Our Wonder Boy in the White House is preparing to stick it to the people of the United States of America yet again. But, what else is new? This guy is infamous for consistently making promises he has no intention of honoring. He seduces us with eloquent speeches and hollow words, then immediately sequesters himself with his professed adversaries and strikes a deal that pulls the rug out from under us. He is about to do it again on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, soon to be followed by Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Columbia and Panama. Those who stand to lose on the deals are the Middle Class and Working Americans. Those who stand to profit (handsomely) from those deals are big business, moneyed interests and corrupt government officials.
Obama’s betrayal of the American people is there for all to see. They go back to the beginning of his presidency and have continued, unabated, ever since. Every program in which he has been involved and that has been enacted during his administration, ostensibly to benefit the average American, can be found to have served moneyed interests and big business, enabling them to rake in even greater profits than they had enjoyed before. I don’t need to list them here. They are easily researched and speak for themselves to those who have an interest in verifying the veracity of my words.
The term “conspiracy theorist” seems to strike terror in the hearts of those who want to believe the best about every person and institution that is there to serve us. I would like to believe that, as well. Somehow it is pretty to think so. However, when we begin to fall into that trap I believe we are setting ourselves up for exploitation by a system that is so corrupt that I seriously doubt we will see any discernable improvement for sometime to come.
Do you recall when Barack Obama made his first national appearance at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and gave the Keynote Address? He was virtually unknown at that point in time. Who was he and were did he come from? Was it just a twist of fate or was this guy known to all the right people in a position to give him the instant recognition that so many of those aspiring to fame and fortune covet? My take? I don’t think there was anything fortuitous about it at all.
The economic and social juggernaut that has come down on our collective heads is, I am convinced, no random chain of events. Rather, I believe it has been well orchestrated and has been coming for a very long time. Obama was, I believe, the poster child for the forces behind what has led us to where we are today. When he finished that grand speech in 2004 I honestly believe that those he has sworn to serve were more than pleasantly surprised. They were ecstatic. They had found their boy who would ride their white stallion onto the national scene and champion their causes wherever and whenever needed, all in the guise of being true to the common man. “Change we can believe in!” Little did we know what that change was to entail and the price the average American would pay for it! Safe to say, he sure as hell isn’t one of us! Wall Street, former Clintonites, Defense, Big Business, Lobbyists, our corrupt political system, the Oligarchs and all of the others of a similar stripe found their front man. Here was the guy who could charm the socks off us while, at the same time, sticking it to us in spades. And we believed he was the real deal! Even Oprah, crying tears as big as horse turds, was crying her eyes out in jubilation as she and millions of others watched their newfound Emperor ascend to the seat of power. I, naively, was one of them. We have been paying the supreme price ever since and it is only getting worse.
The sheer power of big money isn’t even subtle since he came to office. The Supreme Court is probably as close to the old Supreme Soviets as one could find today. And they carry on their despicable actions with nary an attempt to be the least bit discreet about it. Just look at the carnage that has been wrought against the working people of Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey and Maine, with other fertile fields of conquest just waiting for others of their ilk to lay waste in the name of “free enterprise,” and “small government,” often wrapped in the cloth of the Almighty as if there were something divinely inspired and sanctioned by the Diety itself. What rational mind could even remotely believe one word of all that crap? You would have to be certifiably insane to even entertain the possibility of finding a modicum of truth to all the lies and other methods they bring to bear in order to justify and sell their grand deception to an unsuspecting public.
I still cling to the notion that the only way we can restore integrity to our democracy and return power to the people is through the avenue of a new political party with a massive agenda and an iron will to make it all happen. Time is against me for engaging in such an ambitious endeavor, but my pleas to those who may have what it takes to help pull it off appear to have fallen on deaf ears. We have no heroes anymore. There are no statesmen and stateswomen who have that fire-in-the-belly determination to say to themselves and to others, “We can and we will make a difference. I will give my all to making it happen if you will but support and follow me.” I want to believe there are some out there who have the will, but I fear they are few in number and, perhaps, things have to get even worse before the spark is ignited that will make it happen. Until then, about all we can do is keep hope alive, and raise hell wherever and whenever we must in order to keep the breath of life burning in our very souls that silently speaks to us, “Yes, we can!”
Cowboy Bob
July 19, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
"A National Crisis That Can No Longer Be Ignored"
I believe the United States of America stands on the brink of the greatest economic and social catastrophes in its history. It is time to stop whistling past the graveyard, stop the circus that keeps swirling around our heads called “politics,” and demonstrate the courage to effect bold changes that will accrue to the benefit of the vast majority, and restore confidence and trust between us and the country of which we are a part. Nothing less than bold and decisive action will do the trick; and has to begin soon.
Since the so-called “recession,” came down on our collective heads we have been witness to the “blame game” in all its glory and in all its manifestations. Lying, once a serious character flaw, has become commonplace almost to the level of a new art form. It has become an accepted means of survival in today’s world of government, business and commerce. We are no longer shocked by its use or its efficacy.
As I have watched the progression of events that seem to be taking us deeper into the morass of financial and social ruin, I have tried to distill from the sweeping malaise and growing sense of hopelessness just what it was that set this national nightmare in motion. I have concluded that nothing can happen to us that we don’t allow. In the final analysis, we the people bear the burden of this sad state of affairs because of our complacency and the willingness to allow others to determine our national priorities and the values that govern our everyday lives. Over the course of a very long time, there has been a gradual reversal in the relationship between the government and the governed. We no longer seem to have a common set of values that enable us to come together as one people and to work for the common good. Our moral base is in tatters. It no longer guides us in the conduct of our daily lives. Where we used to be one people with one purpose, we are now a collection of individuals who seem totally preoccupied with the satisfaction of every materialistic and hedonistic appetite imaginable. As long as I get mine, I really don’t give a damn whether or not you get yours. If I have to destroy and consume you in the process, so be it.
We have turned into a bunch of humanoids and automatons that no longer seem to be the least bit concerned about the other person and his/her welfare. We now have, as adults, the second generation of “spoiled brats” that come from the era of the child-centered home that spawned a sense of entitlement, which, in turn, has become the epitome of personal selfishness. Individual responsibility and discipline have been trumped by personal pleasure and the consumption of consumer goods. We have mortgaged our future in the pursuit of obtaining far more than we need and we still feel deprived in the midst of it all. We no longer define our own needs and wants. We have abdicated that responsibility to the marketing departments of big business, the creative departments of the entertainment industries and the programming departments of news organizations.
I don’t think we really know who and what we are anymore. We no longer question the motives of those who lead us. We believe they are acting with our best interests in mind. We simply accept what is peddled because it just takes too much time and effort to pause and attempt to ascertain what lies behind the sales pitch. Complacency is a terminal illness.
What happened to our sense of decency? Are we shocked and outraged by anything anymore? Are we sinking so far into the mire that we have become the product of our basest biological needs at the expense of those aspects of our nature that set us apart from animals lower on the food chain? Is erectile dysfunction really a national epidemic or is it a ploy to create a demand for prescription drugs that few really need? Is showing female cleavage really a fashion statement that elevates us to the next higher rung on the ladder of human evolution? Has the advent of electronic devices used for the purpose of entertainment, communication and social interaction really resulted in raising the human race to a higher position on the pecking order of living beings? When we no longer socialize with each other, no longer talk to each other, no longer care about each other and no longer help each other, what have we become? Animals? Is it just another manifestation of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest?”
At the end of the day, we can play the blame game until hell freezes over, but we have created the fertile ground for every vile and evil force within the fabric of the human condition in order to grow and prosper at our individual and collective expense. We have been had, big time. Why, then, do we continue to give legitimacy to the very forces that are destroying us and all that we hold near and dear to our hearts? Does any sane person really believe that the two political parties and the fringe element created by them have our best interests in mind? Does anyone really believe they are moved by anything other than ulterior motives to advance their insatiable greed and rapacious conquest of our very humanity? Does anyone really take seriously all the manifestations of that ignorant and simplistic philosophy?
We need to go back to square one and define what a real alternative to the mainstream political parties would look like and stand for. I have concluded that we no longer have genuine role models we can emulate and who can appeal to the finer angels within us. I have no doubts that they are there, just waiting to be rekindled to inspire us all to the greatness we once were and can surely be again. The bedrock has to be laid for a renaissance of the virtues that set us apart from the beasts of the jungle. We need leadership that reflects back to us all that we can aspire to despite our own individual shortcomings. They walk among us and, with the right stimulus could be roused to come to our aid and restore all that is good and decent among the people of this country. However, it has to start with ideals and leadership that reflect those ideals.
The hallmark of such an undertaking must be “equality, with fairness and justice for all.” Any such effort must be upfront and forthright about all it stands for and the objectives it will pursue on behalf of the people of this country, not special interests. It must be based on solid bedrocks of honesty and integrity. The aura of omnipotence that has surrounded our government and those who comprise it must be shattered. For far too long, that mystique has served them extremely well at the expense and peril of the American people. There must be a resolve to rout out corruption, conflicts of interest and self-serving practices. The shroud of secrecy that envelopes so much of what goes on in the name of “the people’s business,” must be lifted. Transparency and exposure to the light of day must be the norm, not the exception. Some things that come to mind are ----
1. Commercial institutions must be regulated so they render service to the people. There has to be an end to self-serving practices much of which lie at the root of all that has happened to the social and economic structure of this country since 2008. “Too big to fail” is an anomaly to good business practices and the responsible conduct of business affairs.
2. The closed loop of authority held by government officials must be broken. It is utterly inconceivable in this modern age that elected officials can unilaterally determine their levels of compensation, the perquisites they enjoy and the benefit of lavish healthcare and retirement programs after having served only one term in office. There should be no opportunity for that to occur without the expressed consent of the governed by a referendum of the voters. I find it incredulous that one can go to Washington a pauper and come home a millionaire. Is this what has so shamelessly been asked of working people to support?
3. Private money, in all its forms, must be purged from the conduct of government affairs. Campaign finance reform is imperative.
4. Term limits need to be considered for every elected office in order to prevent the accumulation of power and “squatter’s rights” at the expense of the electorate.
5. The Tax Code needs to be massively reformed in order to simplify the process and to make the system fair and equitable for all taxpayers.
6. Somewhere within the vast labyrinths of government there must be an office the sole purpose of which is to determine and ensure an “arms length relationship” between all parties to government bids and procurement contracts. Objectivity and the absence of opportunities for collusion must prevail between contract negotiations, procurement and compensation for goods and services. Individual branches of government should not be allowed to unilaterally engage in such practices lest they occur at the expense of the people.
7. All government property rightfully belongs to the people. No government property should be bought, sold or leased by government officials without the expressed consent of the voters by means of the public referendum.
8. There should be no provision for “private” and/or secret meetings between elected officials and special interests. All such meetings should be open and properly documented for the record. “Special deals” have cost this country dearly and have contributed to the creation of centers of informal power and questionable practices that may have bordered on criminal conduct. There is no legitimate reason for such behavior, except in cases of national security, in which case there should be a sunset provision up front, for eventually de-classifying the records of such meetings.
9. No subsidies should be allowed for industries doing business with the government. If the free market system is to work effectively, as we have been led to believe, then let the investment of resources and the acumen of those business leaders prevail at their own peril. The taxpayers have been held hostage to this bribery long enough.
10. The revolving door between government service and service as a lobbyist must be stopped. Clearly, a blatant conflict of interest serves no useful purpose that accrues to the benefit of the citizens of this country. Where a professional assessment or study of an issue is needed, then let the government go to outside, objective sources for the knowledge and expertise required to advise them on the merits of any given issue. Our colleges and universities are replete with a wellspring of minds and talent that no single or group of politicians can equal. They are free of the constraints that exist within the Beltway. No personal stake in the game. No special deals, just sound knowledge and good judgment.
11. And last, but certainly not least, we must abolish corporate ownership of our news media. The Founding Fathers envisioned a free and unfettered press to keep the system honest. Only by shedding the shackles of the corporate mindset and the massive amounts of money at their disposal, will we restore that ideal and the safeguards to our system of government.
This list could go on, but I think I have made my point. This is not rocket science. There is nothing that ails our government that a good CPA and a Business Lawyer couldn’t remedy. That this and much more could be written is all well and good. However, nothing of a positive and lasting nature can result until we accept nothing less than absolute honesty and integrity in government by those elected to serve us. The standards that apply to one must apply to all. Meaningful standards can only be the result of reasoned and sane minds. Screaming lunatics spouting the wrath of god and the trite solutions to all that ails us just won’t do the trick. Credibility is totally alien to all they espouse. They are demagogues using religious zeal in which to wrap their perverse goals in the cloth of respectability. The only thing they will do for us is a further erosion of our ideals.
Any real effort to bring a new political party to life must clearly and unequivocally state exactly what their agenda is and how they expect to realize its fulfillment. Latitudes and platitudes just won’t cut it. Vague, nonspecific rhetoric can no longer be the order of the day. Surely, we have had enough of that to last us for a very long time. However, let us not delude ourselves into believing the change we need will come easily or quickly. Make no mistake about it. It is going to be a labor of love, the only reward for which is hard work and the satisfaction of knowing the country is a little bit better because of their commitment to higher ideals.
I just don’t see how we can put off serious consideration of a real governing alternative in the form of a completely new political party, free of the encumbrances of those who have had “squatter’s rights” on our government for far too long. The “old boys club” must give way to “servants of the people and for the public interest.” Service must be seen as a badge of honor and pride, not an opportunity to engage in the wholesale plundering of the nation’s treasury and indentured servitude to every special interest seeking to profit at our expense.
Where do we begin and how do we start? I would begin by convening a group of people of like mind for the expressed purpose of laying the groundwork for the party. That group must, of necessity, be in an age group where ideals are seen as within their grasp. They must have that fire-in-the-belly that other greats have manifested in the heyday of their careers. They must do the work of giving birth to a new political party, nurturing it to maturity and giving it a lasting life on the American political scene. They must believe it can set this country on a new and lasting course for the benefit of all the people in this republic.
I mean this with absolutely no respect. There is a nucleus of mature people whose hearts and minds are kindred spirits to any such endeavor. They have grown and evolved into what I regard as the great sages of our time. However, it is simply a fact that, as people rise in prominence and affluence, they become a part of a social stratum that is more staid and less revolutionary. That doesn’t, however, mean they are any less willing to share their experience and wisdom with a younger generation wanting to make the radical changes we so desperately need.
Permit me to engage in a bit of name-dropping:
Bill Moyers is one of the pre-eminent journalists and intellectuals of our time. I would be surprised if he wouldn't gladly share the benefit of his knowledge, experience and wisdom with any viable group of dedicated individuals seeking to make this country better. His contacts, alone, would be an invaluable reservoir of helpful information.
David Stockman, former Budget Director in the Reagan Administration probably has a better grasp on the sorry state of our economy and the institutions that comprise it than any other person in the business.
Jonathan Turley on the staff of Georgetown University is probably one of the best constitutional lawyers around.
Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman are both Nobel Laureates in the field of economics. Robert Reich is well schooled and highly respected in economics and public policy.
Elizabeth Warren would be an excellent source of knowledge in terms of consumer protection policies.
Brooksley Born is probably the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to the regulation of derivatives and hedge funds.
Madeline Albright has excellent experience in international affairs and foreign policy.
Wesley Clark would be able to provide some valuable insights into issues pertaining to the military establishment and ways in which the relationship between the military, the intelligence apparatus and the political system could be improved.
Russ Feingold, former Senator from Wisconsin, would be the one to help in revamping campaign finance laws and practices.
Bernie Sanders would be an invaluable resource for advice in creating a party that is more responsive to the electorate and the needs of the country.
Peter Morici would be an excellent resource person in matters pertaining to international trade and monetary policy.
Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania would be an excellent resource in forming a new political party.
Alan Grayson, former Congressman from Florida is a real firebrand and would be a great influence in the formation of a new political party.
Eliot Spitzer would be an outstanding resource person on government regulation.
Chuck Hagel is, in my opinion, one of the finest men ever to have served in government. He is the former U.S. Senator from the State of Nebraska, and is currently on the faculty of Georgetown University. He has served this country in the military with distinction and has demonstrated the leadership qualities essential to the political process. In his book, America: Our Next Chapter, he suggests that the United States should adopt independent leadership and possibly another political party.
Keep in mind that I am thinking of people who have the reputation, stature and countenance of real leaders, not politicians or community organizers.
A new political party is simply going to have to begin by committing to a bold set of objectives in order to restore confidence and trust in government as an instrument for all the people.
1. Declare a national fiscal emergency. Break up all the financial institutions that have been deemed “too big to fail.” Re-instate the provisions of the Glass/Steagall Act for the purpose of regulating financial institutions and limiting the scope and power of their activities.
2. Restore the tax brackets that were in effect during the Clinton Administration, preparatory to a massive restructuring of the tax code.
