I was reading my email this morning and got a good taste of why, as a sixth grade teacher, I try to teach my students the importance of “comparing and contrasting” as you process information.  First, there was the email from Alan Grayson which included the “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” written 50 years ago by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – to say the least a “profound” read (I posted the letter if you want to read it) – and then an internet petition to sign (they’re coming fast and furious these days – and, thankfully, there’s a lot of “activists” out there “fighting the good fight”) From Credo to oppose the Koch Brothers acquiring the Tribune Company, which includes several major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times.  What an interesting combination!  Dr. King is a hero to many like myself in America and yet people like the Kochs are, and have been for years, doing everything they can to make sure King’s dream is never fully a reality.  The election of a Black president put the Kochs and their “ilk” on “red alert” and they’ve been throwing everything, including, seemingly, “the kitchen sink,” at making sure President Obama FAILS and that they have such a stranglehold on the “message” that they don’t have to worry about a repeat of what, in their minds I’m sure, is a real tragedy.  You have to remember that the Koch’s father was an original member of the John Birch Society, and if you don’t understand what that means in relation to Black presidents, “Google it.”

The first reason this “comparison” has rung a “bell” with me is that I live in the radio market of Portland, Oregon.  Over the previous 8 (or so) years, prior to Obama’s initial election there was a “liberal” talk radio station in Portland that was kind of a prototype for what amounts to a miniscule opposition to the right wing messaging “machine” that has evolved on “talk radio” since the first days Rush Limbaugh started his right wing racist ranting during the Reagan years.  I have believed all along that it’s (right wing talk radio) part of the larger plan to form what Karl Rove calls the “permanent republican ‘majority'” (the additional quotes are mine – if it happens it will be a “majority” similar to Hitler’s “majority” in the 1930’s Germany).  After Limbaugh was established, along came Fox “news” and “think tanks” like the Heritage Institute of the Kochs both of which have worked in tandem with the right wing talkers like Limbaugh to “cement” the right wing propaganda “machine.”  Portland’s liberal talk station was a push-back, albeit a minor push-back because the “conservatives” control over 90% of the radio airspace.  So, it was no surprise to me when, shortly after Obama’s second election Portland’s (KPOJ) was replaced by (surprise surprise) a “wing” of the Fox network.  I was angry, but not surprised – for anyone not paying attention, this is just further evidence of the FACT the “conservatives” have a stranglehold on our “liberal media.” (seems like an oxymoron, huh?)

That gets me back to this morning’s emails.  I’ve known for weeks that the Kochs are attempting to purchase the Tribune company and that it will be a travesty if it happens.  I’m also very aware that Koch Industries generates over 100 BILLION dollars in revenue per year and the Kochs themselves are worth well over 50 BILLION dollars.  If they want to buy the Tribune company, they have the funds to do so.  The question then becomes how much of a stranglehold of our media are “we the people” willing to allow this right wing message machine to control?  I can’t even watch Fox “news” because I’ve read too much to allow me to NOT understand that they are purely and simply a right wing propaganda organization (as long as you’re “googling” things, Google the holdings of Rupert Murdoch – the owner of Fox “news,” the Wall Street Journal, and many other media outlets – and “Google” his political leanings).  They are run by a republican operative of the 70’s and 80’s – back in the days of Watergate (Roger Ailes).  They have “both barrels” aimed at Barrack Obama and anyone who might be considered “liberal” and they care only about POWER and nothing about the average and below American (their ONLY concern with the “average and below” Americans is keeping them IGNORANT of their REAL motive – ie – keeping them as “low information voters” – that’s the term that got Lars Larsen to call me an “elitist liberal” :o).  Their “talkers” (Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Limbaugh, along with the small time voices like Larsen’s, etc.) are willing to say anything for their large paychecks.  And, they are the epitome of liars who lie so much that they get to the point where they’re believing their own lies as the lies come out of their lips!  (the term is pathological)

Losing elections doesn’t slow this right wing cabal hardly at all.  That’s the problem I see with those of us “liberals” – and, that is we seem to think once we win an election the message has been “sent.”  For example, the previous election of 2012 was focused on the “social safety net” – programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment insurance, Head Start, etc. along with the so-called “roll-out” of “Obamacare” ie – “The Affordable Care Act.”  Since that election we’ve seen republicans in the House voting AGAIN (something like the 38th time) to repeal “Obamacare.”  There’s no shame with these people.  Instead of trying to figure out how to make the legislation better for “we the people” they’re focused – STILL – on undermining our president.  And, of course, he’s playing into their hands by seemingly an endless attempt to get them to agree to something – which led to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid being put “on the table” in the ill advised budget negotiations (which aren’t really negotiations at all because there’s no way the republicans will agree to anything Obama will sign).  Liberals like me have only to hope that the democrats will AGGRESSIVELY work to gain enough control in congress by 2014 to be able to pass some progressive legislation.  That hope was dealt a severe blow by Obama putting the foundation of the “New Deal” and “Great Society” signature achievements “on the table.”  And, sadly, many democrats are so concerned with their reelection that they’ve become intimidated by the power of the right wing media.  I can guarantee you, there will be no let up from the “right” until “we the people” vote them out (along with the wishy washy dems) en mass!

Additionally, the other day I listened to parts of a speech President Obama gave to the graduating class of Morehead State University in which he AGAIN chose to “lecture” an audience of Blacks – this time newly graduated Morehead seniors and their faculty and families about the importance of being responsible men in our society.  I guess because our president is Black he feels comfortable broaching this subject (over and over) with Black audiences – but, I find this a bit disconcerting.  While there’s validity, I’m sure, to what he’s saying – I can guarantee you the problem is “bipartisan” – or whatever the correct word would be for there not being a “color line” for irresponsible men and fathers.  So far, I haven’t heard the same subject being “preached” to a white audience – not that it’s impossible that he has.  My point in bringing this up is that I don’t see Obama as a great leader for the Black community.  Again, I realize he’s up against a congress which is NOT going to agree to ANYTHING he wants – and this suffocating “liberal media” – controlled by conservatives is bent on his “failure” – but, he MUST put up a fight for the basic values that made the democratic party the representatives of the average Americans, the workers, the Blacks, the Hispanics, the unions, etc.  Liberals feel as if they’re fighting a losing battle if they work to elect people who then turn around and push republican values in their faces.  As I’ve written before, if I wanted Social Security and Medicare cut, I would have voted for Romney/Ryan.  If I wanted to hear my leaders attacking the Black community, I would vote for republicans.  President Obama seems unaware of the magnitude of the WAR that’s going on right now internally in America.

As I stated above, despite losing elections (including the last one) republicans continue to try to cram the same CRAP down our throats we’ve been getting since the day Ronald Reagan gained the White House.  Only, now it’s the fringe “right” who are “guiding the ship.”  Most people I know, many of them with graduate degrees from top universities, don’t even know who Charles and David Koch are.  They have no idea how much power they’ve managed to gain in the last 30+ years and they have no idea how “out there” their philosophy is.  The Kochs are the money behind the so-called “Tea Party” which they managed to work up into a frothing lather in 2010 (after Obama’s first “victory”) that resulted in all the “Tea Party” freshmen republicans who took over the House in that 2010 election (if you watched any of their “rallies” during the 2010 election or listened to the speeches you know how overtly RACIST the “Tea Party” is).  What many of us didn’t understand at the time, was that they also gained control of many legislative bodies and governorships across the nation and managed to “gerrymander” countless congressional districts (this happens every 10 years – next time it’s possible will be 2020) making it more difficult for democrats to unseat some extremely radical republican members of the House.  Now, I’m hearing reports of the same type of aggressive, anti-government, anti-Obama rallies as they are evidently going to make the same “push” in the 2014 election with the objective of taking control of both the House and the Senate.

That’s obviously where the battle lines are presently drawn.  For those of us who are “liberals” (or progressives if you’ve “bought” the right wing “cool aid” that “liberal” is a dirty word) recognize that unless democrats can take back control of the House of Representatives the republicans will continue to block any kind of progressive legislation for the remainder of Obama’s term in office (and presumably going forward – they are trying to convince the American public that the “only” way to get anything “done” will be to elect a republican president (which would give them their “permanent majority – that is, control of the House, the Senate, the courts, and the media – and, in reality, they are correct – it will be hard to unseat them)  On the other hand, the liberals who are fighting back recognize the same problem and are (hopefully) intent on gaining control of the House while retaining control of the Senate (and removing the filibuster rule) so that we can move this nation back in the direction that created our great middle class in the first place – toward the New Deal and Great Society.  These “Tea Party” rallies should energize the “liberals” in America if they will only pay attention to what is being said there and how these people are carrying themselves.

In 2010 there was one BLATANTLY racist sign after another at the “Tea Party” rallies.  If you go back and listen to some of the speeches it was very disgusting.  Many of the remarks coming from members of congress pandering to the group.  The “code words” were “flying” hot and heavy.  Many of the speakers I heard made little attempt to hide their disgust that a person they referred to as “other” could be living in the “White House.”  Now, we’re hearing comments like “Waterboard Obama” and “Waterboard Clinton” at their rallies by people holding signs adorned with swastikas!  I’m not going to “go off” on my frustrations at Obama for not allowing the investigations into the war crimes of the Bush/Cheney regime, but if republicans gain control again, they’ve made it quite clear how they feel about torture.  And, as I’ve stated before on this site – there’s a group called the “Family” that are at the foundation of this right wing push of the last 30 plus years – and, their original affiliation was with members of the Third Reich who were not prosecuted after WW II and they’ve adopted the propaganda scheme of Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda – the so-called “Big Lie Theory.”  If you really believe our media is “liberal” then explain to me why no one seems to be pointing this out, or even investigating it?  Read the book “The Family” – I believe the author is Jeff Sharlett – it should open your eyes a bit.

One of the most blatant of the congressional speakers at 2010 “Tea Party” rallies was then senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina who was spewing out the racial “code words” in a speech I saw while the “Tea Party’ members he was speaking to had the most disgusting racist signs regarding President Obama I had, up to that point, seen.  And, of course, DeMint was encouraging them with his racist rhetoric.  Since that time he’s become the head of the Koch’s “Heritage Foundation” – a “conservative” think tank.  Other members include people like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, two of the major mouthpieces of the right wing “big lie theory” in practice.  They have unlimited funds and they have every intention of continuing this WAR for the heart and soul of America until they succeed in gaining the aforementioned “permanent republican majority.”  Of course, they’ll never have a real majority, but they might be able to pull off enough CRAP at the ballot boxes to make it appear that they do.  (remember 2000 and the Supreme Court anointing GW Bush as president – think that can’t happen again?)  The Heritage website proclaims to be wanting to take America BACK to “her founding principles” – and, make no mistake about it, they’re talking about pre New Deal!  The principles of no unions, no Social Security, no Medicare, no unemployment insurance, basically NO social safety net.  They are talking about the times when the “Robber Barons” were in charge.  They’re pushing a “race to the bottom” for wages and benefits of America’s workforce. (As I’m writing this, republicans are leading an “assault” on things like food stamps)

On the Heritage website it is written right out front for anyone to see (evidently, our “liberal press” doesn’t pay much attention to the Heritage website) – “The clock is also ticking on this historic opportunity to advance conservative reforms. As many as possible must be enacted and defended now, while liberals have their guard down and we have an opportunity to rally public opinion.”  They believe (and probably rightly so – as 2010 proved) that post election “liberals” are back to taking care of their families and “have their guard down” – this is the time to  CRAM through as much “conservative” legislation as possible.  They’re calling this a “once in a generations opportunity.”  And, I guarantee you their plan is to have a complete STRANGLEHOLD on our government that they so often say they despise.  Their plan is to turn America into a fascist state!  And, they’ve got BILLIONS of dollars to spend in order to pull this off.

