Sunday, October 31, 2010

What If?

The traditional fights between the Republicans and the Democrats have been stepped up by more than just a notch with the addition of many new factors.  The most obvious new addition to the perennial fray is the so-called Tea Party.
This outlandish outlander of out and out idiots being run not-so-surreptitiously by the far right faction of the Republican Party has added a new level of hate into the mix.
Complete the boiling cauldron by placing it over the fire of a 24/7 media blitz of anything deemed deliciously 'tabloid-al' and you have a the makings of a Nationwide free-for-all.  So which group is on your side?
We can try to go back in time blaming one side or the other as the cause of it all but will find it as hard to do so as it is in the Israeli-Palestinian mess.
Someone will blame the current economic disaster on the Bush administration and they would basically be right.  But then the counterpoint will say that for a period of time the Congress was in the hands of the Democrats.
But Clinton left Bush a surplus that he and Darth Cheney handed over to their billionaire friends thus turning it into a mass deficit.
And the arguments on both sides will continue back in time for a while until we can finally blame the real culprits for our current Congressional quagmire, I cannot tell a lie, it's George Washington and his colonial friends!
That's right the good old founding fathers are to blame for all the woes we wearily wade through today.
And certainly we can blame them for the real Tea Party.
You remember that from your history classes, right?
The one in Boston Harbor?
In the 1770's?
I hope that event still appears in the textbooks coming out of Texas these days.
But what if the Democrats were to pull some of the dirty nasty tactics that have caught the attention of the dirt-happy media?
Suppose the Democrats hired some evil but sadly creative genius ala Andrew Breitbart and his group of equally disgusting and misguided fools?
Were this to happen we might be subjected to a new digitally pieced together video such as:
Mitch McConnell and John Boehner stating categorically that their main objective after stealing back the majority in Congress is to "get rid of that N in the White House.  The White House should be just that, WHITE!"
Does anyone really believe in this day and age that it is not possible to find enough available footage to cut and splice and copy and paste actual statements by those two to say this?  Hell, they probably actually said that exact statement often while in their own homes!  And using the proverbial technophobic joke, "Of course it can be done Why a 9 year old can do it!  Run out and find me a 9 year old!"
So what is the solution?
As long as the prize for the most dastardly dirty trick is political power and thus scads of new money and security for life nothing will change.  And with new exciting discoveries in technology the tricks will become more ingenious.
So how do we get out of this loop?
It will take time and cooler heads.
Unfortunately the way we are going we just don't much of either!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Today's Eclectic Compendium

These are the issues that are hitting my hot button today (sorry Ed.)

The business world and Republicans still blaming Obama administration for the uncertainty about rising health care costs.  They claim that is the reason for not hiring new workers.  But if anyone is to blame for raising rates and bilking the public shouldn’t it be the actual companies who are doing the dastardly deed?  Let’s face it the insurance industry is reaping record rewards by raping the consumer.  The Obama administration merely tried to stop them from their upward trend but had to do so without the help of the Republicans who branded his efforts as anti-American and claimed he just wanted to kill grandma!

It has finally been revealed that BP knew exactly what it was getting into when it used tainted and low quality cement on their oil rigs.  While it should come as no surprise that a company took shortcuts on their way to increase profits it should be noted that the “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” attitude of this renegade corporation is actually the norm.  Many companies knowingly produce inferior products only removing them from the shelf after being caught or sued by those adversely affected.
In a side issue the plastic additive BPA has now been linked to a lower sperm count in males.
At this point I would suggest that any new company leave the initials BP out of their name.  Just saying…

Quick economics lesson for the mathematically challenged Tea Party members on Long Island and elsewhere, LIPA is seeking to have their taxes lowered as a way to reduce the rates they must charge customers for electricity.  That sounds great, right?  Who doesn’t wish to have their monthly bill lowered?
But the fact remains that the taxes paid by LIPA and other utilities goes to funding local town functions such as the schools and mundane other necessities of life.
So as a result of lowering the taxes on LIPA we may end up paying them a slightly lower monthly amount but will then pay a far greater amount in town and school tax.
The bottom line is it costs money to run a government be it local Statewide or National!
Merely shifting around the pain and pleasure does no good.  At the end of the day (I still hate that phrase) we the tax paying public are footing the bills and end up with less money in our pockets.
Tighten up all budgets, get rid of fluff, stop political patronage, and get all political houses in order.  There is quite enough money floating around to do so!

