OK - Come and get me

It’s the day after the so-called fairytale wedding of Prince William and Kate – sorry Catherine Middleton - and the real world has not gotten any better. Without a doubt the supposed happy ending for the newlyweds cannot ever be worse than what many of my fellow countrymen have been forced to endure day in and day out for a period way too long. I look at my young family and try to put my happy face on for them to mask the concerns I have for their futures in the short and long terms.

My daughter increasingly tells me that she is afraid to grow up. She doesn’t know what the future holds for her and she is scared. This breaks my heart because I feel like a part of her childhood is being stolen from her or I’m failing as a father – I don’t remember suffering this type of insecurity when I was eleven years old. Heck by this time in my life my father had passed and I had several newspaper routes and did yard work around our neighborhood. Unlike the Governor of Maine, Paul LePage, my aspirations are not for my kids to have to go to work early.

In fact, so much that allowed my family to stay together after my father’s untimely death is now under attack by people who may not understand the benefits programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have made. People who have been blessed not to have lived under circumstances that required the American social safety net may not understand that instead of five children that could have gone wrong in other times are now productive members of this society – paying taxes and bringing up another productive generation of Americans.

I’d like to point out to anyone reading this that considers themselves a conservative or Tea Partier that even though I consider myself to be a bleeding heart liberal progressive with socialist tendencies – that I am the only one of that ilk from my family. Even my Momma has Fox News on the tube during her waking hours. I may be the biggest horror in her life of disappointments but we are still family and I will always be thankful for our relationship. However, my point is that it isn’t just your opposition that benefits but many of your own tribe that do as well.

Enough background on me – I hope it may help you understand my perspective or at least give you something to make fun of – since when I make my views known and the debate ends I am often ridiculed for my appearance or weight. Yes, even this ugly old fatty has opinions and can debate them without wondering from where the next cheeseburger or Twinkie is coming.

Today I’d like to touch upon many areas that concern me – lightly now and more in depth later. Since my intent is to stake out my position on these topics I am open to discussion and challenges from any quarter. I am here not to educate you but to be educated by you; however, do not misunderstand or take offense if your argument does not end in conversion but a strengthening of my position.

Topic 1 – President Barack Obama

If you have read any of my Tweets or posts on Huffington Post (mostly) you may think I am a bit schizophrenic about our 44^th President of the United States. Let me assure you that I supported him in 2008 and I will again in 2012. He hasn’t been exactly what I had hoped for when I cast my ballot but he is my President and the best person for the job in 2012. Yes I have criticized him and his administration – he deserves to hear from his supporters what they think without having to decipher meaning or intent.

Topic 2 – The Democratic Party

I believe there are better days to come from and for the Democratic Party. There are certain Democratic politicians that seem to be working against the values I hold but I do not see how I can make this party better from the outside than from the inside. I also understand that in our current political environment that it is a numbers game – so since the Republicans have once again unmasked themselves for the corporate fools they are I will support the Democrat in the general election.

Topic 3 – The Supreme Court

This once hallowed body has exposed itself to be just another politically driven entity. I cannot in good conscious support the Court as it is currently constituted. The positions that have to be spun by any nominee to gain Senate approval make it impossible for me to believe that any of these justices deserve the title and responsibility they hold. Of course I can again be accused of being a bit schizoid here but the conservatives on the court do seem to me immune to the brand of hypocrisy they display so often.

Topic 4 – The Economy (Stupid)

I think I’ve made my feelings about the social safety net known above. We should protect these programs with our lives since they mean life for so many disadvantaged. I think we need to get our fiscal house in order but not on the backs of the poor, sick, children and the elderly. Please try to imagine what your life would be like without these people – they are people – worthy – loving – valued and deserving. Too many believe the stereotype of the welfare queen or those that will not find a job because the government money and cheese is just too good – let me assure you they are a vast minority and deserve to be routed out – just don’t further injure the innocent in your quest to punish the cheaters.

Reform the tax code – it should be progressive – reasonable – and enforced. I’ve got a lot to say about this but if I get started now I won’t be able to say any more.

Unemployment Insurance – yes. One day or three years – yes. Again – a lot to say about this.

Too Big to Fail, Wall Street, Multinationals and Monopolies – all need to be addressed through regulation and divestiture – they need to be reminded that they exist to serve the public not suppress it.

Unionism - To kind of quote the Speaker of the House, John Boehner: “HELL YES!”

