THE QUEST TO STAY IN POWER

Before the last election I received a phone call from the Congressional Campaign Committee soliciting funds. I declined to donate and expressed an opinion that because I felt the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Congressional Majority had failed to hold the former President accountable for his misdeeds. The solicitor began what ended up being a rather long solicitation call. He argued, very forcefully, that it was more important for the Democrats to stay in power than it was to pursue the former President for his misdeeds. I couldn’t have disagreed more then…and now!

About a week ago I listened to a Democratic Strategist, Steve McMahon, argue on the Ed Schultz Show that it was more important for Democrats in Congress to capitulate on the Public Option in regard to healthcare reform so they could remain in power. The same old tired argument.

Let’s get this straight here and now…we didn’t elect Senators and Congressmen, or the President, so they’d have a long and prosperous career. They were elected to make things better. To hell with whether they hang on to power. And, what good is power if you don’t use it for the good of the people. If they’re looking for a career path they need to find a job that provides for upward promotions. I don’t care if they stay employed simply because I voted and elected them to a prestigious position. We’re not voting for them…we’re voting for us. So, if they want to accept our “temporary job,” they need to do something that benefits us…not prolongs they’re precious careers. The candidates who improve society usually do stay in office for a long time. Those that don’t serve the people normally slip and fall along the way. I give you Ted Stevens (Senator – Alaska), Larry Craig (Senator – Idaho), Richard Nixon, Joseph McCarthy (Senator – Wisconsin), et al.

I would suggest the best way to stay in power is to do something positive. People reward that. Oh, there are those that are mesmerized by the power of elected office, or captured office in the case of dictators…but, those personalities normally end in tragedy, and rightfully so!

Reforming healthcare isn’t about staying in power. It’s about getting needed medical care to children, women, men, the poor, the left out and those who’ve given up hope. Vote the right way and the people will reward you. But, the voters don’t give a damn about whether you have the majority after the next election if you’re not doing any good for the people.

CAPITALISM V. SOCIALISM – SOCIALISM V. CAPITALISM By Lt & Lt. Jr.

It’s time to correct the age old belief that capitalism is all good and socialism is all bad. The fact is there are some things about capitalism that are bad and, some things about socialism that are good. I’ve believed for some time that liberals are at their very best when they convince us that the “chain is only as strong as the weakest link.” And, conversely, conservatives are at their very best when they convince us that the “chain” is most efficient when it’s not all tied up in knots.

A complete free market capitalistic system leads to the “haves” taking advantage of the “have-not’s.” And, complete socialism discourages hard work. The polar opposite of capitalism is democracy, and the polar opposite of socialism is dictatorship. The fact is that this “great experiment” we speak of as the United States of America is a bit of both. It’s not all one or the other.

As I’ve written before the constitution provides for the “general welfare” of its subjects. We need rules in order to promote civil organization. Just picture what our highway system would be without organization. No stop signs, directional signs…everybody just doing whatever they think is right. The highway system would be disorganized, and a disaster. By the same token…we need to encourage and reward those who work hard. But, hard work doesn’t always equal high pay. I dare say the guy who pours concrete to build a highway probably works harder than the CEO of one of the major companies. But, we need to be fair about the distribution of wealth.

It has always amazed me that most of the extremely wealthy seem not to realize that the best way for them to make more money is to have more customers. So…BUILD THE MIDDLE CLASS. That is the best way to create customers. Think how much better off the whole economic system would be if the Wall Street CEO’s who make $100 million a year would redirect $85 million of that treasure chest to create a lot of $100 thousand jobs. The more people work and spend the more products they buy. The old story about Henry Ford (whether true or not) is the best example of this philosophy. Henry Ford supposedly said, “He wanted to pay the workers who built his car enough that they could buy his product.” The larger the middle class the larger the customer base…and let’s face it, isn’t that what capitalism his about? …selling to customers.