Staying on Long Island a local Republican, Fran Becker who is running for Congress against Carolyn McCarthy stated today that he is surging.  As far as the upcoming election the polls say otherwise so if he is surging it must be in a different way.
Therefore all I can say is hey Fran we’re not interested in your sex life.

A report came out about the wonderfully brave men and women who serve in our country's armed forces around the world.  It stated that most of these soldiers found nothing wrong with working alongside openly gay human beings.
The report also went on to say that the feelings did not carry over into the Semper Fi sect as many Marines told the pollsters that they would quit if gays were allowed to serve.
Way to go guys!  That's protecting the American way of life!  Who would want a gay or lesbian soldier protecting them and watching their back when the enemy was about to shoot them?  We'd all rather die, right?
Pathetic!  Pick up your medals as you leave guys!  America thanks you for your service.

In a story that can be good and bad and then good and then bad again according to the news dentists have come up with an interesting idea.  They intend to keep our children’s teeth healthy by limiting their candy intake.  They are offering to buy back any candy collected during Halloween at the rate of $1 per pound.  As a result kids will make money while keeping their teeth in good shape.  They will also not have that unhealthy surge of sugar the day after the spooky celebration.
So just what will happen to all that chocolate and gooey caramel?  The dentists plan on doing what American drug companies have been doing for years when they sent drugs the FDA could not approve to foreign countries.  They will be shipping the unwanted candy overseas.  But not to worry, no American children will be harmed in the ensuing cavity bonanza.

The Saudis are now advising the owners of that downtown Manhattan property to move their Mosque away from the 9-11 memorial area.  They say they do not wish to cause any more pain and suffering.  But they also add that the Mosque would be too close to the already established bars and strip clubs that pepper the area.  Is it just me or was that a slap at normal and money making American businesses?

And speaking of business as usual in Somalia two children were executed for being spies by the ruling class yesterday.  The 15 and 18 year olds were sentenced and then moments later shot by firing squad without a chance of appealing the obviously ridiculous ruling.  It seems that in that country the only requirements needed to be judge and executioner is one must be male and know the Quran.  Done!
What that country needs is a Sadie Hawkins Day where the women get to run things for 24 hours.  Hey guys - drop your pants and pray the women have bad aim!  Of course with targets as large as yours it's doubtful they will.

Hey folks, did you know that there was another tsunami?  This one was near the other one and devastated towns, businesses and lives as well.  But only 1,000 people were killed or missing so far and it didn’t happen on Christmas and we are going through a momentous election period so you may not have heard about it.  Oh, and I believe no Americans were killed during the event.

And finally it has been pointed out that many of the Tea Party candidates are running for office because they claim to hear the voice of the people!
Unfortunately all too many of them are actually only hearing voices!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Fox the Cable and Power!

The following is an entry by a guest reader without a blog of his own currently.
I will not name the source but rather state it is an intelligent affected former viewer of shows on Fox who has seen the light!

