Category: Politics

What has happened to this country…

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Bad for business… Good for business…

Bad for business… Good for business… Two terms that one hears quite often. We apparently need business to some extent to meet our daily needs.  The unfortunate aspect of business is that to a large extent it is based on the profit motive which often translates into unbridled greed.  The way businesses and corporations are structured in this country it tends to shield individuals from most responsibility for less than desirable actions.  A familiar buzz phrase is “corporate citizen” which in my mind is the paradigm for explaining what an oxymoron is.

When I hear something is bad for business it generally grates on my nerves.  It frequently is a case of the tail wagging the dog.  In this country, businesses and corporations have garnered more than their fair share of wealth.  This wealth has bought politicians and who knows whom else.  This wealth has managed to change the laws to shield and benefit these legal fictions. It has reached the point that if Lincoln was giving the Gettysburg Address today, his closing would read “and that government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations, shall not perish from the Congress.”

What started me down this well trodden path again was a news story this morning on NPR. It was reported that “Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at the rate of about a football field an hour. Since the 1930s, the Gulf of Mexico has swallowed up an area the size of Delaware.”

Many folks allege that this erosion of the wetlands that provide a buffer between hurricanes and New Orleans is the responsibility of the various oil companies operating in the area.  For mysterious reason some of these folks feel that the entities that caused the erosion due to their business activities should pay to restore the land.  It is costing  Continue reading “Bad for business… Good for business…”

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Change Needed in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District

arthur-blue

I wrote this blog post a while ago.  Since then I have attempted to contact Mr. Lieber via his website some 2 or 3 weeks ago. So far there has been no response.

If I was trying to run a grass roots campaign by not accepting money, I would be responding to every possible citizen interest that came my way.

What I concluded by this is the Democratic machine does not feel that they have a breathe of a chance to win against Ann “Climate Change Denier” Wagner.  Therefore they are not putting any resources into the race and Mr. Lieber is, for lack of a better phrase, the sacrificial lamb.

There is a reason that I do not claim to be a Democrat, but an anti-Republican.  How sad it is that our politics and our future in the hands of these two corporate owned parties.  If the Democrats were truly a party of the people they would be putting up a fight against the horrendous legislator that is Ann Wagner.

Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District is in the part of St. Louis County known as West County.  It is 90% white and 60% Republican. The average household income ($71,141) is approximately 35% higher than the national average of $52,762.  Home ownership is 78% with a median home value of $209,200 versus the Missouri wide median value of $138,900.

To call this district conservative is an understatement.  They sent Todd   “Legitimate Rape” Akins to Congress 6 times.  They followed that up with Ann “Climate Change Denier” Wagner.  Continue reading “Change Needed in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District”

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Sitting Bull’s Speech Still Rings True

indian_heroes_1210I was raised a military brat.  I was born the year that Eisenhower started his presidency, and thus my early education was in the 50s and 60s.  The result of the two was a deep pride of country, and an admiration of our history.  As I grew older, as I studied more and as I read more I retained an admiration for our founding fathers.  They were remarkable men alive at a pivotal point of history, but they were still men.  Many things that happened then were the sausage of compromise. So much of our history after that point was colored by the institution of slavery and the genocide of the native populations.  Those two, in my mind, make the history of the United States less than glorious.  So much of our history from Vietnam onward is less than efflugent.  We have a sense of global empire that bothers me deeply.  Our government has basically been hijacked by the corporations and the mega-wealthy.   I would love to have a sense of pride and admiration in my country again, but it does not seem to be in the cards.

In my work commute of 54 miles round trip in big city traffic this week, I have been listening to the audio book, Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains by Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa).  In this book he included a speech by Sitting Bull that rings true even today for our society.  I have included it here with Eastman’s  introductory paragraph:

His bitter and at the same time well-grounded and philosophical dislike of the conquering race is well expressed in a speech made before the purely Indian council before referred to, upon the Powder River. I will give it in brief as it has been several times repeated to me by men who were present.

“Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! Every seed is Continue reading “Sitting Bull’s Speech Still Rings True”

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And John Kerry called it…

John_F__KerrySpeaking at an international security conference in Munich, Germany, Kerry said:

“The aspirations of citizens are once again being trampled beneath corrupt, oligarchic interests – interests that use money to stifle political opposition and dissent, to buy politicians and media outlets, and to weaken judicial independence and the rights of non-governmental organizations.”

Most folks thought he was talking about Ukraine, but sounds a lot like what is going on the good old USA.

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US Constitution – Links to document and audio book – Less than one hour of your time

ConstitutionThere a couple foundational documents that many Americans cite as absolute truisms.  One is the Bible, Old and New Testament.  The other is the Constitution of the United States.  Yet when you get to quizzing folks, the actual count of who has read either one of these documents in totality is not staggeringly impressive.

According to one survey, Americans Love the Bible but Don’t Read It Much , showed only 20 percent read the Bible regularly.

“Results of a nationwide survey released Thursday by the Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier show 86 percent of respondents recognize the importance of the document, the 223-year-old framework for American government. Thirty-one percent say they think they understand the Constitution “a lot” and 48 percent say they understand “some” of it. But only 28 percent say they’ve read all of the document, and 14 percent say they’ve read most of it, according to a report by Sean O’Brien, executive director at the Orange, Va., center.”

I can understand the Bible to some extent.  It is long, dense and arcane.  I once had very “religious” person tell me that he did not need to read the Bible.  If there was something in there he needed to know his preacher would tell him. Okay.

The United States Constitution is not long, dense or arcane.  It is not any more  a perfect document than is the Bible.  If nothing else counting people of color as three fifths of a person for the purpose of congressional representation would toss the Constitution from that category. Continue reading “US Constitution – Links to document and audio book – Less than one hour of your time”

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Egypt – The Withering of the Arab Spring

egypt As an outsider looking in at the situation in Egypt it is very confusing.  I am going to explore my thoughts via this piece.  It would be appreciated if anyone who  had thoughts on this would comment.  It just seems like awful conflict with both sides wrong.

First allow me to admit that most of my news comes from NPR.  While many folks rant about NPR’s “Liberal” slant I find it one of the few news sources without a large bias.  So many of the news sources of our time are more opinion than news and/or have a definite bias. Since I almost never watch TV news, my other source of news is the Internet, so much of which must be taken with a grain of salt.  I do tend to browse the more liberal news/opinion sites.  To counterbalance this I do browse the BBC site almost daily to get a point of view from outside the United States.  On very rare occasions I will look at Al Jazeera site. Like most folks I am stuck in my bias silo, but I do attempt to make the occasional foray into other arenas of thought.

I have a love/hate relationship with my country.  Continue reading “Egypt – The Withering of the Arab Spring”