This guy may look unassuming and normal, but he has the power!
We’ve all been told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. This came to mind to me when I thought I was going through a “Ground Hog” moment when I heard the House passed their bill again last night. Yes, they may have made some minor changes to it, but truthfully, why waste our time with something that you know isn’t going anywhere? Steadily this week I watched the “Dow” go down, down, down, and I thought about how it had just recovered after the big slump of 2008! Leave it to politicians to play political games that make everything unstable for all people. Waiting until the last possible minute to settle this issue is costing our country in many ways. I still feel that this was orchestrated just for political reasons and that both parties want to dig deep into Social Security and Medicare and make changes that aren’t probably what the American people want. Here is an opinion piece from Patrick Martin at the World Socialist Web Site. Now, don’t let the fact that it’s on the WSWS website deter you. This is interesting and really should be read. http://wsws.org/articles/2011/jul2011/pers-j29.shtml
I don’t trust either party, but I have to wonder what’s going on with the Tea Party people because most of them seem absolutely clueless! The Republicans have prostrated themselves at the altar of Grover Norquist. He has far too much power, far more than any one person should have! Here I found a video way back in the 2008 primary where Grover gets to ask a question during one of the Republican Primary debates.
Many of the guys took the pledge to never raise taxes. If you don’t take the pledge, you don’t get any love from Grover. All I can say is “never” is a long time! I just can’t get over how powerful this guy really is. He seems to come before God and family for politicians! I went to Wikipedia and he has a long history of working for lower taxes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist
Now I don’t care much for Lawrence O’Donnell or his show but this is a good clip to watch.
So, the real question is why is Grover so powerful? It appears to me that he has deep pockets and the total backing of the Republican Party. This document should be read but it has some scary bits in it. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/americans-for-tax-reform
I thought these two items were very telling of who is behind Grover and what the plan is.
On Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, Norquist said the following about the Bush Administration, “We is them, and they is us. When I walk through the White House, I recognize as many people as when I would walk through the Heritage Foundation.”
“My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”— The Nation, 10/12/2004
Both of these quotes should disturb anyone reading them. This is the guy that has the power in Washington, not you or me. We should all be afraid. I’ll end this piece by letting you know that Grover can be a funny guy. Maybe it’s his “good old boy charm” that has helped him get where he is today! This is from his own website doing a comic stand up routine for the “Funniest Celebrities in Washington”, whatever that is. This is his baby, Americans for Tax Reform.
Some how this cartoon reminds me of our current politicians!
I have many different things on my mind today so don’t think I’m nutty when my thoughts hop around. I watched a few minutes of the Chris Matthews show last night and Chris was bemoaning a recent poll from Michigan. In the poll, if the election were held today, Mitt Romney would beat President Obama 46 to 42. I guess that means that 12% of the people refused to pick either one in that poll. Chris has always acted like Michigan will vote for Obama. He obviously doesn’t realize that we have a Republican House, Senate, and governor. He thought it was just because Mitt’s dad used to be our governor many years ago. There is a lot more to it than that. I’m one of “those people” that are still smitten over my stolen vote during the 2008 Democratic Primary. Matthews and other political pundits seem to be blind to the fact that there are a number of people that are not happy with the direction this country is going. The Tea Party is like the antithesis of how I feel, but when you put both the far right and the far left together, that’s a lot of ticked off people.
