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the “too big to fail” problem with the Wall Street Banks was to reinstitute the Glass Steagall legislation which was repealed with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Attention democrats!  There’s an opportunity sitting right in front of your noses and if you can pull yourself away from the corporate lobbyists long enough to figure out that this is a potential critical time in our history you can marginalize the combative rhetoric FLOWING from the “right” and turn the direction of the “ship of state” back toward the true republican values of our founding fathers.  It seems remarkable to me that it’s not obvious to you (democrats) that the people are longing for a strong stand against the corporate greed of the previous 30 years which has resulted in discontent that is truly bipartisan – that is, from both the “right” and the “left.”

Republican values?  Of course, that does not have anything to do with the present day republican party.  That refers to the values put forth by Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Hamilton, Franklin, and the others who were there at the infancy of this nation.  And, just for clarity’s sake, let me get this off my chest for starters – in case any of the “tea partiers” somehow would happen onto this site (I mean, somehow Lars Larson showed up recently) it’s time for someone in our government – and, it appears it’s going to have to be the democrats – to remind the people of this great nation that this country was founded on the principle of the separation of church and state.  The people who came here originally from Europe (yes, the ones who killed most of the “Native Americans”) came here to get away from religious intolerance.  And, as a Christian myself, I am continually grieved by all the people turned off to the teachings of Jesus by the Christians who for some reason believe they have an obligation to cram religion down other people’s throats – and, worse than that, they want to do it through  a self-righteous intolerant government!

Yes, I’m advocating for our leaders to remind EVERYONE this nation was founded on the principal of religious freedom.  OK, there’s another issue that seems a bit over the edge lately.  Immigration!  The reality, as I see it, is that virtually every “American” who’s advocating that we need to somehow deport something like 12 MILLION undocumented workers is an immigrant themselves.  I teach 6th grade history, and based on the history books, virtually everyone in this nation is descended from an immigrant.  Does the fact that my family came here in the 1600’s (on my father’s side, they did) make me less of an immigrant than the students I have who’s HARD WORKING parents came to America less than 15 years ago – or even people who have come in the past year?  Are the opponents of immigration saying that we should close our borders because they no longer want this nation to be built on the premise (or, promise – if you will) of opportunity?  Or is their real message that they want to preserve a majority of “white people?”

I recently heard the governor of Arizona claim that the recent law passed in that state which MANDATES that police officers stop anyone who they SUSPECT might be an undocumented worker and demand their “papers,” with the public having the right to SUE the police if they believe they’re (the police) not doing a good enough job of this, is not promoting “racial profiling.”  Are you kidding me?  Remember the old saying, “I might be dumb, but I’m not stupid?”  Well, I’m constantly feeling as if the people running various parts of our government just assume we’re all stupid.  I certainly can’t bring myself to believe that the people of Arizona are that stupid.  Isn’t it obvious this law is aimed at people who are non-white?  Like, especially Mexicans?  Isn’t that racial profiling? Or, am I going to have to produce my “papers” if I travel to Arizona?  Honestly, I don’t know what papers I’d have to show them.

They don’t believe Barack Obama is an American citizen in Arizona – despite the FACT he was born in Hawaii.  Obama even went to the absurd length to post a picture of his birth certificate on his website which wasn’t good enough for them.  How am I to know if my birth certificate would be enough for them.  I can tell you, I’m not going to go to Arizona to find out – plus, the truth of the matter is that I don’t carry my birth certificate with me when I travel (actually, I don’t travel that much – but, when I do, it won’t be to Arizona).  All of a sudden, Arizona feels like a different country to me.  I have to admit, after getting a close up and personal look at John McCain during the previous presidential election, I had my doubts about Arizona then.  The guy rivaled George W Bush in his PROVEN incompetence, but I guess his years in a prison camp during Viet Nam “trumped” the FACT he was in the BOTTOM 10 of a class of almost 900 at Annapolis – in fact, the only reason he got into Annapolis in the first place was that his father was an Admiral in the Navy.  And, what McCain proved to be adept at while in the Navy was WRECKING PLANES!  According to my sources he crashed 5 planes, including the one which landed him in the Viet Cong prison camp.

Now, I have a lot of respect for anyone who serves in our military (including McCain), especially in combat (I actually signed up to do so myself during Viet Nam, but it didn’t work out), but that doesn’t qualify them for a leadership position on a national scale as far as I’m concerned.  One of the first things McCain did upon entering the senate of the United States was to help facilitate the banking crisis (savings and loan) of the late 1980’s (along with George W Bush’s brother – are you seeing a pattern here?).  And, since then – as of this writing – McCain has proven to be a “flip flopper” extraordinaire – seemingly more adept at changing positions than even Mitt Romney – if that seems possible.  Now, I understand that over the course of time people are going to change their minds on things – but, McCain seems to have changed his mind on just about everything.  I even remember seeing him in the last election being interviewed by Rick Warren in front of Warren’s “mega-church” (along with Obama) and putting on his “Christian shoes.”  It was interesting listening to McCain telling a story – I don’t even remember the details at this point – about a prison guard and a “cross in the sand” or something along those lines.  The problem I had at the time was that I had already heard essentially the same story before, and McCain wasn’t in it.  He made it up to impress Warren and his congregation, and it worked.  Because, it seems, no one on the “right” wants to fact check what McCain (or any of their other “leaders) was saying.

So, democrats, if you can get out of the “good ole boy” mentality which seems to permeate the senate of the United States, isn’t it time to take the offensive.  We’ve got guys like McCain and Mitch McConnell (the subject of my previous post) as leaders alongside Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and (ughhhh!) Sarah Palin (thanks again John) leading the “party of NO” as they attempt to block Wall Street reform, blame someone besides themselves for the environmental disaster which is bearing down on the Gulf Coast, along with blocking a comprehensive energy bill, and I could go on and on.  Simply put, as Limbaugh has so clearly articulated oh so many times, their agenda is simply that President Obama would fail.  Considering that, does the Arizona bill aimed at Mexicans surprise anyone?

Here’s what I think.  Statistics say that it won’t be long and a majority of Americans will be “non-white.”  For the white supremicists this is intolerable.  All you hear is “we want our country back.”  I’ve been wondering for some time, back from who?  Well, just as I teach my students to “read between the lines,” I’m asking you to read between the lines.  OK, I’ll do it for you.  Demanding our sitting president provide his actual BIRTH CERTIFICATE before he can be placed on the ballot in Arizona?  Ordering cops to haul in “suspicious” Mexicans?  Are these guys afraid of competing against Blacks and Mexicans in the future?  My “read between the lines” is telling me this could be so.

  Is this the America we all want as a consequence of 9/11?  If you’ve ever read the book “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein, you will understand what I’m about to say.  If not, you should read that book – in my mind, it should be required reading for all American adults.  For years, the republican party has been using disasters or trajedies to push their agenda.  Mostly, it was their “free market” agenda in South America and Eastern Europe.  Tricking countries into giving up their natural resources in return for our “help” following some kind of trajedy (some of which we caused for them ourselves).   Well, the time has come when many of these countries are no longer being fooled – remember GW Bush?  “Fool me once……….”

9/11 was the springboard for Halliburton, Dick Cheney, and George W Bush to push for the invasion of Iraq.  I’ve read something approaching 20 books on the subject of Iraq, and the one thing that is clear (well, there’s a bunch of things that are clear – but, this is the most startling to me) is the Bush/Cheney White House was simply looking for a reason to invade Iraq from the day they took the oath of office.  They were so focused on Iraq, that they were willing to allow Osama bin Laden to “get away.”  Now, if there are any right wingers here (yes, that would be you Lars) explain to me how that has been “keeping America safe.”  Really now – we’re stuck in an endless occupation of Iraq which is going to cost more than it would to pay for universal health care for OUR OWN PEOPLE three times over!  And, to top that off, we’re also still STUCK in Afganistan plus bin Laden is still at large!  There’s enough evidence for me to believe that when the CIA and the Afgan’s Northern Alliance had bin Laden (along with his al Qaeda fighters) cornered at Tora Bora – the Bush administration didn’t “seal the deal” by sending in the troops necessary to kill or capture him because they wanted to invade Iraq and capturing bin Laden would have taken away their “excuse.”  Makes me sick every time I think about this (my son’s about to join the military).

9/11 also got us the “Patriot Act,” warrantless wiretapping, the suspension of Habeous Corpus, torture, extraordinary rendition, and the loss of respect from virtually the rest of the world.  Well, it wasn’t 9/11 which caused us to lose respect, it was the republican reaction to it!  And, now we’re all depending on the democrats to stand up and be ADULTS!  Stop taking the money from the corporate lobbyists and make us all proud of y’all!  Quit “kissing up” to these republicans and go on the attack.  I did notice that Harry Reid decided to give the republicans the opportunity to talk “all night long” regarding their objection to the financial reform, and that ended the “filibuster” right there.  Even the republicans aren’t stupid enough to do that.  We haven’t really seen a real filibuster in years.  Democrats – it’s time to allow the republicans to actually do a REAL filibuster every time they object to something.  Let them get out the phone books and start reading them – and put cameras in the senate so all of us “little people” can see what is really going on with our leaders.  But, make no mistake about this;  There is an opportunity for democrats to lead, and they won’t be successful caving in to republicans.  They caved in to republicans enough for a lifetime, as far as I’m concerned, during the eight years of George W Bush.

