Feet To The Fire

Religion In Politics And God Help Us All

2012-02-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

Religion. If you asked ten different people to define religion, you might very well get ten different answers. "The eye of the beholder" is certainly in play when it comes to how people view religion. Religious faith is not bad or evil, and in fact is a guiding principal for many good and decent people who live their lives dedicated to fairness, honesty and helping others in need. I have no quarrel with people who are guided by religion to live their lives in that manner. I also have no quarrel with people who have no religious faith, but still live good, decent, and honest lives, as there are also many of those people in our country. Religious faith is not a prerequisite to being a good person, and never has been.

However, (you just knew there was a however coming, didn't you) religion in the United States has an ugly, dark and quite destructive side, which seems to be growing more dangerous each year. There is a segment of religion that seems not only to know how to live there lives, but are also convinced they know best how the rest of us should live our lives, as well. Call them the religious right, the Tea Party, hard liners....whatever you like, the end result is the same.

The Republican party candidates for president are falling all over themselves to prove that each of them is a religious zealot more dedicated to moral(?) values than the next one. With a bible in one hand and a bolt of lightening given to them by god in the other, each of these people feels they must champion every religious dogma precept of how each citizen of our country should live.

These candidates, as an example, are quick to jump on the bandwagon that says marriage is only to be sanctioned between a man and a woman, and its main purpose is procreation. Really? Does this mean that a married couple that decides not to have children, has less of a marriage than those that do? They proclaim that gay marriage is a great threat to traditional marriage. Silly me, and here I thought divorce was the greatest threat to marriage, as fifty percent of all marriages end up that way. These doom's day marriage prophets also tell me that my marriage is somehow threatened if two men or two women get married. How this threatens my marriage, or anyone else's, is a total mystery to me. Am I to announce to my startled wife some day, "Honey, Bob and Ted, were just married and moved in down the block, so I'm afraid our marriage is over." What utter nonsense. If Bob and Ted love each other, they have as much right to get married as anyone else, and it is no one else's business if they do. Finally, these misguided candidates and their followers are hell bent on passing national laws that prohibit gay marriage. Fortunately, I live in Washington State, which this week became the seventh state to formally legalize gay marriage. Yes, our weather may get us wet enough to rust, but the thinking of the majority in this state is fair and just.

Birth control is another hot button for the religious right kooks who want to define our nation's direction. They don't want it and God forbid (no pun intended) that medical insurance pay for it, or that hospitals dispense it. One only need look at all the unloved and un-cared for children in our nation (and the world) to understand the real need for giving people the choice of birth control. In fact, a survey of Catholic women showed that the vast majority are in favor of birth control, and a majority of those in their child bearing years use some form of it. Sorry Vatican, but even your own people don't agree with you. Birth control should be a choice, without undue pressure (either way) from outside sources.

Abortion? Oh boy, the hard right religious folks go nuts over that one. Yes, without question, an abortion is a tough choice for any women. Should they or shouldn't they is not a question I can answer, nor is it a question the nay saying religious right people can answer. Only the woman can answer that question for herself after receiving all the information and counseling from the sources she chooses, and no advice or pressure from those sources she doesn't choose. It is her choice, her body, and non of our damned business. Pro-choice doesn't always mean abortion. It simply means what it says, with the key word being choice.

The religious right wants desperately to run our lives. Hey, some moral values and a little guidance....what could be the harm in that? Plenty! For proof, take a look at those Middle Eastern countries where Islam runs the government. Religious police roam the streets so that a man and woman do not hold hands, kiss, or show any form of affection towards one another. TV content is tightly censored, Gays can be jailed or worse, women are not looked upon as the equal of a man, and Islamic courts and Islamic law take precedent over civil courts and civil law. No, we do not have those conditions in our country, but "give them an inch and they will take a mile" holds true here, and religious right oppression must be opposed at ever turn so that we never experience those conditions, or any that even come close.

The constitution gives us a guarantee of religious freedom. That means a person is free to follow any religion they wish in their personal lives, or no religion at all. It can be Christian, Muslim (without the draconian laws of some of the Middle Eastern countries), Buddhist, any other faith, or no faith at all. As long as we obey the laws of the land, religious faith, or lack of same, is (like abortion) our individual choice and not the business, or responsibility of anyone else.

It seems quite strange to me that the Tea Party is forever saying they want the government out of their lives. Yet, many of these same folk are only too quick to want the government to ban for all of us anything they deem is wrong. They also claim that each life, including the unborn, is precious, but seem to think that arming each citizen with enough fire power to kill dozens is OK. They are indeed speaking out of both sides of their mouth (although I suppose they speak more out of the right side than they do the left).

Please understand, I am not an anti-religious faith person by any stretch of the imagination. My wife belongs to a Christian faith church, in which many of it's members have become friends of mine. The majority of the members of that church believe that religion should keep out of government and government should keep out of religion. Amen to that, brother!

Occupy Wall Street - A Third Take

2011-11-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Just as I was saying I saw no plans, goals or actions coming from the Occupy Wall Street crowds, one finally manifested itself over the weekend, and I have to admit, it was a doozy. If adopted by a great number of people, it could send a very powerful message to the large banks. It was a declared day for people to close their accounts at large banks, and move their money to credit unions or small regional banks. Of course, there is nothing that says such a movement must last for only one day. It can essentially go on for as long as there are people who want to move their money away from big banks.

The bigwigs that run the large banks care nothing about protests, marches, sign waving , speeches, and all the rest of such actions. They yawn and say, "So what." But touch their money, and you have their attention, and then some.

This is exactly the kind of action that is needed to start showing that the people are fed up with what the banking industry has been doing to us and put some real teeth in our protest. If only a few million people (more, of course, would be even better) removed their money from the large banks, that would be a big thumb in the bank's collective nose. It is the famous line from the film, Network, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," but this time said to real financial fat cats by real people. It is a firm sign to the banks that people are taking positive action for their cause.

My wife and I will soon be joining those ranks. We are already a customer of a regional bank, but it is buying other banks, growing rapidly, and starting to find ways to nit-pick its customers to death with additional fees. It seems to have designs on becoming a large, or at least larger bank. That's when it's time to say, stop the bus and let us off. We will join the exodus to the credit unions within a short while.

If you are still banking with a large bank perhaps you will join us in leaving, and spread the word to others. It could do wonders and save you a few bucks at the same time. It's a first step.

Occupy Wall Street - A Second Take

2011-11-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is now in its second month and, instead of going away, it has increased to hundreds of cities, large and small, in our country. In my opinion (isn't that what most blogs are about....an individual opinion) is this good or bad? The answer to both sides of that question is yes!

The good part is that the demonstrations, sit-ins, occupations, whatever you choose to call them have touched a nerve in this country. which has long simmered just below the surface. That being the general discontent with the banks and the fat cats who control them. Discontent because, while job seekers, home owners, and the middle class in general suffer from a long lasting financial downturn, these same banking fat cats have prospered at the expense of those in financial need. With ever increasing new fees, the large banks are constantly inventing new ways to separate the average citizen from their money, and they are doing so while sitting on huge profits, and large piles of cash, which normally would be used for loans. So, they sit on their piles of cash and nickle and dime us to death. Citizens have had it with the blatant gouging and money grubbing of the banks. No one denies that banks, like any other business, should make a healthy profit, for otherwise they wouldn't remain in business. But the extent that they are running roughshod over the public no longer represents making a healthy profit, but is instead, a prime example of big business out of control. Many in the OWS movement are out of work people, homeowners who are over their head and stand to lose their homes, union members who have seen the Republicans severely curtail their bargaining rights, and otherwise just plain fed up people.

