Can the United States Government be FREE to CARE about Americans ...for a FEW Years?

What was it Nixon used to say....and every President since?

"My Fellow Americans", is there a one of us who have identified as "Liberal", or "Democratic" or"Moderate" who were not appalled how we were "taken to the River"* (love the song, hate the concept) by THIS President, and Mr. Reagan and Bush 2.

Let's recap:

2007 AD  while Sean Hannity was telling us ALL on WBS-FM (I was in Atlanta) and every other affiliate how about how GREAT it was that "starter homes cost $250,000, while everyone listening  put their incredulity on hold.

That is until TWO DAYS later when he, Mr. Hannity, started telling everyone to "JUMP"  (out of the housing market) and it was President Obama's fault. Not yet, but soon to be.

Over the next year, our Country "elected" a black man as President. Of course that was overwhelmingly threatening to White American Men, and a group of our Representatives got together (much like the Cub Scouts sulking about punishment by their mothers) and declared they would not "allow" the newly elected President to ...now this is important..."would not allow the newly elcected President to perform adequately...if at all, within HIS Elected Position as President of the United States of America. The first President since Clinton to win with the POPULAR vote as well as electoral votes.

And while this should be one of the biggest stories of the 21st Century, I am currently watching HIGHLY paid pundits on MY FORMERLY FAVORITE TV STATION now bewailing the fact that N. Korea HACKED INTO ONE OF THE BIGGEST corporations in America, Sony ( yes, they started as a Japanese corp but ANYONE over the age of 50 knows how they affect American commerce) because they hacked a movie? A movie about the assassination of their leader, correct?

I hope that the insensitivity of the American public, who does not recognize the disdain those from another country may feel about a movie "killing-"off their leader. Maybe because many haven't woken up to HOW MANY TIMES Americans threaten our President, daily.erhaps it is because, just a few days after Conservative Protesters stood outside of our own White House, brandishing ropes with lynch knots and signs about 'lynching, murdering' the President of the United States' while....nothing seems to have happened to them. They are "traitors" by definition of law but...did anyone of them get investigated? I'm willing to bet (no more than 0.50) not!

How does THAT make you feel as an American, A voter, A Moderate, Progressive or Liberal?

AND, how does this make you feel Mr. or Mrs. Conservative...you who '"claim" to love your country? Perhaps you ought to find out what "loving one's country" actually means?

Why are we NOT watching information about how FOOD & MEDICINE are going to be taken away from the American public by the GOPTP? Why is it that we are to keep on hurting CUBA...who's decensdents many of us know?

What is important to the United States....? I will have to guess...the PEOPLE of the United States. Can we NOT get a dialogue where the needs of the AMERICAN people are first and foremost?

Grover Norquist & Crew Still Fighting Tax for Rich, Now Tariffs to Protect American Workers on Block

Saw a tweet which said, "Trade Vote is the Biggest Tax Cut of This Decade".

Well, whenever I hear "tax cut" I am pretty sure by now that it doesn't mean for my family but, for those at the very top. Don't get me wrong, my husband makes a very good living. My daughters however, are just starting out and over the last five years I have watched how their salaries have shrunk against that of goods, housing and gas. Not to mention they are both paying off some student loans for their college educations. Not as much as some, thank goodness but, they are there.

I clicked on the link and the first name I see is, Grover Norquist's, which always raises my ire. Mr. Norquist...the man who strong-armed a "vow of no new taxes" from the GOPTP "wing"* of our Congress. A vow which they ultimately held higher and much more passionately, than their Oath of Office.

To my mind, a man who purposely induces our Congressmen and Women to forsake the Oath taken in service of Our Country, replacing it with a partisan "vow" aimed at bettering the position of a particular lobbying group, is nothing short of a traitor. 

No vow, oath of fealty or special handshake should be held higher by our elected officials than the Oath taken when they are sworn into office. That Oath which demands respect to the Constitution (as it is NOW written) and loyalty to the United States of American and her people is supposed to be tantamount.  

I admit, anything Mr. Norquist backs...I find that I am against. The constant lowering of the tax rate for those who make more than most of us combined, is actually to blame for much of the infrastructure deterioration, our lousy schools, and above all...the ability of Big Business and Wall Street to walk all over the rest of us. Which they do with regularity.

. 

One reason nobody went to jail for the bamboozle known as the "Great Recession" is that the "anti-tax" movements shenanigans ensure that the enforcement arms of those agencies which could have, SHOULD have prosecuted those who almost brought down the entire WORLD economy, are now almost non-existent. The continual defunding of the enforcement arm of the IRS, SEC and other regulatory agencies means that those who willfully refuse to pay their fair (and more often than not, less than fair share) of tax escape prosecution. There just isn't the personnel to go after them.

Not to mention that there are not enough inspectors with the FDA to keep our food safe, Air Traffic Controllers are stretched thin and by the way...have you hit a pothole of late? Remember those folks who had Coal Ash dumped in their water supply from a Coal Plant who'd escaped inspection? Not enough personnel to check the toxic chemical dumping techniques, not enough environmental engineers to get to the bottom of the contamination, either. Those folks went more than a month, forced to purchase bottled water with which to cook, bath, wash clothing, etc. That's expensive if you didn't alreasy know. Oh, what happened to the company responsible? I believe they declared bankruptcy within weeks, changed their name...you know. The usual drill.

Highways and bridges in many cases are close to being declared dangerous by the engineers who monitor them. We have know this since "W" was in office. This is why President Obama's jobs bill, which would have created the jobs needed to repair our infrastructure (and at the time of the lowest interest rates in ages, too) would have been such a slam dunk. That is, if the GOPTP weren't so intent on denying him a "second term" and then "a legacy". I have children who drive and I am hoping they will both make me a grandmother. Which means, they will be driving over roads that were "almost" dangerous eight years ago yet, due to politics, they won't be fixed anytime soon. I do not know about any one else but, I object to having my family endangered because of "sour grapes" and "political power games" being practiced by those people I am paying to work in MY best interest!