As someone who, in his earlier life, spent a few years training thoroughbred race horses (at a small 2nd rate track) I have a real affinity for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky itself.  Kentucky is the home of the great horses in the history of racing and is called the “bluegrass state” presumbably because the bluegrass in Kentucky is the best food for young growing horses.  History would seem to validate that as almost every great horse has been bred in Kentucky.  That being said, and me having a profound interest in politics, how in the world did all those fine horse people in Kentucky end up sending Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning to the United States Senate?

I was watching the derby today (and wishing I’d gone to an off-track site to place my bet on Calvin Borel) as the thoughts raced through my mind about the contradictions I see coming from that great state.  I guess, to be frank (and I hate to always come to this conclusion), many people in Kentucky still haven’t gotten over the idea that Blacks are equal members of our society.  I really can’t figure out any other reason why McConnell (he is the leader of the “party of No” in the senate) continues his efforts to BLOCK every intiative proposed by Barack Obama and the democrats.  Is regaining “power” so important to these people that they’re willing to risk the very future of this nation in order to do so?  And, the people of Kentucky – are they really that happy with the results from the previous 30+ years of supply side republican economics which has left the horse breeding industry that is the face of their state on the brink of collapse?  I continue to wonder in amazement as good people keep voting against their own best interest – I mean, even people who don’t pay much attention to politics should recognize that the economic devastation we’re experiencing is the result of the republicans who are led by McConnell!  (who, by the way is CONTINUING to PROPOSE the same kind of tax cutting nonsense which got us into this mess in the first place)

Yes, there was a “full house” of fans at the derby wagering in a mostly futile attempt at identifying the best three year old thoroughbred in the world – it really is an astonishing feat to win that race – but, reports are that many of the traditional farms where the horses are bred either have for sale signs hanging at their entrance or they’re “pocket listings” for the upscale real estate agents in an attempt to keep the reality the farm is for sale from the people who are working there or planning to send their mares to that particular farm for breeding.  Fees for the greatest stud horses in the world are plummeting, and prices received for the top of the line yearlings and two year olds are also plummeting.  No one should be too surprised by all of this because we are still, as a nation, trying to recover from the disaster called the BUSH ADMINISTRATION which did everything it could to be called the HOOVER ADMINISTRATION reincarnated.

It was the Wall Street banks who, through reckless gambling with other people’s money, created a calamity of enormous gravity in an atmosphere of lax oversight which began 30 years ago with the election of Ronald Reagan – still the “god” of today’s republicans looking for anything to “hang their hats” on – and it culminated with George W Bush/Dick Cheney who were so determined to cram their theory of the “unitary executive” down our collective throats – with the TOTAL COMPLICITY of the republicans led by the likes of McConnell and, to a much lessor extent, Bunning – that oversight of any large corporation was looked upon as republican heresy.  The large corporate “masters,” according to these republicans, “know best what to do with our money.”  What their “brilliance” has ended up producing is an economy which is driven by a financial sector that thrives on both making money and losing money.  That’s what they produce – financial wins and losses – AND THAT’S IT!  They don’t make anything that anyone can use.  (in fact, the recent civil suit against Goldman Sachs alleges they were selling “toxic” investments to unsuspecting investors who had no idea the AAA ratings were the result of collusion, while helping other investors harvest BILLIONS betting against the same investment!  Golman harvesting HUGE gains from both sides of the transaction.  And, who’s leading the charge to defend these guys?  Yep, you guessed it, McConnell)

And, despite the accusations from the “right” that the financial collapse was caused by “Fanny and Freddie,” and the claims that those two institutions were in cahoots with democrats (this claim despite John McCain’s campaign manager Ric Davis having received $15,000 per month over a period of more than two years for DOING NOTHING – except giving the banks access to McCain), the more that comes out about the collapse, the worse it looks for the big Wall Street banks, the Bush administration, and the republicans in general.  And, Kentuckians who are arguably experiencing an above the average surge of unemployment and loss of income, are stuck watching the republican senators from their state continually on the tube blocking every initiative the democrats are proposing in an attempt to get Kentuckians back to work (and the rest of America as well) – and, hopefully to reinvigorate the horse industry which is a major landmark of that state.  I have not had the pleasure of visiting some of the historic farms, like Claiborne, Calumet, or Gainseway, but from afar I view them as some of the most pristine landmarks of this great land.

Speaking of the unemployment problem in Kentucky (and across this country) that is where Bunning comes in.  Usually, we get his publicity from footage of him sleeping through committee meetings or being chastised by his own party who finally convinced him not to run for re-election.  But, he evidently didn’t take that too personally, because he was the “sacrificial lamb” of the republican party recently when he “objected” to a “unanimous concent” request in the senate which would have extended unemployment benefits to many of the long term unemployed in his state, Kentucky, and the rest of the nation.  The man who voted for both of the Bush tax cuts which bludgeoned the budget surplus left behind by Bill Clinton leading to the record deficits (tax cuts benefitting mostly the ones who didn’t need them), and supported both military fiascos which were paid for TOTALLY by borrowed funds was evidently all of a sudden worried about the deficit.  Talk about disengenuous on steroids!  Jim Bunning could have been remembered as a great former baseball pitcher, but most Americans will remember him as the senator who allowed himself to be USED by the “party of No” to create more havoc for the unfortunate middle class Americans who are fighting to save their homes through unemployment benefits as they attempt to find their way back into the workforce.  Tonight I was talking to a friend of mine who was a “devout” republican until he lost his job almost two years ago. He can’t even get an interview – and, he’s got almost 30 years experience as a purchasing agent for a major corporation.  He told me he’s so thankful that President Obama won the last election saying, “If the republicans had won I would have lost my home by now and would be homeless.”  (I didn’t tell him that he wouldn’t be homeless – because we have extra room in our home – but, I think you get the idea here)

As I watched the spectacle of the derby I couldn’t help but think about the contradiction between the great history of Churchill Downs and the great farms that have produced the greatest horses the world has known.  The sheiks from the middle east come to Keeneland to buy their racing stock.  People from all over the world know of Kentucky and the derby.  Yet, apparently the mindset of the people there hasn’t kept up with the changing world we live in.  How else can you explain two senators like McConnell and Bunning?  When I try to get my mind around what McConnell is doing as the leader of the “party of No” I have to guess that he feels secure in his “seat” in the senate.  I don’t know how else to explain this.  I know someone from out west who was acting like him wouldn’t last one more election in office – even without the attitude to purge incumbents.  This voting NO on EVERYTHING is new in American history.  Knowing that Rush Limbaugh is the defacto leader of the republicans (there isn’t a republican politician in America who DARES to cross Rush), and that his mission is for President Obama to FAIL, I can only conjecture that McConnell and Bunning (and the rest of the republicans) are just doing what they’re told.   Honestly, as I listened to “My Old Kentucky Home” during the derby’s post parade, knowing Mitch McConnell was the representative of those people took some of the joy out of the song.

Sarah Palin – John McCain is going to be remembered more for the most absurd choice for Vice President in America’s history than anything else he’s done (including his complicity in the savings and loan scandal of the 1980’s).  Talk about your politician proving all the media “moguls” who were claiming McCain to be the “maverick” to be just blowing hot air.  And, this one can be called “bipartisan.”  I’ve listened to media “experts” from “both sides of the isle” try to convince us (the voters) that McCain is some kind of “war hero,” and a courageous politician who’s not afraid to “buck” the “party line.”  Well, so much for all of that.  The man showed his true INCOMPETENCE by thrusting Palin onto the national political scene – and, thanks to Fox – we’ll be stuck listening to her crap for the next several years at least (I REALLY hope I’m wrong on that one and that she would be exposed “sooner rather than later”).  Plus, now we have endless video of McCain standing on the senate floor SPOUTING the republican talking points as if he was programmed in the back room of Fox “news.”

All I can think of everytime I hear reports of the looming oil slick approaching the coast of Louisiana (and possibly other Gulf states) is all the times I’ve seen Palin SHOUTING “DRILL BABY DRILL” to the rousing thunder of applause from the robot like supporters of the republican party.  Tonight, on my way home from work I heard Bobby Jindall, the former next great republican candidate for 2012 and governor of Louisiana, talking about the possibility of the oil (he believes in drilling for) getting into New Orleans and I heard others saying it is just a matter of time until this disaster exceeds the “Exxon Valdez” disaster of yesteryear.  In fact, I heard it reported that a second oil rig had toppled off the coast of Louisiana this evening although I haven’t managed to get the details of that one as of this writing.  Two things about this disaster (which I certainly hope can be brought under control ASAP): first, maybe this will at least partially shut Palin up.  I’m honestly not convinced the woman has more political knowledge than me – which should be a REALLY scary thought to any voting American (I’m a sixth grade school teacher).  The second thing about this that I find hopeful:  those of us on the progressive side of things have been very disappointed in President Obama’s constant kissing up to republicans.  For me, his proposal to “drill baby drill” (which I fully understood was a political ploy – just an unfortunate one) was nothing more than patronizing.  Hopefully, this disaster will have him coming to his senses (although, I’m guessing we’ll be seeing the usual political doublespeak as the Obama administration attempts to put a positive spin on their original proposal).