And that brings us to the bad side of the Occupy Wall Street movement. There are many justifiable causes represented in this movement. Out of work people, home owners, union members and others have legitimate complaints about problems and situation that need to be addressed. However, there are two troubling aspects to this movement. The first is the lack of goals and actions. When someone is standing on your foot, hollering about it for a brief moment is understandable, but then you must do something about it. Yes, hollering will get the attention of the person who is accidentally standing on your foot and they often will remove their foot from yours. But for those who are doing it deliberately (as are the banks, Republicans, and others), then you must have a plan to correct the situation. I have yet to see any such plans among the OWS crowd. All good movements start with protests, but those that accomplish needed change do so with plans and action. We hear the occupiers and many of us agree they have raised valid concerns. Now where is the action? Where are the goals? Where are the plans to reach those goals?

The second troubling thing about the OWS movement is the trouble makers (as Mr. Rogers might say with his calming voice, "Can you say anarchist?"). The recent violence in Oakland, turned a large, but peaceful demonstration into chaos. The cause was a mere 80 to 100 anarchist and thugs who were not there for any political or social action, but merely to cause as much mayhem and damage to property as possible. Until the OWS can police itself and rid their ranks of these punks, their message will be diluted at every turn. Yes, police (who have been shown to have a few anarchists and mayhem makers in their own ranks) can stop such violence after the fact, but to be truly effective, it must be stopped from within before it happens,

I'm rooting for the movement in hopes that it will bring about needed change in the business and social atmosphere of our country. In my last blog entry I said if the movement did not show some organization and goals it would disappear as a forgotten footnote in history. That turned out not to be true, as it has now grown large enough and has gone on long enough so that whether it bring about positive change in our country or not, it will not be forgotten.

Occupy Wall Street - A Different Take

2011-10-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been featured in the newspapers, magazines, and local and national TV news. I'm talking of course about what is commonly known as "Occupy Wall Street." It has also been described in various ways, some of which are "The voice of the people", "The liberal answer to the Tea Party", or "A sign that a change is coming."

As a liberal Democrat, one would think I would embrace this movement with open arms. I'm not sure how you embrace something with open arms, but you get the idea. The problem is I don't. ahh....but then again, I do. Confused? Me too.

Protests make those involved and many not involved with them feel good, because they are doing something. They often are a fore runner of a more permanent action, cause, or movement. Also, they bring light to a problem that needs fixing, and the banks are certainly a problem that needs fixing.

However, in looking at the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, and now in other US cities, there are troubling aspects, not so much because of what is happening, but more because of what is not happening. First and foremost, where is the organization and where are the stated objectives? I have made no bones about that fact that I do not like, or respect the Tea Party movement or what they stand for. However, only a fool would claim they are not organized. They are, and that's what makes them so dangerous to our country.

Like most mass movements, Occupy Wall Street is a conglomerate of different factions. The unemployed are a large part of the crowd, as are the employed who are just managing to get by. But so are the anarchists, and the hangers-on, and thrill seekers who have nothing better to do. The anarchists are dangerous and want to cause mayhem and destruction. The hangers-on and thrill seekers just get in The way.

Many of the major banks were saved with a bailout (a loan that has been almost entirely repaid, not a hand out as the Tea Party claims). They were saved from conditions which they created for themselves with greed, fraud, and just plain bad business practices. Saving them was a bitter pill, but as I have pointed out in the past, not saving them would have made the financial condition of our nation far, far worse than it already is. What we need now is government regulation (with teeth) that will force them to start circulating (via loans and other avenues) the trillions of dollars on which they are currently sitting. We need that money to flow through our country once again.

Some in this new movement want to shut down Wall Street, and while Wall Street, itself, has some answering to do for some of its transgressions and shady deals, we must never forget, that the investments of many average Americans are also tied up in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and harming Wall Street also harms all of those citizens, their families, and their retirement.

So, will any long lasting good actually come from the Occupy Wall Street movement? I sincerely hope so, as it could be the start of a needed political force to offset the stupidity of the Tea Party. If this is to happen, however, we will need less people in the demonstrations dressing like zombies (never have quite figured that out other than some type of street theater) and more organization, goals, and plans to achieve those goals in order to get the money flowing in this country again, create jobs, and stop the banks from lining their own pockets at the expense of average Americans.

If we can do that, the Occupy Wall Street movement will have positive results for the country. If not, it will soon be a forgotten footnote in history.

The Ignorance of Bigotry

2011-09-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

(Revised and Corrected 09/25/2011)
Usually, all my blog entries are first time originals. However, as it often does, history has a habit of repeating itself. Recently, at the exercises in hog wash the Republicans call debates, several occurrences have again demonstrated just how stupid some segments of humanity can be, and just how low they can sink. These two references came not from the debaters, but from the audience. I am referring specifically to the audience clapping when the fact that Texas has had hundreds of state sanction executions was mentioned, and to the "Yeah's" that were heard from the audience when one of the debate moderators asked if a 30 year old man, with no health insurance, and in a life or death situation, should be allowed to die. In the case of the latter, it should be noted that not one of the debaters chastised the audience for their actions.

Ignorance, stupidity and bigotry are old friends, and I wrote an article on one of my websites (http://www.kenkreps.com/) about that very subject some three years ago. I am going to take the liberty of re-introducing that article in this blog entry, because since I wrote the article, little has changed, and in some ways the situation has become worse. I will apologize in advance for it's length, but there was much to say and to digest about the subject. Of course, when I first wrote the article the Tea Party was not the uninformed nuisance it is now. Had it been, it would have been mentioned prominently,

Here now is.........

The Ignorance Of Bigotry
By Ken Kreps
© 2008

Most writers believe approaching a single subject in an article or essay is usually best. They think you should define your case, make your point, end the article and move on. I usually agree, but not today, as I want to discuss two subjects that, while they may not seem related, I believe are, at least in the way they illustrate the overall decline of our country. I say this with absolutely no glee, as I love our country and am saddened by what is happening to it.

The first topic I want to bring to your attention is the dumbing down of our nation, or perhaps the better term would be the numbing down of our country.

For starters, our television programming has been invaded by something called reality TV, which is in itself a misnomer, as there is nothing real about it at all. We are inundated by hordes of vocalists (and their surly judges), phony races across the world, houses being rebuilt before our very eyes, dancers pulled from other occupations, and displaying various degrees of talent (I for one, was thrilled to see Cliff from Cheers dancing his little heart out), a new show with phony pirates, and people trying to win a prize by "surviving" on some desert isle. While there are a few good dramas left on television that both entertain and cause you to think (such as Criminal Minds, or the CBS show, Jericho, which was cancelled and then brought back to the fall schedule due to an unprecedented and massive ground roots campaign by fans of the show), and a few others that are just a real hoot to watch (such as Boston Legal), much of the programming from which we have to choose is mindless drivel, all presented to us under the umbrella name of "Reality TV". The "Survivor" series supposedly pits one team against another, alone on some remote isle. Of course they are not alone, but instead surrounded by large film crews, network and support people, all there to film it all for later broadcast. I'm not saying the whole thing is staged, but it certainly is not two lonely teams battling each other while stranded in the middle of the wilderness.

Reality TV exists because (1) it's inexpensive to produce (compared with dramas), and (2) it is popular, especially with the buying age public that advertisers so dearly love. The fact that it's popular is cause for concern. There is no mental challenge in watching reality shows; there is no reason to think. You need only to sit on the couch or your favorite chair and gaze at a television screen as time passes you by. Reality TV is indeed the land where the individual thinking process goes to die. Yet sadly, it's what many people in this country accept as entertainment, even as it dulls their minds.