That is why the contrast between the two emails I received gave me such “pause.”  There was a day, not too many years ago, when I thought we were on the cusp of achieving Martin Luther King Jr.’s “dream.”  I thought we might finally overcome the obstacles to a truly free nation that were represented in King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.”  The night President Obama was first elected president I can remember thinking how much I had believed that a Black person would not be elected president in my lifetime.  I remember calling my teaching partner at the time – a Black teacher, pastor, veteran of Viet Nam – to me, the epitome of a great American – who was literally in tears.  Little did we know at the time that Obama’s election was going to energize people like the Koch’s and those in America who believe that this is a nation that should only be led by White people – and, certainly, little did I know how many people would join the movement to attempt to make sure our first Black president FAILS.  History will judge our president against all the obstacles thrown his way – when I watched the movie “42” (the story of Jackie Robinson) I was reminded that President Obama’s situation is somewhat similar to Robinson’s.  I would love to see our president being more forceful in his battle against these republicans, but I’m constantly reminded (in my thoughts) about how I have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes.  All I can say is that those of us on the “liberal” side have our work cut out for us – the “conservatives” as is published on the Heritage website – feel we have our “guard down” and they have every intention of taking full advantage of that.

Today I got an email from Alan Grayson, one of the few members of Congress who have not been “bought and sold” by special interests (therefore, he’s the TARGET of many a special interest groups – ie Koch brothers and their network of right wing “think tanks,” Karl Rove, Fox “news,” Rush Limbaugh, etc.) commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.”  That email and another I received regarding the aforementioned Koch brothers and their attempt to acquire the Tribune Company (which includes, I believe, 7 major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times) prompted thoughts of another post, but while I was allowing the thoughts to go through my head it became clear that I should post a copy of King’s great letter.  Maybe by reading that letter it will help people who are visiting this site to better understand why I have written so many posts about the NEED to get the republican party, as it exists today, into the history books.  Since the day Barrack Obama was elected America has inched more toward the days this letter was written than toward the days Dr. King was envisioning in it.  That is going BACKWARD and we need to be going FORWARD!  We need more in America to realize that the motivations of those who wish for our first BLACK president to FAIL are precisely because of the color of his skin.  There should be no place of leadership (I realize people are going to believe what they believe) in our society for the racists who are trying to undermine an American presidency (they did this to a lessor extent with Bill Clinton, called by some facetiously as the “first black president”).  Read this letter and pause to think about the reality of today’s political arena and I believe you will see the importance of standing strong behind the basis of King’s famous words:

MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN:… .

I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly….

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff[ly] creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience….

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists….

I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham, and all over the nation, because the goal of America [is] freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation — and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands….

One day the South will recognize its real heroes. There will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. There will be the old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy-two-year-old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: “My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest.” There will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience’s sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?…

Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I haven’t done much “patting” on my own back lately, but I can still remember writing posts at the beginning of Barrack Obama’s first term as president explaining the gravity of his decision to “look forward instead of back” regarding the illegal activity of the Bush/Cheney “crime family.”  I pointed out that the republicans should have been exposed for the reality of what they were at that time – the American public deserved no less.  I also pointed out this, in my view, was one of the major executive branch blunders in my lifetime.  (This is following the “blunderest” administration of all time – Bush/Cheney)  It was not hard to see that this mistake would come back to haunt Obama and the democrats and it has – OVER and OVER!  Couple this with a spineless bunch of Democratic Senators and the republican propaganda “machine” (which has been operating at “full throttle” ever since) and you now have a recreation of the “Clinton years” as the topic coming from the “right” is “impeachment.”  Tonight, on my way home from work, I heard a clip on the radio of Dick Cheney (of all people) claiming (to Sean Hannity – go figure) that the Benghazi incident last year was the worst national defense disaster in the history of our country.  Other republicans, evidently, are comparing it to Watergate and who knows what.  And, the word is that the House is intent on impeaching President Obama.  OMG!

Talk about your “pot calling the kettle black!”  OK, I know I need to come up with a better analogy, because the real problem here is that the President of the United States is half BLACK.  The racists have been fulminating out from under their rocks since before Obama took the oath of office.  They even were blaming him for the failed economy and the TARP bailout before he took the oath of office.  And, their thoughtless “minions” have gone along with all the BS since the day the reality struck them that over 50% of America would vote for a Black person as president.  Who knows, some day it could be a woman – or even a Latina!  These people are in full out panic mode and it would be embarrassing if they didn’t have so much money and control of the media behind them.  This is exactly why I’ve been calling for the removal from office of every possible republican – until this right wing fringe group gets expunged from any kind of position of authority.  Really, is there anyone out there who really believes Benghazi was a worst disaster than 9/11, or the lying our nation into invading a sovereign country (for the first time ever without provocation) causing HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of lives to be lost and MILLIONS to by uprooted?  Was Benghazi worst than over 200 Marines killed in Lebanon (yes, during the republican’s god Reagan’s watch) with virtually no push-back from America?  Was this more dishonest than Iran/Contra? (I’m saying this not knowing what level of misinformation came from the Benghazi incident, because the republicans are simply recreating the “Whitewater” “witch hunt” that took place during the Clinton years – and the reports I’m hearing are pointing out the right wing “info machine” is “doctoring” their evidence.  I don’t know why that doesn’t surprise me)

The loss of the diplomats in Benghazi was a tragedy, no doubt, and there may have been mistakes – who knows at this point.  But, it seems a bit curious to me that the same people making a big deal out of this terrible situation gave not even a whimper during the Bush/Cheney years when something on the order of 60 American diplomats perished on duty in various places around the world.  The sad reality is that, due in large part to our militaristic government, being a diplomat in America’s diplomatic corps is very dangerous.  There are many places in this world where Americans are “Persona non Grata.”  And, the idea that none of them are going to be in harms way is absurd, even more-so in the face of a congress that has chosen to cut back on the available funds necessary for protection.  Again, this would be ridiculously funny if it wasn’t so real and so absurd.  How anyone in America can give any credence to media outlets such as Fox “news,” or radio talkers such as Rush Limbaugh is beyond me.  These republicans stated from the first day of Barrack Obama’s term in office that their number one goal was his defeat (they used the term FAILURE) notwithstanding the effect of that policy on our nation and our attempt to recover from the ills of the Bush/Cheney administration – which left America on the brink of financial and military disaster as they left Washington DC with their “tails between their legs.”

I hate to revisit all the ills of Bush/Cheney, but since Dick Cheney is right in the forefront of the most recent attacks on President Obama, I’m guessing some in America are suffering from severe political partisan amnesia.  And, I’m saying that as an elderly person who sometimes can’t remember if he washed his hair when he gets out of the shower in the morning.  However, I don’t think it’s possible for me to forget the damage Bush/Cheney did to this nation I love.  I can agree that Obama has committed some serious mistakes, but Benghazi and its aftermath are way down the list for me (whatever those mistakes might be).  Blocking the investigations into Bush/Cheney was – if Obama has committed an impeachable offense – a failure of massive proportions – he took an oath to enforce the laws FAIRLY.  For starters, both George W Bush and Dick Cheney have repeatedly admitted to being WAR CRIMINALS.  Both have confessed on national TV that they authorized WATERBOARDING – and worst, in my mind, they both have said they would do it again.  (click here to read about how America prosecuted Japanese interrogators who waterboarded American prisoners during WW II) This is a direct violation of American law and International law – CLEARLY violating the Geneva Conventions ban on this form of interrogation.  Additionally, you don’t have to read many books on Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo to realize that torturing was much more severe than the waterboarding.  Prisoners were killed and brutally tortured by Americans and sent to “black holes” (ie Egypt, or Central Asian “prisons”) around the world knowing what would happen to them upon arrival.  I guess GW Bush and Dick Cheney – two men who “chickened out” of the Viet Nam war wanted to demonstrate how “tough” they are.  This is ABSURD!  You have to have your “head in the sand” not to understand that the orders to torture prisoners came from the White House and the office of Donald Rumsfeld in the Pentagon.

Yet there’s much more.  How about outing a CIA agent because you don’t like her husband exposing the truth about the lies used to get America entrenched in Iraq (which subsequently has destabilized the entire world to this day).  This was clearly Cheney’s doing but he was all too willing to “throw” his assistant, Scooter Libby, “under the bus.”  Of course, Bush commuted Libby’s sentence so that he could disappear into the sunset and Cheney, once again, could “get away” with breaking the law.  (Cheney even proved he can shoot people in the face while being drunk and avoid any consequences)  In case you wondered, outing a CIA agent is a treasonous offense.  Of course, we’ll never know how many under cover agents perished once Valerie Plame’s identity was on the front cover of every paper in the world – but, there’s a reason why disclosing the identity of a CIA agent is such an egregious violation of the law. (now, I’m no fan of everything the CIA does, but “I’m just saying…….”)

Then, you’ve got the undermining of the Justice Department (which, in my view, is still reeling to this day) where assistant attorneys general were fired for refusing to politically prosecute democrats – or for investigating republican lawbreakers.  They actually had a young attorney (from Regents University law school – home of Pat Robertson) who was forcing attorneys hired at Justice during the Bush/Cheney regime to take a “loyalty oath” to the republican party – in itself, a felony.  Undermining the appearance of impartiality at the Justice Department is, to me, an attack on the very foundation of our government.   And, then Attorney General Gonzales had to be quietly sent out to pasture because he got up before congress and perjured himself OVER and OVER for about three days of absurd (“I can’t remember”) testimony.  Of course, the democrats were unwilling or unable to call him to account for his lies and he was ushered out of town quietly and “all was forgotten.” (obviously, not by me – and, I suspect, millions of other Americans who believe the Justice Department has an obligation to be non-partisan and operating with integrity.)

Let’s get back to 9/11.  Whether Bush/Cheney will admit to this or not – this disaster happened on “their watch.”  They had more warning for this than I think Obama had on Benghazi if you want to look at it that way, but this was terrorists invading the United States from Saudi Arabia (mainly) with the response aimed at Afghanistan and Iraq.  Go figure!  I’ve read books that document that the NSA knew at least some of the “attackers” were in the country as early as January of that year and there were plenty of warning signs that went without response even suggesting an attack using aircraft.  That being said, I never tried to place blame on Bush/Cheney until their irrational and incompetent actions required revisiting EVERYTHING they did.  I actually was totally in support of the United States going to Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden, which of course the Bush/Cheney regime had no intention of following through on because that would have undermined their REAL intention which was to FIND a way to justify invading Iraq.  When I listened to Cheney tonight on the radio (as mentioned above) it was clear that much of his motivation regarding the attack on Obama for Benghazi was an attempt to undermine the success Obama had in “getting” bin Laden, which of course, Bush/Cheney failed miserably in doing.  These people (republicans) are desperately attempting to rewrite HISTORY in a way that “looks forward instead of back” and, unfortunately, their biggest ally in this is President Obama himself.

I could go on and on with the FAILURES of the Bush/Cheney administration – or the illegal behavior – like the undermining of the very institutions they were under oath to protect (again, for you Obama “haters” – he’s under oath to enforce the laws which is why letting Bush/Cheney “off the hook” is such an egregious failure on his – and Eric Holder’s – part), the tax cuts which turned a 250 BILLION dollar surplus ultimately into a multi TRILLION dollar debt (which they, again, blamed on Obama before he’d taken the oath of office), and the deregulation which led to the “Too Big to Fail (Jail)” bankers and the TARP bailout under BUSH’S “watch.”  Remember, Hank Paulsen did not act until it was evident that Goldman Sachs was within days of crumbling into a pile of unredeamable debt – just like Lehman Brothers – one of their main competitors – Goldman Sachs being the company Paulsen had led prior to his stint as Treasury Secretary – and undoubtedly, in my mind, the home of his fortune in stock or stock options that was about to go away without government intervention.  I might be wrong on this, but – again – not even a hint of an investigation.  And, not one Wall Street Banker who had a hand in almost destroying our economy (and succeeding in destroying many a workers pension plan) that I know of was prosecuted and went to jail for their reckless gambling of public funds.  Again, for all you Obama haters out there – this lack of prosecution is on “his watch.”

