Hooray for our side! Another one bites the dust. Of course, my celebratory mood has been brought on by the intelligent switch of Senator Arlen Specter, (D-Pennsylvania) – sorry, I just had to take the opportunity to type that D. It was the topic of the day yesterday, Obama’s 99th, and can be said to be the icing on the cake of the mythologically important “First Hundred Days.” But it was icing, nonetheless, and something for us to celebrate on our side of the aisle.
Now, there was plenty of nay-saying going on from both sides about Senator Specter. The Republicans, predictably, decried his defection as a personal political decision. Well, let’s not be silly about this. Every one of them made that same sort of political decision some years ago when they kissed up to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and the like in order to get elected down south. How quickly we forget. And on the Democratic side, there was some grousing. Mrs. Jack, for example, spits every time she sees Specter, due to his brutal attack against Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Being her consistent self, she spit again yesterday at the news. I had to point out that it was a good thing, and that not being enough, I had to remind her that Senator Specter has expressed his regrets about that matter. Other Democrats and pundits have rightly pointed out, as well as Specter himself, that he will not be a rubber-stamp Democrat assuring that 60th vote to break a Republican filibuster. Okay, that’s disappointing to me, but I’ll accept it.
The real news here isn’t necessarily how the newest Democratic Senator votes on the issues of the day, but instead what it clearly demonstrates about the state of the Republican Party. In a week where a new poll shows that only 21% of Americans identify themselves as Republicans, this was just another blow to a political party that has been staggered by the last two elections.
Think about it for a moment, 21% is barely more than one fifth of the voting population. In its wild careen to the right, the remainder of the Republican Party is losing more ground every day. Now, we Democrats and “lefties” shouldn’t jump up and down about this too much because that poll did not show a jump in our numbers. Those folks who left the Republican Party went to the center where the independents live. For the first time, maybe ever, independents outnumber one of the major political parties. This is not particularly good news for either party. But at least we held our ground despite Republican claims that “the people” are on their side. That kind of crazy rhetoric deserves a great big “BULLSHIT!” in light of this recent poll.
How did this happen to a party that just four short years ago – it seems a lot longer to me – looked to be unstoppable when they successfully re-elected one of the worst presidents in modern times when most everybody believed or suspected that to be the case? It comes down to two simple matters, one an old adage: Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. The other is that the GOP stumbled into the political bramble bush laid for them by the Religious Right coupled with a stealth racist movement in The South that hides behind the Religious Right. That’s right. I said it. I live here and hear the whisper campaigns that reach my ears because I’m an old white man who is often mistaken for “one of us.” It is a stealth movement because nobody admits to belonging to it, yet we saw it in full bloom at Sarah Palin rallies across The South as well as the rural Midwest. It may be quiet, but it is real. And the Republican party has shamelessly pandered to these vipers since the Nixon Southern Strategy raised its ugly head in the late 60s.
Fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party held their noses and waded into the mud in order to regain control over a government that they felt was “socialist” due to LBJ’s Great Society. Then in the 70s, Jimmy Carter brought religion into politics by making such a big deal of his “born-again” belief system, riding it to the White House where a different bunch of religious fanatics far away brought down his presidency along with the Shah of Iran. But by then the genie was out of the bottle, so to speak, and a few hypocritical evangelists seized the moment for their own greedy purposes and threw in with the Republicans citing “abortion activism” and the lack of forced Christian prayer in public schools as the reason behind their sudden interest in politics. The gay thing came later.
Pres. Ronald Reagan, 1984
Reagan, a not-so-religious person, cozied up to his new support group, enjoying their votes on a ride to the White House against an incumbent president. Then the Religious Right really started flexing its muscles within the Republican Party, refusing to criticize President Reagan for not vigorously advancing their cause. Instead, exercising political patience and wisdom, they bided their time, slowly infiltrating the upper echelons of the party, eventually taking it over. Reagan’s Republican
Bill and Hillary Clinton
successor, George H. W. Bush, gave only tepid lip service to the Religious Right and paid the price as they stayed home in droves on election night, passively giving the presidency to Democrat Bill Clinton. With their point made, the Religious Right tightened their stranglehold on the Republican Party causing it to launch an eight-year witch hunt against Bill and Hillary Clinton. And the only reason the Clintons maintained their position at the center of the bull’s eye was the fact that Bob Dole–Mr. Viagra–didn’t appeal to the RR either, and once again they stayed home in droves.