But, having had a life time of working with bankers I can honestly tell you they do not get it. They are not capable of any vision beyond their greed. Consequently, if we don’t keep them honest the disparity between the rich and poor will continue to expand until one day this “great experiment” will end in a revolution of the “have not’s.” Don’t believe me…go read about any great civilization and you discover that essentially how they all came to a conclusion. The oppressed will eventual strike back.

It’s time we ended the notion that our democracy is just about free market capitalism. It’s about how we treat the least in our midst. That sounds familiar, “The least of these.” I wonder whether our Christian capitalistic friends will remember where they’ve heard it before.

FOCUS ON THE EXIT STRATEGY

The mission was already screwed long before President Obama took office. Afghanistan was where the real war should have been waged. Afghanistan was where our real enemies existed. George W. Bush and President Cheney (this is not a typo) never were serious about Afghanistan or bin Laden. They always wanted Iraq. Not because of Sadam, or weapons of mass destruction, or creating democracy in the Middle East. We may never know the real reason. But, we all think it was because of the oil.

However, nine years later, and our best intelligence says there may only be about 100 al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan. They were allowed to slip into Pakistan and now reside in country that actually has a nuclear weapon. Why would they want to return to Afghanistan? Since Pakistan isn’t exactly active in clearing them out, it seems they are quite content to wait out their exile until they can pounce on a real live nuke. Our real options are very limited.

We need to focus on an exit strategy from Afghanistan. It doesn’t matter whether it’s no new troops, or 100,000 troops. The real goal needs to be to leave. We have hundreds of years of world history to tell us this is not going to end well. If the Afghan’s want to save their country…they’ll have to be the ones to save it. The same goes for Iraq. If the Iraqi’s don’t take responsibility for their destiny they’ll return to another ruthless dictator.

I hate this because of what is likely to happen if the Taliban returns and what they’ll do, particularly to women. But, the Afghan’s have a history of being intense fighters and in the end they will have to fight for their destiny too.
All we’ll do is risk even more 18 to 30 year old men and women. I’m sick of reading the list of troops killed in action day after day. Twenty year old after twenty year old. This needs to end now!

I trust the President with this decision…but, unless he focuses on the exit strategy the outcome will be the same as Vietnam. These enemies are patient. They will wait forever. They are poor and they have no reason to be in a hurry. If there was a chance for us to succeed in affecting their future we missed it when we didn’t supply humanitarian effort and relief after the Afghan’s had defeated the Russians. Had we build schools, hospitals, municipal services, and assisted in creating small businesses we might have had a chance. That day is long past.

Commit one troop or 500,000…just focus on exiting this country as soon as possible.

IF THE R’S REALLY WANT TO COMPROMISE

Here’s the compromise…combine the Republican demand for competing across state lines with the creation of a robust, national, public option. Now if the Con’s (conservatives) really think this will bring down prices then the public options really won’t be an issue because purchasers will want the efficiency of private enterprise over the inefficient government, won’t they?

Con’s have assured us that private industry does EVERYTHING better…right? It seems this could be the soft landing we’re all looking for. It will prove that a ‘government run” system isn’t as good as the privately run healthcare industry. But, I believe the result will be something different. The “across state line” argument is nothing more than a “red herring.” It will be the same companies competing across state lines that now compete within state boundaries. And, the price is not going to be different from Wellpoint - New York, than it is for Wellpoint - New Jersey.

The real risk of this experiment for Con’s is that it may prove government isn’t so bad after all, and it may cause the whole country to take another look at this “anti-government” baloney the Con’s have been shoveling.

The Con’s go out of their way to demonize government at any level…although, my bet it they are pretty cautious about depositing their checking accounts with institutions that aren’t FDIC insured (FDIC as in FEDERAL Deposit Insurance). I’m guessing they wouldn’t want to replace the FAA when a plane they’re traveling on is landing with a “for profit” run business. I’m guessing they wouldn’t want to have a “for profit” company responsible for putting a fire out in their house. After all, a privately own fire fighting company may decide the effort isn’t worth it. I think we all pretty satisfied with public police protection too.

