It’s the Money, Stupid: Believing the Hollywood Illusion

It began with Ronald Reagan. If you could get a trained actor to convince voters that what you saw on television or the Silver Screen was real, you could elect actors to high office. Like governor of California or even president of the United States. You pause a bit at first to reflect on the idea of what makes for a good leader. Could an actor possess the skills and the political acumen to pull off an 8-year term in the White House? Sure thing.

Ronald Reagan, ne the Great Communicator, the Gipper, the Old Ranger from the TV show, Death Valley Days, pulled it off. For 8 years as president of the United States, he convinced most of America that he was on the side of the working man. Yet he was directly responsible for massive cuts to the workforce. He convinced us to believe that a job flipping hamburgers was a manufacturing job of high purpose. At the same time he was busy firing all the Air Traffic controllers who went on strike for more pay and better working conditions. He totally destroyed unions in America, the last effective bargaining tool of the working man that better served the greatest number of Americans, not just the wealthy few.

All the while, Reagan convincingly appeared on camera to explain his positions on policy. He was smooth. He proved that you could convince most all voters of most anything if you said it with the right intonation and subtle facial expressions on camera. I remember the time Reagan needed to explain some of the new little taxes that needed to be levied to clean up the trillions of dollars he racked up over the years with his borrowing and spending spree to defeat the Evil Empire, Russia, and bring it to its knees. There was the question of raising federal taxes on cigarettes and alcohol. But Reagan said that he would be against taxing beer because that was the working man’s drink. Wow. He cared about the working man. He was just as convincing in his delivery as he had been as the Gipper in the movie “Knute Rockney, All American.” Yet under Reagan, the working man’s lot suffered several body blows in Reagan’s tax reform bills and in his philosophy on how the pie should be carved up. The working man lost out and the corporations thrived.

In late 2002, Cheney had summoned the Bush administration's economic team to his office to discuss another round of tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Then-Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill pleaded that the government -- already running a $158 billion deficit -- was heading toward a fiscal crisis. But by O'Neill's account of the meeting, Cheney silenced him by invoking his take on Reagan's legacy.

For the first time in history, had Reagan proven truly that “deficits don’t matter?” Those very words were spoken by Dick Cheney in a Cabinet meeting convinced president George W. Bush that it was their time to spend, spend, spend. Did the Republicans have no second thoughts about racking up more debt when their very avowed politics had been “conservative” for over a century? Weren’t they even a little bit red-faced at their massive borrowing and spending? Like the big-spending Democrats they have enjoyed demonizing for over a century? When you borrow, you have a shortfall, and that money you do not have to pay for your spending on weapons, invading and occupying foreign countries, is called a deficit. And when you borrow to keep the government running, you must pay the piper. You must pay the interest on the deficit or the ongoing increases of borrowing to keep on paying for the spending. “Deficits don’t matter.” What a curious notion. Yet I truly believe that Reagan convinced Americans of that very concept because he was, indeed, the Great Communicator that could explain it all in very believable terms so the American people would buy it. No one ever called him on it.

And later, Bush would borrow and spend another 4 Trillion dollars on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a country that had no weapons of mass destruction which was the reason Bush told America it was necessary to attack them. Almost 10 years later, our servicemen still boots on the ground, we wonder why. And if the countless billions of dollars a week we are still borrowing and spending to finance such madness is worth it. And if deficits really don’t matter after all.

So under Reagan’s 8 years as president he was directly responsible for America going into debt 3 Trillion dollars more than when he took office. We as a country did not have the money to run our government, build up the armed forces in peacetime, mind you, so we borrowed it. And to hell with paying the piper at a later time or paying interest on the new debt incurred. America was great, America was back, and God was most assuredly on our side. Reagan convinced us that America was the best. He made us feel good. He seemed like a regular guy you could trust. So America did trust him. Many have said he will go down as one of the greatest American presidents.

