14. May 2012 by admin.

To those long-time Republicans who fondly remember the Party of Lincoln, the party that held the Union together against the forces of slavery, the party that supported the “live and let live” principles of Goldwater, the party that stood with Reagan against the Soviet Union:  I have some very bad news for you.

That Republican Party no longer exists.

It was hijacked by neo-cons who started a “pre-emptive” war and resorted to torture in defiance of the Geneva Conventions.  These “new conservatives” bought votes with their unfunded Medicare drug plan.  They abandoned fiscal responsiblity by running up huge deficits and massive debt.  And they drove our economy off a cliff.

But they aren’t the only hijackers of your once proud party.  Your party has also been taken over by a group of intolerant zealots who intend to force their own unforgiving brand of Christianity on everyone; people who want to create a nanny state that dictates behavior, particularly that of women, gays and the poor.

Then, in 2010, your party embraced the “Tea Party” and yet another extreme agenda.  These people hate – I mean HATE - our government and anyone who supports it.  They hate public education, “entitlements” and government regulation – even to preserve the environment.  They refuse to compromise.  If anyone even mentions the word, they’re labeled RINOs (Republican in name only) and pushed aside.  They hate immigrants and people of color – any color but white.  And, if they don’t get their way, they threaten to exercise their “Second Amendment rights.”

Despite your best intentions, you won’t be able to fix the Republican Party from within.  There are simply too many of them and too few of you.  There is no Ronald Reagan waiting in the wings to save your party.  Instead, you have “leaders” such as Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan - the rising star who follows the self-centered principles of Ayn Rand, instead of those of Lincoln, Goldwater and Reagan.

Sooner or later, you’ll realize that the only real options left for moderate Republicans are to become Independents with no hope of choosing candidates, to form a new party, or to join the Democratic Party which has become the party of fiscal responsibility.

As someone raised Republican turned Independent turned Democrat, I can assure you that you will be very welcome in our party.

Posted in War, Current Events, Tea Party, Religion, George W. Bush, Teapublicans, Culture, Deficit, Economy, Environment, Medicare, Government, Politics, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

28. April 2012 by admin.

For many years, Teapublicans have cowed Democrats into compromising their ideals.  In fact, Democrats have become so accustomed to withering under partisan attacks many now give up their principles willingly.  Witness the news from just the past two days.

Yesterday, the Obama administration dropped controversial new safety standards for children who are hired to work on farms.  Apparently, the lies and misinformation circulated by Teapublicans that the new standards would negatively affect family farms was enough to make the administration’s testicles shrivel to 2009 size.

Then today it was announced that, with the help of 13 Democrats, the Republican-led House passed a student loan bill that includes cutting the Prevention and Public Health Fund; part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The end result is to reduce funding for women’s and children’s health programs.

Who needs the Supreme Court?  It would seem that some Democrats are willing to help Teapublicans kill “Obamacare” themselves.

Also today, former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi stated that she was willing to embrace cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare as part of the Simpson-Bowles Plan to reduce the national debt.  Say what?  Whatever happened to protecting safety nets from the Teapublican ax?  What happened to ending tax breaks for the wealthy?  What happened to fairness in opportunity and income distribution?

The events of these past two days capsulize one of the greatest problems with our government.  Teapublicans whine and bully and threaten to get their way without concern for the welfare of our citizens and our nation.  They can count on Democrats to drop to their knees and metaphorically pee their pants.  And Democrats seldom disappoint them.

Damn, it’s difficult to be a Democrat!

Posted in President Obama, Current Events, Politics, Government, Health care, Social Security, Medicare | Print | No Comments »

27. April 2012 by admin.

For years, Teapublicans have marched to a tune called “Starve The Beast.”  The premise is that government has gotten too big and expensive so, in order to bring it under control, they must deprive it of the revenue needed to fund it.  As band-leader-in-chief, President George W. Bush cut taxes, primarily for the wealthy.

As a result of those tax cuts, two unfunded wars and a bill designed to buy the votes of seniors in time for the 2004 election, the Bush administration squandered the Clinton-era budget surpluses and led us into massive deficits and an ever-growing national debt.

