comes to corporate money – republicans get more and when it comes to fear-mongering the republicans are far more sophisticated.  Republicans are spreading fear and democrats seem “fearful.”  Republicans are attempting to “connect” ISIL and Ebola to President Obama (which is so absurd that it just shows the level of sophistication [or lack there of] in today’s America) and democrats are busy reminding their supporters to FEAR the Koch brothers enough to get to the polls and vote.

As far as I can tell, neither party is talking about an agenda – more than the normal cliche’s that guarantees the politician will face no accountability should he/she be elected.  (this isn’t universal – I’ve given money to Allison Lundergun Grimes in Kentucky, Jeff Merkley in Oregon, Wendy Davis in Texas, Rick Weiland in South Dakota, and others around the country I can’t remember right now – like candidates supported by VoteVets.org – who are telling me what they’re for).  As you might imagine, my email inbox is FILLED every day with requests for money by democratic candidates who almost universally are telling me to FEAR the Koch brothers.  In reality, I was warning THEM about the Koch brothers years ago, and they didn’t listen.  People like me were warning them about Citizens United when they had the ability to do something about it, they (the democratic party) weren’t listening.  And, I could go on and on about them – the democrats.  However, the point driving this entire post gets back to Chuck Todd’s OPINION that the democratic party is the party of the Clinton’s now.  He may be correct – but, in my view, if the dems lose it’s for the very reason he makes his point.

Despite the FACT that President Obama has an approval rating in the mid forties the last time I checked (which, by the way, is far higher than republicans in Congress), it appears there are many democrats running for office who have rejected his help in their election.  Evidently, these democratic politicians watch Fox News and listen to people like Todd – instead of STANDING UP for their own policies.  Things are SO MUCH better today than when President Obama took office (and, I’ll say it again, I’ve got my share of disagreement with the President) but you wouldn’t know it listening to the 2014 political debate – again, to me it’s an exercise in fear mongering, on both sides.  Republicans have NOTHING to offer, and Democrats apparently are unwilling to defend their accomplishments of the past few years.  It’s as if the politicians are pandering to a combination of their wealthy donors and the so-called “liberal media.”  FDR famously said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” – did today’s politicians fail to study history?

I recently finished “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph Stiglitz and was thinking of a way to write about it, it’s a great book (highly recommended), when I started “Bending Toward Justice, The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy” by Gary May.  I’m only about 40% finished with this book (I keep a stack of books next to my bed to read each evening) and it, too, falls into the highly recommended category.  In fact, based on news I’m reading and hearing the past few days, this is the book I need to refer to regarding my next post. (this one)

Reading about the reality of what Black Civil Rights leaders (and their supporters) went through to get the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and what voting was like prior to that makes me even ANGRIER when I think of what the Roberts Court (the United States Supreme Court – often times referred to as SCOTUS) is doing to America.  Fifty years from now it will be the Supreme Court that will be remembered as a key component of the assault on America’s foundation – whether the right wing republicans succeed in their “permanent republicnan ‘majority'” or not.

First they decided the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission in the favor of corporate interests while dissembling something on the nature of 100 years of campaign finance reform.  This from Justices Roberts and Alito who claimed they were adamantly opposed to “judicial activism” as they went through the confirmation process.  (Does that mean they’re liars?) In this case, notoriously referred to by Mitt Romney when he said “Corporations are people, my friend,” the court opened the floodgates to unlimited spending on America’s political campaigns – with the so-called “dark money” coming from “non-profit” “Super PACS” that can funnel unlimited funds into political races with no accountability (regarding where the funding originates) whatsoever!  We the people won’t even know how much FOREIGN money is used to buy our politicians.  (Alito – either foolishly or naively – shook his head as if to say “no” when President Obama breached the subject of the foreign money POURING into our elections during his the State of the Union address which followed this judicial travesty)

Largely as a result of this decision (and there’s been another almost as bad since, McCutcheon v Federal Elections Commission) we can expect a never ending blast of negative (and mostly fictitious) surreptitious TV adds during election campaigns.  We can expect never ending political campaigns (for example, this “mid term” election seems to have been ongoing since the last presidential election).  And, worst of all, we can expect even more corruption in our political process – if that is even possible.  These two decisions, in themselves, point out the EXTREME importance of NEVER again voting in a republican as president!  These judges are in for LIFE – that means my daughters may have to spend their entire adult lives living under the Roberts Court!  Right now, America’s “right wing” is represented by a 5 to 4 majority on the court and, if they get one more, the disaster could be worse.  These five judges will someday be remembered in the history books for the damage they are doing to our nation!

While the two aforementioned decisions are disasters, there’s another one that falls in the same category and could possibly end up being worse.  Last year (2013) the court “gutted” the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (passed in 1965 and extended by Congress several times since, the last time being in 2006, for 25 years) by eliminating section 4 and eviscerating section 5.  If interested in what that means, look it up – it’s real clear what their motivation is.  I’ll get into more of my thoughts on this shortly, but as I’m reading May’s book on the Voting Rights Act, it’s almost depressing to think what this court is doing to the country I love.  It’s as if the extreme fringe “right” that’s got control of the republican party is working in unison with the Supreme Court to (they say they want to “take our country back”) take this country back to the days of the Robber Barons!  And, the American public is passively allowing this to happen simply because most members of our society have no idea it is happening!  (a significant group of my peers – I’m a retired school teacher and have many friends who are “educated” – haven’t even heard of Citizens United – or if they have, they have no idea of what it is)  This last REALITY is further indictment on our so-called “liberal media.” (I’ve written extensively about that recently if you’re interested)

Thousands of American (mostly African Americans) were BRUTALLY beaten, abused, and with many of them giving their lives to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s – which included the final MAIN push for VOTING RIGHTS in Selma Alabama in 1965.  There were many members of the Black leadership community which most of us have never heard about who showed courage above and beyond what we see in this nation today.  Martin Luther King Jr. was the “point man” that most of us have learned about – and, I was aware of John Lewis (today a member of the House of Representatives) and Andrew Young (and some of the others mentioned in May’s book), but there were so many we’ll NEVER know about who stood up and risked (or gave) their lives to push this nation into giving the right of citizenship (voting) to EVERY American!  And, now – 50 years later – we have a Supreme Court which is very subtly “turning back the clock” so that MANY will be disenfranchised.

The arguments coming from the Court and their supporters kind of remind me of the support for the “high stakes” testing that resulted from the “No Child Left Behind” Act – during the first part of the GW Bush administration. (Ironically – or should I say coincidentally – it was GW who nominated [and managed to get confirmed] Alito and Roberts)  The argument was that the Latino (and other “minority”) students I was teaching (6th grade) should be able to pass the test written by WASP’s (White Angle Saxon Protestants) in order to be considered “proficient” in school.  Of course, the language in the tests was (is) totally unfamiliar to the students.  In other words, the tests aren’t set up to measure skills as much as measuring vocabulary, and they favor White Students from stable families.  From the day “No Child Left Behind” was enacted I believed the REAL purpose in the legislation was to enable privatizing of our school system.  The other thought occurring to me is that there are “leaders” in the republican party trying to create a permanent under class of citizens.

In the instance of the (now) gutted Voting Rights Act – the new voter ID laws – which the court is also endorsing – designed to prevent “voter fraud” according to their proponents (that’s the “rationale” behind them – and, I should have said “non-existent voter fraud, based on the published studies) – will disenfranchise MILLIONS of Americans (mostly poor, elderly, young, or minority voters).  And, if there is “voter fraud” it’s not something that “ID laws” would address anyway – making the Court’s motivation even more transparent.  (disenfranchising voters – most of whom would tend to vote democratic) The voter fraud which does occur is MOSTLY votes that are made through the mail.  The Court, in its decision, not only took away the protections granted in Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, but they made it more difficult to challenge the future attempts to disenfranchise voters (forcing challenges to be made via Section 2 which has been described as “costly and time consuming”)  So, in my view, the REAL reason behind this Court decision is to ENABLE the disenfranchisement that is the purpose of all the “Voter ID” laws that, curiously, sprang up within days of this terrible decision.  (Do you think it was coincidence that numerous republican secretaries of state were ready to file voter suppression laws almost the next day after this decision?  Me, I’m a bit suspicious!)

Unfortunately, this brings me back to the place I ALWAYS seem to end up.  When I try to understand why certain things are “happening” in America – that seem so WRONG – it always seems to return to what Karl Rove once termed “the permanent republican ‘majority.'”  These Court decisions make it clear that the SCOTUS is FIRMLY on board with Rove’s (and his associates) intentions.  And, the reality that MOST Americans have no idea what’s going on “behind the scenes” in their own country, tells me our “liberal media” is either consciously or unwittingly supporting the plan.  (I hope it’s the latter, I fear it’s the former)

I’ll spell it out ONE MORE TIME.  The right wing fringe of the republican party NOW has control of the Court(s) – not just the Supreme Court; there’s been a court “stacking” “plan” since the days of Ronald Reagan.  They have control of the House – with, thanks to a well thought out scheme to control “local politics,” congressional districts that have been “gerrymandered” to almost ensure republicans retain control of the House indefinitely (In the 2012 election well over 50% of Americans voted for democratic House candidates, while republicans won a significant majority of the seats – it doesn’t take a math genius to figure this one out).  Republicans are close to gaining a majority in the Senate (and, I for one, don’t believe the democrats have the “stones” to filibuster the republican agenda as the republicans have done during Obama’s 6 years to the democratic agenda) and our “liberal media” is controlled by something like 9 right wing corporations!  Are you getting the point?  If republicans can fool the American public into voting for a republican presidential candidate in 2016 the “nail” will be driven into the “coffin” of progressive Americans for the foreseeable future.  The Citizens United decision will allow unlimited funding of the propaganda “machine” that’s gotten us to this point and should Rove, the Koch’s, and their brethren succeed, it will be a tough “hill to climb” to reverse their course.