Hanging chads in Florida, 2000
But by 2000, having not been raptured away, the Religious Right got busy again and rallied behind Baby Bush who had recently found religion when it counted. With a little help from a Republican-stacked Supreme Court–this is why Specter’s support of Clarence Thomas is still a sticking point today for many on the left–Bush rode a bungled election in his brother’s state of Florida past Al Gore. Now the Religious Right really had some street cred within their chosen party, and they used it every chance they got. They cheered as “their president” led the nation into a mid-East war in hopes that it would trigger their end game, Armageddon. These folks really are nuts about this. They believe it is their ticket past the undertaker and straight to heaven. But it can only happen after a war breaks out over Jerusalem. So this led to the followers of The Prince of Peace becoming shameless warmongers for their own personal agenda. And the upside for them was: even if Armageddon doesn’t come right now, we can at least force Christianity upon our poor misguided fellow citizens by making it the religion of state.
Re-enter the Republican Party, now led by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Launching a war against a new villainous, pagan enemy gave them cover to impose their neo-con views upon an unsuspecting nation. But they needed their buddies in the pulpits of the Religious Right to fan the flames of fear and hatred, keeping them in power as long as possible. And that’s exactly what happened four years later when a very unpopular president was re-elected due to a huge turnout among religious conservatives boosted by anti-gay-marriage amendments on the ballots of critical swing states. Once again, the Religious Right had proven its power to the Republicans, so what had up to that point been lip service, turned into legislative action, which the Democrats managed to keep in check. Then came the strange case of Terri Schiavo, and the entire house of cards began to fall. It was slow but steady from that point on, with sexual misconduct uncovered on the part of several Republican lawmakers adding to the decline in support among many Christians who suddenly felt used by the GOP. Then, of course, Katrina led to the fall of the last “passionate conservative” card, as President Bush did an imperial flyover peering dispassionately out the window of Air Force One.
Since that ill-fated day the Republicans have been in complete decline as a national party, losing heavily in the last two elections. But like a giant anaconda, the Religious Right is maintaining its iron grip on the GOP, squeezing what little life is left from its gasping lungs. The confused and befuddled remnant of GOP leadership is stymied as to a course out of the bramble thicket. It knows that to abandon its social-conservative base will lead to an even smaller number in the next poll and sure defeat next year in the mid-term elections. But what alternative does it really have? The rest of the nation has rejected not only the GOP’s support of greedy CEOs and bankers who have stolen the life blood of our country, but also the mean-spirited social agenda pushed by the Religious Right. But in the grip of fear, the GOP careens farther and farther to the right, clinging to their toxic base unto death.
Being a great big “D” Democrat, I have little sympathy for the GOP. I feel they have finally been exposed as the narrow party they have been for quite some time; but a thriving democracy requires a minimum of two competing parties to keep everybody honest, at least most of the time. So it is my wish for the conservatives–that is the fiscal conservatives–that they either regain control over their party or move on to form a new party that reflects their views, leaving the religious fundamentalists behind. If the GOP wants to be that party, they are going to have to make the necessary changes to regain the respect of average middle-of-the-road independent Americans; otherwise, they are going to join the Whigs as a quaint footnote in American political history. It’s your choice to make, Republicans. Consider your options wisely.
REMEMBER KATRINA!
As the debate heats up about the Bush Administration’s decision to use torture against the provisions of every international law, and even more importantly the laws of our democracy, it seems to me that the issue of equal justice under the law is being ignored. Torture is either legal or illegal, and my view is that it is always illegal. That was also the view of our government at the end of World War II when we prosecuted to the full extent of the law those in Germany who followed orders from their infamous government under Adolf Hitler. So why are so many Republicans and conservative pundits now making excuses about its use in the so-called War on Terror?
There has been a never-ending parade of former Bush Administration officials coming on the cable channels, preferably FOX NOISE, making no apologies for their bad behavior, and in fact saying that it was a good thing. Dick Cheney, his daughter Jill, Karl Rove and George Tenet have all come forward with the theory that torture worked and should be utilized in order to keep our nation safe. They accuse President Obama of jeopardizing the security of the US by “telling our enemies what they need to be ready for in case they are captured.” Hey, dummies, clean out your ears. President Obama has clearly stated that we will no longer use torture (enhanced interrogation techniques in Bush double talk). So that makes moot the assertion that it tells the enemy what to expect. Of course, even when the Bush Administration folks were carrying out those evil practices, everyone in the world knew exactly what was being done. So that makes the argument that the enemy weren’t prepared moot to begin with.
