Passing and enforcing voter ID/voter suppression laws across this country appears to be the latest manifestation of the "White Man's Burden."
Should Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and really poor people be allowed to vote? Evidently some think not.
Here's what I think...
Showing posts with label bureaucratic b-s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bureaucratic b-s. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Now you see them, now you don't... .
Why do I have this uneasy suspicion that the job of the elected Democrats and Republicans is to use their divisive issues to distract the populace from the activities of the real power brokers working behind the scenes to steal our birthright?
Thursday, August 23, 2012
All Fathers are NOT Created Equal
I recently read that in 32 states rapists have "rights of parenthood" if the rapes they commit result in pregnancy and the women decide to bear the children. This adds an entirely new dimension to the crime against the woman.
Do I believe this happens? Absolutely. For years I watched one of my dearest friends struggle to maintain control of the parenthood of her child. The father was NOT a rapist. He was a deserter who abandoned her to her fate when he learned she was pregnant. He WAS a substance abusing manic-depressive. But family court MANDATED he be given custodial weekend visits.
My friend spent days after these visits dealing with the ramifications of her son's visits with his father. The night terror, the anxiety, the temper tantrums. To this day I do not know how she managed to get through this torturous period of her life.
She never gave up her fight for full custody and after YEARS and repeated failures of her son's father to provide child support, she did achieve it.
Her son is a miracle. A beautiful person because of HER incredible strength and UNFAILING dedication to her own parenthood.
The law, on the other hand, did her no favors and put her and her baby through HELL.
Women's issues are about a lot more than access to abortion and birth control. They are about women's rights to PERSON HOOD.
Politicians like Todd Akin are the tip of the iceberg with his definition of "legitimate" and illegitimate" rape.
This should NOT be a Republican v Democratic issue. It IS NOT a conservative v liberal issue. It is ABOUT THE RIGHTS of 51 percent of this country's population.
We do not live under Sharia Law after all (or do we?).
Do I believe this happens? Absolutely. For years I watched one of my dearest friends struggle to maintain control of the parenthood of her child. The father was NOT a rapist. He was a deserter who abandoned her to her fate when he learned she was pregnant. He WAS a substance abusing manic-depressive. But family court MANDATED he be given custodial weekend visits.
My friend spent days after these visits dealing with the ramifications of her son's visits with his father. The night terror, the anxiety, the temper tantrums. To this day I do not know how she managed to get through this torturous period of her life.
She never gave up her fight for full custody and after YEARS and repeated failures of her son's father to provide child support, she did achieve it.
Her son is a miracle. A beautiful person because of HER incredible strength and UNFAILING dedication to her own parenthood.
The law, on the other hand, did her no favors and put her and her baby through HELL.
Women's issues are about a lot more than access to abortion and birth control. They are about women's rights to PERSON HOOD.
Politicians like Todd Akin are the tip of the iceberg with his definition of "legitimate" and illegitimate" rape.
This should NOT be a Republican v Democratic issue. It IS NOT a conservative v liberal issue. It is ABOUT THE RIGHTS of 51 percent of this country's population.
We do not live under Sharia Law after all (or do we?).
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Pregnancy by Rape or Incest
I hear the stories of Muslim fathers who butcher their raped daughters because these girls have blemished their precious "honor".
I hear American representatives elected by the people claiming there is a difference between "legitimate" i.e. "real" rape and "illegitimate" rape i.e. she said no but meant yes.
My child-bearing years ended decades ago with a hysterectomy. I am well past menopause. But the thought of a woman, any woman, being forced to bear the abomination of a pregnancy inflicted upon her by a rapist's attack still curdles the blood pounding through my veins.
The Church and religion in which I was raised leads the field of those who would insist "punish the rapist, not the child." But what of the victim of the crime? The woman forced first by the superior physical strength of her attacker to undergo the vicious attack upon her very person hood and then by the male-dominated legislaturalists and religionists to bear the hideous fruit of that attack in her body for nine excruciating months?
I speak directly to the Church I abandoned in the 1990s when I finally realized it was a Church that loved men and despised women - This is unacceptable. Your institution protected the rapists of children. Your institution condemned the parents of those children for "attacking the Church" when they protested the violation of those children. Your institution abandoned the nuns who dedicated their lives to your good works or castigated them for not pursuing your anti-abortion anti-birth control agenda and concentrating on serving the poor, the unrepresented, the needy.
A woman, any woman, who is forced by her society's laws to bear the child inflicted upon her by rape or incest has been betrayed by that society. She has been enslaved.
I hear American representatives elected by the people claiming there is a difference between "legitimate" i.e. "real" rape and "illegitimate" rape i.e. she said no but meant yes.
My child-bearing years ended decades ago with a hysterectomy. I am well past menopause. But the thought of a woman, any woman, being forced to bear the abomination of a pregnancy inflicted upon her by a rapist's attack still curdles the blood pounding through my veins.
