It’s Not Left vs Right, It’s Right vs Wrong

Tags

economy, editorial, GOP, poor, race, rant, teaparty

A movement is arising.

It began with Occupy Wall  Street.

It arose with Moral Mondays in North Carolina.

It’s spreading.

Throughout the South.

It’s moving to Wisconsin, and there are murmurings in Missouri.

People are getting tired of being tired.

And it’s not Democrats although no doubt most are. It includes Republicans and Independents and people who have little to do with politics. It includes some business folk, but probably not so many as people who are working stiffs. And poor. Lots of the poor.

And they come to state legislatures and stand in silent witness that these bodies of Republican control are unjust and immoral.

Yes immoral.

Republican extremism known by the name of Tea Party, is an immoral wound in America and people are not going to take it any more.

Let us be clear. Like it or not, believe it or not, (and the extremists are very good at refusing to accept reality), big business (aka Koch brothers) organized and funded the Tea Party movement. Their intentions were not made known of course but their intentions are clear: reduce taxes on the rich, reduce corporate taxes, reduce regulation on business, and continue to subsidize business so we can continue to laud “free market economies” (which of course given all this are not even close to being free, but are protected by government itself) as the best thing on earth.

To the Tea Party they formed, the message went: your taxes are going to takers not makers. You have worked hard and deserve that money yourselves. All you need do is fund the military so we can continue to enforce our will of “right” on the world. We can create the jobs if you just do your part and give us a free hand. That’s what democracy is all about, that is capitalism. It’s the government and its incessant socialistic welfare mentality that is destroying this country.

Now some of the Tea Party are well-educated business types. They are tiny business operations for the most part, but they like to think of themselves as “entrepreneurs” which makes them sound like the Kochs, and Trumps and those kind. But most of the Tea Party consists of not very well-educated white aging men and their overly made up and coiffed wives who like that idea that more money should be in their hands and not going to “those” people. You know “those” people, the ones are required to called “black” now, when in the day it was fine to call them “N*****”? And all those Mexicans, which are still just Mexicans, even though plenty of “them” actually come from Guatemala and Nicaragua and other places called Latin America. And then there are those “Orientals” from the “Orient” since Asian is still not de rigueur in this culture, and it’s all one big country isn’t it? After all, Sarah thought Africa might be a country, right?

Then in the ultimate hypocrisy of all hypocrisies, there in a dose of “Christianity” to hide that racism/downright hatred underneath. “See, it’s not me, it’s God who has a problem with fags!” And if that makes them feel vulnerable, well, throw in a dose of the 2nd Amendment was made for you and me, and voila, we have a mess of a human being filled with self-righteous hate, little actual knowledge of the world, but a gun-defended arrogance to do everything but call it publicly what they call it privately.

But ordinary folks are getting tired. Ordinary decent people who don’t have to wave a bible around to know what is right and what is wrong. And they are tired of watching years of work being undone by barely literate Republican senate and house members who pass insane laws one after another, making it safe and right for white America to live in their fantasy of the “good ole days”.

So people are marching. And more of them march every week.

IN NORTH CAROLINA THE GOP HAS SINCE 2010:

1. Raised taxes on the lowest 80% of it’s citizens
2. Removed a tax credit on 900,000 working families
3. Enforced restrictive voter laws
4. Blocked increased Medicaid coverage for the poor
5. Cut Pre-Kindergarten funding
6. Cut unemployment benefits
7. Voted itself a right to intervene in abortion lawsuits
8. Repealed a law that allowed death row inmates to challenge their convictions on racial grounds
9. Increased the standards at abortion clinics to that of surgical centers and made it illegal to offer abortion coverage if you are a public health insurance company.
10. Offered no increase in base salary to school teachers even though they are paid at the lowest rate in the country.
11. Tenure is to be phased out and no salary increases are to be given for master’s degrees. Teachers aides are severely cut.

IN GEORGIA, THE GOP HAS:

1. Refused to grant increase in Medicaid coverage affecting some 600,000 Georgians and made it a crime to assist someone who is seeking ACA coverage.
2. Cut more than 7.6 BILLION dollars to public education over the last 10 years.
3. Restricted workers rights and benefits
4. Promoted more stand your ground and like gun legislation.
5. Cut unemployment benefits
6. Promoting enforcement of voter suppression laws.