The end result of “looking forward and not back” is the revitalization of Richard Nixon’s claim that “if the president does it, it must be legal.”   Is Obama’s message to us little folk that there’s a fraternity of presidents and that they really are “above the law.”  When I look back at Ronald Reagan and then look at George W Bush and Dick Cheney that’s the message I get.  Well, if I was face to face with the president right now I would ask him, “How’s this plan working for you now?”  Because, obviously, the republicans operate in an entirely different sphere.  Now, I really believe that the public is smart enough to see past any attempt to impeach our president over whatever excuse they’re (republicans) going to come up with, but none of this had to happen.  The investigations (as I believe I pointed out around 4 years ago) were inevitable, but they should have been about the actions of the administration that began (or accelerated) the downward trend of America in the eyes of the rest of the world as we emerge into the 21st century – Bush/Cheney.  There’s the old saying, “Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.”  We’re seeing how true this is OVER and OVER again in the recent past of America.  I would love to put it all on the republicans (really, Iraq – to me – was from DAY ONE Viet Nam all over again – perpetrated no less by two Viet Nam “chicken hawks”) but President Obama should have known better than to let Bush/Cheney off the hook!  Now we’re likely to have to endure another ridiculous republican impeachment circus.  Really, at some point maybe the American public will listen to me and people like me and vote these thugs (right wing republicans) 0ut of office so that we can regain some semblance of a working representative democracy in our nation.  If democrats want this dream to have any chance of reality it’s time to quit placating republicans for a few meager votes (ie – putting Social Security and Medicare “on the table”) and start FIGHTING for the values this nation stood on from the end of WW II until the days of the “Reagan Administration” which began this terrible “lurch” to the “right” and set the precedent (Iran/Contra) that republicans can violate America’s laws and it’s OK because the democrats don’t have the stones (in the words of Bill Clinton at the last democratic convention) to hold them accountable for their blatant lawbreaking.

One last thought – it just popped into my head – the reality is that is how this site evolves – As usual, I believe the republicans are always “one step ahead” of the democrats because their tactics ALWAYS have a diversionary component to them.  That is, there seems to be an obvious “point” to their actions, but there usually also is a “hidden agenda” to every move they make.  You have to give them credit for being conniving and overtly dishonest in a way that almost implies people operating without conscience.  They CLEARLY believe “the end justifies the means.”  I believe they DO want President Obama to FAIL in the worst way – yet, they also understand that impeachment has no chance of being upheld in the Senate.  It’s a political side show and circus designed to throw “raw meat” to their most rabid base.  However, it’s entirely possible, in my mind, that the real object of their attempt to impeach Obama will be Hillary Clinton.  (via the Benghazi “blame game”) I ask myself, what could be worst for these racists who’ve been less and less covert about their motives since the day Obama took office?  Well, the obvious answer is how about another Clinton? – and, a woman at that.  Believe me, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, the Kochs, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and I could go on and on, DON’T want a woman as president AND they really don’t want another Clinton.  One thing they know for sure about Hillary Clinton is that she will not be as amenable to their CRAP as President Obama has been.  I believe it’s very possible all this Benghazi “to do” of the past few days is directed as much at the possibility of Clinton running for president in 2016 as Obama being impeached in 2013 or 2014.

There’s an interesting (and tragic) phenomenon going on in America as I write this, and it’s been ongoing for the past few years.  Our government has failed to respond to the unemployment crisis in a way that would have prevented the huge numbers of long term unemployed – as republicans argue the debt they created is sufficient reason to ignore millions of Americans who’ve been turned into the “unemployable.”  These “unemployable” potential workers are no longer paying taxes so government revenues are down, yet they still require things like medical care, etc. causing government expenses (and those of the rest of us) to increase while “right” wing politicians continue to prevent increases in taxes from those who are succeeding at an astonshing rate – taxes that would allow investment in things like infrastructure which would create good paying jobs.  And, while all this is going on, more and more of the incredibly rich are moving their money to offshore tax havens so they can avoid any taxes that might “right the ship” in America’s economy.  No wonder so many people are throwing their arms up and saying things like “There’s no hope for America because the corruption in Washington DC is just too pervasive.”  Even the “low information voters” know that it is the politicians in Washington DC who enable all this.

I remember almost as if it was yesterday my thoughts as the “Reagan revolution” unfolded that Ronald Reagan and his supporters were attempting to change America from a “we” society to a “me” society.  And, it appears they have virtually succeeded.  These are the people who have been fighting the “New Deal” of Franklin Roosevelt since the inception of all the “socialist” ideals it put forth.  The FACT that the New Deal fostered the greatest middle class in the history of mankind is irrelevant to those who still worship Reagan as if he was some kind of god.  As I put forth in my previous post, Reagan was actually an informer for the FBI, he was a major hypocrite when it came to “following the rules,” and he believed that the wealthy SHOULD be in control of America’s wealth – not America’s elected government.  Reagan spearheaded the assault on America’s unions which is continuing to this day as we witness a kind of “race to the bottom” regarding the wages and benefits that major employers seem to believe their workers deserve.  The statistics say that worker productivity has increased tremendously in the past 30+ years while wages have remained stagnant, or worse.  The FACT the focus of our government has been shifted to the wealthy could not be clearer as we experience the so-called “sequestration” “cuts” to our nation’s budget.  Already “exceptions” to the cuts are being made for those fortunate enough to travel by air, but – as per usual – “the least of us” (in the words of Jesus Christ) will be “left behind.”

Well before sequestration went into effect I commented that the people at the top would hardly notice it – virtually all the “pain” would be focused around those at the “bottom.”  Well, that wasn’t totally correct as we saw when those who had to wait in the long lines at airports got action from their congress for an “exception.”  Did you notice that it was the congress members who were some of the people standing in those lines?  I wonder how much that affected their decision to vote an exception to their “across the board” cuts.  And, you can pretty much be guaranteed that when sequestration “hits” the department of defense there will be more “exceptions.”  Most of my “railing” on this site has been directed (with good reason) toward republicans.  But it’s almost more frustrating to be forced to depend on the democrats to be the counter force to the republican assault on America’s middle class.  For example (looking away from the sequestration) many democratic populists and many independents (like me) once again got behind President Obama during the last election.  (I pointed out that my vote was AGAINST Mitt Romney and the republicans)  It didn’t take long and Obama was proposing cuts to Social Security (which is absurd) and Medicare (which does need to be “fixed”) – a MAJOR slap in the face to the MILLIONS who got behind him leading up to the election.  To me, this is an obvious attempt by our president to get the republicans to agree to SOMETHING.  However, it also demonstrates his failure to understand that this is an INTERNAL war for the heart and soul of America.  We need to DEFEAT this brand of republicans, not find a way to get them to say “yes” to something – especially at the expense of the signature successes of almost 100 years of progressive battles for “the least of us.”  In a representative government it’s depressing when your TOP representative makes proposals AFTER the election which would have caused you not to support him/her BEFORE the elections.  If I was in favor of cutting Social Security and Medicare Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan would have been the “answer.”

In fact, the so-called sequester was the result of the same kind of bargaining we’re apt to see over Social Security and Medicare.  The benefits will go to those at the “top” while those at the bottom get even more SCREWED.  When democrats start showing a willingness to bargain away the signature victories of the New Deal, well, those of us who are considered liberals (I guess I’m supposed to use the term progressives because the right wing propaganda scheme has vilified the word “liberal”) have to be wondering “where do we turn” for support.  The stark reality of American government is that “we the people” elect representatives and we have to trust them to “represent” us in Washington.  When the “top dog” in Washington shows any kind of weakness he/she can expect to be the recipient of a swarm of special interest money intended to turn a tiny “crack” in the “dike” into a “fissure.”  I still remember during the 2008 presidential campaign Hillary Clinton basing her “claim” on the democratic nomination to her perspective that Barrack Obama was not “up to” dealing with what he was going to get from the republicans.  Over the course of time, I believe he is proving her to  be prophetic.  Instead of bargaining away programs like Social Security and Medicare Obama should be out there FIGHTING the obstructionists in Washington with the hope of turning the House BLUE in 2014.  He should be working on Harry Reid to accept the reality that the Senate’s filibuster rules are archaic and being used by republicans to block anything positive from coming out of the senate.  He should  be publicly BATTLING for the above mentioned “unemployable” members of our society.  (many of them in their 50’s or early 60’s and in danger of losing EVERYTHING they’ve worked their lives for)

The republican philosophy has been to gain power by causing FAILURE in Washington.  They are doing this through procedural methods that the democrats have allowed along with their control of the so-called “liberal media.”  One thing republicans have been up front and honest about since Obama’s election is their determination to make sure that he FAILS.  I really don’t understand why this was not considered heresy and why the democrats have not been demonizing the republicans over this more intently.  75% of America wanted a “public option” when health care reform was in the works.  The special interests prevailed against this (and when “Obamacare” goes into full effect we will understand why the democrats should have found a way to push that through).  Something like 90% of Americans are in favor of background checks and registering guns.  A large majority are in favor of other attempts to control the use of assault weapons.  Again, the special interests are winning the “battle” through their purchase of our legislatures (including democrats).  I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this is all becoming more than nauseating.

When we look again at sequestration, the whole idea was a way to force congressional action in the wake of all the obstructionist tactics of republicans (remember, their number one priority is not the success of America, but the failure of our BLACK president – I’m sure if you’re reading my blog you’re smart enough to put two and two together to understand their motives).  However, as the “chipping away” at the areas of “pain” will show – there will be exceptions which will allow the further steps of this despicable method of governing to proceed (remember, only the first “wave” of sequestration has taken place).  My prediction is that areas like Head Start, food stamps, unemployment insurance, etc. will remain in tact – that is, getting cut – but when the defense department bellows loud enough we’ll have another “exception.”  Or when we find another area that directly affects the congressional leaders who voted for this absurd way of budgeting government in the first place we’ll see another “exception.”  Kind of reminds me of how the congressional leaders who have the so-called “Cadillac” health care policies have no concern for those who have no policy and want to tax working people who are lucky enough to have health care benefits through their employment.  Really, the more you examine America’s present government, the more absurd it gets.

I stated in an earlier post that the first “job” in fixing our nation’s government is to vote out all republicans who support this present day racist tea party philosophy that seems entrenched in their caucus and puts Obama’s failure above America’s success. (remember, republicans didn’t always act and function as they are these days – much of this obstructionist philosophy, I believe, emanates from the congressional days of Newt Gingrich – although, in my lifetime, republicans have been the bastion for America’s remaining racists) Once the republicans have been “purged” the job becomes to get rid of the spineless democrats who are “feeding at the same trough.”  I believe there is one TOTALLY bipartisan issue those of us outside of Washington can agree on and that is corporate money has totally CORRUPTED our government.   Somehow, that needs to change and I don’t think you can change the corruption by relying on those receiving the bounty.  It’s the same as expecting the fox to protect the hen house!

Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the “military industrial complex” have morphed into a dangerous reality that continues to make America “less safe.”  It has fostered “moneychangers” who survive by promoting war and violence.  It has given us a bloated defense budget that surpasses virtually the rest of the world combined and an economy that is being drowned in the inescapable debt that is the result of those who believe in perpetual “warfare.”  The latest result, as we scramble to “get our economic house in order” is the sequestration.  That is just a symptom of how difficult it is and is going to be to overcome the incredible force behind this militarism on our nation’s economy.  Combined with the mentality of the republican party and the spineless democrats we end up governing through “sequestration.”  Honestly, I never imagined our country falling to this level of incompetence and corruption, but as I read more history it all seems inevitable.  Eisenhower knew what he was talking about.  I have to wonder: when will our people who are “down and out” become more important to our government than taking care of the “rich” and providing corporate welfare?

I’m presently reading a book – titled “Subversives, The FBI’s WAR on STUDENT RADICALS and Reagan’s Rise to Power” by Seth Rosenfeld – about how the FBI was violating the rights of “radicals” in the years leading up to  and into the 60’s at the behest of J Edgar Hoover – the head of the FBI for many years and apparently a paranoid, closet homosexual.  Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not “bashing” gays, it’s just that Hoover was – along with bashing anyone else who might not fit the bill (in his eyes) of the upstanding “conservative” “loyal” “patriotic” American – all the while why he was in a “same-sex” relationship for years himself.  OK, where have we heard that line before?  The derogatory term used by Hoover and his agents always seemed to have words like “left” or “liberal” connected to it and leading to the word “communist.”  Reminds me of the saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  This is going to be a hard post to write because the thoughts going through my head are almost overwhelming.  From my own experience and the many books I’ve read, even though McCarthy and his Communist “scare” seem like history that would never be repeated, it seems as if we’re in another of those “deja vu all over again” moments in time (similar to the unthinkable fiasco’s in Iraq and Afghanistan vis a vis Viet Nam).  One thing I’m learning as I continue my attempt at self-educating myself on the “goings on” in my own government – is that the CRAP that’s being hoisted on America by the right wing of the republican party today is nothing new.  It’s just becoming more sophisticated.

