A group of IVAW members (all veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan) were joined by a few hundred supporters on the Hofstra campus to provide each Presidential candidate a question to answer during their debate Wednesday, October 15, 2008. Matthis Chiroux who is resisting a return to either war and faces severe legal consequences was one of those veterans. If you visit the IVAW website at http://ivaw.org there are many links to the story of what happened with the police that night. Most links show video, good and bad, of the trampling of activists by the police horse patrol. Democracy Now has a link to the story.
As I sat watching all the video and reading all the different stories I became more and more enraged by the patch of an American flag on each cop's uniform. It was a sickening sight of a symbol that should represent freedom but has come to represent shameful violence, oppression and the worst kind of nationalism.
I can't say I'm surprised by the events of that evening. I remember veterans getting assaulted by police in the 1970's by police who were directed to stop us. I remember Ron Kovic being tossed from his wheelchair as if he were a grave danger to any abled body person. I remember tear gas and batons. What has happened to IVAW isn't new. It just gets pretty damn old in a nation priding itself for supporting their troops. The reality is this is a nation of perpetual war and perpetual lies. Allowing either McCain or Obama to seize power is an obscenity and insult to any person seeking peace and justice.
But come November 5, 2008 one of them will become the next President and all their lies told during the campaign will be forgotten. And all the promises will evaporate. And young men and women will continue to be killed and maimed for the sake of country and flag. They'll be asked to kill and maim. And on return they'll be discarded as disposable tools of oppression. The horses of police will step on them and crush them as Matthis Chiroux describes below:
WT Leichner VVAW
Hooves of fury stampede veterans/U.S. Constitution Oct. 15
Matthis Chiroux of the "Hempstead 15" recounts his debate experience
Wednesday, Oct. 15th, 2008, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War
and supporters gathered near the Hempstead, N.Y., train station to
march on the final presidential debate at Hofstra University.
Our intent was made clear in a letter to Bob Schieffer, the debate
moderator, one week prior. We wanted two members of our organization
inside the debate where they would ask one question of Obama and one
of McCain. If CBS and the candidates failed to meet our demands, we
would march on Hofstra at 7 p.m. in a peaceful attempt to enter the
debate to have our voices heard.
I planned on asking Barack Obama if he would back up his assessment of
the occupation of Iraq as illegal by supporting servicemembers who
would thus be required to refuse service there. Kris Goldsmith planned
on asking McCain about his history of failing to vote in favor of V.A.
funding, especially since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq.
Non-violence was stressed in every stage leading up to this action. It
was stressed by me and Kris to Det. Thomas J. Calvert and Det. Robert
Annese of the Nassau County Police Department the day before the
action. Calvert and Annese were in charge of security for the debate,
and they assured us they would instruct their officers to respect the
non-violent spirit of the action by using restraint towards peaceful
veterans and demonstrators.
In every stage of planning, IVAW made every effort to keep all planned
tactics and actions "above the table" so that the candidates, the
media, the police and the country would know exactly what would happen
if our demands were not met.
We were at Hofstra to force the issue that veterans and servicemembers
are not being cared for or heard from by our government, and the
candidates, CBS and the Nassau County Police Department couldn't have
proved us more correct.
We, the veterans and our supporters, stood together in solidarity,
knowing the stakes were high. But a resolve echoed deep from with us
to stand our ground and be heard. Twice these candidates had brushed
us off, and thrice just wasn't going to happen.
So at seven p.m. when we'd heard nothing from the moderators, IVAW
made good on its promise to the candidates and Det. Calvert. We
marched to the front gate of Hofstra, read our questions and
peacefully proceeded into police lines.
Because these candidates cared more to hear from "Joe the Plumber"
than veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, ten veterans went to jail and
five civilian supporters joined us.
This upsets me, but I knew the risk, and if I must fall in defense of
democracy, peace and justice, I offer my sacrifice willingly.
What infuriates me is the GROSS MISCONDUCT of the police in the
process, much of which I believe to be illegal.
After my arrest, the police charged their horses onto a sidewalk and
unprovokedly knocked my friend Nick Morgan, a veteran of Iraq, to the
ground and trampled his face. They then arrested him, put a piece of
gauze on his facewound and loaded him onto a bus headed for jail with
the rest of the Hempstead 15.
After they brought Nick onto the bus and we the veterans identified
him as exhibiting signs of a concussion and as needing immediate
medical attention, our arresting officers laughed at us and told us
Nick would receive no help unless he himself asked to go to the
hospital, though Nick was barely conscience and completely disoriented
at the time AND THE COPS KNEW IT!
We pointed out that as a result of a serious head injury, Nick wasn't
aware enough to speak for himself. The police responded with, "too bad."
After Nick stirred enough for us to instruct him to ask for medical
attention, he was taken to a hospital, diagnosed with a fractured
cheekbone, given nothing more than Motrin for the pain and brought to
the Police Station where he sat chained to a bench for 5 hours with no
further medical attention at all.
Additionally, police pulled other members and supporters of ours from
the sidewalk and arrested them while horses spun in circles causing
injury to most who couldn't escape their paths.
All of this, I observed after arrest through the large windows of a
bus we were detained in which was parked parallel to the demonstration
and subsequent atrocities.
While on the bus, the officers mocked us, calling us idiots and
whiners. When we arrived at the Nassau County Detention Center, the
hazing did not cease.
One officer, when I brought up the prospect of speaking to a lawyer,
threatened to, "put me in the back (jail)," where, "the big boys will
pop your cherry!" When I asked this officer if he had just threatened
an honorably discharged veteran of Afghanistan with prison rape and
told him I wanted his name and rank, he refused and told me to look it
up on the police report which the Nassau County Police Department has
refused to provide us a copy of.
While detained, the three females who were arrested with us, including
Marine Reserve Capt. Marlisa Grogan, were sexually harassed by the
police who went so far as to hold Ids next to the chained women's
faces and make comments like, "you look like you came out of a Barbie
magazine."
All night, they didn't stop. "You're cowards, you're idiots," they
said. The hostility was thick and unwarranted.
"This non-violent protest stuff is retarded," they said (as if they'd
prefer the alternative). "See how it got your friend's face fucked up?"
Literally, they said this when they brought Nick in and chained him to
the bench. The harassment only increased from there.
"Look at you friend's face," said one officer. "You're responsible for
that." As if I gave to order to charge horses onto a crowded sidewalk.
I saw this same officer in the Colony diner where we went to eat after
we were charged with disorderly conduct and released. He was with the
one who threatened me with prison rape, and when I approached them
respectfully and again asked for their names, he leapt to his feet,
threw his finger in my face and began threatening to "beat my ass" if
I didn't drop it.
Afterward, one of his friends, also a police officer, approached me,
accused me of being drunk and said I was about to get arrested again.
I retorted that his accusations were false (considering I'd only
gotten out of jail 30 minutes prior) and that I was only interested in
learning the names of the officers who arrested and harassed us as I
have the legal right to do. He responded with only his name, which he
said was Peter Sikinger, but refused to reveal the names of his
partners, though to his credit, he did back down from threatening me
with arrest.
I am outraged at the egregious conduct of the Nassau Country Police
Department and the failure of Det. Calvert to make good on his promise
to "make things go as smoothly as possible."
But mostly, I must put this on the candidates.