I keep wondering how bad do things have to get before the public, the media, and the politicians realize that America IS headed in the wrong direction (I keep getting asked that question from all the online polls I’m invited to give my opinion to).  And, in my opinion, it’s because we’ve been PUSHED so far to the “right” since the days of Ronald Reagan that we are almost DESPERATE for a PUSH to the left to get this nation back somewhere close to the “middle.”  I mean, are we going to wait until cities begin to take on ocean water before we decide to deal with climate change?  Are we going to wait until there is no more oil to begin looking for alternatives ERNESTLY?  Are we going to allow the fringe “right” wing groups to continue spouting violent, racist, seditious, hate speech until a major tragedy happens before we begin enforcing our laws?  How long are we going to look the other way as our “leaders” break the very laws they take an oath to enforce?  I honestly don’t blame those in the “tea party” who are simply “fed up” with our government – I just wish they’d get the racists out of their midst and point the blame at the actual perpetrators of the problems we’re facing TOGETHER.  There are many on the “left” fed up with government as well – and, probably for similar reasons.

The bottom line for me, though, is that when you look beyond the headlines to the root causes of our present day problems you ALWAYS see republicans.  It started during the Reagan years.  The huge deficits and the disregard for our laws.  In case you weren’t around back then Reagan promised to “cut taxes and balance the budget.”  It was one of the only times I could agree with a Bush when George HW Bush – who was, at the time, running against Reagan for the republican nomination – called Reagan’s plan “voodoo economics.”  During Reagan’s presidency the budget deficit increased tenfold as did the national debt. 

I guess you’d have to say that the illegal activity of the Reagan administration followed the Watergate era of illegal activity during the Nixon years, but the Reaganites were much more OPENLY defiant to the will of Congress with the “Iran/Contra affair.”  They were selling arms to Iran in violation of an arms embargo and re-routing the profits to the anti-Sandinista “Contras” in Nicaragua in an unabashed attempt to overthrow the legal government of Nicaragua.  Reagan was never indicted but Oliver North and John Poindexter were convicted of felonies – and ALL of the “accused” including those convicted – some prior to even going to trial, were pardoned by the first President Bush – setting the precedent that our leaders are above the laws they are trusted to defend.  (I’m not counting Nixon’s pardon because I agreed, at the time, that resigning from the presidency was enough of a consequence for his actions)  Additionally, George HW Bush was up to his eyes in the Iran/Contra affair and just as his son 10+ years later, he was masterful at skirting any legal responsibility for his lawbreaking.  This seems to be the republican way.

OK, if you’re a “right winger” I can hear you now, “but what about Bill Clinton?”  Well, you won’t find me doing much defending of Bill Clinton – although as alternatives go, he was a sight above the republicans because despite his personal failings the man could manage the government.  All these “tea partiers” who are clamoring about the budget deficit should be calling Bill Clinton their hero.  He took the record deficits of Reagan/Bush the first and turned them into record surpluses in just 8 years.  As much as Clinton’s personal affair with an intern turned my stomach, some of his decisions where he was “kissing up” to republicans (pay attention President Obama) have been the major failings of his presidency – in my opinion.  Clinton bought the “corporation is king” soup and ushered in the NAFTA legislation.  It’s true that the republicans were behind this legislation, originally, but the sad fact is that it was Bill Clinton who signed it into law.  He also signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which has had almost the opposite effect of what was “advertised.”  Instead of more competition, we have had a huge contraction in the number of independently owned and operated TV and radio stations, with the bulk of them now owned by large politically conservative corporations who have a vested interest in promoting the “corporatocracy.” 

Finally, it was during the final year of the Clinton presidency that the “flood gates” for the “meltdown” which has bludgeoned TRILLIONS from our present day economy were opened as the result of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act.  While I would like to totally blame this bill on Phil Gramm, then republican senator from Texas (and eventually John McCain’s economic advisor who gave McCain the “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” line as the economy was in “meltdown”), Clinton signed the bill into law and his Treasury Secretary was Robert Rubin who went on to ultimately become CEO of Citigroup which “benefitted” from this legislation by consolidating Citibank into one of the “too big to fail” financial behemoths which nearly dragged the United States (and the world’s economy) into another Great Depression.  Gramm–Leach–Bliley was the bill which repealed Glass Steagall – the recession era legislation prohibiting banks, insurance companies, and investment brokerages from merging.  (so far, to my knowledge, in the present “Wall Street reform” package in the senate, the democrats haven’t had the guts to reinstitute Glass Steagall)

Clinton was harrassed for eight years as if he was the most “corrupt” president in our history – of course, this came from the perspective of these republicans who qualify for the “if their mouths are moving, they’re lying” moniker. (or, the don’t do as I do, do as I say award)  I still remember people like Dick Armey, Newt Gingrich, and Robert Livingstone impeaching President Clinton when they were guilty of similar or worse behavior – which seems (again) to be the republican way.  What did happen because of Clinton’s behavior and the constant furor it created (with the help of the republican smear campaign and the “right” leaning Supreme Court) was GEORGE W BUSH!  Now, Bush the second was the ultimate as far as arrogant disregard for the laws being enforced which the very government “servants” involved took an oath to defend.  And, on top of that arrogance was a level of incompetency that I thought was beyond the possible – that is, until Sarah Palin hit the scene.  George W Bush and Dick Cheney just continued to gain momentum in their lawbreaking and incompetence as their ASSAULT on our nation progressed.  And, of course, where were the “tea baggers” during all of this?  The deficit ballooned from a SURPLUS of $250 BILLION to a record deficit of $1.3 TRILLION by the time Bush/Cheney were through with their HEIST.  They managed to get us entrenched in two UNWINNABLE military fiasco’s, they warrantlessly wiretapped Americans in violation of the fourth amendment to the constitution which they took an oath to defend, they OUTED a covert CIA agent and then lied to cover up their actions, they politicized the Justice Department which is the backbone of this “nation of laws” – a department that only maintains credibility with “we the people” as long as it keeps a NON-PARTISAN position on EVERYTHING, they lied to the American people and openly lied to Congress along with even refusing to answer congressional subpoenas, and what regulations they couldn’t get rid of they didn’t enforce allowing the large corporations to run RUFF-SHOD over the middle class of this great nation – the very middle class which made us great in the first place – all of which resulted in them leaving office and entrusting Barack Obama with a government TEETERING on the BRINK OF COLLAPSE!

And, now we have Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and a bunch of other thoughtless “water carriers” for the very large corporations who have benefitted from this PUSH TO THE “RIGHT” which was initiated by Reagan and his surrogates in the early 80’s, nearly bankrupted us (still might), and STILL they’re calling for MORE OF THE SAME – unbelievable.  And, more unbelievable, is the FACT that the so-called “liberal media” even gives them a voice.  What they’ve proven is that MONEY means more to them than the fundamental health of this nation.  It’s as if we can just continue on this suicidal pace of GREED for the few and America will somehow remain the “beacon” of freedom to the rest of the world.  If you listen to Palin and the others for just a few short minutes and you take a quick look at the economic reality which should be obvious to all, it’s not hard to understand why the rest of the world is scratching their heads in amazement at how stupid we Americans are acting.  Actually, the rest of the world is counting on US (that’s us – meaning all of us Americans, not the U.S. – although, I guess that would essentially be the same) for leadership to turn the direction of a floundering world toward the needy instead of the greedy.  It’s as if we, as a nation, are acting like the sixth graders I teach who are focused on themselves and have no perspective on the importance of the other students in the class or how their selfish actions impact those around them.

For some reason President Obama pardoned Bush/Cheney and the others who were complicit in their disregard for our laws – just as Bush’s father pardoned the culprits involved in Iran/Contra 20 years before Obama took office.  The past 30 years has set a HORRIBLE precedent for generations to come as to the integrity of our government.  Many of the “culprits” in Bush “Two” were also involved in Iran/Contra.  Obama had to know that by letting them “off the hook” THEY’LL BE BACK.  Yes, I’m seeing some encouraging signs from Obama as far as becoming a more assertive leader and fleeting evidence that he’s “getting” that, while the idea of bipartisanship is laudable, the reality in Washington right now calls for SWINGING the “pendulum” back toward the “left” and the traditional – well, traditional from a FDR perspective – American position despite the objections of the “party of NO.”  It was the middle class created by the New Deal which was responsible for turning this nation into a world leader, and for some reason, the republicans want to turn back the clock to the days when workers had few, if any, rights.  To me, Sarah Palin – the “darling” of the “right,” SPOUTING out DRILL BABY DRILL everywhere she goes (she’ll probably continue to do this as the oil spills into New Orleans) – says it all.  The republicans are all about CORPORATE RULE – and to hell with the rest of us.