The other day I received, in the “snail mail” a brochure from the “National Review” titled “RESIST!”  I’m guessing, from the contents, whoever sent it to me had not read this blog.  Now, it’s true I’ve pointed out that I always considered myself somewhat of a conservative, until the recent 30 years of the “Reagan Revolution” has convinced me (and most people I know) that I’m a “flaming liberal.”  That’s why I found the brochure from the “National Review” to be most interesting.  I’m just going to include some of the quotes: “Obama’s dirty tricks.  Look forward to more administrative and regulatory tricks to circumvent Congress.” (my initial reaction: “Well, duh – I hope so, I mean with a Senate filibustering everything and a House voting for Nothing – somehow, something must get done in Washington)  “The liberal culture.  You won’t surrender to it and neither will we.” (can you see why I was a bit confused why they sent this to me?)  There’s more:  “The fate of America hangs in the balance.  Dim-witted liberals are leading the country half-cocked in dangerous new directions.” (Seriously)  And finally (this one, to me really says it all about the “right”):  “The coming leftist court.  More than one Justice could retire before Obama leaves office.  Look for a replacement who will spark a new era of aggressive leftist judicial activism.”  (are you kidding me? how could any court “out do” the Roberts’ court’s “Citizens United” example of judicial activism)  As I’m reading the present book and getting stuff like this from the “National Review” in the mail, the level of brainwashing that’s going on in America is almost beyond my imagination.  The problem is that it’s not imagination, it’s real.  And, they’ve (the people behind this propaganda scheme) got unlimited financial resources and a lot of technical savvy.  They’ve been at this for a long time and defeat at the ballot box doesn’t seem to affect them – they just “keep on keepin on.”

As I said, this topic makes my mind swirl with probably too many thoughts.  But, I think it goes right to the heart of what’s wrong in America.  Most of us normal everyday Americans have no idea how much power can end up resting in the souls of people like Hoover.  And, I’m certain there’s many more “out there” who would share his point of view.  The irony, to me, is that most of these people will claim that things like “moral decency,” “righteousness,” “honor,” “patriotism,” “integrity,” “less government” and other wonderful sounding words and phrases are what drives them and their thinking.  The problem I have with that is most of these people are just like the rest of us – full of “skeletons” in our “closets.”  Take for example, Hoover apparently living a gay lifestyle while “bashing” gays.  Reminds me of the Republican Senator from Idaho a few years ago who was leading the anti-gay “mission” of the republican party while having same-sex rendezvous in public restrooms at airports.  Or Newt Gingrich attempting to impeach Bill Clinton for cheating on his wife while being a double offender himself.  (I’m still wondering why Gingrich seems to still be a “talking head” of the republican party after cheating on his cancer stricken wife.  We’ll see if the democrats end up in the same situation with John Edwards – I seriously doubt it)  Then there’s Reagan, a “man of law and order,” mindlessly breaking one law after another, often times with the assistance of Hoover and Hoover’s “minions.” (or encouraging others to do so ie Iran/Contra)  Hoover (with the assistance of “informers” like Reagan) managed to destroy the careers of many “liberals” during his purging of “commies” during the years after WW II and, apparently, the political establishment feared him similarly to how the republicans of today fear Rush Limbaugh.  The message is somewhat the same – “liberal” is a dirty word.

Before I continue, I’ve just got to throw in something else quite ironic here.  In the history of the United States of America, virtually all advances that have benefited “we the people” have originated from “liberal” sources.  And, another irony – at least to me, as I’ve so often railed against the so-called “Christian Right,” is that many of these “liberal” initiatives were the result of public activism from Christians.  Yah, you got it right, the Christian movement in America has not always been stuck in this right wing rut that is turning so many (especially young) Americans off to the church.  The push to end slavery, the subsequent (long) push for civil rights for African Americans (which is continuing to this day), the labor movement (which so many in today’s America take for granted as republicans attempt to expunge every last union from the face of the earth), and the idea of a social safety net (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, and other social programs aimed at helping “the least among us”) just to name a few, were the result of “liberals” (often times “liberal Christians”) pushing our reluctant government to do the “right thing.”  Some of these campaigns lasted for decades before there was success and those who oppose the idea of a “we” nation have been pushing back all the way.  It’s taken courageous leaders to overcome the “push-back” and it will take courageous leaders to prevent the present day “pushers” (like the Koch brothers, Limbaugh – and his benefactors, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, the so-called tea party, outlets like Fox “news,” and people like Donald Trump and many others) from succeeding.

Much of Rosenfeld’s book centers on the FIGHT generated by the “subversives” (hippies, liberals, anti-war activists, civil rights activists, black activists – including Martin Luther King Jr., and others) who were willing to stand up to the authorities who were promoting the seemingly endless (in America) corporate sponsored control of America’s government.  I remember this time well as I was in college during the mid sixties and remember participating in anti-war rallies (once I realized the “domino theory” was a bunch of bunk).  I remember the passion on both sides of the war issue, the civil rights issue, and the other significant “battles” of the times (Medicare was part of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society”)  At Western Washington State College (now Western Washington University) it seemed as if EVERYONE was smoking marijuana – including many of the professors.  As I read Rosenfeld’s book I had to stop occasionally to think about my time in school during those years and wonder which ones of my acquaintances made it to the various FBI lists which were intended to inform our government which “subversives” should be arrested in the event of a national “emergency.”  (many “identified” through blatantly ILLEGAL surveillance) Rosenfeld spent almost 30 years fighting the FBI over Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents relating to the unrest at the University of California at Berkeley and the part Reagan played in those years – as well as information about FBI files on others.  His writing is based on over 300 THOUSAND pages of FBI (actual) documents (which the FBI REALLY didn’t want to go “public”).  I really hope many choose to read this book (it’s really a good read – well put together) just because it gives even more information (if you need it) on the damage Ronald Reagan did to this great nation prior to his becoming president. (Not to mention the damage perpetrated by J Edgar Hoover – many of the people today who are claiming they want to “protect” the 2nd amendment gun rights are the same people who have idolized both Reagan and Hoover and apparently have no concern for the 4th amendment)

The part that was really unnerving to me in all of this was all the evidence relating to Reagan’s part as an FBI informant when he was a member (eventually president) of the Screen Actors Guild.  This was during the time of the “Red Scare” years of Joseph McCarthy – who was working on the “outside.”  However, working on the “inside” was Hoover with the help of people like Reagan.  Apparently, this was a time in America when many saw a “Communist” under every rock.  The “fear mongering” was right up there with what we’ve come to expect from our politicians in the “21st century.”  Certainly Reagan and Hoover thought alike in that if someone was a “liberal” that meant they were “subversive.”  I believe the great divide that is causing America, today, to descend toward second tier status in the world began right there.  Many of the people who are leading the “right wing” charge in the United States today came on the scene during the so-called “Reagan Revolution.”  Reagan spoke ad nauseum about “law and order” – he had a quote on his office wall that said something like “follow the rules or get out” – yet, he apparently didn’t think that saying applied to himself.  Reagan affiliated himself, in a condescending manner, to Hoover – who was routinely violating the constitution he was sworn to uphold with illegal unwarranted surveillance (with Reagan’s encouragement), and Reagan carried on Hoover’s tradition (the rules don’t apply to me) through his years as president.  The epitome, for Reagan, was the Iran/Contra “affair” of which he managed to avoid any consequences (lots of “I can’t remembers”), but his “informing” on fellow (and unsuspecting) actors, to me, tells the “tale” of Ronald Reagan.  And, this is no longer conjecture, because it’s all documented in the files Rosenfeld got right from the FBI file cabinets.  Reagan helped ruin people’s lives because he disagreed with them!

Even though I’ve never been in a position to gain “mucho power” I understand how it would appeal to someone who’s ambitious and finds him/herself in the position Reagan was in during the late forties.  He was a successful actor and he became involved in the Screen Actors Guild.  (Now, if you don’t find that ironic you don’t think as I do – I place the major BLAME on today’s republican vendetta against UNIONS right on the doorstep of Ronald Reagan – former union president)  Reagan OUTED a significant number of famous actors and actresses as either “Commies” or “Liberals” during the fifties and sixties which directly led to his rise in politics.  This also led to the ruination, in some instances, of the victims’ careers due to his “information and accusations.”  Honestly, to this day it’s hard for me to think anything good about someone who would do that to his fellow “brothers and sisters” in his union.  According to the files Rosenfeld managed to acquire, Reagan’s informant status with Hoover led to FBI manipulation of events as Reagan was emerging in politics and running for governor of California in the mid sixties on to his push toward the presidency.  Reagan was unhappy with the anti-war turmoil, the Free Speech Movement, and other “movements” (including civil rights) that were originating on college campuses, with Berkeley being at the forefront of the protest movement.  The FBI placed informants into these groups, some who actually urged the groups to violate laws (in one instance an FBI informant supplied weapons to the Black Panthers in an attempt to increase violence and turn public opinion against the protestors).  The disregard for the privacy rights of individuals was pretty much routine by the FBI with the encouragement of Reagan.  In fact, according to the book “Subversives” Reagan’s approach to the campus protests led to more violence and he condoned it by protecting the police officers who shot and or abused protesters. (this was about the same time as the campus shootings at Kent State University and elsewhere)  Ultimately, one of Reagan’s first acts after his election to the presidency was to pardon a couple officers who had been convicted of shooting protesters.  (one innocent bystander was killed and another lost the sight in both eyes when hit by buckshot fired indiscriminately by police officers)  In this instance, as in so many others, Reagan took the position that he could interpret the law in whatever manner he chose despite overwhelming evidence against the officers who were pardoned (And, not even following well established protocol regarding presidential pardons).

The “fallout” from all of this, in my view, is the sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in today.  The so-called Patriot Act, which followed the “9/11” attack compromised our 4th amendment rights in a way that was alarming to people like me.  Subsequent to that, the congress was not able to hold the telecommunications companies, who were illegally providing “private” information to the Bush/Cheney administration, to account for their violation of the FISA law.  The FISA law was the direct result of the “Church Committee” discovering the abuses of Hoover and the FBI during the 1960’s and mid 1970’s.  This was a senate committee chaired by Frank Church of Idaho.  I remember, at the time (during the Watergate years), feeling as if the government was “working.”  However, emerging members of the republican party at that time, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, felt the executive branch was weakened by this legislation.  They were prominent in the Bush/Cheney administration which openly violated FISA and managed to get the Patriot Act passed and the FISA Act modified to allow the government more latitude in “intruding” on the privacy of the American public.  Unfortunately, in my view, Barrack Obama pretty much “sealed the deal” when he “looked forward instead of back” and blocked ALL investigations into the illegal activity of the Bush/Cheney administration.  So, now we’re stuck with a situation where the government (which is really “we the people”) is gathering who knows how much information from the unsuspecting public and it’s not part of the “main stream” of discussion.  Americans are focused on guns (as well they should be).  However my point is this:  The secret actions of Ronald Reagan: the informing, the spying, the illegal activity should drive his legacy.  His role in the degrading trend in America’s government today should not be glossed over with the typical “right wing” revisionist history.  The level of corruption in Washington DC is depressing, and the government response of “looking the other way” can be traced back to the years of Reagan.  Not only our government leaders but also the leaders on Wall Street and in the corporate headquarters are much too confident that they are above the law.  Sadly, people like Eric Holder (our Attorney General) and Barrack Obama seem to be perpetuating this problem, but I feel the “root” of the problem goes right back to the administration of Ronald Reagan.  Read “Subversives” by Seth Rosenfeld and see if you don’t agree.

I was thinking the other day about the outcome of all the “privatization” which has been imposed on America since the days of Ronald Reagan.  If you’re as old as I am the words “Government is the problem, not the solution” is indelibly etched in your mind as either the “root” of all the decline of the past 30+ years (if you think as I do) or the “call to arms” in the right wing attempt to dismantle the New Deal of the FDR years.  (and the New Deal’s aftermath, which included the great work of Eisenhower in creating the amazing interstate highway system and the “60’s” when we got Medicare, the Voting Rights Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964)  America’s great middle class was on the upswing during the post WW II years up until the 80’s with many of us “seniors” today being the beneficiaries of the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents through the years of the Great Depression and the second World War.  Somehow, we’ve allowed ourselves, as a nation, to let the right wing politicians (beginning with Reagan, but moving progressively farther to the right each decade since) to convince “we the people” that the government is not us.