The Church and religion in which I was raised leads the field of those who would insist "punish the rapist, not the child." But what of the victim of the crime? The woman forced first by the superior physical strength of her attacker to undergo the vicious attack upon her very person hood and then by the male-dominated legislaturalists and religionists to bear the hideous fruit of that attack in her body for nine excruciating months?
I speak directly to the Church I abandoned in the 1990s when I finally realized it was a Church that loved men and despised women - This is unacceptable. Your institution protected the rapists of children. Your institution condemned the parents of those children for "attacking the Church" when they protested the violation of those children. Your institution abandoned the nuns who dedicated their lives to your good works or castigated them for not pursuing your anti-abortion anti-birth control agenda and concentrating on serving the poor, the unrepresented, the needy.
A woman, any woman, who is forced by her society's laws to bear the child inflicted upon her by rape or incest has been betrayed by that society. She has been enslaved.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
How can rape possibly be "legitimate"?
Someone, PLEASE tell me the difference between "legitimate" and illegitimate" rape. In the meantime, please excuse me while I empty my stomach over the toilet bowl.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Enabling The Next Geological Age
For some time I have suspected my reading has been way too concentrated on science fiction and this has had a negative impact on my world vision.
For several years now a persistent thought echoes through my aching brain: the entire purpose of the human race on earth is to prepare its host planet for the next geological age.
I hope I am wrong.
As I witness the merciless, continuous depredations committed against my home, my planet's life support systems by the mindless, unaccountable, unmanageable, apparently indestructible multinational institutions that have gained control of it, I cannot but fear I am right.
Barach Obama was supposed to stem the tide. It appears to me that in the four years of his presidency, it has actually gained force, not lost it.
The United States of America has handed over its birthright lock, stock and barrel to multinational institutions. The disempowerment of its population is well underway.
The European Union is completely in thrall to the leviathan financial institutions that are bringing it to its knees.
If the earth's greatest hope lies in poisonous, Communist/Capitalist China, what hope is left? That somewhere out there in the vast universe some other life forms are faring better than we?
As for me. I surrender. I will continue to fight for survival for my loved ones as best I can. I might even still vote, but spinsters' phrases by political pundits, candidates, PACS are fantasies in which I no longer dare to believe.
For several years now a persistent thought echoes through my aching brain: the entire purpose of the human race on earth is to prepare its host planet for the next geological age.
I hope I am wrong.
As I witness the merciless, continuous depredations committed against my home, my planet's life support systems by the mindless, unaccountable, unmanageable, apparently indestructible multinational institutions that have gained control of it, I cannot but fear I am right.
Barach Obama was supposed to stem the tide. It appears to me that in the four years of his presidency, it has actually gained force, not lost it.
The United States of America has handed over its birthright lock, stock and barrel to multinational institutions. The disempowerment of its population is well underway.
The European Union is completely in thrall to the leviathan financial institutions that are bringing it to its knees.
If the earth's greatest hope lies in poisonous, Communist/Capitalist China, what hope is left? That somewhere out there in the vast universe some other life forms are faring better than we?
As for me. I surrender. I will continue to fight for survival for my loved ones as best I can. I might even still vote, but spinsters' phrases by political pundits, candidates, PACS are fantasies in which I no longer dare to believe.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The United States as Super Nova?
Was the brilliant attempt at freedom and justice for all that we called the United States just another brief flash in the pan of human history? Will our children's children even know there was a time...
When common people earned a better than "living" wage that gave them respite from the constant challenge of housing, clothing and feeding themselves and their offspring?
When regular folk, freed from the restraint of constant hunger and deprivation, created a culture of innovation and self realization until the very sky did not appear to be the limit?
When a day's hard labor earned a fair day's wage?
When people banded together in times of tragedy and catastrophe not to prey upon each other but to bind each other's wounds?
When individuals could influence events and advance policy?
When the humblest citizen could obtain a world-class education?
When those who had worked hard and conscientiously all their lives could rest on the fruits of their labors once advancing years robbed them of the strength to continue laboring?
Perhaps some distant echo of those times will endure in a fragile oral history once the "official" chronicles have erased them, denying their very existence.
Was this ever a perfect society? Far from it. But it strove toward greater goals and might have achieved something far more sublime had it not been short-circuited by the veniality of those it trusted to guide and protect them.
When common people earned a better than "living" wage that gave them respite from the constant challenge of housing, clothing and feeding themselves and their offspring?
When regular folk, freed from the restraint of constant hunger and deprivation, created a culture of innovation and self realization until the very sky did not appear to be the limit?
When a day's hard labor earned a fair day's wage?
When people banded together in times of tragedy and catastrophe not to prey upon each other but to bind each other's wounds?
When individuals could influence events and advance policy?
When the humblest citizen could obtain a world-class education?
When those who had worked hard and conscientiously all their lives could rest on the fruits of their labors once advancing years robbed them of the strength to continue laboring?