Reagan believed in mixing church and state, and relied on religious organizations to elect him and GOP candidates from dog catcher to Senator. Reverend Jerry Falwell organized the Moral Majority which publicized hit lists on candidates NOT to vote for. All Democrats, Reagan and Falwell were in bed together. It meant more votes, and selling God and country to all Americans from the Oval Office was a piece of cake as long as Reagan was on camera reaching out to all Americans. The Christian Coalition, another group mustered their memberships to vote for Reagan and the Republicans because it would be better for our country. Besides, Reagan was opposed to abortion which suited the religious groups just fine. Jefferson and Madison turned over in their graves after Reagan convinced the American people that a separation of church and state was not really all that necessary after all. If you feel good about God you will feel good about letting His hand guide your country. And oh yeah, in the mixing of church and state, it’s probably best if you are Christian (wink, wink). 

It is very likely that Reagan proved one thing for certain, though. That you if you had the right light, audio, color and editing, you had the trappings of unleashing a great communicator upon the land. Put an accomplished, seasoned actor like Reagan behind the president’s desk in the Oval Office, all things are possible. Make-believe becomes reality. Put the right face powder on an already photogenic, well-known face that everyone recognizes instantly, and you are off to the races. It’s show time. But pay no attention to that 14-Trillion dollar debt behind the curtain. Or the 1.6 Trillion dollar deficit that is likely to never go away.

The GOP base, the wealthiest Americans run giant corporations or at least has millions of dollars of stock in these companies. Many of them such as Halliburton have no-bid contracts with our government. That means no other company can bid competitively against them. So if their hammers are sold to us taxpayers at $500 apiece, there is nothing we, nor the Tea Party, can do about it. Funny how the latter, as a group protesting government spending seems to fluff over the giant upcharges we taxpayers are burdened with from these groups like Halliburton and all the other no-bid war corporation cronies of Presidents, Congressmen and Senators. They are cronies because they get special considerations. Like billing the American taxpayer $40 million for food for soldiers in Iraq that never got served up. Or for items like a $500 hammer when the US Army could go out and buy one at Wal Mart for $9.99. Imagine that. Imagine why congressmen don’t cut spending there instead of putting Social Security and Medicare on the operating table of spending cuts. Try to imagine why the Tea Party raises so much hell about excessive government spending while overlooking spending so much for a relatively inexpensive item. Funny thing that, eh? I wonder what the Koch Brothers would say about it.

Money motivates no doubt about it. It makes silk purses out of a sow’s ear every time. Take George W. Bush. Puhlese. Money buys actors who transcend to lofty positions of great communicators. Dudes you would want to have a beer with, just ask Billy Bob. Cheney was probably right. Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter. When the rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor voter who believes the illusion, it’s true. Deficits don’t really matter. Nor does truth.   And when you are stealing in high places from the government Americans don’t matter either. It’s the money, stupid.

21st Century Paul Revere No Longer the Hero

The 21^st Century Paul Revere riding to spread the alarm [concerning the threat to the nation by corporate oligarchs] faces an unwelcome reception from subjects still loyal to King George W. Why? Because the loyalists that make up a sizable portion of the population are indoctrinated into the modern-day theology of prosperity – contradictory to Christ’s precepts. In this regard, their dogma is heresy.

The first Paul Revere rode into towns receptive to his message. The 21^st Paul Revere is not only rudely rejected but lambasted for being unpatriotic and a rebel to the ruling monarchs.

The religious right views America as a “Christian” nation, although the founders constructed it as pluralistic to include all religious views and those with none. Thus, the nation in time became safe refuge to peoples of all creeds and color from all corners.

Although Bush is relatively silent in Dallas, the religious millions who made up his base are unrepentant and unrelenting in their quest to reshape America into a theocratic oligarchy consolidated with corporate power – 21^st Century Fascists or “Dominionists” – as they like to be called.

The “Tea Party” movement is just the latest derivative of the same.

The surfacing of George W. Bush might have been the premiere symptom of decline, perhaps indicating the initial deteriorating phase all empires suffer in their last throes. The ominous theory could be premature, although the symptoms say otherwise.

Which came first, the chicken or the egghead?

It is my belief the advent of Bush the son (the “egghead”) via stolen elections, combined with the capitulating nature of Democratic leadership, mark the downward spiral of the once-great American republic.

It is now evident: hatemongers outnumber peacelovers in this country. Guns are worshipped alongside flags, crosses and Bibles – which passages are selected dealing with judgment, damnation and wrath. True Christians are an endangered species probably only found in the Pennsylvania hills and called "Amish" and “Quakers.” Much of the rest are pretenders who, en masse, follow wolves masquerading as conformity-minded sheep, and the wolves are determined to destroy the pasture along with the flock at any cost (because, of course, the loss is carried by the unsuspecting, dumb sheep exclusively).