Insurance and Healthcare is again a topic I will go on and on about. My short answer is single payer.

I know this list seems kind of wild but there is so much more – I just don’t want to lose the steam and I feel like that’s what’s happening now. Let me leave off with just one last thought. I believe that being a progressive liberal means to be in touch with life at all levels in our society and to fight the good fight for those that can’t defend themselves – to be a part of something bigger than myself and my family. If what it takes to correct the problems of the United States means furthering the discomfort of the afflicted, poor, children and elderly then perhaps we as a nation have lost the vision that was put to paper by our founding fathers and there is little hope of ever regaining the greatness we once knew and the rest of the world envied. I hope we all can get through these trying times together with goodwill and understanding. Life is too short.

Peace.

A Reaction to DeNiro's Comment

I do not have a major disagreement with Robert DeNiro's statement - just that it really doesn't get to the root of the problem. In fact, his assessment that this is largely a Republican problem seems spot on to me. My comments to the piece reported on the Huffington Post follows:

For me the bottom line isn't the Trumps of this world. Trump is merely repeating the behavior that has become all too common on both sides of the aisle. We make statements that we do not mean "to be factual" hoping that some of the malice will adhere itself to the intended target and that there are suitably large numbers of people simpleminded enough to grab onto it as the truth.

Once upon a time we had a media that was governed by a measure of journalistic integrity that would both ignore these pronouncements and not give them any traction by allowing them the same weight as truly factual comments. A media when faced with outright lies and misleading commentary by the political ruling class or their big business overlords would shine the light of truth upon it. Today, sadly, the media has been taken over by the same overlords and we get the false equivalencies fed to us over and over again.

Today we do have a way to combat some of this with information gained from other sources and the common sense that we all possess - even if it is weakened from under use. We can also become more active in demonstrating our support for American ideals - new and old - through activism - yet another quality that has atrophied since the 60's and 70's.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/24/robert-de-niro-calls-out-republicans_n_852988.html

The deficit of compassion

Can you name one wasteful sacred cow program the Democrats are supporting? In fact they acknowledged that all waste must be cut out of the budget and government. This is viewed by the Republicans as a weakness in the Democratic caucus.

On the other hand, the Republicans can only sing the song of cutting social spending to the bone while handing out additional job killing tax cuts to the wealthiest of families & further exemptions to taxes for the big businesses they refer to as small business. Additionally, Republicans support additional savings and relief to the wealthy/big business by relaxing regulations and defunding the IRS so there are fewer agents to conduct audits that have recently focused on the wealthy.  So I can name some of the sacred cows of the Republicans: Koch Bros., Koch Industries, GE, Offense Contractors etc. At the same moment let me name some of the lambs they would slaughter: Head Start, healthcare for the poor, elderly, handicapped and children, school lunches, Social Security, family planning, PBS and anything that has a socialist tinge to it in their minds.

What is Trump's game?

Mr. Trump is one of "those" people that long for the days of old when "those other people" could be kept from voting by various tests - land ownership, sex or literacy. Since those tests could not prevent the election of Barack Obama the new test is the "birther question" and the requirement that this president be the first to be compelled by a tiny minority to prove to them that which they will never accept. Their claims to irrational theories surrounding this man's birth and the slandering of his parents by people such as Rush Limbaugh have led to many of the problems and distractions that plague this nation during a time of trials like no other in our life times.

I suspect that Trump's game has nothing to do with an actual candidacy because if it did he would just jump in and accrue for himself the benefits of getting the early start on the rest of the pack. I think his motives are simpler - promotion for him and his other money making efforts - which have not been hurt by President Obama's election. This is sad since it is so cynical and hurtful to the nation at this time.

So who is the real American and who is the Capitalist? American ideals are not necessarily capitalist as many of the 2 percenters would have you believe.

Tucker & TDC get slopply seconds...

Whoa, just a minute! Without a doubt Tucker Carlson should never be mistaken for someone who hasn't made a name for himself and taken a few punches but ended up on his feet. Just because he had the good fortune to come from a $ucce$$ful family he is obviously not the product of the type of affirmative action usually reserved for George Bush types.

So when I hear that Gini Thomas is joining his little club of out of touch children looking for something to do while waiting for their check from their trust fund, I wonder how they can possibly afford to pay her her going rate? Is this just another ploy for the rich and the Koch to funnel money to the accounts of a loyal tea baggist for the services she renders them by keeping one of their favorite jurist in line?

