23 September 2005

Our Incompetent and Chief

Too little, too late. Or rather, too much, too late. The current administration has once again opened the coffers to their cronies. The majority of the no-bid contracts for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast are going to familiars of the administration.

It's ironic that conservatives in the media continue talking trash about over-spending democrats. The GOP controlled congress has run us into huge deficits. The boy king is spending money like we have it, while continuing to cut taxes for those at the highest levels.

Our nation is on a wild ride this hurricane season. At every turn, those who've been lost to the system, not just left out, but abandoned, find themselves trapped in the course of destruction.

The scenes of those without are being played out in Texas now. Those with the means are stuck in hundreds of miles of gridlock; those without have no way into the fray. Texas has proved they have no evacuation plan in place for millions of residents. How many citizens around our nation are without an evacuation plan. How many of us would be lost in a nationwide attack?

Throwing cash to the rich isn't the answer. The rich have no control over the devastation of nature. Owning up to this horrible situation, not the destruction of hurricanes, but a failed system of government, is the first step that must be taken. Anyone in recovery knows the first step is admitting there's a problem.

Our problem: OUR GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED US. It hasn't just failed those in the path of destructive storms, but every citizen of our nation. It's becoming more obvious with each catastrophe that our government's priorities are wrong and have been wrong for many decades. We have no true infrastructure in our nation. We have no leaders guiding us to a brighter, strongly built future. Too many corrupt politicians have had their hands in the cookie jar of the national treasury for too long. The recent pork spending in the major bills signed by our boy king is only the surface of the devastation being reaped on our nation by a long line of incompetent leaders, selfish, and corrupt politicians.

Solution: TERM LIMITS. Every elected official in this nation should be hindered from their ongoing corruption by term limits. No career politicians.

It's a disgrace how the citizens of this nation are being treated by those in charge and power and it's time for this corruption to end. It's time for our government to return to a government for and by the people, not the wealthy and powerful.

10 September 2005

The Waters Recede

As the waters recede, people are fed and tempers are calmer. No one has admitted fault in the Katrina rescue failures, but staff has been moved and replaced. The horse and pony show in America continues

The fear of the moment is that the debate might end. The chasm of inequality in our nation was made blatantly obvious because of Katrina's aftermath. These issues need to be addressed squarely by our leaders. Solutions, not just in the moment, but long-term solutions need to be formed.

It's a failure of our government that the playing field in America remains so uneven. We seemed to be heading in the right direction. That's what the political rhetoric of the past six decades lead us to believe. But, the large underclass, primarily made up of under-educated Americans, has shown its face. There's no denying that. The children left behind, generation after generation, become adults without the means to escape disaster.

We are in a unique moment. Our leaders can step forward and admit defeat. That's not enough in itself. But, admitting defeat, if followed by an honest and frank discussion of the problems our nation faces, can become a strong beginning for great social change in America.

We need a leader to step forward. We need a Johnson or a Roosevelt style social reformer to lead the debate and push for changes in America. I think education is the key. We need to stop providing quality education only to the rich. By educating all economic classes equally we provide everyone the tools necessary to escape disaster.

My great fear is that as the waters recede and people begin to rebuild their lives, as huge government contracts go to make more rich businesses richer, that the true disaster that reveled itself, the failure of our government to provide a fair and equal playing field for all its citizens will once again recede, too.

1 September 2005

The Richest Nation in the World Turns Its Own Away

It's not just thousands, but tens of thousands. More than a million people are homeless in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Stories are coming out to the public of thousands being turned away from official shelters. People are still waiting on New Orleans roofs to be rescued. Little food and water is available to the refugees still trapped in New Orleans. WHY?

We keep hearing on the news, "Be Patient." "These things take time." Our response to disasters around the world is faster than our response to disasters at home. For the richest, most generous nation in the world this is an absolute disgrace.

People looking for food and shelter are being turned away. People who have arrived on their own at the shelter in Houston are being turned away. Volunteers offering assistance are being turned away. Thousands are still trapped, waiting, hoping to be rescued. Where are the helicopters? Where are the rescue boats? Why are we into day four of this horrific tragedy with people still trapped in and on their homes?