Many of us tried to spread the alarm about impending fascism should this country fail to reverse course. Not to downplay the subsequent rejection to a “persecution complex,” we found our warnings rejected and unheeded. But not only were our fellow countrymen in denial, they turned on us with rage and false allegations. The tone of conversations grew uncivil. We now find ourselves alienated from former friends and family members – some in our closest circles: mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters included.

On August 21, 2008, while in Vegas, I had a dream. I was a little boy playing with toy cars and trucks on the wooden hardwood floor of an old Victorian house which looked over 100. Mom, now 95 but much younger in the dream, was in the kitchen preparing supper. Then I heard the floor creak. I shouted, "Mom, something's wrong with the house. The floor is making weird noises."

Then my toy cars began rolling across the floor on their own and I could see the floor becoming unlevel. I screamed again, "Hey Mom! Something's not right! The floor is moving."

Mom just laughed, "Loren, nothing's wrong. You're just imagining again."

Then I heard a popping and cracking sound as planks of wood came splintering up from of the floor on one side of the room and the wall gave way where I could see daylight peeking through. I yelled again, "Mom, we've got to get out of here! The house is coming apart!"

Mom just laughed.

Then the whole house started moving. I ran outside as quickly as my little feet could carry me. Mom was left in the house. I saw the building with Mom inside tumble and roll down the hillside and break in two on its descent. The sound was like thunder. I sat and cried thinking about Mom in the house rolling to her death down the hill.

When I woke, the sense I got was the house was America, our home. Mom was Mom, but she represents the millions like her of the religious right who are quick to believe impostors and charlatans who have the agenda of destruction foremost on their minds in an aim towards "self-fulfilling prophecy" where world calamity brings on the end of days and the "chosen few" are favored by final redemption.

I see the religious right as the main ingredient giving power to the destroyers of this country: the greedy class that desires to concentrate wealth into the hands of the few while eliminating the weak, poor, and less privileged through natural attrition – killing the beast: social programs, ethnic & economic equity, and safety nets – which they so blithely refer to as “government entitlements for welfare queens.”

Most of my former religious friends and family, including Mom, cannot see – or refuse to see – what is really going on in this country, although I warn them time and again. Being a 21^st Century Paul Revere doesn’t win hero praise.

THE GREEK TRAGEDY: And a suggested shock therapy solution.

Tourists visiting the beautiful Aegean island of Paros in early June would have no hint of the crisis engulfing Greece. Everything seems idyllic. The pace of life is relaxed, the weather is sublime, the restaurants are full, the beaches are pristine and the azure sky is matched perfectly by the shimmering blue of the sea. This tourist paradise is replicated on dozens of the most popular Greek islands that have been destinations for British and other northern European and US holidaymakers for decades. They are the homes of many ex-pats and provide holiday homes for thousands more who wish to escape colder winters further north. Wealthier Athenians retreat to the islands from the stifling summer heat of the capital. The holiday visitor may spend a day or two in Athens to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon without being unduly disturbed by the daily demonstrations by tens of thousands in Constitution Square.

They are protesting against the draconian austerity measures imposed by the government of George Papandreou at the behest of the EU and the IMF from whom Greece received last year 110bn euros (£95bn) in emergency loans. This has not been sufficient to allay the creditors’ increasing fears of a sovereign debt default and negotiations are under way to provide a new package of 65bn euros. The price for all this is already being paid by the working people of Greece who are reeling from unprecedented cuts in public spending. The creditors are demanding an accelerated sell-off of state property – a 50bn euros privatization drive - and further belt-tightening in the form of ever more drastic cuts to wages and pensions, decimation of welfare services, loss of benefits and soaring taxes. The protests are growing. On June 3^rd trade unionists stormed the finance ministry and erected a banner calling for an “organized overthrow” of the austerity measures, which, they claimed would “turn workers into modern slaves.”