Of course, what republicans in control will lead to will very likely be another economic disaster along the lines of the “Great Recession” or Depression.  Maybe that’s what it’s going to take to “wake up” America’s working class public.  Honestly, how working Americans can vote for republicans who are so indebted to the so-called 1% is beyond me.  As flawed as the democrats are, they are WAY closer to an agenda that is aimed at the middle class of America.  This idea that funneling more wealth UPWARD to the elite “1%” is so absurd that you have to give the right wingers credit for managing to “snow-job” the American public for most of the past 35 years.  How can this happen?  Well, I just believe that “we the people” are simply no match for the sophistication of the corporate interests who are buying our politicians.

Is there hope?  Well, as of October 2014 there is still a bit of hope.  Maybe voters in America will fail to give the republicans part FOUR of their scam (the US Senate) in the 2014 mid-term elections – that, by all accounts at this point is very much “up in the air.”  And, it’s hard for me to imagine one of the possible republican candidates for president actually winning in 2016 – but, it appears that the democrats will be running another Clinton.  Wouldn’t that just “beat all” if the 2016 presidential race was Clinton v Bush?  If that wouldn’t let you know how utterly despondent this nation has become, I don’t know what would.  Of course, I believe what we need is a true STRONG LIBERAL as our president and a public willing to first – vote republicans out of congress and second – vote the corporate democrats out of congress – replacing them with people who believe in the “bottom up” approach to government which drove the “New Deal” of FDR, Eisenhower and the Interstate Hi-way “push,” LBJ and the “Great Society,” and built the greatest middle class in the history of the world.  It really is UP TO US – “we the people” – because expecting the present day politicians to “fix” our government is like expecting the fox to fix the hen house!  Unfortunately, due to the SCOTUS, stopping this republican onslaught will get progressively more difficult the longer we allow it to “hang around.”

I was talking to one of my republican friends yesterday and one thing we could agree on was that it appears the American public is ill informed.  (The word we used was more harsh but essentially means the same thing)  I chose to end the discussion right there because my friend, along with most of the others I know who believe in Christianity and vote for republicans, tend to get their “news” from Fox.  At this point, most will deny this, but when you listen to “conservatives” talk it’s obvious they’re either watching Fox or getting their “information” from some affiliate.  What I’ve learned over the years is that there must be some kind of central info center where ALL republican pundits are programmed for the day.  That’s why you can listen to a variety of pundits on a variety of outlets and hear the same key (code) words repeated OVER and OVER again.  For some reason, neither my friends, nor the so-called “liberal media” (if you’ve been on this site much, you know why I put quotes around “liberal media”) seem to be aware of the republican propaganda scheme.

A few years ago I read a book titled “The Family” by (I think) Jeff Sharlott which retells his experience gained from infiltrating the group known amongst themselves as the “Family” and who, at the time, I had heard referred to as the “C” Street politicians in our nation’s capital.  Of course, since then I’ve heard little about this group, but it’s clear to me that they are behind much of what is “happening” with the push to the “right” in American politics.  How does this relate to the republican propaganda scheme mentioned above?  Well, the “Family” adopted the philosophy of dictators and tyrants as they interpreted (actually I should say interpret – because, just because our media is ignoring them doesn’t mean they aren’t still involved – in fact, I’m sure the now infamous Koch brothers are part of this “network”) the Bible in a way that allows them to also be devotees of Ayn Rand.  That is, the powerful and wealthy should rule the rest of us.  Another term for (at least) some of those involved in this movement is “dominionists.”  As part of their political strategy to impose their beliefs on American society this group adopted strategies of the Third Reich.  Most notably, the “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels, the chief Nazi propagandist.  I am continually amazed that our “liberal media” fails to acknowledge this.

The “Big Lie Theory” states that if you tell a lie over and over again people will begin to believe it’s true.  Again, I’ve written many times about this, but if you haven’t read any of those posts I think you still can get the “drift” here.  If not, just tune into several different sources of “right wing” “information” and you’ll quickly understand what I’m pointing out.  You’ll hear the SAME key words OVER and OVER again – their veracity is irrelevant.  Before the day President Obama was inaugurated for his first term as president the republicans were on record as saying they would BLOCK anything he attempted to accomplish – their plan was to make him a “one term president” in the words of Mich McConnell.  As Rush Limbaugh said, “I want the president to FAIL”  (If you’re from Kentucky and you vote for McConnell – shame on you!)

Unfortunately, the part of our media that’s not controlled by Fox (if that part exists) have either participated in this “strategy” (the stated objective is that Obama would “FAIL”) or have chosen to ignore it.  I’ve stated many times on this site that, despite the FACT I want president Obama to succeed there are many areas I have of disagreement with his decisions.  However, attempting to facilitate his failure is UN AMERICAN to me and why I’m trying to get as many people as I can to vote out ALL republicans.  Attempting to make sure the president fails is a strategy that is likely to lead to the “failure” of our nation – in fact, every day we’re seeing more evidence of that.  I really don’t see why more members of media outlets like MSNBC can’t see that.  Why aren’t they exposing the republicans using a Nazi propaganda scheme as their main strategy?  Why are they failing to remind the American public that one party is TOTALLY focused on our President’s failure instead of our country’s success? (this can be easily documented)  Why can’t they see that a significant portion of leading republicans are disgusted that there’s a Black family in the “White House?”

In my mind, it’s obvious that the republican strategy is working – and, not because it’s a good strategy – but, because there’s no one with a significant enough “platform” out there exposing the reality of what they’re doing.  Just yesterday I read the results of a Washington Post poll that focused on the president’s “approval ratings” and how Americans feel about other issues.  I won’t go into detail here, but what was obvious as I read the results of the poll was that the constant “BLAMING” President Obama for EVERYTHING and OPPOSING anything he is for is working for republicans – despite the poll implying that the issues Obama is fighting for have a significant majority of Americans favoring them while, at the same time, having an unfavorable opinion of the president.  For example, Obama had an unfavorable rating in his dealing with the economy, yet people have a more favorable trust in democrats regarding the economy (ie issues like “minimum wage” which Obama is “pushing” and most Americans support).  This one really points out how successful the republican propaganda scheme has been – the respondents to the poll feel more trust in republicans regarding the deficit than democrats – and Obama.  That, despite the reality that since the election of Ronald Reagan republicans have caused HUGE increases in the deficit and both Bill Clinton AND Barack Obama have seen significant reductions during their terms.  In fact, despite the FACT the deficit has come down SIGNIFICANTLY since Obama was elected – you wouldn’t know that to talk to my republican friends or listen to the media that’s controlled by right wing corporations.  (that’s our “liberal media”)  In a different poll I read, a significant majority of Americans favored “The Affordable Care Act” while – in the same poll – a majority opposed “Obamacare.”  If you don’t get the irony there – well, do a little research!

So, now all of this BASHING of our president and trying to make sure he FAILS is “coming home to roost.”  There’s the issue with ISIL and now the one that republicans have at the forefront of their FEAR (and propaganda) machine: Ebola.  Of course, the republican BLAME GAME is already in high gear and they will find all sorts of creative ways to BLAME President Obama for BOTH of these issues.  In fact, I’ll be surprised if Scott Brown (or another republican minion with a similar lack of character) doesn’t come up with an add blaming President Obama for members of ISIL infiltrating our borders while infected with Ebola and going around spitting on people!  Actually, Brown is capable of coming up with something even more outrageous than that – because, he’s firmly in the control of the Koch’s and Karl Rove.  (and, there’s a plethora of republican candidates who fall into the same category – a woman In Iowa [I can’t remember her name] running for the Senate comes to mind – she has actually personally thanked the Koch’s for making her campaign possible)  Despite all the venom that will be forthcoming, the REALITY is that the dysfunction in our nation which has been imposed on ALL of us by a republican congress willing to ruin our country in order to ruin our president is where the BLAME lies.

Let’s take Ebola for example.  That’s a health care emergency.  It’s a REAL emergency!  So, what should we expect from the republicans and the media that supports them?  I’m guessing, for starters, we’ll need to fire some people – maybe people at the CDC (Center for Disease Control) or the NIH (National Institutes of Health).  Calling for the firing of people in those places might, after all, take the focus off of the FACT that our Congress has been UNDERFUNDING both agencies for the past 10 YEARS! (at least)  I believe the underfunding of the NIH is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5+ BILLION dollars!  Actually, these are the CUTS that have been imposed!  We can’t cut our military and republicans (who gave us the deficit with the so-called Bush tax cuts and two wars put on a “credit card”) had to find a way to show they are “deficit hawks”  – so cutting from medical research and medical facilities must have seemed a good idea to them.  If you’re old enough to read this post you know that republicans fought “tooth and nail” to prevent the “Affordable Care Act” (ACA) and since its passage have voted in excess of FIFTY times to repeal it – so, you should be able to make the inference of why America is the ONLY “advanced” society in the world without national health care.  Republican opposition to this has been ongoing since I started paying attention – which was when Dwight Eisenhower (who favored national health insurance) was president.

I’m not sure if any in our “liberal media” will point out that President Obama, at the urging of those at the CDC, made a significant commitment to send American aid to Western Africa in an attempt to help the countries facing the Ebola crisis head on get the epidemic under control.  I KNOW they won’t report that David Vitter (republican senator from Louisiana – known for his rendezvous’ with prostitutes) was BLOCKING (they BLOCK everything, don’t they) the aid package supposedly because the aid was going to Africa!  I watched parts of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC last night and she reported that there are a TOTAL of NINE beds in the ENTIRE United States that are set up to handle diseases such as Ebola! NINE! That’s it!  There were over 70 health care workers at the hospital in Dallas who were exposed to the Ebola patient who died in a setting where the precautions were less than ideal.  So far, two nurses have come down with symptoms of Ebola and officials are expecting more to show symptoms in the next couple of weeks.  (Personally, I’m praying that no more will become sick)  Here’s what I’m now wondering:  Is our republican led House of Representatives capable of taking a break from BLAMING President Obama for everything and actually coming back to Washington DC to appropriate the funding necessary to give the health care professionals the resources necessary to contain this epidemic?

