Great Recession

The Republican Party: Fiscal Discipline And National Security–Foreign Policy Expertise Reputation Replaced By Incompetency And Ignorance!

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The Republican Party used to be the party of Fiscal Discipline, until George W. Bush and the Republican Congress spent wildly on the War on Terror and a Prescription Drug Plan without raising taxes, and in fact, cut them dramatically on the wealthy, causing the economic crisis of the Great Recession as a result!

The Republican Party used to be the party of National Security–Foreign Policy Expertise, the party of Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush, until Sarah Palin came along as a Vice Presidential choice in 2008, and then Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain came along, all three of them displaying total ignorance of the subject, and Rick Perry not much better!

To believe that the Republican Party could have serious challengers for the Presidency who have no clue on foreign policy or economic matters is something that promotes speechlessness!

Sarah Palin showed plenty enough ignorance, and there was a great sigh of relief when she decided finally not to run for President.

But instead, we have Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, who seem in many ways, even worse than Sarah Palin.

We also have Rick Perry, who seems even worse than George W. Bush.

What has happened to the party that used to be respectable and knowledgeable, the party of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, George H. W. Bush, John McCain, and yes, even Ronald Reagan?

The Republican Party is in mourning for itself among its Establishment, and the nation should be in mourning as to how far downhill the party has gone!

A major political party with a glorious history in many ways has become an embarrassment to itself, and the nation suffers as a result!

82nd Anniversary Of The Great Crash On Wall Street Which Led To The Great Depression

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Today is a day that 82 years ago changed the course of history in a way only matched in significance by the outbreak of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861.

In many ways, the onset of the Great Depression, as a result of the crash of the stock market on Wall Street, had a greater effect, since the population was four times as much, and more people were directly affected by the ten year long Great Depression than by the Civil War.

America would never be the same again, as big government was here to stay with the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and American involvement in World War II and the ensuing Cold War, along with the improvements on the New Deal best personified by the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson.

And yet, now in the midst of the Great Recession and its effect on America, the worst economic times since the Great Depression, we are hearing the same old arguments for less government and deregulation, when it was precisely those factors in the 1920s and the 2000s that led to the two greatest economic collapses of the past century.

Franklin D. Roosevelt faced the same vehement opposition as Barack Obama, although the internet, talk radio, cable news and social media have multiplied the effect as compared to the 1930s.

The same battles keep on being fought, as we do not learn from history, and rather repeat its mistakes.

But as Barack Obama starts conducting himself for reelection in a similar manner as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, the American people will realize that he, not his opposition, is truly interested in resolving the issues that the opposition took which caused the economic mess we are now in.

The Supreme Court: Most Important Issue Of Presidential Campaign Of 2012

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It is amazing how little this Presidential campaign of 2012 has been connected to foreign policy, and to constitutional law, as if ONLY the economy matters.

As much as the Great Recession and its supposed aftermath has created a major crisis for Americans, to overemphasize it is a dangerous action, as the LONG RANGE problem is much more our relations with the world AND the future of our judiciary.

Regarding the judiciary, the thought that a Republican President would select MORE conservatives to a Court already top heavy with conservatives is absolutely terrifying on issues such as the power and influence of corporations, the rights of women, the rights of gays, the role of religion in government, and the struggle to preserve civil rights and civil liberties.

For instance, if Michael Dukakis had been elected in 1988 instead of George H. W. Bush, we would not have had Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

If John Kerry had been elected President in 2004, instead of George W. Bush, we would not have had John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.

Going further back, if Walter Mondale had defeated Ronald Reagan in 1984, we would not have had Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, and Justice William Rehnquist would not have become Chief Justice.

So the election of the President has LONG TERM consequences in judicial and constitutional interpretation, just as much as foreign policy is not only short term, but long range affecting.

When one realizes that Ruth Bader Ginsberg is 78, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy are 75, it seems realistic to believe that all three COULD be out of office in the next term of office.

So the Court could become more conservative if a Republican is elected to the Presidency, and more moderate if Barack Obama is elected to a second term in the White House.

Therefore, every voter MUST realize that the Presidential election has consequences, not only in foreign policy long term, but also in the future of our legal system and our constitutional rights.

The Lunatic Audiences At GOP Debates: A Total Disgrace!

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What kind of country are we that we can have lunatic audiences cheering on crazy, nasty, cruel comments on issues involving capital punishment, gays in the military, lack of health care insurance, illegal immigration, and American citizens involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement?

It is shocking that people would cheer the number of people executed under Texas Governor Rick Perry!

It is unbelievable that people would boo a gay soldier who has served our country!

It is dismaying that people would call for letting a person without health insurance, who is seriously ill, to just die!

It is outrageous that people would applaud the idea of an electrified fence to keep illegal immigrants out of the country!

It is disgraceful that an audience would applaud that if people are unemployed or poor in a time of the Great Recession, the worst conditions since the Great Depression, that it is their own fault, and to condemn the marches and demonstrations of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has spread throughout the nation and overseas!

