Let me first say this isn’t to demean slavery in any way, it was the darkest time in America and one that should be apologized for. This is just my opinion and if it offends anyone I am sorry.
Return of Slavery?
Beginning in the 1980’s after the corporate president took office we have seen the destruction of middle class and a vast expansion of the poor. Reagan came into office and immediately rammed through any legislation that Wall Street and big business demanded he pass even at the expense of the majority of Americans. All the work done in the previous 50 years to help raise people out of poverty and create a fair playing field were systematically dismantled creating a new slave class.
For 50 years, and with the help of unions, Americans had begun to build a good life for themselves. A family could have one parent work and one stay home to raise the children and live in comfort and for the first time be able to own their homes, cars and even take vacations. This was the American dream and a majority of families were living it.
Starting in the 1980’s that dream slowly started to become a nightmare as legislation after legislation was passed first weakening unions than strengthening corporate power. It was no longer possible for 1 parent to work and support a family and in some cases both parents had to work just to live the same life they were accustomed to. Health care was no longer a right that everyone had access to and was slowly becoming a privilege that most couldn’t afford. This was the first shots that began a decades long genocide of the middle class.
For years the republican party fought to give tax breaks to the rich and powerful putting more money in their pocket while cutting aide to the poor, elderly and disabled and fighting with every breath to keep the minimum wage low and prevent people from making a good living anymore. The nuclear family exploded and we saw a huge increase in single parents struggling to get by and record homelessness, the republican solution to this problem was to act like they didn’t exist.
You have to look no further than Mississippi to see what happens when republicans are allowed to put all their programs into place and run things like they want. The citizens are kept poor, uneducated and have little access to healthcare, add this with loose gun laws and you see the state also ranking near the top every year in gun violence. This is the final step that was stared by President Reagan and later continued and still be fought for today.
While it’s not slavery in the horrible sense that we have know it in the past it is what I call corporate slavery. With all the cuts in food stamps and insurance for the poor Americans have no choice but to take jobs they hate or are overqualified for but need it to put food on the table and have health care for their family. Many no longer have the luxury to find jobs they want or like because if they leave the ones they have they will lose their homes or worse.
Republicans have made most Americans slaves to the corporations that fund their elections and thanks to the supreme court it will only get worse. Corporations can now spend billions to get the people they want elected and keep us slaves to the corporate machine. If we stand up to the rich and powerful who have enslaved us we immediately hear “Class Warfare” and are put down as being jealous of the rich.
How do they get away with this? They keep us divided on issues like abortion, gun control and make people who work think those who are too sick or disabled and receive welfare do so because they are lazy. Republicans have been promoting a middle class civil war for years and until we wake up and unite we will keep fighting amongst ourselves when we should fight against the people keeping us down. The sad thing is that the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street have things in common but due to the corporate media you will never hear that on TV, the media is owned by the same ones who want to keep us indentured servants who are just glad to be getting the little we are getting. Until America wakes up an unites we will always be in debt and under the control of a small group - We are not the United States of America right now we are the United States of Corporations and have become a plutocracy were the will of the few is cherished over the will of the people.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
How Benghazi exposes republican hypocrisy
The fake Benghazi outrage fueled by Fox “News” is just another in a long line of republicans proving their hypocrisy. There are many, many examples of them doing something just as bad if not worse but being ok with it and only offended when it’s the Democrats. Offenses that get ignored by the republicans and their base are grounds for impeachment or termination if done by someone else. Below is just a few examples
BENGHAZI
While it’s a tragedy that 4 Americans died in Libya it’s not the first time an embassy was attacked under a president and not even close to the first time American lives were lost. We have spent 3 months and lord knows how much money to investigate and play politics with this faux scandal and the GOP propaganda network has covered it 24/7 since that night.
From 2001-2008 under Republican President Bush we had many attacks including
2002 = Consulate in Karachi with 10 dead
2004 = US Embassy in Uzbekistan with 2 dead
2004 = US Consulate in Saudi Arabia with 8 dead
2006 = US Embassy in Syria with 1 dead
2007 = US Embassy in Athens
2008 = US Embassy in Serbia
2008 = US Embassy in Yemen with 10 dead
That’s 7 attacks (and not all of them) and Republicans didn’t launch one investigation into those attacks or the lives lost. This list is just the last republican president and doesn’t include the attack in Lebanon under Ronald Reagan that got 241 American killed.
They are demanding everyone testify before congress which would be fine except that after the attacks in NY on 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq based on faulty intelligence that lead to the loss of over 8,000 American lives and wounded another 50,000 not only did the republicans not want to investigate but President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have still not testified on what they knew and when they knew it. If anyone even thought about asking tough questions following Sept. 11th they were labeled “unpatriotic” for questioning the President.
So the same people screaming right now to know the truth are the same ones who turned their backs on the American people to protect themselves and their party after 2001.