Perhaps some distant echo of those times will endure in a fragile oral history once the "official" chronicles have erased them, denying their very existence.
Was this ever a perfect society? Far from it. But it strove toward greater goals and might have achieved something far more sublime had it not been short-circuited by the veniality of those it trusted to guide and protect them.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Paper, plastic or cloth
Lots of suggestions online today on how individuals can do their part to preserve our planet.
Reduce/eliminate consumption of plastic bags. Take shorter showers and don't leave the water running while brushing teeth. Turn the old thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer.
These suggestions are not bad ideas. None of them seem to apply to what our institutions could/should be doing.
Stop mountaintop removal and the conversion of pure mountain springs into gobs of poisonous slurry.
Apply conscientious safety precautions to avoid turning vast swathes of the Gulf of Mexico into a tar pit.
Stop industrial agriculture's poisoning of waterways and acceleration of soil erosion.
Stop polluting the air we breath with toxic emissions.
Beef up enforcement against the slip shod maintenance of aging nuclear power plants.
Apply effective disciplinary measures, including charter suspension or removal, against corporate bad actors.
Abandon corporate welfare for big energy companies and initiate substantive support for the development of green power industries.
Admittedly just a beginning. But hey, we have to start somewhere.
Reduce/eliminate consumption of plastic bags. Take shorter showers and don't leave the water running while brushing teeth. Turn the old thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer.
These suggestions are not bad ideas. None of them seem to apply to what our institutions could/should be doing.
Stop mountaintop removal and the conversion of pure mountain springs into gobs of poisonous slurry.
Apply conscientious safety precautions to avoid turning vast swathes of the Gulf of Mexico into a tar pit.
Stop industrial agriculture's poisoning of waterways and acceleration of soil erosion.
Stop polluting the air we breath with toxic emissions.
Beef up enforcement against the slip shod maintenance of aging nuclear power plants.
Apply effective disciplinary measures, including charter suspension or removal, against corporate bad actors.
Abandon corporate welfare for big energy companies and initiate substantive support for the development of green power industries.
Admittedly just a beginning. But hey, we have to start somewhere.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Blame the Old Folks - Part 2
I recently posted on Facebook that I have been blessed with having many incredible senior citizens in my life.
A grandmother and grandmother-in-law who both lived to be 99. Parents-in-law that lived to 89. A close friend who died at 87. Another dear friend who is 89. An uncle who lived to be 83 against incredible odds and who clung vehemently to his "liberal Democratic" values to the end. An aunt who is 92 and failing now, but whose entire adult life, like her older sister, my Mom who will be 97 in May and is still going strong, was devoted to civil rights, environmental activism and intellectual pursuits.
Another aunt, 83, who until she finally succumbed to the numbing mental stagnation of Altzeimers two and a half years ago, was the life of every party she ever attended, a source of joy and fun to everyone who crossed her path. And my very special aunt, the baby of her siblings at 81 whose career has included time being a Carmelite Nun, an elementary school teacher, a caretaker for her mother and later her handicapped brother, and who never in her life has left a debt unpaid or an opportunity to help others unchosen.
These wonderful people have NEVER dragged down our society. They have all helped make it great! Hard working as long as they worked (my 89 year old mother-in-law until two days before she died). Voters in every election for candidates they believed WERE BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. That's right. Not for any personal agenda they had - for the good of the country they loved.
Collectors of Social Security and Medicare? Those that qualified, yes. Some, as public servants, did not qualify. Some contributed to the Social Security System from its very beginning. And it enabled some of them to live independent, dignified lives to the end of their lives.
Where did the idea come from that our elderly citizens drag our country down? Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of them played a major role in building it up!
Are the Old Folks I personally know the exceptions? Hard to swallow that when so many of them have given so much so consistently for so long.
Just saying.
A grandmother and grandmother-in-law who both lived to be 99. Parents-in-law that lived to 89. A close friend who died at 87. Another dear friend who is 89. An uncle who lived to be 83 against incredible odds and who clung vehemently to his "liberal Democratic" values to the end. An aunt who is 92 and failing now, but whose entire adult life, like her older sister, my Mom who will be 97 in May and is still going strong, was devoted to civil rights, environmental activism and intellectual pursuits.
Another aunt, 83, who until she finally succumbed to the numbing mental stagnation of Altzeimers two and a half years ago, was the life of every party she ever attended, a source of joy and fun to everyone who crossed her path. And my very special aunt, the baby of her siblings at 81 whose career has included time being a Carmelite Nun, an elementary school teacher, a caretaker for her mother and later her handicapped brother, and who never in her life has left a debt unpaid or an opportunity to help others unchosen.
These wonderful people have NEVER dragged down our society. They have all helped make it great! Hard working as long as they worked (my 89 year old mother-in-law until two days before she died). Voters in every election for candidates they believed WERE BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. That's right. Not for any personal agenda they had - for the good of the country they loved.