If you think a number of minds in this country aren't dull, here's a case in point of an occurrence I'm sure many of you have experienced. You walk into a fast food restaurant and after placing your order, your total bill is….oh, let's say it's $7.53. You hand the counter person ten dollars and then, as they are entering the amount you gave them into the register, you think to hand them three pennies, so as to not get any pennies back in your change. Nine times out of ten the counter person looks at you with a blank stare that says, "duhhhh", and they have no idea how to calculate the extra three cents you handed them into the amount of change you have coming to you. They have always relied on their register to tell them what to do. They don't think, they react, and now you have introduced something into their process of making change, which they don't know how to handle. They are unable to reason it through, as they are unaccustomed to having to think on their feet.

Then, of course, there is the case of the missing "G", as to many Americans the letter G seems to have totally disappeared from their vocabulary. Instead of saying doing, they say doin', instead of getting, it's gettin'. It's not that most people don't know better, as they do. It's caused mainly by out and out laziness, as well as unwillingness to attempt to speak even passable, correct English. Many think it really doesn't matter, but it does. Once, for any reason, they step out of their circle of similar friends, they will be judged by how they speak, as there are still plenty of people in the United States who feel the way you speak says something about who you are. This may not be a fair way to judge people, but it is often the way it's done. To some, repeatedly hearing someone say goin', gettin', and sleepin' doesn't fill them with a sense that they are hearing an intelligent person. Mind you I didn't say educated, I said intelligent.

Because of mindless TV, electronic machines that do the thinking for us, hours spent looking for entertainment on the Internet, eagerly following the latest sleaze from Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and others, blasting tunes into our ears from Ipods, playing electronic games to excess, many Americans have no intellectual curiosity which causes them to want to understand how something works outside their own environment, or why something exists. Some do, of course (and thank God for them), but far too many do not. It is little wonder that on the Jay Leno segment called, "Jaywalking", several people didn't know what state Chicago was in, while others thought Al Gore was the first man to walk on the moon. In keeping with that, in a recent survey, one out of five surveyed believed the sun revolved around the earth.

One of the greatest intellectual minds of the twentieth century, Carl Sagan, had a wonderful catch phrase he called "The Joy Of Knowing", which means simply taking the time to study and understand something for the pure joy of knowing how, why, where or when.

Throw rap music (there are two words that don't belong together, if ever there were any) into the mix with its women bashing, in your face style, performed by people of marginal talent, who profess to all the world how cool it is to be a gangster (or is it gangsta'), and you have one more plank in the system that is producing the uncomprehending masses which plague this country. While rap may have social relevance to some, it sure as hell isn't music, and those who record it have in no way earned the right to be called artists. Come on. People, it's chanting pure and simple. It's bad rhymes passed off as art. When it comes to rap, the emperor truly has no clothes.

The brain drain in this country is tremendous, and while there is truth in what some say about it being the fault of our education system, it's also the result of an individuals choice to float through life in our cocoon like environment with little effort made towards thinking, or investigation. We often marvel at the brainpower of people from Asian countries. Yes, they do seem intelligent and mentally nimble and they are. They're that way, not because they have superior brainpower, but because they have superior intellectual curiosity, as well as superior educations.

Millions of Americans are simply apathetic to facts or reason. They don't investigate or research, and often form opinions based on trivialities. Or worse, they form no opinion at all.

It's these people who mainly comprise the second group on which I now wish to focus. That would be the group that takes no interest and feels no compassion about the plight of others. Some in this group are out and out racists, many just don't care, and still others are ignorant as to what the real issues are.

This country has millions of illegal immigrants. Yes, there are some unsavory types among them, but most are hard working men and women, wanting only a better life for their families and for themselves than they could have in their native country. But to hear the ranting of some people, all illegal immigrants are drug-using criminals who are only here to free-load off the welfare and medical systems, rob, pillage, and plunder. My many concerns about our president non withstanding, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and I believe many members of congress and George Bush are right with their new approach to immigration, an approach that gives these immigrants a more clearly defined path to citizenship. While far from being a perfect piece of legislation, it is a major step in the right direction. Even though I am unaccustomed to agreeing with the president (Editors Note: This article was written when Gorge W. Bush was still president), he was correct when he said, "It's the right thing to do." Some say, "They don't speak our language" when, as previously pointed out, some of our own citizens don't speak "our language" all that well, themselves. You hear people say,"They have strange customs," or "They're just not like us." They forget, when our nation was formed everyone had strange customs, and one nationality was for from being like another. Our country was formed by many cultures, and many languages, all contributing something good (and yes, sometimes something bad) to create the most diverse country in the world. I am half German and half English, and most of us can trace our ancestry back to another country. Only American Indians are real Americans, while the rest of us are imports. How quickly some of us forget.

One Neanderthal Republican senator called the new, immigration proposal "a free get out of jail card." With that remark, he neatly illustrated the feelings of many (see next paragraph) that illegal immigrants are all akin to criminals. He's wrong, of course, but it's still sad to hear an elected official openly display his prejudice and ignorance in public, as he did. To regard any human being that way because of their nationality, color, sexual preference, beliefs, how they got to this country (without understanding why), or their religion (or lack of same) is simply wrong. Dead wrong! Sadly, the new immigration bill may be scuttled, as many Republicans seem more hell-bent on building fences, then they do in building understanding.

I have an old college friend who I am still in contact with by e-mail. This man is an intelligent college graduate who was both a brilliant and gifted musician when I first met him in college. I went to college on a music scholarship, and all the scholarship students had some degree of talent or we wouldn't have been granted a scholarship. This man, however, was clearly head and shoulders above all the rest of us in talent and proficiency on his instrument.

He now sends me e-mails with attachments, some of which are vile enough to have come straight from the KKK's headquarters. They attack in the basest of language, illegal (oh my, how they do love that word, illegal) immigrants (especially those from Mexico), Muslims, with claims that all the many millions of Muslims in the world are evil and want to destroy us, and other tirades which attack most groups who do not conform to the white, Christian, conservative, rigid definitions, which many on the right cling to like a life preserver in a churning sea.

This man, who I looked up to so much in college, is educated, but I'm afraid his intellectual curiosity, and the compassion that often accompanies it, may have passed him by. He lives in Texas, which could be part of the reason for his bigotry, as Texas isn't the most enlightened place on earth. As a native born Texan, I have not only the right to say that, but I have experiences (from having lived there) to back up that statement. I have no doubt my old college friend knows exactly where Chicago is, but he seems not to understand the terrible plight of the many unfortunates in the world. Mind you, there is a great deal to like about this person and I still hold him in high regard, as we go too far back to feel otherwise. I must admit, however, to not understanding what motivates him to express (and, I have no doubt, believe) such opinions.

It is a sad fact that many people in this country (both educated and uneducated) need someone to look down upon, and who better a target for their disdain than illegal immigrants and/or Muslims. The "I'm better than them," syndrome is alive and well in many parts of our nation. Those of us who live in this country are certainly more fortunate than so many of the world's population, but in no way does that make us superior to anyone.