When Senator Obama ran for the presidency he talked about “hope and change”. My problems with Obama started early on when he spoke glowingly about paying those math and science teachers more money than other teachers. That is union busting language that just serves to divide teachers. I figured he was secretly a Republican and I knew I couldn’t vote for him. That was in July of 2007. Now that wasn’t my first exposure to Barack Obama. The first time I had ever heard of Barack Obama was during the Kerry nomination. I really liked Obama’s speech at the 2004 convention. I guess that line about red states and blue states but the United States really got to me. I thought this guy could be president some day, you know like some time off into the distant future, not four years from then. Then of course I heard the speech in 2007 where he spoke in front of the National Education Association and I was unimpressed. It seems to me for being a “no drama” president; we have had nothing but drama since he became president. Right now I feel that the American people have been whipped into frenzy over the debt ceiling debate just to get us bent to the will of both parties. I don’t believe either party is innocent in this debate. It almost feels like the only innocent people are the American people. Just like the time when banks and corporations were just too big to fail, it seems like we are being brought to the edge of a cliff and told you must get down off the cliff and you have only two choices, now both choices are bad. The Republicans want us to jump off that cliff and the Democrats want us to fly off that cliff. Either way we pick to get off that cliff is going to end up with a similar result. I feel there is much fake outrage about all of this. I was over to Black Agenda and Bruce Dixon has written a piece that just says it all for me as both parties have been in cahoots for years in their “drama-o-drama” machine playing good cop to the other guy’s bad cop. You must read this piece! http://www.blackagendareport.com/obama-fake-debt-ceiling-crisis_smarter-than-you
Now this is a guy that has supported Obama. I probably would have supported him in the last election, if he hadn’t stolen my vote, because I have always been a lifelong Democrat. However, after the election was over, I wanted President Obama and still want him to be a successful “Democratic” president. He just hasn’t been that! He has continued the Bush policies and even extended them into another war in the Middle East. Most people, even Republicans, should be able to see that he is nothing more than an extension of GW, from policies to vacation taking.
We are being told he is a Centrist. That is only true if the “Center” has shifted dramatically right. Some people think he is like Reagan. While I think he admires Reagan much more than any other president, I think he is more like GW. He speaks better than GW, but the policies are the same which makes you wonder who is really pulling the strings in this country. It certainly isn’t the American people because he doesn’t seem to care about us. He can’t even get the “feel your pain” speech down like President Clinton could always master. In President Obama, I am often left wondering just what the Republicans are holding over his head. Is there something they could let out of the bag at any given time, some dark secret that we haven’t already heard? Does he secretly wear tiger costumes and exhibit inappropriate behavior like Representative Wu? I’m at a loss as to why President Obama acts the way he does. He certainly hasn’t lived up to the rhetoric of what his promises during the campaign suggested to the people that voted for him. I never believed him, so I don’t exactly feel betrayed. However, those that believed in this guy have to be wondering what’s going on with him? Did he change or is it a reality that the job of the president is just so overwhelming that us “little people” just don’t and couldn’t possibly understand what it means to be president?
Anyway you look at it the American people are always taking a back seat to the corporations and the wealthy in this country. I don’t want to hear how I am pushing “class warfare” because the truth is the people in power have kept this war going for years. The Republicans have fed their people the line about “personal responsibility” to the point where many on the right look down with disdain at the guy that isn’t making it in this country. If it is their own kid, they are getting on the phone and calling in favors to get their kid employed the old fashioned way, not based on merit, but on nepotism. They can’t stand the look and feel of affirmative action, but they love the fact that they can get their kid “in” because of who they know. The poor have never had this advantage in life or politics. The poor don’t have someone they can call when their kid can’t find work. There is a divide in our country between the haves and the have nots, but most people are in denial about it. They secretly know they make those calls but they pretend that their kid did it on his or her own merits. I always find it so interesting when I watch TV pundits and discover that many of the young people getting their feet wet are the sons and daughters of those earlier figures. It isn’t what you know but who you know that counts in this country. If you know someone powerful, you probably will get what you need. However, if you’re like most people you don’t have some sugar daddy just waiting to give you a job. You must create your own life based on what you can get and what you can strive for. Back in the fifties and sixties after WWII many people surpassed their parents economically by going on to college. They benefited from low school loans, to the low cost of college, to even the GI Bill. When they got out of college, they could live the American dream. Some of them didn’t even have to go to college to live that dream. They built automobiles. The point is there was a dream that most Americans could grasp. Now, after forty years of Republican and Democratic political failures, we have reached a point where some of our children may not do as well as their parents. That American dream is becoming a nightmare of student loans, no job prospects, and even forced moves of hundreds and thousands of miles away from family just to find a job! It is no wonder that if you have the means to help your child find work that you will pull in that marker that someone owes you! The point I’m trying to make is that the current economic situation is very much related to the constant bickering between the two political parties and their need for greed. While the politicians are busy shuffling the chairs on the deck of this sinking ship, they don’t deal with the reality which is jobs and job creation. They only care about making businesses more comfortable and keeping the wealth in the hands of the wealthy. Truthfully, businesses can go anywhere for their labor and that is what they’re doing. Our governmental policies favor this. Neither political party cares enough about our country to remember that our best asset is our people. They care more about their own political careers than anything else. They will continue to build their careers off the backs of the middle class and the poor. They will continue to ask the American people to squeeze one more dime out of their crappy pension, Social Security, or college fund so they can give it to corporations and those wealthy “job creators” to piss away on anything but creating real jobs. I’m disappointed in the politics of my nation. I want the students that I teach to be able to have real dreams for their future. I don’t want politicians that play these stupid games representing me. If this is the best that we can do in our country, we’re in real trouble!