 I’ve had my disagreements with the direction of the Obama administration but, as each day unfolds, I continue to wonder how any rational thinking American could vote for republicans these days.  In fact, I guess the thought is finally crystallizing in my mind, that is where the “tea party” is coming from.  People who can’t handle democrats (especially Black ones – based on the signs I’ve seen at their “rallies”) but who are also “fed up” with republicans as well are probably at the core of the “tea party,” although I confess ignorance of their “movement.”  Today I  got just a “snipit” of Glenn Beck’s rant and he was actually calling George W Bush a “progressive.”  Now, Beck has proven to me that he’s a successful entertainer who’s, I’m sure, raking in MILLIONS playing on people’s fears, but calling Bush a progressive should get his ratings to drop even more than they have of late.  These right wing talkers, from the “top tier” of Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, and O’Reilly to the “second string” of the local “thugs” such as Lars Larson, Michael Savage, and others who I don’t even know their names because I can only handle so much of that stuff, are nothing more than water carriers for the corporate interests who will surely continue bludgeoning the middle class of this great nation for as long as they can get away with it.  I realize these people (the right wing talkers) are “laughing all the way to the bank,” because some of the reported salaries they receive are as obscene as those from the Wall Street plunderers, but the damage to our nation is real, and it’s just a matter of time until these people are exposed for what they really are.  At some point the general public in America is going to totally rebel against the republican “talking points” which are traditional propoganda, nazi style.

Even Beck’s “progressive” GW Bush was quoted during his presidency as saying “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda,” which is what republicans have been doing since the days of Ronald Reagan.  With Rush Limbaugh, the republicans found a man who would say anything he was told to say for money (OK, I “get” that Limbaugh can “BS” with the best of them).  The stream of “talkers” has grown to an alarming amount, and it wasn’t until just a few years ago that the “progressives” (and, no, I don’t mean GW Bush and his ilk) even were given a “voice” on the airwaves that stands in opposition to the right wingers who are all spouting the same message.  The problem for “progressives” is that they control less than 10% of the political “talk” airtime and they are on the weakest signals, therefore reaching a much smaller segment of the population.  There are even cities in this great naion who still have only ONE SIDE of the political argument being made, which is an effective way for those who are behind the Limbaugh’s, Beck’s, etc to control the “message” even more.  For example, today I heard exactly the SAME argument from multiple sources.  Barack Obama sent out an email to all of his supporters from the previous election soliciting their support for the next election – myself, a “baby boomer” and a “white guy” included.  The rant I heard today was that Obama is a “racist” because he’s drumming up support among “Blacks, Latino’s, and women.”

I honestly don’t understand how people like Limbaugh can get away with this kind of CRAP other than to refer you to one of my previous posts where I explained “psychological projection.”  In short, psychological projection is where “Persons incapable of ascribing their own feelings to themselves have great difficulties in understanding them.”  It is “the unconscious act of denial of a person’s own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world.”  Therefore, you have people like Limbaugh and Beck accusing Barack Obama of being a racist.  I’ll let you connect the dots.  The bottom line here is that the “tea party” is essentially the republican party, and the republican party is essentially answering to Rush Limbaugh and is otherwise leaderless, and their actions of late speak volumes as to where they want to take this nation.

Where is that? you might ask.  Well, let’s start with Arizona and the recently passed and signed into law legislation which, for all intents and purposes, GUARANTEES that I won’t be going to Arizona ANY TIME SOON.  Now, I am a “white guy,” but I really don’t like the idea of a police officer having to make a “judgement call” on whether or not I’m a citizen or not – should I choose to travel there.  Let’s be clear about this, the Arizona law (if you live under a rock and haven’t heard, the law FORCES authorities in Arizona to stop and ask for PROOF of citizenship from anyone who is suspected of being “illegal”) is intended for Latino’s (and, Obama – there’s a provision in the law that states that if John McCain wants to run for president again [or anyone else] they have to provide their actual birth certificate in order to get their name placed on the ballot) – that is, to purge the illegal immigrants from their state.  There is little doubt, based on all the information I’ve read, that there IS a problem at the border of the United States with Mexico.  However, similarly to the republican’s reaction to the attacks of 9/11 they seem OVERLY WILLING to subjegate our LIBERTIES for the sake of political expediency.  There is no doubt in my mind that the bill passed in Arizona is unconstitutional – and, maybe they understand that as well and were just trying to “make a point” – but, the way these republicans go about doing these things is curious at best.  The BLOWBACK on Arizona could potentially be economic DISASTER for their state.  I don’t know if they’re trying to force the federal government to address this issue, but do you find it interesting that they get behind a bill that essentially PROFILES Latino’s and potentially strips many GOOD, HARD WORKING Americans of their most basic rights – while at the same time calling our Black president a RACIST.  How stupid do these republicans think “we the people” are?  I certainly hope they are wrong on this one!

Here’s another piece of relevant contemporary republicanism which tests the “waters” as to how stupid republicans think the general American public is – because, make no mistake about what they’re doing; it’s ALL CALCULATED to regain power for them without any kind of accountability for what they did to us during the eight MISERABLE years of the Bush administration.  The latest move from the “party of no” is the rejection of WALL STREET REFORM – I’ve been ranting about this for several weeks now.  My HOPE was that the republicans would FILIBUSTER the Wall Street reform legislation being proposed in the senate – I believe even the “low information voters” as I referred to them a while back can see past this one.  Well, TRUE TO FORM republicans in the senate came through like the champions they really are.  Of course, they’re framing their “objection” to the bill by claiming that it doesn’t do what it specifically says it does – which is to prevent future taxpayer BAILOUTS of Wall Street banks such as the BAILOUT which was done under the last REPUBLICAN president.  I’m sure you remember George W Bush’s now infamous quote, “Under our proposal, the federal government would put up to $700 billion taxpayer dollars on the line to purchase troubled assets that are clogging the financial system” – giving the money to banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and a few other behemoths who make huge profits gambling with someone else’s money.  This is the financial system that was “CLOGGED” due to policies of Bush and the “OUR” he’s referring to is – presumably – him and Hank Paulson, his Treasury Secretary and the former CEO of – who else – Goldman Sachs.

The financial “meltdown” of 2008, a recurrence of which is what this legislation is attempting to prevent, led to the estimated loss of 8 MILLION jobs in America, TRILLIONS in losses to the 401 K’s and varied retirement plans of MILLIONS of hardworking Americans, and arguably the worst recession in our history – which was potentially a 2nd “Great Depression.”  Many economists are referring to the present economic crisis as the “Great Recession,” and, UNBELIEVABLY the republicans are somehow managing to manipulate the media in a way that is causing many in America to forget who created this MESS in the first place.  As stated above, I’ve had my disagreements with President Obama, and I pledged to myself that I would not be a “rubber stamp” for him as the republicans were to President Bush during his time in office – most of the time with a solid republican majority in both houses of Congress, but I’m solidly behind Obama on this one.  The republican Congress didn’t object to Bush’s abusive policies and he didn’t vetoe anything they put before him for his signature.  I’m not saying that would necessarily be bad, but what I am saying is that republicans MUST accept accountability for the results of their actions (just as democrast will need to accept accountability for the long term affects of the actions they’re taking now) – which is what republicans are trying to avoid with this media assault on our new president and our unsuspecting public. 

As I responded to Lars Larson recently when he happened upon this site, many of the people who listen to him and the other “talkers” on the radio or on TV believe they are telling the truth – kind of like when you go to the doctor you assume doctors know what they’re talking about just by the position they hold.  Obviously, that’s not the case with radio and television personalities, but people like me grew up in an era where these people were assumed to be non-biased reporters of facts.  Non-biased reporters appear to be a thing of the past.  (In fact, one of the “progressive” talkers, Randi Rhodes, challenges her listeners to “fact check” everything she says because it’s all opinion and the listener needs to verify it – no matter who it’s coming from)  And, I’m not deluding myself into thinking that I have all the answers, I started this site simply as a way to “vent” my frustration with Bush/Cheney and the lies which got the country I love BOGGED DOWN in another Viet Nam like situation in Iraq (actually, Bush did Lyndon Johnson one better and left TWO bogged down military fiasco’s for Obama to deal with upon moving into the White House).  I would actually relish the thought of an actual intellectual dialogue with someone who feels as if a vote for republicans makes sense.  What I always have to deal with are people like Larson who call people like me names (according to Lars I’m an “elitist democrat”) without making one good complete sentence that argue’s their point of view.  I suspect that Limbaugh, Beck, Larson, and the others have no point of view – except for the “talking points” they are instructed to say “over and over and over again, to catapult the propoganda” – in the words of their former “progressive” president.

