What’s wrong with politics?

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Depending on your political affiliation (or should I say affliction?) you might quickly answer with Fox News Channel or MoveOn.org. But if we ignore partisanship for a moment, I think we can all agree that the real answer is Congressional representatives who spend more time trying to be re-elected than actually representing.

We have now reached a point in American politics where the election cycle lasts all year, every year. As a result, those who are elected are generally afraid to take a position or a stance for fear of alienating part of the electorate. They also must find and kowtow to donors – usually large corporations, corporate officers, political action groups and the wealthy. As a result, the powerful and wealthy are over-represented.

And the rest of us are under-represented.

Unfortunately, running for state or national office has become so expensive that few can raise enough money to run an effective campaign. And, perhaps due to that fact, politicians who are successful in getting elected don’t want to risk losing their offices in the next election. So they don’t always vote their conscience. Instead, they vote according to the polls. Or according to the party bosses. There can be no better examples (and warnings) than Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida and Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. They are viewed as too moderate by activists in their respective parties, so they faced difficult primaries. So difficult, in fact, that Crist was forced to bow out of the Republican primary and run unaffiliated.

This backlash from the parties has a chilling effect on our political debate. For example, many Democrats wanted universal (single-payer) health care, but they voted for a watered-down, protect-the-insurance-companies health care reform bill, instead. Why? Because their political opponents and the media would have labeled them Socialists, Communists or worse.

During the George W. Bush administration, the White House introduced a plan for immigration reform. The bill attempted to address the complexity of the problem. But Congress refused to pass it because many Republicans and the conservative media were angered by what they considered “amnesty” for undocumented workers. And representatives of both parties were afraid to alienate potential Latino voters. So, instead of trying to fix the problem, they collectively kicked it down the road.

Of course, there are exceptions. If you visit www.PolitiFact.com you’ll discover that President Obama has lived up to the vast majority of his campaign promises. Indeed, he has repeatedly stated that he’d rather be “a good one-term President, than a bad two-term President.” I hope he’s rewarded for that stance. And I think he will be. You see, I sincerely believe the majority of voters on both sides of the political spectrum are sick and tired of politics as usual. Unfortunately, the political parties are more concerned with winning elections than principle.

It’s up to all of us to make the two parties care more about the well-being of the nation than their scorecards of political wins and losses. We can do that by pushing for campaign finance reform – especially now that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spill their coffers into any candidate’s pocket or purse.

Obama’s Inheritance.

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Republican teabaggers are having a great deal of fun pointing fingers at President Obama for our current situation. They fumed over President Obama’s contribution to the national debt while ignoring Bush’s contributions. They proclaimed health care reform “Obama’s Waterloo.” And they have now labeled BP’s oil gusher as “Obama’s Katrina.”

Never in my lifetime have I seen people so anxious to see a President fail.

But before everyone joins in by jumping on the nincompoop wagon, let’s consider the situation President Obama inherited:

The worst economic meltdown in nearly 80 years. The collapse of the housing industry that has long fueled our economy, the collapse of our financial industry due to deregulation, and the worst job losses in nearly 80 years. Historic levels of national debt created by the banks and Bush’s unfunded wars, Bush’s unfunded Medicare expansion, and Bush’s unfunded tax cuts. The collapse of the auto industry due to imports, high oil prices and the financial meltdown. Two on-going wars (one which went neglected for 7-1/2 years) and an over-stretched military. The worst environmental disaster in history. Growing tensions in Israel and Gaza, Korea and oil-rich Iran complicated by nuclear weapons. A national infrastructure that has been decaying for decades. States and industries crippled by the sky-rocketing cost of health care and pharmaceuticals. A middle class that has been stressed by years of dwindling jobs and salaries. Millions of Americans who were (until the passage of health care reform) unable to afford access to health care. An illegal immigration problem that has been kicked down the road for decades. Social Security and Medicare trust funds that have long been raided by Congress, putting them on the edge of bankruptcy. And the most toxic political environment of my lifetime, fueled by right-wing political hacks posing as talk radio hosts and news commentators.

That’s an overwhelming array of crises, and I’ve probably even forgotten to list a few.

Never in our history has a new President been handed such a mess. Sure, Abraham Lincoln was handed a growing state’s rights crisis that led to the Civil War. And FDR was handed the Great Depression along with a growing conflict that became WWII.

But this?!!!