But the unbearable misery inflicted on millions of Greeks is not something that concerns the dignitaries of the EU and the IMF or the investors who bought Greek government bonds. Their far loftier concerns leave no room for such trifling matters. To the extent that such things impinge at all on their consciousness, they are interested only in ensuring that Papandreou pushes the austerity measures through at all costs and copes firmly with the consequences. The noxious medicine must be administered regardless of the pain caused the patient. A Greek debt default, they calculate, would seriously destabilize the Euro zone and, given the inevitable knock-on effect on the near bankrupt economies of Ireland, Portugal and possibly Spain, could lead to a European crisis with incalculable global consequences. Alarm bells are ringing very loudly.

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Now, to strike a rather less somber note, readers may find interesting – even entertaining – a leaked document from the consortium of secretive commodities traders, Slashburn-Snatchett and Grabclaw. Grabclaw’s publicity-shy founder, Mr Stark Richman, fled the US in the early 1980s after being indicted for tax evasion of $50m, but returned later having been granted a Presidential pardon. Although not confirmed, it is likely that the leaked document was written by him as, according to those who know him, it bears his inimitable style and reflects his subtle and nuanced approach to market trading. It is, however, likely that it was a joint effort with his colleague Mr. Aristotle Mistakenideas, who runs Grabclaw’s zinc, copper and lead section. Mistakenideas is one of the two richest men in Greece. The document candidly sets out Grabclaw’s perspective on the present crisis in Greece:

“Greece is a basket case. Whatever the outcome of the current negotiations with the EU and IMF for a second bail out, the Greeks are definitely gonna default on their sovereign debt. It’ll happen this year, probably sooner rather than later. They deserve all that’s coming to them and they don’t deserve sympathy. The country’s got too few real entrepreneurs and too many indolent, devious layabouts. They may have had some sort of culture two thousand years ago, but they got none now. They don’t want to pay their taxes. It’s fine and commendable for real go-getters, genuine risk takers - who by dint of their financial and economic brilliance in the market have enriched themselves as well as giving something back to the country – it’s OK for them to avoid punitive taxation. But we’re talking about millions of lesser people, way down the pecking order. They’re the ones who’ve brought the country to its knees. And then the government has wasted billions on inflating a parasitic state, funding a welfare system and paying people pensions they don’t deserve. The dependency culture’s got to end. The state’s too big. It’s got to be cut down to size. Greece is over-ripe for shock therapy.

It’s here that the real opportunity for calculated risk-takers comes in. The EU and the IMF are right to demand more privatization. There should be NO limits on privatization. The Greeks have got a lot of assets they don’t deserve. They don’t know how to run them. There’s a simple principle here: everything must be thrown open to the market, to competition. All state assets must be sold off to any willing bidder. Let’s consider some of the assets. Last year a couple of German politicians, Josef Schlarmann of the CDU and Frank Schaeffler of the FDP proposed that the Greeks should be made to sell the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Merkel was too scared to follow up on the proposal and the idea was dropped. But that’s exactly what should happen and it shouldn’t stop there.

The Greeks have neglected these ruins for too long. Now they’re taking too long to clean them up. The country’s bankrupt. They can’t afford it. This is where we come in. The Akropolis and the Parthenon should be sold and dismantled. They were built by slaves about 2000 years ago and now there are a lot of unemployed people in Greece – about 16% of the workforce. Soon there are going to be a lot more. All their benefits are being cut which is as it should be. Thousands of them can be employed dismantling these ruins. They can be sliced up and shipped to the USA where they can be reconstructed close to Las Vegas, where they will look really nice and can be made the centre of a big Grecian theme park. Lord Elgin had the right idea two hundred years ago. He took the sculptures from the Parthenon and sold them to the British government. But he left a lot of them there. We can finish what he started and they can be taken somewhere where they will be really appreciated. There are a lot more ruins there that can be cleared up very profitably.

The Greek government has fired so many state employees that they don’t have enough staff to guard the displays in the National Archeological Museum in Athens. They’ve had to close most of the exhibits down which has annoyed the tourists who are being short-changed. This can’t continue. The same situation exists in the other 350 museum sites in Greece. The obvious solution is to close them all down and sell off the exhibits to private collectors who will really appreciate them and may be prepared to loan them out to other museums. The Saudis should be very interested in getting in on this deal. The Russian oligarchs will also be interested and will pay very high prices for some of this crap. Our job is to be in at the start and snap up the best bits.