So, what people who want to support the republican party are faced with is supporting a party which is behind the stripping of our basic liberties in Arizona, a party which stripped the New Deal regulations of Wall Street over a period of years (starting with Ronald Reagan and continuing through the administration of GW Bush) – regulations designed to PREVENT a financial crisis such as the one which happened “on their watch,” a party which has obstructed EVERY attempt at turning around the multiple PREDICAMENTS they left our new adminstration with, and now a party which is standing in the way of regulatory reform of Wall Street designed to prevent a recurrence of the “meltdown” of 2008.  (Do you remember that republicans were spouting the same crap in 1929?)  Keep in mind that the bankers these republicans are supporting (and, make no mistake, the republican leaders are even soliciting “donations” from these bankers in return for their votes against reform – about as IN YOUR FACE disregard for the American public as it gets) – these are the same bankers who were before Congress today explaining why they were selling “derivatives” to the managers of retirement accounts of good hard working Americans as “AAA” securities while, at the same time, GAMBLING that these same “securities” would fail – therefore MAKING A BUNDLE on both ends of the transaction and knowingly “SCREWING” millions of good American workers.  The stuff they were doing was SO OBSCENE that I can’t even imagine republicans supporting, but there they are – FILIBUSTERING the reform bill BEFORE it even reaches the senate floor for debate.  These republicans are unbelievable to me.  As I’ve stated above (and many times on this site) I have my disagreements with the Obama administration, but the republican support for the Wall Street bankers has convinced me that my democrat only voting needs to continue – at least for the time being.  Anyone who associates with the present leaders of that party is not worthy of a vote from someone in America’s middle class as far as I’m concerned.  (and, by the way Lars, if you show up again, I’ve been an “elitist” independent for over 40 years)

Who’s not disgusted with our government?  Well, it’s been hard for me to find anyone of late who is really happy with what’s going on in Washington DC.  The “tea partiers” are making the most noise, but the discontent is not totally coming from the “right.”  And, as I’ve been saying for quite some time, this is a potential problem for President Obama and the democrats come November – despite the FACT the present MESS in America is the direct result of republican “rule.”  I’m just finishing a book titled “Great Derangement,” by Matt Taibbi, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine.  As an American who is nearing full retirement age it is refreshing to get the “take” of someone probably close to half my age who is not tainted by the full 30+ years of propoganda us “baby boomers” have endured since the inception of the republican “talking points” during the Reagan era (and, yes for the sake of any “right winger” who would happen onto this site, the democrats have come up with a “talking points” scheme as well – they’re just not nearly as good at it as republicans).  Even though I’ve managed to remove “F bombs” and other “four letter words” from my diatribe, it was OK to me reading his as Taibbi used what was street slang, in my day, to emphasize his points.  Taibbi’s use of the f-bombs, etc. added to the humor of the book as he attempted to make light of a very serious problem in America.

In fact, the “gist” of Taibi’s book falls somewhat close to the “gist” of what I’ve been writing about since this “blog” started, and that is our “leaders” in Washington DC and elsewhere are, by and large, LIARS.  It seems that, as a culture, we’ve embraced the FACT that the politicians we elect to office have no problem lying to our faces (along with our church leaders) and, we just assume they would always tell the truth.  Sure, some of them are able to “spin” what they’re saying in a way that makes it almost appear as if they’re telling the truth – and, in some instances, they actually do tell the truth, but – when it counts – you can’t COUNT on them to tell the truth.  As I tell my sixth grade students, “If I have to guess when you’re telling the truth, I will always suspect you’re lying.”  It’s the same for our politicians (and  SOME church leaders) and, as I was reading Taibbi’s book, it dawned on me that we, as a nation, have accepted this as routine coming from the people who are making our laws in Washington DC and preaching from the pulpit.  It appears to people like Taibbi that lying has totally permeated our culture – and, I certainly would not be the person to refute that claim.

What was really interesting to me as a member of what I call the “Christian Left,” was Taibbi’s reporting on a “trip” he took into a “mega church” in the heart of Texas.  He spent months attending the Cornerstone Church of John Hagee, a pastor who is one of the examples of people who are being OVERLY “blessed” in their ministries.  Hagee has created a mega money making enterprise which provides him with a 7 digit income that is tax free and based on people following HIM.  And, it’s difficult for me to sit here writing and accuse Hagee of lying – I’ve never been in his church – so, let’s just say based on Taibbi’s reporting there’s a lot of “spinning” going on in Texas (I’ll let you read the book to make up your own mind on the honesty of Hagee’s preaching).  This is an example of a church which unabashedly “points” its patrons toward the republican party, which supported the invasion of Iraq among other curious “preachings,” and where the tax exempt status should have gone away the first time someone got up on the pulpit and made a political statement.  I guess the best way I could put this is, it seems to me, that you can be dishonest without making provable lies (you know, taking the “truth” of scripture and twisting it into something useful for your own purposes).  And, I don’t believe for a minute Hagee’s church is the only church that (was) is – Taibbi’s book was written in 2006 – 2008 – making statements supporting the policies of George W Bush from the pulpit (I’ve actually been in two churches in my area where I heard the same thing with my own ears).  When churches are lying as they preach about the “truth” you know we have a major problem.  (and, I’ve yet to hear one member of the church I belonged to at the time apologize for blindly supporting the Iraq invasion and a president who was condoning torture)

So, how does all this relate back to President Obama?  Well, as I stated many months ago (and, over and over again since then), the president’s constant “reaching out” to the “right” could be such a turn off to his “base” that they stay home in the upcoming elections.  For some reason our new president feels compelled to bridge the partisan “gap” to the extent of risking his presidency.  Now, as I spend more time thinking about his position in this regard I want to admire him for this – I mean, I’m as sick of the partisan bickering as anyone.  However, when I’m having those moments, I start thinking about the proposals for more nuclear plants, more offshore drilling permits for the oil companies who are not using most of the ones they have, “clean” coal (whatever that is), a “surge” in Afganistan, pardons for members of the Bush administration (I call them pardons because everyone knows crimes – even war crimes – were committed and FORGIVEN – therefore, essentially pardons), and the  leaving of upwards of 75,000 troops in Iraq indefinitely all which give me the sense that President Obama is either farther to the “right” than I could have imagined, or he’s playing the “politics as usual” game that most Americans are sick of.

Just the other day my son in law was explaining to me how “backroom deals” were at the heart of the recent health care “reform” bill passed by congress.  My understanding was that much of the “bargaining for votes” which included $100 MILLION for Nebraska via Senator Ben Nelson, for example, to get Nelson to support the bill was removed in the “reconciliation” bill passed through the house.  I hope I understand that correctly, but many Americans just don’t have the time or the inclination to follow these things close enough to understand the nuances of the bills when they finally become law.  In fact, watching the process so closely – because health care was on the “front page” for so long – put the above mentioned backroom deals out in the open to exacerbate the public perception of how corrupt our government is and, for some REALLY STRANGE reason to me, allowed the very people who were promoting the backroom deals behind the scenes to be LYING publicly about what was in this bill.  Here’s a FACT I will never understand (or at least don’t think I will) – the democrats reportedly allowed 200 republican amendments to be put into the bill without getting a single republican vote in return.  Is it any wonder the public is losing confidence in democrats?

Let’s get to the bottom line of the problem here, at least as how I see it.  The health care “reform” bill could have been done without all the fanfare – simply by opening up medicare for all Americans – the OPTION to buy into it – that is, with a few “tweaks” to make sure that doctors and hospitals would accept the “plan,” and pass it through the reconciliation process in the senate (which they ultimately had to rely on anyway).  This would have given Americans the “choice” all the politicians supposedly want us to have and would have “held the big insurance companies accountable,” as the politicians were fond of proclaiming by giving people like me an alternative to the private FOR PROFIT health insurance that is eating away at my (and probably your) net income at a rapidly increasing (and alarming) rate.  President Obama needn’t keep “kissing up” to the “right,” because his “base” actually wants him to move the national debate back toward the “center.”  By “reaching out” to these despicable republicans who are showing behaviors that I thought we had purged from the American scene long ago (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, read some of the signs at the so-called “tea party” gatherings) President Obama is giving validity to a group that needs or deserves none.  Obama should have shown our nation that these people are no longer influencing our public debate and if they want to be a part of the discussion they need to renounce the racism and greed that has driven their message for far too long.  As President Obama said himself, “elections have consequences,” and those of us who supported him are expecting him to lead the way as the people who created the mess we are in receive the consequences of the last and, if he would just support his own base, future elections.  My own fear is that, combined with “Citizen’s United,” Obama’s placating of republicans will only lead to a resurgence of them in the upcoming elections and will have the exact opposite effect from what he’s publicly saying.