Prices are rising and the gouging has begun. It's shameless of the government and businesses alike to take advantage of these people rather than coming to absolute aid. It's shameless that people aren't being fed. Where are the big food and water companies with billion dollar donations of food and water to these people? Where are the air drops of food for those still trapped and stranded in the Crescent City?

As more stories surface, as the mountains of dead rise along with the tempers of the stranded, we need to ask if the reason for the poor and slow response is because most who need immediate aid are poor, black and elderly.

This is the real America. We're quick to send our troops and aid to others around the world, but when it comes to our own, to our poor and needy, we're slow.

It's shameless and embarrassing.

30 August 2005

President Bush Slaps the faces of Hurricane Katrina's Victims

While hundreds were dying, 150 mile winds were destroying, and as flood waters were raging President Bush spent several days touting his own Medicare agenda instead of putting all his energy and the resources of our government at the hands of the governors and citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The administration has no problem wasting billions of dollars every day on a Middle East war over oil, yet when our own are in need, our boy king has once again ignored the problem and worked on his own agenda.

President Bush, I ask you, where's your true compassion for the American people. Hundreds of thousands of American lives have been devastated. People have lost and continue to loose everything. Where are the helicopters to save victims from their roofs? Where is the Army Corp of Engineers to get the power restored to the pumps in New Orleans? Why aren't you there in a skiff saving survivors and lifting the bodies of the dead from the flood waters?

This is yet another indication of the useless administration currently in charge in Washington. When will they put their special interests and agendas aside and come to the aid of the ailing American public?

17 August 2005

Cheers to Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan is a grieving mother who has taken her desire for face time with the president to the man's front yard.

Versions and opinions on the story of Ms. Sheehan's motivations continue to circulate the Internet as well as more formal media outlets. In a recent Time article ("A Mother and the President" August 22, 2005), White House aids are quoted as being worried about the precedent that might be set if the president meets and talks with Ms. Sheehan a second time.

Yes, what a horrible precedent that our president and leader steps off his self-created pedestal and meets with an American citizen. Yes, what a horrible precedent that our elected official acknowledges the pain and suffering his administrations current policies are creating. Yes, what a horrible precedent for our boy king to be reminded that his deeds and actions are accountable to the American people.

The aids quoted in the article are further bothered that if our president meets with Ms. Sheehan that others will be compelled to stage protests until he meets with them, too. Our boy king should be reminded frequently that he not only works FOR the American people, but is accountable to us.

The right to protest against our government is still protected by our constitution. While this administration has continually tried to side step this fact while paying it lip service has come back to haunt.

Among the other unsourced quotes in the Time article, a presidential advisor said that Ms. Sheehan must be handled "very carefully." They can't use their usual attack machine to go after this grieving mother and because of that the administration doesn't exactly know what to do. The ears of American citizens should perk up at that. At the moment Ms. Sheehan can't and won't be silenced in her quest.

It's time more unhappy US citizens approach this administration for answers and face time. It's time for others who are unhappy with the current policies and direction our country is heading speaks up. I can only hope that tens of thousands pay a visit to Crawford and our continually vacationing president and remind him who it is that he actually works for. It's us, the American citizens, not deep pocketed special interest groups or top dollar corporations, or the royal Saudi family.

Justice(s)

As we cloak ourselves in perceived patriotism our world is shifting.

Justice O'Connor, the first woman ever appointed to the US Supreme Court, has announced her retirement. The battle already rages over her replacement. As the summer passes, this battle will only grow louder and bloodier. There's so much at stake right now, our freedom.

For the past several years, our judges and justices have been under a full-blown attack. No one party or side of this debate has been the culprit. No, the attacks are coming from all sides and angles. It saddens me to see this. But, this attack underscores the importance of choosing competent judges for the positions.

It does appear that our elected officials and the commentators who follow them have forgotten that the federal judiciary is the third branch of the federal government. As they attack the justices, so they attack themselves. Our founding fathers made a wise choice in creating a government branch that doesn't rely on elections for office.

Justices and federal level judges are appointed for life. This is important to keep them out of the corruption that guides all the other federal levels of elected officials. People who don't have to run for office are free to make choices that don't involve constituents, party rhetoric, or contributors wishes. The justices and federal judges are free to make difficult decisions because they aren't caught up in the fray of daily life politics. At least they shouldn't be.