PFC. Lynndie England
Dishonourable discharge ... Lynndie England is led handcuffed from court in Texas after being sentenced to three years' jail for abuse at Abu Ghraib. Photo: AP
What really busts my chops about this topic is that which nobody is talking about. Remember those young soldiers who were convicted by military courts for carrying out the orders of their higher ups? Remember all of the shocked outrage expressed by members of the Bush Administration and Republican Congressmen from both houses at the “bad behavior” of a “few bad apples”? I remember it well. I remember watching the spectacle of a pregnant Lynndie England being paraded before the media cameras on her way to trial. Where was Dick Cheney, who obviously thinks torture is a good thing? Where was Donald Rumsfeld? Where was Condoleeza Rice? Where was President George W. Bush? That’s right, they were all in the crowd of rock throwers that gathered around a bunch of scape-goated young soldiers. Let’s face it, what they really did that made the Administration and its Pentagon mad enough to go after them was to blow the cover off of their clandestine torture operations by sending pictures to their friends back home.
So now, all these years after Abu Ghraib broke across the known world, making the greatest constitutional democracy in the world look like the Evil Empire from Star Wars, the truth is beginning to surface about who knew what and when they knew it. Now, much has been made of the memos from the White House Counsel’s office that gave the “legal go ahead” to use those “enhanced interrogation techniques” by declaring them constitutionally acceptable. Of course, what we don’t know is how much pressure was coming from, let’s say, the President of Vice’s Office, to come to that conclusion. It’s not uncommon to “shop around” for a lawyer who already shares your viewpoint in any legal case. But in addition to this aspect, there is one more glaring exposure that isn’t getting much discussion: Condoleeza Rice okayed the use of those “enhanced interrogation techniques” before those memos said it was all right. Let’s just keep the record straight, even if the talking heads from the right do their usual thing and muddy the waters.
What is all this commotion really about? Isn’t it really Dick Cheney’s Republican colleagues coming to his rescue? Isn’t this really just another example of Republican politicians closing ranks to protect their own? After all, Senator David Vitters of Louisiana, aka “Diaper Dave,” still stands as an admitted client of prostitutes, yet the “morally upstanding” Republican Party gives him a very vocal leadership position. In my opinion the Republican Party has a long-standing history of sending the message out, “If we do it, it’s okay. If anybody outside our fold does it, we prosecute to the full extent of the law.” Isn’t this just another example of this mindset on the right? Of course, it is!
And here’s the other tactical approach they are resorting to: blackmail! They are making clear threats that they will bring down Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Jay Rockefeller if the Democrats dare to pursue any sort of investigation into the matter. They allege that Speaker Pelosi and Senator Rockefeller as well as other key Democrats on Capitol Hill knew that torture was being carried out, and by their silence gave their consent. Okay, Republicans, here’s the deal. We Democrats aren’t quite as willing to stand behind bad behavior on the part of our elected representatives as you all are. If it can be proven that Pelosi and Rockefeller, and any other Democrat for that matter, encouraged, advocated or even allowed torture to be practiced by our government, then let the chips fall where they may. Now, that may cost us a Senate seat from a conservative state like West Virginia, but I’m sure that the demise of Ms. Pelosi won’t result in a gain by the Republicans in San Francisco. So, to quote a redneck bumper sticker often seen on the roadways of The South: Ain’t Skeered!
The right thing to do, something I rarely see Republicans concerned with, is to investigate the activities of our government during the so-called War on Terror so that we can be sure that in the “heat of the moment” we don’t travel down the same wrong road again. Torture is wrong! I’ve seen countless Republicans defending it in the last couple of weeks, and that’s exactly the reason that an investigation is needed. I’ve seen Joe Scarborough say over and over and over again that “everybody supported it” after 9-11. Well, I didn’t support it, so technically not EVERYBODY was all for doing any and every unlawful thing that came to mind “ under the circumstances.” I’m always amazed at the Biblically high-minded Republicans who are against any variance from Bible morality, yet are always so quick to put morality aside when it suits them.
We don’t allow murders and robbers to go free because they have a “good reason” for what they did. The “law and order” Republicans would scoff at any such notion, but whenever one of their own is caught outside the law, they are quick to come to their defense. I remember when Rush Limbaugh was “caught” with his hand in the prescription jar. The right was up at arms that such a “good American” was being persecuted. I remember when the Reagan Administration funded weapon purchases by Nicaraguan rebels from Iran by funneling proceeds from drug sales on the streets of American cities in a little operation known as the Iran Contra Affair. Of course, the big guys, Reagan and Daddy Bush, all proclaimed their lack of knowledge – that is, until Reagan admitted he knew about it all along. What we got was a great big cover-up and the sacrifice of Oliver North, who was blamed for everything. The list goes on: Dick Cheney and Karl Rove in the Valerie Plame matter. Scooter Libby took the fall for that one while the feckless Rove and Cheney have gone on to Republican celebrity status thanks to FOX NOISE.
