The War on the Middle Class

The economy is in the toilet. Unemployment is drifting around 10 points with no real relief on the horizon. Good, hard working folks are seeing their paychecks shrink as their employers take more away. Bills are coming fast and loose for people who have two cents for every three that have to be paid out. Food banks, thrift shops, food stamps and free clinics are finding popularity with a whole new batch of customers.

And they tell me that the tide has turned and we are coming out of the recession.

Today, the Dow Jones reached 10,000 pts for the first time in a year and everyone is popping the corks and sparking the bowls. Yippee!! Wall Street is coming back! Bonuses have returned to the Street along with bigger paychecks. Some of these icons of American Capitalism have found ways of getting around the rules and keep some of the worse of the sub-prime mortgages alive and well. Credit card companies are seeing huge profits from the strong-arming of Americans.

This would be a bad gangster film if it weren't reality.

Nothing is going our way. The promise of electing Obama and the Democrats into power has fallen as flat as an old convention balloon. They postured from every soapbox that the days of huge corporations feeding at the trough of American taxpayers is over. Tax loopholes closed, universal health care, new green jobs and a real stimulus package to get the economy kickstarted.

They had their fingers crossed.

The stimulus was too little too late. It did as good a job as it could but was woefully inadequate. If you want to help a starving man, giving him a TicTac isn't going to do the job. Lots of good, green programs that would have provided real, well paying jobs were kicked to the curb because they gave the Republicans fits. Republicans.

After the elections, the American people let it be known that the last thing they cared about was the fucking Republicans. These WATB's have been sniveling about Obama at every turn. In addition, the Handjob Media has courted their every word; words that were mostly blatant bullshit that a high school journalism student could have debunked.

So, here we are. Nearly a year since a landmark historic election and the promise of real change in America. What do we have to show for it? Where's the reward for all of our hard work? Wall Street has made out like bandits...literally. Gov't reps and congress critters have made bank from all the free money on K Street. The shitty situation the country found itself in before the election is worse now and any hope for relief is becoming rare.

When is it our turn?

America the ATM. America the Chump. America the Rube. Wall Street was playing three-card Monte with our livelihoods and we asked for help. What we got was a government that took out hand, soothed our fears then told Wall Street to use a new deck of cards.

The problem is deeper than just getting our pet projects accomplished. Health care reform, environmental reform, getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, new green jobs, etc, etc, etc.... ad nauseum. These are great steps but they rely on too much change, change that is not just hard but near impossible. What we need to do is take back the country for the people. Corporations were established 150 years ago to help finance the Industrial Revolution. It brought America into the 20th century as a force in the world. But leave it to the greedy to take a good idea and pervert it into a pestilence. America does not need the corporate structure like it did in the 1880's.

We have too much wealth concentrated in one spot. Regulations must be enacted to rein in this abomination. Socialism isn't the answer but a more measured approach to capitalism is necessary. Then our agenda will come about like we expect. If you want to plant a garden on the battlefield, you have to figure out how to win the war first.

update: I just noticed that my blog roll was seriously deficient in penguins. The management regrets this oversight and it has been corrected. The responsible parties have been punished.

And so it goes...
David A.

Treading water in a whirlpool

Perhaps some of you have noticed that I've been a bit scarce on the 'Toobs lately.

In an effort to save a few ducats, I've decided to give up my Internet access and the meager cable that came with it. I've been trolling the internet for more almost 20 years, since the years of Protegy, BBS and 9600 baud modems connected to screaming 286 XT's. (ten megahertz, baby!) It's been a part of my daily activity for a long time. But something has to go.

The faltering economy and abject corporate greed has given me little choice. My employer, who shall be nameless, is not hurting that badly but has found that the public's fear and consternation about the economic climate has given rise to a timely opportunity to make a few more millions. Using the economy as a crutch, they've slashed hours and suspended merit raises. Management is constantly reminding us that for every job they post, hundreds of applicants show up - so watch your ass!