Justice O'Connor is only one example of the success of this concept. She's noted for many swing decisions that fall on different spectrums of the political landscape. She's what might be called a centrist because she has a voting record and a decision making process that takes the best interest of the nation as a whole in mind, the best interest of sustaining the constitution.

Historically, many judges appointed to the high court have shifted to a centrist role. That's an indicator that, no matter what the current political climate in our nation, our constitution is a centrist document. Lawmakers, try as they might from both sides, can't alter the fact that our nation's guiding principals run down the middle, through the center, and this lays a solid foundation that allows for our national mood swings.

As the growing battle mounts, I can only hope that our elected leaders take a breath and look long into the future and choose a new high court judge who will safely and soundly assist our nation on its continuing journey.

19 June 2005

Chaos

There's so much going on everywhere in the world. More bombings in Iraq on both sides, more related deaths to those actions. Across the Middle East a collection of elections and wars are changing the focus and force of the region. The EU is in trouble for a myriad of reasons. More CEOs have gone under here in the US. Another celebrity has been acquitted. There's more clamoring in Congress about truth, while at the same time the assault on the American public and our rights continue.

PBS and NPR are in trouble. Congress wants to cut funding to these important programs. We were thrown a bone over the Patriot Act, with our reading habits being taken off the table. Of course, in backroom deals, it was reported that more aid and protection has been extended to agencies that investigate under the Patriot Act. This combination creates a one step forward, three steps back atmosphere.

A handful of our leaders finally publicly questioned the truth of our president taking us into the war in Iraq, asking for a probe that might lead to impeachment. This was bolstered by the leaked British war-related memos.

Is it any surprise, with all of these antics, that polling numbers show the president and congress are on the way down. They're both enjoying their lowest levels of public support in years. Why is this?

Chaos. The American people are growing tired of the chaos, the uncertainty and the fear based politics. We don't feel happy or safe right now. We don't feel governed, but instead feel lead like lambs to the slaughter.

These feelings of fear and chaos are coming through clearly from the young people who aren't signing up to join the army. The benefits are overshadowed by the risks right now.

Our leaders should do something about all of this. They need to sort out the chaos they've created and give the American people back a sense of safety and calm. It's time for them to lead us in that direction or at least give us the appearance that we're headed in that direction. There's only so much chaos we will comfortably take.

4 June 2005

Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Oh My

Labels. They're such an important part of life in America. What color is your skin? What's your religion? What's your sexual orientation? What's your income bracket? Tax bracket? Level of college education? What political party do you support? What's your Label?

For the past six years, there's been a growing use and abuse of labels. If you support "X" then you must be a "Y." That's a common hypothesis made by editorial writers and politicians, not to mention lobbying groups.

When did being well read and well educated become a bad thing in America? It's not, so long as you don't have a pro-equal rights desire. When you add equal rights to a good education the results are "Left Wing Liberal," "Bleeding Heart Liberal" and my favorite, "Liberal Intelligentsia." Of course, in an era when our president is a professed "non-reader" I guess we can see where the lines are drawn.

On the other extreme are "Right Wing Fundamentalist" and "Conservative." These labels tend to be thrown together, but they're different groups, although, they play well together. Political conservatives tend to have very different objectives from Fundamentalists, but those wearing these titles have been successful at leaching off of each other.

When did being spiritual and family oriented become a bad thing in America? It's not, so long as you're against abortion. When you add faith and abortion the result is often the hybrid "Moderate." Of course, Moderates can also be Liberals for abortion, gun control, or school prayer.

In recent events, the word Centrist has popped back up, too. For decades, Centrist and Moderate have been equated, but the recent word usage in connection to the filibuster deal seems to be an attempt to split and define the middle ground just a little more.

Most people I've met identify themselves using some of these political attributes, yet when the discussions get going, no one falls into just one place. No one holds just one title on every idea and issue. We're complicated, we humans. We hold different beliefs and faiths and ideals at our core. Some of these are held to harder and deeper than others, some can be swayed, and many evolve over time.

I do have a series of labels of my own. We all do. But, is that really the point? Can we really boil down intense and complicated personalities and issues into a few labels, a few sound bites? I don't think so.

30 May 2005

Happy Memorial Day!