The foreign Australian/Saudi Arabian controlled News Corp is conductng an experiment to measure the extent in which it can manipulate the future of the US.
I am referring to the Australian Rupert Murdoch family, with 38% ownership in the Company, and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the second largest equity owner behind Murdoch with holdings valued in excess of $2 billion.
The experiment, currently in progress is on a relatively small scale in which just a mere nine to 12 million innocent third party Americans are being used as hostages to create leverage for News Corp as it tests its ability to bully US media companies and influence Washington policies as it pursues its own interests and the interests of Australia and Saudi Arabia.
I am not referring to the heavily biased Fox News which publicly claims to be fair and even, cynically offering a 'we report, you decide' motto nor am I referring to the millions Rupert Murdoch, the Murdoch family, and News Corp has spent this year in supporting right wing causes.
Our recent 5 to 4 Supreme Court  decision that corporations have the same rights as individuals, allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace has facilitated this new form of democratic corruption, empowering News Corp.
The experiment I am referring to involves News Corp's outrageous demand that New York and Tri-state based Cablevision's annual retransmission fee to Fox TV be increased from approximately $70 million to $150 million.
While Fox's demand is negotiated, Fox has pulled the plug on its broadcasts otherwise aired on Cablevision, affecting three million homes.
News Corp knows their demnand is unreasonable and has thus refused Cablevision's offer for binding arbitration.
This has nothing to do with money and is all about power. To further extend its power, News Corp has aired public announcements advising Cablevision customers who wish to watch Fox TV to switch carriers, pointing the way to Direct TV, Verizon, or a simple antennae since Fox TV channel 5 is carried free on airwaves leased to them by the U S Government.
Perhaps the our FCC should give News Corp its own ultimatum; return Fox 5 et al to Cablevision while you negotiate fees by October 25 or we will revoke your transmission bands.
Foreign ownership of critical media and public utilities is not typically considered to be in the interest of National welfare.
Serious consideration of the potential consequences of foreign interests controlling our media (the News Corp), our gas utiities (i.e. National Grid), and electric utilities (i.e J-Power, Iberdrola) should be high on our Government's to do list.

Wonderfully said by a concerned citizen.
Without government oversight the owners of the Foreign Fox Family of networks will continue to inch it's way into our government until it will be too late to turn it around.  And then, heaven help us!

A Few of My Scariest Things

Totally tongue in cheek response to toxic tactics on television today.
(With apologies to Julie Andrews & Maria Von Trapp)

Saris and corn rolls and dreadlocks and fat trolls
Slanted eyes, dark skin and models way too thin
Radio heavies on oxy or meth
These are the things that scare me half to death.

Gun wielding Texans with weapons that they hide
People from countries who drive on the wrong side
Asians and Muslims and people of faith
These are the things that scare me half to daith.

Witches and covens and tea party love-ins
Shushing librarians and scary libertarians
America’s future will now just limpeth
These are the things that scare me half to death.

When the news comes
And speaks of bums
We find in DC
I think of the people who are not like me
And from the real world I flee.


Socialist leaders without proofs of their birth
These things do not give me much joy or much mirth
Lisps that give speakers much worry and 'thtreth'
These are the things that scare me half to death.

Supreme court justices using their power
Making their women give in and or cower
Servicemen fighting until their last breath
These are the things that scare me half to death.

People who vote but do not have a clear clue
Their only thought is that they wish to screw you
Losing my health care and then all my teeth
These are the things that scare me half to death.

Killing grandma
With Sharia law
What is it all for?
I think of the people who are not like me
And from the real world I flee.

(This entire post is of course farce! It was written in response not only to current events such as the NPR firing of a latent Fox contributor who finally spoke his mind but also to the continuing 'scare tactics' of the Republicans who always try to scare to win.  I trust you realize it is meant only as comic relief but if not please leave a comment.  Oh yeah, the piece is meant to be sung!)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ship Of Fools