One thing I’m certain they won’t fix is the issue with so many Americans’ without health insurance.  It’s long been the republican position that all Americans can have health care because Emergency rooms are required to provide care for anyone who shows up at their doors.  Of course, the reality is that many of those who don’t have health insurance won’t go to an emergency room until they are deathly sick because they can’t afford to pay the high costs.  (My last visit to an emergency room lasted 4 hours and the bill was $5300 – and, that was 10 years ago!)  For a person who has Ebola that is not only a death sentence for them, but likely the way this virus will become (if it does) an epidemic in America.  And, of course, should that happen we’ll have to listen to a plethora of right wing castigation of our president (and, who knows who else).  What we do know is that the republicans who’ve been preventing national heath insurance for all will not take any of the blame themselves.  They won’t look inward regarding the budget cuts to the CDC and NIH and, unfortunately, I believe our “liberal media” will let them get away with it.  (I’ve recently written a couple critical posts regarding Chris Matthews of MSNBC regarding his “knee jerk” reaction to “crises” with that instinct to immediately lay BLAME.  And, like his cohorts at Fox, he generally looks right at the Black Man in the White House.  He did this with the VA health issues and the Secret Service boo boos – I hope I’m wrong, but I expect the same here – and, he’s supposedly on the “liberal” cable outlet)

Just to give one more example of how preposterous American politics has become (and, how this is making us ALL “less safe”) I’ll give one more example:  A couple of days ago I saw snippets of the “debate” in the campaign for the US Senate in Kentucky between Mitch McConnell – the present minority “leader” in the Senate – the chief republican “blocker” and “blamer” – and his challenger, Allison Lundergan Grimes.  During this debate Grimes refused to divulge who she voted for president in the last two elections (obviously it was president Obama – but, she didn’t want to give her opponent a “sound bite” he could [would] twist into an negative add in a state where our president is unpopular).  Her opponent, McConnell, was asked about “Obamacare” – whether he would work to repeal it? (despite it’s success in Kentucky with 500,000 Kentuckians signed up on the “Kynect” website and now having health insurance)  His answer was classical absurd political BS – he would repeal “Obamacare” – but, keeping the website was “fine” with him.  (of course, the website wouldn’t be fine with the 500,000 Kentuckians that now have health insurance if “Obamacare” was repealed)  Honestly, I recently retired as a 6th grade teacher – I would expect a higher level of thought from my 6th grade students!  Relating this back to the Ebola epidemic – McConnell is OK with TEN MILLION + more Americans without health insurance (that’s what would happen if the ACA is repealed) which clearly would make the spread of viruses like Ebola more likely because there is NOTHING more important to him than President Obama’s “failure.”  Despite the reality that the concept behind the ACA originated in a “conservative” think tank – the Heritage Institute, evidently, the republicans fear the legacy the ACA will leave for the president will be positive.

Back to our “liberal media.”  I’ll bet you’ll never guess how the two examples of the McConnell/Grimes debate was interpreted by our “liberal media.”  I’m going to take the “accepted” definition here and agree that MSNBC is more “liberal” than Fox and all of its surrogates.  So, Chuck Todd – the top political “analyst” for NBC – I don’t watch it but I’ve heard he’s the new moderator of “Meet the Press” – which, to me would require a person to have some level of responsibility – Todd interpreted Grimes refusal to give her opponent a “sound bite” that would “connect” her to President Obama as “disqualifying.”  So, McConnell ended up with a much better “sound bite” because he simply took Todd’s remark, implied that Todd is an “expert,” (of course, I would disagree wholeheartedly with that assumption) and made the negative add Grimes was attempting to avoid giving him.  And, I have to admit that these media outlets are making me sick to my stomach to the point where I simply can’t bear to watch more than small amounts – but, I didn’t hear any remarks from Todd regarding McConnell’s ABSURD remark regarding being “fine with leaving up the website” but repealing the ACA as “disqualifying.”  Really, to me, there’s no comparison between the two and I just have to shake my head that someone in the position of Todd could come to the conclusion he did.  I honestly believe that Chuck Todd should be FIRED for being STUPID!  However, in America he’s a political “adviser.”  Go figure!

I started this post with a reference to a conversation I had with a “conservative” friend of mine yesterday.  Being more transparent, the agreement we had is that the American voting public is stupid – I’m sure he looks at this issue from a totally different perspective than I do.  But, the reality is that America’s voters are either going to vote back control of Congress to republicans or nearly do so.  That’s despite the FACT republicans have spent the past 6 years ATTACKING and OPPOSING everything our BLACK President does or proposes.  Many still believe he’s not a citizen and telling the truth means nothing to them – hence the strategy based on Goebbels’ big lie theory – “The end justifies the means” – so, we the people get constant rabble about Obama’s birth certificate, his name, and on and on and on.  We’re facing a serious health crisis with a CDC and NIH that have had their budgets severely cut by republicans in Congress who also are doing everything they can to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  (the Ebola Crisis started in a state that refused to participate in the ACA – which could conceivably make curbing the virus more difficult)  Additionally, republicans are unbelievably BLAMING President Obama for the ISIL crisis, when it was their “leaders” in 2002-2003 (Bush/Cheney et al) who created the mess in Iraq which spawned ISIL  in the first place and their present “leaders” (McCain and Graham) who urged the Saudi’s to fund ISIL in another misguided attempt to “control” (in this case Syria) the Middle East.  Here’s how it works:  They (republicans) create the mess, they blame it on President Obama, and they leave Obama to clean it up (all the while opposing everything he wants to do).  As they say, “Only in America.”  The worst part to me, is – thanks to our “liberal media” – the American public is on the verge of voting the very people who have created the mess we’re in back into power.  I really don’t get it!

Update: No sooner had I posted this message than I got into my car to run an errand and my XM radio was tuned to “The Ed Schultz Show” on MSNBC.  What did I hear?  But, Ed Schultz, a supposed liberal, blasting Allison Lundergan Grimes for, you guessed it, refusing to say who she voted for.  He implied that democrats pulled their support for her because of this.  All I can say is “how stupid is this going to get” – and, I’m not talking about Ms. Grimes.  I continually rant against republicans – but, obviously, the problem in America is that the other choice is the democrats!  Earth to Ed Schultz, Chuck Todd, and anyone else reading this – there’s a good reason why Ms. Grimes wanted to maintain her privacy (maybe that really is a major democratic issue) and, I don’t understand why you’re thoughtlessly attempting to help Mitch McConnell! He’s the poster boy of what’s wrong in America!   Seriously, get a clue!

I’m presently reading “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph Stiglitz which is a book aimed at explaining economic issues in a way that is understandable (to a large degree) by non-economists such as myself.  The book essentially reinforces much of the inferences I’ve made over the years since my disappointment that the American public was tricked into voting Ronald Reagan as president back in 1980.  I still remember the promise: “I’ll cut your taxes and balance the budget.”  Well, we all know Reagan not only didn’t balance the budget, but instead initiated policy that did exactly the opposite.  Of course, his supporters to this day will deny that reality and find a way to BLAME the ballooning deficits on Democratic congresses.  The “Reagan revolution” shows itself to be around the starting point of much of the FACTUAL data Stiglitz has put into this book focusing on the reality of America’s wealth “trickling up” (my words) due to “trickle down” economics.  What’s probably most frustrating about all this to me is the number of solid “middle class” Americans who still consider Reagan almost as a saint – and, STILL vote for republicans with little thought (or knowledge) of what they’re getting in return.

Of course, it doesn’t help to have a “liberal media” that is solely focused on (and owned by) the corporate interests that are gaining a stranglehold on America.  I’ve recently written about my frustration with Chris Matthews, the host of “Hardball” on MSNBC, supposedly “the place for politics.”  To me, in my attempt to find an antidote to the right wing corporate media I tend to end up on MSNBC on occasion.  (The actual place where I find information that doesn’t seem so tainted is on Free Speech TV, which I’m learning to turn to much more frequently)  Yesterday, I lasted only about 5 minutes on Matthews’ show before I had to turn it off in disgust.  As per usual, he started the show with an attempt to create another (non) crisis with President Obama – this time referring to “The White House” in his (not very) veiled attempt to (again) attack our sitting president.  I guess in today’s world it makes for good ratings.  This (non) crisis had to do with “anonymous” leaks coming from the Secret Service regarding allegations that some intern who was an advance person for the President’s visit to Central America brought a prostitute to his room and someone “in the White House” tried to cover it up.  Of course, this “story” won’t last long unless someone can turn it into another “Benghazi” fiasco.  The problem I have is that Matthews simply is falling in line with the Fox “news” crew who are attempting to find ways to criticize President Obama (evidently) in their sleep.

I don’t EVER hear about any of the successes of Obama’s administration (and, let me be clear here, I’m definitely one of the liberals who are not very happy with much of the direction his administration has taken – it’s just that I don’t want to get on the Fox, Matthews bandwagon – because it’s not all bad and it’s certainly BETTER than the alternative).  In fact, when you look at the economic situation today compared to what the republicans left Washington DC and America with back in 2009, things have gone directly upward.  (except for the deficit, which has gone in a downward direction – significantly)  I’m not going to claim that things are “great” because it should be obvious that they’re not – but, it would be nice to hear someone pointing out the reality of the difference.  We have an election coming up that is one of the most important in my lifetime and people like Matthews are FAILING to inform the American public about FACTS regarding accomplishments.  (like the economic comparison – because the republicans want to go back to the same policies that got us to the “crash” in 2008)

Or people like Matthews could be REMINDING people of the FACTS of what the republicans have done over the years.  I don’t remember anyone on a program such as “Hardball” showing graphs, for instance, that give a clear picture of what happens when republicans are “in charge” vs. democrats regarding, for example, the deficit – or job creation – or military spending – or investment in “green energy” – or commitment to education, and I could go on.  Most people I know have no idea of any of this – because they’re either too busy, too lazy, or too apathetic to find out.  Many of them rely on people like Matthews to keep them “informed.”  Everyone knows how Fox “news” does this (AKA GOP TV) which is what makes it so much more frustrating to me when people like Matthews are helping to “guide” America back to republican control of our Congress and more corporate domination of our nation.  The combination of a right wing Supreme Court, a right wing Congress, and a right wing “liberal media” could be the undoing of America as those of us who are called “baby boomers” knew it.  Reading books such as Stiglitz “The Price of Inequality” makes it real clear the significance of allowing these corporatists to continue usurping more and more POWER.

