Progressive Patriotism
A friend of mine was upset the other day, because her best friend accused her of being unpatriotic in the political commentary she posts on Facebook. My friend often writes about problems in America like the growing poverty rate, corporate greed, gun violence, poor access to health care and political corruption. She was told, in essence, that America is the greatest country on Earth with more freedom than any other country and that anyone who complains about America is not a loyal, patriotic American. I have a very different perspective. I think the suggestion that it’s somehow unpatriotic to discuss…
Pension End will Start the Revolution
Reaction to my column on 401(k)s for elected officials has been absolutely incredible, and, in fact, the response was also intimidating.. It received 1,700 Facebook Likes. Of course, it’s the message that received these “Likes”, not the messenger, but now comes the hard work if we’re going to make this message become reality and not just a pipedream. I proposed in my column that the people in every state in this country need to have a binding referendum, asking if voters favor requiring all elected officials to have 401(k) defined contribution plans. The current setup for elected officials is to…
The “Full Employment” Fallacy
Written by: Guy Fraser Guest Author,Repeacer at Repeace Turkiye and at Repeace Iceland What does a 1912 Baker and a 1959 Opel have in common? In 1973, a small team of engineers took an existing production car – an Opel made in 1959 – and made some changes. The result was demonstrated at the Wood River competition: A car that did 376 miles per gallon! 40 years later, in 2013, Volkswagen unveiled an eco car that does 313 miles per gallon. Oh, wait, that’s 63mpg less than what we could do in 1973! If we could achieve 376 miles per…
America’s Wheel of Ignorance
This past week three rather empirical revelations acted to disburse the GOP-manufactured conspiracy cloud for a brief moment providing some clarity to our national zeitgeist: the CBO report that the top 20% of income earners among us get over half the tax breaks; the PoliticFact study showing Republicans lie publicly three times more often than Democrats; the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development study finding the Danes to be among the happiest folks on the planet. Hasty conclusion? We are a land of ignoramuses, it’s ever been so and it’s only getting worse. The Continuing Miracle at Dunkirk Taking these items…
Your Tax Cash Stolen For Corporate Gain
When you pay taxes, you are essentially sending your hard-earned cash to the U.S. government to support and maintain the United States. Your money is supposed to help support your country, for the betterment of all Americans. But today, politicians commonly relay a message to the American people – we can’t afford anything for you. Yet politicians eagerly permit tax subsidies, no-bid contracts, grants, and more, to banks and corporations without hesitation. It’s no secret that the USA is experiencing serious financial debt, which amounts to trillions of dollars. This debt is growing tremendously with each passing day. Politicians preach…
Minding Our P’s and T’s This Memorial Day
In between family, friends, burgers, beers and innings this weekend, we would all do well to take a moment, long or short, verbal or silent, to deeply thank those we honor on Memorial Day. Enhanced thoughts and prayers for our brothers and sisters still serving abroad in our lingering conflicts wouldn’t hurt either. Memorial Day first came into congealed being as Decoration Day in May of 1868 on the order of Civil War Gen. John Logan to sanction a time for observance already informally practiced at various times in the North and South alike. By the end of WWI, the…
When Does Obstruction Become Treason?
Why Won’t Americans Just Read the Constitution? Recently, Bill Maher and Michael Moore rightly criticized Congressional Republicans for their relentless obstruction of government. Plenty of liberal bloggers and their followers jumped on the bandwagon. But they all went too far in calling it treason. Republicans have tripped over each other to obstruct every budget proposal, jobs bill, issue, policy, effort, nomination, and idea that President Obama has proposed since the day of his first inauguration. In 2010, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, at a Heritage Foundation event, that denying President Obama a second term was the GOP’S top…
Congress: Enriching the Rich and Empowering the Powerful
It’s not your imagination. Everything really is increasingly being skewed to benefit the very wealthy at the expense of everyone else. When you look at the principles that many politicians advocate in U.S.A., it becomes explicitly clear that there is an entire system dedicated to giving more wealth and more power to the very tiny fraction of our population who already possess the vast majority of the wealth and power in our country. Here are ten examples of the political ideology advocated by many politicians in our country. Pay close attention and see who really benefits from each of these…
Government Favored Oil Companies Over Shelter For Children
The devastation in Moore, Oklahoma is unimaginable. A deadly F-5 tornado hit this town on May 20th, 2013 and the death toll continues to rise as time passes by. Plaza Towers Elementary school was directly in the path of this horrific storm. Even though Moore, OK, resides in the middle of tornado alley, Oklahoma politicians denied the children of this school, a tornado shelter. These children were denied the freedom to be properly sheltered from Mother Nature’s wrath. Instead, these kids were forced to depend only on the walls of the school to protect them from an F5 tornado. The…
Greed is a Disease
Written by Guest Author PC There is a great deal of truth in the below meme’s powerful statement. Countries like China, Mexico, Bangladesh and others do not have Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — to protect their people from politicians like Michelle Bachmann, Gov. Rick Perry and industry captains the likes of the Koch Brothers and their ilk. Greed is a disease, suffered by most occasionally and by a few that seeks its symptoms without hesitation; these people dismiss the thought that anyone suffers from greed. If you are a conservative who pushes the right-wing agenda and talking points, but…