3. Declare a moratorium on the sale or lease of public assets to private interests by elected officials, with a goal of legislating all future actions subject to a referendum of the voters.
4. Preparation of a Constitutional Amendment that will clearly define a “person” as a living human being who is a bonafide citizen of the United States of America. No legal entity or organization can be accorded the same privileges to act on behalf of those rights and privileges that are the exclusive purview of individual citizens.
5. Embark on a serious and comprehensive goal of complete campaign finance reform.
6. Advocate and support a ban on the “revolving door” between government service and working as a lobbyist for special interests. If any branch of government needs the help of experts, then the government should find the means to call on the reservoirs of that expertise by contractual arrangements that are fully transparent.
7. Seek legislation that will prohibit secret meetings by the various branches of government, except in matters of national security. In all such cases, there should be a reasonable sunset provision that would expire and remove the shroud of secrecy, thereafter making the records open to the public.
8. Except in cases that clearly deal with issues of national security, complete transparency must be the order of the day. No more “private” meetings between members of Congress, the President and other agencies of government, with private organizations having a vested interest in the outcome of any legislation or regulation specific to those industries.
9. Embark on a massive study of trade policies and practices with the objective of restoring our national priorities and welfare to the process.
10. Restore fairness and equality to labor laws so those who produce as well as those who invest in the economy share a level playing field. Indentured servitude died with the Dark Ages.
11. Every effort must be made to break up the “military/industrial complex,” so that entire part of our government is transparent and can withstand the light of day.
I believe we need a division within the government that evaluates proposed legislation in order to ensure no process becomes a closed loop. One part of the process cannot be allowed to influence or control any other part. The outcome should be a cost/benefit analysis that clearly establishes the best interests of the people are being served. A sister bureau within the Department of Justice should evaluate what is being done in the name of and on behalf of the electorate so as to preclude any and all self-serving practices and conflicts of interest that may accrue to the detriment of the electorate.
Beyond these few considerations, the party should make a solemn commitment to the voters that the hallmark of everything the party stands for has the objective of restoring accountability and control to the people of this country. The era of exclusivity that has dominated our national politics for far too long must end. A healthy democracy requires no less, which I believe are the underpinnings of what the Founding Fathers intended.
A study by an appropriate mix of constitutional scholars should, I believe, re-examine the intended role and powers of each branch of government against those now in place, with the goal of restoring the balance that served us so well in the past. Democracy is much too precious and too fragile to countenance the coveting of power, privilege, influence and imperial aspirations. At the end of the day, we are and should remain one people, united in our common welfare.
I am asking nothing of you except that you take the time to read what I have written. If you see merit in these words, that you will take the time and effort to share it with others who are in a position to make it happen. Time is not on our side. If real change is to happen, it must start now. Three guiding principles that can make it happen come to mind.
The first is, “Anything is possible as long as no one cares who gets the
credit for it.“
The second is, “The message is more important than the messenger.“
The third is, “There is nothing stronger than a simple belief.“
I do believe we must do something bold, with a strong sense of purpose and a cast iron will to make it happen. It can and must be done.
1. A new political party must have a name that reflects our most noble ideals (“The Egalitarian Party”) It must have a motto that reflects its core objective (“The Voice of America.”)
2. The process must begin with (a) strategic plan, (b) an operational plan, (c) a list of possible candidates who might consider taking up the banner.
3. The hallmark of an initial campaign should be a clear and definitive statement of what the party stands for, what the party intends to address (in rank order of priority) and a time frame for accomplishing those objectives.
4. Do not hesitate to name individuals who will be called upon to join and support this new adventure, and to endorse candidates affiliated with other political parties whose goals are consistent with this political party.
5. Leaders must be squeaky clean and free of scandal. The public must have confidence in “what you see is what you get.”
These and legions of others with whom I am not familiar could, I am sure, be brought together to wage and win this war against the very soul of this country. Despite our many warts and bumps, the American people are a good people. Their hearts are in the right place and they deserve a fair shake that has eluded them for much too long. They are deserving of so much better.
It is time to stop the circus that has become the center of American politics, and the approach to the myriad personal and political agendas being proffered as panaceas for all that ails us. To any reasoned mind, those are gross over simplifications that just don’t pass the smell test.
The crisis we face is ominous. There is a sense of urgency to what we face that can no longer be ignored. The time to get serious and the time to get started are upon us.
Cowboy Bob
http://sagebrushphilosopher.blogspot.com/
June 24, 2011
Since the so-called “recession,” came down on our collective heads we have been witness to the “blame game” in all its glory and in all its manifestations. Lying, once a serious character flaw, has become commonplace almost to the level of a new art form. It has become an accepted means of survival in today’s world of government, business and commerce. We are no longer shocked by its use or its efficacy.
As I have watched the progression of events that seem to be taking us deeper into the morass of financial and social ruin, I have tried to distill from the sweeping malaise and growing sense of hopelessness just what it was that set this national nightmare in motion. I have concluded that nothing can happen to us that we don’t allow. In the final analysis, we the people bear the burden of this sad state of affairs because of our complacency and the willingness to allow others to determine our national priorities and the values that govern our everyday lives. Over the course of a very long time, there has been a gradual reversal in the relationship between the government and the governed. We no longer seem to have a common set of values that enable us to come together as one people and to work for the common good. Our moral base is in tatters. It no longer guides us in the conduct of our daily lives. Where we used to be one people with one purpose, we are now a collection of individuals who seem totally preoccupied with the satisfaction of every materialistic and hedonistic appetite imaginable. As long as I get mine, I really don’t give a damn whether or not you get yours. If I have to destroy and consume you in the process, so be it.
We have turned into a bunch of humanoids and automatons that no longer seem to be the least bit concerned about the other person and his/her welfare. We now have, as adults, the second generation of “spoiled brats” that come from the era of the child-centered home that spawned a sense of entitlement, which, in turn, has become the epitome of personal selfishness. Individual responsibility and discipline have been trumped by personal pleasure and the consumption of consumer goods. We have mortgaged our future in the pursuit of obtaining far more than we need and we still feel deprived in the midst of it all. We no longer define our own needs and wants. We have abdicated that responsibility to the marketing departments of big business, the creative departments of the entertainment industries and the programming departments of news organizations.
I don’t think we really know who and what we are anymore. We no longer question the motives of those who lead us. We believe they are acting with our best interests in mind. We simply accept what is peddled because it just takes too much time and effort to pause and attempt to ascertain what lies behind the sales pitch. Complacency is a terminal illness.
What happened to our sense of decency? Are we shocked and outraged by anything anymore? Are we sinking so far into the mire that we have become the product of our basest biological needs at the expense of those aspects of our nature that set us apart from animals lower on the food chain? Is erectile dysfunction really a national epidemic or is it a ploy to create a demand for prescription drugs that few really need? Is showing female cleavage really a fashion statement that elevates us to the next higher rung on the ladder of human evolution? Has the advent of electronic devices used for the purpose of entertainment, communication and social interaction really resulted in raising the human race to a higher position on the pecking order of living beings? When we no longer socialize with each other, no longer talk to each other, no longer care about each other and no longer help each other, what have we become? Animals? Is it just another manifestation of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest?”
At the end of the day, we can play the blame game until hell freezes over, but we have created the fertile ground for every vile and evil force within the fabric of the human condition in order to grow and prosper at our individual and collective expense. We have been had, big time. Why, then, do we continue to give legitimacy to the very forces that are destroying us and all that we hold near and dear to our hearts? Does any sane person really believe that the two political parties and the fringe element created by them have our best interests in mind? Does anyone really believe they are moved by anything other than ulterior motives to advance their insatiable greed and rapacious conquest of our very humanity? Does anyone really take seriously all the manifestations of that ignorant and simplistic philosophy?
We need to go back to square one and define what a real alternative to the mainstream political parties would look like and stand for. I have concluded that we no longer have genuine role models we can emulate and who can appeal to the finer angels within us. I have no doubts that they are there, just waiting to be rekindled to inspire us all to the greatness we once were and can surely be again. The bedrock has to be laid for a renaissance of the virtues that set us apart from the beasts of the jungle. We need leadership that reflects back to us all that we can aspire to despite our own individual shortcomings. They walk among us and, with the right stimulus could be roused to come to our aid and restore all that is good and decent among the people of this country. However, it has to start with ideals and leadership that reflect those ideals.
The hallmark of such an undertaking must be “equality, with fairness and justice for all.” Any such effort must be upfront and forthright about all it stands for and the objectives it will pursue on behalf of the people of this country, not special interests. It must be based on solid bedrocks of honesty and integrity. The aura of omnipotence that has surrounded our government and those who comprise it must be shattered. For far too long, that mystique has served them extremely well at the expense and peril of the American people. There must be a resolve to rout out corruption, conflicts of interest and self-serving practices. The shroud of secrecy that envelopes so much of what goes on in the name of “the people’s business,” must be lifted. Transparency and exposure to the light of day must be the norm, not the exception. Some things that come to mind are ----
1. Commercial institutions must be regulated so they render service to the people. There has to be an end to self-serving practices much of which lie at the root of all that has happened to the social and economic structure of this country since 2008. “Too big to fail” is an anomaly to good business practices and the responsible conduct of business affairs.
2. The closed loop of authority held by government officials must be broken. It is utterly inconceivable in this modern age that elected officials can unilaterally determine their levels of compensation, the perquisites they enjoy and the benefit of lavish healthcare and retirement programs after having served only one term in office. There should be no opportunity for that to occur without the expressed consent of the governed by a referendum of the voters. I find it incredulous that one can go to Washington a pauper and come home a millionaire. Is this what has so shamelessly been asked of working people to support?
3. Private money, in all its forms, must be purged from the conduct of government affairs. Campaign finance reform is imperative.
4. Term limits need to be considered for every elected office in order to prevent the accumulation of power and “squatter’s rights” at the expense of the electorate.
5. The Tax Code needs to be massively reformed in order to simplify the process and to make the system fair and equitable for all taxpayers.
6. Somewhere within the vast labyrinths of government there must be an office the sole purpose of which is to determine and ensure an “arms length relationship” between all parties to government bids and procurement contracts. Objectivity and the absence of opportunities for collusion must prevail between contract negotiations, procurement and compensation for goods and services. Individual branches of government should not be allowed to unilaterally engage in such practices lest they occur at the expense of the people.
7. All government property rightfully belongs to the people. No government property should be bought, sold or leased by government officials without the expressed consent of the voters by means of the public referendum.
8. There should be no provision for “private” and/or secret meetings between elected officials and special interests. All such meetings should be open and properly documented for the record. “Special deals” have cost this country dearly and have contributed to the creation of centers of informal power and questionable practices that may have bordered on criminal conduct. There is no legitimate reason for such behavior, except in cases of national security, in which case there should be a sunset provision up front, for eventually de-classifying the records of such meetings.
9. No subsidies should be allowed for industries doing business with the government. If the free market system is to work effectively, as we have been led to believe, then let the investment of resources and the acumen of those business leaders prevail at their own peril. The taxpayers have been held hostage to this bribery long enough.
10. The revolving door between government service and service as a lobbyist must be stopped. Clearly, a blatant conflict of interest serves no useful purpose that accrues to the benefit of the citizens of this country. Where a professional assessment or study of an issue is needed, then let the government go to outside, objective sources for the knowledge and expertise required to advise them on the merits of any given issue. Our colleges and universities are replete with a wellspring of minds and talent that no single or group of politicians can equal. They are free of the constraints that exist within the Beltway. No personal stake in the game. No special deals, just sound knowledge and good judgment.
11. And last, but certainly not least, we must abolish corporate ownership of our news media. The Founding Fathers envisioned a free and unfettered press to keep the system honest. Only by shedding the shackles of the corporate mindset and the massive amounts of money at their disposal, will we restore that ideal and the safeguards to our system of government.
This list could go on, but I think I have made my point. This is not rocket science. There is nothing that ails our government that a good CPA and a Business Lawyer couldn’t remedy. That this and much more could be written is all well and good. However, nothing of a positive and lasting nature can result until we accept nothing less than absolute honesty and integrity in government by those elected to serve us. The standards that apply to one must apply to all. Meaningful standards can only be the result of reasoned and sane minds. Screaming lunatics spouting the wrath of god and the trite solutions to all that ails us just won’t do the trick. Credibility is totally alien to all they espouse. They are demagogues using religious zeal in which to wrap their perverse goals in the cloth of respectability. The only thing they will do for us is a further erosion of our ideals.
Any real effort to bring a new political party to life must clearly and unequivocally state exactly what their agenda is and how they expect to realize its fulfillment. Latitudes and platitudes just won’t cut it. Vague, nonspecific rhetoric can no longer be the order of the day. Surely, we have had enough of that to last us for a very long time. However, let us not delude ourselves into believing the change we need will come easily or quickly. Make no mistake about it. It is going to be a labor of love, the only reward for which is hard work and the satisfaction of knowing the country is a little bit better because of their commitment to higher ideals.
I just don’t see how we can put off serious consideration of a real governing alternative in the form of a completely new political party, free of the encumbrances of those who have had “squatter’s rights” on our government for far too long. The “old boys club” must give way to “servants of the people and for the public interest.” Service must be seen as a badge of honor and pride, not an opportunity to engage in the wholesale plundering of the nation’s treasury and indentured servitude to every special interest seeking to profit at our expense.
Where do we begin and how do we start? I would begin by convening a group of people of like mind for the expressed purpose of laying the groundwork for the party. That group must, of necessity, be in an age group where ideals are seen as within their grasp. They must have that fire-in-the-belly that other greats have manifested in the heyday of their careers. They must do the work of giving birth to a new political party, nurturing it to maturity and giving it a lasting life on the American political scene. They must believe it can set this country on a new and lasting course for the benefit of all the people in this republic.
I mean this with absolutely no respect. There is a nucleus of mature people whose hearts and minds are kindred spirits to any such endeavor. They have grown and evolved into what I regard as the great sages of our time. However, it is simply a fact that, as people rise in prominence and affluence, they become a part of a social stratum that is more staid and less revolutionary. That doesn’t, however, mean they are any less willing to share their experience and wisdom with a younger generation wanting to make the radical changes we so desperately need.
Permit me to engage in a bit of name-dropping:
Bill Moyers is one of the pre-eminent journalists and intellectuals of our time. I would be surprised if he wouldn't gladly share the benefit of his knowledge, experience and wisdom with any viable group of dedicated individuals seeking to make this country better. His contacts, alone, would be an invaluable reservoir of helpful information.
David Stockman, former Budget Director in the Reagan Administration probably has a better grasp on the sorry state of our economy and the institutions that comprise it than any other person in the business.
Jonathan Turley on the staff of Georgetown University is probably one of the best constitutional lawyers around.
Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman are both Nobel Laureates in the field of economics. Robert Reich is well schooled and highly respected in economics and public policy.
Elizabeth Warren would be an excellent source of knowledge in terms of consumer protection policies.
Brooksley Born is probably the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to the regulation of derivatives and hedge funds.
Madeline Albright has excellent experience in international affairs and foreign policy.
Wesley Clark would be able to provide some valuable insights into issues pertaining to the military establishment and ways in which the relationship between the military, the intelligence apparatus and the political system could be improved.
Russ Feingold, former Senator from Wisconsin, would be the one to help in revamping campaign finance laws and practices.
Bernie Sanders would be an invaluable resource for advice in creating a party that is more responsive to the electorate and the needs of the country.
Peter Morici would be an excellent resource person in matters pertaining to international trade and monetary policy.
Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania would be an excellent resource in forming a new political party.
Alan Grayson, former Congressman from Florida is a real firebrand and would be a great influence in the formation of a new political party.
Eliot Spitzer would be an outstanding resource person on government regulation.
Chuck Hagel is, in my opinion, one of the finest men ever to have served in government. He is the former U.S. Senator from the State of Nebraska, and is currently on the faculty of Georgetown University. He has served this country in the military with distinction and has demonstrated the leadership qualities essential to the political process. In his book, America: Our Next Chapter, he suggests that the United States should adopt independent leadership and possibly another political party.
Keep in mind that I am thinking of people who have the reputation, stature and countenance of real leaders, not politicians or community organizers.
A new political party is simply going to have to begin by committing to a bold set of objectives in order to restore confidence and trust in government as an instrument for all the people.
1. Declare a national fiscal emergency. Break up all the financial institutions that have been deemed “too big to fail.” Re-instate the provisions of the Glass/Steagall Act for the purpose of regulating financial institutions and limiting the scope and power of their activities.
2. Restore the tax brackets that were in effect during the Clinton Administration, preparatory to a massive restructuring of the tax code.
3. Declare a moratorium on the sale or lease of public assets to private interests by elected officials, with a goal of legislating all future actions subject to a referendum of the voters.
4. Preparation of a Constitutional Amendment that will clearly define a “person” as a living human being who is a bonafide citizen of the United States of America. No legal entity or organization can be accorded the same privileges to act on behalf of those rights and privileges that are the exclusive purview of individual citizens.