There’s nothing new in all of this. We’ve seen it time and time again. Yet when Bill Clinton engaged in hanky-panky in the Oval Office with an indiscreet young woman, the Republicans were quick to put him on trial and impeach him. The Republicans didn’t see any danger to our security in putting a sitting President on trial for sexual misconduct, yet they issue warnings of doom if we should pursue investigating the activities of a past administration. How ridiculous! How typical! How hypocritical! How Republican!
In the spirit of bi-partisanship, I have a suggestion of a trade-off on this whole “torture” debate. Let the investigation go forward so that others in the future won’t be tempted to do such a thing again regardless of the circumstances, then let the President pardon the wrongdoers and put the whole thing to rest. Oh, and one more thing: Pardon those poor soldiers who took the blame for an Administration policy gone wrong. They were scape-goated in a most hypocritical way by an Administration that was busy covering up its wrongdoing. Then we can strengthen the laws assuring that the whole thing doesn’t happen again. If the Republicans can’t agree with this, then they are just being partisan as usual. That is, unless they plan to re-institute torture when they regain the White House. Could this be their true agenda? Unfortunately, time will tell.
REMEMBER KATRINA!
That is not the headline I envisioned when I decided several busy days ago to write on this topic, but seeing yet another reference to it topping Willie Geist’s list on Morning Joe today, I was moved to change my view just a little. If you still haven’t guessed what I am writing about, it’s the seeming tempest in a teapot set off by the answer given by Miss California USA to a question posed by Perez Hilton during last Sunday’s Miss USA pageant. The entire incident ignited a firestorm of media coverage that was probably not warranted on the basis of the two “queens” involved. But as a gay guy, I feel that the entire incident cannot go without comment in my blog.
First of all, who really cares what Miss California USA has to say on one of today’s hottest and most divisive issues? My guess is that it only has major impact among those of the Religious Right, the inventors of the “gay agenda,” and gay people who are struggling to get equal civil union or marriage rights across the country. Everybody else, I would posit, is probably just watching the “show.” And what a spectacle it turned into thanks to the back and forth between a bitchy queen, that would be “Mizz” Perez Hilton, and a less-than-gracious beauty queen from California. Whatever the extreme advocates from either side may think, they were both wrong, and their stubborn defense of their “opinions” and ill-chosen words only makes it worse for the real people caught in the crosshairs—gay people with a legitimate cause.
I will begin with the beautiful Miss California USA. And please don’t say that she isn’t beautiful in the physical sense. She is stunning when her face lights up with her dazzling smile atop her statuesque body. What Miss California USA obviously doesn’t know is that one of the mainstays of beauty pageant audiences is gay men. Don’t ask me why. We just love beauty pageants. Maybe it’s the clothing or the hair or the jewelry, or maybe beauty queens are the last remnant of that which inspires the stereotypical big-haired drag queens that are, like it or not, part of “our” culture. But whatever the reason, it is the gay man who keeps beauty pageants in business or not. I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence that the more right-wing rhetoric that came from the participants in the Miss America pageant, the lower its ratings plummeted, forcing it to go on a cable-channel hunt for a television audience. Country Music Television obviously didn’t work, despite all the “God, guns and country” gushing engaged in by the contestants. So in its latest incarnation it has launched a pre-pageant exercise calling on the talents of obviously gay hosts to “help” the contestants hone their skills.
Carrie Prejean
So, my dear Miss California USA, what you stumbled into on Sunday evening was an exercise in biting the hand that feeds you, regardless of your good “Christian-girl” intentions. I have been willing to give the girl a pass on the whole issue due to her age and probable lack of life experience, but her follow-up interview was troubling for me at a gut level. I know she was baited into joining the fray by the bitchy Mizz Hilton, but in falling for the bait she only made her situation worse.