Then there are the islands. There are about 6.000 Greek islands. Only about 200 are inhabited. There’s enormous potential here. It is a disgrace in this day and age that most of these islands are state property. The main ones that attract so many tourists have been developed by a handful of enterprising Greeks and foreign corporations. The government should be compelled to sell off all the islands. They can then be properly developed to maximum advantage. Obviously restrictive planning regulations which prevent tall buildings being constructed and dictate that they should all be painted white, must be scrapped. There are large numbers of uninhabited islands with great potential for development and a huge expansion of tourism may be anticipated when they’ve all been privatized.

All this will need a steady hand at the helm and cool heads in command. The situation on the streets must not be allowed to get out of control. Unless the Greek government is able to resist the mass protest movement being stirred up by left-wing malcontents and trade union militants, it may be blown off course, with unpredictable consequences for a free market economy. The rabble-rousers must be brought to heel. If the police can’t handle them, the army should be called in before things get out of control. And if the army proves to be squeamish about taking the necessary action to clear the streets of the rabble, our recommendation is that the US private security firm Xe Services (formerly Blackwater) should be called in. They did a sterling job in Iraq and have exactly the military skills and experience this situation demands. A rowdy and disgruntled populace that is unable or unwilling to see what is good for them may need to be taught a lesson. After all, there have been periods in twentieth century Greek history when the imposition of a strong disciplined regime has not come amiss. An earlier German government faced with Greek communist terrorists between 1941 and 45 stood for no nonsense. Firm discipline was necessary after the war to deal with armed insurrection and the strong government of the colonels between 1967 and 1974 brought law and order to a fractious people. Something similar may be need again if things get out of control.” 

A REAL Wellness Take on Weinergate

A surprising consensus has developed among the nation's media about the most important question of our time. It is not what I would have guessed. It is not how to control the spread of nuclear weapons, create jobs, grow the economy, lower the deficit or boost prospects for better life, improve health or facilitate greater happiness. Rather, it is whether Anthony Weiner should resign from Congress for sleazy acts, lies and dorkiness.

Which raises another question: Is there a REAL wellness take on this matter?

Yes, there is and what's more, I'm willing to express it. Here. Now.

First, about a wellness take. A wellness take or interpretation consistent with such a mindset is a point of view that is informed and based on common decencies, and consistent with the public interest. It is never based on religious dogma or any form of superstition. "God would approve" is not a sensible basis for supporting or opposing a person, a policy, an action or anything else. We cannot know if there is a god (though we can recognize that there is no evidence for one) or what such an incomprehensible entity would favors or oppose if it did exist.

Stephen Hawking was recently asked, "How should we live to fulfill our potential on Earth and make good use of our lives?" He replied, "We should seek the greatest value of our action." (Source: The Guardian, Stephen Hawking: "There Is No Heaven - It's A Fairy Tale," May 15, 2011.)

That works for me - while generously broad, it is consistent with the criteria for a wellness that I just sketched.

So then, what about Weiner. What action in the matter of Weinergate will give the American people the greatest value? Specifically, his resignation - or not?

Well, it depends, really. It depends on whether one interprets value from a moderate to progressive point of view, or a Right Wing Republican Christian (RWRC) point of view. These are the two Americas that we have today - there is little question but that what is seen as greatest value is totally different, one side from the other. By comparison, the divide in 1860 between the northern and southern states was less wide and deep. Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln were more cordial to each other than are such leading RWRC characters as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachman or Mike Huckabee toward Barack Obama.

Sex scandal of all kinds has prurient appeal for sexually repressed Americans. The RWRC wants Weiner's head, that is, his resignation from Congress, for multiple reasons. Among them are because he sent suggestive racy messages and photos of his manhood to multiple women online, because he lied repeatedly about his actions, because he brought dishonor on the House of Representatives and because it would be cool if they could elect a Republican in his place. 

Sending the photos was lame and dorky and unbelievably stupid. It seems 100 percent impossible that a famous person, a politician with countless enemies, could not understand that he would get caught and be disgraced. Since he's clearly not stupid, he must be crazy in some sense of the term. Not dangerously crazy but frustrated sexually.