At the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, we keep prisoners without charges for an indefinite period of time. Most of these men have no access to lawyers. Lest you think I'm soft on terrorists, think again. Terror suspects should be tried and if convicted, sentenced to long prison terms or death, depending on the severity of their crime. They should not be held indefinitely without formal charges levied against them. They also should not be tortured or worse, sent to foreign countries to be tortured. What happened to our moral compass that many of our citizens think illegal confinement and torture are now OK? Yet, you hear people say, "They're terrorists, so anything goes." Trouble is, some of them aren't terrorists at all, and even our own government has said as much when they are released without charges and sent home to try to put their life back together. Our "one size fits all" treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo is no more than a more severe rehashing of the Joe McCarthy era where factions of our country said, "Even though I have no real proof....you are a Communist because I said you are one." Except today, it's "You are a terrorist because I say you are one."

I'm sure many of the detainees at Guantanamo are guilty of a terrorist act, or aiding those who were. Charges should be filed against these individuals and trials should commence. Holding trials for suspects, presenting evidence, having the accused represented by counsel, punishing the guilty, and setting the innocent free is one of the cornerstones on which our country was built. By not doing so we are acting a great deal like the totalitarian nations we profess to detest. We are lowering our moral standards in order to fight people who have low moral standards. Go figure. The real terrorists want to kill as many of us as they can, of that I have no doubt, but they also want to change our way of life. Once we leave the high road, employ the same vile tactics as the terrorists, and lower our standards of conduct as a nation, to a degree the terrorists have succeeded. They have changed our way of life. They have made us a little more like them. Due process and honesty are what has separated this country from the rest for over 200 years. Without it we become just another country out of many. Did we learn nothing from the wrongful internment of Japanese American citizens during World War II?

Finally, there is another group in this country that is vilified on a daily basis. Actually, there are many such groups, but this one seems to get some of the most vile comments from our citizens. The homeless in this country are looked upon as some sort of pond scum. Many say the homeless want to be homeless (an absolutely absurd remark), or they only became that way due to laziness and a refusal to work. When we see one coming towards us on the street, we look the other way and avoid them as much as possible. We treat them as if they weren't there. Are there homeless who are lazy bums, or out and out crooks? Of course there are, but to paint the entire group with a broad brush of bigotry is not accurate or fair, certainly not Christian, and identifies our nation as uncaring to the rest of the world. How a nation treats it's own poor and disadvantaged says much about the character and soul of that nation. Most cities deal with the homeless problem by moving them from time to time out of the line of sight of most residents and tourists. God forbid someone would see that "our" city actually has homeless people in it. Some faith-based organizations try to help the homeless and for that I am grateful. I was never very big on asking faith-based groups to become involved in charity work, as some of these groups like to mentally hit anyone they help over the head with the bible, first. It's not religion these folks need, but instead, food, shelter, medical care, and a sense that someone cares about them as human beings. Once they are on their feet, if you want to try to "save their souls" that's your business, but help them first, preach to them second. To their credit, some faith-based organizations do exactly that. As I said, I am grateful to these groups, but saddened that our own government doesn't take some of the billions from Bush's folly (the war in Iraq….WAKE UP Democrats, that's why we elected you!) and use it to offer significant help to the homeless and low-income people in our nation.

Of course I haven't really touched on the prejudice which blacks, gays, women, the working poor, the elderly, and other minority groups still face daily. Nor have I mentioned the recent loss of civil rights we have all suffered due to certain unconstitutional sections of the Patriot Act. But then, if I explored each of those topics in detail I would be writing a book, and not an article.

As long as we have non-thinkers in large numbers in this country, we will have bigots who show intolerance towards those who do not conform to their narrow, inflexible standards, for it is ignorance that fuels the fires of prejudice. Ignorance and a lack of education are not always in lock step with each other, as educated people can be ignorant and uneducated people can be enlightened. Basic education in some form, is offered to nearly everyone in this country. Thinking and understanding takes a little more individual work. A non-thinker, who cannot or will not reason things through, is a bigot waiting to happen.

If each of us can influence just one person to think, to be curious, to be willing to wade through the hype to find the facts, to refuse to accept the old tired excuse, "That's the way we've always done it," we can help make a difference. Indifference, bigotry, and prejudice can be eradicated to a great degree, but it will take years, and it will take hard work. When you see or hear prejudice, expose it for the cancer it is. Let people know it is not acceptable and you will not tolerate it. That, and encouraging your children, family members, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances to think and reason, can some day bring this country back to the ideals on which it was founded. Hate and ignorance are slippery slopes, while reason and understanding are always the best building blocks to insure a solid foundation for our nation.

THINK AND CARE!

Keeping "Social" in Social Security

2011-08-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Republicans, in their zeal to reshape our country into the image in which they think it should be, have targeted a number of "Whipping Boy" issues. These include environmental protection, planned parenthood, Medicare, no new taxes (or even keeping some of the existing ones), and Social Security. Each of these needs protecting, particularly Medicare and Social Security.

Every American Citizen with a regular job pays a portion of their wags into funds set aside for Social Security and Medicare. These funds in turn support monthly payments to older and/or disabled citizens in the form of a monthly check. The people receiving these checks have, in turn, paid into the Medicare and Social security funds for decades during their working years. If a person who is receiving a Social Security check also is still working, they pay additional monthly amounts into these two funds.

I know many of you are saying, "I already know this, so why are you telling it to me?" I am mentioning it because the Republicans are making a concentrated effort to greatly weaken Social Security or eliminate it all together. Consider what Presidential candidate Rick Perry recently said. Yes I know, Perry is not anywhere close to being the brightest bulb in the light fixture (didn't we just get rid of a president from Texas with a similar comprehension problem?), but his words do reflect the thinking of a great many Republicans. He said: "Social Security is a Ponzi scheme for these young people. The idea that they're working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie. ... It is a monstrous lie on this generation, and we can't do that to them."

I will hate myself in the morning for saying this, but in spite of his ridiculous words, he is correct about one thing. The current Social Security program will not be there long term unless a few basic changes are made. More about that in a moment.

All retirement age generation have used Social Security to cushion the fact of not having a regular working man or woman's income anymore. For some it is their only income, while for others it is a needed supplement to their pension or investment income. For all but the very wealthy, it fills a vital need in a retired person's quality of life.

History shows us that the Republicans have always hated Social Security, dragging their feet on this issue as far back as when it was first voted into existence. To them it is socialism, and to a degree they are right, in that one generation funds the retirement of an older generation and then, in turn, some future, younger generation funds their retirement, and so on. While this is not socialism in the strictest since, it does contain elements of that philosophy. In spite of the Republican rhetoric to the contrary, partial socialism for the good of great segments of the population is not bad, nor evil. Remember, it is called "Social" Security

History has many yardsticks by which to judge a particular civilization. One of those yardsticks is how well they provide for their people. Does a government simply discarded the sick and the elderly, or do they offer programs and system that assist the financial burdens of these groups? Social security and Medicare are the right thing for a country to do. No other justification is necessary.

Now, as for the increased funding that Social Security will require....there is a very simple way to boost the reserves of this program, and that is to collect the Social Security tax on all wages of all US citizens. Currently, that tax is only withheld from the first $106,800 of a person's yearly earnings. There are certainly other ways to make the wealthy pay their fair share of the expenses of running our country, but increasing the Social Security withholding to cover all wages is a good start.

Finally, consider what Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders had to stay on the subject In an op-ed piece, that has been published in many U.S. newspapers, Sanders wrote, "As corporations over the last 30 years destroyed the retirement dreams of millions of older workers by eliminating defined-benefit pension plans, Social Security was there paying full benefits. When Wall Street greed and recklessness caused working people to lose billions in retirement savings, Social Security was there paying full benefits.

"Despite its success, Social Security faces an unprecedented attack from Wall Street, the Republican Party and a few Democrats. If the American people are not prepared to fight back, the dismantling of Social Security could begin in the very near future," Sanders writes.