When you go nation wide, the results are the same. GOP-led legislatures are doing the Koch’s bidding everywhere, often with bills written by the KOCH legislative arm, ALEC. Everywhere the tune is the same–lower taxes on the rich, cut out programs for the poor, all with the promise to Mr. and Mrs. White OLD people–this will all benefit you, we promise. Just wait for it.

Let me repeat. There is nothing Christian in any of this. People who are TEA PARTY adherents and claim they are Christian are lying. They are at best Christianists, people who use the bible and their own personal interpretation of it to hide behind while they endorse and argue for a denial of health care for the poor (they can use the emergency ward if they need to — duh who pays for that stupid?), a denial public education to the poor (let’s have vouchers, and the poor will end up with the poorest of poor systems but they had their “choice”), a denial of food, unemployment insurance (that breeds dependence and doesn’t teach work ethic–yeah hungry babies are eager to work), a denial of voting rights (everybody can get a voter ID–yeah except for the cost and the travel to a distance center, and oh yeah, lots of people can’t get a birth certificate any more because records are lost, but a gun permit is okay, but  student ID is not), a denial of basic rights to undocumented workers (since they steal our jobs–yeah we were wondering where you were in the bean fields yesterday and even the little one’s can pick can’t they?), a denial of fair wage (business can pay whatever it wants to, that’s the American way–along with child labor, and unsafe working conditions right?), and on and on…

They say all this and have the temerity, the audacity, the chutzpah, to suggest that Jesus would approve! Jesus hated government they say, and Jesus hated the minimum wage. Jesus loved guns and self-defense. Jesus is nothing more than a malleable dummy used while these vile gutless wonders shrink in horror at their own diseased and flesh eaten faces staring out from the dead sockets from which they look upon a world they hate as it slips from their nail-torn fingers.

Lord save me from the Christianists and though I don’t believe in Hell, but God, sometimes I wish there was one, for these puke excuses of humanity.

Other than that, I’m having a great Sunday.

Are You Ready?

Tags

2nd Amendment, budget, cartoons, corporate America, CPAC, economy, filibuster, gay rights, GOP, Humor, Individual Rights, minimum wage

Have you been keeping up on CPAC, the GOP answer to absolutely nothing? It’s been a “business as usual” kinda thing so far. Trump gets up there and trashes Jindal, and babbles about himself and how great he is. Rick Perry says they have to reach out to Latinos and is booed. Rubio says just because he supports traditional marriage doesn’t make him a bigot. (yeah actually it does).

My favorite was a clip from a “workshop” wherein a younger type white dude talked about being proud of his “demographic” (code for white supremacist) and claiming that the federal government was disenfranchising same, and that he thought his “demographic” had a great culture to be preserved.

When the moderator who was black, noted that Frederick Douglass sent a letter to his “owner” many years after he had escaped, and forgave him, the young man piped up and said, “for what? For receiving food and a home?” This was met with a couple audible gasps, but far too much applause. He was heard to utter under his breath, “we just need to go back to segregation.”

Yes, that’s the state of the GOP.

You have all heard the stories in the press. As the President and rational folks in the Democratic Party responded to the upswell of opinion that favored background checks for gun buyers and at least some restrictions on the types of guns available and large capacity clips, the gun stores have been doing a booming business.

It is now an undeniable fact that a significant majority of our fellow citizens are building up arsenals for the coming Armageddon that they are sure is on the way.

Given that these people are mentally unstable and delusional, it should come as no surprise that they actually think they can fend off the American military with their pretend assault weapons. They are so effectual against tanks and drones. What they do is pose a significant danger to the poor neighbors who unbeknownst, live near them.

No doubt you noted that the Dow has hit an all-time high. That is certainly cause for much celebration.

Business feels good about itself apparently. Business is good. During the recession they spent their money on ways to improve productivity with a smaller work force.

They were successful.

They aren’t hiring much because they don’t have to.

The fools believed that they were “job creators.”

They are profit creators dummy. Always were. The last thing they want to do is hire workers. Workers are much more expensive to keep than a robot riveter.

Yet the Right continues the mantra, and the kool-aid drinkers keep repeating it.