SEX SCANDALS
In the 90’s republicans spent tens of millions of dollars investigating Bill Clinton after it came to light that he may have had sex outside marriage. The man spearheading the attack on President Clinton was himself a serial adulterer who not only cheated on one wife but multiple wives. After spending between 30 and 50 million dollars nothing came of it and President Clinton was more popular than ever but it did distract the country and allow our enemies to plot an attack on us (which would happen a few years later).
Democrat Anthony Weiner tweeted a picture of himself in his underwear and was forced out of congress, we had republicans all over the news demanding he step down and screaming it was a disgrace. He later did the right thing and stepped down putting the country and his party ahead of his own aspirations.
Why does this make them hypocrites? Republican congressman David Vitter not only had sex outside marriage but he used prostitutes and according to some reports was making plans with them while he was on the floor of congress when he was getting paid by taxpayers to represent them.
Was David Vitter forced out of office? No he left on his own, not because of what he did but because he was elected Senator, that’s right he is now one of the 100 senators that represents America. So if you are a democrat and have sex outside marriage or tweet a photo you must leave office or get impeached, if you are a republican and pay for sex with a prostitute cheating on your wife and family you get promoted.
These are just a few of the examples and there are hundreds more including Republican Darrell Issa spending taxpayer time and money investigating gun running by President Obama while it’s a program he supported and voted to fund under the Bush administration than lied to the American public and said he had no idea a program like this existed.
The lesson is that there is no low the republicans will sink to, they will lie - cheat - steal their way to power at the expense of anyone. They have a news media that will not cover these scandals or point out the hypocrisy and if they should happen to tell the truth then they are labeled “liberal media” and often ignored. The hypocrisy on the right runs rampant and until it’s exposed they will keep getting away with their lies and fake scandals.
BENGHAZI
While it’s a tragedy that 4 Americans died in Libya it’s not the first time an embassy was attacked under a president and not even close to the first time American lives were lost. We have spent 3 months and lord knows how much money to investigate and play politics with this faux scandal and the GOP propaganda network has covered it 24/7 since that night.
From 2001-2008 under Republican President Bush we had many attacks including
2002 = Consulate in Karachi with 10 dead
2004 = US Embassy in Uzbekistan with 2 dead
2004 = US Consulate in Saudi Arabia with 8 dead
2006 = US Embassy in Syria with 1 dead
2007 = US Embassy in Athens
2008 = US Embassy in Serbia
2008 = US Embassy in Yemen with 10 dead
That’s 7 attacks (and not all of them) and Republicans didn’t launch one investigation into those attacks or the lives lost. This list is just the last republican president and doesn’t include the attack in Lebanon under Ronald Reagan that got 241 American killed.
They are demanding everyone testify before congress which would be fine except that after the attacks in NY on 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq based on faulty intelligence that lead to the loss of over 8,000 American lives and wounded another 50,000 not only did the republicans not want to investigate but President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have still not testified on what they knew and when they knew it. If anyone even thought about asking tough questions following Sept. 11th they were labeled “unpatriotic” for questioning the President.
So the same people screaming right now to know the truth are the same ones who turned their backs on the American people to protect themselves and their party after 2001.
SEX SCANDALS
In the 90’s republicans spent tens of millions of dollars investigating Bill Clinton after it came to light that he may have had sex outside marriage. The man spearheading the attack on President Clinton was himself a serial adulterer who not only cheated on one wife but multiple wives. After spending between 30 and 50 million dollars nothing came of it and President Clinton was more popular than ever but it did distract the country and allow our enemies to plot an attack on us (which would happen a few years later).
Democrat Anthony Weiner tweeted a picture of himself in his underwear and was forced out of congress, we had republicans all over the news demanding he step down and screaming it was a disgrace. He later did the right thing and stepped down putting the country and his party ahead of his own aspirations.
Why does this make them hypocrites? Republican congressman David Vitter not only had sex outside marriage but he used prostitutes and according to some reports was making plans with them while he was on the floor of congress when he was getting paid by taxpayers to represent them.
Was David Vitter forced out of office? No he left on his own, not because of what he did but because he was elected Senator, that’s right he is now one of the 100 senators that represents America. So if you are a democrat and have sex outside marriage or tweet a photo you must leave office or get impeached, if you are a republican and pay for sex with a prostitute cheating on your wife and family you get promoted.
These are just a few of the examples and there are hundreds more including Republican Darrell Issa spending taxpayer time and money investigating gun running by President Obama while it’s a program he supported and voted to fund under the Bush administration than lied to the American public and said he had no idea a program like this existed.