5. Embark on a serious and comprehensive goal of complete campaign finance reform.
6. Advocate and support a ban on the “revolving door” between government service and working as a lobbyist for special interests. If any branch of government needs the help of experts, then the government should find the means to call on the reservoirs of that expertise by contractual arrangements that are fully transparent.
7. Seek legislation that will prohibit secret meetings by the various branches of government, except in matters of national security. In all such cases, there should be a reasonable sunset provision that would expire and remove the shroud of secrecy, thereafter making the records open to the public.
8. Except in cases that clearly deal with issues of national security, complete transparency must be the order of the day. No more “private” meetings between members of Congress, the President and other agencies of government, with private organizations having a vested interest in the outcome of any legislation or regulation specific to those industries.
9. Embark on a massive study of trade policies and practices with the objective of restoring our national priorities and welfare to the process.
10. Restore fairness and equality to labor laws so those who produce as well as those who invest in the economy share a level playing field. Indentured servitude died with the Dark Ages.
11. Every effort must be made to break up the “military/industrial complex,” so that entire part of our government is transparent and can withstand the light of day.
I believe we need a division within the government that evaluates proposed legislation in order to ensure no process becomes a closed loop. One part of the process cannot be allowed to influence or control any other part. The outcome should be a cost/benefit analysis that clearly establishes the best interests of the people are being served. A sister bureau within the Department of Justice should evaluate what is being done in the name of and on behalf of the electorate so as to preclude any and all self-serving practices and conflicts of interest that may accrue to the detriment of the electorate.
Beyond these few considerations, the party should make a solemn commitment to the voters that the hallmark of everything the party stands for has the objective of restoring accountability and control to the people of this country. The era of exclusivity that has dominated our national politics for far too long must end. A healthy democracy requires no less, which I believe are the underpinnings of what the Founding Fathers intended.
A study by an appropriate mix of constitutional scholars should, I believe, re-examine the intended role and powers of each branch of government against those now in place, with the goal of restoring the balance that served us so well in the past. Democracy is much too precious and too fragile to countenance the coveting of power, privilege, influence and imperial aspirations. At the end of the day, we are and should remain one people, united in our common welfare.
I am asking nothing of you except that you take the time to read what I have written. If you see merit in these words, that you will take the time and effort to share it with others who are in a position to make it happen. Time is not on our side. If real change is to happen, it must start now. Three guiding principles that can make it happen come to mind.
The first is, “Anything is possible as long as no one cares who gets the
credit for it.“
The second is, “The message is more important than the messenger.“
The third is, “There is nothing stronger than a simple belief.“
I do believe we must do something bold, with a strong sense of purpose and a cast iron will to make it happen. It can and must be done.
1. A new political party must have a name that reflects our most noble ideals (“The Egalitarian Party”) It must have a motto that reflects its core objective (“The Voice of America.”)
2. The process must begin with (a) strategic plan, (b) an operational plan, (c) a list of possible candidates who might consider taking up the banner.
3. The hallmark of an initial campaign should be a clear and definitive statement of what the party stands for, what the party intends to address (in rank order of priority) and a time frame for accomplishing those objectives.
4. Do not hesitate to name individuals who will be called upon to join and support this new adventure, and to endorse candidates affiliated with other political parties whose goals are consistent with this political party.
5. Leaders must be squeaky clean and free of scandal. The public must have confidence in “what you see is what you get.”
These and legions of others with whom I am not familiar could, I am sure, be brought together to wage and win this war against the very soul of this country. Despite our many warts and bumps, the American people are a good people. Their hearts are in the right place and they deserve a fair shake that has eluded them for much too long. They are deserving of so much better.
It is time to stop the circus that has become the center of American politics, and the approach to the myriad personal and political agendas being proffered as panaceas for all that ails us. To any reasoned mind, those are gross over simplifications that just don’t pass the smell test.
The crisis we face is ominous. There is a sense of urgency to what we face that can no longer be ignored. The time to get serious and the time to get started are upon us.
Cowboy Bob
http://sagebrushphilosopher.blogspot.com/
June 24, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Personal Meanderings of an Expat in 2004
I was moved to write the following a few years ago. You might find it interesting.
Cowboy Bob
June 18, 2011
November 16, 2004
The weather here is as nice as it gets anywhere in the world. The daytime temperatures are in the 80’s and the nighttime temperatures are in the 60’s. A fitting reward for four months of searing heat.
The Holy Month of Ramadan came to a close last Friday. We are now in the 4th day of a 5-day celebration of the Eid holiday following Ramadan. Virtually nothing is going on, so time weighs heavy for those of us who have to man our stations. I will be glad when it’s over and we are back on a regular work routine. Boredom has its limits.
One side benefit to this particular time is that there is practically no traffic on the roads. I can actually relax and enjoy the drive. Unless you have experienced driving over here, that statement doesn’t mean much. Suffice to say that, normally, it is a never-ending exercise in defensive driving. For the young who see themselves as immortal, a car is a toy. For those of use who have to keep an eye out for them, it is a lethal weapon. Come Saturday, that will be the rule. I dread it.
The last 20 kilometers of the drive to work is open desert. It is a barren landscape with a mysterious beauty. During Ramadan the Bedouins move to the outskirts of the city and there is a proliferation of tent encampments. Gone are the beautiful black and white goat hair tents which have historically been their nomadic homes. In their place is the same old grey canvass commonplace in other parts of the world. I have enjoyed watching the large camel herds as they move slowly and majestically across the landscape. Every morning I see the same lone shepherd with his flock of sheep, followed by his faithful black donkey. I often ponder the hundreds of years between his life and mine. I doubt they would want theirs to be any different. Perhaps they have a secret to the good life that is yet to be discovered by the likes of me. I will never know.
They have already started breaking camp and moving back into the desert. As they do, their campsites are tidied up and all that remains are blackened spots of earth left from their camp fires. Were it not for those, you would never know they had been there. It is almost as if they were an illusion; never existing in reality.
Life has changed dramatically for western expats what with the rise in religious zealotry and terrorism. It has started to wear on me. A routine limited to life behind razor wire and armed guards, with the daily drive to and from work, and a trip to the supermarket once a week just doesn’t cut it. It isn’t necessarily the freedom to go about at will, but the knowing that I can when I want to - that is the issue. In a country where all the men dress the same, it is hard to discern friend from enemy, something that cannot help but engender a constant level of anxiety.
I have long maintained that a person can be alone without being lonely. I tend to be a loner. I am not charmed by trite conversation and cheap small talk. I find it boring, and the people who inflict it on others even more so. Besides, if socializing requires attire of more than blue jeans, a sweat shirt and a pair of Birkenstocks, I consider that a formal occasion. Not my cup of tea.
The Internet has been a boon to me. I am probably better informed than I have ever been in my life. I never cease to be awed by the sheer volume of information available. The downside is that books tend to stay on the shelf and gather dust. A forgotten treasure. I don’t listen to music like I used to. Music nourishes my soul. I feel better when I listen to music regularly. Perhaps that accounts for some of what I like to perceive as creeping eccentricity rather than openly acknowledging the realities of the aging process.
I would like to think I am a realist. I tend to accept life pretty much as it is and I am not easily swayed by what others may think of me. I don’t mind looking and acting my age so long as it reflects an active mind and a sincere concern as to where all of the crap in the world is taking us. I am offended by the youth cult. It is pathetic that people feel like they have to dye their hair at the first sign of grey. What is even worse are the humongous amounts of money being spent on face lifts, Botox injections and eye jobs at the first sign of a wrinkle, particularly among men. Vanity is endemic to the industrialized world and I think we are the poorer for it.
I do think about my age more than I used to. I don’t cook as much now. It isn’t important anymore. I nod off faster and more frequently in front of the television set. I am annoyed about so much of what goes with the aging process. The worst are people’s inclinations to patronize me more than in years gone by. That is insulting and I am not very gracious about it. I hate the fact that hair now grows where it shouldn’t and doesn’t grow where it should. The ears are particularly fertile ground. I swear the hairs grow an inch every night. Thank God for tweezers, Isopropyl Alcohol and a good pair of eye glasses. Have I become what can aptly be described as a “biological compost pile?” That is a sobering thought!
One of the great injustices of the life process is the fact that hormones are wasted on the young and wisdom is wasted on the old. I would have been a real dynamo if I had the wisdom at 30 that I have at 68. On the other hand, if I had the hormones at 60 plus that I had at 30 I would no doubt have suffered a massive vascular blowout long before I reached 68. Where is the justice of it all?
I am put off by older people who constantly talk about it. Alright, so you are old and getting older. What is the big deal? I honestly believe that deep within each of us lies that vibrant specimen of what we were in our prime, which requires constant nurturing. I think talking about getting older all the time hastens the aging process. An active mind, a never-ending curiosity about life and this world, and a sincere desire to make this crazy mess just a bit better where and when we can is a tonic. Maybe that is why I always had such an aversion to golf. What is there to emulate in a bunch of silly old men in gaudy clothes hitting their balls down a fairway (not to mention that small talk issue again), when they could be immersed in all of the other exciting things going on in the world? An added bonus is they just might be able to make a change for the better.
One last thought. Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State !!!! And we thought things couldn’t get any worse.
Well, this workday is drawing to a close. I think I will go home, change into some comfortable clothes and fix some brown rice and beans for dinner. That’s a bill of fare, rich in fiber, that should make for a good BM in the AM. Life’s pleasures are few.
November 17, 2004
I was in pretty good spirits when I wrote this. Admittedly, it is no literary masterpiece, but it is honest.
With the passage of time, it is easy to regress to a state of complacency after each assault on the senses. I have experienced it and observed it in others with each bombing and targeted assassination. It is amazing at how quickly we adapt and settle into a new routine.
In the long run I tend to believe all the palatial splendor around me is made possible by the wealth generated from the massive oil reserves under the surface of this peninsula. Not so. I stopped to fill my car with gasoline this morning, As I am predisposed to do from time to time, I casually struck up a conversation with the guys manning the gas pumps. I was hit yet again, right between the eyes, of the other reality behind all this opulence. It is a given that all of them are from Third World countries. They are the poorest of the poor. In this case, they are all from the Indian subcontinent. Each of them is on a 6-year employment contract. They work 12-hour days, 365 days per year, and never get to go home, even once, during that entire time. They are paid the equivalent of 186.47 US Dollars per month, which equates to 51 cents per hour. They live in absolutely squalid conditions, and subsist on such gourmet delights as fish heads and rice, chicken necks and rice, etc. Enough to make Wolfgang Puck salivate.
All of this perpetrated by yet another population that knows, with absolute certainty that God is on their side, the excesses not withstanding. True faith is humbling. Zealotry is frightening. Like most religions, both manifestations are to be found here just as they are in the U.S.A.
Cowboy Bob
June 18, 2011
November 16, 2004
The weather here is as nice as it gets anywhere in the world. The daytime temperatures are in the 80’s and the nighttime temperatures are in the 60’s. A fitting reward for four months of searing heat.
The Holy Month of Ramadan came to a close last Friday. We are now in the 4th day of a 5-day celebration of the Eid holiday following Ramadan. Virtually nothing is going on, so time weighs heavy for those of us who have to man our stations. I will be glad when it’s over and we are back on a regular work routine. Boredom has its limits.
One side benefit to this particular time is that there is practically no traffic on the roads. I can actually relax and enjoy the drive. Unless you have experienced driving over here, that statement doesn’t mean much. Suffice to say that, normally, it is a never-ending exercise in defensive driving. For the young who see themselves as immortal, a car is a toy. For those of use who have to keep an eye out for them, it is a lethal weapon. Come Saturday, that will be the rule. I dread it.
The last 20 kilometers of the drive to work is open desert. It is a barren landscape with a mysterious beauty. During Ramadan the Bedouins move to the outskirts of the city and there is a proliferation of tent encampments. Gone are the beautiful black and white goat hair tents which have historically been their nomadic homes. In their place is the same old grey canvass commonplace in other parts of the world. I have enjoyed watching the large camel herds as they move slowly and majestically across the landscape. Every morning I see the same lone shepherd with his flock of sheep, followed by his faithful black donkey. I often ponder the hundreds of years between his life and mine. I doubt they would want theirs to be any different. Perhaps they have a secret to the good life that is yet to be discovered by the likes of me. I will never know.
They have already started breaking camp and moving back into the desert. As they do, their campsites are tidied up and all that remains are blackened spots of earth left from their camp fires. Were it not for those, you would never know they had been there. It is almost as if they were an illusion; never existing in reality.
Life has changed dramatically for western expats what with the rise in religious zealotry and terrorism. It has started to wear on me. A routine limited to life behind razor wire and armed guards, with the daily drive to and from work, and a trip to the supermarket once a week just doesn’t cut it. It isn’t necessarily the freedom to go about at will, but the knowing that I can when I want to - that is the issue. In a country where all the men dress the same, it is hard to discern friend from enemy, something that cannot help but engender a constant level of anxiety.
I have long maintained that a person can be alone without being lonely. I tend to be a loner. I am not charmed by trite conversation and cheap small talk. I find it boring, and the people who inflict it on others even more so. Besides, if socializing requires attire of more than blue jeans, a sweat shirt and a pair of Birkenstocks, I consider that a formal occasion. Not my cup of tea.
The Internet has been a boon to me. I am probably better informed than I have ever been in my life. I never cease to be awed by the sheer volume of information available. The downside is that books tend to stay on the shelf and gather dust. A forgotten treasure. I don’t listen to music like I used to. Music nourishes my soul. I feel better when I listen to music regularly. Perhaps that accounts for some of what I like to perceive as creeping eccentricity rather than openly acknowledging the realities of the aging process.
I would like to think I am a realist. I tend to accept life pretty much as it is and I am not easily swayed by what others may think of me. I don’t mind looking and acting my age so long as it reflects an active mind and a sincere concern as to where all of the crap in the world is taking us. I am offended by the youth cult. It is pathetic that people feel like they have to dye their hair at the first sign of grey. What is even worse are the humongous amounts of money being spent on face lifts, Botox injections and eye jobs at the first sign of a wrinkle, particularly among men. Vanity is endemic to the industrialized world and I think we are the poorer for it.
I do think about my age more than I used to. I don’t cook as much now. It isn’t important anymore. I nod off faster and more frequently in front of the television set. I am annoyed about so much of what goes with the aging process. The worst are people’s inclinations to patronize me more than in years gone by. That is insulting and I am not very gracious about it. I hate the fact that hair now grows where it shouldn’t and doesn’t grow where it should. The ears are particularly fertile ground. I swear the hairs grow an inch every night. Thank God for tweezers, Isopropyl Alcohol and a good pair of eye glasses. Have I become what can aptly be described as a “biological compost pile?” That is a sobering thought!
One of the great injustices of the life process is the fact that hormones are wasted on the young and wisdom is wasted on the old. I would have been a real dynamo if I had the wisdom at 30 that I have at 68. On the other hand, if I had the hormones at 60 plus that I had at 30 I would no doubt have suffered a massive vascular blowout long before I reached 68. Where is the justice of it all?
I am put off by older people who constantly talk about it. Alright, so you are old and getting older. What is the big deal? I honestly believe that deep within each of us lies that vibrant specimen of what we were in our prime, which requires constant nurturing. I think talking about getting older all the time hastens the aging process. An active mind, a never-ending curiosity about life and this world, and a sincere desire to make this crazy mess just a bit better where and when we can is a tonic. Maybe that is why I always had such an aversion to golf. What is there to emulate in a bunch of silly old men in gaudy clothes hitting their balls down a fairway (not to mention that small talk issue again), when they could be immersed in all of the other exciting things going on in the world? An added bonus is they just might be able to make a change for the better.
One last thought. Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State !!!! And we thought things couldn’t get any worse.
Well, this workday is drawing to a close. I think I will go home, change into some comfortable clothes and fix some brown rice and beans for dinner. That’s a bill of fare, rich in fiber, that should make for a good BM in the AM. Life’s pleasures are few.
November 17, 2004
I was in pretty good spirits when I wrote this. Admittedly, it is no literary masterpiece, but it is honest.
With the passage of time, it is easy to regress to a state of complacency after each assault on the senses. I have experienced it and observed it in others with each bombing and targeted assassination. It is amazing at how quickly we adapt and settle into a new routine.
In the long run I tend to believe all the palatial splendor around me is made possible by the wealth generated from the massive oil reserves under the surface of this peninsula. Not so. I stopped to fill my car with gasoline this morning, As I am predisposed to do from time to time, I casually struck up a conversation with the guys manning the gas pumps. I was hit yet again, right between the eyes, of the other reality behind all this opulence. It is a given that all of them are from Third World countries. They are the poorest of the poor. In this case, they are all from the Indian subcontinent. Each of them is on a 6-year employment contract. They work 12-hour days, 365 days per year, and never get to go home, even once, during that entire time. They are paid the equivalent of 186.47 US Dollars per month, which equates to 51 cents per hour. They live in absolutely squalid conditions, and subsist on such gourmet delights as fish heads and rice, chicken necks and rice, etc. Enough to make Wolfgang Puck salivate.