This is such an odd national holiday. It's a day of endings and beginnings. Of course, the holiday was created as a day of remembrance for those who gave their lives for our democracy and our freedoms. It's a day to remember those who gave to their own personal end.

It's also a day of beginnings. Declared as the unofficial first day of summer, many people will be pull out their white shoes and clothes, attend parties and picnics, and enjoy a day off from work.

It's also a good shopping day with sales happening everywhere. I guess that's what our freedom comes down to in a democratic, capitalist society, a day to party and shop.

It's also a day of irony. Honoring our fallen war heroes is important. So many American's have spent and delivered their lives to the cause of freedom in our country. Befittingly, the leader of the free world will place a wreath at Arlington in memory of those who've died. I'd like to suggest our Boy King take a few moments to reflect on what these American's he's honoring really gave their lives for. The man who signed into law the Patriot Act--an event that took away more American personal freedoms than any other document in history--might want to consider giving Americans back all of their freedoms before he commits another member of the American Armed Forces to harm's way.

25 May 2005

More Deaths in Iraq

There's no let up in the stream of deaths, in the river of blood flowing through Iraq. Likewise, there's no shortage of the billions of American dollars flowing into Iraq. It's grown a little numbing, the numbers. The news media continues to report on the car bombs, roadside attacks and the insurgent killings, but I wonder how many people are actually reading those stories?

I found an interesting website this week that's attempting to keep up with the numbers. It's called U.S. Military Deaths in the Quest for Iraq. From this site there's also a link to Photos the Bush Administration Doesn't Want You to See.That link leads to a series of US flag draped coffins that's sad and disturbing and should be required viewing for all Americans.

It's obvious from the greeting Laura Bush received during her Middle East visit that the locals aren't thrilled with the US presence, occupation, or involvement in their part of the world. It's too bad our own leaders aren't mobbed more frequently by protesting mobs. But, the Bush administration has made a point of keeping it's distance from such possible outcomes here at home. I guess it wouldn't send the correct message to the world that there are angry mobs here in our own country.

So, while the death tolls rise our leaders have chosen to work on other things. More wasted time, effort and cash in Congress is being spent on sports and steroid use. Drug testing on a massive scale is yet another infringement into personal freedoms. It's just one more abuse of congressional powers, taking away more personal freedoms. One positive action in Congress this week is the stem cell research bill. The president has vowed to veto the bill if it passes. It seems he's not interested in saving lives here at home or abroad.

21 May 2005

Selling Fear

While surfing the channels last night I came across this infomercial for an air purifier. The whole ad was fear based. The basic message was: If you love your family and want to keep them safe you'll buy this product.

As I flipped through a few more channels, I came across a Fox news panel program discussing the missile defense system, Star Wars. I guess the topic was appropriate because of the latest box office offering. The basic conversation there was the same as the infomercial. If you don't want to die by being hit with a nuke you'll support the president's plan to spend a trillion dollars on Star Wars. When did all of this fear mongering really begin? It's not like it's something new.

A little more surfing and I came across a comic on a paid, cable channel. His bit was about the negative response violence in music, movies and video games has attracted from politicians and parents. He made some joke about it, but it comes down to the fact that humans have a violent nature streak.

If you read, and we know that people in high places admit to not reading, world history is a violent epoch. The Iliad, the Odyssey, much of Greek poetry, the whole of the Roman history, and much of British history, the various religious histories, and the long list of other national histories abound with graphic depictions of wars, fights, deaths, assassinations and physical struggles.

There appears to be a natural tendency in human nature toward hate and fear. So, I guess it makes some odd sense that both the government and infomercials appeal to these base senses to sell their products. It's time we try to gain some perspective.

20 May 2005

Holy Book War

I'm bothered by the recent Newsweek retraction over the "holy book" scandal. The apology and later retraction didn't deny that what happened happened. No, it was simply a bowing to pressure from the White House.

The people in the Middle East should be protesting how the US military is conducting interviews of intimidation. This follows the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq. It's interesting that all of the military leaders have gotten off Scott free, while underlings have taken the blame and the fall. Does anyone really think that military underlings act on their own? One of the key pieces of military training is that everyone follows orders and those orders come from above.

Shame on Newsweek for bowing to White House pressure. As a US citizen, it scares me that pressure from the Bush Administration has the power to sway a "so called" independent press.