How do we fight back? How do we protect Social Security? What can we do? It's a process of several steps, the first being returning the House of Representatives to the control of the Democratic party, for as long as the Republicans rule in that governing body (with their Tea Party influenced nonsense) the threat of an attack on Social Security, as well as other citizen safety nets will continue.

Please don't misinterpret what I am saying to mean that the Democratic party is perfect, as they are far from being that. However, they clearly represent the best hope for continuing proven programs that benefit the average American citizen. And after all, isn't that what a government is supposed to do?

An Anarchist By Any Other Name.......

2011-08-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Most people when asked to describe an anarchist would offer something like, "It's a person who wants to abolish government at all costs, and where any cost justifies the means." Some definitions may differ slightly but that's the general idea. The "any cost" that most anarchists use is wanton violence and destruction. Burning buildings, attacking people, and in general creating as much mayhem as possible.

That was then....this is now!

To be sure, the old style anarchist, described above, still exist, as the recent senseless riots in Great Britain suggest, where anarchists, mixed with common criminals, who are only there to steal, destroy parts of London, and other towns. However, a more deadly form of anarchist has now reared it's ugly head, mainly in the United States. They don't burn buildings, they don't physically attack people and they present themselves as upright citizens trying to help their country. Never-the-less, they pose a deadly threat to our nation.

Who are these people? They are the ones who either ignore or don't realize what a debt ceiling really is (it allows our country to pay the interest on current debts, and is not a check for new spending). They were willing to see the country default on it's financial obligations (for the first time) and go down the tubes to prove a point that government is too big and must be cut down....way down.

Make no mistake. This group has clout, far more than an anarchist with a home-made bomb. They have sent people to the highest governing body of our country, the Senate and the Congress. This group is known as the Tea Party.

At first we dismissed these people as ignorant rubes who had little idea as to what went on in the real world. That was our mistake. Even though they represent only a small percentage of the American population, they grew in power and numbers and sent lawmakers to Washington who had one single agenda. These people were not sent there to make laws, but to destroy many of the old laws which protect our citizens; to weaken and destroy our current form of Government, and to throw many of our less fortunate citizens under the bus. They want to destroy the social safety nets which have taken many decades to build. Social Security? Wreck it. Medicare? Cripple It. Fair union wages? Get rid of them. Pure and simple, folks, this is anarchy wearing a different cheap suit, and trying to look respectable. They firmly fit the description of anarchists because they are bent on destroying our current form of government. This political form of anarchy is far more destructive than the violence of traditional anarchists.

By and large tea bagger members are the vastly uninformed following leaders who are financed by some well heeled special interest groups. They don't think, they react. They don't lead, they follow. They swallow half truths (or no truth at all) and believe what they want to believe, and not the facts, or the truth. Since the majority of Tea Party member are not wealthy, they seem much like a man in a tree with a saw working to bring down the very limb on which he sits. They ignore the fact that the tax load for most wealthy Americans is too small, while complaining that their tax load is too large. They raise their fist at meeting against adequate health care for all, when many of them are the beneficiaries of that same health care. They are quick to quote that government should be by the people, while short changing the important fact that it is also for the people. I won't even get into the "God is on our side" drivel many of them spread, as that is best discussed at another time.

They want to see government chopped down at the knees, and to hell with the fallout of human suffering this would bring about. They are the direct cause of the credit rating of the United States being lowered, as Republican and Democratic leaders, and the president had agreed in fact on a much larger debt reduction, coupled with a modest raise in revenue, before the flapping of mouths from House tea party members scuttled it all.

If I sound like I have no respect for the Tea Party, it's because I don't. Ignorance at any level should never be rewarded with kind words or even with indifference. Ignorance should always be fought with truth and reason.

The Tea Party won't listen to the truth or to reason, but just maybe they will have to listen to our votes next year.

The Politics Of NO!

2011-07-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

No is one of the most often used words in the English language. We say it to our kids, our pets, and to each other many times in a day. Much of the time we use this word, there is a valid reason behind it, but other times there is none.

Some people get in the habit of saying no to almost everything. We've all known a few like that and they can be quite irritating. However, worse than an individual naysayer, there is now a group of people in our country to which "NO" really means "I'm going to tell you how you should live your life and under what rules you should live it.". This group of people goes by several names. They may be called the Tea Party, hard line conservatives, social conservatives, or the religious right. It matters little what they are called, but it matters a great deal what they want to do to the lives of rest of us.

They are against....well....they are against almost everything. Of course we all know that being for or against something in our nation is not against the law. In fact, that type of spirited debate is one of the strengths of our country. It's what free elections are built upon, as we each decide which candidate or ballot measure to vote for, or not. That's the way a democracy works.

However, while a belief of being against or for something is a right of all United States citizens, forcing, or even trying to force, all of us to adhere to that belief (or set of beliefs) is not. That stops being a democracy and slides into the realm of a dogma.

The above mentioned group of people would like for gays to disappear, and God forbid that any of them would be allowed to get married. Some from this group believes that being gay is a condition that can be cured, instead of an act of birth. They want women to hold their place and never compete with men. They want evolution to not be taught in our schools, but instead, would prefer the teaching of a pseudo science they have named "creation science." A segment of the creation science crowd will tell you with a straight face that the earth is really only ten to twelve thousand years old. Yeah....right! They want only English spoken in our nation. They want our borders locked down tightly so that, no one who isn't a white god fearing Christian American ever be allowed in, failing to realize that immigration is one the building blocks that made our nation strong, and that some of our ancestors (and theirs) weren't exactly legal when they came to this country. If you are of a faith other than Christianity, well then out you go because we can't have that, can we. Further, they want a government in which religion is the driving force, thereby ignoring the separation of church and state so wisely outlined by our founding fathers. Health care? Hey, if you can afford it, fine...if not, too bad. They certainly don't think we need those pesky health care laws that allow many millions of our citizens access to decent health care. Entitlements? Surely, they say, we need to get rid of them, except of course, the ones that pertain to us. And, oh yes, while we are at it lets get rid of welfare and food stamps, as well, since all those people are nothing more than lazy freeloaders.

Then, of course, less out in the open is their belief that blacks and other minorities are inferior, and oh Lord, they think, now we even have a black president....the shame, the shame.

Simply put, these are the people who want to tell you how to live. If you are liberal, a racial minority, gay, not of the Christian religion, or not of any religion at all, a union member, or any other designation they wish to assign to you that shows you are not one of them, they want to pass laws to make you conform to their way of thinking, and they are prepared to organize against any candidate that doesn't fall in line with their thoughts about such laws

Easiest would be to just dismiss them as a group of village idiots who don't realize what humanity is really all about. This would be a grave mistake, as they represent a dangerous obstacle to the democracy guaranteed all citizens by the constitution. They want to put anyone who doesn't swallow their brand of social engineering swill in the back of the bus, or in some cases, throw them off the bus entirely.

If you are anything like me, they make you mad as hell. And to quote that famous line from the film, Network, we should all be screaming, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." I urge you to fight these people who want to steal our country with whatever means you think best, be it your money, your voice, your actions, or all three.

We have a fight on our hands, and we sure as hell better win it. In fact, it's time the rest of us said NO....not in this country!

The Crazies Are Among Us

2011-05-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it the greater communication pathways open to the world in the last ten to fifteen years, but more than ever, it looks like the crazies are not only running wild, but growing in number. Here's a sampling.