Barack Obama and John McCain, you have failed to properly address the
occupation of Iraq and veteran and servicemember issues in this
campaign. You failed to hear from us, the veterans and servicemembers,
at the conventions. Your overwhelming concern for "Joe the Plumber" at
the final debate while veterans are killing themselves at a rate of 18
per month is inhumane to say the least.
The fact that you allowed your veterans to be arrested, brutalized and
harassed for simply trying to be heard by you is inexcusable. Forever
should your consciences be scarred for what you allowed to take place
to veterans on American soil.
But our questions still stand, and we still demand answers.
Obama, are you ready to support members of the military refusing to
participate in the occupation of Iraq which you have termed "illegal?"
McCain, as a veteran, how can you account for your abysmal failure to
vote in favor of post-2003 legislation to fund the V.A. which provides
life saving services to men and women who gave all to serve this
nation?
Besides which, you both owe the Hempstead 15 an apology. You owe Nick
Morgan an apology for the reconstructive surgery he'll be receiving
and the permanent, violent altering of his face that is a result of
your failure to hear from us.
You owe every veteran in history a public statement condemning the
sidewalk trampling of Nick and Carlos Harris, an Iraq veteran, who
also had his foot broken by a horse. As well Geoff Millard, a disabled
veteran of Iraq with degenerative spine disease who was knocked to the
ground, dragged from the sidewalk and arrested, and Nadine Lubka, one
of our supporters, who was kicked in the face by a horse.
And we the people are not done forcing this issue.
I encourage every person who reads this to contact both the Obama and
McCain campaigns and demand they answer our questions and condemn the
actions of the police Wednesday night.
They don't own this election, the media doesn't own this election, we
the people own this election, and we deserve to have our voices heard.
Any candidate who disagrees with that statement is unworthy the
Presidency of the United States of America.
Peace and Solidarity,
Matthis Chiroux
Sunday, October 19
Thursday, October 16
Wallowing in The Mud Of John McSwine
How Bush, Rove and Cheney-like is John McCain? His latest attempt to smear ACORN, a community organization that advocates for lower income families and for voter registration is how much McNasty has become Bush, Rove and Cheney-like.
Just seeing the FBI entering the ACORN offices the day following the hyperbole of McSwindle at the debate is message enough about the "class warfare" he was bitching about last night. The rich white guys of corporate Amerika with their Richie Rich son of the Admiral surrogate has declared war on the voting rights of the poor and lower middle class citizens.
The last two elections these contempible bastards managed to steal elections with rigged voting machines, ignoble voter challenges and rigged long lines in the most likely to vote Democrat communities. This time around, they're really afraid because of unprecendented voter registration not only by ACORN but by many, many other groups. Turns out the Democrats have registered more than the Republicans.
So, it must be a conspiracy by ACORN to cheat reasons the idiot who would follow the idiot to the Presidency. A massive voter fraud that threatens the democratic fabric of this nation, he storms. Where the hell was he at in 2000 and 2004??
Well, we know where he was at. In one of those 7 homes he lost count of owning. Living on the wealth of his rich wife and seeking to find a way to fulfill his destiny of being "Commander-In-Chief", a position his Admiral daddy never got. Johnny boy doesn't so much want to be President as he wants to be the man who gets to play with all the toy soldiers on the strategy board of world domination. He'll get to bomb and shoot all those Iranians and Islamo-fascists just like the good ol' days before he became the hero POW.
"I know veterans", he says but lacks the put up so he should shut up. He is the worst kind of veteran; one who never learns from the mistakes of history. One who remains 25 and likes to blow up things, likes to talk about war and likes the hero mantle bestowed upon him by the miltaristic society he lives in.
But before McWane can be commander in chief he has to go to war against the poor. He has to portray them as the problem we have in this nation. So, he gets his buddy, who he says he's not, to send in the feds despite all reports to the contrary about voter fraud being widespread in ACORN. He ignores the facts ACORN themselves reported the fraudulent registrations by lazy workers just wanting to get paid for the number they registered. He ignores the lack of prosecution of any ACORN staff for voter fraud and the fact it was not so long ago,he, John McCain, was a supporter of the ACORN movement.
But of course, like the chameleons of DC, all politicians reserve the right to change their moral colors to suit themselves. John McCain has proved he's one of the best at the moral ambiguity of sleazy politicians. He makes Obama look like the best and brightest star to lead this nation.
So, the question will be if the American public will allow these sleazy, criminal and immoral bastards to steal one more election. If November 5th comes around and McCain/Palin are the winners despite all polls and all exit polls saying something different will it cause the needed revolution? I doubt it.
I'm including a statement by ACORN on the smear campaign started by McSleazy and his pet bulldog PaleOne.:
ACORN Responds to Senator McCain’s Desperate Attack
October 15, 2008
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, ACORN National President Maude Hurd issued the following statement in response to Senator John McCain’s attack:
"We appreciate Senator McCain's effort to stir up the Republican base by attacking a community organization working to increase public participation in our democratic process. However, these attacks reflect an increasingly panicked candidate. Unfortunately, the Senator McCain we saw tonight is very different than the Senator McCain who stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN at a February 20, 2006 immigration reform event.
It is clear for us to see that John McCain was for ACORN before he was against ACORN; he was for reform before he was against reform; and he was a maverick before he became erratic. What is really going on here is that Senator McCain and his allies are part of a coordinated effort to engage in what appears to be an unprecedented effort to suppress voter turnout. Repeating a lie doesn't make it true, and the McCain campaign has resorted to the worst type of deceptions in regards to ACORN."
The Facts:
ACORN has helped 1.3 million citizens from all parties and all walks of life apply for voter registration.
In most states, ACORN is required by law to turn in every voter registration card - even in cases where the cards are not valid.
It is ACORN that has reported almost all of the issues regarding voter registration cards to elections officials, and flagged the suspicious cards.
Invalid voter registration cards do NOT constitute voter fraud. Even RNC General Counsel Sean Cairncross has recently acknowledged he is not aware of a single improper vote cast as a result of bad cards submitted in the course of an organized voter registration effort.
ACORN hired 13,000 field workers to register people to vote. In any endeavor of this size, some people will engage in inappropriate conduct. ACORN has a zero tolerance policy and terminated any field workers caught engaging in questionable activity. At the end of the day, as ACORN is paying these people to register voters, it is ACORN that is defrauded.
Just seeing the FBI entering the ACORN offices the day following the hyperbole of McSwindle at the debate is message enough about the "class warfare" he was bitching about last night. The rich white guys of corporate Amerika with their Richie Rich son of the Admiral surrogate has declared war on the voting rights of the poor and lower middle class citizens.
The last two elections these contempible bastards managed to steal elections with rigged voting machines, ignoble voter challenges and rigged long lines in the most likely to vote Democrat communities. This time around, they're really afraid because of unprecendented voter registration not only by ACORN but by many, many other groups. Turns out the Democrats have registered more than the Republicans.
So, it must be a conspiracy by ACORN to cheat reasons the idiot who would follow the idiot to the Presidency. A massive voter fraud that threatens the democratic fabric of this nation, he storms. Where the hell was he at in 2000 and 2004??
Well, we know where he was at. In one of those 7 homes he lost count of owning. Living on the wealth of his rich wife and seeking to find a way to fulfill his destiny of being "Commander-In-Chief", a position his Admiral daddy never got. Johnny boy doesn't so much want to be President as he wants to be the man who gets to play with all the toy soldiers on the strategy board of world domination. He'll get to bomb and shoot all those Iranians and Islamo-fascists just like the good ol' days before he became the hero POW.
