Like father like daughter.

Posted on by

When Dick Cheney held the office of vice-president, we all held our breath (and our noses) whenever he emerged from his dark cave.  We knew that his emergence could only mean trouble for the free world.  Either he was going to start another war, announce a new surveillance scheme for innocent Americans, or he was going to devise new ways to torture suspected terrorists and/or Democrats.

Now that the election of President Obama has sent the Dark One scurrying back to his badger hole, it appears that his offspring has taken it upon herself to remind us of how lucky we are that he’s no longer in office.  No one to rattle sabers?  Liz Cheney will show up on Fox News to promote war against somebody.  No one to promote torture?  Liz Cheney will torture us with her opinions.  No one to blame the Bush administration’s failures on Democrats?  Liz Cheney knows who’s really at fault.

Most recently, she appeared on Fox News to react to President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.  (After all, who would know more about peace than someone whose father is so versed in war, torture and draft deferments.)  Not surprisingly, she believes that Obama is totally undeserving of the award.  She explained that Obama has not proven anything yet – he hasn’t invaded Iran or North Korea.  Why he hasn’t even acquiesced to the military’s request for more troops in Afghanistan yet. 

The Dark One’s offspring even had a suggestion for President Obama.  Instead of traveling to Oslo to pick up the Peace Prize, she announced that the president should send the mother of a dead American soldier in his place.  (Perhaps Ms. Cheney hasn’t yet realized that any mother we would send is likely grieving as a result of a decision by Dick Cheney.)  Liz said she believes it would make a great statement to let the world know that it’s the lives of American soldiers that keep the world safe.  Apparently, in the Cheney family, nothing says peace like a grieving mother and the promise of more wars. 

For our economy, let’s give credit where credit is due.

Posted on by

The so-called teabaggers and wing nuts claim their attacks on President Obama aren’t the result of racism or ideology.  They say their demonstrations are about the national debt which they believe has increased to staggering new levels under the Obama administration. 

There are three flaws with their argument.  One is that the debt only really matters if we plan on selling our nation sometime soon.  Otherwise, it’s merely a number.  Second, while it’s true that the debt has reached an all time high in actual dollar amount, as a percent of GDP (gross domestic product) it has been higher before.  And third, very little of the current debt can be attributed to actions by President Obama.

Following the Great Depression and WWII, the national debt as a percent of GDP stood at 120 percent.  It steadily decreased each year until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.  Under Reagan the administration so overspent on military weapons that the national debt nearly tripled.  The debt continued to increase during the George H.W. Bush administration.  When Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992, he prioritized the economy and succeeded in significantly reducing the debt.  Then, under George W. Bush, the debt nearly doubled again until, by the time he left office, it had risen back to 80 percent of GDP.  (One has to wonder where the tea parties and town halls were then.)

In reality, the recent increase in our national debt is the result of two wars begun by the Bush administration (one based on false information) that have cost more than $2 trillion – a figure that doesn’t even include the cost of health care, disability compensation and death benefits for those who have served in these wars.  Contributing to the increase was the creation of the massive Homeland Security department by the Bush administration.   And, of course, the primary cause was Republican-led deregulation of banks and commodities resulting in runaway greed and wild speculation.  When the banks’ risky investments failed, the Federal Government was faced with a decision of bailing out those responsible for this mess.  Or letting the nation slide into a 2nd Great Depression. 

By the time of his inauguration, President Obama was facing the worst economy since Herbert Hoover.  And, like FDR, he has little choice but to try to create jobs through stimulus funds and loans.  Yet, despite having created this mess, Republicans have fought Obama at every opportunity.  Not a single Republican in the House voted for the stimulus package and all but three Republicans in the Senate voted against it. 

It appears they would rather make some sort of political statement than uphold their commitment to serve our nation. 

Republicans have also tried to block health care reform and the proposed cap on carbon dioxide emissions intended to head off more severe climate change.  (They wouldn’t want to interfere with the profits of our large corporations, would they?)

Perhaps the most absurd attack on President Obama is his trip to promote Chicago as host of the Olympics.  They claim that he should be spending more time in the Oval Office.  Hmmm, I wonder what they thought of Bush’s vacations while in office.  The final statistics show that “W” spent 977 days (33 percent) of his two terms on vacation, including the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina.

In my opinion, everyone needs to be more patient with this president.  Republican presidents had nearly 30 years to get us into this mess.  Let’s give President Obama more than 9 months to get us out of it.