But this is about tariffs is it not? The one's we have are not being enforced. Why? Because our Congress doesn't actually WORK for a living, as discussed above. As a result, inferior, and cheap S. Korean steel has been dumped on the market, causing the United States Steel Workers to shed jobs like a dog in summer. I must wonder what using that "cheap steel" does to the integrity of the high-rise it's used to build?

Intellectual property is frequently hijacked by the Chinese as well as other competitor countries. Inferior and counterfeit products are dumped on our markets all of the time as well. Tariffs are designed to "even the playing" field for the American Worker, to protect our markets from those inferior products as well as wages and jobs. Since NAFTA we all know that dumping cheap products from other countries without labor laws or protections, weakens our job market and thereby, our economy.

Yet, Mr. Norquist and company never seem to mention these aspects of what something like a tariff, or a regulation or a tax may have been designed to do and in most cases, accomplish. Their constant refrain is to just "do away with it" regardless of the effect on the other 99% of our country.

Their focus is to, as many have noticed, lower the American workers wage. When goods are dumped on our market, cheap and cheaply made, by workers in other countries who are beaten, forced to work in conditions you wouldn't wish on your in-laws (for those who love their in-laws, please disregard), the inevitable outcome is the lowering of the standards in all areas, for the American Worker.

And not just in manufacturing. This is the ONE area that "trickle down economics" actually seems to be effective. When the minimum wage is artificially depressed (does not keep up with inflation), ALL wages are depressed...well, except for the 1%. Those wages have gone up over 500% in the last two decades while the average American family has lost over $4000/yr since 2009! 

While it may seem counter-intuitive but, the fact that wealth is taxed at a MUCH lower rate than work now is (which was not the case until Reagan was elected...then Bush 2 clinched it) responsible for the "lower quality of life" so many in our nation feel.

Think about it, we talked about schools but our Public Services, Roads, Bridges, Pubic Parks....ALL of it, are dependent on the tax base. Where is it written that if I have to pay 30% on my salary, just because someone inherited a fortune they shouldn't have to pay at least 30% on what they make as well? Remember during the 2012 election? It was finally published that Mitt Romney's tax rate was around 12%? And they think this is fair? Enough about Mitt.

Due to lower taxes our Police departments have become inadequate, poorly trained and possibly ridden by violent individuals who may or may NOT have been given adequate psychiatric evaluations as a prerequisite to employment because...What Police Department Can Afford IT Any Longer? Some PD's have barely enough officers to cover shifts.

Blaming teachers and busting Public Unions are great diversions from the truth, which is...there are many reasons why our schools are not competitive with the rest of the industrialized worlds' but Public Union's are not the main reason,nor the 2nd, 3rd or 4th. Lack of money which means, low salaries (which do not attract the "best and the brightest" as it were), limited supplies, shorter schedules....these are problems one can point towards when wondering why our schools don't work and realize; it is because of the cut in property tax among the highest priced homes.

College and University graduates with the most promise many times, forsake teaching or social work or other worthy career pursuits, to go into, you guessed it...finance. 

Why? Who wouldn't with decreasing regulation within an industry where the word "entitlement" does NOT refer to Social Security but the overriding attitude (which some in this group attained at a young age) of it's CEO's; where time and again this group thumbs their nose at laws meant to protect the consumer....and then walk away with millions, if not billions of dollars which invariably, come from YOU, the tax payer. You DO remember the "bailout" of those Too Big To Fail Banks, don't you?

Alan Greenspan has recently admitted that there is no veracity, no fact...nothing credible...to the "theory" of Trickle Down Economics. Mr. Greenspan was one of the architects as well as the Head Cheerleader of that failed policy and yet, he now admits it was all, what's the word?...BS, its nicely I believe.

However, Mr. Norquist and company will continue to beat this drum of "limited taxation" for those "job producers" even while admitting that most of this recovery has come at the hands of the Small Businessperson who, by the way, is not the constituency that Mr. Norquist is fighting for...not quite big enough. Small business-people are still fighting for their share of "tax relief".

All this while the wealthiest industry in the HISTORY of the WORLD still gets approximately six billion dollars ($6,000,000,000) per year, in corporate welfare in the form of, yes...Tax Breaks. All while using Tax Loopholes which allow them to "defer" paying tax on the money they make outsourcing American jobs to other countries. 

If that weren't enough, the truly large corporations such as the Koch Brother's conglomerate have their own U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators who will not only introduce bills on a myriad of subjects (from taking apart regulations, to "Stand Your Ground" to other "tax break" legislation) which are written by the Corporation, for the benefit of the Corporation with NOTHING in them which benefits the American people. Oh right, Corporations=People, I forgot. Never learned that one in Sunday school.

Do you believe for one second that if they felt there were some "unfair" competition going on which hampered their ability to own several homes, a jet or two and umpteen cars, they wouldn't DEMAND the government put some sort of rule, law, tax or tariff in place to protect THEM?

But, when it comes to the life and livelihood of the American Worker, the goals of Mr. Norquist and friends are not quite as "protectionist" as it may be when thinking of their money, family, toys and such.

Aren't you mad yet?

The time has come for the American people to stop allowing a group of entitled, less than honest, selfishly motivated people, who have a vested interest in keeping us ignorant and fight any transparency, to convince us of "principles" and "economic theory" which have been proven to benefit only a very small percentage of our population. Them.

Additionally, it is the responsibility of every American, Soon-to-be-American and Want-to-be Americans, to spend some time investigating, researching the veracity of what we are told by those who claim to be "experts" on a particular subject. Particularly, when there are several other "experts" with a very different opinion. Do this on the issues most important to you and your family, become informed and the feeling of "powerlessness" so many of us have felt over the last few decades WILL be lessened. Remember what our teachers used to tell us, "knowledge Is power".

Plus, it's not like when we were kids and we had to go to the library or pour over encyclopedias. We now have the internet and if one tries, reputable sites are not that hard to find. Just don't take any recommendations from Fox News, Rush or the rest of these manipulative bandits. 