I’ve never heard more than a “peep,” for instance out of the so-called “liberal” media outlet MSNBC regarding “Citizens United” – the worst Supreme Court decision of my lifetime,  (followed closely by the “gutting” of the Voting Rights Act – which has allowed MULTIPLE Voter Suppression schemes of the republicans to become reality)  So, it’s no wonder to me that many of the “educated” adults I know have ZERO knowledge of what Citizens United, for example, is.  The younger college graduates I worked with before I retired from teaching didn’t grow up during the days of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement.  For me, it’s a tragedy that the Voting Rights Act could be “gutted” with little to NO outrage from our “liberal media.”  These two issues and their ramifications SHOULD be a focus of people like Matthews, but he (and others) act as if “it’s no big deal” – while the wealthy in America continue to buy a government that will work for the interests of Wall Street at the expense of “Main Street.”  This has been going on since Reagan took office and it’s now reaching the scary point – because, it’s now becoming clear the sophisticated strategy that people like the now infamous Koch brothers have been implementing since (actually before) Reagan’s election is in danger of becoming a reality.

The statistics are undeniable – since 1980 the wealth at the “top” has grown exponentially and the wealth in the “middle” and “bottom” has stagnated at best.  In fact, the number of Americans who now fall in the bottom – taking measures of poverty into account – is continually INCREASING.  The Citizens United decision almost GUARANTEES this discrepancy in where America’s wealth is “headed” will continue.  As stated above, I refer to the republican economic plan as “trickle up” economics – and, I believe the FACTUAL statistics would support that contention.

So, why are people like Chris Matthews focused on finding the next (non) crisis at the “White House?”  I do remember that during the Clinton administration there was nary a day when the republican congress wasn’t focused more on finding a “scandal” than on solving problems that faced “we the people.”  So, I guess that’s what “floats the boat” of Matthews and his associates.  It must make for better ratings.  However, I believe elections matter and if the republicans succeed in taking back the Senate in November (which, at this point, seems likely) there will be many more besides myself who just completely tune out from our government.  And, I have to add, this is NOT healthy.  It is exactly what the republicans have been working for over these past 35+ years.  (the idea behind the voter suppression campaign is, obviously, having less people – especially liberals – voting)

I’ve laid out their strategy many times on this site – I’ll try to do it again briefly as I end this rant.  “Big business” hated the New Deal from its inception.  This all started (at least from my perspective) with the tax cuts for the top earners (like Reagan himself) which was the headline of the “Reagan revolution.”  At the same time (and, by the way, Reagan instituted MANY tax increases on the “middle class”) there was MASSIVE increases in defense spending (I’m sure you’re familiar with the amount of $’s “invested” by the “military industrial complex” in our politicians) and the process of deregulation began along with the “theory” of privatization.  Reagan famously said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'”  Thus was born things like private military’s (ie Blackwater), private prisons (where the incentive is anything but rehabilitation), and all kinds of “private” attempts to “cut government down to the size where it can be drained in the bathtub.”  Right wing Talk radio became part of the strategy during Reagan’s term – using the “big lie theory” of Joseph Goebbels to generate their propaganda – that’s when Rush Limbaugh (and lessor others) was “thrust” upon an unsuspecting public – and, he’s still doing his damage to this day.  Reagan led the assault on unions – despite the FACT he was once the head of the Screen Actors Guild.  And, for my purposes in this post, finally, Reagan demonstrated that presidents and their associates could disregard the law and expect no ramifications from it (Iran/Contra) – and, we’ve been seeing the “fruit” from that “reality” ever since.

While Reagan was “doing his part,” people like the Koch’s were “growing” like a bad virus.  They’ve been working behind the scenes since before Reagan was elected, but were considered “fringe” wacko’s back then.  In fact, David Koch ran for Vice President as a “libertarian” the year Reagan first won the presidency.  You guessed it, Reagan was too LIBERAL for the Koch’s!  They (the Koch brothers) have been busy since those days funneling money into “local” elections around the nation to surreptitiously increase their impact on American politics while no one was looking (and secretly merging into the republican party).  I learned about the Kochs several years ago by listening to Thom Hartman on “liberal talk radio” – which has been pretty much removed from the airwaves – unless you’re willing to invest in satellite radio.  Other than with people like Hartman, for years they managed to be “invisible.”  They (the Kochs) are behind the Heritage Institute, the Cato Institute (both right wing “think tanks”), they’re the funding source for the Tea Party, and more importantly (in my mind) ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council) which is a right wing political force that has influenced untold “local” legislation in state after state where legislators seem to need “help” in making laws.  They’ve funded efforts to gerrymander legislative districts to minimize the effects of “progressive” voters (especially minority voters), and they have supported legislation which has made it possible to use tax havens (such as the Cayman Islands) to create unsavory operations to make even MORE money outside of U.S. borders.  If you want more, click here.

The Koch’s come from the John Birch Society (which accused President Eisenhower of being a “communist” and in today’s politics is the “Tea Party”) and have (and are willing to) invest untold amounts of their BILLIONS on buying our Congress and legislatures and governorships all across the nation.  The Birch Society has a history of antisemitism and White Supremacists.  They (the JBS members) were rejected as too extreme by ultra conservative William F Buckley.  Their 35+ year crusade to gain control of our society is dangerously close to success.

Unfortunately, by the time they’ve succeeded, people like Matthews will be finding someone else to blame for the resulting disaster besides themselves – as people with access to the American airwaves who are indirectly (or, for that matter, it could be directly – that’s one of the features of our “Citizens United” society – we don’t know) doing the Koch’s bidding.  I’ve stomached enough of Chris Matthews to understand that he “knows better” – that is, he fully well knows what the right wing republicans are up to – I have to believe that it just wouldn’t be “good theater” for him to take his focus off of nit-picking at our president in a time of WAR, and get his attention on the REAL agenda of the right wing republicans who answer to people like Charles and David Koch? (like, why wasn’t Matthews going “after” Obama when he chose to “pardon” GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and all the others for committing WAR CRIMES?)

The republican “dream” of a “permanent republican ‘majority'” consists of control of the Courts, the Congress, the White House, and the MEDIA.  With the help of people like Chris Matthews they will soon be one step from achieving their “dream.”  And, with the help of “Citizens United” it will be extremely difficult to “turn things around” should they succeed.  I’m guessing Chris Matthews next heresy will be promoting a republican presidential candidate in an attempt to create “good ratings.”  On the surface, the available GOP candidates are almost laughable.  The other day I heard Matthews essentially encouraging another run by Mitt Romney.  Despite the FACT Romney represents all that is wrong right now in America (137 Cayman Island tax cheating “havens” for starters) I’m sure Matthews is thinking Romney would make it more of a contest than – say – Ted Cruz.   The only way republicans could possibly get their “message” to resonate with the American public, is with the help of people like Matthews and our”liberal media.”

If you are interested in getting a good idea of where this is all headed, read Stiglitz book mentioned above, “The Price of Inequality.”  Economists like Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, believers in Keynesian economics, have been calling it RIGHT since I started paying closer attention to the internal destruction of my country (ie, circa Bush/Cheney) – while the people on the “right” – such as those who support “trickle up” economics and what Stiglitz calls the Washington consensus – people like Paul Ryan and others who idolize Milton Friedman (and Friedman’s so-called “free market” economics) continue to get it WRONG (unless your viewing things from the perspective of someone in the 1% who can’t get enough money).  The statistics don’t lie.  People like Matthews and the others in similar positions are all part of the 1% – I don’t know about you, but that causes me to wonder what motivates them to ignore present realities in order to appear “fair and balanced?”  Think about it before you vote!  Mitch McConnell and the Koch brothers were a large part of the force behind the push for “Citizens United.”  Should the republicans take total control of Congress in 2014 we’ll see even MORE evidence exposing the gravity of this disastrous Supreme Court ruling!

I don’t know why I even bother to watch TV “news” anymore – I guess it’s just a bad habit formed over the past 60+ years – but, today I listened as Chris Matthews started his program by accusing President Obama of being “intellectually lazy.”  He was referring to what he called the tendency of 2nd term presidents to replace cabinet officials who leave with “underlings.”  The discussion was centered on the issues regarding the Secret Service failures recently, the news that an Ebola patient has made it into the U.S., and the ISIL dilemma in the Middle East.  Honestly, as I’m sitting there listening to Matthews he was reminding me of republican projectionism.  In my mind, it’s Matthews and “reporters” of his ilk who are “intellectually lazy.”

Matthews comes on (I watch him because he follows Reverend Al Sharpton on MSNBC – I respect “Reverend Al” as many call him) and day after day rants in the traditional “knee jerk” reaction style that (unfortunately) seems to be driving what is left of our “liberal media.”  I’ve written about Matthews on several occasions and the guy continues to cause me to want to turn off my TV.  It’s as if Matthews has totally bought into the Fox “news” propaganda scheme that EVERYTHING that happens in America (if it’s “bad”) is the fault of President Obama.