All of this perpetrated by yet another population that knows, with absolute certainty that God is on their side, the excesses not withstanding. True faith is humbling. Zealotry is frightening. Like most religions, both manifestations are to be found here just as they are in the U.S.A.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
"Where Are You In The Lives Of All Americans, Mr. President?"
I don’t wish to denigrate the assassination of Osama bin Laden on Barack Obama’s watch. It is a sterling achievement and one that is long overdue. But, to hail that as a great feat of leadership is a bit difficult for me to accept. That is to be the legacy of a man whose entire style of “leadership” is consensus decision-making and bi-partisanship? I ask you, where is the hallmark of a real leader in all this? If truth be known, he may have had the final “go head” on this one, but I would hazard a guess that it came in the wake of consensus-building, big time. It just isn’t in his nature to do it any other way.
He is getting a lot of good press and, of course, the media personalities are fawning all over him and hailing him as the great leader. The memory of those who died on 9/11 and their survivors have waited a long time for this. However, I would ask, “What has our Great Leader” done for the massive numbers of Americans who are suffering unmercifully because of his betrayal of them and his sell-out to massive wealth, big business and the elites of our society? Are their lives any less precious? I hardly think so. The pain of the victims of 9-11 has long vanished. The pain of those suffering and yet to suffer at the hands of the plutocrats and the oligarchs is still to be measured. Their stark agony remains with no end in sight. Milk this for as much as you can get out of it, Mr. President. You have yet to convince me you even know the definition of the word “leader,” much less how to be one.
Let’s take a few moments to focus on some of President Obama’s more notable achievements.
He was going to bring those guilty of criminal behavior during the Bush Administration to justice. What did he do? He decided we should look to the future rather than dwell on the past. The entire lot of them got off Scott free and is living the good life among us.
He was going to close Guantanamo Bay Prison, do away with secret trials and military tribunals. What did he do? Nothing. They are still in effect.
He was going to do away with warrant-less wiretapping and other spying activities on civilians. What did he do? Nothing. They are still viable.
He was going to do whatever it would take to stimulate the economy and create jobs. What did he do? He virtually ignored every recommendation made by some of the finest economic minds in the country, and brought back all the key players from the Clinton Administration who set us up for this catastrophe. The result is a weak and totally ineffective recovery, at best, if not outright stagnation. But, the boys who brought this down on us continue to flourish and prosper at the taxpayers’ expense!
He was going to reinstate the controls on financial industries that were, essentially, the essence of the Glass-Steagal Act, in order to prevent this from ever happening again. What did we get? He invited the very ones who perpetrated this catastrophe into the tent, met with his happy band of former Clinton rogues, and co-opted Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. They got their heads together and produced the weakest, most ineffective set of regulations one could possibly imagine. The result is that those most responsible for the debacle are thriving and flourishing at the expense of the taxpayers. Ben Bernanke has provided them with taxpayer funds at little or no interest so they, in turn, could re-loan the funds, with interest, that enabled them to make even more money at the expense of the taxpayers.
He was going to re-open the provisions of NAFTA in order to make it more favorable to the interests of the workers in the United States. What did he do? He met with the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada, the result of which was his reaffirmation of the provisions of that agreement and a commitment to strengthen it even further to the detriment of our national interests.
Home mortgages have gone through the roof with repossessions of homes at an all time high. Millions of Americans have lost their homes and have been put on the street, while the stench of corruption and criminal improprieties in that market have gone unnoticed and unpunished. Their plundering of the market has barely slowed.
He was going to do great and wondrous things in order to provide the citizens of this country with affordable healthcare that would cover virtually everybody. He was an avowed advocate of a public payer option and government negotiated prices for prescription drugs. What did we get? He invited the bandits from the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies into the tent (secret White House meetings) and we ended up with no public option and no negotiated prices for prescription drugs. Instead, we got a convoluted program that requires the acumen of a Philadelphia lawyer to comprehend, and we are led to believe that we have the greatest healthcare plan in history.
He caved in to the Republicans and the Tea Baggers, and agreed to a two-year extension of the tax cuts for the rich in exchange for a paltry 10-month extension of unemployment insurance for the massive numbers of Americans out of work. It was hailed as the greatest thing since paper clips and we were expected to bow down in grateful humility for his acumen and compassion on our behalf. Now, in the wake of the brilliance of his Debt Reduction Commission, he is on a kick to reduce our National Debt on the backs of the working people and poor of this country. He will not acknowledge that we don’t have a debt problem but, rather, a revenue problem. Although he is blustering about raising the taxes on the rich and on corporations, which are at best two years away, I seriously doubt they will ever become reality. It is the stuff of a good speech but not the substance of his reality.
He has refused to focus on the need for scaling back our massive financial commitment to the military/industrial complex. In cahoots with the defense establishment, he has engaged in an exercise of smoke and mirrors to convince us that he will embark on significant reductions in those areas, all the while playing games with the numbers so they end up with even more money. Ah, such is the price of empire!
Then there is the never-ending bluster about taking on the unfair trade practices with China. My question to him, after lo these many months of rhetoric, “Where is the beef?” I doubt that we will ever see it.
Where has our illustrious leader been when public workers took on the Oberfuhrer in the Governor’s Mansion in Wisconsin? Did he give them the moral support they warranted? He was no where to be seen and is not likely to make an appearance in other places that are under siege by the Republican juggernaut hell bent on the mass destruction of public institutions and workers’ rights in places such as Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey and other places yet to bear the brunt of their assaults. Where is this great leader of the Democratic philosophy of government to be found?
Where is the President in the lives of the families of Appalachia, trying to eek out a life supported by meager wages, all the while bearing witness to the rapacious destruction of one of the greatest ecological treasures in the nation, as coal companies level mountains and pollute valleys in their never-ending pursuit of more money?
Where is the President in the lives of those in the Rust Belt, disenfranchised from honest labor because of the wholesale loss of jobs to cheap labor markets in foreign countries? How are they to survive and ascend the ladder of the American Dream?
Where is the President in the lives of those along the Gulf Coast still waiting for the recompense that was supposed to be forthcoming from British Petroleum as compensation for their wanton destruction of the Gulf of Mexico and those who are dependent on its health?
Where is the President in the lives of the Midwestern farmers who bear witness to the destruction of a way of life that has long been the backbone of these United States of America? Where is there hope for them as agribusiness gobbles up valuable farm land for their genetically modified crops and the production of food grains for ethanol?
Where is the President in the lives of those who shiver from the cold because they can no longer afford to pay the price of oil to heat their homes?
Where is the President in the lives of those who have to further cut back on their meager assets in order to fork over the price of gasoline for their cars, now approaching five dollars per gallon?
Where is the President in the lives of all those who have seen their retirement programs vaporize before their very eyes because of the shenanigans of the financial slight-of-hand antics of investment bankers?
Where is the President in the lives of those who can no longer afford to go to college in order to better themselves and their families?
Where is the President in the lives of those who have gone off to war, sacrificing their lives because there are no jobs to be had at home, sworn to protect the lives and life-styles of those who exploit them and their families for the almighty dollar? What, I ask you, is noble about that?
Where is the President in the lives of the Native Americans, long ago exiled to remote reservations, consigned to a meager existence just in order to survive, with the faint hope that the white man will someday realize the error of his ways and show them the respect they deserve? But, that is ancient history with faint hope of any discernable change.
Where, Mr. Obama, are you in the lives of all those who believed in you, supported you and voted you into office, only to be totally betrayed by all that you have either proven to be or not to be? About all your base can do, at this point, is wait for the other shoe to drop in order to see what other morbid surprises still await us, as you toss us another crumb, capped off with a lofty speech and the promise of better things to come.
Change we can believe in? No matter what you may choose to call it, Mr. President, your record has shown you to be less than the real deal. For the sake of all those who need to believe in you, I wish you were.
Cowboy Bob
May 4, 2011
He is getting a lot of good press and, of course, the media personalities are fawning all over him and hailing him as the great leader. The memory of those who died on 9/11 and their survivors have waited a long time for this. However, I would ask, “What has our Great Leader” done for the massive numbers of Americans who are suffering unmercifully because of his betrayal of them and his sell-out to massive wealth, big business and the elites of our society? Are their lives any less precious? I hardly think so. The pain of the victims of 9-11 has long vanished. The pain of those suffering and yet to suffer at the hands of the plutocrats and the oligarchs is still to be measured. Their stark agony remains with no end in sight. Milk this for as much as you can get out of it, Mr. President. You have yet to convince me you even know the definition of the word “leader,” much less how to be one.
Let’s take a few moments to focus on some of President Obama’s more notable achievements.
He was going to bring those guilty of criminal behavior during the Bush Administration to justice. What did he do? He decided we should look to the future rather than dwell on the past. The entire lot of them got off Scott free and is living the good life among us.
He was going to close Guantanamo Bay Prison, do away with secret trials and military tribunals. What did he do? Nothing. They are still in effect.
He was going to do away with warrant-less wiretapping and other spying activities on civilians. What did he do? Nothing. They are still viable.
He was going to do whatever it would take to stimulate the economy and create jobs. What did he do? He virtually ignored every recommendation made by some of the finest economic minds in the country, and brought back all the key players from the Clinton Administration who set us up for this catastrophe. The result is a weak and totally ineffective recovery, at best, if not outright stagnation. But, the boys who brought this down on us continue to flourish and prosper at the taxpayers’ expense!
He was going to reinstate the controls on financial industries that were, essentially, the essence of the Glass-Steagal Act, in order to prevent this from ever happening again. What did we get? He invited the very ones who perpetrated this catastrophe into the tent, met with his happy band of former Clinton rogues, and co-opted Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. They got their heads together and produced the weakest, most ineffective set of regulations one could possibly imagine. The result is that those most responsible for the debacle are thriving and flourishing at the expense of the taxpayers. Ben Bernanke has provided them with taxpayer funds at little or no interest so they, in turn, could re-loan the funds, with interest, that enabled them to make even more money at the expense of the taxpayers.
He was going to re-open the provisions of NAFTA in order to make it more favorable to the interests of the workers in the United States. What did he do? He met with the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada, the result of which was his reaffirmation of the provisions of that agreement and a commitment to strengthen it even further to the detriment of our national interests.
Home mortgages have gone through the roof with repossessions of homes at an all time high. Millions of Americans have lost their homes and have been put on the street, while the stench of corruption and criminal improprieties in that market have gone unnoticed and unpunished. Their plundering of the market has barely slowed.
He was going to do great and wondrous things in order to provide the citizens of this country with affordable healthcare that would cover virtually everybody. He was an avowed advocate of a public payer option and government negotiated prices for prescription drugs. What did we get? He invited the bandits from the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies into the tent (secret White House meetings) and we ended up with no public option and no negotiated prices for prescription drugs. Instead, we got a convoluted program that requires the acumen of a Philadelphia lawyer to comprehend, and we are led to believe that we have the greatest healthcare plan in history.
He caved in to the Republicans and the Tea Baggers, and agreed to a two-year extension of the tax cuts for the rich in exchange for a paltry 10-month extension of unemployment insurance for the massive numbers of Americans out of work. It was hailed as the greatest thing since paper clips and we were expected to bow down in grateful humility for his acumen and compassion on our behalf. Now, in the wake of the brilliance of his Debt Reduction Commission, he is on a kick to reduce our National Debt on the backs of the working people and poor of this country. He will not acknowledge that we don’t have a debt problem but, rather, a revenue problem. Although he is blustering about raising the taxes on the rich and on corporations, which are at best two years away, I seriously doubt they will ever become reality. It is the stuff of a good speech but not the substance of his reality.
He has refused to focus on the need for scaling back our massive financial commitment to the military/industrial complex. In cahoots with the defense establishment, he has engaged in an exercise of smoke and mirrors to convince us that he will embark on significant reductions in those areas, all the while playing games with the numbers so they end up with even more money. Ah, such is the price of empire!
Then there is the never-ending bluster about taking on the unfair trade practices with China. My question to him, after lo these many months of rhetoric, “Where is the beef?” I doubt that we will ever see it.
Where has our illustrious leader been when public workers took on the Oberfuhrer in the Governor’s Mansion in Wisconsin? Did he give them the moral support they warranted? He was no where to be seen and is not likely to make an appearance in other places that are under siege by the Republican juggernaut hell bent on the mass destruction of public institutions and workers’ rights in places such as Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey and other places yet to bear the brunt of their assaults. Where is this great leader of the Democratic philosophy of government to be found?
Where is the President in the lives of the families of Appalachia, trying to eek out a life supported by meager wages, all the while bearing witness to the rapacious destruction of one of the greatest ecological treasures in the nation, as coal companies level mountains and pollute valleys in their never-ending pursuit of more money?
Where is the President in the lives of those in the Rust Belt, disenfranchised from honest labor because of the wholesale loss of jobs to cheap labor markets in foreign countries? How are they to survive and ascend the ladder of the American Dream?
Where is the President in the lives of those along the Gulf Coast still waiting for the recompense that was supposed to be forthcoming from British Petroleum as compensation for their wanton destruction of the Gulf of Mexico and those who are dependent on its health?
Where is the President in the lives of the Midwestern farmers who bear witness to the destruction of a way of life that has long been the backbone of these United States of America? Where is there hope for them as agribusiness gobbles up valuable farm land for their genetically modified crops and the production of food grains for ethanol?
Where is the President in the lives of those who shiver from the cold because they can no longer afford to pay the price of oil to heat their homes?
Where is the President in the lives of those who have to further cut back on their meager assets in order to fork over the price of gasoline for their cars, now approaching five dollars per gallon?
Where is the President in the lives of all those who have seen their retirement programs vaporize before their very eyes because of the shenanigans of the financial slight-of-hand antics of investment bankers?
Where is the President in the lives of those who can no longer afford to go to college in order to better themselves and their families?
Where is the President in the lives of those who have gone off to war, sacrificing their lives because there are no jobs to be had at home, sworn to protect the lives and life-styles of those who exploit them and their families for the almighty dollar? What, I ask you, is noble about that?
Where is the President in the lives of the Native Americans, long ago exiled to remote reservations, consigned to a meager existence just in order to survive, with the faint hope that the white man will someday realize the error of his ways and show them the respect they deserve? But, that is ancient history with faint hope of any discernable change.
Where, Mr. Obama, are you in the lives of all those who believed in you, supported you and voted you into office, only to be totally betrayed by all that you have either proven to be or not to be? About all your base can do, at this point, is wait for the other shoe to drop in order to see what other morbid surprises still await us, as you toss us another crumb, capped off with a lofty speech and the promise of better things to come.
Change we can believe in? No matter what you may choose to call it, Mr. President, your record has shown you to be less than the real deal. For the sake of all those who need to believe in you, I wish you were.
Cowboy Bob
May 4, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
"Barack Had a Ball"
If there is one human attribute that trumps all others, in my opinion, it rests with those who have a healthy respect for and a personal commitment to truth. I regard David Michael Green as one of those rare individuals. A bit of Wyoming wisdom that was passed on to me more years ago than I care to remember is “Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear; tell me what you think I need to hear.” I think DMG holds true to those words. His writing is pure genius. He may seem, at times, a bit cynical but, “within the breast of every cynic beats the heart of an idealist.”
Again, David, thanks.
Cowboy Bob
April 18, 2011
*************************************************************************************
“Barack Had a Ball”
The old Obama reappeared this week.
Well, sorta, anyhow.
He gave a speech that liberals could find inspiring.
Again, sorta. And only if you don’t pay attention to a few gigantic caveats.
Let’s come back to that. First, though, the good news. The president got closer than he has in a very long to time to drawing serious lines of distinction between two very different approaches to the social compact in American society. This is work he has desperately needed to do these last two years, and work that has been wholly lacking from this most anemic of presidencies. When I and others criticize Obama for failing to present to the American people an overarching narrative that helps to define for us where the battle lines are drawn, who the good and bad guys are, and what we should believe in and fight for, this is what we critics are talking about. The absence of this narrative (and the gaping vacuum that absence has created for others to fill) is one of the main reasons that this presidency has failed so miserably.
Of course, the deeper problem may well be that such a clarion call is lacking from the president because any underlying convictions of that sort are equally absent. Every meaningful indicator suggests that if you pull back the facade of the anti-war, minority, young, community organizer Democrat, what you get are the politics of Dick Cheney, and sometimes worse.