"I know veterans", he says but lacks the put up so he should shut up. He is the worst kind of veteran; one who never learns from the mistakes of history. One who remains 25 and likes to blow up things, likes to talk about war and likes the hero mantle bestowed upon him by the miltaristic society he lives in.
But before McWane can be commander in chief he has to go to war against the poor. He has to portray them as the problem we have in this nation. So, he gets his buddy, who he says he's not, to send in the feds despite all reports to the contrary about voter fraud being widespread in ACORN. He ignores the facts ACORN themselves reported the fraudulent registrations by lazy workers just wanting to get paid for the number they registered. He ignores the lack of prosecution of any ACORN staff for voter fraud and the fact it was not so long ago,he, John McCain, was a supporter of the ACORN movement.
But of course, like the chameleons of DC, all politicians reserve the right to change their moral colors to suit themselves. John McCain has proved he's one of the best at the moral ambiguity of sleazy politicians. He makes Obama look like the best and brightest star to lead this nation.
So, the question will be if the American public will allow these sleazy, criminal and immoral bastards to steal one more election. If November 5th comes around and McCain/Palin are the winners despite all polls and all exit polls saying something different will it cause the needed revolution? I doubt it.
I'm including a statement by ACORN on the smear campaign started by McSleazy and his pet bulldog PaleOne.:
ACORN Responds to Senator McCain’s Desperate Attack
October 15, 2008
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, ACORN National President Maude Hurd issued the following statement in response to Senator John McCain’s attack:
"We appreciate Senator McCain's effort to stir up the Republican base by attacking a community organization working to increase public participation in our democratic process. However, these attacks reflect an increasingly panicked candidate. Unfortunately, the Senator McCain we saw tonight is very different than the Senator McCain who stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN at a February 20, 2006 immigration reform event.
It is clear for us to see that John McCain was for ACORN before he was against ACORN; he was for reform before he was against reform; and he was a maverick before he became erratic. What is really going on here is that Senator McCain and his allies are part of a coordinated effort to engage in what appears to be an unprecedented effort to suppress voter turnout. Repeating a lie doesn't make it true, and the McCain campaign has resorted to the worst type of deceptions in regards to ACORN."
The Facts:
ACORN has helped 1.3 million citizens from all parties and all walks of life apply for voter registration.
In most states, ACORN is required by law to turn in every voter registration card - even in cases where the cards are not valid.
It is ACORN that has reported almost all of the issues regarding voter registration cards to elections officials, and flagged the suspicious cards.
Invalid voter registration cards do NOT constitute voter fraud. Even RNC General Counsel Sean Cairncross has recently acknowledged he is not aware of a single improper vote cast as a result of bad cards submitted in the course of an organized voter registration effort.
ACORN hired 13,000 field workers to register people to vote. In any endeavor of this size, some people will engage in inappropriate conduct. ACORN has a zero tolerance policy and terminated any field workers caught engaging in questionable activity. At the end of the day, as ACORN is paying these people to register voters, it is ACORN that is defrauded.
Hey Joe, Where You Going With That Wrench In Your Hand??
Hey Joe, where you going with that pipe wrench in your hand?? Turns out our newest American hero is not Joe, The Plumber but is an unlicensed, Joe, the apprentice. John McCain's new best friend is also a tax scofflaw which may explain his ambush of Obama on paying taxes. Joe, say it ain't so....you don't want to pay taxes like the rest of us working stiffs????
Also, Joe, there's no way you're making 1/4 million dollars without a plumbing license. An average plumber makes about $30-40 an hour if they're lucky and can get work year round. With the construction industry in the dumps, thanks to McBush and friends..yeah you, too, Obama...there's a lot of unemployed plumbers, carpenters, pipefitters and electricians.
And, Joe....if you think sharing the wealth is about socialism, what was bailing out Wall Street and the bankers??? It was the biggest socialistic action of this new century. Unfortunately the socialism only makes it to the folks in that ten percentile that makes over 250,000 a year. It sure doesn't help the mentally ill, the single moms, the developmentally challenged, the blind, the elderly without resources, the uninsured family and all the other Americans most in need at this time.
No doubt, Joe feels the welfare cheats are causing a big drain putting out babies and not working but Joe is looking the wrong way for the welfare cheats. It has always been the rich corporations getting the most taxpayer dollars in corporate welfare. They either get it through bailouts ala Wall Street, Chrysler and others or they get it through tax loopholes allowing them to NOT pay taxes at all. So, Joe, look at the truth; it ain't the blacks and illegals causing you problems it's all those rich white folks who keep you thinking they're your friends.
Buy your plumbing company, Joe. See who really screws you over. The big companies will under bid you and drive you out of their market. This is a Wal-Mart world, Joe, and you're thinking we live in some damn democracy. Wake the hell up, dude!!
Also, Joe, there's no way you're making 1/4 million dollars without a plumbing license. An average plumber makes about $30-40 an hour if they're lucky and can get work year round. With the construction industry in the dumps, thanks to McBush and friends..yeah you, too, Obama...there's a lot of unemployed plumbers, carpenters, pipefitters and electricians.
And, Joe....if you think sharing the wealth is about socialism, what was bailing out Wall Street and the bankers??? It was the biggest socialistic action of this new century. Unfortunately the socialism only makes it to the folks in that ten percentile that makes over 250,000 a year. It sure doesn't help the mentally ill, the single moms, the developmentally challenged, the blind, the elderly without resources, the uninsured family and all the other Americans most in need at this time.
No doubt, Joe feels the welfare cheats are causing a big drain putting out babies and not working but Joe is looking the wrong way for the welfare cheats. It has always been the rich corporations getting the most taxpayer dollars in corporate welfare. They either get it through bailouts ala Wall Street, Chrysler and others or they get it through tax loopholes allowing them to NOT pay taxes at all. So, Joe, look at the truth; it ain't the blacks and illegals causing you problems it's all those rich white folks who keep you thinking they're your friends.
Buy your plumbing company, Joe. See who really screws you over. The big companies will under bid you and drive you out of their market. This is a Wal-Mart world, Joe, and you're thinking we live in some damn democracy. Wake the hell up, dude!!
IVAW Vets Arrested & Trampled at Debacle
photos by Bill Perry, VFP/VVAW- Vietnam combat vet
At Least Nine Demonstrators Arrested as Iraq Vets Try to Enter Final Presidential Debate
By Alex Kane
October 16, 2008 | Posted in IndyBlog | Email this article
As millions of Americans were readying their television sets to tune into the final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, a much different scene was unfolding outside of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY where the debate took place.
At least five members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), a group of military veterans who are calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, were arrested, as well as at least four civilians, according to National Lawyers Guild observers. Nassau County police on horses trampled one member of IVAW, Nick Morgan, a veteran who served in Iraq for about a year. Morgan was knocked to the ground, and according to witnesses, the horse hooves slammed down on his face. A gash was visible on the side of his head as blood dripped down onto the pavement.
** 12 members of ivaw were arrested - see more at www.ivaw.org **
Protesters in the crowd said that Morgan was taken to a local hospital.