Need I say more?

The mantra for this one is that it depresses employment because business lays off workers rather than pay them a living wage.

Yeah, business is usually known for cutting of its nose to spite its face. I can just hear them now.

“Sorry Ms Customer, you will have to wait an extra 45 minutes for service. If you don’t like it leave. I’m not going to hire another worker at $10 an hour. So take your $150 dress and rehang it. I have principles you know.”

Yeah, I’m sure that’s what they will do.

Actual studies show they do lay off workers, for a hot minute, and then hire them back when, you know, they have more customers than their current work force can handle.

And guess what? That happens across the country. And guess what? All that extra cash earned by workers? It’s SPENT for goods and services, and that causes more demand, and more hiring. Amazing how that happens.

We’ve been hearing this whine for a long time from the Right.

And under rational and normal circumstances, it might just have some validity.

Of course it doesn’t have any validity today and everybody who bothers to be alive knows that.

Why?

Because Mitch McConnell will prevent any budget bill offered by the Democrats from reaching the floor of the Senate for actual debate.

He will filibuster.

He promised he wouldn’t do that.

He lied.

What’s new?

Forgive me if I’m not suitably impressed.

Rob Portman was against it before he was for it.

Seems his personal situation, impressed him enough to consider a change of mind.

Now, I’m glad that Portman has seen the light. I really am.

But as I said, forgive me if it’s just a bit too self-serving.

As a few have said, perhaps it would help if Portman woke up with a poor son, or a senior son. Maybe then he would be in favor of SNAP, and Pell grants, and Medicare, and well, you get the idea.

His hopes of being nominated are shall we say, in trouble?

It’s a glorious day here, with the high going into the mid 80’s. Sun is shining. Time to get busy in the yard with clean up. Diego is a messy boy. He has pieces of wood and bits of things he’s torn up scattered everywhere. To day nothing of poo. Saturday is poo clean up day.

I’m cooking my corned beef today in a slow-cooker kinda way, bathed in beer. I made a couple of loaves of soda bread. I made a white cake that I will trim with green lime frosting. Tomorrow when I get home from church I can make the colcannon. It’s a St. Paddy’s Day kinda meal!

Have a great one yourselves.

 

 

Yeah It’s Good For Some

Tags

corporations, drones, economy, Individual Rights, North Korea, Scalia, SCOTUS, wealthy

The Stock Market hit a new high.

Corporate profits are probably at all-time highs as well.

The people who do the work? Not so much.

Between 1979 and 2007 59.9% of gains in income went to the top 1%, 36.7% alone going to the top 0.1%. During that period, gains by the 90%? A mere 8.6%.

Productivity has increased since 1950 by 254%. During that same period, wages went up 113%, and most of that increase occurred by 1975. Productivity, on the other hand, has risen steadily and continues to rise.

The response of the corporate board room to the recession has been to find more efficient ways to accomplish their target goals. They devote their R and D to the purpose of creating a cheaper way to make their product. Cheaper never involves hiring workers. They would make their products devoid of human workers if that were possible. Machines don’t require health care benefits and pensions. They don’t need money devoted to safe working conditions and lunch breaks.

Don’t tell me, please that corporations are job creators. They are profit creators, and hiring is now the last resort to accomplishing that goal. That’s why Wall Street is doing so well, and yet the unemployment figures are still so high. It’s got zero to do with regulations or very little. It’s got very little to do with “uncertainty” about what the buffoons in Congress are going to do. It’s got to do with profit. There is no morality here. It’s not part of the capitalistic model.

Meanwhile, there was this farcical drama in North Korea.

The pity is that the media thought any of this worthy to report upon. Dennis Rodman is a delightful entertainer. As an intellectual, well, he leaves a great deal to be desired.

His “opinion” is about as useful as that of a three-year-old. And I like the dude. He’s had a tough life as a kid, and he’s managed to make a good life for himself. I give him credit.

Kim? Oh good lord, he never got spanked as a child, that is certain. And I’m not much for corporal punishment either.

But he definitely needed spanking. In fact he needs spanking now. He’s always in the middle of a tantrum.

And dude, find a new barber. That haircut is silly. Seriously.

