Category: Politics

What has happened to this country…

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How To Fix America In 126 Super Cute Seconds

From MoveOn.org:

Sign their petition and send Congress and Obama the Betrayer a message.  Here is the link  to A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM petition.

IMHO… the corporations are effecting a coup d’etat on our government, our way of life, and the future of our children and grandchildren.  We need to take our country back from these greedy SOBs.   The Tea Party is just a tool the Koch Brothers and others of similar ilk.  Why should they be setting the agenda for the majority of us?

A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM
Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us…has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact and our contract with one another…
1. Invest in America’s Infrastructure
2. Create 21st-Century Energy Jobs
3. Invest in Public Education
4. Offer Medicare for All
5. Make Work Pay 6. Secure Social Security
7. Return to Fairer Tax Rates
8. End the Wars and Invest at Home
9. Tax Wall Street Speculation
10. Strengthen Democracy

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New York Times Editioral: What Happened to Obama?

This editioral appeared in the Sunday New York Times.   What Happened to Obama?  I personally think it is a must read if you are wondering what the hell happened to our country and Obama.

The last paragraph of the editorial pretty much sums up the situation for me.

“But the arc of history does not bend toward justice through capitulation cast as compromise. It does not bend when 400 people control more of the wealth than 150 million of their fellow Americans. It does not bend when the average middle-class family has seen its income stagnate over the last 30 years while the richest 1 percent has seen its income rise astronomically. It does not bend when we cut the fixed incomes of our parents and grandparents so hedge fund managers can keep their 15 percent tax rates. It does not bend when only one side in negotiations between workers and their bosses is allowed representation. And it does not bend when, as political scientists have shown, it is not public opinion but the opinions of the wealthy that predict the votes of the Senate. The arc of history can bend only so far before it breaks. ”  

I was rooting for Hillary from the git-go of Bush’s first term.  The woman has her issues (Bill?), but she knows the ropes, has the respect of her peers or least as much as you can in Washington.  And she is tough as nails.  I truly believe she has the good of little people in mind.

In part I blame the election of Obama on Oprah.  She spent years with every woman in America hanging onto her utterances.   However, when it came down to it, she chose race over gender.  Which is particularly sad considering how inexperienced Obama was and how experienced Hillary is.   But I also think that the corporate powers that really rule this country do not want competent leadership in Washington.  If that happens they might not be able run roughshod over the rest of us.

Deep sigh.

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America – The Dysfunctional Family: Time for Some Tough Love

Most of us have a family member who is dysfunctional either from drugs, alcohol, mental illness, or any number of other possible things.  They seem to take up more of the family’s time, resources and energy than is their due.  We all have been in a situation where a family member, friend, coworker, or stranger thought they should get more than their fair share of… you name it.  Neither is right.

The analogy I wish to draw is this.  The NRA(National Rifle Association),  The Tea Party, the Anti-Choicers ,  the Religious Right, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Nugent and many others groups are not in sync with the majority of the American population.  Yet they seem to be setting the agenda for many things as they are funding politicians and can mobilize a block of voters.  Poll after poll has demonstrated that their beliefs and goals are not really that of mainstream, middle of the road Americans.

The other analogy that I want to make is that the corporations and excessively wealthy are taking seconds, thirds, fourths… before the platter even gets around the table to little Bobby.

We need to stop acting like a dysfunctional family.  We need to stop letting the bullies take our school lunch money.  It is time to practice some Tough Love.

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This survey compared Tea Party members to “mainstream conservatives.  There is a huge gap there.  Can you imagine what it would be if they compared the Tea Party to middle of the political spectrum Americans. Read about survey

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A while after I posted this little piece this slightly more polished article came out:  Has America Become Entirely Dysfunctional?

 

 

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Counter the Koch Billions…Protect Social Security

Best I can figure out is that these the Koch Brothers want to totally weaken our government and the American middle class so their greed can ran rampant over the country. It is very scary to me.

This video is narrated by Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the few politician fighting for the American people and all that is good and right with this nation.

 

The Facts:

  •  Social Security belongs to you—the workers who contribute to it—not the politicians in Washington.
  •  Social Security will never go bankrupt. Its major source of income comes from the contributions of workers and employers; as long as there are workers, Social Security will have income.  Closing tax loopholes for wealthy individuals will increase the long term financial health of the program, and protect it for decades to come.
  • Raising the retirement age is a terrible idea and a large benefit cut. If you were claiming benefits as a 66 year-old retired worker and the full retirement age was changed from 66, where it is today, to 69 your benefits would be cut 20 percent. A typical benefit would drop from $14,000 a year to $11,200 a year.
  • Privatizing Social Security would be a disaster.  Social Security is so valuable because it provides a guaranteed benefit. Privatizing Social Security would remove this guarantee and have people gamble their retirement savings in the casinos of Wall Street. If the recent financial crisis taught us anything, Wall Street is the last place where our money is safe.

For more information, check out the Strengthen Social Security Campaign.

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Chicken at a Trillion Miles per Hour

When I was around 13 I found myself in a vehicle with a gentleman with a serious drinking problem.  This particular day he was far past intoxicated into stumbling drunk.  At one point he did ask me to drive.  However, having never driven anything more than a bicycle up until that point and being scared to death I unwisely declined.  In retrospect taking the keys away from him and being stranded would have been the better option.

Shortly thereafter I found myself an observer in a game chicken at 70 miles per hour.  From comments spewing from this individual’s mouth, I do not think staying alive was high on his list of priorities.  Someone once said that God watches out for fools and drunks, and there was a double dose going on that day.  No one was injured, no accident ensued, and the destination was arrived at.

Currently in Washington what is transpiring is a game of chicken Continue reading “Chicken at a Trillion Miles per Hour”

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Hard Times Are Here Again

Words and Music by Tom Paxton

Some how this song seems so appropriate for the times I am afraid are a-coming.

Hard times are here again.
Folks are hunkerin’ down.
All the lost and lonely men,
Slowly leaving town.
Travelling by their thumbs,
Some are ridin’ blind,
Hoping things are better somewhere,
Somewhere down the line.

Don’t you worry Lucy, love.
See your mama through.
Soon as daddy gets his job,
He’s gonna send for you.

Hard times are here again.
All the wise old men,
Told us there was no way we’d have,
Times like these again.
We gave them all the power.
Gave them our belief.
We listened and we trusted,
And we landed on relief. Continue reading “Hard Times Are Here Again”

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A Must Read

“If corporations and households taking in $1 million or more in income each year were now paying taxes at the same annual rates as they did back in 1961, the IPS researchers found, the federal treasury would be collecting an additional $716 billion a year… the federal debt to investors would almost totally vanish over the next decade.”

From an article by Sam Pizzigati — Plutocracy: If Corporations and the Rich Paid 1960s-Level Taxes, the Debt Would Vanish

When everyone has a piece of the pie, you may have seconds. To whom more is given, more is expected. American corporations need to remember that they need to dance with the one that brought them, the US of A.

Our current political/economic crisis is not that hard a problem to solve.  We as a collective group should not let greed rule the day.  We are all in this together, lets act like it.  The American dream should not, must not include la noblesse.  Keep your Marquis and Vicomte where they belong, to history.