Collectors of Social Security and Medicare? Those that qualified, yes. Some, as public servants, did not qualify. Some contributed to the Social Security System from its very beginning. And it enabled some of them to live independent, dignified lives to the end of their lives.
Where did the idea come from that our elderly citizens drag our country down? Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of them played a major role in building it up!
Are the Old Folks I personally know the exceptions? Hard to swallow that when so many of them have given so much so consistently for so long.
Just saying.
Blame the Old Folks - Part 1
As I ramble around the Internet looking for interesting or important news, I frequently run across commentary condemning the United States' aging population for ultra conservatism, dragging down the system with demands it cater to their needs, voting against the interest of the general population.
It occurs to me this is just one more example of an ongoing practice of the "powers that be" to divide and fragment our social fabric. Hate the old people for demanding Social Security and Medicare. Hate the unions for demanding a living wage and decent working conditions. Hate the Democrats for creating a "nanny" state. Hate the Republicans for ravaging civil liberties and creating a welfare state for the one percent. Hate the Blacks for being violent. Hate the Hispanics for being illegal. Hate the Catholics for imposing their morality on the rest of the populace. Hate the atheists for being ungodly. Hate the born-again Christians for being too godly. Hate the tea partiers for being racist. Hate the Occupy Wall Streeters for being noisy and messy. Hate the young for being unruly.
How is this working for me? Not so much.
It occurs to me this is just one more example of an ongoing practice of the "powers that be" to divide and fragment our social fabric. Hate the old people for demanding Social Security and Medicare. Hate the unions for demanding a living wage and decent working conditions. Hate the Democrats for creating a "nanny" state. Hate the Republicans for ravaging civil liberties and creating a welfare state for the one percent. Hate the Blacks for being violent. Hate the Hispanics for being illegal. Hate the Catholics for imposing their morality on the rest of the populace. Hate the atheists for being ungodly. Hate the born-again Christians for being too godly. Hate the tea partiers for being racist. Hate the Occupy Wall Streeters for being noisy and messy. Hate the young for being unruly.
How is this working for me? Not so much.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Rush Limbaugh is full of organic fertilizer
He ridicules women who want contraceptives covered by their health plans, suggesting they "hold an aspirin between their knees."
He suggests they should post tapes of their sexual encounters online.
He refers to them as sluts and prostitutes.
Only one conclusion occurs to me. Rush Limbaugh is full of organic (avian, bovine or equine, take your pick) fertilizer.
As the mother of two long since grown and married daughters, I can still remember how important it was to me that they be informed and comfortable about contraception options both before and after their marriages. Bringing an unplanned, unwanted child into an overpopulated world is not a responsible act. Yes there are women and girls barely out of childhood who chose to do this when faced with the "oops" of an unplanned pregnancy. Some small minority of them (one person in particular comes to mind) end up doing a great job raising their child. Many, many more make a sad hash of it.
Teenagers and unmarried young adults will be sexually active. Of course they will. To think otherwise is to live in an alternative universe. Depriving them of the tools that enable them to prevent pregnancy fails them personally and fails society.
Traditionally it is the female that pays the price for unwanted pregnancies. Misogynistic pundits like Rush Limbaugh do not deserve and should not have a voice in the matter.
Rush Limbaugh and his ilk are full of organic fertilizer.
He suggests they should post tapes of their sexual encounters online.
He refers to them as sluts and prostitutes.
Only one conclusion occurs to me. Rush Limbaugh is full of organic (avian, bovine or equine, take your pick) fertilizer.
As the mother of two long since grown and married daughters, I can still remember how important it was to me that they be informed and comfortable about contraception options both before and after their marriages. Bringing an unplanned, unwanted child into an overpopulated world is not a responsible act. Yes there are women and girls barely out of childhood who chose to do this when faced with the "oops" of an unplanned pregnancy. Some small minority of them (one person in particular comes to mind) end up doing a great job raising their child. Many, many more make a sad hash of it.
Teenagers and unmarried young adults will be sexually active. Of course they will. To think otherwise is to live in an alternative universe. Depriving them of the tools that enable them to prevent pregnancy fails them personally and fails society.
Traditionally it is the female that pays the price for unwanted pregnancies. Misogynistic pundits like Rush Limbaugh do not deserve and should not have a voice in the matter.
Rush Limbaugh and his ilk are full of organic fertilizer.
Monday, February 20, 2012
It's Discouraging
Lately, I haven't had the heart to write about the issues that concern me.
Except for Ron Paul, who hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of being nominated, the Republican candidates continue to focus on the minutia and ignore the staggering challenges our country and our world face.
Access to birth control, a battle I thought convincingly won over 50 years ago has somehow morphed into a religious issue? What kind of b-s is that?
Popular reaction thwarted the passage of SOPA and a dozen bills sprang up to replace it, some of them far worse.