It’s hard to judge this Supreme Court. I’m not sure if we haven’t had this kind of horror before, when the Court was filled with really nutty people who make a mockery of the Constitution.

The Dred Scot Court comes to mind. That must have been an awful one.

But it would be hard to argue that this one is close to the top of the list of really awful benches.

Scalia is an intellectual joke, playing word games about original intent of the Framers, when all it comes down to is his personal disgusting beliefs.

Calling the right to vote a “racial entitlement”. And then suggesting that instead of testing a law against the Constitution, he has a new job–doing the dirty work for Congress, meaning that Congress is too beholden to special interests and can’t do the “right” thing because it might cost them an election.

So Scalia to the rescue. Doing the “right” thing. What a douche.

Let me get this straight.

Some Republicans are all upset at the use of drones against US citizens.

Got that.

No Republicans ever raised this issue when Bush starting using them.

Don’t get that.

In American courts, EVERYone, citizen or not, is gets the same rights.

Got that.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is arrested in Turkey. He is moved from Turkey to Jordan (Turkey prohibits the extradition of prisoners to those few countries that still practice the use of the death penalty and we are one of THOSE countries) and then transported from Jordan to the US for trial.

Got that.

Republicans are incensed because he can’t be interrogated properly except at Guantanamo (he was interrogated by an elite force of experts in Turkey and talked to the tune of some 20 pages), and because he is a bad dude and has no right to the rights granted him in our civilian courts.

Don’t get that.

Morality sure winds a crooked course in the Republican mind. And incidentally, in a good many Democratic ones as well.

Just a word about something I care about.

I am now the Sunday morning cat adoption “cleaner” for Pet Smart. I do this through a local adoption group in my area called A.W.A.R.E. What I learned is that Pet Smart joins with local animal groups across the country to adopt out animals. That’s a good thing.

My job is to clean the cages, feed and water where these cats live, and to play with them as much as I wish while I’m there. This is done twice a day, seven days a week, all serviced by volunteers.

My only point here, is that if you are interested in adopting a kitten, think of them as a source. You are not getting a “kitten” mill animal, but one that has been rescued and needs a good home. Prices are typically $50, and all animals are already spayed or neutered and have all their shots. In some cases the animals may come from the local shelter. You will probably get a bit better animal, since these kittens get more socialization than those typically housed in shelters.

I have no agreements of any kind with Pet Smart or A.W.A.R.E. in return for these statements. It’s only because I care about the animals. Perhaps other pet stores do the same. I haven’t inquired.

 

Related articles

• Scalia Calls Voting Rights Act ‘Perpetual Racial Entitlement’ (crooksandliars.com)
• Why Scalia’s ‘Racial Entitlement’ Quote Is Even Scarier Than You Think (thinkprogress.org)
• Voting is no ‘racial entitlement,’ Justice Scalia (tv.msnbc.com)
• Dennis Rodman Puts The New Abnormal Into Absurd Perspective (zerohedge.com)

 

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Tags

abortion, economic theory, economy, GOP, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, school prayer, teabaggers

The jobs numbers came out this morning. Everything is on the uptick. The upturn in the economy continues unabated. This in spite of the naysayers who of course claim that things would be even better if we would do things their way (the business way). They offer no proof of this, but they assure you that if you would just lower corporate taxes to zero and remove all regulations, boards of directors across the country would be voting to “hire as many as will fit in the building” and things will be rosy in no time.

This engenders the usual arguments between Keynesians and Hayekians. If you are not so sure you know who these men are, or what they stand for, well, I have a good place to start.

I am not sure when this came out on PBS, but it is based on the book of the same name written by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw. That came out in around 2003 I believe.

It is not for the faint of heart. It’s a six-hour committment. But on the upside, it’s well done and satisfies all the usual desires of one watching a documentary. You can get the DVD or you can watch the entire thing online, and I’ll provide the links at the bottom.

Let me caution you that I don’t at all agree with much of what they say, or at least the inferences they, I think deliberately, urge you to draw. They have a very definite point of view and they avoid a few facts that might cut against their opinion. (Pay especial attention to who is promoting the show at the beginning). That said, it provides a pretty good explanation of what Hayek believed and what Keynes believed. It provides a good foundation to understanding the basics that you will need should you choose to really try to get a handle on what the Krugman’s of the world believe is best for the economy versus the now deceased Milton Friedman.