For TV, Radio and the Net one can start with CBS, NBC or ABC who, although they are mainstream media, are not rabidly partisan. As one goes from there, starting to speak with people who's opinions make real sense against the information you have uncovered, not just what gets one riled up or that ones' best buddy ascribes to (w/o research), other avenues one can trust will become evident.

But please, do not let this group of Charlatans fool us again. Remember, Dick Cheney used top spew this stuff, too. Does anyone trust his word any longer, in light of what we now know about Iraq 2?

Think of  our and our families best interests, the fragility of our planet and where you and your family would live if it were destroyed. Mr. Norquist hangs with the same folks who've been telling us for years that the "climate is just fine". They told that lie to keep from spending "their money" on cleaning up the mess they already have made and, to install the necessary equipment to discontinue the active polluting OUR plant.

We all know now, they lied because of money. With NO regard to the lives of the billions of people who reside on this planet. 

Funny thing, after the planet died...where were they going to go with all of that money? I guess they don't think that far ahead.

Maybe I'm Old, Maybe I See Time Running Out

I must ask. What did it take for our Revolutionary Fathers and Mothers, Daughters and Sons, Brothers and Sisters, to do what it took to establish the United States of America?

What did it take for those who found slavery abhorrent, to take up arms and fight their brother, to ensure it wouldn't happen again?

How is it that, after so many thousand of our own dead, at the hands of friends and relatives, do we find ourselves at the same crossroads...only seemingly, worse?

For those of us who are history buffs, the situation we find ourselves in as a country, should never have happened. The re-establishment of the racial divide, the worsening of monetary inequality to an extent which hasn't been seen since before the crash of 1929? 

How, how did this all come to pass?

In the 1960's many of us demonstrated, which sounds like such a pacifistic word but, allow me to guarantee to  you it was not. Many of my friends were hurt in these demonstrations. Many of us were arrested, many were hurt, some were shot and...some were killed.

Even so, not to the extent that we are now seeing and not in the context of a demonstration AGAINST anything. The injuries, arrests and irreparable harm we now witness we now see are only in the context of people walking down the street...people living their lives, as they can. As, the powers that be are allowing us to.

To insinuate that, because of how much money one earns or has, or where one lives, or the level of one's education OR that due to the color of one's skin that one's behavior is NOW suspect and that THESE factors are enough to allow the police to run rampant over us ALL, in one way or another, is not only ludicrous, it is antithesis to not only the concept of our country, but to the Constitution itself.

The actions performed by our Revolutionary Soldiers was treason. Yet, we not only as a nation revere their actions, we celebrate them every July 4th. However, anybody now who may express an opinion opposite that of our newly formed GOPTP, is now labeled either a "thug" or a "criminal" (these two words are used interchangeably and depended on color of skin), or...and I find this funny, "a traitor".

While the Conservative movement is anxious to take us into war, they are anxious to fight a "war" against any American who objects to having their "rights" infringed upon. 

I can only attribute this to the fact that "war at home" is no where near as profitable as "war abroad".

This will boil down to a "war" of sorts. While those factions who are against freedom, our right to vote, and the liberty our forefathers had envisioned keep on twisting the system which was created to give "Liberty to All", we must NOT lose sight of the big picture.

We must also call those who are the true purveyors of a type of "slavery" for us all, who wish to "own" everything within their sight, who haven't a clue about the worth of our environment, our children and their education and who bastardize "religion" as another club to beat back liberty; what they are. Fascists! 

This Earth has seen many different incarnations of the totalitarian rule but, in the United States of America? Not until the last forty years have these closet...Yes! Nazi's...thought that we were subservient enough to let them get away with this. Let us stand up, protect our children and grandchildren.

Are we going to let the Koch's, the Bachmann's, the Haliburton's the Cheney's and all of the other Rip-Off's...win? I certainly hope not!

Eric Gardner, NYPD and their "medics"

Having just watched the seven minutes of video, which I received via twitter, of Mr. Eric Garner's last few minutes on Earth, was very difficult.

While I am no stranger to death, I found myself fast forwarding through certain parts of this video. Why? I can only explain it this way.

I did work in the medical field, in various positions, for over fifteen years. My conscious attitude during those years was that, no matter what, I would treat each and every patient as I would want my family member or friend treated.

Why? Why would I approach my job in this manner? Because of two reasons: 1) Being a Catholic with plenty of Catholic guilt, and being rather young (18 when I started), I felt it was a Karma thing. If I treated others as I would want my family and friends treated, then others would treat MY family and friends similarly. 2) I felt as a "professional" it was my duty to do my best for those in pain, who were afraid and who came to "us" for help.

Watching the policeman who was responsible for Mr. Gardner's predicament, more or less acting like he was responsible for injuring a player on the softball field; or in other words, like they both were on the field of competition and they both had equal power to perhaps, injure each other in the "field of competition", struck me as not only ludicrous but...immature...in the extreme. The impression I was left with was that either the officer was coming down from an extreme adrenaline high (which he probably was) or he is immature in the extreme.

Another glaring aspect of this video is the laissez faire attitude of the EMT's when they approached Mr. Gardner. IF a patient repeatedly says, "I can't breath" again and again...AND if that is reported to the medical professionals who, should be, on their way to the scene Code 3, they should roll up with a gurney, respirator and prepared to start CPR, immediately! The fact that they did not makes me wonder what, exactly, was communicated to the EMT's? Certainly not that there was a main in extreme distress.

Last thing I am going to say right now. Are the Police of New York City trained in CPR or are they not? If they are not, then what is the point of their being called "First Responders"? If they are, what the Hell was going on in this situation? Did they think he was "faking it"? Did they think Mr. Garner "deserved it"? Why is it that any one of is has to "guess" what the NYPD was doing, killing a man over...cigarette tax?

Liberals MUST Fight. Fight to shed ourselves of Democratic "Consultants"!