Congresspersons continue carte blanche insider trading despite the "so-called reform" they passed. Seems like Nancy Pelosi and Eric Canter actually have been "comrades in arms" all this time, despite their partisan press releases.
Hundreds of thousands of Occupy demonstrators failed to make the slightest dent in the rhetoric of Washington's lawmakers. The 1 percent will probably shrink to an even more powerful .5 percent. Billionaires are funding our national elections and writing their own tickets into the future.
The Federal Justice system under the Obama administration has cracked down on medical marijuana, protected Wall Street and militarized the nation's police forces.
Hints of an upcoming war with Iran permeate online media.
Hydrofracking appears on the fast track in my home state of New York.
No, I haven't had much heart for writing this blog lately (sigh).
Except for Ron Paul, who hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of being nominated, the Republican candidates continue to focus on the minutia and ignore the staggering challenges our country and our world face.
Access to birth control, a battle I thought convincingly won over 50 years ago has somehow morphed into a religious issue? What kind of b-s is that?
Popular reaction thwarted the passage of SOPA and a dozen bills sprang up to replace it, some of them far worse.
Congresspersons continue carte blanche insider trading despite the "so-called reform" they passed. Seems like Nancy Pelosi and Eric Canter actually have been "comrades in arms" all this time, despite their partisan press releases.
Hundreds of thousands of Occupy demonstrators failed to make the slightest dent in the rhetoric of Washington's lawmakers. The 1 percent will probably shrink to an even more powerful .5 percent. Billionaires are funding our national elections and writing their own tickets into the future.
The Federal Justice system under the Obama administration has cracked down on medical marijuana, protected Wall Street and militarized the nation's police forces.
Hints of an upcoming war with Iran permeate online media.
Hydrofracking appears on the fast track in my home state of New York.
No, I haven't had much heart for writing this blog lately (sigh).
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
What does "Classified" Mean, Really?
There are two very cogent reasons for classifying documents. The first, and official one, is to protect our national security. The second, unstated one, is to conceal the crimes committed by our government officials and employees.
I just read the following Washington Post article about the government's prosecution of the whistle blower who blew the top of the Guantanamo water boarding scandal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-cia-officer-charged-in-leaks/2012/01/23/gIQA3AhTLQ_story.html
The prosecution of John Kiriakou indicates our government makes no distinction between the official and the unofficial reasons for classification in its regard for the seriousness of the crime of publishing classified material.
Kiriakou's crime was releasing "classified" government information. Very bad. Much worse than the criminal behavior by government officials that was revealed.
The individuals who ordered or committed the torture are not prosecuted. Those who revealed it are.
The phrase "national security" is such a useful umbrella.
I just read the following Washington Post article about the government's prosecution of the whistle blower who blew the top of the Guantanamo water boarding scandal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-cia-officer-charged-in-leaks/2012/01/23/gIQA3AhTLQ_story.html
The prosecution of John Kiriakou indicates our government makes no distinction between the official and the unofficial reasons for classification in its regard for the seriousness of the crime of publishing classified material.
Kiriakou's crime was releasing "classified" government information. Very bad. Much worse than the criminal behavior by government officials that was revealed.
The individuals who ordered or committed the torture are not prosecuted. Those who revealed it are.
The phrase "national security" is such a useful umbrella.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Constitutional Amendment Against Citizens' United?
While comedian/satirists Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart use a SuperPac to demonstrate the dangerous and absurd levels of political skulduggery permitted by the Supreme Court's Citizens' United decision, growing voices are heard urging a Constitutional amendment to negate the Court's decision.
Proponents are urging passage of an amendment that decrees only people are people with rights under the Constitution. Ah, and this will fix our system? A system in which power speaks to power and money creates power?
Even if such an amendment could survive the arduous ratification process, its power to alter the influence of money on American government is questionable. We already have amendments that guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly (ask the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators how well that works), freedom of speech (unless you are exchanging information and files over the Internet), freedom from unlawful search and seizure (unless you choose to travel by air or Homeland Security suspects you're a terrorist).
Other protected rights that are now routinely ignored include the right to face your accuser in a court of law; the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right not to be detained without formal charges.
Doesn't appear to me Constitutionally protected civil liberties are taken very seriously by our government. Why would one more be any different?
Proponents are urging passage of an amendment that decrees only people are people with rights under the Constitution. Ah, and this will fix our system? A system in which power speaks to power and money creates power?
Even if such an amendment could survive the arduous ratification process, its power to alter the influence of money on American government is questionable. We already have amendments that guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly (ask the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators how well that works), freedom of speech (unless you are exchanging information and files over the Internet), freedom from unlawful search and seizure (unless you choose to travel by air or Homeland Security suspects you're a terrorist).
Other protected rights that are now routinely ignored include the right to face your accuser in a court of law; the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right not to be detained without formal charges.