Nervous isn't an apt description. Terrified come closest. Some of my co-workers are barely making ends meet because of health issues, kids, household repairs and transportation grief, etc. This shit isn't news to anyone with a pulse over the last year. I'm certainly not alone. Bills stack up, credit cards get maxed out, phones shut off, and the car breaks down.

Don't look for sympathy from any of the corporate whores raking in the dough either. The banks got billions of our funds to keep their logos on the door and they thank us by jacking up late and overdraft fees. One example: a friend at work paid her VISA bill but transposed the numbers of her online payment. She overpaid by $63 which put her in the hole ten bucks. It went unnoticed for a couple of days, after she had spent money on gas, groceries and school supplies... six transactions for just under forty dollars. Because of the overpayment error, she got hit with seven overdraft charges worth - $240. She called the bank as soon as she realized the error and explained her plight. It was a wasted call. The bank rep did nothing but lecture her about paying attention to her transactions and that maybe this situation will be a lesson to her. She has two kids and a husband that recently was laid off from that same bank.

Fuck that!

Fuck Bank of America, Fuck Chase, and Fuck all the rest. Real people are suffering out there. That error could have happened to me or any other person. Even a math whiz will fuck up a number on occasion. The corporate whores that play with our lives care as much for us as they do for their tennis shoes. Run the shit out of them then toss them to the curb.

The Insurance industry is just as corrupt. The billing clerk from my doctor's office called me to talk about my growing bill. She was cool, but direct. Money needed to start coming in. I explained my situation at work and she was sympathetic. I'm making a small payment every month. But she did say some shit that got me steamed. She was curious why my bill was so high. Other patients with the same insurance were paying a lot less out of pocket that was I. Basically, my insurance was stiffing me for most of the bill. I should be paying 15 to 20 percent after the initial deductible but that's not the case. I'm responsible for nearly 65% of the full cost of my surgery and treatment!

It's part of the game. They know what their supposed to pay but don't. They stiff the doctors for the cost of the procedure and let the patient pick up the tab. If you have the time, the patience, the understanding of the plan and a lot of fucking luck; you can badger the insurance company into paying their share of the bill. Not paying more or going beyond their responsibilities but paying their share....the amount they are supposed to pay anyway.

Stories like this are too numerous to count. Every one of us have them and they all stink. The answer to this shit is sitting in committee in Congress. It's been there so long, it's starting to grow mold.

We have to get this crap done. Fuck the Corporations! Toss out any legislator that puts their needs above ours. Reform Wall Street, break up the big financial conglomerates. Enforce the fucking anti-trust laws. If the laws are too weak, change them. Let the fuckers on the Supreme Court know that a person has a heart and a brain, not a spreadsheet and a bottom line. Corporations are not people. They are blood sucking parasites.

Hope to be around a little while longer...but Comcast will cut me off as soon as the money runs out.
I have a lot to do until then.

Keep swinging!

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Health Care for the Masses or Your Claim has been Denied!

There's a lot to this whole health care debate that's convoluted and complex, but there's one simple, indisputable fact: Americans that need health care have to pay far too much for it. In other modern, civilized countries, if you need to go to the doctor you can. If you have a broken arm or a case of the Mumps, you get treated by a government approved physician who fixes you up and sends you on your merry.

In this country, the first and most important question isn't what is your medical problem but what is your ability to pay. Forget what the hell is wrong with you, what is the size of your wallet.

"I'm sorry sir, but if you do not have the proper insurance you cannot receive treatment here. May I suggest the Free Clinic in Bartertown? Oh, and sir, I must ask you to stop bleeding on our carpets. Thank you, the exit is to the right. -Next?"

Check out this post from our friends at Skippy.

I love that vid.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

What does it take?

What is it about the Right wing? They seem to live for hypocrisy. Usually, each of us can be counted on to do something or say something hypocritical – hell, its human nature. But we get schooled by friends or adversaries and shown back to the real world with our egos lowered a few notches. Not the Republicans. They seem to thrive on hypocrisy. It’s not even criticism anymore. They wear it like a badge of ‘honor’.