“The horses were pushing, like really pushing, against [members of IVAW], and physically touching their bodies,” says Erika Ward, an NYU student and intern at Democracy Now! “To see people laying on the ground…was crazy. For me, it was really emotional, [and] I saw people crying,” she continued.
AT THE HEMPSTEAD STATION
The protest began slowly, with about 70 anti-war activists rallying at a parking lot nearby the Hempstead train station. Speakers included a member of the New York Civil Liberties Union, a local civil rights advocate, a Military Families Speak Out activist and a member of the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Worker Rights. As more activists from the NYC area poured in, the march to the campus of Hofstra started, with defiant chants of “Stop the torture, stop the war, this is what we’re fighting for,” and “They’re our brothers, they’re our sisters, we support war resisters!” filling the streets of Hempstead.
With IVAW members at the front, the crowd swelled to around 400 demonstrators. Members of the local Planned Parenthood joined in along the way. At one point, as the antiwar march neared the campus, a group of ten members of the Gathering of Eagles, a conservative pro-war organization, heckled the demonstrators. They shouted epithets like “traitor” and “treasonous” at the Iraq veterans.
The troops have “been promised so much…it’s important for IVAW to have a voice,” says Chelsea Florio, a freshman at Fordham University and a member of the Fordham Anti-War Coalition.
The members of IVAW, backed by a crowd of anti-war protesters, were allowed to pass through one line of police before they were met with lines of Nassau County riot police and cops on horses who would not allow the veterans to enter the Hofstra campus. IVAW members Matthis Chiroux and Kris Goldsmith, who organized the protest, went first and were promptly arrested. At least three other veterans and four civilians followed and were arrested as well.
The arrests seemed to energize the crowd, and as they chanted, “Let them in,” it looked as if things could easily get out of hand.
The police on horses pushed back against the crowd, which was fronted by a group of about 15 Iraq veterans, until the demonstrators had been moved onto a nearby sidewalk.
After a tense standoff for five minutes, it looked like the police in riot gear shoved veterans and demonstrators to push them even further back, and around four people were knocked over by riot police and horses. It was during this fracas that Morgan was injured. After the police assault, a standoff between the cops and demonstrators occurred for over an hour.
A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS
A week ago, Chiroux, who this past May publicly declared his intent to refuse to deploy to Iraq, sent a letter to CBS debate moderator Bob Scheiffer spelling out the demands of IVAW. Chiroux’s letter demanded that two members of IVAW, himself and Goldsmith, be allowed entry into the debate to ask Senators Obama and McCain one question each. CBS or Schieffer did not respond to the letter from Chiroux.
“What yourself and the candidates must decide now, Mr. Schieffer, is what the legacy of this debate will be. Will this be remembered as an event where both sides of the [aisle] and the media came together to hear from our nation’s heroes…or will the words and promises of both candidates be forever shrouded in the image of a host of uniformed veterans and their supporters going to jail because these campaigns cared too little to hear from them?” Chiroux’s letter read.
“Our goal is to make Iraq and veterans the forefront of the debate,” said Goldsmith.
Chiroux planned on asking Obama a pointed question: “My question is, as President of the United States of America, are you prepared to back up your own words [about the illegality of the Iraq War] and the U.S. Constitution by supporting service members refusing to participate in what you describe as an illegal occupation?”
Goldsmith wanted to ask McCain a question about his lack of support for veterans. “What promises are you willing to make, as a veteran, as a senator, as a presidential candidate, to the veterans of the United States, to prove that you will ensure the V.A. is fully funded, staffed and capable of preventing troops from suffering as they are now?” he says.
With the crowd emotionally exhausted and worn down, the protest started to taper off at about 8:30 PM.
“We have a blind media [and] deaf candidates, but [IVAW] has a voice that will be heard,” James Gilligan, a member of IVAW said earlier in the day.
--
Betsy Reznicek
Veterans For Peace
Outreach and Communications Specialist
www.veteransforpeace.org
314-725-6005 ext. 102
McNasty's Straight Talk Runs into A Big Curve
Seems the "straight talk express" has a problem staying on the road for "my friend", John McCain. Wait a damn minute! He's not my friend and where does he get off saying that all the time.
Also seems Johnny likes us to believe he knows the life of the "real Joe the Plumber" not the one making 1/4 mill a year. John McCain has lived a life of privilige since birth and has a long history of self centered behavior. His POW act gets old as he fails to either be present to vote for veterans' benefits or votes against increasing them. The non-political Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) rated him with a "D" grade on his support of veterans. They gave Obama a "B" grade. And he isn't a war hero!
In 1999 McCain made statements about abortion that indicated he didn't want to reverse Roe vs Wade because it would mean a lot of unnecessary and unsafe operations for women. Once confronted by those statements he tried to parse his statements into a different context. Sort of like his remarks about the economy being fundamentally sound. When a few days later AIG and others faced collapse he decided he was talking about the American worker being fundamentally sound. Guess again, John. We're losing our jobs or being forced into poor paying jobs that don't support our families. How sound is that?
The McCain train has asked who Obama is but we should ask who John is today. Is he the nasty bastard that almost attacked a wheelchair bound mother wanting his support for a MIA report from North Vietnam? John McCain repetitively nixed release of such a report leaving MIA families fuming.
Is John the loving husband of Cindy or the cold SOB who ditched his first wife who was disfigured in a car accident while John was a POW? McCain chased the rich second wife all over the country while still married. His behavior was so vile even Ronnie Reagan and Nancy didn't want anything to do with him.
Tonight, McNasty had the audacity to portray himself as a "victim" of smear tactics by civil rights icon, John Lewis. Lewis stated McCain and Palin were allowing the same type of political enviornment to happen as George Wallace did back in his segregationist days. Well we have to remember John did oppose the MLK holiday and has repeatedly attempted to overthrow affirmative action. And if he doesn't understand what John Lewis was talking about he should view the videos of those beloved supporters of his entering the arenas for rallies. They accuse Obama of being an Arab, a terrorist and other garbage. One has a stuffed monkey with an Obama sticker as a hat and says to the video team..."this is "little Osama". Don't believe it's any coincidence these frothing racists are all white, some wearing those military hats ol' John talked about and all headed to a McCain/Palin rally.
At least Obama didn't completely throw Lewis under his bus but he continues to fail the test of calling racism what it is for fear of alienating white voters. When the hell will the subject of racism be addressed, again? The next time a city is burning or a riot takes place?
The winner of the debate on Wed the 15th had to be the rich plumber who will have his 15 min of fame. Someday, we'll probably discover old Joe was planted by Karl Rove to attempt embarassing Obama. Nah, Karl wouldn't do that...would he??
Friday, October 10
John and Sarah Go KKKlubbing
The two vids mentioned in the article
A McCain supporter shows his true "colors"
I’ve just viewed two videos from the blog, Political Machine, which scares the hell out of me. It takes a lot to scare me anymore. But in an article titled, “Taunting Prospects” by David Knowles there are two videos included of McCain and Palin rallies. The videos are a series of brief interviews of the people entering the rallies. They are asked about Senator Obama and the answers and comments are so appallingly racist I was jolted by them. The rallies are not in the Deep South. They’re in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I’m nearly 60 and have lived during the time of civil rights marches, a war in Vietnam and the continued racism of this nation as a privileged white male. I did grow up with a feminist mother that refused to allow me to become an overt bigot, however. I came to understand the pervasive nature of hate and racism that exists in this nation.