What bothered me the most was her attempt to minimize her position as an “opinion.” This just highlighted her lack of understanding and compassion for a group of people she doesn’t have any regard for as individual human beings. I know that the mantra of the Religious Right on the “gay agenda” is that it’s a choice to be gay. Well, I’m living proof that nothing could be further from the truth. But the assertion by this young woman that this amounts to no more than a difference of opinion is ridiculous. It is not a mere difference of opinion when a group of religious people impose their “opinion” on a minority population by working vigorously to pass laws to make it all right to discriminate against them. And as the recruitment of black Christians to join the “hate agenda” against gay people grows, I would point out to those folks that, had there been state by state elections on the civil rights of African-Americans back in the 50s and 60s, you would have been up against a constitutional amendment that kept you from your civil rights to this day. So think about that as you jump to impose legally binding constitutional bigotry on any group in America.
Now, that’s all I was going to say about Miss California USA’s role in this whole mess as of this morning, but I saw something else that made me feel that perhaps she needs a little more tutelage on graciousness. When informed of Perez Hilton’s scathing, uncalled for, and rudely over-the-top remarks about her, she said “I will pray for him.” Now, I don’t know if you watch it or not, but one of my favorite new programs on television is “Lie To Me.” It chronicles the work of a team of facial expression readers as they help various law-enforcement agencies in DC solve crimes. It’s absolutely fascinating although I will admit that it is a bit chilling to my paranoid side, but that’s another matter. I say that only in reference to something I noticed this morning as the clip of the beauty queen was played on Morning Joe. When she said that she would “pray for him,” a look of utter contempt and disgust came over her face. It wasn’t a very “beauty-queen” moment for the would-be Miss USA. In fact, her expression was downright ugly. I could be wrong, but I don’t think she was planning to pray for anything good to happen to Perez Hilton. That said, the bitch had it coming. And by bitch, I mean the mean spirited Perez Hilton.
Perez Hilton
As a blogger myself, and a gay man, I have long been an admirer of Perez Hilton. After all, he gives a voice – albeit a nelly/queeny one – to the gay movement for civil rights in America. So, just as I admit to loving beauty pageants, I also admit to loving Perez Hilton. But, Baby, what a bitch you were to that poor girl. You, too, snarled and bit the hand that feeds you, and that would be the hand of Donald Trump, who has brilliantly kept the Miss Universe Pageant on a solid financial footing while moving it from second place behind Miss America to the pre-imminent position it enjoys today, including a prime-time spot on NBC on Sunday night. Mizz Hilton, please, don’t mess things up. The Donald, in choosing you as one of the judges, recognized the contribution to audience share that gay men give to the world of beauty pageants.
And how did you pay him back? By unleashing a firestorm of controversy and then beating it into a media frenzy. If you were unhappy with Miss California’s answer to your question, you couldn’t have done a more stupid thing than to give her days of television coverage to promote her narrow point of view. That’s just bad message management, Mizz Hilton. On top of that, to resort to vicious name calling was a low blow all the way around, and caused the rest of your brothers and sisters who are struggling to obtain their civil rights in horrible states like mine, Texas, to suffer yet another public relations setback. Guhl, you were way too bitchy for primetime!
And let us not overlook the “forgotten queen,” Miss USA, formerly Miss North Carolina, who is being overshadowed by the girl she bested in the competition. I saw her on television also this week and she seemed nice enough and gracious enough for both sides, but I fear she scuttled any chance she might have at becoming Miss Universe when she glibly wished that she would win that international crown thus leaving Miss
The Donald
California as the new Miss USA. Now, that would likely set off a whole new tempest and possibly break the teapot. But I believe the tough, you’re-fired guy will know exactly what to do to keep the ship afloat through any controversy. I only have one suggestion for The Donald, and that is: Don’t let NBC put you up against Desperate Housewives again. As much as I love the Miss USA Pageant and even more the Miss Universe Pageant, I am absolutely unwilling to give up a new episode of Desperate Housewives for anything. Sorry, Donald, it’s just a fact.
And following up on that, I will admit that I did a very manly thing while watching television Sunday, flipping the remote control back and forth during commercials on ABC to check out what was going on in the pageant. I missed Mizz Perez’s question, but I did see the countdown of the finalists to the winner. Due to not watching the whole thing, and missing the gay marriage question, I admit that I thought that the judges had made a mistake in not picking Miss California as the winner. I calls them like I sees them, but beware all you would-be beauty queens, beauty is only skin deep, and when you make grimacing faces when you talk against gay guys—or anybody else for that matter—you don’t look very beautiful. So no matter how tired and sore those cheek muscles get, keep smiling!
And Perez Hilton, YOU’RE FIRED!
And all of this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t –
REMEMBER KATRINA!
