You don’t have to read many of the posts in this blog (if that’s what it is – to me, it’s my online journal where I “vent” my …….?) to know that I’m very disappointed, dismayed, frustrated, angry, worried, – pick a word – about the direction of this great country that I love.  I’ve been watching for the past 30+ years as, from my perspective, the greatest nation on earth has evolved from a “we” nation to a “me” nation and, in the process, seems to be following the path of previous world powers who have self destructed due to “man’s” seeming inability to curb the natural tendency toward GREED. I, like many I’m afraid, took for granted that the circumstances we seem to find ourselves in now, based on the past, were “off the table.”  The idea that our government would become a benefactory for the rich while looking the other way from “the least of these” seemed an impossibility to me.  Being a lifelong independent I never conceived that I would get to the point where if I saw an “R” after a politician’s name it would rule out my support for them.  If you know anything about the Pacific Northwest, where I’ve lived my entire life, Tom McCall was a republican.  He, I’m sure, is “turning in his grave” at the actions of his party today.

After George W Bush arrogantly invaded Iraq, on what were obviously convoluted premises – that were “bought – hook, line, and sinker” by America’s “liberal” media – I realized that in some small way I had to, at a minimum, educate myself on “what’s going on here.”  Subsequent to that invasion I started looking for – and finding – books, and other information, written by people of varying degrees of bias – but understandable – about the true “going’s on” of our government and the “powers” that are influencing it.  What I have discovered has been startling to say the least and is what has motivated me to write.  I’m also no longer simply sitting and listening to people, who speak as if they’re informed, giving out what I’ve discovered is misinformation – leading to a few “heated debates.”  The level of LYING that has permeated our press and is coming from the mouths of our elected officials – who, I believe, don’t think twice about it because there are NEVER consequences for their LYING – is beyond belief.  The result is bad from just about any way you want to look at it.  Many people still believe that those in positions to have influence are telling the truth – hence, I run into situations such as the one I wrote about in my previous post, where a grown, educated, retired successful businessman – who happens to watch Fox “news,” and listen to Rush Limbaugh – believes that President Obama is responsible for HALF of the nation’s national debt.  This is propaganda and BRAINWASHING at it’s scarriest and most damaging level.  It is what has resulted in the radical right wing “tea partiers” who are attempting to destroy America’s economy and the severe partisan divide created in order to prevent the nation’s first Black President from succeeding.  That is one place they have been honest – in saying their TOP PRIORITY is that President Obama FAILS!

I think that what’s bothering me the most about all of this – because, I do believe eventually American’s will figure out what’s happening and take the action necessary to correct it, is that these radicals have been so obstinate and voiciferous – and, so willing to make OUTLANDISH and ridiculous claims and political “stands” that they’ve maneuvered the dialogue completely away from reason.  This morning I was reading an Op Ed in the New York Times by Joe Nocera who was apologizing for calling the “tea partiers” in the House of Representatives “terrorists” (which I had called them as well – with no apology!) and, in the process, stated – almost as if it’s becoming part of our collective self conscience – that “entitlements are fueling the deficit.”  To me, unless you would qualify that to say that our “entitlements” to the large corporations – such as their tax loopholes, the support for them sending their manufacturing plants overseas, their foreign “tax havens,” along with HUGE tax breaks for people earning amounts of money that someone such as myself can’t even imagine – is what you’re talking about, the statement is absurd.  Of course, what Nocera was referring to were things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Unemployment insurance, Head Start, School lunches for impoverished children, public education, and on and on.

Do you remember a couple years ago in some midwest state – where fire departments were “privatized” and some poor sap didn’t pay his fee (whatever it was – something like $75), and the result was a fire department which watched his house burn to the ground as his punishment for not paying the fee?  Is that what we want America to be like for our children and grandchildren?  We’ve allowed a concerted conspiracy to brainwash the so-called “low information voter;” that is, the person who reads the headlines, watches cable “news,” and doesn’t have the time or inclination to fact check what he/she hears.  The word “liberal” has been turned into a “dirty word” by the Limbaugh’s, the Hannity’s, the O’Reilly’s, the Savage’s, the Boehner’s, the Bachmann’s, the Palin’s, and everyone else who does the “bidding” for the secret right wing cabal which is orchestrating this disaster from behind the “scenes.” 

America was turned into the envy of the rest of the world through the courageous acts of the Roosevelt “New Deal,” plus the 40 years which followed, and there seem to be MANY ordinary Americans who have been somehow led to believe that the New Deal (and Great Society of the Johnson years) is the problem – by the very people who’ve been against the New Deal since the days when it was enacted.  I’ve said this before on this site – it’s not the worker’s rights gained from the New Deal that’s the problem with our economy – it’s REVISITING the days of the ROBBER BARONS which everyone should be concerned with.  Presently, the result of the “tea partiers” managing to turn raising the debt ceiling into an “issue” is a stock market which is now teetering up and down  just like it did in the late 1920’s.  There are so many parallels today to what happened back then that people’s “alarms” should be on “high alert.”  However, what we have are politicians who are attempting to figure out how to place the blame on the “other guys” so that they can be re-elected.  It has been apparent to me since before President Obama took the oath of office that the republicans are willing to take our economy into the “abiss” if that’s what it takes to defeat him in 2012.  Unfortunately, the president and his advisors apparently haven’t picked up on this.

Should we go into another depression, how can I say this?  The BUCK STOPS HERE!  That’s my message to President Obama.  I honestly don’t know if it’s too late for him to “turn it around,” but – as they say – “there’s no time like the present.”  This idea of being the transformative democratic version of Ronald Reagan was absurd on its face from the gitgo.  Something like 20 MILLION Americans who want to work are unemployed or underemployed and the president is arguing with republicans over the debt ceiling.  He continues to allow himself to get drawn onto their “turf.”  If he could somehow (and, again, I believe it may be too late) bring himself to realize that the American public wants their “leaders” to be figuring out how to spur on the JOB market – and FOCUS on that, he may be able to salvage some of his presidency.  I personally believe that he should have refused to even get involved in the argument over the debt ceiling.  It was congress’ responsibility to raise it – Obama should have been speaking ONLY about job creation – and, then if they didn’t agree to raise it there could be no question where the “fault” would lie.  Congress has been routinely raising the debt limit for over 90 years – it was a fabricated and STUPID argument!

One thing the debt ceiling “crisis” did accomplish was to uncover the TRUTH that the stock market continues to be a shell game with the day traders and hedge fund managers making HUGE amounts of income (that’s taxed at ridiculously low percentages) based on GAMBLING (I guess a better word might be speculating – but, to me, they’re the same).  That was one of the first, and biggest, frustrations I’ve had with President Obama since he was inaugurated.  He surrounded himself with Wall Streeters right from the beginning so it was no surprise that Wall Street flourished in his first couple of years, because they went right back to doing the same CRAP that they got bailed out from at the end of the Bush/Cheney regime.  We continue to have a nation where corporations are more beholden to stockholders than they are to their workers.  Until that conundrum is reversed America will continue its downward spiral toward becoming a second rate nation.  What our “leaders” in Washington apparently fail to understand is that what made this nation great was a flourishing middle class.  Until it thrives again, this country will continue to be unhealthy and its economy will continue to be shakey.

There is hope, however.  Just a few days ago the “masses” in Wisconsin demonstrated to the rest of us what is possible if the “grass roots” organizes and pulls together to actually FORCE the politicians to take notice.  In the now infamous “Wisconsin recall elections” two previously strong republican districts recalled their state senators and replaced them with democrats.  It’s true the democrats came up short in their attempt to take back control of the Wisconsin state senate, but the accomplishment was significant when you look at the “total picture.”  There was HUGE amounts of corporate money spent to defend the republican positions which saved the senate majority for the republicans, but there were HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people from all over America who participated in the hurculean effort to send a STRONG message to people like Wisconsin’s governor who has made a full throttle attack on workers collective bargaining rights – rights that, as mentioned above, I had taken for granted were an integral “right” for America’s workers.  Obviously, if “we the people” are unwilling to defend those rights, there are “those” who would take them away.

The good news about Wisconsin, and what I believe either has or will have the attention of republicans, is that these recall elections were ALL in strong republican districts.  The clear momentum of where Wisconsin’s people are would have clearly given control of the state to democrats had this been a statewide election.  Therefore, I believe Scott Walker – Wisconsin’s “Koch Brothers” governor – is in a very tenuous situation.  I’ve already given my first donation toward the effort to recall him once he’s been in office for a year.  That is the REAL message that’s going to come from Wisconsin.  And, I hope that President Obama is watching.  The Wisconsinites are “fighters.”  They are saying “enough already” to the republican assault on our basic worker’s rights.  The recall of Walker is going to be exciting (I’m really hoping that Russ Feingold – one of my favorite US senators who was victomized by the “tea party” movement ends up running against Walker in a recall election) and I believe there is no doubt that Wisconsin voters who are angry with Walker will have NO TROUBLE gaining the signatures to cause a recall election.  The good people of Wisconsin are demonstrating to the rest of America what is necessary to combat the republicans and Citizens United.  People like me are sending money in $10 to $20 at a time – but, as one person said, “there’s more of us than there are of them” – speaking of the corporate interests that are funding people like Walker.  Koch industries generates income in the BILLIONS, so this is going to be a difficult FIGHT – because the “right wing” has control of the Supreme Court which gave them a HUGE benefit in the Citizens United decision (giving coporations the right to spend UNLIMITED amounts in our elections – ughhh!).  As I’ve been saying for several years now, the REAL war Americans should be focused on is the one right here at home – where the republicans and their corporate benefactors are attempting to gain a stranglehold on our government.  If they succeed, what people like Scott Walker in Wisconsin or John Kasich in Ohio are doing is just the “tip of the iceberg.”  I’m grateful for the people of the state of Wisconsin who are leading the “fight,” and I’m just praying that working class Americans across the country will “take note.”  I’ll end this post by saying the person who I believe is the MOST important person to take note of what’s happening in Wisconsin is BARACK OBAMA!

Here’s today’s “question of the day.”  How do you “kick the can down the road” when you’ve said you won’t “kick the can down the road?”  Well, you’ve got to be an American politician to pull this off.  William Shakespeare must be turning in his grave at the crass absurdity of America’s “political theatre.”  The republicans manufacture a “crisis” with the so-called debt ceiling, President Obama pretends to “one-up” them by asking for “significant cuts,” and the “tea partiers” claim there will be no deal if ANY taxes are raised and if there’s no (absurdly STUPID) balanced budget amendment included in the “package.”  What do they end up with?  Essentially with NOTHING other than a vague bill which will allow the two parties to argue over who got the best of the other until the next election.  And, I might add, a continuation of the feeling by the people who I come in contact with each and every day that “if only we could replace ALL OF THEM!”

Let’s start with President Obama, who’s the main person I heard saying “We’re not going to just kick the can down the road.”  For some strange reason our president still seems to believe that these republicans will negotiate with him “in good faith.”  I honestly don’t know what it will take for him to “get it,” but it’s really getting a bit “late in the game” for that to happen.  These “good faith negotiations” he continually seems to get cornered into continue to produce similar results – and, I can’t think of ONE time when the results were good.  This “debt crisis” example is the classic.  Just last December, President Obama gave “the farm” to the republicans when he refused to simply allow the “Bush tax cuts” to expire.  That action alone would have trimmed a significant portion off of the deficit which republicans have recently become so worried about.  And, as far as “increasing taxes in a recession” is concerned – does our president actually believe that these spending cuts (mostly aimed at the disadvantaged among us – as Jesus would say, “the least among us”) are going to have a stimulative effect on the economy?  If you remember, Obama himself said that extending the “Bush tax cuts” would lead to more job creation and would stimulate the economy.  When, I keep wondering, is reality going to set in with our president.

Unfortunately, I believe President Obama’s blunders have become almost too much to overcome.  If you’ve been following this debate you’ve heard many on the “left” say that the democrats have “lost the battle of the dialogue.”  That is, they’re arguing TOTALLY on republican “turf.”  What President Obama often portrays as a “success” is unthinkable to many people who believe as I do.  His debates with the republicans are so far to the right the question regarding the outcome is always “how bad is the result going to be.”  Some of my acquaintances are finally beginning to see why I’ve so adamantly been arguing about the folly of Obama allowing the Bush/Cheney administration a pardon for all the illegal activity EVERYONE knew they were committing.  That was where President Obama lost the “high ground” in the dialogue and that’s when the republicans figured they could run “rough shod” over him.