Whites will claim they’re discriminated against by blacks and other minorities but the brief episodes of discomfort with the discrimination they endured is absolutely nothing compared to the hateful bigotry of the white man and woman toward our brothers and sisters of color.
My own father, a child of the Deep South, brought a lot of racist baggage into our home but my mother wouldn’t let it go even though she also grew up in Arkansas. I heard the words “nigger” and “spic” coming from my father and cringed. I learned at an early age he was talking about friends I went to school with on the north side of Denver.
After the Civil Rights Amendment was enacted, America didn’t change all that much. The hateful racism continued in more subtle and less subtle ways despite federal laws. Institutional racism continued. Poverty continued to hit the minority communities much harder than other communities in this nation. But there was some progress because of the law. It took brave men and women to demand the laws be upheld to push the progress but it seemed to be gradually moving forward until Ronald Reagan became President.
Saint Ronnie was the beginning of the Neo-con Age of America. He systematically began the destruction of social safety nets for the poor through his economic policies which led us to the meltdown we have today. Ronnie talked a good story because he was an actor and his role of President was his best part. But St. Ronnie was a malevolent old man who turned things back to the good old boy’s club of white rich men in power. He tried to destroy unions wherever he could. He began with the air traffic control union with a membership of more than 50% Vietnam vets. He tried his best to undo affirmative action. He took up the cause of dictators in Central America. He began to unravel social programs with less funding and the promise of “trickle down” economics. The trickle down from the rich to the poor consisted of slamming doors of opportunity for most in the minority communities of poverty.
After the alleged “enlightened age” of Clinton; Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and their proxy, George W. Bush, came to power with their hate tactics. And they manipulated elections enough to steal the Presidency. The reign of terror by the Neo-cons began in full view of all of us and we failed to stem the evil tide. September 11, 2001 became the perfect opportunity for the Machiavellian coup of American democracy. Presuming we ever had a democracy.
Abuses of power, stripping of rights and, worst of all, preemptive wars killing innocent humans in the hundred of thousands became a hallmark of the new Bush junta. Americans were either paralyzed by fear or actually felt it their destiny to become the new Roman Empire. Radical religious zealots became powerful and determined the path of violence and evil this nation took. And they did it claiming they were fighting radical religious zealots who threatened the Christian nation of America with evil.
Mindless followers of the zealots parroted unsubstantiated talking points about every aspect of society. They imposed their ideology on all of us whether we wanted it or not. And arguing with them was useless because they were, and still are, so programmed in their rhetoric they have closed their minds to any other reality. To accept the true reality of ruthlessness, evil preemptive wars and overt and destructive greed becoming the paramount American ideal is a total cognitive dissonance for the “fanatics of Christ”.
The very idea Christ would scream vile and hostile epithets at women entering Planned Parenthood clinics is preposterous. To think Christ would scream out “faggot” to gay men is totally incomprehensible. The thought Christ would endorse dropping 500 hundred pound bombs on civilian population centers in Iraq and Afghanistan is truly an abomination. Believing Christ would approve of greed and wealth called a “ministry of prosperity” is absurd.
I’m a Christian but I am ashamed of the phony Pharisees posing as Christian men and women. That includes many religious leaders. It includes my own archbishop and many of the Catholic leaders of America. It includes the Pope who refused to allow a gay ambassador from France to be installed at the Vatican. I hardly believe “his eminence” has the ear of Christ with his intolerance.
Christian zealots have concocted numbers of abortions in the millions but can never give the source of their information. Apparently they believe if they say it long enough we will believe their numbers or accept that God gave them information. Certainly there are far too many abortions but how foolish we are to believe women would “want” an abortion.
At the same time, the zealots refuse to acknowledge the number of children killed in our senseless wars. They continue to accept the ongoing use of the death penalty here in the US, which exceeds all other nations. “My church” continues to preach birth control is “evil” but fails to associate the lack of birth control in poor nations with the sinfully large number of starving children. Parents trying to follow the dictates of the Church are put in a no-win, life and death dilemma by dogmatic and foolish men who lack empathy and actual knowledge to minister to poor people. Approximately twenty thousand humans die each day from the extreme effects of poverty. Eight thousand children die each day of malaria. The zealots fail to mention these people in the numbers they so easily recite off the top of their heads. Many of them will say the poor and afflicted of this world are those who have failed to believe.
These are the people America has allowed to dictate our national agenda. These are the people who would not be averse to causing an apocalyptic situation to bring the “Rapture” about. They are brainwashed and deluded into thinking they will be rescued and all us “non-believers” will be savagely struck down by the rampaging Jesus of their imaginations.
Today I watched members of this group in two videos answering questions about Barrack Obama. They were all white. They seemed predominately well off and overweight. Many wore military hats advertising their patriotic zeal. Many of the respondents were young and female. They were hateful and frothing racism. If they were attractive, their hate disguised it. They hated the people trying to get them to answer why they disliked Obama. They genuinely hated Obama and accused him of being a terrorist, a Muslim and a traitor. They said stupid and ignorant things that have absolutely no basis in fact. Their real message; Obama is a “nigger”. He is “that one”. Their code words of hate can’t conceal what they are really saying.
John McCain and Sarah Palin have ramped this group of bigots into a frenzy. It seems the only thing missing is white hoods and burning crosses. And the frightening part is how many there is who share this vicious attitude. There can be no dialogue with them. They have programmed themselves to believe they are on a crusade to restore the Christian way of life. And it doesn’t matter how much hate, racism and vileness they use as long as they succeed.
I am not a fan of Senator Obama. I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I sincerely believe the two parties have completely failed this nation and need to be thrown out of office. A new party or parties of responsible adults need to truly represent the citizens of all parts of this nation in a mature way instead of the childish and foolish way we’ve allowed the two party systems to carry on. Actual dialogue and discussion should take place to make decisions to govern. Of course, I’m the one deluded to think such a thing possible.
I do clearly see John McCain and Sarah Palin are agents of hate, however. They are stooges of Karl Rove and his cabal. They are stooges of corporate America. They are people without a sense of morality. If we allow them to be elected we will have reached a new bottom of the electoral abyss.
America will continue to be a cesspool of hatred and racism with the election of McCain or Obama. It’s just a matter of how much putrid waste we want to smell and walk around in as a nation.
Wednesday, October 8
How's Your 401K?
Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s American corporate employers began the systematic destruction of the American worker’s pension plan. Rather than employers contributing to secure pension plans, leaving employees a secure future upon retirement, employers, along with Wall Street, saw the opportunity to convert pensions into plans that invested in the stock market. Not only did Wall Street get a huge influx of the American workers’ pension money but employers reduced their costs for workers’ pensions.
Unions fought against the trend to the “defined contribution plans” because the value of the pensions were open to fluctuations in the market and the employer got off the hook in paying a fair share to employees’ pensions. Instead they were able to decrease their contributions and leave the employee holding the bag to pick up the difference.
Unfortunately, Americans came to believe the employer could be trusted more than employee organizations advocating for workers. Unfortunately, unions allowed themselves to be infested by unscrupulous managers of their pensions and leaders tied to organized criminals like the Mafia, Wall Street and Congress.
After the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, restricting unions ability to organize and creating “right to work” laws in 22 states, the union membership fell from 36% to 12% in the U.S.. Even though union members earn approximately $9,000 more than non-union members nationwide and both non-union and union members earn $2,000-$3,000 less in yearly wages in right to work states, employees still hold on to the idea management “knows best”. This idea is constantly reinforced by corporate industrialists funding campaigns to get right to work laws passed in all states. The laws are in fact “right to earn less laws”.