It was lame to do what he did and simply awful, no - dreadful, to lie about it consistently and inartfully as he did. But, consider that an adult probably has a right to send photos and racy messages to other consenting adults - at least in America, so far. You can't do it in Iran, Saudi Arabia or most other countries. But, we still have freedoms, including many most of us do not care to exercise. What Weiner did might still be among them, even if he is a public figure.

At least he is not a family values hypocrite. He did not get elected as a moral scold and he has not advised others how they should or should refrain from expressing their own sexuality. He has not broken any laws, the public trust was not compromised and no evidence has been offered that his weird behavior kept him from doing his job.

Weiner is guilty of awful judgement, not following conventional social mores and lying. Not so good, but not fatal. He should keep his job.

That's my wellness take on the matter. What do you think about the idea of a wellness take on anything and/or my wellness take Weinergate in particular?

Donald B. Ardell is the Well Infidel...

Ruminations about Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Rules For Old Men Waiting to Die

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. died at age 84 on April 11, 2007. His many books employed satire, gallows humor and science fiction to blend amazing tales populated by fascinating characters. His themes were politics, sex and religion. He was a well infidel of distinction, an outspoken freethinker recognized by the American Humanist Association as its honorary president for life.

I read all the Vonnegut books over the years, as did a lot of other college students and millions of others. His stories and particularly the interviews he gave to Playboy and other magazines fueled my skepticism while raising existential issues in entertaining ways. My favorite Vonnegut books were "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" (1965), "Slaughterhouse-Five" (1969) and "Cat's Cradle" (1963). Vonnegut was our Mark Twain. I'm surprised he lived as long as he did. He had a high-risk lifestyle (including a life-long chain smoking habit) and a poor family history (suicide). He also faced some horrific hazards as a WW II soldier at the Battle of the Bulge, including time as a prisoner of war in Dresden during the infamous firebombing allied war crime. But, I'm glad he lived so long and produced so much. Now he's gone. So it goes. Vonnegut is missed but fondly remembered.

All my Vonnegut paperback novels are liberally marked in magic marker colors. I found countless passages meaningful, insightful, humorous, profound, delightful or otherwise worth memorizing or revisiting time and again. One such favorite, spoken by the character Rosewater in "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," offers babies welcoming advice: "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'"

I thought of Vonnegut when I read Peter Pouncey's novel "Rules for Old Men Waiting." The protagonist, Robert MacIver, is an 80-year-old retired Colombia University history professor/ He is on his last legs, living in an isolated cabin itself on its last legs. (Note: Pouncey himself an aging retired professor, of English.)

In the story, Winter has set in. Old MacIver is failing. An illness lingers and worsens. He knows he is doomed. He is not taking good care of himself (i.e., misses meals, the place is a mess, he does not bathe enough, sleep is fitful and so on). Yet, he is determined to complete a story he created about an incident set in World War I. This novel within a novel about MacIver is very Vonnegut-like. To promote his chances of living long enough to finish his tale, MacIver decides he's better write down and follow a few rules. MacIver believes, "if you are going to go under, it should not be from the weight of self-pity alone." 

He resolves, among other things, to:

1. Keep himself clean.
2. Make the bed every day and clean up the house.
3. Dress properly.
4. Eat regularly and wisely.
5. Play music and read.
6. Limit television viewing.
7. Value order and resolve.
8. Work in the morning, nap in the afternoon. 
9. Retain the beautiful and useful.
10. Finish the story he was writing to the end.

Not everyone nearing the end will, like Peter Pouncey's protagonist, Robert MacIver, be living alone in a crumbling home in Winter woods, working on a novel. Yet, most who read Pouncey's compelling tale will, I think, gain from MacIver something else, something Vonnegut would enjoy: An appreciation for a few good rules that enable one to remain alert and be happy as long as possible. This is a theme Vonnegut sounded did in his books, lectures, interviews, plays and columns on politics, sex and religion. 

Just as Pouncey's MacIver will remind you of Vonnegut, Vonnegut always reminded me to be kind, to be skeptical, to not take things including myself too seriously and to look on the bright side of life. Oh, and one more thing: Make up a few cool rules.  

Donald B. Ardell is the Well Infidel...