Since my last posting I have been too disgusted to put fingers upon keyboard. The noise from the creepy conservatives has been overwhelming my ability to have anything nice to say about them AT ALL! It’s not that I haven’t been lavish and effusive in my disdain over the time period I have engaged in blog writing, but I am trying this year to be a little more “fair and balanced.” You know what I mean. I have been trying to at least find some humor in their outrageous, loudmouthed spokespersons such as Limbaugh and Palin, but lately I have been suffering from a sense of humor crisis. They have ceased being funny to me and have become downright dangerous. And it’s not just their “leaders,” whoever that may be these days. The “tea parties” have unleashed the same crazies who attended Palin rallies.
Gov. Rick Perry
Dixie Chicks
I’m going to stay close to home – make that at home! We were treated this week by our governor, the Dishonorable Rick Perry threatening to secede from the United States of America. Well, that got my blood boiling unlike anything I’ve heard in a while. Isn’t this the same state that brutalized the Dixie Chicks for expressing embarrassment about President Bush? Doesn’t Rick Perry belong to the same Grand Old Party that labeled every attacker of Bush policy as unpatriotic and seditious? Isn’t this the same Rick Perry who begged the Federal Government to put troops on the Texas border with Mexico to protect us from the drug wars that rage across a narrow and shallow river sometimes spilling over onto our streets already? The answer to all of the above is yes! It is the same Perry who belongs to the same sore-loser party mentioned above. Now, he wants to pull his people, the people he is supposed to serve in their best interest, out of the good old USA. Isn’t that a declaration of war? Isn’t that sedition? Doesn’t that, at least, show a lack of patriotism? Once again, the answer is yes!
Dallas, Texas
Now, for all of my crazy fellow Texans who think that Governor Perry might have something, let’s take a peek at the overlooked facts about our state’s associations with the Federal Government and what Perry is risking. I’ll selfishly start with my own greatest concern: Veterans Medical Centers in cities such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. What does Governor Perry offer to the brave veterans of Texas in the way of healthcare once the USA closes down its Veterans Healthcare Centers in our state? And let’s talk about another bit of assistance the State of Texas enjoys from the USA. Go to San Antonio and look at all the military bases there. Some 
say the city owes its modern existence and economic strength to the Army and Air Force bases located there. There’s Fort Bliss in El Paso where I went for basic training when drafted into the US Army in 1968. It is a major part of the economy of El Paso. There’s the Naval Air Stations in Corpus Christi and Kingsville, Texas, not to mention the Naval Homeport located there. Those would be closed by the USA if we were to leave. Fort Worth has an Air Force base as well as Wichita Falls. And Killeen, Texas, would have no reason for being if Fort Hood was closed.
Mission Control, Johnson Space Center
What about NASA? Do you think the government of the United States would control its space program from a foreign country? Doubtful! What about border control? I guess my old home state would become the new southern border – that is if they don’t follow their crazy Texas cousins – and the US Border Patrol would move its operations to Ardmore, OK to keep all us illegal aliens leaving Texas from becoming Red River “wetbacks!” What about all of those US Social Security pensioners who would suddenly not be citizens of the US? Might the US Government decide to cut off their Social Security benefits?
Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades.
Here’s a fact. Texas is “governed” by a lean and mean state government under Republican management and has been for a good many years. It was the design of its founders when it was a newly formed Republic that it have a small and weak central government. Not much has changed over the years from 1836 to now. Tax stingy Texans have again and again refused to spend money on infrastructure, education and assistance for the less fortunate among us. Instead they have bought in to the Republican rhetoric that “no government spending is good spending.” So, before we bail on the United States of America, we better think long and hard about what the cost will be to us as a go-it-alone republic in a dangerous world. We would have to pay for our own border patrol – that is unless we want to have the Mexican drug cartels set their sights on the newly disorganized country to their north. We would have to pay for our own armed forces including weapons systems and facilities. Surely we are not naïve enough to think the Pentagon of the United States of America would leave their weapons behind for us to use against them. In addition to all of the afore-mentioned military bases and Federal security services, we would lose huge amounts of money for education and highway repair and construction.
Murrah Federal Building bombing
And I have one more question for Governor Perry. How, exactly, would you fire the first salvo at the United States to signify our none-too-graceful exit? On the 14th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in my hometown of Oklahoma City by a right-wing extremist, would you encourage by your reckless rhetoric a similar attack on a Federal Building in one of the cities of Texas? I think it is a fair question, Governor. What kind of crazy behavior are you enabling by a lunatic fringe on the right? I call you out on this, Governor Perry! Explain yourself, sir! What, exactly, are you calling for?