This anti-government argument needs a test…maybe this is it.

"NO UPSIDE?" "THE DAMAGE IS DONE?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Republican operatives are furious. They are beside themselves. Their faces are beet red and steam is coming out of their ears. The President...President Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel PEACE Prize! How dare he!!! Have you no shame, sir.

Moderate Republican Joe Scarborough, none the less, has pronounced..."the damage is done"..."there is no upside." Are you kidding me? The guy just won the NOBEL PEACE...PEACE PRIZE, Joe. What's the downside?

My fellow liberals...we must put ourselves in the conservatives shoes. After thinking about it...I realized...there is no upside............FOR THE CON's! That's right. If your party is lying lower than a snakes belly, well then, affirmation that the President is liked by the world is really bad news. The fact that this President, in less than a year, has completely turned around world opinion about us is not something there is much upside for Republicans.

These right wing NUTS are into war, fear, and intimidation.

They've got to run against this guy for the next seven years. Yep...the damage is probably done.

But, they better pace themselves and start asking these right wing critics "how is the world going to react to all this criticism from the right, inside our United States, about an award being given to the first black president in a country, known in part for it's narrow views and much racism?" The world may see these righties for what they are...moron's that can't think past the ends of their noses. They may hurt conservative politics all over the world.

To the Prez's credit...he did know how to act. The first thing out of this mouth was "I don't deserve this award." And, you know what...that ought to be the reaction of anyone who has ever won the award. Maybe the right lacks the manners to congratulate the President for being recognized for his efforts to promote peace in the world...but, the President understood what it was about. It wasn't about him...it was about US! We're back. We're once again respected in the world.

"No upside!" "The damage is done!" ...really?

STEPPING ON THEIR “DICKS”

That’s what we sometimes call making an arrogant decision that causes your own demise in Texas. And, it’s what Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Michael Steele, Michelle Maulkin, and all the other radical right wing conservatives did to themselves when they celebrated the failure of Chicago to be awarded the Olympics for 2016.

The President made a trip overseas to make a pitch to the International Olympic Committee (IPC). The Right Wing Nuts railed against the misuse of the time by the President to make a pitch for Chicago. Of course, their real fear was that the President would use his charisma to accomplish getting the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, an effort that would have created jobs and economic development for Chicago.

My guess…looking backward…is that the President had be apprised that Chicago would probably not get the Olympics. I’m sure the President’s advisers knew that he would be blamed when another city was named by the Committee. You could have bet your next year’s paycheck that Limbaugh, Beck, and company would have been all over the President for not making a effort for his own home town and “America,” when Chicago lost the bid.

But, here’s where the Right Wing Nuts demise in cheering failure comes into play. Eight-four percent of all the country wanted Chicago to get the Olympics. It’s as patriotic as baseball and apple pie, a no brainer, when it comes to wanting the Olympics to showcase the United States and all it offers to the rest of the world. And, cheering against Chicago, and “America,” is as unpatriotic as it comes. Now, these blowhards have really exposed themselves. They’re not patriotic by any means. They are pure and simply EGOTISTICAL! Period! The end! Checkmate!

They could care less about the country or the well being of our citizens. They could care less that 18 – 30 year old men and women die fighting a war that was never justified, they could care less about whether our friends and neighbors are sick and may die because of the lack health insurance. They only care about their own ideas, and who they want to control the White House, the U.S. Congress and the Senate. It isn’t about us…it’s about them.

Oh, the fringe they play to will eat up their egotistical rhetoric. But, for those on the center right, center, and center left…who occasionally are influenced by all their misinformation are going to see them in a renewed light as being the blight on the American Culture that they are.

Yeah…they stepped on their “dicks.” And, to quote one of their most respected names…Dick Cheney…they stepped on them…”BIG TIME!”