Rather than being alarmed by these Bush decisions, Teapublicans reveled in them.  And, when the economy collapsed in 2008, Teapublicans recognized two opportunities:  One, by blocking every attempt to speed up the recovery, they hope to make President Obama a one-term president.  Two, by howling about the enormous deficit and debt they created, they hope to make it easier to cut government and the things Teapublicans seem to hate most: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

They say Americans can no longer afford such programs.  They point to the long-term “instability” of Medicaid and Medicare while failing to admit that much of that instability is caused by the skyrocketing medical and pharmaceutical costs they refuse to address.  I believe their hatred for “Obamacare” is driven by the fact that it will help mitigate costs, thereby saving Medicaid and Medicare.

Likewise, Teapublicans seem to relish every new report on Social Security that shows the program running out of funds in the not-too-distant future.  They point to the large group of retiring Baby Boomers as the reason the program needs to be privatized (gotta get it out of the clutches of big government, you know).

What they fail to mention is how easily Social Security could be permanently fixed.  Either increasing individual contributions to the plan by little more than 1 percent or removing the cap on incomes above $106,000 would protect Social Security for future generations.  But that wouldn’t allow Teapublicans to meet their long-term goals of privatizing Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

As for the people whose health care would be left at the mercy of large, greedy insurance companies and the retirees who might be relegated to dumpster-diving the next time the stock markets crash, no worries.

Teapublicans are more than willing to starve the poor in order to Starve The Beast.

Posted in Taxes, President Obama, Privatization, Teapublicans, Deficit, Politics, Medicare, Health care, Social Security, Economy | Print | No Comments »

13. April 2012 by admin.

The publicity for the Trayvon Martin killing served to emphasize the depths of our culture.  When the Samford, Florida Police Department announced that the killer, George Zimmerman, would not be charged, Martin’s family was understandably outraged.  They asked MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton to pick up the case and publicize it nationally.  Of course, that meant that Fox News Channel and right-wing radio had to take the side of George Zimmerman.

If a travesty such as the Martin case can be politicized, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that every other part of our culture is viewed through the same divisive lenses.  We have politicized science, education, health care, contraception, religion, race, women’s rights, the environment, the military, our judiciary, veteran’s affairs, Social Security, Medicare, guns, energy, agriculture, sports and, of course, journalism.

That hasn’t always been the case.  Prior to the early 80s, evolution was considered settled science.  Few questioned our education system.  Religion did not intrude in the classroom, except in parochial schools.  Outside of our military, no one carried guns except police and criminals.  And the media were bound by high standards of objectivity.

What changed?

Following the debacle of Watergate, the moribund Republican Party made an unholy alliance with evangelical leaders. Later, the Fairness Doctrine was repealed unleashing conspiracy talk radio.  Evangelists flooded radio and cable television with conservative politics and the message that Christianity was under attack.  Greedy right-wing mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck filled the airwaves with their theories of a New World Order.  Rupert Murdoch built a media empire on hate and Teapublican talking points.  And worst of all, the National Rifle Association and American Legislative Exchange Council began writing legislation and recruiting state legislators to serve their ideological agendas.

And our conservative-leaning populace sucked it all in.

So here we are…arguing about racism, judicial “activism,” contraception, the origin of “personhood,” immigration, Bible studies and prayer in the classroom, religious messages in government buildings, cutting taxes for the rich, guns on campus, etc., etc., etc.

And all the while we’re arguing, the real problems such as a crumbling infrastructure, economic inequality, the exodus of high-paying jobs, too-big-to-fail corporations, climate change, the extinction of wildlife, an increasingly inaccessible and unaffordable health care system, and massive national debt are only getting worse.

Posted in Current Events, Corporations, Media, Immigration, Military, Energy, Sports, Supreme Court, Religion, Education, Guns, Health care, Medicare, Economy, Social Security, Government, Culture, Taxes, Politics, Environment | Print | No Comments »

3. April 2012 by admin.

There were many reasons why health care reform was necessary when President Obama and the Democratic Congress were overwhelmingly elected to office in 2008.  Not only were health care costs climbing at a rate more than 3 times that of inflation.  Medicare and Medicaid were being overwhelmed by increased costs and unregulated fraud.  More than 30 million people were without access to affordable health care.  Insurance companies were denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.  Insurers were also placing lifetime limits on health care for customers.