Grand Old Party? More like Grumpy Old Party.

Posted on by

I’ve been interested in politics for a long time.  I remember watching Dick Nixon’s “Checkers” speech and telling my parents that I don’t like that man.  I watched the riots at the Democratic National Convention and questioned the future of our nation.  I saw the bruises on a reporter who apparently shot a photo that President Nixon didn’t want taken.  I intensely followed the Watergate cover-up, the Iran-Contra affair and all the other despairing moments since then.  Through it all, I considered myself an independent.

No longer.

Through all my years, I have never seen such a morally and ethically bankrupt group of politicians as today’s Republicans.  Never before have I seen members of one party vote so consistently for the wealthy and for big business.  Never before have I seen such blind partisanship despite so many attempts by the party in power to include their counterparts.  Never before have I seen Congressional representatives call our President a Socialist, a Communist and a Nazi.  And never before have I heard a Congressman scream “You lie” during a President’s speech to a joint session of Congress. 

Now, following the announcement of President Obama being named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize we hear a chorus of boos from conservative radio and TV hosts, conservative columnists and even the chairman of the Republican Party.  These pillars of conservatism were stunned.  And before they could summon up some semblance of tact, they state that President Obama should refuse to accept the prize.  They say that it’s undeserved.  They play the race card by suggesting the honor is the result of “affirmative action.”  And that self-anointed paragon of patriotism, Rush Limbaugh, says “Something has happened here that we all agree with the Taliban and Iran about, and that is he doesn’t deserve the award.”

Nice.  These kinds of statements should make everyone question those who made them and the politics they support.  They should cause all Americans to scrutinize the party they represent and the positions of that party.  They should cause voters to look at the Republican senators who chose to vote against an amendment that would ensure that women subjected to sexual violence by employees of a defense contractor could seek legal remedies against the corporation.  They should cause voters to wonder about a party that tries to stonewall legislation designed to protect consumers from greedy insurance companies.  They should cause voters to wonder about a party that tries to limit regulation against large financial corporations who nearly collapsed our economy with their risky bets.

The list is far too lengthy to detail here.  Suffice it say, that there is precious little evidence to suggest that Republicans have the best interests of average Americans at heart.  And there is overwhelming evidence that they support large corporations and the wealthy.


Where will our jobs come from?

Posted on by

As economists talk about the prospects for an economic recovery, they often mention that it may well be a “jobless recovery.”  Is anyone really surprised by that?  After all, in the interest of “globalization” we’ve exported most of our jobs to other nations.

When large corporations began selling the notion of globalization in the 1980s, they promised American workers access to new markets for American-made products in places like China and India.  The reality is much different.  Once so-called Fair Trade rules were established, American corporations began relocating manufacturing to nations with cheaper labor.  One American manufacturing industry after another was closed…steel, textiles, shoes, electronics, furniture, tools…the list is extensive.

Soon after, much of our agricultural production was exported to Mexico, Central and South America. 

We were told that none of this would harm the U.S.  In fact, the corporations and politicians said that this would benefit Americans with more diverse and lower-priced products.  Moreover, we could easily replace “dirty” low-paying manufacturing jobs with “cleaner” technology, service and information jobs. 

The next step was to move corporate call centers to Mexico, India and the Philippines.  (After all, that kind of work is much too mundane and boring for American workers.)   

Next, the corporations began hiring illegal immigrants for restaurant, landscaping, meat processing and construction jobs.  We were told that these were jobs Americans citizens were unwilling to do.  (The corporations neglected to mention that the real reason American citizens didn’t want these jobs were reduced salaries and benefits.)

More recently, corporations have exported the creation of software to India.  At the same time, they’ve requested special green cards for Indian engineers.  The corporations claim that too few Americans are as well-educated and trained. 

Even our military has gotten into the act by hiring mercenaries from other nations to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Is it any wonder that our health care system now represents 1/6th of our economy?  And we’re already hiring nurses and doctors from other nations to meet “shortages”.

So what will unemployed American citizens do?  The most promising opportunity is for the invention and manufacture of so-called green products such as wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels and higher mileage vehicles…if politicians and corporations don’t export these jobs first.

Taking back our country.

Posted on by

No, I didn’t suddenly become a pitchfork wielding right-wing lunatic.  I don’t own a handgun or an assault rifle.  And I have no doubts that President Obama was born in Hawaii.  But I do believe our nation is in jeopardy. 