I’ve listened to Obama’s closest supporters suggest that he got what he wanted out of this debate – and, I might add, considering the circumstances I certainly hope they’re correct – for example, one of Obama’s staunchest supporters, Randi Rhodes (liberal “talker” on the radio) claims that should the republicans and the “super congress” (set up to recommend further “cuts”) try to extend the “Bush tax cuts” beyond 2012 they would have to include at least 4 TRILLION dollars in spending cuts of which half would come from defense and none would come from Social Security or Medicare.  She considered that a brilliant move on Obama’s part.  I guess from where I’m sitting I would have preferred to have allowed them to expire last December (actually, I thought Obama should have repealed them upon entering the White House, but that’s a story for another day) and therefore dispense with all the political “one-upsmanship” which has turned the political dialogue away from the real issues of this nation.

I’m assuming that President Obama has heard Mitch McConnell, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of them on the “right” claim that their MAIN priority is for Obama to fail.  It has become painfully apparent (as the Stock Market is teetering on another “freefall”) that the republicans are TOTALLY willing to tank the ENTIRE American (and probably world) economy thinking America’s voters stupid enough to place the blame on Obama’s shoulders.  Now, I’ve been very critical of our president, but from the standpoint that he continues to attempt to “bargain in good faith” with these people who ONLY care about his demise.  It shouldn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out they are not going to agree to ANYTHING which would appear to show Obama in a good light.  Is it because he’s black? Or just because he’s a democrat and today’s republicans wont have anything to do with ANY democrat?  I don’t know the answer to that, but the solution is to VOTE the republicans OUT of office in as significant numbers as possible.

I have been an independent all my life, but these past 30+ years has made it extremely difficult to even consider voting for a republican.  And, since the inception of the “tea party” – well, just let me say that I fully believe there are many republicans out there who have no idea what’s going on with THEIR party.  I’ve been associating with some republicans this summer as I try to play a little “senior golf” during my vacation and it really grieves me to see the level of propaganda they’ve “bought” into “hook, line, and sinker.”  One of the guys (and he’s a college graduate) the other day, when talking about GW Bush said, “I think he’s a nice guy.”  I asked, “What makes you think that?”  And, he (incredulously to me) answered “I don’t know, I just think he is – that’s all.”  Honestly, I’m losing my patience with grown adults who “volunteer” to be “low information voters.”  These guys I golf with are “faithful” Fox “news” brethren – and, even when you give them “facts” they won’t look at them.

 For example, one guy the other day decided to attack Obama in my presence – thinking I would come to his aid.  Well, if you’ve read my blog, you know the answer to that – but, I decided to hold him accountable for the GARBAGE coming from his mouth.  He said, “When George Bush left office the national debt was $7 TRILLION.  OK, I’m sure if you’re reading this you know how absurd that is – but, I decided to go to the Treasury’s website and print out copies of the national debt since 1950.  Of course, when you look at the OFFICIAL statistics the widest gap between expenditures and revenues occurs during the presidencies of Nixon/Ford, Reagan, HW Bush, and W Bush/Cheney – with the last (two) more than doubling the debt in their eight years.  In FACT, the actual debt when President Obama took the  oath of office was well over 11 TRILLION and, like other republicans, my golfing friends refuse to accept the dire circumstances Obama inherited.

I’m writing this because I’ve seen so many people with the same brainwashed mentality of these retired men; good people who worked their entire lives, and who believe that those at Fox “news” are telling the truth.  The propaganda is flowing from all directions and MOST of it is coming from the direction of those behind the Fox travesty and the “think tanks” funded by the Kochs, Mellon Scaife, DaVoss, and other extremely wealthy right wing Americans.  About two weeks ago I even read an Op ed in the New York Times written by the one and only Grover Norquist making public his EXPECTATIONS of the “oath” apparently all republican members of congress took to REFUSE to raise ANY revenue in the attempt to “balance” the federal government’s “books.”  Remember, Norquist is the man who famously was quoted as saying he wanted to “starve” the government of taxes until it could be “drowned in a bathtub.”  Norquist and the people he represents have UNLIMITED amounts of money, they are greedy beyond belief, and they are ruthlessly threatening republicans that if ANY of them support a tax increase – OF ANY KIND – they will fund a primary opponent against them – in other words, unless you comply with “me and my people” (That’s my version of Norquist speaking) you will lose your next election!

So, the problem (technically) isn’t mainly Obama – it’s clearly the republicans who are leading us onto the edge of another Great Depression in their desire to MAKE SURE President Obama “fails.”  The question is – and, in my mind, has always been, how do you deal with this?  The 2012 election is still a year and a half away and there’s no guarantees that democrats and independents are going to figure this out by then.  Remember, I’ve been pointing out the problem with “Citizens United” since the day the Supreme Court decided the case.  That is a HUGE obstacle for democrats – we’re already seeing Karl Rove infusing MILLIONS into Wisconsin to stop the recall elections there (I really hope Rove fails!) – and there are something like 18 “tea party” like governors around the country who are passing voter suppresion laws aimed at Blacks and poor people (and students) with several more waiting in the wings (some reports estimate as many as 21 MILLION people could be turned away from the polls in 2012, enough to change the results)  – all receiving unlimited funding for their campaigns from people like the Koch’s, Rove, DaVoss, Norquist, and all the corporations funneling money into the elections through the above mentioned Citizens United decision which gave corporations (unbelievably) “free speech” rights as if they were individuals.  (Didn’t John Roberts rail against “legislating from the bench” in his confirmation hearings?)

While I’ve stated above the problem (technically) isn’t Obama’s – I believe with all my heart that there will be NO solution until we have a leader who will COMBAT these republicans.  Tonight, I was watching Keith Olberman on Current TV (If you haven’t checked it out, you really should – there’s one “pundit” who will criticize BOTH sides! – when appropriate) and one of his contributors is Jeffery Scahill of “The Nation” magazine (by far, the best liberal magazine in America).  Scahill wrote the book “Blackwater” which was one of – if not – the first to expose Eric Prince and his right wing militia for hire.  Scahill tonight was reporting on new evidence about the TORTURING that took place under the orders of George W Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld – Olberman showed video clips of EACH one of them ADMITTING to authorizing TORTURE (waterboarding) – in one clip, George W Bush tried to pin the responsibility on the “lawyers,” but, it’s clear that he HAD TO know that waterboarding is a BLATANT violation of the Geneva Conventions which the United States is a signatory to.  I was glad to hear Scahill point out the hypocrisy in President Obama’s FAILURE to allow investigations of the torturing that took place under Bush/Cheney while even going so far as to defend them in court – and, it was not clear to me that the practices have been totally abandoned since Obama took office.

Do you wonder why average people like myself and my friends who all seem to be republicans can agree on one thing – EVERYONE in Washington is corrupt (Well, I’d excuse a few – but, not many) and our Judicial System is rigged.  No one from Bush/Cheney et al has EVER been held accountable for their misdeeds, not ONE Wall Street banker has gone to jail over the 2008 meltdown (shouldn’t there have at least been some investigations), and it was pointed out tonight by Scahill that Obama’s administration is actually defending Donald Rumsfeld in court as he’s being sued by an American who was illegally imprisoned in Iraq for over 9 months with no charges ever filed – PLUS, during that nine months he was TORTURED!  The undeniable conclusion one must come to here is that what we’ve got is an endless case of “politics as usual.”  The democrats and republicans create a crisis, argue for a couple months, do virtually NOTHING, play golf together, and then hit the airwaves to convince the public “who won.”

The sad reality is that most people  in the general “public” know that “we the people” ALWAYS lose!  Therefore, getting back to my original point of the evening, it appears to me that “the can got kicked down the road.”  Maybe as Randi Rhodes claims there is some secret provision of the bill that will ultimately allow President Obama to “win,” although I believe there’s an equal chance of something overlooked by democrats which will allow republicans to “win.”  But, if you watched the Stock Market lose almost 5% today (over 500 points on the Dow Jones Industrial averages) it becomes clear that, while we’ll have to wait to fully find out who “won,” we’re already seeing who LOST!  I have friends who have 401 k’s and are on the verge of retirement – I believe they stand to lose (A LOT), I know people who are “long term” unemployed – not because they’re lazy as Michele Bachmann puts it, but because there’s NO WORK for them – while discussing this “crisis” I’ve heard NOTHING about creating jobs (in fact, I haven’t heard the word jobs mentioned since the republicans regained control of the House).  I took produce from my garden to a local homeless shelter just the other day and one of my former students greeted me there – I’m not going to list all the ways she’s losing from this diabolical political theatre – and, I could go on and on.  I guess the politicians involved feel the can wasn’t “kicked down the road” because when the “crisis” was “ended” they all had their re-election plans firmly established.  I can feel it already, the political propaganda is going to reach new heights in the next year and a half.  You just have to wonder, what will the human toll be on all of these politicians “winning?”

Is it any wonder that people around the world are undoubtedly shaking their heads in disbelief as they await the outcome of this fabricated “debt crisis” which President Obama has allowed himself to get cornered into?  Now, if you’ve been around this site at all you know that I have had MANY disappointments with Obama, whom I supported eagerly in 2008.  You can check the archives if you wish, but I’ve been railing against one capitulation after another – wondering if President Obama actually believe(s)d that the republicans, especially the “tea partiers” (who were carrying signs depicting him in all sorts of racist ways during the campaign) – who appear to be “running the show,” would ever “negotiate” in good faith with him.  The reason I put the “d” after the above reference to the word “believe” is because you would think by now that President Obama would “get it.”

It seemed obvious to me after the extension (the UNBELIEVABLE extension, I might add, from my perspective) of the “Bush Tax Cuts” – tax cuts which should have been repealed the day Obama took office – that the next “crisis” would be over the debt ceiling and, I predicted at the time, it would be the time when the “right wing” would “go after” Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (little did I know that Obama, himself, would put all three programs “on the table”).  Despite the FACT that none of those programs (especially Social Security) are at the heart of the deficit problem, republicans have managed to manipulate the discussion away from the REAL causes of the “debt crisis” onto the remnants of the New Deal that they hate – and, President Obama has been MOST ACCOMODATING!  That all being said, tonight I hope to funnel my thoughts to where I believe the problem actually lies – if for no other reason than to give myself a little sanity in the face of a situation where the government of the country I love appears to be TOTALLY dysfunctional!

I recently finished a book about the presidency of James K Polk and I’m reading “A Team of Rivals” about Abraham Lincoln and written by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  What I’ve learned from both of these books is the backbiting in Congress, the people more concerned about their own futures than that of those they represent, the biased press, the insubordinate members of presidential cabinets and the military – all issues Obama is being forced to deal with while trying to bring America out of the “Great Recession” – NONE of this is new.  Both Polk and Lincoln had to deal with the insolent name calling, the disregard for the national interest due to personal issues and biases, and “in a nutshell” the Congress which the framers so wisely set up with ALL the members of the House of Representatives being elected EVERY two years.  That does give me hope that these “tea party” whacos can be voted out as quickly as they were voted in.  (of course – and, I might add, unfortunately that may depend on President Obama becoming more “progressive” in his response to their insolence).

So, what I’m trying to say is that I believe this entire “crisis” is the result of a minority on the republican side of Congress.  It kind of reminds me of when the Spotted Owl was used to get the Federal Government to stop overcutting the forests of the Pacific Northwest (at the time I was a “sawmill worker”).  The “tea partiers” are using the reqirement that Congress raise the debt ceiling as a means to “get their way” regarding their political and ideological agenda which would otherwise have NO CHANCE of passage in Congress.  They are essentially saying “We’re willing to crash the entire economy in order to get what we want – PERIOD!”  The problem, of course, is that “what they want” is TOTALLY unacceptable to the vast majority of Americans.  And, they are doing this “hostage situation” in a way where they believe Obama can be held accountable for the damage, should it become reality.

Now, I truly hope the American people are not so stupid – and, I hope that Obama FINALLY stops “negotiating” with these right wing thugs.  As I’ve stated MANY times on this site, one thing that is TOTALLY unacceptable to the American public is a leader who shows signs of weakness.  Obama is attempting to take the “role” of the “adult in the room” with Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, and the rest of these heartless republcans, but it’s become EXTREMELY important that he REFUSES to allow them to control this debate – even if it leads to an American “default.”  Of course, the “tea partiers” are “pooh poohing” the idea of default, as if it’s “no big deal,” but even if they’re wrong, Obama MUST NOT allow them to control this debate.  They are a LARGE part of the problem, and it’s become obvious there’s going to have to be some “pain” suffered by the rest of us in order to get RID of them.

The reason I say they are a “large part of the problem” is because what is probably a LARGER part of the problem are the corporations who have put these whackos in office and given them their “talking points.”  That is the real scarry part of what is happening right now in America.  Despite the fact America may default on August 2nd, there is NOTHING more important than getting CONTROL of the Multi-national corporations which are attempting – through this coalition with the right wing republicans – to gain a stranglehold on the government of the United States of America.  We’ve all heard recently how the Koch Brothers have bought their way into the state houses and governor’s mansions in NUMEROUS American states – such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Idaho, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, to name a few off the top of my head – and how these governors and state legislatures are attempting to undermine the rights of workers to organize, they’re trying to sell off state owned assets to private corporate cronies (ie – I expect the Koch’s to own the “Public” utilities in Wisconsin if the recalls don’t stop governor Walker – and, at “firesale” prices), and they’re attacking state workers such as teachers, firefighters, policemen, nurses, social workers, etc. as “greedy.”  In fact, I still recall the governor of Michigan (I believe he was from there) pointing out that teachers are “the privileged elite.” (as a teacher myself, I didn’t know whether to be offended or to go “wow!, I never thought I’d make it to that level)  I guess, to these right wing governors, the fact myself as a teacher can still (barely) pay my mortgage payment means I’m overpaid.  And, the Koch’s are just the “tip of the iceberg.”