For some reason President Obama gave away the “tool” he had when he took office to settle this “battle” for what appears to me to be the very soul of our nation by pardoning Bush/Cheney and the others in their administration who decided that the laws of this great nation were written for people besides themselves.  People such as my son in law have enough time to read the headlines and that’s about it.  They have their jobs and families to take care of and they continue to assume that the public information is somewhat accurate.  In the case of what he tried to start a conversation to me about, the “Ben Nelson deal,” he has a legitimate point that president Obama and the democrats needn’t have given to anyone.  By putting George W Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s actions on the “front page,” the health care proposal could have been passed with much less fanfare (I often wonder if the fanfare is what was wanted) and a lot less “deals,” plus their actions would be public knowledge to the people who didn’t have the time or energy to “discover” what was done on their own.   Now we’re on to Wall Street regulation and the debate rages on again.  As stated in my last two posts I’m kind of looking forward to this one.  I’m actually anxious to see the republicans filibustering a bill that prevents further “bailouts” of the “too big to fail” institutions that are even bigger thanks to the TARP program of Bush/Paulsen (of course, they will claim to be “against” the banks while doing the banks’ bidding).  In fact, is there anyone besides me who is curious as to why Hank Paulsen’s connection to Goldman Sachs and his rivalry with Lehman Brothers – the end result being Lehman being allowed to fail and Goldman being “bailed out” – hasn’t been investigated?  Has anyone besides me wondered how much Paulsen had at stake when Goldman was teetering on the brink of receivership?  As the Peyton Manning commercials went, “I’m just saying.”

I could go on and on, but back to the “bottom line.”  The real problem President Obama faces is his “base” staying home from upcoming elections.  I’m finally sensing that he and his supporters are “getting” that – because I’m beginning to get a huge influx of emails reminding me of the importance of staying “involved.”  Well, I am staying involved, but, I’m not sure how secure my vote for Obama and the democrats is.  For me, it actually bothers me more to have someone who I had counted on doing stuff that is “untoward” than it did when I actually expected it.  I thought I heard President Obama say something like the battle had just begun shortly after he was elected.  I took that to mean that politics as usual was going to change in Washington DC (I always put the DC on that because I live in Washington state :o) and we were going to finally try to overcome the corrupt nature of the way business is done there.  Well, it didn’t take long for him to be in the “backroom” that so many Americans hate – Americans on “both sides of the isle.”

People like me are tired of picking the “less of two evils,” and the youth of Taibbi’s age and younger were energized by Obama but they are even more cynical than people my age, or at least that was my perception as I read his book.  I’ve been following politics since John Kennedy was president and I’ve learned that – as an independent – I’ve grown farther and farther from republicans as the years have gone by.  At the same time, I have to agree with republicans that democrats are “weak,” and it’s very unsettling to feel like I have to depend on them to “push” my point of view.  However, I still vote – and probably will continue to do so.  Obama needs an enthusiastic “base” to get his agenda through congress and if he looses “touch” with the younger people who voted him in, we will all be back to putting up with republicans in the White House.  Just writing these words makes my stomach feel uneasy – I would be OK with all of this if republicans were people like Everett Dirksen, Mark Hatfield, Barry Goldwater, Bob Dole, etc. – not people I totally agreed with, but people who you could reason with.  The republican party is presently run by Rush Limbaugh and the talking heads on the right (there seems to be no legitimate leader elsewhere) and they are showing ZERO remorse for the policies which led to the “Great Recession,” the fiasco’s of Afganistan and Iraq, and the bludgeoning of our constitution.  I’m still hearing republicans supporting torture and calling for – UNBELIEVABLY – even more tax cuts for the rich.  Republicans are fighting Wall Street reform, they hate unions, and they want to destroy public education.  Why would any blue collar American support them?  The only answer I can come up with is republicans continue to play the “fear card,” and scare people about democrats – and this is going to get worse once the aforementioned “Citizen’s United” starts affecting the public debate.  Well, the democrats had better figure this out quick, because people like Matt Taibbi and many of America’s youth feel no allegiance to either party, and without a FOCUSED PROGRESSIVE agenda I predict the democrats will be looking at a large number of Obama “supporters” staying home on election day come November!

I watch these “tea partiers” in a bit of amazement, trying to get my mind around their “message,” but it makes so little sense that I keep coming back to the same place.  I’ve seen their signs – OVER AND OVER – and, the way they depict our sitting president can leave no other conclusion except they can’t stand a Black president.  When they say “we want our country back” – what the H are they talking about?  Back from who?  Didn’t president Obama win the last election with 53% of the vote?  I’m not all that “on board” with Obama’s first year in office myself, but my discontent has to do with disagreeing over some of his decsions.  Are these “tea partiers” so stupid that they don’t understand what impression they’re leaving when they carry signs depicting our president as a monkey?  Or as someone with a bone through his nose?  Come on, most of these people are reputed to be educated, older Americans.  I’ve even had a bit of a commentary going with one of the lessor known of the right wing “water carriers” for the corporatocracy the republican party is trying to cram down our collective throats, Lars Larson, and he made a comment that my “playing the race card” indicated my argument was weak.  This is EXACTLY how they operate – they put a racist sign in your face and when you call them on it, they claim you’re “playing the race card.”  This is classic psychological projection.

According to the theories of Sigmund Freud, psychological projection is a psychological defense mechanism whereby one “projects” one’s own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, feelings, and so on onto someone else.  That’s the only explanation I can come up with for these “tea partiers” – who have been incited by Fox “news,” Dick Armey and “Freedom Works,” and political windbags like Michelle Bauchman and Sarah Palin (OK, a little psychological projection on my part :o).  How else can you explain people who supported George W Bush and Dick Cheney calling Barack Obama a “fascist,” a “communist,” or a “socialist.”  (personally, one of my disappointments in Obama is that he’s not more of a socialist).  And, most of the other objections coming from these people are a bit curious – to say the least – as well.

Let’s talk about the budget deficit – which was heavy on the minds of many of the “tea partiers” based on reports I heard.  Now, there’s an area where I could easily agree with them.  However, where were these people from 2001 until 2009 when George W Bush turned a $250 BILLION dollar surplus (with prospects for paying off the debt in 10 years) into a $1.2 TRILLION dollar deficit – PER YEAR?  Of course, to make matters worse, Bush also drove the economy into the “ground,” leaving it teetering on the brink of another “Great Depression” when President Obama took the oath of office.  Obama had NO CHOICE but to stimulate the economy in an effort to re-energize the jobs market which was shedding jobs at the rate of close to a MILLION jobs per month when he took office.  In the eight years Bush was in office he had the worst job creation record in American history – well, since records started being kept in 1939 (this is according to that left wing “rag” the Wall Street Journal).  If Obama can cut the deficit in half in his first term it will be a miracle – but that will still put it at something over half a TRILLION dollars per year.   And, these “tea partiers” who either have NO MEMORY or are DISENGENUOUS will still be blaming the deficit on Obama.  I’ll say it again, where were these people when Bush/Cheney handed the surplus given to them by Bill Clinton over to the top fraction of one percent of earners in this country.  This was “Deja vu all over again” – like the Reagan tax cuts on steroids.

And, of course, one of the ways we reduce the deficit is to pay taxes.  Coming from a position years ago where I had no income I’m always grateful when I pay my taxes that I now have income.  This is a great country to live in and one of the reasons we have such a high standard of living is the taxes we pay for the services we receive.  It almost seems as if some of these “tea partiers” want to receive the services without paying for them.  The truth is that President Obama included a middle class tax cut in his “stimulus package” that reduced the taxes of something like 95% of wage earners in America.  I know that my taxes were less this year than they were the previous year under George W Bush.  It’s HIGHLY LIKELY that almost every one of the “tea partiers” (with the exception of the instigators – like Palin, Armey, Beck, Limbaugh) paid less tax last year than they did under Bush.  But, where were they when Bush was cutting taxes for the hedge fund BILLIONAIRES, the heirs to the Walmart fortune, the Wall Street bankers the “tea partiers” (OK, the taxpayers) bailed out (under Bush/Cheney/Paulsen) while leaving their taxes the same, and running up this huge debt?  None of this makes any sense – until you start looking at their signs.

There’s more.  These “tea partiers” and their “incitors” like to wave the constitution around as if they’re worried they’re losing their rights.  OK, I’ve got to ask the same question again – where were they during the Bush/Cheney administration?  I mean, I would have been right there with them while Bush/Cheney were suspending Habeous Corpus, wiretapping American citizens without warrants, torturing “enemy combatants” so that they would have to be held in detention without charge indefinitely because any evidence was corrupted and non-admissable in any civilized court of law, politicizing the justice department, outing a covert CIA agent (as punishment for someone telling the TRUTH about their lies), sending American troops into “harms way” based on lies, lying before Congress (and then refusing to even testify before Congress), and gutting the regulatory system leading to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Wall Street meltdown, and just recently the West Virginia mining disaster.  Where were the “tea partiers” when all of this was going on?