We’ve only watched the first part, so I’m leaving off any further comments lest I influence your viewing. I’ll post a piece on my views in a couple of weeks or so. So if you are interested, put your feet up and grab a beer or cuppa joe and begin watching. It is entertaining and informative, just not accurate in all respects in my view. Links at the bottom of the page.

Ø

Republicans continue to waste taxpayer money on crap that has nothing to do with economic recovery. Over the Governor’s veto, Arkansas just passed a law making it illegal to abort a fetus after twelve weeks. That’s of course unconstitutional on its face and seems destined to offer the SCOTUS an opportunity to either overturn Roe or restrict it. Idaho’s twenty week law was just struck down by a federal district court.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi, another bastion of free thought, the senate has just passed a bill that would allow school prayer again, most especially before classes start (during morning announcements) and before athletic events. Students would also be allowed to freely discuss religious faith issues during class time. This is also unconstitutional on its face.

What is ironic here, is that the very people who support this crap are the same folks who are hellbent to tell you that Democrats and the present administration have no faith let allow adherence to the Constitution and are violating it every day. Of course, they are not. They are just redressing their grievances that the damn document doesn’t say what they want, and making sure that it’s altered to accomplish that.

It all depends, is their answer to “do you believe we should follow the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court?”

Ø

The water pressure dropped severely yesterday in Washington D.C. as John McCain and Lindsey Graham both spend a long time washing off the icky after finding themselves supporting the black guy in the White House against the strange man from Kentucky, Ru Paul, I mean Randy Paul on the drones issue. Two finer hawks were never born than McCain the man who continually drove planes into the ground, and the Lindsey, a man who one can’t begin to imagine in a uniform except as part of a sexual liaison in the bedroom.

Ø

The best response to anyone who tries to tell you that homosexuality is a “choice” is to ask them what was the date when they “chose” to be heterosexual. What them sputter and try to get out of that dilemma.

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I think Romney’s the right choice for speechifying at CPAC. After watching his interview with Wallace the other night, it appears he’s still living in the delusions that caused his defeat. That should be right up the alley of the teabibbers doncha think?

Ø

This just tickled me. John McCain was quoted as saying this:

“It’s always the wacko birds on right and left that get the media megaphone.”

I mean I hear the Oxford Dictionary calling to get that photo of John to place next to the word: IRONY.

Ø

From Don of Massachusetts:

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.

– The Buddha

This seems a good place to say, HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Commanding Heights Pt 1

Commanding Heights Pt 2

Commanding Heights Pt 3

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• RINO Senators McCain, Graham Charge At Paul (personalliberty.com)
• Would Hayek Have Approved Obamacare? – Reason.com (politicalcrazyness.tumblr.com)

 

Oh How Many Times Must We Repeat IT?

Tags

economics, economy, GOP, Keynes

Sorry, I’ve been away for so long. That person writing all that stuff about Ford, and food, and happiness? Oh she is just a lonely soul looking for a place to land.

No seriously, I am getting dangerously close to violating the first law of blogging–keep to your topic! This blog (as you know I have others) is devoted to politics first and foremost, though I occasionally slip off into something tangential. The Ford stuff is arguably that and belongs here, but some of the rest?– just a necessary break from the ongoing “they are so stupids out there,  I might pull the last hair from my head” diatribe that engages me so much of the time.

In other words, I just got bored with the same crap!

So in face of two facts, one that the economy constricted the last quarter, and that the jobs numbers are pretty good and all the internals seem good but for the constriction of government spending last quarter, I got the usual jabs from the Right–how’s that Obama economy doing now? Our economy CONSTRICTED, the sky is falling! Well, not quite. Actually it rather proves the point that people like Krugman make–cutting spending will send us back into recession.

Now, I am not an economist, but I’m reading a lot of stuff, and I’m trying to understand all this it. Let’s look at things in simplistic terms, but in illustrative terms still. Keynesian economics basically call for government intervention to stave off bumps in the economic road. When there is a slow down, the government pumps in money (stimulus) and cuts taxes. When the economy is booming, it doesn’t and it raises taxes. It tries to keep things going smoothly.