President Obama must feel like a Marine surrounded by ticking IEDs and wondering which one to disarm first. And these crises are made to seem all the worse by an impatient populace and media that have amazingly short attention spans.

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

Connecting the oil dots…er…globs.

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I’ve written before about Bush and Cheney’s influence on our energy policy. The Bush family has deep ties to the Saudis and Kuwaitis. After WWII, the Bush family jumped at the opportunity to rebuild the Balkans oil fields. And Bush worked in the oil industry before running for public office.

In addition, Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton prior to gaining the office of Vice-President. Cheney received a $34 million bonus from Halliburton when he left for Washington. And Cheney held secret meetings on energy policy in the very first month of the Bush administration.

All of that raises some very troubling questions. For example, what role did Cheney’s relationship to Halliburton play in the company receiving billions of no-bid government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan? What role did Bush’s desire to build a pipeline across Afghanistan play in the events of 9/11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan? What role did oil play in the unprecedented pre-emptive invasion of Iraq?

While those issues are in question, there are many Bush/Cheney impacts on U.S. energy policy that are not. It was the deregulation of commodities that led to speculation, skyrocketing oil prices and record oil company profits during the Bush/Cheney administration. It was the Bush/Cheney administration that increased subsidies to oil companies, in spite of their obscene profits, and cut subsidies for alternative energy sources.

It was the Bush/Cheney appointees at the Minerals Management Service who were literally in bed with oil company executives. The Bush/Cheney administration gave oil companies the right to drill in national parks and other wildernesses. Despite evidence to the contrary, Bush/Cheney decided it was safe to expand off-shore drilling and to drill in ANWR (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). And it was the Bush/Cheney administration that allowed BP and other oil companies to drill a mile under the Gulf’s surface without a serious back-up safety plan. (Indeed, the BP safety plan for the Gulf addressed the impact on walruses!)

It’s time for an in-depth Congressional investigation of the oil industry and all those who have helped oil companies keep a grip on our energy policy while, at the same time, making them the most profitable corporations in the history of the planet.

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.

Teabaggers Aren’t As Crazy As You May Think.

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They’re worse!

Rand Paul, the teabagging Republican candidate to replace Kentucky Senator and Major League doofus, Jim Bunning, has famously stated that he wouldn’t have voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Bill in its current form. He believes that individuals and privately-owned businesses should be free to discriminate in whatever way they want against whomever they want.

Sharron Angle, the Nevada teabagger who hopes to unseat Senator Harry Reid, is running on a platform to abolish Social Security, Federal income taxes and the Department of Education. And her former primary opponent, Sue Lowden, suggested that health care access could be solved by returning to a barter system in which patients paid their doctors with chickens.

In Arizona, ex-Maverick, noted mud-slinger and teabagger wannabe, John McCain, is searching for ways to seem even crazier than his primary challenger, J.D. Hayworth. Despite the fact that illegal immigration and crime have dropped dramatically in Arizona, he now proposes that the border be turned into a heavily fortified militarized zone. Indeed, McCain almost makes his former running mate, Sarah Palin, look like a liberal.

Locally, a teabagger candidate for the AZ lege told me, “Those damn Mexicans who come across the border are only here to steal our jobs and live off our taxpayers. They don’t pay taxes or contribute in any way. They aren’t interested in our culture, our language or in becoming citizens. They only want to take advantage of us.” When I replied that his statement was one of the most racist things I’d ever heard, he came completely unglued and began screaming “I am not a racist!” as I left the room.

Wherever you look across the political landscape you’ll see candidates crawling out from under the woodwork with hopes of rewinding the way-back clock a century or more. You know, back to the good ol’ days when rich people could own their workers and when poor people had no rights and no security net in addition to having no money.

But the teabaggers do offer one positive.  They actually make the incumbents (even mainstream Republicans) seem more attractive.

Corporations Fueling Immigration Problem

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With all the controversy created by Arizona’s new immigration bill, I think we should consider the role corporations have played in creating this problem. For the past 30+ years, our large corporations have been “outsourcing” manufacturing jobs to places like China, India, Indonesia and Mexico. Our TVs are now made in China, Korea and Japan. Our DVDs are made in China. Our clothes and toys are made in China. Our shoes are made in China, Indonesia and Mexico. Our computer software is created in India. Our appliances are made in China and Korea. Many of our cars are made in Japan and Korea. The list goes on and on.