I can hardly wait for the next disclosure report dear Clarence has to file to see if his wife's value has increased or did she lose some of her value by making too many phone calls? Assuming of course that Justice Thomas remembers that she is a breadwinner in their house too and dutifully and accurately reports every last quarter she earns.

Thoughts on Rick Scott

One more item that didn't get past HuffPost censors.

This is one bad dude who either failed to promote an ethical business environmen­t at HCA while he was the CEO or was complicit in the organized defrauding of the Medicare program. So pick your poison: he's stupid or he's evil but he was not successful.

So far as CEO of Florida - he has shown a little of both these liabilities. He ran on the theme of putting people back to work but paid his campaign staff with gift cards, he's suggested changes in public schooling that will cost jobs while creating an environmen­t that would be ripe for fraud, denied Federal funding for high speed rail and the jobs and cut school funding while giving a matching amount of tax breaks to business. He has killed the "pill mill" database that would not cost the state a red cent but might have called attention to his latest healthcare scam - "Solantic" a cut rate chain of walk in clinics that are already being scrutinized. All decisions he has made are arguably favorable to him in some personal way be it reduced property taxes or lowered business taxes. Finally, he has made a mockery of separating himself from his business holdings while in office by transferri­ng them into his wife's name - hardly a blind trust that!

By the look of the legislatur­e they apparently enjoy being lectured to by theis unindicted criminal who doesn't understand the mission of Government is not the same as business. He'll never be a Governor just a CEO.

Leadership & Restraint

I've been watching events transpire since the "shellacking" the Democrats took in November 2010 mostly in horror and sometimes with unreasonable hope. I've watched the Tea Party inspired Republicans go about the business of ruthlessly stripping the middle class workforce of hard won rights, the redistribution of wealth upward in a way not totally unprecedented way and the framing of the economics of our time in a way that the fault is being set at the feet of hard working, law abiding, tax paying people while the wealthiest families continue to consolidate their wealth and power while accruing even more tax breaks for themselves, their investments and businesses. It isn't the Democrats that have been waging the class war but those that accuse them of doing so.

We now have a party in charge of the national purse strings that finds its interest in only representing these wealthy families because to do otherwise would be to acknowledge that President Obama's limited and timid steps towards fixing this mess have had a measureable positive effect in the recovery of some parts of our economy. Understand this - the Tea Party has been blinded by the wealthiest to believe that the wealthy and Republican Party care about the small business people. They do not. There have been no real steps taken by House Speaker Boehner and his minions to create any new jobs - just a constant flow of negativity and nonsensical tweets and sound bites about how President Obama is either a facist, socialist, Kenyan and/or Moslem.

Today I view what is going on around our country with hope as the sleeping middle class giant may be finally shaking the cobwebs from its collective brain after the pummeling its been taking since the days of President Reagan. The notice of what is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Florida and New Jersey makes me believe that a broad movement is afoot. One in which our national priorities can begin to be readdressed without fear and violence. I believe that this is the beginning of a return to fairness but that the road may be long and the journey at times unpleasant.

What gives me hope is that I had the opportunity to listen to Rep. Dennis Kucinich's address to the people in Madison Wisconsin. Finally, a person with a large national stature that isn't timidly addressing the issues of today. Take 15 minutes to view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiNIWCP5hck&feature=player_embedded . I'm not promoting Mr. Kucinich for anything - in fact he has already stated that he will not run against President Obama in 2012, but I do wish he'd reconsider.

I have been giving our 44th President some thought during this same period. I have found myself running hot and cold about his performance. I have no great insight nor can I point to a single situation that I feel was the final straw. I know that he was the right choice given what Senator McCain and the quitter Sarah Palin represented in 2008. However, I sometimes think that we asked this man to do more than he should have been called on to do.

In his efforts to rebuild America he has come up against the institutionalized racism that cannot be swepted away in just a few generations. He has been rebuffed by the less than loyal opposition whenever he has extended his hand or asked for bipartisan support for policies good for America. He has opened the door to the White House for anyone other than a white American male. He has done good things for which he'll never get full credit.

Despite all that is good - he has not been great. In a time where we are looking around for strong leadership he is not stepping up. We look at pundits, former Secretaries of past administrations, celebrities, disgraced former politicians for vision and leadership - I hope its coming soon.