There remains a constant barrage by management of large multi-national corporations to undermine and destroy labor unions. One of the key strategies to the undermining of unionism is taking away secure pension plans negotiated by unions. The selling of 401k type plans to replace the defined benefit plan was a key.
Since the beginning of these plans there has been a steady decline in savings for the average worker’s pension. This decline occurred at the same time the market was rising at record rates. Only the more affluent wage earner could afford to contribute enough to take advantage of the market’s increase. Even a 2002 article in Wall Street Journal conceded the average wage earner has seen decreased earnings in their pensions over the last 15 years. Today (October 8, 2008) the 401k type pension plan has lost 10-20% in value due to the collapse of the stock markets across the world. Today there is a report from the federal government over 2 trillion dollars has been lost in American pension plans that rely on investments in the stock market.
Companies like Wal-Mart have perpetuated the idea unions are intrinsically evil and will lead to the destruction of American businesses. All while, Wal-Mart and corporate America has sent jobs to China and third world nations willing to overlook slave camps of workers getting paid wages ten times less than American workers. And CEOs of these corporations now make salaries thousands of times larger than the average American worker.
The combination of union corruption and corporate greed and corruption has betrayed workers around the world. American workers once believed they could be part of a strong middle class with some job security and a pension allowing them to live comfortably at retirement. They saw the “greatest generation” of parents and grandparents cashing in their pensions at retirement and thought they could do better by being “in charge” of their pensions through 401k type plans.
The promises of being in charge of their pensions were the same lies as those being told about the Wall Street bailouts. Corporations, banks and investing firms claim they didn’t see it coming but the truth is now coming out. The CEOs of the failed and “bailed” planned ahead for themselves. While they lied to investors about the coming carnage, they started putting away their “golden parachutes” before it came. The management of Lehman Brothers told investors things were “good” while they started taking their bonuses and investments out of the sinking ship. The 75 billion dollar bailout of AIG resulted in the firing of the management initially, only to see them rehired for one million dollars a month to manage what they allowed to fail.
In the 1990’s I worked as a RN at a state hospital with a defined benefit plan. Our union was allowed to die when a Republican became governor. A short time after the governor took office; privatization became the buzz from the capitol. The hospital was turned into an “authority” free of “cumbersome” state regulations and union restrictions. The pensions of those working at the hospital longer than ten years were kept in place but all others were converted to a defined contribution plan (401k type plan).
Try as they might, the explanation by management of how beneficial the conversion from a defined benefit pension to a defined contribution plan didn’t compute as favorable to employees. It amounted to a loss of parity between employer and employee contribution and a far less secure future if the stock market were to go bad. Of course, all were assured the plan would be safe and the market would only deviate up and down in small increments that would balance out and a steady growth would make the pensions much more profitable.
Now, you have to ask who was really making out with the pensions going into the stock market. The employee was getting small returns for their contributions. The employer was getting to pay much less in employee benefits and in many cases the employees were mandated to have part of their pensions invested in the company they worked for (see Enron). And the stock market continues getting a steady infusion of cash to gamble with courtesy of the American worker.
If the duped American worker, who continues to rail against unions for taking money out of their pockets with dues, really examined things they’d see unions actually increase their wages every time unions negotiate wage increases for themselves and over 80 percent of union workers have pension plans while less than fifty percent of non-union workers have pension plans. Non-union employers will increase wages to maintain non-union shops when unions do get wage increases. And sometimes they even offer benefits as bait to keep the union away.
Most union members have health insurance that allows them to actually access care while most non-union members can’t access insured healthcare. Companies like Wal-Mart brag they offer health benefits to their workers but the employee portion of the policies often prevent the worker from participation because they can’t afford the cost and still pay for housing and food. Even when these workers participate, high co-pays keep them from using the benefit except in urgent and emergency conditions. And still the notion of unionization escapes most workers.
If American workers fail to understand the concept and necessity of unions they fail to understand the corruption of corporate America taking their jobs to slave camps in China and third world countries. They fail to understand unless there is a world-wide union movement; no worker in the world can ever be secure in their employment.
The Wall Street crash has taken over 20-50% of savings from pensions and investments such as whole life insurance plans from “main street Americans”. There are quotes of Americans saying they will have to defer retirement because they’ve lost so much. The predatory loans, the reckless investors and the virulent greed of Wall Street, Congress and CEOs has created the likelihood the American worker will lose jobs, wages and benefits.
The fact Americans didn’t see this coming is the same blindness that fails to connect spending ten billion dollars each month in Iraq has consequences not only on the life of their troops but also on an economy already built on a house of cards. They failed to be outraged with the savings and loan scandals led by Charles Keating and certain Congress people (including a certain Presidential candidate). They failed to be outraged at the dot.com crash of tech stocks even though it was obvious there was nothing being sold but promises and lies. And now Americans are outraged that the inevitable has happened to them.
The American people allowed themselves to believe taking away watch dogs of the corporate world would increase their personal interests despite a litany of historical events that flew in the face of such beliefs. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and cronies have raided the American treasury and disbursed it to corporate America. The have left social programs, pensions and healthcare gutted for the rest of America. And Congress has been complicit in the greatest robbery of citizens since the Great Depression. Congress refuses to indict and impeach the Bush Administration. Congress refuses to protect the American middle class and the poorest Americans. Congress is as guilty as Bush in the failure of government. And Americans will look at statements concerning their 401k and continue to wonder what happened. And reelect many of the same criminals responsible.
As the American economy crashes and the perpetual wars continue, Americans are coming to realize the “dream” is now a nightmare. Wealth at the cost of moral values has come back to haunt us. We were sold a hollow dream by criminals posing as leaders. We were promised security but given a future that leaves our children and grandchildren our unfathomable debts. Like our wars of aggression, our greed and obsession with wealth has left our nation bankrupt in financial terms and bankrupt of honor.
It is easy to construe such sentiments as anti-American or traitorous. That tends to be the way flag waving Americans react to any criticism of the policies of the American government. As long as we continue to believe we are beyond criticism and we think a corrupt system can be fixed with some tweaking, we will remain mired in our own failures.
Americans can prove their faith in this nation by demanding fundamental changes in leadership that goes beyond Democrats and Republicans who have shown they’re incapable of leading. They can prove their patriotism by beginning to sacrifice and assure all Americans are taken care of with housing, food, healthcare and education. They can prove their courage by standing up to a failed and corrupt government.
It is unfortunate Americans didn’t rise up when their sons and daughters were sent to unnecessary wars. It is unfortunate they failed to rise up when it was clear their rights were being stripped from them in the name of “homeland” security. It was inevitable the economy would become the major focus. The bottom line is; it has always been about the bottom line for this nation. Now we must change our values. We must decide if we are a moral people. We must decide if we want to be respected as honorable by the rest of the world.
JFK once said” When written in Chinese the word, crisis, is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” JFK was part of the problem that brought us to this point in history but he wisely saw the truth of crisis. Now is our opportunity.
Unions fought against the trend to the “defined contribution plans” because the value of the pensions were open to fluctuations in the market and the employer got off the hook in paying a fair share to employees’ pensions. Instead they were able to decrease their contributions and leave the employee holding the bag to pick up the difference.