I’ll tell you what I’m calling for. I’m calling for your immediate resignation as the governor of my state! I would prefer to have Rob Blagojevich as governor. And if, as I suspect, you do not have the common honor to resign, I feel that it is time for your impeachment on the grounds of sedition against the United States of America. I’m serious! It is time for you and your sanctimonious Religious Right buddies to get down on your knees and repent your sin of pride! And if you are really in the kind of daily contact you claim with God Almighty, I’m sure He will guide you to do the right thing and resign. You are endangering the lives and well-being of those you serve. That is the exact opposite of your job description and the oath you took as governor. There is a reason that a mere 40% of Texas voters re-elected you as governor, and that reason is quite clear now. Time to say good-bye!
Orlando, FL tax day tea party
As my readers can clearly see, I have completely lost my sense of humor. And since I’m here already, I have a few well-chosen words for the idiots who took to the streets for those ridiculous “extemporaneous tea parties.” GO BACK TO WORK WHILE YOU’VE STILL GOT A JOB! I have written about my crazy aunt Eunice in the past, and here she is again front and center along with her children. They were out there on April 15th in Oklahoma City, ranting and raving as usual. Here’s the rub. Aunt Eunice is receiving monthly welfare checks and food stamps. Her son is a tax-paid officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department. And her dear daughter, a truly sweet woman who is the dimmest bulb in a pack of 10-watt light bulbs, works for – wait for it! – The Oklahoma Tax Commission, as an – get this! – auditor! You know, you just can’t make anything this good up. Well, you could, but I didn’t have to.
Oklahoma City tea party protest
Wait! There it is. It’s back. In the idiocy of my own hypocritical conservative Okie family, I have once again found my sense of humor. Welcome back, old friend. Boy, have I missed you. (I’m not a schizophrenic with borderline personality disorder, I swear it.)
Anyway, in a tribute to one of my favorite bloggers, Helen, over at Margaret and Helen, I say to all those crazy creepy conservatives out there, “SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE HELL UP!” We’ve all heard what you have to say, and we still don’t like it. Go home or go to work or wherever it is you belong, but leave us alone. We don’t like you and don’t want to play! And one last thing: You’re ugly, and your mother dresses you funny!
REMEMBER KATRINA!
There is much talk on the airwaves and blogosphere about the relative importance of Wall Street and Main Street. So, which is the most important street in America? Well, there is little doubt that Wall Street is gobbling up the discussion about the economy. After all, that’s where the banks and brokerages reside. It is where the money circulating in the private economy of our nation goes back and forth. Main Street, on the other hand, is the place where we live. It actually is Main Street here in Houston, but it may have a different name where you live. In England it is called High Street in most cities. But whatever its name, it is the street of local commerce in our cities.
A lot of argument is going on about where to put the stimulus moneys from the Federal Government: Main Street or Wall Street? It has developed into a class war of sorts pitting big business against small business and individual citizens. But all of that noise is a distraction from the truth. There is only one street where power resides in our nation. It is located in Washington, D.C. So is it Pennsylvania Avenue? Guess again. You have heard it mentioned from time to time if you are a political news junkie like I am, but it doesn’t get the kind of attention it deserves. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the answer is: K Street.
“What is this K Street, and what makes it so powerful?” you ask. It is the street in Washington D.C. where the lobbyists have their offices. It is where the money comes into Washington from all those influential fat cats that most of us don’t even know about. Why don’t we know about them? Because the news media, both print and broadcast, largely turns a blind eye to their activities. We are rarely informed of who is pumping all those non-tax dollars into Washington, and when I say Washington, I mean Capitol Hill and, yes, even the White House. This is not a partisan issue and should not be treated as one, no matter how you may feel about one side or the other. Both Democrats and Republicans who have been elected to the highest offices in our land are beholden to the folks over on K Street for their victories in the past and future.
Here’s how it works. Lobbyists are usually former elected officials or federal agency officials who have left government for whatever reason. But while they were there, they made a lot of very powerful friends. I mean a lot! These guys can get in to see Congressmen and Senators, and yes even the President of the United States or one of his top advisors simply by picking up the phone and making an appointment. You, too, can usually get in to see your Congressman or Senator by calling for an appointment, but not the President. But what carrot do you, a mere citizen of Timbuktu, have to offer the powerful men and women who make the decisions that affect your daily life? What you have is your single vote come next election. But these folks over on K Street have a lot more to offer when they make their little trips to The Hill or the White House. What they have is access to cash come the next election. Now, they are not allowed to actually hand over cash to one of our elected officials. That practice was stopped a while back, But they know where the money is buried, so to speak. And where is that money buried? In a legal little tool called a PAC.