However, we don’t need violence to address the issues.  All we need is legislation.  And it’s not even new legislation.  Just return the U.S. to the tax structure and regulations that existed in the U.S. prior to Ronald Reagan. 

Want to prevent another financial crash like the one that happened in 2008?  Simply eliminate the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1994.  That legislation, sponsored by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Clinton, permitted bank holding companies to co-mingle financial institutions of deposit, investment and insurance which contributed to the collapse of our financial system last year.  You might also fire those in the Federal Reserve who failed to exercise the oversight that’s already within its power.

Want to eliminate the predatory tactics of the banks which issue credit cards?  Simply nationalize usury laws which limit interest rates in many states.  These laws were allowed to be circumvented in the 1980s by large bank holding companies. 

Want to reduce our national debt?  Simply return the highest marginal income tax to pre-Bush rates.   

Want to rebuild the nation’s failing infrastructure?  Return the highest marginal income tax to Eisenhower administration rates of the 1950s.  After all, that was the last era when our nation made significant investments in infrastructure.

Want to bring back manufacturing jobs and diminish unemployment?  Undo the relaxation of tariff laws that enabled “globalization” by our large corporations.  In reality, “globalization” is just another term for exporting jobs, undermining worker benefits and wages, increasing profits and avoiding corporate taxes.  (How many U.S. corporations have created a mailing address in the Bahamas or the Caymans to avoid U.S. taxes?)

Want to calm the angry rhetoric on radio and TV?  Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine which existed prior to 1987.  That doctrine, enforced by the FCC, required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance, and to do so in a manner that was honest, equitable and balanced.  (Wouldn’t you like to see Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Fox News Network and Focus on the Family try to justify their existence under those rules?)The point is most of the problems in this country aren’t new.  We’ve addressed them all before.  We can do it again.

Right Wing Conspiracy is no theory.

Posted on by

When President Clinton won the White House in 1992, he was hounded by right wing zealots who accused him of everything from corruption to murder.  The cries became so loud that a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate.  Armed with an unlimited budget, he and the right wing accusers were eventually able to impeach the President for oral sex in the White House.  (Oh my!)

This very coordinated effort by so-called conservatives was labeled “the vast right wing conspiracy.”  While at the time that label might have seemed over the top, it was, in fact, correct.  There was a conspiracy.  And this coalition of Republicans, Christian fundamentalists and conservative talk show hosts is at it again with their sights set on President Obama. 

But the conspiracy goes well beyond trying to discredit Democratic Presidents.

In fact, Republicans and Christian fundamentalists have been conspiring against all non-believing U.S. citizens for years.  In the Republican “revolution” led by Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell, the intent was to eliminate all so-called entitlements, such as welfare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  In the new United States, such programs would be replaced by “personal responsibility.”  If you get in trouble, you’re on your own. 

Of course, labor unions would be banned as an impediment to corporate growth.  As a result of a new, paternalistic relationship between corporate leaders and employees, they would be unnecessary.  (Never mind that we once had a similar system in which industrialists became known as “robber barons” and employees were little more than slaves.)

But the ambition of many conservatives doesn’t end with corporations in complete economic control.  Many Republicans would take things a step farther.   In the words of Senator Sam Brownback as reported by Jeff Sharlet in the book The Family, the goal is to create a nation and economy under God.  The philosophy of these fundamentalists is expressed in Romans 13:  “The powers that be are ordained by God.”  In other words, might makes right.

Based on the legislative initiatives of Brownback and his fellowship, there would be death penalties for abortion providers.  Gay marriage would, of course, be banned.  Public schools would be undermined by school vouchers.  Of course, prayer in school would be mandatory and creationism would replace evolution on the curriculums.  The only sex education would be abstinence.  Hate crimes would be only those against Christians.  We wouldn’t bother with diplomacy, especially with nations like North Korea.  And we would immediately declare war on Iran and, likely, every other Muslim nation.

There’s just one sticky little problem.  It’s called the Constitution.

Show us the money.

Posted on by

When the housing market crashed bringing down the financial industry along with it (or was it the other way around?), trillions of dollars vanished.   The question is where did the money go?

The Federal Reserve along with the Bush administration started propping up the financial industry and the economy beginning in 2007.  Mostly this was done quietly with little to no media attention.  By the time President Obama was sworn in, taxpayers had already shelled out more than $3.46 trillion and the world economy was on the verge of collapse. 

Since Obama’s inauguration, the federal government has committed another $3.77 trillion in loans, bailout funds and stimulus spending to stave off what most economists concluded would be a 2nd Great Depression.   