The truth is that “we” are the government and, at least in my case, I continue to watch in amazement at how “we the people” keep electing people into government positions whose main objective is to destroy the very institutions they’re pledged to protect.  Reagan brought in the idea of “privatization” so that now we have private hospitals (up until the 80’s virtually all hospitals were “non profit”), private utilities, private security forces, private schools, private parks, private armies, private war contractors, and private prisons – just to mention a few of the results of this phenomenon.  There are many outgrowths of this type of policy thinking, and in my view most of them lead to further divisiveness in our nation.  That is, further separation of the “haves” from the “have nots.”  And, ultimately, if we continue down this path I believe civil unrest is inevitable.

The issue that brought this topic to my mind was a conversation I heard on the radio the other day (I had to subscribe to XM satellite radio because our local “liberal” talk radio was canceled for another dose of the Fox nightmare) regarding the alarming number of Black adults in the prison system of the U.S.  What was really startling to me was the discussion regarding “private prisons” that caused me to think in a way that would never happen if I was trusting the so-called “mainstream media” to provide me with information.  The discussion I tuned into was about how the operators of the private prisons are able to make sure that inmates are returned to their prison through political deal making with local politicians and law enforcement personnel through incentives that really amount to obscene examples of corruption.  Really, when you think about it, the purpose of prison “time” should be rehabilitation, but with a private prison the incentive is to keep the inmate incarcerated as long as possible because the operators of the prison don’t make money with “empty beds.”  This is crazy to me, just the idea that we would allow this to happen.

The hospital and health care system in America has evolved in the sense that medical procedures have advanced tremendously since my youth, but the availability of hospitals and medical services is dwindling as I write.  Despite the so-called “Affordable Care Act” I find a seemingly endless campaign to try to stop “health care reform” by the very people who’ve lost the last two elections in which health care reform was a major issue both times – the first time (2008) Americans saying they wanted “affordable healthcare” with a “public option” and the second time (2012) the voters saying they want “Obamacare” despite the FACT it is far less than what was envisioned during the initial campaign in 2008.  (I believe it will be painfully obvious how important the so-called “public option” was when this was all coming “down” as we see the private insurance companies attempting to gouge the public as the government “gifts” them 30 MILLION new customers)  I’ve seen reports where insurance companies (who, as I just said, are going to get millions of new customers) are threatening to raise rates even more substantially than they have over the previous 4 years and I’ve heard all sorts of other complaints about “socialized medicine” that sound to me as if they’re (the complaints) coming directly from the mouths of the Fox “news” bloviators or the right wing mouth pieces like Rush Limbaugh or Lars Larsen.  The brainwashing coming from the so-called “liberal media” (outlets like Fox “news,” The Wall Street Journal, CNN, etc.) even have acquaintances of mine who have no insurance and can get no insurance due to their previous medical issues believing that “Obamacare” is a bad thing.  The absurdity of this is beyond palpable.

One of my friends had a heart attack and needed quadruple bypass surgery to save his life.  The bill was over a quarter of a million dollars – an impossibility for him to pay.  Essentially, the hospital knowing that payment was impossible, “forgave” the debt.  A great thing for my friend (although I don’t think the doctor was as gracious – probably leading to some form of bankruptcy) but not so great for those of us who have been (and are) paying for health insurance (and, lucky enough to have it I might add).  I happen to be a person who has health issues and fortunately my insurance can’t be cancelled because I’m a member of a union and we have a large “group” that gets insurance through our employer.  (republicans want to destroy my union as well as all the remaining unions in America – God help us if they succeed)  I was recently in the hospital for around 24 hours for a surgery on my cervical spine.  The hospital bill was in excess of $40 THOUSAND for those 24 hours.  When my first daughter was born – back when hospitals were “non-profit” – my wife had a “C section” delivery (which is a major surgery) and she was in the hospital with my daughter for 4 days.  I had no insurance at the time, but the bill was $3000 which I was able to repay in less than two years (back then the prevailing wage was something less than $5 per hour).

I could go on with a list of examples where the “right wing” would have us believe we’re so much better off because of “privatization” that, in reality, are at best debatable – and, at worst – like the private prisons – a MAJOR sham on our society that is causing grief for the “least of us” (using the words of Jesus Christ) and a lot of profit for the wealthy among us who will do anything for money.  Since the days of Reagan our society has been on a steady course toward measuring success by money.  The result is clearly a widening of the gap between the rich and poor, a disintegration of America’s “middle class,” a disintegration of American families, a widening of the racial divide that so many have worked so hard to narrow, and what appears to me to be the creation of – or the attempt at creating – a permanent underclass through the undermining of the public education system.

The people pulling the republican “strings” are very sophisticated and, in my view, always one step ahead of the general public (and the democrats) in their actions.  When they are saying one thing out of one side of their mouths, it seems to me what they are really up to is what isn’t coming out of the other side of their mouths.  Take for example education, which I have a little knowledge about as a teacher for 20 years.  Once the Supreme Court had anointed George W Bush as president he immediately sought the passage of the so-called “no child left behind” legislation which was supposedly designed to bring all children to the same level of achievement by 2014.  To the unassuming person who believes our politicians are transparent and genuine I’m sure this sounded great.  Bush even got Teddy Kennedy to go along with his scheme (Kennedy realized he’d been snookered before he died, but it was then too late to “fix” the problem).  To educators the absurdity of the legislation was apparent from the 1st day.  For example, it’s unreasonable to expect a student with learning disabilities to be at the same level as a student who is fully capable.  If “parity” between the two different levels of students was realistic then the identifying of “special needs” (like autism, mental retardedness, dyslexia, emotional disorders, etc.) would be unnecessary.  However, the reality is that schools such as the one I work in have populations of “special needs” students with as many as 15 -20% of the students.  With “life skills” students, the teachers are, in some instances, teaching a student how to communicate the most basic of human needs.  These students shouldn’t even be taking tests.  Yet, Bush’s “no child left behind” legislation required EVERY student to be judged based on a single test each year – and, the result of that legislation continues to erode our education system as I type this.  I believe the legislation was intended to erode our public school system – that was actually its purpose. (with the intended result – private schools)

Schools are judged on whether their students are meeting “adequate yearly progress” and the standards, at least for schools such as mine, are virtually impossible for some students to meet.  It’s just a matter of time until my school, and most other public schools – are “failing.”  Yet, I see miraculous examples of students who are coming from generational poverty pulling themselves OUT all the time – so, to me the school I teach in is not a failing school no matter what the test scores say.  I’m not opposed to testing the students – it’s a way for me to measure whether my own students have grown appropriately over the course of a school year in the subject areas I’m teaching – but, the state mandated “high stakes” testing is causing too many schools to focus on test results and not on what is best overall for their students.  Aside from my contention that I believe “no child left behind” was part of the scheme to eliminate public schools and “privatize” education in America (again, God help us if the republicans succeed at this) – which will exacerbate that divide between the “haves” and “have nots” even more – I’ve come to believe that another “offshoot” of the bill could be what I see as the attempt to create a “permanent underclass” of workers willing to work for less – the large number of young Americans who are dropping out of school because of the focus on testing and going to college that apparently makes graduating from high school seem less important to so many.  I’ve got sixth graders who are already “giving up” because they can’t see a “light at the end of the tunnel.”  They believe the testing is identifying them as the “losers.”

Another despicable aspect of this “privatization” scheme and the “no child left behind” legislation which caused virtually EVERY state in the union to have a need for the “high stakes” tests – is that President Bush’s brother Neil is making a “killing” selling testing materials that are required based on his brother’s “signature” legislation.  This is how the privatization scheme works.  As I see it, there’s a shrinking group of very wealthy Americans/foreigners who are in charge of the multinational corporations which, behind the scenes, control America’s politicians who are legitimizing this turn away from the New Deal toward the idea of privatization.  When congress closes down part of the government and gives the “authority” to another private enterprise – this cabal of wealthy individuals who seemingly have an insatiable desire for MORE money – ALWAYS come out WAY AHEAD – while the American public continues to be the ones “left behind.”  They’re even doing this in war.

If you remember, the Bush/Cheney regime privatized a large portion of the FIASCO in Iraq and Afghanistan – “wars” which were seemingly endless – but, wars where the “cronies” of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld – and, they themselves – made HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars (dollars borrowed by the people who are now whining about our horrendous debt).  I’ve read where Dick Cheney’s holdings in Halliburton (a company that moved it’s headquarters to Dubai in order to avoid American legal scrutiny over their corrupt practices in Iraq – with virtually NO BLOW-BACK from our “liberal media”) increased over $100 MILLION during the Iraq Fiasco, Donald Rumsfeld’s holdings increased a similar amount, and Douglas Feith made a huge “killing” as well (no pun intended).  I believe Richard Perle, a former assistant Secretary of Defense and an associate of Paul Wolfowitz – both men major instigators of the invasion of Iraq – started a company which was set up to profit off of no-bid private security contracts in Iraq)  To me this is unthinkable, but evidently in our age of “privatization” any way you can make money is acceptable.  Halliburton and their subsidiary KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) have a long history of “allegedly” overcharging the government, kickbacks, bribery, etc. and they continue to receive open ended no-bid contracts from the pentagon with no sign that I’ve seen of any accountability for their corrupt practices or their sloppy work.  It just seems that whenever they want to “privatize” something, someone is getting filthy rich as a result – and, “we the people” are always the losers.

I don’t question whether large corporations provide benefits to the American public, but I question the motivation of the people who continue to insist that private business is always more efficient than government.  The reality, in my view, is that there should be no profit in war, hospitals should be non-profit, the idea of “private prisons” is absurd, destroying public education so that the “wealthy among us” can send their children to private schools with public “vouchers” is a not so subtle attack on our students born into poverty, and we DEFINITELY don’t need private militias (like Blackwater) and private contractors fleecing America’s taxpayers with their will for endless “wars.” (actually, I don’t believe either the invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq are officially declared wars)  The people behind this movement for privatization are the same people who support no regulations on Wall Street, they support all the tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Switzerland, etc., and they are behind the effort to prevent congress from repealing tax loopholes for major corporations which allow many companies (like GE, Microsoft, Apple, etc.) from paying, in some instances, ANY taxes – or in many cases an amount that even approaches the traditional expectation corporations faced for their tax bills (percentage wise) in the years following WW II leading up to the days of “Reaganomics.”  The statistics are undeniable: since the days of Reagan the incomes of the wealthy in America have risen dramatically while the income of the working class (despite huge increases in productivity) has stagnated or declined.  Privatization works for the wealthy and Wall Street, but not for those of us on Main Street.

Honestly, I’m not sure when (if ever during my remaining lifetime) the public is going to become so outraged over the BullCrap coming out of Washington DC, and mostly instigated by a republican party gone so far amuck that they are unrecognizable to someone my age who can genuinely remember the days of Eisenhower and the sixties.  I’ve been railing against “trickle down” economics since the day Ronald Reagan was elected.  It made no sense then, it’s made no sense in the years since, and it makes no sense going forward.  Yet, after another sound thrashing from the (national) polls, here we have the republican party continuing to prostitute themselves to the very wealthy and the corporate elite in America.  The “trickle down” theory was presented as an economic philosophy that would advance the “world” of the working class as the wealthy in America would “trickle down” the tax benefits they received from progressively larger tax breaks through the creation of better jobs and higher wages.  The reality is that this philosophy is really a “trickle up” economic plan that is SQUEEZING as much wealth out of the middle class into the bank accounts of America’s wealthy class and corporate executives as the foolish American public will continue to allow.

Today, in the republican leaders of Congress’s all out effort to prevent their benefactors (pimps) from losing tax breaks that are obscene when you look at them up close (like Oil Companies cashing in to the tune of tens of BILLIONS in breaks while making profits that seemingly break records quarter after quarter) you’ll hear the “water carriers” like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Lars Larsen, Bill O’Reilly (and the like – people who’ll say whatever the Koch’s and the others behind the scenes pushing our fossil fuel economy tell them to say – abusing their place on our public airwaves) tell us the $85 BILLION in across the board cuts triggered by the “sequester” are nothing more than a “drop in the bucket” compared to the size of our economy.  However, the only sure thing I can see about this is that those people won’t feel it at all – the people who will feel the effects of this STUPID form of governing are, again, mostly going to be people at the “bottom rungs” of our economy.  I’m certainly not opposed to cutbacks in our government, it’s just the RIDICULOUS way everything has to happen in Washington DC these days because the republicans are so adamant about holding on to a tax system that clearly favors the wealthiest among us.