At the beginning of his show he was focused on the resignation of the head of the Secret Service and parsing what was behind her resignation – and, how he could put blame on Obama for this.  Of course, he didn’t mention that the so-called sequester which has been our economic policy for the past couple of years bludgeoned the Secret Service along with many other key parts of our government.  I’m not in any way defending this woman who resigned, in this instance I believe it was necessary because when I listened to her testimony I didn’t get any sense that she was being forthcoming – it sounded to me as if she was in “circle the wagons” mode, and that the security breaches which have happened are beyond acceptability.  I feel we are fortunate that President Obama is still with us.  That being said, it’s not Obama’s fault that the Secret Service is spinning out of control.

If you remember, a few months ago Matthews did the same kind of knee jerk reaction to news (not news to many of us) that our veterans were not getting prompt or acceptable health care by demanding someone be held accountable.  It was as if should President Obama not fire the head of the VA, he would be derelict in his duty.  The end result of that one is that General Shinseki was forced to resign – this is the General who Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld SHOULD have listened to prior to invading Iraq in 2003 (OK, the truth is they should have listened to those of us who said going into Iraq was STUPID) – and, is one of the true friends of our vets.  I can virtually guarantee you that Shinseki’s resignation didn’t solve the problem – but , it certainly calmed Matthews down (at least until the next headline pointing out the vets are continuing to face a VA system that is overwhelmed by the numbers of soldiers needing care.

Matthews referring to an Ebola patient showing up in Texas as reason to question Obama because “just two weeks ago he said it was ‘unlikely’ this would happen” puts Matthews in the “Fox type” camp, in my view.  These people don’t have to look very hard to find something to criticize him for.  Honestly, why would anyone want that job.  You would think that Matthews could put all of what’s happening in the proper context.  We have NEVER had a president who has faced the OPEN opposition that has President Obama.  The republicans have made no secret that they will do ANYTHING to make sure that Obama FAILS!  And, what is President Obama doing each and EVERY day?  He’s trying to somehow clean up the UNBELIEVABLE mess created by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/et al – and an economic agenda that republicans are CLINGING to even today.  The FACT that their agenda doesn’t work seems to mean NOTHING to them and people like Matthews.  It’s almost as if Matthews is trying to add to the divisiveness of this nation because he thinks it makes his program more “germane.”  To me, people like Matthews – who should (and I’m sure does) know better – have chosen to be part of the problem instead of the solution.  This nation is messed up – it’s largely because of the republican party philosophy originally foisted on us by Ronald Reagan – and, somehow still supported by people like Matthews!  Ughhh!!!!

Let’s be real about all of this – I’m writing the next part of this post as fictitious advice to Matthews because I know he won’t read it, but I can pretend :o) – When we’re “reporting” about the issue with ISIL (AKA – ISIS) we should make clear that ISIL is the result of misguided decisions made 10 years ago by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al.  I still remember my “conservative” friends rejoicing in the idea that the United States of America was going to “topple” Saddam Hussein – with the same mindset as the republican “leaders” who “planned” the fiasco.  When I would ask them, “What happens after Saddam is ousted?” their response was the same as Cheney and Rumsfeld – “We’ll be greeted as liberators.”  For some reason it was hard then, and – I guess – equally hard now for most Americans to understand that former executives of Halliburton (Cheney) and Bechtel (Rumsfeld) would destabilize the Middle East for OIL!  I still remember one of my fellow 6ht grade teachers cussing at me when I pointed this out – because his son was in Iraq and he couldn’t allow himself to believe that his country would send his boy into “harms way” for OIL!  Not sure if he “gets it” yet – obviously, many still don’t – apparently including Chris Matthews.  In my mind EVERY conversation about what we should do in dealing with this group should be framed in the context of how they were formed and people like Dick Cheney, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and others who crammed this disaster down our throats and the throats of the Iraqi’s should have NO SAY on the national media about present policy.  Instead of furthering the “ammunition” of the obstructors on the “right” people like Matthews (and others with a voice in the national media) should be reminding people of how this mess was created in the first place.

Issues like the Secret Service shortcomings and the lack of treatment of our returning veterans should also ALWAYS put into context.  The sad reality is that Congress has stripped the Secret Service of significant portions of its funding and, since the Viet Nam War, they’ve been unwilling to properly fund the VA – especially relating to medical treatment.  As we’ve seen with the recent bombing rampage intended to “derail” ISIL there’s NEVER a lack of funds for military action.  I’ve often wondered what each of those bombs cost “we the people.”  It doesn’t seem to matter, because there’s a never ending supply of them.  And, people like Matthews are quick to suggest (I should say imply) that our president is a “wimp” for thoughtfully attempting to figure out a way to address this (recent) “crisis.”  I’m constantly wondering why people like Matthews don’t seem to be able to make the connection between Congress stated position (I’m talking about republicans here) that President Obama FAILS, and their unwillingness to fund the agencies who end up being the “fall guys” when government failures become the latest “crisis.”  I’m left to wonder, “Is Fox paying Matthews or MSNBC?”  Or is he just so lazy, referring back to his own criticism of Obama (who, by the way, may be many things, but I believe calling him lazy is absurd on its face and a further issue for Matthews) that he relies on Fox for his own “news?”  If Congress is the problem – then it should be reported as such!

Finally, the Ebola scare: (and, here I have to add that I started this post several days ago and since then the man has passed away) Matthews attempt to BLAME President Obama (maybe that’s just what people in Washington do for everything?) again is absurd on its face.  President Obama has taken the lead in attempting to provide the aid the Western Africa nations need in order to stem the tide of this epidemic.  We all know that republican politicians will do whatever they can to scare people into thinking Ebola will be soon rampant in America and it will be because of our immigration policy.  (Of course, what they – and Matthews – won’t say is that without republican obstructionism there would have been “immigration reform” long ago – but, of course, that wouldn’t solve the problem either)  I’m guessing there will be republicans who suggest that we close our borders to international flights until this crisis has passed – just try to keep it confined to West Africa.  The reality of any danger in America, from my viewpoint, gets right back to our DO NOTHING Congress.  If they had been willing to either help pass a health reform bill that worked for all Americans or FIX the Affordable Care Act (for example, with a “public option”) we wouldn’t still have 40 MILLION or so Americans without health insurance.  Think about this for a moment:  It is likely that there will be more people entering this country who have been exposed to Ebola.  If the symptoms are caught early, my understanding it’s treatable.  However, there are so many in America who don’t go to doctors because they can’t afford it and show up at emergency rooms only when they are deathly sick.  By then, with Ebola, it’s reported to be too late.

Then, you’ve got all the states in America who refused to participate in the Affordable Care Act which would include Texas.  Now, I’m not making any conclusions or judgements about Texas health care – I’m just guessing there’s many in Texas without health care.  And, they man who died from Ebola was originally turned away from an emergency room.  I suppose Matthews (and the republicans) will find a way to blame that on President Obama.  I would love it if people like Matthews would report issues as they are.  Seriously, for example, the ISIL issue is really not debatable.  They are the result of republican FAILURE of the highest degree.  How can anyone in Matthews’ position justify giving people who created that mess any credibility at all.  It’s almost as if, for the sake of his “show” he’s got to create a two sided controversy.  It’s like, if the American people really understood what has gone wrong, there would be no actual political contests – so, we have our “liberal media” helping to institute the political amnesia that is ruining America!  Matthews’ show is set up to appear that he’s actually reporting on actual news – when, in reality he’s attempting to manufacture news.  While our country needs (now, more desperately than ever – at least in my lifetime) courageous news reporters (and, I have to add, there are some investigative journalists who risk their lives to go into the Middle East) what we’re stuck with is GOP TV (Fox) and people like Matthews who are focused on entertainment and their own careers – while our nation continues to “spiral” in a downward direction!

One more thing:  As I read this again, I realized that I forgot – when referring to the anticipated republican onslaught of BLAME regarding the Ebola crisis – that we’ve been without a Surgeon General for (I think) over a year.  Why you ask?  At a time when there’s such a deadly epidemic that’s been going on now for over 6 months?  Well, it seems that President Obama’s nomination made a comment about gun violence that didn’t sit well with the NRA – therefore the US Senate couldn’t get him confirmed.  Yes there’s a majority of democrats in the Senate, but Mitch McConnell used one of his OVER 400 FILIBUSTERS to block the nomination!  I didn’t hear Matthews refer to this either (although, I have to admit, I’ve pretty much turned off the TV) and, if you live in Kentucky and are reading this – you can really help with this HUGE problem.  Make sure you vote in the mid term election – Mitch McConnell has a good chance of being voted out of office by the good people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Should that happen, they will always hold a warm place in my heart.  In my mind, McConnell being voted out of the Senate would be the best possible sign that the people of America are FINALLY waking up to the republican assault on the middle class which hit high gear with the election of Ronald Reagan all the way back in 1980.

I’ve been reading a book which contains a series of lectures by Joseph Stiglitz, famed economist who once led the World Bank and was an adviser to President Clinton during the 90’s and I really want to write about it – my brain is swirling with thoughts along the lines of suggesting a path we could take in America to really move this country forward.  I feel as if I’ve written enough about why the republican party in America, as it exists today, should be ushered into the history books.  However, yesterday I saw that Attorney General Eric Holder is set to resign and this morning as I read a caption from the NY Times which pointed out there will be a fierce battle in the Senate to confirm his successor – and then listened to some “re-hashed” right wing commentary comparing Holder to the Black Panthers – well, here we go again.  I’ve got to write about the republicans and why they are a PLAGUE on this nation! (of course, would anyone who’s watched the past almost 6 years expect anything less from these obnoxious, obstructionist, puppets of the right wing corporate masters attempting to suffocate America with their agenda.