The lesson is that there is no low the republicans will sink to, they will lie - cheat - steal their way to power at the expense of anyone. They have a news media that will not cover these scandals or point out the hypocrisy and if they should happen to tell the truth then they are labeled “liberal media” and often ignored. The hypocrisy on the right runs rampant and until it’s exposed they will keep getting away with their lies and fake scandals.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Time for Right to Union Work Laws
Hearing another state pass “right to work” laws which allows people to decide if they want to be in their companies union or not sounds like a good idea until you look further into it. Even if someone decides not to pay their union dues and join a union they are still represented by that union, it’s welfare in the simplest form. I have suggestion for the democratic party and President Barack Obama - pass right to union laws.
Right now a company must vote on forming or joining a union and a majority must vote in favor, then if they do for a union the employees who do not want to join still get all the benefits of said union with none of the sacrifice. Democrats should push to change the laws and allow anyone with a job to join an existing union, even if the place they work is non union. Allow the employees of Walmart to join the service union or any other union if they so choose even if all the workers don’t want to be in a union and only a couple.
Take away the rights of non union members to be represented by the union they refuse to pay, why should they get all the benefits, vacation and pay that the union sacrificed for? Right now it’s a big handout to people who want a free ride and we know republicans hate free riders so they should support this. Let non union employees negotiate their own pay, vacations and healthcare. Take away their protections from wrongful termination and let them know they no longer have the backing of the unions to keep their jobs safe.
This country was build on the backs of labor unions who negotiated fair pay, 40 hour work weeks, weekends off, holiday pay, insurance, pension and more. Without the unions we could still be working 60 hour weeks for less than minimum wage with no weekends or holidays off, all things we take for granted today. This country has come a long way from the sit down strike that resulted in the national guard being called in, at the time they were sent in to protect the union workers from the union breaking thugs, today politicians ARE the union breaking thugs and it’s the union workers who would have the guard turned on them.
Our fathers and grandfathers didn’t risk their jobs and their lives forming unions and helping us live better lives to have us throw them all away and turn back the clock to the 1920’s were business could do as it please with employees. It’s no coincidence that as unions have died so has the middle class and the income inequality has grown. We started becoming a plutocracy in the 1980’s when wall street helped get Ronald Reagan elected to do their bidding and he immediately set out to destroy the middle class and nuclear family.
It’s time to bring back the middle class and that starts with good paying union jobs, yes we should have a “right to work” but we need “right to work for fair pay and benefits”. It’s time to end the days of needing 3 jobs to put food on the table and getting sick means having to file bankruptcy or lose your homes. Time to get back to being able to have a parent at home to take care and raise the children instead of both having to work and the child being left raising himself. Time to become America again and fight back against the plutocracy we are becoming, it’s we the people not we the corporations and the first step to getting back to that is strong unions and even stronger politicians who will stand up to special interest and put America ahead of themselves.
Right now a company must vote on forming or joining a union and a majority must vote in favor, then if they do for a union the employees who do not want to join still get all the benefits of said union with none of the sacrifice. Democrats should push to change the laws and allow anyone with a job to join an existing union, even if the place they work is non union. Allow the employees of Walmart to join the service union or any other union if they so choose even if all the workers don’t want to be in a union and only a couple.
Take away the rights of non union members to be represented by the union they refuse to pay, why should they get all the benefits, vacation and pay that the union sacrificed for? Right now it’s a big handout to people who want a free ride and we know republicans hate free riders so they should support this. Let non union employees negotiate their own pay, vacations and healthcare. Take away their protections from wrongful termination and let them know they no longer have the backing of the unions to keep their jobs safe.
This country was build on the backs of labor unions who negotiated fair pay, 40 hour work weeks, weekends off, holiday pay, insurance, pension and more. Without the unions we could still be working 60 hour weeks for less than minimum wage with no weekends or holidays off, all things we take for granted today. This country has come a long way from the sit down strike that resulted in the national guard being called in, at the time they were sent in to protect the union workers from the union breaking thugs, today politicians ARE the union breaking thugs and it’s the union workers who would have the guard turned on them.
Our fathers and grandfathers didn’t risk their jobs and their lives forming unions and helping us live better lives to have us throw them all away and turn back the clock to the 1920’s were business could do as it please with employees. It’s no coincidence that as unions have died so has the middle class and the income inequality has grown. We started becoming a plutocracy in the 1980’s when wall street helped get Ronald Reagan elected to do their bidding and he immediately set out to destroy the middle class and nuclear family.
It’s time to bring back the middle class and that starts with good paying union jobs, yes we should have a “right to work” but we need “right to work for fair pay and benefits”. It’s time to end the days of needing 3 jobs to put food on the table and getting sick means having to file bankruptcy or lose your homes. Time to get back to being able to have a parent at home to take care and raise the children instead of both having to work and the child being left raising himself. Time to become America again and fight back against the plutocracy we are becoming, it’s we the people not we the corporations and the first step to getting back to that is strong unions and even stronger politicians who will stand up to special interest and put America ahead of themselves.
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