It is obvious to many Liberal/Progressive/Democratic Voters/Blue Voters....that our common desires...our common good, has been diluted and misconstrued by "consultants", the "liberal media" and other entities.
It is our belief that these "entities" have either been directly "bought off" by the GOPTP or, (due to the influence practiced by the Conservative Corporate Owners of most "news" stations) as well as the myopia practiced by the DNC (among other groups), that the first principle of being a "party" (read: a team) was violated.
By throwing President Obama, the Democratic Party and the accomplishments of such "under the bus" prior to the 2014 midterms, the gains which Dems should have made were lost.
Was it some type of "plan" in hopes of disillusioning the electorate, so that they'd vote the opposite in 2016?
Who cares? Too many people are going to continue to suffer for two more years.
Many of us have decided to go "grassroots" to the extreme. Shunning and shedding "consultants" and their ilk.
We're hoping that those groups who solicited money from us all year, will be behind us, with us, in this endeavor. Negating the positive accomplishments of one's President is NOT the way to win elections.
Refusing to refute the blatant lies of the opposition is NO way to win an election.
And, allowing the misconceptions, lack of facts and, yes...lies, to go without correction is NO way to win an election.
We're going to try. Help us. Sign on.

Republicans and Tea Party Shortsightedness May Kill Us All

The GOPTP cut funding to the CDC, the NIH then refused the President's request for funding to help stem the Ebola virus in Western Africa just last month. 

American based drug companies haven't pursued research or development of an Ebola vaccine because Ebola was not prevalent "enough" in the Western World for a vaccine to be a "money maker". 


The United States of America does not have a Surgeon General because the GOPTP will not confirm a nominee due to the fact that the nominee by President Obama stated that "30,000 deaths per year from gun deaths is a health crisis".

YET,the GOPTP has the unmitigated gall to hold HEARINGS? To actually put the only two doctors who have been left with the reigns, who are taking charge of those actively working on and with the Ebola virus (from the CDC and the NIH) to blame? To accuse THEM? Going so far as questioning THEM as to WHY the U.S hasn't put flight restrictions in place?

These questions from those who's entire platform has been the OBSTRUCTION of the Federal Government? It must Suck when you really need it, huh?

All thinking people understand why the ACA had to happen. The ACA is nothing more than a regulation of the insurance companies. Those companies that have been cancelling their paying customers the moment they became ill because treating a sick person may cut into that sacrosanct "profit".

Yet, it seems it has come too late, because the "cost cutting" to hospital staffing, equipment and training has already been done. To the detriment of us all.

As the GOPTP  has pushed for deregulation in everything from medical care to the stock market, as they have declined to vote on a "jobs" bill to rebuild our infrastructure (one of the reasons this virus took off? No infrastructure in Western Africa) to not allowing a Surgeon General to take office; we can now watch in real time just how their policies are decimating our country.

And, we can also watch how they blame everyone else.

My "Ode" to Mr. Eric Holder

I an the very first to admit, I was not a Barack Obama backer from the get. It had nothing to do with his skin color, just his sex. I really wanted "Hillary!", in other words...a FEMALE Prez, that time around.

However, once Mrs. Clinton dropped out, and I took the time to learn what Mr. Obama was in favor of...and against, I realized our viewpoints were more than similar...they were completely aligned.

Then, there was Mr.Eric Holder, as our AG...Attorney General of the United States. I am old, I remember Nixon's AG, Reagan's AG and Bush's (I and II) AG's.

There has not been an AG since I cannot remember when, that I would support as I do Mr. E. Holder.

Clearly, he is a legal mind like we have not seen in decades. What did he do that made me really root for him?

When he stood up to that idiot "Gomer", and reiterated the fact that "He Is The Attorney General of The United States" at the time when this was televised, I could do nothing more than cheer.

Mr. Holder has done an excellent job of defending the rights of you, I and our LGBGT brothers and sisters. He has focused on the abuse of "voting rights" which have been a bone of contention since we elected our "First Black President", and of course you must understand why?...and Mr.Holder has defended all of us. Those of us who do NOT belong to the 1%.

We have artists, politicians and real "thinkers"(prior to the Conservatives painting of all of the aforementioned with a nasty brush,anyone who doesn't agree w/ Fox Entertainment News) who understand what this means to us as a society.They all mourn Mr. Holder's resignation, and for good reason.

Do you?

Do We All Want a Better Country?

Since Ronald Reagan decided that politics was more his style than B movies, we've heard the stories about those "Welfare" and "Food Stamp Queens".
As I stood in line at the grocery today, behind a young, polite, intelligent woman w/ a pre-toddler aged child, I observed her trying to use her W.I.C. voucher (which is supposed to help supply milk, cheese, bread and juice to families w/ young children).
I MUST say...I felt her pain. Let us leave behind the fact that in the early 1990's, when I was in the process of leaving my abusive husband, I too had W.I.C. What I watched today was, to my mind, sad and appalling.

*This young woman tried to buy two (2) gallons of milk. Unfortunately, W.I.C. allows 1 gal & 1 qt. Every person who shops for there family knows....a quart costs cents less than a gallon.
*She tried to buy healthy bread, I believe the brand in question was Growheat (sic), which most moms know has a higher fiber content. Unfortunately, NO...not allowed. Please go get that stuff that is akin to fluff...much better for...what? 
*She tried to buy Cranberry Juice, which I totally get. Has a higher Vitamin C content, fights urinary tract infections (which may be troublesome when little ones are still in diapers) sugar content the same or less, but...NO...must buy imitation Apple Juice!

Hello,... Fellow Citizens of the Unite States! None of the choices she was forced to make had much to do with nutrition for her child...just as they did not when I found myself in, what I can only surmise, was a similar situation.


If we want to lower 1) health care costs 2) up the educational advantages of our children 3) better the health, through prevention, of our fellow Americans 4) Hell, increase our GDP even (which, obviously I care less about)...what kind of crap is this?

While I was waiting for all of this to be sorted out, I was tripping down memory lane. This young woman actually turned to me and apologized for taking so long. I could only say, "I wish this wasn't constructed to be so hard...and to make you feel so...unempowered in life. Please negate that feeling, for you and yours"..because that is how it is!