In addition, corporations were exporting jobs to places like China, Vietnam and Indonesia in order to avoid paying employee benefits.

Faced with these overwhelming problems, along with an economy that had fallen off a cliff and massive unemployment, President Obama and the Democratic majority had little choice but to find ways to bring the health care industry under control.

Of course, Republicans did not want to help.  To enlist their support, Democrats chose to abandon their preference for single-payer universal care.  Instead, they embraced the Republican idea of insurance mandates through private companies.  After all, the idea had worked in Massachussetts under “Romneycare.”  Indeed, the program had proven to be popular.

Not surprisingly, in their anti-Obama fervor, Republicans immediately labeled the plan as “socialist.”  And despite lengthy negotiations in which they offered dozens of amendments and killed the public option, Congressional Republicans voted against their own concept.

Let’s fast forward to 2012:  Several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) have already been proven to work.  Children up to age 26 may now be covered under their parents’ insurance plans.  Insurance companies may no longer refuse coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.  A number of wellness programs have been implemented.  And Medicare fraud has been curtailed.

However, the majority of the provisions of the PPACA, including those which will have the greatest impact on costs, will not take effect until 2014.  But there’s a chance that we may not be allowed to see those benefits.

If the conservative-laden Supreme Court rules that “Obamacare” is unconstitutional, the ever-increasing number of people (now roughly 60 million) who will be unable to afford health care will grow.  And health care costs will continue to rise, dragging down our economy and jeopardizing Medicare.

And what of the federal deficits and debt that Teapublicans claim to be so worried about?

According to a report by the Government Accountabiity Office, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) would have “a major effect on the structural gap between revenues and spending driven by rising health care costs and demographics gap.” In other words, “Obamacare” would go a long way toward reducing our deficits and debt.

Without the PPACA, we can expect the cost of health care, along with our deficits and debt, to grow dramatically.

Posted in Deficit, President Obama, Teapublicans, Politics, Government, Medicare, Health care, Economy | Print | No Comments »

31. March 2012 by admin.

After watching their debates and reading the conservative legislation being pushed through Congress and our state legislatures, it’s clear that Teapublicans will not be satisfied until they:

- Replace Social Security with retirement accounts based on volatile stock markets.
- Replace Medicare with vouchers leaving seniors at the mercy of private insurers.
- Repeal “Obamacare” making health care unaffordable for 60 million people.
- Eliminate insurance coverage for contraception.
- Eliminate all forms of public assistance for the poor.
- Eliminate unemployment insurance.
- Replace progressive taxes with a flat tax to benefit the wealthy.
- Reduce or eliminate taxes for corporations.
- Eliminate the EPA allowing corporations to foul our air and water.
- Eliminate oil and gas regulations leading to more environmental disasters.
- Open national park lands, such as the Grand Canyon, to mining.
- Eliminate Wall Street regulations designed to prevent economic collapses.
- Eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that regulates credit cards.
- Eliminate the Federal Reserve.
- Eliminate the Department of Labor along with labor unions.
- Eliminate pensions and benefits for public employees.
- Eliminate the Department of Education along with public schools.
- Mandate that schools ban the teaching of evolution.
- Eliminate the US Postal Service.
- Eliminate funding for women’s health care through Planned Parenthood.
- Eliminate all subsidies for the development of alternative energy.
- Eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Eliminate funding for National Public Radio and Public Television.
- Privatize prisons, roads, parks and virtually every other public entity.
- Eliminate all restrictions on firearms and ammunition.
- Eliminate all restrictions on hunting.
- Repeal the Constitution’s establishment clause that prevents a state-sponsored religion.

Seriously, is this the kind of country you want?

Posted in Energy, Current Events, Constitution, Tea Party, Religion, Teapublicans, Privatization, Education, Guns, Social Security, Health care, Medicare, Government, Politics, Taxes, Labor, Environment | Print | No Comments »

28. March 2012 by admin.

With the US Supreme Court poised to decide on the insurance mandate of “Obamacare,” there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, the idea of the mandate that Teapublicans now oppose was originated by…you guessed it…Teapublicans!

Second, the federal government already mandates that our citizens and businesses purchase insurance…even health insurance.  You are currently mandated to pay for Social Security insurance and Medicare, and employers are mandated to pay for unemployment insurance.