Nut job Harold Camping held a news conference on May 23rd. Of course the 23rd was a day that wasn't supposed to happen since 'ole Harold predicted the world would come to an end on May 21st. When it did not, Harold disappeared for a day and then re-emerged on the 23rd to say that his calculations had been wrong and that the world would actually come to an end on October 21st of this year. Harold didn't just predict that the world would end on May 21st, he spent one million dollars advertising this off the wall prediction through billboards and by other means. By the way, he didn't just predict that the 21st of May was the day the world would end, he further refined that by saying it would happen at 6:00 PM EST (daylight savings time, of course).

Before we fall on the floor, holding our sides and laughing at Harold, we should consider the terrible heartache and suffering Harold's prediction cause to those who were taken in by him. His latest predictions resulted in chaos among his followers and others who believed him. Some quit their jobs, others sold all their possessions before the rapture date, and one mother tried to kill her two children. If Harold isn't the wacko to date for 2011, he is certainly a strong contender for that honor.

Then there is this quote, which appeared recently in the Huffington Post.

"On fringe sites around the web, a new conspiracy theory is being cultivated: the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Arizona that took the lives of six and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), never actually took place."

This, in spite of the great number of people who were killed or wounded by the deranged gunman. The main architect behind this conspiracy theory is a man named Ed Chiarini. This Harold Camping wannabe claims that the whole shooting story is a government hoax and that all participants were actors from either the Tuscon area or Hollywood.

To further compound the tragedy for the families of the victims (and some of the wounded themselves, who have since recovered), followers of this conspiracy theory showed up at their homes demanding to see photos of the incident and claiming they don't believe it ever happened, adding salt to the wounds of grief stricken family members and survivors.

Finally, we have the latest from the Tea Party. Hey, when nut jobs are mentioned, can the Tea Party be far behind? Here's a quote from TV Weekly Magazine:

"The Tea Party Patriots, Georgia-based but claiming 1,000 chapters nationally, are instructing members to remind teachers that a 2004 federal law requires public schools to teach Constitution lessons the week of Sept. 17, commemorating the day the document was signed. And they'd like the teachers to use material from the Malta, Idaho-based National Center for Constitutional Studies, which promotes the Constitution as a divinely-inspired document.

The center's founder, W. Cleon Skousen, once called Jamestown's original settlers communists, wrote end-of-days prophecy and suggested Russians stole Sputnik from the United States. In 1987, one of his books was criticized for suggesting American slave children were freer than white non-slaves."

Here's another crazy claiming the end of the world (move over, Harold), God wrote the constitution, the Russians stole Sputnik from the US (perhaps from area 51?), slave children were actually the freest of all children, and anyone who who falls into his disfavor is a communist. How the Jamestown settlers offended him is a mystery to me.

In years past some self-proclaimed prophet clad in a dirty white robe and sandals might stand on a park bench and proclaim to the world that Betty White was the Antichrist, or that the sun actually revolved around the earth, but by and large, they were small-time and harmless. Now, with the Internet, email, text messaging, social networks, smart phones, up to the minute 24 hour TV news, and the rest, these village idiots have risen to the level of a major, and sometimes dangerous, nuisance.

Technology is not the problem, but the use of technology for the purpose of deception, spreading lies, and fear mongering seems to be a growing problem. Of course, those who accept at face value these outlandish claims also bear a large part of the responsibility for not separating what is feasible and logical from what is not. P.T. Barnum has been proven right, once again.

Whatever news source you prefer, more stories of new crazies are sure to appear before too long. They are, unfortunately, part of the world in which we live.

The War On The People.

2011-03-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

If you still have doubts about the Republican controlled House of Representatives favoring big business over the welfare of the people (in this case the citizens of the United States), consider the following two articles from yesterday's paper.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON —

House Republicans said Wednesday that a new government agency designed to protect consumers from problems with mortgages, credit cards and other lenders has too much power. They also criticized it for participating in a federal-state effort to force mortgage servicers to change the way they foreclose on troubled homeowners.

The bureau is chiefly designed to give consumers simplified information about financial products and protect them from unfair practices. Priorities Warren (Editors note: The chief of the new bureau) considers important include regulating mortgages, credit cards and non-bank financial companies like mortgage brokers, payday lenders and private providers of student loans.

GOP lawmakers also challenged the bureau's role in a push by federal agencies and the 50 state attorneys general to force five large U.S. banks to agree to make it easier for struggling homeowners to avoid foreclosure and rework their mortgages.

And then there is this:

By Kathleen Hennessey

Tribune Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — A House committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases, boosting a top Republican priority and aiming a blow at the Obama administration and states that favor tougher environmental regulations.

The bill was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a largely party-line vote. Republicans argued that action by the EPA, coming after Congress failed to pass a climate and global-warming bill, would impose burdensome and unnecessary rules on industry.

Democrats cast the measure, called the "Energy Tax Prevention Act," as a skirmish in an ongoing GOP war on the science of global warming. The bill is unlikely to win significant support in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority.

The Republicans would like to weaken the environmental protections we enjoy, while at the same time allowing credit card companies, banks, payday lenders and the like continue to gouge the public with unjust and sometimes illegal practices.

I particularly liked the phrase where the Republicans say "would impose burdensome and unnecessary rules on industry." Would one of those rules be about not killing some of us with their toxic waste?

Some days, I don't have to write this blog, as the Republicans all but write it for me.

More later............................

The Taking Of America

2011-03-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

In the 2010 elections, the Republicans won the House of Representatives, made gains in the Senate (but are still not in control) and elected a number of state governors. This was in part fueled by people's dissatisfaction with the economy and jobless statistics, and also in large part, by the lies and distortions spread by the Tea Party. However, history is what it is and those people came into office.

The Republicans saw this as their chance to change the political landscape and direction of our country with sweeping neo-conservative changes. They set about to do this with a coordinated effort by the House of Representatives and Republican controlled states. The current poster boy of these efforts is Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin.

Through Walker's efforts and possibly illegal actions (yet to be determined in court) by that State's Republicans, the state workers (300,000 of them) were stripped of their collective bargaining rights. Fifty years of progress was wiped away in thirty minutes. That there will be a long lasting backlash to Wisconsin Republicans for their actions is not in question, as that is assured, and while I support the state workers in Wisconsin in their fight to win back their collective bargaining rights, there is far more at stake here for all of us, regardless of the state in which we live. If you are a union worker, state or private, if you are on Social Security and/or Medicare (or soon will be), if you want clean air and a safe environment now, and in the future, if you are not a union worker, but enjoy certain safeguards guaranteed by the federal or state governments, if you want a country that puts the well being of it's citizens ahead of all else, you should be gravely concerned. The reason for this concern is that the neo-conservatives now in power want to change all this. They care about the rights of big business, not the worker's rights. To this end, they want to do away with, or severely cripple all unions, public and private. They are willing to sacrifice our environment in the name of business profits. They want to dilute and, if possible, eliminate Social Security and Medicare. Most of all, they want to cripple the people who support the Democratic Party, so as to insure Republican domination for decades to come. They want to reshape our country in a way that serves, the wealthy, and big business (particularly, oil, insurance, and banks). They want to strip away many of the governmental restrictions that protect people like you and your family, and they want to take us back in time to when the average citizen was thrown a few crumbs, but had little say in how our country was run.

They want to cut needed programs in education, the arts, help for the disadvantaged, and in many other social areas in our nation. They abhor the thought of new taxes, even though there are obvious areas where they are needed.