First of all, let me agree with an article I read in the “Nation” magazine – because, despite President Obama’s glowing remarks thanking Holder for all he’s done in his FORTY years of service (I’m pretty sure he had at least a “stint” on Wall Street) he’s got a couple of GLARING deficiencies, in my view, regarding history’s view from the rear view mirror.  In the “Nation” it was correctly pointed out that virtually NO ONE on Wall Street was held accountable for the devastating damage they did to MAIN STREET through their GREED induced folly during the first decade of the 20th Century which ultimately led to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.  Yes, I’m sure there are areas of accomplishment regarding investigations of the “fat cats” during the recovery from the so-called “Great Recession” which resulted from this misbehavior by so many on Wall Street (and knowingly too!) but I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that the above mentioned Wall Street “fat cats” are again up to their necks in the same kind of behavior – pre-crash and that it’s just a matter of time until the next “bubble” bursts.  I once wrote that Holder’s Justice Department spent more money attempting to prosecute a baseball pitcher for allegedly lying about steroid use (Roger Clemens) than they spent prosecuting Wall Street – at least that’s how it appeared to me.

Of course, the “Wall Streeters” won’t be the ones to take the brunt of the next downturn – just as many of them profited to the “tune” of BILLIONS from the last disaster.  It’s us unsuspecting dupes on MAIN STREET that depend on the oversight of government and the willingness of the Justice Department to enforce existing law as our “backstop.”  In my view, Holder did a lot of “looking forward and not back” in dealing with the aftermath of the Wall Street fiasco – just as he (and President Obama) did regarding my second point – the enabling of Bush/Cheney and therefore the republican party in its present form.

Everyone (including Bush and Cheney) knows that Waterboarding (among other atrocities committed in the name of “national security” during the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld regime) are WAR CRIMES!  When President Obama and Eric Holder chose to “look forward and not back” regarding the misdeeds of GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and many others, in my mind they were derelict in their duty.  The FACT that the president did it DOESN’T make it LEGAL!  However, based on the decisions that clearly were made early in Obama’s presidency, that FACT was turned upside down.  President Obama was elected to CHANGE the behaviors that turned GW Bush and Dick Cheney into the most UNPOPULAR obtrusive executives in American history.  Clearly, or at least it’s seemingly more so each day to me as I observe Obama’s presidency evolve, President Obama didn’t pursued President GW Bush and his deplorable “sidekick” because he had no intention of reversing the abuses of power that Bush/Cheney had imbedded into what I’ll term as “precedent” for the lack of a better imagination on my part.  Just saying “America does not torture,” for example, does not give a sufficient message to the rest of the world that we stand by our ideals.  Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and others should have, at the minimum, faced open investigations into their illegal behavior – which also included NUMEROUS 4th amendment violations of American’s privacy as Bush/Cheney turned the FISA court into a laughingstock.  Not only has the illegal spying on American citizens continued under President Obama, but now we’re seeing him using statutes created during the early stages of Bush/Cheney to justify his actions in Iraq and Syria.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Obama’s actions in the aforementioned Middle East countries is not warranted, I’m just pointing out that the rationale for doing so leaves me a bit queezy in the stomach.  I’ve been writing since 9/11 about how “it’s much easier to give up liberties than to get them back.”  President Obama’s administration is giving us a great example of why I feel so strongly in this area.  The spying, for instance, is in direct conflict with the 4th amendment to the Constitution.  It is my view that the government is required to have “probable cause” for each intrusion into and American’s privacy.  This invasive spying on U.S. citizens, along with proving that “if the president does it, it must be legal,” will be historical black-marks on both Holder’s legacy and the legacy of the president – in my view.  Of course, in today’s America, our leaders can justify anything in the name of “national Security.”

And, while I’m at it, let me point out that, at least from where I’m sitting, Holder (and Obama) have not only FAILED to live up to the pre-election promises of transparency, but have allowed themselves to drift dangerously in the wrong direction regarding transparency and the press.  Edward Snowden shouldn’t have felt the need to leave the country to expose the illegal spying of the NSA and there are numerous examples of the Obama administration, through Holder’s Justice Department, infringing on the Freedom of the Press by threatening to or actually putting reporters in jail if they refuse to divulge their sources.  This is a threat to our society that most people are failing to even notice.  Our “liberal media” (if you’ve read many of my posts, you get the sarcasm) is bad enough without the true investigative reporters (the few that remain) facing government intimidation should they actually report the TRUTH about what is happening in our nation’s government.

So, I’m OK with criticism of Attorney General Holder – it’s just that I’m put off with the nature of the criticism from the “right.”  The name calling and innuendo from Fox “news” and the likes of Rush Limbaugh goes right back to the race issue that they can’t seem to overcome.  (and, of course, they will claim the “race card” comes from the “left” – classic projection-ism)  And, when I hear reporters predicting a HUGE fight in Congress as President Obama attempts to get Holder’s replacement confirmed in the Senate – I just have to shake my head in disbelief.  Of course, anyone who’s been watching American politics recently would expect nothing else – SADLY!

The reality: Obama was elected by a majority of the people.  It’s the president’s responsibility to nominate Holder’s replacement.  Suggesting there will be a MAJOR confirmation fight before a nominee is even chosen says it all.  NO MATTER what President Obama does, he’s going to receive FLACK and OBSTRUCTION from republicans.  They could care less what they are doing to “we the people” – it’s all about attempting to make President Obama look bad as if that will allow them to push one of their leading “whack jobs” into the White House in 2016.  (I’ve been predicting for 4 years – Jeb Bush!  Can you even imagine our choice in 2016 being Bush v Clinton? America is seemingly “stuck in the mud”)  The total irony of republican strategy if indeed they block Holder’s replacement is that Holder has pledged to stay on the job until his replacement is confirmed!  You would think, if republicans believe Holder is worse than Stalin – as some on Fox “news” have alleged – they’d be anxious to approve his successor.  Maybe because of republican obstruction Eric Holder will last the full eight years of Obama’s administration.  Wouldn’t that just be the new normal in this dysfunctional government?

I will conclude by saying that there ARE many good things Holder has accomplished.  It’s just that the picture isn’t TOTALLY “rosy.”  The instances I’ve mentioned above, in my view, are significant.  My hope is that whoever replaces Holder will “look back.”  I would still love to see the TRUTH of what was done during Bush/Cheney exposed to America and the world FORCING us to actually own up to our failures as a nation and attempt to reclaim our position as “the leader of the free world.”  Combining our enabling of the Bush/Cheney crimes, our condoning of the Wall Street “bandits,” and our refusal to publicly refute the “Bush doctrine,” we are “asking” for endless war.  I personally don’t believe that is the mindset of the vast majority of the American public.  Sadly, in the coming mid-terms too many (especially progressives) won’t vote and things could get dangerously worse.  However, whoever is Obama’s Attorney General STILL has the option to proceed against the terrible wrongs committed by Bush/Cheney.  I don’t believe there is a statute of limitations on WAR CRIMES!

I haven’t been writing much lately due to health issues that come with getting old, but while recuperating from a difficult surgery I’ve had the fortune (or misfortune) to have more time to watch television which just leads, at least for me, to differing levels of frustration depending on what I’m watching.  As I’ve written on many occasions on this site, I consider the charge that our media is “liberal” to be laughable.  Even when I watch MSNBC, the so-called opposing “force” to Fox “news,” I often get nearly sick to my stomach.  For example, their top political pundit Chuck Todd makes we wonder how these people actually get a spot on the “stage.”  Evidently, he’s now the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” which clearly demonstrates that show is probably not far away from the scrapheap.  To me, Todd is a person who likes to come across as an expert but who, in reality, would fit right in as a participant in any American living room discussion group – that is, sounds good at times but mostly doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  (OK, I’m in that category most of the time as well :o)

Then there’s Chris Matthews.  This guy drives me nuts.  And, what’s clear to me is that he knows better than much of what he spews out of his mouth – or, I guess I have to say, I hope he knows better.  I’m still upset about the “crisis” with our veterans when it was “announced” (anyone paying attention for the last 30+ years was not surprised by the “announcement”) that they were getting sub-par treatment at Veteran’s hospitals in parts of the country – sometimes waiting months just to get an appointment for care.  Matthews was at the forefront of the typical American reaction – someone MUST be held accountable for this – President Obama would be derelict in his duty if someone didn’t pay the price for this indignity.  So, the end result of the typical “knee jerk” American reaction, was that General Shinseki – a great friend of any veteran – was “thrown to the wolves” – and, evidently, that made people like Matthews happy.  Of course, it did nothing to solve the problem which will require our Congress to actually fund the Veterans Administration so that they could improve facilities and increase staffings to necessary levels.  Since then, as usual, we’ve heard nothing of the issue and, I’d certainly be surprised if the service the vets are getting is much, if at all, better.  The next time a negative report comes out people like Matthews will rant their self aggrandizing disgust, another good person will be the victim, and the vets will continue to be treated by our Congress (most of who blather – “support our vets”) as a burden to society.  Matthews, our Congress, and I’m guessing, most Americans fail to realize the HUGE responsibility we SHOULD be addressing as more and more veterans return home from the FIASCOS our “leaders” are so willing to send them to. (check out the homeless vets statistics – it’s not only disgusting, it’s deplorable)

In my mind, Matthews has acted in almost the exact same “knee jerk” manner in “reporting” on the issue with ISIL in the middle east.  Two Americans got their heads chopped off – published on You-tube videos to boot – and Matthews knees started really jerking!  Of course, I doubt there’s many Americans who were not outraged at this action.  Of course, I was already outraged at this group called ISIL because they were attempting to starve THOUSANDS of Christians on the top of a small mountain in Iraq prior to the murders of the two journalists.  Additionally, they had MURDERED an untold number of Iraqi’s and Syrians who don’t agree with their religious fanaticism.  None of this calls for the “knee jerk” philosophy of people like Matthews – and, I use him as the example because he’s supposedly representing the “liberal” MSNBC.  President Obama gets the wrath of people like Matthews for refusing to make “knee jerk” reactions.  It’s like Matthews wants the problem solved “right now” or it’s a failure of leadership.  Now, I have my differences with the president, but all I can say here is that with friends like Matthews (if MSNBC is truly the “counter” to the never ending Fox “news” propaganda machine) who needs enemies?  And, what is the future of this great nation if our so-called “liberal media” continues to be nothing more than an entertainment business?