And people are outraged!  Not at the ones who created this mess and originally hid it from the public.  But at the administration who inherited it.  That kind of logic could only be demonstrated by the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Dick Armey.   Where are their “Teabagger” demonstrations against CitiGroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo?  Where’s the right-wing fury for AIG?  Where are the posters calling Bush and Cheney Socialists and Communists for having allowed (or encouraged) this to happen?   

More important, where’s the money?

Of the $7.244 trillion total, $168 billion was mailed to taxpayers in the form of stimulus checks.  $787 billion is dedicated to stimulus spending on infrastructure and new jobs.  $275 billion is targeted at foreclosure relief.  And $15 billion is aimed at supporting small businesses. 

The rest of the money ($6.167 trillion) went to prop up the very institutions that created the mess.  For example, $234 billion went to CitiGroup, $137.5 billion to AIG, $118 billion to Bank of America and $29 billion went to Bear Stearns.   Another $700 billion was dedicated to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.  $1 trillion was set aside for the Term-Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to make it less risky for banks to lend money to businesses and consumers.  $720 billion was set aside to help banks remove toxic assets from their balance sheets.   Indeed, almost all the rest of the money has been allocated to help our banks recover from their own risky behavior.

And it has worked really well…for the banks.  Thanks to government aid, the CEOs, fund managers, and other financial executives are still able to afford new vacation homes, yachts and other “necessities” with their bonuses.  They’ve been able to raise fees on checking accounts and interest rates on credit cards.  And they’ve been able to return to the risky behavior that led to this mess in the first place.

Best of all, thanks to their lobbying efforts, paid for in large part by taxpayers’ money, they’ve so far been able to fend off serious regulation.   

Sowing the seeds of violence

Posted on by

In the early 70s, Nixon and Agnew began a culture war.  They rightfully guessed that they could win the White House by dividing the nation into the Far Left, the Far Right and the Great Silent Majority.  By labeling the educated who opposed many of their ideas “effete intellectual snobs” and castigating the media as biased, they essentially declared war on those who were educated, anti-war or anti-big business.

Since then, there have been many right wing politicians to continue the fight:  Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.  They have been gleefully aided by those who learned how to make money by siding with them.  Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have made millions by inciting the angry rabble to “take back America.”

Their actions have (either directly or indirectly) resulted in the threat of violence against those who they politically oppose.  Timothy McVeigh reportedly was whipped into a murderous rage by the Turner Diaries and the ranting of conservative talk radio.  It’s likely that O’Reilly’s constant references to Dr. Tiller as a “baby killer” and websites, such as that operated by The Army of God, incited Scott Roeder to act.  Glenn Beck, Fox News and Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks rallied the torch and pitchfork crowd to interrupt town hall debates on health care.  And, on several occasions, right wingers have been inspired to bring guns to Presidential events.

Most recently, a part-time Census worker was found hanged with “Fed” scrawled on his chest.   That wouldn’t have anything to do with Congresswoman Michelle Bachman’s rant against the Census as an administration plot to spy on conservatives would it?

It appears the constant verbal attacks on the Left are increasingly becoming violent attacks.  Gun and ammunition sales have skyrocketed following the election of President Obama.  The Secret Service, which is charged with defending the President, has disclosed that threats against the President are at an all-time high.  And the rhetoric is angrier than ever.

Where does it stop?  When does freedom of speech become incitement to riot? 

Before deregulation, radio and television stations were held to higher standards.  Stations were forced to show that they were acting in the public interest in order to keep their broadcast licenses.  The necessity to prove their worthiness precluded stations from knowingly broadcasting lies and hate speech. 

But Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Beck and company are mere megaphones in this assault on political opponents.  As a result of its constant drumbeat against regulation and government intervention, the organization most responsible for the current level of public discourse is the Republican Party.

Bush League Economy

Posted on by

In baseball, bush league refers to the lowest level – a metaphor that perfectly fits the economic performance of the George W. Bush administration.  It’s even more appropriate given that Bush made millions by gaming the City of Arlington and its citizens as “Managing Partner” of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

In short, the people of Arlington got screwed.  Not entirely unlike what Bush did to the people of the United States as our 43rd President.

This is no longer just opinion.  It’s fact.