Ray Rice is NOT the FACE of Abuse in America

Gotta say...How is Goodall supposed to understand Domestic Violence when our courts do not? When our police do not? When many in the medical field, do not? Yes...I'm pissed that their knee-jerk reaction was the same as it has been for 50 years or more but jeez...the guy is the head of a football league...and a company...basically. He is not a shrink, he is not a Priest nor is he responsible for what happened.


My major complaint with the NFL is their lack of curiosity, as to how head injuries, steroids, and the concept of "warfare" on the field affects these men and their relationships with women.
, whic
And, while we are speaking of men and their relationships with women;....

We have a Congress that refused...REFUSED...to reinstate the "Violence Against Women" bill, which had been law since then Senator Joe Biden, was able to have it passed into law.

We have folks running for Congress and the Senate who make distinctions such as, "legitimate rape" as opposed to...what? "come here sailor, let's have some fun so I can go to court?"

The entire nation is blaming a guy who was brought up in an environment of abuse and violence. I DO NOT mean from his living situation. What I will target are the following:
    1)  The Media
    2)  Our current political climate
and
    3) Perhaps...the way he was raised.

Before anyone condemns this guy (for those who do not know, I too, have been exposed to parental as well as spousal abuse), how about we give him a chance to learn, to heal, and to keep his family together.

Defending an abuser was, until the last few days, the very last thing I ever thought I might do. However, if this man did NOT play for the NFL....had not been in a high priced Casino w/ cameras...how much fuss would there have been?

Abusers are more than likely, past victims themselves. Before we crucify a person, let us give him a chance to try. Try to heal, try to understand why violence is wrong (good luck in his career, however), try to become the family man that many abusers wish they could be.

How the GOPTP Turned American Workers Against Each Other

When I first joined the workforce, at the ripe old age of 15, I seem to remember that when one group of workers made gains in the workplace everybody was happy for that group.  We were happy because normally, that meant all other groups were going to see some improvement in their place of employment.  Not necessarily the same, but better.  After all, this was the United States of America and we were all in a race to the top, as a nation.  Another reason was that employers respected their employees to a degree, and employee retention was considered a plus.  It was considered much more cost effective to keep an employee for twenty years than to retrain someone to take his or her place.  Working for the same company for twenty, thirty, sometimes up to forty years was something to be proud of then.  Employees have become like much of what we use now, disposable, at least in the eyes of management.

As time went on, that feeling of "we're all in this together" dissipated then disappeared.  The prevailing sentiment went through a fundamental shift.  From a "we're a team" type of attitude the shift turned workers more towards, "Why do they get more?  I'm not getting more so...the other guy should get less!"

Not a logical thought process nor the best strategy when negotiating better conditions and wages for those who were receiving less.  If logic had prevailed the sentiment might have leaned more towards, "Look, those guys were able to negotiate X, Y and/or Z.  That opens up an avenue for us to try for Q, R and perhaps S."

How did this fundamental shift happen?  How did the American psyche go from the war years, in which the nation not only came out of the worst depression to date (knock on wood, Wall St. can always surprise us), we also created the largest middle class ever known.

This did not happen overnight, the breakdown of unity among American workers is the result of a targeted, purposeful campaign by big business aided by their biggest allies, Conservatives.

The first shot over the bow was when then President Reagan stepped into the Air Traffic Controllers strike.  Rather than allowing the process to play out, he acted as one very powerful strikebreaker.  By telling them that they had to get back to work or lose their jobs, he essentially broke down an intrinsic part of what labor law was.  If a strike could be called off before, any conditions had been met or discussed for that matter, with the added threat of losing ones job, then what protection could a Union actually provide?

This tactic worked so well that Conservatives started to cast their gaze about the labor landscape for their next victims.

The next order of business for the Right Wing/Conservative/GOP was to blame teachers and teachers' Unions, then government workers, and their Unions for the nation's ills.  By this time, many Unions had been weakened, either through the courts or through legislation.  Is this what was meant by “activist judges”?  (Funny, we haven’t heard that phrase of late, I wonder why?.)

Everybody knows that the exorbitant salaries and pensions teachers receive (AND they get the summer off?) is what ran up the deficit, right?  This particular blame shift started prior to Bush II's presidency.  However, this was but the opening salvo.

Starting with the teachers and their nine months per year jobs, (of course, we won't mention the hours per day used to grade homework, create lesson plans, counsel students, and all of the other services teachers have long provided without pay) for which they were getting paid far too much.  One thing I always found interesting during this time frame was the number of school districts that were bankrupted by Superintendents who were either naive or corrupt, who then went on to run a school district in another state.  This was happening so often (without prosecution in most cases) that I was starting to look at running a school district as a career choice.  Get the job (while lying on my resume), bankrupt the school district, and then pocket my ill-gotten gains and move on to the next, flush, school district.  Fortunately, or Un, Catholic guilt took over.  However, there was never any real culpability as to how bad our schools are, how strapped for cash they were and remain, laid at the feet of these bad players.

These attacks were somewhat sporadic, or at least public awareness was low.  Then Bush II came into office with "No child left behind" and a real desire to attack Iraq.  Once the "war on terror" got under way, the usual smoke and mirrors needed to go into hyper-drive.

How else to take the blame for the deficit from the two wars financed on credit and borrowed cash from China?  Moreover, if other workers start to notice that some people were still receiving (gasp) pensions!  then they might want them back, too.  Rather than that executive tax break posing as a retirement plan, the 401(k) where banks can make "bank" on the fees charged to administer it, and a 401(k)'s vulnerability to the fluctuations of the market, people may go back to negotiating for pensions along with those benefits they received.  No, better to demonize those who still were receiving these forms of compensation with their salaries through their Union negotiations. 

Oh, and Unions!, which are positively Communist according to the architects of this whole fiasco.  To hear them tell it, workers should not have bargaining rights that might carry on or worse, create more benefits.  Once that happened there was a very real possibility that those at the top would not be able to get those extravagant, compensation packages (complete with golden parachutes) and the stockholders may not get the dividends promised.  No, if benefits and those pesky pensions were put into workers' contracts employers would have to adhere (this was prior to the courts decision to allow Auto Manufacturers to cut the UAW's pensions) to them. 