But apart from that most serious of problems, Obama has fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the office he occupies. Even with all the power he has to push buttons that would destroy the planet, and even with all the millions of people who work underneath him in the federal government, and even with his trusty veto pen, any president’s greatest weapon in a system of separated powers is the bully pulpit. This soapbox is crucial not only for purposes of persuasion, but also for the deeper task of framing (which does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to persuading, anyhow). A smart and effective president gets what he wants by using the bully pulpit to set the agenda of what is debated, by framing how issues are perceived (to use the classic example – is it an ‘estate tax’ or a ‘death tax’?), by selling the public on his position regarding the issue, and then by persuading them to demand that Congress get on-board.
This president almost never does any of that. Worse, he sits by passively while others do exactly that sort of work instead, on their terms. The full measure of Obama’s failures in this respect can be taken by the sheer outrageousness of what Republicans get away with saying. If Harry Truman was in the White House, there’d be no death panel bullshit or birthers, and anyone stupid enough to talk that smack at the president’s expense would pay the heavy burden of being ridiculed for the drooling imbeciles they absolutely are. If FDR was president, we’d be sufficiently reminded that the same kleptocratic elite who crashed the global economy in order to steal from the vast majority of Americans should not be given remotely serious consideration with regard to anything they say (indeed, they should count their blessings just to be on the happy side of prison walls), especially when these thieves call for more of the exact same policies.
Ah, but that was back when Democrats were Democrats. We, instead, get Barack Obama.
Still, for those of us who have so much lamented the absence of political courage in this president, he appears to have taken a step in the right direction this week. A step. Nobody should get overexcited here. You wouldn’t exactly say that his speech showed balls. Well, maybe one. Or two-thirds, perhaps, rounded up to one. In any case it’s fair to say that this week, finally, Barack had a ball.
Or so it appeared, when the president actually went so far as to do the vision thing in his speech. Here’s the key excerpt, where he discussed the Republican plans for America’s future: “Worst of all, this is a vision that says even though America can’t afford to invest in education or clean energy, even though we can’t afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that’s paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m president. The fact is, their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. As Ronald Reagan’s own budget director said, there’s nothing “serious” or “courageous” about this plan. There’s nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. There’s nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don’t have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know. The America I know is generous and compassionate; a land of opportunity and optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves and each other, for the country we want and the future we share. We are the nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI bill and saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives.”
Oh look, America. It lives! Finally the president speaks out about something. Finally he portrays a contrast between the forces of darkness and the rest of us. Finally he draws a line in the sand. Finally he awakens from his long slumber.
Well, like I said. Sorta. I despise Obama and feel passionately that he has betrayed the country. That said, I’ll give him (or even Sarah Palin) credit for getting it right when they do, should that miraculously happen. I do that because my biggest loyalty is to something grossly missing from American politics, and that is a little dose of honesty. So give the president his due for what he did. But while we’re at it, let’s also recognize this for what it is – and what it isn’t – in all its full glory.
The most important single observation to make about this speech is that the president has lost before he’s begun – his newfound willingness to make (mostly oblique) contrasts, notwithstanding. Or, more accurately, it is we who have lost before he’s begun. Anyhow, this is pure Obama. Yield, yield, yield. Then go into negotiations with vicious thugs where – shockingly – you wind up yielding more. That the president could end up in such a position on this particular issue is the most astounding example of this pattern yet. Have we really forgotten, already, who made this mountain of debt, which is now presented by the very same people as the implacable imperative requiring us to slash social spending? Was it liberals who insisted on tax cuts for the wealthy these last thirty years, saying it would raise federal revenues? Was it liberals who decided to invade Iraq on the basis of lies, and not pay for a nickel of those trillions spent with increased taxes or spending cuts? Was it progressives who created a needlessly overly-expensive new prescription drug benefit? Was it liberals who blew the doors off of domestic boondoggle spending when they controlled Congress last decade? Was it liberals who deregulated the finance industry, then bailed Wall Street bankers out one hundred pennies on the dollar after they imploded the global economy? Was it progressives who funneled hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to giant oil and agricultural corporations? Was it liberals who massively expanded spending on so-called national defense, even though the US has no serious national enemies anywhere on the planet?
No, it was not. It was the exact same set of freaks and monsters who now demand that we must push poor and elderly Americans into the gutter, because the effects of their policies have now drowned us in an ocean of debt, and so that we can do even more of all of the above. It doesn’t get more obvious than this. The point is, if you can’t negotiate from strength on this issue, you can’t negotiate from strength, period. Need I say more about this president?
But negotiating to win appears to be the last thing on Obama’s mind, anyhow. I’m not the first armchair psychologist to note that the guy seems to prize being liked above all other virtues, quite literally including among those others the health and welfare of the nation, a responsibility which he himself sought. And he desperately seeks this social approval even when the people whose kind feelings he covets are spitting in his face, and rolling him, and trouncing him in elections by saying the most outrageous things about him personally, and – most importantly – not at all liking him at the end of the day, despite his very best efforts.
You could see Obama’s craving for acceptance in the content of this speech, and in what he left out. When he talked about how things had gone wrong in the past, he didn’t name names, leaving listeners to believe the Great Republican Lie that everyone is equally culpable. Or even worse, that theirs is, as they claim, the party of fiscal responsibility – a lie of astonishing proportions. You could see it when Obama was delivering the toughest lines of his speech. He kept doing this strange thing with his mouth and chin that made it look very much like he was in pain getting out those words. And you could tell by how he ad-libbed – both what he included, and what he omitted. At one point, he was supposed to say “Finally, there are those who believe we shouldn’t make any reforms to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security out of a fear that any talk of change to these programs will usher in the sort of radical steps that House Republicans have proposed”. And he did say that. It’s just that he dropped the word “radical” when he delivered the line. At another point, he spontaneously added the following to the prepared text: “And even those Republicans I disagree with most strongly I believe are sincere about wanting to do right by their country. We may disagree on our visions, but I truly believe they want to do the right thing”.
The guy obviously has a hard time confronting people. Which is fine with me, if that’s how he wants to run his personal life. I don’t care if Michelle makes him dress up in a Bozo the Clown costume and rides him like a pony in the East Room, and he’s too wimpy to object. That’s up to him. But I’m not okay with Mr. Happy for my president. I don’t want Tom Hanks in the White House, man, I want George Foreman. Or, as former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos once put it, I want somebody “with a Peace Corps heart and linebacker eyes”. I can’t tell whether Obama has any sort of heart at all, but if he does, it’s a Wall Street heart. And as for the rest of his anatomy, I don’t think he’s quite pro football material, do you? Do they take people with cupcake eyes in the NFL?
Obama’s ad-libbed statement is telling in another crucial respect, as well. I don’t know if he really believes that ridiculous shit he mouthed about “those Republicans I disagree with most strongly”, but if he does we are in such a major world of hurt. I’m sorry, Barack, but John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin and George Bush and Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and the rest of that ugly crew – they’re not sincere patriots who really want to do right for the people of America, but who just happen to have a bit of a different vision than most folks do. That particular lie – almost the biggest in the entirely of American politics, a sport with more lies than an endless-loop video of a marathon golf tournament – is such a huge part of our problem, and such a big chunk of the explanation as to why this country is in the state it’s in. These are not patriots, Fool. These are predators. If heroin dealers wrapped themselves in the flag, would you “truly believe they want to do the right thing”? If Hitler belted out the Star Spangled Banner right before the Battle of the Bulge, would you have believed he was “sincere about wanting to do right” by America? Y’know, I could very well be the world’s worst poker player that ever lived, but by god almighty I’d like to sit across the table from this guy for half an hour. Meanwhile, if we have any hope of saving this country, it’s got to start with some truth in advertising. Difficult as it might be for certain Harvard graduates to comprehend, kleptocratic sociopathic marionette politicians crushing the American public by ruthlessly doing the bidding of an insanely greedy corporate oligarchy are not exactly what you’d call patriots. Is it too much to demand a president who can sort out something that basic?
Obama was also vague in offering his supposed alternative to the Republican plan. You can see that, especially in the way he contradicted himself regarding one of the cheapest ploys commonly used by Washington politicians. He rightly pointed out that “Because all this spending is popular with both Republicans and Democrats alike, and because nobody wants to pay higher taxes, politicians are often eager to feed the impression that solving the problem is just a matter of eliminating waste and abuse – that tackling the deficit issue won’t require tough choices”. Good point, Barack. The old “waste and fraud” ruse is as tedious as it is unfortunately effective. But how is that you then, later in the very same speech, tell us that “Over the last two years, Secretary Gates has courageously taken on wasteful spending, saving $400 billion in current and future spending. I believe we can do that again.”? Or that “We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments” in healthcare? Isn’t this precisely the sort of nonsense you just got done criticizing others for doing?
Obama also throws out grandiose vagaries like this one about the cost of the US military, saying we need to: “conduct a fundamental review of America’s missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world”. Really? Let’s me see here now. You’re two-and-a-half years into your presidency, your fighting that same number of meaningless wars abroad, your country is drowning in debt, and you’re just now figuring out that we need to rethink the bloody empire? And you’re proposing that some unspecified person is to begin this process, somehow or another, at some unknown future date? Maybe it’ll be like the Deficit Commission Obama created. He put the truly scary Alan Simpson in charge of that abortion. Given that George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense is also serving as Obama’s Secretary of Defense, I wonder how this would turn out. And when. After years – years, not months – of being a senator, running for the presidency and being the president, couldn’t we expect somebody to be able to articulate a real plan here?
There are gigantic opportunities sitting there for anyone who genuinely would want to chop federal spending. Opportunities that would not only permit real benefits to the country, and would not only be popular with the public, but would represent incredibly astute politics, forcing the Republicans to defend the worst monsters on the landscape, and forcing them to twist themselves into gruesome pretzels, indulging in the worst forms of overt and high comedic hypocrisy. We’re not talking about low-hanging fruit here, people. We’re talking about peaches, pears and plums that have been picked, cleaned, shipped, purchased, sliced and delivered to the president’s dining room table, sitting there in his expensive china fruit salad bowl that Nancy Reagan bought. Can we not agree to end massive taxpayer subsides to giant corporations making record profits? Can we not agree to have a genuine minimum tax for all well-to-do individuals and corporations, so that GE can’t make $17 billion in profit and still wind up being owed money by the US treasury? Can we not agree to end tax incentives for exporting American jobs overseas? And wouldn’t it look really embarrassing to oppose any of these initiatives? I mean, come on.
And then there’s the whole tough guy routine. Even when Obama says stuff like, “But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves.”, or, “In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. And I refuse to renew them again.” – even when he talks tough like that, does anyone, especially Republicans, take this guy seriously? Isn’t he the guy who said he’d for sure close Guantánamo? And who wanted the public option? Why doesn’t he think Republicans will try the same game of chicken with him on tax cuts for the wealthy that they did last time? And why should we expect that the Capitulation Kid will have a better solution to their gambit than he did last time? And if he does have one, why didn’t he freakin’ whip it out in December? Face it, nobody folds like Obama. He’s the origami president.
Which means that I’ve given up believing his pretty words in speeches like this. Indeed, I suspect that this speech is actually just a bunch of pretty words meant to bring people like me back into the fold. People whom Obama will need a year from now, especially if jobs do not reappear, and if the GOP nominates Twit Romney, who then makes a case to a credulous and bleeding public that he’s got the ol’ private-sector-jobs-creating-know-how-magic in his fingers (you know, just like the kind that the ridiculously flush private sector is using right now, as we speak, to not create jobs). Obama knows he will be vulnerable in 2012, and he needs to bring his base back home, after two-and-a-half years bitch-slapping us with all the regularity of German train schedules, and some of the politics too.
This was not a real speech about progressive values. This was not the resurrection of Harry Truman, a fighter battling for the public interest, a pugilist willing to name names and bloody faces.
This was a campaign speech.
And even if it wasn’t, it is the measure of Obama’s abysmal presidency that people like me believe that it was.
David Michael Green
Professor of Political Science
Hofstra University
Long Island, New York
April 18, 2011
www.theregressiveantidote.net
Again, David, thanks.
Cowboy Bob
April 18, 2011
*************************************************************************************
“Barack Had a Ball”
The old Obama reappeared this week.
Well, sorta, anyhow.
He gave a speech that liberals could find inspiring.
Again, sorta. And only if you don’t pay attention to a few gigantic caveats.
Let’s come back to that. First, though, the good news. The president got closer than he has in a very long to time to drawing serious lines of distinction between two very different approaches to the social compact in American society. This is work he has desperately needed to do these last two years, and work that has been wholly lacking from this most anemic of presidencies. When I and others criticize Obama for failing to present to the American people an overarching narrative that helps to define for us where the battle lines are drawn, who the good and bad guys are, and what we should believe in and fight for, this is what we critics are talking about. The absence of this narrative (and the gaping vacuum that absence has created for others to fill) is one of the main reasons that this presidency has failed so miserably.
Of course, the deeper problem may well be that such a clarion call is lacking from the president because any underlying convictions of that sort are equally absent. Every meaningful indicator suggests that if you pull back the facade of the anti-war, minority, young, community organizer Democrat, what you get are the politics of Dick Cheney, and sometimes worse.
But apart from that most serious of problems, Obama has fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the office he occupies. Even with all the power he has to push buttons that would destroy the planet, and even with all the millions of people who work underneath him in the federal government, and even with his trusty veto pen, any president’s greatest weapon in a system of separated powers is the bully pulpit. This soapbox is crucial not only for purposes of persuasion, but also for the deeper task of framing (which does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to persuading, anyhow). A smart and effective president gets what he wants by using the bully pulpit to set the agenda of what is debated, by framing how issues are perceived (to use the classic example – is it an ‘estate tax’ or a ‘death tax’?), by selling the public on his position regarding the issue, and then by persuading them to demand that Congress get on-board.
This president almost never does any of that. Worse, he sits by passively while others do exactly that sort of work instead, on their terms. The full measure of Obama’s failures in this respect can be taken by the sheer outrageousness of what Republicans get away with saying. If Harry Truman was in the White House, there’d be no death panel bullshit or birthers, and anyone stupid enough to talk that smack at the president’s expense would pay the heavy burden of being ridiculed for the drooling imbeciles they absolutely are. If FDR was president, we’d be sufficiently reminded that the same kleptocratic elite who crashed the global economy in order to steal from the vast majority of Americans should not be given remotely serious consideration with regard to anything they say (indeed, they should count their blessings just to be on the happy side of prison walls), especially when these thieves call for more of the exact same policies.
Ah, but that was back when Democrats were Democrats. We, instead, get Barack Obama.
Still, for those of us who have so much lamented the absence of political courage in this president, he appears to have taken a step in the right direction this week. A step. Nobody should get overexcited here. You wouldn’t exactly say that his speech showed balls. Well, maybe one. Or two-thirds, perhaps, rounded up to one. In any case it’s fair to say that this week, finally, Barack had a ball.
Or so it appeared, when the president actually went so far as to do the vision thing in his speech. Here’s the key excerpt, where he discussed the Republican plans for America’s future: “Worst of all, this is a vision that says even though America can’t afford to invest in education or clean energy, even though we can’t afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that’s paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m president. The fact is, their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. As Ronald Reagan’s own budget director said, there’s nothing “serious” or “courageous” about this plan. There’s nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. There’s nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don’t have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know. The America I know is generous and compassionate; a land of opportunity and optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves and each other, for the country we want and the future we share. We are the nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI bill and saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives.”
Oh look, America. It lives! Finally the president speaks out about something. Finally he portrays a contrast between the forces of darkness and the rest of us. Finally he draws a line in the sand. Finally he awakens from his long slumber.
Well, like I said. Sorta. I despise Obama and feel passionately that he has betrayed the country. That said, I’ll give him (or even Sarah Palin) credit for getting it right when they do, should that miraculously happen. I do that because my biggest loyalty is to something grossly missing from American politics, and that is a little dose of honesty. So give the president his due for what he did. But while we’re at it, let’s also recognize this for what it is – and what it isn’t – in all its full glory.
The most important single observation to make about this speech is that the president has lost before he’s begun – his newfound willingness to make (mostly oblique) contrasts, notwithstanding. Or, more accurately, it is we who have lost before he’s begun. Anyhow, this is pure Obama. Yield, yield, yield. Then go into negotiations with vicious thugs where – shockingly – you wind up yielding more. That the president could end up in such a position on this particular issue is the most astounding example of this pattern yet. Have we really forgotten, already, who made this mountain of debt, which is now presented by the very same people as the implacable imperative requiring us to slash social spending? Was it liberals who insisted on tax cuts for the wealthy these last thirty years, saying it would raise federal revenues? Was it liberals who decided to invade Iraq on the basis of lies, and not pay for a nickel of those trillions spent with increased taxes or spending cuts? Was it progressives who created a needlessly overly-expensive new prescription drug benefit? Was it liberals who blew the doors off of domestic boondoggle spending when they controlled Congress last decade? Was it liberals who deregulated the finance industry, then bailed Wall Street bankers out one hundred pennies on the dollar after they imploded the global economy? Was it progressives who funneled hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to giant oil and agricultural corporations? Was it liberals who massively expanded spending on so-called national defense, even though the US has no serious national enemies anywhere on the planet?