A recession is basically caused (in its simplest terms) when some people stop spending money and start holding on to it. Since they are not spending, others have less income, forcing them to buy less as well. The economy slows, and so on. So spending money is the traditional way out of a recession.

Now let’s look at the Republican model.

1. Republicans want to cut taxes, which admittedly fits into the Keynesian model.
2. They want to cut regulations to free businesses to operate more cheaply presumably (it always comes down to money) without having to meet standards imposed upon them not by market demand but by government.
3. They want spending cut especially as to social programs which they consider a waste of money, giving people the idea that they don’t have to get a job ( support business interests) and EARN their own money. But spending cuts shouldn’t occur in the military budget (which supports all those military supply business interests).

Let’s look at the Republican model in action:

In 2001, Bush sponsored a huge tax cut. Everybody got a tax break but the wealthy got the biggest one by far. This is in keeping with their mantra or should we say little Grover’s mantra that we cut and cut and cut taxes so there is less and less revenue for government because government should be small.

The Bush tax cuts remained in place untouched for over eleven years. Okay.

Secondly, Republicans wanted business deregulated. And so it was to a pretty large extent.

They were in place for some seven years at least.

Spending? Well Bush didn’t exactly cut spending. In fact he increased it to gargantuan levels with two wars and a drug prescription bill. And he chose not to pay for any of it, instead he borrowed the money, creating deficits unlike any yet seen in America. You see the laws were passed, meaning Congress authorized  the wars and the drug bill. But given that the coffers were pretty empty given those low taxes, Bush borrowed money to service the three things.

Okay. Where did that all get us?

Tax cuts didn’t result in any job creation as Republicans claim it will. In fact millions of jobs were lost. .

Deregulation didn’t result in an economic boom. No, instead the unbridled greed and criminality of Wall Street nearly destroyed the economy and send us into a recession that nearly rivaled that of the Great Depression.

And of course spending without paying for anything, sent deficits through the roof.

That is after 8 and in some cases nearly 12 years of Republican policies.

Slowly the economy is recovering, due in part to stimulus, but the deficit continues to grow, albeit at a much much slower rate. In the fourth quarter, the ONLY segment of the economy that shrunk was government spending. Which as the Republicans tell us, should have made the economy sing. Instead it caused it to shrink. Before you tell me that Keynesian economics says we should cut taxes during a recession, they are already so low an ant couldn’t have trouble jumping over them.

You tell me. What is the better plan?

Europe has been dealing with a recession and out of control deficits. We are told that if we don’t stop spending, we are going to fall into their predicament.

What has been the European solution? Severe austerity–in other words, deep spending cuts. Exactly what the Republicans claim will SOLVE the problem. It hasn’t. It won’t. That is why Obama continues to push Europe to SPEND money instead of making further cuts. But so far they are still trying to cut their way out. Don’t look for the Cameron government to make it through another election.

That is the way I see it. Please feel free to tell me I’m wrong, but please in doing so, do show me exactly how I am missing the point, and show me the examples of why you are right. Otherwise, lets get off this silly mantra of “we have a spending problem.” No we don’t. We have exactly the opposite.

Related articles

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• Charts: What if Obama spent like Reagan? (washingtonpost.com)
• Why Are Republicans Trying To Cut Us Back Into Recession? (ourfuture.org)
• What The GOP Doesn’t Want You To Know About The Deficit (kaystreet.wordpress.com)
• Paul Krugman: ‘Just Wrong’ To Say Government Spending Is Suddenly Surging (politicalcrazyness.tumblr.com)
• Paul Krugman: Austerity Is Not the Answer (motherjones.com)
• We Need More Government Spending Right Now, Not Less… (delong.typepad.com)

We Built That Malarky

Tags

business, economy, Election 2012, free markets, GOP, Mitt Romney, panic of 1873, Paul Ryan

Saturday evening we watched a two-part docudrama from the History Channel, called The Men Who Made America. Now get past the sexism and the pomposity of the title if you will. There is something important to be said here.

By intention or otherwise, THC offered up that a few “titans of industry” filled the void left by the death of Abraham Lincoln at the close of the Civil War, and singlehandedly rebuilt America. Dubious as this contention might seem, they offered it with no tongue-in-cheek.