It is as if the Conservatives and Big Business got together while thinking, “Who do these workers think they are...people, with families to raise, clothe, feed, and educate or something?” 

Best-case scenario for Big Biz is to take the right to negotiate with their employers over wages and conditions, away from workers.  By publicly demonizing these people, turning then into pariahs and blaming them for ALL of our Nations’ ills (when not blaming whichever random Democratic politician in sight) then perhaps, nobody would want to be part of a Union.  Shaming teachers and public employees, all of whom make much less than they would have in the private sector, for their benefits (must be said with a sneer in one's voice and face) should stop people from seeking those very things.  Better yet, blame teachers and public employees for the poor state of most local governments. 

Shifting blame to these people, rather than acknowledging that tax cuts for the wealthy along with corporate welfare, a tax code which rewards capital over a paycheck, and allowing corporations to pick and choose which profits were made in the U.S., may be a winning strategy for the Conservative, "trickle down economics" fans.

There is also the side benefit of ensuring the populous is not well educated.  What a perfect plan; saving money on schools, teachers are paid less so the best ones may just move on to the private sector.  Without experienced teachers, without many of the classes that baby-boomers such as me were fortunate to have available, then blatant lies and nonsensical data are much easier to put over on the American people.  Why that is a “win-win” for those intent on dismantling our country.

As if shifting blame for these things were not enough though, those in the shadows decided that people just HAD to blame these workers for the fact that their pay was stagnant; their benefits were being whittled away.  So, rather than look at what was working for teachers and public employees and thinking, "We should be doing that, again", the American worker now looked at their fellow and thought, "Why the Hell do they have those benefits or salaries?  Well, since I don't, ergo...we should take what they have away from them!" 

If the goal of this Union-busting, minimum wage destroying (if they can), anti-health care group now known as the GOP/TP is to: create a nation of worker bees, without rights, subsisting on minimal amounts of food, with little heat in the winter, no cooling in the increasingly hot summers with water being sold to the highest bidder(IF the GOPTP’s latest idea to privatize water comes to fruition); to allow our Nation to become the dumping ground for hazardous waste and a veritable wasteland due to the production of the commodities which create that waste, then they are frighteningly close to achieving that goal.

All of this has been happening while Big Business, along with their buddies the GOPTP laughed (and continue to laugh) all the way to their friends' banks.  Am I the only person who feels she has been duped by the 1% and their minions...again?

P.S.  Once again, I must put a good portion of the blame for this fraud being successful on; you guessed it, the Mainstream Media.  If those newscasters at ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN were on their J's, perhaps we could have seen this swindle looming in the distance much sooner and sidestepped some of the lies.  Instead, newscasters are more intent on either kowtowing to the perpetrators or becoming the news, themselves.  They have abdicated their role as the Fourth Estate in most cases.  Redemption can only be had if they were to start doing their jobs now.  The other fix to this particular mess would be, since the Supreme Court ruled that Fox News is not really news but for entertainment, I do not believe they should be allowed to call themselves Fox News but rather Fox-For-Entertainment-News may suffice.

The Bastardization of "To Serve and Protect"

To "Serve and Protect" is the motto that most police cars have painted on their side. In light of the deadly behaviors of police in the United States, one must ask the question "Serve and Protect whom?"

During the 1960's and 70's, much depended on where you lived as to every day interaction with the Police. Even during anti-Vietnam protests there were police who were sympathetic to the cause and would stop their more "aggressive" brothers from violence against unarmed people. As we cruised into the 80's and 90's, the idea of "neighborhood policing" was popular and actually worked in many areas. The concept was that a beat cop would do just that, 'walk their beat' thereby getting to know the community they served. Things appeared to get better in the short term, for many situations. However, the more the "War on Drugs" escalated, the more militant police became. On one hand, given the extreme violence and militancy off cartels and the like, being ready to combat them was a logical idea. Cops who had been carrying revolvers switched to semi-auto, high capacity magazines and assault type weapons. Heck, they were fighting people armed with AK’s, Uzi's and explosives...it made some sense.

Now however, one must wonder if the pre-employment psych exams of yesteryear have been thrown out the window. Police have forgotten that they "serve the people" even though it is stenciled on their cars. The fact of the matter is that the majority of police have lost sight of this mission. Many receive overtime pay from corporations working on their "off" hours, which creates not only a huge conflict of interest for the public but changes the loyalty of the police towards the entities that allow them to support their families.

Cuts in pay, staffing and training have produced a group of unregulated, loyal only to each other criminals of whom we are all afraid. They roam high and low with high powered rifles, little if any oversight, and we the people do not know if those hired in this time of lessening pay (and thereby standards of those hired to BE police) have the proper temperament, motivation or even capability of become the "Peace Officers" they were meant to be.

We cannot survive as a nation without those whose duty is to "Serve and Protect". After all, bad guys do exist but, without official protection from those who perpetrate violence and crime, the NRA and the "Open Carry" behaviors we are currently witnessing will pale in comparison to those who would sprout in the absence of a true and viable police force.

There are a handful of police "Chiefs" or superintendents in this country, who possess a particular philosophy concerning "police work". This group of men (not a woman among them that I can see) go from employment with one major urban city to the next, spreading their M.O.'s and methods of the modern police, which increasingly becomes more gestapo-like than the "beat cop" pattern would dictate.

Another factor, which I believe contributes to the breakdown of the police lies in the matter of funding. Many cities have been accepting funds from major corporations in order to keep adequate numbers of cops on duty. The question must be asked how this practice has affected the mission, loyalty and honesty of these police.

During the initial occupation by "Occupation New York", I had expected to see at least a few of the police joining with the crowds, at least in sentiment. That they did not shows just how much more loyal standard police procedure is to the wants and needs of corporations, big business and property values than they are committed to the preservation of life. If this group cannot or will not change shortly, then I have to agree with the concept of radical change, removing those at the top, attempting to retrain the rest from the bottom up.

Lack of funding (cutting police and public unions, salaries, removal of benefits and seniority, everything a person works for) by those Right Wing influences which have moved our government so far to the right, creates a force which  does little more than serve as "Corporate Militias".