I (and many others) have seen this coming for years.  It just keeps getting progressively worst.  The only time I can remember when there was a plethora of jobs being created and a healthy economy for the people in the middle class during the years since Reagan was elected was in the years of the Clinton administration.  However, when I look back on those years I can see the workings of this invisible group of RICH right wing, racist individuals at work chipping away at the foundation of our nation which emerged after World War II and the aftermath of the New Deal – which the Kochs and the others involved in this “attack” HATE with passion.  (I’m beginning to think the only thing they HATE more than the New Deal is having a Black President)  These people are smart, they’ve got UNLIMITED financial resources, and they’ve been at this for well over 30 years and they’re not “going away” until the American public WISES UP!

As successful as many progressive Americans view the Clinton years, two things happened which are compounding our problems almost exponentially as we evolve into the “21st Century.”  First, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has turned THOUSANDS of independent media outlets into a dangerously few corporate GIANTS who are suppressing information in an alarming manner.  Clinton went along with this STUPID law and now we’re all paying the price.  The second MAJOR BLUNDER was the repeal of the Glass Steagall act toward the end of Clinton’s second term.  This was the action that has allowed the so-called “Too Big to Fail” banks to emerge – again with seemingly endless supplies of financial resources which they’re using to manipulate the system and it also allowed much of the exotic trading and speculation that is fueling the financial markets and has turned Wall Street into a glorified GAMBLING Casino.  There is so much wealth on Wall Street now that any push back is met with MASSIVE financial resources aimed at destroying the careers of any politician who would dare to attempt to re-regulate their casinos.

These people have a stacked Supreme Court which burdened us all with the “Citizens United” decision that is the worst case of judicial overreach in my lifetime coming from the people who constantly complain about judicial activism.  The Robert’s Court overturned something like 100 years of congressional attempts to control campaign finance abuses by, essentially, opening the spigots of the bank accounts from people like Charles and David Koch who have BILLIONS to burn in order to protect their fossil fuel empire and other wealthy individuals and corporations who have a stake in manipulating our electoral process.  (Kind of the same theory as the NRA gun lobbyists claiming the way to stop gun violence is to produce MORE guns!)  Citizens United has empowered wealthy elites from outside the U.S. to be able to use their money (surreptitiously) to influence our future elections.  This is ABSURD, yet the “liberal media” (which is firmly in the control of about nine “conservative” corporations) says virtually NOTHING about it from the standpoint of informing the general public.  News Corp, which is run by a right wing Australian (who’s donating MILLIONS to republcan candidates for office around the country) owns the Wall Street Journal, Fox “News,” and many other “news” outlets which are going to broadcast or print a perspective that comes right out of the republican caucus.  Fox “News” is so blatantly ABSURD as a “news” outlet, that it’s embarrassing to me as an educator that the American people tune into that network AT ALL.  The head of Fox “News” – Roger Ailes – is nothing more than a republican operative.  The result of this situation (again, I believe it’s the result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) is the divisive nature of our present political discourse where we’ve gotten to the point that virtually NOTHING of significance will be accomplished in the next two years.

The solution?  Well, the solution is clearly that one of the two parties needs to be TOTALLY defeated.  While I’ve never felt that “one party rule” is healthy – that is clearly the objective the republicans have been working for over these past 30+ years – as Karl Rove calls it – “The permanent republican majority.”  Well, hopefully, the American people haven’t lost sight of how disastrous that would be.  They fought off the latest attempt to pull this off by defeating Mitt Romney in 2012 despite something like 3 BILLION being spent by the wealthy elite of America to get the Black guy out of the White House.  Obviously, they’ve (the republicans) hardly slowed down since that election.  And, they’ve got the power to stop everything because of their control of the majority in the House of Representatives – hence, the sequester.  Those who want to pin the sequester on President Obama evidently forget that it’s the result of republicans blackmailing the president (and the nation) over the “debt ceiling” in 2012 which led to it.  (which will likely be the next big fiasco as the debt “crisis” comes to a “head” again in the next month or so)  So, as I’ve been saying for several years now, there’s only one solution for people like me who consider themselves “progressive” (OK, Liberal – as I’ve stated many times on this site, years ago I thought I was a conservative – it’s just that compared to these republicans I’m a “flaming” liberal) and that is the TOTAL defeat of the republican party at the ballot box.

That will, if you’ve been paying attention for the past few years, not be easy.  Even though there are a lot more people who identify with the democratic party (certainly with the traditional ideals of the democratic party going back to the days of FDR) the republicans have been VERY BUSY manipulating voting districts (gerrymandering) around the nation in a way where they’re planning to be able to win and keep control of congress and the White House with less than a majority of votes.  (As I write, they’re busy trying to change the rules in some key swing states to take advantage of their gerrymandering – vis a vi – electoral votes – to further strengthen their position in national elections with a minority of votes)  In fact, they actually pulled this off in 2012 in the House congressional elections.  Nation wide democratic House candidates received something approaching 2 MILLION more votes than republican candidates, yet the republicans continue to have a strong control of the “lower chamber” of congress.  I believe the solution is to start targeting the leaders – like Mitch McConnell who is the leading republican obstructionist in the senate.  He’s terribly UNPOPULAR in his home state and he’s due to come up for re-election in 2014.  I don’t have much money, but I’m prepared to start donating to the cause to defeat McConnell once a viable democratic candidate is on the scene.  Then there’s John Boehner, the Speaker of the House.  The guy’s shown signs of alcohol issues, he spends more time on the golf course than in the House Chamber and he comes from Ohio – where, I have to believe there’s someone there who could challenge his position.  There’s many like myself who would donate small amounts that might, in total, allow someone to unseat Boehner.   And, the guy in Wisconsin who ran along side Romney, Paul Ryan – certainly the good people of Wisconsin can come up with a challenge to get him out of office.  (I’ve donated more money to Wisconsin democrats than any place else because I consider the good people of Wisconsin who stood up to the Koch’s and Scott Walker to be ground zero in the fight to repeal this republican nightmare that has been destroying America since the day George W Bush was installed into the White House by the Supreme Court)

You would have thought that after GW Bush was out of the nation’s capital that the American people would have had enough – two unfunded, incompetently prosecuted wars along with an economy in meltdown should have been enough to give us a break from this tax breaks for the wealthy philosophy of government – actually, people who openly profess to HATE government wanting to “run it” so that they can destroy it from the inside.  It’s so crazy that, again, I’m embarrassed that enough American citizens can’t figure this out.  And, it’s true that this latest “crisis” – the sequester – will not directly affect many Americans ( at least in the near term) – the problem that I see is the a large percentage of those affected will be middle class Americans or Americans who are suffering in poverty.  From a cutting standpoint, in my mind, exactly the WRONG place to be cutting.  The only encouraging thing I can think about all of this is that I’m finally hearing rhetoric from the president which implies that maybe he’s now got his fighting shoes on.  This will eventually need to be brought to a “head” and, undoubtedly, the republicans in the House are going to “shut down” the government again – just as they did in the 1990’s when Newt Gingrich was the Speaker of the House.  The reward for all of this anti-government tea party crap needs to come at the ballot box in 2014 – and, my hope is that Boehner and company will inspire the vast majority of Americans who consider them incompetent to focus on removing as many republicans from congress as possible in 2014.  It will be an uphill battle due to the issues I’ve related above – the media controlled by right wing corporations, the gerrymandering of congressional districts, and probably most important the money that will be spent on behalf of the politicians willing to prostitute themselves to the republican sheep mentality due to the Citizens United decision.

Every year going forward that one Supreme Court decision will make it more difficult for “we the people” to actually control who our elected officials are.  I guarantee you, right now as I’m writing this, people like the Koch brothers are regrouping from the 2012 defeat and they’re planning on how to best use their BILLIONS to make it the democrats who are sent packing in 2014 and beyond.   I’ve said this many times on this site – and, somehow I hope President Obama and the democratic leaders in congress read my words:  This is WAR!  It’s a war for the heart and soul of this great nation I love.  (To the benefactors of the republican politicians, America is nothing more than a source for their great wealth!)

I just finished reading a book, given to me from one of my republican friends from church, written by Tony Evans and called “Kingdom Man.”  I almost didn’t read the book because right on the cover it says “Focus on the Family” which is the right wing enterprise of James Dobson.  I’ve been to Focus on the Family’s headquarters in Colorado and I’ve listened to Dobson on the radio many times and, as I’ve been attempting to educate myself to the REAL on-goings of our government since GW Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, Dobson keeps coming up in different books as one of the most divisive people who have a “national stage” in America.  Dobson is one of the leaders in the movement over the past 30+ years to turn the word “liberal” into a “dirty word.”  I’ve also read, in several instances (which I’m not going to go back to find so I can specifically point them out), about Dobson’s behind the scenes involvement in the right wing thrust of the republican party these past 35 years or so that has resulted in our nation crumbling from the effect of the so-called “Christian Right” providing republicans with a block of voters who vote their way without questioning their (the republicans) true agenda.  That all being said, I read the book because my friend agreed to read one book that I will provide him.  (We’ll see on that – I’m going to give him “The Family of Secrets” by Russ Baker – a thorough and provocative study of the “Bush dynasty” – by far the best I’ve read on the Bush family)

Tony Evans is an African American pastor of a Mega Church in Dallas Texas.  He’s the chaplain for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Mavericks and his resume, to me, is impeccable from top to bottom.  Evans is a great example of what is possible in America – that anyone can come from humble (or less than humble) circumstances and achieve great success.  And, he’s clear in pointing out that success doesn’t mean achieving at the level he’s managed to achieve at, but being a “Kingdom Man” is a goal all men can (and should) strive for.  I’m not going to get too much into the details of the book other than to say that it is clearly Christian based and that, in my view, it points out some realities about America that are undeniable.  The thrust of the book focuses on the problems created in America by the failure of so many men to live up to the responsibility of being first, a husband and then a father, and it goes on to point out the other responsibilities necessary for men if America is going to actually “change” direction – as so many of us desire.  As I read this book, some thoughts I’ve been struggling with gained a bit of clarity.

At this point I need to add a little about my background.  I’m old enough to have a medicare card, I’m a school teacher nearing retirement, I’m a Christian and I look forward to my time in church each week.  However, that’s where the “rub” starts and, hopefully, where Evan’s book might bring me some clarity in my own thinking.  Ever since I accepted Christ into my life as my “Lord and savior” I’ve struggled with the reality that so many of my good friends from church are part of this “Christian Right” that I mentioned above.  I’ve been uncomfortable being around people who make derogatory comments about “liberals” evidently not knowing I’m a “liberal.”  (actually, I always considered myself a conservative for years, but the republicans have moved so far to the “right” that I guess I’m finally comfortable with the “liberal” tag)  I was offended in 2003 by the enthusiasm coming from my church ( and churches across America) as we invaded Iraq (and pretty much destabilized the entire world).  And, I’ve been discouraged in the years since as I’ve come to realize the large number of “Christians” who vote republican as a block without taking the time to find out the TRUTH about who and what they’re voting for.  This block of voters (I was tempted to use the term “sheep”) has enabled the republican party to chip away at the very foundation of America because very few question anything and the ones who do are quickly considered “Persona non Grata” inside the party.  It has also allowed the surreptitious power-grab by large corporate and wealthy interest groups to gain a stranglehold on the party continually pushing it farther to the “right.”  (Dobson is a part of that  “surreptitious” group – he runs a BILLION dollar plus enterprise)

Let me quickly add that in my “research” of what’s been going on – REALLY going on with our government – the abuses show up on “both sides of the isle.”  I just recently finished a post pointing out my frustration with HARRY REID and the democratic establishment that, to me, doesn’t have the spine to do what’s “right” to clean up Washington DC – so, please don’t respond to anything I say here by saying something along the lines of “But the democrats……..”  I’m really tired of that response to my complaint about what the republicans are doing to America.  It’s abundantly clear that the same “special interests” who have a stranglehold on the republican party have enough excess cash to succeed in buying off a sufficient number of democrats to further their selfish interests.  That’s not the point here.  In Evan’s book, he’s laying out a plan for how by simply calling the American adult males to “man up” so many of our problems could be addressed in a positive way.  And, the reality is that I agree with him.