Not only are America’s “top” corporations “investing” BILLIONS in America’s congressional “leaders,” but they’re busy sidestepping their patriotic duty to pay their “fair share” of taxes while they’re “cutting off a fat hog” in the recent “recovery” as the rest of us are listening to their minions argue over the debt ceiling.  I recently read a report about how out of the “top” 100 of America’s corporations 85 have “subsidiaries” (around 2500 “subsidiaries” in all) in foreign “tax havens” where they are able to “shield” upwards of $100 BILLION per year in taxes that SHOULD be paid to America’s treasury (for anyone who’s math challenged, that amounts to close to ONE TRILLION over ten years).  What makes matters worse is that these corporations are receiving something in excess of $85 BILLION in government contracts and MOST of them pay either NO TAXES or a VERY low percentage of their profits in taxes.

One example that many people are familiar with would be GE – one of America’s leading defense contractors.  Last year their profit was approximately $15 BILLION – yes, that’s BILLION with a capital B – and they paid ZERO in American taxes.  Yes, we can all probably agree that “this is bad,” right?  Well, on top of that, they received over $3 BILLION in government subsidies – You’ve got that right, they not only paid NO taxes, but “we the people” gave them OVER $3 BILLION that we probably had to borrow from China.  Did I mention China?  Well, if ALL that wasn’t bad enough, it was announced today that GE is moving their giant X-Ray business and headquarters to China, “To take advantage of that emerging market.”  Finally, GE’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt is President Obama’s top advisor on his economic advisory board – supposedly the leading advisor on creating jobs.  Does this all sound convoluted, or am I just not seeing things well?

So, we have a congress that is totally dysfunctional and is being run by a “faction” of “tea partiers” who are funded by people like the Koch’s (who have a long history of anti-middle class, pro business, anti-environment, AND racist postions – the Koch’s father was a founding member of the John Birch Society) and advised by people like Grover Norquist (he the one who coined the phrase that the republican goal should be to “starve the government” until it is so small “it could be drained in the bathtub”), and pursuing Karl Rove’s “permanent republican ‘majority.'”  Washington DC has been virually OVERRUN by various lobbyists who are funneling UNBELIEVABLE sums into the coffers of the only people, theoretically, who can fix this problem – both houses of Congress – we have a Supreme Court (I haven’t even mentioned them yet tonight) who determined corporations to have “free speech” rights as if they were individuals, and we have a “socialist” president who looks more like a conservative republican to someone like me who “came up” in the 60’s.

In my mind, the greatest American president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was the president who originally put this corporate vehemoth in its place.  The “New Deal” was the turning point in American history which led to the greatest middle class in the history of the world.  Roosevelt’s administration supported policies that have transformed worker’s rights far beyond the shores of this great nation.  What is so sad to me is how many Americans have NO CLUE as to what happened in the 30’s and 40’s in America which set the foundation in place for many of the privileges which many of us take for granted today.  Since the inauguration of Ronald Reagan the extreme “right” in America has been pushing so hard to reverse the “New Deal” that the dialogue has shifted so far to the “right” that people like me who were once considered either conservative or moderate are now “flaming liberals.”  And, I can tell you this – I haven’t changed much.  The present debate in congress would have been UNIMAGINEABLE just a few short years ago.  Reagan and his followers have successfully transformed a significant portion of America into a “me” society from what was clearly a “we” society when I was growing up and in my formative years.  I have to tell you, from my vantage point, this has been a terrible trade off.

My hope is that the present FABRICATED “crisis” (raising the debt ceiling has NEVER been an issue in my adult lifetime – other than giving the minority party a chance for some “political posturing”) will FORCE the president and the democratic party to REVISIT their “roots.”  This republican POWER PLAY is so radical and severe that I’m hoping AT LAST we will see President Obama “draw a line in the sand.”  The FACT that America’s “full faith and credit” lies in the balance is not sufficient reason to continue allowing these radical whaco’s to continue bullying their way in congress.  Combined with their corporate “sponsors” they managed to essentially disable the health reform legislation in Obama’s first term (now, they’re trying to defund it), they’ve managed to say NO to virtually EVERY attempt by President Obama and the democrats to get us out of this recession (their stated FIRST PRIORITY is that President Obama – as Rush Limbaugh put it again today – FAILS – and, by the way, I can’t remember a time in my lifetime when a political party was so out front in their willingness to take the entire nation “down” so that a president in the opposing party would “fail”), and now they’re using raising  the debt ceiling (for debt they largely created) to hold the president and America hostage to their minority agenda.  Well, in the end, I believe these right wing republicans have made it easy for Obama to succeed (against their stated wishes).   I believe that if President Obama wishes to succeed, all he needs to do is say NO to the “tea party” republicans!

I’m beginning this post roughly 10 days prior to the date put forth by President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner (August 2, 2011) as the “due date” for the increase of the so-called “debt ceiling” which apparently would restrict the government’s ability to borrow money should it not be implemented, therefore causing a default on the “full faith and credit of the United States.”  I certainly am not one who fully understands what all is involved in this debt “crisis,” and I have to admit that it will be interesting to see what happens – whether the “doomsayers” are correct should the U.S. “default,” or whether the “tea partiers” are correct that it will be “no big deal.”  I tend to think those on the President’s side are correct, but at this point in time I don’t believe anything or anyone until I see “it.”  One thing that I am certain of is that President Obama has continually IGNORED the advice of people who think like me, people who were instrumentatl in his election, and now he’s been backed into a “corner” (that I predicted when he allowed the “Bush tax cuts” to be extended) that will be very difficult to get out of.  In fact, I was thinking today that the only way out for Obama is for the republicans to refuse to make ANY agreement, thereby preventing Obama from another “negotiation” or “compromise” or whatever you want to call it where the republicans extract ANOTHER “pound of flesh” from the middle class and working poor in America – the very people I believed Obama would be the champion for when I supported him in 2008.

We (liberals) have evolved to the place where we’re already talking about “holding noses” to vote for Obama in 2012 for reasons such as the Supreme Court nominations republicans would make that would extend their “reign of terror” for decades.  It’s almost as if that is what Obama is counting on – he is busy kissing up to what he considers the “independent voters” (I’ve got news for him – I’m an independent voter) and to hell with his so-called “base.”  What has been apparent to me since almost before Obama took the oath of office and is now well understood by the “pundits,” Obama’s “base” is not like the republican base.  They’re not going to simply “rubber stamp” whatever he decides to do.  I have to tell you that the FACT Obama WILLINGLY included issues such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and who knows what else into the “negotiation” for raising the debt limit on the debt MAINLY created by his republican foes is unbelievable to me.  President Obama is acting as if that is an act of courage because he’s “taking heat from my party.”  Do you remember Rahm Emmanuel calling people like me “f___ing retards?”  He was not reprimanded – in fact, since that inglorious time I’ve heard Obama himself extolling “liberals” as idealistic.  I believe, for many “liberals” such as myself, (and, by the way, in the 1970’s I was considered a “conservative”) what President Obama is doing is harder to stomach than what George W Bush was doing.  Obama was elected to FIX the abuses of the Bush administration and you don’t have to look very far to see that many of them are still ongoing – PLUS all the “compromises!” (should we call it “selling the farm?”)

Here’s another irony.  Have you seen much reporting about how President Obama is talking to democrats?  I’m sure it must be happening, but all I see is Obama and Boehner or Obama and the republicans “negotiating.”  And, it appears that President Obama actually expects the republicans to come to a sensible agreement to solve this debt problem on a long term basis.  Are you kidding me?  That would be good for the president and evidently he hasn’t been paying attention to the FACT the republicans HATE him and their NUMBER ONE goal is to destroy his presidency.  Does anyone seriously believe they will agree to a long term solution to the debt problem that would insure Obama’s re-election?  Does anyone besides me remember all the racist signs and rhetoric of the “tea party” during the 2010 election cycle?  I know that America’s “liberal media” (you know, the media that’s controlled by Rupert Murdoch) refuses to even discuss the reality racism plays in the republican OBSTINENCE, but you don’t have to be a psychologist to see that it’s there, and in SPADES! (no pun intended)

President Obama couldn’t have played into their hands better had they been allowed to script the political dialogue the day he was elected.  Whether “we the people” ever get the TRUTH about what’s really going on in Washington DC or not remains to be seen.  I’m starting to believe that even my acquaintences who’ve been BRAINWASHED by Murdoch and his Fox “news” (Republican TV) will soon start to realize what’s been happening.  That, of course, will require the Obama administration to suck up the courage to begin investigations of the scandal that has reached MAJOR proportions in Great Britain and UNDOUBTEDLY will do the same here unless President Obama pulls another “look forward instead of back” routine as he did in the face of MULTIPLE legal transgressions by the administration that proceeded him.  Personally, I have to admit that I have NO CONFIDENCE that Eric Holder will do what he SHOULD and FULLY investigate EVERY part of Rupert Murdoch’s “empire” that’s in America AND hold Murdoch accountable for the GANGSTER mentality that clearly permeates his organization.  American corporations BRIBING foreign officials is a CRIME, yet I have no confidence that Holder will even investigate (let alone prosecute) Murdoch, even though we know that “NewsCorp” officials have been busy bribing officials in Britain for some time now.

I honestly don’t like “beating a dead horse,” but President Obama’s first sign of weakness was when he CHEATED the American public out of learning about the crimes committed by Bush/Cheney et al when he blocked ALL investigations of their administration.  Since that time they have put numerous Justice Department lawyers to work investigating Julian Assange of WikiLeaks for printing the TRUTH about American diplomatic practices – because, contrary to what most of us think, some of America’s diplomacy is deplorable.  And, of course, as an “outgrowth” of that “justice” we’ve seen Private Bradley Manning being essentially TORTURED for the past year apparently in retrobution for ALLEGEDLY being the source of the material which was leaked.  (does that remind you of Bush/Cheney? – you know, indefinite imprisonment with no charges, inhumane treatment, etc.)  Holder’s Justice Department couldn’t muster the courage to investigate Bush/Cheney, but they’re right on the front lines of justice with a prosecution of John Edwards for mishandling campaign funds (I’m not justifying Edwards here, just making a point) and, the other day, I read where there were ONE HUNDRED Justice Department lawyers involved on the Roger Clements case (which was declared a mistrial) that was about whether Clements lied to Congress about the use of performance enhancing drugs in BASEBALL!  Are you serious, Mr. Holder?  Alberto Gonzales could sit in front of Congress for days LYING about the undermining of the very department you’re in charge of and instead of going after him you chose to send ONE HUNDRED lawyers after Clements!  Karl Rove and Harriet Miers refused to answer subpoenas before congress and that’s OK, but Clements is the target.  Just writing this makes me sick to my stomach!

There’s more that’s troubling to me.  I’ve read where one of the “solutions” to the debt ceiling “deal” is to eliminate the tax credit for mortgage interest and for employer provided health insurance benefits.  In other words, the interest I pay on my home mortgage would no longer be deductible (a tax increase for me of something over $1000 per year) and the benefit I receive for health insurance would become taxable income increasing my taxes another $1000 or so per year.  Of course, the “Bush tax cuts” would remain in force and probably, knowing Obama, be extended even further than the “last” extention.  This would raise, supposedly, the same amount as if the “Bush tax cuts” had been allowed to end AS THEY SHOULD HAVE!  The bottom line will be those of us in the middle class will AGAIN bear the brunt of the problem, and those at the “top” will continue the “tax holiday” they’ve been on since Ronald Reagan took the oath of office in January of 1981.  By the time President Obama is done with this next “compromise” he won’t need the republicans to vote him out of office.  Certainly, independents who think along what are presently defined as LIBERAL ways, will stay home from the election in greater numbers than they did in 2010.  And, I think I understand why (as one of them).  As I implied above, I would rather know it’s coming from the opposition – and put up a FIGHT to stop it – (and, here I’m referring to BAD legislation) than to be blindsided by someone whom I supported.