I have been wondering what happened with Cenk on MSNBC. I noticed that Al Sharpton was working during his time slot. I thought Cenk was on vacation but since I haven’t been really watching much of MSNBC this summer, I didn’t really know what was going on until I came across this video today. http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/cenk-uygur-explains-his-departure-msnbc
I’m not writing about Cenk being canned at MSNBC. I’m more concerned about something he said in his video. Like many people that think like I do, he states in the video that President Obama is a Republican. I’ve been saying this for a long time. However, what really got me was that he basically said he knew this because he was once a Republican himself.
The Democratic Party was infiltrated by these Republicans, probably because they lost their own home in their own changing party. As the Republican Party moved more right, so did the Democratic Party because of the shift of these people from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. I always have found it strange that people like Ariana Huffington and Markos Moulitsas were speaking for my party. They both were Republicans before they were Democrats. I could never understand how this happened in “my” party. Who would have ever thought that both Governor Perry from Texas and Representative Bachmann from Minnesota were once Democrats?
Now I want to disclose here that I haven’t really associated myself with the Democratic Party since they stole my vote during the 2008 primary. I consider myself to be an FDR democrat. In fact I passed out flyers for Michael Dukakis long ago. So when I say, “We Democrats!” this is what I mean. It seems that we Democrats, are supposed to keep carrying water for President Obama because he’s the best we’ve got. I never got on that ship to begin with, so when it’s sinking it’s not my job to bail out that water. If President Obama wants to get my vote, he needs to stop modeling himself after GW and start reading books about FDR, protect the programs FDR helped create, and get us out of these wars. In the article that I mentioned here, there was much talk about “progressives”. I just want to state right now that I have come to hate that word. It’s bullshit really. In my own life, I consider myself to be liberal in my politics. That word has been so libeled by the media that people are afraid to admit their liberal. I think of liberal as being “mind expanding, open minded”, and not closed off to new ideas. Essentially, I am liberal because I believe in letting people make their own choices in life. While I am rather conservative in my social values, I believe that everyone needs to be treated with respect and that includes respecting their choices. I personally don’t believe who people are sleeping with, or their religious choices or non choices needs to be a part of politics. This is why I can still be deeply disappointed with what John Edwards did to his family but still understand the politics when he said he wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. I am not moved by the scandal story of the day that is probably put out there at some opportune time to get rid of certain politicians that aren’t quite “falling in line”, much like Cenk at MSNBC.
My politics speak more about social justice than anything else. I find it, yes, morally offensive, when my government decides it is more important to feed and clothe the wealthy than to take care of the least of its people. I know that sounds rather religious in tone but truthfully it is about being human and compassionate. How can a real human walk by and ignore suffering that they see? Too many times I’ve heard conservatives use those words, “They should just pick themselves up by their bootstraps.” The problem is what if they have no boots, little education, and no hope? When we can provide all three, a pair of boots, education, and hope, we should do it. In the end, everyone will be better off because that person will become a productive member of society who could potentially be the next person to give a hand to someone else.
