Looting America!

I do believe that history is repeating itself because a wealthy few drive it to be so. I predict today that the stock market will crash and the American dream will sink into the mud that the money changers and the money masters have created.

Who are these people?

Lehman Bros.: (2007) $34.4 million
Merrill Lynch: (2007) $24.3 millionAIG:(2007) $14.3 million
Fannie Mae: (2007) $14.2 millionFreddie Mac: (2007)$18.3 million
Morgan Stanley: (2007) $41.8 millionGoldman Sachs: (2007) $70.3 million
Bank of America: (2007) $24.8 millionJP Morgan Chase and Co.: (2007) $27.8 million
Citigroup: (2007) $25.5 million

*All
figures are one year compensation for the CEO position only and do not
include the compensation for other top executives, traders, partners,
etc.*All
figures courtesy of Executive Paywatch and based on SEC filings

For the first time in my life, I'm really scared of what is REALLY going on in the high places of our government. Who is running the show? Questions are being raised because the everyday American is suffering. Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Beahr Sterns??? Never in my days did I think we could repeat the past. Something is at odds with what drives our countries economics. Who has benefitted the most from the existance and than failure of these banks? How did we become a debtor society in government and individual accounts? America is failing.

I recall hearing a story about Abraham Lincolns greenback money that was created to fund the civil war along with income taxes. I found this article: The History of the Greenback Dollar. I'm prone to be suspicious of how the world works, and this didn't help. Is it possible that there is some fraud that has been fed to Americans? Has war always been the great deception to control the flow of money to a select few? War scared us into agreeing to the un-agreeable? I just don't know the answers to this. Insecurity drives bad decision making. What is America about to face? What is the world on the cusp of? I want to believe the spirit of America is strong and vibrant and visionary and rich in perseverance. Let it be so, to overcome what ever faces us.

I fear for Obama if he does become President that we will be looking for more from him than he ever imagined. I fear that the bleakness of our future is unavoidable and he will be blamed and the rich and well-connected will continue to become richer and more well-connected while our every day needs ignorantly feed their pockets.

Radical change is needed.

PS. If anyone knows what this means please tell me: Money in Circulation

A Letter to America

After a day of watching and reading about the state of this political debate, I am thoroughly sick and tired of the crap! Lipstick, pigs, bull dogs, book burners, troopergate, celebrities, pregnant teens, sex-ed, mooseburgers and tons of other irrelevant and meaningless debate has high jacked all the inspiration right out of me. I forgot why I hated politics until I saw why the Republicans win.

The Republican Party that I respected as worthy opponents because of their toughness has undoubtedly shown their greatest weakness. They are liars! They remake the truth into anything that makes them look like they love the everyday people, just to win elections and preserve power and dollars. Why can’t we Democrats call this unethical party out!

They claim to be a safe haven for Christian family values, yet they lie on the stump and always judge the intellectually accomplished. They claim to be pro-life, but quickly shoot down healthcare, even for Veterans. They claim to love our country, but don’t let our greatest assets, our values, be a beacon to the world. Instead they embrace torture and talk down to foreigners. I love what my country represents and for the first time in my adult life I question what many of my fellow country men think she represents. America is a beautiful land full of beautiful people. What are we really thinking about this election cycle?

When I look at the Statue of Liberty standing alone in that harbor I see an America proudly saying bring all to my shores. When I see the golden gate bridge I see a country that believes that all men and women are created equal. When I see New Orleans, I feel pride in the rich cultures we have so openly embraced. When I see the golden prairies of the heartland I feel the sentiment of all the farmers’ rewards of hard work. The Big Apple, Chitown, the Alamo, Florida Sunshine, Malibu Beach, lil ole Waverly, Virginia, Route 66 and millions and millions of other rich pockets of success and struggle that made America.

Today I lived a life like an alien in my own home. What happened to you America? Where have you gone? Is it only the landscape that can be a source of pride? Do I really know the personality of the people where I come from? Have I been falling for the okie-doke? What is this place of such conflict and pain, gotchas and put downs. Am I the only one paying attention that can understand why Michelle Obama thinks our country is mean? Or am I the only one that can see why Cindy McCain doesn’t get what she means? What is going on here?