Unfortunately, Americans came to believe the employer could be trusted more than employee organizations advocating for workers. Unfortunately, unions allowed themselves to be infested by unscrupulous managers of their pensions and leaders tied to organized criminals like the Mafia, Wall Street and Congress.
After the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, restricting unions ability to organize and creating “right to work” laws in 22 states, the union membership fell from 36% to 12% in the U.S.. Even though union members earn approximately $9,000 more than non-union members nationwide and both non-union and union members earn $2,000-$3,000 less in yearly wages in right to work states, employees still hold on to the idea management “knows best”. This idea is constantly reinforced by corporate industrialists funding campaigns to get right to work laws passed in all states. The laws are in fact “right to earn less laws”.
There remains a constant barrage by management of large multi-national corporations to undermine and destroy labor unions. One of the key strategies to the undermining of unionism is taking away secure pension plans negotiated by unions. The selling of 401k type plans to replace the defined benefit plan was a key.
Since the beginning of these plans there has been a steady decline in savings for the average worker’s pension. This decline occurred at the same time the market was rising at record rates. Only the more affluent wage earner could afford to contribute enough to take advantage of the market’s increase. Even a 2002 article in Wall Street Journal conceded the average wage earner has seen decreased earnings in their pensions over the last 15 years. Today (October 8, 2008) the 401k type pension plan has lost 10-20% in value due to the collapse of the stock markets across the world. Today there is a report from the federal government over 2 trillion dollars has been lost in American pension plans that rely on investments in the stock market.
Companies like Wal-Mart have perpetuated the idea unions are intrinsically evil and will lead to the destruction of American businesses. All while, Wal-Mart and corporate America has sent jobs to China and third world nations willing to overlook slave camps of workers getting paid wages ten times less than American workers. And CEOs of these corporations now make salaries thousands of times larger than the average American worker.
The combination of union corruption and corporate greed and corruption has betrayed workers around the world. American workers once believed they could be part of a strong middle class with some job security and a pension allowing them to live comfortably at retirement. They saw the “greatest generation” of parents and grandparents cashing in their pensions at retirement and thought they could do better by being “in charge” of their pensions through 401k type plans.
The promises of being in charge of their pensions were the same lies as those being told about the Wall Street bailouts. Corporations, banks and investing firms claim they didn’t see it coming but the truth is now coming out. The CEOs of the failed and “bailed” planned ahead for themselves. While they lied to investors about the coming carnage, they started putting away their “golden parachutes” before it came. The management of Lehman Brothers told investors things were “good” while they started taking their bonuses and investments out of the sinking ship. The 75 billion dollar bailout of AIG resulted in the firing of the management initially, only to see them rehired for one million dollars a month to manage what they allowed to fail.
In the 1990’s I worked as a RN at a state hospital with a defined benefit plan. Our union was allowed to die when a Republican became governor. A short time after the governor took office; privatization became the buzz from the capitol. The hospital was turned into an “authority” free of “cumbersome” state regulations and union restrictions. The pensions of those working at the hospital longer than ten years were kept in place but all others were converted to a defined contribution plan (401k type plan).
Try as they might, the explanation by management of how beneficial the conversion from a defined benefit pension to a defined contribution plan didn’t compute as favorable to employees. It amounted to a loss of parity between employer and employee contribution and a far less secure future if the stock market were to go bad. Of course, all were assured the plan would be safe and the market would only deviate up and down in small increments that would balance out and a steady growth would make the pensions much more profitable.
Now, you have to ask who was really making out with the pensions going into the stock market. The employee was getting small returns for their contributions. The employer was getting to pay much less in employee benefits and in many cases the employees were mandated to have part of their pensions invested in the company they worked for (see Enron). And the stock market continues getting a steady infusion of cash to gamble with courtesy of the American worker.
If the duped American worker, who continues to rail against unions for taking money out of their pockets with dues, really examined things they’d see unions actually increase their wages every time unions negotiate wage increases for themselves and over 80 percent of union workers have pension plans while less than fifty percent of non-union workers have pension plans. Non-union employers will increase wages to maintain non-union shops when unions do get wage increases. And sometimes they even offer benefits as bait to keep the union away.
Most union members have health insurance that allows them to actually access care while most non-union members can’t access insured healthcare. Companies like Wal-Mart brag they offer health benefits to their workers but the employee portion of the policies often prevent the worker from participation because they can’t afford the cost and still pay for housing and food. Even when these workers participate, high co-pays keep them from using the benefit except in urgent and emergency conditions. And still the notion of unionization escapes most workers.
If American workers fail to understand the concept and necessity of unions they fail to understand the corruption of corporate America taking their jobs to slave camps in China and third world countries. They fail to understand unless there is a world-wide union movement; no worker in the world can ever be secure in their employment.
The Wall Street crash has taken over 20-50% of savings from pensions and investments such as whole life insurance plans from “main street Americans”. There are quotes of Americans saying they will have to defer retirement because they’ve lost so much. The predatory loans, the reckless investors and the virulent greed of Wall Street, Congress and CEOs has created the likelihood the American worker will lose jobs, wages and benefits.
The fact Americans didn’t see this coming is the same blindness that fails to connect spending ten billion dollars each month in Iraq has consequences not only on the life of their troops but also on an economy already built on a house of cards. They failed to be outraged with the savings and loan scandals led by Charles Keating and certain Congress people (including a certain Presidential candidate). They failed to be outraged at the dot.com crash of tech stocks even though it was obvious there was nothing being sold but promises and lies. And now Americans are outraged that the inevitable has happened to them.
The American people allowed themselves to believe taking away watch dogs of the corporate world would increase their personal interests despite a litany of historical events that flew in the face of such beliefs. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and cronies have raided the American treasury and disbursed it to corporate America. The have left social programs, pensions and healthcare gutted for the rest of America. And Congress has been complicit in the greatest robbery of citizens since the Great Depression. Congress refuses to indict and impeach the Bush Administration. Congress refuses to protect the American middle class and the poorest Americans. Congress is as guilty as Bush in the failure of government. And Americans will look at statements concerning their 401k and continue to wonder what happened. And reelect many of the same criminals responsible.
As the American economy crashes and the perpetual wars continue, Americans are coming to realize the “dream” is now a nightmare. Wealth at the cost of moral values has come back to haunt us. We were sold a hollow dream by criminals posing as leaders. We were promised security but given a future that leaves our children and grandchildren our unfathomable debts. Like our wars of aggression, our greed and obsession with wealth has left our nation bankrupt in financial terms and bankrupt of honor.
It is easy to construe such sentiments as anti-American or traitorous. That tends to be the way flag waving Americans react to any criticism of the policies of the American government. As long as we continue to believe we are beyond criticism and we think a corrupt system can be fixed with some tweaking, we will remain mired in our own failures.
Americans can prove their faith in this nation by demanding fundamental changes in leadership that goes beyond Democrats and Republicans who have shown they’re incapable of leading. They can prove their patriotism by beginning to sacrifice and assure all Americans are taken care of with housing, food, healthcare and education. They can prove their courage by standing up to a failed and corrupt government.
It is unfortunate Americans didn’t rise up when their sons and daughters were sent to unnecessary wars. It is unfortunate they failed to rise up when it was clear their rights were being stripped from them in the name of “homeland” security. It was inevitable the economy would become the major focus. The bottom line is; it has always been about the bottom line for this nation. Now we must change our values. We must decide if we are a moral people. We must decide if we want to be respected as honorable by the rest of the world.