Can you just imagine the blowback during the Bush/Cheney administration had someone carried signs of George W Bush with a bone through his nose or some of these other signs (Yes, I understand those signs wouldn’t mean the same thing with a white president – so picture the signs suggesting an image of Hitler superimposed over the presidents face)?  I mean, I remember a woman being arrested in Denver Colorado at a venue where Bush was giving a speech because of something written on her shirt.  Yes, it was “anti-Bush” – but, it was simply words and SHE WAS ARRESTED!  The overt, blatant, RACISM coming from these “tea partiers” is getting over the top.  And, people like Larson who continue to encourage them – and then claim that people like me are using the “race card” is nothing more than the above mentioned psychological projection.  Now, I have no idea what kind of things Lars Larson, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh (that’s a compliment for you Lars – mentioning you with the “big boys”) say in private – but their support and encouragement of these people carrying these signs on the public airwaves and throwing around their “code words” is race baiting – pure and simple.  And, Lars – while you’re telling me my argument is “weak” explain to me who they’re planning to “take THEIR country back” from.  Honestly, that is about the stupidest claim I’ve heard in my adult life.  Isn’t it MY country too???

You certainly didn’t hear me saying that about George W Bush – despite the FACT I went from disagreeing with him to loathing him by the time he left office (actually, the loathing was probably more aimed at Dick Cheney – but that’s a post for another day).  (come to think of it, when Bush was supposedly going after bin Laden – I was totally supportive)  It was very difficult watching someone who was proving himself incompetent on one situation after another.  But, the truth is that I never wished for him to fail.  I wanted Bush to succeed because we’re ALL AMERICANS.  His failures have had a huge impact on almost all of us (well, except for those people at the “top” who were the financial beneficiaries of his policies) – “tea partiers” included.  I honestly don’t blame them for being angry at our government.  However, allowing themselves to be sucked in to believing the problem is Barack Obama is BEYOND ABSURD!  When I listen to leaders like McConnell, Boehner, Palin, McCain (sadly, at one time I believe John McCain would have been the person – who we desparately need at this time – to speak some sense into this republican “nightmare”), Romney, and others incite these people with the racist signs – evidently thinking there’s enough of them to “take back the government” – I believe the republican party is in for a rude awakening come November.  Yes, people are angry – and, for good reason – our government is filled with corruption, but – despite my disagreements with Obama – our sitting president seems to be the only one in Washington acting like an adult these days.  His even-keeled demeanor, his steady push toward centrist solutions to our problems, and his brilliant political mind – I believe – is going to leave these “tea partiers” and, therefore the republicans who are inciting them, wanting as 2010 rolls on toward November.

I won’t relive my disagreements with Obama at this point, but I have to say that I’ve seen a much more confident – and combative – president since the health care “reform” was passed.  The republicans have managed to draw a lot of attention to themselves during all this debate – and it’s been lost on NO ONE that there have been less than a dozen republican votes for anything Obama’s proposed since he took office.  Therefore, as things start to turn for the better, even the “tea partiers” will be able to figure out why.  I believe President Obama has the republicans backed into a corner at this point.  They are going to vote against ANYTHING and EVERYTHING Obama proposes.  Next up will be the re-regulation of Wall Street.  As stated in my last post, Mitch McConnell is already setting up the battle lines in the senate.  If his republican “sheep” stay in line, we will soon have the republicans defending the Wall Street banks they bailed out during the last months of Bush/Cheney with another in their endless threats of filibuster.  I HOPE that the democrats come to their senses on this one and FINALLY allow them to REALLY filibuster – that is – roll out the cots (and the TV cameras) and have the “endless debate” which is what a filibuster is supposed to be.  As republicans filibuster reform of Wall Street, Americans will be reminded of who created the MESS we’re all dealing with in the first place!

I keep thinking I’ve written enough, I’ve gotten the frustration out of my system.  And, just think, even one of the people I included in a post (Lars Larson) actually stopped by to point out what an “elitist” I am.  That should be enough.  But, the truth is these republicans just won’t stop.  It should be clear they are going to continue twisting the English language in an attempt to fulfill their dream of a “permanent (endless) republican majority” as Karl Rove so adroitly put it.  Now, after losing the debate on the need to “reform” health care in America, they are attempting to protect the Wall Street banks – by pretending they’re not protecting the Wall Street banks.  Isn’t that just like them.  ALWAYS look the other way when a republican leader starts talking!

This morning, as I’m doing my daily diligence of reading the NY Times and Washington Post I read this quote by Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate (and one of those republicans who can’t totally keep it to himself how much he HATES the idea of a Black president succeeding) in an attempt to portray the democrat’s bank reform bill as a “pro Wall Street” bill – these guys have no scruples whatsoever:  “We cannot allow endless taxpayer-funded bailouts,” Mr. McConnell said in a floor speech. “That’s why we must not pass the financial reform bill that’s about to hit the floor. The fact is this bill wouldn’t solve the problems that led to the financial crisis. It would make them worse.”  He then went on to say that we should just let the banks “that are too big to fail” fail.  This is typical republican doublespeak that is essentially the reason I started writing in the first place.  THESE PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO GO!

What McConnell was really saying was the republicans want NO REFORM.  After all (of course they don’t want the “tea partiers” to know this) they are the ones who gutted the post Depression reforms that had stabilized our banks since the 1930’s.  The problem with those reforms, from the republican point of view, is that they limited the amount of “stockholder value” for corporations such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, and the other “behemoths” which have emerged since Ronald Reagan led the purge of the New Deal regulations.  These banks are already back to cutting off “the fat hog” since being bailed out by – WHO ELSE – but, Hank Paulsen (former CEO of Goldman prior to taking the reins as Treasury Secretary under GW Bush), George Bush, and the very republicans who are now proclaiming that regulation would lead to “endless government bailouts of Wall Street.”

Of course, as with virtually every other republican “claim” as of late, the opposite is true.  I’ve only read excerpts of the bill which have been published in the NY Times or Washington Post or other places online, but it’s very clear the bill sets up a plan to not only allow these banks to fail – should they continue their reckless gambling with American taxpayer’s money – but, to actually sieze them in an orderly way designed to punish the directors, the officers of the companies, and the shareholders should the castastrophe of 2007 and 2008 be recreated, but protect depositors.  The “republican way” which is what 80% of Americans are angry about is to provide the banks with unlimited funds to bridge the disaster created when their gambling “debts” are called – as they were in the fall of 2008 as the foreclosure crisis hit high gear.  The result of “the republican way” has been a quick return to HUGE profits for these banks, a continuation of the very abuses they were performing prior to the “crash,” unbelievable “windfalls” for some of the hedge fund gurus who purchased large blocks of banking stocks when they were at the “bottom,” and a potential gold mine for republicans in campaign donations from Wall Street as they fight any regulation which might slow down the GREED on Wall Street – which has been out of control for years.

So, in the eyes of people like Larson (and, presumably Limbaugh, Beck, and the other paid propogandists of their republican masters) people like me, who are calling them for their doublespeak, are “elitists” because we point out the TRUTH that they are playing on average American’s fears in a way that provides HUGE dividends for their bank accounts.  And, the reality is that they’ve had a well planned “gig” since the 80’s to turn the minds of the American public away from their GREEDY politics by twisting the “wedge” issues and taking advantage of what they call the “weak” democrats.  Now, there is a point we (Lars and me) can agree on.  The democrats need to “grow a pair.”  Now that the republicans have succeeded in pushing “Citizen’s United” onto the rest of us, this situation is going to get worse – unless the democrats stand up and tell these republicans where to get off!

To be honest, I’m really uncomfortable depending on the democrats to do anything.  As much as I admire President Obama as a person, I’m still concerned with his constant “reaching out” to republicans.  In a “perfect world” I totally realize that would be the way to go.  But, I don’t know if these republicans are worth being “bipartisan” with.  They’ve pushed the American political dialogue so far to the “right” that I think the democrats should be pushing it back – they have until November to accomplish this.  Now, I also fully understand that President Obama is a very intelligent person and I’m guessing he has a “plan” that he’s going to see through to the end.  My gut feeling is that he’s giving the republicans every opportunity to “shoot themselves in the feet.”  And, this Wall Street reform just might be the legislation which leads to that conclusion from the voters.  I’m actually kind of excited to see the public reaction to a republican filibuster of legislation designed to  “real in” Wall Street.  Of course, that’s what McConnell is trying to “set up” in his remarks on the Senate floor.  They are going to do what they always do and attempt to make their support for Wall Street look as if they want to just “let them fail” (McConnell, the same day of his remarks, was reportedly soliciting donations from the top 25 Wall Street bankers).  Isn’t that just like these republicans – people like Lars Larson calling people like me “elitist” while “kissing up” to those poor “blue collar” Wall Street billionaires!