Have some Americans lost our common humanity, our rationality, our morality, in the name of self centered egotism, that all that matters is our own selfish interests, and to hell with basic common decency? We should mourn the deterioration in civility as a danger sign of the decline of our whole civilization!

The Arrogance And Gall Of Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump, And Herman Cain Toward The “Occupy Wall Street” Movement!

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When the Tea Party Movement, a right wing reactionary group with fascist tendencies, formed in 2009, the Republican Party, conservative talk radio, Fox News Channel, and wealthy people on Wall Street embraced it, and they set out to further harm the middle class and the poor, and are still in the process of doing so on Capitol Hill and in the state governments!

Now that the outraged “99 percent” have decided to march and demonstrate and occupy Wall Street, but also march and demonstrate in dozens of cities all across America, demanding action to make our government deal with the corruption on Wall Street, the mortgage debacle, the unemployment crisis, the health denials to millions of citizens, the pension disaster, the long term student loan mess, and the homelessness and poverty of millions of children, we are being told by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump, and Herman Cain that these people are “losers”, or as Cain says, if one is unemployed or not rich, don’t blame anyone, blame yourself!

For an African American candidate to ignore totally the reality of his own race being in worse condition than ever due to the Great Recession and its supposed aftermath, is a total disgrace, and shows how becoming wealthy can totally corrupt a person’s judgment and make him look down on those who are less fortunate, not only of his race, but across the board, despite the worst unemployment since the Great Depression, and caused by Wall Street and the corporations!

These right wing fascists should be warned that if nothing is done to deal with the economic crisis in this country, there is the terrifying danger of real bloodshed and violence breaking out, and that would be a total tragedy!

Just as in the Middle East with the “Arab Spring”, we are now seeing the extension of what began in the state of Wisconsin and elsewhere earlier this year, and the government cannot ignore this, as that is a danger to the future of the nation!

Very Revealing Poll After Ten Years Of War: Many Vets Doubt Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan Were Worth It!

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A new poll shows that one out of three veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan doubt that the wars were worth it, and many feel it is time to cut back on foreign involvement and focus instead on our domestic problems.

This past ten years of war, marked two days from now when we first sent military forces into Afghanistan, caused the loss of 4,500 soldiers in Iraq and 1,700 in Afghanistan, $1 trillion and more in costs, and approximately 35-40 thousand wounded, many seriously!

It also allowed the corporations which engaged in the wars to make hundreds of billions of dollars on the backs of American taxpayers, and to create the budgetary crisis which helped to lead to the Great Recession, and now is being blamed by many solely on the inheritor of the problems, Barack Obama, rather than placing it where it belongs, on the backs of Republicans who controlled the government, and President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who was personally enriched by his connections to Halliburton!

The future lives of the severely wounded veterans will be a tax burden on us for the next 50-75 years, and there will be many, who while not physically injured, are emotionally and mentally harmed, and that will be a great burden on them and us as well for the long term! Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is common, and veterans feel the average American has no real understanding of what they went through and the problems they face when they come home.

With only one half of one percent of the population serving in the military, as compared to 9 percent in World War II, there is a gap in how Americans see war when they are comfortably at home, compared to those who serve.

Interestingly, half the veterans in the Pew Research Center survey express doubt that fighting terrorism with military force works, as many think it promotes hate and more terrorism!

So the longest war in US history (Afghanistan) continues, and the final withdrawal of troops from Iraq, our second longest war ever, awaits final developments!

54th Anniversary Of Sputnik: The Need For National Purpose As We Had In 1957!

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Today is the 54th Anniversary of the Space Age, as the Soviet Union shocked the United States and the world by orbiting a space satellite, Sputnik I, in space, taking everyone by surprise!

It was the most shocking moment in America since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which brought us into World War II.

And in both cases, the United States reacted with a massive effort to overcome the disadvantages they faced!

Much like they did in fighting Al Qaeda after the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001!

This nation MUST look at the economic disaster we are in now as a result of the Great Recession, and stop the politics, and do what is right for America: the creation of jobs, the promotion of fairness in taxation, and the need to invest in education and infrastructure, as well as promote innovation in technology!

The nation cries for the end of the divisiveness which has developed, particularly since the Clinton years, and to stop having the government interfere in our personal lives due to the crusades of religious zealots, and instead call for government intervention economically to stop the stratification of society, which has made us the nation with the most inequities of any democratic society on earth!

The “Occupy Wall Street” Protests: Their Meaning!

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For the past two weeks, we have seen people of all ages committing themselves long term to an “Occupy Wall Street” protest movement, and it has now spread all over the country, and even overseas.

There is the temptation to say that this is a group of “losers”, who have nothing better to do than cause “trouble”, and among the elite wealthy, they are certainly comparing it to the anti war movement of the 1960s and 1970s, with the image of scruffy “hippies” causing a ruckus because they were “cowards”.

This protest movement, however, is of people of all backgrounds and age groups. Why are they protesting?

They are outraged at the corruption and greed of Wall Street, which caused this economic disaster in 2008.

They are outraged by the lack of bank investment in promotion of small business and mortgages after they were bailed out by taxpayers, instead sitting on $2 trillion.