Doesn't appear to me Constitutionally protected civil liberties are taken very seriously by our government. Why would one more be any different?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Payroll Taxes and Funding Social Security - A Contrarian Viewpoint
Another December and once again payroll tax cuts are "on the table." I opposed them last December. I oppose their extension beyond the end of the year and I adamantly oppose increasing the payroll tax cuts.
"But why?" You ask. "We thought you were a big liberal. All the liberals support the payroll tax cuts."
I oppose the cuts because:
1. In 2011 they cost roughly $120 billion that did not go to support Social Security benefits and accellerated Social Security's inevitable arrival at "cash flow negative" and the depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund.
"That's what the Social Security Trust Fund is for," proponents argue.
True. But the cuts increase demands on the Trust Fund and decrease the number of years it will last.
2. Social Security has succeeded because it was NOT an unfunded entitlement program. It was fully funded. It is threatened because it will, at current levels of contributions, cease being funded when the Social Security Trust Fund runs dry. Contributions should be increased - by crashing through the ceiling on contributions (currently $106,800 of earned income).
"The shortfall will be funded by other taxes or the general fund," my fellow liberals retort.
Right. How long do you expect THAT to last if Obama loses in 2012 and Republicans gain control of both houses? 5 minutes sounds optimistic to me.
3. Tax cuts have NOT proven to be terribly effective tools for economic recovery. More jobs is the best way to raise government revenues and support safety net programs.
Many of my fellow Americans, liberal, conservative and libertarian have been convinced the population demographic dooms safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security. I believe the greatest threat to these programs is not aging baby boomers, but the ever increasing concentration of our nation's wealth in the hands of a shrinking minority of its citizens and the eroding income of the 99 percent.
I am not sure I am a Progressive. I believe our government should pay for what it spends, not borrow to cover operating expenditures. On the other hand, capital expenditures (i.e. infrastructure, education, research and development) can be amortized over time.
For now, it looks to me like it is the liberals who may in the end be responsible for putting the final nail in the coffin of this country's hard-won safety nets. The radical right must be licking their lips in anticipation.
"But why?" You ask. "We thought you were a big liberal. All the liberals support the payroll tax cuts."
I oppose the cuts because:
1. In 2011 they cost roughly $120 billion that did not go to support Social Security benefits and accellerated Social Security's inevitable arrival at "cash flow negative" and the depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund.
"That's what the Social Security Trust Fund is for," proponents argue.
True. But the cuts increase demands on the Trust Fund and decrease the number of years it will last.
2. Social Security has succeeded because it was NOT an unfunded entitlement program. It was fully funded. It is threatened because it will, at current levels of contributions, cease being funded when the Social Security Trust Fund runs dry. Contributions should be increased - by crashing through the ceiling on contributions (currently $106,800 of earned income).
"The shortfall will be funded by other taxes or the general fund," my fellow liberals retort.
Right. How long do you expect THAT to last if Obama loses in 2012 and Republicans gain control of both houses? 5 minutes sounds optimistic to me.
3. Tax cuts have NOT proven to be terribly effective tools for economic recovery. More jobs is the best way to raise government revenues and support safety net programs.
Many of my fellow Americans, liberal, conservative and libertarian have been convinced the population demographic dooms safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security. I believe the greatest threat to these programs is not aging baby boomers, but the ever increasing concentration of our nation's wealth in the hands of a shrinking minority of its citizens and the eroding income of the 99 percent.
I am not sure I am a Progressive. I believe our government should pay for what it spends, not borrow to cover operating expenditures. On the other hand, capital expenditures (i.e. infrastructure, education, research and development) can be amortized over time.
For now, it looks to me like it is the liberals who may in the end be responsible for putting the final nail in the coffin of this country's hard-won safety nets. The radical right must be licking their lips in anticipation.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Kissing Off the Democratic Party?
For more decades than I care to number, I have confidently identified myself as a Democrat. Over the past 2 years I have been suffering from an identify crisis.
During the Bush years, being a Democrat seemed to be a no-brainer. I abhorred Bush's foreign and domestic policies, found his vice president extremely easy to demonize and shuddered as I witnessed the dismantling of the Bill of Rights.
Along came the Obama hope campaign and, after initial disappointment over Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the race, I eagerly jumped on board. He would close Guantanamo Bay, reestablish the Bill of Rights, unite the country, reinvigorate the economy, rein in the financial industry and bring peace and justice to all. All right, so maybe my expectations were unrealistic. At the very least, I expected strong leadership from the Oval Office that would reestablish a progressive agenda and speak for the "small" people.
What I got was a president who began slipping to the right almost from the minute he took office. A half-assed stimulus - half-assed because it was half tax cuts and half job stimulus. It managed to stop the downward spiral of the economy but failed to reverse direction. I got more war in Afghanistan. I saw his political capital squandered on two years devoted to passing a health care bill that far from reforming the system, more firmly entrenched the control over our health by the private insurers and big pharma. I got more erosion of the Bill of Rights. I got the Obama/McConnell tax bill last December. I saw half-hearted financial reform neutralized almost from its enactment.