They speak out of every corner of their mouths, spewing any spurious tidbit of bullshit pulled straight from Karl Rove’s ass without any sense of regret. When called on it, they just wave the flag and accuse you of being a traitorous commie fascist who eats babies with hot sauce. They then smile at you and go on like nothing was out of place.

They speak to groups that they know will sit loyally in their seats without comment or criticism, staring into dead space with all the mental faculties of a dandelion, the attention span of a flea and the curiosity of driftwood.

I weep for America if these are the people that represent the electorate. We put Barack Obama in office but couldn’t defeat right wing crazies like Michelle Bachmann, John Boehner, and Eric Cantor. The current political playing field will look a lot different in 2012, no one will be looking at what’s best for America only what is popular.

Color me concerned, even a bit frightened.

The Democrats are in a position to cement their majority. They can take the lead on the issues that really matter to the ordinary people of America, not the lunatic fringe of the Right. These are inroads that can only reap rewards on those Democrats courageous enough to walk the talk. Courage is the only price they have to pay. Too bad it’s too big a price for many of those we put in Congress.

I watch the news. I watch the sessions of Congress and the meetings of committees led by people I used to admire and respect. All I see is fear and cowardice. The road to recovery is paved and clearly mapped out. All we have to do is put on our shoes and start walking down the road. Seems even that is too much for our leadership.

The Republicans have made their position crystal clear. They will do everything in their power to obstruct and destroy President Obama’s agenda. They will NOT compromise on this. Their leadership has voiced this in every memo and every media outlet right and left. Even the most inattentive backwoods hermit knows that the GOP is not going to help Obama in any situation.

Why do we still seek their support for our legislation? We know their answer. We know that they will vote NO. They may make noises resembling support or acquiesce but, in the end, all of our hard work making concessions will be for naught as they vote it down. So, why try? Leave them to their hypocrisy. The voters made them irrelevant; let’s keep them there. We have loose cannons in the Democratic caucuses that need to be addressed, why waste our energy and resources on a fool’s errand?

We, the progressive activists, put the hammer to nail building this agenda and the voters put their stamp of approval on it. They said, “YES, DO THIS!” Now, we put the message out to our elected officials and they fumble it trying to do this ‘bipartisan’ bullshit. It’s like the kid who gets his lunch money taken away every day bringing extra coin in the hope that the bully will leave him enough to eat with.

What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing in the same way over and over again but expecting different results?

We have to get a hold of this process immediately before the damage gets too big to fix. The Democratic leadership has to be pulled back into reality before they give away all of our lunch money to the Republicans. We’re bigger than them; we can say, “NO, I’m keeping my lunch money! Get Lost!”

Health care is the big issue dancing in the spotlight now. It’s so big it can affect the lives of every American right away. The only real solution is staring at us with big blue eyes. There has to be a viable, aggressive public option that can effectively compete with the private insurance companies. Too many legislators have accepted bags of coin from the insurance industry for real reform to take place. They are actively working against the best interest of the people in order to satisfy the will of their wealthy overlords. The money is too good to ignore. The smell of greed overwhelms the will of the voters.

This is what we have to fight. This is the face of our enemy.

Firedoglake has taken the lead in bringing some of the senators to task for their connection to the corporate lobbying groups with promising results. However, there are some who are anchored in their ways of greed and graft with their industry sugar daddies. Some of those people chair the very sub-committees and committees that we need to advance the public option. As it sits now, the public option has been watered down to the point of being an easy target for the insurance companies should it become law. It would be forced into obscurity and end up worthless and neutered by the forces it was originally supposed to compete with. Then, we would be back to square one with another failed attempt at reining in the one thing that would do the most to bring us out of this recession/depression. As Obama said, we can’t afford to fail this time. A failure now would doom Americans to many more years of skyrocketing health care costs, millions more denied care or coverage and an economy swirling down the bowl for no other reason than abject greed.