I’ve been teaching the sixth grade for near 20 years in a high poverty school.  I’ve seen first hand, OVER and OVER, the damage done to young children when they are in fatherless homes, or homes with abusive fathers.  By the time young boys (and girls too, but I’m going to focus on the males here – that’s the focus of Evan’s book) get to the sixth grade the damage is often MAJOR.  As a teacher, I feel that for many of my students I’m fighting for their lives.  I’m often shocked (well, the truth is that not much shocks me any more – but, it used to) when sixth graders at the age of 11 demonstrate “street knowledge” I didn’t have when I was finishing high school.  It is not rare for me to have students who are essentially raising themselves.  My students regularly watch R rated movies I wouldn’t watch myself.  I’ve had 11 year olds bring alcohol into the classroom (and actually drink it there), they’re exposed to all kinds of drugs, and most have no idea what an education might do for them in the future.  In fact, when I ask them what their thoughts about the future are, most say “huh?”  And, then add, “I don’t have any thoughts about the future.”  (Well, there are the ones who are going to be NFL or NBA stars)  I totally agree with Evans that this is a national problem.  Most of these students of mine are in single parent families and education isn’t on their scale of priorities.

The result of this societal breakdown in our family structures – Evans has the statistics about marriage, divorce, etc. and they’re sobering to say the least – is not only undermining the fabric of our nation, it is causing HUGE expense to deal with the results of all these wayward children “down the road.”  Evans has the statistics for that as well, and the costs are in the HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars to our society.  All the men who end up incarcerated, all the teen pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies, all the members of society who are performing at a level well below their potential is costly to society.  Yet, it seems to me that we’re not only not doing anything about this problem (I believe you can make a case that it’s the most difficult and most important challenge facing our society – the breakdown of the family structure) it’s not even on the radar screen.  That’s where I got a little bit of a sense of clarity about my own thinking as I read Evan’s book.

I’ve been writing about how the republican party as it is presently constituted needs to be defeated, exiled,  I’m not sure what the correct word is, but it needs to be a thing of the past.  Not because I’m totally against the republican party – over the years of my voting life I’ve voted for many republicans – it’s just that once I started looking into the “inner workings” of the party after the Iraq invasion (keep in mind, I’m from the Viet Nam era – and, I was convinced in my mind that something like that could never again happen in America) I’ve discovered many unnerving things.  From books like “The Family” and “The Shock Doctrine” and “Blackwater” and “Fiasco” and “Crazy for God” and “Family of Secrets” and I could go on and on, you get a picture that’s – well, to me – un-American.  There’s a propaganda campaign going on that is right out of the annals of Joseph Goebbels from the Third Reich where republicans are following Goebbels’ “Big Lie theory” to a tee.  They’ve got a network of “talking heads” who use the same key terms and repeat them over and over until the unsuspecting public believes their lie is actually the truth.  You’ve got to turn to books such as I mentioned previously to get a perspective that isn’t molded in some secret place and spammed onto America’s airwaves in order to control an unsuspecting public – many of which are the members of the “Christian Right.”  I can’t tell you how many people I know who believe what comes out of Rush Limbaugh’s mouth, or Sean Hannity’s, or Bill O’Reilly’s, or Lars Larsen’s (the local, to me, “mouthpiece”), or what they see and hear on Fox News.  I’ve had friends, when I show them the information that refutes what they’ve heard on Fox, crumble the paper (without reading it), throw it on the ground, and say “That’s liberal garbage.”

For starters, it doesn’t take long to identify these aforementioned people as racists.  This, of course, has become painfully obvious since the election of Barrack Obama.  But, anyone who takes any kind of an open minded look at what comes from Limbaugh’s mouth can’t question whether he’s a racist or not.  He’s right up front with it.  That’s why he only lasted one night on “Monday Night Football.”  The racist rhetoric just flows freely from his mouth.  And, this has been clearly the motivation behind the so-called “Tea Party” movement, which pushed the republican party even farther toward total extremism once Obama was elected.  The reality is there’s a large segment of America which is not ready to face the reality that this nation is getting “less white” all the time and that our president is Black (disagree? Then, explain to me why republicans are so open about “If Obama’s for it, we’re against it!” – even when it’s their own idea).  That issue alone has caused me great concern with so many people I know being associated with the republican party.  I don’t see how you can profess to be a “Christian” and associate yourself with racist views – to me, that’s not the Christianity that I believe in.  So, I’m in this quandary of  agreeing with the premise that Evans presents in his well written book, but having the same struggle I’ve had for years – and that’s the association with this “Christian Right” that just continues to perpetuate republican obstruction and divisiveness.  I long ago determined that I’m not going to allow these people to cause me to give up my Christian beliefs – I’ve recognized that, if what I believe is true, then the “judgement” will take place (as to who’s correct) when I’m no longer able to write in this “blog.”

So, here’s what seems to be gaining clarity in my mind.  Evans talks about how the solution to our problems of the family structure and the role of men in our society is a “bottom up” solution and I agree.  But, I also feel it is a societal problem and until our society is willing to address it and to put resources towards a solution (by resources, I mean both financial and intellectual) the slide in the wrong direction will continue.  And, this is where Evans will probably think I’m really off base, I believe the first step is to somehow end this partnership with the “Christian Right” and the republican party.  I’m not in any way suggesting Christians should support the democratic party.  In fact, in my mind neither party as they’re constituted should be supported regardless.  Lately, I’ve been voting democratic, but mainly because I’m voting against the republican agenda.  I would like to see a situation where both parties (or others should they emerge) can’t count on blocks of people who will support them “blindly.”  Without the “Christian” block, I can guarantee you the republican party would have to be more willing to work toward solutions that represent the needs of the “people” over the needs of their corporate sponsors, and the same is true with the democratic party.

Additionally, I believe the “Christian Right’s” affiliation with the republican party has turned more people away from Christianity than most people imagine.  As I study American History, the reality is that many of the progressive programs that came together under the New Deal during FDR’s time originated from Christian sources.  If you read “Crazy for God” you get an idea how the republican party created this disingenuous partnership with Christians (led by Francis Shaeffer and his son Frank – who now regrets his actions) over the abortion issue.  This was their superficial strategy to lock in this huge voting block (the so-called “pro-life” movement – which I could do an entire post on that issue itself) and it has worked.  Most of my friends who blindly vote republican still base their vote on this one issue – with little knowledge of what else they’re voting for.  So, what I’m suggesting is the first step in creating an atmosphere where the vision of Tony Evans might be realized is to break up this unhealthy “partnership.”  If we could eliminate the divisiveness that has been the mantra of people like Dobson, Limbaugh, and so many others on the “right” maybe we could create a dialogue which would actually address the issue of the role of men in our society.

I’m one who was essentially raised without  a father (not totally, but certainly  my father was not a “kingdom man”) and, in my adult life, I’ve discovered some of the damage done during my childhood that has permeated into issues during my adult life.  This is not unusual, but I agree with Evans that the way to turn America around is first in the family structure, and the key to that is men who are righteous (I’ll leave the discussion of what that means to another day).  Children naturally want fathers and when they grow up without fathers there’s a huge “hole” in their life.  This is a huge problem in America and, in my view, it won’t get addressed – it won’t even be on the agenda – in our present climate.  And, I’m not suggesting that breaking up the republican party is the solution.  To me, it’s just the first step.  However, if we can get beyond the intransigence, the divisiveness, and the obstructionism maybe these problems will become part of the dialogue and people who think like Tony Evans will then have a platform that leads to a national discussion and attempts to find workable solutions to this problem.  I’ll end by saying, the sad reality is that this “Christian”/republican “partnership” is fueling the divisiveness in America which prevents solutions to most problems “Christians” should care about.

I have a son who I believe is becoming entrenched into what I see as a “permanent underclass” of disenchanted young Americans who are not able to process why things seem so hopeless.  He’s not the “cookie cutter” young person who’s going to find the socially acceptable “pathway” (which is way too narrow as it is) appealing at all and, despite my efforts to explain what’s “happening” as I see it, motivating him to participate in “society”  is extremely difficult.  He’s one of the MILLIONS of young people in today’s world who gain their satisfaction in the world of video games and obscenely provocative graphic presentations (movies, games, music, etc.) and shows no sign of wanting to join the “mainstream.”  Government, to him, is a misnomer.  It’s true he brings much of his dilemma upon himself, but as a parent, it’s frustrating to feel as if I’m climbing a steep uphill battle as I attempt to convince him he has a part in the future of this great nation.

In our latest conversation he commented that when he goes back to school (I really hope he does that) he wants to learn a foreign language so he can move to a different country.  I’m formulating in my mind how to address this (underneath it all, he’s a very gifted young man – someone who should be able to find a place in our society) when I get an email about how Jeff Merkley, the US Senator from Oregon – one of the few members of the Senate in Washington I feel my son might be able to look up to – got redressed by HARRY REID because of his (Merkley’s) aggressive push to get the senate rules regarding the filibuster changed.  That one was almost too much for me – not only was Merkley attacked (and probably disciplined) by the democratic leadership, but the filibuster essentially was NOT CHANGED!  This news is beyond discouraging, it’s DEPRESSING.

I’ve written piece after piece about the damage being done to our political system by the right wing republican party, but there’s always been the undertone of democrats who lack the spine to do anything about it.  And, now Reid has publicly told us all that if anyone else in the Democratic party wants to push for REAL progressive change, this is what they can expect.  The reality is that Reid is every bit the Washington insider who’s been bought and paid for by the corporate elite many times over.  Just as in 2008, for me, the election of 2012 is immediately being followed by a series of red flags suggesting that the democratic party is not “up to the task” of changing the environment in Washington.  When you think about it, why would they.  Democratic congresspersons are just as likely to hold lucrative lobbying positions once they’ve been “outed” as are republicans.  It just kind of gives all of us who are naive enough to think there might really be a change of direction in this nation a quick dose of REALITY.

Division and dysfunction are proving to be very profitable to everyone who’s got a place on the inside.  Think about it, in the last election media companies were the recipients of BILLIONS in spending on political advertisements – do you really think they want that to stop?  And, the dysfunction seems to be driving America’s wealthiest individuals and corporations to be willing to spend unlimited amounts to protect their interests (no matter whether their interests are in the interest of the rest of us).  Where is that money going?  Well, aside from the political advertising (which is a sufficient threat to people like Merkley because of the enormity of the potential “backlash” as punishment for being truly “progressive” – just ask Sherrod Brown who was hit by almost $50 MILLION in “attack ads” during his previous senatorial campaign as a “reward” for standing up against “big oil” and standing for “single payer” health care in America – the reality of the situation here is sick) which can work for or against different politicians depending on what kind of “stand” they’re willing to take it’s also going straight into the campaign “coffers” of those congresspersons who “cooperate.”  Republicans are very COVERT in their expectation that EVERYONE  in their caucus “toes the line,” (unless, of course, you want a “primary challenge”) but I don’t see the democrats as much better.  We’ll see how this plays out for Senator Merkley, but the clear message is – don’t challenge the party leadership – even if they’re clearly “stuck in the mud.”

Think about the 3+ BILLION spent on lobbying for the “Affordable Care Act.”  Where do you think that money went?  I can guarantee you that if you look closely at the “coffers” of the congress people in the center of that fiasco (republicans OR democrats)  A LOT OF MONEY went from corporate interests into the campaign treasure chests of the people voting up or down on the legislation.  Here’s the bigger rub:  We all KNOW what’s going on, many of us want this corrupt system CLEANED UP, yet this crap just keeps happening OVER AND OVER.  Now, not only do those of us who consider ourselves “liberal” feel we have no one to turn to (the republican response to Reid’s actions regarding the filibuster was: we’ve defeated the liberals again!), but we’ve got another two years of watching republicans block EVERY attempt to move America back toward the New Deal with one filibuster after another.  The word I used earlier is still appropriate:  DEPRESSING!  (here’s another part of this that just shows how sick our “system” is – as with the so-called “public option” element in the Affordable Care Act the repeal of the filibuster garners public support from about 3 out of every 4 American voters – yet. our congress doesn’t hesitate to thumb their noses at “we the people”)

I keep telling my son that this corporate raid on our government is nothing new.  It happened in the late 1800’s, the parallels with what’s going on in America today and what was happening in the 1920’s are startling, and I believe we will, as a society, evolve past this and end up in a better direction.  It’s just that we also have histories of “lost generations” and I’m trying to get him to understand he’s got to fight his way out of the depressing state where you feel as if you have no future.  I just can’t bring myself to believe America will ultimately choose the way of Ayn Rand over the way of Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln.  And, no, I haven’t read “Atlas Shrugged” beyond brief summaries, but I don’t see America as a “me” society.