Had I even had an inkling that President Obama would utter the words that “Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are on the table” in 2008 I would have actively worked to stop his nomination instead of supporting him.  His willingness to buy into the “trickle down” philosophy of the republicans is difficult for me to even imagine.  I heard him say, out of his own mouth, after extending the HATED “Bush tax cuts” that this would lead to more jobs and would stimulate the economy.  Obviously, he’s spending too much time in meetings (and on the golf course) with republicans.  I believe all I have to say here is “where are the jobs?”  And, as I pointed out almost the SECOND I heard the bad news about Obama CAVING on the tax cut issue, “just wait until they turn the debt ceiling into an issue!”  At the time, I predicted their plan would be to go after Social Security and Medicare and I was concerned about Obama “caving” again.  To say I’m still concerned would be an understatement.

So, Is there a solution to this problem?  Well, as stated above, I feel that republicans in their zest to defeat Obama at the expense of the American economy, could solve the problem by refusing to do anything.  I believe the resulting chaos SHOULD be easy for the democrats to “pin” on the “tea partiers” in the House of Representatives – who are now in control of the republican agenda.  Should that not be the case, then “we the people” must rely on the democrats in Congress to stop any BAD deal from going through that includes cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  When large corporate interests are sitting on TRILLIONS in cash, when the top ONE TENTH of one percent of Americans make over $300 BILLION per year and pay the lowest percentage of taxes in the history of modern America, and considering that Social Security and Medicare are NOT the problem and didn’t create the problem – they should NOT be part of the solution!  The reality is that it’s time for the democrats in congress to make a stand.  The reason a bunch of them were voted out in 2010 was because the American public HATES timid politicians.  These republicans will continue to push until the democrats decide to say “enough already.”  Just as in the “fight” for the “public option” in the health care debate, a large percentage of the population is AGAINST including Social Security and Medicare in this debate.  I can picture the 2012 election now, where republicans are blaming President Obama for “dismantling” Social Security and Medicare.  If President Obama can’t figure out how to do “the right thing,” then we’ve got to rely on the Democratic congress to do it for him!  This budget “crisis” should be “fixed” by the people who created it – the Wall Street bankers, the Wall Street elite, and the wealthy republican donors!

As I’ve tried to imply in my previous few posts, I’m paying less attention to what’s going on in America lately simply, I believe, because I’m getting worn out being disappointed with my country’s “leaders.”  I shouldn’t be – I’ve read several books recently on American history, and the polarization among leaders we’re experiencing in this nation today is nothing new.  And, the willingness of the parties with tangible interests in the “outcome” of, for example, the dispute over the “debt ceiling” to fabricate information to aid their cause is also nothing new.  Through America’s short history there’s been many a partisan “fight” which included fabrications by those involved in the disputes.  For example, looking at a major contemporary issue, today I looked up on the net info on the Social Security trust fund.  Now, anyone who’s been paying attention to American politics for any length of time knows that the republican party has been trying to get their GREEDY hands on all that “trust fund” money for MANY years. 

The original intent of the trust fund was to keep the program solvent (which it has) and to keep the politicians “hands” off the money.  It’s grown to be a large sum of money – by today’s estimates it’s grown to 2.6 TRILLION DOLLARS.  And, I’ve heard, like everyone else watching or listening to or reading the news that the Social Security trust fund is nothing more than a pile of IOU’s.  Also, today I read a column at Forbes.com, I think the author’s last name was Merrill, who was obviously a proponent of “privatizing” Social Security and who was claiming that there was no money in the trust fund – that it had all been borrowed.  So, what’s the deal?  Democrats say it’s solvent for the next 25 years.  Who’s telling the truth (if anyone)?

According to the Social Security’s own website, the fund is there and it will be there for that “another 25 years,” at which time, if there are no modifications to the system it would be able to pay out about 75% of the accrued benefits – not broke, but not completely solvent.  There are NO “IOU’s,” unless you consider the “special” government securities which the trust fund invests in as “IOU’s.”  (the securities are also purchased by state governments, retirement funds, and other large “conservative” investors) These are similar to US savings bonds, they are special securities that have always been paid back WITH INTEREST by the federal government.  Now, I’m not an expert on how our government functions financially, but they do generate money by selling savings bonds.  In fact, I can remember when I was a child (the fifties) it was considered patriotic to purchase savings bonds.  Many parents, mine included, purchased savings bonds for their children – I believe mine matured in 7 years and was then worth $50!  That is why, apparently, whoever’s in charge of the Social Security trust fund says the fund is solvent and backed by the “full faith and credit of the United States.”  Things are starting to make sense to me now.

 The person who was writing at Forbes.com (Merrill?) was lamenting that “had we privatized Social Security” we wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not the checks would go out on August 3rd (as President Obama postulated regarding possible effects of congress failing to “act responsibly”) – should the House republicans follow through on their threat to refuse the raising of the debt “ceiling.”  He’s (Merrill) saying the money would still be in the stock market and Seniors wouldn’t have to worry about it.  As I’m writing this, I’m wondering how some of these people manage to get jobs writing for business sites like that – honestly.  Of course, my first thought was – now, try to picture me responding to the Forbes.com author – “What do you think the stock market is going to do if the federal government defaults on its obligations?”  Again, I’m no expert – but the implication I took from that article was the guy was suggesting funds will be safe on Wall Street if the federal government defaults.  I’m going to try not to get too animated and simply say ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????

But, here’s another thought:  Do you think all these “tea partiers” (many who are collecting Social Security and enjoying the benefits of Medicare – I’m not kidding when I say I’ve met some devout “right wing” whackos who despise “government run health care” and “big government” while they are dependent on Social Security and Medicare – REALLY!) in Congress believe the way to destroy Social Security and Medicare is to force the government into default?  In reality, the Social Security trust fund IS backed by the “full faith and credit of the United States,” so if you attempt to destroy that “full faith and credit” maybe you could succeed.  Although, I believe there is a fundamental problem with that philosophy as well.

Fortunately, at present in my life, I’ve been able to pay all of my bills on time – for several years now.  However, there have been times in my lifetime (yes, I’m a “baby boomer”) when that hasn’t been the case.  And, guess what, EVERY time I’ve been late on paying a bill, the BILL DOES NOT GO AWAY!  So, should the “tea partiers” succeed in failing to raise the debt limit by the “due date” (actually, the due date has passed and Tim Geithner is juggling the books to forestall the issue) the problem won’t go away.  In fact, based on my previous experience, EVERYTHING will get worse.  I’m not claiming the world will stop revolving, but it makes total sense to me that the result will be that the debt will INCREASE because the interest on the TOTAL debt will increase, thereby increasing the annual budget deficit – that these republicans have suddenly become so worried about.  I really can’t see the United States simply saying that we won’t pay these debts – they’ll still be due – including the special securities owed to Social Security’s trust fund.  The “tea party” will simply have succeeded in proclaiming to the rest of the world that an irrational minority with the proper financial backing can bring America’s “great experiment” in self governance to its knees!  (by the way, as I was checking this all out, I found that many states invest in these “special government securities” as well, because they are so “safe.”  These “tea partiers” are really messing with a lot of trouble – national AND local – I actually heard Michele Bauchmann say defaulting on the debt wouldn’t be a big problem – It should be no surprise that she’s running for president on the republican side!)

In fact, it only requires a quick check on the internet to discover that the so-called “Obama budget deficit” of something approaching 1.5 TRILLION dollars for fiscal year 2011 is comprised of over $400 BILLION in interest payments on debt that accrued before he ever took the oath of office.  When you add over $400 BILLION for the “Bush tax cuts,” and over $200 BILLION for Iraq and Afganistan, it’s easy to see that the problem, while still significant, is much beyond Obama’s control (although, if you’ve read many of my previous posts, you know how I feel about him extending those tax cuts).  And, if congress decides to default on August 2, those interest payments could double – thereby making the debt problem MUCH more serious. (if you haven’t noticed, interest rates are at unbelievable lows at the time of this writing)  Oh yes, I must throw in here that the Social Security Administration has not contributed in ANY WAY to that national debt which is causing those huge interest payments – so why would it even be part of this discussion?

Here’s another thing I find interesting (and, since I’ve given President Obama some grief previously on this site, I think he deserves some credit for how he’s pushed this issue to the front).  While I was researching the debt I discovered that even during the last four years of the Clinton years the total national debt was increasing.  Well, they were telling us WE were running a surplus – which, technically, we were.  That is there was more revenue coming in than what was going out (do you remember, that was the original rationale for Bush’s tax cuts – the “people” could better spend that money) – EXCEPT for the interest.  When you calculate the interest, the total debt was going up about $100 billion in each of Clinton’s “surplus” years due to interest payments of over $300 BILLION (rates were higher then) which were not included in the “deficit” discussion.

George W Bush followed the same approach of not including the interest payments as part of the budget reportings so that his “deficit spending” – even though it was REALLY BAD – looke a whole lot better without the $300 – $400 BILLION in interest which was accruing each and every year he was in office.  To make matters worse, Bush/Cheney didn’t include the WARS in their budget projections and reports.  They included EVERY cent of the Afghanistan and Iraq FIASCOS on “supplemental” budget requests and that tactic made their deficits look smaller as well.  President Obama discontinued all these “accounting” misdemeanors and therefore his budget deficit looks HUGE compared to Bush/Cheney.  It’s larger, but when you consider how Bush/Cheney were hiding things, it’s not that much larger and – when you consider the economy Bush/Cheney left Obama with – it could be A LOT worse!

I’m pretty much unhappy with most of America’s political leaders (exceptions such as Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whithouse, Dennis Kucinich, Alan Grayson, and Peter DeFazio to name a few) but it’s the people like the guy on Forbes.com who are driving this corporate takeover of our government who really bug me.  I have no idea where the guy got his information, but it doesn’t take long to look up the topic(s) when people like that are blasting one part of our government or another.  I’m OK with questioning what the government’s doing – in fact, I believe that is an obligation of America’s citizens – but, this effort to destroy the government for “privitization” is nothing more than a push toward fascism.  In this instance, Social Security’s trust fund really IS solvent – AND – despite the FACT there could be some kind of interruption in checks going out – should the “tea partiers” succeed in pushing the default – the debt (or assets, however you want to look at it) will still be there – presumably the change will be the interest on the debt will increase – and the checks will still be due.  Trying to “fix” government is one thing, trying to destroy it is quite another!  Since the day Grover Norquist made the famous quote about “drowning government in the bathtub” republicans have been busy trying to destroy the greatest national experiment of self rule in the history of the world, and it’s up to “we the people” to make sure they DON’T succeed!

I started writing this blog (if that is what it is – I really don’t do “blogs”) when I reached the point of total frustration with the George W Bush administration and their incessant arrogance toward our constitution and the oath of office Bush/Cheney took to uphold it.  The purpose of my writing was simply to get out my frustrations – kind of an outlet where I could throw my thoughts out into the vast cyberspace where they would “sit” until I chose to “revisit” them.  I had no idea that people would actually find my little section of cyberspace – but, when I discovered that several hundred “visitors” per day were showing up, it motivated me to write more often.  And, as I go back and “revisit” some of my thoughts over the past four or five years, it reminds me that those of us “ordinary” people often times get things “right” more often than the “experts.”  To me, this is simply confirmation to what most people on “Main Street” know, and that is in America right now we have a system that is corrupt right to the core.

I just finished reading “Ratification” by Pauline Maier about the debate which led to ratification of the constitution of the United States.  As I was reading this book (by the way, if you like history, it’s a great read) I couldn’t help but focus in on how the “framers” were confident that the system was set up to prevent “factions” from gaining control and forcing their “will” on the minority.  The one aspect of today’s issues that they couldn’t possibly have forseen would be the lobbyists and the ability of lobbyists to buy congressional “influence.”  In today’s Washington D.C. there is the perverbial “revolving door” between members of congress and the lobbyists who do the “influencing.”  As far as I can tell, when members of congress lose elections they are rewarded with HIGH PAYING jobs working for lobbying interests that take “advantage” of their “inside knowledge.”  It’s become a cesspool of corruption which will undoubtedly continue to get worse, because it is the congress itself which has the power to make the necessary changes to the system.  Reminds me of the saying where the fox is guarding the henhouse.  The amount of money involved is staggering (nearly a BILLION dollars spent “lobbying” the health care debate) and the result could be a MINORITY faction (the wealthy) forcing their will on the MAJORITY!

The system is set up with the “checks and balances” which are supposed to prevent the corruption we’re experiencing as I’m writing this post.  That is, between the legislative branch of government (article 1), the executive branch (article 2), and the judicial branch (article 3) it was planned that no single “faction” could corrupt the original intent of the constitution which was to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”  Should one branch of government get “out of control” (my wording) the other two branches were there to “check” the out of control branch and keep things on an even keel.  This has worked well for over 200 years, but is presently under assault. (OK, it’s often been under assault, but nothing like what’s happening today)

If you’ve read many of my previous posts you know that I’m beyond fed up with the republican party.  And, the reality of American politics is that we have a “two party system.”  Therefore, those of us “fed up” with the republicans have essentially nowhere else to turn than to the democrats.  That is exactly what happened in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States.  In fact, Obama was given a huge majority in both houses of congress upon his election and I don’t think I was the only American who thought the “Change we can believe in” would be something different from what has transpired.  Here’s the dilemma people who think as I do have to deal with; it’s the republicans who have managed to undermine the fabric of the constitution and the intent of the “framers.”  It’s President Obama who we have to depend on to rectify the abuses of the republicans. 