We’re told the reason our corporations have exported our jobs is that American consumers demand lower and lower prices. Really? Of course, consumers want to pay as little for products as possible. But at what cost? High unemployment? Lower wages? Fewer benefits? No health care? No pensions?

Face it, the real reason corporations export jobs is to maximize profits by avoiding reasonable wages and benefits. Most of all, they want to avoid organized labor, which has forced corporations to treat employees fairly.

Now, let’s look at the industries which hire most of the undocumented workers – fast food outlets, meat-packing plants, roofing companies, landscaping businesses, corporate farms and other labor-intensive businesses. Why do they hire illegals? Because these are industries which, for a variety of reasons, are unable to export jobs to other countries. So, the only way for these industries to cut salaries and benefits is to hire illegals. After all, illegals have no voice. They are so desperate to find a job that they are willing to endure long, dangerous treks arcross the desert or to deal with human traffickers in the hopes of being hired. They can’t organize unions. They can’t pressure the government for higher minimum wages. They can’t sue the corporations. All they can do is work for the salaries and benefits the corporations are willing to offer them.

As long as we allow corporations to continue to hire illegal workers without serious consequences, this problem is unlikely to change. They know that the federal, state and local governments will continue to cut corporate taxes and reduce regulations in an attempt to replace jobs that our corporations have exported. They know that investors won’t care as long as their stock values continue to rise. They know that the majority of consumers will never boycott products made by illegals as long as prices are low. They know governments will provide education, health care and other benefits for their employees and their families at no cost to the corporations. And if their illegal workers are deported, these corporations know that there will be plenty of other illegal immigrants to take their place.

So my question is this: Why are we punishing illegal workers when we should be punishing unethical corporations?

Time For Bush And Cheney To Do The “Perp Walk”

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Not long ago, Richard The Dick Cheney extolled the benefits of waterboarding U.S. prisoners. And during a speech in Grand Rapids last week, George W. Bush publicly admitted to the same crime. Bush said, “Yeah, we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I’d do it again to save lives.”

The problem for these unrepentent inquisitors (and for the United States) is that the U.S. signed the Geneva Convention against torture. Labeled the “Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment,” the document states that the parties to this Convention, have agreed as follows:

“…torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession…”

The document further states, “Each (signator) shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. Each (signator) shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law…each (signator) shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.”

That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for our smug former president and former vice-president, does it?

Just to be clear, The U.S. tried and hanged some Japanese soldiers for torturing American prisoners during World War II with techniques that included waterboarding. As a result, our nation should not take Bush’s and Cheney’s confessions lightly. Otherwise the world community will forever label the U.S. as the renegade hypocrites we probably are.

Just In Case You Think Arizona Isn’t Completely Racist!

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The new immigration law in Arizona is bad enough. If implemented, it actually requires racial profiling in search of illegal Latinos. And that’s not the worst of it. It’s so simple-minded that it ignores the fact that illegal immigration has taken place since before the territory became a state. It treats a recent immigrant the same as someone who has lived and worked in the state for decades. And it treats a family member who is a legal citizen the same as a coyote (human smuggler).

If that weren’t bad enough, the simpletons in the legislature have passed a law banning ethnic studies classes in public schools. And they intend to pass a law that directly conflicts with the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states that anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S citizen. Of course, the teabaggers behind these new laws deny that race plays any part in their decision-making. However, they never mention the thousands of illegals who cross the border who come from Asia and Eastern Europe.

Now these very same numbskulls have taken their anger out on an elementary school mural in Prescott. The recently-revealed mural features kids using green forms of transportation.

Of course, in the teabaggers’ tiny minds, that’s bad enough, because only pointy-headed liberals would encourage real Americans to give up their gas-guzzling and polluting vehicles. But what really has the teabaggers in a tizzy is the fact that the mural depicts children of Latino and African-American heritage. In other words, their faces are too dark.

Yet these are faces of kids who actually attend the Prescott school!

Nevertheless, teabaggers have made a habit of screaming racist slurs at the mural as they drive by. They have also hurled eggs and other objects at the dark faces. In addition, a city councilman who hosts a radio talk show has orchestrated a campaign to remove the dark faces from the mural. And the school’s response to that campaign?

In a classless move rivaled only by the Texas school book board, the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students to be changed to appear Caucasian.

What kind of lesson is that for our children?

