Category Archives: Current Events

The Republican Playbook.

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If you’ve ever been directly involved with a state or national political campaign, you may know that the people operating the campaigns are generally law school and political science graduates who view political campaigns in the same way most people view sports. It’s all about winning – often at any cost. That stated, it seems that Republicans take this philosophy to a completely different level.

Following is the Republican checklist for getting candidates elected:

1 – Create a variety of “think tanks” to “study” political issues. These groups are generally labeled with patriotic sounding names. A few examples are American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute, Center for Individual Freedom, Center for the Study of Popular Culture, Coalitions for America, F.A.I.R., FreedomWorks, Heritage Foundation, Leadership Institute, National Taxpayers Union, Club for Growth, Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, American Center for Law and Justice, Family Research Council, Catholics United for the Faith, National Right to Life Committee, Center for Military Readiness, United Seniors Association, United States Border Control, American Civil Rights Institute, Media Research Center, Students for Academic Freedom… (Are you ready to salute, yet?).

The organizations bill themselves as independent and they generate lots of studies that are used to attack Democratic values. They also generate many of the Republican-sponsored bills that are introduced in Congress or in state legislatures. For example, the NRA wrote the liberal “Conceal and Carry” laws that have been passed in many states. And Kansas-based F.A.I.R. wrote the ill-conceived immigration bill recently passed in Arizona.

2 – Control the discussion. Ever wonder why Republican pundits on news programs never shut up? By controlling the discussion, they hope to control the agenda. They want the public to view each issue through a Republican lens. If Democrats bring up an issue first, Republicans do everything possible to re-frame the issue in a way that benefits them.  So Democrat-sponsored financial reform becomes a “government takeover” of banks.

3 – The big lie. The bigger the lie, the better. For example, a provision in the health reform bill designed to help people create living wills, became “death panels to pull the plug on Granny.” T.A.R.P., which was passed by the Bush administration to avoid worldwide financial collapse, is suddenly an example of Obama-inspired “Socialism”. And gays are an abomination under God, except for the ones Republicans sleep with.

4 – Names that disguise the reality of legislation. Bush’s “Clear Skies Initiative” was designed to weaken environmental protections. And “No Child Left Behind” was designed, not to improve education, but to punish impoverished schools with the most problematic enrollments.

5 – Wealth redistribution. You know how Republicans are always talking about Democrats wanting to redistribute wealth from the top down? (See #3) For 40 years, Republicans have been redistributing wealth upward.

6 – Small government. By repeating this mantra, Republicans have succeeded tapping into people’s dislike and distrust of bureaucracy. But it’s really just a cover for deregulation of stock markets, commodities, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, etc. Republicans abhor anything that stands in the way of corporate profits, even if it prevents calamities such the BP oil geyser in the Gulf. Funny how Republicans never seem to mind big military and big Homeland Security.

7 – Fear. The Bogeyman is going to get you unless you vote Republican. Only Republicans can save you from terrorists, communists, socialists, fascists, secularists, gay marriages, gays in the military, immigrants, drug lords, etc., etc.

8 – Unity and payback. You’re either with us or “agin” us. Compromise is a dirty word. So is bipartisanship.

9 – Activist judges. You’ve heard all about the evils of activist judges who rule on behalf of civil rights and the woman’s right to choose. But have you heard about the activist judges who decide the outcomes of elections and give corporations the rights of individuals, including the right to donate millions to Republican candidates?

10 – Media whores. Namely Fox News Channel and Rush Limbaugh who can be counted on to repeat Republican talking points without question.

11 – Obstruct Democrats in every way possible, then blame Democrats for the delays.  Just look at the current situation in Washington.  Republicans have invoked the filibuster rule more times this session than any other time in history to “stop Obama’s socialist agenda.”

12 – Repetition, repetition, repetition. This goes hand in hand with the big lie.  If they keep repeating a lie long enough, people begin to think it must be true.

Let’s Stop Flattering Teabaggers.

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They’ve been called the Tea Party and the Tea Party movement.  (I admit I’ve been guilty of falling for this fraud myself.)  But the more you investigate this group, the more it becomes apparent that they’re really just a figment of Republican imaginations.  Republican strategists, Fox News Channel and Dick Armey created this band of way-far-right lunatics to criticize President Obama without making the Republican candidates answer for the racist signs and epithets, and to distract the public from the horrendous failures of the Bush administration.