A few weeks ago, I saw part of an old movie, Spencer’s Mountain, with Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara. The movie is about a family. The dad is a miner and he comes from a family of miners. His oldest boy is the top in his class and the family realizes that this is an opportunity for their son to create a better life for himself and potentially the rest of the children by going to college. Yes, I know you can remember the show, “The Walton’s”. In Spencer’s Mountain the father’s dream was to build some grand home for his wife and family. However, he eventually gives up that dream for the real dream which is his family, and helping them have a better life. Here is the most important part to the movie and it is the point I want to make here.
As a person who really has the heart of the real Democratic Party in her soul and is not some come to the party lately person, I think our country should be helping those at the bottom elevate so they can have dreams too. I’m not talking about letting people sit and do nothing. I’m talking about helping people get a good education, find a good job, and fulfill their dreams and even help them get dreams. As an educator, I think we must fund quality education for all. Job creation should not be a problem. There are plenty of things that need to be done in this country. Instead of building roads and bridges in Afghanistan, we could be building and fixing them here. We have an infrastructure that is failing from our road system, to our electrical grid, to even some of the old schools that need to be updated. There is plenty to do here. Some of our big cities look like war torn zones. We could go in and fix these as well. We should be thinking about the future. What is going to draw business to your state or my state? It seems to me that as a government we aren’t doing much here in our own country which is leading to not only a failing economy but also a failing of our people.
We should all be frightened by these two current parties!
My sister and I were talking last night and we both felt that the American people weren’t worried about some terrorist coming in the night and yet the American people are being terrorized by high unemployment, high prices for everything from gas to food, and now the latest threat, losing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The terrorist in our lives happens to be our inept government! The politicians have all swung so far right that they have lost touch with the American people. I live in a Republican community and I have to say on any given day when I really talk with my Republican friends they aren’t that far away from my own thinking. It seems that most of us want to be able to raise our children in peace and know that there is a good future waiting for them when they become adults. That is the American dream! We may have different ways and ideas about reaching that dream, but truthfully that American Dream is being threatened by a two party system that essentially has turned into a one party system. Our government has swung so far to the right that they have forgotten that most of the American people are more concerned about their own personal families than anything else. For years we were threatened with the” imminent” attack that awaited us from Osama Bin Laden. I can remember many police sessions at my school where I was informed that it was an ideal place for a terrorist to show up because it was so unexpected. We have been prodded like cattle to get on a plane or attend a political rally and we have given up the very freedoms that we proclaim to love so much. Now, in addition to those freedoms, we are expected to give up those standards of American life, like Social Security, that we have paid into for all of our lives, to once again, stave off terrorism. We have to pay for all of the things that we cherish like more money for defense, more money for homeland security, more money for politicians to run their offices, less money for education, less money for the arts, less money for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Yes, for those of you that don’t understand sarcasm, I am being facetious here. The politicians from both parties are telling us if you want to feel safe at night, this is what we have to do now. I’m not buying it. If this were all true they shouldn’t have taken 2% out of my payroll taxes and kept the Bush tax cuts in place last December. Once again we are being sold a bill of goods. While it appears that the two parties are so far apart that they are at an impasse, don’t buy it. Something will happen and they will get a plan. Unfortunately, it will not favor the majority of the American people. We will once again be told that we all must share in this “sacrifice” when the only ones doing the sharing will be you and me. I don’t have the answers but I know our two party system is broken. We need to get rid of both of these pathetic parties and get fresh people in Washington that are not bought and paid for, that care more about the promise of America than the promise of their next election. We have been told for years that we are stuck with the two party system but we have to change this government. We need people in office that are not loyal to either party but loyal to the American people. I cannot understand anyone in a party that would sign an oath to a person such as Grover Norquist. The only oath they should be taking is one to the American people.