Since when is privilege more important than perseverance? I feel like I’ve stepped into the twilight zone. Lies have been debunked, untruths uncovered. What kind of values are on display when some one lies to win the White House where we want no lies?

This day confirms a simple idea for me. Change is hard, change is painful, change can seem impossible. Republicans will hold on to what has always worked in the past. Exploit the swing voters attention span, insult the Left, put up smoke screens and mirrors because “we don’t care about those not like me.” That is the republican message, they start the culture wars and ask us to be ignorant of it all, I believe not even knowing what damage is being done to us watching the spectacle. Is this really the image they want to have? Compassionless, ideologues cynical on every issue? FEAR is the leader of the ego. FEAR is the angry message to ratchet up anger. When you peel away the skin of what is happening, I smell nothing but FEAR. FEAR creates liars from descent people.

America, are you willing to possibly be lead into another war of lies? I declare a war on lies since everything else can be warred against. SOOOO sick of the bs.

I want a President that is willing to call out the game. I want a President that will practically choose a direction that is for the good of the country whether it is left right or middle. I believe that my America is still here, I just can’t here her because the noise of ambition is killing her voice. Today I was reminded so firmly of why I am a Democrat. A LIBERAL PROGRESSIVE Democrat! I’m so proud to be a Democrat that believes our best days are to come because finally we will shut the fear mongerers the hell up! Truth is a value that should not be sacrificed to win.

Please, please, please, America, stand up with me and reject this crazy campaigning and the media’s addictive perpetuation! It is our right to know what these people stand for! Any more of what we’ve been through is very insane. Enough of the lies!!! America deserves better.

Love,
A Sick Patriot

The New York Post Got it Right?

Not that I'm as rabid as Keith Olbermann when it comes to Rupert Murdoch, but I just don't usually turn to Murdoch's media outlets for political news or opinion unless I want to learn how the other side is thinking. However, I've started checking the RealClearPolitics.com homepage every day for the poll numbers since being shown this website by a friend of couple of weeks ago (I apologize for being so far behind everyone else!) and came across a really good piece by the very liberal Kirsten Powers (she often subs for Colmes on Hannity and Colmes) from this morning' NY Post. She lays into both Obama and the national press corps for blowing their response to the Palin nomination with the most cogent analysis thus far. I've a feeling that as a woman, the ostensible dismissal out of hand of this "unknown" governor and the comparisons to Dan Quayle quite incensed liberal women like Powers, who are tired of women being underestimated by the establishment:

"Lured by the McCain camp, Obama supporters engaged in an argument about who had more overall experience - the top of the Democratic ticket or the bottom of the GOP ticket. This diminished Obama.

"Meanwhile, the media lit up in all their cultural-elite splendor.

"Alaska? they sneered. It has the population of Las Vegas! Funny how the coastal elite only sneers at red states with small populations. Howard Dean hailed from a blue state with almost the same population as Alaska and was a national phenomenon and front-runner for the presidency. Joe Biden's Delaware has a similarly small population - but no mocking was forthcoming there."

The week of the Democratic convention, Maureen Dowd and Eugene Robinson described the Democratic zeitgeist during that week. Taking different routes, both concluded that many of the Democrats had a foreboding feeling that something was bound to go wrong for the Democrats. Even in this Democratic year with an unpopular president, an economy on the skids, and wars without end in two distant lands, the Dems just could not allow themselves to feel hopeful or positive that this is their year. The columns perfectly described my own dread that something was bound to go wrong. Friday of that week, following Obama's knockout convention speech, the McCain campaign announced that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be McCain's vice presidential choice, and the hand wringing began in earnest!

It's as though my worst fears were realized. See I told you so! The Dems just can't win at presidential politics! And now that I'm of a mind to criticize the Obama campaign and the Dems in general for being caught flat footed regarding the Palin nomination, I was pleased to read Kirsten Powers' piece linked to on the RCP homepage today. I'm reminded that I felt this way during the primaries and my man still came through ultimately, but in watching this campaign rev up, anyonoe can see that the Dems don't play hardball like Republicans do. Republicans care about winning and Democrats care about playing by the rules. Remember that that is how Obama won the nomination, not by dispatching his opponent but by playing a slightly better game and appealing to the judges.