For several years now we’ve been hearing about the republican’s plan for a “permanent republican ‘majority.'”  This plan almost reached “fruition” during the Bush/Cheney regime, but George W Bush was such a buffoon that he “blew it” when republicans had both houses of Congress.  They were soon to have a “stranglehold” on the Supreme Court plus, during Bush’s term in office, republicans were also consolidating their control of the nation’s “liberal media.”  The media (at the time of the framers were newspapers) was considered the “fourth estate” of the government, by the constitution’s framers, as the ultimate “watchdog” of what the government was doing for “we the people.”  (I’m confident they didn’t visualize Fox “news” when they were putting in guarantees for a free press) I was certain that with Obama’s election this plan would be PERMANENTLY put to “rest,” but that has not proved to be the case.  In fact, the republicans have responded to the election of Obama with an even MORE aggressive attack on the middle class which voted Obama into office.  Remarkably, President Obama, who I had given high marks for his intelligence, has committed one egregious error after another – and, like those presidents in my lifetime who have made mistakes, he doesn’t seem to want to own up to what’s “happening.”  I continue to try to remain positive in my outlook, but it’s getting harder all the time.  I have to admit, I don’t even care to listen to Obama’s speaches anymore.  To me it’s just a bunch of hollow rhetoric – his obsession with bridging the “gap” between the “right and the left” is leaving me a bit sick to my stomach.

There used to be an unwritten rule in American politics that you don’t negotiate with terrorists.  Well, President Obama has shown us why that is such an important principle to stand on.  He’s been trying to negotiate with republicans who have ONE WISH – and that’s President Obama’s defeat in 2012 – since the first day he took the oath of office.  In fact, I’m beginning to think Obama’s given more time to the republicans in “negotiations” than he’s given to members of his own party.  The republicans, to me, are like terrorists.  It’s as if they are holding the entire future of America “hostage” in order to “get their way.”  How this could not have been obvious to Obama during the first two years of his presidency I don’t know.  He’s been caving  in to republican demands from day one – and, where has it gotten him.  Can you even imagine Obama’s legacy if he’s the president that presides over the undermining of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?  What is this man thinking? 

As I drive my car around I like to listen to “talk radio” and there are voices on the “left” who are trying hard to remain loyal to Obama, but it’s getting harder and harder.  If he “caves” on the issue of Social Security and Medicare I have no idea what the reaction of America’s middle class will be – but, I’m certain that Obama’s political career will be over.  In fact, at this point in time, I’m trusting the rank and file democrats in congress to be the ones to stop Obama if that becomes necessary.  I’ve been warning people about Obama since before he took the oath of office – and this despite the FACT that I supported him enthusiastically during the election.  I’m going to relist some of what I consider the egregious mistakes – but, as I said above, many of us on “Main Street” have seen what is wrong but it hasn’t seemed too productive to “shout it out.”  (I’ve written letters to Obama, emails, plus all the posts – like millions of other Americans – and, he seems to just “keep on keepin on.”)

Let’s start with the FISA bill that came up during the campaign.  Then Senator Obama voted in favor of the telecom companies who had been giving access to their phone lines and emails for the Bush administration to ILLEGALLY wiretap without warrants as required by the FISA law that had been in effect since the days of the Nixon abuses of privacy laws.  That was the only time I got any kind of response to a letter I wrote  him – I received an email response that indicated I wasn’t the only person upset with him and the email promised that, once elected, he would “fix” the FISA bill.  Well, of course, that not only hasn’t happened, I’m convinced the “eavesdropping” has continued under Obama.  Then, once elected when Obama started announcing his closest advisors I almost went into a state of shock.  If you look back in the archives of this site that’s when I started pointing out the “red flags” I was seeing – always hoping I was wrong.  I couldn’t believe President Obama would choose Rahm Emmanuel as his chief of staff.  Talk about your politician’s politician.  My first thought – how was Emmanuel going to mean “the change we can believe in?”  Then it was announced that Larry Summers – the man intricately involved with the dismantling of Glass Steagall during the waning years of the Clinton administration – one of the main underlying causes of the crash of 2008 – as his chief economic advisor.  I thought: “Are you kidding me?”  Then it was announced that Timothy Geithner would be Treasury Secretary – he was the head of the New York Fed at the time of the “crash” and intricately involved with the Wall Street banker crowd – again, I thought, “How will this lead to the change I can believe in?”

This was all bad and it all happened prior to the inauguration, but the HUGE BLUNDER happened right after the inauguration and, in my view, is the reason we’re even having all these absurd discussions about Social Security, Medicare, and the national debt today.  For some inexplicable reason President Obama chose to BLOCK all INVESTIGATIONS of the Bush/Cheney administration.  ALL OF THEM!  There wasn’t even a SINGLE congressional investigation of all the WRONGDOING that was committed during the eight LONG years of Bush/Cheney!  They authorized TORTURE; they OUTED a CIA agent; they undermined the Justice department (which, obviously, still hasn’t recovered); they refused subpoenas from congress; do you remember Alberto Gonzales – the United States’ Attorney General – LYING repeatedly to congress?  The aforementioned illegal wiretaps of Americans should have been investigated.  Entire government agencies were encouraged to ignore regulations on business – with results being the mine disasters in West Virginia and the Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  And, this doesn’t even go into the illegal war started with LIES in Iraq and all the fraud and waste by the “crony” no bid contracts given to their “buddies.”  There was NO INVESTIGATION of the war profiteering by senior members of the Bush administration – including Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld!  And there was no investigation of Hank Paulson’s TARP “bailout” which saved him and Goldman Sachs a lot of money!  Again, what was President Obama thinking?  Did he think this capitulation would endear him to republicans?  Honestly, I still believe this decision will someday be considered one of the worst decisions a president ever made.  The investigations that were called for after Bush/Cheney would have prevented MUCH of the chicanery the republicans have pulled off since.  Obama’s “looking forward” was like a large GO SIGN to the republicans and their strategy of becoming the party of NO.  One thing republicans understand very well is that the American public will never be enamored with leaders who seem either timid or weak – and, that’s how this decision made Obama look – take your pick, timid or weak!

He may have been able to overcome that blunder had he not continued to capitulate.  Do you remember the “Stimulus” bill?  Well, it was at least half a BILLION dollars too small and it had too many tax cuts – money that could have been directed toward job creation – precisely because Obama wanted some republican votes for the bill.  When he had close to a super majority in congress it was imperative for him to show the leadership necessary to get his agenda passed – IN TACT!  Unfortunately, his EXTREME desire to “compromise” with these republican “terrorists” showed it’s “ugly face” right off the bat.  And, this continued through the painfully dragged out “health reform” legislation that included the same backroom dealing people were sick of and a capitulation to its most important ingredient – A ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION!  Since the passage of the “Affordable Health Care Act” my health insurance has increased over 25% in cost – that’s in less than two years!  Obama undermined his own constituency in the House of Representatives on this one – and, now look at what he’s dealing with.

Then, to top this all off, last December President Obama “negotiated” an extension of the “Bush Tax Cuts.”  (that fell into the unbelievable category for me) These tax cuts had added something approaching 2 TRILLION dollars to the national debt in the previous 10 years and I actually heard these words come out of Obama’s mouth shortly thereafter – “Extending these tax cuts will stimulate the economy and add jobs.”  Again, I thought: “Are you kidding me?”  To make matters worse, in all the negotiating I remember Obama pointing out that the Social Security “tax” (FICA) that comes out of our checks (those of us lucky enough to be working) would be reduced by 2% for the next year further “stimulating” the economy!  When I heard that I wondered; “Has this president read any of the history behind the Social Security system and its trust fund?”  That system and it’s money was NEVER intended to “stimulate” the economy – it was SUPPOSED to be HANDS OFF!  Now, we have a democratic president who’s allowing himself to be backed into a corner through his “negotiating” with terrorists (republicans) and the other day I even heard him say that Social Security is “on the table.”  My thoughts; “What the hell does that mean?”  or “He’s at it again!”

Had Obama simply let the Bush Tax cuts expire and had he actually brought the troops home from Iraq within the 16 months he PROMISED (there wasn’t time or space to get into that one this evening) half of this budget “crisis” would have been solved.  (he should have repealled them as soon as he was in office)  Obama can’t go back and make the original “stimulus” bill the size it should have been, but he could choose to join the fight working people are waging across America against the corporate elite who are, with the conspiratorial help of the republican party, trying to gain a stranglehold on our nation’s government.  If “we the people” lose this next battle – and, here I’m talking about 2012 – turning things around will become exponentially more difficult.  The republicans and their “sponsors” have control of a majority on the Supreme Court (hence, the deplorable Citizens United decision), they control the vast majority of the media (Fox “news” should be called Republican TV or GOP TV), and they’ve got a reasonable chance to gain control of both houses of congress in the next election (I don’t think many Americans have truly internalized the effects “Citizens United” will have on future elections). 

If President Obama turns off even more of his “base” by “negotiating” Social Security and Medicare with these republicans it’s even possible there could be a republican president in 2012.  After Bush/Cheney I thought “there won’t be another republican elected to national office for maybe a generation.”  I hope I’m wrong, but I feel that if President Obama ends up including Social Security in the debt “negotiations” the opposite could become true. (remember, Social Security has NOTHING to do with the debt – it hasn’t caused a DIME of debt since its inception and it’s SOLVENT for the next 25 years if we can keep the politician’s hands off of the trust fund – plus it wouldn’t take much “tweaking” to make it solvent for the next 75 years)  Honestly, I’m finding myself feeling incredulous that the subject of Social Security “on the table” could even be happening under a democratic president!  What on earth is America coming to?????

I’ve written a couple of times how I believe MSNBC’s firing of Keith Olberman was just another “straw” in the scheme by America’s corporate elite to squash dissent.  Well, last night I saw the first “Countdown with Keith Olberman” on Current TV.  Let me be right up front about what I’m thinking:  I hope “progressives” er LIBERALS will find this show and turn Current into the next MSNBC – at MSNBC’s expense!  If you forget, or didn’t know, Olberman was FIRED right after Comcast purchased MSNBC – more of the corporate assault on America’s unsuspecting “low information voters.”  The way I see it, Olberman was getting way too powerful – and, he’s willing to be critical of BOTH republicans and the timid democrats who seem all too willing to get out of the way of the right wing assault on America.  Just today I read a column where Charles Blow of the New York Times called the republicans pitiless and the democrats pitiful – I couldn’t have put it better.  And, Olberman is one “pundit” who is willing to call BOTH sides on the issues – although, he make no secret that he’s a FLAMING LIBERAL! :0)

The more I watch what is “happening” in America, the more alarmed I get at the future facing my children and grandchildren – sick to my stomach could be a better term for it.  It appears to me that we are “stuck” with President Obama for the next few years – with the alternative being some republican “whacko” who would be beholden to the Koch brothers, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of the right wing “machine” that is dead set on FINALLY reversing the safety net created by the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Society of the Lyndon Johnson years.  The problem with all of that is I have no confidence AT ALL that Obama will be the “backstop” against this assault on our social safety net based on the evidence to date since his inauguration.  Obama has been getting “played” by the republicans since the day he took office, and I’m sure they have more “tricks” in store for him.  The next big “excitement” will be what does he give up to “put off” the “debt crisis” (that the republicans created)?  If you’ve forgotten, Obama capitulated on the original “stimulus package” – I’m sure he now sees that the economists such as Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz were “right on” when they proposed a larger stimulus without the tax cuts – Obama gave in to republicans and their special interest “sponsors” when he caved on the “public option,” the Wall Street “re-regulation” failed to include restoring Glass Steagall – which most progressive economists claim is desperately needed, and he caved MISERABLY on the “Bush Tax Cuts,” which are likely to be made permanent as a result – further exaserbating the “debt crisis” (to the delight of republicans, I’m sure).

To make matters worse, after caving on the tax cut issue, Obama came out with a plan to cut the Social Security withholding for America’s workers by an additional two percent as another way to “stimulate” the economy.  In essence, what he’s doing is adding fuel to the republican fire to “privatize” Social Security and Medicare.  The republicans want to privatize EVERYTHING, despite ALL the evidence that this is not in the best interests of the American people.  What the democrats presently in Congress and our “democratic” president seem to have forgotten is that EVERYTHING the republicans do is aimed at the wealthiest Americans.  These people want to use America’s roads, bridges, buildings, schools, police, firemen, MILITARY, and EVERYTHING they can get their greedy hands on to make as much money as possible with no regard to the original intent of the “New Deal” which was to create a booming middle class with workers who were paid a living wage – sufficient to support their families and educate their children.  Honestly, I wonder if Obama and the democrats even wonder how history is going to perceive them – they had a near stranglehold on Congress when Obama was elected and they’re being manipulated into destroying EVERYTHING the republicans couldn’t manage to destroy while George W Bush was in office – with a republican congress!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME????  Again, Charles Blow gave the democrats the appropriate monniker: “Pitiful.”