So far, it appears to be working.

Most of the media bought it hook, line and sinker.  They credited them for winning the Massachusetts Senate election, instead of rightfully pointing out the incompetence of the Democratic candidate.  The media has also credited them for purging moderate Republican incumbents.  But that phenomenon has been going on for decades.  And the teabaggers are anything but an independent, legitimate political party.  They have no platform.  No policies.  No organization.  Instead, the teabaggers are directed by Republican strategists, composed almost entirely of Republican voters, sponsored by American FreedomWorks (Dick Armey’s Republican organization) and Fox News, and led by the failed Republican Vice-Presidential candidate (and half-governor) Sarah Palin.  Their candidates even share voter registration booths with Republican candidates.

What about that sounds or looks like anything other than a front for the GOP?

So let’s stop over-reacting to them.  Let’s stop covering their racist, anti-everything demonstrations.  Let’s stop giving them the attention they crave.  And let’s start referring to them as what they really are.  A pathetic group of angry, racist and aging white people who are being manipulated by the Republican Party. 

The Oil Boys’ Legacy.

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In the first 90 days of the George W. Bush administration, Richard the Dick Cheney held a series of secret meetings on the subject of energy policy.  Famously (or should I say infamously), the Dick refused to list those who were present and what was discussed, but it’s well-known that the meetings included more than 100 oil industry officials who drafted a wish list of demands.  In all likelihood, those meetings led to almost every single negative event over the past 10 years.

Think I exaggerate?  Consider this:

Over that 10 years, our nation has suffered through skyrocketing gas and oil prices.  We have engaged in two wars, which interestingly enough have involved two nations considered critical to the oil industry.  (It’s well-known that Iraq has large oil deposits, and Afghanistan is necessary for the construction of a pipeline to get oil from the Balkans to world markets.)  We have seen pressure from the Bush administration to drill for oil in the Atlantic National Wildlife Refuge.  We have seen a Republican-led campaign to expand off-shore drilling.  And we have seen the oil giant, Halliburton, awarded enormous no-bid government contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq by its former CEO, Richard the Dick Cheney.  (Of course, it’s only coincidence that Halliburton paid the Dick $34 million after he was elected Vice-President.)

There’s another troubling legacy of the Dick’s meetings.

An internal investigation of the Minerals Management Service in 2008 described a “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” by workers at the agency which regulates the oil industry. The investigation by Inspector General Earl E. Devaney found “a culture of ethical failure” at the MMS royalty collection office in Denver.  The report pointed to parties for MMS personnel and energy company representatives.  Indeed, the report stated that MMS personnel and oil companies were literally in bed with one another.  In addition to the sex, the Inspector General also reported that MMS employees accepted drugs, illegal contracts and gifts, such as ski trips and golf outings from oil representatives. 

Even more troubling, the Inspector General reported that the Bush/Cheney gang at MMS “showed no remorse” when confronted with the accusations.  And though they were disciplined, most of those people are still employed by MMS as regulators of energy.

It doesn’t take much imagination to see that the current oil gusher and environmental disaster in the Gulf is the direct result of Bush/Cheney policies and appointees.   Indeed, just this week, a whistleblower came forward with information detailing a pattern of negligence and falsified tests by BP and other oil giants along with lax oversight by government “regulators.”

So what are the solutions to this mess?  (Of course, there is no solution to the ecological disaster taking place in the Gulf.  It will be decades, if not centuries, for the environment to recover.)  BP, Halliburton and Transocean should be held accountable for the environmental and economic disaster taking place in the Gulf.   Congressional Republicans should immediately release their holds on dozens of Obama appointees.  Congress should subpeona Cheney to testify under oath about his energy meetings. 

Most important, we all should push our representatives to vote for non-carbon renewable energy. 

Who are we afraid of?

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Following the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, we have no military foes.  (At least not in a traditional sense.)  The Soviet Union is gone, replaced by Russia and a host of independent states.  China has gone from being a perceived enemy to our out-sourced manufacturing state holding billions in U.S. bonds.  And Germany and Japan have not been allowed to rebuild significant forces since the end of WWII. 