Aren’t we supposed to be better than that? There was a time when I thought we were.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Sarah 'FAIL'in

In an attempt to steal the limelight from Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin committed political suicide on national television yesterday. Pundits from across the spectrum have been spinning this like a set of dishes at a cheap vaudeville show.

There's brewing evidence that a landslide of grief is coming down Mount Wasilla right on top of her new house on Lake Louise. Seems good ol' boy Todd got hisself some sweet deals from a contractor while he and his 'buddies' built their pretty new home on the lake. More like free building materials.

Then, as a way of rewarding good public service, or better put - servicing the public - this company got the prime bid on the Wasilla Sports Complex built while she was mayor. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Wasilla have only a few thousand folks?

WTF do they need with a $13M sports complex? That is unless you have a willing contractor, a corrupt family of political hacks and a ready supply of free gov't money. Then, why the fuck not?

I come from a small town about the same size as Wasilla. They couldn't gather $13 million to build a sports complex without taxing the hell out of the unemployed loggers and orchardists that live there. They couldn't gather $13. I'm also sure that any attempt at such an action would result in mass lynchings of city officials. Why would Wasilla be any different?

Oh, yes... they have Sarah! She's as pure as the driven snow. And you know what snow looks like after it's been driven on.

The clocks are ticking on Sarah Palin's future. Some say she's quitting to prep for 2012. Bullshit, she's toast. She won't even get an invite to the convention by the time the dust settles on her. This scandal is still perculating, not ready to boil over yet, but Shannyn Moore in Alaska says the smart money is on total FAIL!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Wednesday Morning - Hump Day Offering

Here it is Wednesday already and I haven't posted anything since Sunday. I've been traveling the 'Toobs, especially my blog list (see sidebar) and leaving comments around like so many landmines.

As some of my co-conspirators of the less-than-famous blogs know, I've been fighting a battle with health issues. To those who have asked, I'm finally on the mend. I'm actually able to walk to the store without a lot of assistance. Now, if I can find a way to get rid of this 80 lb beer barrel strapped to my six-pack abs, I'll be a damn sight better. Now that these old bones are getting better, the worst part is becoming apparent... paying for it.

I have insurance through work. Over the course of the last three years, my employer (who shall remain nameless) has reduced benefits and raised costs - go figure! As a result, I find myself in the middle of the health care battlefield. I am luckier than a lot of folks. I'm not so far in debt that I can't eventually crawl out. But, should I lose my job or suffer an additional medical setback - I am thoroughly screwed. However, I know of folks who have chronically sick kids or who have cancer or AIDS who are racking up bills like a drunken sailor in Singapore.

There will come a point for them when they can't go on any more. They will have trashed their credit with unpaid bills, lost their homes and assets, blown through any savings only to face their personal war on that illness - the fight of their fucking lives - with no resources, no weapons and no allies. Do they just give up and die? Let the bastard disease win? Do the rest of us just sit in the bleachers and watch and say: "Damn, I thought he was going to get better. He was really strong in the end, why did he just roll over?" All over money.

All of us know this game. Many of us live it. Health is humanity, humanity is health. There are certain absolutes that humanity requires to exist. However, it seems those absolutes are negotiable. Corporate greed has cast its deadly shadow upon those absolutes; chief among them maintaining good health. We have the means to provide every American with excellent health care. American medical care is second to none. It's there. It exists all around us like the air we breathe. But it's kept in a vending machine. The problem in our health care system isn't that quality doesn't exists, its that it only exists for those who can pay for it.

For-profit hospitals, insurance companies, HMO's, and pharmaceutical companies have placed quality health care on the top shelf, out of the reach of many Americans. When confronted with this fact, these corporate goons say that the problem isn't that their services are out of reach, it's that the population is too short. In other words, we have to rise up to meet their needs, they don't have to lower to ours.