Today as I was driving around getting stuff for the upcoming school week (teachers really do work long hours during the school year) I was listening to a rerun of “The Ed Schultz Show” on the radio.  Ed Schultz calls himself a “proud lefty” and, to me, he seems like a classic democrat from my youth who is unabashedly focused on pro working(person) issues.  Obviously, Shultz has an agenda.  Who doesn’t these days?  What is refreshing to me is how “up front” he is about it.  His theme is “where America  comes to talk” and, in contrast to the right wing “talkers” I’ve listened to (especially Rush Limbaugh – it’s all I can do to give Limbaugh a few minutes any more) Schultz welcomes “conservatives” to call his show and he actually lets them make their case – again, something I haven’t heard on shows like Limbaugh’s, or Glenn Becks, or the others – although I have to admit I just don’t listen to the “right” much anymore. 

Another thing that has drawn me to listen to Schultz when I can is that I’ve actually heard him criticize President Obama, although he clearly is an Obama supporter.  And, it’s true, from a “progressive” perspective I don’t believe there can be any doubt that President Obama is far superior to our previous president.  However, president Obama is NO LIBERAL from my perspective – and the people who are trying to paint him as such – in fact, as a socialist or communist or worse – are either disengenuous, ill-informed, or just plain lying.  Even the stimulus package – the one that ALL REPUBLICANS voted against, and then went back to their districts and started taking credit for the projects which were created, was tilted to the “right” with almost 50% of the bill providing tax cuts.  I guess the republicans didn’t like that because the tax cuts were aimed at the working class of America – people like this guy who was on Schultz’ show (a few days ago – the show I was listening to was a rerun from last week) claiming to be a conservative who drives a “route” and makes $40,000 per year.

This proved to be a very interesting conversation.  The caller (who, during the conversation, claimed he got a lot of his information from listening to Glenn Beck) had a list of seven reasons why Barack Obama is a socialist (I think that’s how he put it).  Essentially, the $40,000 per year driver was complaining that Obama’s liberal policies were ruining our country.  I’m trying to remember as much of the ensuing conversation as I can, because, to me, it showed the danger of these republican “talking heads” who are spewing deceit and inciting people I’ve heard  referred to as “low information voters.”  The guy on the phone with Schultz was very genuine, his fears were genuine, the problem was that he had no idea what he was talking about.  He had been listening to the likes of Beck, Limbaugh, and Fox “news” and taking what they say as the truth, without any attempt to verify what any of it.  It reminded me of a person I was very close to who I can no longer even bring myself to talk to – a person who, when I showed him evidence of something he heard on Limbaugh’s show as being false, he threw it on the ground in a rage making absurd claims about liberals.

The guy on the radio on Schultz’ show was doing essentially the same thing (of course, he couldn’t throw anything on the ground) and Schultz, showing great patience with him, debunked his “claims” one by one on an extended segment.  It was very interesting.  I don’t think I’ll remember all the names of the people he was talking about, but he was claiming that President Obama was surrounding himself with people who are Maoists, who are in cahoots with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and virtually every claim he made had an “ist” on the end of it.  It was after all of this that he admitted he was a devoted listener of Beck.  OK, like with my friend, I believe people can listen to whatever they want to listen to – but, this kind of crap being thrown around as “news” or reasoned opinion based on facts, HAS TO BE DEBUNKED.  Things are getting out of hand in this nation, because people like this truck driver should be the backbone of the democratic party.  It is people like him that President Obama is fighting for and yet they’re getting sucked into the right wing fear machine.

The first person this guy called a socialist in Obama’s “inner circle” was the person in charge of putting together the loan package which bailed out General Motors.  Somehow, the caller claimed he (I told you I wouldn’t remember the names) was not a capitalist.  Schultz pointed out (accurately) that the “bailout” was a loan which will be repaid and that the government intervention to save both Chrysler and GM saved countless thousands of American jobs and, correctly, pointed out that corporations borrowing money and then paying it back was part of our capitalist way of doing business in America.  What the caller couldn’t get his head around was why GM and Chrysler needed to be bailed out in the first place.  When Schultz pointed out how the Bush administration policies had led to a near collapse of our entire financial system and that the reason these companies had to borrow from the government was because there was no place else for them to borrow money at the time due to the reckless policies of the republicans who preceeded Obama the caller – as EVERY so-called “conservative” I ever talk to continued to BLAME the economic collapse on Obama’s liberal policies.

That’s where I had to give Schults a lot more credit than what I could have had in the same situation.  The caller simply identified the FACT that he was ILL INFORMED by blaming Obama for circumstances which were IN PLACE when Obama took office.  I listen to this CRAP all the time – and, from people who I somehow think should know better, some of them teachers – where they are simply listening to Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Savage, Rove, and many others (in Portland there’s a guy called “Lars Larson” who’s of the same ilk).  And, despite the FACT that this caller (and my former acquaintance) should know better as educated adults, I don’t blame them.  To me these “say for pay” talkers are willing to do anything for the money they’re making (and, the estimates are huge with people like Limbaugh and Beck).   I don’t want to call them traitors, but they’re spewing lies for money, but as with all liars – after a point in time they start to believe their own lies are true.  They get so used to lying it just becomes a way of life.  They then fall into the category of pathological liars.  Somehow in American society we are allowing this phenomenon to exist – the right wing has garnered a stranglehold on the “liberal media” and, even the democrats seem to want to take them on with “kid gloves.”  What’s really alarming about this is that these “talkers” are minions of large corporations and now that the supreme court has enabled the corporations to dominate our political process through “Citizen’s United” we’re going to hear a lot more $40,000 truck drivers who listen to the radio while they drive around 50-60 hours per week and 90+% of what they hear is “right wing talkers” regurgitating the lies of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. – and, all the while believing in their hearts that they are being good informed citizens.

I give Schultz credit for having the discussion with guys like this, but not that many are going to call and too many will never hear anything except the deceivers and incitors on the “right.”  Just mentioning “Citizen’s United” reminds me of how dishonest EVERYTHING that comes from the “right” is.  You would think “Citizen’s United” would be about a bunch of “citizens” uniting to fight something.  So, how does it come out of the court giving corporations unlimited access to our political process?  And, keep in mind, most of these corporations are either foreign owned or are multi-national.  This from the political party which is clamoring about illegal immigrants.  Which is worse, a few illegal aliens picking fruit in America or Corporations based in China, the middle east, Russia, or elsewhere outside the boundaries of America controlling our elections through massive spending?  When the republicans put a name on something, you can almost bet their true agenda is almost completely opposite.

Here’s another one – which was involved in a local ballot measure recently in Oregon.  The ballot measure was intended to raise the corporate minimum tax in Oregon (the 49th lowest in the nation) from $10 per year (yeah, you heard that right $10) to the 46th lowest in the nation at $150.  Additionally, Oregon’s legislature wanted to raise income taxes on people earning $250,000 or more (I believe it was something like 1 0r 2%).  Well, republicans hate anything that includes raising taxes – even though this increase saved basic services to thousands of needy Oregonians – so in comes “Freedom Watch.”  This is a lobbying firm which is led by none other than Dick Armey the former majority leader of the House during the “Contract for (should read “on”) America in the 1990’s – led by Newt Gingrich.  This was the bunch, including Armey, who impeached President Clinton for having an affair, then had to resign from Congress when their affairs became public.  Anyway, “Freedom Watch” seems to show up in places where the rich people of this nation need protection against any kind of sensible taxation policy which would stem the incredible GREED cycle we’ve been in since the eighties.  Who’s “freedom” are they watching?  Well, you don’t have to check them out very far to find out they’re watching the “freedom” of large corporations in America.  I guess the question becomes, how much more freedom do the corporations in this nation need?  There seems to be no limits to the amount of PROFIT these companies seem to think they’re entitled to – all the while doing everything they can to keep guys like the one who called Schultz show thinking that the democrats are “communists” or “socialists” so that they can increase executive salaries, reduce workers wages and benefits, and show more profit for their stockholders.

In America today, according to what people like the guy calling Schultz’ show say, working people have been tricked into thinking shareholders are more important than workers.  The end result is that we are getting close to the point where we don’t make anything (except of course weapons) and even our elections are going to be at the mercy of foreigners.  Somehow “we the people” have to get the message through to these Americans who are buying this Beck, Limbaugh, and the rest’s “coolaid” that the future of this nation really is at stake.  It’s just that they have been duped into thinking the idea that most of America’s wealth being funneled to the top is good for them.  It’s hard for me to understand how any educated American could fall for that – how the republicans managed to get so many people thinking that we are a “each man/woman for him/herself” society.  I really don’t understand how so many Americans can just accept that President Obama caused all the problems we’re now facing when it’s just over a year since George W Bush was telling us that the taxpayers had to put up $700 BILLION for Wall Street because the economy was collapsing.  I keep asking myself;  how can people like the guy who called today blame the deficit on Obama when it was thrust on him by the Bush administration who didn’t even count the war spending as part of the budget?  How can they blame the lack of jobs on Obama when we were losing jobs at a rate of almost a MILLION per month when he took office?  Then I get back to that explanation I keep hearing, and that is Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are appealing to low information voters for their support, and evidently there are millions of them in America!