Over the years I’ve been writing here most of my rants have been aimed at the surge to the “right” of the republican party – the issue that started this “blog” (if that is what it is – to me, it’s my rant in cyberspace) was the Bush/Cheney administration’s invasion of Iraq in 2003.  That move, of course, and you won’t hear many pundits – Matthews included – focusing the attention of America’s unsuspecting public – that move into Iraq is the fundamental cause of ISIL and much of the other unrest in Africa and the Middle East (not to mention the continued fallout from the economic disaster foisted on the world by Bush/Cheney and their associates on Wall Street)  Things are now so messed up that I can’t imagine anyone even wanting to attempt to “fix” the results of Bush/Cheney.  In my mind, what is necessary is a complete CHANGE of direction by the United States, but with a domineering media, where people like Matthews are considered “liberal,” I don’t know how we can expect much more from President Obama.  The one thing I’m really thankful for is that it appears, at least from my perspective, that Obama’s decision making is deliberate and thoughtful – much to the chagrin, it seems, of almost everyone in Washington D.C.

Of course, then there’s the Congress.  OMG, what has happened to America that we could end up with a Congress such as this.  They make the “do nothing” Congress that Harry Truman faced seem like workaholics!  Not only will the republicans in the House refuse to agree to anything with President Obama – that’s correct – if he’s for it, they’re AGAINST it! – in the four months from August to November America’s Congress, the same Congress that has denied long term unemployment benefits to workers, many who’ve lost their jobs due to the policies of our Congress, and the same Congress that refuses to pass “jobs bills,” will have worked a total of EIGHT days!  That’s correct!  8 days of work in FOUR MONTHS!  Not only are all the unemployed workers people like John Boehner (the Speaker of the House) call “lazy” still waiting for a little help, there’s this “WAR” with ISIL that President Obama apparently is expected to take on by himself (of course, with the military) because Congress has ABDICATED it’s responsibility to weigh in on the Actions taking place as I write this in Syria and Iraq and gone AWOL!  This is unbelievable to me!  I guess the saying “Only in America” really applies to this one.  The reports I’ve seen would indicate that the November election is more important to members of Congress than a “yeah or nay” regarding President Obama’s authority to authorize airstrikes into Syria (at the minimum – I believe he should have authorization to do so in Iraq as well).

It appears to me that members of Congress don’t want to have their names attached to a policy that might fail – as they did when Bush/Cheney lied us into Iraq back in 2003.  However, it is their responsibility to authorize WAR – and, that’s what this is – WAR!  In America we’ve really learned how to parse our words since the days of Viet Nam.  Yet, we continue to do the same stupid things over and over.  In my heart I truly hope that President Obama succeeds, but the FACT that America is divided at the seems is obvious to EVERYONE!  Including the so-called “terrorists” with whom we are involved in endless pursuit.  Our policies seem to me to be aimed at “fixing” the unfix-able problem that exists in the Middle East.  This problem is Biblical and supplying weapons to any of the combatants seems “nuts” to me (that is the one thing Congress could agree on – we’re going to attempt to “define” the “moderate” terrorists in Syria – the ones who “might” fight against ISIL while they’re also fighting the Assad regime [that ISIL is also fighting] and supply them with a half a BILLION dollars worth of weapons – some of which will likely end up in the hands of ISIL.  Do you see the futility in all this?)

Again, this all gets back in my mind, to a media that’s totally lost its way.  And, please don’t call it “liberal” in my presence.  I rarely do more than comment on the propaganda scheme that is the foundations of Fox “news” – but, I believe most thinking Americans have come to realize what Fox is all about.  It should be called GOP “news.”  However, the 24 hour cable news cycle requires constant commentary from people who are essentially “entertainers.”  There are still a few investigative journalists out there, but they don’t get much exposure on the “national news.”  And, it seems to me that on the stations like MSNBC, the focus is still on “ratings” as opposed to presenting “news.”  I guess part of the reality is that America’s public is considered by these people ignorant (and, they might be correct – I know many “educated” people who still don’t even know what “Citizens United” is).  The reality of the upcoming mid-term elections is that it will be astonishing if HALF of America’s registered voters vote – I’m guessing the number will be much less than that.  Sadly, because the truth is we live in a corporate dominated world that is likely why the “liberal media” – the so-called “fourth estate” of our government – those we are supposed to rely on for real information – is focused on gaining “market share” so that they can provide PROFIT for shareholders.  In the process they’ve brainwashed the American public into allowing things to get so incredibly out of “whack.”

What should we be doing?  Well, that’s a thought for another day – I’m working on that one – but, as I (not being an economist or having any training in the subject which is hard for me to understand) read “The Rebel Within” Joseph Stiglitz and the World Bank, it’s becoming MORE clear to me that the United States is allowing its great WEALTH to be directed in horribly wrong directions.  Not only could rational thinking economists play a HUGE role in rebuilding America – physically and spiritually (I’ll elaborate in a succeeding post) – but, I’m convinced, many of the issues that foster the violence around the world could be addressed in ways that don’t include violence.  It seems to me that we’ve – since 9/11 – allowed the so-called “terrorists” to gain exactly what they were trying to achieve.  We’ve given up precious liberties in the name of “national security” – yet, people don’t feel more secure. Even our politicians now operate using FEAR as their guide – I recently answered one of the MANY emails I get (EVERY DAY) asking for a contribution – by suggesting the candidate tell me why I should support him/her – instead of telling me to FEAR his/her opponent.

There are people suffering all around the globe and we can’t afford to help – but, there seems to be no limit on what our military can do.  I was watching reporting of the bombing of Syria and wondering how much each of those bombs cost.  This coming from a nation that can’t “afford” to fix it’s own problems because of a budget deficit.  Does this ring an odd bell with anyone?  If America can’t afford to take care of her own, how can she afford an endless bombing attack in the Middle East?  This country will be secure when we reclaim our ideals and reject the politics of FEAR.  With a Congress that’s AWOL and news that’s entertainment, it appears that “endless war” trumps real national security!

I have a running dialogue going with a couple of my friends who would be squarely in the midst of the “Christian Right” as I’m trying to convince them that “Christians” (for that matter, any “religion”) being the “base” of a political party is unhealthy – for that party AND for that “religion.”  Honestly, nothing gives me more pause than religious zealots gaining political power.  We see the results all the time in places like Afghanistan (Taliban), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, etc. etc.  Presently the group calling itself “ISIS” is attempting to gain control in Iraq and Syria (ironically, with weapons, as I understand it, that were supplied by America – in our great wisdom as we try to unseat the “tyrant” in Syria so that a group we now consider “terrorists” could take over.  I’m still not sure if our leaders (I believe it’s possible that President Obama Okay-ed military supplies for this group and I’ve seen pictures on the Web of John McCain in a “photo op” with some of their members – is that what we call bipartisan?) expected ISIS to be pushing “democracy” should they succeed.  What it appears to me is more American “meddling” in places where we have NO IDEA what we’re doing.  Members of ISIS are reportedly lopping off the heads of those who oppose them (especially Christians).  And, back to my main thought, ISIS is ANOTHER example of religious zealots gaining political power (or, attempting to gain power).

Ultimately, what my thinking is tonight relates to my wish to “vent” my own frustrations with President Obama and how one of his decisions has contributed to the “mess” he’s got to deal with.  I always hesitate doing this because I have no intentions of furthering the “wish” of republicans that our president would FAIL.  That seems to cause me to keep much of my frustration internal.  I keep thinking that it is perfectly fine with me for republicans to want our president’s initiatives to fail due to a disagreement with philosophy.  However, attempting to facilitate that failure is what troubles me.  I believe the divisiveness caused by the CONSTANT obstructionist politics of the republican party and their benefactors is giving a message to those around the world who would benefit from a lack of unity in America to be emboldened.  It should be painfully obvious to anyone observing what’s happening inside America’s boundaries and around the world that America is losing steam in her role as “leader of the free world.”  And, for those who would put this on Obama, I would just remind you that virtually ALL the problems STARTED with the inept administration of GW Bush and Dick Cheney.

I STARTED THIS POST AROUND 3 WEEKS AGO – IT WAS INTERRUPTED BY A DIFFICULT SURGERY – I’M GOING TO ATTEMPT TO FINISH THE THOUGHT.

Prior to going in for surgery (I really am getting old and worn out) the issue with ISIS (or ISIL – I’m not sure which is correct) was just accelerating and, naturally – as with EVERY issue that seems to be going in the wrong direction – republicans immediately began lambasting President Obama for his “failed foreign policy.” (we’ve all seen that they do this no matter what policy is in question – failing or not)  This was coming from the likes of Dick Cheney (and, I’m really SERIOUS here – how does this man warrant ONE SECOND of air time on any media channel? – well, we all know the answer is Fox “news”), John McCain (who, as mentioned above, is seen in photo ops with the ISIS leadership whom he allegedly helped gain funding through Saudi sources), and virtually every other republican mouthpiece.  This is a significant issue and, despite what I’ve always felt was an “unwritten rule” in American politics that the divisiveness ended at the border, it seems too much to hope that there will be unity as our president attempts to find a way to deal with this group that I believe can only be described as murdering thugs.  The atmosphere represented by this political reality is one of the issues I wish to discuss in my attempt to question my president (who I TOTALLY hope succeeds!)

Before I elaborate on that thought, while I was recuperating ( the first 10 days were “tough” as the doctor warned me) I watched a lot of television and the “news” was dominated by reporting from Missouri,  where a young Black man was murdered by a White police officer.  The boy’s name was Michael Brown and his murder seemed to be a “trigger” for the backlash from the Black community which I’ve been forewarning people – in my blog and in my conversation – for quite some time now.  I mean, how long does the White “establishment” believe they can ignore the realities faced by those “stuck” in environments that provide limited opportunity and excessive profiling and brutality by members of the police force.  The issue of race is MAJOR in America and, while I thought the election of Barack Obama was a great step forward, it seems as if it has unleashed a White backlash that I certainly didn’t anticipate.