No, it was not. It was the exact same set of freaks and monsters who now demand that we must push poor and elderly Americans into the gutter, because the effects of their policies have now drowned us in an ocean of debt, and so that we can do even more of all of the above. It doesn’t get more obvious than this. The point is, if you can’t negotiate from strength on this issue, you can’t negotiate from strength, period. Need I say more about this president?
But negotiating to win appears to be the last thing on Obama’s mind, anyhow. I’m not the first armchair psychologist to note that the guy seems to prize being liked above all other virtues, quite literally including among those others the health and welfare of the nation, a responsibility which he himself sought. And he desperately seeks this social approval even when the people whose kind feelings he covets are spitting in his face, and rolling him, and trouncing him in elections by saying the most outrageous things about him personally, and – most importantly – not at all liking him at the end of the day, despite his very best efforts.
You could see Obama’s craving for acceptance in the content of this speech, and in what he left out. When he talked about how things had gone wrong in the past, he didn’t name names, leaving listeners to believe the Great Republican Lie that everyone is equally culpable. Or even worse, that theirs is, as they claim, the party of fiscal responsibility – a lie of astonishing proportions. You could see it when Obama was delivering the toughest lines of his speech. He kept doing this strange thing with his mouth and chin that made it look very much like he was in pain getting out those words. And you could tell by how he ad-libbed – both what he included, and what he omitted. At one point, he was supposed to say “Finally, there are those who believe we shouldn’t make any reforms to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security out of a fear that any talk of change to these programs will usher in the sort of radical steps that House Republicans have proposed”. And he did say that. It’s just that he dropped the word “radical” when he delivered the line. At another point, he spontaneously added the following to the prepared text: “And even those Republicans I disagree with most strongly I believe are sincere about wanting to do right by their country. We may disagree on our visions, but I truly believe they want to do the right thing”.
The guy obviously has a hard time confronting people. Which is fine with me, if that’s how he wants to run his personal life. I don’t care if Michelle makes him dress up in a Bozo the Clown costume and rides him like a pony in the East Room, and he’s too wimpy to object. That’s up to him. But I’m not okay with Mr. Happy for my president. I don’t want Tom Hanks in the White House, man, I want George Foreman. Or, as former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos once put it, I want somebody “with a Peace Corps heart and linebacker eyes”. I can’t tell whether Obama has any sort of heart at all, but if he does, it’s a Wall Street heart. And as for the rest of his anatomy, I don’t think he’s quite pro football material, do you? Do they take people with cupcake eyes in the NFL?
Obama’s ad-libbed statement is telling in another crucial respect, as well. I don’t know if he really believes that ridiculous shit he mouthed about “those Republicans I disagree with most strongly”, but if he does we are in such a major world of hurt. I’m sorry, Barack, but John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin and George Bush and Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and the rest of that ugly crew – they’re not sincere patriots who really want to do right for the people of America, but who just happen to have a bit of a different vision than most folks do. That particular lie – almost the biggest in the entirely of American politics, a sport with more lies than an endless-loop video of a marathon golf tournament – is such a huge part of our problem, and such a big chunk of the explanation as to why this country is in the state it’s in. These are not patriots, Fool. These are predators. If heroin dealers wrapped themselves in the flag, would you “truly believe they want to do the right thing”? If Hitler belted out the Star Spangled Banner right before the Battle of the Bulge, would you have believed he was “sincere about wanting to do right” by America? Y’know, I could very well be the world’s worst poker player that ever lived, but by god almighty I’d like to sit across the table from this guy for half an hour. Meanwhile, if we have any hope of saving this country, it’s got to start with some truth in advertising. Difficult as it might be for certain Harvard graduates to comprehend, kleptocratic sociopathic marionette politicians crushing the American public by ruthlessly doing the bidding of an insanely greedy corporate oligarchy are not exactly what you’d call patriots. Is it too much to demand a president who can sort out something that basic?
Obama was also vague in offering his supposed alternative to the Republican plan. You can see that, especially in the way he contradicted himself regarding one of the cheapest ploys commonly used by Washington politicians. He rightly pointed out that “Because all this spending is popular with both Republicans and Democrats alike, and because nobody wants to pay higher taxes, politicians are often eager to feed the impression that solving the problem is just a matter of eliminating waste and abuse – that tackling the deficit issue won’t require tough choices”. Good point, Barack. The old “waste and fraud” ruse is as tedious as it is unfortunately effective. But how is that you then, later in the very same speech, tell us that “Over the last two years, Secretary Gates has courageously taken on wasteful spending, saving $400 billion in current and future spending. I believe we can do that again.”? Or that “We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments” in healthcare? Isn’t this precisely the sort of nonsense you just got done criticizing others for doing?
Obama also throws out grandiose vagaries like this one about the cost of the US military, saying we need to: “conduct a fundamental review of America’s missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world”. Really? Let’s me see here now. You’re two-and-a-half years into your presidency, your fighting that same number of meaningless wars abroad, your country is drowning in debt, and you’re just now figuring out that we need to rethink the bloody empire? And you’re proposing that some unspecified person is to begin this process, somehow or another, at some unknown future date? Maybe it’ll be like the Deficit Commission Obama created. He put the truly scary Alan Simpson in charge of that abortion. Given that George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense is also serving as Obama’s Secretary of Defense, I wonder how this would turn out. And when. After years – years, not months – of being a senator, running for the presidency and being the president, couldn’t we expect somebody to be able to articulate a real plan here?
There are gigantic opportunities sitting there for anyone who genuinely would want to chop federal spending. Opportunities that would not only permit real benefits to the country, and would not only be popular with the public, but would represent incredibly astute politics, forcing the Republicans to defend the worst monsters on the landscape, and forcing them to twist themselves into gruesome pretzels, indulging in the worst forms of overt and high comedic hypocrisy. We’re not talking about low-hanging fruit here, people. We’re talking about peaches, pears and plums that have been picked, cleaned, shipped, purchased, sliced and delivered to the president’s dining room table, sitting there in his expensive china fruit salad bowl that Nancy Reagan bought. Can we not agree to end massive taxpayer subsides to giant corporations making record profits? Can we not agree to have a genuine minimum tax for all well-to-do individuals and corporations, so that GE can’t make $17 billion in profit and still wind up being owed money by the US treasury? Can we not agree to end tax incentives for exporting American jobs overseas? And wouldn’t it look really embarrassing to oppose any of these initiatives? I mean, come on.
And then there’s the whole tough guy routine. Even when Obama says stuff like, “But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves.”, or, “In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. And I refuse to renew them again.” – even when he talks tough like that, does anyone, especially Republicans, take this guy seriously? Isn’t he the guy who said he’d for sure close Guantánamo? And who wanted the public option? Why doesn’t he think Republicans will try the same game of chicken with him on tax cuts for the wealthy that they did last time? And why should we expect that the Capitulation Kid will have a better solution to their gambit than he did last time? And if he does have one, why didn’t he freakin’ whip it out in December? Face it, nobody folds like Obama. He’s the origami president.
Which means that I’ve given up believing his pretty words in speeches like this. Indeed, I suspect that this speech is actually just a bunch of pretty words meant to bring people like me back into the fold. People whom Obama will need a year from now, especially if jobs do not reappear, and if the GOP nominates Twit Romney, who then makes a case to a credulous and bleeding public that he’s got the ol’ private-sector-jobs-creating-know-how-magic in his fingers (you know, just like the kind that the ridiculously flush private sector is using right now, as we speak, to not create jobs). Obama knows he will be vulnerable in 2012, and he needs to bring his base back home, after two-and-a-half years bitch-slapping us with all the regularity of German train schedules, and some of the politics too.
This was not a real speech about progressive values. This was not the resurrection of Harry Truman, a fighter battling for the public interest, a pugilist willing to name names and bloody faces.
This was a campaign speech.
And even if it wasn’t, it is the measure of Obama’s abysmal presidency that people like me believe that it was.
David Michael Green
Professor of Political Science
Hofstra University
Long Island, New York
April 18, 2011
www.theregressiveantidote.net
Monday, April 18, 2011
"Bill Clinton: President of the World? Hardly"
I am a great believer in authenticity. Being real is very important to me, both personally and in my associations with others. I find being less than forthright cause for caution, and I have been right most of the time. Contemporary Americans, in particular, have mastered the art of socially acceptable bullshit. Everyone knows the game is being played, but no one really gives a damn. It is all part of being “in” these days.
Since corporations bought up all of the major news outlets in the country, journalists in their service have morphed from rugged, independent seekers of the truth to major and minor celebrities in the social swirl of high society and politics. They create and maintain a persona the masks any clear understanding of the real person behind the façade. Affectation has supplanted articulation. No one does affectation quite as well as George Will, Peggy Noonan and Kelly O’Donnell. The syrup almost drips from the ends of their tongues as they treat us to the sheer ecstasy of their prognostications. What would we do without them?
Basic human honesty used to be the standard by which we were judged in the course of our personal and professional conduct. But, hey, that has all become rather passé wouldn’t you say? It just doesn’t play as well as the persona we want to reflect to the world. Media journalists are now “stars” which we dutifully devour. Personalities and images are created and changed on a whim. What is “in” today is “out” tomorrow.
Major excursions into the world of fame and fortune usually require more skilled methods. Hence, the “sanitization” of one’s past in order to transform them into a paragon of virtue for today’s consumption. I don’t think anyone has managed to pull this off quite as well as Chris Matthews on MSNBC and Bill Clinton, recently of the Presidency. Both are very good at it and, coincidentally, have been quite successful at making the transition to an image much more akin to that of real celebrity and change agent.
Chris Matthews managed to do an evisceration of Phil Donohue who, at the time, was the top-rated talk show host on cable television. Chris wanted his job and set himself to the task of making it happen. In a mere twinkling of brutal personal and professional ambition, Phil was history and Chris was the rising star of cable television news. If you watch him closely, he just can’t quite resist the temptation to flaunt his newly acquired status of “star.” He is rude to his guests and interrupts them at will. He is opinionated and dogmatic. In the latest promo for his show, he is shown being primped by underlings as he prepares to face yet another news spectacular for the viewing enjoyment of his many followers. He recently let it be known, on air, that he lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. How is that for a cardinal dose of humility? “Look at me, I made it!” ‘I am a star!” That is about as megalomaniacal as one can get. Take heart, Phil. You still get the award for being a real professional and a gentlemen, and that no one can take from you.
Recently, and not surprising, Chris Matthews featured an hour-long special on MSNBC titled, “Bill Clinton: President of the World.” It had to be one of the pre-eminent cleansings of a tarnished image as one can get, and skillfully done by one who shares a common past in that regard. For people at my stage of life, Bill Clinton is recent history. He is what he is and no amount of time and effort can erase that. His time in the White House had to be one of the most sordid and base presidencies of my lifetime. He carried out his sexual escapades with little or no shame. He lied under oath about those exploits and embarrassed his family in the process. Was he contrite? He tried to make it look as if he was, but I don’t buy into that. Once the dust began to settle, he announced to the world that he was going to seek counseling from members of the religious community in order to overcome the temptations of the flesh. So long as that ploy seemed to play reasonably well he remained true to the pursuit. When the lights began to fade on that one, he shifted his sights to other more pressing and rewarding matters.
Bill Clinton left one of the largest financial surpluses and created more jobs during his last term than any President in recent history. For that, alone, he still receives praise and adoration for being such a wonder-boy in the Oval Office. However, scant attention is paid to his even more glaring accomplishment on his way out the door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He colluded with Phil Gramm, (Republican and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs), Robert Rubin (Secretary of the Treasury), Larry Summers, Alan Greenspan and a whole host of other major and minor rogue participants in the total deregulation of the financial industries. This succeeded in making them all darlings to the biggest vultures on Wall Street, all of which laid the foundation for the collapse of our entire economy at the end of George W. Bush’s last term in office. You have to go some to top that, but to hold Bill Clinton to account for that one is just too gauche. So, instead, the spin-doctors set themselves to the task of polishing his image so the populace-at-large would soon forget what a reprobate he really is. It worked. How come we never hear about this?
Since leaving office, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, whose disdain for each other was palpable at the beginning of Clinton’s first term, have now become bosom buddies.
They now head up a foundation for doing all kinds of good deeds around the world, in between excursions to some of the finest golf courses in the world. Then there is that murky venture of Bill’s into Haitian politics that resulted in the exile of Bertrand Aristide to South Africa. Big business interests in the U.S. are reputed to have been most unhappy about the prospect of Aristide raising the minimum wage from 25 cents per hour to 61 cents per hour. But, Billy Boy came to the rescue, snatched success from the jaws of defeat, thus saving the Haitians from anything remotely associated with a higher standard of living. How come we never hear about this?
Conspiracy theories have always bothered me, but I cannot help but wonder how the closeness came about between Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. For me, it seems like a stretch for it to be taken as coincidental. What follows is only conjecture but it seems logical to me.
I don’t believe it was happenstance that Bill Clinton set a banquet table with the largest budget surplus in history just for the sake of enhancing his presidential reputation. Rather, I believe it was the prelude to what was to follow.
I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that Bill Clinton profited handsomely from his deregulation of the financial industries and gutting the Glass-Steagall Act. If truth be known, his personal wealth was probably enhanced immeasurably from his participation in that wholesale plundering of our national treasury. You just don’t do what he did with some form of recompense. Interestingly, Chelsea is now a hedge fund manager on Wall Street. That position just happens to be one of the highest paid positions in our economy. It has been recently reported that what “hedge fund gamblers,“ earn in one hour is 47 times as much as a middle-class household makes in over 47 years! (Les Leopold, AlterNet 4-11-2011). Now, I don’t know how much the prodigy of Bill and Hillary is making but, given the proclivity of that illustrious family, I rather suspect she is far from even being close to the bottom rung on that particular chart of comparisons.
Now, permit me to digress to the issue of Barack Obama. I don’t believe he just happened to appear on the national scene by some twist of fate. Rather, I suspect his introduction to the American people at the 2004 national convention of the Democratic Party was a trial balloon sent aloft by the wealthy and influential of this country. He was put on the program to see how well he would represent them later on the career path they had already laid out for him. Following his barnburner of oratorical talents on that occasion, his mentors must have been ecstatic beyond their wildest dreams. He could have left no doubt in their minds that he was the boy who would serve them well in the years to come, all at the expense of the common people of this country. Bill provided the feast and Barack led the rapacious appetites of the greedy to the table that had been set for them.
Doesn’t it seem a bit incredulous not to question the stampede of talent from the former Clinton Administration into key positions within the Obama Administration; with replacements by Clinton protégés waiting in the wings should an incumbent decide to leave? If you notice, they always occupy key positions having a strong relationship to Wall Street and related financial interests. You might, also, take note of the number of campaign promises that have been summarily ignored by Mr. Obama. Then, of course, there are his many other talents, not the least of which is the ability to talk out of both sides of this mouth, and the ability to strike deals behind closed doors with those who should properly be perceived as adversaries of his particular political persuasion? He is a marvelous surrogate to those in positions of real power.
That Barack Obama actually won the nomination for President at the 2008 Democratic National Convention still remains a mystery to me. Was he the chosen one should Hillary lose in the primaries, and was he to be the back up if Hillary won? That will forever remain an unanswered question in my mind. I just find it difficult to believe it was a string of random events.
Kudos to the image makers and the mainstream news media for their attempts at sanitizing them and to make them the darlings of the media they want us to see and believe.
Bill Clinton: President of the World? Hardly. Barack Obama: a “real” Democrat in residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? I don’t think so.
Cowboy Bob
April 18, 2011
Since corporations bought up all of the major news outlets in the country, journalists in their service have morphed from rugged, independent seekers of the truth to major and minor celebrities in the social swirl of high society and politics. They create and maintain a persona the masks any clear understanding of the real person behind the façade. Affectation has supplanted articulation. No one does affectation quite as well as George Will, Peggy Noonan and Kelly O’Donnell. The syrup almost drips from the ends of their tongues as they treat us to the sheer ecstasy of their prognostications. What would we do without them?
Basic human honesty used to be the standard by which we were judged in the course of our personal and professional conduct. But, hey, that has all become rather passé wouldn’t you say? It just doesn’t play as well as the persona we want to reflect to the world. Media journalists are now “stars” which we dutifully devour. Personalities and images are created and changed on a whim. What is “in” today is “out” tomorrow.
Major excursions into the world of fame and fortune usually require more skilled methods. Hence, the “sanitization” of one’s past in order to transform them into a paragon of virtue for today’s consumption. I don’t think anyone has managed to pull this off quite as well as Chris Matthews on MSNBC and Bill Clinton, recently of the Presidency. Both are very good at it and, coincidentally, have been quite successful at making the transition to an image much more akin to that of real celebrity and change agent.