The crime in this isn't the companies though. They are born and bred greedy bastards, that's their nature. You can't expect any other action from these groups. The crime is that we, as a society, have allowed them to do it. There have been many opportunities to rein in these bastards and put this system right. At each point, we shied away, allowed ourselves to be gilded by the scare tactics and insidious lies and propaganda of these industries to maintain the status quo.

We let our ignorance and fear dictate our actions over the objections of our best interests. Even now, as our leaders debate the health care crisis in the halls of Congress, we are starting to smell the acrid scent of capitulation, feel the fear and loathing of all things government creep into our psyche and the pushing of our best interests once again into the dark basement where it has been for the last twenty years.

There may come a time in my medical treatment when I say "Stop! I can't afford any more!" That frightens me as I'm sure similar situations frighten millions of my fellow Americans. How did we get here? But more importantly, how do we get better?

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Only a Matter of Time...

Can you point me in the direction of Wall Street?

Karma can be a real bitch.

AIG brought this on themselves, I have little sympathy for them. I just hope that the regular people who had nothing to do with this, those who won't make any bonuses or drive fancy cars aren't pulled into the shitstorm that's coming.

I'm afraid, however, that's inevitable. Again, fault lies with AIG.

They thought they were above this, that the machinations of the little people couldn't affect them. The 'great, unwashed masses' were a good source of capital, not something to really think about. Like being concerned for the well being of the ATM versus the money inside.

I hope this gets resolved before anyone gets hurt. There are only a few that really deserve any physical punishment and only after proper due process. Yet this thing could get ugly.

Real fucking ugly, real fucking quick.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

The Mythology of the GOP

For decades, the popular view of the Republican Party has been the 'Daddy Party', the party of responsibility, frugality, and measured, conservative advance. For decades, the popular view of UFO's has been little green men from some distant world bent on the destruction of our world.

I put more credence in the little green men.

There is no 'Daddy Party' unless you count a bunch of immature children playing dress-up. Take any Republican aside and look very close at their pet issues and beliefs and you will find a hodge-podge of contradictions based on fear and greed. The average Republican is terrified that he will not get all he wants especially if it belongs to someone else. It's the anger of the selfish spoiled child who wants it now! Add to that the distinctive stench of racism in the form of entitlements and giveaways. Our Republican friends firmly believe in equality of the races but only in measured amounts. They consider all minorities equal, just not equal to them. When society tries to right the great wrongs of the past, they get all bent out of shape because lifting minorities up would lower them.

Liberals and progressives have always looked to the other side with a fair bit of exasperation. We can't seem to gather our troops together as they do, have lots of problems keeping on message like them and constantly have to rein in outliers who stray too far from the flock. For all our supposed scholarship and intelligence, we still find ourselves trapped by the ignorance and abject stupidity of the GOP. We look to the GOP lemmings as they run off the cliff and say "Gee, I wish I could rally the troops like that!"

Our diversity is our strength. That's the reason it gives us so much grief. Nothing of value will ever come easy. If it does, we usually find out the true value later and at much cost.

Republicans know this, they have to. It's foolish to believe that all Republicans are clueless idiots like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. They have to realize that the things that matter most to Liberals and progressives are based on reality, facts that can be verified. They have to know these things because they go to such lengths to rebut them; to scatter ridiculous claims and fabricate tragic scenarios should our policies come to pass. They use fear mongering as chaff around the Media to obscure their real purposes.

What used to be relegated to tin-hat conspiracy theorists is slowly gaining attention in the progressive blogosphere. It begs to be published, to be spoken about outside the shadows and back rooms; even to mention it in popular circles of scholarship is taking a bold step.

The Republican Party wants America to fail.

Oh, they want to keep the name and all the old stuff in the museums, like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Jeffersonian Bible, etc. The Republican Party wants to gut the American system of government. They want to bring us back to the old ways of feudal Europe with all the modern toys and goodies.

The Modern Republican Party wants to increase the chasm that exists between those who have lots and those who have little. Those who have none are expendable.