Obama Caves Again

The Republicans are playing him like Nero played the fiddle while Washington (I mean Rome) burned. Did you hear the latest? Obama is playing ball with the Republicans and the Tea Party on reducing benefits to Medicare, Medicaid, you know, the programs that help people and not no-bid crony corporations? It is hard not to try to find the silver lining to our president who promised us change you could believe in. And to try again. And again. Why? Because the alternative in having a heartless “Have More” Neocon in the White House is too dismal to ponder. Let me explain.

Obama and the Democratic Congress in both Houses elected in 2008 were given a mandate by the voters. The voters of America believed in them to make an honest and diligent attempt to right the wrongs of the Bush Administration. Change we could believe in, remember catchy campaign slogan? For instance, we believed Obama and the newly-elected Democratic Congress would change the borrow-and-spend irresponsible policies of the Bush II administration. Obama promised to end the Bush crony-corporation, no-bid contract policies George W. Bush loved so well as the coffers of the military industrial complex filled up with dollars we borrowed from China to pay our bills. Sorry about that, Halliburton, the party’s over. Or so we thought when we went to the ballot box back in 2008. Obama would end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring the troops home. Just vote for me, he said, and he would see to it. We believed Obama would drive the war corporation, lobbyist rats out of Washington just like St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. 

It didn’t happen. We still have boots on the ground in both countries for reasons long ago lied about and forgotten. Promises broken. And now we see Obama playing footsy with the Republicans by opting to cut benefits to Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs that benefit the citizens of America directly. Get ready, America, for a flattened pocketbook. Neocons don’t like to share with us riff-raff Americans looking for a fair shake from our government. You see, Halliburton needs those tax dollars for themselves more than us Americans need to be able to be on Medicare when we reach the age of 65. Get ready for the real death panels this time, and this time, such killing of the old people will be brought to you by your friendly neighborhood GOP and cheerleader squad, the Tea Party (no snub intended, Koch Bros; I do acknowledge your sponsorship).

It has been a hard two years to watch our hero Obama and his Super Bowl Team of Congressional Democrats elected in 2008 cave to the Republicans, the Tea Party, John Boehner, and (gag me with a spoon) Sarah Palin. For openers, all the Democrats elected to the new majority in both Houses of Congress said right off the bat that “Impeachment is off the table.” Say what? Let them go? No repercussions for wiretapping us without a court order or FISA Court approval? What about all them campaign promises? But, but…..

But I said I would explain why the alternative to Obama and the wimpy Democratic Congress would be far worse than Obama and a wimpier Democratic Congress. But before that, let us remember the promises Obama and all those Democrats made to get elected to office in 2008. As mentioned absolutely nothing had been done about the wiretapping without proper court orders. The grand snoop, the NSA was increased in size and in number of spies to spy on us Americans. Can’t be too careful when terrorists are still lurking about, can we? In fact, Obama caused the Patriot Act, the Bible to spy on all of us in the name of National Security, to be strengthened right after he took office. Probably made George W. Bush so proud he could put on his cowboy boots and take Laura out honky-tonkin’ at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, YEEHAW.

Shucks, Obama even pre-pardoned all the telephone companies that Bush got a hammer lock on to get them to reveal all their records of Americans’ private phone conversations. Obama didn’t see no sense in riling the country up over stuff already passed, regardless of whether any complicity was present when the phone companies conspired to hep Bush torch what was left of the Constitution.

Obama said he would close Guantanamo because torture was not who we are as a country. Didn’t happen, though. Still open for bidness, and military tribunals still hold court on them military combatants who don’t deserve the same kind of law the rest of us Americans get served up to us. Bush destroyed habeas corpus, something Obama promised to restore. Not to be. Habeas Corpus is still MIA and one of the promises broken when the Democrats and Obama were elected back in 2008. But it’s kinda tricky here: habeas corpus was erased from all us Americans, as well as the military combatants. Funny thing.

There are many other Bush II creations, such as the trashing of the Constitution by his cutesy little signing statements affixed to bills passed by both Houses of Congress to be signed into law. That’s right, Bush took to scribbling crap by his presidential signature that negated the legislation of over 800 bills passed in accordance with the provisions in the Constitution that Congress will pass laws……Obama sounded so full of disgust with it when he was running for president; I guess he must have forgot about promising to stop with the signing statements already. Must have slipped his mind.