What is a PAC? PAC stands for political action committee. These are funds set up by all kinds of entities to funnel election contributions to politicians. You may even be part of a PAC and not know it. We are all bombarded by junk mail that asks us to contribute to this, that, or the other cause. Often those funds go into a PAC which can be used as a political arm of whatever organization it represents. It may be a liberal cause such as climate control, animal rights, or civil rights; it may be a conservative cause such as right to life, gun rights or anti-gay activities. Most people are unaware of where the money they contribute goes. Some of it will go to pay lobbyists, some into PACs, but most of it ends up in an election campaign coffer somewhere. And like it or not, no one could afford to run for office if it weren’t for those political contributions. To win election in even the most remote Congressional District is very expensive!. There are print ads to buy in the local newspapers, and even more expensive television spots to pay for. This is why the fine “journalists” of our nation are not particularly “interested” in following the money in this story. It’s where their paychecks come from: advertising.
Big corporations can only make limited direct contributions to candidates now, but they have PACs that they use to bundle contributions from “employees” and the like. What they can do, though, is hire a lobbyist. There’s no illegality there. And sadly, every time there has been an effort to stop this practice, the Federal Courts have ruled that limiting lobbying is an abridgement of the right to speak. So it just goes on and on. So “the golden rule” applies to our “democracy.” He who has the gold, rules! It always comes down to that, no matter how much it is denied. Big business, especially big insurance and big pharmaceuticals have held back any serious efforts at healthcare reform for decades. Big banks and big brokerage houses and now we find out big insurance kept regulations at bay until they fried our financial system with their greed. And we rarely talk about the biggest hog at the trough, defense contractors. They have used the fear of outside aggression to become the sacred cow of our budgetary process.
Lockheed Martin, America's largest defense contractor, produces the F-22 Raptor.
A couple of days ago I wrote about the differences between ancient Athens and Sparta. I received an insightful comment from my friend over at MoreLightThanHeat. She correctly pointed out another tactic Defense Contractors have employed to keep getting the money they want, whether the weapons system they manufacture is necessary or not, or maybe even relevant in modern warfare or not. We are beginning to hear the baying of Republican wolves over an attempt by the Obama Administration, in the person of Secretary of Defense Gates, to cut some of the excess spending from the Pentagon. MoreLightThanHeat revealed in her comment that big defense contractors have “spread” their plants and operations all over the nation, sprinkling some into each and every one of the 50 states. This move on their parts has given cover to any Congressman/woman or Senator to give a “good reason” for seeing things their way, thus distracting our attention from the amount of access these companies have gained through political contributions as illustrated above.
Board of Directors meeting
Many years ago I was disappointed to personally learn the intricacies of the lobbying/PAC system when I was elected to the Board of Directors of the Texas Shorthand Reporters Association. What I really wanted to accomplish upon my arrival in reporter politics was to end our participation in that process. Sadly, upon my arrival, I learned that it was a matter of survival for my profession. We were beset by powerful lobbying efforts on behalf of people who were trying to replace us with tape recorders. I won’t bore you with the details of why tape recorders aren’t an adequate or even more cost-efficient replacement for a well-trained stenographic reporter in the courts of our land, but I can still explain it in detail. Long story short, I learned that without a good lobbyist and a PAC, we were doomed to lose our jobs. The whole thing was extremely expensive, but we had no choice but to fight. Five years later I helmed TSRA and fought the battle of my life to keep our jobs, and by golly, we won! But as much as I would like to take credit for the win due to my excellent public debating skills on the issue, we would have lost the battle long before we had a chance to debate it had we not participated in the lobbying/PAC system that I still hate to this day.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
There was a Republican President that warned us of the impending dangers we face today. It was Dwight David Eisenhower, who, in his farewell address warned the citizens of our nation to beware of the Military-Industrial Complex. His warnings went unheeded, so today we find ourselves at the mercy of big corporate interests who have all the money they need to manipulate our system of government to get what they want no matter what the cost to the taxpayers may be. Can we stop this? It’s hard to know at this point. But while we sharpen our pitchforks and head for Wall Street, let’s not forget their toadies over on K Street who are the ones who made all of this possible in the first place.
REMEMBER KATRINA!