Seriously, folks, it’s time to give Arizona back to Mexico. That would be the only fitting punishment for these so-called Tea Party “patriots”.

UPDATE: The Prescott school has bowed to pressure from media and sensible citizens (not to mention a refusal by the artists to alter their work).  The faces on the mural will not be changed.

Would you like your oceans premium or regular?

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Personally, I prefer the low octane grade. You know, sea water without the petrochemical additives.

The man-made geyser in the Gulf hasn’t even been stopped yet and already conservatives are demanding that President Obama drop the moratorium on off-shore drilling.  Seriously. 

Of course, it’s not surprising that the half-witted half-governor, Sarah Palin, is all in for more drilling.  She of “Drill, baby, drill” fame no doubt sees an opportunity to make more money from big oil and to fill her campaign coffers for a presidential campaign should enough wingnuts encourage her to run.  Senators Murkowski and Coburn have blocked Senate resolutions for eliminating the cap on damages for oil companies like BP.  But somewhat surprisingly, Louisiana conservatives Vitter and Jindal have called for an end to the moratorium because it could cost jobs.  Are you kidding me?  It was off-shore drilling that shut down fishing and tourism in the state and they want to resume drilling without knowing the actual cause of this current catastrophe?

That seems a classic case of Republican logic – “The hell with the environment, we must protect big business!”

Of course, if you listen to Alaska Congressman Don Young, the BP gusher is just nature taking its course.  “After all, oil seeps through the ocean floor all the time.  It’s natural.”  But he fails to recognize the difference between natural seepage and the man-made gusher that, by even the most conservative estimates, has pumped millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf.

But as revolting as these Republicans are, perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this catastrophe is that it didn’t have to happen. It’s not only a product of lax government oversight and corporate greed. It’s a product of individual choices.

Most people chose to ignore Jimmy Carter’s warnings in the late 70s and continued to increase their oil consumption.  So our cities continued to sprawl and large SUVs and Hummers replaced econoboxes. More and more people moved to the suburbs far away from jobs and commuted 10, 20, 30 miles or more each day.

Corporations began “outsourcing” manufacturing jobs overseas and started shipping products halfway around the world to cut costs by a few dollars or even pennies. More and more people built showy McMansions thousands of square feet larger than they need. The list goes on and on.

The fact is, we’re addicted to fossil fuels. And now that addiction is turning much of our world’s oceans into dead zones where nothing can survive.

The good news is that there are many viable alternatives to oil. We can do as President Obama proposes and redirect the oil subsidies to the wind and solar industries. We can subsidize and encourage other sources of renewable energy such as native grasses that can be used for ethanol. We can replace long-haul trucks with an efficient rail system. We can convert short-haul trucks to natural gas which doesn’t require off-shore drilling. We can replace many domestic flights with high-speed rail. We can replace freeway traffic with light rail systems. 

And we can shout down the dimwits who continue to chant “Drill, baby, drill.”

A Brief Summary of Republican Teabagger Values.

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In the past few weeks, we’re getting a really good picture of what the Republican teabaggers have in store for America.

First, a Kansas-based wingnut wrote a racist immigration law which he peddled to the Arizona legislature. Of course, they were all too happy to embrace it. Now he’s peddling the same bill to other states. So far, at least 12 states are considering it.

Second, the NRA and its Republican enablers have succeeded in pushing through new conceal and carry laws throughout the country. It is now legal to carry a gun in any national park. In Arizona, you may now carry a concealed weapon without a permit. And thanks to a new law in Louisiana, you may even carry your gun to church – because we all know that to truly worship Jesus, you have to be ready to nail a few Muslims.

Third, the Grand Obstructionist Party threatened, for weeks, to filibuster financial reform. They actually chose to defend Wall Street against Main Street! Who cares if abuses by Wall Street collapsed our economy and cost taxpayers trillions of dollars?

Fourth, BP Oil and its partners blew up 11 employees and unleashed an oil gusher a mile deep in the Gulf. Now, considering the Republican-loaded Supreme Court recently declared that corporations have all the rights of individuals, you might expect that the BP CEO and a few other corporate officers would be facing charges of manslaughter and more (What is the penalty for killing an entire ocean?). But of course, the Supreme Court only awarded corporations individual rights. No doubt, they never intended to hold corporations to the same standards as individuals when it comes to responsibilities.