I just spoke with a young man who works for a local company on Long Island.
When I mentioned that I was currently canvassing certain neighborhoods for the reelection campaign of Carolyn McCarthy he asked if she was Republican or Democrat.  Upon hearing that he went into a controlled tirade against her.
But the key to his anger was not that he disliked her or even knew what she stood for. His argument was that he wanted to throw out all the incumbents and start over.  "Get rid of them all and go back to the Constitution.  Start from scratch with all new people."
Aside from the fact that that can never happen, thankfully, he just doesn't understand the problems that would cause.  But unfortunately he is not alone in his delusions of grandeur.
If we started all over, as some on the far right would have us do the vote would be lost to women and African Americans.
Aside from the fact that it would make most of the proponents happy it would ruin the country.
So why the anger?
Why the fear, fake or real about the direction of the country?
For one thing we can blame far different groups for this "I want it now!" attitude. (Thanks to Varuca from Willy Wonka for that.)
These is of course the 24/7 media coverage of everything of interest, or not;
The minority party (for the time being) constantly stoking the fires of fear in order to gain control in Congress and beyond;
And of course the shadow universe of wealthy greedy individuals and corporations who may finally gain real control of the country thanks to the Supreme Court of George W. Bush & friends.
But the thing that young man does not understand is the value of patience.  While it may be thought of as a virtue it is also a necessity.
Think of the country as a huge ocean liner somewhere out there.  It is lumbering along in one direction sailing on smooth waters.  Suddenly a storm appears on the horizon.  The ship must try to either weather the storm or turn and head for calmer waters.
But in order to turn this massive ship around it will take a cool headed person at the helm and plenty of room and time.  the captain realizes a fast turn is not possible but with all hands working together he can indeed steer them all to safety.
The U S Ship of State is unfortunately in those stormy waters and has been since the storm of 2007.  We elected Captain Obama to steer us clear of further damage and to this point he has been able to start the ship turning.
But unfortunately before he had a fair chance of doing what we asked many of the hands who should have been helping on deck were instead planning a mutiny.
They saw an opportunity to take control of the ship.  Their plan was to turn it back into the muck and mired muddy waters of the past they so admired.
Their behind the scenes admiral, Rove (the same evil genius of the past) plotted the route.
He realized that if the captain had enough time he could right the ship and that would mean an end to his hopes of regaining power for years to come.  That was just not acceptable.
The problem is too many voters feel the ship should have been righted by now and they happen to be correct!
But they are pointing to the wrong culprit!
Had the entire electorate, and that includes the Republicans who were voted into office to serve the citizens of America pulled together along with the President then the country would have been on the right track instead of drifting.
So to reward those mutiny minded Party of No hands for their obstructionist behavior is the exact opposite of what we should be doing!
And worse we the people will be sending a message to the politicians that if you are in the minority act to help the country to fail and your party will get back the majority!
Unfortunately the above would take some logical thinking and who has the time these days for that?
By the way did you see what Bristol Palin did on Dancing with the Stars last night?  I mean, OMG...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

That'll Larn Ya

For a while now many people with various political views have been trying to get their voices heard.
They, like me rant and post and talk and joke about the other side every chance they/we get.
But I find that many times the best way to get your point across is to use the other guys' words.
So I am hereby going to cut and paste the words of a particularly interesting and passionate person from Texas who has found a certain online forum within which he regularly spews his inane and incredibly one-sided arguments.
The website merely asked the people who visited the page if they would mind answering the poll question, "Do you know your credit rating and into what range does it fall?"
But many visitors to the site used the credit rating as a jumping off point to bash the President.
Many of these passionate people love to hide in the shadow of anonymity while bashing others with ideas that differ from their own.
And so it was that the credit rating question deteriorated into a full fledged Tea Party of sorts with all kinds of 'fixes' for the country.
And finally the promised cut & paste by a person who shall remain nameless since I do not wish to embarrass the person further.  He (or she?) is quite capable of doing that without anyone else's help!

"Wow! You have lost your grip on economics, If you ever had one...

The largest tax increase in US history is almost here unless congress acts. Another Recession or Depression follows?
Cutting the size of government is easy.
1. Dept of Energy and Dept of Education ELEMINATED for starters.
2. Freddie and Fannie ELEMINATED next.
3. 2001 Baseline for next budget.
Return unspent stimulus dollars to reduce the National Debt.
4. AMT fix.
5.
6.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

The person goes on in another post to say he is not a Republican but rather an Independent voter.
I am certain the republicans are relieved about that.
Now let's face it, typos happen but I have been reading the thoughts of this 'independent' thinker for a while now and these are not typos.
But what better way to show how good the schooling is in the land of "No Child Left Behind" than with the request that we 'ELEMINATE ... THE DEPT OF EDUCATION?'