I was listening to CSPAN the other morning when they were addressing what President Obama said about Social Security checks and how he couldn’t assure people that the checks would be in the mail if the debt ceiling bill isn’t passed by August 2nd. That morning I heard a caller from Texas on CSPAN lament the fact that she depends on her Social Security check to be there in August as she only has ten dollars left to her name. There were other calls with similar concerns. People were worried about how they were going to pay their bills. Now, just stop right there because I don’t want to hear about how she should pull herself up by her bootstraps or some right winger commenting on how pathetic she is for not having some savings to her name. In our country, we used to be compassionate first. Most of the working class people in the United States are merely a paycheck away from disaster at any given moment anyway. Do you think it’s because they planned to fail or failed to plan? Perhaps it has something to do with the regressive way that income has not kept up with inflation. We have been told that inflation is kept in check, it’s not bad. I think it depends on who is fudging the numbers. Most Americans are well aware of the continuing cost of energy in this country. From the high cost of gas for our vehicles, to the ever rising cost to heat and cool our home, and even the cost of food. Everything has gone up while wages for most Americans have been stagnant. So what is the response in Washington?
The Republicans want to hold fast on keeping the taxes down for the “job creators”. Yes, we all know that these are the new code words for “rich” people. We don’t want to refer to their wealth. We must refer to them as “job creators” because they have created so many jobs since the Bush tax cuts were implemented! Quit laughing! I know I can be quite sarcastic when I think of these things. We all know that those jobs have yet to materialize for most Americans, including young college graduates. Some of them are working, but many are stifled by huge school loans and struggling to pay these back. These rich people, aka “job creators” probably have created jobs….in China, India, Bangladesh, and anywhere else that might have cheap labor. Here is GM working in South Korea but these South Koreans better be careful and thankful for what they have or GM will pull out and go where labor is even cheaper. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/gm-korea-idUSL3E7IB00U20110711
I can’t say what will happen for these workers as they negotiate new contracts but I’m sure they won’t get what they want because there are other eager workers willing to work for less! That is the problem. We have created a pool of unemployed people that want to work but cannot find jobs. This pushes the wages down because the “job creators” know they can replace their workers with someone else or they can outsource their jobs to another country where the wages are even lower! The job creators might say why create jobs over here when we can make more money over there! It is kind of like when GW Bush used to say we are fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here. So, with all of this “stuff” in my head I keep wondering about all of the political posturing in Washington.
It almost seems like the two parties are clueless to what the American people are feeling or they just don’t care. Both sides think they can use this “issue” to garner votes in 2012. If more people think like I do, we would all be looking for a way to get third party candidates elected that are not loyal to either of these worthless parties. I, for one, wish Senator Barry Sanders would run for President. http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=58d258f8-01bc-417d-ae92-247951a1b9e2
Oh, yes, I know he is a self proclaimed “socialist”! He is a cancer among the pure Democrats and Republicans who are the wonderful epitome of the capitalist society we live in. Socialist isn’t a dirty word for me because as a born and raised Catholic, I was always taught about “social justice” and what is truly right and wrong! It doesn’t take a genius to know that there is something wrong with a country that has so much in wealth but cannot seem to take care of the least of its people. As the Republicans continue to posture and take care of “their” people, you know the “job creators”, and President Obama keeps his fake stance of indignation going, many people in this country are suffering and worrying about their futures. This bill the Republican House is working on today is nothing but a cut, cap, and crap bill. If they cared about balancing the budget, they would not have pushed so hard for extending the Bush tax cuts in December. Our country is in trouble. We are now involved in three wars with two parties that seemingly don’t care if we ever end them. We have two worthless political parties that care more about their individual next election than they do about the American people. In addition to this, we have those “SuperPacs” that will continue to run their ads infiltrating into the minds of common people to get them to vote for their candidate! http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/index.php
It was funny last night when I saw the names of his contributors scrolling across the screen but this is the price of our democracy! Neither party will do anything but what their “SUPERPAC” powers want them to do. So, if you really think President Obama is holding out for a deal for the American people, well, I suggest that you just don’t hold your breath or be too disappointed when once again the “common” people are left holding a bag full of empty promises! If you are a Republican thinking that Representatives Ryan and Cantor understand you and know your pain and will vote in your best interest, rest assured, they will both vote in their own best interest. If you are a “job creator”, aka “rich”, it could be yours as well!