Consider this: The Republicans will continue the protected tax structure of the wealthy, while not raising the Social Security payments to it's recipients. They will not consider collecting the Social Security and Medicare tax on any incomes above $106,800 per year, again giving the wealthy a free ride. They will not consider reducing the subsidies that oil companies and other selected businesses receive. Yet, by taking these actions, our national debt would all but disappear in less than a decade. Our citizens expect certain safeguards which have been in place for many years to continue, but instead of raising the above mentioned revenue, the Republicans prefer to try and balance the budget on the backs of the working class and retired citizens in this country. What's wrong with this picture? I say again, we have three weapons to fight their taking of America, We have our voices, our votes, and our contributions to just causes. It will take all three to put these charlatans out of office and return our country the fair and just nation it was and should be again.

We'll talk later....................

The Republican's End Run.

2011-02-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

The labor and union problems, caused by Scott Walker, the new governor of Wisconsin continue to be at the forefront of the nightly news broadcasts, as that topic, and the strife in Libya, seem to dominate these programs.

The struggles in Libya and the Middle East are important and I will have more to say about them at a later date, but today, I want to concentrate on problems a bit closer to home.

Some tend to consider the assault on collective bargaining in Wisconsin, while important, a problem restricted to the people of Wisconsin, alone. This is not true. The Republicans, across the nation, are trying to do an end run, not only around labor unions, but also around campaign financing, or more properly campaign financing for the Democratic party.

The chef contributor to Republican campaigns, other than individual contributions is big business. And why not, as the Republicans bend over backwards to accommodate the wishes of big business, over the wishes of the average citizen. Democrats on the other hand, get the bulk of their campaign contributions, other than those from individuals, from organized labor. So, if the Republicans can dilute the effectiveness of organized labor, they can in turn reduce the amount which labor contributes to Democratic campaigns, and as we all know, it takes massive amounts of money to effectively manage today's political campaigns. Many of us think that's not the way it should be, but all of us acknowledge that's the way it is.

Scott Walker is the point person for other states in their attempts to do exactly what he is doing to the people of Wisconsin. There is an old joke that now can be applied to Wisconsin. Why is it impossible to remain a virgin if you live in Wisconsin? Answer: Because Scott Walker will screw you, one way or another.

Wisconsin is the test case for this grand scheme of things, which the Republicans want to put into play. They want to break the unions as much as possible, and not just those which represent public employees. Make no mistake about it! If the Republicans are successful in their public employee union busting attempts, in Wisconsin and other states, they will then focus their attention on the private unions in our country, as they want to break them all. Why? Republicans hate labor unions for two reasons. First, they are bad for big business, as they demand fair wages and treatment for their members, and two, unions are a fund raising arm for the Democratic party. In essence, Republicans feel they can kill two birds with one stone.

If we don't stop this assault on union membership and collective bargaining in Wisconsin, this same battle will be fought over and over again in other states. More Republican governors are watching intently to see how the situation in Wisconsin plays out.

It's interesting to note that while Republican leaders in Washington DC keep proclaiming that creating jobs is one of their chief goals, their shill governor in Wisconsin threatens to eliminate thousands of jobs if he doesn't get his way. I guess, in Wisconsin at least, the truth is finally out of the bag.

Whether or not you live in Wisconsin, and now more than ever....Let Your Voices Be heard!

Talk with you again, soon.........

Power To The People

2011-02-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

In my younger days, I lived in San Francisco. The Vietnam war was at it's height, and small and large (some massive) protests and rallies against the war were happening daily. Hippies from the Haight-Ashbury, moms pushing strollers, truck drivers, store clerks, and more marched in protest parades down San Francisco's downtown main drag, Market Street. Because of the war protests, free speech protests (which started at the University of California in Berkley, across the bay), and other causes, a single phrase begin to make the rounds, until it was universally used in almost any and all protest efforts. That phrase was "Power To The People."

Like most topical phrases or rallying cries, it was heard less and less as the years went by. Today, although seldom heard, the sentiment and intent of that phrase is echoing around the world, as people from such diverse places as Egypt and Wisconsin are realizing the best way to fight oppression is with an outpouring of the masses to demand what is right and just. Hosni Mubarak is gone, driven from his autocratic power by thousands and thousands of Egyptians demanding freedom, democracy, and a say in their own destiny. First came Tunisia, then Egypt, and now, as I write this, demonstrations are taking place in Four or five other Middle Eastern countries, with Libya now being the center of these protests.

As we all know, democracy cannot be achieved overnight, with the mere flip of a switch. Tunisia, Egypt, and any other country that has overthrown it's rulers (or soon will), face years of adjustments and some hard decisions before full democracy is attained. The United States is a democracy, and yet we are still making adjustments to own on form of government. Still, the process has clearly started in two countries and the seeds of change burn brightly in still other Middle Eastern countries.

Protests occur in all kinds of situations. While the dufas of a governor, Scott Walker, in Wisconsin is not having the state police fire rubber bullets, tear gas or live ammunition at the mass of protesters in and around the capitol building in Madison, he is, never the less, assaulting the rights of a large segment of Wisconsin's populace. He is trying to destroy the union bargaining power of public employees, a right they have fought for and held for fifty years. He says it's to combat a shortfall in the state budget. Don't you believe that for a second. Yes, like many states, Wisconsin must take steps to shore up their state coffers, but there are many other cuts or taxes that could accomplish this without a broadside attack on unions. Walker's actions should be called what they are....union busting. Strangely, Walker will not stop the police and firemen in the state from further collective bargaining efforts. It seems the Police and Firemen associations in the state were the only union organizations to endorse Walker. Gee, what a coincidence.

Governor Walker of Wisconsin is a Republican, and that pretty much says it all. The Republicans are first and foremost a legislative force for big business, and not the average citizen. They hate labor unions, universal health care, environmental protection, Social Security, Medicare and any other form of citizen protection that might reduce the profits of big business, or regulations that might make these companies tow the line and act responsibly. Before long we will see other Republican governors try this same slime ball tactic to get rid of or reduce the bargaining power of unions in their states. As I said, the Republican Party does not represent the average man or woman in this country.

We can stand silently by and let this happen, or with our dollars, voices, and votes we can fight the Republicans at every turn. Their wish seems to be to take us back to the turn of the century, where if you were poor, too bad and tough luck. If you became ill from the toxic pollution from industry, too bad. If you didn't receive a fair wage for a day's work, too bad. If your child needed medical care that you couldn't afford, too bad. The list of what they want to undo goes on and on. They want to remove most of the citizen safeguards that have painstakingly been put in place over decades. They want to redefine the meaning of a free society. Whether or not they succeed, is really up to us, as only one thing stands in their way....and that is the will of the people. Once again, it's time for the people of this nation to stand up and be counted. Let us not forget that the first three words of our constitution are We, The People!

Guns, Hate Speech, and Those Poor Tea Party People On Social Security.

2011-01-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

I had intended to write more frequent blog entries here, but my silence has been deliberate and self imposed. After the attempt on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords life, the murder of six and the wounding of many in Tuscon on January 8th, everyone, left, right, or in the middle, who could uses a word processor, typewriter (any of those still around?), or a quill dipped in ink had something to write about those events. I choose to let the dust settle before commenting. I did so, as I wanted to think about and weigh all the events which had transpired, as well as what had been said in the wake of those events.

Almost immediately after the shootings, many on the left said the gunman was driven my harsh gun related rhetoric from the right. The right countered by saying that they were only exercising their free speech rights and that nothing they said was ever a trigger for an individual's actions. I thought about this a bit before realizing that both the left and right were wrong.

The gunman that caused all the carnage in Tucson, is a demented, nut case, who was driven by inner forces far worse than the words of the right. He slipped through life without ever receiving the mental health treatment he needed, and passed the background check required of all (OK, all except at gun shows) gun purchasers. More than the words from the right, our mental health system, and the inadequate information in our firearms background check procedure are more to blame.