But Bush II was so much of a spoiled brat president that he, with the stroke of a pen, decided that if he did not like the way a law was written and presented to him for presidential signature, he would change the whole damn law. Take the McCain No Torture Bill that said America will not engage in torture tactics in any way or fashion. Bush attached a signing statement that said that he as president, if he thought it was in the best interest of America and National Security, that he would damn well torture anybody he wanted to. Dictatorship, anybody? Well, guess who continued the practice of affixing signing statements in the Bush tradition of Constitution burning? If you guessed Obama, you get a cigar. Forget that Obama deplored such Bushisms when running for president; he has upheld the Bush tradition in so many ways that some have begun to call him Republican light. Pay no attention to that man behind the screen.

What took the cake and when Obama broke the pick with me was when he came out and favored extending the 2 Trillion dollar Bush tax cuts for the rich for another two years. Damn! Limbaugh, Hannity and O’Reilly must have given each other a high five. Palin probably decided right then and there to run for president. They all knew that would put Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in the crosshairs. The Beast had been properly starved at that point. There would be no going back to fiscal responsibility. And the Tea Baggers could heap lie upon lie about how social programs, not something as paltry as 2 Trillion dollars more in tax cuts for the rich, were the real cause of the National Debt. Dumb now becomes us. The polls are in. Now the world officially knows for certain that America has fallen and hit its head.

But say, does that sound like a president who is looking out for the people? We got big money problems already, and they have taken the scalpels out to start carving up Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, just ask Paul Ryan. So you take out another 2 Trillion dollars just grab it out of the National Treasury coffers set up to pay our bills and whamo! Now you see it; now you don’t. Poof………is it any big mystery why now, Obama has joined the ranks of Neocon Tea baggers like John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and Sarah Palin to cut Medicare, Social Security, and other government spending to appease those who would bury working couples and their families by cutting the programs they depend on for bread, medicine, and a decent place to live? It is to me. I don’t know why Obama caved. But he and the Democrats have let a lot of people down. And have let the Neocon alligators swim the moat as they lowered the drawbridge for them to come in and destroy the people in the castle.

Why?

Why doesn’t anybody scream to the heavens that we need to stop all the wars and bring our troops home so that the borrowing and spending on foreign countries can be redirected to saving our own country here at home?

Has anybody ever heard a Republican or a Tea Bagger mention bringing our troops home from foreign countries as a solution to reducing the National Debt and the Deficit? Anybody at all? John Boehner? Sarah Palin? Paul Ryan? 

Why is it that you never hear any of the Tea Baggers, Neocons, and the likes of the borrow-and-spend Republicans talk about cutting spending on the endless wars and occupation of countries overseas? Aren’t those Trillions of dollars real money, too? Could not those dollars be summoned to pay for a big portion of our $14 Trillion dollar National Debt? Say what? War is profitable for those who contribute the most for candidates running for office? So what has that got to do with serving the voters who don’t give a damn about continuing to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan when that policy puts Social Security and Medicare on the operating chopping block and Paul Ryan is the carving surgeon? Say, have we been led to the slaughter unaware?

Must we sacrifice our jobs, our houses, our children, and all that we knew to be America in exchange for millions of square miles of sand, scorpions, and spiders somewhere out there? Must we allow our healthcare for the old (ne Medicare and Medicaid) take hits so that Halliburton can maintain its no-bid contracts to sell the Pentagon $500 hammers? And $40 million of meals to our soldiers in Iraq that they never served up? You got to wonder if the whole American system will fall down and crash onto itself before anybody will stop to even notice. You got to think that we must all be brain-dead to continue to allow this mad massacre of ourselves, our financial system, our dollar, our very country and goodness as a people, and yes, our very families, to go on. While the war complex vampires continue to lust for the bloody dollars that used to help the elderly (MEDICARE) and the children (SCHIPS). And the bloody Congress we elected to act as responsible fiduciaries of the people, have started to surgically cut up programs that help Americans. And Obama caved in to help them. As the Democrats we trusted join the Republicans in the carnage of programs to help the American people instead of Iraqis, Blackwater, and other high-dollar drains on the battered Treasury.

The number of caves and why is depressing. I thought about taking parts from each to write about, but the drill is just too depressing. So here is a short Google list based upon only two words placed in the browser window. You can read them at will to the point of ad nausea. Or not.