Better that they had since they then peppered the show with commentary from none of than the likes of Donald Trump and Jack Walsh, aided by Mark Cuban and a pinch of Steve Wozniak. These “modern-day entrepreneurs” sought to explain the mind-set of men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie.

Vanderbilt, having made a fortune in the shipping industry, sells off all his fleet and invests in what he sees as the future: the railroads. Soon he has a commanding amount of track. Gould and Fisk apparently by pure counterfeiting, sell Vanderbilt millions of dollars in fake railroad stock (Vanderbilt is trying to buy up all the little railroads in the best traditions of monopoly), and so anger Vanderbilt that he vows never to be beaten again.

Now that he most of the railway, he must put something in his cars. He contacts a struggling oil man, John D. Rockefeller, and Rockefeller gets a sweet deal to ship all his crude via Vanderbilt’s rails. This lasts until Rockefeller is big enough to want a better deal, so he agrees to send his crude via a railroad owned by a guy named Tom Scott whose right hand man is one Andrew Carnegie.

Vanderbilt and Scott join up in an effort squeeze Rockefeller for more money. Rockefeller replies by building his own pipeline from the oil fields of Ohio and South, to his refineries in the North. Vanderbilt dies, and Scott replies by building his own pipeline that will require Rockefeller pay to move his crude to his Pennsylvania refineries. Rockefeller replies by shutting his PA refineries, throwing the railroads into bankruptcy and destroying Scott. Rockefeller then calmly buys up the destroyed railroads for pennies on the dollar.

Trump, Cuban and Walsh stand as a cheering squad, pontificating about how men like these (and themselves presumably) are cut of a different cloth. They started out poor, worked from dawn until midnight, came up with a great idea, and let nothing stand in their way. It was a game of war to them, take no prisoners and the winner has all the money. These men are apparently men we should admire.

Such men, we come to learn, get up each morning with only one thing in mind–how to beat the competition and secure the whole pie. They do not want to compete, they want to control.

The show tends to imply that Rockefeller, by his actions causes the panic of 1873. No doubt he played some part in it, since it was the over extension of railways that led to the panic, but frankly that bit is overblown from my short delve into the real history.

What is missing here?

It is so clear that all these men were indeed engaged in a game. And the pawns were the men and women who worked on the railroads and in the refineries and all those supporting industries that lost their jobs when these men decided to play hardball with each other. There is nary a breath of concern expressed for all those who will be out of work and what that will do to PEOPLE.

The docudrama points out on the other hand, that the depression that came from the 1873 Panic, caused no inconvenience in the lives of the wealthy.

What is also missing is that the Panic and following depression were caused by the unregulated excesses of these men. There was no mention of quality of goods or services. Nobody cared about the consumer. There was no interest in competition as it relates to improving the end product. Monopoly was the only interest of these men. Raw power and money and what money could buy.

This is the free market economics that are favored by the likes of Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. They are the ideal of Ayn Rand.

Somehow we are supposed to conclude that the ends justify the means, i.e., America got built. And we are to believe without proof, that if left to their own devices, everyone would have been the better for it. But that is not what happened. The excesses of these men led to anti-monopoly laws, unions, limits on working hours, child-labor laws, workplace safety laws,  various banking restrictions and so forth.

It is all these things that Republicans are against today. They believe that business, if left to its own devices, will naturally spread the wealth. Except they have no evidence that this has ever happened. Instead, business leaders continue to war on each other to gain the advantage and be kings of their various hills. And NO THOUGHT is given to the worker or the public good.

If you believe that certain business leaders act improperly then why aren’t they being shunned by the rest of the business world? Everyone knows that Trump, once things start to turn sour, gets out and leaves somebody else holding the bag. Yet people continue to “make the deal”. That’s because they secretly admire his success, and look only to out-Trumping Trump.

I suspect The History Channel meant to show us about the great men who built America. Instead what they have done is shown us exactly why we cannot trust the likes of Romney/Ryan or the corporatocracy they envision.

The Shame We Endure

Tags

911, economy, Election 2012, Humor, Libya, Mitt Romney, right-wing teabaggers, satire

It’s been some kinda week huh?