So, while the right may be off the hook for this one, that by no means is the end of the story. Their public uttering of "reload", "in our cross hairs", "2nd amendment solutions" and other words of hate and thinly veiled calls for violence have been, and will no doubt will be in the future, just the catalyst to push some wild eyed, un-informed zealots over the edge to commit violent acts. All the right's denials to the contrary, their repeated words of hate do have an effect on violent acts in our nation.

As do you all, I wish only the best for congresswoman Giffords in her fight to recover.

Speaking of congress, the house is now controlled by the Republicans, but I'm guessing you already knew that. I have already discussed with you their plan to undo the advantages of the new health care laws. Now, they have set their sights on Social Security. Their main tactic is telling us that Social Security is broke, when in fact, it is not. Social security has enough funds and resources to pay out every dollar that will be owed for the next twenty eight years. It is far from broke. Sometime in that twenty eight year period, changes will have to be made so that Social Security may continue long into this decade.. An obvious fix is to raise the ceiling on the amount of a person's income on which social security tax can be collected, but I will leave that to the Democrats and Republican's to duke it out over.

The Republicans hate the Social Security system, and would like to phase it out entirely. They don't like the government giving seniors a helping hand, a helping hand I might point out, which these same seniors have been paying into all of their working life. Instead of Social Security, they want people to invest in the stock market for their retirement. This logic is great for wall street, but turns into silly putty when you consider that (1) many people would not do so, and (2) the market is subject to many external forces, which means it has great highs and lows, which means if you happen to retire at the wrong time, too bad for you.

Consider this. Social Security has worked, as planned, for seventy five years. Before Social Security, five out of ten seniors lived at or below the poverty level. Since Social Security, that number is one in ten. Those are simple figures to understand. If you are a senior, the Republicans want to phase out your social security, if you are not a senior, they want to phase it out before you get to retirement age. I wonder how some older Tea Party members will feel when they realize the very political party they helped put in control of the house of representatives wants to weaken or destroy a major source of income they will enjoy in their older years. Maybe they should have paid more attention the first time around, but then the Tea Party was never big on listening to the facts.

More later..............

And It Gets Even Crazier

2011-01-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

I just received the following from moveon.org, and thought it worth passing on.

"Our progress is under attack.

Their majority is not even a day old, but House Republicans are already getting ready to pass a bill to repeal health reform.

Instead of focusing on the future, they want to put insurance companies back in charge of our health care. To go back to the days when these companies could deny coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions, cancel coverage when people would get sick, or limit the care you could receive -- even when you needed more. When seniors would be forced to choose between paying their mortgage and paying for their prescription drugs, simply because they landed in the "donut hole" in coverage."

And now my own take on the subject.

The Tea Party screamed to all who would listen that they want to repeal the new health care law. Many mainstream Republican lawmakers are jumping on this bandwagon, as well. Just exactly what would repeal of this bill mean? For starters, thirty two million Americans (among them many single parent families and children) who now have access to health care thanks to the bill would loose that access. Patients who can now not be denied coverage by insurance companies for pre-existing conditions could again be denied. Prior to the new health care reform being passed, one out of every seven people who applied for individual health care plans were turned down by insurance carries due to pre existing conditions. The new health care law removes insurance company caps as to how much medical compensation a patient may receive for catastrophic illnesses. Those caps would be reinstated. Free screenings for cancer would also go away. These and many other advantages would be done away with and replaced with........well, fact is they would be replaced with nothing, as no elected Tea Party politician has come forth with any new health care plans, other than the same old "Let the private sector handle it," which by the way, is one of the main reasons health care was in such sad shape to begin with, as Insurance companies have committed the equivalent of armed robbery on the American public for decades. Other entities have contributed to the poor condition of our nation's health care, but the insurance companies lead the pack.

The Republicans have been in Power in The House for just three days, yet already, they want to tear down instead of building. Ever watch a building come down, or watch one being built? Tearing down takes a wrecking ball, but building takes a good plan and skill. The Republicans talk about reducing the deficit, but want to repeal the new health care law, which by estimates of the non partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will increase the federal deficit by hundreds of billions. Add to this their push that the wealthy be allowed to keep their generous tax cuts (which will add still another seven to nine hundred billion to the deficit) and it is obvious that while protecting big business and the wealthy, the Republicans give only lip service to actually reducing the deficit. They want everyone to surrender a bite for the common cause as long as that bite doesn't come out of their sandwich. Some deficit reduction crew they turned out to be.

The Crazy Right Wing

2011-01-06T15:43:00.000-08:00

I have sat by on the sidelines, watching the Tea Party and other Republicans try to mold this country into their narrowly defined and warped idea of what our great country is and where it should go. Yes, I have written an occasional article, or letter to the editor professing my distaste for those on the right who would subvert the ideas and principals of our nation, but articles on my website (www.kenkreps.com) or letters to the editor are sort of a hit and run style, when there is so much to comment on every day.

I will not be writing entries into this blog every day, but will post frequently This editorial blog will be a collection of opinion, fact, quotes, and sidelights to our national condition..

Now for today. The new Republican House majority decided that one of their first official acts would be to read the entire US Constitution into the record. Now, at face value there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as the US Constitution is a remarkable and noble document. However, before we laud the Republicans for their patriotic act, perhaps we should examine their reasons for doing so. Patriotism, no, Pandering, yes. The Republican party wants to get off on the right (no pun intended) foot by offering this olive branch to the Tea Party, who claim some sort of divine right to super patriotism. I say olive branch because the old guard Republicans and the new congressional Tea Party members will battle mightily, as the good 'ole boy leadership brushes the Tea Party aside so as to conduct business in the same manner the Republican party always conducts their business. Still, when two groups for which you have no respect start fighting each other, all one can do is grab a soothing beverage, find a comfy chair, and watch the fun unfold.

Moving to Arizona, where the idiot they call a governor (Jan Brewer) has allowed two of the 99 Arizona residents awaiting lifesaving transplants to die, by having the state refuse to cover the cost of these transplants. Now there are 97, with that number to surely decrease if Arizona continues to move along this same path of disrespect for human life. Of course, we shouldn't be surprised at anything "Jan The Terrible" does, since she is the same one who said all illegal immigrants are either involved in smuggling drugs or are bent on some other criminal act. She has given the police "guilty until proven innocent" powers that trample all over the right of citizens stopped and forced to prove their citizenship on the spot or be carted away to the hoosgow (sorry, folks....that word is a throwback to my Texas upbringing).

During the run-up to the passage of the new health care bill, Alaska's ex half governor, Sarah Palin constantly whined that the bill contained the inner working for "death panels" for the elderly. Of course she lied (as she is prone to do) and what she called death panels was actually free counseling for people with terminal illnesses. Now, however, we have a real death panel in Arizona....one that has already claimed the lives of two people. Funny how the Tea Party has ignored the real death panel.

Finally, there is Kentucky Republican state Sen. John Schickel, who introduced a bill into the state senate that would allow police to stop and jail any illegal immigrant who sat foot in Kentucky for trespassing. Of course in almost any court there is not a shickel plugged nickel's chance that such a bill (if passed) would not be overturned.

I hope to give an award in most blog entries for the "Idiot Of The Day". I thought long and hard about what to call such an award and then I had an idea of pure genius (or possibly it was just indigestion). I will call it the Chrome Banana award. Senator John Shickel has the honor of receiving the very first Chrome Banana award. Put it where it will do the most good, John.

Having said that, I'll talk with you again, soon.