In the 1980’s I could see this present dilemma  on the horizon.  Even though Ronald Reagan was far from what I guess you’d call a “Randian” he ushered in the “Young Republicans” who have evolved into today’s Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, Jack Abramoff, and others who seem willing to do or say anything provided it moves the selfish interests of their wealthy donors forward.  I remember thinking back then, “these people are all about ‘me’ and turned off by ‘we’ when they talk about the role government should play in a society. (One thing I’ve found very curious over the years is that – from what I’ve read – Ayn Rand was an atheist – yet, many of my acquaintances who seem to have leanings toward her thinking are Christians)  In fact, Rove and Norquist seem to be the leaders of the group that professes to hate government – yet, wants to control it.  The only thing I can take from that is they want to make sure they squeeze as much wealth out of the “system” as they can “while the gettin’s good.”

Here’s another part of the scenario that makes it seem depressing.  These republicans just lost another national election – they’ve lost 5 of the last 6 national elections (remember Bush v Gore – Gore won a substantial majority of the vote) – this despite a HUGE advantage from the money standpoint.  But, the people behind this movement have been losing elections for many many years (we’re talking now about the Koch Brothers and some of their peers).  They won’t even slow down to take a breath.  The amount of financial resources at their disposal is unending.  And, they’ve got sufficient control of the “liberal media” that it’s unlikely the general public will wise up to what they’re doing anytime soon. Additionally, they’ve become EXTREMELY sophisticated.   They’re not only making a play in the national scene, but they’ve got their fingerprints all the way down to local municipal governments.  The damage being done across the nation to unions from right wing governors who are working somewhat covertly from the nation’s attention (except for Wisconsin and Ohio) could be damaging for many years.  I even went to a “free” presentation on the economics of poverty – presented as professional development by my school district – designed for teachers to take back into the classroom – that was put on by one of the offshoots of the Koch’s Heritage Institute.  I was the only person in the room of about 35 teachers (mostly high school) who even questioned the reliability of the presentation – which came across to me as propaganda.  The Kochs (and others of their ilk) are finding very creative ways to get their message out on an unsuspecting public.  I would have had no problem with what they were doing had they only been willing to be up front with who they were representing (according to the presentation, there is essentially no poverty in America – because our “poor” are so much better off than, say, the poor in Africa).

As stated above, unfortunately, those of us who want this LIBERAL push-back to the previous right wing movement America has experienced in the past 30+ years have to depend on people like Harry Reid to make it happen – and, that’s not an encouraging thought.  It’s like everyone in Washington DC espouses “change” but they all seem terrified of it.  I’ll end this by saying:  Harry Reid’s reluctance to end the filibuster is just a symptom of the bigger problem.  And, the “bigger problem” is very complicated and will never get resolved with intransigence on one side and fear on the other.  The saddest part to me is watching so many gifted young Americans essentially saying screw it – there’s no place in this society for me.  Without a concerted effort to fight back from the “left” the Ayn Rand thinkers will continually get closer to their goal and there will be more “riff raff” thrown away along the road.  What I don’t think they realize is that eventually their philosophy will be in direct conflict with Marxism.  And, eventually, people like my son will be saying “there’s way more of us than there are of them” and the “lid” could “blow off.”  I hope it never gets to that but people like Harry Reid need to figure out who’s side they’re on.

I just posted another in my long line of rantings about how the republican party, in my view, is undermining this nation.  Those in the background of that party, the ones “pulling the strings,” have little interest in anything more than their own wealth.  This has been clear for years, but they have such a stranglehold on the “messaging” that takes place in America, that they’ve literally gotten away with “murder” over the years.  I’m saying that as I read “A Family of Secrets” for the second time, a book following the “Bush dynasty” as none other I’ve read, and while documenting the life of George HW (Poppy) Bush it sheds enormous light on the machinations of the American government’s “insiders” over the past 60+ years and leaves an alarming concern in my mind as to the “real” United States of America.  This book gives what appears to be a well thought out scenario of how the CIA, the oil industry, the eastern “elite,” and a group of right wing thugs have steered America in a direction that is almost opposite from what they’ve been able to foist on the public through the so-called “liberal media” and a Goebbels like propaganda campaign.

People like George HW Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and others (many no longer with us) keep “popping up” and essentially making themselves wealthier and more powerful while spinning a sham on the rest of us that may never be totally uncovered.  The evidence, as I see it, is overwhelming that HW Bush spent the first half of his adult working life (after his Yale “Skull and Bones” years) as some type of agent for the CIA.  As opposed to Valerie Plame, it appears that “Poppy” Bush has managed to avoid being “outed” by the above mentioned “liberal media” that seems devoid of real investigative reporters.  As you read this book it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that both JFK and Richard Nixon were victims of our own CIA (which has been “connected at the hip” with the oil industry since its inception) – not to mention Martin Luther King, Jr. and RFK.  While it was hard for me to understand how they would “out” Nixon, the outing of JFK was not hard to understand.  In fact, the way that murder was “covered up” – officially with the anemic Warren Commission (which was stacked with Kennedy haters including, of all people, Allen Dulles who Kennedy had fired as CIA chief following the Bay of Pigs fiasco) shows that the problems with our investigative journalists goes way back farther than I had imagined.  When you see that Dulles (who was a certified Kennedy “hater”) was leading an investigation into an assassination that was probably pulled off by the CIA (which he had been in charge of) you can see why the murder is still “unsolved.”

The shocking part in all of this, to me, is the role that “Poppy” Bush seems to have played in this assassination.  And, more shocking is how he managed to cover his “tracks” to avoid scrutiny – and, as I think of the years following, how he has managed to avoid even investigations in subsequent untoward adventures that include CIA skullduggery.  I have to believe, for example, that Bush was right in the middle of undermining Nixon along with the Iran/Contra scandal of the Reagan years and hardly faced a question regarding his role in that illegal scandal.  This country has a history of allowing an elite group of people to operate outside the law for years, and I believe it continues to this day.  With the acquiescence of Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama I believe both Bush 41 and Bush 43 will never have to answer for their misdeeds – along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, David Addington, and I could go on and on – these are the “contemporary” members of this elite group of lawbreakers.  It’s like a government mafia (In fact, there’s ample evidence that this cabal – and their associates, many who are still probably totally covert – have many times enlisted the help of true mafia personnel to “handle” some of their more “unpleasant” duties – like assassinating foreign leaders such as Fidel Castro (obviously they failed on this one) and other “leftists” – with many “successes,” for example – Allende, Trujillo, Iran’s Mohammed Mosaddegh, and others  [click here for an alleged list of CIA atrocities] – beyond the shores of Cuba)

Another “must read” in my mind, Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine,” gives a stunning accounting of the number of people who have disappeared as the result of alleged CIA actions and the methods of this “cabal” that is now operating on our own country.  Clearly, the CIA was set up to “fight fire with fire” in response to the KGB of the Soviet Union post World War II, but it has gotten so far out of control that we (Americans) have inherited the role of the Russians of the cold war – I guess in the name of national security.  Kind of the same mentality as what I heard today from the head of the NRA in response to the aftermath of the Connecticut massacre of small children by a person brandishing an easy to purchase assault weapon:  “The way to stop ‘bad people’ from killing with guns is with more ‘good people’ having guns.”  I’m not kidding you.  Also, it’s been suggested that teachers be armed and trained with guns.  I’m a teacher.  Are you kidding me???!  This, I believe, is the mentality that says that the CIA going around the world assassinating leaders who are “unfriendly” to the U.S. –  especially when they have natural resources that we want to usurp from them, or they have a business climate that doesn’t support American corporate interests – is acceptable. (not to mention mind altering experimentation of “expendable” people – what does this remind you of?)  The same mentality that says torture is OK in the name of “national security” – which, of course, has become the “stock” excuse of every U.S. administration in my lifetime for actions which they wish to keep from the public domain.

The CIA has become, almost since its inception, “aligned at the hip” with barons of the oil industry and the military industrial complex which Dwight Eisenhower so prophetically warned this nation about as he was leaving office.  The Bush family, led by George HW Bush, has been connected to the CIA since before its inception.  Prescott Bush, HW’s father, was affiliated with “intelligence” before it was officially a government bureaucracy and showed his willingness to put profit ahead of principle as he was selling armaments to the Nazi’s prior to our involvement in WW II.  In fact, the only thing that stopped him was a strong reprimand from FDR.  His grandson, George W Bush, showed us again that there are many in this “upper echelon” of the secret society who are more than willing to profit handsomely from war (people like Rumsfeld, Cheney, Feith, and others in the Bush/Cheney administration made HUNDREDS of millions from the Iraq fiasco – their “no bid” buddies like Halliburton and KBR made BILLIONS)  We’re talking here about the insiders who’ve gained a stranglehold on the republican party over the years and I can guarantee you they won’t “let up” until they’re forced out of “power” by the voters.  (They’re so incredibly rich at this point, that it will take years to make them go away – if that’s possible.  This recent display of “conservatism,” to me, is eerily similar to the late 19th century and early 20th century of the so-called “Robber Barons.”

The Bush “dynasty” represents only one of the elite “eastern establishment” families who seem to feel enabled to live above the law and believe the rest of us should be thankful for whatever “scraps” come our way.  In my mind, they confuse “The American Dream” with the possibility of getting rich as opposed to simply owning a home and being a functioning member of a strong middle class.  A perpetual society where families feel they’re part of a structure which gives their children an opportunity to do a little better than their parents – but, in the process, never losing their empathy for the less fortunate.  Being driven by a sense of empathy and thankfulness as opposed to greed.  Never losing track of the connection between whatever level of success they achieve to the society which makes it possible – and, in the case of extreme success, the obligation to give back to that society.

Many of these “rich” families, in my mind, have been more than willing to profit off of the great national infrastructure which was created post WW II, but seem to be unwilling to do their part to maintain that very infrastructure which, as I’m writing this, is crumbling in many parts of this great nation.  During the “Bush 43 years” the estimates I remember, to bring our infrastructure “up to code,” ranged in the 2 plus TRILLION range.  A daunting figure, yes, but also an opportunity to put so many unemployed Americans to work fixing the problem.  And, as I’ve seen in my lifetime, a sound infrastructure allows for a growing economy for all.  The special interests of the families (and people) mentioned above center on oil and defense spending.  And, as most people have come to realize, the American government is pretty much at the mercy of the lobbyists who are each fighting for the American taxpayer’s dollar (many while complaining about how much they despise the government – go figure) and busy buying off one politician after another.  This is why the struggle to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” is so difficult – first, it won’t happen without republicans violating their “Grover Norquist” pledge and second, there’s always someone to argue against “cutting spending” because of the plethora of lobbyists who seem to determine the “bottom line” legislation coming out of Washington DC.

For some reason, the debate has turned to issues such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, food stamps, etc. when the republicans are talking about spending.  How often do we feel obligated to put defense spending “off the table” when these people are talking about reduced spending and put the focus on the programs the help “the least of these?”  Yet, we’re a “Christian” nation, right?  The “fiscal cliff” debate will continue to “show its ugly face” in different forms as long as we allow the republican party to be run by these right wing, greedy corporate elitists who seemingly have no limits on how much wealth satisfies them.  When you consider that people like the Bush family have been pilfering our society for at least 3 generations with absolutely no consequences for their greed and misdeeds, and you look at the others at the “top” who are squeezing every last penny they can from America’s taxpayers – all the while claiming how bad government is – it’s hard to feel positive.  The sad reality is that those who are perpetrating this fraud on our nation won’t be deterred by a few election defeats.  We’ve (with the complicity of the Obama administration) allowed the Bush/Cheney administration to get away with torture, war profiteering, lying to congress, outing a CIA agent, undermining established government agencies after allowing the misdeeds of the Reagan administration.  The people behind this “movement” believe the “liberals” don’t have the “stones” (as Bill Clinton puts it) to hold them legally accountable, and I’m thinking they’re evidently correct.  JFK warned us that the only way this nation could be undermined was from “within,” and these right wing republicans are proving him prophetic.