The only perceived threats are the failing state of North Korea, which has a large infantry and a few nuclear-tipped missles that are incapable of reaching our shores, and Iran, which has a smaller infantry and a nuclear bomb in the making.  In addition, there is nuclear-armed Pakistan with a government under seige by fundamentalist Muslims. 

True, it’s possible that our relationship with Russia could deteriorate enough that we might eventually have to worry about its nuclear aresenal.  But that would seem to be unlikely, and we have far superior technology along with our own enormous nuclear arsenal.

So, I repeat, who are we afraid of? 

What could possibly justify our continuing expenditures on military weaponry?  We spend more on our navy than the next 13 nations combined.   And, in total, our military expenditures exceed the next 11 nations combined! 

We could trim tens of billions of dollars from our weapons procurement budget and still be more than adequately prepared for any potential threat.  Indeed, one could argue that we could use that money more effectively to prevent poverty and other conditions that lead to war.  What if there were good schools for poor Muslim children and respectable jobs waiting for them after they graduate.  What if that helped them achieve the self-respect they are looking for?  Would they still consider blowing themselves up in a suicide attack? 

What if we relegated the neo-cons’ misguided “Plan for A New American Century” to the garbage bin of history where it belongs?  What if, instead, we quit trying to dominate the world?  What if we quit using our lone superpower status to support the imperialist designs of our large corporations?  What if we quit using our political clout and collective wealth to exploit the natural resources of less developed nations?

Or what if we used a portion of our enormous military budget to pay down our national debt?  Yeah, I know.  Why on Earth would we want to do that?

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

Can an entire political party be sociopathic?

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A sociopath is defined as one who has no conscience; someone who’s every action is intended to help themselves.  Now, I ask you.  Does that not describe the Republican Party and its media whores?

Consider the following: 

Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama administration want to close Guantanemo and try those imprisoned there.  Republicans go ballistic that these “illegal combatants” don’t deserve to be treated as criminals.  How naive for President Obama to believe in our justice system!

Or how about the “underpants bomber”?  A confused young man from Nigeria decides to stash explosives in his underpants in order to blow up a plane.  The Republican response is to point fingers at the Obama administration for Mirandizing him.  Despite the fact that the Obama administration acted exactly as the Bush administration did in response to Richard Reed, the shoe bomber, Republicans pretended to be outraged that the young man was read his Miranda rights.  Never mind that the “underpants bomber” cooperated with authorities with torture.

Or how about health care reform?  A bill that regulates health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies and provides health care to 33 million Americans is, according to Republicans, a socialist or communist plot.  The census?  According to Republicans, it’s an Obama plot to round up conservatives and place them in internment camps.  (Of course that’s wrong.  Instead, Obama should use the data to round up Republicans and put them where they belong – in insane asylums.) 

Financial reform?  Despite the fact that Republicans allowed the “free markets” to send our economy into a death spiral while those responsible made millions in bonuses, Republicans would have us believe that reform is a Socialist plot leading to a government takeover of banks.  The worst oil disaster in the history of America (or maybe the world)?  According to Republicans, it was caused by environmental terrorists.  And the government’s response was delayed so the Obama administration can put an end to off-shore drilling. 

A failed terroist bombing of Times Square was, in twisted Republican minds, the result of the Obama administration being soft on terrorists and reaching out to Muslim nations.  Pay no attention to the fact that the suspect was quickly caught and provided information that led to the arrest of at least one Pakistani national without our resorting to torture.

One wonders how Republicans can make these accusations without laughing out loud.  Are they secretly biting their tongues in order to keep a straight face?  Or are they, as I suspect, clinically sociopathic?  You decide.

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

“The Party of No”, Exhibit A

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Last week, Democrats attempted to break a logjam of 101 executive branch nominees being blocked by Republicans.  Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) appeared on the Senate floor to call up the names.  Unfortunately, Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) arrived just in time to officially object to each and every name.  Therefore, C-Span viewers were treated to an extraordinary example of theater by the “Party of No“.

Whitehouse read five names, followed by McCaskill, who read another 17. Each time a name was mentioned, Kyl adjusted his tie and smugly stated “I object.”  McCaskill returned to the floor later in the day and read 75 more.  All were met with the same response by Republicans.