I’ve come to the point where I believe even the democrats are watching Fox “news.”  They seem to be scared to death to have the BATTLE that is so necessary to do what I’ve been claiming needs to be done for the past several years – and, that is to annihilate the repulbican party.  This, of course, would have to be done at the polls, and it would require politicians who had BACKBONE and, who were not being PAID by the same people who are buying off the republicans.  The evidence that I’m finding is that the latter of those two “requirements” may be the biggest “hurdle,” although the lack of the former (backbone) may be the reason the democrats have allowed themselves to be “bought off.”  Another point that Blow made in the article I read was that OVER half of the members of Congress are MILLIONAIRES – this brings up several good questions itself.

Is having a Congress full of the wealthiest Americans and asking them to TAX the wealthiest Americans akin to having the “Fox guarding the henhouse?”  Are these people so “out of touch” with the present day realities in America that they don’t “get” the level of financial decay that is eating away at one “middle class” family after another?  Have all these Congress people, many who profess to be Christians, failed to read the words of Jesus when He said, “What you do for the least of these (meaning poor people), you do for me” – as they cut off health care benefits for poor children, pregnant women, and fail to extend unemployment benefits to the long term unemployed who are desperately trying to find work?  Is the wealth of our Congress members the reason why when they talk about cutting spending it’s NEVER mentioned that we could cut DEFENSE spending – it’s ALWAYS “off the table” – in the words of not only John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, but all the “tea partier” nutbags that managed to get elected in 2010 – and, unfortunately, many democrats – including President Obama.  Seriously, do these people REALLY believe that we need a military budget that exceeds the REST OF THE WORLD combined?  Or is their something “in it for them” to go along with this crazy nonsense?  How many wars will America become involved in before the American public wakes up?  It’s obvious to me that the Congress is not going to do anything about this problem until their jobs are in jeopardy.

This gets me back to my original point.  Without people like Keith Olberman out there – who are willing to criticize BOTH sides when called for – we are in trouble.  Olberman was the “anchor tenant,” so to speak, for the “LIBERAL” perspective on MSNBC, but there was no doubt he was ruffling too many feathers of the “establishment.”  Their solution is always simple – just get rid of him!  They even did it in the politically expedient way that minimized the “fallout” from that type of decision.  They announced it VERY UNEXPECTEDLY on a Friday – had I not been taping his shows, I would have simply been wondering “Where did Keith Olberman go?”  Now, I know enough to look up things on the web, but how many people out there never gave it a second thought?  And, how many Americans are like I was a few years ago before I started all this reading – where I would have never suspected that Americans could be following Nazi philosophy? (Of course, it’s this same group – Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Fox “news,” Beck, and all the others who have accused Obama of being a ‘fascist’) Just the other day I had a conversation with a teacher at my school about the economy and I had to stop soon after the conversation began because this woman sounded like Rush Limbaugh – she’s an educated teacher, yet she watches Fox “news” and listend to Limbaugh and his ilk.  When she said, “It’s the rich people who supply the jobs, so they shouldn’t be taxed,” I thought “I’ve got to leave before I say something rude.”  The reality is that the republican propaganda scheme is POWERFUL. (and, they’ve been at it for a long time)

I believe that “progressives” (er, LIBERALS) don’t realize how important Olberman is to this nation.  Not only is it important that his show succeeds, but I believe that Current TV has made a commitment to COMPETE with the other cable companies with a true “progressive” (OK, if you haven’t figure this out yet – I REALLY mean LIBERAL :o) format.  This is an opportunity to provide a platform for the opposition to the “permanent republican majority” which is the dream child of people like Grover Norquist, Karl Rove, the Kochs, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, those referred to as ‘The Family’ in Jeff Sharlet’s book of the same name, and the so-called ‘neo-cons’) As Joseph Goebbels himself implied, the antidote for the “Big Lie Theory” of propaganda that propelled the Nazi’s to power was organized dissent.  That is why, in my opinion, Olberman was FIRED from MSNBC (there’s no other logical explanation) – he was becoming too popular – too many people were watching his show.  This time around I believe that Olberman is now in a position where “the sky’s the limit.”  So, if you’re reading this and you agree with me at all, tune into Current TV and watch his show.  And, tell others to do the same thing.  If Keith Olberman succeeds at Current TV, the chances for widespread exposure of the republican “Big Lie” propaganda scheme go way up!  Additionally, a side benefit might be that his criticism of Obama might be enough to get the president to rethink some of the disastrous “compromises” he’s made, and encourage him to be the leader of the FIGHT which will have to happen – hopefully sooner rather than later!

Honestly, as I continue to moniter the political scene in America – as a school teacher – I have to wonder if “we the people” really are so stupid as to continue to “buy” the “kool aid” the republicans have been “selling” since the mid 1970’s.  As I’ve written on this site many times I believe the turning point that has turned America downward was the day Ronald Reagan was elected president back in 1980.  During the 80’s I was focused on my young children and not so much on politics (although I still remember the “me” orientation of all the “young republicans” back then and worrying about what would happen once they weren’t “young” anymore) – once the Viet Nam War  “ended” I was pretty much “done” with America’s “mainstream.”  However, like many others of my era, I slowly worked my way into a middle class lifestyle and year after year took the many benefits I was receiving due to the sacrifices of those who fought valiantly for working people during the preceeding 40 years for granted.  I was publicly educated, the roads I was driving on were relatively new, and jobs were plentiful (in fact, most corporations actually treated their employees with a sense of loyalty – until Reagan “broke” the Air Traffic Controller’s Union).  After the trauma of the Viet Nam fiasco wore off, and I recovered from “discovering” that my government had LIED to me (I was raised believing lying was REALLY bad), I slowly started appreciating the things I had learned in school about “MY” country.

The United States of America was the greatest nation in the world – not because we had all the weapons and military to threaten anyone who disagreed with us with total annihilation, but – because we believed in equal rights, liberty, human rights, and – in a summative sense – community.  I believed we were a nation whose actions were consistent with our words.  Of course, the more I read nowadays, the more I realize how naive I was – and, worst of all, the more I realize that those who’ve been leading us have been on a terrible downward trend for most of my adult lifetime.  Yet, my formative years were the 60’s and I still remember Dr. Martin Luther King and the movement he stood for and died for.  I remember Lyndon Johnson who became very unpopular because of his blunders in foreign policy – yet, he oversaw the “Great Society” which gave us Medicare and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which was a great step in the right direction for those of us who believe in doing everything possible to minimize the effects of discrimination in America.  I remember Robert Kennedy who was determined to fight organized crime and paid the ultimate price for his conviction.  And I clearly remember the 1970’s was a time when you could disagree with someone – like I did with Richard Nixon on many issues – yet, still expect progress to be made for the “general welfare of the American people.”  I believe it was the very forces of the republican party that are undermining the fundamentals of our government today who were responsible for Nixon’s downfall. (do you really believe the Watergate “burglars” [CIA operatives] were “caught” unexpectedly?)

Nixon had instituted a strong environmental policy and initiated the Environmental Protection Agency (that today’s republicans so much want to eliminate), Nixon broke foreign policy barriers with both Russia and (especially) China, and he instituted wage and price controls that ultimately led to a “Windfall Profits tax” on oil companies after he was gone from office (all things this republican CABAL I keep writing about hated).  In those days, as I remember it, mainstream republicans and democrats could “work together” and actually accomplish things that were in the interest of “Main Street.”  As I look back on those days, it becomes clearer to me that the “forces” which are behind today’s republican party were “there” – they were simply stealth – and they decided their party needed a strong push to the “right.”  Reagan was the first step.  These are the people I’ve previously referred to as the “Family” – as written about by Jeff Sharlet in the book of the same name – who have multiplied into a force of unknown numbers of “cells” around the country dedicated to the “overthrow” of the “New Deal” and the “Great Society,” plus those features of our government they find repulsive, put in place by both Nixon and Eisenhower before him.

When you think about it, there’s no logical reason for the LARGE MAJORITY of Americans to “turn away” from the ideals of the “New Deal” and “Great Society” because the benefits created in those era’s were (and still are) aimed at the vast majority of Americans.  It has taken a LONG conspiracy from those who were defeated by FDR in the 30’s to put themselves in a place where they are on the verge of not only reversing the social safety net created by Roosevelt and those who followed for the next generation, but in overcoming the “checks and balances” put into our constitution by the framers which would prevent the very “permanent republican majority” envisioned by Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and the rest of the right wing CABAL (many who are unknown to the general public) that potentially is on the horizon.  As I watch what is happening, I have to give them credit for having a well thought out, disciplined scheme – despite the FACT that I find them deplorable people for “hatching” it. (sometimes I feel like they’re simply trying to prove the old adage that “everyone has their price”)  The question becomes, “How are they doing this?”

 I’ve shared on this “blog” at least a couple times a reminder of the “Big Lie” theory of Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda.  If you read “The Family” you’ll find that this CABAL of right wing republicans, in it’s infancy back in the 30’s, took much of their philisophical direction from the Nazi’s.  They believe in authoritarianism and they believe that the world should be governed by the rich and powerful – to put it in a “nutshell.”  Goebbel’s theory was that if you repeat a LIE enough times, it eventually becomes believable – this is the mechanism they are using to trick America’s working class into voting against itself.  Those perpetrating the lying must control the dissent, so that the general public only hears the lying.  Enter Fox “news,” Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Scott Walker and all the others who will say what people like the Koch brothers pay them to say.  And, for those of us who still feel a “kinship” to all those who fought against the Civil Rights abuses that were commonplace in my youth, it should be no surprise some of the things that come out of the mouths of these people (Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity, etc.) because the Koch’s and their father were and are right in the middle of the John Birch Society which not only has a history of blatant racism, but still maintains to this day that Dwight D. Eisenhower was a communist spy!  These people are nuts and they are behind the “Tea Party,” people like Glenn Beck, and those right wing “water carriers” mentioned above.  They don’t think twice about the LYING that Goebbels preached for his propaganda “machine,” because – to them – “the end justifies the means.”  The “end” they are looking for is total control of America’s government in direct conflict with the intentions of our founders. 

If you’ve been listening to their “crap” for as long as I have, you’ve heard this “plain and simple.”  I started to notice this about the time Limbaugh hit the “scene” toward the end of the 80’s.  We started hearing the republican “talking points.”  I guess the terminology made it sound innocent enough, but what it means is a concerted and organized effort to get numerous “pundits” on the same page – repeating the same lie OVER and OVER again!  And, the really scarry thing is that it has worked.  I still remember talking to a psychologist about kids lying when I first started teaching.  He said, “You have to get ‘through’ to them by the time they’re 14 or lying becomes part of their character.”  Then he said something that really stuck with me and I’ve seen evidence of this many times in the ensuing 20 years, “After they’ve lied enough, they start believing their own lies.”  Wala, now we have a group of LIARS who actually believe what is coming out of their mouths is true!  That is how people like Beck and Limbaugh can do this with such “conviction.”  I’ve heard people use the term “spin” for many years, but in reality they have created a euphemism for the word LIAR.

Democrats have played an unwitting part in all of this, mostly because they are too disjointed to counteract the discipline of the republicans all marching in lockstep.  (does this give you a visual???)  One of the worst examples of this would be the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  As with much of the rest of America’s “big business” since the days of Reagan, we are experiencing “too big to fail” corporations – most notably the Wall Street banks who nearly bankrupted us (well, probably bankrupted us – the Treasury department is in the middle of a lot of creative “financing” that will probably come “due” some point in the not too distant future) – but, what many don’t think about is the contraction that’s taken place in the Telecommunications business since that disastrous decision.  America’s airwaves – you know, what the republicans have convinced America is our “liberal press” – has been purchased by less than ten right wing leaning corporations.  That decision is what has allowed Rupert Murdoch to seize control of a large portion of America’s media – despite the FACT he’s an Australian (right winger) and his top shareholder is a Saudi Prince who helped fund Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11.  This “Act” is what allowed the recent takeover of MSNBC by Comcast who immediately FIRED Keith Olberman, the leading voice of dissent to what the republicans are up to – just as Goebbels would have had it.