I have witnessed the dismantling of public education; further deterioration of our nation's infrastructure; our nation bullied by multi-national corporations like BP as they laid waste to vast swathes of our environment. Guantanamo Bay remains open. Rumors abound that rendition continues. The financial industry gave its members obscene bonuses after raiding the U. S. Treasury. Unemployed and underemployed Americans continue to struggle to survive with increasingly threadbare safety nets under them.
The definition of "centrist" inexorably drifts to the right. Progressive has become a "code word" for radical Leftist.
The swelling ranks of America's poor are blamed for our failing economy while the wealthiest corporations hoard trillions and continue to ship jobs overseas to countries willing to permit conditions little better than slave labor.
I believe that only serious sacrifice by all members of our society will bring us out of the doldrums in which we are stuck. But sacrifice is not being asked of the wealthiest among us. It is being forced upon those least able to oppose it or support it.
I have watched the Democratic Party play a complicit role in the ever widening stratification of American society. It has betrayed the unions. It has betrayed the environment. It has betrayed voters who put it in power. It has become a faint echo of its former self and I no longer expect either progress or constructive, forceful action from its officials.
President Obama is scheduled to make a "major" speech on jobs next week to a joint session of Congress. By now I anticipate a "campaign 2012" speech that perhaps will seek to rectify the mistakes of the past 3 years. To paraphrase Margaret Mitchell, "Frankly, Mr. President, I no longer give a damn."
Taking that walk into the County Office Building to remove my party affiliation from my voting registration is not something I take lightly. I am very close to taking that walk.
During the Bush years, being a Democrat seemed to be a no-brainer. I abhorred Bush's foreign and domestic policies, found his vice president extremely easy to demonize and shuddered as I witnessed the dismantling of the Bill of Rights.
Along came the Obama hope campaign and, after initial disappointment over Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the race, I eagerly jumped on board. He would close Guantanamo Bay, reestablish the Bill of Rights, unite the country, reinvigorate the economy, rein in the financial industry and bring peace and justice to all. All right, so maybe my expectations were unrealistic. At the very least, I expected strong leadership from the Oval Office that would reestablish a progressive agenda and speak for the "small" people.
What I got was a president who began slipping to the right almost from the minute he took office. A half-assed stimulus - half-assed because it was half tax cuts and half job stimulus. It managed to stop the downward spiral of the economy but failed to reverse direction. I got more war in Afghanistan. I saw his political capital squandered on two years devoted to passing a health care bill that far from reforming the system, more firmly entrenched the control over our health by the private insurers and big pharma. I got more erosion of the Bill of Rights. I got the Obama/McConnell tax bill last December. I saw half-hearted financial reform neutralized almost from its enactment.
I have witnessed the dismantling of public education; further deterioration of our nation's infrastructure; our nation bullied by multi-national corporations like BP as they laid waste to vast swathes of our environment. Guantanamo Bay remains open. Rumors abound that rendition continues. The financial industry gave its members obscene bonuses after raiding the U. S. Treasury. Unemployed and underemployed Americans continue to struggle to survive with increasingly threadbare safety nets under them.
The definition of "centrist" inexorably drifts to the right. Progressive has become a "code word" for radical Leftist.
The swelling ranks of America's poor are blamed for our failing economy while the wealthiest corporations hoard trillions and continue to ship jobs overseas to countries willing to permit conditions little better than slave labor.
I believe that only serious sacrifice by all members of our society will bring us out of the doldrums in which we are stuck. But sacrifice is not being asked of the wealthiest among us. It is being forced upon those least able to oppose it or support it.
I have watched the Democratic Party play a complicit role in the ever widening stratification of American society. It has betrayed the unions. It has betrayed the environment. It has betrayed voters who put it in power. It has become a faint echo of its former self and I no longer expect either progress or constructive, forceful action from its officials.
President Obama is scheduled to make a "major" speech on jobs next week to a joint session of Congress. By now I anticipate a "campaign 2012" speech that perhaps will seek to rectify the mistakes of the past 3 years. To paraphrase Margaret Mitchell, "Frankly, Mr. President, I no longer give a damn."
Taking that walk into the County Office Building to remove my party affiliation from my voting registration is not something I take lightly. I am very close to taking that walk.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Another Presidential Speech
President Obama plans to make a major jobs/debt speech after Labor Day. According to Huffington Post, progressives are urging the president to "go big." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/barack-obama-jobs-plan-progressives_n_942533.html
I don't think "going big" in his speeches has ever been difficult for Obama. He usually talks a good game. My problem is I no longer have any faith at all in his will and stamina on the playing field. Time and again I have watched him stake out his position with flourish only to begin his retreat the minute the opposing team takes the field.
How about a "little less talk and a lot more action" Mr. President?