Imagine if Obama loses the "I told you so's" about not picking HRC as his running mate! Even Gloria Steinem might have to retract her statement that "women are never frontrunners." But I doubt she would since she's determined that Sarah Palin is the wrong kind of woman. What arrogance! Palin (I know she's not at the top of the ticket but I've fallen into the conceit that this race is between Palin and Obama, the other two old white men notwithstanding) might just deserve to win because she's shown she's willing to fight for it, unlike our languid candidate. Ironic that Palin's ascent absolutely defies Steinem's setup argument in her NY Times piece, but that's because Steinem ignores the fact that politics is about taking advantage of opportunities, not just being right.

Well, I'm Back from Summer Holiday! Let the Mud Fly until Election Day!

I haven't read any of my usual pundits in months and not even this morning, but Mrs. Obama knocked it out of the park last night, now didn't she? I hope that there were people watching who hadn't yet been "introduced" to the candidate and his family because how could they not have been moved by first her mother narrating the film, then her brother's introduction, and finally their adorable daughters bantering with their father? One would have to have a heart of stone! She spoke so eloquently and so comfortably in such a heartfelt manner that all of the hateful smears just seem utterly ridiculous. Hers is an American success story as moving as his. These are people who have worked hard for everything they have. And what they have done with the opportunities and gifts they've been afforded! Even if Obama does not become president, he is the first presidential candidate of the 21st century. Elections for decades to come will look at the 2008 election as the first of a new kind.

Watching Michele Obama's moment play out, it was rather emotional for me on at least three levels: First, I kept thinking about my own father, who like Michele Obama's father was the spiritual leader of my family. Her acknowledgment of how her father's values and consistency shaped her thinking and her commitments reminded me of my own relationship with my father. My dad set the bar high for me, but I always knew his love for his family was the deepest love that could ever be felt even when we didn't do as well as he knew we could. I am so comforted by that fact that even though I miss him terribly I know that he instilled in me an abiding sense of what's important and I'm OK with what life may throw my way. I know who I am thanks to my father's love and his strong belief in the loving bonds of family. I tip my hat to her for being able to speak from the heart without her voice even cracking because I know that I could not have done so having lost my father just two years ago this week.

Second, having attended a family gathering of my own African-American family this past weekend, I have the highest regard for Michele's parents. Though they themselves did not have college educations, they did nothing but instill in their children the importance of education and hard work. A man with multiple sclerosis and a job at the city water plant raised two children who went on to graduate from Princeton University. Would that my own extended family had known how to teach that to their children. Looking around at my cousins, aunts, uncles, and the next generation I couldn't help but wonder why folks had missed out on what to many is so obvious and necessary. It's been no secret for decades that education is an opportunity to achieve more. Why had my extended family missed out on this reality? Seeing people with so much potential working so hard to get by and seeking answers from the Kuran that are within themselves made me wonder, why do some folks get it and others don't?

And finally, what ugliness and ignorance is going to be traded in the coming months to try and tear Barack Obama down? Both camps have pledged to campaign on the issues, but both know that negative campaigning works and that smearing, I mean "defining" one's opponent before segments of the electorate get to make up their own minds is the surest path to victory. I idenify with this man so much that I often take attacks on him in some personal way. I so badly want him to win and succeed as president that I would almost rather tune out than watch him suffer the slings and arrows. However, it's so disheartening to consider what's coming that I am finally moved to act! I have to DO something to help this man get elected so that if he doesn't succeed I'll know that at least I did everything possible in my own power to influence the outcome my way. I can accept that people may not want Obama because he's wrong on their issues but if people make choices out of ignorance or unfounded innuendo, then I weep for the nation. Once again we'll get the president we deserve if we vote for the wrong reasons, such as fear.