JFK once said” When written in Chinese the word, crisis, is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” JFK was part of the problem that brought us to this point in history but he wisely saw the truth of crisis. Now is our opportunity.
Wednesday, October 1
American Arrogance
I have to keep asking myself every day if there are two wars going on because all I hear about is the bailout of the rich. I'm sure there are troops in Iraq and Afghanistan that are looking for relief. I'm sure the people of Iraq and Afghanistan would appreciate an American bailout. The folks in Haiti would surely appreciate getting a bailout after being battered by four storms. Folks are still waiting in the Lower 9th Ward for their promised bailout. And it should be remembered the ethnic and tribal cleansing in many parts of Africa continues with daily slaughters. Those left to fend for themselves probably need some relief as well.
The point is; peace and justice now means the American economy more than it means an end to aggression killing many thousands each day. How American of us. The bottom line is American's 401k's, mortgages and a continued lifestyle permitting us to remain the biggest consumers of the world's resources is taking precedence over the rest of the world's misery.
Oh, I know, it is foolish to overlook the fall of the great American Empire's greed machine because the rich over-lords will extort Americans for their pensions and housing before they will sacrifice their riches if we persist on objecting to any bailout. And without a doubt, the people will cave. They will prefer remaining economical slaves to a failed system rather than risk losing their comfort.
Americans like to believe they are the most important people in the world but that arrogance is a major reason this nation has elicited hate around the world and the financial ship is sinking to the delight of many in the world. If we travel outside this nation we will find people who will never have a tenth of what most Americans have had. How they must enjoy the frenzied rich Americans thinking their world is coming to an end because they stand to lose part of their wealth. How amusing the cries of “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” from the Wall Street crooks to the American media it must be to the terrorists Bush and Company have demonized so often to keep us in line. Turns out the terrorists that have done the most harm to this nation resided not too far away from the Twin Towers.
Meanwhile, back in the rest of the non-industrialized world places like Tibet and Myanmar face true life and death issues not involving 401ks or stock portfolios. Places like Darfur still have those babies with bloated stomachs caused from starvation. Iraqi children are still threatened each day with the crossfire of the 10 billion dollar a month army and the “insurgents”. Hell, even here, where all the news has to do with Wall Street and Main Street there’s still “skid row” and “Bushvilles” full of homeless people who were homeless before the current “crisis” and have few hopes of anything changing.
Here in Denver, the alleged public hospital of the state’s major university closed the doors to their inpatient psychiatric unit under the cover of the market collapse. That leaves two hospitals in the metro area to care for the thousands of mental health clients that will require some inpatient intervention. The closure was about converting the unit to higher paying medical beds where the use of multiple procedures and pharmaceuticals add up much faster than caring for a few “loonies” in crisis. The mentally ill will be on their own once the full effects of the great American robbery trickle down. Their protection and care are always the first to get the budget cut in hard times.
Americans consistently lack a world perspective, however. It is always about them 24/7, all the time. They seriously believe their current plight trumps all other problems in the world while the vast majority of people on this planet don’t have time to worry about the possible decrease in American lifestyle. They don’t care about you or me losing homes that seem ridiculously large and lavish to them as they live in just a few hundred square feet that house large families. They don’t care if we have to cut back on cable, Starbucks, driving one to a car wherever we want, ringtones on our cell phones, cell phones with internet capability, X-Box and Wii entertainment games, I-Tunes, 150 dollar Nike running shoes, Macy’s and Dilliards and all the other American “necessities”.
We run around crying about the sky falling, afraid our lives will become more difficult. Many in the world would say, “Welcome to our world”. This is the true reality show, AmeriKa. This is Survivor: America. Maybe Sarah Palin will soon get her chance to put her finger on the nuke button and the rapture will begin like LaHaye and Jenkins have duped their readers into believing. If not, the majority of the world doesn’t have time to worry about the “great American plight”. They struggle to stay alive in the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan. They struggle to eat and have potable water in Africa. They struggle for the very basics of life and they don’t really care about you, America.
The point is; peace and justice now means the American economy more than it means an end to aggression killing many thousands each day. How American of us. The bottom line is American's 401k's, mortgages and a continued lifestyle permitting us to remain the biggest consumers of the world's resources is taking precedence over the rest of the world's misery.
Oh, I know, it is foolish to overlook the fall of the great American Empire's greed machine because the rich over-lords will extort Americans for their pensions and housing before they will sacrifice their riches if we persist on objecting to any bailout. And without a doubt, the people will cave. They will prefer remaining economical slaves to a failed system rather than risk losing their comfort.
Americans like to believe they are the most important people in the world but that arrogance is a major reason this nation has elicited hate around the world and the financial ship is sinking to the delight of many in the world. If we travel outside this nation we will find people who will never have a tenth of what most Americans have had. How they must enjoy the frenzied rich Americans thinking their world is coming to an end because they stand to lose part of their wealth. How amusing the cries of “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” from the Wall Street crooks to the American media it must be to the terrorists Bush and Company have demonized so often to keep us in line. Turns out the terrorists that have done the most harm to this nation resided not too far away from the Twin Towers.
Meanwhile, back in the rest of the non-industrialized world places like Tibet and Myanmar face true life and death issues not involving 401ks or stock portfolios. Places like Darfur still have those babies with bloated stomachs caused from starvation. Iraqi children are still threatened each day with the crossfire of the 10 billion dollar a month army and the “insurgents”. Hell, even here, where all the news has to do with Wall Street and Main Street there’s still “skid row” and “Bushvilles” full of homeless people who were homeless before the current “crisis” and have few hopes of anything changing.
Here in Denver, the alleged public hospital of the state’s major university closed the doors to their inpatient psychiatric unit under the cover of the market collapse. That leaves two hospitals in the metro area to care for the thousands of mental health clients that will require some inpatient intervention. The closure was about converting the unit to higher paying medical beds where the use of multiple procedures and pharmaceuticals add up much faster than caring for a few “loonies” in crisis. The mentally ill will be on their own once the full effects of the great American robbery trickle down. Their protection and care are always the first to get the budget cut in hard times.
Americans consistently lack a world perspective, however. It is always about them 24/7, all the time. They seriously believe their current plight trumps all other problems in the world while the vast majority of people on this planet don’t have time to worry about the possible decrease in American lifestyle. They don’t care about you or me losing homes that seem ridiculously large and lavish to them as they live in just a few hundred square feet that house large families. They don’t care if we have to cut back on cable, Starbucks, driving one to a car wherever we want, ringtones on our cell phones, cell phones with internet capability, X-Box and Wii entertainment games, I-Tunes, 150 dollar Nike running shoes, Macy’s and Dilliards and all the other American “necessities”.
We run around crying about the sky falling, afraid our lives will become more difficult. Many in the world would say, “Welcome to our world”. This is the true reality show, AmeriKa. This is Survivor: America. Maybe Sarah Palin will soon get her chance to put her finger on the nuke button and the rapture will begin like LaHaye and Jenkins have duped their readers into believing. If not, the majority of the world doesn’t have time to worry about the “great American plight”. They struggle to stay alive in the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan. They struggle to eat and have potable water in Africa. They struggle for the very basics of life and they don’t really care about you, America.
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