Chris Matthews managed to do an evisceration of Phil Donohue who, at the time, was the top-rated talk show host on cable television. Chris wanted his job and set himself to the task of making it happen. In a mere twinkling of brutal personal and professional ambition, Phil was history and Chris was the rising star of cable television news. If you watch him closely, he just can’t quite resist the temptation to flaunt his newly acquired status of “star.” He is rude to his guests and interrupts them at will. He is opinionated and dogmatic. In the latest promo for his show, he is shown being primped by underlings as he prepares to face yet another news spectacular for the viewing enjoyment of his many followers. He recently let it be known, on air, that he lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. How is that for a cardinal dose of humility? “Look at me, I made it!” ‘I am a star!” That is about as megalomaniacal as one can get. Take heart, Phil. You still get the award for being a real professional and a gentlemen, and that no one can take from you.
Recently, and not surprising, Chris Matthews featured an hour-long special on MSNBC titled, “Bill Clinton: President of the World.” It had to be one of the pre-eminent cleansings of a tarnished image as one can get, and skillfully done by one who shares a common past in that regard. For people at my stage of life, Bill Clinton is recent history. He is what he is and no amount of time and effort can erase that. His time in the White House had to be one of the most sordid and base presidencies of my lifetime. He carried out his sexual escapades with little or no shame. He lied under oath about those exploits and embarrassed his family in the process. Was he contrite? He tried to make it look as if he was, but I don’t buy into that. Once the dust began to settle, he announced to the world that he was going to seek counseling from members of the religious community in order to overcome the temptations of the flesh. So long as that ploy seemed to play reasonably well he remained true to the pursuit. When the lights began to fade on that one, he shifted his sights to other more pressing and rewarding matters.
Bill Clinton left one of the largest financial surpluses and created more jobs during his last term than any President in recent history. For that, alone, he still receives praise and adoration for being such a wonder-boy in the Oval Office. However, scant attention is paid to his even more glaring accomplishment on his way out the door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He colluded with Phil Gramm, (Republican and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs), Robert Rubin (Secretary of the Treasury), Larry Summers, Alan Greenspan and a whole host of other major and minor rogue participants in the total deregulation of the financial industries. This succeeded in making them all darlings to the biggest vultures on Wall Street, all of which laid the foundation for the collapse of our entire economy at the end of George W. Bush’s last term in office. You have to go some to top that, but to hold Bill Clinton to account for that one is just too gauche. So, instead, the spin-doctors set themselves to the task of polishing his image so the populace-at-large would soon forget what a reprobate he really is. It worked. How come we never hear about this?
Since leaving office, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, whose disdain for each other was palpable at the beginning of Clinton’s first term, have now become bosom buddies.
They now head up a foundation for doing all kinds of good deeds around the world, in between excursions to some of the finest golf courses in the world. Then there is that murky venture of Bill’s into Haitian politics that resulted in the exile of Bertrand Aristide to South Africa. Big business interests in the U.S. are reputed to have been most unhappy about the prospect of Aristide raising the minimum wage from 25 cents per hour to 61 cents per hour. But, Billy Boy came to the rescue, snatched success from the jaws of defeat, thus saving the Haitians from anything remotely associated with a higher standard of living. How come we never hear about this?
Conspiracy theories have always bothered me, but I cannot help but wonder how the closeness came about between Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. For me, it seems like a stretch for it to be taken as coincidental. What follows is only conjecture but it seems logical to me.
I don’t believe it was happenstance that Bill Clinton set a banquet table with the largest budget surplus in history just for the sake of enhancing his presidential reputation. Rather, I believe it was the prelude to what was to follow.
I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that Bill Clinton profited handsomely from his deregulation of the financial industries and gutting the Glass-Steagall Act. If truth be known, his personal wealth was probably enhanced immeasurably from his participation in that wholesale plundering of our national treasury. You just don’t do what he did with some form of recompense. Interestingly, Chelsea is now a hedge fund manager on Wall Street. That position just happens to be one of the highest paid positions in our economy. It has been recently reported that what “hedge fund gamblers,“ earn in one hour is 47 times as much as a middle-class household makes in over 47 years! (Les Leopold, AlterNet 4-11-2011). Now, I don’t know how much the prodigy of Bill and Hillary is making but, given the proclivity of that illustrious family, I rather suspect she is far from even being close to the bottom rung on that particular chart of comparisons.
Now, permit me to digress to the issue of Barack Obama. I don’t believe he just happened to appear on the national scene by some twist of fate. Rather, I suspect his introduction to the American people at the 2004 national convention of the Democratic Party was a trial balloon sent aloft by the wealthy and influential of this country. He was put on the program to see how well he would represent them later on the career path they had already laid out for him. Following his barnburner of oratorical talents on that occasion, his mentors must have been ecstatic beyond their wildest dreams. He could have left no doubt in their minds that he was the boy who would serve them well in the years to come, all at the expense of the common people of this country. Bill provided the feast and Barack led the rapacious appetites of the greedy to the table that had been set for them.
Doesn’t it seem a bit incredulous not to question the stampede of talent from the former Clinton Administration into key positions within the Obama Administration; with replacements by Clinton protégés waiting in the wings should an incumbent decide to leave? If you notice, they always occupy key positions having a strong relationship to Wall Street and related financial interests. You might, also, take note of the number of campaign promises that have been summarily ignored by Mr. Obama. Then, of course, there are his many other talents, not the least of which is the ability to talk out of both sides of this mouth, and the ability to strike deals behind closed doors with those who should properly be perceived as adversaries of his particular political persuasion? He is a marvelous surrogate to those in positions of real power.
That Barack Obama actually won the nomination for President at the 2008 Democratic National Convention still remains a mystery to me. Was he the chosen one should Hillary lose in the primaries, and was he to be the back up if Hillary won? That will forever remain an unanswered question in my mind. I just find it difficult to believe it was a string of random events.
Kudos to the image makers and the mainstream news media for their attempts at sanitizing them and to make them the darlings of the media they want us to see and believe.
Bill Clinton: President of the World? Hardly. Barack Obama: a “real” Democrat in residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? I don’t think so.
Cowboy Bob
April 18, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
“Beware Charlatans Espousing Wisdom”
I cannot recall a time, in my three score and ten plus years of treading the sod, when I have been witness to the utterly obscene and calloused posturing of Congress and the White House regarding the current budget crisis. Their blatant corruption and total disregard for the virtue of honesty and a modicum of compassion for those who are suffering at the hands of a system that has summarily dismissed their value in society is about as vulgar as it gets.
We keep having it pounded into our senses that we are facing a massive problem of “government spending” but, typical of the congenital inability of conservatives to be the least bit forthcoming about their real motives, they leave out any mention of the massive impact of the recent extension of the “Bush” tax cuts for those at the top of our national pyramid of massive wealth. Hey folks, you don’t have to be an Ivy League Economist to come to the conclusion that the problem is not spending! It is a problem of revenue! If the wealthy and corporations paid their fair share for the privilege of living in a civil society, we wouldn’t be having this shameful prostitution of truth and its attendant rape of the very foundations of common human decency. We are, once again, reminded of the historical fact that the gluttony and insatiable greed of wealth knows no limits, and they can be counted on to destroy everything and everyone that gets in the way of their pursuits. That has always been the case and I would make book on the fact that it will never change. That is ingrained in the very make-up of predatory animals of every kind.
The countenance and deceptive nature of those professing to be “conservatives” under various labels, be they Republicans or Tea Party loyalists, is eerily similar to those who rose from the economic ashes of Germany that produced one of history’s greatest despots; Adolph Hitler. As he began his meteoric rise to power, he had no trouble garnering the support of the wealthy elite and the industrialists of his time. They were some of his most devout followers, but the ones who were his most obvious and vocal followers were those who completely abdicated any responsibility for critical thought, hearing what they wanted to hear, and believing what they wanted to believe, rather than what was glaringly truthful. They had no trouble marginalizing everyone deemed to be “inferior” and “undesirable” by the Third Reich and the evil genius of the propaganda machine of Joseph Gobbles. They were the ones who stripped people of their individual and civil rights for the greater glory of “The Fatherland.” They are the ones who fully supported, but disavowed any knowledge of the death camps and the trains to hell that took their disenfranchised and defenseless victims to death camps spread across the face of Eastern Europe. Kind of reminds us of what is going on in the Midwest in assaulting the rights of workers. They continue their relentless ability to twist and distort truth thinking that we will be so naïve as to actually believe they give a damn about creating jobs and a healthy economy for the Middle Class and working people of this country. What they and their wealthy benefactors never seem to realize is that genuine respect and support are earned phenomena. The essential difference between those who have the power of great wealth and those who covet that power is that the latter is just another commodity to be purchased in order to get the job done. Those who serve wealth are nothing more than the hired help. As Adolph Eichman, who masterminded the elaborate train system that fed the ovens of the death camps, so matter-of-factly stated in his defense at his trial as a war criminal, “I was just following orders.”
At the end of the day, I see little to differentiate the zealots of those who wore the swastika with pride and those who have infected our institutions of government. They actually believe they are imbued with altruistic motives and the pursuit of ideals that boil down (in their most simplistic terms) to; lower taxes and smaller government. In today’s increasingly complex world, that just doesn’t wash. One has to be the accomplished liar that most of them demonstrate themselves to be in order to convince one’s self and an unsuspecting cadre of simple minds that their words and philosophies are divinely inspired.
Have you ever noticed that the ranks of the “fundamentalists,” are laced with a toxic dose of self-righteousness that dispels any notion of fallibility? A goodly number of them are skilled at quoting the Bible and making biblical reference to points of view that play to their devious and dark agendas. Do they ever remotely consider, for just a fleeting moment, that what they espouse just might border on heresy? Any attempt to engage in introspective analysis in order to explain what makes them tick would probably terrify the hell out of most of them. Bible thumpers can be dangerous.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24
“Whatever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me.” (Jesus Christ)
Beware charlatans espousing wisdom. (Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Michele Bachmann take note.)
Cowboy Bob
April 8, 2011
We keep having it pounded into our senses that we are facing a massive problem of “government spending” but, typical of the congenital inability of conservatives to be the least bit forthcoming about their real motives, they leave out any mention of the massive impact of the recent extension of the “Bush” tax cuts for those at the top of our national pyramid of massive wealth. Hey folks, you don’t have to be an Ivy League Economist to come to the conclusion that the problem is not spending! It is a problem of revenue! If the wealthy and corporations paid their fair share for the privilege of living in a civil society, we wouldn’t be having this shameful prostitution of truth and its attendant rape of the very foundations of common human decency. We are, once again, reminded of the historical fact that the gluttony and insatiable greed of wealth knows no limits, and they can be counted on to destroy everything and everyone that gets in the way of their pursuits. That has always been the case and I would make book on the fact that it will never change. That is ingrained in the very make-up of predatory animals of every kind.
The countenance and deceptive nature of those professing to be “conservatives” under various labels, be they Republicans or Tea Party loyalists, is eerily similar to those who rose from the economic ashes of Germany that produced one of history’s greatest despots; Adolph Hitler. As he began his meteoric rise to power, he had no trouble garnering the support of the wealthy elite and the industrialists of his time. They were some of his most devout followers, but the ones who were his most obvious and vocal followers were those who completely abdicated any responsibility for critical thought, hearing what they wanted to hear, and believing what they wanted to believe, rather than what was glaringly truthful. They had no trouble marginalizing everyone deemed to be “inferior” and “undesirable” by the Third Reich and the evil genius of the propaganda machine of Joseph Gobbles. They were the ones who stripped people of their individual and civil rights for the greater glory of “The Fatherland.” They are the ones who fully supported, but disavowed any knowledge of the death camps and the trains to hell that took their disenfranchised and defenseless victims to death camps spread across the face of Eastern Europe. Kind of reminds us of what is going on in the Midwest in assaulting the rights of workers. They continue their relentless ability to twist and distort truth thinking that we will be so naïve as to actually believe they give a damn about creating jobs and a healthy economy for the Middle Class and working people of this country. What they and their wealthy benefactors never seem to realize is that genuine respect and support are earned phenomena. The essential difference between those who have the power of great wealth and those who covet that power is that the latter is just another commodity to be purchased in order to get the job done. Those who serve wealth are nothing more than the hired help. As Adolph Eichman, who masterminded the elaborate train system that fed the ovens of the death camps, so matter-of-factly stated in his defense at his trial as a war criminal, “I was just following orders.”
At the end of the day, I see little to differentiate the zealots of those who wore the swastika with pride and those who have infected our institutions of government. They actually believe they are imbued with altruistic motives and the pursuit of ideals that boil down (in their most simplistic terms) to; lower taxes and smaller government. In today’s increasingly complex world, that just doesn’t wash. One has to be the accomplished liar that most of them demonstrate themselves to be in order to convince one’s self and an unsuspecting cadre of simple minds that their words and philosophies are divinely inspired.
Have you ever noticed that the ranks of the “fundamentalists,” are laced with a toxic dose of self-righteousness that dispels any notion of fallibility? A goodly number of them are skilled at quoting the Bible and making biblical reference to points of view that play to their devious and dark agendas. Do they ever remotely consider, for just a fleeting moment, that what they espouse just might border on heresy? Any attempt to engage in introspective analysis in order to explain what makes them tick would probably terrify the hell out of most of them. Bible thumpers can be dangerous.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24
“Whatever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me.” (Jesus Christ)
Beware charlatans espousing wisdom. (Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Michele Bachmann take note.)
Cowboy Bob
April 8, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
"With Liberty and Justice for All"
As President Obama began stacking his Cabinet with former members of the Clinton Administration, my anxiety level increased. It was obvious that the honeymoon was short-lived; it was over. As I watched him talk out of both sides of his mouth and summarily ignore almost every campaign promise he made, I knew those who believed in him had been seduced by one well schooled in the art of deception and manipulation. Despite his attempts to convince us that he was the real deal, he hasn’t quite made it to the point where we are totally taken in by his charm. He may be a consummate politician and a well-groomed shill for every vested interest in Washington, but the absence of any traits of a leader is glaringly apparent. In a time when the nation is crying for real leadership, which is doing something simply because it is right and not because it is politically expedient, he is nowhere to be found. When we need decisiveness and courage, we get bi-partisanship and compromise.
The course, rather akin to Sherman’s march to the sea, for dismantling the middle class was started by Ronald Reagan who, in the name of fiscal conservatism, put more debt on the backs of the American people than all of his predecessors combined. The juggernaut has continued, unabated, through virtually every succeeding administration up to and including that of Barack Obama. They may have been different in style but not in the pursuit of their goal of creating a two-class society. The wealth and power of money reigns supreme and only grows with each passing day. Their contempt for the average American knows no bounds, and we are led to believe that the ravages and the cost of their excesses are somehow not of their own doing but, rather, accrue to the detriment of the taxpayers. I am still mystified as what twist of logic led us to accept that conclusion.
I believe mortal man is imbued, from the time of birth, with two great temptations. One is greed and the other is the lust for power. By their sheer power to tempt us and to compromise our standards of decency, it is a never-ending struggle to keep them in check. Neither appetite is ever fully satiated and their persistent pursuit of more and more drains the very life-blood out of our national fabric. The oligarchs and plutocrats, and their ownership of every aspect of our government, continues without limits. We are little more than bystanders, watching from the sidelines, as they set themselves to the task of destroying virtually every thread in the tapestry of enlightenment that was our national legacy from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The golden age of the middle class, in the great span of time, proved to be but a mere twinkling when faced with the forces of darkness that were unleashed upon us. We lost our position on the world stage as an industrial giant, a society to be envied and emulated around the globe, all carried on the backs of a strong and healthy middle class. We became the American Dream that offered a pathway and a ladder to a better life for our children and their children. That dream soon evaporated as our industrial base was dismantled, and precious jobs were shipped overseas to cheap labor markets. Rather than revered, it was demonized and marginalized by the relentless assaults from big business. Their gains were deliberately and systematically stripped from them by the sheer force of money and influence, brutally brought to bear by big business and massive wealth.
The Supreme Court, not content with its success in putting George W. Bush in the White House by judicial fiat, decided to try for an encore with their ruling in Citizens United. That was the precursor for the biggest nightmare to be unleashed on a civilized people since the Dark Ages. We have seen the emergence of some of the most sinister forces imaginable, and their devastating effects are just beginning to be felt by the people of this country. The blood of martyrs will, ultimately, cleanse their persistent and unrelenting pursuits at the expense of the broader society. It is just a question of time.
I am curious if great wealth and unlimited power lead those who have it to believe that, once they have “made it,” they somehow become kindred members of a deity, the face of which is never revealed to us mere mortals. Do they come to believe they are omnipotent and beyond accountability or self-examination? What gives them the right to ravenously destroy every aspect of a good and decent life for us all? What gives them the right to plunder and destroy the very planet on which we live and for which we all share a solemn obligation to preserve? Perhaps vast wealth is the complete antithesis to what lesser mortals seek in a relationship with their Creator. On the other hand, is it the manifestation of the darkest forces that lie dormant within our human nature? Personally, I have my own set of beliefs. I would not presume to impose them on anyone else, but I do believe there is a thread of decency among those who seek an honest life that does not come at the expense of the common good. I don’t see much evidence of that among those who have managed to float to the top of the cesspool of success that comes at any price.