I'm Taking a Summer Holiday

I generally find the political coverage so trivial and mean-spirited these days that I'm taking the summer off from watching and reading about the presidential campaign. I might even cancel my daily text alert from Chuck Todd! I'll start watching again in earnest during the conventions most likely, but I've returned to watching the local news and the Today Show instead of Morning Joe. Race for the White House, Hardball, and Countdown can all take hiatuses as far as I'm concerned as well. I'm sure their ratings will all show a considerable dip. And maybe MSNBC's current crop of hosts just may go the way of Ashleigh Banfield! >:-)

It's ironic that the long-drawn out Democratic primary caused such a spike in viewership, readership, and overall political interest even though so much of the commentary centered on how the primary was too long and would be detrimental to the Dems. Really everyone was a winner, except Hillary Clinton because she lost, and John McCain because no one paid him any attention. Personally I ate it up. Not having Tim Russert to put it all into context might also explain my current disinterest in part.

Now watching the pundit class trying to make political hay out of every gotcha moment is just disturbing because it shows how demeaning the political process is for both the candidates and the electorate. We really do get the politics we deserve, and since I feel that I deserve better, I'm perfectly happy to tune out until the fall. It's the current undecided voters who determine the winner in most elections, and I'm sure they're going to the beach, spending time with friends and family and just generally enjoying their summers. Why shouldn't I do the same? That's what summer is for! There's plenty of time to stress about the Iraq War, the economy, and flag lapel pins!

Hypocratic Tax Policy

Media Matters is a not-for-profit that attempts to keep the media honest on their reporting. It really is amazing to see how often we are misguided by opinions and missed facts.

One of their articles titled The Edwards standard and John McCain is on how the wealth is so skewed from the left and right. Edwards has always been criticized as being too wealthy (even though he had humble beginnings) to be fighting poverty...ridiculous! Apparently, it is okay though for wealthy candidates to continue to push their wealth to higher places. There is just something that makes my stomach hurt about this.

The article takes us through how each candidate's policies effect their personal income...I was appalled after reading this. I know the argument. "Well the rich can use their money for spending to improve the economy"...but my argument is that they only spend with other people like themselves...Big Business. So the 365K of savings for McCain is invested in what? And how is it used to better our nation? Or is it used to better their own bottom line to make them richer. 365k is a lot of money!!! Let the wealthy fund the war in Iraq. They seem to be the only ones that don't sacrifice as much for us to be there. It's always the struggling families sending their sons to fight (I end here on this note before I head off into another rant).

How am I suppose to really believe in tax programs that give the rich such huge breaks! According to this article, McCain would save 6x my annual salary in one year. I am so much more aware of the insanity of some of the political rights arguments. The majority of this country is not rich. As a matter of fact, 95% of our country makes below $250k per household (less than what the McCains will save in one year!). If you want to see how "setup" our society's tax code is, do your own research. Mind you this is just personal income...forget the corporate taxes.

The "New" Michelle Obama

Our girl kicked it on The View the other morning, folks. She spoke so beautifully and looked so stylish that the dress she wore is flying out of the stores. It's bizarre how she had to be re-imaged and reintroduced and how the Obama campaign has started a website to fight the smears, but anyone who hears her in her own words could not help but be impressed. Though I'm sure her statements are being parsed for cannon fodder that the attack machine can continue to lob at the Obama campaign, I'm also confident that any reasonably open-minded person would see nothing to be frightened of.



I have this theory abut first ladies. We like every other person who is in that role. Getting a new one is like having to buy a new car when you aren't ready to get rid of the one you've got if it's good and reliable. On the other hand if you don't like your car, you're more than happy to get rid of it in favor of a new model. (Maybe that's why people are so brand loyal when it comes to cars. Hmmm...)

It's been about 40 years since we've had two consecutive first ladies that the country has actually taken to: Jacqueline Kennedy followed by Ladybird Johnson, and consider the circumstances that precipitated that transition. I'm sure the country was predisposed to support the Johnsons as the new first family. Then after Mrs. Johnson we had Pat Nixon (disliked), Rosalyn Carter (liked), Nancy Reagan (hated, but now beloved since her husband's death and stunningly impressive funeral), Barbara Bush (liked), Hillary Clinton (despised), Laura Bush (beloved). Hopefully because the Obamas are so Kennedy-esque, Michelle Obama as first lady could harken back to the sixties as the Obamas have on so many other levels, with their young and attractive family, and break this cycle. We shall see!