According to a recent report by the Census Bureau, the median household income in the U.S. declined 4.2 percent during Bush’s two terms.  At the same time, the number of Americans living in poverty increased 1.9 percent to 39.8 million (the most since 1960).  More disturbing is the number of children now living in poverty:  When Bush entered office 11.6 million children were living in poverty.  When Bush left office, that number had swollen to nearly 14.1 million.  That’s an astonishing increase of more than 21 percent!  Under Bush, job growth was a dismal .28 percent – the worst performance since World War II.  The number of Americans employed in manufacturing dropped beneath 10 percent for the first time in history.  And the number of Americans without health insurance increased to 15.4 percent.

On every major measurement, the economic condition of American people declined during the Bush administration!  The housing industry crashed, the financial industry collapsed under the weight of its own risky gambles, stock markets crashed and two out of the Big Three U.S. auto makers faced bankruptcy.   About the only people who didn’t suffer under Bush’s watch were oil executives, military contractors, hedge fund managers and the extremely wealthy.

Predictably, the Republicans are now trying to reassign the economic blame to President Obama.  They accuse him of increasing the size of government, increasing the size of the federal debt, and taking over private businesses.  Let’s look at the facts:

The government, the deficit and the national debt all grew under President Bush.  The Department of Homeland Security represented a huge growth in government.  But the growth of government under Bush wasn’t confined to just the one department.  (In the first 3 months of 2008 alone, the federal government added 13,800 jobs under Bush.)  The deficit and debt under Bush increased in large part as the result of Bush’s misadventures in Iraq.  The real cost of that war is estimated at anywhere from $2-3 trillion, and some estimate that the cost of the Afghan war will overtake the Iraq war in 2010. 

The bailout of financial institutions is estimated at $3 trillion.  Approximately one-half of that was approved by the Bush administration.  And none of the money would have been necessary if not for the Republican’s aversion to regulation of financial institutions.

Finally, you can’t blame President Obama for the takeover of the U.S. auto industry.  Indeed, we all should thank him for it.  Had the Bush administration not allowed wild speculation of commodities, oil would not have spiked as they did in 2008.  Had that artificial spike not been followed by the collapse of our financial institutions, the auto industry would never have experience such severe problems.  And had the Obama administration not stepped in to help, the economy may well have fallen into another depression.

A Christian Nation?

Posted on by

There’s an element of this country that is fond of dismissing anyone who fails to tout his or her “Christianity.” They talk about returning this country to its Christian roots, the way the Founding Fathers intended.

To bolster their argument, they point to the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, and to the slogan “In God We Trust” that is displayed on our nation’s currency. Never mind that these are not references to Christ, but to God. And never mind that these words weren’t authored by our Founding Fathers. They were added at the urging of fundamentalist members of The Fellowship, aka The Family, in 1954. And when you think about it, it’s beyond ironic that the words “under God” which replaced “indivisible” in our Pledge of Allegiance should now be used as a wedge to separate us.

Truth is, very few of our Founding Fathers were Christian. It’s well known that Thomas Jefferson was a Deist (someone who believes in a higher being, but not in a “revealed doctrine”) having rejected Christianity. James Madison and John Adams were also known Deists, and it is believed that many more shared their beliefs, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

The very notion that our Founding Fathers would have dictated or supported a particular religious belief is simply ludicrous. Many of the Europeans who invaded and settled this land were driven from their native lands as the result of religious persecution. (As Huguenots, my own ancestors were faced with the dilemma of leaving Europe or being slaughtered in the “cleansing” of France, Germany and Switzerland by the royals and the Catholic Church.)

Most of these people had no intention of imposing their own religious beliefs on others. Indeed, that’s why our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution provide for separation of Church and State.

Another popular myth used to support fundamentalist politics is the notion that our Founding Fathers placed tablets of the Ten Commandments in public places, most notably courthouses. However, most of these tablets were actually distributed around the nation by Cecil B. DeMille as a promotion for the opening of his epic film “The Ten Commandments” in 1956. Moreover, if Christian fundamentalists actually followed the teachings of Christ they could never be comfortably allied with the present-day Republican Party which panders to the rich and the powerful.

These people should take their own advice and ask themselves “What Would Jesus Do?” The Jesus described in the Bible who embraced and cared for the poor, who turned the other cheek, and who threw the money-changers out of the Temple.

I believe that no one group should feel superior or feel as though they have a corner on patriotism in the United States. There’s room for people of all faiths as well as those who have no faith. Since its founding, this nation has welcomed Atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Deists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Shamans, and more. The sooner we’re all willing to accept that, the sooner we can end the senseless bickering and address the real problems we’re facing.