These deviations from the original concept of the modern "Peace Officer" can only be controlled and/or done away with by constant vigilance on a grass roots level, the removal of those in government who view the police as personal bodyguards of the rich, and an overhaul of the premise of "Policing" across the board. Otherwise, nobody is safe.

What are the differences between the GOPTP and the Dems?

Here is the main difference between the GOPTP and the Dems. Facts. I know, right? A one-word response can define something so many have balked at understanding. I maintain my conviction that it is facts, and/or the lack thereof, which differentiates the two main parties in American politics.

Of course, a one-word response is never adequate so allow me to flesh out my theory.

The GOPTP claims that the deficit the U.S. budget is currently worse under President Obama.

They also claim that the President’s policies are the reason for those thousands upon thousands of children arriving at our Southern border.

Another fun claim is that our economy is being trashed by President Obama’s policies.

More fun is to be had by those who claim that the President somehow botched an illegitimate war, started by his predecessor.

Let’s leave it at four different rants most commonly used to scare their base into submission. Along with that, let us also ask those who keep on perpetuating these fallacies, “Where, oh where, are your facts?”

I am aware that facts are the antithesis of the GOPTP platform. Or, more accurately, what passes as a platform, nevertheless…in a true debate they are required.

Here are a few facts to repudiate the contentions of the Conservatives in the United States.

Let us take the deficit conundrum. How did we come to be in the red? When President Clinton left office, he also left a surplus of money in the government coffers. Then along came Bush II. Does even one of the GOPTP base remember what “W” said at the beginning of the war with Iraq? Something to the effect of NOT putting the costs of the war into the budget because otherwise he the funding may not be there. Hence, he actually said aloud (how am I the only person who heard this?) he was essentially running a second set of books to document the funding of the war.

Let’s add to this equation this fact: Hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent in cardboard boxes on military transport planes, to Iraq, in order to bribe or otherwise facilitate officials in their duties. Most of remains unaccounted. And, just as officials started to look into this, the American economy (and most of the worlds) started to crash. I still remember the day that, as I was commuting home from work, I heard Shawn Hannity claim that the economy was solid. He said that since the average price for a starter home in the U.S. was $250,000, it meant the economy was strong! Huh? Of course, the next day is when everything hit the fan. Every news outlet, other than Fox, was broadcasting the complete disruption of finance, which the greed of Wall Street engineered. Of course, nobody was exactly sure what the reason was. Outside of Bush’s appointees, but we all knew something very bad was coming. Oh, wait. NOT Shawn Hannity as he kept up his rosy analysis of the American Dream, while it was crumbling in front of our eyes.

Moving on, let us go for the immigration “problem”. Several years ago, “W” signed a bill into law in which those who come to our nation because of the threat of bodily harm from their own nation would stay long enough to be processed and allowed the due process of law. This was done because this tidal wave of humanity was just beginning. Given the fact that the countries that these children are braving the journey they have undertaken, are listed as some of the most dangerous to live in by the United Nations and Amnesty International, it made sense. Apparently, the former administration had already seen analysis that this was going to become a real problem. Sooner rather than later, as it were and they were correct.

What amazes most Americans is how this crisis has suddenly been dumped into the lap of President Obama. Anyone who is paying attention to what is really happening must ask themselves some hard questions. Questions like, “I wonder if any of the shenanigans perpetrated by Pres. Reagan has anything to do with the instability in these countries?”  However, how many GOPTP types ever ask themselves searching, morally important questions?

Let us move on. Examining the contention by the GOPTP that President Obama’s policies are tanking our country’s economy. Do those who believe this lie ever read the business page? I remember when President Clinton was in office, and the stock market was approaching 13,000. My GOP friends told me that it was not sustainable and that the U.S. would never, ever reach those numbers legitimately.

Well, here we are in 2014 with the stock market bumping heads with 16,000. Once again, is this a number the U.S. stock market could never, ever accomplish? Given the inordinate amount of wealth being distributed among the 1%, one would have to say…yes. The U.S. stock market can do better than 13,000. The facts show that our economy does so much better under Democratic presidents than GOPTP Presidents. IN fact, most of the GOPTP Presidents have left us with a deficit. Oh, just look it up for yourselves for once. Don’t you know how?

The last of the misinformation tidbits I listed above, “How President Obama has messed up a war he did not start nor agree with” complaint. It is much too ridiculous of a complaint to address. Beyond silly.

Okay, the time has come. If you disagree, write a rebuttal, give up some numbers, anything other than the constant whining, hate mongering and guns. Yes, guns. Which seem to be brought out by the RW whenever they feel threatened.

If anybody from the conservative movement, or the Republican or Tea Party could actually read the above, truly consider the truth, we may be closer to unity than we have been for a generation.

I wonder to myself why it is that so many intelligent people allow themselves to be manipulated. Used by the exact entities they propose to be anti-American. My conclusion is that people like to stick with what they know. Change is not only scary but a true hassle. However, given the choice between change and destruction…I opt for change every time.

The Embarrassment of Murrieta, CA: How Could That Have Happened Here?

Today's display of hate in Murrietta, CA was nothing short of disgusting. I am a native Californian, born here in 1955. While I was growing up in California I cannot remember a time when Mexican-Americans were not a part of every day life. Not just as  landscapers or gardeners as some may think. No, the Hispanic people I remember were school teachers, store owners, policemen, dentists, priests and nuns.It has always been understood that California was at one time, Mexico. Through the study of history, who does not realize that through political maneuvering and, I am sure, military force this part of Mexico became California? So, to watch other Californians act in such an ignorant and unfeeling manner got me angry and, wondering why? How is it that those "protesters"  were able to stand up to armed police? And on what grounds? Who facilitated this coordinated effort? Here is what I came up with.

One of the consequences of the consistent slashing of Federal, State and Municipal budgets is that one of the first departments of every agency, who's staffing is cut, is the regulatory department. I have always thought that this was the real intent of the budget slashing, and the sequester, as the GOPTP has made clear that deficit reduction is a part-time romance for them. Yet, getting rid of the "police" of those agencies one doesn't like seems like a win-win...if one does not care for the future of their country, that is.