Now, as a teacher of 6th graders, I feel a sense of urgency to teach my students to research BOTH sides of any argument, to FACT check information, and to never lose sight of RIGHT and WRONG in their decision making.  I’m trying to teach them the importance of them being educated voters when they grow up, and I’m trying to give them a sense of the history of America which has made this nation so great.  I also teach them that when we take things for granted, we could lose them.  The way I put it often is “Freedom isn’t free.”  In the next couple of years we, in America, are going to find out how many adult voters understand these principles.  As I stated above, I believe I’ve been guilty of taking way too much for granted and thinking that certain issues were “off limits” from the politicians in Washington.  I still remember Reagan railing against Medicare in the 60’s, talking about how it was going to “destroy our freedom.”  Still, 80% support strengthening Medicare, yet should the republicans win in 2012, it may be a thing of the past.

Like I’ve said many times, these republicans are “cagy” and they have a “long term” plan.  They have been “whittling” away at the things they hate for many years and now it’s all coming to a head.  For example, under the reign of GW Bush, republicans, under the direction of the pharmeceutical industry, instituted the “Medicare part D” program.  This program, and I’m certain this is according to plan, has been funneling money out of taxpayer’s pockets into the coffers of those who designed the bill, creating the instability that is “at issue” today, and laying the groundwork for the republicans “wet dream” of putting the health of our senior citizens at the mercy of the FOR PROFIT “health care” companies.  Despite the FACT all of this is CLEARLY undermining the program, AND that large majorities of Americans oppose it, I feel the republicans feel they will be successful in repealing the program as it presently exists.  I believe they are secretly getting “minions” situated in all sorts of strategic places in the decision making hierarchy and, just as with the so-called “public option,” in the “health reform” debate, the will of “we the people” is irrelevent.

Republicans have a near stranglehold on the so-called “liberal media” and combining that with their willingness to implement Goebbels’ propaganda scheme along with their “the end justifies the means” belief, those of us who believe in the “New Deal” and the social safety net are facing a major challenge.  As I’ve also stated on this website, President Obama has not convinced me he will stand firm against this republican onslaught – so, the congressional elections of 2012 appear to be EXTREMELY consequential – one way or the other.  Several things are certain;  first, the lying will continue – from what I could tell from the first republican “debate” it’s going to be accelerated.  Second, the republican are already busy trying to limit the number of democrats who will be eligible to vote – they’ve got schemes going on as I’m writing this all over the country to make it difficult for disadvantaged voters to exercise their right.  Thirdly, I’m not convinced that ANYONE has thoroughly checked out the voting machine irregularities that put GW Bush in office and, in the last election, in South Carolina, nominated a person with NO CHANCE to run for the senate – someone who didn’t even campaign.  The reality is that the electronic voting machines are built by companies controlled by republicans and they’re EASY to HACK!  All of this stuff is information that’s available to the general public – but, the republicans continue to count on people not checking things out and getting their info from the republican controlled “news” media.  So, in my view, it all comes down to this: In the next election “We the People” will find out if we’re as STUPID as the republicans think we are.  If people don’t start talking this stuff up with each other and if liberals don’t start emphasizing to other liberals (just the FACT the republicans have made the word “liberal” something akin to a “dirty word” is a testament to how powerful the Goebbels propaganda scheme really is) the importance of participating in the process, we might find out how difficult it will be to overcome these thugs once they have TOTAL control of America’s government!  (remember, the definition of fascism is government and corporate interests working in concert)

The word ‘convoluted’ comes to my mind as I sit on the sidelines watching republicans attempt to ruin the government of the United States of America – all the while brainwashing good working class folk into voting for their diabolical scheme to SQUEEZE every possible cent from America’s taxpayers into the pockets of their corporate brethren.  Why, you might ask, would that word come to mind.  Well, the simple reality is that the only realistic way to stop these authoriatarian “robber barrons” – to use a term from one of America’s “previous lives” which these republicans are attempting to recreate – is to rely on the democrats.  I listen to people like Randi Rhodes cheering on President Obama and I really want to be “on board,” but, I’m continually hesitant because I’m just fed up with voting for the best of two bad alternatives.  And, I really hate to put Obama in the bad alternative category – because he’s clearly the BEST alternative we will have in the next election – and, he’s shown himself to be enough the “consummate politician that with a super majority in congress maybe – the next time – he could actually implement “the change we can believe in.”  Unfortunately, Rhodes is carrying the “water” for Obama as the right wing “talkers” carry the water for their compatriats, and for me it’s all a bit dizzying.

Here’s where the word ‘convoluted’ really took center stage for me.  The morning I was on my way to work and heard on the news that John Edwards had been indicted on charges of illegal use of campaign funds my first thought was, “Really?”  Now, I’m not for a second going to defend Edwards – his actions in the 2008 campaign were deplorable.  In my mind, he represents all that is bad about politics – people get caught up in the celebrity of it and they TOTALLY lose track of what is “RIGHT AND WRONG.”  I’m not judging Edwards at all regarding the charges levied against him, what bothered me about what he did is that I totally believe he’d have carried his “secret” right into the presidential campaign had he won the nomination from the democrats.  That’s the one way we could have ended up with someone like a Sarah Palin in national office!  Ughhh!  However, here’s what’s so wrong with what’s going on in our government today. 

It was reported that the charges against Edwards were the result of a two year investigation regarding his use of campaign funds spent to cover up the affair he was having while stumping for the presidential nomination.  Yes, that’s bad!  But, keep in mind, this investigation is coming from the same Obama administration that didn’t lift a finger to investigate George W Bush and Dick Cheney, along with all the other lawless members of their administration – this after BOTH Bush and Cheney have admitted MORE THAN ONCE, admissions that I have seen with my own eyes on national TV during interviews, that they AUTHORIZED waterboarding.  I saw these words, “I’d do it again,” come right out of the mouth of George W Bush (and, believe me, thanks to the tepid “looking forward and not back” excuse for the inexcusable by Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the next republican president is likely to “do it again”).  Yet, we’re still investigating extra-marital affairs of democratic politicians – it doesn’t seem to matter who’s controlling the White House.  Does anyone besides me find this a bit unnerving?  I’ve gone over the KNOWN violations of the Bush administration many times on this site – there is NO QUESTION they were committing MULTIPLE crimes while in office – yet, no investigations!  Eric Holder, Obama’s (corporate) Attorney General is aggressively investigating Julian Assange for “leaking” the TRUTH about America’s foreign policy via WikiLeaks and now John Edwards for trying to hide his affair from his wife who was suffering from cancer.

Honestly, when I found out what Edwards was doing, I thought he should have been a member of the republican party.  Their “front runner” for the 2012 nomination (well, self annointed front runner) Newt Gingrich set the bar high on this form of moral depravity (don’t you just love how people like Edwards AND Gingrich can make such a moving case regarding “family values”) by informing his (Gingrich’s) cancer stricken wife that he was divorcing her for his “lover” while his wife was dying in the hospital – then, of course, he gave her no financial support after she was released.  Edwards wasn’t quite as bad, but we’re now “splitting hairs.”  Speaking of ‘holier than now republicans’ I just finished a book called “Master of War” about Eric Prince and his private militia.  Prince is also a good “God fearing republican, family values man.”  Of course, that puts him into almost the same category as Gingrich.  In fact, he may have “one upped Gingrich” when he brought his PREGNANT girfriend to his wife’s funeral, who had died of cancer!

So, evidently we’ll be “looking back” at the affair of John Edwards with the case brought by Obama’s Attorney General who claimed that they were going to “look forward and not back” once they took office (evidently, that must be regarding republican misdeeds).  Of course, I’ve explained on many occasions that using the Obama/Holder logic there would never be another prosecution of a crime in America.  The TRUTH is that you MUST “look back” to prosecute criminals because the crime has to be committed BEFORE it can be investigated and prosecuted.  In reality what Obama and Holder have told America – and more importantly the republican obstructionists in the Congress – is that in America we don’t prosecute members of the Executive branch of government or republicans like Eric Cantor (who violated the Logan Act – a felony).  I’m guessing it’s kind of like how doctors and lawyers work – they won’t testify against each other because of the saying “there but for the grace of God goes I.”  Clearly, the republicans have been led to believe there are no boundaries on what they can do.  I’ve said on several occasions on this website that Obama/Holder’s decision to pardon the Bush/Cheney administration – over the “long haul” – will ultimately be viewed as a blunder of historically MAJOR proportions.

We’re seeing the results of this EVERY day now as the republicans try to virtually run our government into bankruptcy.  They would prefer that the government FAIL than for a Black president to succeed.  I’ve heard one pundit after another “tiptoe” around the reality that’s going on with the “right wing” of the republican party – but, at some point they are going to have to “tell it like it is.”  When our government defaults, it will be devestating for MOST Americans, and I surely hope that would be enough for the general public to say they’ve had enough of republicans.  However, considering the DISASTER Bush/Cheney left Obama, it should be clear to almost anyone that the American public are either quick to forgive or STUPID!  I mean, how could they be so dumb as to put republicans in control of congress only two years after FINALLY getting Bush/Cheney out of there?  Well, as I said the first day I heard Obama claim he was going to “look forward instead of back,” President Obama’s decision to avoid the confrontation that was warranted with the republican party once he took office was like a HUGE “green light” to the people like Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, etc.  The ONLY real opposition to the arrogant lies that republicans have proved themselves to be comfortable with deluging the American public with would have been public investigations and, where appropriate, prosecutions of the Bush/Cheney regime.

Here’s a snapshot of what President Obama and Attorney General Holder indirectly said was acceptable government practice:  TORTURE, lying to congress (Mega lying), outing a CIA agent as retribution for someone telling the TRUTH, politicizing the Justice Department, violating the 4th amendment of the constitution regarding the right to privacy, violating the FISA law (a felony) with warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, lying the United States into war, encouraging the ignoring of regulations in government departments – leading to mining and oil-spill disasters, No-bid (cronie) contracts in Iraq and Afganistan with BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars unaccounted for, collusion with the big banks prior to the TARP “bailout,” and war profiteering (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, and others cashing in BIG on the Iraq and Afghanistan fiascos), just to name a few areas that should have been investigated.  Since Obama took office we’ve had Eric Cantor, at the time the House minority “whip” (as stated above) violating the Logan Act by making promises to the Israeli Prime Minister that the republcans would support him (the Israili PM) in any conflict with the Obama administration.  None of this brought a response from the Obama Justice Department, but rest assured we’re going to spend MILLIONS finding out if John Edwards misused campaign finance funds to hide his mistress from his cancer stricken wife!

Forgive me, but this all is just too much for me.  I really DO want President Obama to succeed – but, I don’t want the same culture of corruption to dominate Washington DC that I thought we were electing him to “change.”  The other day Rhodes was listing all the promises that Obama has “kept,” some of which was wishful thinking from my standpoint.  But, no one wants to talk about the effect of his looking the other way at the crimes of the Bush/Cheney administration, no one wants to talk about how our troops (and a whole lot of “contractors”) are still in Iraq or that they are now saying America is leaving Afghanistan in 2014 – THAT’S THREE MORE YEARS!  And, no one wants to talk about how President Obama is NOT reversing the power grab made by the Bush administration regarding excessive executive power.  Just like our constitutional rights, it is easier to lose the “checks” on the executive branch than to regain them once someone has stepped over the line – as did Bush/Cheney.

Those of us who would love to see America honor those who fought and died to create the greatest middle class the world has ever seen, I believe, expected President Obama to be agressively leading the “counter attack” to the “trickle down” assault we’ve endured since the days of Ronald Reagan.  Republicans continue to bandy about his name as if he was some kind of great standard bearer – and, I suppose, for those who hate unions, who hate the social safety net created by the “New Deal” and “Great Society” Reagan was a standard bearer.  However, I continue to believe that the republicans have become masters at manipulating the media, they’ve learned how to control the message and divert the attention of America’s working class voters from the REAL issues, and they are once again close to gaining a stranglehold on the government they profess to HATE.  Why would they want to control something they HATE?  Well, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that, as Grover Norquist stated, they want to “starve it.”  And, the money from the taxpayers is being funneled into the pockets of the republican benefactors.  I’ve been pointing out that America’s REAL war is the internal “war” being “fought” between the forces on the “right” and the “left” right here at home.  An example of why I’m so apprehensive with the present democrats representing ME in this fight:  just the other day I heard that President Obama’s head of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) was agreeing with a  republican request to allow the federal “fairness doctrine” to OFFICIALLY become a thing of the past.

I believe a large part of the repubican conspiracy to gain their “permanent republican ‘majority'” was taking control of America’s airwaves (you know it as the “liberal media”).  Reagan himself essentially ordered the “fairness doctrine” to be “shelved” and since then we’ve seen the rise of the Limbaugh’s, the Hannity’s, the Beck’s, etc. all due to the control gained by right wing forces of the broadcasting licenses AND since Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  My point here is that the democrats just keep going along with these republicans and we see the results EVERY DAY on “Main Street,” yet the feeling of powerlessnes is growing.  I guess the real question that continues to BURN inside of me  after watching President Obama cave on the”Public Option,” NOT getting us out of Iraq in 16 months, extending the “Bush Tax Cuts,” failing to EVEN investigate the “Bush Crime family,” and now simply eliminating any hope for the return of the “fairness doctrine,” all of this while KNOWING the republicans are DEAD SET on destroying Medicare and Medicaid and turning the Social Security trust fund toward Wall Street would be;  Is the democratic party too corrupt to stand up and STOP this republican assault on America’s middle class?