I just got this tweet from Bernie about a “Fair Deal”.
Many of you might be wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately. I have been so busy with two online courses that I am taking. They are self paced and I wanted to get them done so I actually can have some summer. I have been working like I am possessed! I am happy to report that I am finally finished with both courses. A couple of weeks ago I came across an article that made me think.
We are creating new jobs in America. As our manufacturing jobs continue to be outsourced we have some new biomedical type jobs being created. However, this one I had to read twice to decide whether it was put out on the internet by “The Onion” or some other prankster. It seems that some people are just fed up with dog poop. There must be a market for this product or it probably wouldn’t be produced. Deborah Violette is a property manager for a housing complex. At this complex, Timberwoods Commons in Lebanon, New Hampshire you must submit your dog’s DNA. This just means a swab of the dog’s mouth. However, it will cost you. You can check out the article to see what the fees entail. When Deborah finds dog poop, she sends it to a lab to be analyzed. If it’s your dog’s DNA, heaven forbid what the penalty might be. It’s a strange new world. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02dogs.html?_r=1&hp
I’m sure some of you are thinking this is a good idea and maybe I’m missing something. I just think it must be time to get into the biomedical research business because there sure is plenty of dog poop around! I have a fenced in yard and my dog has his own personal lavatory. I won’t be analyzing his DNA any time soon.
Since I have dogs on my mind, I wonder what will happen with the budget talks in Washington D.C. as we move into the dog days of summer. I keep thinking about that August 2nd deadline. According to some experts a deal has to be reached between July 15th and the 22nd in order for all the dominoes not to fall. Where is President Obama in all of this? Once again it appears that the devil is in the details. Just like the deal struck in December, I’m sure the President will work his magic and give in to the demands of the Republicans. Jo Connelly has written about the work ethic of the House and laments days gone by when things were settled over a drink or two. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/article/Will-Congress-Get-Back-from-Recess-and-Get-to-1447691.php
As far as President Obama goes, I keep hearing the song from the Wizard of Oz in my head, “Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!” The President is lost in a forest when suddenly the Cowardly Lion hops out and tries to scare him. Those Republicans are pretty scary and President Obama seems to need constant companionship and protection just like Dorothy. So we, the American people, end up with a standoff. I see a whole lot of nothing going on but posturing. These two political opponents are wasting much political capital trying to look like they’re doing something important. What I see is crazy Republicans antics from the far right facing President Obama, a Republican from the middle. Too bad we don’t have any real Democrats that could balance this scale out a bit better. Republicans have changed so much in the last forty years that it is shocking. However, the Democrats have changed even more. Back in the seventies Republicans were all about population control. They even supported Planned Parenthood! http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/6714-planned-parenthood-republicans-a-decades-long-history
The current Democrats are as bad as the Republicans. They are helping the Republicans find ways to chip away at Social Security and Medicare. President Obama and the Democrats are playing games just like the Republicans. I hear in President Obama’s speeches that hint that these programs must be changed. He implies that he will protect them but from my perspective it seems to me that he protests too much. We all know he will cave just like he caved in December. He doesn’t stand for anything but he wants us to believe he does. His principles are not clearly defined. He hasn’t been leading this country. He caves on Elizabeth Warren and he will cave on this as well! http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/07/18/138475440/obama-makes-it-official-cordray-not-warren-as-consumer-finance-head
These dog days of summer make me think that the American people better get their pooper scoopers ready. There is going to be a lot of crap to clean up after the summer is over!