(He is going to vote!  Please make sure there are more Democrats voting than, uh than, well, whatever he is.  It is more urgent now than ever before that we not lose sight of the fix. It will take a little longer than we originally hoped but we'll get there if we continue forward!)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Off on a Slight Tangent

This is sort of a political post but not fully.
My family has had season tickets to the football Giants since 1939 and we have suffered through the various indignities of awful teams with worse coaches and unbelievably stupid plays made by idiots on the field.  But we have also been witness to fantastic championship seasons as well.
But throughout our tenure as holders of these tickets we have been subjected to the constant indignity of management.  From the statement by the now dead former owner of the team, Wellington Mara commenting on the fact that he did not want a dome (or rather to pay for a dome) on his now demolished but then new stadium that "My fans like to sit in the element."  Of course the unfeeling jerk himself sat in a climate controlled suite while his fans shivered and got pneumonia!
My dad who is still very much alive at the wonderfully vibrant age of 92 was the first owner of the expensive and socially useless tickets.
A few years ago he decided that the long trek to the Meadowlands of the Garden State of NJ (permanent home of one James Hoffa) from his home in Queens New York was just not worth the time.  He asked my brother if he would like the tickets and transferred ownership over to him.
The Mara family used the transfer of ownership to screw our family out of our tenure and we lost our shot at purchasing overpriced extra Super Bowl tickets as result.  The money grubbing owners of the team said that we were not season ticket holders for a long period of time and therefore were not entitled to a fairer consideration.  We lost many shots in a lottery to gain entry into the next championship game as a result.
The fact that the so-called sport was merely a business to these wealthy scions of the game hit home at that time. And it was further cemented when the new useless stadium in a very cold and snowy northern city of the NFL was built, once again without an expensive dome but with many enclosed suites for the millionaires.
But security after the 9-11 terror attacks has been the greatest bone of contention for many and may be considered bordering on the unbelievably stupid.
Instead of going after terrorists the Bush administration started us on a path of colors and security levels meant to make us feel safe.
This moronic system that has nothing to do with security and everything to do with getting votes by scaring white people in to thinking every dark skinned person is out to get them.  This started a path toward stadium security that now has some places demanding water bottles have caps in place while others demanding them be removed before entering!
DOES ANYONE REALLY BELIEVE THAT A POLAND SPRINGS WATER BOTTLE WILL BE USED IN THE NEXT ATTACK ON AMERICA?
But not to worry because terrorist factions from who the hell knows where can now buy advertising time on American television (most likely on Fox) and spin the news any way they like since the Bush administration made certain that the once fair and balanced Supreme Court of the United States would join in the political BS of the radical right.
Sports used to be fun and unimpaired by the day to day machinations of the fools on the hill in DC but that ship has sailed.
If you wish to see a game in person you had better check with homeland security first as to what type of food and drink is deemed safe to bring with you into your local park or you may end up in Gitmo!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The IZE Are On Us