What’s different about the federal government mandating that we pay for health insurance?

If the Court rules that the insurance mandate is unconstitutional, will we then see lawsuits claiming that the other mandates are unconstitutional as well?  Will we no longer have Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance?  Teapublicans have already tried to dismantle these safety nets.

And what will happen to our health care system?  Since Congress has previously passed legislation mandating hospitals to provide emergency medical treatment to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, those costs will continue to be passed along to the insured through higher fees.  Given the fact that more than 60 million Americans will be left uninsured, health care costs will continue to rise at a rate more than 10 times that of inflation.

Moreover, the rising cost of health care will continue to push multi-national corporations to send jobs overseas.  The number of uninsured will continue to increase, unemployment will remain high, and quality health care will eventually become affordable only to the wealthy.

It’s no exaggeration to state that this decision is the most important in the Court’s history.  The political implications will be even greater than the conservative majority voting to give the 2000 election to George W. Bush and voting to permit corporations to buy our elections.

Posted in Current Events, President Obama, Supreme Court, Teapublicans, George W. Bush, Corporations, Constitution, Health care, Medicare, Social Security, Government, Politics, Economy | Print | No Comments »

28. February 2012 by admin.

For several years, Teapublicans, especially white pre-Baby Boomers, have fondly remembered the days of their childhood when life was simple. When they could gas up the ’57 Chevy for $3.00 and cruise Main St. all night. It was a white-dominated “Father Knows Best” society of tidy neighborhoods with white picket fences.

Now those same Teapublicans seem determined to take us back to that era.

They can’t seem to grasp that those post-war days are really gone. Those days simply can’t, and won’t, be duplicated. Moreover, Teapublicans can’t seem to grasp the cultural dynamics that created the era they so fondly remember. It was an era of union-based manufacturing jobs that paid well enough to allow Mom to stay home with the kids. It was an era of small retailers, instead of big box chains; of neighborhood diners, instead of fast food chains. It was an era when everyone understood the importance of government and of working together – an attitude necessary for the defeat of Hitler and Hirohito. And it was an era when most of the products we used were made in the USA.

What these nostalgia-loving Teapublicans too easily forget are the seamy underpinnings of that era. African-Americans were segregated and denied the vote. Women were left out of business and politics. Young women were disdained and abandoned if they were unlucky enough to get pregnant before marriage. They were not allowed to attend school. Many were sent away to religious schools to be “rehabilitated” and have their babies in seclusion before giving them up for adoption. Many were simply barred from leaving home so the neighbors wouldn’t find out that they had become “fallen” women. If they chose to keep their babies, they received no child care payments. And if they didn’t want to have their babies, their choices consisted of tumbling down stairs, coat hangars, lye or back-alley butchers.

Yet the Santorum and Gingrich led Teapublicans want to revisit those days. Indeed, the policies being pushed by these candidates may well turn the “way back clock” back past the 60s and 50s, past the horrors of World War II, past the Great Depression, and past the Roaring 20s…all the way back to the 1800s, the days of Robber Barons. A time prior to the formation of the middle class. A time when there were no safety nets for those who were down on their luck. A time when rich industrialists ran everything, and when everyone else slaved 7 days a week to scratch out an existence.

Lest you think I exaggerate, consider the following legislative initiatives and proposals: All of the Teapublican candidates are on record as saying they would cut taxes, especially for the rich and for large corporations. They would eliminate capital gains taxes for the wealthy. At the same time, they would raise taxes on the poor. They would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act making it impossible for tens of millions Americans to afford health insurance. And they would cut or destroy Medicare and Social Security.

They would drastically cut government, eliminating the Departments of Education and Commerce at a time when our economy is just beginning to show signs of recovery. They would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency allowing large corporations to pollute our water and air at will with no consequences. They would continue or increase oil subsidies under the GOP’s “drill, baby drill” mantra. At the same time, they would eliminate subsidies for sustainable sources of energy.

They would likely start yet another war by attacking Iran, unleashing a torrent of hatred from the entire Muslim world and destablizing the Middle East and most of Asia. They would deny women the right to control their own bodies, even making it more difficult to obtain contraception. And perhaps most alarming of all, they would weaken the Constitutional separation of church and state.