No one should be surprised by such tactics from Republicans (least of all those of us who live in the state represented by Kyl and his pal, John McNasty).  Since the 2008 election, Republicans have blocked hundreds of nominations for key positions in the Obama administration.  They have refused to vote for any major legislation, even after Democrats embraced many Republican amendments.  They continue to call the President a “Socialist” despite the fact that he has governed from the center, and even though he appointed a number of Republicans to key positions.  (In reality, he has only done what he promised to do during the campaign.)

So when Kyl repeatedly stated “I object” on the Senate floor, he was simply articulating the entire agenda of the Republican Party.   Republican leaders seem proud of their obstructionism.  Indeed, Sarah Palin has said that it’s not the “Party of No.”  It’s the “Party of Hell No”.

Let’s hope that, when these Republicans are up for re-election and ask for support, voters respond in kind with a loud “Hell No”!

A Tea Party Preview.

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If you had any doubts of the consequences of allowing the Tea Party to influence our elections, all you need to do is look at Arizona.  For the past several years, the state legislature has caused an already conservative state to take an extreme right turn.  Some of the most reasonable Republican legislators were defeated in the last election because they weren’t viewed as conservative enough.  And since the election, the state has completely slid into the dumpster.

To wit, the state is bankrupt, yet the wingnuts continue to cut taxes for corporations and ignore calls for closing $10 billion in corporate tax loopholes.  Arizona’s public school funding now ranks 51st out of 50 states (Washington, DC is also ahead of Arizona) yet the state continues to cut funding for public schools while, at the same time, increasing tax credits for private and parochial schools.  Tourism is a huge source of revenue for Arizona, yet the state is closing its state parks and is even considering closing its Department of Tourism.  The film industry brings millions into the state each year, yet the Arizona legislature has cut the Film Board’s budget.   

Now the state is asking citizens to vote for a temporary one percent increase in sales tax.  But, at the same time, the wingnuts in the legislature are pushing through another one percent tax cut for corporations and the wealthy!  And, if the sales tax increase doesn’t pass, the legislature is promising to make even more draconian cuts to public schools.  (One educator recently told me that the class sizes could easily exceed 50.)  Arizona even threatens to cut thousands of jobs from the Department of Public Safety.  After all, the state doesn’t really need them, since the legislature just passed a bill that allows anyone to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.  It’ll be just like the Old West with a shootout on every street and in every bar.

Still not scared? 

Then consider the state’s new immigration law.  SB 1070 has already resulted in the cancellations of at least six conventions and hundreds of hotel rooms.  The Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott Arizona which will likely have an even more chilling impact on Arizona’s film industry.  San Francisco has also voted to boycott the state.  And the Mexican government has put out a travel warning for Arizona.  If you don’t think that’s meaningful, consider the fact that Mexico represents the single largest source of tourists to the state – a source that also represents tens of millions of dollars to state revenue. 

Most recently, the Arizona legislature has passed a bill that bans ethnic studies classes in public schools (equating them with treason) and forbidding any teacher with a strong accent from teaching English.  And the legislative session hasn’t ended yet!

Yes, this is the future promised by the Tea Party.  God save America!

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

Arizona Paranoia.

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According to angry white people, all of the nation’s problems are the fault of those with brown or dark skin.  After all, weren’t they the ones who (with the help of ACORN) voted President Obama into office?  And isn’t it the brown and dark-skinned immigrants who are taking their jobs and saddling taxpayers with the cost of the resulting social problems – everything from food shelves to health care.

If only it were that simple, we could round up all the illegals and send them back to Mexico.  Indeed, that’s what the dimwitted Arizona legislature is attempting to do.  The Republican-dominated legislature has created open season on anyone who looks like a Mexican.  As I read the bill, there are even severe penalties for American citizens who are found to have given aid and comfort to illegal immigrants, including their own families. 

Let’s say a Mexican couple entered the country illegally in the 1920s. (You don’t really believe this is a recent problem?  Do you?)  And let’s say that couple had children who became American citizens and grandchildren who are American citizens.  As I read the law, in Arizona it will soon be a serious crime for the grandchildren to drive their grandparents to church.  In addition, it appears that it will be a crime for the children to provide home care for their parents.  Indeed, it appears that it will be a crime for anyone to not report an undocumented alien, even if that alien is a family member.

Does anyone really think this is the solution to the immigration problem?