A 21st century feudal society would have most Americans working long hours for just enough pay to subsist. The elite would be separate from the unwashed hoard by economics and politics. Two societies would exist; one of privilege, one of work. The worker class would be divided among the industries that need them the most. Corporate icons would control the lives of its workers much the same as it cares for the machinery it operates. The workers class would have few rights and privileges save for a few earned as incentives. Children would only be allowed if a person showed the necessary homage to the Party, including its principal of "do onto others before they do onto you." Citizens who displayed cruelty and inhumanity would be allowed to advance, move up the ladder of success. Those who displayed humanity and kindness would languish in abject poverty and toil for showing weakness.

Sound outlandish? Like a bad science fiction movie? The reality is right in front of us. We see the building blocks of this scenario falling into place as we speak. A couple of years ago, I would have been called a nutcase for suggesting this.

Am I still crazy?

Consider the current talk coming from the Right. The leaders of the Republican Party want to return to the ways of the Bush Administration. They know that this will lead us further into debt, cause the economy to sink deeper into depression. Only from the ashes of the American way of life can they rebuild their Corporatist dream. People like Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove know that the only way to get people to support them again is to scare the living shit out of them. The current economic downturn has the potential to be that object of fear. It's a 'godsend' to them. (to corrupt a saying) By scaring people into electing their chosen toadies and supporting draconian measures to 'protect the American way of life'; they hope to put the final nails in Free Democratic America's coffin.

What they didn't count on was the appeal of Barack Obama. The election of 2008 was a disaster for them from the start. They couldn't get their candidates to stay on message and keep from self-immolating themselves. They had hoped for another Democratic candidate, like Hillary Clinton. I'm sure, at first, they thought 'Gee, let them select the black guy. America will never elect a n......!' To which, I'm forever proud to say, America said "Fuck you and your racist bullshit!"

Now, they are on red alert. Events haven't been that kind to their plans. Most of them are in desperation mode, eating their own and looking out for 'No. 1!' (In their case, it should be 'No. 2') But be put on notice that we aren't out of the woods yet. Lots of things can happen at a moment's notice which could put the GOP on the fast track once again. Vigilance is the key. Keeping our troops rallied together wouldn't hurt either. (not so subtle dig at the Blue Dogs)

We have to be very careful not to overreach. We can't afford to get over-confident nor too conservative. We have to listen to our best and brightest but give the ordinary a platform too. We are only as good as the least among us.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Attack of the CPAC

Daniel Kurtzman, About.com

Ewww.... just ewwww.....

That whole CPAC thing was like walking through a rendering plant. I haven't seen a more fetid gathering of vermin, mold spores and dung beetles since my septic tank was replaced. I hear Mike Rowe was there filming an episode of his show working as a busboy.

David Neiwert, from Crooks and Liars, has a graph up that shows what the rabble hoard that attended this crapfest thought of Pres. Obama's job. Needless to say, they weren't too impressed. Not enough torture, no trampling of the Constitution, hasn't filled his government with toadies from Liberty University, and for some unknown God Forsaken reason, he insists on doing what's correct for the American people - even those who didn't vote for him!

OMFG! He's fixing the country!

The lesson needs to be learned that these people are not looking out for their country. No, these greedy bastards are just out for themselves and their portfolios. Pres. Obama is tapping into their source of gold, the American dime, and this has them in a whirlwind of anger. Bush left them with a bonus of 350 million dollars of TARP funds (with no strings) but not Pres. Obama. He wants to put strings on the next round of funds so we, the American people, can track who gets what.

Personally, if the CEO of a large corporation wants a golden parachute, I say give it to him. Strap 50 pounds of gold to his back and toss him out of an airplane. Maybe he can use the gold to buy himself a prayer.

The road ahead isn't going to be a cakewalk. Progressives and liberal moderates are going to have to fight for every inch of ground we take. We can't let the demon hoard take the initiative here. We have to face them on every issue and show Mom and Pop America who's really looking out for them.