Interestingly, despite the Teapublican candidate’s promises to shrink the federal government and cut the national debt, their fiscal policy proposals would actually increase the national debt according to the non-partisan US Budget Watch, while President Obama’s proposals would begin to shrink the deficit!

Even if you’re not a progressive as I am, a trip backward in the Teapublican time machine has to be an alarming prospect for all but the most right wing religious zealots.

Posted in President Obama, Corporations, Constitution, Current Events, War, Teapublicans, Religion, Energy, Education, Culture, Health care, Medicare, Economy, Social Security, Politics, Taxes, Deficit, Environment | Print | No Comments »

6. February 2012 by admin.

During the Teapublican primaries, we’ve all heard candidates who claim to be true conservatives. But upon listening to their plans, I have come to the realization that the only things they really want to conserve are their own fortunes.

It was during a recent Teapublican debate that I discovered I’m definitely not a liberal – never have been. I’ve been a conservative all along.

I believe in conserving clean air and water. I believe in conserving our forests, our streams and our oceans. I believe in conserving wildlife. I believe in conserving fossil fuels by not using them wastefully. I believe in conserving our natural resources by not subsidizing large corporations to exploit them. I believe in conserving our Constitution. I believe in conserving the Bill of Rights which provides equality and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. I believe in conserving the separation of church and state.

I believe in conserving lives by only going to war as an absolute last resort. I believe in conserving taxpayer money by eliminating corporate subsidies, off-shore tax havens and no-bid defense contracts. I believe in conserving American middle class jobs. I believe in conserving the American tradition of building things rather than destroying them through vulture capitalism. I believe in conserving the rights of workers to bargain for fair compensation. I believe in conserving our electoral system by banning contributions from corporations and lobbying groups.

I believe in conserving our citizens’ homes and savings with common-sense regulations for greedy financial institutions. I believe in conserving our citizens’ health by providing access to affordable health care. I believe in conserving safety nets such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. I believe in conserving the rights of all people to pursue the marital relationship of their choice. I believe in conserving the rights of women to control their own bodies even if I disagree with some of their decisions. I believe in conserving our future by providing all children with the opportunity to receive a good education.

Finally, I believe in conserving America’s standing as a role model for the world rather than as a bully. And I believe in conserving the idealism that has always driven Americans by focusing on what can be, rather than what once was.

Posted in Current Events, Corporations, Education, War, Military, Teapublicans, Religion, Energy, Culture, Taxes, Health care, Medicare, Economy, Social Security, Government, Labor, Politics, Environment | Print | No Comments »

5. January 2012 by admin.

In every field or endeavor, there are people who have difficulty with the truth. Most of us tell the occasional little white lie, often to keep from hurting another’s feelings. Many of us tell lies to make us feel better or to explain a mistake. And then there are chronic, sociopathic liars who make statements that are provably false.

It’s in the latter category where Teapublican candidates, Fox News Channel hosts, religious conservatives and their supporters reside.

Want to kill Medicare? You vote to replace it with vouchers then tell your constituents that you voted to “save” it. Want to lower taxes for the wealthy? You re-position attempts to eliminate tax subsidies and create fairness as “Class Warfare.” Want to kill the EPA? You tell people that environmental regulations are “killing job creation.” Want to help your corporate funders privatize government agencies? You talk about “government waste” and let corporations cherry-pick the most profitable functions. Want to distract voters from your role in the collapse of our economy? You blame it on the poor, minorities and unions. Want to get rid of ATF and the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency? You simply block the appointment of the agencies’ directors. Want to make President Obama a one-term president? You block virtually every job creating initiative then tell people that his economic policies have failed.

The load of B.S. coming from Teapublicans would fertilize every planet in our solar system.  And it’s growing by the minute.

How do they get away with such blatant, provably false claims? They count on creating anger and mistrust in government. They count on people who are uninformed or misinformed (in other words, Fox News viewers). They count on voters who won’t take the little bit of time needed to research their outrageous claims.

Will their lies work again in 2012? How informed are you? How about your friends and neighbors?

Posted in Culture, President Obama, Privatization, Teapublicans, Taxes, Labor, Economy, Medicare, Government, Politics, Environment | Print | No Comments »