Back when I was in school one of the things we all thought about, when not studying was how to have some fun.  We wanted to socialize with our friends.  As a typical male I may have lumped a few more things into that word but…
Basically being social was associated with being nice.  We tended to sublimate any untoward feelings or use little white lies rather than make others uncomfortable.
But contrary to popular belief by some uneducated and close-minded groups there is a process known as evolution.  And it is not limited to living creatures.  It is at work in our language as well.
The meanings of words have changed over the years to fit a current psyche.  Words such as ‘gay’ used to merely mean happy in the 1890’s.
Verbs have evolved.  Those words that described the act of doing something have seen a whole new group of words join their ranks.  By adding an ‘IZE’ suffix we change them into words that symbolize action.
One word we hear over and over again these days is used to describe the taking away of functions heretofore the responsibility of the government.
That word is ‘Privatize’ and it should scare the public into action.
Privatize is a simple word that implies that the private sector would be far better than the government at running whatever it is in question.  In many cases that could be true but it all depends on the how as well as the why and the collateral damage it may cause.
In many states across the nation our jails are now being run by private ‘for profit’ organizations.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
Perhaps Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer of the infamous Illegal Alien act would care to comment.
The private sector of which the proponents of privatization spout is not made up of all the little people like you and I but rather a small select group of well connected wealthy individuals with the cash and clout to effect the changes needed for transfers of ownership.
The battle over public and private is being fought on a tremendous number of fronts.
Some are easy to recognize since they affect our daily lives, others not so much.  But they all have one thing in common, they will return fantastic profits for the private sector owners once they are in full operation.
So what’s wrong with profits?
Isn’t this America?
Aren’t we the land of opportunity?
What are you, some kind of socialist?  (I love this last one because it has been given such a bad connotation when it’s actually a good thing when analyzed however that’s for another time.)
But in a country that professes to be run on a majority rule mentality should we not also worry about ‘the better good’ or ‘the will of the people?’
And again, when I say the people I am not talking about the would-be CEO and his board members.  Nor am I worried about their immediate families but rather the millions of citizens about to be affected by the simple sounding change of privatization.
On Long Island there has been talk about privatizing the bus system.
Does anyone believe that the end result will be lower fares for the basically poor and middle class users of that lifeline?
The buses will become a private business and unless that word has evolved it still means an entity whose function is to make money, and more money, and more money, etc. for its owners and shareholders.
And if the fares do not go down then there is another path they will likely take and that’s up.
Are we as a society prepared to add a few hundred or a few thousand more people to the ranks of the poor and unemployed merely because they couldn’t afford the bus fare needed to get to their jobs?
Kevin Hassett who writes for ‘Bloomberg Newsy’ is the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI.)
Now before I examine the ups and downs of his proposal let’s first see what this gentleman stands for.
What exactly is the AEI?
Their website says among other things that they are in favor of democratic capitalism.  And if you go no further that will leave with a warm and fuzzy feeling about them.
But if you passed your second grade reading tests and are able to delve a bit farther down their list of wants and desires you will find that the group is mainly comprised of former George W. Bush officials.  These men are staunch conservatives and members of a political action group funding any and all issues from a “right leaning” point of view.
The fact that they claim to be non partisan is either laughable or fraudulent depending on how you read the law.
Now back to the current proposal to IZE the USPS.
First the GOOD:
The USPS employs nearly three quarters of a million workers!  These workers earn an average of around $83K per year.  That amount includes their salary and all the benefits that go with the job.  Unlike many other positions, especially those in Congress or on the boards of multi-national corporations there are no other hidden compensations for these workers.  To many $83K per year may seem high but it is an unnoticeable drop in the bucket to the people of AEI and others of their ilk.
Now the BAD:
The USPS currently expects to lose $6 Billion this year and is therefore seeking another increase in the price of a postage stamp.  It may even go up to as high as 50¢ shortly.
Mr. Hassett feels that if the Government sells the USPS to private investors (key word investors) they will unburden themselves from these hefty losses and reap the immediate benefit of a huge gain from the sale.
And finally the UGLY:
Mr. Hassett does not say that his plan would include the laying off of a tremendous number of these people but he implies as much with his innuendos about the high cost of labor and its effect on the high cost of a stamp.
I am only citing a couple of instances of privatization here and I did not even mention the Republican wet dream of privatizing Social Security but there is already a theme developing.  And it does not take a PhD in economics to see that the theme will run rampant throughout the menu of industries being targeted by groups such as the AEI.
In each and every case the end result of privatizing will be the loss of jobs!
And in each and every case how long does any sane individual believe it will be before the new owner-operators raise the prices on the products offered by their newest toys?
If we continue along this path we run the risk of using the suffix ‘IZE’ one more time and in a very disconcerting way when we 'euthanize'  our entire economy in favor of the greedy and the wealthy.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Accountability

