Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Transparency in Government
Arlen Specter changed his mind on Card Check last week. Why? I would like to say that it was an elder statesman making a decision that he grappled with for a long time in his heart and mind as to what would be better for his country. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Specter's decision was based (as most of our elected officials decisions are based) on the next election cycle. He is up for reelection in 2010 and facing an uphill battle in the primary. Specter chucked Card Check in a desperate attempt to appease Republicans in his state who are against it (of course the "Party of NO" is against it) and in the process take a calculated risk that this would ensure a victory in 2010. The latest polls would indicate that, alas, this was a risk not worth taking. This transparent attempt to hold on to power is likely the only transparency in government we are likely to witness in the near future.
Why is Card Check important? The monied interests that run our government and their king, Ronald Reagan, declared war on the Labor Movement in the early 1980's. The first battle in this war was the Air Traffic Controllers Strike. The king and his minions won that battle decisively and were cheered by the middle class. Little did they know that this was the first salvo in the death of the middle class. How could they know? Thirty years of Republican revisionist history had been crammed down their throats. The lie was that Capitalism had created the middle class. When in fact it was the Labor Union movement that created the middle class.
The king's next move was more clandestine. The decision was made by the king and his minions that manufacturing would be supplanted by the Financial Services industry as roughly 20 to 25% of GDP. This went swimmingly until about 2007 when those chickens came home to roost. But hey, with very little manufacturing there was no need for Labor Unions anymore. No labor, no unions.
Card Check can begin to restore the Labor Union movement. But as Arlen Specter's transparency proves, it will be a struggle against the monied interests desire to keep "the people" under it's thumb and the politicians greed to keep their power safe from the mob.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The return of socialism?
Great article in response to all the talk about socialism and Obama by self identified socialist themselves.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
No recession on K Street
Washington’s influence industry is humming steadily while the national economy is declining in what several economists predict will be the worst recession in 50 years.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Cold
Cold
My hands shoved as deep as they will go into the pockets of my jeans
My breath frostily visible in the night air as I walk to the mailbox
To post a letter to a friend who lives in Las Vegas
Where last night it snowed three inches in the desert
Cold
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Future
Bush Frustrated By Mother's Constant Questioning Of His Plans Post-White House
RELATED MEDIA
WASHINGTON—With his departure from office only months away, President George W. Bush told reporters Monday that he is "fed up" with the way his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, keeps pestering him about his post–Oval Office plans.
"Every time I see her it's 'have you thought about your future' this, and 'do you know where you're gonna put your presidential library' that," said Bush, who will be moving out of the White House on Jan. 20. "It's like, I'll just get a job as a CEO or board chairman or something. My God, quit worrying about it. I'm 62 years old, for Christ's sake!"
Bush, who has prepared for the end of his second term by learning to play guitar and visiting friends across the country, said he will be "just fine" once he gets out into the real world.
"I might not have the most experience, and I don't have a lot of practical skills, either, but I need to figure this out for myself," Bush said. "I mean, you don't see Cheney's parents riding him about this stuff."
Reached for comment at her summer home in Kennebunkport, ME, Barbara Bush claimed that she only wants what is best for the president, and hopes that he will become more responsible and self-reliant in years to come. Her son, she said, would never even have gotten his job at the White House had she and her husband not "pulled a few strings."
"He's spent the last five or six years fooling around and experimenting with this little Iraq thing he likes so much, but now it's time for him to get serious," Mrs. Bush said. "And if he thinks he's just going to come live with us when this is over, he's got another thing coming."
"Our baby [former Florida governor] Jeb [Bush] already took his old room anyway," she added.
The Hawk
On Saturday morning I was filling my bird feeders in the back yard. In addition to the Goldfinch feeders and the "regular backyard" bird feeder (for the house finches, juncos, chickadees, etc), on my deck there is a peanut feeder that is regularly visited by Bluejays, Tufted Titmice, white and red bellied Nuthatches and one pesky squirrel. The red bellied Nuthatch was especially cool because they don't show up every winter. As I filled the peanut feeder I noticed a Tufted Titmouse in the tree beside the deck watching me. I said "Good morning" and he gave me a look that said "Just fill up the feeder, deke. I can smell them nuts!". When I finished, I turned away from the feeder to put my feed away and heard a loud rustling of wings. I turned back just in time to see a Red Tailed Hawk on my deck. Red Tails are about 2 feet tall and they mean nothing but business. As I confronted him, I was taken aback to the point that I stumbled (my wife says I swooned). He then flew up into my neighbors tree. I called my wife out on the deck to see him and he flew higher onto the limb of another tree in the backyard of the next neighbor. I didn't see if he had caught anything but my peanut feeder as of this writing remains untouched. No Bluejays. No Titmice. No nuthatches. This is a feeder that I regularly need to fill every third day.
So, my question is, do they have hawks in Springfield Il.? Does the governor eat peanuts?
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