However, everything that is wrong with our systems cannot be blamed on this alone. Excuse me if I digress; during the too few trials which resulted from the 2008 monetary shenanigans of the banks, one important factor came to light. At one point an employee of one of the main players in what is now called "The Great Recession", was asked something to the effect of (I am paraphrasing here), "What do you consider your job to be?". When this question was asked I admit I was watching C-Span and treating this "investigation" as my own, private Jeopardy episode. So, when this question was asked my shouted at the TV response was, "To practice your fiduciary duty while increasing the bottom line for your company!" Beeep! Wrong! The response from the person being questioned was, "To sell stock!"

The man who was handling this Q & A went so far as to try to coach this man towards the answer I had given. No dice, it was as if this stockbroker had never heard the word "fiduciary" in his natural lifetime. To me, this spoke volumes. First, a definition of fiduciary from dictionary.com: "the legal duty of a fiduciary to act in the best interests of the beneficiary." This was the first principle taught when I was studying for and eventually earned, my insurance agency license. It was also one of the first principles taught in Real Estate school as I was working my way towards my Real Estate license. Yet, there was a stockbroker who is considered much further up the employment and prestige food-chain than an Insurance Salesperson or a Realtor and this guy, after prompting, couldn't come up with the word or the concept during a Congressional hearing.

What this tells me is that looking out for the welfare of their clients is the last thing considered by brokers, bankers and the like when money is on the table. From the time that 'Gordon Gekko' came to the golden screen in the movie Wall Street, with the tagline "Greed is good", it has been next to impossible to counter the increasingly held opinion that this tagline is the way to live one's life. 

Prior to 1987 (when the movie was released) Americans would never have admitted to being greedy. In fact, whether or not one held religious beliefs, the majority of Americans considered greed to be sinful. And, why wouldn't they think that? During WWI, the first 'Great Depression' and WWII the motto of the day was sacrifice. From rationing of almost everything that we take for granted now (butter, gasoline, meat, milk, you name it) to the potential loss of several members of one family, the generations before us all lived through periods of deprivation.

Then, along came we boomers. The post-war economy of the U.S.A. had previously been unimaginable. In fact, for those of you have not been taught this in school, WWII is what brought the U.S. out of the 1st Great Depression and launched an, up until then, unheard of period of prosperity. But of course, that kind of teamwork, love of one's fellow American and daily dose of hard work could not last. No, with the amount of money changing hands, the industries with the sweetheart Federal contracts and the boondoggles those companies were getting away with, Gordon Gekko could not have been far behind.

Sadly, certain strata of the American people took to Gekko like WWE wrestlers take to drama. Suddenly it became hip to be as greedy as possible, and it was ugly to watch. Greed that is born from a lifetime of deprivation is one thing, greed which is nurtured and fatted by those who have never wanted for anything of note is not only disgusting but perplexing.

Greed was actually the lesser of the two traits that were unleashed in the 1980's in the United States. The parasitic, evil twin of greed...cruelty, soon came snapping at the heels of the greedy and was eagerly given a place at their table. It was no longer enough to just take money from those who did not have enough to share, to be truly cool or hip one had to make the victim suffer. It did not matter so much what additional suffering was inflicted on those who were the victims of these greedy professionals who were supposed to "look out" for their clients interests, it just had to be useable for 'bragging rights'. It could be physical pain, or humiliation, or the victim could be left holding the bag for what their "fiduciary" did, as long as it was something bad.

So here we are, our society which used to pride itself on being honest and good but now, screw that. Only suckers look out for the other guy, only an "idiot" would sit back and leave money, even if it wasn't their money, on the table. Right?

Back to the original premise, what good does it do to go to court when those in the court are as dishonest as those who originally stole from you?

I do not know. This is where we are as I see the evolution. Those who have been ripped off and scammed are not as fault, it is those called the 'scammers' who created these circumstances. But, by accepting even a little bit, the 'greed is good' philosophy which has been on display for the last 30 years, we have each contributed. 

Which leads me to believe that it will take each of us to fix this problem. How? By NOT allowing those who embrace greed and malfeasance as a lifestyle to sidestep the responsibility of repairing what they have broken. We must, whenever possible, demand prosecutions, deny the idea of "too big to fail", vote out of office those who embrace this same philosophy. You will know who is of the same ilk by certain coded messages. Messages which divide us as a people, cast those who have less than you do as lazy or evil while trying to make those at the top sound like they are angels in comparison.

Somehow, oh who am I kidding? Through propaganda and fear mongering those who's agenda and immigration reform do not jive, people have been convinced that this is not only the way to behave but, that they are somehow justified in their actions. Does one always have to remind the citizenry that at least ONE of  their ancestors (unless of course they are Native Americans) was not born here? That each of us has an ancestor who traveled long and ardous routes to come to this country for a reason? And once again, do you always have to be reminded that your ancestor who came here was escaping

from something? Just like those kids and moms on those buses which, in such a macho manner, y'all sent back. You stopped nothing but you embarrassed the hell out of the rest of California.

Ever wonder where the opinion pieces you read (and shout "right on" to) come from, who wrote them and why? Are those who could act in this manner be capable of thinking back to; how that relatiive who braved unknown dangers to come to the United States for the betterment of his/herself and their family would have felt if confronted by...well, you, acting like a rabid dog? Don't be chicken, try to imagine this scenario.

Ask yourself when confronted by a rich person who is spending an inordinate amount of time trying to ensure that poor people do not get ahead, "Why?" Really, why would a very rich person spend more money to fight policies that would benefit the poor than would be spent doing so? Don't you ever wonder about that? Well, you should. Whenever you hear about a billionaire who is spending millions and millions of dollars to defeat a policy which is intended to do nothing more than help someone who has so much less than even YOU do, you should be asking yourself "why"? Why is the idea of a poor person getting health insurance or food or an education is so nauseating and anger inducing to those who have more money than several countries combined. Please, we should all think about these things.