I found another word that is being thrown around in an odd way and by odd characters, accountability!
In this period of 'uncertainty' when the financial outcome is vague for all but the wealthiest two percent and their puppets in Congress those of us who look for reasons seek culprits.
No I don't say that merely to find an individual to blame for all of our woes but rather a group or sector or even an environment to examine and change so that this can never happen again.
I am not naive enough to believe that if we pinpoint all the faults of the past ten years we will never again have problems in America.  But if we can prevent this perfect storm of financial disaster from reoccurring then at least we will have one less area to worry about.
So the pundits are all around looking for accountability.
Unfortunately like taste there is no accounting for who we will find accountable.  The wealthy will likely blame the poor for various reasons.  They will not come out and divulge their thoughts but they will make them clear by bribing a few key speakers in Congress and on cable network shows.
For the spokespeople I note above I am certain you can figure out who the usual suspects are.  And where there's smoke...
Some of the mid level financial gurus have already started the campaign of vilifying the victim by stating that the foreclosure mess we are in was caused by the unworthy borrowers.   On CNBC's Squawk Box, Don Peebles stated that "People who fail to pay their mortgages must be held accountable." 
On the face of it that appears to be a fair statement since a person who takes out a mortgage and then walks away from his obligation or fails to pay the loan back should lose the property.
But what of the bank?  They must have known that the borrower might have a problem with a large loan.  In many cases the banks loaned money to people without a prayer let alone an income.  Shouldn't they also be held accountable?
But not in this country!
As if you cheated in school and changed your "F" grade to a "B" the banks that would have Failed instead were Bailed.  So they were not held accountable at all and the poor idiot who couldn't believe his luck at a free lunch he never deserved found out the truth, there is no such thing unless you are wealthy or in Congress.
We have almost finished two years of an historic Presidency.  America celebrated it's first African American resident of the White House's oval office.
And during the first historic two years President Obama set forth an incredibly ambitious agenda to help the largest number of non-wealthy people in the country since the first great depression some 80 years ago.
Many bills and laws have been passed but the full agenda has largely been stalled and thwarted by an able foe.  The MINORITY PARTY OF NO cannot have this President succeed!
They must be held accountable for any failure during this period of uncertainty.
Any intelligent human being need only look at the 'nay' votes from the Republicans and analyze them to see they will not allow President Obama to move this country forward!
They will not even allow him to appoint wonderfully qualified geniuses to positions in government without filibustering, posturing, and making statements that they know are out and out lies!  And many of these lies are downright laughable!
Peter Diamond was nominated by the President to join the Fed but his approval has been blocked since February.  Mean Senator Shelby of the great and intelligent State of Alabama feels that Mr. Diamond is not smart enough nor does he have enough experience to do the job.
Funny thing is the people in charge of handing out the Nobel Prize feel otherwise as Mr. Diamond is one of this year's recipients of the prestigious award in the field of economics!
Mr. Shelby must have been thinking of a different diamond!  Perhaps the one he was going to receive as a reward bribe if he could block the real guy from the appointment.
And by the way, Mr. Diamond was and probably still is Ben Bernanke's mentor.  Mr. Bernanke happens to be the current head of the Fed.
So Mr. Shelby feels the Republican appointed Bernanke is qualified but not his teacher!
For not allowing this and many other well qualified appointees from serving the country in this tremendous time of need we must hold the entire Republican Party of no ACCOUNTABLE