I don't think "going big" in his speeches has ever been difficult for Obama. He usually talks a good game. My problem is I no longer have any faith at all in his will and stamina on the playing field. Time and again I have watched him stake out his position with flourish only to begin his retreat the minute the opposing team takes the field.
How about a "little less talk and a lot more action" Mr. President?
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Recess or Non-Recess?
Let me get this straight. Congress intends to go on recess for a month without funding the FAA - a decision that will cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, leave critical workers in the air safety community unpaid and stop ongoing, already budgeted construction programs.
On the other hand, Congress refuses to go on recess for a month preventing President Obama from making any recess appointments to the hundreds of unfilled positions in the federal government that have been tied up in a Senate where one Senator can prevent an appointment from being brought to the floor. Among the many casualties will be the top spot at the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. As a result this Agency might never get off the ground.
What is wrong with this picture? Have Republicans discovered a way you can have your cake and eat it too? In Washington Wonderland? You betcha.
Note: On August 4, 2011 Congress reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the FAA through mid-September. http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/08/04/138996699/congress-declares-faa-truce-faas-partial-shutdown-to-end-for-now
On the other hand, Congress refuses to go on recess for a month preventing President Obama from making any recess appointments to the hundreds of unfilled positions in the federal government that have been tied up in a Senate where one Senator can prevent an appointment from being brought to the floor. Among the many casualties will be the top spot at the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. As a result this Agency might never get off the ground.
What is wrong with this picture? Have Republicans discovered a way you can have your cake and eat it too? In Washington Wonderland? You betcha.
Note: On August 4, 2011 Congress reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the FAA through mid-September. http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/08/04/138996699/congress-declares-faa-truce-faas-partial-shutdown-to-end-for-now
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Cut the B-S and Raise the Damn Debt Ceiling
Okay guys, you had your months and months of angst at the expense of the people you represent. You postured and posed for the media, rammed home your talking points and accused the opposition of intransigence as each and every one of you concentrated on staking out the high political ground and gaining the support of the voters you vehemently pretend to represent.
Well, guess what? Time has come today. Prove you are not charlatans and grifters. Pass a damn debt ceiling increase that takes the country through the next election (you heard me) and get down to the business of representing the American people who sent you to Washington.
Problems with the deficit? You betcha. So start passing appropriation bills that reflect fiscal responsibility. Start compromising - the Republicans on raising taxes from their historic lows - the Democrats on fixing Social Security and Medicare solvency and all of you on trimming back our obscenely bloated defense budget. Take a long, serious second (or first) look at the Simpson/Bowles recommendations. But for our country's sake - stop the meaningless gamesmanship that threatens not only United States fiscal stability, but that of the entire globe!
Stop kowtowing to your corporate donors and start legislating for your constituents and the future of your own children.
Enough is enough.
Well, guess what? Time has come today. Prove you are not charlatans and grifters. Pass a damn debt ceiling increase that takes the country through the next election (you heard me) and get down to the business of representing the American people who sent you to Washington.
Problems with the deficit? You betcha. So start passing appropriation bills that reflect fiscal responsibility. Start compromising - the Republicans on raising taxes from their historic lows - the Democrats on fixing Social Security and Medicare solvency and all of you on trimming back our obscenely bloated defense budget. Take a long, serious second (or first) look at the Simpson/Bowles recommendations. But for our country's sake - stop the meaningless gamesmanship that threatens not only United States fiscal stability, but that of the entire globe!
Stop kowtowing to your corporate donors and start legislating for your constituents and the future of your own children.
Enough is enough.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Government Revenues
Come default on United States' debt, available revenues will be applied against prioritzed government obligations. If Social Security and Medicare are not the first priorities, the contract between the government and its taxpayers will have been broken.
Why do I say this? Because Social Security and Medicare contributions are made from every worker's paycheck and these contributions are matched by their employers. This money is "earmarked" for those programs. It is collected for the sole purpose of funding them.
Do our policymakers acknowledge this fact? A qualification I hear every two weeks when I make my small company's payroll tax payment gives rise to doubt. According to the programmed voice that guides me through the EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payer System), the amounts specified "in the subcategories of Social Security, Medicare and Federal Income Tax are for informational purposes only."
I have always feared those words meant that all withheld taxes were swept into the general fund and the government recognized the Social Security and Medicare components only when it suited its purpose.
Why do I say this? Because Social Security and Medicare contributions are made from every worker's paycheck and these contributions are matched by their employers. This money is "earmarked" for those programs. It is collected for the sole purpose of funding them.
Do our policymakers acknowledge this fact? A qualification I hear every two weeks when I make my small company's payroll tax payment gives rise to doubt. According to the programmed voice that guides me through the EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payer System), the amounts specified "in the subcategories of Social Security, Medicare and Federal Income Tax are for informational purposes only."
I have always feared those words meant that all withheld taxes were swept into the general fund and the government recognized the Social Security and Medicare components only when it suited its purpose.
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