The Rick Scott Problem: Florida's Latest Political Misque

After the electoral problems we faced in Florida in 2000 one hoped that our problems were behind us.  However, the elections in 2010 proved that my hope was misplaced and naive. This was the plea I sent to voters in Florida before the election of Rick Scott as our 44th Governor.  Admittedly it was the wrong track to take as it did not prevent Mr. Scott's election.  Perhaps the better way to go was to point out Alex Sink's strengths vs. Mr. Scott's weaknesses and disqualifications for holding a position of trust in any enterprise not to mention a state.

If you have a loved one in Florida that might vote for this guy – please have a heart to heart with them and deal with only the facts.
Rick Scott thinks he can be governor because he does not recognize the difference in the missions of business and governance.
The changes he made in health care while in charge of Columbia and Columbia/HCA can still be felt by anyone entering a facility once owned by them – reduced patient care due to cutting staffing to unrealistic & sometimes unsupportable productivity goals – physicians limited only to supplies approved by non-physician managers and pressure on hospitals to meet expected increasing operating margins to support stock prices and we can go on.
His headlong rush to acquire more hospitals to enrich himself led to creating an operating environment where malfeasance could occur instead of doing the hard work of ensuring that the business was run correctly – a problem that would have plagued him in any industry.
Failure to take full responsibility for his actions preferring to sound a bit paranoid by saying the Federal Government went on a witch hunt and that he was a victim.
Costing his former company, its patients, physicians, employees and investors $1.7 billion in fines and another $300 million (estimated) on his getaway – the golden parachute. That’s $2 billion dollars the board of directors parted with so they could be rid of Rick Scott. That could have provided a lot of good patient care but is instead being used to launch his political career.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear – Rick Scott says he’s an outsider, a novice politico. I submit to you he’s been a practicing politician for some time now.

It seems that I am doomed to be a hopeful fool as I did allow myself to hope for the best despite the election of Rick Scott by a tide of youthful and Tea Partying supporters.  As the days dwindle down to his inauguration I see some reason to be concerned about his stand on these issues:

• Health Care Reform - Rick Scott led a very visible opposition to the Health Care Reform Act when he spent a lot of his own money to form and act as the chief spokesperson the CPR campaign.  According to Rick's own web site he has not changed his desire to overturn the law that helps so many that are uninsured and therefore at the mercy of a for profit health care industry. http://www.rickscottforflorida.com/home/issues/health-care/
• Public Education - Rick Scott has called for the expanded use of vouchers initiated by then Governor Jeb Bush.  The plan would eliminate many jobs in Florida as the wealthy would get unneeded  subsidies to send their children to exclusive and often restricted private schools.  Additionally, the plan would be open to massive fraud - an opportunity with which Mr. Scott  is familiar.  http://www.examiner.com/dade-county-education-policy-in-miami/rick-scott-s-vouchers-for-all-plan-jeb-bush-s-devious-plans-on-steroids
• Public Safety - Rick Scott has floated the idea that the prisons in the state could make do with a little more than half their current budget.  He has also called for privatizing the health care of inmates makes sense too.  Mr. Scott is showing himself to be too wedded to a single issue - health care and additional opportunities for rip-offs.  http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/Rick_Scotts_Prison_Budget_Ideas_111094859.html?ref=859

Now we have an unindicted fraud-master surrounding himself with a bunch of yes men and women that he will be able to use to deflect any future charges of malfeasance.  He will be very busy reducing benefits to the unemployed, poor, working poor and lower middle class to the benefit of his wealthy buddies in the form of business breaks and lower property taxes.  Rick hasn't made me feel any better about his election, in fact, I am becoming more and more concerned about Florida's future with this rookie politician thinking he can just wing it.  Remember, he wasn't at fault at HCA - it was his other managers that let him down and he took one for the team - except the Scott team had one player and he got a great payoff to go away.

Post to HP that got flushed - re: Julian Assange

Thank you Julian Assange. I don't know what your personal motivation­s were for doing what you have done but you may have - unintentio­nally - made a huge number of Americans wake up and see what we have as a government.

During a time that the Tea Partying GOP is carrying the water for some of the wealthiest people and companies in the world we have found out that our government isn't as good as the ideals to which we pledge. We classify documents and snark that should have never been put to paper. Then we show incompeten­ce in how we handle such questionab­ly sensitive material by putting them into a system accessible by a Lady Gaga fan. Now we threaten our citizenry if they dare comment on what some idiots have done in our name.

Borrowed this pic from Wikipedia.
 I don't know if I have to put it back.