Of Massachusetts And Men: The Burial of Tamerlan Tsarnaev
I realize that, by writing this, I am bringing unnecessary tsuris into my life. So be it. Since when did we become a gaggle of punk haters (read: not punk-haters)? If I understand this correctly, many of you would like to have the body of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev “fed to the sharks” or “mutilated….desecrated” or “incinerated” or “shipped to Russia”. Are we in agreement so far? OK. I’d like to know what I’m missing here because I don’t think this is how we, as Americans, behave. This is not how we treat the dead; yes, even that dead…
Ten Reasons Why You Should not Support the NRA
1. The NRA is a terrorist’s best friend. Technology is making it increasingly possible to manufacture handguns made primarily of plastic and other non-metal materials which cannot be discovered by metal detectors. This gun would be a terrorist’s dream but a nightmare for airport security. In the 1980s Ronald Reagan’s Attorney General proposed a ban on the manufacture of plastic guns, but the NRA opposed this legislation and it was withdrawn. Over the years, similar attempts to prohibit the manufacture of plastic guns have been killed by the NRA. Of course, no law-abiding person needs a handgun that can evade…
May 1st is International Worker’s Day, Here’s Why it Matters:
In case you’ve missed it, today (5/1) is International Worker’s Day, also known as May Day. In America, the biggest holiday for workers is Labor Day, which falls in September. May Day is the international worker’s equivalent of labor day. Around the world, protests and demonstrations have shown the extent to which workers are outraged and are showing their ability to flex their collective muscle. In Istanbul, Turkey, demonstrators caused a city-wide shut down. In Greece, striking union workers shut down train and ferry services. In Jakarta, an estimated 150,000 workers marched on the capital, demanding an increase in pay and…
The Mother of All Amendments
In the 13 days since Boston’s national nightmare brought us four murdered, 15 amputations and countless hours of medical attention for 282 injured, public reasoning on the origins of the attack and future prevention have predictably been all over the political yard in all the predictable corners. Subsequent events and dialogues have rung out like octaves which could and should inform further debate and offer clarity to some fundamental discourse about our own origins, our national direction and our values as one People. Sadly, though, the barren residua of Newtown, Aurora, Oak Creek, Tucson and countless other tragedies do not…
The Real “Weapon of Mass Destruction”: Unregulated Capitalism
Last week’s news was dominated by the story of the bombings at the Boston marathon, followed by the manhunt for the brothers who are suspected to have perpetrated those horrific acts. The attacks killed 3 and injured over 160. The manhunt caused the shutdown of the entire city of Boston for one day. It seemed as if the entire nation was shaken and captivated by this story. Unfortunately, the carnage and destruction of the Boston attacks was not the worst thing to happen in America last week. By sheer numbers and destruction, the Boston attacks pale in comparison to the…
Marketing Secrets of USA Politics
An acquaintance and I were discussing an issue on why sensationalism and negativity seems to be so popular in USA politics, and is there a difference in reaching people of opposing political persuasions. My friend sent a link to an article that reflects her opinion that I can summarize: Liberals are ruining America because they are answering conservative talk propaganda, which further enables conservatives by giving them even more attention. The article used the example of Sandra Fluke and Rush Limbaugh concerning the issue – Should insurance companies and employers who offer health insurance benefits be required to offer birth control to…
Misdirected Hatred after Boston Tragedy
9/11, the worst terrorist attack in USA history, amidst the shock and grief, brought us together. Everyone rallied around the President. Initially, nobody exploited that disaster for political reasons. Eventually, we learned of all the warnings and missed opportunities to prevent that attack, and the political debates proceeded. Yet for a long time, the immense tragedy itself brought us all together in ways that transcended politics. Today, things are different. Within an hour of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, some people were already blaming the U.S. President. Before the president even had a chance to speak about the attack,…
I Do not Want to Only Pray for the Victims of the Boston Marathon!
Major acts of violence are becoming too common in the U.S. And after each one, we hear the litanies of: “Pray for the victims and their families.” Then, we expect the other statements about how brave the EMTs, policemen and common citizens were there and were heroes. My prayer is “I do not want to hear this ever again! “ Because, I don’t want to have more terrorist attacks or mass shootings which not only kill innocent people, but tear at the fragile fabric of society. Saying, ‘Pray for the victims and families” is just not enough anymore. We must…
Tea Party Protests We Can Believe In
On this Monday, April 15th, we will enjoy both the benefits and detriments of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution which has permitted income taxation by Congress for the last 100 years. Also on this day in all 50 states, “grass roots” tax protests of varying authenticity will occur outside post offices, government buildings and town squares as tens of thousands bemoan the annual freedom killing duty that is the timely filing of our returns. Notwithstanding that these protest folks are in apoplexy over the lowest marginal tax rates since Reagan, that the last GOP POTUS turned a $200 billion…
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