They are outraged by the refusal of banks to help homeowners, and instead promote foreclosures, causing not only the loss of homes for millions of people, but also devaluing the properties of others who are able to pay their house mortgages.

They are outraged by the tremendous burden put upon young people by massive student loans that prevent them from being able to start their adult lives without massive debt, when in earlier generations, higher education was much more affordable and did not saddle graduates with unsustainable debt.

They are outraged by the lack of employment opportunities for young people, and also the inability of people in mid career to replace lost jobs due to the economic collapse.

They are outraged by politicians in Congress, and also the Supreme Court, who bend to the will of the wealthy few, with the top one percent having 20 percent of the income, double what it was ten years ago!

They are outraged by the loss of the “American Dream”, that anyone can succeed in this country, while the reality is far from that, and particularly for those of minority heritage, who have been devastated by the Great Recession of 2008.

What is it these people want? They want a return to a government of, by and for the people, not just the small percentage of wealthy! They want a return to social justice, concern about the sick, the poor, the aged, the disadvantaged! They want a return to competitive capitalism, with regulation and controls on Wall Street and the corporations in the name of fairness.

In other words, they want a return to the vision and goals of Progressivism, of the early 20th century, along with the aims of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson!

Our peak of national economic prosperity and advancement came in 1973, interestingly the year that the Watergate scandal was revealed for what it was. Richard Nixon had expanded the Great Society, but that stopped as he was being investigated and eventually forced out of office.

Nothing has remained the same since, and it coincides with THIRTY FIVE years of conservative government!

One might say, hey, wait a minute, weren’t there periods of Democrats in the White House? The answer is YES, but both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton pursued comparatively “conservative” administrations, along with Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and the two Presidents Bush!

So the decline has occurred during the triumphant period of CONSERVATIVE government, and the American people, at least those who are willing to be open minded, realize what has happened and are demanding CHANGE back to when life improved for all Americans!

So this is the meaning of the Wall Street protests, and is the answer to the Tea Party Movement, which wishes to take us back to the Gilded Age, while the “Occupy Wall Street” movement wishes to restore the advancements of the Progressive Era, New Deal, and Great Society! Anyone who thinks this will go away is living in the same illusions as the Tea Party Movement!

The American people are determined to take back their country from the elite wealthy who have no concern other than selfishness and greed. The battle for the future is WE against ME!

The Obama Tax Plan: “Class Warfare”, Or Fairness And Simple Math?

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President Obama has just proposed a deficit reduction plan that would return tax rates for the wealthy back to what they were in the 1990s under Bill Clinton, before George W. Bush gave that elite class a tremendous tax cut, leading to the tremendous deficits we now experience, a major contributing factor to the Great Recession!

Why should the wealthy pay a lower tax rate than the average person? Why should they feel an entitlement to such tax cuts permanently, rather than take on the responsibility to appreciate their success and do their part to contribute to the economic welfare of the nation? Why should they be “privileged characters” who can evade taxes through loopholes and gimmicks?

As Obama said this morning, it is an issue of fairness and simple math!

If anything, the fact that the wealthy have evaded taxes and paid a lower percentage for the past ten years is the true “class warfare”, against the MIDDLE CLASS, which has been decimated by that tax policy!

All polls show the VAST majority of the American people want higher taxes on the wealthy, so Obama is proposing something that is both proper and MORAL at the same time!

Let the Republicans fight it, and Obama will have a great issue against them in the Congressional and Presidential races of 2012. It reminds us of Franklin D. Roosevelt using that issue in the 1930s and winning a landslide second term in 1936!

So let 2012 be like 1936, when unemployment was still very high, but FDR went on to a smashing victory, because the people KNEW he cared about them, and that the Republicans cared only about the wealthy!

What is new about that 75 years after 1936? NOTHING HAS CHANGED!

Poverty And Health Care Denial: The Disgrace Of American Democracy!

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New statistics show that America, the ideal democracy in many people’s minds, has the horrific record of all time highs in number of people mired in poverty, and the number of people who lack health insurance coverage.

The Census Bureau reports that 15.1 percent, the highest since 1983, are in poverty, with a large percentage of these being children.

46.2 million, up 2.6 million since 2009, are in poverty, the number increasing because of the Great Recession.

Meanwhile, 49.9 million, an all time high, lack any health insurance coverage.

The concept that about one out of six Americans are in poverty and lack health care is a disgrace on American democracy!

How can we talk about American “exceptionalism” with such statistics?

How can the Republican Party act as if there is no crisis in America, and that instead they condemn those who are down and out to perpetual poverty, and yet they can sleep at night?

And how can a nation where so many talk about being “religious” can we see the hard hearted attitude of so many Right Wing Christians toward these poor people, and see cheers in the debate last night over the idea that a person without health insurance should NOT be given necessary health care, that it is not the responsibility of all of us to help those in need, and instead let that person die? And this from those who fight against abortion rights, and yet accept and cheer capital punishment!

The hypocrisy of so called “religious” people in the midst of poverty and deprivation is mind boggling!