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Uncertainty

If one word sticks out in this year of putrid partisan politics it should certainly be “uncertainty.”
And in the tradition of ‘the art of the possible’ it is a phony fear made up and propagated by one side of the equation.
After the banks and others received all that money to avert a certain financial disaster many of them handed out huge bonuses to their board of directors and friends.  They then proceeded to hoard the excess cash rather than loan the money out by hiding behind the veil of ‘uncertainty.’
These bastions of banking bastards decided that they would rather make their financial statements look healthier thus reaping the benefit of a higher stock price than help out the economy and the country.  This in turn would bring in new investor cash and the cycle could continue.  They would become wealthier without making any loans and keep the cash for themselves and their friends.
And truthfully who could blame them?  After all when the Bush administration handed out that money they did so without any strings attached!  That's right the Bush administration.
Many Americans wrongly believe it was President Obama who gifted our future away but as often is the case the many are mistaken.  Unfortunately many of those who are 'mistaken' know the facts but choose to ignore them for political reasons.
Businesses latched onto the somewhat covert but actually overt plan to use 'uncertainty' as an excuse to screw anyone not them by announcing more layoffs, replacing these unemployed men and women as needed with part timers.
The unemployment numbers then rose and the Republicans seized on the ensuing economic tsunami as the main reason to replace the incumbent Democrats.
The wealthiest 2% of America realized that a Republican majority would bring back the unregulated financial environment they so desired.  So they joined the campaign by offering millions of dollars in advertising money to brainwash the uninformed and unintelligent American voter that the Democrats had to be replaced.
Luckily for these 'RIGHTeous' types the Supreme Court of the United States had made it easy for them to fund their puppets without fear of being 'outed.'  Yet another gift from the Bush administration.
Backed by a fake news network with deep pockets and an army of robots to spread the lies the Republicans started making gains in many polls.  People who don't care to think for themselves but nevertheless do vote saw the polls and figured they must be right.
Meanwhile the business world revved up its plan to replace every possible position with part time people.  The money they would save by doing this was too desirable to ignore.
As for the employees who still had jobs the message was clear, work harder or you too will be replaced.  A typical part timer would work 20 hours or less and be hired at less than half what the original employee was paid for his normal 40 hour work week.  Hiring two of them to replace one former full time worker proved to be a boon for the employer.
The employer saved the money he used to pay into health care plans and any number of other so-called perks that Americans used to receive such as matching donations into a retirement plan.
When pundits looked for reasons why unemployment continued at such rates they pointed to that good old word, uncertainty.
There is uncertainty with the tax rate; uncertainty with the future of health care costs; uncertainty with loans from the banks; and on and on.  The Democrats are doing it all wrong!
But a quick look at all the fake fear and rhetoric from the right shows the flaws in their argument.
First of all the tax rate is lower for the wealthy than it has been historically and they wish to make sure it doesn't go up at all.  That means the only uncertainty in that part of the equation is, 'How the hell are we as a nation going to pay for it?'  The wealthy will hoard more of their money without spending it and our deficit will grow and be handed to our children and their children.
As for health care, when and if the Republicans get the majority their first priority will be to make certain the rest of us who actually pay for health care will no longer have it!  They even have the audacity to state that repealing health care is their top priority!  Really?  They feel that is the biggest problem we face in America today?  But still they say, 'How dare the Democrats steal some of the profits from those poor set upon insurance companies?'  (Psst, now that we saved you more billions can we have some more bribe money?)
And lastly the banks and their billions will be safe from the grubby little hands of those liberals who want to help the filthy 'little people' who don't kick back into the Republican pot.
The collusion between all the entities involved is glaring but unstoppable.  The only thing that seems certain is that the Democrats will lose seats in both of our governing houses unless the citizens of the country wake up and smell the coffee, not the tea!
And one poll need not be overanalyzed to see why.  When asked who they think caused the financial meltdown a clear majority said the Republicans!
But when the same supposedly sane respondents were asked who they thought would be best qualified to fix the awful financial crisis in which we are mired they chose the self same Republicans!!!
It is uncertain whether or not the average voter realizes his stupidity in this ballet of fools.  But there is no uncertainty in the minds of the Republicans or their backers as to the end game.
If the party of Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and their Republican cronies take control of Congress the average human in America loses.  And in that there is NO UNCERTAINTY!