One of the things which keeps me writing is my feeling a sense of obligation to my children and grandchildren to play whatever small part I can play in stopping this republican onslaught of our government.  You know, the people who claim that “government’s the problem” and who want to take total control of government – so that they can “wring” as much of the taxpayers money out of the system before “we the people” catch on.  Their methods are quite sophisticated and you have to give them credit for being “single minded,” but when people want to ruin the very enterprise they’re trying to control – that should really give even the republicans who aren’t “ditto heads” pause.  I phrase it in that manner because I’m coming to the conclusion that those who are still drinking Rush Limbaugh’s (and the other right wing propagandists) “coolaid,” well, there’s no hope for them.  And, as a Christian myself, I say this next line with dismay;  The “dominionists” who call themselves “Christians,” but support this authoritarian republican movement aimed at removing every aspect of the New Deal and Great Society it can, without so much as a second thought to what they’re supporting and how it coincides with the message of Jesus Christ, I’ve gotten to the point where I have no time for them.  I know people from my church who you can’t even talk to – with some of them, it’s like talking to Limbaugh himself as they retort any reasonable effort at dialogue with the Limbaugh “line.”

Rush Limbaugh would like you (and everyone else) to believe he’s not a racist, or a sexist, or a “fill in the blank.”  Well, the evidence suggests otherwise.  I hardly ever listen to him, but on the rare occasions when I can make myself do it, I almost always hear something come from his mouth that is either racist or denegrating toward women.  There’s a reason Limbaugh was removed after one week on “Monday Night Football,” and why he was blocked from purchasing a share of the St. Louis Rams football team.  The Black members of the NFL would have no part with him.  The reality is that you can’t be throwing around the racially insensitive slurs to the lemmings who are listening to your show, and then pretend that you aren’t prejudiced.  Limbaugh has played a key part in the republican strategy to DIVIDE America, and he’s still the defacto head of the republican party – even though they’ve figured out that they need to be much more indiscreet in letting the public in on that “fact.”  If you’ve noticed lately, you NEVER hear a republican (lately) questioning Limbaugh, because as soon as he starts criticizing ANY republican (which you can count on him doing to anyone not “toeing” the line) you can almost hear the backtracking.  All this being said, you have to tip your hat to the republicans that they’ve been able to put together this LONG TERM scheme which is producing results at the polls (legit or not) despite their minority position among America’s voters.  They will say ANYTHING or do ANYTHING in order to “win.”  And, when republicans win, most of the rest of us LOSE!

I was thinking the other day about, for example, the looming fight over the budget deficit and the lifting of America’s “debt ceiling.” (which technically has already been reached and the “default” caused by exceeding it is being “put off” through the use of strategic “accounting tricks” by Tim Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary)  I wondered, “How many of the average Americans take the time to check the FACTS regarding who was/is responsible for the level of that debt.  Here’s the interesting thing, if you check that out (and it only takes a few moments to find the info on the internet) you quickly realize that the SAME people who are clamoring the most about the HORRORS of the national debt – are the ones who are the MOST responsible for creating it.  That is, it has clearly been the republicans and their STUPID “trickle down” theory that they somehow got Americans to buy into who have created this deficit.  Additionally, they’ve been – up until President Obama took over the White House – unashamed about their role in doing this.  It was just during the last HUGE tax cut cycle by the Bush/Cheney administration when Dick Cheney, who was masterminding the cut, was quoted as saying “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that Bush/Cheney took a quarter TRILLION dollar surplus and turned it into a MASSIVE deficit in one felled swoop.  But if you listen to republicans, the deficit (and everything else wrong with government) is President Obama’s fault.

Keep in mind that the new president oversees the previous president’s budget for his/her (maybe someday) first year in office.  So, in reality, most of the budget deficit that reublicans are attempting to “pin” on Obama, in reality, is the result of the Bush/Cheney administration.  Now, in an effort to show MY bipartisanship, I believe President Obama has made some very strategic blunders in dealing with the situation.  Before he took the oath of office (you can check my archives on this) I not only suggested to Obama that he repeal the “Bush Tax Cuts,” but I also suggested a 50 cent per gallon gas tax.  At the time, gas was around $1.80 per gallon and my position was that we all knew gas was going up with or without the tax.  I claimed (and still believe) the oil companies push it as high as people will pay – when the demand begins to cease, they back off on their greedy push for more excessive profits.  Ending the “Bush Tax Cuts” (and, I’m talking about all of them – including the ones that “benefitted” me), creating the gas tax with a subsequent “push” to fix America’s infrastructure, and ending the two absurd occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan would have solved the budget problem ALREADY!

So, I guess you could say that I don’t disagree with some of the blame going Obama’s way, but the really ODD thing about the blamers is that they are the ones who should be happy with him – yet, they try to block EVERYTHING he does (except for funding the occupations, renewing the “patriot” act, and extending the “Bush Tax Cuts”).  President Obama, instead of turning out to be a progressive “agent for change,” has shown himself to be a staunch defender of the status quo.  I honestly can only think of one reason all the “right wingers” are up in arms and that is they can’t stand the idea that America’s white majority is close to being a “thing of the past.”  That appears to me to be what they’re holding onto.  Otherwise, this all makes no sense.  I mean, Obama didn’t lift a finger to allow prosecutions of Bush/Cheney et al.  If you are a republican and can’t appreciate that, check out what’s happening around the globe in other countries where authoritarian regimes have been removed – like in Egypt.  Hosne Mubarrak is going to be standing trial in Egypt, or at least that’s the implications of the reports I’ve seen.  George W Bush and Dick Cheney are directly responsible for the lost lives of HUNDRED’S OF THOUSANDS of human beings in Iraq alone – not to mention the torturing issue, the bludgeoning of our regulatory system, the politicizing of the Justice Department, the outing of a CIA agent, the FISA violations, the lying before Congress (and even refusals to answer subpoenas from congress), and I could go on.  If we were TRULY a nation of laws, these people wouldn’t have walked away “scott free” after what EVERYONE knows they did.

The Wall Street bankers who are now funnelling MILLIONS of their ill gotten gains into the republcan “coffers” should be thankful for Obama as well.  Virtually NONE of the “big wigs” has had to answer for TANKING the American and WORLD economy in the second half of the first decade of this century – that is, Bush/Cheney’s second term.  Honestly, if you think Bernie Madoff is the extent of what was wrong on Wall Street (what’s STILL wrong) “I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you.”  There are many books (I’ve read some of them) which make it clear that Goldman Sachs was playing both sides of the “game” as the collaterallized mortgage obligations tanked this nation.  They were bundling mortgages that were crap with one hand and selling them to unsuspecting investors as AAA bonds while “betting” against them with the other hand.  Walla, Goldman Sach was capitalizing on America’s economic collapse from both ends at the same time.  It’s nice when your former CEO is the Treasury Secretary and makes sure that you are “too big to fail.”  Ughhh!  And, where’s the investigations of Goldman Sachs and the other bankers?  Where’s the investigation of Hank Paulsen?  All these people should be happy with Obama and especially happy with Eric Holder who – to no one’s surprise in Washington DC – is “one of them.”  (and, if you don’t know, Holder is a corporate attorney right from the heart of Wall Street)

On top of all this, have you taken a good look at Wall Street’s “numbers” since Obama’s presidency hit full swing?  Once the “stimulus” (which was too small, but that’s a story for another time – actually, it’s a story in my archives) started to take effect, it was Wall Street that benefitted WAY MORE than “Main Street.”  The “stimulus” was designed to prevent a more serious loss of jobs, kind of a stablization of the bad situation Obama inherited, but not designed to aggressively create the new jobs that were warranted with 15 MILLION out of work and a crumbling infrastructure.  Obama succumbed to those who have been “takers” for years – that is using the roads, bridges, buildings, schools, etc. constructed during the New Deal and Great Society years of Democratic control of our government – and these people just don’t want to “give back,” that is fix the things that have been worn out for our children to use.  They are the people who have been trying to “starve government” – using the words of Grover Norquist – so that “business” will once again have the “free reign” it had on consumers and the American public prior to the FDR administration.  Honestly, I have no idea how Obama could continue to side with these people – I suppose he feels that at some point they will become supporters of his policies – but, they SHOULD be happy with him!  Even Obama’s signature “Health Care Reform” was a “spinoff” of the republican Mitt Romney’s “plan” that was instituted a few years back in Massachusetts.  (Can’t you just picture the next round of presidential debates if it’s between Romney and Obama?)

And, when it comes to the “wars,” the republicans REALLY ought to be happy with Obama’s performance.  Essentially, President Obama has followed the agreed upon terms of policy in Iraq “according to Bush.”  I haven’t seen one indication that our president was willing to make a single courageous decision in Iraq – unless, you call it courageous to violate your promise to your own supporters who you promised you would bring home ALL the troops in 16 months.  It’s now approaching 30 months and there continue to be 50,000 troops PLUS all the contractors in Iraq – and, I’ll be as surprised as anyone if they come home this summer.  That was the republican playbook.  And, what about Afghanistan.  Boy, didn’t Afghanistan just show how two-faced the republcans really are.  I mean you have to give Obama credit for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden – I know they would never do that, but can you imagine the uproar if something had gone wrong?  Oh my – “invading a sovereign nation!” can’t you just imagine all the Jimmy Carter references had one of the choppers failed to perform the mission?  Yet, I’ve not heard a single republican give Obama credit for authorizing this action that was so needed by the victims of 9/11.  I can’t picture how frustrating it must have been for them (the 9/11 victims) when Bush/Cheney allowed bin Laden to escape and then quit trying to find him.  And, where was the national outrage over our “leaders” allowing the real criminal to go free while lying our nation into a horrendous military quagmire?  I, myself, was villified for speaking out against the invasion of Iraq by people who to this day continue to look the other way when they see me and who wouldn’t think of admitting they were TOTALLY wrong.  Shouldn’t the republicans be lining up in unity for the president who finished the job of bringing the man to justice who attacked America on THEIR WATCH?  Listening to them stumbling all over themselves trying to find a way to take credit for what Obama accomplished would be humorous if the subject wasn’t so serious.  These republicans have taken their racism to new heights!  But, they did support renewal of the Patriot Act.

Here’s the big problem I have with all of this.  The fundamental values of this great nation are under assault and “we the people” MUST rely on the democrats to put an end to it.  Given the present circumstances that’s not all that reassuring.  When you look at what the republicans managed to achieve when the democrats had nearly super majorities in both houses of congress, it’s a little nerve wracking thinking what might happen next.  I mean, when I saw the republicans succeed in extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” I thought, “all bets are off with our ‘progressive’ president.”  Even Obama is afraid to challenge the American people to pull together to solve our problems – which pale in regards to the problems our parents and grandparents solved in World War II and during the depression years.  Paying the same tax rate we paid during the Clinton presidency should have been a “no brainer,” but I heard Obama say (yes, I heard this with my own ears) that the extension of the tax cuts was going to create “millions of new jobs.”  Again, what’s not to like if you’re a republican?  Now they’re after Medicare, Medicaid, and ultimately Social Security (if you haven’t figured this out, there’s TRILLIONS in profits for their business “partners” if they can pull this off) and I honestly don’t feel that secure having President Obama as my backstop. 

Remember, 76% of the American public supported a “public option” in the health care debate – and the concept never got off the ground (guess who was making backroom deals with health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies?).  Now, in most polls, 80+% are opposed to changing Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security – but, do you really think that will stop the republicans?  Plllllleassssse!  The only thing that will stop the republicans is if “we the people” vote them out of office!  The so-called “tea party” has taken over the republican party and their right wing extremist agenda will be a big problem to all of America if people continue watching Fox “news” and believing what they hear.  If Americans were smart, the only association they’d have with Fox “news” would be boycotting their sponsors.  Fox is the mouthpiece of the republican party and, as I’ve stated here (by the way, on many occasions I’ve pointed out how much I want President Obama to succeed) I’m not confident in today’s democrats and our democratic president to stop the Fox agenda which is the corporate takeover of America, so it’s up to “we the people” to vote this “tea partyish” repubican party out of office at the next election and vote in candidates (and, honestly, I don’t care what, if any, party they’re affiliated with) who will stand up for and embrace the fundamental values that created America’s middle class in the first place.  I’ve heard politicians talking about the “dominoe theory” my entire life, usually referring to “communism” or something of that ilk, but I believe the republicans think getting the tax cuts extended was the first dominoe in a series that includes the “social safety net” created by the Roosevelt and Johnson administrations.  Republicans want to privatise EVERYTHING, and it’s up to “we the people” to stop them!