Complacency is not an option. Keep the message out front and fight, fight, fight!

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Gekkos and Greed

Greed: -noun "excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions."

Gekko: - ie: Gordon Gekko, character in the movie "Wall Street" who said:

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good"

On Wall Street today, we are seeing fiction become fact. Not just unrestrained greed, we've always had that. But what we have is unrestrained greed as the ship is sinking.

Consider this metaphor:

A rich man is on the deck of the Titanic, ready to jump into the water and swim to a waiting lifeboat. A crew member hands him a life vest instead of a young woman with a child. Before he jumps into the sea, he fills the life vest with gold coins and jewels he got from the ship's safe. He jumps overboard with a suitcase and pockets filled as well.

The CEO's of financial institutions are like our foolish man overboard. They see disaster ahead and before all else, with concern for no one but themselves, they fill their suitcases and pockets with gold and jump. But this time, rather than sink to the bottom of the Atlantic, these Gekkos land IN the lifeboat. Our government gave them the gold and made sure that before anyone else, before any of the regular passengers could be saved, these Icons of Corporate Rape are assured a place of safety and security.

Believe it or not, we've seen this shit before. History is a bitch. If you refuse to learn from it, it will sneak up behind you and kick your ass. Think back to the heady days of the late 1800"s. We had just gotten over the Civil War and were getting our industries started. Immigrants from all parts of the globe were streaming into the US to work for a pittance but much more of a pittance than they were making back home. The great industrial giants raked in the ducats and became the modern American Rich. Names like Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Morgan gave rise to the myth of the common man making good, when in truth they were just robber barons. They controlled the government and made policy. This lasted into the early part of the 20th Century until the shit hit the fan.

A lot of historians can point to different watershed events, publication of the book "The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the massacre of Wobblies (IWW workers) at different places across the country. But, for me, it all spells out quite clearly that the common folk got schooled. They had been kept in the dark for more than 50 years by the Corporate Giants and finally had enough. Add to that a new World War, a flu epidemic and a financial collapse. Starving people have a way of causing a ruckus.

Well, now we have an economic collapse not seen since the days of Herbert Hoover, perhaps earlier. After eight years of servicing by the Bush administration, our Gekkos have convinced Congress to give them a bailout and have raked in hundreds of billions in ill gotten booty. This unadulterated orgy of consumption could only last so long. Warnings and pre-shocks of impending disaster were seen as early as 2001 when Enron and Global Crossing started to fail. Soon, we started seeing corporate giant after corporate giant fall or be consumed by another up and down Wall Street. It was a financial mass extinction as the old Wall Street was being replaced by new and more devious creatures. However, like the little mammals and lizards who watched the Great Chicxulub (Yucatan) Impact of 65 million years ago, we are seeing a pending horror approaching us quickly and can do little to stop it.

But first things first, we may have to let the big dinosaurs die off to rebuild this world the way we need. They are doomed, the great corporate giants are history. We watch and listen but all we hear is how much they earn or how much they've taken from our pockets. This isn't chump change, this is the only resource we have to rebuild and clean up the mess these bastards left for us. I can't stand by and allow them to rape and pillage the country as we sink into the sea.

Let the Gekkos drown, save the real people. Otherwise, there will be no one left to bring the country back from the Deep.

Because as I said earlier, starving people have a way of causing a ruckus.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Hope Upon the Raging Sea

As I watched President Obama take the oath and give his speech, I was struck by a wave of relief. Words came to me to express this feeling.

I call it "Navigating the Sea of Change"

The Darkness has broken; the return to the Light has begun. The denizens of the night, the shade and the shadow, have retreated to friendlier caves and crannies.

Evil subsides for now.

Yet they won’t be far; they always nip at our heels and are just out of sight waiting to return to prominence. The forces of greed and secrets abhor the Light, cannot stand the sharp, fresh air of the great wide open. It pains them to breath it, to walk through it, to live in it. They have their allies, minions who seek their favors that walk amongst us. They too will hide from us but in plain sight.