There seems to be a kinship between those possessed by the endless quest for more wealth and more power. You see a commonality between them in all walks of life, from every brand of zealot and demagogue among us. You see them in the empty rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Christine O’Donnell and all of like mind who have a chronic inability to engage in any form of introspection, sincerity and a commitment to the truth. They thrive and prosper on lies, heresy, deception and the sale of their souls to those who finance their ambitions. I am of the opinion that these humanoids all share one common congenital anomaly that calcifies their cranial tissue. Anything remotely akin to a functional brain must consist of nothing more than a small pea-sized neurotransmitter near the medulla oblongata that precludes any resemblance to human thought. That is what enables them to react only to external stimuli. I cannot conceive of a mind that would take any of them and what they peddle seriously. The club of which they are all a part seeks not to educate themselves and us about reality, but to convince us of the absolute certainty of a belief system they want us to embrace on behalf of their benefactors. They are the “true believers,” touched by the hand of God, that have, historically, spawned the darkest and destructive epochs of evil that have laid waste vast areas of Europe, Asia, the Near East, Southeast Asia and other killing fields throughout recorded history.
Great wealth appears to remain somewhat removed from the glare of everyday life. However, anyone with even so much as a cursory interest about what is going on in the world today should have no trouble identifying the billionaires and lesser millionaires who seem hell bent on destroying the last vestigial remnants of our civilized society, or in preserving a habitable environment.
However, I also believe there are “good” billionaires and millionaires who honestly came by their fortunes, and who believe in this country. They do share in a respect for the inherent goodness of Americans. I applaud them for all the good work they do, but their outrage seems somewhat muted in the face of the destruction of the institutions of government that were created to serve a nation and its people. It is occurring at meteoric speed by those whose rapacious greed knows no limits, and there is a need for an equal and opposite force to stem their ambitions.
That our entire system of government is badly broken and hopelessly corrupt is self-evident. We are no longer “a government of the people, by the people and for the people,” that is the bedrock of our democracy. Those who control the government are so compromised they cannot be expected or trusted to embark on any serious effort to clean up the dysfunctional mess we call “government,” and restore the confidence required to do the people’s business. It is too awash in massive amounts of money, influence peddling and the sheer power of special interests. Those elected to serve us are far too immersed in amassing huge sums of money for their re-election, setting themselves up as super ordinates to those they serve and attending to the demands of those who keep them in office.
These days I cannot help but notice a more subdued American people. I don’t know whether they are simply apathetic or that they see a future so bleak it is beyond hope. That saddens me because I genuinely believe in the inherent worth and decency of the common folk. They may not be at the pinnacle of the social register or economic ladder, but they are the stuff of goodness that the so-called elite and privileged seem unable to understand or appreciate. They are the ones who have labored to provide that favored status to those who now reap the fruits of their efforts. That needs to be recognized, valued and appreciated by all of us. They deserve their rightful place in a safe and secure society.
So, where are all those “good” super-rich who made their fortunes in this country? Don’t they feel some sort of patriotic or moral obligation to at least attempt to fix what ails our government and to restore rightful ownership to the people? One thing is certain. It cannot and will not be fixed by those who feed at the common trough of corruption that keeps them in power.
Our system of government is badly in need of a tune-up. It is out of balance and not working as it should. It is broken and in need of repair. To right the wrongs that have brought us to this point in our history will require a united and concerted effort to confront all those who see what is left as just one more conquest in the pursuit of their ambitions. It is a labor that carries with it a sense of urgency, but it will not be easy. It will require a substantial commitment of resources, the vision and the indomitable will to make it happen. I have no doubt that a group of civic-minded people of means can command the resources, put together the organization and produce a blueprint for restoring health and confidence in government, so it serves all the people all the time.
Our greatest treasure is to be found in the massive pool of brainpower residing within our colleges, universities and in every sector of our economy. The great majority of Americans believe in this country, and its ability to rise from the ashes to a new and better place in the world.
So, I would ask those plutocrats who genuinely love and care about this country, “Will you embark on a project to right the wrongs and cure the ills of all that has compromised our system of government?”
1. Convene a meeting of your peers for the purpose of creating and funding an independent private organization with the avowed purpose of embarking on a massive assessment of all that is wrong and dysfunctional with our system of government, and what will be required in order to restore it to the fairness of its founding principles? It would have to be based on objectivity, transparency, and freedom from any built-in bias or conflicts of interest.
2. A Board of Trustees, comprised of ownership, would be responsible for overseeing the entire project. Its purpose would be to focus on defining its mission, and on getting the job done with the best talent available. The end result would be fulfilling a commitment to the American people that its findings and recommendations will be fully transparent.
3. An Executive Committee would supervise the conduct of the study, and would direct the efforts of study committees and task forces charged with carrying out the intent and work of the project. This would be a natural place to utilize the background and experience of former prominent political figures that have served with distinction.
4. Focus on the structure of every agency in government, including terms or term limits for those holding office, rules of conduct for every major branch of government, etc., so those institutions can be brought into line with the Constitution and the best interests of the people.
5. Undertake a comprehensive review of the structure, regulations and authority exercised over all major aspects of the economy so they clearly serve the people and operate in keeping with the best interests of the society of which they are a part.
6. Undertake a comprehensive review of the press, its ownership and composition, in keeping with the original intent of the Founding Fathers. It must, of necessity, focus on its intended relationship to government, so it clearly serves the people and, once again, becomes, not beholden to, but rather serves as the watchdog on government. I would look to people from reputable schools of journalism within our college and university systems to undertake this effort. I would look to Bill Moyers to chair such a committee.
7. Get money and influence out of government. Provide for public funding of political campaigns and prohibit lobbying of government officials. If there is a need for specific information or consultation, then let it be provided by paid consultants, in open meetings and free of any taint from vested interests.
8. Bring salaries and benefits for public officials into line with the broader marketplace. Government is no place for special treatment or perquisites. They need to be aware of the concept of “equality” that is such an integral part of all that we, ostensibly, stand for. No institution of government should be allowed to “legislate” for its own benefit.
9. For an effort of this nature to be successful, it must be applied to every branch of government and every agency of government. The rules and regulations they have promulgated should be evaluated in terms of their relevance, their appropriateness and their effectiveness as they apply to the citizens of this country.
10. The culmination of such an endeavor should be the publication of a report with a plan of action for accomplishing those recommendations. Every aspect of that report should be transparent and freely available.
There is not one shred of doubt in my mind that there are legions of academicians and their graduate students who would jump at the chance to be a part of such an effort. This is not an undertaking for members of the “Old Boys Club.” It is the place for people who have clearly established themselves as respected sources of knowledge in their various fields and the inquisitive minds of those who study under their tutelage.
Our country is not in need of inflated egos and self-aggrandizement. It is in need of great minds and a sense of justice.
Cowboy Bob
March 21, 2011
The course, rather akin to Sherman’s march to the sea, for dismantling the middle class was started by Ronald Reagan who, in the name of fiscal conservatism, put more debt on the backs of the American people than all of his predecessors combined. The juggernaut has continued, unabated, through virtually every succeeding administration up to and including that of Barack Obama. They may have been different in style but not in the pursuit of their goal of creating a two-class society. The wealth and power of money reigns supreme and only grows with each passing day. Their contempt for the average American knows no bounds, and we are led to believe that the ravages and the cost of their excesses are somehow not of their own doing but, rather, accrue to the detriment of the taxpayers. I am still mystified as what twist of logic led us to accept that conclusion.
I believe mortal man is imbued, from the time of birth, with two great temptations. One is greed and the other is the lust for power. By their sheer power to tempt us and to compromise our standards of decency, it is a never-ending struggle to keep them in check. Neither appetite is ever fully satiated and their persistent pursuit of more and more drains the very life-blood out of our national fabric. The oligarchs and plutocrats, and their ownership of every aspect of our government, continues without limits. We are little more than bystanders, watching from the sidelines, as they set themselves to the task of destroying virtually every thread in the tapestry of enlightenment that was our national legacy from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The golden age of the middle class, in the great span of time, proved to be but a mere twinkling when faced with the forces of darkness that were unleashed upon us. We lost our position on the world stage as an industrial giant, a society to be envied and emulated around the globe, all carried on the backs of a strong and healthy middle class. We became the American Dream that offered a pathway and a ladder to a better life for our children and their children. That dream soon evaporated as our industrial base was dismantled, and precious jobs were shipped overseas to cheap labor markets. Rather than revered, it was demonized and marginalized by the relentless assaults from big business. Their gains were deliberately and systematically stripped from them by the sheer force of money and influence, brutally brought to bear by big business and massive wealth.
The Supreme Court, not content with its success in putting George W. Bush in the White House by judicial fiat, decided to try for an encore with their ruling in Citizens United. That was the precursor for the biggest nightmare to be unleashed on a civilized people since the Dark Ages. We have seen the emergence of some of the most sinister forces imaginable, and their devastating effects are just beginning to be felt by the people of this country. The blood of martyrs will, ultimately, cleanse their persistent and unrelenting pursuits at the expense of the broader society. It is just a question of time.
I am curious if great wealth and unlimited power lead those who have it to believe that, once they have “made it,” they somehow become kindred members of a deity, the face of which is never revealed to us mere mortals. Do they come to believe they are omnipotent and beyond accountability or self-examination? What gives them the right to ravenously destroy every aspect of a good and decent life for us all? What gives them the right to plunder and destroy the very planet on which we live and for which we all share a solemn obligation to preserve? Perhaps vast wealth is the complete antithesis to what lesser mortals seek in a relationship with their Creator. On the other hand, is it the manifestation of the darkest forces that lie dormant within our human nature? Personally, I have my own set of beliefs. I would not presume to impose them on anyone else, but I do believe there is a thread of decency among those who seek an honest life that does not come at the expense of the common good. I don’t see much evidence of that among those who have managed to float to the top of the cesspool of success that comes at any price.
There seems to be a kinship between those possessed by the endless quest for more wealth and more power. You see a commonality between them in all walks of life, from every brand of zealot and demagogue among us. You see them in the empty rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Christine O’Donnell and all of like mind who have a chronic inability to engage in any form of introspection, sincerity and a commitment to the truth. They thrive and prosper on lies, heresy, deception and the sale of their souls to those who finance their ambitions. I am of the opinion that these humanoids all share one common congenital anomaly that calcifies their cranial tissue. Anything remotely akin to a functional brain must consist of nothing more than a small pea-sized neurotransmitter near the medulla oblongata that precludes any resemblance to human thought. That is what enables them to react only to external stimuli. I cannot conceive of a mind that would take any of them and what they peddle seriously. The club of which they are all a part seeks not to educate themselves and us about reality, but to convince us of the absolute certainty of a belief system they want us to embrace on behalf of their benefactors. They are the “true believers,” touched by the hand of God, that have, historically, spawned the darkest and destructive epochs of evil that have laid waste vast areas of Europe, Asia, the Near East, Southeast Asia and other killing fields throughout recorded history.
Great wealth appears to remain somewhat removed from the glare of everyday life. However, anyone with even so much as a cursory interest about what is going on in the world today should have no trouble identifying the billionaires and lesser millionaires who seem hell bent on destroying the last vestigial remnants of our civilized society, or in preserving a habitable environment.
However, I also believe there are “good” billionaires and millionaires who honestly came by their fortunes, and who believe in this country. They do share in a respect for the inherent goodness of Americans. I applaud them for all the good work they do, but their outrage seems somewhat muted in the face of the destruction of the institutions of government that were created to serve a nation and its people. It is occurring at meteoric speed by those whose rapacious greed knows no limits, and there is a need for an equal and opposite force to stem their ambitions.
That our entire system of government is badly broken and hopelessly corrupt is self-evident. We are no longer “a government of the people, by the people and for the people,” that is the bedrock of our democracy. Those who control the government are so compromised they cannot be expected or trusted to embark on any serious effort to clean up the dysfunctional mess we call “government,” and restore the confidence required to do the people’s business. It is too awash in massive amounts of money, influence peddling and the sheer power of special interests. Those elected to serve us are far too immersed in amassing huge sums of money for their re-election, setting themselves up as super ordinates to those they serve and attending to the demands of those who keep them in office.
These days I cannot help but notice a more subdued American people. I don’t know whether they are simply apathetic or that they see a future so bleak it is beyond hope. That saddens me because I genuinely believe in the inherent worth and decency of the common folk. They may not be at the pinnacle of the social register or economic ladder, but they are the stuff of goodness that the so-called elite and privileged seem unable to understand or appreciate. They are the ones who have labored to provide that favored status to those who now reap the fruits of their efforts. That needs to be recognized, valued and appreciated by all of us. They deserve their rightful place in a safe and secure society.
So, where are all those “good” super-rich who made their fortunes in this country? Don’t they feel some sort of patriotic or moral obligation to at least attempt to fix what ails our government and to restore rightful ownership to the people? One thing is certain. It cannot and will not be fixed by those who feed at the common trough of corruption that keeps them in power.
Our system of government is badly in need of a tune-up. It is out of balance and not working as it should. It is broken and in need of repair. To right the wrongs that have brought us to this point in our history will require a united and concerted effort to confront all those who see what is left as just one more conquest in the pursuit of their ambitions. It is a labor that carries with it a sense of urgency, but it will not be easy. It will require a substantial commitment of resources, the vision and the indomitable will to make it happen. I have no doubt that a group of civic-minded people of means can command the resources, put together the organization and produce a blueprint for restoring health and confidence in government, so it serves all the people all the time.
Our greatest treasure is to be found in the massive pool of brainpower residing within our colleges, universities and in every sector of our economy. The great majority of Americans believe in this country, and its ability to rise from the ashes to a new and better place in the world.
So, I would ask those plutocrats who genuinely love and care about this country, “Will you embark on a project to right the wrongs and cure the ills of all that has compromised our system of government?”
1. Convene a meeting of your peers for the purpose of creating and funding an independent private organization with the avowed purpose of embarking on a massive assessment of all that is wrong and dysfunctional with our system of government, and what will be required in order to restore it to the fairness of its founding principles? It would have to be based on objectivity, transparency, and freedom from any built-in bias or conflicts of interest.
2. A Board of Trustees, comprised of ownership, would be responsible for overseeing the entire project. Its purpose would be to focus on defining its mission, and on getting the job done with the best talent available. The end result would be fulfilling a commitment to the American people that its findings and recommendations will be fully transparent.
3. An Executive Committee would supervise the conduct of the study, and would direct the efforts of study committees and task forces charged with carrying out the intent and work of the project. This would be a natural place to utilize the background and experience of former prominent political figures that have served with distinction.
4. Focus on the structure of every agency in government, including terms or term limits for those holding office, rules of conduct for every major branch of government, etc., so those institutions can be brought into line with the Constitution and the best interests of the people.
5. Undertake a comprehensive review of the structure, regulations and authority exercised over all major aspects of the economy so they clearly serve the people and operate in keeping with the best interests of the society of which they are a part.
6. Undertake a comprehensive review of the press, its ownership and composition, in keeping with the original intent of the Founding Fathers. It must, of necessity, focus on its intended relationship to government, so it clearly serves the people and, once again, becomes, not beholden to, but rather serves as the watchdog on government. I would look to people from reputable schools of journalism within our college and university systems to undertake this effort. I would look to Bill Moyers to chair such a committee.
7. Get money and influence out of government. Provide for public funding of political campaigns and prohibit lobbying of government officials. If there is a need for specific information or consultation, then let it be provided by paid consultants, in open meetings and free of any taint from vested interests.
8. Bring salaries and benefits for public officials into line with the broader marketplace. Government is no place for special treatment or perquisites. They need to be aware of the concept of “equality” that is such an integral part of all that we, ostensibly, stand for. No institution of government should be allowed to “legislate” for its own benefit.
9. For an effort of this nature to be successful, it must be applied to every branch of government and every agency of government. The rules and regulations they have promulgated should be evaluated in terms of their relevance, their appropriateness and their effectiveness as they apply to the citizens of this country.
10. The culmination of such an endeavor should be the publication of a report with a plan of action for accomplishing those recommendations. Every aspect of that report should be transparent and freely available.
There is not one shred of doubt in my mind that there are legions of academicians and their graduate students who would jump at the chance to be a part of such an effort. This is not an undertaking for members of the “Old Boys Club.” It is the place for people who have clearly established themselves as respected sources of knowledge in their various fields and the inquisitive minds of those who study under their tutelage.
Our country is not in need of inflated egos and self-aggrandizement. It is in need of great minds and a sense of justice.
Cowboy Bob
March 21, 2011
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