We had a choice of how we were going to remember 9/11. Each person could observe the day in whatever manner best represented their way of dealing with national events that pain us all.

There is probably no wrong way to do this, only personal preferences and needs.

It appears there is a good chance that the attack in Benghazi may have been planned as a 9/11 event, taking advantage of the anti-Muslim video that surfaced and was shamefully promoted precisely to incite.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all the GOP has been betting and cheering against the US for nearly four years now, hoping for economic downturns, hoping for disasters of one sort or another over which they could claim that somehow they would have done a better job and the _________would never have happened.

It wasn’t just that Willard was spectacularly obvious in his smirking “take down” of the Obama administration over Libya, it was the fact that he was spectacularly insensitive, cruel, and hopelessly self-oriented.

Never has anyone so blatantly announced to the country that he neither cared about the actual victims or the circumstances of the tragedy, but found it entirely useful to land a blow against his opponent. Opportunism is the first word that one thinks of.

With one ill-worded and ill-timed press release, Willard told us a boatload of important things.

1. He is not nearly as bright as we are told he is. He signed off on this statement, never asked the right questions or demanded any confirmation. The excitement of getting in a sword thrust was too much for him.

2. He has an awful campaign staff who couldn’t lead him away from this disaster, thus we must assume he doesn’t have much talent in picking good people. Echoes of a future cabinet?

3. He has no natural empathy for other people and their pain. Common sense would suggest that remarks about the loss of life would come first, but of course, he spoke before he knew the facts.

4. He is an utter bold-faced, liar who when caught simply “doubles down” and continues lying. Where does one learn this? From his family, his church, or his business?

5. He is seriously incurious when it comes to foreign policy and apparently leaves it to others to explain things to him. The problem is again, the people he chooses–who thus far don’t seem to have a very good grip on reality.

Meanwhile Congress continues to ignore their jobs in favor of doing nothing.

Eric Cantor says the House is through after next week, taking a two month vacation.

Left undone:

1. The farm bill and the awful losses suffered by drought impacted farmers.

2. The jobs bill, now a full year old with no action by the do-nothing-GOP.

3. Violence against women bill is still waiting for passage, but the GOP reminds us that they are not against women, but they certainly won’t pass this bill.

4. Assistance for Veterans in the job market. The GOP is all for the troops, but not if it means adding one single job. That might make the president look good and we can’t have that.

5. Sequestration? Oh the new meme is that that is all the President’s fault. And exactly why did you vote for it GOP?

I’m sure there is more. That is enough to throw the bums out.

Willard claims there is still a vast sea of “undecideds” out there. There are not, but he is not courting them anyway.

No rational talk here, he says.

Instead he talks about God on our money, and embraces fools like Pat Robertson and Steve King.

He is virtually indistinguishable from the crazy Tea People who live in the deep trench at the bottom of the Pacific and surface only to murmur, “I hate Obama.”

Did you hear that Willard said that he thought the debates might be tough, because “the President has a tendency not to tell the truth.” Did you hear that? Did you ears fall off? Did you dance like a duck while you waited for your brain to catch up with your skull? Did you scream at the top of  your lungs–YOU HYPOCRITE YOU! Did ya?

Which all leads me to give the Willard a very bad D- this week.

I think he needs to go to the Principle’s office and get a paddling, and then plenty of homework to teach him some stuff he would need if here were to become President (which please LORD please don’t let happen, and I’ll never swear again, always be polite, walk every day for the rest of my life, make my husband’s favorite meal once a week, and never eat another potato chip in my life, please).

Dunce you are Willard. What in the world did your parents call “raising” that you turned out to be such a douche?

 

It’s nice to know that Willard has something in common with the extremists.

Seriously, do you want this man anywhere near the codes?

Do you want him to be all you have to turn to in times of a national disaster?

Are we so sure that the “five boys” he raised are anything more than carbon copies of their lying self-absorbed father?

This man said that the middle class are those making $200,000 a year or more. He said that two days ago. To George Stephanopoulos. He meant that.  He has no clue. The median income in America is $50,000. Jesus, man does anyone on your campaign advise of anything more than what time it is?

Have a great weekend!

I think I’ll work on my string theory thesis this afternoon after I shave