President Obama has a great burden to carry and we must help him. This burden cannot be shouldered by one man, but by all. We are in this with him. The ship of state has many oars and traverses a raging sea. One man cannot navigate these waters alone. There’s an oar with my name on it and if I won’t row, who will? Who will take up the responsibility of bringing this country back if I shy away? Who will show courage if I back down?

The forces of greed and secrets hide in plain sight. They draw their will from our fear, our uncertainty. If we lack the courage to bring this country back, they will take our fear and draw America further into oblivion.

To cure a disease, you must starve it. To cure America from its malaise, you must starve the blight that infests it. Fear is its sustenance, its nourishment. Responding to this affliction with the courage of conviction and virtue that President Obama asks of us will change this raging sea into calm waters.

The journey ahead is long and arduous and we have only just left the dock. My turn at the oars is nigh and I am ready and able to grasp hold and pull with all my strength. My president has demonstrated great strength and confidence, now I must show him mine.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

God of Greed

All we need is to look across the street.

Not over the ocean at some remote native village. Not in any war-torn country that we see only as fleeting images on CNN. All we have to do is look right into our next door neighbors eyes and see abject desolation. Millions of Americans are living in Poortown and more are moving in.

For those of us who have jobs, we see shades of this disaster at the edges of our work place. Cost cutting in management. Restrictions on overtime and new hires. Supervisors demanding more but not giving anything in return. Some companies are even taking advantage of the hard times by using the bad news to frighten workers into concessions that benefit upper management but leave the lower rungs worse off. I see this in my job, which has the additional pain of happening during the holidays.

Add to this the true colors of the 21st Century Republicans. How people who call themselves Americans can operate this way and still look in the mirror is beyond me. How cold and vapid can the 'human' heart get?

If McCain had been elected, these situations would have become much worse. As decent, loyal Americans we would have had to recreate the French Revolution for Christmas. But The Fates saw fit to grant us a favor, a reprieve. But we have to wait for silver lining. We can see it on the horizon but we ain't there yet. What can we do to keep the country together as we approach Inauguration Day?

We have to gather the troops. This is no bluster, we have to get every one we know on board to take these monsters on. It isn't a partisan tiff any more. This is for the suvival of the American Worker. How these greedy Republican bastards can face themselves in the mirror every morning is beyond me. How cold and vapid can the human heart get? Is the Almighty Dollar that grand that you would desimate your own nest to get it?

These fucktards consider themselves moral, devout Christians. As Liberals, we've spent the good part of the last eight years pointing out how blatantly false and hypocritical this is, but it goes beyond that now.

This IS the face of Modern Christianity. The grand cathedrals of stone and glass that reside in heavenly parks and reserves throughout the South are testament to this new 'Faith'. These new temples of greed use Christ the Icon, not the Savior. They rake in millions from ignorant fools who fall for the grift and patter of the ministers. The money is fed to the charlatans in the GOP who take the message of greed and avarice to the Hall of Power. For eight long and indulgent years we have suffered for their profit. Greed is God to these people.

Decent people who call themselves Christians are outliers. They exist only because the Halls of Power keep them around for show. They do good works but can't seem to get beyond helping only a few. Consider the action against poverty if the combined resources of all the Christian denominations were set in place.

Everyone I know who calls themselves a Republican is going to hear an earful from me. Every chance I get, I'm going to remind these bastards who drives this country, who serves up their double tall mocha in the morning, who rings up that bottle of scotch, who put wrench to nut to assemble that great yellow Humvee they drive from fill-up to fill-up.

Let them use their religion to explain away their inhumanity. Let them curl up and wither as we show them how real Americans take back this country and put the shine back on the Statue of Liberty after eight years of being covered in crap.

parts of this entry was posted as a comment on Hoffmania.com

David A.
So Mote It Be.