What is seldom reported is the fact that U.S. companies continue to hire illegal immigrants.  A recent survey of Arizona corporations found that more than 50 of the 80+ companies surveyed admitted to hiring undocumented workers.  (This despite the fact that Arizona had implemented a law designed to prevent such hires more than a year ago.)  In addition, many of the undocumented workers are hired to work as day laborers or as housekeepers for wealthy families. 

It’s one of those Palinesque wink, wink arrangements.  We want the cheap labor illegal immigrants provide, but we don’t want to admit it. 

Fact is, immigration is one of the most complicated issues our nation faces.  And the wingnuts have nothing to offer but simplistic solutions.  The Arizona bill, if it ever goes into effect, will fail.  Of course, Republicans in Congress who have been stonewalling immigration reform for years are now blaming the Obama administration.  In a desperate attempt to woo Tea Party votes, the former maverick and current wingnut, Senator McNasty, and his wingman, Senator Kyl, are calling for thousands of troops and fences to seal our border. 

How ironic that they demand smaller government and whine about deficits, but they’re willing to spend billions, likely trillions, in a futile attempt to seal the border.  Maybe they’ve forgotten that it has been tried before. 

Tell me, conservatives, how did the Berlin Wall work out?   

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

Main Street 57, Wall Street 41.

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For two days in a row, a bill for financial reform came up 3 votes short in the Senate. All 41 Republican Senators voted to prevent debate. In other words, they voted to filibuster. Polls show the American public overwhelmingly wants to see financial reform because they understand that it was the high-risk gambling on Wall Street that caused the worst economy since the Great Depression. Yet Republicans voted in unison to block it.

Why?

The answer is simple. Republicans say that they want financial reform, but they don’t want it to interfere with the almighty “free” market. It took them 62 years to undo the Glass-Steagall Act and they don’t want to see a similar bill. They don’t want to limit their wealthy and powerful masters’ ability to make outrageous profits from consumers. They don’t want to allow any form of consumer protection. And they certainly don’t want the voting public to see them taking the side of Wall Street in an open debate.

By keeping the debate behind closed doors, Republicans can make deals with bank lobbyists that will keep the money flowing on Wall Street and, more importantly, keep the money flowing toward Republican candidates.

So, for now, we’re treated to a high stakes game of cat and mouse. Democrats will keep asking for debate on financial reform, and Republicans will keep voting to block it. How long before Main Street reminds Republicans who they’re supposed to be working for?

Spill, Baby, Spill!

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Following the Democratic rebuff of attempts to drill for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Republicans began chanting “Drill, Baby, Drill.”  Indeed, it became a mantra of the climate change deniers, the Fox News Channel dimwits and the McCain/Palin campaign. 

Now we have clear evidence of how wrong they were.  (Imagine that!?)

A few months ago, an Alaskan pipeline burst, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil onto the Arctic tundra.   This follows another spill in 2006 that dumped an estimated 200,000 gallons of oil onto the tundra.  Indeed, it’s estimated that 500 oil spills occur in the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and along the Alaskan pipeline system each year.  But, if you were to listen to big oil and their Republican supporters, you’d think that oil spills are rare and insignificant. 

Just this past week, a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in the potential for one of our nation’s largest oil spills and catastrophic damage to our environment.  The deep water well is currently leaking at the rate of 210,000 gallons a day and, if BP can’t close underwater valves, the leak could continue for up to 5 months!  Of course, big oil will likely be forced to pay for the damage.  But a few million dollars won’t act as much of a deterrent.  It certainly won’t restore the environment.  And don’t count on seeing the money anytime soon.  After all, it only took Exxon 16 years to fork over the money awarded to those whose livelihood was disrupted after the Exxon Valdez dumped an estimated 10.8 million gallons of crude oil on their shores.

Is it any wonder that many along the East Coast are concerned about President Obama’s recent decision to yield to pressure from Republicans and big oil to open more areas for off-shore drilling?

Truth is, we’re certain to see more damage to our environment from the decision.  Combined with the plastic “continents” now floating in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it may well contribute to the death of the most important natural assets on our planet – our oceans. 

Of course, we could minimize the damage and end our dependence on foreign oil by prioritizing renewable energy.  And we’d likely create thousands of high-paying jobs in the process.  Unfortunately, the renewable fuel industry doesn’t have the lobbyists big oil does.

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.