Fifth, Senate Democrats asked for unanimous consent for a bill that would greatly expand BP Oil’s liability for the Gulf tragedy. The bill was first blocked by an objection from Senator Lisa Murkowski. It seems she was more impressed by the nearly $300,000 in campaign contributions from oil companies than the plight of Gulf Coast fishermen.  Ensuing attempts have been blocked by Tom Coburn, another Senator who relies on contributions from big oil.

Sixth, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he refuses to raise taxes in order to balance California’s budget. So, instead, he is cutting welfare benefits for more than one million of California’s unemployed. Of course, California is not alone. Similar measures have been instituted in Arizona and several other states. Indeed, Arizona’s legislature cut funding for health care for poor kids until they found out that the state would lose more in federal funding than it would save. Meanwhile, the Arizona dimwits continue to cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy.

Finally, teabagger darling, Rand Paul, displayed his true colors on The Rachel Maddow Show when he refused to say he would have voted for the 1960s Civil Rights Bill. What he did say is that he thinks private businesses should be able to do what they want, even if that means refusing to serve non-whites.

This is just a brief recap of wingnut values. One can’t help but conclude that if the Republican teabaggers have their way, America’s coasts will be covered in oil, the public schools will be closed, and the streets will be filled with angry, homeless, poor people who are armed to the teeth.

A Proposal For Real Immigration Reform.

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Since the Kansas-based group known as F.A.I.R. (there’s some irony for you) convinced the simpletons in the Arizona legislature to pass its immigration law, it has begun peddling it to other states. As of this writing, 12 more states are now considering it.

It’s as if our state legislatures have been taken over by Forrest Gump and Gomer Pyle.

The only good to come out of this mess is that it may force Congress into passing real immigration reform. But it’s not enough for people like me to complain about the Arizona law. We should contribute ideas to real, long-term reform. Here are mine:

Let’s start by recognizing that we can’t (nor should we want to) round up all 12-15 million undocumented immigrants and send them back to their countries of origin. Many of these people have been in the U.S. for decades. They have families here who are legal citizens and they’ve spent more time here than in their countries of origin. Let’s also recognize that, for someone to endure days in the desert or to resort to working with human smugglers, they must be in desperate straits and may need some help. And let’s not lump together hard-working individuals who seek a better life for their families with those involved with drug cartels and other criminal activity.

Let us also admit that, in some ways, illegal immigration has financial consequences for U.S. taxpayers. Undocumented workers not only take jobs from American citizens. Since they are willing to work for less, and without benefits, they force the salary scale downward. In addition, they mostly have no health care insurance. So when they need care, they visit our Emergency Rooms (the most expensive access point to health professionals) and the rest of us pick up the tab.

On the other hand, many illegals work for corporations thereby contributing to lower costs of goods and services.  They pay sales taxes and property taxes.  They also pay income taxes, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes under someone else’s name.  The government is aware of this, but looks the other way because the unclaimed funds help prop up the trust funds that have been repeatedly raided by Congress over many years.

With agreement on most of these issues, we can begin to look for solutions that just may benefit everyone.

First, let’s encourage illegal aliens who have been in the U.S. for longer than 5 years with no criminal history to come forward for residency permits. Let’s provide them with U.S. identification and give them a short period of time (let’s say 2 years) to apply for U.S. citizenship. If they can’t meet that deadline, they should either provide a good reason why they have failed to become citizens or be deported.

For those who wish to come to the U.S., let’s institute a foreign worker program. Our infrastructure is crumbling and these people need jobs. See the connection? Instead of spending billions on more border guards and a fence that is destined to fail, let’s provide these people with foreign worker permits and use the money to put them to work in a way that will benefit our nation. At the same time, let’s institute meaningful punishments for businesses and their owners who hire undocumented workers. If the businesses can prove (and let’s be tough with this) that they can’t operate without foreign workers, they can apply for foreign worker permits that must be renewed annually. Next, let’s create free or low-cost health clinics and other low-cost services. It’s a lot less expensive than paying for ER visits.

Let’s also work with the illegals’ nations of origin and incentify them to engage in helping curtail the problem. It’s not enough to have a border patrol on only one side of the border.

Finally, let’s recognize that the ultimate solution to the problem is to equalize the economies and opportunities in the U.S. and the nations of origin. And, no, I don’t mean bringing our economy down to their level, but to lift all nations and people. But that’s just me. I’d rather pay to help people than pay to punish them.

© LaMaster Propaganda – All rights reserved.