For example, I just received a publication from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that is working to expose White supremacists and hate groups, which says the number of anti-government “militias” have increased almost ten fold since Obama’s election in the United States.  And, recent “happenings” such as the “standoff” between the Bureau of Land Management and Cliven Bundy over Bundy’s refusal to pay his federal grazing fees (for something like 20+ years) – an amount exceeding $1 MILLION – has emboldened these groups to feel as if they can ignore America’s laws.  None of this is good!

Which brings me back to my point – where I want to question President Obama – who I have to EMPHASIZE again, I want him to SUCCEED!  (I wanted GW Bush to succeed, I want all presidents to succeed)  I’ve written about this many times prior on this site – it was “red flag” number one for me when Obama took office.  It led me to predict that in 2010 “progressives” would be so turned off that it would allow republicans (unfortunately, as it turned out, in the form of the “Tea Party”) to upend the democratic control of congress.  As I had predicted back then, President Obama’s decision to “look forward and not back” would turn out to be one of the worst presidential decisions of my lifetime.  If you’re not familiar with the context of that statement, essentially President Obama blocked ALL investigations into the illegal activities of the Bush/Cheney administration.

Both George W Bush and Dick Cheney (seemingly with pride) admitted in interviews on NATIONAL TV that they had authorized WATERBOARDING (both saying they would do it again) which is a WAR CRIME by our national legal standards, our military standards, and by international standards.  Clearly, the level of “enhanced interrogation” went far beyond waterboarding and, it seems apparent to me, has created FAR more “terrorists” since 9/11 than the United States has captured or killed.  One only has to think of the images publicized from Abu Ghraib to get an idea of what was not only tolerated, but encouraged during the Bush/Cheney regime.  The authorization came right from the top – with MANY in the chain of command VULNERABLE to any responsible, unbiased investigation.  Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and many others were vulnerable to charges of war crimes.  I believe President Obama was elected because he led (at least me) many Americans to believe “The Change we could believe in” would include accountability to those who had stepped WAY OVER any acceptable line in America’s sense of justice.

It’s true President Obama attempted to close Guantanamo – the center of America’s unbelievable abuse of human rights – but was blocked by Congress (or, at least, that’s how it was portrayed to me) and we’re still seeing TV “shots” of the “enemy combatants” who inhabit the place in their bright orange jump suits.  Concerning the most egregious example of why Guantanamo is a “black mark” on America I have never seen a believable report about the three “detainees” who “committed suicide” by – get this – hanging themselves after jamming rags so far down their own throats they couldn’t be pulled out after they were found, tying their own hands behind their backs, binding their own feet together, then climbing onto a sink, putting a noose around their neck, and then hanging themselves – all three of them (one who was due to be released!).  Additionally, there’s been no explanation as to how they could have “hanged” for two hours without being noticed when each cell was to be inspected every 10 minutes.  This, of course, happened under the “watch” of Bush/Cheney – but, do those at the top of our government really believe that no one notices this stuff?  Of course, in America, our “liberal media” has no problem sweeping stuff like this “under the rug,” but I can tell you – the rest of the world NOTICED!  There was NO investigation (at least made public – that was credible)

So, why does this still “bug” me so much?  Well, I watched President Obama in a press conference, reacting to the beheading of an American journalist by ISIS with a sense of anger that was palpable – and, I have to add, a sense shared by me.  However, when it was reported the journalist, James Foley, had been waterboarded and the pictures of him showed him in a orange jumpsuit – I had to wonder how many people were able to “connect the dots?”  In my mind, the orange jumpsuits are symbolic of the outrage around the world at the US treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo and other “black sites” where “enemy combatants were sent and tortured.  And, how can we respond to the charges that the hostages in Syria – held by ISIS – are being waterboarded?  President Obama had the chance to make a CLEAR statement to the world that America was better than that upon his inauguration.  By “looking forward instead of back” he exonerated Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and all the others responsible for America’s “enhanced interrogation” policies – which, along with the ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq in 2003 has destabilized the Middle East (more than it was) and made America (and Americans) less safe!

Additionally, for President Obama, this decision emboldened what has become an unbelievable policy of obstruction by the party (republican) which created the “mess” that Obama’s been dealing with for almost 6 years now.  It also sent a message to many on the “right” that President Obama is “weak.”  This, in my view, has led to instances such as the Bundy fiasco, which has escaped the view of our “liberal media” – so these “militia” type radicals, I’m sure, feel as if they can operate free of worry from federal law enforcement – because they’ll just pull out their weapons (and they are well armed) and shoot it out if necessary.  Combining all this – the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al lawbreaking, with the Bundy lawbreaking, and add in the Wall Street bailouts with NO accountability for all the damage inflicted on “Main Street” – and it’s pretty easy to see why so many Americans now believe that our laws are intended for those of us on “Main Street” with no accountability for those at the “top” or, in Bundy’s case, those who’ve brazenly armed themselves and are willing to shoot any law enforcer who attempts to hold them responsible for violating laws they don’t recognize.  This then leads me to what happened in Ferguson Missouri.

There seems to be no lack of willingness for law enforcement to kill members of the African American communities around the country.  From George Zimmerman, acting as a neighborhood “watcher,” killing Trayvon Martin in Florida to the murder of Michael Brown in Missouri, there’s one instance after another of young Black men being gunned down, unarmed, by police (or, in Zimmerman’s case, pseudo police) all across our nation.  Apparently, when a young Black person is killed, the person who does the killing (usually shooting) simply has to claim that they were acting in self defense and all will be well.  Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Zimmerman was exonerated in the death of Martin – and, many, including myself, are anticipating that the police officer (I believe his name is Darren Wilson) will escape justice in the Brown murder.  The evidence that he essentially executed Michael Brown is overwhelming, but when you look closely at how the authorities are “aligned” and how the Police department and the DA have responded to the murder, it doesn’t give much hope that Wilson will be held accountable.  At the very minimum, he should stand trial for the shooting, but I’ll be surprised if that happens.

This incident really, to me, exposes the biases that are real in America today.  As I look at the evidence that’s become public, it seems obvious that Brown, no matter what he had done prior to receiving the fatal shot, should still be alive today.  The FACT that Brown’s body was allowed to lay on the street (apparently not even covered up) for over 4 hours is unbelievable to me – yet it is a FACT.  And the FACT that the fatal shot hit him on the top of his head – while the police officer was reportedly 25 feet or so away is very disturbing.  But, when I look at all of this – in my opinion – it goes back to our government (Sorry President Obama, but you screwed up) allowing the impression that those at the “top” are “above the law.”  I believe what’s going on in many police departments around the nation support this contention – and, unfortunately, many Americans seem to agree.  For example, while I think it would have been – over time – less of a distraction to investigate ( and prosecute if warranted) the Bush/Cheney regime – it would have caused a ruckus with many republicans (we know now that anything Obama does will cause that).  However, confirming that we are “a nation of laws and not men” was the right thing to do.  And, this holds true all the way down to our local police departments.

Darren Wilson has received nearly (by my last count) a half a million dollars in support after the killing of Michael Brown through anonymous internet donations.  This despite the FACT he still hasn’t been charged with any crime!  (I guess people are anticipating he will be charged)  I’m really not sure how to interpret that – other than to say that it reinforces my view that, in America, we’ve got BIG problems – and, there’s a clear divide that implies to me these problems won’t be solved any time soon.  There’s a saying that totally resonates with me that “Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.”  We’ve seen this over and over during the 21st century.  The best example for me was the invasion of Iraq – it brought back the nightmares of Viet Nam to me.  Bush/Cheney being let “off the hook” reminded me of Richard Nixon saying, “If the president does it, it must be legal” – and, all the energy it took to prove him wrong.  In one felled swoop, President Obama – when he chose to “look forward” – undermined all that work and energy.  And, the Ferguson situation reminds me of the 1960’s when those in our inner cities – receiving similar (probably worse) treatment as today, finally “exploded.”  (in fact, I’ve got respect for the people of Ferguson who’ve shown more restraint than the police in the ensuing protests after Brown’s murder)

Leaders MUST lead by example, and the example coming from America in the past 14 years has totally sabotaged her standing as the “leader of the free world.”  We were supposedly the leaders in the fight for “human rights” around the world.  We’ve not only allowed ourselves to violate our own principals in the “war on terror,” but our shortcomings within our own society and our inability to understand the needs of our citizens who are “the least of these” (in the words of Jesus Christ) has exposed the hypocrisy in our government as it tries to bring order outside our borders.  The fate of James Foley (and, today I read that another hostage was killed) brings the sad reality of what was done during Bush/Cheney home “to roost.”  And, by essentially exonerating their actions, President Obama missed an opportunity to prove to the rest of the world (and America’s citizens) that we REALLY don’t TORTURE and we do believe in human rights.  The evidence, at home and abroad, leaves one to wonder what REALLY is America’s stance on all this!

I’ll end this by referring to my initial thoughts.  The solution, whatever it might be, to the issues fulminating in the Middle East as I’m writing this will not be those of the religious zealots.  I saw one person, on one of my attempts to check out what’s being said on Fox “news,” claim the solution is “convert them or kill them,” referring to ISIS.  President Obama gets criticized (by “both sides of the isle”) for being deliberate.  Personally, I encourage him to continue doing so.  Don’t compound the mistakes of the past.  I’m not sure what the best course of action is, but I’m pretty sure “convert them or kill them” is a bad idea.  The usual “knee jerk” reaction that appears to be America’s “way” of late is a recipe for disaster.  This problem requires, I believe, a unified solution among all the stake holders in bringing these murderous thugs (ISIS) to justice.