================================

That's it - I'm not sure how many of the 250 word allottment from HP I used but I'm pretty sure I wasn't inciting anyone to violence or the overthrow of our government or questioning someone's parentage.  So why was it deemed by the censors at HP as being unsuitable?  I don't know and they won't tell.  So please, can someone tell me where I crossed the line?  My goal is conversation not instigation or controlling the conversation.

This particular subject has led me to a future posting.  I'm thinking of trying to connect the dots between 9/11 and George Bush's response to it and how his response has led us to situations like American citizens being cautioned about discussing what passes for diplomacy today and the culture of secrecy we have despite claiming to want "transparency".

Thoughts on the Bush tax fiasco

An awful lot has been said about whether the Bush tax bill should be extended, modified or allowed to expire as it was designed.  I can only speak for myself but I would advocate for the end of the tax break for so many reasons.

First of all the tax breaks were not needed when they were jammed down our throats by President Bush and the GOP.  Sure the country was in a minor recession and the Republicans were in a hot tizzy to tear down the Clinton Budget Surplus by giving a big fat gift to the wealthy.  However, the wealthy were not all in agreement about the need of the cuts.  In fact, I recall Bill Gates being a prominent opponent to these reductions at the time.  By making these cuts Mr. Bush ingratiated himself with what he would later call "his base" - the "haves" and leave the growing national debt to our children and grandchildren to figure out.

Additionally, we have now had 10 years of experience with the Bush tax fiasco and did not see the promised growth in jobs.  We have seen the wealthy do what we would all do if we were afforded the opportunity to - bank that windfall.  The net wealth gap between the top 2% and the rest of us has grown larger and faster than ever before.  If there was any investment of these monies it went into companies that were busy off shoring as many jobs as they could and watching their bottom lines grow. 

The mismanagement continues today - our audaciously hoped for liberal renaissance has quickly come back to Earth as President Obama has sought out an extremely cautious path through our trying times - which he continues to remind us he inherited. He has failed to end the violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else we may be in clandestine misadventures.  He has failed to end our activities in the dastardly practices of renditions, Guantanamo, black prison sites or bringing torturers to justice.  If he'd only show the world that the Nobel Committee was not wrong in awarding him an early Peace Prize we would reap benefits in our international reputation and economy.

Sorry about that hard left hand turn.  I hope you are still with me. 

The Tea Partying GOP is busy victimizing those that are already victims of this mess.  The TP/GOP engages in a campaign in which they suggest everyone that isn't wealthy already only aspires to live out their lives on the public dole.  Granted there are some people that might be taking advantage but they are a far smaller problem than the TP/GOP want us to believe.  Then when the bias of the social order is debated publicly the Progressives and Liberals are accused of "class warfare".  Our society learned long ago that we are a better people and economy when we lend a hand when it is needed.  We should not ignore those hard lessons learned - we should be putting our collective shoulder to the task of pushing through this economic quagmire!

To those that say they have been taxed enough already you do not truly understand that the "taxes" coming due will not just be collected by the dreaded IRS.  If we fail to help out our unemployed, under-employed, working poor and disadvantaged the life you have come accustomed to living may be forever lost.  Prepare yourself for the "tax man" forms that you may have never contemplated before.  We as a people and country have the work ethic and a sense of fair play to change the course we seem to be taking.

I cannot understand completely why the wealthy and ownership class are so ready to take the risk of flushing the American potential - which is what makes us exceptional - down the drain.  In terms that I'm sure everyone can appreciate, there is money to be made from those we help and employ.  There is only a limited future if the only people that have discretionary income are the wealthiest few.  Try to find someone to buy the goods or services your company may provide if they are not employed or have to spend every nickle scraped together to buy food, shelter and medicine.  Don't be so short sighted - see that eventually the market will not support your business as demand fades away - and if businesses fade away so too the jobs fade away and the potential becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy of total failure.

Let the tax rates return to their previous level.  Restore unemployment benefits to all that have been cut off.  Help those who are in need.  Get busy doing the hard work of restoring the economy and retiring our debt.  After we've got that handled you can go back to being self absorbed .

Well this being my first extended posting has been personally interesting - I'll try to be better focused in the future and provide the links to support my arguments.  Consider this a rant if you will but I've named my blog "Educate me" because I want feedback.  Please feel free to add your comments and opinions but if all you have is name calling in your bag of tricks, please don't bother.  I've been called it all before and it just doesn't get to me.